Friday, December 31, 2010
Happy New Year!
Just wanted to wish you a very happy, SAFE, New Year!
My girls are already celebrating...I only have the 2 little ones home (and Zach too). Kels is spending New Years Eve with friends.
Enjoy your night, enjoy family & friends, don't drink & drive. Thanks. :)
Toodles!
(Did you notice there is a new blog header today?)
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Dear...(12-29-10)
Dear Mother Nature...I hear you are going to take us into warmth later this week, like 50...you will melt all my snow. NOT COOL.
Dear makers of Midol...Please send a truck load to my house. I have many people here that are apparently PMS'ing...like everyone in the damn house.
Dear Jilly... I hope you adjust well to your new glasses when you get them in a few weeks. Please be careful not to break them. :)
Dear Bree...late naps are bad news. If you MUST nap, please do it early so I don't have to be up all night.
Dear January...Please get here FAST!
Dear new pj pants...you rock. My legs are all nice and toasty warm now, thanks.
Dear dishwasher...please stop leaking.
Dear self...only a few more days of eating whatever and being lazy...come Jan. you need to get busy on the wii, and treadmill. Fatass.
Dear friends...please be sure to motivate me...
Dear feet, knees, and body in general...I plan to give you a work out soon...be prepared, don't fail me. I need you. :)
Thats it for tonight. Have a great day!
QOTD: would you rather...lose your memory -OR- lose your vision?
Toodles!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Merry Christmas!
It's Christmas Eve as I type this, a little after 6 p.m.. The kids are fed, and have opened their Christmas Eve present of new pj's to wear tonight (our yearly tradition). I'm hoping little Miss Bree goes to sleep soon. She was really tired around 4, I had to struggle to keep her awake then, but it appears she may have gotten a second wind. Oh no!
I'm excited for Christmas morning. I'm sure the kids will be surprised. I'm surprised myself, I think we did decent for them this year, not sure how, but we did. I'm pretty sure they won't get as much as their friends, but well, they'll have enough, and they'll have things they wanted, so to me, I think that is good.
I have heavy thoughts tonight. I'm thinking about a lot of friends going through struggles right now.
I have friends going through their first Christmas since the loss of their son.
I have a 'friend' who's blog I've followed over the years that just lost her husband in a car accident on Dec. 22. I don't really know know her, but I feel bad about what she is going through. It is something horrible, and to have it Christmas week makes it even worse. She & her 6 kids will be alone tonight.
I have a friend that is hurting tonight, and mourning the loss of a friend in another way. A friend that feels betrayed, and accused.
I have a friend trying to mend a family tonight that has been apart for many years.
My Jilly is without her father this Christmas, he is living in Norway now. He too is missing her so much.
I am missing my brothers and their families.
And of course I have my dear friend Dazee who is wishing she could be spending Christmas with me :) LOL Ok, maybe she isn't...
Anyways... Please keep my friends & Jilly and her dad in your thoughts tonight & tomorrow. I'm sure there are many others struggling this holiday too. I wish everyone could be happy.
Please everyone, have a safe, and happy Christmas. Eat good food and enjoy good company. Celebrate life, friends, and family.
Toodles!
(time for me to enjoy a wine highball...its been a L O N G day.)
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Dear...(12-22-10)
How was your day?
Mine hasn't been spectacular.
Its time for my weekly Dear... letters to link up with my dear friend Dazee.
Dear Body...My idea of 'sit & take a load off ' apparently isn't the same as yours. Sitting on the toilet, with major cramps, crapping my guts out is NOT WHAT I MEANT! That was pure evilness.
Dear TP companies...You. Are. Welcome. I keep you in business.
Dear Imodium AD...I love you, and so does my sore anus. LOL sorry, TMI. :)
Dear SKYPE...You SUCK today. Shame on you for being down ALL DAY! Don't you know I have friends that I like to talk to?? Meanie.
Dear Christmas...Can ya get here already?!
Dear January...see above...can YOU get here already too?
Dear McD's...I'm still begging you, don't get rid of your $1 large cokes!
Dear family...if you don't start hanging up your coats instead of tossing them on the floor in front of the closet, I am totally going to sick a hanger someplace you'll not enjoy it.
Dear movie...thanks for the laugh tonight! I needed it. (She's Out of my League)
That's all for this week. :) I'll probably post before Christmas again, but in case you are traveling and won't be around reading blogs...Have a Happy Healthy, SAFE, Fun, Fantastic Holiday!
Toodles!
QOTD: Watch any good movies lately?
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Happy Birthday Aubrey!
My beautiful little girl arrived weighing 7 lbs 4 oz, and 19 inches long. Here is one of her first pictures.
Isn't she beautiful?
She has sure grown over the last 3 years.
Now she has long blonde hair.
She talks a ton.
She tells bad knock knock jokes.
She makes up funny stories.
She drives me crazy.
She is LOVED.
Happy 3rd Birthday Aubrey!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Dear...(12-16-10)
Dear body...you have a ton of blubber on you, WHY are you so cold lately? You should be all toasty.
Dear bank account...I hope you have some money left in you once Christmas is over...Mr. B seems to be buying a lot of stuff, not sure where the money is coming from...
Dear McDonalds...Please please, I'm BEGGING you...do NOT get rid of the $1 drinks at the end of this month. :( When you do that, I can no longer afford to visit you as often as I do, and I can't get my McD's coke fix, and it makes me very sad & cranky, because NO ONE offers coke as good as yours. But once you do away with it I have to go to Casey's, where their drinks are under $1.
Dear Self...once all the good food in the house is gone, you need to start dieting, and exercising more. You look like a big fat pig, and you are gross.
Dear Bree...I believe I've asked this of you before, like a million times...could you PLEASE start sleeping through the night? You are almost 3 now, this up several times a night thing is totally sucking donkey schlong and mommy is tired.
Dear Jilly...I hope you feel better tomorrow. When you do, clean your room and put your clothes away, I've been asking you to do it for a week now.
Dear place that fixed my van...THANKS. Its so nice driving a quiet van now, no more moaning, no more embarrassing looks from the moaning I'm thankful!
Dear laundry...I still hate you.
Dear bra...I still hate you too! Have I mentioned my hate for my underwire bra? Sheesh...torture! I like the mountains it gives me though, instead of my usual slopes.
I guess that should be it for now...
Toodles!
I've been blog lazy.
I haven't blogged since the 10th.
I'm sorry. I've just been kind of lazy...
Well not totally lazy, I've been busy with life things, just haven't blogged.
On my birthday, I cleaned all day. Lovely way to spend my birthday :)
I also made a cake, for Bree's birthday party which was on Dec. 11.
For my birthday we went to dinner at Applebees. It was nice having dinner out. Even if I got sang to and embarrassed. I bet my face was as red as the apple on their logo.
Bree's face when we got sang to was so funny. She looked totally puzzled and kind of freaked out! She did love the big ice cream sundae they brought for me though. The girls all shared with me. Well I should say they ate it..I had 1 bite.
On the 11th there was snow predicted, some actual nasty weather was coming. Not to many showed up at Bree's party, only my mom, and my Sister In Law with Trinity. It was sad that I did all that cleaning on my birthday for nothing lol. Oh well, we had a nice time visiting. I was surprised my SIL came out actually, she lives 2.5 hours away. We kept close tabs on the weather so she could get back with Trinity before it got to bad out. Speaking of Trinity, wow she is so cute, with the bluest eyes. I wish we lived closer so I could see her more.
Bree loved her cake I made her (Strawberry Shortcake), and she loved her gifts. She got a iXL and some games from us, she calls it her DS, she likes to be like the big girls. She plays with this all the time, it was a great investment. Next we'll have to invest in rechargable batteries since we are going through a LOT of them. She got a giant Candyland game from my mom. She got a Strawberry Shortcake & Lemon Meringue doll from my Brother, SIL & Trinity. She loved everything.
Hmm lets see. The nasty weather did come on Saturday night & Sunday. It was so bad Sunday that Bill came home from work and told me I am NOT ALLOWED TO LEAVE THE HOUSE. Shortly after the police called to say the same thing, do not go out unless there is an emergancy. No sweat. I wanted a day to chill out and relax, and that is just what I did. I sat on the couch and read an entire book. It was good. I cuddled up in my nice soft blanket Bill got me for my birthday and I just read and chilled out...and texted some friends. :) Bree played her iXL and watched her shows, the girls did the same. I felt guilty for being so lazy, but hell, I deserved it!
I think I was a tad lazy on Monday too. :) I don't remember. I do know that I'm kinda sick of bowling season. It means a lot of back and forth here and there driving. Gets tiresome getting Bree set to go out and in the van and out again, only to get in again in an hour etc. .
Kelsey has been taking her finals early this week instead of next, for she is going to stay a few days at her grandparents house. She'll be going there Sunday.
Been busy the last few days making some cookies. I love doing them, but they take a long time. I'm going to ship some out to my dear friend Dazee, I hope they arrive in one piece, not crumbs. Gosh, I totally better get them shipped tomorrow..
Last night I slept crappy. Bree woke up several (like 5) times. Jilly also woke up once around 3:20ish. She was up in the bathroom crying that her throat hurt. I had her drink some warm liquid and go to bed. She woke up still feeling sick this morning so she stayed home from school. She slept until 2 this afternoon! I'm sure it was just what she needed though. I'm hoping she is better tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow...I'm looking forward to it. I'm going with my Mom to get a pedicure. My feet will be so thrilled...they are pretty rough and yucky right now, they need some TLC.
So there ya have it. That is how I've been spending my lazy time. What have you been up to?
QOTD: IF you could be famous for a day, what kind of famous would you want to be? Would you want to be a movie star? rock star? president? inventor?
Toodles!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Happy Birthday to....
Yep, today is my birthday.
I'm old.
Very old.
Older than dirt probably.
But...even tho I'm old, I still love having birthdays.
Granted its not as fun as when I was young...
But I look forward to cake, with MY name on it, that I didn't have to make.
(I'm a fat girl...I like cake)
If I'm lucky I get a few gifts.
Wishes from friends make my day.
For one day a year, I feel special.
So...
Happy Birthday to me. :)
I hope my birthday is a great day for all of you too.
Toodles!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Yeah, today's been fun. NOT.
Today it seemed like everything was going wrong. I was in a pissy mood, and very teary for some reason, and in case you were wondering, NO I'm not PMSing. Anyways, its not been a fun day.
Tonight, I had the pleasure of going to the laundromat to dry 4 baskets of laundry. The worst part was hauling it all in and out. Inside wasn't so bad. I filled up 4 dryers, spent about $3.00 and dried and folded all the laundry in about an hour. To bad it can't get done that fast at home. I took Bree & Kels with me. Bree loved running around there. Kels pushed her around in one of the cart things, she had a blast.
On a good note, it is SNOWING. When I went to the laundromat there were like CLUMPS of snow falling it was very cool for this snow lover.
Tomorrow will be a day of cleaning, and cake decorating. I'm hoping things go smoother...cross your fingers.
QOTD: Have you been to a laundromat recently?
Toodles!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
The View From Here
Hold on to your hats...
Do you know what that is? Its my cats BUTT!
I love my cat, both of them actually... The cat you see in this pic is Sissy. Sissy used to be so afraid of me and everyone. Now she is like a little leech, and she won't leave me alone. If I am sitting here in my chair at the computer, and I lean back to relax a second, she takes that as an invitation to jump up onto me. She climbs onto my boobs, then proceeds to walk in a circle. She makes the trip around, sticking her rear in my face several times before she finally plops down and starts rubbing her face against mine.
She seems starved for attention. Probably because Bill & Zach are always mean to her. The other girls are more into Tigger...so Sissy has taken an extra special liking to me, and getting my attention. I give her some often...but I could totally do without her butt in my face.
That cat butt is the most wicked cat but you'll ever experience. You should hear, and see the stuff that comes out of it. I have never HEARD a cat fart until I met Sissy. She farts like a grown man, with major stomach issues. You can hear it from the other side of the house! Its very scary... Which is another reason why I do not want her rear anywhere near my face.
Just thought you'd like to see my view... Be thankful you don't get to see it in person :)
QOTD: Have you ever HEARD a cat fart before?
Toodles!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
To Elliott with Love
It SNOWED
I love the girls faces in this last picture. Snow is so cool :)
Toodles
Dear...(12-7-10)
Time for me to hook up with my dear friend Dazee and her Dear... letters. Join in, won't you?
Dear Self...you need sleep.
Dear city that I live in...there is a thing called SALT, its good for melting ice on roads. You might want to consider using it. Then we won't have ice building up and up all over the streets during the winter. There is to much ice already...get with the program.
Dear Mother Nature...Thanks for the snow :)
Dear stomach...you've been very mean to me the last few days, shame on you.
Dear unlimited texting...I LOVE YOU.
Dear cold...I don't like you much.
Dear idiots at the school drop off area...there is a lane to pull over to drop off your kids. Don't stop in the middle of the road and hold up traffic to let your kid out, PULL THE HECK OVER. Its already a cluster&#*@ there and you are making it way worse then it should be.
Dear McD's...please please PLEASE don't stop your $1 any size drinks at the end of this month. I'm begging you. I love you.
Dear moo...do you really need to bark your head off every time you go out to pee? I don't think you need to announce your presence.
Dear Radio Shack...how come every time I shop at your store, it takes FOREVER to check out? Went for a simple pick up of something I ordered online, and it took about 20 min. their computer cash register was slow, then the printer didn't work...oy.
Dear funky looking old mall walker dude...you rock. You were really cruising this morning, your nickname should be SPEEDY.
Dear fleas...GO AWAY. You are not welcome.
That's all I'll bore you with for now. I'm tired, time for bed... In case you were keeping track, only 3 days till my birthday ;)
QOTD: What store gives you slow service? Any?
Toodles!
Friday, December 3, 2010
The Best-est and Busy !
Happy Friday everyone. I hope you all have some fun plans for the weekend.
My weekend is going to be BUSY.
Today, I have cakes to bake. One for an event this weekend, and the other is going to be for Bree's birthday party which is next weekend (the day after MY birthday). I'm going to bake hers while I'm baking, and freeze it to decorate closer to her party.
Tomorrow, I have a cake to decorate. Remember my friends Dan & Cindy that I talk about now and then? Their son's birthday is today. It is his first in Heaven. On Sunday they are having a celebration of Elliott's life. There will be cake ... the one I am making, friends, and I think we are doing a balloon release. Please cross your fingers that this cake turns out great. Please keep Dan & Cindy in your thoughts today too, its a hard day for them.
Tomorrow evening is Bill's company's Christmas party. My mother in law is going to watch the younger girls for us and Bill & I will have a night out. Exciting huh? Doesn't happen very often. I hope the party is fun, and the food is good...and that Bill isn't cranky LOL. They usually have raffle things all through the party, I hope we win something good this year! Cross your fingers :)
Sunday, we have Elliott's life celebration party to go to. I also have to pick up Kelsey who will be at her dads and spending time with her grandparents. Unfortunately, cancer has been a monster again, and this is probably her grandfathers last Christmas...so time with him is important. Kelsey is upset she might be missing Elliott's life celebration, but we think its important she gets time with her grandpa now.
I also want to give a shout out to my friends. I don't have very many. Most are online (and to far away :( ). The friends I do have though are THE BEST-EST friends ever. I just wanted you to know. :)
QOTD: What is your favorite Christmas song?
Toodles...I have cakes to bake!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Dear...(12-1-10)
I bet you've all been anxiously awaiting my next installment of Dear... letters, come on, admit it...
Once again I'm joining my friend Dazee and linking up to her. I hope you enjoy it.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Wittle whistler :)
She rocks doesn't she? :) Not bad for not even being 3 yrs old yet. Soon she'll be whistling tunes!
Toodles!
Secret is out...
If you've been following my blog, or know me in real life, you know of my friends Cindy & Dan, and their son Elliott, who sadly passed away back in April. Elliott suffered from cancer for many years, and the complications from it called him to heaven. Dan & Cindy have been having a rough time, for obvious reasons. This time of year is especially hard. First Thanksgiving, First Birthday, and First Christmas without Elliott. I wanted to do something special for them, to try to cheer them up a little bit. Since money is tight, I needed to be creative in an inexpensive way...
One night I was in bed, trying to sleep, when the idea came to me. I wanted to see if some of Elliott's friends would be willing to come take pictures at the forest preserve, and help me with my plan. We met on a chilly Sunday morning, there was my girls, Mrs. W. (Elliott's former tutor), Caitlyn & Emily (Mrs. W.'s daughters), and Stephen who is Elliott's best friend. I had the kids use their bodies to spell out E L L I O T T, and took pictures. We also took many candid pictures. We even had fun while doing it!
It felt like Elliott was watching the action that day. We set our coats on a picnic table, and on the table right in front of us said, "I LOVE CINDY" How cool was that? Maybe it was a sign of him being there.
Later I ordered prints, got frames, and loaded up the pictures. It turned out pretty well I think. I was going to give the pictures to Dan & Cindy at Elliott's birthday celebration in December, but since not everyone that participated in the pictures was going to be there, we decided to give it to them last night. I wrote a little poem to go along with it too.
I think it is safe to say, the gift was loved. I'm so happy. I hope the tears of happiness last night were a much needed break from tears of sadness.
I'll share a few pictures with you, my friends. I hope you enjoy them.
What do you think? I think they turned out great! I should have done the L's a little different, lined the kids up over top of each other more, so they lines didn't look so long...but other than that I like it all.
QOTD: Has anyone ever made you a special heartfelt gift before?
Toodles!
Call me crazy...
I didn't sleep well Thanksgiving Eve, felt like I was awake every hour by something. At 5:30 I said screw it and just got up and started about my to do list. I showered, cleaned, cooked, cleaned again, we ate, cleaned again, mom and dad went home, put the tree up, cleaned again, felt exhausted, tried to nap...with no luck, then at 11:30 we left to shop! Yep, the girls & I (even Bree) were out the door at 11:30 p.m. to go Black Friday shopping. We wanted to make sure to get the stuff we wanted at Wallyworld, their sale started at midnight. Bree had a little nap before, I was hoping she'd stay sleeping in the van and at the store, but no such luck, she woke up as we left. Walmart was a madhouse, but we were able to score everything on our short list, check out, and be out the door....by 1 a.m. Ummm the next sale isn't until 4, so we sat in the van. And sat in the van. And SAT IN THE VAN. Steak and Shake was open, and making a killing, SUPER BUSY. We ended up getting in the drive thru line for some fries. We were in line for 45 minutes. Wow. But, since we had nothing better to do it was ok! We kept warm while the van was running. We went to park again and eat the fries...after that we needed a potty break, so we drove to a gas station that was open. Then back to the parking lot at JcPenney. Thank goodness they ended up opening a bit early, at 3:30. We were out of there by about 4:30, and home by 5 a.m.. What a LONG night. The girls all behaved, even Bree who stayed awake until about 4, when she crashed in the stroller. I was so glad to get home and go to bed...but not before I had to clean cat crap off the bathroom carpet, ugh stupid cat. Getting in bed at 5ish (little after) and waking at 7:20 to talk to my husband when he got home, then back to sleep till 8:30...just was NOT enough sleep! But Bree got up, so I had no choice but to get up too. Mommy duty called. Kels slept half the day. Jillian slept until like 3:20! She only got up because I made her. Must be nice. Bree never did nap yesterday...until we were driving to our friends house. I didn't get to sleep last night until nearly midnight, I was SO TIRED! But, I guess it was worth it, to get some good deals on Christmas presents for the kids. With money tight, you gotta save when/where you can!
Did YOU go Black Friday shopping? Did you get some good deals?
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Dear...(11.24.10)
Crazy Weather
The turkey (me) has arrived.
I bet you were missing me weren't you?
I've slacked a bit in the posting area. I blame Dazee for talking to me all the time LOL just kidding.
We had some crazy weather the other day out here. Tornado warnings, IN NOVEMBER. Bizarre. Just as it was time to head out to run an errand and to pick up the girls, the tornado warning thing comes on tv. Thankfully it wasn't for my area, but to some nearby. It got me nervous.
Zach & Bree & I went to CVS, then to the school. At this point it had started to rain, heavily. We waited, and waited..and discovered they were not letting the kids out! Zach had to go to the bathroom, so we zoomed home quick, so he could do that, and I could check the phone to see whats up with the school stuff. Sure enough, they had left a msg at 2:55 to say they were holding the kids over because of the weather. Ummm maybe next time they should call earlier, or make some kind of loud speaker announcement for the people that were already THERE waiting! I thought my cell number was in the school info for these type of things but I didn't get any call on my cell. While we were checking the phone, the rain came down harder and harder, the winds picked up, the garbage can blew out in the street..some small chunks of hail fell too. I pulled the van into the garage once I saw hail :) Then I made Zach go out in it to fetch the trash can before it blew to far away...he got soaked!
Finally after several phone calls, we heard they would release the kids. First we went to Lincoln, the closest school, that is where I usually pick up all 3 girls, two get bused there. Zach had to run in to get the neighbor girl, they wouldn't let her go on her own. I had to park in a huge puddle that came up mid tire, because the intersection was flooded!
As I was waiting for Zach to get Jackie, Jilly called...she missed her bus. Oh goody. Kels had called earlier to say she missed hers too... So once Zach & Jackie got in the van we were off to Jilly's school, snagged her, then off to Kelsey's school. Whew. That was exhausting!
No time to relax just yet though. Kels ran in to change, then I had to take her to bowling practice.
Finally, relaxing time. :) It was a crazy afternoon. I was glad to go to bed that night.
QOTD: Have any crazy weather lately?
Toodles!
Friday, November 19, 2010
I Have A WINNER!
I have a winner!
Congratulations to....
Lucky comment 9 belongs to Mindi! Congratulations Mindi! I hope you and your kids enjoy the great prize package!
(please send me your info)
Once again, I'd like to thank both Pillsbury and MyBlogSpark, for giving me the opportunity to have this giveaway for my readers. It was fun!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
My First Review and Giveaway! (closed)
Hello!
Today I'm going to share with you my very first review AND GIVEAWAY!
Are you excited? I am!!
Thank you so much MyBlogSpark and Pillsbury for giving me this opportunity!
Would YOU like something to smile about? Need a fast breakfast that is also yummy and easy to eat on the go? I've got the perfect thing for you.
Pillsbury TOASTER STRUDELs!
I was very excited to get this offer, because we have tried TOASTER STRUDELs before, and we all love them. If you have never had them, then you are in for a surprise. You just pop them into a toaster to heat them up, when they come out you have a little icing packet, and you can doodle on your strudel! How cool is that? Nothing like a little art work with your breakfast, it makes the kids smile. Speaking of doodling on a strudel, you can virtually doodle on one by clicking over to Pillsbury on Facebook , you can even share your strudel artwork with your friends. How fun is that?
When I went to the store with my coupon for my TOASTER STRUDELs, I let my youngest daughter, Bree, pick out what flavor we got. Bree picked out the blueberry variety. She is a big blueberry fan. Sometimes Bree is a picky eater, so I figure by letting her pick out the item, maybe she'd be more likely to enjoy it. Guess what? She ate ALL her strudel!
After cooking ours, we like to doodle on them, then right before we eat them, I like to smear the icing goodness all over the strudel, so not one bite is without the icing. YUMMY!
I would also like to point out that on the box of TOASTER STRUDEL is a Box Top for Education. So not only can you & your child get a good breakfast, but if you collect box tops for your school, they can profit from this too! Good deal!
With the help of Pillsbury, and MyBlogSpark, I would like to make YOU smile too by having this giveaway! You could win this prize package*:
The prize kit* includes a coupon for TOASTER STRUDELs (coupon only good for residents of the US), a stress ball, mug, place-mat, and a giggling Dough-boy doll (He is a good size too, not teeny tiny)! If you would like to win this happy prize package, please leave a comment! Make sure you include a way for me to reach you when you win :) Please tell your friends too! I will pick a winner randomly on Friday morning 11-19. Good luck!
I should also let you know, that Pillsbury is doing a sweepstakes, " A Million Morning Smiles" in which you can win a months worth (4 boxes) of Toaster Strudel! Over 2000 winners per week! You can try to win daily by visiting Pillsbury from now until Feb. 7, 2011.
*This prize package, information and free product was provided to me by Pillsbury through MyBlogSpark.
Toodles!