Brandy Designs

A Quest to Find More Time

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

My children consume all of my attention ~~most days~~ all of the time.

I am so focused on being a good mother that I lack in other areas.

I wish I knew how to manage my time more efficiently

so that I could be a great mother as well as be a good wife,

sister, friend, daughter, granddaughter, cook and housekeeper.

I don't know how to balance it all.

My house is always a disaster and I never have time to cook,

which is why my husband does most of the cooking.

By the time I get off of work and get home,

I have to leave again to chauffer my children around to basketball, soccer or cheer.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE chauffering them around.

I enjoy watching them as much as they enjoy doing.

But, it leaves me not having much time for anything or anyone else.

I find myself ~~calling~~ texting my mother, siblings or friends

only when I need to ask them or tell them something.

I find myself listening to voice messages from my grandparents,

but only calling them back when I have "time".

I hardly ever make time for my husband, which he desperately needs and so do I.

This past Saturday, we spent 8 hours at the basketball gym.

We were also there on Friday and Sunday for a total of 17.5 hours this past weekend.

I'm not complaining that I am there because I love being there,

I just wish I could make more time for everyone else.

I'm afraid that I'll grow old and gray, my parents will have passed,

my children grown and in the same postion that I'm in and I'll be alone with no friends.

Hopefully, my husband will be sitting on the porch next to me in our rocking chairs

so I won't be completely alone; that is, if we don't grow apart.

These pictures were taken July 2006

How do you balance it all? Or am I not alone in this quest?

Insta-Friday

2012-01-27T13:51:00.000-05:00

I am linking up with Jeanette at Life Rearranged. I think this might be my regular Friday post. It is a glimpse into my week though my phone pictures. Btw, if you would like to follow me on Instagram, my username is @branhumphr.

From Left to Right, Top to Bottom.

1. Hailey and I had a "Spa Day". It was great! I'll post more about it next week.

2. During our "Spa Day", this happened. Wax everywhere.

3. Relaxing in the bath. My favorite time of the day.

4. A letter Hailey wrote me at school.

5. Hailey snuggled up with our dog, Lucy.

6. Joseph was one of the WESTEST Masters. So proud of him.

Strawberries and Strawberry Recipes

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

I bought a full flat of strawberries yesterday. They came straight from Florida on a truck and delivered all over town. There were people lined up buying them. They are so good!

She delivers them every Monday. We LOVE strawberries, so I pinned some recipes. I'm drooling just looking at them.

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries {recipe}

Strawberry Trifle {recipe}

No Bake Strawberry and Vanilla Cheesecake {recipe}

Strawberry Smoothie {recipe}

Strawberry Preserves {recipe}

Strawberry Spinach Salad {recipe}

Strawberry Lemonade {recipe}

I hope to make some of these real soon! Especially the desserts. YUMMM!!

Homemade Banana Bread Recipe

2012-01-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

I had some bananas that were getting too ripe to eat, so instead of throwing them away, I decided to put them to good use and make homemade banana bread. I called my grandma and asked her for her recipe. It was soooo good and so easy to make. Prep time was probably 5-10 minutes.

Take 4 very ripe bananas, cut the bruises out of them and then slice them in chunks.

Smash them with a fork and mix in melted butter.

Mix in sugar, egg and vanilla. Then sprinkle baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.

Add flour mixing in between every 1/2 cup.

Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 loaf pan and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Cool on rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

4 ripe bananas, smashed

1/3 cup melted butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 small pinches of salt

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Chop ripe bananas in the mixing bowl and smash with fork. Mix butter into the mashed bananas with a wooden spoon. Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mixing between each 1/2 cup. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loap pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

The Best Anti-Aging Facial Products

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

I was watching Dr. Oz the other day and he said the best and cheapestfacial moisturizer to help reduce wrinkles is St. Ives Timeless SkinCollagen Elastin Facial Moisturizer. AND get this, it is only $5.99 for a large container. I bought some last night (it's known I'm a product junkie) and it should last me for months!

He also said that Dickinson's Witch Hazel is the bestfor dark circles and under eye bags. It contains an antimicrobial and is also an astringent. Witch hazel contains an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory to de-puff eyes.

He gave props to Cocoa Butter Formula Swivel Stick as being the best for agespots or brown spots on your face. It contains keratin, which helps prevent wrinkles as well. It also contains Vitamin E, which is an anti-oxidant.

Finally, Dr. Oz's secret Anti-aging Product that he cannot live without is Aspirin to reduce inflammation and wrinkles. Take 2 baby aspirin a day.

What do you all think about this? Have you tried any of them?

Healthy Snack Ideas For Kids

2012-01-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

<--- See this little love monkey.

Awww he melts my heart. I do believe I am raising a loving, well mannered and giving young man. He is everything I could ask for in a son. He is a little lazy though. He loves his video games and he can be whiney. He's not perfect, but he is close enough.

He is built a little like me (hips, thighs and bottom). So, he struggles with his weight. Well, he never really seemed to mind his weight until recently. He has put on about 2 pounds every month this past year and he is starting to notice. He is very tall for his age and he gains his weight all over, so it isn't really as noticeable as you'd think. My other two are naturally thin, but they are also very active. They don't eat any more than Hunter does, but they move more.

Hunter and I are on a mission to change his eating habits. In order for him to succeed, I have to set the table for him. I've removed all junk food and started only shopping the outside of the grocery store with a few exceptions like frozen fruit, granola, peanut butter and whole grain cereals. I've also started fixing him breakfast since breakfast is the most important meal of the day and jump starts the metabolism and I started packing his lunch because the school lunch isn't that healthy.

My mother in law (who watches the kids when they get off of the bus until I get home from work) has promised to give healthier snacks after school.

I went grocery shopping and bought a bunch of fruits and vegetables. I immediately washed them, cut them and divided them up into single serving baggies for easy grabbing. Here is a list of easy and healthy lunches or snacks for kids.

Healthy snacks

Apples & peanut butter
Ants on a log (celery, peanut butter & raisins)
1/2 peanut butter sandwich with fruit or veggie
peanut butter and banana sandwich
low fat quesadillas (shredded chicken & cheese)
cheese quesadillas with salsa
turkey and cheese wrap
ham and cheese wrap
ham and creamcheese rolls
salad with shredded chicken
fruit and cheese kabobs
veggie and cheese kabobs
yogurt, fruit and granola
apple mouths (apple, peanut butter & marshmallows)
potato pizzas
broiled shrimp
grilled chicken nuggets
sweet potato fries
1 egg, 2 pieces of turkey bacon
veggies and dip
hummus and crackers
snack mix (cornflakes, cheerios, almonds, raisins, reese's pieces)
cream cheese & jam wraps (tortillas, cream cheese and jam)
frozen bananas (dipped in yogurt and granola, then frozen)
popcorn
veggies and hummus
banana wrap (tortilla, cream cheese, honey and banana)
baked tortilla with garlic and cheese (with salsa)

Healthy Quick Breakfast

waffles with peanut butter and raisins
1/2 bagle with cream cheese or honey
cornflakes and banana
1/2 peanut butter sandwich
boiled egg and apple
cinnamon bead with banana
granola bar, 1/2 orange or other fruit
green smoothie (banana, frozen berries, spinach, yogurt, honey)
pink smoothie (same as above without spinach)

For his lunch, I pack a bottled water, sandwich or wrap, one serving of fruit and one serving of veggie.

I would love to hear your ideas on healthy eating for kids. I have to make it fun for him or he will probably get bored. Now, I just need to get him moving. He loves sports and loves going to basketball practice and games, but he doesn't move much at home.

Do you have any ideas on how I can him up and moving at home?

Nella's 2 for 2 Fund

2012-01-18T09:21:00.000-05:00

I am a religious reader of Kelle Hampton's blog. If you aren't, you should be. She takes beautiful pictures and shares beautiful stories of her daughters and being a mother. Her insightful writing is like no other. I've learned so much from her.

In 5 days, her daughter Nella will turn 2. Nella was born with down syndrome. Kelle raised $100,000 plus last year for the The National Down Syndrome Society in honor of Nella. Her intensions were to raise $15,000.00 but the response was remarkable.

This year, in honor of Nella turning two, she started the 2 for 2 Fund in hopes to raise $200,000 for Nella's 2nd birthday. She is almost there.Watch this video. You will be inspired to help them raise awareness for a more tolerant society that embraces and celebrates differences. It is beautiful. I cried. If you would like to read more, you can visit this link and this link.

Every dollar counts, you don't have to donate much. She has almost reached her goal, she just needs $40,000.00 more. If she can get 40,000 people to donate $1.00, she will reach her goal. If you have a dollar or two to spare, please donate.

Joseph's 2011-12 Basketball Season

2012-01-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

Basketball is not a sport for everyone; it takes a lot of dedication, strength, and teamwork. Joseph has played basketball since he was nine years old. The love that he has for the game is indescribable. He prepares for each game with great seriousness. He is concentrated and intense.

Joseph hates losing at anything. He doesn’t know how to lose, but the truth is, he can’t stand losing, not even in a conversation. It is so great to win and he feels so good when he wins, that he never wants to give up that feeling; not for anything in the world. On top of that, losing makes him feel precisely the opposite. Joseph thinks that losing is the worst thing that could happen to anyone. If there is a game Joseph isn't brilliant at, he simply won’t play it. But if he is going to win he would take part, even if the game lasted only a minute. And the kind of things he is really good at, like basketball or soccer, you could hardly stop him playing. He gets a high playing both sports that is unexplainable. He goes over his highlights of the game with us afterwards and the smile on his face is like no other. I can tell he is truly happy with himself after winning a game, especially if he outdid himself.

Basketball has helped Joseph in many ways. It has helped him learn how to work with a team to accomplish a common goal. When you are on the basketball court, you have four other boys or girls that are willing and ready to help you when you need it. In life and in the work world there will be times when he will have to work with other people and I feel that basketball has been a very useful tool to develop that skill. Good character is a quality that he has acquired from playing basketball. You need to be able to get along with all of your teammates, even if they aren’t necessarily your friends. Sportsmanship is another thing that basketball has given him. If you win or lose you need to put a smile on your face and go and shake the other team’s hands and tell them good game. You have to respect what the referee says and bite your tongue when he makes a bad call. The other team also deserves respect. You can’t lash out on the court. Keeping your cool on the court is sometimes challenging but it is important not to lose it and keep yourself calm. That is why the mental game of basketball is the most challenging. In order to be successful in basketball you have to be able to remember plays, calm yourself down, and remain optimistic. Believe in yourself and your team at all times.

Joseph is finally learning to not take the game so seriously and to have fun. He is learning that winning isn't everything. You learn from your mistakes and you move on. He is less tense now and enjoys the game more. It has taken a few years to learn this and still battles with it occasionally, but I see him brushing it off of his shoulders more often than not.

I wanted to show you a picture to compare his features from last year. He looks so different. You can tell he is turning into a young man. Can you believe that was just one year ago? I didn't realize how much he had changed until I was looking at this post from last year. He has grown taller, cut his hair off and thinned out. And we can't forget maturing. I love my little man.

Hunter's 2011-12 Basketball Season

2012-01-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

It has been basketball season since November and I am in love. I love basketball just as much as I love soccer. I will have two basketball posts this week; one today and one tomorrow. Each son deserves their own post, plus I have something so different to say about each son that I couldn’t combine the posts. Hopefully you won’t get bored, so here goes....

Basketball is a game of not only physical stress, but also mental. Like in other things in life, you have to be prepared mentally to do well. To be a well-rounded basketball player you must have good sportsmanship, be able to work with a team, have good character on and off of the court, and also have the skill to play the game well. These qualities are also needed to help people in life. As Hunter gets older, he will have to know how to work with a team well because you can’t do everything in life alone.

Hunter and Joseph are completely different when it comes to sportsmanship. Joseph plays to win. Hunter plays for fun. Don’t get me wrong, he loves to win, but if he loses, it’s not the end of the world. He does, however, get really nervous before the game. I once asked him what he felt before the game and he told me that as his team gets in line all he can hear is the chatter of his teammates, the sound of the crowd and he can practically hear his own heartbeat thump as he takes his seat on the chair right before the game starts.

One thing I love about his coach, other than his patience and the way he stays calm at every game is his devotion. At the last quarter during the game before Hunter's, his coach brings them into the locker room. In there, they go over the plans and he ends it with a devotion and during this everyone is very attentive and hanging on to every word he says. After that, the team says the Lord’s Prayer and then they go out the door to stretch. He keeps it real and teaches them the importance of prayer.

This year, Hunter played up. He is in 4^th grade, but he played with 5^th graders. He was a bit intimidated. "Intimidation is to playground basketball what sauce is to ribs. You can eat them plain but they taste a lot better with some heat" - Doug Konecky. It was a bit of a challenge for him, but he did great. He looked up to the older boys and was afraid to mess up. I think that is why he got so nervous before each game. But, in the end, he played well and went home with an undefeated season and won first place.

He has his first all-star game this weekend. During All-Stars, he must play with his own grade. Just for giggles, I wanted to show you this picture. He was asked to sub for the 3rd/4th grade team. He was actually supposed to play in the 3rd/4th level, but since he is so much bigger than these kids, they asked him to play up. During this game, I took a picture that I thought was hilarious. Look at how he towers over these kids. He looks like he is about the same size as the refs. hahahahaha

Do you have a favorite sport that you like to watch?

Advertising Opportunity!!

2012-01-10T18:45:00.000-05:00

As I've mentioned time and time before, my little girl is competing in Walt Disney World the weekend of March 10-11, 2012 for the UCA/UDA International All Star Championship. Her team won 1st place last year and we hope for the same results this year! Our Senior teams will also be televised on ESPN 2 network.

Listed below are the advertising opportunities. I will also sport your ad on the sidebar of my blog for a full year if you choose to sponsor her with any of the opportunities below.

The below advertising opportunities are also good for one year.

Bronze Sponsor: $25.00 - Website Ad
Silver Sponsor: $100.00 - T-shirt Ad (No Artwork) Business Name Only
Gold Sponsor: $300.00 - 4’x4’ Wall Sign
Platinum Sponsor: $400.00 - Website Ad, T-Shirt Ad (No Artwork), 4’x4’ Wall Sign

The 4’x4’ sign will be hung inside River Cities All-Star Cheerleading gym, where around 300 athletes come through the doors weekly. All of our competitive cheerleading athletes will receive a free t- shirt with the ads on the back and are required to wear at Disney World and all states that we compete in. Our newly renovated website receives around 8,000 hits a month. These are great advertising opportunities at very low cost!

If you are interested in any of these opportunities or have any questions, please email me at branhumphr@yahoo.com

Thanks!!

Snow Day

2012-01-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

This is what we woke up to on Monday morning. I don't really like snow. I used to love it when I was a child, but now it's just cold and wet. The kids asked the whole month of December when it was going to snow. Usually, we always have snow in December. I only like it to snow on Christmas Day and then I'm done with it. Christmas came and passed and still no snow. It was 60 degrees Sunday, January 1st and snowing on Monday, January 2nd. CRAZY!

I was still in bed and Hailey snuck and got dressed and slipped outside. This is where I caught her. I took these through our french doors because like I said before, I don't like cold.

Then she wanted to make snow angels. For the sake of pictures, I had her make one on our deck off of our bedroom. This is the deck we pressured washed back in October.

The snow is slowly melting now. It is supposed to be 60 degrees again tomorrow. Now, that's what I'm talking about. I'll have to head out and soak up the sun becuase its supposed to snow again next week. No wonder we are all sick.

Have you had any big snow falls yet in 2012?

Happy 2012

2012-01-05T17:00:00.000-05:00

We always get invites to NYE parties, but always turn them down unless we can bring our children. Since the kids were born, I've made it a tradition to bring the new year in as a family. I don't ever want to start a new year without them.

The kids and I ususally play board games and musical chairs. Then we watch the ball drop and head to bed. Nothing fancy. Just family fun. The kids enjoy it. We get to stay in our PJs in the safety of our own home.

This year has not started off too great. RJ and I have been sick the last three days. On Sunday, it went from being 60 degrees out to snowing on Monday and in the 20s. The kid's first day back to school from Christmas break was cancelled do to weather. I'm just hoping the kids do not catch our sickness.

I took these three pictures of the kids right after the ball dropped. Hunter hasn't changed much this past year, but Joseph and Hailey sure have. Joseph's face is loosing its baby fat and becoming more structured like a man's face. He has "dirt" on his upper lip aka a mustache. What the junk? How does my 12 year old boy have a mustache?

Hailey's hair has grown a lot. She has lost a total of eight teeth. And yes, I did schedule an orthodontist appointment for her. She is excited. She is looking and acting so grown up. As her permanent teeth come in, I can really see the difference they make in her appearance. It's hard to believe she is almost 8.

What did everyone else do for NYE? Did you go to any parties that involved the kids or just adults? Or did you spend it at home?

2011 Year-End Review

2011-12-31T06:00:00.000-05:00

January

I organized my closet shelves.

They could use another good organizing right about now.
This time, my husband needs to organize his side.

Watching my basketball stud. It's amazing how much he's changed over the past year.

February

I baked chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes.

These are very rich and heavy. One advice, make sure the butter is melted or you will have gritty icing.

Hailey got 1st place at the Athletic Championships competition.

Actually, her team got 1st place at every competition they competed in last year.
I can only hope for that outcome this year. We'll see!

March

We made rag flip flops.

These turned out so freaking good! I wish I had made me a pair.
They are still holding up and look great!

Hailey took her first plane ride!
This was so exciting and nerve racking. She was so nervous. I got sick on the ride back home.
All five of us are flying this March. I am stoked!

We went to Disney for a cheer competition. See posts here, here, here, here and here. AND Hailey's cheer team won 1st place in Nationals!!!

We saw Mitchel Musso in Concert!
He puts on a good concert for the girls too. I would see him again. :)

April

I made a Rosette headband.

Our dog chewed this one. Ugh! Time to make a few more.

May, June, July and August - I took a break from blogging.

September

I came back!!

I bought supplies for Art Journaling, which I will start on next week!

I'm so excited to share this experience with you and to give them this gift next Christmas.

October

I turned 34 and went shopping.

The shoes shown below are my favorite shoes.
I wear them all the time.

Kids attended their fall festival.

Kids had mismatch day.

Soccer became my obsession.

Joseph has signed up for travel soccer now. He has been training 4 nights a week since November.
I can't wait to watch him play this Spring.

Kids dressed up as Zombies for Halloween
Hailey actually found the tutorial on youtube. This was our first attempt.

And this is them on Halloween night...

November

I am Thankful for...

December

We went to Tennessee for our first competition of the season! Come home with 1st place!

Hailey visited Santa even if it was a flop.

My kids got sick right before Christmas.

Thankfully they were better before the festivities.

We had a great Christmas!

Bring on 2012 baby!!

My New Year Resolutions...

Spend more time enjoying life and documenting it.
Pay more attention to my husband. He needs my affection as well.
Save more. Joseph goes off to college in 5 years. I want him to graduate debt free and in order for me to give him that gift, I must save more.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-30T21:25:00.000-05:00

We had a good Christmas in our household. We spent Christmas Eve at my grandma's house, then to RJ's aunt's house and then to his mom's house. We don't exchange many gifts at any house. I think the kids got pajama pants, a couple shirts, jacket, nail polish, nurf gun and money.

Christmas morning, the kids got up early. Joseph found a laptop from Santa, Hunter found a kicker stereo box for his ipod and Hailey found a Le Pan android tablet. All three were very happy. After RJ and I rolled out of bed, we opened presents.

I set up Joseph's laptop and set his parental controls and then I downloaded a bunch of apps for Hailey. They played around for awhile and played their new xbox games including Just Dance 3. That is so fun to play and watch. They crack me up!

Then we headed to my mom's for dinner. It was a pretty relaxing day, which is just perfect. Oh, my mom bought me a Jo Totes camera purse. I LOVE it! She got me this one.

Did everyone else have a good Christmas? Did you do anything special or did you have a relaxing day like we did?

Living with Iron Deficiency Anemia

2011-12-29T06:00:00.000-05:00

I was diagnosed with Anemia a year and a half ago. It was actually a week before I had my hysterectomy. I was at work, my stomach hurt, I had a headache and I couldn't hold my head up. I went to the doctor thinking I was getting the flu and they told me that I needed to go to the emergecy room.

I called my mom (moms make everything better) and she met me at the ER. They took a blood sample and it came back that my red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets were all too low. The first thought that came to my mind was that I had cancer. I always prepare my mind for the worst, probably a bad habit, but I can't help myself. It didn't help the matter when they set an appointment with a Hematologist/Oncologist doctor. They gave me a prescription for an infection and sent me home.

via

The following week, I went for my hysterectomy. (I had to have a hysterectomy because I had adenomyosis.)

A week after my hysterectomy, I went for my first appointment to the hemotologist and plastered all over the wall and magazines were tip and encouring words about living with cancer. I was freaked out. After they called me back and took blood samples, I was assured that I just had an iron deficiency anemia. I was given a prescription for iron pills.

My following appointments were to check my iron levels. By the first appointment, my levels went up 3 points and I was told it was like adding 3 pints of blood to my system. The next appointment, my red blood level went back down to 10. I was warned that if my levels did not go back up with taking the iron supplements that I would have to get injections at the next appointment. I also had to have a colonoscopy to see if I was bleeding anywhere.

The colonoscopy came back normal, thank goodness. I missed the 6 month follow up appointment and just went to my rescheduled appointment on Dec. 22nd. My levels are back up and I do not have to see him again unless I start feeling sick again. I do, however, need to continue taking my iron supplements.

Some of the symptoms I had were the following:
Extreme exhaustion
light headed
dizzyness
shortness of breath
headaches
problems concentrating or thinking clearly
pale skin
low blood pressure

I've always been a sleeper. I love to sleep. But, when my red blood count was down, I could have slept for days. When I stood up, I would black out. I wouldn't pass out, but I would lose vision for a good 10 seconds and I would just have to stop and not move for the 10 seconds until my vision came back, then I was able to move on.

Iron Supplement Side Effects
They say the iron supplements could give you an upset stomach &/or contipation. They do not give me constipation, in fact, they make me more regular. They did upset my stomach until I read that you must drink a full 8oz of water with each pill. Once I started doing that, my stomach never hurt.

So, as of right now, I guess I am not considered anemia, but I will continue taking my supplements because I never want to feel sick, tired and dizzy again.

**Please note, I am obviously not a doctor. I'm just sharing my experience and symptoms of anemia to possibly relate with others.**

If you have been diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia, I would love to hear your experience, suggestions, etc.

Even the Poopy Days are Worth It

2011-12-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

"Mommy. I don't feel good."

Those are words that no parent likes to hear, since it's hard when your child is sick. But, those words take on an additional meaning when you have to go to work. It's also funny how those words seem to materialize on Monday morning around 7am instead of Friday afternoon when there's the weekend ahead to recover.

A couple weeks ago, I took my kids to the mall to play in the inflatable wonderland for a birthday party, because I'm cool like that. It's in the middle of the mall where rambunctious children are free to jump, climb and slide down air-filled vinyl dream castles. You would think a woman my age would have come to terms long ago with other people's selfishness as was so noticeably obvious from all the sick kids surrounding us like an ambush.

So, of course, two of my kids got sick. Although I realize I cannot keep them stuck inside and quarantined, one does expect to go to a heavily populated public facility without being deliberately exposed to whooping cough, malaria, bird flu and other highly infectious diseases. I know they didn't get that sick, but it sure does feel like it!

Anyways, last week, I'm awakened by the sounds of Joseph and Hunter throwing up. Luckily they were able to get to the toilet first. Poor guys spent an entire week with a tidal wave of nausea, driven to their needs of frequent toilet gazing, vomiting, and running to the toilet with it coming out of both ends. When they were not hugging the toilet, they were sleeping. I spent my time comforting them, going to work and disinfecting. It was exhausting for them and for me. It was one of those weeks that could make a person question why anyone would want to be a Mother. In fact, it was the kind of week that people point to and say, "See, that is exactly why I am never going to have kids! Who would want to do that?"

In the early mothering days, when I had a week like that, I would dissolve into a puddle of despair, thinking, "This is what I am in for for the next 20 years. I can't go on if I am ever going to have another day like this. I must have been insane to sign up for this!"

While I still wonder if I am crazy occasionally, I have a little different perspective now. I know from experience that yes, there will be another poopy day like this in my future, probably many. But, I also know from experience that there will be a billion wonderful little moments that make the poopy days entirely worth it. I know something that those women who choose not to have kids will never know. I know how it feels to hold your newborn and to have a 3-year-old whisper in my ear "I love you, Mommy." I know how your heart swells with pride when your 7 year old overcomes something that challenges him, and how it feels to watch a little one while they sleep. It's a feeling that can't be explained, which is why it will always seem crazy to someone outside looking in, when I say that even last week, with all the poop, I still love being a Mom.

Last night after I wrote this post, I got sick as well. Trying to decide whether to sit on the toilet or hug it was not a decision I wanted to have to make. Oh, the joys of being a mommy. :) I wouldn't change it for the world! I hope this little lady doesn't get sick and if she does.... I hope she recovers before Christmas or catches it after Christmas. Say a little prayer for her, please.

I hope all of you have a healthy Christmas this weekend.

Twas the night

2011-12-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

I just realized I had my comments restricted. Sorry about that! Anyone can comment now. :) I'd love to hear from you. Pop in and say Hi!

I found this poem a long time ago and wanted to share. I have the author's name, but I don't have a link to refer back to because I've saved it for... oh...4 years now. I'm sure our house will be like this come Saturday night onto Sunday.

'Twas the Night For Assembling from Kellie Head

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, except me and my spouse

The stockings were empty, no presents were wrapped

We were way behind schedule and our resources tapped

The children were nestled all snug in the beds

While the horrors of assembling danced in our heads

Dad armed with a screwdriver, ready and poised

To build a red trike for one of our boys

When off in the hall there arose a strange noise

We dove over boxes to hide all the toys

The thud, it turned out, was our dumb puppy Paul

Who was chasing the cat and ran into the wall

Back to his task, Dad cursed at his mess

I suspect he was lost, but he'd never confess

He wrestled with parts and fumbled with tools

Emailed the manufacturer and called them all fools.

After hours of struggle, the bike finally took shape

With a few cuts and bruises and the aid of duct tape

He stood back and gaped at the bike he just built

It weaved and it wobbled and rolled with a tilt

His frustration grew; his voice shook as he spoke

"The directions are Greek, it's all a sick joke!"

At this point he snapped, his thinking unclear

He'll do something stupid; this was my big fear.

He grabbed each toy's instructions, oh why won't he learn

Tossed them into the fire, chanting "burn baby burn"

"Burn Disney, burn Huffy, to blazes with you

Burn Fisher Price, Playskool and Hasbro, too"

As smoke filled the room, this was his first clue

That in a moment of haste, he had neglected the flue

"My husband's a good man," I tried to explain

"The instructions weren't clear. It drove him insane"

The fire chief nodded and gathered his crew

Hopped onto their truck and away they all flew

But I heard them converse as they drove out of sight

"Her husband's the third jerk who's done that tonight!"

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I've only managed to take two Christmas pictures this year. I'm so excited about Christmas, but was just not in the decorating mood. This is our tree at night.

And this is Fred. He's been spying on the kids. He's also declared that they've been pretty good this year. He hasn't played any tricks on them yet, but I'm sure he will soon. ;)

Christmas Themed Treats

2011-12-19T06:39:00.000-05:00

These are Christmas treats that I've pinned over the past month.

Reindeer Cookies

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Snowmen Donuts

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Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Reindeer

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Chocolate Dipped Prestzel Sticks

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Sugar Cookie Pinwheels

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My family and I are going to make the pinwheels and pretzel sticks this week along with puppy chow, chocolate oatmeal no bake cookies and peanut butter cornflake bars. I'll let you know how they turned out.

What are you baking this holiday season?

A Visit With Santa

2011-12-15T06:47:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend, Hailey spent the night with her friend. The plan was for her to go see Santa with her friend and I was going to clean all day Saturday.

That all went down the drain when I received a text from Chelsee's mom stating that she was bringing Hailey home because Chelsee was being a brat. She also said that she told Hailey that maybe I would take her somewhere since she was all dressed up. Great.

Hailey walked through the door in her pretty dress, heels and shawl. I was in my pajamas with dirty hair and no makeup. I texted my mom to see if there were any Santa she could see besides the one at the mall. I just wasn't in the mood to stand in line for an hour or so at the mall to see Santa.

Mom texted back with a negative! So, I hopped in the shower and got ready. I made my mom go with me and we jetted to the mall. Hailey was so excited.

We stood in line for an hour and they wanted to charge us $25.00-50.00 for a picture with Santa! I think their eggnog was spiked! I was not paying that much for a picture. So, Hailey just "visited" Santa. She told him what she wanted and was 100% satisfied. Gosh, I love her.

I didn't bring my camera because I thought it would only be about $10.00 for a picture, so all I have to show for it is this blurry iphone picture. Bummer. But, at least she was happy. That is all that matters. Right?

Have your littles seen Santa this year? What do they want for Christmas? Hailey told Santa she wanted an Ipad. She may not be so happy on Christmas morning.

Random Jargon Today

2011-12-14T06:01:00.002-05:00

Just a bunch of random jargon today on this fine Wednesday morning.

1. I rocked out to this on the way to work this morning. Looks like I need to dust my dashboard.

2. I found this bumper sticker on a window and loved it! They were sold out in the store; not that I would put it on my bumper, but I loved the message.

It reads:

"Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you: JESUS CHRIST AND THE AMERCIAN SOLDIER. One died for your soul, the other died for your freedom."

3. Hailey went ice skating for the first time last week. She did really good. Her friend's mother took her while I was at work. They had an early out at school. When I went to pick her up, she showed me her moves that she learned.

4. When I laid down with her last night, she squeezed me tight and said, "I love you SO much, mommy."

She melts my heart.

5. Last night after basketball practice, Joseph puked everywhere in the parking lot. Needless to say, he didn't go to school today.

I pray that he feels better soon and that the rest of us don't get it.

6. I worked out last week and my muscles felt it. I hurt so bad. I think I'm used to it now. Just trying to force myself to continue.

I did lose a pound and a few inches. I'm not sure if my hip measurements were correct when I first measured

because losing 5 inches in my hips in 2 weeks seems a little unreal to me.

My goal this week is to drink a lot of water and continue working out to 30 Day Shred.

Here are my stats:

Weight: Before. 148 / Now. 146

Waist: Before. 32 inches / Now. 32 inches

Hips: Before. 47.5 inches / Now. 42 inches

Thighs: Before. 25 inches / Now. 22 inches

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Have a rockin' Wednesday!

Have any of your kids been sick recently? What have you been rocking out to lately? Christmas music?

Gift Wrapping Ideas

2011-12-13T06:03:00.002-05:00

If you are following me on Pinterest, you've already seen these when I pinned them. If you aren't following me, you should. ;)

I love the kraft paper, lace, pastels and flower wrapping paper.

This would be perfect for a wedding shower, baby shower, Mother's Day or a girl's birthday.

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I love the string of yarn and the yarn doilies along with the kraft paper. Very shabby chic.

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I love the idea of using old newspaper as wrapping paper. Very creative.

Tie with with twine with a card laced in. Such a cheap, yet vintage looking, way to wrap gifts.

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Love the kraft paper with a simple ribbon. The added hand stamped name made this wrapping perfect.

I'm going to try this for some of my Christmas presents this year.

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Again more kraft paper and twine. This time with added paper doilies and scrapbooking materials.

Hot glue a tag and button on there and you're set to go.

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Kraft paper again, I think I see a theme here. I love the different trim, twine, ribbon, etc.

I really like the idea of using the measuring tape. So cool for a boy's gift!

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This one is basically the same as above but with different colors,

but I especially love the use of an old map, that would be good for a boy or man's gift.

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This pleated paper is pretty darn cool. If you visit the link below,

it tells you how to make a bow out of wrapping paper.

Direction on how to get the pleats can be found here.

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Have you seen any cool wrapping ideas or done any yourself? I'd love to hear about them. If you'd like you can link them up here!

2011-12-08T06:43:00.000-05:00

I have a scrap page that I created to show you. It's not my favorite page, but I love the picture I used. I got this camera last year and the picture below was one of the first pictures I took with it. I'm just now getting around to scrapping with it. I used Shabby Miss Jenn's new Festive Holiday kit.

It's almost Friday!! I love the weekends.

What's Upsexy!

2011-12-07T14:09:00.003-05:00

I had the conversation below with a co-worker at work.

I laughed so hard, I started crying and almost peed my pants. I then had my boss read it and he did not get it at all, which made me feel dumb because I was crying over it. Oh well.

Have you seen all over the internet in the past couple of days of the whole "Upsexy" business? I saw it on this blog. My upsexy conversation went like this.

I then sent something similiar to my mom, with no response. How could you not respond to an upsexy question?

Then I sent it to my husband and he caught on really quick which was no fun, but he did think it was funny.

I texted my friend and got him.

Ha Ha Ha Chris! I got you!

I'm going to send it to my son when he gets home from school. Should be funny.

I love acting like a kid! I have no shame in it!

Tennessee's UCA Competition

2011-12-06T06:34:00.000-05:00

We headed to Tennessee through Kentucky and Virginia. In Kentucky there are these mountains that have been blasted so a highway can go through them. It is beautiful.

We always joke with the kids and tell them we are going through the Grand Canyan when we drive through there. Not quite as beautiful, but it is really cool looking.

Here is my clan all crammed in the car. Don't they look thrilled to be on the road?

This is the first day of competition. These girls are close friends and were on the same team last year. This year, they are on three different teams.

This is my girl. We hate doing the makeup but without it, their faces looked washed out on stage with all of the bright lights. My baby girl is growing up so fast. :(

I was exhausted. The night before, I got so sick and was up until 1:00am. I'm not sure if it was something that I ate or my nerves, but it was bad. I had to get up at 5:30am to shower and get her ready, so I was running on very little sleep and it sure shows it in this picture.

This was the morning of day two. The pink and orange things you see in her hair are called curl formers. They are a time saver. All you have to do is put Got 2 Be Glued gel on each strand of hair and put them in these curlers, which takes about 30-45 minutes the night before. They sleep in them and when you wake up in the morning, pull them out and their hair has beautiful spiral curls.

They do not work on American Girl Doll hair, but we put them in there for fun.

Ok, now for some competition pictures. This is my girl up in a full extension. I don't know how they teach these little girls to do such amazing stunts, but they do. They are strong girls to be able to hold their own weight up there!

When Hailey was about three or four, we were told that she was like gumby because she was so limber. I thought they were crazy until I could see what she could do in the air. This is a scorbion.

Love her cheer face!

Basket toss. They look like they are scared, but it's just another one of their cheer faces. They crack me up! They get so into it, but really these cheer faces really make the routine great!

This is their pyramid. It could use some perfecting, but still great. Hailey told me they put a lot of their weight on the foot that she is holding and it is realy heavy. During the practices, she was really making a straining face and I had to remind her that she needed to push through the strain and smile. I was worried, but she did it!

Guess what?!?! They won first place!!! These girls range in ages 6-8 and they amaze me every time I watch them on stage. Their practices never look that great, but they nail it when they need to. They have come so far since they started practicing in June. They have worked really hard and it paid off.

Their next competition is in February and we go to Columbus, OH!!

Have a good week!

Get Fit Update 12/5/11

2011-12-05T06:48:00.001-05:00

Hailey's cheer team won first place over the weekend!! It was A-w-e-s-o-m-e!! I'll share more tomorrow with a lot of pictures!

Today, I am updating on my get fit program. This past week wasn't very successful. I found that all of my time was spent preparing for our Tennessee trip and I didn't force myself to exercise. I did eat pretty healthy though.

I haven't measured my inches yet today, so I don't have an update on those. I did lose one pound though. Slowly but surely. That's the best way, right? Right?

Today, I am battling my anemia. I have aboslutely no energy. It is probably do to living in a hotel for two days, not eating many vegetables, not drinking enough water, not exercising and a five hour trip. Who knows, but I have to start taking my iron pills again.

One of these days, I'll explain my anemia issues, but for now I think I'll take a nap.

Here are my stats:

Weight: Before. 148 / Now. 147

Waist: Before. 32 inches / Now. 32 inches

Hips: Before. 47.5 inches / Now. 47.5 inches

Thighs: Before. 25 inches / Now. 25 inches

How did you do? Link me up!

Heading to Tennessee!

2011-12-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

We are headed to Tennessee for the Smoky Mountain Christmas Championship Cheer Competition! Whoo that's a long title. I can't wait to watch the cheer team compete in their first UCA competition this year! This competition will determine if we qualify for the UCA interNational Championship competition. Our girls and boy have worked so hard for 7 months on their routine, I hope it pays off this weekend. Most of the girls on the team are new to cheerleading, so I'm a little nervous, but know they can do it! They have fantastic coaches, afterall.

After this month, we will travel to Columbus twice and to a local competition and then we'll go to Disney in March. :)

I'm also looking forward to shopping in TN this weekend. I'm hoping the weather will be pretty. Expect lots of pictures next week.

Have a good weekend! Wish us luck!!! Ciao!

Etsy Gift Ideas

2011-11-30T06:29:00.003-05:00

I wanted to post a few things on Etsy that caught my eye. I may have even bought a few for Christmas presents. I've listed something for everyone (men, women, girls, babies and boys).

I love this laser cut wood geometric puzzle. It is made from sustainably harvested, solar-kiln dried, and locally grown Red Oak hardwood. This very challenging circles jigsaw puzzle includes a laser engraved "cheat sheet" on the bottom, which makes it difficult even for cheaters! I think my dad or grandpa would love this! I think I would too. It would also be a cute little game to sit on the coffee or sidetable in the livingroom to entertain your guests.

Wooden Circles Geometric Puzzle ____________________________________________________________________________

Have a new baby girl in the family? Get her ready for the cooler days ahead with these adorable boots and hat set. These little booties and hat will not only be a fashion hit but keep her little toes and head warm during the winter months! Both are carefully crocheted with Caron baby soft white and pink yarn, and 3 pink buttons. I actually bought this set for a friend of mine who just had her baby today.

Ugg Style Boots with Flower Bean Hat

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Sweet, creamy white chocolate....ribbons of milky vanilla....swirls of thick, rich valrhona cocoa. White Hot Chocolate is a decadent treat that fills your bath with a multi-layered chocolate aroma. I bought these for every female in my family for Christmas. Love them! They have a ton of scents. Check this store out, Savor. She has the best customer service I've ever experienced from Etsy! She also has bar soap, which I've bought as well. :)

White Hot Chocolate 2 oz Mini Creme Fraiche Whipped Soap with Cocoa Powder

____________________________________________________________________________ I love these earrings. These sweet and simple peacock feather earrings are great for everyday wear or a special night out on the town. Also great as a special gift for a loved one or for bridesmaid gifts.

Peacock Feather Earrings in SILVER - Multi Layer Fan Drop Earrings

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Hand knitted soft and comfy cowl style scarf. Two button closure and cable design make this cowl functional and stylish. Hand knitted in a soft wool blend. Perfect fall and winter accessory. I think any woman would love to receive this stylish scarf, I know I would!

Knit Scarf Cable Cowl

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This shop has the coolest leg warmers, which can also be worn as arm warmers. Visit bidthings608, for a ton of different patterns.. As leg warmers, the fit on newborns, babies and toddlers is very scrunchy and worn from ankle to thigh. For adults & pre-teens, they are worn scrunched up from knee to ankle or mid-calf and also look great peeking out of boots. As arm warmers, pretty much one size fits most and looks great with the new style of 3/4 length sleeved jackets.

Bright Colors with Black Animal Print Leg Warmers

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No more boring ties. Teens can dress in style with these ties. They are all so pretty. MeandMatilda has a bunch of different patterns. These would look so cute on a boy going to his prom or Winter formal.

Damask Necktie

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This outfit totally ROCKS!! :) It comes with the mohawk rocker earflap beanie, the guitar onesie, and the matching leg warmers. This outfit would make a great costume or just an awesome outfit for everyday wear!

Mom's Little Rocker Outfit

Happy Shopping!!

Scrap Pages

2011-11-29T06:47:00.003-05:00

My goal yesterday didn't pan out. I didn't eat dinner until after cheer practice and I didn't do my exercise video. After I got home, my entire body ached like I was getting the flu. I don't ache today, so it must have been pains from running yesterday morning. I'm out of shape.

I have several scrap pages to share today. I'm trying to get back in the groove of scrapping, I think my mojo is slowly returning. I created this page using Shabby Miss Jenn's Comfy Girly Home kit. It is such a fun girly kit.

Since Jenn released a girly page, she had a boy kit by its side. Can't leave out the boys! The kit I used for the page below was Cars Go Vroom. This kit is jammed pack for of boy items. My page doesn't do it justice. My boys are growing up and don't care for cars, toys etc so I didn't use all of the fun boy items in the kit, but as you can see it works well for the older boys too. :)

This is me and my little guy, Hunter. He, Hailey and I went out to the beach while we were on vacation to take some pictures and he wanted a picture of us together and Hailey was off running around, so we took a quick snap. It actually turned out good. I love it. I used Scrapbook Girl kit for this page. Again, my page doesn't do it justice, but it does let you know that you can use the kit for a normal page and not just for documenting your scrapping hobby. I love the colors in this kit.

I used Give Thanks kit for this page. Have I ever mentioned that I love this man. He doesn't think I show it enough, but I am madly in love with him. He has his faults, just like all of us, but his kind heart and fun attitude outweighs his faults at the end of the day. I can see us sitting on the porch sipping coffee when we are gray haired. That may not be too far in the distance for me. He, on the other hand, doesn't even have one strand of gray hair. So not fair.

So, that's it for today. We are packing our bags for a quick trip this weekend. More on that tomorrow. Have a good Tuesday!

Florabella Actions On Sale!

2011-11-28T13:55:00.001-05:00

If you love photoshop actions, Florabella Actions are for you!!! These actions are gorgeous! You can see them in action by visiting her site. She is even having a 15% off sale through today!! Woohoo!

Get Fit Update 11/28/11

2011-11-28T06:45:00.007-05:00

I have no idea what I was thinking trying to start a diet and exercise program a few days before Thanksgiving. I decided shortly after my post that I would wait until after Thanksgiving and then once that passed, I decided to wait until all of the leftovers were gone! If I were smart, I would have exercised and just started my diet today, but I guess I wasn't smart or had a turkey coma.

Image provided by winnond

, either way I was just lazy.

At any rate, I started today. I woke up this morning before my alarm went off and couldn't fall back to sleep, so I decided to get up and start moving. I kept my pajamas on, put my tennis shoes on and went downstairs to run on the treadmill. I ran 3/4 of a mile. It would have been 1 mile, but I ran out of time. I had to get the kids up for their showers.

Tonight, I will have to force myself to exercise because Hailey has cheerleading practice from 6-8pm. My goal for today is to eat before practice and exercise after practice.

Here are my stats:

Weight: 148

Waist: 32 inches

Hips: 47.5 inches :(

Thighs: 25 inches :(

I'll post an update next Monday. Fingers crossed that at least one of my stats will go down a number. If I could pick one, it would be my hips. I hate being short and wide.

Does anyone want to join me? I would love to have a exercise buddy or two or three. The more the merrier. Let's get in shape so we don't break the scales over Christmas. Who's with me? Come on! Don't be shy. :)

I Am Thankful For...

2011-11-24T06:15:00.001-05:00

I am thankful for...

God - He is my everything.
My children - they bring me joy, laughter and love everyday.
My husband - he is an amazing husband who provides and cares for us daily.
My mother in Law - she watches my children while RJ and I work.
My mom - she is my bestfriend.

My family - they are my village because it takes one to raise my children.
My friends - they are my sanity. They give me someone to talk to when it's most needed.
My job - It provides for my family and brings me satisfaction at the end of the day.
My coworkers - They keep me sane at work.

My boss - he is the reason I've been so blessed at work. I can't thank him enough.

My children's teachers - they see my children 5 days a week and provide them with their education.
My children't friends - they keep my children happy, I'm not sure what I would do without them.
Sports - they keep my children fit and entertained.
Food - it keeps us nourished.
Our home - it puts a roof over our heads.

Warm bed - it gives us a place to lay our heads at night and keeps us warm
Beth, Chris and their children - They are true friends that don't have to prove it, we just know.
Our Troops - for protecting our country.
The blogs I follow - they give me creative ideas and entertain me when I'm bored.
AWD - it keeps me safe on snow filled roads

Fresh Air - It keeps us healthy
Clean water - no explanation needed. There are some out there that do not have this. :(
Sense of sight - for letting me see the beauty in life.
Sense of hearing - for letting me hear my children laugh.
My memory - for letting me store memories of my children growing up.

Clothes - I would hate to have to walk around naked.
Disappointment - for letting me realize what matters most.
Sun - for bringing light and beauty to this world.
Moon and stars - for brightening up the night sky.
Mobile phones - to help me keep in touch with friends and family.

My mistakes - for helping me to improve and be a better person.
Computers - for making my life more effective and efficient
Internet - to connect me with the world despite the physical space that separates us.
Mother Nature - for covering our world with beauty.
Life - For giving me the chance to have all of these awesome things to be thankful for.

* All pictures were taken in the beautiful state of West Virginia.

Thanksgiving Decor

2011-11-23T06:21:00.004-05:00

I was browsing the internet for Thanksgiving Decor and thought I would share my favorites. All pictures are respectfully linked to the original source.

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I know I haven't post much on the personal front, its only because I don't have much going on. We've been pretty lazy this past week. I'll get back into my normal post next week. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! Stay safe shopping on Black Friday if you do that sort of thing. I, personally, would rather sleep and put up the tree on Friday than shop.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Get Fit!

2011-11-22T06:48:00.003-05:00

Remember this post? Yeah, I still haven't started. FAIL!

I received it in the mail super fast, but have yet to open it and try it, or even watch it for that matter. I'm hoping with me posting this, I'll force myself to do it.

This is my plan. I'm going to do the 30 Day Shred again. It worked like a charm last year and I love that it is only 30 minutes. Hopefully, this will help me get in the groove of exercising. Last year, I lost 30 lbs with diet and exercise. Over the Summer/Fall, I've put 10 lbs back on. I'd like to lose 20lbs to get to my goal weight. If I continue to sit on my behind and do nothing, I'll can just throw all of the hard work I put into this, away. And I'm not going to let that happen! I'm going to start today. :)

After doing the 30 Day Shred for 30 days, I'm going to start on the Tracy Anderson Metamorphosis.

As I promised in the link above, I'll post a weekly journal with my goals, accomplishments and even failures.

I'm ready to...

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Anyone with me?

Creative Thanksgiving Treats

2011-11-21T06:59:00.002-05:00

Below are some Thanksgiving/Fall snacks I've pinned over the past month that the kids and I are going to try soon. Not the healthiest snacks out there, but very cute!

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both via

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I hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving on Thursday. Tomorrow is the kid's last day of school until next Monday. The hubs is off all week and I have to work through Wednesday. Boo!! At least, I'll have four days off soon. :)

My Current Favorite Beauty Products

2011-11-17T06:33:00.001-05:00

Makeup

I love the Avon MagiX primer. It goes on like silk, and has an SPF 20. It does something to the appearance of your skin, your pores, the way light hits your face, that's subtle but undeniable. It does not provide heavy coverage, or a creamy moisturizer feel. It's somewhere between a light satiny powder and a touch of magic.

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I want to try this as well, but I haven't. It is cheaper and I love all elf products. Have you heard of elf? I stumbled upon them at Target. The products are very inexpensive. I think the primer is $6.00, but most items are around $3.00 and $1.00.

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I'm not a foundation girl. I haven't worn foundation for probably 15 years. I don't like that foundation makes my skin feel heavy. I've alway just worn bare minerals powder foundation. This was the first product that I stumbled upon in Target. It was $3.00, so I thought what the heck. It is a tinted moisturizer with a SPF 20. I put it on my face and my face automatically glowed. It is almost like a mouse consistency and it definately feels like a moisturizer. I tend to have oily skin and this does not make it any oiler. It feels great!

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I add this primer before adding my eyeshadow. It makes my shadows last longer and the shadow appears more vibrant. The shadow does not crease either. If you buy this by itself its $1 which is a great deal. You get a fair amount of product and just a little goes a long way, literally a dab is good enough for one eye.

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This is another product from elf. It is an under eye concealer & highlighter. I don't normally use a concealer, but I do have faint dark circles under my eyes and I have a birth mark on my forehead. It doesn't make my dark circles disappear completely, but it certainly makes me look more awake and fresh. If you have very dark circles, then this product probably isn't for you. It doesn't hide my birthmark completely either, but I haven't found a concealer that will. This one does fade it though. I use the highlighter on my brow line and in the corners of my eyes as well. I think that is what really makes my eyes brighter.

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I love this coral blush from elf as well. It isn't out of this world, spectacular, but for the price of $1.00 it is fantastic. It is comparable to any other blush I've tried. With the primer, it stays on all day. I especially like the color of coral because it gives a natural, youthful color to the cheeks.

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I love Mary Kay's mineral powder. I got started on mineral powder when I tried Bare Escentuals mineral powder but found it expensive. Mary Kay's is a bit cheaper and covers the same.

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I put this lip gloss on my lips before my lipstick. I wouldn't say that it is a must, but it is the one I use.

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I use Revlon ColorBurst lipstick in 070 Soft Nude over the Mary Kay Lipgloss. The lipgloss makes the lipstick glide on very smooth with no creases. I love this color because it is natural color. It doesn't stay on all day which is a downer. I do have to reapply throughout the day.

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I love this eye combo. It makes my hazel eyes stand out. I love the matte finish as well. Very natural and pretty. It stays on all day and does not crease.

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I love the look of a clean, natural and youthful face. All of these products give me that look. I've never been a smokey eyed girl or a red lipstick girl. I want to look like I spent very little time on my face but I also want it to look flawless. These products I've listed give me just that.

I also use a black eyeliner and black mascara. I'm not sure what brand of eye liner I use, but I'm not too picky when it comes to eye liners either, as long as they glide on easily and doesn't look like I used a marker.

I'm still looking for the perfect mascara and I haven't found it yet. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them!! I've tried the following:

Cover Girl - NEW! - NatureLuxe Mousse Mascara - I like this one, but it doesn't make my lashes look full enough.

LashBlast Volume Blasting Mascara - This one makes my lashes look super full, but the bottle doesn't last long and it flakes by the end of the day. This one is probably my favorite so far, but has its cons.

Bare Escentuals - Flawless Definition Waterproof Mascara - Black - It didn't give me a full enough lash and it smears.

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara - This mascara also flakes really bad.

Volum' Express® The Colossal Waterproof Mascara - This clumped up my lashes and also flaked by the end of the day.

Maybe I should probably try the Elf brand since I love their other products.

Face Cleanser

I love this face cleaner combo. I have acne prone skin and this cleanser is awesome! I don't have terrible acne, but my forehead was always rough, my pores were deep and I always had a couple of pimples on my face. I can't go a night without using it. All of my breakouts are gone, my pores have shrunk and my forehead is so smooth. By far, the best product I have ever used. I was reading Kandee Johnson's blog and she recommended it. They are currently offering 40% off on this trio, so you can get all three for $35.00.

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I like a little extra eye cream and this is what I use. I have no idea if there is any other product out there that is better. This is the only one I've tried and continue to use, so I don't really have anything to compare it to.

via

Hair

I just stared using this. It is L'oreal's sulfate free shampoo. I didn't expect it to suds up, but it did, which I like so I can tell that all of my hair has been washed. It felt heavy and coated at first, but now my hair is silky and very soft. Love it!

via

I could not live without this product. The smell is different but I actually like the smell. I think this is my signature smell. lol This leaves my hair feeling great. I put this on my hair before I dry it and a little after my hair is styled to tame the flyaways.

via

This is another favorite. I use this before I straighten my hair to protect it from the heat from my straight iron. It makes my hair really shine without looking oily, which is ironic since it is oil.

via

So, there you have it! My favorite beauty products! If you have any questions, just ask. If you have a product that you would like to recommend, I would love to hear it. Also, any recommendation on mascara is greatly appreciated!! :)

Abscessed Tooth

2011-11-16T06:38:00.001-05:00

I know this probably isn't a blog worthy post, but like I said before, I'm documenting my days on here.

Hailey had a knot on her gums. I couldn't figure out what it was because it kept coming and going away and it didn't hurt her.

So, I took her to the dentist and they told me that it was an abscessed tooth. My husband has had an absessed tooth before, but his entire face swelled up and he was in severe pain. If Hailey would have had those symptoms, I would have known it was an absessed tooth. Maybe I was just being ignorant, but I had no idea an absess could look like a small flappy, swelled up piece of skin. Some days it was there and some days it was not. She never complained, but she did show it to me a couple of times. This may sound gross, but I guess the days the bump wasn't there, the puss had drained.

Anyway... now that I grossed you out. We had a couple of options, but we chose to pull it since her permanent tooth was about to come in. She had mixed emotions, scared at first, then brave.

This was after they numbed her. Her crooked smile was adorable and she wanted to see it. Can you tell which side is numb?

It only took the doctor a couple of minutes to loosen the tooth and pull it. Pain free with no complications afterwards. I told her a couple of months ago that she couldn't get braces until she lost 8 teeth. That's not a rule, but she wants them so bad that I had to make something up to keep her from begging to get them now. She's lost 5 teeth. Four have grown back in and one is loose. Once the doctor pulled this one out, she shouted, "I've lost 6 teeth, two more to go and I can get braces!". Oh boy. I should have said ten teeth.

Proud Mom on the topic of Bullying

2011-11-10T06:11:00.004-05:00

Facebook can bring on evil or it could end all evil. It is up to the users (us) on how we use it. My son made me a proud mama yesterday.

The story below is what went down.

Characters are Girl, Friend and Joseph. Girl is the one that posted the picture and Friend is her friend, I guess. Joseph is my son.

*Girl from school posts a picture of her and another boy.*
*Friend comments: Ewww he is nasty.
*Girl: I know, lol it's funny though.
*Joseph: No he's not, he just likes to read. He's not that bad once you start to talk to him.
*Friend: I've known him since kindergarten and yeah he picks his nose and eats it in front of me!
*Joseph: Oh well, all I can say is he's good at baseball, he hits like 3 homeruns and like 50 strikeouts.
*Girl: You guys are mean.
*Joseph: What did I do, I'm his friend, I'm trying to take up for him.
*Friend: How? He hates me and I hate him
*Girl: Well, I'm sticking up for him too cause he gets treated badly that's why he is so mean to other people.
*Joseph: I know
*Friend: ha ha ha
*Girl: It's not funny maybe if you are in his position you wouldn't be laughing.
*Joseph: Yeah how would you feel?
*Friend: ha ha ha meaning this convo got boring
*Girl: stop
*Friend: Stop what? I wasn't laughing, I said ha ha which is I'm bored pretty much.
*Girl: well just leave it at that
*Friend: Its not like he can see what I'm saying
*Girl: chill

via

Joseph is a pretty popular guy, athletic, well liked, makes good grades etc. He is the Defender. He chimed in and took up for this boy, whom doesn't have facebook therefore can't take up for himself. By Joseph standing up and taking up for him, he changed the mind of the girl that posted the picture and she started taking up for him.

I was proud. I was secretly watching this conversation going on and once it was over, I walked upstairs and told Joseph I was proud of him. He then started to tell me that everyone makes fun of him and he feels sorry for him. Joseph said that even his friends make fun of him. Joseph likes him and doesn't understand why he is being made fun of.

My mouthy, arrogant son who never shows any kind of emotion was talking to me about feeling sorry for someone. All of my lectures that I thought were going through one ear and out of the other had actually sunk in. This was my opportunity to teach him how to handle the situation.

via

I don't know the proper way to handle this type of situation, I may have told him something wrong, but I told him what I would do. I told him that while his friends or anyone was making fun of someone, that he needed to stand up to them and tell them to stop. It's not cool.

Joseph can make a difference. He can be friends with him because I'm sure the boy could use some friends. He can use his "popularity" for good use. If his peers see him taking up for someone and doing good, then maybe it will catch on.

Joseph listened. He didn't say much, but I could tell he felt good about himself for taking up for this boy. I walk downstairs and started talking to RJ about it. Hailey comes in and wants me to lie down with her. I take my phone with me so I can browse facebook some more. About five minutes later, I see a very long status update from Joseph. All the words ran together, there were no periods and a lot of mispelled words. I could tell he was pouring his heart out and not thinking of grammer. He was determined to make a difference.

This was his post. I'm going to quote it exactly, so it is a little hard to read.

"lms(like my status) if you dont like people that make fun of other people and i know that about every single guy thats my friend does it but Austin n ive seen him get made fun of n ive seen jacob n others but when they have the same damn rights we do n when people say i do it to other people when im takin up for the person when someone made fun of him n i said somethin to the god made us n he made us equal n some people take for granite that mayb there parents did get a better job mayb they do get more money but y make fun of that person help him because he or she r the way they r cus now all i see people do is put people down n make them feel smaller than he or she when they need help ive seen elijah made fun of people calling him short ive seen jamie beeing called big ginger the giant if people didnt make fun of people mayb life would go on better so lms if you think it should stop"

Hard to ready? Yes. Meaningul? Yes. Written from the heart? Yes. Am I proud? Definitly!

He posted that at 10pm last night. He had received 8 comments and 20 likes by his friends before he went to bed.

My heart was racing, my throat had a lump in it and my eyes were getting teary eyed.

Middle school kids can be so mean sometimes.

I hope he and his friends can make a difference in another childs life that is being bullied. I hope they can make it stop. I'm so happy that Joseph took his leadership personality, boldness and words and spoke what he believed.

I couldn't be more proud of him.

Don't ever be afraid to stand up for what you believe. Don't be a follower, supporter or onlooker. Stand up and defend! You just might make a difference in someone's life in a positive way.

Halloween Costumes - Zombies

2011-11-03T06:11:00.004-04:00

We started Halloween Day off by having parties at school. Hailey couldn't wear her Halloween costume to school because she wasn't allowed to paint her face and her costume would look silly without her face painted since it consisted of a "bloody shirt" and jeans. So, she just wore an old dance costume and was a nurse.

Hunter wore his army uniform and was a military man. After the parties, they paraded around the school and then went in for games and treats.

We came home, brushed our teeth and rushed Hunter to the dentist. After the dentist appointment, we rushed home and started painting faces. It took me an hour and 45 minutes to paint both faces. I glued toilet paper to Hailey's face. Then let it dry while I glued toilet paper onto Hunter's face. Then I painted Hailey's face while Hunter's dried. After I painted Hunter's face, I teased Hailey's hair and then spray painted her hair black with black hair spray.

To make her shirt, I just took an old solid white t-shirt and stained it with tea bags. I put three tea bags in the sink and filled it up with water. I soaked the shirt in there over night. I let it completely air dry and then ripped it, tied it, etc and then put fake blood all over it and Hailey wiped mud all over it. We also put a few bloody handprints on it.

Joseph was too cool to dress up this year.

We went to our city's hoe down. We trick or treated for about an hour up and down the streets and then Hailey played on the inflatables. Around 8pm, Hailey entered the costume contest and she won 2nd place!! Way to go girl! This costume idea was all Hailey's. She searched for hours to find the perfect zombie makeup tutorial. She finally found one and made me watch and then convinced me into trying it out. To see our first attempt and for a tutorial, visit here.

Were you or your kids zombies this year? If so, I would love to see them. Post your links in the comment section.

We are already searching for ideas for next year.

Pumpkin Carving

2011-11-02T06:41:00.001-04:00

It's a good thing I don't get paid to blog because I'm all sorts of behind. The next couple of posts will be picture heavy.

We carved pumpkins last week. For some reason, the kids love carving pumpkins. They love getting their hands goopy with pumpkin guts and sorting seeds. I find carving pumpkins a huge chore. Hunter spends most of his time playing in the pumpkin. He eventually gets tired and I have to finish.

Hailey loves playing in the "slime" as she calls it. She gets in a hurry, cleans out her pumpkin, sorts the seeds and is ready to move on to another one. She usually helps me finish Hunter's and Joseph's pumpkins.

Joseph could care less. He hates getting his hands dirty. Always has. I remember when he was a baby and he was in his walker. We had a wet paper towel sitting on the coffee table and he strolled by and touched it. Then gagged and almost vomited. I made him touch it again, just to watch him gag. That sounds really mean as I type this, but it was hilarious at the time. To this day, he still has a weak stomach and can't handle odd textures or smells.

We usually have the kids draw a pumpkin face on the pumpkins and RJ will carve them. This year, Hailey wanted to use a template. The template was too complicated to use, so RJ just freehanded the picture she wanted onto the pumpkin and then carved it. This is Hailey's pumpkin.

This is the face Hunter drew onto his pumpkin. He drew and erased several different faces until he come up with the perfect face.

This is the face Joseph drew onto his pumpkin. I find it funny that Joseph's and Hunter's pumpkin are very similar. The only difference are the eyebrows on Hunter's pumpkin. The eyebrows make his pumpkin look happy and Joseph's pumpkin looks mean without them.

We made sure to give him the lightest weight pumpkin since he doesn't like to clean them out. There were barely any seeds in it and the pumpkin was pretty thin, you could slice it with a butter knife. It also glowed.

Then we dried out the seeds for two days so we could roast them. I love roasted pumpkin seeds. It is definitely my favorite part of carving pumpkins.

Did you all carve pumpkins this year? Do you love doing it or is it a chore like it is to me? I would love to see your carved pumpkins!!

Tomorrow, I'll share our halloween costumes. :)

PS... if you are looking for a new hip camear bag, Tatertots & Jello is having a giveaway. Visit here to enter. I entered!!. I would love to have the Rose bag in Teal. Which one would you like to have?

Scrap Pages Using Shabby Miss Jenn products

2011-10-31T06:22:00.001-04:00

I just joined Shabby Miss Jenn's creative team last month and I've had a blast scrapping with her fabulous kits. I'm a bit behind on posting them to the blog though. Here are three pages I've created in the last few weeks.

This page is of my precious cat, Ki Ki. I used the kit Here Kitty Kitty.

This next page, I used Estate Sale. This picture is of my kids on their first day of school.

This last page, I used a few pictures from Hunter's end of season baseball parade. He looks so happy in the single picture of him. He was riding in the float and I happend to get a picture of him throwing candy and laughing. I used the kit Batter Up from Shabby Miss Jenn.

To see the full credits and other scrap pages, you can visit my scrap gallery here.

Have a nice Monday!! I'm getting ready to head out and go to the kids Halloween parties at school. Trick or Treat is tonight, so I'll be posting several Halloween posts this week. Stay tuned...

Soccer

2011-10-27T06:21:00.002-04:00

Middle School Soccer is wrapping up and we are about to start basketball. My kids definitely keep us shuffling. Here are a few pictures of Joseph playing soccer.

Joseph is number 15.

I LOVE watching him play soccer, especially when it is a close game.

I get tense and bite my nails, but I'm trying to break my habit of nail biting, so now I just chip my polish off.

I could never play soccer. I don't think I am coordinated enough.

Or in good enough shape. Look at the muscles in his legs.

He has been playing soccer since he was three, almost four. It hasn't got old yet. I still love it as much as I did when he was little, but more. He loves it also.

He wants to go pro. I'm not sure he is good enough to go pro, but I try to encourage him to practice more so his dreams can come true. He has a backup plan if they don't.

He is my awesome soccer player and I love him so much.

Oogly Boogley

2011-10-26T06:17:00.001-04:00

Update: Both Hunter and Hailey won for best dressed in their class during mismatch day. It is unheard of for a boy to win but Hunter went all out and it paid off! He was so happy.

Designers Kaye Winiecki and Kate Hadfield collaborated together and came up with Oobly Boogly. I had the pleasure of working with it. It is such a FAB kit to work with. I created this page, called "Boo". The pictures in this scrap page is of Hailey and Hunter last year during Trick or Treat.

If you have Halloween pictures that need scrapped, this is the kit to use!

Mismatch Day

2011-10-25T06:15:00.001-04:00

I need to get in the habit of using my good camera on a daily basis. The camera on my phone is just too handy. The quality isn't great, but it is always on me.

Today is Mismatch Day at school. The kids and I had the best time putting their outfits together last night. As we were getting in the car this morning, I forgot I didn't take a picture of them, so I grabbed my phone. When I dropped them off at school, I could tell Hunter was a little nervous to walk down the sidewalk looking like this.

I was always embarrassed to dress up at school. I'm so glad these two are brave enough to have some fun! I'm so excited to hear if they won for craziest outfit. I thought they did a great job. Hailey's hair was one bun, one ponytail and a braid in the back. Hopefully they didn't have a problem in gym class.

This past weekend, we went to a birthday party and two haunted trails. I didn't take the youngest two with us. Joseph did fine and was brave enough to go through them. He was hand in hand with a girl to "protect" her. Then Sunday night he and a bunch of his friends went to see Paranormal Activity 3. Joseph said it was really scary. He kept covering his eyes and a few of his friends screamed. RJ went upstairs after Joseph had gone to sleep and found his phone was facing his bathroom and recording his room. He says he isn't scared, but I can tell he is.

RJ and I are going to see it this coming weekend. I'm excited.

Fall Festival

2011-10-21T06:53:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, the kid's school had their Fall Festival. I took the kids and let them each spend $10.00 on whatever they wanted. They bought their tickets and ran around playing games. Hailey's favorite was the Cake Walk. Have you all heard of this? The parents volunteer to bake cakes or buy cakes. There had to have been about 50 cakes on the table. Anyway... Your put carpet tile down in a circle with numbers on them. I think we had 16 carpet tiles. You could use anything really as long as they had numbers on them and were in a circle. You give two tickets (50 cents) to play. You walk in a circle on the tiles and when the music stops, you stop. A person draws a number and the person standing on the number called wins a cake.

Hailey was addicted. She probably spent $5.00 playing in there. Hunter goes in and plays one time and wins. Hailey never won. She wasn't upset either, she was just excited that we got to bring home a cake. I love that!

Hailey stood in line for 30 minutes to get her face painted. She chose a cheetah. The clown lady did a fabulous job! Don't you think?

Once she saw how cute she looked, she then requested to be a mean cheetah and wantd blood added.

Not so cute anymore. :( But, she was happy and that is all that matters.

Hunter didn't want to spend his time waiting in line for face paint, so he ran around with his friends and got his hair spray painted. By the end of the day, the red hair spray was dripping down his face from the sweat.

The school raised a lot of money to go towards their playground and the kids had a blast. Successful day!

Cool Halloween Snacks

2011-10-20T06:02:00.003-04:00

I pinned some really cute Halloween Snacks that I might try with the kids. I know they will enjoy eating them. Check these out!

Edible Eyeballs

{source and recipe: Picture Me Cooking}

Mummy Dogs

{source and recipe: Rhodes Bake N Serve}

Pizza Mummies

{source and recipe: Parents}

Apple Smiles

{source and recipe: Disney Family}

October 1

2011-10-19T06:02:00.001-04:00

I just realized that I never shared what we did for RJ's birthday. On October 1st, we celebrated RJ's 36th birthday. We woke up and had breakfast and then we set off to go to a Mountaineer Game. It was cold and it rained the entire time, but we made the best of it. The boys had ponchos and RJ and I sat there in our clothes and got drenched. Worst part of it was we had to drive 3 hours back home soak and wet. Not fun, but we didn't complain and actually had a great time. I didn't take many pictures because it did rain so much, but here are a few I took with my iphone.

This was before the game started, Hunter and me.

The ball players huddled up.

Stretching

The band

The band coming out of the circle

My favorite part, the form of West Virginia

RJ and Joseph

WVU vs Bowling Green

Notice the crowd. It had rained so much and we were ahead by a good amount, that most people left. Not us, we were staying until the end when they played "Country Roads".

The Score 55-10

Have you been to any college football games lately. They are my favorite to go to! We had a great time despite all the rain and cold weather.

Yard Work and Thoughts

2011-10-14T06:02:00.001-04:00

This past weekend, we worked in the yard and pressure washed the back deck.

We cut down these bushes. Now, when looking at these pictures, the before looks better than the after, but in the spring, the smaller bushes will look much much better.

We had a bonfire burning the limbs we cut down and ate chinese while watching the fire.

Look at the gunk on our deck! This side of our house doesn't see the sun much and this is what happens when it rains and the sun isn't there to dry it. Its been about 5 years since we my husband built this deck and we have never washed it until now.

This is what it looks like now. Much better. Now I need to pressure wash the side of the house and the front porch.

Here is a side by side comparison. The left side looks like a stain, but its actually dirt. The only thing I don't like about the end result of a pressure washer is the roughness of the wood.

While working in the yard, we found this little guy or gal.

He's walking away.

He was so entertaining to watch. I guess you can tell that I have no life if I can find a praying mantis entertaining.

Miss thing had to have her picture taken.

We are looking at a house tomorrow. Possibly my dream home. I'm scared. I've been looking at it all summer. Without even seeing the inside of the house, I already want it - bad! I am attached to my current house though. I'll post more on this next week. I'll take pictures during our house tour tomorrow and I'll share more thoughts and fears along with it.

Happy Friday! Have a good weekend. :) I'm going to dinner and a movie with a friend to see Footloose! Will you head out this weekend to watch it?

Zombies - Halloween Makeup

2011-10-12T06:54:00.002-04:00

There are two things that I forgot to mention on yesterday's post.

1. The brown and black heels I bought yesterday are super comfy!!! They also have a pretty cool heel.

2. I can mark off #12 on my 101 in 1001 post, which was go on a shopping spree for myself.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My kids want to be scary for Halloween this year. For some reason, Hailey wants to be a zombie. She normally dresses very girlie and it boggles my mind to see her scary looking.

I found this tutorial on Youtube and thought we'd try it. I didn't have face paint, latex or staging blood, so I compromised and used non toxic glue, blue eyeshadow and red lipstick. I think it turned out pretty good. What do you think? These were taken with my phone, so please ignore the bad quality.

I used some of the same techniques on Hunter without the glue and tissue paper.

My little Zombies. I'm working on their costumes now.

I can't wait for Halloween!!

Long Weekend

2011-10-11T06:39:00.002-04:00

I had a great birthday weekend. I took Friday off from work, which was a last minute decision, I just couldn't decide what to do. I felt guilty for taking the day off while my kids were at school and I felt a little lonely as well. But, after I got myself going, I ended up having a great time! I went to TJMaxx and to the mall. I had the best luck at TJ Maxx. This is what I came home with.

Five pair of shoes. One pair from TJ Maxx (top right hand corner) and four pair from Payless.

A Jacket and belt from TJ Maxx.

Four sweaters from TJ Maxx

Six tops. The two bottom tops and green top are from The Loft and the others are from TJ Maxx. I just realized I bought a lot of blue.

Five pair of pants. The two on the bottom left are from THE Loft and the others are from TJ Maxx.

Two candles 50% off from Bath & Body Works.

As soon as Hailey got off of the bus, she wanted to go to her friend's house. She dropped her backpack on the porch, changed clothes and went home with Chelsie. Joseph had his homecoming dance after school and Hunter had baseball practice at 5pm. I dropped Hunter off at practice, picked Joseph up after his dance and then come back to watch Hunter.

After Hunter's baseball practice, we went to pick Hailey up but she was on a boat ride with Chelsie and her mother. So, I waited a few minutes until they got back. Once the girls hopped off the boat, they bombarded me asking if Hailey could spend the night. I gave her the choice of going to dinner with us for my birthday or spending the night with Chelsie. She chose Chelsie, typical 7 year old. ;)

I took the boys home to shower and get ready and we waited for my cousin, Gary, and his girlfriend to arrive so we could go eat. I chose Buffalo Wild Wings. We came home and played Dance Dance Revolution afterwards.

Saturday and Sunday, we spent working in the yard. Monday, Hailey and I tried out a few things we found on Youtube. More on my birthday weekend tomorrow.

34

2011-10-07T06:54:00.003-04:00

Today is my 34th birthday. I debated on whether I should take the day off from work or not. The kids would still have school and RJ would still have to work. I would be home by myself. I could either stay home, get a lot accomplished and have a clean house with all laundry done for the weekend, or I could go shopping by myself and buy myself whatever I wanted with no guilt or I could stay at home and lie in bed all day and watch movies. Or I could go to work and save my annual day for another day.

What did I do? You'll find out on Tuesday. We have Monday off for Columbus Day, so I either had a 3 day or a 4 day weekend. Either way, its more than two. ha ha ha

Have a good weekend!!

Landlords - Not for us

2011-10-06T06:47:00.004-04:00

I've decided instead of using this blog to teach or to show you something, I'm just going to journal. I don't know if anyone reads this blog or why you would read it for that matter. It's just a place for me to jot down my thoughts, no pressure.

RJ and I bought our first home right after I graduated college. It was my grandparents home until they passed away. It wasn't anything to brag about, but it was our home, our first home as a married couple. Both boys were brought home from the hospital to this home. When we decided to buy our second home, it was a no brainer that we would keep both homes and rent this one out.

{source: Landlord Insurance}

Being a landlord isn't really what we love. It helps pay the bills, but we always dreaded the phone calls from our renters when something went wrong. Water leaks galore. It needs a new roof, new AC, new windows, new siding and the list goes on. After 10 years of renting this home, we've finally decided this isn't for us. So, I've prayed and prayed and debated on selling it. My mom offered to buy it from us, since the land was once hers anyways. So, that seemed like the perfect solution for us.

So, why am I having such anxiety attacks about it? I suppose it is because this home brought in income, I had planned on the kids living there while going to college, possibly tearing the house down and letting one of the kids build a home there, etc. I had plans for this land and now I'm selling it. I hope it is the right choice. I know that my mom will take care of it better than we have and I know that she will be a better landlord than we ever thought of being. One thing is for sure, though, once we sell it, we won't have to worry about the dreaded phone call of something gone wrong.

Have you ever had to make such a hard decision? How did you come up with a resolution?

Wall Art

2011-10-05T06:59:00.001-04:00

This past Spring, our office area had a complete makeover. We all received new cubicles, desks, chairs, etc. I went from having a window office stuck in the corner of a hallway to having a nice big office with a door. I was so excited to decorate it. I put a couple of vases on my desk along with a few pictures of my family. But, I have these two walls that really need something on them.

Ignore the bad quality phone pictures.

I've been searching everywhere for pictures but couldn't find anything that I like that is affordable. I finally decided to just take a picture of something with my camera and get it printed on canvas, since canvas is lightweight. I bought some peacock feathers and snapped away. I took two pictures that I was happy with and played around in photoshop. This is what I came up with. I like that you can still tell that they are peacock feathers but they are sort of abstract looking as well. I may go with two of these or something completely different.

After looking at these together, I may use the last one and split it into two pictures side by side and when you put the two together, it is one feather. Not sure yet, we'll see.
I will get the canvases printed at Walmart.com since they are fairly cheap and I can just pick them up at our local store.

Now, I'm looking for different hanging options. One option in mind is hanging my art pieces using AS Hanging System picture hangers. Using their picture hangers will make it easier to center the pictures on the wall since I obviously can't use nails.

I'll let you know how it turns out in a later post.

Dream

2011-10-03T06:51:00.001-04:00

The weekend after Hailey and I got back from our Disney trip for her cheerleading competition, I found her and Joseph cuddled in bed together fast asleep. She missed her brothers so much. During the whole trip, she kept talking about them, what they would have liked or wouldn't have liked. She wanted to buy everything she saw in the shops that reminded her of them. It was so sweet.

I think they missed her just as much. I can't wait to take the entire family this coming March. We just purchased our plane tickets!

Here is a scrap page that I created using Shabby Miss Jenn's Snuggle Up kit.

Pin-spiration - Snacks for Kids

2011-09-30T06:11:00.002-04:00

Just a few items that I've been pinning lately in regards to snacks for kids. You can click on the source link below each picture to get the recipes.

{source: The Girl Who Ate Everything}

{source: Whole Foods Market}

{source: Smashed Peas and Carrots}

{source: Love Hugs and Giggles}

Enjoy your weekend!!

Art Journaling: I bought a few supplies

2011-09-29T17:14:00.003-04:00

I went to Michaels and bought a few supplies to get myself started on the art journaling project. I also ordered 3 watercolor moleskin books for each child. They ended up being smaller than what I thought they would be, though. :(

My list of supplies include, but not limited to:
acrylic paint
paint brushes
Gesso
3 watercolor moleskin journaling books
stamp
alphabet stamps
watercolor pencils (I already had)

I still need to pick up a couple Sakura Pigma Micron Pens, modge podge, ink pad and wide masking tape. As I embark on this project, I need to start collecting ~~junk~~ teasures, for example, bubble wrap, yarn, rubber bands, old lids and really anything to create texture on my pages. I'll definitely have to think outside the box.

Now, to clear out the basement, so I can get started!

Tracy Anderson Metamorphosis

2011-09-27T06:00:00.019-04:00

I fell asleep around 11:30pm last night and my dog, Lucy, woke me up in the middle of the night to go outside. I kept trying to talk her into waiting for the alarm to go off because I was sure it was about time for it, but Lucy wan't having it. When I got up, I looked at the clock and it read 2:30am. I was so rested, that I thought it was close to 6:00am.

Normally, when I let her outside in the middle of the night, I can fall back to sleep pretty quickly. Not last night. I tossed and turned with no luck. So, I browsed my facebook, then Joseph's facebook until my phone died. I still wasn't sleepy, so I turned on the television. I forget what infomercial was on at the time, but I just rolled over hoping that the noise and flashing lights would help me fall asleep. Then Tracy Anderson Metamorphosis come on and it got my attention. I was wide awake listening. I usually let infomercials go through one ear and out the other, but for some reason this one was speaking to me.

I got on the computer today and researched all of the reviews, some good and some bad. I browsed the different blogs that mentioned it and talked myself right into buying it.

I actually bought it from QVC instead of her website because it is so easy to return items from QVC. If I'm not 100% satisfied with the videos, I can return them within 30 days with no questions asked and from my experience, QVCs customer service is great. I think I paid an extra $2.00 to do this, but the convenience was worth it to me. It should be delivered on Oct 5th, but I bet it will come a little earlier. I'm excited to get started.

Every 10 days, there is a different video/workout to do for a total of a 90 day shred. I'll share my experience on here along the way as I switch videos. I may even post a before and after picture.

I think I may be addicted to workout DVDs. Please tell me I'm not the only one.

You Conquered Your Fear

2011-09-26T06:50:00.002-04:00

We stayed pretty busy this weekend. I had good intentions of taking pictures to share, but never got around to it. Hailey and Joseph stayed with a friend Friday night. RJ, Hunter and I went to dinner with my cousin and his girlfriend. Saturday, Joseph and Hunter had a baseball game and Hailey had cheer practice. Hailey had a friend spend the night Saturday night, while we had my cousin and his girlfriend over to watch the football game. Since WVU wasn't doing too well, we all played dominos until about 1am. Sunday, I took the girls to cheer practice and I cleaned out my car and then we went to Hunter's baseball game.

This is where I would have inserted pictures, but I didn't take any. FAIL I'll get used to this blogging role soon.

The kids brought their midterms home on Friday. Hunter made straight As on his midterms, Hailey had 3 Ss, 1A and 3Bs. Joseph had 2As, 3Bs, and 2Cs. Still a 3.0, but he could do better. I was proud of him because he wasn't doing too well and brought the two bad grades up to Cs.

I did create a scrap page using Shabby Miss Jenn's Autumn Walk kit.

This is a picture of Hunter jumping off of a waterfall at Summersville Lake. He is terribly afraid of heights, but desperately wanted to jump off like his older brother. He made up his mind that he was going to do it, then walked up the cliff with our friend, Mike, and stood at the top and contemplated. Mike finally talked him into jumping and he got to the edge, looked down and just leaped. Best time ever! He was so proud of himself for doing something that scared him to death. I love this kid. He is always trying new things and breaking the shell.

I combined two pictures to make the long photo. That is him in the orange shorts at the top of the waterfall, next to Mike. That is also him in the midst of jumping, getting ready to land in the water.

Cinnamon Dulce

2011-09-23T06:27:00.003-04:00

This is heavenly! It calls for 4 teaspoons with 8 ounces of hot water for a total of 70 calories, 2 grams of fat and 14 carbs. I'm sure it would taste fantastic with 4 teaspoons, but I only use 3. I use three teaspoons to reduce the calories to 56.25, and to make the container go further and it is still delicious! I haven't drank caffeine in over a year, so it certainly gives my energy a boost. I can sure use the boost during these cold mornings.

So, if you are looking for a new alternative to coffee or tea, try this! You won't regret it. I love the warm cinnamon/cocoa flavor, topped with a creamy foam. So, delicious.

Happy Friday! I will spend my weekend on the baseball field and cheer lobby. My kids will bring their midterms home today. Come Monday, I'll let you know how much they were allowed to do this weekend. Hopefully, they'll bring home good grades.

Fall Clothes

2011-09-22T07:18:00.003-04:00

I am in the mood to shop. I've pinned a few style boards for fall inspiration and I see a trend. Can you?

First on my fall shopping list are scarves and boots.

Art Journaling

2011-09-21T06:05:00.004-04:00

There is a reason I am turning a corner of my basement into a craft room. I am going to journal my children's year in 2012. But, I'm not going to do the ordinary journal or my normal scrap journal. I'm going to try something new. I'm going to art journal. Have you ever heard of it? I come across it by accident. I joined Pinterest over the summer and a friend I am following pinned a bunch of cool looking artsy pins that intrigued me. I began clicking on a bunch of her pins and came across this website. I probably spent a good few hours browsing and pinning a bunch of my own inspirations. Then, I come up with the brilliant idea of doing 3 art journals for each child and giving them a journal of their life, my feelings of them, their accomplishments, etc in 2012.

{source: Balzar Designs}

This will definitely be something new for me and way out of my comfort zone because I'm certainly not an artist. But, I will take you along on the ride and blog about it along the way. I'm excited to get started, but I have to stock up on supplies and create a little area that can get messy. What better location than my basement, right!?!

Weight Loss update

2011-09-20T06:43:00.002-04:00

Last winter I lost a total of 28 pounds, but during the summer, I put back on 10 pounds. Well, yesterday, I started my diet and exercise program again. I hope to lose 20 pounds this winter. I bought this yoga DVD and this pilates DVD.

Hailey, Hunter and I tried the Yoga DVD the other day and it was definitely different. It focused on breathing, relaxing and meditating. It was definitely a workout, just different. Hailey thought the Yoga video was dumb, Hunter loved it and I spent most of my time helping them correct their breathing and posture. I will try it a few more times before I decide if I like it or not.

We are going to try the pilates video tonight. Hailey is excited about this one. I bought these for her to build her strength and flexibility for gymnastics, so hopefully she will have better success with this video.

I will continue to do my 30 Day Shred because I had the most success with this video. After about 3 weeks, I could really tell a big difference in my body tone. Can't wait to get started with this again.

I'm back!

2011-09-19T07:25:00.002-04:00

I took a summer vacation from everything. I didn't do any projects, I didn't blog, scrap or clean very much. I spent my summer just enjoying life and relaxing on the river in our boat. We went camping three times and went to the beach in August. We celebrated 3 birthdays. My kids turned 12, 7 and 10.

But, I'm back and I'm going to try to blog a little something everyday. I have big plans this fall/winter/spring.

Remember this photo?

It hasn't changed much. But, I I hope to turn this corner of my basement into a craft room. I've already started by priming the walls. Now, I need to pick out a color. I may use something that I already have.

Remember this post. Well, I've marked a few items off of the list.

For instance...

#22 Visit a new state that I've not been to yet. That was my florida trip with Hailey for her cheer competition.

#35 Try Yoga - will post about that later.

#41 Have a campfire and make smores in the backyard. - will post about this later.

#76 Fly on a plane. Hailey and I did this on our way to Florida, documented here. I plan on flying the whole family this spring to the same event.

I hope to accomplish more in the upcoming months and I plan on documenting it all right here! So, stay tuned...

Rosette Headband Tutorial

2011-04-20T07:31:00.001-04:00

Remember this To Do List? I've actually accomplished something else on it. Go me! It is taking me forever, but I'm slowly marking the list off.

Today I'm going to show you how to make a Rosette Headband.

First, you find the fabric you want to use and rip it is strands. The more frayed edges, the better, in my opinion.

Your frayed strips will look like this.

You'll take one piece and sort of make a point to start with by folding the end in half.

Then you take the folded end piece and start rolling it/wrapping it, so that the flower gets larger.

As you roll it, you twist the fabric, making it look like a rose petal then wrap it around the center, twisting every so often.

I had a small piece of scrap fabric that I was working with so, I had a bunch of short strips. But, if your like me and working with scraps, you'll need to sew them together to attach the strips together. I once I finished with a strip, I sewed it in place, then sewed on another piece and began twisting again like I was working with the same piece. You could use hot glue as well, but sewing them looks better in my opinion. Even if you work with a long piece, you may want to sew them together every so often so each layer won't slip off of each other. The thread just blends in with the frays.

Once you get your desired size rose, you cut two pieces of felt in the shape of the rosettes. In the picture below, the rosettes are not connected together. We will connect them with the felt. As you can see below, the felt doesn't have to be perfect.

I hot blued the first piece of felt to the rosettes. That is what keeps them in place to make one piece instead of three pieces.

I took an old headband of Hailey's and wrapped it in red ribbon.

Then, I hot glued the bottom of the rosettes like so.

Then I glued it to the headband and glued the other piece of felt to the other side of the headband using the same glue from above.

And there you have it! A Rosette Headband.

Here is Hailey modeling it.

I loved her updo so much, that I tried it myself!

Disney Day 4 - Mitchel Musso Concert

2011-04-18T07:26:00.017-04:00

The girls were stoked that they got to see Mitchel Musso Live in concert! They couldn't hardly stand the wait.

Here is Hailey getting ready to record the concert. She eventually got tired and decided to just enjoy it.

The crowd was screaming!

Singing along.

Chanting his name. Mitchel, Mitchel, Mitchel

He dedicated songs to them.

At one point, Hailey said he was looking at her and singing to her.

There were camera crews there recording the concert and crowd. Supposedly, you can download the concert somewhere and watch live video. I just need to find out where.

The girls danced, cheered, screamed.

Rocked out with Mitchel Musso.

It was perfect for 6, 7 and 8 year olds. They had a blast!

What a way to end the perfect Disney Cheer competition week! Perfection! One more competition and we are done for the season.

Disney, Day 4 - 2nd day of Competition and AWARDS!!

2011-04-15T07:23:00.070-04:00

I didn't post any pictures of her competing today because they look the same as the day before. Here is a group shot right after they competed this day.

An upclose my Hailey bug.

The stage during the awards ceremony.

The two mini level 2 teams that competed.

They just announced that River Cities Mini Level 2 are the 2011 National Champions!!! Imagine just how excited we all are!!

The girls getting their team trophy.

Look at her beaming face. I am so proud of her. She has grown so much this year. She conquered her fear of heights. She learned to be a team player. She's experienced passion, understading and compromising. She has learned was true friendship is and how to be a good friend. She has been disappointed by friends and lifted by others. She now knows what she expects in a friendship and when to let one go. To be only 6 years old, she is much wiser than I am in areas. I've learned from her.

Here are just a few of her friends.

My baby girl. I love her so much.

So proud of this team and what they've accomplished! They have amazing coaches as well.

I was told it was tradition for the mom's to put on the jackets for a team photo. Afterall, it is our comittment to the team as well because the girls would not be able to fulfill thier dreams and committments if it weren't for our patience, understanding and loyalty to them and to the team.

Hailey Jo, I love you with all of my heart! I hope you will have a lifetime full of good times and memories.

Here are some of my favorite team quotes:

"Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” - Ryunosuke Satoro

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." - Henry Ford

"Individual commitment to a group effort -- that is what makes a team work, a company work, a socity work, a civilization work." - Vince Lombardi

"When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality." - Joe Paterno

"The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may hve the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime." - Babe Ruth

"It is not a question of how well each process works, the question is how well they all work together." - Lloyd Dobens

“Respect your fellow human being, treat them fairly, disagree with them honestly, enjoy their friendship, explore your thoughts about one another candidly, work together for a common goal and help one another achieve it.” - Bill Bradley

Later that evening, Hollywood Studios stayed open later for the cheerleaders, so we headed there. We caught a live concert while we were there. Can you guess who it was? You'll find out Monday!!

Disney, Day 3 - Magic Kingdom Parade

2011-04-14T07:18:00.000-04:00

This was the first time we've ever been to Disney. I was bound and determined to get Hailey to Magic Kingdom so she could see the palace. We almost didn't make it, but we took a late night trip there to catch the 10pm parade. She was in awe of its beauty.

We were able to catch the light show on the palace as well and Hailey recorded it on her ipod.

I tried to get a picture of her in front of it, but I must have snapped during the second it wasn't lit up. Go figure.

Once I discovered it didn't light up in the background, I took another quick shot of her.

While we were waiting on the sidewalk to watch the parade, one of the workers there came up to the girls and asked them if they would like to hoola hoop while we waited. They were all for it!

Then the parade started and it was beautiful!!

This is Tinkerbell's float.

Minie Mouse

Alice and Wonderland float

Cinderella's float

Peter Pan's float

Snow White's float

Pinocchio's float

Puff the Magic Dragon's float

America's float

There were many more floats and dancer's but I was in such amazement that I wasn't able to focus my attention on taking pictures. This parade ended the perfect day.

Disney, Day 3 - Pixel Parade at Hollywood Studios

2011-04-13T07:13:00.003-04:00

Right after Hailey competed, we parked our booties on the sidewalk to await for this parade. It was a good one and short which is what I like. I don't know how these people dress up in uniform every day to do this parade. It was warm this day and I know it just gets hotter throughout the season. I'm sure they burn up, but you would never know it by their cheerful dancing. Hailey really enjoyed herself.

The Incredibles

A Bug's Life

Monster's Inc.

Toy Story

After the parade, we rode Toy Story Mania. The line was entertaining and cool, beats waiting in line outside. The ride itself was pretty fun.

After we rode Toy Story Mania, we jetted to ESPN Wide World of Sports to watch the remaining River Cities teams compete and then went to Magic Kingdom to catch another parade. Pictures of it tomorrow. ;)

Disney, Day 3 - UCA Competition Day!

2011-04-12T07:09:00.000-04:00

We woke up Saturday morning ready to start the day off! We did the girl's hair, ate breakfast and met the team just outside the hotel room. The girls gathered for a team photo shoot.

This is a picture of Hailey and her friend Kylie that she met this year. We love Kylie! She is so sweet and has such a fun personality.

This picture is of the girls walking to the bus by twos chanting, R-I-

V-E-R-C-I-T-I-E-S, River (clap clap) Cities (clap clap), repeat.

On stage performing for UCA/NCA All Star Nationals! The next few pictures are all of Hailey in each stunt. I was surprised I was able to get such good pictures. With all of the excitement, shaking, adrenaline pumping, etc, I didn't think they would be good, but they didn't turn out too bad and I was able to get a picture of each stunt during one performance for the first time this season.

First stunt, getting ready to position herself.

There we go! Cheer face and all. She is just now getting into the facials. It took me forever to convince her to do them. She said she felt stupid making faces, but has finally learned it doesn't look as stupid as she feels.

Second position in the first stunt.

Third position in the first stunt.

Getting ready for the second stunt. It looks like she is falling here, but she is actually upside down and the girls are going to lift her into a full extension.

Half extension.

Full extension!!

Fourth stunt. This is actually the best picture I've been able to get of her doing the basket toss. All others have been really blurry.

First part of their Pyramid. My girl is on the far right.

The above pyramid turns into this pyramid. Hailey is now the second girl on the right.

Then they finished with their dance. We were told later that day that after day one, we were in first place, but we still had day two to compete. Day two could make or break us because it was worth 80% of the score.

After the competition was over on this day, we were able to catch a parade before going to watch the older girls compete. More on that tomorrow.

Day 2 at Disney... Practice

2011-04-11T06:53:00.000-04:00

I swear I am so far behind in blogging, it's not even funny. I had promised I would post pictures of our Disney Trip and it is taking me forever. So, here is day 2, Friday night at practice.

We stayed at All Star Sports Resort and we practiced on the football field. They had these Xs and Os on the field which were perfect props for pictures. :)

Here are a few pictures of the girls stretching.

During practice, a lot of the teams competing are on this field practicing with their music. It is packed full of people and booming with music. It was nothing like I had experienced before and I am sure Hailey will never forget this experience. Here they are practicing their routine on concrete, which made me a bit nervous.

Where's Waldo?

There she is!!

Here is the team listening to their "Believe" CD. It is a CD that the coaches put together with inspirational music to pump them up. It is a good collaboration of a bunch of songs. We enjoyed it. It was the perfect ending to the day.

Next up.... Competition Day!!

Disney - Animal Kingdom

2011-04-01T07:35:00.001-04:00

I got off track. I was going to post Disney pictures from Hailey's National cheer competition all week, but got side tracked. So, I'll start today and hopefully post pictures each day next week.

Our first day in Disney we visited Animal Kingdom. It was probably one of my favorite parks, but that could be because we got to spent half the day there, where at the other parks, we could only spend a couple of hours.

This is a picture right off of the bus getting ready to go in the park.

We are on the safari ride here, getting ready to take off.

Rhinoceros

Hippo swimming

Hippo coming out of the water

Alligator

Giraffe

I can't remember what these are. *blush*

Elephant

Pelicans

I thought this was such a pretty picture with the pelicans surround the tree in the pond.

Ostrich

I thought this fake tree was fascinating.

Here are the girls plus 2 more when we were leaving. Next event is cheer practice.

Next stop is cheer practice at the hotel. It was like nothing I had experienced before. I'll post more about that on Monday. Have a good weekend!!

On the Plane to Disney

2011-03-24T07:24:00.002-04:00

If you all are regular readers, you should know by now that I have a love for sunsets. I have to take picture after picture of them. I could stare at them for days. They are the most beautiful and eye opening vision.

When I admire a sunset my soul swells in the adoration of its creator.

Her first plane ride, scared, but excited. She loved it.

"God is the Sun and when His rays fall upon your heart, not impeded by the clouds of egoism, the lotus blooms and the petals unfold." - Sri Sathya Sai Baba

The sky is smiling at us. Splitting in two and letting the face of God shine through.

It kisses us good night.

"Don't tell me the sky is the limit, there are footprints on the moon." - author unknown

The city at night below. Isn't it gorgeous?

Only from the heart can you touch the sky. I love this baby.

Disney Window

2011-03-23T07:06:00.002-04:00

One of the traditions in Disney world during a cheer competition is decorating the window and door. Every room is lit up with lights and decorations in their cheer colors. The creativity that some parents have with decorating the window amazed us.

I created two banners. One for Hailey and one for our roommate, McKenzie. I designed them with Paint Shop Pro XI because that is the program I'm comfortable with; I'm still trying to get the hang of Photoshop.

I emailed the designs to a local graphics & sign shop in our town. He printed them on a 2 x 4 banner. We then hung them up in our window at Disney along with blue and green Christmas lights. There was one little staple in our decorations. You can't use tape, so we brought suction cups with us. Everything was hung up with suction cups. It was challenging, but it all worked out. This is what our window looked like.

I also made a poster with the girls pictures on them and we received stars and magnets in the girl's gift bags to hang on the door as well. Again, no tape, so we stuck magnets on the decorations because the door is metal. This is what our door looked like.

Here is a closer look at the poster. The poster was pretty fun to make. I just bought a blue poster board, trimmed it in zebra ribbon. I then printed the RC sign from my computer (off of the banner that I designed) and glued it to the board. I bought silver stars at a parent-teacher store and printed their picture in a star shape from my printer. I glued everything on and then outlined it all in glitter glue. The board says Rockin' Rebels on the bottom. It's a little hard to read on the picture.

I think our door and window looked pretty good. I wish I would have taken pictures of some of the other windows so you could see the amazing creativity. Now, I have to prepare for next year and look for anything I can find that is blue and green and would look good on the door or window.

Happy Hump day! The weather is beautiful here, but supposed to be cold and snowy tomorrow. Boo!