Friday, December 28, 2012

Brain in Overdrive

My head is spinning with the approaching new year.  There are a 1,000 things I want to do different this year or accomplish this year.  Now if only I can organize a plan of attack.  I have some ideas but for today I'm looking at Menu Planning which is always a biggie.  It saves so much money when I prepare the meals at home.  I think one of my goals this year will be to not eat out for an entire month and list all the benefits.

Here's my Meal Plan for the next 10 days:
1.  Steak and vegetables
2.  Husband's work party so... freebie:)
3.  Meatloaf, asparagus, and rolls
4.  Spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad
5.  Southwestern Corn Chowder from Everyday Food
6.  Steak and rice
7.  Pintos and cornbread
8.  Tuna salad and fruit salad
9.  Vegetable Soup (canned by my mother-in-law)
10.  Black Bean Taco Soup (Six Sisters Stuff)


Monday, December 17, 2012

Buckling Down

I ran into a friend of mine this past week and she looked gorgeous as always.  She has red hair, you know the kind that you think "did she get it colored that way?" but no she didn't.  It's just naturally that pretty.  Well her hair is beside the point, I just thought I would share that detail:)  I asked her, "How do you do it?  You always look great and seem to have it together?"  She just laughed and said no one has it together.  She said, "you been reading people's blogs haven't you?"  Yes, yes I have!  She told me not to believe all of it cause people only post the good stuff.  I got so tickled but then got to thinking.  Yes, I do read a lot from these mamas that seem to do it all and I myself tend to only want to post the good stuff.

Well, today, in trying to get my house under control before we have guests over and the major parties start happening, I've been looking at organization pins.  I was encouraged when I read how this one woman gets overwhelmed at chaos and shuts down.  That probably sounds crazy to be "encouraged" but I identified with her - I do that.  Something comes up or even some event I know about and I become frazzled and literally want to shut down. I tend to withdraw from my house tasks, watch TV, and lament the oncoming stress. 

In reading this pin:
When You Don't Know Where to Start - I'm an Organizing Junkie
I realized I am equipped to handle what is coming at me I just need to break it down into bite size pieces.  For the woman in the post her most chaotic place was her office.  For me?  The kitchen.  So I set about thinking and planning and doing what I know to do. 
Back in 2005 I was introduced to Flylady and have clung to her principles.  I believe Gretchen Rubin from the Happiness Project would call what I have learned the "Secrets of Adulthood".
One of my secrets of adulthood would be, "You can do anything for 15 minutes."  I find this true time and time again from reading Flylady's advice, to blog posts, to trying it out in my home.  15 minutes is not long and surprisingly it can accomplish a lot. 
Today, I spent 15 minutes on our junk drawer in our kitchen.  Kudos to you if you do not have a junk drawer but we do:) 
My baby's calling and I have more work to do.  It's time to buckle down and get to work!

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

On a Mission

I am not opposed to cooking it's just that usually when I think to cook is when I am absolutely starving.  By that time, I'm ready to eat butter from the tub!  No, I wouldn't do that. I just gagged thinking about eating butter from the tub.  My point is, I'm not patient enough to plan out and make a meal each night.  And Monday and Tuesdays are crazy with kid activities then Wednesday is grocery day.  Fridays and Sundays fly by. So let's see, I will plan and make a meal on Thursdays and Saturdays.  My family is out of luck the rest of the week:)

So, I like so many others, pin as many "crock pot" meals as I can.  Tonight I actually took the time to look through one of my boards and check out these pins.  Honestly, I was disappointed.  I think my disappointment lies in the fact that I interpret the words "crock pot" to mean magic genie that will cook for me.  Most of the recipes are stews and soups.  Do your kids like lots of stews and soups?  Cause mine do not.

Before I had kids of my own, I sold Mary Kay briefly and I kept my contacts in a plastic container with lettered dividers.  Now I use the container to hold recipes that I absolutely love.  I mean ABSOLUTELY LOVE.  I can't stand to hold on to frivolous, only-cooked-once recipes.  I'm slowly making a collection of the tried and trues. 

After my Pinterest searches I have come up with four - count them - four recipes.  Like I said, I was disappointed with my pins.  And one of my recipes is not for the crock pot.  Here's what I've found:
1.  Chicken Fajitas
2.  Creamy Chicken Spaghetti
3.  Creamy Chicken Picatta (The Pioneer Woman)
Pioneer Woman is amazing- Creamy chicken piccata.

4.  Chicken Bacon Ranch Wraps

Obviously we like a lot of chicken at my house.  Chicken is a meat I know my kids will eat.  I have even been guilty of telling my kids that they were eating chicken when in fact they were eating pork.
When I was a preteen and my mom worked full time, she did once a month cooking.  I remember how nice it was to just go to the freezer and pull out a meal to pop in the oven.  I am contemplating attempting to cook in one day our meals for two weeks.  Contemplating would be the key word here.  I am now trying to compile a good list of meals I want to cook.  I'll keep you informed on how that goes:)
What are your recipes that you ABSOLUTELY LOVE and use time and again with your family?

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Getting Ready

While there is a lot of activity going on in and around my house right now, I'm still looking ahead to the new year.  What goals do I want to accomplish?  What would I like to achieve in my personal life, my family, my home, amongst my friends? 
My mind is full of ideas and desires.  Now I just need to sort through and organize what is most important to me. 
For now, I need to focus on the tasks at hand.  What's on my "to do" list?
1.  Wrap presents.
2.  Finish purchasing gifts for friends and family.
3.  Plan Tres' class Christmas party.
4.  Plan family Tacky Christmas Sweater party.

This Friday is my BFF's annual Gift Wrapping Party.  It is so much fun and I look forward to it every year.  It seems hard to believe that this will be the fifth year we've been doing this.  Since we still believe in Santa at my house, I like using the different wrapping paper each of my friends bring because my kids have not seen it before around my house.  One of my favorite parts of the gift wrapping party?  My friend makes a Christmas CD for us and labels it with the year.  So, I have a Christmas CD from 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011.  What fun to have all the best Christmas music on hand!

Monday, December 10, 2012

The Next Oprah...

I do get slightly tickled at religious people sometimes when they get on a bandwagon of bashing people.  I've heard before, "don't do something just cause Oprah says to do it."  I get their idea that Oprah should not be the be all, end all on advise or wisdom.  But for the most part I think that nugget of wisdom should be a given.  I admittedly think she's an impressive lady.  I'm not a fan of all she does but who cares?  One thing I do like is to watch her "favorite things" shows where she lavishes her audience with her favorite things.  Recently, as I skipped around TV shows, I caught her OWN channel as it was doing her Favorite Things show.  This show was a little different in the fact that Oprah selected military spouses to be the recipient of her gifts. 
Well I've decided to list out my favorite things - what I get the most use out of, what benefits me daily or almost daily.  Now, I did not include really extreme things because I wanted to stick to what I know.  As much as I would like to list a set of Louis Vuitton luggage, I've never even touched a piece of it so how would I know how awesome it is? 

My Favorite Things:
 
1.  Daystar Church.  Okay, so I can't wrap this baby up and give it as a present but I'm here to tell you this place is AWESOME!! Honestly, when I first heard of this church I thought it was too good to be true but three years later, I'm still impressed.  God is using this place to shape my family's future.
Daystar Church - Cullman, AL
2.  Keurig coffee maker.  Numero Uno is a really great gifter and if I wasn't in charge of balancing the checkbook, sometimes I think he would bring home a lot more gifts.  He gave me a Keurig last Christmas and I really enjoy it.  With our old coffeemaker, I would typically pour out coffee everyday.  With the Keurig, I just pop a k-cup in and in a minute my coffee is ready to go.  I love the variety of flavors I can put in it.  And I'm a one-cupper.  I'm not the type to need 3 cups to get going and then sip some more throughout the day.  One will do but now that I'm talking about it, I could really go for a cup of coffee.  Although I am not a fan of the cost of the k-cups, I will look for sales on them.  Plus we purchased the attachment that will let you pour in your own coffee out of a bag. 

Product Details
 
3.  Zip List.  This is an app - a FREE app and I love it.  It allows you to add in your grocery items as you think of them, wherever you are.  I am so random in my thoughts that I can not live without a list.  As I go around the house or even when I'm out in town and think of what I will need to purchase on my next shopping trip, I can just add them to Zip List.  It has a little box by each listed item that once I've put it in my grocery cart, I can hit the box and it will send the item to my "shopping cart".  At the end of my trip, I can "empty" my cart.  This app has been a big help for when I use the last of something in the house, I just grab my phone and use Siri to add that item to my Zip List.
 
4.  iPhone 4S.  I mean this should be enough said.  I knew these phones were great, I mean, its Apple but boy, have I loved this phone.  It makes my life as a stay-at-home mom so much easier.  I can only imagine what it does for the business woman. 
5.  Nutella.  My sister-in-law is what I would call "exquisite".  She has fascinated me from the moment I met her.  Wanna know why?  Because she's everything I'm not: delicate, cultured, civilized, proper, fashion-forward.  What did she bring to my world that I did not know?  A lot but her most memorable one - Nutella.  Now today this is no big deal but you must realize this was introduced to me before Wal-Mart carried it.  It was a rare fine.  Like manna from Heaven!  Oh, Nutella.  Now I want some of that as well. 
Product Details
6.  The Pioneer Woman.  It was probably my BFF that told me about Pioneer Woman.  I honestly can't remember but since most of my great ideas come from her, I'm gonna go ahead and give her credit.  What's not to love about the Pioneer Woman?  
 
7.  Chambray top.  Really I just wanted to use the word chambray.  Say it again, chambray.  Don't you feel that much more sophisticated?  Know what it means?  Denim.  We have come up with a fancy name for DENIM!  Ha!  Well, I love my top.  It is so comfortable and looks instantly cute with leggings and boots.  Gotta love the classics.  I would consider denim a classic.  I mean, it's been around forever. 
Merona® Women's Favorite Denim Shirt - Blue
 
8.  Pinterest.  Seriously.  You had to of known it was coming.  Pinterest is amazing, addictive, awesome.  Any more "a" words I can add?  I've probably enjoyed the most the fact that it has made ideas attainable to me.  Things I never would have thought I could do, I've done and it's been a rather simple process.
 
9.  Dave Ramsey.  Okay, so Dave is not a "thing".  But he's one of my favorites.  I'm such a groupie.  He is inspirational and I love his plans.  If I make it to be a millionaire in 15 years then he's REALLY gonna be one of my favorites.  Right now I'm just hoping to be one of his $10,000 Merry Different Christmas winners:)
 
10. IWBNIN app.  I Was Broke Now I'm Not app.  Here is another FREE app that I love.  It has a lot of different financial tools that I like to play around with.  It's neat to dream of the financial future:)
 

After only listing 10 favorite things, I can now see why Oprah hires out people to be looking for her new favorite things;) 
What are your favorites?  What can you not live without?  Or what makes your life easier? Fuller? More fun?  Are you giving any of your favorites as gifts this year?

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Season of Hope

I was the child that told all the other four year olds, "There is no Santa Claus".  My parents did not believe it was right to take the focus off the real reason for Christmas - the birth of Christ.  I also could not watch He-Man because God was the only "Ruler of the Universe".  Pants were not allowed.  You get the picture.  Thankfully as my parents matured in their Faith some guidelines in our house changed.  Eventually the girls in our house were able to wear pants and by the time me and my siblings were parents, my parents decided to include Santa in the Christmas festivities.  As a child, we read the story of Christ's birth before we opened presents.
Today, Numero Uno and I read the Christmas story the night before we open presents.  This year I stumbled across several pins and references to The Truth in the Tinsel.  Last year was my first year to do an Advent Calendar with the kids(at least I think it was the first year).  I was simply looking for a way to make the season exciting for the kids. There is SO much that goes on in the month of December that having it planned out on an Advent Calendar gave the kids something to look forward to each day.  With finding the ebook The Truth in the Tinsel, I had the idea to incorporate more of the story of Christ's birth throughout the season and not just in one reading.
Now, I did not purchase the ebook.  I read people's reviews on it and got the gist of it from pics.  I believe the main thing is taking a different portion of the Christmas story, reading it, then making an ornament to hang as a reminder.  Great idea but I really do not have time to make 25 different ornaments with the kids.  I loved the fact that more time would be spent reading and explaining the truth of the Christmas season. 
I started our Advent Calendar November 30 and created 24 days of scripture reading and activities.  For example, tonight's card had us read about Joseph and our activity was to view the lights at a local city park.  The kids' calendar hangs in their toy room and they are very diligent to remind me it's time to pull a card:)
 
Besides weaving more background information about the participants in Christ's birth story into our seasonal preparations, I also created an Advent Calendar for my spouse.  Of course I got my idea from Pinterest.
 

Pinned Image
This was the pin I originally saw.  And made this....

 
 
 
Numero Uno's calendar hangs in our closet. There's a reason for this, it's private.  I did not want children's eyes to see it.  This doesn't mean that all of it is not G rated.  It just means that some things should stay between me and my man. 
While planning this calendar, I was excited.  I had read to give a compliment or a service or a gift.  Well I ended up thinking of 18 compliments to go along with 18 activities.  (I got started on this project late so that's why we're counting down 18 days til Christmas).  It is true, once you start being thankful for what you have, you become even more thankful for what you have!  And I have an amazing husband.  Here's a sample of one of the days...
 
 
The activities for my man's calendar varied.  Some things were already on our calendar, such as the kids' Christmas parties.  Other activities were private while others were just fun gifts for him or acts of service to show I cared (i.e. vacuum out his car). 
We are only three days in but I can tell my man likes the calendar. He already told me we're doing this next year! 
I read recently from iMom how we as wives are like a mirror to our husband.  What we reflect to him through our actions and words will be what he feels and thinks about himself.  I want to "show" my husband what a wonderful person he is.  Doing this makes ME appreciate him more and respond more lovingly to him.
All in all, I want this season to be warm, inviting, and filled with hope and expectation. God is coming near...
 



Friday, December 7, 2012

Sleep, Sweet Sleep

I'm not sure I can pinpoint the time when I began to feel overwhelmingly tired.  I mean I have an 11 month old at home and three other kids to tend to.  At what point do you feel rested?  However, here lately it has gotten a little off... I mean I would go to bed at night exhausted only to wake up, get the kids off to school and come home to fall back in to bed for just a "little more" sleep. 

I finally went to the doctor to get blood work and see what is up.  The results came in the mail today.  From what I can gather I have a Vitamin D deficiency and possibly insulin resistance.  I have an appointment next week to discuss the results.   Who knows, maybe taking some vitamins will help me "reset" my need for sleep:)

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Today is the day I conquer the world!

Not really.  This is just my motivational speech to get off my rear and do housework.  You know?  The usual: make beds, wash clothes, fold clothes, put away clothes, sweep and mop floor, bathe children (bathe myself for that matter), bathe the dog.  Oh how I loathe bathing the dog.  I don't know why.  She's a good dog, a kind dog.  It's just I despise grooming her because when I do it is a long process.  Poor dog.  She doesn't deserve my scorn. 

Let's do something more fun than cleaning.  Posting pictures!


 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Inappropriate Laughter

I have decided that there is a medical condition for my laughing at very inappropriate times.  Have I found or even looked for a name for this condition?  No, but that's beside the point.  I'm sure it's out there. 
I believe it started when I was in the seventh grade.  I was in church (with my father speaking as a guest) when an old man behind me started burping these outrageous burps.  I couldn't take it, I lost it - uncontrollable laughter.  On second thought maybe my condition started as a child when I shared a bedroom with my sister.  She could always contain her laughter but it would be me that would get us into trouble with my big mouth:)  Anyway, back to the church scene....I received my last spanking from my father that night.  I was in seventh grade but couldn't contain my laughter in the church house!
My problem continued into college when I again was in a church service (maybe that's the problem - church services) when I looked across the sanctuary to see one of the lead deacons dressed by his wife in baby blues, pinks, and maroons which by the way, she was also the interior decorator for the church (I would recognize that color palate anywhere).  Again, I lost it.  Why can't I control my laughter like other people?  Why do I find rather normal things hysterically funny?
Well since then I've gone on to laugh at funerals, laugh uncontrollably at the edge of the aisle of my wedding, laughed when a friend shared with me her husband had cheated on her, I laugh when I am extremely mad at my husband and nothing comes out but laughter - I can't make any solid arguing points because I'm too busy laughing.  My list could go on and on.  I believe the stress of these situations send me over the edge.  I don't know.
Well, last night is my latest addition: Dos' violin recital.  Other parents lovingly watch or film as their children try their best to share what they've learned this year. Me?  I get tickled at the mannerisms of my little man and lose it.  I mean, have to walk out the back of the church (Again, with the church.  Maybe I am on to something) can not control myself.  Everyone was following the instructor as they should and he just stayed in his spot concentrating so hard on what he was supposed to do. Oh how I love that boy.
Any pointers on how to keep the laughter in check?

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Easy, cute Christmas Trees!

My feelings toward this season are not new to society.  In fact, it's rather cliche' to speak of the excitement of the season but it still holds true for me:)  I'm pumped! There is SO much going on around our house and I rather like the hustle and bustle of the holidays. 
I am working on an Advent Calendar for the kids and will also be adding something new this year - a countdown to Christmas for my man!  Again, these will have to be discussed another day:)
As I was saying yesterday, I tried to put forth an effort to decorate various areas of my house.  This is such a step UP from last year, considering I was 9 months pregnant and could not decorate a thing.  Bless my man's heart.  He put up the trees last year and I loved it.  I can not even recall what they looked like but the decorating was taken care of and my heart was happy.
In addition to adding a centerpiece at my dining table, I also tackled the top of our TV armoire.  We do not have a fireplace nor a mantle so the armoire serves as our spot to hang the stockings.  To make the top more festive in addition to the stockings, I found a "how to" guide for paper trees in Disney's Family Fun December/January 2013 issue.  I will be honest.  I subscribed to Family Fun because I found an amazing deal on it - like $4 for two years or something ridiculous like that.  However, I was not really impressed with it because the "crafts" seemed like interning for Martha Stewart instead of family fun.  So imagine my surprise when I came across this craft idea to make Christmas trees out of magazines.  Now I'm gonna show you how I did mine but I still kept my opinion that the crafts are not really ones I'm gonna do with my kids.  Don't get me wrong, some can be done with kids but for my family if we're gonna do crafts, it's gotta be completed in less than 10 minutes or their interest is GONE.  I would not recommend doing this tree craft with kids as it took me a good 45 minutes to make two trees.  The project itself is easy. The amount of time is due to folding all that paper.
1. Start with any magazine you are finished reading.  I used one Family Fun mag and one Parenting mag, I believe.
2. Take the top right corner and fold it toward the spine of the magazine.  It will form a right triangle and still leave about 2-3 inches of your page left at the bottom.
 
3. Take your newly formed triangle and fold it again towards the spine of your magazine.  It will now leave a point hanging below the edge of your magazine.

4.  Tuck the point of your page under the triangle in order to make the edge flush with the rest of the magazine.  Repeat this process for every page.  When your finished with the pages, fold the front and back cover likewise and tape those two covers together.

5.  This is what your final tree should look like after you glue a ball ornament on the top.
Here my trees make their debut at the top of our armoire.  And for those of you who are counting, yes, there should be six stockings but I got these before Quattro was born.  And I'm too cheap to order his before Christmas.  I'm waiting til they go on sale after Christmas (he's young, he'll never know). 
Merry Christmas, y'all!
 
 

Monday, December 3, 2012

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

I do not particularly remember having a fondness for Christmas decorating as a child.  I mean, I LOVE this time of year but I don't remember participating in helping my mom decorate.  I guess for me, my sense of ownership in having a part in the celebration of Christmas came when I was in college. Having secured a position at Importer's Warehouse, (which was a definite step up from my position at Bruno's - not that Bruno's wasn't good, it paid the bills but I was the ONLY cashier old enough to work past their 10:30 p.m. rule for labor law compliance and the working til midnight every night coupled with 8:00 a.m. classes did not mix) I dealt with Christmas decorations day in, day out.  I always found it funny that Importer's Warehouse's main sales were generated from Christmas trees and Christmas decor yet the owners were Seventh Day Adventist and didn't even celebrate the Christmas holiday.
Anyway, that year, me and my college roommate bought Christmas decorations and we got a tree. I was hooked!  I loved it.  Now I adore seeing the house all festive with Christmas reds here and there.  However, I am still a cheapskate and a tightwad.  So I've tried to get creative and lo and behold, I think I have:)
My sweet mother-in-law has given us three artificial trees over the years.  Whenever she goes to throw one out, we take it in.  Three free trees!  Who can beat that? 
Having headed up the Holiday Auction for three years, I received some of the decorations from one of the auctions.  My man was put on the assignment of cutting 64 "discs" of wood and I kept some of them after the event.  I showed you in a previous post how I used them as a centerpiece.  For Christmas, I wanted to spice them up.  Of course, I found a pin on Pinterest for using epsom salt in the bottom of a Mason jar to look like snow.  Here's what I did. Again, Pinterest was my muse:)

Once I placed my salt and tea lights in the jars, I needed to tie in the Christmas feel.  Here are the materials I used.  My husband had purchased the salt for some project he had going in the garage so I just used a little of what he had already.  So this was free to me:) The cedar that I used, I got from my neighbor who just so happened to be trimming back his trees recently.  I used the cedar for this project and to drape across the top of my armoire in the living room. Again, free! The rest of the materials were purchased at the Dollar Tree.  Here they are:
And for the final product?
Pretty cute (and easy) if I do say so myself.  They look really soft and inviting with the candles lit.
 
Not sure how many years I have been going to my mom's house to decorate her tree but I truly enjoy it. I think what I enjoy is I get to tell her what she needs to buy for her tree and then I decorate without having spent a dime:) She's of the age where she has a little more budget to spend on Christmas decor but has a lot of shoulder problems and can not decorate the tree. It's turned out to be a pretty fun time for her and I. This year I brought little man with me. The tree turned out beautifully but for some reason these are the only pics I caught of the day:
 



I have some more cheap decorations to share but since this has turned into a long post, I will save them for another time:)
Merry Christmas, y'all!
 


Sunday, November 25, 2012

Decorating for Christmas


So I found another video tutorial today which I thought I would share with you. I like this one because she actually does five videos on various pieces to decorate: wreath, tree, garland, etc.
I got the kids' tree up and the main tree up.  I still need to work on the tree in the Toy Room and have to map out what other surfaces I'm gonna be decorating but that will have to be for another day since I promised my mom I would help her decorate tomorrow.

Here are some small shots of how I used the golden glitter deer I picked up from Dollar Tree as well as the Deco Mesh I picked up from Vinemont Flowers and Herb.  This is our main tree.  I like the results but my whole tree picture seems to be lacking something - I don't know.

On a completely different subject, check out this intense look Quattro is giving the iPhone while watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse:)
So, how's your decorating coming?  How many trees do you put up?  Are they real or artificial?

Saturday, November 24, 2012

What Don't Kill You Makes You...

Maybe due to my love for a list and the satisfaction of crossing off a task from a list, my personality gravitates toward tasks, seasons, items that can be clearly defined.  I do not care for individuals or stores that begin to decorate or stock items for Christmas as soon as Halloween is over.  I mean, there's still Thanksgiving to observe and celebrate. My Christmas decorations come out at the proper time - the day after Thanksgiving.
That is, until the flu, bronchitis, colds, and pneumonia hit our house.  For the most part, I am healthy.  Right now I'm the only one steering this ship called Home.   However, the past three nights I have grown nauseated and ran a low grade temp then the next day I'm fine and can take care of the family.  It's almost as if God knows at least one of us is going to have to feel okay for a majority of the day.
Needless to say, the Christmas decorations are not up but I have been pinning away on Pinterest like a mad woman.  I also made it out to two stores today to get some decorating items: 1. Vinemont Flower and Herbs and 2.  Dollar Tree.  After watching the following video, I had to buy some more deco mesh.  I love this stuff!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iA8ylJWzzVc

So here's my loot and I'll share my plan:)
1.  Put up kids tree in the Toy Room.  The theme for this tree is Kids Crafts.  Whatever Christmas ornament the kids have made through preschool, church, at home, or school goes on this tree.  A lot of bright colored ornaments will be on this tree.  I found some purple glitter ornaments at Dollar Tree but in the above pic they're hiding behind the ribbon and they look maroon.  Trust me, they're purple.
2.  Put up tree in Dos and Tres' room.  Their room has a large front facing window so I put a tree in their room.  As I can afford more trees I will gladly add them to our room and the other two kid rooms but for now three trees will have to do.  This one is Snowflakes with lime green and red accents.  It's only a 3' tree but I loved to see the lights shining from their window when we pull in at night.  I bought some more ribbon for this tree to add some density to the decorations.
3.  Put up the big tree in the Living Room.  Since our ceiling in this room is 12' tall, we cheat and put the tree on a stand to make it look taller.  Again, one day, when there's money to splurge we will get a BIG tree but for this year, the one we have will do.  The theme for this tree is Snowmen and I'm trying to work in some vintage Christmas colors here but not really sure I can do that without scratching what I've got and starting over altogether. 
4.  New to this year:  decorating the TV armoire, the dining table, and the entry furniture piece with cedar boughs.  I'll keep you posted on how they turn out.
Hopefully we will get decorations out of the attic tomorrow - hopefully. 

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

We Just Might Make It

Took Dos and Quattro to the doctor today.  Since getting Tres' results of the flu back yesterday,  I figured I better get the boys to the doc before Turkey Day.  Neither one of them have the flu but Dos has run a low grade fever off and on with a lot of sneezing and runny nose. 
As I sit at my laptop, looking at a clean house, I am thankful for a lot:
1.  God gave me the strength to do a major overhaul on cleaning and disinfecting the house.  I can't even tell you how many loads of laundry I've done today.  But I can tell you all of our beds have new sheets and clean comforters on them. 
2.  Thankful for insurance.  Numero Uno made the move to his current employer eight years ago and I was skeptical.  For the life of me, I do not know why other than it was change and change makes me nervous.  It has been a great company with great benefits.  However, Tamiflu, even after insurance coverage still cost us $75!
3.  Thankful for an amazing husband who stood beside me today helping wherever it was needed.  I love the partnership he and I share.  I was busy cleaning and he would help with the little one or I would be feeding one kiddo and he would be helping the others. I feel like I can conquer the world with him by my side:)

Tomorrow we will have a makeshift dinner here with just us.  I'm about to map out when to start cooking each of my menu items and I'm pretty excited cause I'm gonna peruse The Pioneer Woman's site to see what recipes she has to share:)  Now if I can just hold off any sickness coming my way....

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Well, we had such a beautiful Saturday only to have a rough spot hit us Sunday - the flu.  Thus far we have two with the flu and one with bronchitis.   All Thanksgiving plans have been canceled to stay home and clean and get better:)
Have a happy Thanksgiving all!

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Alabama Saturdays

Ah, Saturday, sweet Saturday.  This may just be the best Saturday I've ever had.  Let's recap:
1.  Slept late and awoke to breakfast made by my wonderful man. 
2. Was able to watch my "stories" ( The Pioneer Woman) while sipping coffee - yum!  By the way, she did her Thanksgiving show and I LOVED IT!
3.  I got completely dressed make up and all while my man took the kids on some errands.
4.  Cleaned my house and folded AND put away ALL laundry.  The all caps lets you know just how amazing this feat was.
5.  Shopped for seats to go in the toy room but instead bought these babies which will go beautifully with my curtains I'm making:)

(I already had the solid orange pillows, I purchased the floral pillows this evening at TJ Maxx.  This color palate matches the color palate of the Waverly material I had wanted to purchase but was way too expensive.  I got a good deal on these at the Maxx)
6.  My little girl went with me shopping:)
7.  My man made homemade chili (recipe compliments of Pioneer Woman).
8.  We watched the Alabama game.
9.  We had Family Game Night where every member of the family's name gets put into a bowl and a name is drawn one at a time.  Whoever's name is drawn selects the game that will be played and EVERYONE must participate.  We set a time limit of 20 minutes per game since there are five of us (little man doesn't count yet).  I picked Just Dance 3 and let it be known, I kicked butt!! 

Best day ever!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Giving

Although fall is my favorite season of the year, we are entering my favorite time of the year.  I hope the difference is as evident to you as it is to me.  Thanksgiving, Christmas - brings a time of joy, love, and generosity to me.  During this time of year, I want my children to birth an attitude of praise and thanksgiving.  I also want to show and teach them there is a world out there full of people in need of love and help. 
As with many subjects, there is an internal struggle within me to be selfish and to be generous.  I catch myself thinking of, "one day I'll have..." then moments later think,"oh, I want to give to that cause or that project".  I realize there is a delicate balance but what I want to cultivate and nurture my heart toward is a heart of kindness and generosity.
Who would have thought kindness would be such a challenging subject matter?  I believe I took it for granted until here lately, with the kids getting older, I've been made aware of how snippy and harsh sounding I can be toward them.  Another doozy is my temperament while driving.  I really didn't pay attention to how I treated other drivers until I heard one of the kids say, "you shouldn't say 'idiot'".  Well, I'm working to improve my kindness.  I'm still reading The Happiness Project and she talks of a mindfulness of how we behave or treat others.  I'm trying to have an ongoing reminder in my head of, "Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted...".
Back to generosity: We've participated in Operation Christmas Child in the past.  Numero Uno and I would buy a box "from" each of our children.  Our kids would be with us when we bought the supplies but that was the extent of their participation.  With the conversation I had with a friend earlier in the year of "teaching our kids that this earthly kingdom is not what life's about", I wanted to include my children more in the reasoning and process of Operation Christmas Child.  As usual here lately, I was able to find a pin on Pinterest with pointers on what to pack.
Pinned Image
On a side note, I met the author of faithfulprovisions.com at the dot MOM conference.  She was really nice.  Her list of what to pack was very helpful.  It also included the idea of your child writing a letter to the recipient of the box and including a picture. 
So here is what we did this year:
1. I showed my kids the DVD provide by Operation Christmas Child (needless to say I was crying while watching the video).
2.  I asked my kids to think about how much of their own money they would like to give to buying items for Operation Christmas Child.
3. I added what me and Numero Uno were going to contribute financially to the project.
4.  I took the kids shopping and let them pick out what they thought were good ideas based off the list I copied from Pinterest.  I did add a blanket and toothbrush to each box.  I'm not sure my kids would have ever suggested either:)
5.  My kids wrote a letter and added their own pictures to their boxes. 

You know what I noticed?  These actions produced some results I wanted and others I did not.  The part I didn't want but realized was a necessary lesson? When one of my kids wanted to take the money back after he had given to the cause.  (Understand he only gave a little so it was not like he was left in need of something) Why?  Because he saw what we had added to the pile and thought he would be able to get all the money.  It was hard for me to see my kiddo not wanting to be a willing partner.  However, we all are selfish.  I'm even guilty of thinking "what could we do with the tithe we give?"  I feel a little ashamed of admitting that last one but it is  a life lesson I am still learning to give.  Now my reluctant one eventually abandoned his selfish desires and got involved in the process.  My kids really enjoyed the letter writing and it gave them a sense of ownership.  They also started asking questions about the boys and girls who would be receiving the boxes. 
My desire is to show my kids that I am still learning everyday to follow Christ, to deny self, to help others.  I do not want my relationship to be fake and I want to be open when I struggle with obedience because I believe that frankness will do more to show my kids what it means to follow Christ than slapping on a smile and listing out all the do's and don't's of the Christian life. Don't mistake what I'm saying, I would much rather give my kids the do's and don't's.  In fact, I would much rather they adhere to the "Do as I say and not as I do" philosophy but then in my heart I know there would be no depth to their character nor a true depth to their relationship with Christ. 

Monday, November 12, 2012

At a Loss

Well since the great curtain debacle of 2012 (yes, I am referencing two days ago) I have been at a loss for what to do.  I did return my fabric to Hobby Lobby this morning and as I suspected they will not receive any more material until next Monday.  If you only knew how long it takes me to actually come up with a DIY plan and follow through on it.  This set back may put me off from doing curtains all together.  My one saving grace is the fact that I wrote about it on this blog and now will have to carry it through:)  So, what have I been doing with my time?
Well, I made a chocolate chip pie...
It lasted all of three hours.  My family consumed it.  Very easy to make.  I will have to make another one soon but I'm gonna have to wait until I go get groceries cause we are LOW on groceries.  I'm making my family eat from what we have in the pantry and it is killing them.  I believe we are a tad spoiled. 
I have been slightly tiffed with Numero Uno over the past few days and have been more silent than usual which has left me with some alone time.  Yes, we could stop and discuss the fact that I'm certain it is not good for a relationship to be in a tiff for a few days or we could just move on to what topic I'm getting at.  I choose the latter:) (Also, in a perfect world I would not divulge my tiff but ehh, I'm not perfect)  Needless to say, I've been perusing my old Southern Living magazines.  Which, by the way, I LOVE!!  So need to get me a subscription for the new year.  I noticed in the November 2010 (told you they were old) a table scape pic.
Here is my rendering of it.  Your thoughts?
Now, before you burst into laughter, please realize: a). I do not have an ample budget to fund this scene and b).  I'm entertaining my little pod of a family not the White House.  Okay, so seriously, should it stay or should it go?


Sunday, November 11, 2012

The House of Halfway

I should really do a better job of cataloging my attempts at DIY projects and the "bumps" I meet along the way.  I would probably have enough material to write a short novel:)
I came across this pin on Pinterest a while back and was immediately pumped.  But like most pins, it sat there for a while until I realized I probably had enough money in my budget to make the curtains.
DIY curtains
 
Well I headed off to Hobby Lobby to find some material I would like to use.  I absolutely love Fall colors.  However, my big problem is I use TOO much brown and burgundy and my house comes off looking dark.  Recently, with the painting of my pantry door and painting of my foyer piece, there are some pops of color.  I wanted my curtains to add some color as well to brighten the room. 
There was some absolutely beautiful Waverly material there but even with the discount my cost would be $154. 
 
Multi-Color Chevron Zig Zag Curtain Panels - set of 2 - Pick your color - Pair 84-88 - FREE SHIPPING
 
While they are BEAUTIFUL, I simply can not afford that!  So... I found a cheaper material that I was just as happy with.  $35 for 6 yards.
Armed with my list of instructions (which by the way, House of Hepworths does a fantastic job detailing this project) I was ready to go.  After multiple trips to Hobby Lobby to make sure this was the fabric I wanted and multiple phone calls to my sister-in-law who is an interior designer, I was ready to go. 
Step #1: Cut fabric 10" longer than needed.  I measured my window length to be 98" so I had added 10" to make it 108" needed for one panel.  I doubled that number and purchased 6 yards of fabric...or, so I thought.
 

I laid out my fabric on a clean floor as instructed, measured out 108" and cut.  As I went to lay out my next 108" of fabric, this is what I discovered:
SICK.  That is the word that describes what I felt upon my discovery.  I looked at my order ticket: "6 yards at $8.99 with 40% discount".  What I measured?  5 yards.  ONE YARD SHORT!
So, what is the life lesson I learned today?  Measure the ENTIRE length of your material to make sure you got what you paid for before you cut.  Since the lady behind the counter informed me to get all my material off the same board in order to ensure the same color throughout, I have to wait until tomorrow when the store is open to go and see if I can order some more material since there will not be enough left at the store.  Ugh.
I knew that pin was too good to be true:)


Friday, November 9, 2012

Wish Me Luck!

Well I am starting a new project tonight.  Something tells me it will take me all weekend.  I am making curtains!!  I saw a pin on pinterest on how to make your own curtains and I'm gonna attempt it.  I will take pics and keep you posted:)

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Dedication

Sunday marked two weeks since our baby's Dedication service.  For some reason I'm not exactly sure of, I have taken a hiatus from blogging for the last two weeks.  I'm chalking it up to a temporary funk I am in and am moving forward.
 

I was beginning to wonder if Quattro was going to be dedicated since he's 10 months old!  It never seemed to work out with Numero Uno's work schedule.  Both sides of the family were able to attend and it was a nice service. 
I'm extremely grateful for the church we have and I pray God's continual blessings on it.  As far as blessings go, I also pray a special blessing on Quattro that he will grow in strength and character.  I pray he will enter into a relationship with Christ as a natural result of the family environment he is in.  I pray God will be his peace and comfort no matter what troubles of life arise.


Monday, October 22, 2012

Monster Cookies & Chili

What a glorious weekend!  The weather was absolutely wonderful and I had a great time all weekend long.  Well, mostly all weekend long.  The one drawback was that two of my brand new pumpkins were stolen off my front porch!  I keep telling myself, "they're just pumpkins. they're just pumpkins."
Anyway, great weekend all around.  Uno turns 12 tomorrow (12!) therefore we celebrated his birthday over the weekend.  At one point we had 9 boys running through the yard playing flash light tag.  Whew!  Boys can be loud and rough and quite frankly, a little disgusting;)
Alabama played Tennessee so me and Numero Uno took advantage of the boys entertaining themselves and made homemade chili and invited the neighbors over.  It was nice.  I also got to enjoy the luxury of watching the Pioneer Woman Saturday morning and got the idea of making Monster Cookies.  The attraction I have to the Pioneer Woman is that her recipes fit quite naturally into my everyday life.  For lack of proper terminology, they're not "froo froo".  I typically have the ingredients in my pantry and the results are great.  The "norm" for me is bland at best but since I've been using Pioneer Woman's recipes, my meals actually have taste.  Plus she gives great tips while cooking.
 I am aware that there is an aspect of my person that if given the job of a CSI agent would step over the dead body. Meaning there have been great things happen or given to me that I have not appreciated until YEARS later.  One of them being my mother-in-law.  She has given me many practical gifts that at first I did not care for or understand but that now I am HUGELY thankful for.  One such gift is my cast iron skillet.  Truth be told, I didn't know what to do with it.  The only memory I could conjure up of a cast iron skillet was the one in which my dad told me that once when he was a teenager his mother hit him up side the head with one.  Needless to say, mine stayed in the drawer under my oven.  Until....the Pioneer Woman.  Now I use mine weekly and love it!  My chicken has never had so much flavor. 
Besides cookies, my man made chili and Saturday night it wasn't really as thick as I like it to be.  I was looking forward to eating some leftovers after church on Sunday.  What I didn't realize was that Numero Uno had placed the chili on high to thicken it up then planned to turn it down to simmer while we were at church.  Needless to say, we arrived home to the smell of burnt chili.  He forgot to turn it off high.  Kudos to my red pot which withstood the three hour tour of fire. I was determined to have thick chili so I found a recipe from you know who:)

 “Autumn...the year's last, loveliest smile.”
William Cullen Bryant

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Ramblings of a Mom

Have you noticed that: a.  I have not blogged for 31 consecutive days about Motherhood?  and b.  pretty much each of my blog posts are about Motherhood?  These are just thoughts I am thinking this evening.
Ever wondered what your home is going to be like when the kids are gone?  Now I don't mean like, "Yippee!  The kids are outta the house!" But I mean what will the physical home look like?  What will your relationship with your spouse look like?  What will you identify yourself as once the kids are gone? 
The moment I had Dos I felt like a missing piece to the puzzle called my life had been found.  I felt a sense of wholeness and purpose unlike any other time in my life.  Therefore, I already know that once Quattro leaves my home I'm gonna have some real identity crisis issues to work on.  For this reason I am working really hard now to protect my relationship with Numero Uno  in order to keep him as my numero uno. 
I'll be honest, I wonder "what am I gonna do with myself?"  I've worked in a career where I felt unmotivated and dissatisfied.  Motherhood has been my greatest joy.  As cheesy as it sounds, this is a joy I wish all people could experience.  I LOVE being with my kids, interacting with them, volunteering in their classrooms, holding my baby close as he goes to sleep, making supper for them, listening as they read to me, praying with them at night. Will this love and passion simply be rerouted to being a support to my adult children?  I hope so.  I enjoy the relationship I have with my Mom and can see how she still steps in and offers help.  And I appreciate that.  I want to do the same for my kids.  I wanna be the Mom that helps plan the weddings, shops with my adult kids, go to grandkids' sporting activities, go to consignment sales for my grandkids. 
What steps do you take right now to protect your marriage relationship?  How do you prepare yourself for the transition of an empty nest?

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Gentleness. Who needs it?

Well the answer would be: me.  I need it.  Do you ever watch the Duggars?  If you've read my blog any at all you know I do.  I'm always impressed with how calm Michelle Duggar always seems.  Children have been one of my greatest blessings but at the same time they are the quickest means of pushing my buttons.  I had no clue I even had a quick temper until kids arrived on the scene.  Remember Jon and Kate plus 8?  (Another show that I loved)  People gave Kate a bad rap (including my husband) but I don't know.  I kept thinking "what in the world would people think if a camera followed me around all day watching my every move with my kids?"  I still think Kate did the best she could.  I mean 8 kids.  Come on! 
Okay, back to gentleness.  This attribute is one I am working to cultivate in me and my kids.  I'm telling you it takes work for me.  And I love my kids!  It's not that I run around angry all the time.  I just find that I tend to get stressed out when things don't go as planned (which is everyday).  I know I've mentioned it before but I'll mention it again, iMom has been a great tool for me here lately.  The Espresso Minute has given me quick pointers on areas to improve in my home.  One little article asked how am I being gentle to others? my children? my pets?  I did get tickled and frustrated over the last one because I have a true love/hate relationship with our little dog.  And for the life of me when I think about this little dog I don't know why she gets under my skin so.  She's a great dog! 
The point is my children see how I treat the dog, how I treat others, and even how I treat them.  My example of gentleness will guide them in gentleness. 
So, what are my pointers? 
1.  I'm focusing on the scripture that says "a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger".
2.  I'm looking at what needs to be done, estimating a time to complete it then tripling that time in order to accommodate the unplanned events that pop up in a family of six (planning will cut down on my stress which will cut down on my harsh reactions).
3.  I'm trying to put myself in my kids' shoes.  Not to excuse unwanted behavior but to identify where they're coming from in order to help me know how to respond. 
Has it worked?  Well, prayer is always important.  Anyone who knows me knows that my mistakes are usually pretty public and that is with a lot of prayer!  But I take heart in thinking, "what would I be like without God and prayer?"  Scary thought!  I would say the "tripling your time expectations" has been a big help.  For example, last night, I had everything planned out that needed to be done.  I gave myself triple the time I thought it would take.  I was getting things done beautifully when I got a call from my man that he had a hole in his oil pan and I needed to come pick him up.  Instead of getting angry for the change of plans, I was able to roll with the punches.  Yay! 
I desire gentleness because I want my children to be receptive to my input not shy away from it.  Plus I want kids that are gentle with others.  Like I said, I'm impressed with Michelle Duggar:)

Monday, October 15, 2012

Down on the Farm

Dos and Tres' school has a policy of no preschool age children attending field trips.  I'll be honest, at first I was put off by this. However, today was Tres' field trip to a local farm and Numero Uno was off and able to keep Quattro which meant I could spend one-on-one time with Tres.  It was a fantastic day!  As I think over the whole day, I come to the conclusion that the entire day was wonderful. 
We went to Gullion Farms in Somerville, Alabama.  We had a blast!  I had never heard of this farm before and it is relatively close to our home (about a 30 minute drive).  The owners/operators have done a superb job in the planning and carry out of their venue.  The kids had something to do constantly without overwhelming them.  Unfortunately I've been to pumpkin patches and/or farms where there is too much "down" time between activities or the activities quickly lose their appeal.  Not so at Gullion Farms.  Let's see if I can name all of the things we did today: met (I mean up close and personal not a fly by "petting zoo") goats, pigs, ducks, horses, donkeys, chickens, calves, bunnies; rode in a carriage ride; rode on a hay ride; slid down a HUGE slide; jumped out of a barn loft into a pile of hay; gathered eggs from the chicken coop; fished with a cane pole; had story time with the farmer's wife; got to pet animals in the petting zoo; swung on a tire swing; rode a pony; jumped in a corn kernal box; ran through a corn maze; and picked a pumpkin! Whew, what a time! 
 

My favorite part? Being with my girl.  Oh, how I love that girl.  She is something else: smart, sensitive, playful, funny, helpful, loving.  I love to hear her talk and listen to what's on her mind.  To understand her reasons for picking the particular pumpkin she selected or to hear her laughter while on a swing.  To see the fear and fascination in her eyes as she rode a pony and to feel her soft hand in mine as we walked together.  Oh what a day today was - one of the best I've had in a long time. 
 
So, would I highly recommend Gullion Farms?  Most definitely.  Very friendly people who are extremely knowledgeable about their farm.  I hope to take the rest of my family soon:) 
 


About Me

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I'm a thirty-three year old stay-at-home mom to four beautiful children. I am daily learning what it means to be a Christian who loves God.