My baking endeavors

So today I baked my Amish friendship bread and I was quickly reminded as to why I don't bake, or cook much anymore for that matter. First of all the kids were underfoot the whole time both talking VERY enthusiastically ( ie. screaming) and I was trying to pay attention to mixing up the correct amount of ingredients, yes it takes lots of concentration for me to bake as I don't normally do this. Plus it was early and I hadn't yet had my morning joe. Anyway, I baked the bread, which was yummy, but here's the reasoning behind my not baking anymore. I spent a lot of time prepping it, made a HUGE mess while making it, and then the little ingrates ( my children) refused to eat it. Jackson tried one bite after much cajoling, and went into hysterics on how gross it was. Yes, he's my drama queen. It's just not worth my effort as it's not in the least bit appreciated.

The kids were insane today. I love them to pieces, but wow, they are a handful sometimes. They get so hyper and it's gotten to where it's them against me. They love to team up, and Jackson can be a bit of a bad influence on my sweet Elena. It's cute thought that they get along so well, but I need to tighten the reigns a little as they tend to walk all over me.

Tomorrow BOTH kids are going to their first non-family sleepover, and I pray they will have a great time and I won't get a late night call. I also have Bunco tomorrow night, I hope I win some moolah. Yeah baby. Sunday is a birthday party at DC and then back to work and school for the kiddos. My weekends just aren't long enough.

Blur

This week has been so busy. I had to work late Monday, work most of Tuesday and Wednesday, all of which was with the kids present. Yikes. I took the kids to Michaels to get some jewelry kits for Jackson. Yep, you heard me right , jewelry. For those of you who know me, you already know what I'm thinking. lol We had a good time making it though, and I have somewhat surprised myself by how much I've changed. I've gotten much better about being more domestic, cleaning more, doing more crafts and things with the kids, and wishing I could stay home with them full time, which was something that I thought I was never much suited for, but now it would be great. No chance there though as I'm gonna have to find something to do with them in the next month or so. grrrr I don't know if it will be daycare or what, but I am NOT looking forward to seeing them less.

Elena has really blossommed the past few months and while she and I have had many hurdles, she is such a little doll, and has so much personality and charisma, it's just adorable. She's my little comedienne, and she's just a hog for any and all attention, she loves performing, and loves talking to people. Her speech is also getting much better and she's getting to be quite the chatterbox. It's nice, but also leaves me longing for the quiet days. It's hard having two kids that talk nonstop. She's starting to play the " I love you more" game that Jackson and I do, and it's quite adorable. We're really starting to form a great bond and I love it.

Jackson is good as always, although I can definately tell he's getting older. He doesn't always like to be my little baby anymore. He's still my guy, but I can see the maturation. He's a great kid and I'm so proud of both of my children. When they go to my Mom's church, they always get so many compliments about how they are the most well behave kids and how sweet they are anf how Elena is like a living baby doll. Makes a mama proud.

Pay It Forward

I saw this on my friend Chandra's blog and thought this was such a great idea, plus I can't wait for my crafty item from her. I'm looking forward to sending out something to those who read mine...so go comment after reading! I can't wait to see who it is.

The Rules:

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?!

2. Winners must post this challenge on their blog, meaning that they will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on their post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate pictures and comments!

If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along.Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! SO, REMEMBER...Pay it forward!P.S. If you are one of the first three and don't have a blog to post you can take the next three friends that call you just to chat and Pay It Forward to them! Then challenge them to do the same. Let's help make this a wonderful world to live in and show our friends how much we care for them

Oy! What a day!!

This week has totally kicked my butt. Work has been stressful, kids have been uber clingy, since staying home with me more now, they are getting even more spoiled than they already were. I was hoping for a productive day at home cleaning. Nope, hubby had problems at work, some of which were my fault, woops, Jackson had a tummy ache, and Elena has been constipated the past couple of days. I felt so badly for her, she would cry and get so rigid trying to go to the bathroom, and wanted me to hold her most of the day. I'd already given her 3 doses of Miralax, which wasn't working, so I tried to find the suppositories for her, and nope. So I had to load up both kids to go to the store. So I figured I would go to Kroger, since I needed party supplies for this weekend, and cat food and litter, so one stop shopping right? Nope. They had adult suppositories, which the pharmacist said specifically not to use for Elena's age. So after grocery shopping, blah, I had to hit up Rite Aid. Thank goodness they had pediatric suppositories. When we got home, I gave her one, I hope to not EVER have to do that again, and in less than an hour, my sweet little girl was feeling much better.

Now hubby and kiddos are at the game, I'm taking a break from cleaning, and I'm oh so happy that I found a recipe online for Bonefish Grill's pomegranate martini. It tastes delicious.

This weekend I am having an orginization party, and frankly, I am wondering what the heck I was thinking as I am one of the MOST disorganized people in the world! I am hoping this will help me, but I'm a little nervous doing this party. Wish me luck!

Sunday I went to a MDO Valentine reveal. I had a great lunch and received two of the Twilight books, I can't wait to get started reading them. The movie was excellent, so I can only imagine the books are even better. Then went to the Shopaholic movie, it was okay, not closely following the book, but Isla Fischer was so cute in it. Man I wish I had her hair and figure. She's so tiny and cute. Afterward what would I do? Well of course go shopping! lol I went to Kohl's, got a new pair of sunglasses and cute purse and some V-Day towels with glasses of wine all over them, yep, HAD to get those. lol Then took back a toy to Target and got a super cute Valentine's Day shower curtain, hooks, and soap dispenser for next year. I had put down some clings while I was looking at curtains, and totally forgot to pick them back up. Dang it. I had high hopes of using them to decorate the mirrors in both bathrooms next year for V-Day, oh well. I probably would have just lost them anyway. Grabbed a Starbucks to go, and headed home.

Today I tried to get Elena down for a nap this morning, refused to, I am NEVER going to brag again about how easy she is to put down to sleep as it has really bit me in the butt ever since I did last time. Got ready for work, took the kids with me, worked a bit, then we came home, got Jackson ready for the Preds game, he and John were going, and it was just us girls at home. Elena is still having a hard time sleeping, but I am hoping she will conk out soon. Tomorrow will be a cleaning day. Woo hoo, the joy!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today has been a terrific day! I woke up this morning feeling like crap, sinus infection is kicking in, but I got to sleep in, and we all started the day with gifts and cards once I got up. The kids loved their presents, hubby actually cried over one of the gifts the kids and I gave him, it was so nice seeing him that emotional with love, and I got some great gifts too.

John and Elena took a nap, I took pics, and Jackson and I had lunch and then went looking for bugs outside. I never in a million years thought I would do stuff like that, but I love spending time with my boy, and he loves bugs, so you do what you've got to do. It was a little too windy though so we didn't stay out long.

Later I went into town to pick up a heart shaped pizza and the kids and John played outside at home. I also got a nice card in the mail from my Mom, and scored some free meal vouchers from Chili's. Gotta love Buzz club. It's just been such a nice day hanging out with my family, who I love so much, and now the kids are in the tub, I'm going to take a hot bath so hopefully I will feel better for tomorrow's MDO, and hubby and I can curl up on the couch watching a chick flick. Life is good.

Another one???

Work was crazy today, matched the attitudes of the kids the past couple of days. I am also feeling crappy. Went to the minute clinic, I've got yet another sinus infection. Grrr. I swear I have one every couple of months. She said I should go to an ENT and could possibly need surgery. blah!!!

Tomorrow is V-Day and I hope it's a beautiful wonderful day. I used to be a little sour on the day, thinking all the card companies, florists rip you off, but you know a universal day of remembering to show how much you care to the people you love is awesome!! We get so busy in our everyday lives, that maybe we need that reminder. So I hope tomorrow you spend the day with people you love and let them know how much you care.

Where oh where did the day go?

The kids both woke up with very slight fevers, so I decided to keep them home today. Jackson had a sinus headache, so we stayed home for a bit, then went into town to take DH some lunch. Stayed for a bit to get a little work done, ran to the bank, post office, Publix and Kroger. My gosh, I was so worn out by the time I was done. The kids were acting like lunatics at the store. I did manage to do well with my coupons though, so that was good.

I just have no idea where the day went, holy cow it went quickly. We got home by 4:30, played outside for a bit, then Jackson let the cat out, so I had to get him back in, then dinner, more playtime, baths and now bed. I honestly think sometimes I make it too fun for the kids, but I want them to grow up with fond memories of having lots of fun. I hope they do, if not they are ungrateful little boogers. lol

Tomorrow is another day hopefully at home, then to Nashville for a Preds game. I'm totally exhausted.

Weekend fun

Man, those weekends fly by! I didn't work Thursday or Friday which was very nice. Saturday we had a another birthday party to go to. This one was pretty fun. It was in Arrington and was a pony party. It was at a stables and they had several ponies to ride. It pretty much went as I expected, little fearless Elena was in love at first sight and rode 3 different ponies and wanted to ride the rest as well. I thought she would like it, but boy does that girl love horses. I guess she got that from Grandma. Anyway, she was oh so precious in her little helmet riding the pony around the arena. Jackson, as expected, was scared and was way more interested in a little puppy someone had brought.

Saturday night, Jackson had his first non-family sleepover. It went really well, other than the friend having an "accident". I guess the boy was embarrassed, so he never told us. Great, found that out later, when the carpet and all the clothes on the floor were wet. Anyway, no problem, I cleaned things up and washed the clothes. That night I went to a party, while hubby watched the kids. I had an okay time. It was fun I guess, but my heart just wasn't into I guess.

Today was a pretty good day. Other than the fact that Jackson's friend's Mom was very late to pick him up, the kids had fun, we did some painting with pinecones and the day was just so gorgeous. I also had a nice lazy day of reading the Shopaholic book. I finished it!!! I haven't read a book in ages, and it was so nice. I liked it. I want to start trying to make time to read more. Hopefully I can get to bed a little early since I didn't go to bed until 3 AM and got up at 8 AM.

Thank goodness the day is almost over

Today started as a fantastic day. I dropped the kids at school, went to work for a bit, had a delicious lunch with a great friend, worked some more, picked kids up and decided to hit Target for a birthday gift for this weekend. I got an awesome parking space and was happy indeed. Then everything changed. We got into Target and I got the kids loaded in the cart, the fit from Elena had already begun. Geez, I can't go anywhere with that child without a fit, and trust me, we go EVERYWHERE, all my errands include my kids. So she wanted the baby cart where she could lay down. So I transfer everything over, we start to shop, things are okay. As we're about to check out, she says she needs a new diaper, that she had pooped. So we go change her diaper, thankfully just a pee pee, she gets confused about whether it's pee pee or poop. Anyway, we check out, gift receipt takes FOREVER to print. So I get the kids outside, it's freezing, and I can't find my keys. Grrr. I look everywhere, in my purse, diaper bag, reusable shopping bag, nowhere. I even checked the car, just in case I had locked them in there, which knew that wasn't a possibility, since I locked it with the key fob. So I go to Customer Service to see if keys have been turned in, nope. I start checking every cart, nope. I just knew I must have left it in a cart and as I'm checking every cart, and thinking I'm gonna have to get DH to come to Target to let us in the car, a girl comes running up to me from Customer Service, my keys had gotten returned. Apparently I had left them in my cart when I was transferring the kids, and the woman had thought they were her keys, put them in her pocket and shopped for a while, then noticed they weren't hers when she went to her car. Thank God!!!!

So then I stopped by McD to return a movie and get some food for the kids and a tea for hubby, and the lady hands me the tea and the lid falls off and tea goes EVERYWHERE, including my floor board, shoes, pants, windshield, dashboard, you name it. They also get the sandwich wrong as usual . So they inform me the lids don't fit the cups, give me two mediums instead of a large, wish they had told me the lid wasn't on when I got the darn drink. So I drive away, and I notice they didn't give me the coffee I ordered either. Back to McD, have to go in, since there's a wait at the drive thru. Fortunately the lady was super nice and apologetic and said we would get free meals next visit.

Granted not the worst day, it was just one thing after another. I'm still having issues with my meds not working, need to find time to go back to dr, and my "new" crappy phone
sucks, and I'm just very frustrated by lots of crap going on in my life and I'm just having a very hard time right now.

What a beautiful weekend!!!!

The weekend is almost over, and while I'm sad, it's been fun. Saturday morning, I took Jackson to a birthday party. It was a lot of fun, and it gave hubby some good one on one time with Elena at home. The Jackson and I ran some errands and soon enough it was time to go out with the girls. I had a great time, found a new fave drink ( Tequila Sunrise), it didn't knock me on my butt like expected, but it was tasty. We went bowling afterwards and even though I am horrible at bowling, it was lots of fun.

Sunday I woke up with a horrible sinus thing, still feel a little ick, but not too horrible. It was a be-yooo-tiful day out today!!!!! We all played outside and it was so nice. Hard to believe it's Feb. 1st. Oh and I received a Secret Valentine gift this weekend. It really brightened an already great day, and I was so happy to be thought of. A nice little scrapbook and some candy. Yum.

Tomorrow is work, kids at school, and errands after work. Blah!!