I wanted to Wonder Contest giveaway

My girl is doing it again over at Stretching a Buck !! Just in time for Christmas she is giving away a custom hairbow holder. These items are so cute that you may just start wearing hairbows again!!

Check it out at http://www.stretchingabuckblog.com/2008/11/i-wanted-to-wonder-giveaway.html.

You will be glad that you did !!

Movie reviews

Sometimes I get overwhelmed with all the media that try to attack us and our children. Movie reviewers get on my last nerve. ( It could be that my 9 month old got me up at 6:15 this morning and I am just grumpy) If the movie reviewer raves about a movie... chances are good that I will not like it. If they hate it I am probably rolling on the floor laughing my tushy off.

I will never ever forget my college film class. I took it thinking it would be an easy A. I however got the shock of my life when it was one of the hardest classes in my life. I found out that there is so much symbolism and hidden meanings in the movie that I will never look at movies the same way. Now every time I watch a movie I think, "I wonder what the use of water means?" :) ha ha ha

Anywho, maybe I am getting older ( I would like to think that I am getting wiser) but I am so sick of movies these days. First of all there hasn't been a movie that I have been on my head to see in so long. Second, I am sick sick sick of movie makers putting in unnecessary language and scenes that do not add to the movie at all. Don't get me wrong... I am not a prude. I can handle bad words and yes -shock- I know that people do the horizontal polka. I am talking about movies that seem to want to shock you. Enough already !!

This leads me to the reason of this post. I have found an amazing site that reviews fairly every new movie that comes out. It's by Plugged In and it reviews music, books, TV shows and yes movies. It is connected to focus on the family which is founded by Dr. Dobson. ( LOVE HIM!!! ) It breaks down movies by synopsis, positive elements, spiritual content, sexual content, violent content, crude or profane language, drug or alcohol content, other negative content, and a conclusion. And get this.... its a fair review. They don't tell you weather the movie is a good one or not they just break it down for you so that you as a parent can decide whether to let your kids view it or not. They don't bash movies which is nice. They do however shed a light on movies before you waste almost $9.00!

Check it out.. its a great website!

http://www.pluggedinonline.com/

Being Thankful

Many people are having a hard time being thankful these days. After all the economy, jobs and in general things are... well stinky. The present situation aside, I feel so thankful that I am bursting at the seams. Not for the material things in my life ( although I feel truly blessed for the great job my husband has and our manageable house payment these days.)

What I am truly thankful for this year cannot be bought. ( Although many people often do try to buy these things much to their chagrin) So here are just a few things that I am thankful for.

A warm cozy house that is filled with children's laughter.

A husband who makes our children a priority in his life.

My babies who are healthy

My daughters dimples, especially the right hand side that is so deep I could fall into it!

My son doing his "strong-man" impression then collapsing in a fit of giggles

The way the babies smell after a bath

Having an hour to myself in the morning before the kids get up

Being in love with a man more than the day I married him.

The excitement that the holidays bring to our home through our children.

Ending each day by snuggling with both babies on the couch.

My personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Reading the same book to my toddler 876 times in the last week. :)

Being able to put healthy food on our table when so many others are struggling.

Asking my husband to get... um.. personal products and he doesn't even flinch.. now that's a man!!

The traditions that my family have... BTW Charlie brown's thanksgiving is coming on Tuesday! Woohoo!

The way little arms feel when they wrap around my legs


What more could I possibly ask for!! What are you thankful for?

Picnic in November.. brrrr

It is cold here.... I mean freeze your tushy off cold. I just hate to get the kids out in this weather. Don't get me wrong I hate getting them out in the cold but that is not the real reason. The real mom answer is that by the time I wrestle winter coats, gloves and mittens on my squirmy ones I am too tired to go anywhere.

I was blessed with kids that get cabin fever. It started with my son as a baby and now his sister is following suit. Somehow I got the children that have to get out and see people. They are ... um .... well we will call it social. I went to odd lots today and my son was just waiting for someone to come into our isle so he would talk their ear off. There is not a shy bone in either of their little bodies.

So when it is cold like this I have to get creative to occupy my little rugrats. I discovered our indoor picnics about a two months ago on a rainy day and they love it so much I thought I would share!

To keep things fun and different about twice a month, on a bad day, we will have an inside picnic. I am the eat at the table at the designated time type mom so this is super fun for them! We take a blanket and spread it on the living room floor and watch a snoopy holiday video or something else special. We spread out our food ( even the little one in her travel high chair) and sit indian style and munch away happily. We all laugh and have a great time. Sometimes you just need a little change in routine to keep your sanity... ya know?

My lack of blogging

A friend asked me the other night why I haven't been blogging. I hung my head in shame and searched for an explanation, not quite realizing myself why I had not been plugged into my blog. Then it hit me like a lego thrown by a two year old....

I wasn't blogging about mothering because I was mothering!

I was up past midnight and then the next day sewing an "authentic" Indian costume ( complete with wig) for a eight month old. I put on a Halloween party for four, yes I said four, two year olds and their mothers and siblings. Then I got the flu followed by my husband and infant. I won't mention all the mundane tasks of cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping and trying to get my toddler to library story time and some play dates.

I choose to watch my 2 year old play in a pile of freshly raked leaves and try to help my 8 month old to start to army crawl. I even tried to squeeze in some quiet time with my hubby.

I could feel my guilt start to slowly melt away. I was mothering.... I was taking a moment because me and my family needed one. Just one more lesson for me to learn on this journey. Sometimes we let something go that we love to do something for the ones that we love. The kids will grow up and go away and my hubby will buy a boat and go fishing alot :) I will have plenty of time to blog, read, and take walks. I will only have one opportunity to see my baby princess crawl for the first time.

Family Traditions

We are BIG into family traditions. These are things that we have been doing since I have been little and want to carry them into my children's lives. Fall is a great kick off to some of these traditions. I guess they mean so much to us because we can depend on these things. The economy, gas prices and jobs are not so predictable. Traditions however, especially ones that cost very little money, can be something that we as children always knew would be there! I also think that these are the things that you really remember about childhood.

We have a pumpkin picking day with my family. We listen to blue grass, go through hay mazes and pick the perfect pumpkin with my mom, sister and her family and whoever else can make it. Then there is the pumpkin carving day. We all ( and I mean everyone in my family) get together have some great food, mulled cider and then all carve our pumpkins. The night is finished with lighting the pumpkins and exclaiming that they all look so good that its impossible to pick the best one.

There seems to be traditions for Christmas, Easter, fourth of July and every other holiday I can think of. I don't think there has to be a reason for traditions however. Every Friday night my family has pizza. Its more than food though. Every Friday night is family night. We either do a movie or just spend time together. (I can't wait till we can play games as a family.) Even before we had kids my hubby and I would always have date night on Fridays. Its something that we all look forward to and I think is important.

One of my favorite traditions growing up was waiting for the cartoon specials to come on tv. Charlie Brown is my all time favorite! I am so excited that I can now share this with my son who is almost 3. Its coming on tv tonight!!! Of course he has no idea but I cannot wait for him to see it. We are planning to fix a big bowl of popcorn, put the baby to bed and snuggle on the couch. Can you tell I am sooo excited!

What are some of your favorite traditions?

Menu Plan Monday

Hey girls! This week is a little weird with Trick or treat one night and hubby working so nothing stellar. Hope you guys are having something yummy!!

Monday: Chick-fil-a ... got a coupon at Library story time for a free kids meal.. woo hoo!

Tuesday: Grilled Chicken, Salad, Roasted carrots

Wednesday: Spaghetti, garlic bread and salad

Thursday: Eating at a friends house

Friday: Trick or treat- eating chili at aunt;s house

Saturday: Frozen pizza, salad

Sunday: Baked pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans

For more great menu plan Mondays make sure you check out orgjunkie.com

Great halloween costume ideas #.. I forget

A desperate housewife

No offense ladies.... I am a stay at home mama so you know this is no slam. I dressed as a housewife before I knew what it meant to be truly desperate to escape to the grocery store... or just get a shower :)

Flannel pajamas, fuzzy slippers, and an old fuzzy robe. Curlers in hair, cold cream on your face and carry a coffee mug...... free costume!

Works for me Wednesday- using leftover meats

I am revisiting this from an earlier post. Times are tough and I don't know about you but I hate to see ANYTHING go to waste these days. I also get my little prince to eat some veggies!

I made homemade fried rice! It was easy and delicious and got my little guy to eat veggies and protein. He loved it! I thought I would share.... Either use a little butter or the oil of your choice in a large pan. ( We are Paula Deen lovers over here so you know we use butter :) )

You can then saute a chopped onion or leave it out depending on your little one. - Mine loves the taste of onion but I know not all rugrats do! After the onion or in place of add two eggs and stir until they are firmly scrambled.

Then add a 1/2 bag of frozen peas and carrots and stir until veggies are warm. While the veggies are cooking, prepare whole grain minute rice.

Add the cooked rice to the veggie mixture and stir. Add (or don't add) your leftover meat cubed. Finally add low sodium soy sauce to taste.

The kids seem to love the rice so much they don't realize that they are also eating veggies and protein... woohoo!!!

A spooky tale

I thought it was time for a real life Halloween tale......

I have been getting up now multiple times a night for about eight months now. Her highness, the princess baby, demands my presence for nursing and binky reapplication. This is spooky in its self but what is even more bone chilling is what I see during these nighttime hours.

As I sit in my rocking chair nursing her, I notice that something catches my eye. The first time it was a BIG FAT (I am sure hairy too ) spider. Making its way across my daughters floor like it was taking a stroll in the park. He wasn't even in that big of a hurry!

I freaked out. I let out a scream and lifted my legs in case it decided to change coarse and attack. This of course woke the princess baby sending her into hysterics that took 45 minutes to calm down.

Since then I have seen a parade of creepy crawlers taking walks in my daughters room. It makes me wonder how many bugs come out at night while I am sleeping. I heard a statistic one time about how many bugs we eat while we sleep and now I think it may be true. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKK!!!

The most recent encounter was particularly bone chilling. I saw this creature that had to have 116 legs. It was booking too, making a bee line to my rocking chair. I felt my breath catch in my throat. This thing that was making its way to us was freaky. My mind started to race to think what I could do or how I could make my escape...... panic. I didn't want to wake the baby...... I decided to pick up one of my daughters baskets and slam in on top of the assailant, pushing down until I was sure that it was trapped.

I left it there all night long and all the next day because my husband was at work and I wasn't looking at that thing. When he got home I told him of the attack and he went in to remove the vile creature. He went in equipped with a trash bag as I cowered in the door behind him ready to make a break for it.....he slowly lifted the basket as I got ready for the multi legged to bolt and I saw.....................................

nothing.

IT GOT AWAY ! My belief is that it was so strong it simply lifted the basket off of its back and kept going on his way. I am sure its somewhere planning its revenge on me. So now when I nurse I am vigilant. I keep my eyes open, careful not to nod off. The enemy can smell weakness after all!

Menu Plan Monday

We have been doing really well sticking to our meal plan after getting back from NY. Last week I got both buy one get one free pork chop loins and roast so we will be using these this week. The weather is getting colder so I am choosing heavier filling meals. Yum! Happy eating ladies!

For more great menu plans check out http://orgjunkie.com/

Monday- Italian pot roast over noodles with beer bread (recipe to follow)

Tuesday- Leftover night / Breakfast for dinner

Wednesday- Grilled marinated chicken, roasted carrots and salad

Thursday- Beef vegetable soup, cheddar biscuits

Friday- Pizza Night!

Saturday- Spaghetti and meat sauce, salad and garlic bread

Sunday- Breaded pork chops, green beans, mashed potatoes

Italian pot roast with noodles

1 2 to 2 1/2 lb beef chuck pot roast

1 Tbs cooking oil

2 Medium carrots, coarsely chopped

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 medium onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbs quick cooking tapioca

1 14 1/2 oz can Italian style stewed tomatoes

1 6 ounce can Italian style tomato paste

1 Tbs brown sugar

1/2 Tsp salt

1/4 Tsp pepper

1 bay leaf

4 cups hot cooked noodles

Trim fat from pot roast. If necessary, cut roast to fit into the crock pot. In a large skillet brown roast on all sides in hot oil.

Meanwhile place carrots, celery, onions and garlic in crock pot. Sprinkle tapioca over veggies. Place meat atop pf veggies.

In a bowl combine undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, salt, pepper and bay leaf: pour over the meat.

Cover and cook on low heat setting for 10 to 12 hours or on high setting for 4 or 5 hours. Discard bay leaf. Skim off fat. Serve over hot cooked noodles.

Great halloween costume #5

A lightning bug

This is so cute and pretty easy to do! A white or grey sweatsuit. Then add a pair of store bought wings. For the lightning bug tail you will need those break and shake glow sticks. Get some iridescent see through material at the fabric store.

Link together pipe cleaners or clear tubing found at the craft store or Hardware store. You want to make a large X with them laying flat on the floor. Attach them at the center where they meet. Then take all four ends and connect them with wire or tape. This will give you a bubble like tail in which you want to stretch the iridescent fabric over. Make sure that you leave a hold in the opening in which the light sticks can be placed.

When attaching tail, simply pin the tail onto the back of the sweatpants with large safety pins. ( Tail will droop but that's ok... it looks "real" ) Put sweatshirt over pins so it cannot be seen.

You may even want to add some antennas to the top of your child's head and apply some iridescent makeup around your cheeks...

Great halloween costume #4

This one comes from Marcy as well...

A bunch of grapes.

Grab a purple or green sweatsuit and then start applying the grapes! You can either get material and fill them with stuffing or you can blow up balloons and attach them. You can always fashion a stem for a hat. Great idea Marcy!

Progress report

So I have had a little set back.

1.) I have been very good about getting out once a week without children to do something for me. It has been really good for me, last night I even let hubby put the babies to bed.... wow!

2.) I have been drinking water but not as much as I would like. I need to add a couple glasses but overall I am feeling better about the water intake.

3.) I need to do better about stopping eating when I am full but Rome wasn't built in day people... he he he he

My setback has come in the fact that I have found out that I have hyperthyroid. While they are testing me to see if it is permanent or not I have been told not to exercise at all or do anything strenuous. GREAT. Oh well I can post other goals for myself....

so here it is for the week. PORTION CONTROL. I have found that I eat what is on my plate. ( Which is weird b/c my mom never made me be a clean plater) If I put a bunch on my plate I eat it... all. Last night I was in a hurry so I put a little bit of everything on my plate and you know what? I ate it and was satisfied. So I have decided that I would start to work on my portion controls...

How have you ladies been doing?