Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy New Year 2010

Ok so I have lots of 'goals" for the new year. I really want to take time and be with my family this year and concentrate on the important things in life. I want to be more proactive instead of reactive. I want to set goals and strive to reach them.
So here are a few of the goals that I really want to work on this year...

Spend more time with family and friends: this is were I struggle the most. I usually make plenty of time for my family however, my friends usually get neglected. I don't keep in touch well with people I don't see on a regular basis. Although I hope these friends know I would be there at a drop of a hat if I can and would do anything possible for them. So my goal is to try to keep in better touch with my friends this year. Either by email, text, phone calls or maybe even...gasp...visiting them!!!

Run: believe it or not I use to love running when I played soccer. I was never fast but I felt my endurance was fairly high. I didn't much like running around a track but preferred running through a neighborhood or a trail. so I'd like to start of slow by walking and then work my way up to running.

Bible/devotions: I want to make sure I take the time each day to read my bible and do devotions. Not only for myself but also with the kids. I bought a devotional book specifically for the kids with special activities that are meant to help the lessons be memorable. So I would like to start that with them.

less tv: my kids like most kids today watch WAY too much tv. Its my fault and I need to start limiting their time in front of the tv and computer. I had tried letting them watch a show or two after 7pm-only after baths, dinner and homework (that is speech homework for Jacob). This worked great since they go to bed at 8-they only get an hour of tv AND I could take tv time away as punishment if they didn't behave during bathtime or dinner time!!

weekly game night: I want to have "game night" with the kids once a week. They have tons of board games and such and we really need to pull them out and spend some quality time with them. This will most likely decrease our tv time as well!!

date night: there for a while my husband and I were taking a date night once a week. Now we rarely take this much needed time. So if not weekly at least every other week we need to set a night aside just for us and preferably something other than dinner...

create weekly/monthly: I would like to create something weekly. Sounds a bit much considering I have three kids, work full time...etc ...etc. But I would like to complete something weekly. Either a new project, a hair bow, a scrapbook page...SOMETHING each week. It really gives me a sense of accomplishment when I spend time in my craft room and create something.

make gifts: I would like to make more gifts-such as Christmas gifts for next year and/or birthday gifts.

make cards: I need to start making my own cards and keep a stash of them on hand. I have a huge supply of scrapbook stuff and should be able to make every card for every occasion!!

photo session monthly: another passion of mine is photography. I love taking portraits. I have always wanted to be a photography but haven't taken the leap yet. I have photographed a few small weddings and taken pictures of friends and family but not much else. I would really like to schedule one photo session a month to build my confidence and my clients. I have been putting this off for far too long...

artwork on walls: we moved a year ago and still do not have much on our walls. I find I am too cheap to buy stuff in the stores so I want to create things for my walls. Which should be easy since I plan on creating something every week!!!

lose baby weight by Jace's first birthday: After I had JoAnna I went on a serious diet and lost all the weight I gained while pregnant with her and then some. I was down to my "pre kid" weight-which was before I even got pregnant with Jacob. However, once I started my new job I gained 20 lbs in 5 months and then got pregnant with baby #3 and gained 43 lbs! YIKES! So I really have to work hard now to get this weight off-especially since he is already 4 months old!!!

Cook at least twice a week: since my husband isn't home for dinner most nights I haven't been cooking much at all. My kids are picky so I usually just eat whatever it is they will eat: mac and cheese, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, etc, etc. So I would like to cook more "adult friendly" meals and hopefully this will help introduce them to new foods and help me with my weight loss!!

WOW!!! All in all that is a LOT of goals for one year!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Jewellery

I found a cute necklace online and thought I'd try my hand at my own. The one I found was here at Making the World Cuter. I ordered the "owl" necklace and it arrived today!! Cannot wait to wear it-so CUTE!

So last weekend I tried making my own using photos. They turned out cute. I made one for myself with a picture of my kids, one for my mother with a picture of my kids and my niece, and one for my mother in law with her 9 grandchildren. Here is mine and my mother-in-laws.


Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Colorbok Chipboard Albums

I LOVE, LOVE these albums. I have bought several in the past-the oval, star, scalloped, square, heart, etc, etc. On my last trip to Michael's I found these great albums in Christmas shapes!!! A santa hat, ornament shape, snowman, tree, star, gingerbread man, and an angel. So I bought more than one of each pack. Thought they'd not only make great albums, but also embellishments to a page, or even ornaments for the tree!! So here is my first attempt at an ornament-or maybe a page to an album-not sure yet.
The original chipboard is of course on the left. These albums come with 5 pieces and are connected with a metal ring. What a deal at just $1!!!


Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Some GREAT craft ideas!!!

Found this quick and easy idea on counting down the days to Christmas. I have seen so many countdowns and advent calendars that I want to try, and this one is super easy!!! Might try getting this together this week for my kids although we have already done the peppermint tree. Found this one at
The Sweet Life: Countdown with Chocolate





Here is another advent calendar I want to try-very cute although it would take a bit more time. Borrowed this one from "Craftaholics Anonymous"

Another cute idea!!!! Christmas pop-top gift ideas!!! Some people are just so crafty!!!

Blue Cricket Design


A snowman!! I have been looking for something cute to make with Styrofoam balls and this should be quick and easy!! Can' wait to try this one...when am I going to find the time to do all these????

Bird Crafts


Fell in love with the paper used to make these cute little ornaments....at Making Mine Beautiful

Monday, November 30, 2009

Christmas decorating

We have been busy getting our Christmas decorations up this past weekend. We have been doing a little each day, starting with the tree. The kids loved helping with the ornaments. We still need to the outside done, but will have to wait for the weekend when Keith is off work.

Here is a little countdown Christmas tree I made for the kids last year. Thought I'd post it. I finished the second one tonight-since JoAnna was too young to really participate last year I never finished hers. I put the candy canes in two different ways-not sure which way I prefer. We had one similar to this growing up and we looked forward to pulling the candy off. I hope my children will look back and remember this as one of our many holiday traditions.



Sunday, November 22, 2009

Our Christmas Card

So here is our Christmas card with the cousins this year. My three kids and my sister-in-laws 6 kids. Cute idea my mother in law found and insisted we do this year. Which means I didn't have to be in the picture-YAY!!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Weigh In #1

Well it's been a week! I started off strong the first three days on my "modified" Atkins diet. I am trying to stick to low fat meats and cheeses along with the "allowed" vegetables. But from time to time I will snack on something not "allowed". However Wednesday my husband cooked dinner-not knowing I had started my diet. He cooked chicken, corn, mashed potatoes and garlic bread. YUM YUM! So of course I had to eat, how rude it would have been not to. I also snacked on gummy bears-a little treat I give my 2 year old when she goes potty-nothing better than a little bribery to get through potty training.

Anyway, all in all I did make better choices, snacked smarter, and did much better on cutting back on the diet soda.

So....got on the scale this morning.....eight pounds lighter than a week ago!!! I hope the thrill of success despite my cheating, doesn't make me think I can cheat more and more. I also need to add exercise to my routine, something that I find difficult. By the time I get the kids in bed I am ready for bed myself so it's hard to make myself stay up and exercise-but it's the only time I can get it done.

So my goals for this week-despite today being my oldests' fifth birthday, then his party on Saturday, his Thanksgiving feast/program at school Thursday-I want to continue to make better snacking choices, sticking close to the Atkins plan and fitting in a few workouts on the Wii Active.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Domesticated

This morning the in laws called and wanted to take the older kids on a little outing-so I gladly got them dressed, fed and a bag packed and sent them on their way. I still had baby boy with me but I did get a few things done. I started out the day by making cupcakes for Jacob's class as Monday is his birthday. There is a boy in his class allergic to milk so I made Weight Watcher's cupcakes. Mixed a diet soda with a box of cake mix. I then used a little gadget-an icing dispenser- to swirl on the icing. I've had the gadget about eight years and have never used it. They turned out really cute.

Later while blogging I found a recipe for chicken strips/nuggets. Using Ritz crackers, mayo and mustard. I am not much for the mustard and mayo but I figured I'd give it a try. They turned out good-although I can taste the mustard and mayo-I will have to use something else next time.

I am also trying out a new roast recipe tonight. I usually put the roast in the crock pot and pour diet soda over it. But today I had beef broth on hand so I used it. It did come out tender but had no flavor. So I found this new recipe online and will have to see how it tastes tonight.

NO MORE QUESTIONS!!!!

My four year old son is full of questions. Sometimes it can be very annoying-but what do you do? You can't tell him to shut up (although at times I am screaming it in my head). So I do my best to answer him and not let on that I am annoyed. However, there are times enough is enough. So the other night after about 2 hours of non stop questions it was bed time. We got ready for bed and pulled out a book to read. Before I ever opened the book I told him he was not to ask ANY questions until I was done reading the story. Then I began to read. I was barely through the first of eight pages when I got a little giggle. I figured he was just dying to ask a question and was very curious to how long he could wait. Then I started on page two-still no questions. I really had to struggle to restrain my laughter at this point. Then we got to page four, and I guess he just couldn't resist it any longer and neither could I. I busted into laughter. Of course he had no idea why I was laughing but he began to laugh also. So here we are both laughing as hard as we can and I am desperately trying to finish the book. I laughed so hard I cried. It was great. He still had no idea what I was laughing at and I had no intentions of telling him.

He is just the opposite of his dad and I. He could talk your ears off all day long without taking a single breath. It can be nerve racking at times but its another stage of his life that will pass. And I will surely miss hearing his sweet voice when he is all grown up-so I had better soak it up now.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Weight Loss Journey

Well I started Monday on Atkins. I did so well on in back in the spring of 2008 that I decided to start off with it to get some of this baby weight off. I started back in the fall of 2007 one month after my second child was born, and lost 50 lbs by her first birthday. However, a month before her birthday I went back to work, and from there it was down hill. I gained 20 lbs in 5 months and then got pregnant and gained 43 more lbs YIKES!! So here I am ten weeks after baby #3 and I am still 52 lbs heavier than I was when I started my job in July of '08.

My goal: to be back to my "pre-job weight" by baby #3's birthday. So that is roughly 10 months to lose 52 lbs. Surely I can lose 5 lbs a month, right?! And wouldn't it be great to lose more than that! To get to my ultimate goal weight, I'd have to lose a total of 105! wow-that is a lot!!

The plan: my plan is to do Atkins but stick with more low fat meats, which is closer to the South Beach Diet. I also plan on doing Wii Active workouts. I bought Active a few weeks ago and have only done the workout once-but it was great. It was a little tough for a first time workout but it was good. So I need to get started on the 30day challenge workout.

I need to get a before picture up, and then hopefully I will be able to update it monthly. That will surely keep me motivated.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Craft Room

(can you tell I am held up in a hospital room? so I have nothing better to do than to create new posts to my blog that nobody will EVER read...)

Ok so I was so excited that we found a home with a formal dinning room, as I had planned on turning it into a scrapbook/craft room. Well I have finally started working on organizing my new craft room. I have bought floating shelves, I intend to have 4 when I am done but only have two up right now. Here is a picture of the bracket going up...




I will post more photos later. I have 2 shelves up and need to get photos. Then I really need to get busy organizing. I plan on having a birthday party at the house in 2 weeks and Thanksgiving a week after that-so I at least need to get all the boxes unpacked and things put away.

Cushion Redo

I bought this living room suite 9 years ago and except for the couch cushions I think it has held up good. I liked the back cushions because they were plush and removable so you could throw them on the floor and lay on them. Unfortunately they have lost their "plush" and were a huge eye sore and no longer functional as back cushions. So I finally bought some fill to redo the cushions. It is a HUGE difference and not anything like how they were originally done, but I think they will hold up better this way. Here is a peek.

BEFORE


AFTER


You can hardly tell there is even a cushion there. Hopefully that will keep the kids from bouncing on them and throwing them all over the family room.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

"Rookie" kid causing trouble



So he is 9 weeks old and already causing trouble. We have spent one night in the hospital with RSV-hopefully going home today. He has been coughing for a week and I finally took him to the Dr. on Monday. We then started breathing treatments. After a day of treatments he seemed to be getting better until late that night. He began coughing more, gagging, spitting up and not taking most of his bottles. So after another trip to the Dr's office she admitted him to the Children's Hospital. We thought he would need oxygen as his levels were low, but so far his levels have been good. They are giving him IV fluids. All in all he is doing well. But we would be so much more comfortable at home!!!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Baby Jace is Here!!!

Born at 7:29am, weighing 7lbs 15 oz and he is 20 inches long. He is perfect. He screamed his little head off in the delivery room, but has been a perfect angel since. He is nursing great and has slept for most of the day-being held by loved ones of course. He is now quietly sleeping in his bassinet. Hopefully this will be our one child that actually sleeps at night-we can only hope.

Big brother cannot wait to take him home, big sister doesn't have a clue yet. She will get a rude awakening this week.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers, we are all doing great!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

30 day menu plan

OK, before I started back to work I was pretty good about planning my menu. Not that I always followed thru each week but I at least cooked meals more often than I do now. So when I stumbled upon this GREAT BLOG about organizing 30 meals that your family will eat, I decided it was time to kick it in high gear and get back to my menu planning.

So I pulled out my 5 week menu plan/ingredient list that I put together MONTHS ago and decided I would try to follow it again. With me working now and the baby on the way, it just makes sense to plan better and have ingredients on hand for a healthy quick meal. So this week I plan to take my menu plan/ingredient list a step further and try putting my ingredients in a spreadsheet like the blogger mentioned above. Therefore I can grab my list and make my trip to the grocery store, OR I can hand it to anyone else to make the trip for me!!! We will see how it goes.

So tonight I am off to the grocery store to buy the first weeks worth of ingredients and hope to implement my menu plan this week. Works great since my mom will be in town this week helping me get ready for the baby-so I can actually have stuff on hand and ready to cook a decent dinner for her!!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

wedding photos




I shot a wedding last week-had a little mishap with my camera right in the middle of the ceremony!! YIKES! It stopped working altogether! Luckily my brother was a guest at the wedding and had his camera so I pulled him aside and stole his camera to capture the wedding kiss and the couple's exit. After the ceremony my camera started working again. Not sure what happened but that was sure a "live and learn" moment!! The wedding was in a very unique place, some kind of castle. The actual castle was being renovated but the ceremony location was just as beautiful. I wish it hadn't been so hot I could have spent hours taking photos. But here are a few of the shots I did take....



Tuesday, June 2, 2009

IT"S A . . . . .

We went today for our sonogram @ 26 weeks. We decided to find out the sex of our baby-as we didn't find out with the others I figured why not. Besides Jacob really wants a brother (and I really want him to have one too) so I figured if its a girl we will probably need time to prepare him. So Keith, Jacob and I took baby sister to school this morning and we headed off to the doctors office. We were the first one there so we were first in line for a sonogram. (which is great because apparently they only schedule them every other Tuesday now and he tells all his patients to be there at 9am for sonograms, regardless of their actuall appointment time). Anyway, we got in, told her we wanted to find out the sex this time around. She gets to looking and the baby is not only breeched but bottom first. Which apparently is the worst position to be in when are looking for the sex of the baby!! So she proceeds to take measurements of the head and legs and make sure everything is looking good. In the meantime she is wiggling my belly trying to get the baby to wake up and move around. She goes back to the bottom and tries to look for the sex. She sounds really discourage, saying she can take a guess but she really doesn't have a good look because the baby won't cooperate and move so she can see. So she gave us her best guess. As she was about to put the wand down, she said, oh! there it is! Baby moved, so she gets the wand moving around and the baby has moved enough for her to see..............












IT'S A BOY!!!

Jacob says when he turns the picture sideways it looks like a jelly fish!!! ha..so cute!!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Official Start of Summer

Today was the kids last day of school, so summer has officially started. Tomorrow will be their first full day of summer.

With the start of summer I am faced with a very important question: to stay at home or continue to work?? I have about a year or less to make the decision to either home school my son or send him to kindergarten. Since before we had kids I wanted to be a stay at home mom, and the more I looked into home schooling I knew that was what I wanted to do for my children. I love my job and if I could swing both I would-but that isn't going to happen. I know nothing about the schools in our area, nor do I know anyone whose kids have been through the schools. I am sure they are great schools and sure my children would do well if I chose that route. However I would still like the opportunity to homeschool my children if I see fit.

At this point I am torn. I enjoyed watching my child learn and being in control of his schedule and his lessons. He has enjoyed the last year in 3 year old kindergarten and has done a lot of things we wouldn't have done at home. He also misses the things we use to do, going to the library, the zoo, the park, going to "eat and play". With the kids in daycare I have enjoyed the "me" time when I can leave my kids at daycare and run errands, take a nap, eat lunch with friends or go on a late afternoon date with my husband. But I have also missed doing special things with my kids and being with them everyday all day.

So I have a lot of thinking to do over the next year...

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Baby Girl's First Trip to the ER

I was leaving walmart Wednesday night when I got a text from my husband. He said baby girl had busted her lip and probably needed stitches. She had been in the recliner and fell out and hit her mouth on the computer. So I went straight home and my sister came over to stay with J. We headed to the ER, she had busted her inner lip and bit the outside of her bottom lip. Luckily we only had to wait about an hour before we actually saw the resident and then the Dr. The verdict..stitches. I left the room just before they placed her on the table and strapped her in, I knew there was no way I could stay for that. After they were done the nurse came to the waiting room to get me. When I saw my baby girl I almost broke down in tears, she was all sweaty, red and burning up from screaming and crying. She started crying when she saw me and pointing at the table they had put her on-she was telling me all about what they had done to her. She ended up with four stitches on the outside of her bottom lip.

She has done great with the stitches, I have to clean her mouth after she eats and put medicine on 3 times a day. We will go Monday to get her stitches out-I will most likely be alone so that is going to be tough.



Tuesday, April 7, 2009

18 week appointment

I went today for my monthly checkup at the Dr.'s office. My blood pressure was down to 134/68 but I had gained 7 lbs!!! He didn't say anything nor did he seemed concerned about the weight gain. I cannot gain like that again so I am trying to cut back on carbs at lunch and dinner. So far no name for the baby yet although I am hoping to stick with a "J" name. Also no movements yet but hopefully in the next month I will be able to feel the baby.

So until next month.....

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Jewelry Organizer





I have seen one of these before and have been wanting to make one. So when I couldn't find a jewelry box for my sister for Christmas I decided it was time. I've seen it done with a picture frame and then wire was placed in the middle to hold earings and things, but I thought this framed mirror would be just perfect. So I drilled the holes around the frame and then screwed in cup hooks. I think it turned out great!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Our little caboose


I went for my first sonogram today, always anxious to see the baby for the first time, especially since there was reason to think I might not be as far along as we originally thought. So we go in and sure enough I am only measuring about 6 weeks 4 days as compared to 9 weeks. Nothing surprising there. We did see the baby's heartbeat which was a relief-always puts your mind at rest when you see the heartbeat.

So we go back in 4 weeks for a regular check up. So as of now our due date is September 7th, which can easily change as we get closer.

I am trying to cut out caffeine, which means no more vanilla diet Dr. Peppers and not more diet cokes. Hopefully that will prevent my hands from swelling like they did when I was pregnant with baby girl-that was painful.

So keep coming back here for updates!!

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Our New Addition will arrive in August!

Well we found out New Year's Day that we have a new addition on the way!! We are pregnant again and due in August! Baby girl will have just turned 2!! My due date is August 22nd and we can schedule the section 10-14 days prior. Baby girl will turn 2 on August 2nd.

We were very surprised-somewhat-to find out we were pregnant. As most of you know I am terrible at remembering to take the pill. However I had take 4 tests prior to Christmas and all came back negative. So I decided to take another on New Year's Day and well here we are preparing for our new arrival.

I've been to my first doctor visit to confirm the pregnancy. Had my iron checked and it is great. I actually go next week for our first sonogram!! I am anxiously awaiting the sonogram as that will tell us for sure how far along I am. I am 8 weeks 4 days pregnant by my cycle-but I didn't get a positive test until I was 24 days late so I am anxious to see if the baby is measuring 8 weeks along.

Luckily I haven't gotten rid of ALL our baby stuff and I have a friend that has an 11 month old baby girl so she still has a few items that I will need.

So keep us in your prayers as we prepare for this new blessing.