These Are the Days

Menu Mondays

2010-02-01T19:18:00.003-06:00

Last week was crazy busy..hopefully this week won't be so much. I will have to post this recipe later but last week i tried a new Crock pot Pork Chop recipe....super yummy. Thanks Southern Living.

This week however we are going for very healthy...

Monday - Fish/Tilapia pan fried/brown rice/ broccoli carrots and beans
Tuesday - Pasta Veggie Dish with Pita Bread and Pears
Wednesday - Ritz Chicken Casserole (weight watcher way) rice and veggies
Thursday - King Ranch Chicken - friend made this for us last week when mom had her surgery, it is super yummy! Thank J.
Friday - Lasagna/salad and french bread... celebrating my little sister's birthday!
Saturday - Date night at church dinner served. Yeah! Marriage Seminar Can't Wait!
Super Bowl Sunday!!! Hmm...I'm thinking Heavenly Hawaiin Sandwiches, dips, pasta salad

Menu Mondays

2010-01-18T16:00:00.002-06:00

I guess a good way to get started back would be with my Menu Mondays!

Monday - Almond Crusted Tilapia with Brown Rice and Veggies
Tuesday - Taco Skillet and Salad
Wednesday - Dorito Bake, Veggies and Salad
Thursday - Crockpot BBQ Roast, Rice and Veggies and Rolls
Friday - Out

New Year New Posts

2010-01-18T15:59:00.001-06:00

I am in the process of updating this blog but it takes me a while so don't mind what it looks like. I will post more content later!

Mother's Day Tea

2009-06-11T22:35:00.003-05:00

I know this is about a month old now but i'm catching up. Meg's MDO has a Mother's Day Tea every year for the 3's Department. I was so excited to get to go and see Meg sing to me, see the video they make and get our annual ME Book. Well I get in there and she is all happy to see me and they start to sing, then all of a sudden she just got unhappy. Stood there looking all sad and mad and then crossed her arms and totally would not sing. I was sitting right in front of her and she still wouldn't cooperate. And her buddy Mr L standing next to her did the exact same thing, they are two peas in a pod. Oh well, when I think about it, Lauren didn't sing either. Well they say third times a charm so maybe Ella Bella will sing to me! Here is a pic of us afterwards about to enjoy our cupcake and "tea".

It's Been Too Long

2009-06-01T21:44:00.002-05:00

I can't believe how fast this month has gone by. I finished up my teaching, Meg is officially a Pre-K kid, Lauren is going into second grade (yikes) and Ella is almost one year old. This has been an incredibly fast year. Although I will say it seems like Meg has been 3 for forever and yet Ella is already a year older. I went on a long scrapbooking reatreat this weekend. Thursday through Sunday, it was so nice to get away. I very much needed vacation. We went to a friends lake house since our old scrap house closed its doors. It was so relaxing and peaceful. We had so much fun too! Good times! I didn't get as much done as I normally do, but I got a start on Ella's stuff so that's progress. So daddy was in charge all weekend. He did a great job, we didn't have too much extra activities this weekend so he got off easy. Let's just say though he really appreciates me more now! The girls always miss me so much when i'm gone, E really did, she didn't sleep too well but she crashed last night. Slept til 9:30 this morning, AHHH, that was nice! So off we go to our Summer of VBS, Camps, Beach trip, hanging out by the pool, water park and play dates. This summer will fly by for sure!

I'll post some pics later but just wanted to stop in.

Wordless Wednesdays

2009-04-22T21:18:00.000-05:00

How Does a Garden Grow?

2009-04-19T21:01:00.005-05:00

This Spring we decided to plant a garden. I had wanted to do it last year but we never got around to it, so this year My wonderful husband got it started. He built the garden and went and got great soil then we went and bought some plants and seeds. The girls and I had a great time planing the Tomato plants, broccoli and various other plants, then Nate and I did the seeds. Everything looks like it is going well. The tomato plants and getting taller and have blooms and we even saw some broccoli, I just wasn't sure exactly when to harvest the broccoli. I really didn't expect to see "results" so soon. Sure enough by the time I got on the internet to check it out the broccoli then was turning into yellow flowers. That is way too long. So we missed our first bunch. Oh well, that's ok, they say the first of the season isn't very good anyway. We'll have to see how long it takes to produce more. This gardening thing is good in theory but if you don't have a lot of patience like I don't, it gets "boring". Here are a few pics of my lovely garden. We did plant i think too many tomato plants so once it starts producing I might be handing out tomatos every time I see you.

Menu Monday

2009-04-13T12:49:00.003-05:00

I did pretty good last week sticking to my menu. I am in a dry spell though. Need some new "healthy" recipes.

Monday - Spaghetti/Salad
Tuesday - Tilapia Veracruz/ brown rice/ squash/broccoli
Wednesday - Homemade Pizza
Thursday - Chicken Enchiladas/ salad / quacamole and chips (yummy)
Friday - Teriyaki Salmon/ penne/ veggies/salad

My Hero

2009-04-09T20:59:00.002-05:00

It was quite an interesting afternoon here. Of course everyday is interesting but this one was exceptional. We got home from school and since the weather is just gorgeous the girls wanted to go out back and play and bounce on the bounce house. I had pulled out the house yesterday for Meg but i didn't get it staked down cause the ground was hard and I was lazy and didn't want to go get the hammer. Anyway, It was very windy today. The girls are out bouncing, i'm inside changing baby E's diaper and I hear screaming (MOM!) Well, what else is new, I always hear someone screaming. Again I hear it but this time I think, there seems to be some urgency. So I hurry up with E and go outside, I see the bounce house up on its side and Lauren trying to hold it down. This things weighs twice as much as her and is 3 x's as tall. I break into a run with E in my arms. Throw her down and grab the house cause it is still trying to get wind under it and take off. Well once we got it under control, I hammered down the stakes and made it all safe I asked Lauren if they were in it when it went on it's side. Yes they were. She got out and held it down and told Meg there was an opening on the side for her to climb out. What great thinking for my brave 6 year old. If you only knew, one year ago she would have completely flipped out. I was so proud of her and praised her for her Leadership and quick thinking. AHH, she makes my heart happy! Love you Lauren. You are my sunshine!

Menu Monday

2009-04-07T17:10:00.002-05:00

Sunday - "healthy" Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Mixed Veggies
Monday - Aztec Chicken Casserole, Salad
Tuesday - Almond Fish, brown rice, Veggies
Wednesday - Church nite, drive thru
Thursday - Shake n Bake Chicken, noodles, veggies
Friday - Black Bean Quessadillas, Salad, Fruit
Saturday - Leftover Buffet

I know it's Tuesday, but wanted to get this out!

Menu Mondays

2009-03-30T20:47:00.002-05:00

Sunday - Buffet
Monday - Taco Skillet/Salad
Tuesday - Angel Chicken/ Pasta/ Veggie
Wednesday - Meatballs/ Potatoes/ Veggies
Thursday - Fried Chicken (Healthy version of course)/ Rice/Veggies
Friday - Kids Sloppy Joe's - Nate and I going out!

Ok, Christie, here is the recipe for the Angel Chicken....I got this recipe from Kim Hawkins who is one of the best cooks in DFW! Yummy! So you can thank her for it! I love other people's yummy recipes too, so send me some!

4-6 Chicken Breasts/tenders
1/4 cup butter
1- .7 oz pkg dry Italian salad dressing mix
1 - can golden mushroom soup
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 oz cream cheese ( I use reduced fat, you can also use the one with chives, whatever you prefer)
Mushrooms optional
hot cooked angel hair pasta

Place chicken in crockpot. Melt butter in large bowl, stir in italian mix. Stir in soup, wine, and softened cream cheese. Mix well, pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low heat 4-5 hours, or hight heat 2-3 hours. Serve over hot cooked pasta.

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesdays

2009-03-25T21:46:00.002-05:00

Menu Mondays

2009-03-23T15:08:00.002-05:00

Sorry I didn't get to this last week. Here is this week's dinners!

Sunday - Chicken Baseballs, rice, veggies
Monday - Red Beans Rice, green beans, cornbread
Tuesday - Tortillini, Salad
Wednesday - Healthy Chili, cornbread
Thursday - Pan Baked Almond Fish, rice, veggies
Friday - Steak, potatoes, salad, rolls

Menu Monday

2009-03-10T06:46:00.002-05:00

Ok, i'm a bit late. We have a busy week and 2 out of the 5 of us had a stomach bug over the weekend. Now my stomach is hurting but i'm hoping it stays away.

Sunday - Sweet n Sour Chicken with brown rice (stir fry veggies were in this too)
Monday - King Ranch Chicken Casserole with Caesar salad and french bread
Tuesday - Taco Tuesday baby
Wednesday - Meatloaf, mac/cheese for kids, veggies
Thursday - Shake n Bake, veggies
Friday - Hamburgers/fruit
Saturday - Out!

Go to Organize Junkie on the right for more menu ideas.

Wordless Wednesdays

2009-03-04T16:46:00.003-06:00

What are you reading?

2009-03-03T21:21:00.000-06:00

"Of one hundred men,

one will read the Bible;

the ninety-nine will read the Christian."

— Dwight L. Moody

The Laundry Room

2009-03-03T21:07:00.004-06:00

I am in organization mode! Look out family cause things are being tossed out left and right, and they don't even know it! This month I am focusing on the Laundry Room. This room in my house drives me crazy. Everyone comes through the LR because it's the door from the garage that leads into the house. So this becomes the drop off, catch all for everything. When we don't have a place for it, put it in the LR. I've been trying to think about different ways to organize it and make it neat and pretty. Tomorrow is the big day of cleaning out the cabinets and chunking then making my list of what I need to organize certain projects. Check out these Laundry rooms though! Our LR is no where near this space. HGTV is great!

Menu Mondays

2009-03-02T16:23:00.003-06:00

Today is the start of Menu Mondays for my blog. I have been reading various other blogs and sites lately that focus on being a good "keeper of my home", meaning being more frugal and better organization. One of the sites I really like is Stretching a buck. So I will post my menu for the week but in turn I would love to see some other menus for some ideas. Keep in mind that we are trying to eat healthier and not as expensive meals. Another site I am enjoying is Five dollar dinners, the challenge is to create a meal for $5 or less. There are so many other blogs that I will add to my blog list, so check them out some time. These women are amazing. I am also so excited to see so many godly women out there on these blogs really ministering to the world. Another reason this is so exciting to me is I see at as a sign of the return of Jesus. His word says that everyone will have been able to hear the message and know about Jesus before His return and the information highway is doing a great job of speeding that up. Get ready world, I hope you are ready for Jesus, cause His word says that one day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is Christ the Lord. So if you don't have a relationship with our Lord I encourage you to pray for forgiveness of your sins and to ask Jesus to come into your heart and be Lord of your life. It's that simple but you do have to ask. Our God is a gracious and merciful God and he wants to give, you just have to ask.

Now back to menu planning.

I have always planned our meals so this is not a new thing for me, but I'm always looking for new ideas and recipes.

Monday - Spaghetti and salad
Tuesday - Fish/ Brown rice/veggies
Wednesday - Quesadillas (how do you spell that word) and salad
Thursday- Beef Tips/noodles/ veggies
Friday - Breakfast (yum, i love breakfast for dinner, eggs, biscuits, bacon so not healthy)

Saturday we had soup and sunday we had chicken enchiladas ( healthy version).

Another menu tip that I learned from a bible study at our church is to start making menu cards. And then once you have a good supply built up you don't even have to think about menus anymore you just pull out your cards. You can also put your grocery/supply list on the back of the cards so you have that handy as well. Great idea, I started this but then we started cooking a bit healthier so now I need to redo the cards.

Where have I been?

2009-02-20T15:31:00.005-06:00

It has been a long time since I posted anything so I thought I better let you all get caught up with us. Well, I haven't posted much because our computer has been not acting right so I can't post and see things on certain sites. I really hoping to get me a new little laptop soon. I really like Amber's little one. That size is perfect for me. Then Nate and I can sit side by side working on our laptops.

Lauren is doing fabulous, she is still loving first grade. School just had their Jump Rope for Heart and she was one of the top Jump Ropers! She is a jump rope fanatic now, everywhere she goes her and her friends take their jump rope and jump jump! It's cute and reminds me of me when I was younger and loved jumping rope! She has also finally learned how to ride her bike! She's so excited! Hopefully we can finish the school year strong, I think so even though it's getting harder at school, she still is doing well.

Meg is cracking us up still daily. I love all her sayings, I'm trying to remember to write some of them down as she says them to put in her scrapbook. One thing she says is "no way whosea" instead of no way jose! The other night it was storming out and lightning and she kept saying, "who's making those lights outside" I guess she doesn't remember lightning. She was into saying "actually" about everything but now she's moved on to "cept" "cept i didn't do it mommy". She's been sick though so we are back to doing breathing treatments. So we are really tired from not sleeping much this past week. I think she's getting better now.

Our Sweet Ella! My precious baby is sitting up, trying to crawl (which i've been stifling since december but i can't anymore she's determined to move) eating real food and saying "yaya, gaga and dada"! She is growing up quick! She is so stinkin cute though with her chubby legs and those cheeks to just eat up!

Valentine's day was fun, we had a family vday dinner and the girls loved it! I always make them heart shaped waffles and pancakes for breakfast. This year we had a steak dinner by candlelight and then i made heart shaped ramekins and then after that we had chocolate fondue and they dipped strawberries, bananas, marshmallows and graham crackers. It was a fun night.

My mom's in town this weekend and she and my sister are going to watch the girls so Nate and I can go out on a date! OHHHH, soooooooo nice! I can't wait to get away!

Here are a few pics of lately.

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T21:39:00.006-06:00

and Merry Christmas too! I'm a little late but better late than never. Happy New year! We had a great Christmas, the girls got tons of toys/clothes and Santa brought a bounce house. I think the family gift of the Wii is a bigger hit! I never thought my husband, who is not a game person, would be so into this game system. Let me tell you, it's a fight nearly to see who gets to play, with all of us. Even Meg is playing. How sad is this! But it is fun! I'm so glad we got it.

Here are a few pics...

Ella just loved the paper and the boxes.

Lauren made out, between the bounce house, Wii, and ipod and an American Girl doll. There's nothing left. And except for the house, none of that was from us, all other family! Can we say spoiled!

Meg had a Dora Christmas, most things were Dora and she loves it all. She is such a joy to watch open presents, because she opens each one and truly looks at it and of course wants to start playing with it but she just takes the entire thing in and gets the biggest smile on her face!

Those were just a few pics. We had a great Christmas, all of our family from both sides were in town and we loved seeing everyone. My grandfather did pass away on the 23rd and the funeral was Monday but the good thing was that he wasn't suffering anymore, he had a heart attack in October, and my Mimi passed away two years ago, so they are together with Jesus. It's a bittersweet time.

Happy New Year! first I wanted to celebrate the high points from 2008 and then tell you my goals for 2009!

1. Blessed with one more pregnancy and welcomed Baby Ella to our Family in July.

2. Celebrated being married to Nate for 10 years in August! I don't know why he puts up with me!

3. Took Lauren on our first Mother Daughter weekend to Pine Cove.

4. Enjoyed the blossoming of many friendships.

5. Attending my granddad's funeral where they sang the most beautiful songs my uncle wrote and truly imagined him and my mimi embracing and celebrating in Heaven.

Goals for 2009! I like the one word idea from Ali Edwards, you scrappers know what i mean. So i am praying about my one word for the year. I have a few in mind but I will nail this down by tomorrow.

1. Be positive! Not talking negative, so if you hear me keep me accountable.

2. Run half marathon.

3. Walk closer to God, includes reading the bible through, I will try this again. I think I try it every year but last year I really didn't get far. New Year, New try!

4. Save Save Save, not spending on unnecessary items.

5. More quality time with the girls together and individually.

6. Last but certainly not least, to be the best wife I can be. Do as much for Nate as I can and to not be the drippy faucet. Truly aiming for the Proverbs 31 women.

WATCH THIS - Evolution of Dance

2008-12-19T21:01:00.001-06:00

Stress Relief

2008-12-19T16:23:00.002-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg

Go check out this video.

Are you 'Mazed'

2008-12-18T20:40:00.002-06:00

I haven't had a chance to blog much this week, so I'm going to catch up on the weeks events.

First off, last weekend we took the girls to Grapevine's Polar Express. We did this a couple of years ago and it was lots of fun so we thought they would enjoy it, especially since Meg really has never been on it. They get you so pumped up before you get on the train with singing and dancing and all sorts of fun, then we go to get on the train. Meg was so funny, she got on and kept saying "Mommy this is mazing, mommy this train is so mazing!" It was so sweet, and like I've said in previous posts I love seeing things through the eyes of my children. She was enthralled by the entire experience and to get to ride the train was such fun for her. Lauren of course had fun too, she was actually with a birthday party too so she was having her own fun with her other friends and kids. Santa of course was on the train and M just couldn't take her eyes off him. So, it was lots of fun. Love the atmosphere at nighttime on the train.

Then Saturday Nate and his dad flew out to Atlanta to watch our nephew, Daniel, play football in the state championships played at the Georgia Dome. They won! They all had a great time! Nate doesn't get away much so I'm glad he got to go. They even flew first class! :)

Sunday was the girls Christmas Choir program at church. Lauren did great singing and Meg and her age group had their own little segment. Of course I had to give her the "i don't want to see any skin" speech. She did great, she kept waving to me and looking behind her pretty much the entire time but at least she kept her clothes where they should be.

Then this week we got hit with the stomach bug for Lauren, hopefully no one else will get it. That took us all out for a day, which I had a feeling someone was about to get sick. It never fails though, L is always sick on a holiday and last year she was sick on the day of her xmas party at school. Luckily she was much better today and she went so she didn't miss the party, just Santa. Santa flew in on the helicopter to see the kids yesterday. Oh well, maybe next year. Anyway, I have been going full speed ahead these past couple of weeks and I just had a thought this week about God allowing the children to get sick to slow me down. yep, I guess we all needed a day together.

The weather this week has kept me in though, baking and cleaning. I think I am finally done xmas shopping and errands and now I hope to just sit back and enjoy this next week. All our family is coming in starting this weekend. Can't wait for Christmas Eve Service at our church, it is usually wonderful and gets you in the spirit of Christmas. Today I was just reveling all day in the Spirit of Christmas. The song Happy Birthday Jesus came on the radio and Meg started singing with it and it just brought tears to my eyes. We made cookies yesterday and today and I keep trying to instill in Megan that it's not all about Santa, cause she is all about Santa. She thinks we are only making cookies for Santa. Hopefully it will sink in with her that this is Jesus Birthday, he came down from Heaven to save us! He humbled himself to sacrifice himself for us, so we could be in Heaven with Him! Just Mazing! So what do you believe? Do you believe in the true Spirit of Christmas? Do you believe in Jesus? Take a moment and be amazed by the beauty and the joy of Christmas. Stop rushing around, stop stressing out none of that matters. Jesus is all that matters. Be 'mazed'!

Christmas Ornaments

2008-12-17T16:54:00.004-06:00

This is from Cristi. What are my favorite ornaments and why? Well, first of all I am not very sentimental when it comes to ornaments. But these are the few I really like...

I have a crystal tree, we started collecting Swarovski annual ornaments when we were dating, so I have every year up until the last 3. My MIL used to give them to us for xmas but she doesn't anymore and we just haven't bought them. So I need to catch up on them. Anyway, I really enjoy my crystal ornaments and the children and great, they know not to touch this tree. Although i did hang them higher this year.

I have tried to do handprint ornaments with each of the girls but Ella's is the only one that actually turned out decent.

This one reminds me of our "early" years when Nate worked at Home Depot part time. They gave the employees this ornament. We still hang it. Plus Nate is always at Home Depot, his favorite store.

Shaughnessy, westhighland terrier, was my dog when I lived at home. when we got married He came to live with us. We gave him away 2 years ago, he was getting very old and anyway, it was time. But even though people think I don't like dogs cause I did that, I do and I have several ornaments for him that we still hang.

This one if a favorite when Lauren was 2 she dressed up as Dorothy for Halloween and her cousin Eric was the Lion. My mom found this ornament at Hallmark. Love it!

That's it.

Megan Mania

2008-12-10T21:53:00.002-06:00

We had Meg's Christmas Program last night for her MDO. We have this program every year. Last year Meg just stood on the stage in the sanctuary and didn't move or sing. So I thought ok, 3 is still pretty young she will probably do the same thing. Well, I should have known better. I should have known, when i dropped her off in her classroom and she was so wound up she wouldn't even stand still for a picture. She had this ivory colored tulle skirt and ivory shirt on with leggings. She apparently thought she was the "twirling"princess because in the classroom she kept lifting up her skirt to twirl. I specifically told her, do not lift your skirt on the stage.

So the sweet little program gets started, there is a cute video of all the babies and the ones. Then the 2's go up there and sing. Then the three turn. Since Meg is so short of course she is on the front row. All they have to do is sing three songs and get off the stage. Well, First song, Meg is twirling her arms around like a windmill the entire time. Barely singing and of course not doing any of the hand gestures. Second song, she decides to stick her hands down the back of her skirt. The entire time i am on the floor (mortified of course) right in front trying to take cute pictures and motioning for her to get her hands out. She just looks at me and smiles. Like, ha, I'm up here and you are down there and there is nothing you can do about it. It seems like everybody is laughing, we were ROTF ourselves. Anyway, it gets better, by the third song she decides to lift her shirt up. Everyone got a good shot of her belly and button cause she left it up the entire song! Now I'm really mortified and laughing so hard I'm crying. Why does this have to be my child? She is not supposed to do things like this! Where is the modesty? UGH!!! I can feel the gray hairs popping out now! Then today several people call, great show last night of meg. And then the best one, i have pictures for you Suzie, great! And they are zoomed in. Great! Thanks Jen! At least, I found this out later, there was another kid with his hands in his pants too! I feel so much better now. I'd show you pics put they aren't zoomed in so maybe another time.

Tree Farm

2008-12-08T17:01:00.006-06:00

Today we want to a Tree Farm. It was so windy and a bit chilly, but the children didn't seem to mind. They had fun, running all around, jumping in the bounce house and climbing to the sky on the hay pyramid. I know M is really little but you don't realize how little they are sometimes until they are around all these other kids their age and then stand them next to a sign, like the one below. She is for sure the pint!

Can you see meg?

According to the Grinch only about 2 inches. She's not even 3 feet!

The kids were all over this wagon and we just told them to move to the front (or back) and they posed themselves so great!

Thanks guys, we had fun! Even if it was a bit windy!

House Guest

2008-12-07T15:46:00.003-06:00

We have a house guest for a while. Her name is Carol. Carol the Caroler that is. Isn't she beautiful?

Hmmmm......Friday night we had our Sunday School class Christmas party. Every year we do a white elephant gift exchange. For the past 2 years now I have ended up with the Worst present! Last year I ended up with someones used panties! Gross! This year I got Carol. I mean look at her, she is just scary! Like from the movie scream scary!!! The children will be having nightmares now! However, i might put it in someones room when they aren't being on their best behavior. Just so they know someone is watching! I know it's just my luck to get these types of presents. It's because I love presents, and I just wanted the $25 itunes or even the gingerbread kit. It doesn't have to be much. Oh well, I just want to say for everyone that knows Carol...watch out! You never know when she's going to show up!

PS This caroler was in the gift exchange last year and someone got it(Lewy) and they regifted it so now everyone will know I will bring it back for next year! I am going to have to get really creative for this one!

First Winter Fire!

2008-12-04T21:38:00.002-06:00

I just love it when the weather turns cold enough for a fire! The smell of wood burning outside and inside, the glow of the fire is so warm and comforting. I just want to snuggle up with all my kids and my hubby and not move. We had our first fire tonight. E was so fun to watch, she was amazed at the fire but her chubby cheeks were so red, cause my Nate can build a hot fire!
I didn't realize it was so cold this morning and I decided to run outside today. Yeah, my hands were freezing. But it was good, you run faster in the cold cause you want to get it done!

E and I did some Christmas Shopping today, went into this one store, which shall remain nameless. THey had the cutest Christmas stuff, can't wait for the day after to see what i can get on sale!

Not much to say today, so i'm going to snuggle with N by the fire.

Check this out!

2008-12-03T13:59:00.001-06:00

Please go to the blog on the right called Bright Sunshinny Day! Great perespective on this time of year!

Christmas is Here!

2008-12-03T13:34:00.002-06:00

Remember that song that the elves sing at the North Pole, Christmas is Here?!!? Megan was playing her new Bob and Larry Christmas cd and it's on there! Oh this got me so excited this morning! I have spent the last few days putting up all the Christmas decor and listening to my Christmas music and getting in the season but this song this morning got me so excited. I can't wait to see how excited the girls will be this month. Of course for Megan the month is not starting off so great. She was pretty good over Thanksgiving while in Branson, more about that later. Since we have been home she's back to being "meg". I finally told her last night that Santa doesn't come to little girls who cry and pout and shout. I had to sing the song of course! then i feel guilty cause i know i will still get her stuff. I must stop these useless threats. I feel like prayer is the only way for me to deal with her. Anyway, I'd love to get that elf on the shelf but really I'm trying not to buy stuff just to buy it. Oh well, I'm making my list of things to do with the kids for everyday this month. Some are service projects and others just Christmas fun things. Everyday is something. With a little education on the true meaning of course!

So Thanksgiving was lots of fun in Branson and Silver Dollar City. The girls had a blast and E did great staying home with Gigi and Pop! I'll post some pics later. I was missing me some baby love though by the time we got home. Of course at this age she didn't even notice I was gone.

The other night we decorated the tree. I let the girls do the majority of the decorating. Meg decided all the ornaments needed to go in the same spot! i had to do some rearranging later. Then the next morning she got up and rearranged them again! She's killing me! But i loved her face when she saw the tree, the look of awe and amazement! And when L came home from school yesterday and the house was finally put together! she was so excited too! i love seeing Christmas through a child's eyes!

Well, I'm off to finish cleaning and put this toot to bed for naptime! Oh, i forgot i need to clean out some toys to make room and give someone else a chance to play with something new!

I'm so jealous my friend Koleen is going scrapbooking this weekend! I can't wait till January when i go!

Today...

2008-11-24T18:50:00.003-06:00

Today I...

1. ran 3 miles

2. made breakfast

3. caught up on blogs

4. played a game with meg

5. went to target

6. gave ella a bath

7. played with ella

8. ate thanksgiving lunch with chocolate pie (yum)

9. swept the floors

10. Forgot to pick up Lauren at school

Yes, you read that correctly! One of my biggest fears came true. I have always been afraid of losing track of time and forgetting to go p/u L from school. And today was the day! I was busy packing for our trip, talking on the phone (big shocker) and lo and behold the phone beeps in, it's my friend Jenna and I knew before even saying hello, didn't even have to look at the clock. I said i forgot Lauren didn't I, she said yep! SO i threw the phone down, didn't even say goodbye to the other person and jumped in the car! Laughing all the way of course! I could not believe I did this! On my way there, it's a whole 2 minute drive, the office calls, your daughter hasn't been picked up yet! Yes I'm on my way, my phone dies! Quite comical! I get there and I'm still laughing, the nice assistant in the office who has always been nice to me, didn't think it was so funny! AHHHH!!!! I feel like the best mom in the world!!! Luckily L has matured a lot in the past year, i thought she might be a bit hysterical, but she wasn't, she was just sitting there looking pretty! I apologized to her of course! Yeah! She'll probably need therapy for this too!!!

So if you ever forget to pick up your child from school, just know you are not alone and we all have those days!

Thankful Thursdays

2008-11-20T05:03:00.004-06:00

I got this from yesterday's devotion from my book "At His Feet". I thought it was appropriate going into thanksgiving.

Thankfulness for what God has blessed us is not enough;knowledge of the blessing is granted us that we might extend the blessing to others.
God's favor comes to those who know their need. Abundance and status are deceitful, often blinding us the to the very need God wants us to acknowledge.
Our gratitude often contains a tragic irony. We think we are being spiritual by thanking Him for things, but we may end up thanking Him for our own idols. Are we really grateful to God for material blessings? Or are we just thankful to have them, regardless of how we got them? The difference is subtle.
Ask yourself: If God took the blessings away, would i still love Him? If so, you were truly thanking God. If not you only saw Him as the means to another end. This Thanksgiving, thank God for all he has blessed you with. Be aware of spiritual pitfalls in the blessings He has given. Do not let them mask your deeper needs.

What am I thankful for today, truly thankful?
1. my wonderful husband
2. my precious children
3. my family
4. my friends
5. I get to go to church and read my bible whenever i want.
6. that i get to buy christmas presents
7. that i will eat a very yummy thanksgiving
8. that i run almost everyday and can run
9. that i already have my christmas cards done
10. my home.

God does give and take away and i pray that i will still be thankful even when He takes away.

Tooth Fairy!

2008-11-18T19:57:00.004-06:00

Lauren has been waiting and waiting for a loose tooth so the tooth fairy would come visit her. Well a month ago, i guess, she had her first loose tooth! We were all so excited. Of course i had all these grand plans of "fairy dust", cause my friend amy does this and at school last year the tooth fairy left notes for everyone and dust everywhere, aka glitter! anyway, so i've been checking it a couple times a week and telling her to keep wiggling it and eat on it. Last night, it was so loose it was literally about to fall out! SO her daddy tells her it's time and of course, my drama queen, starts freaking out! They come into the bedroom and she want ME to pull it out! ME! hello! i have never pulled a tooth, i don't know what i am doing and i'm so afraid to hurt her. So after lots of tears and prayers and soothing i carefully pulled it right ou! Finally, she lost her tooth! Except now what? i didn't have any cash, i didn't have a chance to get the fairy dust, i was going to get the "pearl necklace" thing. DIdn't do that either! great mom i am. so she went to sleep, nate happened to have a little cash and he did the fairy thing! it was kind of funny, i think he was bummed he didn't get to pull the tooth. But he is a little squeemish so maybe he was glad. SO this morning when i got up to run at 5, i found some glitter and sprinkled it over her. She wakes up and she is more excited over the glitter than she is the money! crazy kids! i think she has 2 more loose now. other bottom and one top. she'll be the kid without any front teeth at all. just a little too late for the christmas card of "all i want for christmas is my 2 front teeth". Oh well, maybe megan will be the one.

Crazy Soccer Mom!

2008-11-13T20:57:00.003-06:00

By the way that is me!! I am the crazy soccer mom! you know we got in trouble a couple of weeks ago for too much "coaching" from the side lines. I was really embarassed and last week i really controlled myself. But tonight the team we were playing against was really irritating me by their dirty playing and then i just got all worked up. We did end up winning though, so it doesn't pay to not play by the rules. You know, you would think that a city run sports complex would have their lighting on some sort of timers! well i'm not sure exactly what happened but the lights were not on at first and then it took some einstein a little too long to finally get someone out there to turn them on! IT's cold and dark! hello!!! i never thought i would be that crazy soccer mom but i am! Good thing the season is almost over.

Thankful Thursdays!

Top 5 things i'm thankful for!

1. We have electricity
2. gas prices coming down, for the meantime
3. all my family is healthy
4. my husband is off tomorrow
5. spending time with my mom this week

what are you thankful for?

Running

2008-11-12T07:13:00.003-06:00

ok, so before i got pregnant with ella i was running and training for a half marathon. Once i found out i was pregnant i stopped running, didn't want to take any chances. So now i've been running again for about 6 weeks and i'm finally feeling like i'm making progress. Today was 3 miles. Not too shabby, i just bumped up my mileage this week from 2.5 to 3. My friend Vicki is running with me, i hope i don't "run" her off. It's great having a running partner but i might be pushing her too hard. Running for me is a great release, i feel so much better and hopefully some of this post baby weight will come off.

About yesterday, my first day back at school. It wasn't too bad! THe class is actually really good. and i love this age group. i forgot how much fun they are. Sweet group of babies! Can't wait for january. Oh and my future teaching buddy is great, we are similar so i think it will work out well! Thank you Lord.

i'm spending the day with my mom today! we'll probably go "window" shopping.

Why does it take a 6 year old, 20 minutes to eat cheerios?!?!? Seriously!?!?!? how many times do i need to say, hurry up, you have stuff to do!??!?!?! oh, the joys of motherhood!

Blogging Bandwagon

2008-11-10T21:37:00.003-06:00

Ok, so i've been reading all these blogs and have been inspired by so many people but i have yet to start my own so at 8:00 tonight i decided i was going to start mine. So here i go....

I want to blog for a few reasons..

to keep my family updated on our daily chaos
to hopefully inspire someone the way i have been inspired
to have an outlet since i can't scrap everyday

So today is Monday and my sweet baby girl had her 4 month doctor's appt this morning. She is doing fabulous, weighing in at 14 pounds and 24 inches, she is going to be short i think. Her sister, Megan, had fun at the doctor's office, of course she thought it was her job to entertain the doctor and play peek a boo with her. She is always the attention grabber! Of course her favorite thing about going to the doctor is she gets a "sugar free" lollipop as we leave. She does not know they are sugar free of course, but makes mom feel better when she's eating candy at 10 in the morning!

So it rained on and off today and was cloudy so it was one of those lazy kind of days where i got absolutely nothing accomplished. Now for those of you who don't know me, i am trying to be a good "keeper of my home". However with three children and a dog, the house just always seems to be a mess. Now my OCD is setting in because i like the entire house clean all the time. hmmmm...do you think that happens often? not so much! I am subbing tomorrow, so i really won't get any housework done. That's ok, there's always the next day. I am excited to be going back to my little part time teaching job, i will go back in January, but i'm just subbing for the day to get acquainted with my new class. It is a wonderful christian mother's day out, where my girls have been attending since they were 1. I have taught there the past couple of years and took a little time off to be with my sweet blessing #3! So i am a bit worried about how the other teacher in the class will be. But i've prayed about this and God definitely said to go back to work and He hasn't failed me yet, so Lord, i'll put my trust in you! Maybe this is the beginning of a new friendship! I will be keeping my eyes open for the blessings!

Last night our sunday school class had our mom's nite out...we went to Charming Charlies! Awesome store!!! i could not get over all the wonderful jewelry, clothes and purses, it's a girl's dream store! then we went to Cheesecake Factory, yum yum! I just have to say i love hanging out with friends, i don't go out to eat often with friends and when i do it's so much fun, great conversation, i really need to do this more...thanks honey for letting me go and for taking care of the girls by yourself! i appreciate him so much!

One more thing before i go today...the title of my blog came to me yesterday at church. it was the end of the service, the invitation had been given and i was standing there singing, praising God and praying and all of a sudden i said "who am I" and the first thing that popped in my head was "you are the daughter of the king" . That really stuck with me all day! and i said to myself why did i ask that...then tonight as i'm thinking of a title it comes back to me! For those of you that don't know we are all royalty and our Heavenly Father is the King and we are His children and heirs. Once you have asked Jesus to be Lord of your life and into your heart you will reign with him in heaven forever! Goodnight!