4 Months

That is how long it has been since I have blogged. I think that it is a bit sad. That means that I must have been busy with something.

Well, it has been busy, I have 3 girls all growing up so fast, and a little boy that I watch that keeps me on my toes.

Virginia has done a lot of growing up in the last 4 months. She attended her first dance at school at the beginning of December. She talked non stop about the evening until we got home and saw Dad. She clammed up fast! There were no slow dances, but she did get asked by a boy to dance. She said "yes". I can believe that she is becoming such a young lady. She also is playing the trumpet in the school band and had her first concert, I teared up a little. They sounded really good for the first time performing. Listening to her practice at home, I was a bit worried. But, as the concert got closer she sounded so much better. She even told me one night that she had the music memorized!

Virginia is also my reader. Since the summer she has finished the Harry Potter series, the Percy Jackson series, the Kane Chronicle series and several other books too! I am so glad that she enjoys reading after her rough start.

Rebekah is also growing fast. She is in the 4th Grade Choir at school, and they also performed at the beginning of December. I love their programs- short and sweet. They are kept under 45 minutes.

Ellyn is loving school. She has just been busy being 4.

As for Tate and I we have been busy with our own things. I have been busy making Christmas gifts and trying to keep up on all the house work, this is not easy for some reason. Just life in general.

Well, that is a quick update on the life in this home.

Memories

I hope that one day some of the pictures I take will take me back to remember the sounds of that day.

For instance, Ellyn squealing with laughter as the waves chase her out of the water.

The crashing of waves on the beach as we walk along and find foot prints

and shells in the sand.

Pictures can take us back to places that we have cherished and bring back memories of long ago, while memories of today are made.

What's for Dinner?

This is the never ending question in almost every family. It is almost always asked by Tate as soon as he walks in the door. Although, lately I have had dinner ready and waiting for him by the time he gets home- it is football season.

Tonight's answer to the question is....Feta and Bacon Stuffed Chicken.

Yummy! This was great! Very rich flavors. I could only eat half, because it was filling. Feta, sour cream, bacon, pepper and oregano were the stuffing. You then coat the stuffed chicken with flour, dredge in egg, coat in bread crumbs and then brown it in the bacon grease. To finish cooking through you bake it for about 20-25 minutes. OH MY! I recommend that you try this at least once. I am sure that I will make it again, but not just for us. Bekah was one of the only kids that did not like the filling, but that is okay, I told them that if they didn't like the filling they still had to eat the chicken. Here are the delicious pictures!

The inside

Yumm!!

 

 

 

There you go! I served rice as the side, and it was perfect. The recipe also in cludes directions for Onion Mashed Potatoes. I opted for the rice since we already had mashed potatoes for dinner the other night.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/feta-and-bacon-stuffed-chicken-with-onion-mashed-potatoes/detail.aspx

Give it a try and tell me what you think!

Enjoy!

"Where were you when....?"

This is a question that is all over the news as September 11th approaches. Here are the answers to the big question for my lifetime.

1. Where were you when the Challenger exploded? I was at Cleveland Elementary walking by the Library when I saw it.

2. Where were you when the Twin Towers were hit? I was working at Quality Dining and was 2  months pregnant with Rebekah.

Time seems to stop. Those are the questions for my generation.

The questions for our parents ad grand parents? Where were you when Pearl Harbor was bombed? Where were you when Kennedy was shot? And then of course the two above.

What are your answers to the above questions? Did I miss one for my generation or any other?

What prompted this blog this morning? A story on CBS Early show comparing Pearl Harbor and the Twin Towers. Below is the link if you would like to see it.

http://www.cbs.com/daytime/the_early_show/video/?pid=_YQ0SGqROsNfsT_k5zqQntDQG5uWnKz6&vs=Default&play=true

Tequila

Yup, tequila. I made the Tequila Lime Burgers last night for dinner. OH were they good! Moist. Very moist. They barely stayed together. I added some extra ingredients because I just had the feeling they were not going to stay together. But, they were good! Virginia ate 2 of them! Here is the link.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/tequila-lime-burgers/detail.aspx

As our side we had chips and salsa.

I guess that if I am going to tell you about these burgers I should take pictures of them. I am sure that we will be making these again, so pictures will come!

Enjoy!

Burgers!

I have been on a burger kick as of late. At least one night a week we have been having burgers. And not just any burgers. I have been getting recipes online for different flavors.

Two weeks ago I made Feta Stuffed Burgers- AWESOME!! I did not make these for the kids as I was unsure how they would like them. But, Tate and I loved them. They were packed with flavor.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/feta-stuffed-hamburgers/detail.aspx

Last week Sour Cream Burgers- once again- AWESOME!! Moist! Loved it, the kids did too!
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sour-cream-burgers/detail.aspx

So today I have found a recipe for Tequila Burgers! Oh, we are so trying this one! I am going to wait to try these until I have tried them. I hope that they are just as good as the other two! I need to figure out what Montreal steak seasoning is....anyone know?

And They're Off

Today is the first day of school for South Bend. My husband and two oldest daughters are off to teach and learn.

This year is a bit different for us. I now have kids at two different schools, Rebekah is at Nuner and Virginia is at Jefferson. Tate is teaching at Dickinson. And Ellyn will be starting pre-school in just a couple of weeks. So, really I guess that we have 4 different school schedules to work with.

Virginia was excited and a bit nervous for her first day. And to tell you the truth I am nervous and excited to hear about her day when she gets home. It is a long day. She gets on the bus at 7 am and then will get home around 3:20 pm or so. The dress code for her school is uniforms. Not too bad if you ask me. She won't be dressing funny this year.....sometimes I wondered about what she choose to wear. It wasn't too bad just a bit sloppy some days.

Rebekah was a tad upset and a little scared this morning- she has never rode the bus totally on her own. Her big sister has always been there with her. I came in the house while Virginia was waiting for the bus and Rebekah was sitting on the couch with sad eyes. I could tell that there was something wrong. It took some coaxing to get it out of her, but she finally admitted that she was a bit worried about being alone. She will be fine, she is brave! She gets picked up just before 8 am and dropped off around 2:30 pm.

Tate is coaching football again this year and teaching at Dickinson. Dickinson has has some changes in administration this year, new principal and vice principal. This has also brought about some dress changes for the teachers, they need to be a bit more professional. So, the man needs new shoes....he will have to wait awhile for those. Sorry, Mr. Principal, new shoes are just not in the budget right now. He will have to accept Tate's black boots for a while. They aren't bad.

Ellyn has a playmate still, Gavin. They will be starting school together after Labor Day. It looks like I may have some one on one time with Gavin on Mondays....what shall we do? I have some ideas. Ellyn will be in school Monday - Wednesday mornings, and Gavin will be in school Tuesday and Wednesday. That means I get 4 hours all to myself! Well, maybe, we will see.

My goal is to be involved at Jefferson and Nuner at least twice a month. And then help out Amy at the church a couple of days a month too.

I think that this school year will keep me busy!


REMEMBER TO BE MINDFUL OF SCHOOL BUSES AND THE CHILDREN GETTING ON THEM!

This One Time at Church Camp

I am sure that you have been waiting for this the last couple of weeks. I have been busy with cleaning house for birthday parties.

I survived CAMP!!! I had a blast! That is all you are getting.

Just kidding! What an experience! I was the cabin Mom. There were 19 girls in our cabin, one side was mostly Living Stones girls and the other side was mainly from North Liberty. They were a great bunch of girls to have in my cabin. Not to mention the other 4 staff that were there too.

Here are the higlights of the week:

Sunday: Getting to meet all the girls in the cabin; Pool party!
Monday: Getting divided into teams, my team had 8 girls and 4 boys. First "Torture Time"- bobbing for what the Junior staff thought were apples- nope ONIONS! Staff Hunt. Zip Line for my team.
Tuesday: Beautiful day! (all of them really were) Things did not get interesting until the evening when a storm came through and took out the power! They hooked up generators to get water to the cabins- that was about all we got.
Wednesday: Water Games! I had fun with this! Shaving Cream and M&Ms. I was covered form the neck up with shaving cream and my team got to throw M&Ms at my face! They had fun! Pool Party.
Thursday: I don't remember much. I do know that we did have fun. Virginia did the Zip Line! Oh, slip and slide! Oh yeah, Pastor Sam was tortured....Flour and Water is all I have to say.
Friday: Our last day. Sad, I had to say goodbye to a bunch of great kids and people.

Ghost Sam - the fan didn't work.

Getting ready for the Zip Line

http://youtu.be/Hw1MRuicWlk  Virginia's video.
 
I can't wait to do this again next year with both Virginia and Rebekah!

And, Amy, I am happy where I am in Kids Kanyon....I will stay for awhile ;)

Frustrations

Well, it is just about that time that summer comes to an end and a new beginning starts. School starts for my two oldest girls in two days. I am going to be honest- I am thrilled that they are going back to school! It has been a fun summer, but I am ready for them to go and they are ready to go too.

The last week and a half has been a little stressful. Virginia is starting a new school, moving on up to Jefferson Intermediate Center. This is not the stress part, the transportation is! We got her bus stop information. The bus stop they assigned her to is at the corner of 23rd Street and Wall Street. This meant that she would have to cross Ironwood to get there.....NO WAY! I went off- it is a good thing that we got the information on a Saturday, so I had a little time to cool down. So Monday morning I called the transportation department and told them my issues. The gentleman on the other end said "I understand your concerns" and would pass on my information to the proper person to be reviewed. Wednesday came and we still had no answers, so Tate called to find out what was going on. We were told that they were considering having her picked up at Hastings and Ironwood. Okay, I can love with that, but this was not final. We still had not heard anything by yesterday morning on what the final decision was. Tate called, they told him that the bus stop was not being changed and that she would have to cross to the stop she was given.....NO WAY! Tate was told that this now had to be taken up with the school she was attending, really? You can't make this decision before school starts? You can't make a common sense decision? So, he contacted the school. He spoke with them and sent them a nice email with our concerns, mentioning our accident in 2007. We were still awaiting an answer this morning. He called again to find out what was decided. Mind you I did not specifically ask for this outcome but I am THRILLED! She will be picked up at the front door! I was going to be happy with the corner by the fire hydrant, but no, right in front of the house!

Thank you Tate for helping me in this! And thank you to all of you that I have ranted to the last week and half!

There is a First Time for Everything!

I am 35 years old and I am going to camp for the first time! I never went as a kid, I don't think it was ever really offered to me- other than Band Camp and that doesn't count since I went home every night. This is a true camp that I am going to! Virginia and I are having the first experience together, and I am excited for it!
We are not going far, just up to Niles, MI. The camp is called Michiana Christian Service Camp. We are going with a group of 11 girls and 6 boys. Our Pastor Sam and I are going as counselors. Did I mention that I am excited? I have also been told that there are other people that are excited for me to be going too, and that makes it even better.
I am hoping to get a few things out of going to camp. 1. A closer relationship with Virginia, 2. to become closer to GOD and 3. to get to know more of the older kids that are in our church. I work in the Children's Ministry at LSC, but I work with the little ones, 2 year olds and K-1st Grades. I don't seem them much after that- who knows, maybe I will want to move on up to the older kids after this (sorry Amy, if this happens :) )
Next weekend be watching for the blog titled "This One Time at Church Camp"!

Hello, again.

Well, hello! My goodness, I haven't posted on here since APRIL! Time goes so fast! Spring has passed and Summer is almost half over (at least for the kids)!
There has been a lot going on around here that I just haven't been sitting down at the computer to do anything but a little business. I wish that I was sitting at it all the time for business but that just doesn't happen. The kids have been keeping me busy with all the summer stuff we do around here....swimming and water being the biggest things going on here. I will be trying to post more often as the summer goes on. I have two girls that have already celebrated birthdays that I haven't even talked about yet, a vacation with my hubby and only my hubby to tell you about!
I will see you again soon, maybe even this afternoon!

Indian food

Tonight I tried my hand and putting together my own version of my favorite Indian dish. Wow, I actually got very close! I got to use one of my favorite Tastefully Simple seasonings, Taste of India Seasoning!
I baked a couple of Chicken breasts and cubed them. For the sauce I took a can of tomato soup, a small can of tomato paste, some half & half, and 2 tablespoons of seasoning. And Voila! We had Chicken Tikka Masala! I am so excited!!! And my wallet is much happier!

What am I up to?

Well, that is always a loaded question! Is the answer "no good", "nothing much", or "too much". Well, I don;t ever think that I will be able to say "nothing much".

This week started off with me being sick and having to call off all of my daycare kiddos....this always makes me sad. I miss them when they are not around. But, I guess that I do get my turn at being sick at some point. I slept for almost 14 hours between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. I felt so much better after that rest.

Then the week began on Tuesday. It has turned out to be a light week in the daycare, as I have had 3 kids out the last two days. One because Mom is sick and the other two (siblings) because the sister is not feeling good. SICKNESS GO AWAY!! I am hoping that next week is great and of course busy, since it is Spring Break! I see a ZOO Trip on the agenda! (It opens on Friday!)

Cookie Sales are finally over, but I still have cookies that need to be sold. About a week ago we did a cookie table in the front yard and it was fun! I was a little scared at first because no one was stopping, but we sold almost 9 cases of cookies before we were done! So, next week we will set up again and hopefully get the rest of them sold.

I have also been working on a Tea Set for Ellyn, I have the cups, saucer and tea pot done for it, but still have the plates and cookies to do. I posted pictures on my Facebook page and my sisters mother-in-law asked if I would like to finish an afghan she has started! Sounds like fun to me!

Well, I hope that you all have a wonderful rest of your day!

Homemade

I posted that my hubby mentioned that he was proud of me for making a lot of our current home cleaners. Out of frustration the other night I had to actually buy some laundry soap and dishwasher detergent. I bought the dishwasher detergent because I was in a place that did not sell one of the ingredients I needed. As for the laundry soap purchase, I had to because the store that I normally get one of the ingredients at was out! That frustrated me, so I bought regular soap- and of course bought the largest, and of course cheapest they had.

When I posted the above quite a few friends started asking for the recipes, so here are a few that I use so far.

Powdered Laundry Soap (I like this one because it is easy)
1 bar Fels-Naptha Soap (Ace Hardware sells it! At least that is what their website says. I have also been told that you can use any bar soap, but I haven't given that a try yet.)
1 cup Washing Soda (NOT BAKING- Arm & Hammer makes one)
1/2 cup Borax (found in the laundry isle)

Grate soap or break it into pieces and process in a food processor (I am going to try an old coffee grinder that we no longer use) until powdered. Mix all ingredients. Store in an air tight container.
For a lightly soiled load use 1 Tbsp, for heavier soiled load use 2 Tbsp (I almost always just use about 1 1/2 Tbsp in every load.) This washes about 40 loads.
*www.duggarfamily.com/recipes

Dishwasher Detergent
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Kosher Salt
1/2 cup Citric Acid (you can also use 12-15 packets of unsweetened lemonade- this is what I have been using)
Mix all ingredients and store in an air tight container. Don't be surprised if the mix cakes- the citric acid does that- just break it apart. Use 1 Tbsp in the compartment that closes.
You can use vinegar as a rinse agent- put it in where you would normally add "Jet Dry".
 *diynatural.com 

Natural cleaner- did you know that vinegar is a natural cleaner? I love it, yes, it stinks but it works. I just made a spray bottle of cleaner for a dresser all that is in it is 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup water, and a couple of drops of olive oil (you could also use vegetable or lemon oil). Don't worry the vinegar smell disappears after a little while.

Song of Songs

Our Church is doing a 6 week series on the Song of Songs from the Bible. If you are not familiar with this Book, I highly suggest that you check out our message series at www.livingstones.cc. It is about Love, Sex and Beauty. I think that my husband got a sneek peek at the sermon for this week!

Sam talked about 3 ways to bring Romance back into a relationship. These three ways are
1. do the unexpected
2. be impractical
3. be intentional

Well my hubby filled at least 2 of those last night! He needed to go and get a small air compressor, and I had asked him if he would get apple juice while he was at Sam's Club getting that.


Also while he was there he bought me a surprise! This one caught me of guard- I cried when he brought it in...here is the unexpected and intentional......

NEW POTS AND PANS! I had been admiring them the last time we went shopping as a family. My pans are not too bad, but a lot of the coating has been coming off.

Tate, thank you for thinking of me! I love you!

Journal

Thank God for journals!

It is a place where you can place your thoughts and know that they are only read by you and God. At least that is how it is supposed to be, and I know that it is not always that way from experience.

I have a journal that I write in every so often, mainly when there is something that I am having a difficult time dealing with and can't "talk" about it. I am better at putting my thoughts on to paper than into spoken word.

I also write about the good things too, but those are easy to put into spoken word. My journal also carries my Prayers. After every entry I write a little prayer, sometimes it has nothing to do with the entry but most of the time it does.

I know that this is a rambling post, but it is what it needs to be right now for me.

Kiss Me, Kill Me

This is the title of a book that I have been reading this week. Now, I don't read very much for pleasure, but last Fall i ended up in a book club that sold suspense books (not really my kind of book, but none the less). I have 5 books from this club, so I lined them up last weekend and decided that I was going to read them, and this book was the one that caught my attention by the story on the back of the cover. I am 2 chapters away from finishing the story, and it is good. I have not been able to put it down!

The story is a "Romantic Suspense" written by Maggie Shayne. I like the way she has written the story. I am eager to read more of her books- I will be checking them out from the library.

March 9th- I have finished the book. I did so the day I originally started this. It has been sitting in my "drafts". If you are a person that enjoys Suspense Novels I highly recommend this book!

Hello!

It has been a tad bit busy around here!
I had a new little one start with me on Monday. She has been here before, but it was rough. So, I was a tad bit worried about how things were going to go this time around. It had been over a year. RCM is now 2, she is cute. Before she would not let you leave the room or let you put her down for even a minute to go pee! And not to mention that she would not go to Tate at all! But now, she is all over the place and is smiling all the time! I am happy to have her. She mixes pretty good with all the other kids. My worry turned into joy!
So, we have also been busy with Girl Scout cookie sales...the number of cookies in my front room has dwindled. Thin Mints are proving hard to keep around....not because I am buying them. I have only bought one box and it was not Thin Mints...there are none in this house! Hopefully that will change this afternoon, Tate is supposed to go and pick up a dozen cases after work.
Life as usual is busy!

Scary

Life sometimes decides to scare the poo out of us. Well, this weekend is no exception.

On Sunday morning Tate started to experience some pain in his upper left arm. He looked fine, no sweating, good color, none of the things that I thought I should see if he were having a Heart Attack. Yes, I said heart attack. I passed it off as "maybe you just pinched a nerve" I have this happen often when I sleep funny. So, when it came down to lunch time he was still having pain, we called our friend Julie that is on one of the local fire departments. She said that he should probably go to the ER. Of course, we waited just a bit longer. I ran to the grocery store since it was on the way home from where we were having lunch, and I really just wanted to make sure that we had food for the week in case anything were to happen. I got home and no sooner had all the groceries in the house, Julie was calling to see if the pain had gone away. She told Tate that she had talked to one of the Medics and he said that Tate should really go and have it checked out....well that is what he did.

I sat here with the kids waiting for his call as to what was going on. I got lucky that not soon after he left my friend, Jessica, stopped by, so I was not alone. I debated on calling my mom or his mom. I didn't want to call his mom, I needed to leave that to him. I did end up calling my mom, she came over and sat with the kids while I took Tate some overnight items. All his blood tests to that point had all come back normal. Since his family has a history of heart problems, they wanted to keep him over night for observation, a good idea. He had a stress test yesterday, and all his blood work continued to be normal. What did show was that his Potassium was extremely low. NO HEART ATTACK!!!! AMEN!!!

He is doing fine and back to work today, although he wishes he had stayed home and gotten more sleep since he didn't sleep well at the Hospital.

We will be making some changes to our diet at a slow pace since there are children involved. I don't think that the food will change too much, but the portion control will.....I threw together an awesome Veggie Beef soup last night, and there is a chicken in the crock pot as I type this....so we are on our way to more veggies!

Disclaimer: No one involved in this story actually pooed in their pants.

COOKIES!

Alright all you lovers of Girl Scout Cookies....I have a room full of cookies. Don't believe me....take a look.....

Changes

I wonder why people change, when really they shouldn't.

I was having this conversation with someone and we were talking about how some people change, and not necessarily for the better. They let friends that were once close fall to the wayside (we have had this happen as I am sure you all have). I suppose that I am also guilty of this too.

Here are some changes that we have found that cause this to happen:

• getting married
• having babies or not having babies
• moving to a new house or moving to a new location
• short on time to spend with others
• new friends come into the mix
• change in hobbies
• change in jobs/careers

I am sure that there are many more, and if I sat to think about it I could list many more.

I am one person that thrives on friends and family, I like to know what is going on, how someone is feeling, spending time with them, and doing fun things in groups.

I know that my current choice in career (stay at home mom/childcare provider) may have changed me a bit or maybe a lot, but I would hope that it would not change the friendships that I cherish- and unfortunately I know that this has happened.

That said, I am always home. I get lonely. I would love for someone just to say "I am coming over whether you like it or not. I don't care that there are kids running around, I will trip over toys, and the house is strew with toys. I want to spend time with you just catching up."  I love what I do, but there is not much adult conversation around here from the hours of 8 am to 5 pm.

I want all my friends to know that I TRULY CHERISH their friendship, and I love you all!

Girl Scout Cookies

So this weekend was our official start to the Girl Scout Cookie season. We are selling until March 14th. There are a ton of cookies to be bought, so please let me know if you are interested!!

My Hubby

Today is Tate's birthday, he is turning 36. He is one of the best men that I know. Not only is he a great husband, he is a great father.

He has always done what was needed. At times that meant working 2 jobs, and not seeing his family for long period of time- home to change and then out the door again. We have made it through those times.

He works so that I can stay home for the kids. He is working on his Master's in Education- Special Education. He also has started a Master's in Social Work. He started the later first and when he started working at SBCSC he changed over to the Education Department....I have told him that he will finish the Social Work Degree too, and he has not objected. If he had been able to finish the Social Work program he would have graduated last Spring. He will finish his current line of study next Spring (at least I think that is when it will be done).

In the last month or so he has applied for 2 head football coaching positions at 2 of the local High Schools. I am hoping that one of them works out. I know that he would make an awesome Head Coach at this level. Both of the programs need a good man in this position. He is currently the head football coach at the Intermediate level, and has a program that is what I would say respectable- he does not put the kids down like other coaches that I have heard.

So, Dear Tate, I am proud to be your wife, even though I may not always show it...I love you, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Winter Blahs

I am hitting the winter blahs, and I know why. I am one of those people that likes to get out. I however do not like to drive in the white stuff.

I am going to preface this next thing with this, I love what I do. The kids are driving me a little nuts! I have not had much time alone lately, and that is something that I really need, and no, grocery shopping does not count!

I am trying to find the time to get back to the YMCA to start working out again to get rid of some of the blah, still trying to find the perfect times to work around schedules.

I am looking forward to Spring arriving and the snow melting.

Snow, Snow, and More Snow

Alright, I love the white stuff, at least how it looks. But, I am ready for it to stop falling from the sky.

I was just out and shoveled another 3-4 inches off the front walk way, I did all the way past the second house to the North of us. Last weekend he helped to snow blow the 24+ inches of snow away, so I returned the favor using my shovel.

Since we have been snowed in this last weekend we rearranged our bedroom. In doing that I have pinched the nerve in my knee again (this makes everything painful) and did something to my back (I need to see make a visit to my Chiropractor). Both of these are reoccurring pains, so I try not to make a big deal of them when they happen, but today they are ganging up on me at the same time!

I am wondering what the weather will bring us in the next couple of days. Today the snow is coming from a weather system that is going through bringing the 3-4 we already have and maybe a little more. Sometime tonight or super early tomorrow the lake effect will kick in, and you never know how much or where it will all fall. We could be in for another snow day for the schools.

I hope that you all stay warm and safe!

Did I really?

Did I really just apologize for using "crap" in a blog? Oh my! Such language! I suppose I could have used the original word that I really comes to mind, but then I would be washing my hands with the harshest cleaner possible!

Cleaning out....

So, we have been making changes around here and getting rid of a bunch of CRAP! (Sorry if I just offended you and you have decided to stop reading from here.)

Last week Tate and I began on the adventure of cleaning out the basement, that was a trip! But, we got rid of a bunch of toys among other things that were broken or past a date or use. Did you know that there is an expiration date on car seats? Well, there is and that is one of the things that had to go.

Today I am working on cleaning out the bedroom so that we can move the bed into it's new spot. I have come across all the crib sheets, baby bumpers and such for the crib. I have decided that it all must go, and in thinking about it I began to get teary eyed. All of my girls are growing so fast! Ellyn is now out of the toddler bed and we are giving that away to our dear Abie, who is about ready to move into her "big bed". 

So time continues to go on and we move on into different stages. We are moving out of the baby stage in this house. I will miss some of it, but certainly not all of it!

Resolutions, nah, GOALS!

I am not very good at the whole resolution thing. I have been there and done that. This year I am setting goals. I know they are about the same, but I tend to like the word "goals" better. So, here they are in no specific order.....

1. Work out on a regular basis.
2. Be better at budgeting, and sticking with it.
3. Eat out less.
4. Plan the weeks menu, and make sure that it is healthier. This means adding more veggies!
5. Make more one on one time for Virginia and Rebekah. Virginia and I have a book that we are going to work on together about her. I need to find something to do with Rebekah still. No, Ellyn does not lose out on this time, I already get one on one time with her during the week.
6. Spend less time on the computer doing time wasting things. No, I do not see my blog as a waste of time...I am talking about Facebook.
7. Spend more time with God. This is one of the things that I have to admit I lack. I love my God, and need more time with him.
8. Make more gifts instead of  spending money, homemade things mean more!


Those are my goals, I hope to have success with them.  

Would anyone like to help me stay accountable or join me on my little list? I would welcome it!

A New Year, A New Outlook

Happy 2011! We have seen another year go by very fast. Where did 2010 go? Oh well, time must go on and so must we.

I have been reading my friends blogs this evening to catch up. I ended 2010 with a little vacation. No, we did not go anywhere. I did get to spend time with my favorite guy, alone! My in-laws took the girls for a couple of nights. I like it when I get to spend time with my guy. This time we spent our time working on cleaning out the basement, isn't that the way you would like to spend your time together? We did accomplish a lot though. I have an area that I have been trying to turn into my own since we moved into this house 5 years ago, and it is finally taking shape.

The last couple of months I have been trying to find ways to become a little more savvy. So far I have made my own dishwasher detergent (which I love), started meal planning a bit better, and this weekend I made my own laundry detergent. I am hoping that this summer I will be able to have more of a garden- I am new to the growing things on my own- my tomatoes, cucumbers and peas did not live up to my expectations last summer, but I will try it again this year.

This year I also want to make all the gifts I give away to others. I am not starting off the year very well at this, as I just bought a baby shower gift for a friend. But, that is okay, hopefully when the baby arrives I will have a blanket for her already made. I have also decided to find ways to give pack to the community around me. I was inspired by a Hat challenge that a friend gave us before Christmas, so I am going to try to continue that challenge and make it bigger! My goal is to have 100 hats made before next winter....this may seem a bit big, but I just think I can do it! I of course have a couple of other projects that I need to complete before I can get started on that.

So, here is to 2011 and all that it has to bring!