I'm Considering....

I'm considering blogging about something very personal, extremely painful, and something too common to be fair.  I've been inspired by another blog to consider sharing our story of grief and joy, in the hopes that maybe it will help others going through it, and shedding light on a very dark time in millions of couple's lives.  I kept a journal during this time so I could look back and reflect, and as hard as it is to read through it, it also ends in such joy that I think it would be worth sharing, at least a majority of it.

OOPS!! Wishful Wednesday!

OOPS! I forgot ALL about Wishful Wednesday!  Better late than never right?

~ I wish my parents a very happy anniversary!  Today they've been married for 32 years!

~ I hope that my husband and I will be able to celebrate that anniversary some day, I wish that God will help us get there even more in love with eachother each year!

~ I wish chlorine didn't hurt the eyes, we went to the pool today and Little Man kept splashing water in my face :o)

A bit late, but Your Turn!!

Just Ten Minutes

Several hours of the week there are 8 people living in this house, three meals a day, 2 snacks per day, very little time between meals to clean up after them makes for a lot of dishes.  Family of 5, one has a dirty job, one gets food and/or booger smears on her clothes, 3 young children who can't keep their clothes at all clean makes for a lot of laundrey.  6 kids in the house playing and have a grand ol' time makes for a wide scattering of toys.  1 busy mom/daycare provider who would never be able to spend quality time with any of the children in her life if she kept up with all the clutter/laundrey/dishes/messes at all times.  It all makes for a pretty big cleaning challenge, one that I have been able to stay on top of before but it had me staying up until 2:00 AM every night, which was effecting my health.

I've read a few different books about getting organized and housekeeping and between those books, sharing methods with friends, and various blogs, I've gotten a few ideas here and there that I can apply.  One of them was to spend only 10 minutes cleaning each room at the begining or end of the day.  You set a timer or keep a close eye on the clock, and when the 10 minutes is up you stop and move on to the next room.  So last night my goal was the bathroom, dining room, kitchen, and living room (these are the rooms that get the most traffic during the day).  I started in the bathroom and spent exactly 10 minutes in there, a few minutes after that I was ready to start the dining room, then the kitchen, and last the living room.  I was surprised at how much of a difference just 10 minutes in each room made!  Not only did it make a big difference but it didn't feel like it took a lot of time.  It also wasn't nearly as overwhelming at the end of the day as looking at a messy house and feeling like it would never get picked up.

You should give it a try sometime and see how much you can actually get done around the house when you work hard for just 10 minutes in each room!  I'm excited to give it another try tonight, just as soon as I finish this episode of House!

The one where I show you our toilet paper

January of 2009 I found myself unemployed.  People all over were losing their jobs, and this effected me... the daycare provider, since if there was no job to go to there was no need for childcare.  I was getting calls from parents looking for daycare, but I was due to have a baby less than 3 months later, no one wanted to enroll until after my maternity leave. 

Suddenly down an income and expecting our third child, it was time to cut costs.  We cut down on a lot of things like going out to eat, entertainment, cable, auto insurance (yay Progressive!), almost everything we could, including finding ways to stretch a dollar at the grocery store.

My husband is a sewer and drain cleaner and has insisted on 1-ply toilet paper since we moved in together, so I found myself the perfect 1-ply - Cottonelle.  I loved that toilet paper because it wasn't like the stuff you find in public bathrooms and schools, but it made my husband happy.  The only problem with that stuff is the fact that we have a lot of people going to the bathroom everyday at our house, and we were burning through toilet paper like nobody's business!  In the spirit of cutting back I bought a big pack of Scott toilet paper.

I was adamant about not using this stuff before.  It was thin and flimsy and it takes more sheets to...um...do what it does than other toilet paper.  I can't believe I'm talking about this!!  But we were cutting back and I was going to sacrifice.  What I found out was this:  A roll of Scott toilet paper lasts forever compared to my precious Cottonelle!!!  I used to buy toilet paper all the time, but no weekly pack of toilet paper anymore!   And this giant pack I bought recently (that I haven't had to open yet) will last us about 14 years or so!   Well, maybe a little less, but, you get the idea!

I generally buy store brand whenever I possibly can, and I've found that several of the Target brand items I buy - I actually prefer over the name brand!   One example: I am a big fan of the Market Pantry milk at Target!

Also while trying to pinch pennies I gave the plain looking loaves of bread at the bottom of the shelves a chance.

I wasn't expecting to like this bread, it was only about 74 cents per loaf, but I was pleasantly surprised! I actually like this bread just as much as the bigger brands of wheat bread and it's dirt cheap which is good since we go through about 4 loaves per week!

I've also recently switched Little Man from Luvs diapers to Target's Up and Up diapers, and I like them better for him!  I think they fit him better than the Luvs did.  I'm not a fan of Huggies at all, but I do like Pampers diapers, but when you look at the price difference per diaper Pampers are just ridiculously expensive for something they're going to wear for just a couple hours or less before it gets changed.  Little Man also drank Up and Up formula back when he was using bottles.  I want to say the Up and Up formula was about $10 cheaper per can than the name brand can... with identical nutrition info!!

I also tried to be a coupon user, but haven't gotten myself disciplined enough to find them, print them, remember to use them, etc.  A huge money saver was planning all our meals for the week and making one trip to the store rather than 3 or 4!

I hope you enjoyed my ramblings about toilet paper, milk, bread, and baby stuff!  And just for the sake of keeping with the toilet paper topic... I changed 7 poopy diapers today between the 2 babies!  SEVEN!

Goodnight.

May I have S'more?

On a recent evening, couldn't tell you exactly when because I don't know, we were cleaning out our office/storm room/storage room and wound up with several bags of junk we could throw away.  Also during this process we found an alarming amount of cardboard that needed to be burned.

I get to burn something?!

So we spent a while one evening burning cardboard boxes, beer boxes that Spence has been hanging on to (cough-sputter-not throwing away), and whatever else we could find.  And I think it was the next night that I decided I'd go get supplies for s'mores and we'd have a campfire!  S'mores are yummy and it had been too long since I had eaten that melty marhmallow/chocolate/graham cracker goodness! 

When I got home from Target with my supplies, Spence started up the fire.  Babydoll was far more interested in her marshmallow roasting stick and didn't want to go anywhere near the fire for a while.

Sweet Pea was ready to go!  If it involves food, she's always ready to go!

It seemed to take far longer than she was hoping to get the fire going well enough to roast our marshmallows, but she waited pretty patiently.

Babydoll was quite nervous about that fire for a while.  She kept asking if the fire was going to fly over and get her.  We reassured her several times that she was completely safe.

And then the roasting began, mmmmmm.  Nothing cheers up a nervous little girl like s'mores!

Sweet Pea is not scared of campfires at all.  She laughs in the face of fires!  As long as they are contained in a safe manner of course.  She couldn't resist sticking her roasting stick in the fire... instant giant candle!

[[evil cackle]]

And when you blow out giant stick candles, they make excellent charcoal pencils!

A great time was had by all, and we vowed we would do many more of these this summer, perhaps next time Little Man will still be awake and can join us.  Until then, Spencer will have to be happy with burning beer boxes, kitty litter boxes, and other random cardboard we turn up.

I Man. build fire.  burn wood.  Ug.

I'm BAAAAACK!

Ok, I've been gone for a long time now!  I've been pretty absent from the blog world for the last 2 weeks.  Why?  Well, Little Man was cranky, Babydoll had a rough patch, spring cleaning commenced, summer planning is underway, and all four books of the Twilight saga had to be read.  I had no free time left for blogging! 

So I suppose it's time for a recap of what you've missed at my place!

I entered a blog giveaway, you know the ones were you leave a comment to win something cool, but never ever win?   I WON!  I entered an Etsy shop giveaway on the Confessions of a Young Married Couple blog and got to pick an item from the Miss Peanut + Little Peanut shop!  I chose this adorable handmade tutu with matching headband!  And the flower comes off of the headband to be a hair clip!

Did I mention Babydoll loves swings? and tutus?

Sweet Pea graduated to her green belt!  She is so proud of herself when she earns her stripes. 

I think she's getting a little burned out on Karate already, but I think a lot of it has to do with the weather - it's nice out now and she would rather play outside with her friends than go to Karate... can't say I don't understand!  But whether she wants to or not, she commited to an 18-month or Red Belt contract and she'll be there 2-3 times a week until then!

We brought up the ball pit!  There's a hole somewhere and it deflates pretty quickly, but even with low air it still holds the balls.  All of the kids are having a blast playing in the balls!

One evening we had a little campfire in the front yard!  We roasted marshmallows and made S'mores!  I have lots of pictures of that evening, which deserve their own post, but here's a teaser.

And Little Man colored his first picture!

He colors very lightly at this point but Mommy and Daddy are so proud!

And then he ate the crayon

I am done with the Twilight books, but still have cleaning and planning to do.  But I also have plans to blog!  I will be sharing some of the things we've been doing during daycare, resources I use to plan activities for the kids, some things that I have discovered that we enjoy and save us money, and more! 

Wishful Wednesdays, and why I've been so absent

Bare with me everyone, my evenings have been pretty hectic lately.  Babydoll has been a force to be reconned with lately... going from sweet, polite, and helpful, to.. well.. a handful.  Perhaps I'll write a post about it.  Little Man is teething... molars... yikes!  Our girls teething periods weren't too bad, but he is really having a hard time with it, so by the end of the day (or when he finally goes down for the night) I'm wiped!  Also, during my evenings these last few weeks I've been reading the Twilight series... the books are hard to put down and between regular chores and reading, there isn't much time left in the evenings to blog.  I'm over halfway through the 4th book, so once I get it done I'll probably have more of an urge to blog.  I don't want to quit, but I don't want to blog if I don't feel like it... it's for fun after all!  

All that aside now, it's Wishful Wednesday!

~ I wish Little Man's gums would stop hurting him... poor guy!

~ I wish Babydoll would get back to being herself.  I know what I need to do, and will have to blog about it soon!

~ I wish I would drink more water.... coffee and Dr. Pepper taste great, but I need water more!

~ I wish I could finish this series, but don't at the same time because they are pretty good books!

So there you have it, I'm going to go read more of Breaking Dawn now!  Your Turn! What are you wishing for today?

Back from Blogging Vacation?

After taking a week off from blogging, I can see how easily a break can turn into an end.  While I missed it, I enjoyed not having to think of something to blog about each night.  I am currently debating if it would be better to keep going with daily posts, quit entirely, or post weekly or something like that.  I'm leaning more toward weekly because I don't really want to quit... but I'm having trouble keeping up with a daily entry.  I do all my blog writing in the evening and after I've had my TV watching, reading, clean-up time, and all of the other responsibilities life requires, it's midnight and I need to go to bed. 

A lot of my posts in the last few weeks have not been well-thought-out, thought provoking, inspiring, or educational, but have mainly been pictures and describing what I'm up to.  While I'm sure my immediate family is interested... I doubt many others are.  I want more meat in my posts, which may require that I post less frequently and allow myself the time to put some thought into it, and time to sleep!

I've got things to say about last week, but of course it's midnight and since the dishwasher is running I'll have to wake up early so I can shower in the morning (I'm typicaly an evening showerer... not that you need to know).  So I'll set my trusty laptop down for the night, perhaps knock off a couple more pages of Breaking Dawn, and go to sleep.

Wishful Wednesday

~ I wish I was more prepared for how much my daughter's friend drama would effect me.  I remember those days all too well and it hurts to see her go through trouble with friends.  I know my mom remembers those days when my friends and I were "fighting".

~ I really wish I didn't require sleep, there are just so many things I want to do or need to do in the evening that I have a  hard time getting to bed before midnight!

~ I wish I could take a vacation... possibly completely alone... possibly to the Caribou Coffee headquarters... and definately with accompanying personal masseuse.

Yep, I see that I contradicted myself in my last wish, but my personal masseuse wouldn't really be there, they would just follow me around silently massaging my neck, back, and shoulders. 

Your turn! What are you wishing for today?

I'll be back soon, real soon.

I've got a busy few days ahead of me.  It's time to really get going on planning our summer activities for my daycare (themes, games, projects, and field trips!), between that and Spring cleaning I'm going to have to take a break for a few days from the ol' blog.  I would expect a Wishful Wednesday post though, not sure if I'll be back thursday morning or not, depends on how much I get done in my evenings this week.  Have a good week, and see you soon!

My Shaggy Baby

My shaggy Little Man...

Playing in a box with his long shaggy hair

Not so shaggy anymore!

He suddenly looks like a 3 year old!

Buckets of Fun

Wishful Wednesday

It's time for Wishful Wednesdays! I'll put a few of my wishes in the main post, and my hope is that everyone reading will put a few of their wishes in the comments. Wishes both big and small are welcome!!




~ I wish I could come up with a come-back right away instead of 2 days after the incident.  I had a few things I could have said when a woman at Target bad-mouthed my Cocoa Krispies purchase.... while her 4 year old son was pitching a fit because he wanted the fruit roll-ups in HER cart!  At least my coca krispies were a good source of 11 vitamins and minerals!  I wish I had said something along the lines of, "you're right, those fruit roll-ups your son is throwing a tantrum over are SO much better!"

~ I wish my dog would grow a pair and pee outside in the rain... or even just drizzling out!

~ I wish I hadn't watched those 5 minutes of "Pretty Wild".... lets just say disgusting : P

~ I wish for a little more simplicity

~ I wish for the warm, T-shirt and sandles weather to return.... it's coming back!

Your turn!!

Easter Egg Hunts

Our kids' favorite Easter-time activity is definately Easter egg hunting!  There were lots of opportunities this year for them to search for little pastel plastic eggs filled with candy and coins.  First there was the egg hunt at our church, complete with pictures with the Easter bunny and fun games.

 I used to set up an Easter egg hunt for my daycare on good friday, but this year we went to a huge neighborhood Easter egg hunt.  We didn't go last  spring because Little Man was a newborn and did nothing but nurse and sleep... getting to an egg hunt on a chilly morning just wasn't happ'nin. 
The day before Easter we celebrated with Spencer's side of the family, where there was another egg hunt!

While the big kids were getting ready to hunt for eggs, Little Man enjoyed crawling around in the grass, playing with dirt, and eating some of it too.

And they're off!

On Easter we celebrated with my parents and sister, where there was another egg hunt!  Sweet Pea is at an age where she is starting to outgrow the "little kid" things, but she still loves easter egg hunts, which makes me happy :o) 

Little Man isn't into egg hunts yet, but he loves dirt and sand!

Digging in it...

throwing it...

and, yep, eating it

Come back tomorrow for Wishful Wednesdays!