New & Improved

I have a new blog. If you would like to check it out, the link is posted below :)

One Lucky Lady

Menu Plan Monday

Monday- Kielbasa & Mac and Cheese

Tuesday- Tex-Mex Chicken Spaghetti

Wednesday- Baked Pork Tenderloin & Broccoli, Cheese, and Rice

Thursday- Lemon Garlic Tilapia & Parmesan Pasta

Friday- Pizza!!! or Hot Dogs (not sure yet)

Saturday- It's still undecided :)

Sunday- Celebrating a birthday with family!

Oh, my children make me laugh...

My five year old son runs through the house letting the world know he has to poop. Once he's sure everyone and their mother has heard his announcement, he sits on the toilet and starts his deed. I hear all kinds of grunting/pushing sounds coming from the bathroom. Then his two year old sister opens the bathroom door to see what he's doing. He tells her "It's okay, you can come in, it doesnt smell that bad in here..." She walks in, tears off her diaper and sits on her potty chair. Then she starts imitating her big brother, making the same grunting/pushing sounds she heard him making. He listens to her for a minute, then goes... "Look, I don't mind if you sit in here and poop with me but you gotta stop making those sounds, you're freaking me out."


The things my children say. Priceless.

Bye bye blogger.

Alright so I had to change my URL. Someone was messing with it and trying to take it down so I just moved it. Although I don't think its going to do much good because I don't plan on writing in here much. I was thinking of shutting it down but don't want to lose all my old posts! I just cant find the time to blog anymore. And I really have nothing to write about because there are a few people that look at this blog just to keep tabs on me and what I'm up to so I don't feel comfortable sharing things on here. That's all for now :)

Getting back on track!

If you haven't noticed, I've made some changes around here. I just didn't think "loving my life as a mommy and wife" was quite fitting anymore. Makin' it as a single momma is much more my style these days :) I also updated the about me page, and revised my 101 in 1001 list, and have a few things to check off of it!

For one, I got a job! I'm waiting tables, but its all good. The job is fun and its bringing in more money then I had before!!! Also, I opened a savings account! Saving money is quite difficult for me. I've never been able to do it in the past but this time I'm determined. I thought I was living frugally before, well now it's a whole new ball game! So its time to start saving!!

I'm excited for this new chapter in my life. I never imagined I would be in this situation, but I am now so I just have to go with it. I find my self saying "what could I have done differently? Where did I go wrong?" But I've got to stop that, I need to stop harping on the past and start planning for the future. I think I would like to go back to school and become an LPN, so that's my next goal to accomplish. I just want a better life for my babies, and for myself :) I'm getting back on the right track, just taking baby steps....


Get a job.
Open a savings account.

It's been a while, eh?

Hello dolls! Forgive me for not posting over the last month or so. There have been a lot of changes in my life recently... A separation from my husband, moving to a new city, getting a job, and adjusting to being a single parent. Please do not bombard me with questions, I will share with you what I feel comfortable with over time.

I'm ready to try to get this blog up and running again so please check back often for updates! I hope I do not lose any readers over this, I love and miss you guys :)

Sickness. Bleh.

Damn this stupid stomach bug! My baby boy is home sick today. He's been throwing up all. morning. long. I wish I could do something for him. All I can do is keep washing out his puke bowl, and whatever else he happens to throw up on on his way to the bathroom. Poor baby. He doesn't even want to eat lunch, and this child never skips a meal. I'm trying to keep Kenna away from him as much as I possibly can but I turned my back for one second this morning and when I turned back around, she had his juice cup and was guzzling it down. So she'll probably be throwing up tomorrow. Yuck.

Forgive me for not posting. I'll be back when my babies are better.

Task Completed.

Okay, this may sound silly to some of you but one of the things to do on my 101 in 1001 list is to splurge on a great pair of jeans. I'm here to let you know, I've done just that.

Remember that comment hubbs made about my size 30 jeans? Yeah, he was talking about these.

I put that on my list because I rarely splurge on things for myself. I'm always looking for stuff for the kids, or for hubbs but rarely for me. I'm a giver, I can't help it. Plus, I like a good deal, I can't bring myself to spend full price on anything really. I always have a coupon or a discount code or just buy from the sale/clearance racks. Which is what I did in this case. I found these adorable jeans hanging on the sale rack.

They were the only pair from this brand, and they were my size, and they were on sale... Can you beat it? I tried them on. And fell in love. Don't you just love finding a great pair of jeans? You know, the ones that fit you so perfectly, the ones you want to wear every. single. day. Yeah, that kind.

Plus... Look at that price tag. Regular price - $79 - who spends that much on jeans??? Sale price - $50 - chaaa chinggg!

$50 on jeans is splurging for me. But hey, at least I got them on sale, right?

I love them. & can't wait to wear them this week :)

Splurge on a great pair of jeans.

Featured Blogger

Yepp, that's right. I'm a featured blogger over at the Friendly Friday blog hop! How cool is that? Friendly Friday is a great way to meet new bloggers and make new friends & followers! Just add your link to the list below, and don't forget to click around and check out some other blogs from the list! Have fun :)

Meet Buttons

This is Buttons. He is our elf on the shelf. I heard a lot about them getting your child to behave since they think Santa is going to hear about all the naughty things they're doing. So we went out last weekend and picked ours out. You choose the skin color, eye color, and hair color of your elf, then bring him home and name him! Gavin chose the name Buttons (not sure where it came from, but I kinda like it!).

Gavin is all about Santa this year. Last weekend, he got the Toys R Us ad out of the newspaper and clipped out all the toys he wanted, he put them in a Ziploc bag and took them to Santa so Santa would know exactly what to bring him. Yeah, my kid did that. He likes to be specific.

Back to the elf - so at first, he was totally into Buttons, he believed everything we told him (every night he goes to the north pole to tell Santa if you've been good or bad, he watches you all the time, don't touch him or his magic will wear off, etc.). But lately, he's been getting a little suspicious. Yesterday he said to me... "Mommy, I think Santa and his elves made Buttons in their workshop, and they put him in the stores so we would buy him." And today he got his doggy stuffed animal out and hid him, then told me to "find him, but don't touch him or his magic will wear off!"

The kid is smart. I don't know how I'm going to keep this going.

But he does get a kick out of finding him every morning. It's the first thing he does when he wakes up... he goes on a hunt around the house looking for little ol' Buttons.



My husband on the other hand... not so clever. I bought a pair of jeans today. I said to him on the way home 'Oh my gosh, babe... I had to buy a size 30.' He looked at me in disbelief and said "What??? Didn't you used to be a zero? How is that possible?"

Uhh, yeah. I had to explain to him that a zero is equivalent to a 24, a one is equivalent to a 25, a two is equivalent to a 26 and so on. 'Thanks, honey. By the way... that was back in high school, before I had two kids.'

PS- I added pictures to the French Apple Pie post (below) just to make you drool a little more ;)



French Apple Pie

The best apple pie you've ever had. Do I say that about all  my recipes? I do? Oh well, its true. This isn't your typical apple pie. It's got a crumb topping drizzled on top... Mmm it's sooo good. You have to try it..

Stuff you'll need:

9" pie crust
granny smith apples, 6-8
sugar, 1/2 cup
cinnamon, to tastes
butter, 1/2 cup, softened
brown sugar, 1/2 cup
flour, 1 cup

 Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel and slice all apples. Fill the pie crust with apple slices, piling them on top of each other. Pour sugar evenly on top of apples. Sprinkle cinnamon over apples, you can use as much or as little as you like. I like a lot of cinnamon, so I just pour it on!






For the topping-

Put butter, brown sugar, and flour in a bowl. Crumb all of these ingredients together with your hands (or you can use a pastry blender). Once a crumb mixture is formed, sprinkle it on top of pie. Bake for 30 minutes, remove from oven and cover with foil to prevent crust from burning. Bake another 30 minutes
(1 hour total). Enjoy!

Just sign here to add to my shit list.

I woke up at 7 o'clock this morning to my wonderful MIL screaming "There's shit all over the floor, all over my room, all over the place!! CIEEEEERRRRAAAAAAAA!!" What a lovely wake up call.

I ran downstairs - still half asleep - and stepped in a pile of dog diarrhea. Yes, you read that right. DIARRHEA.

Now that I'm FULLY awake, I walk hop on one foot around the corner and find - not one - not two - not three - but FOUR piles of this mess. FOUR! 3 on the hardwood, and 1 in my MIL's bedroom (which is carpet).

I cleaned up the poop, mopped all the hardwoods, steam cleaned the carpet, and yelled profanities at Bosco all before the kids woke up.

Fed the kids breakfast, and tried to sit down for a second to catch my breath. Then realized Kenna just soiled her diaper. I run her upstairs, get her diaper off, and reach over for a wipe only to find out I don't have any. Fab-you-lous.

So I manage to get her clean with a wet wash cloth - which by the way, it is very difficult to clean a baby's bottom with a washcloth, thank God for wipes, I don't know how they did it way back when. After I got her clean, I started getting ready to run up to Target to get some more wipes, but Gav had to be at school in an hour so I figured I'd just wait until it was time to take him to school. I mean, she cant poop twice in one hour, right?

Gavin runs upstairs. "MOMMMMMY! Bosco pooped in grandma's room again!" No honey, I closed grandma's door and put Bosco outside, he couldn't have pooped in there. "Well I let Bosco in and opened her door earlier and now dere's more poop in dere."

Oh. My. Gosh.

I go downstairs and sure enough, there's a whole new pile of dog diarrhea waiting for me to clean it up.

I yell more profanities at the dog (not in front of the children, of course) and put him out back with the door locked. I threaten Gavin that if he let's Bosco in the house or goes in grandma's room one more time, HE will be cleaning up the dog diarrhea.

I have dealt with enough poop today to last me a lifetime, and it's not even noon. I need a day off.

Oh - and Kenna soiled her diaper again right as we were walking out the door to get Gavin to school. Another washcloth, please.

I need your help

I'm getting a canvas print of the kids made for Granny Mam for Christmas, and can't decide on which picture to use. These are the pictures in the running:

1.

2.

3.

4.

 I'm torn between #2 and #3, what do you think?  Help please!

The Farris Wheel: Where's the Line to See Jesus?

While I was looking through blogs from the Friendly Friday blog hop I joined, I found a very beautiful post and would like to share it with you all.

The Farris Wheel: Where's the Line to See Jesus?

I hope you like it as much as I did. I can't wait to read more of Jennifer's blog.

It's that time...

for  Friday Follows

Welcome new followers! Leave me a comment so I can check out your blog :) & have a good weekend!

Our Christmas Cards from Shutterfly

Joy And Happiness Christmas 5x7 folded card

Shop Shutterfly.com for elegant Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Stylish Blogger Award

Thank you to Erin at Samantha's Day for the Stylish blogger award! I just love getting these blog awards, it's so nice to know your blog is read and loved. It makes my day; seriously. So now I'm going to make someone elses day! I received this award before Thanksgiving but have been so busy at home, I haven't had time to pass it along. Until now, so here goes...

In order to accept this award you must....

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded this to you.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Pay it forward to 15 (maximum) recently discovered great blogs.

4. Contact those bloggers and let them know about their award.


7 Things About ME....

1. I live with my MIL. (Some of you are aware of this but some aren't.) & we get along great!
2. I like to do things myself. I hate asking for help.

3. I love throwing parties. (Christmas parties, birthday parties etc..)

4. There are currently 5 shows on my DVR that I need to catch up on.

5. I'm still trying to master photography with my SLR. I learn a new trick with it every day.

6. I am a morning person; not a night owl, at all.

7. I love grocery shopping (when I don't have the kids, and can take my time).

Now I pass my award along to these wonderful bloggers:

1. The Bonnie 5
 
2. Married To The Army
 
3. A Happy, Lovely & Simple Life
 
4. Life With My 3 Boybarians
 
5. Nikki's Nacs
 
6. This Lovely Life
 
7. Thrifty Decor Chick

Good company & shopping

That's what I've been up to lately. I feel like I've been out of the blogging loop for ages, even though it's only been a few days. Granny Mam came over Monday afternoon and spent some time with us. We watched movies, played games, went shopping, laughed a lot, ate good food, and had great conversation. I just love when she visits us. She also took a great picture of the four of us for our Christmas cards, but you'll have to wait to see those ;) She had to go home this morning, she is such a busy lady. We're gonna miss her and will hopefully see her again soon.

I didn't get to do the black Friday shopping I was hoping for. I looked through all the ads about a hundred times and had a list of items I was determined to buy that night. But hubbs got his paycheck two days late so I had to postpone my shopping spree. I was relieved when I heard about cyber Monday. Needless to say, I did some damage to our bank account Monday. I got some serious Christmas shopping done. Here are a few things that will be under our tree on Christmas morning...

This is a great toy for Kenna, I think she's gonna love it.

Got this for Gav, with a case and a toy story game.

Kenna loves to color, and loves music... how perfect is this!

Can't forget the hubbs... He wants this new gaming headset (he doesn't read my blog)!

I got a lot of my shopping done, but still have a little more to do. & now I'm off to wrap some gifts before Gav gets home from school. Last year I put gifts under the tree as I got/wrapped them but I think it would be more fun if I hide them and put 'em under the tree after the kids are in bed on Christmas eve. That way they are surprised when they wake up Christmas morning. What do you do?

Our Thanksgiving

I am the type of person that loves to lounge around in my pj's on Thanksgiving, with all my family around me, cooking up a huge feast in the kitchen with all the ladies, and watching football after a full belly. But this year my FIL invited my husband and I (and the kids of course!) to a nice hotel for brunch with him and his parents. Since we haven't seen his parents since 2007 (when Gav was only a year old! & they hadn't met Kenna yet) we decided not to decline. We went to a super nice resort style hotel nearby and had the biggest most delicious brunch ever, then we walked around the hotel and took pictures. Here are some pictures from our day:



Daddy & Gavin at brunch




My mini monster!




Our attempt at a family picture.




My babies




Kenna & Uncle Conner





A better family picture!



Hubbs and I :)

Four Generations.

The whole group

Me & my man



She fell asleep on the way home





My little man with Santa's elf!



After brunch, we went home and relaxed, then had another big Thanksgiving feast with my MIL. I think I gained at least 10 lbs this weekend. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday too!

Visit Kris' Grandparents.

I'm thankful for...

I am incredibly thankful for my wonderful husband who works so hard to provide for us. I'm thankful to have two happy, healthy children. I'm thankful for all of my wonderful in laws, they are all so good to my husband and I and they treat me as if I were there own. I am thankful to have a roof over my head, for my husband to have two good jobs, and that I am able to stay home with my babies and watch them grow. I am thankful Gav has started pre-k this year (3 hours for mommy!) and that he loves it so much! I am thankful that my husband's grandparents came to visit us for Thanksgiving, they were so happy to see the kids and we were so happy to see them! I could go on and on, I am thankful for so many things in my life right now. I am one blessed lady :)

I am also thankful that we've finally gotten the cool weather! It was in the 40's today!! Yesssss

I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday & if you're planning on going black Friday shopping... be careful & safe!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!