Wordless Wednesday~Blink of an Eye

Left: Grace 3 months old

Right: Grace 12 years old

7th baby???...Care Bear Fun

Today, I had to run to Target to get a few things. Beau's eczema has been flaring up, and he is almost out of TAC cream, needed kids' toothpaste(forgot when I went grocery shopping), Tide (on sale+coupon...yippee!)...tried to find Grace a costume, hoping there would still be plenty on sale, but they were wiped out!
Anyway...I ran into a woman I know through my husband, old classmate. She is a gorgoeous woman. When I met her my Drew was a baby, she had 4 kids then, 2 girls (1st marriage), 2 boys (2nd marriage). When I had Beau, the day after I had him, I found out she had had her 5th baby, a girl, the same day Beau was born. Ironic! She too had one more around the time I had Leah. Another girl for her, these 2 girls from her 3rd marriage. She too went to nursing school, after I had graduated, she had just started. She is a nurse now as well, but to my knowledge works full time, at a hospital 45 minute commute.
When I saw her today, I noticed right away that she was yet again...PREGNANT! I couldn't help but feel the teeniest bit of jealousy creeping in so happy for her! She looked so happy, so beautiful, her kids are beautiful. BTW, this last one she said is a boy. 7 kids! 4 girls, 3 boys. I just could not imagine! Life is CrAzY with 4...adding 3 more to my life would simply be insane!!!
Kudos to this amazing lady! I love my kids, don't get me wrong, and I would love to have another BABY, but right now, I'm certainly glad it's her, and NOT me!
Why? Well, her kids were sitting well behaved in the shopping cart, no screaming, quiet! That boy was a screaming monster begging for everything at the checkstand!!! I WAS SO HORRIFIED, SO EMBARASSED! 3 is so much more terrible than the terrible twos!



On another note, something cute!

Little Lulu loves to sit and play with little things.
I have these little carebears, and lego doll sets that I saved from my older girls, and she LOVES them! Today, she spent a significant amount of time manipulating everything, and this is what I found when she was done! Three carebears sitting down to tea! How cute!

Pumpkin Patch...finally!

I was finally able to take the kids to the Pumpkin Patch this past sunday. I had high hopes of a fun filled day. But, was dissappointed. The Pumpkin Patch we went to last year with the train ride, is no longer open, so we settled for going to the old patch with the hay ride...they wanted 2.00/person for the ride, then additional cost per pumpkin. We bought a few homemade donuts, and played on the hay stack, then left and went to another patch nearby, hoping for lower cost...althought this patch not only had a hayride, it had a corn maze, hay bale maze, corn cannon, rubber duck races, chickens, and a play area with tables full of corn to scoop and pour...we waited 3 consecutive times, 25 minutes each, to get on the hayride and find a pumpkin or 2, yet STILL DID NOT GET ON, it was full every time by the time we got to the front of the line!!! SO FRUSTRATING. On that 3rd, and last time, I finally went to the cashier and requested my money back for the hayride, and had the kids grab a small pumpkin, (more of a gourd), on the way out, (we still have to paint them, busy with games and practices!) I was really hoping to take them on the train ride again, since it was quite wet, and rainy last year, yet this year was absolutely dry and beautiful, it would have been much more fun for the little ones. Oh well...maybe next year we'll give in and drive the long drive to the Little People Farm...
In any case, got a few fun pics, and the kids chowed down on those warm, fresh, cinnamon donuts!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A TuTu for LuLu!

I got Leah's TuTu! I love it! SHE loves it! It is so cute! Pink, turquoise, and purple tulle with little rhinestones scattered allover for sparkle! So beautifully handmade! I plan to use it in her 3rd Birthday photos in March, for a fun dress up photo shoot. It is definitely her personality at this point! I put cute little sparkly butterfly snaps in her hair that I had found, they were the girls' when they were little. I remember doing Drew's hair with them allover in her braids...WoW! How time flies. Funny, though, how all of my girls have been 'girly girls' and have loved to play dress up, sometimes to an extreme! This TuTu tops all dress up fun!
If you really want to order one yourself, go HERE!
*Check out my sidebar for some 'link to me'buttons that Drea made for me!!!

Basketball Star???

Today was Drew's 1st Basketball game. She did great! Her coach is a really nice guy, and he does very well with the kids, a very patient, enthusiastic man. Drew made 3 baskets! Cooincidentally she played against my cousin's sons team. The teams are boy/girl. Funny, they ended up being the same number! It's so fun to watch the kids, being so young, play this game! I really enjoyed it. Drew's focus is on the ball, and so she needs to work on gaurding a bit more than going after the ball. She's still a bit soccer focused. I think she will do very well, though!
The game was at 9:45am, I had to be there a bit early. Getting ready and out the door wasn't the problem today, but rather...Leah, (my dilatory one) she's princess obsessed, and she did nothing but cry when I got her dressed because all she wanted to do was 'be a pwincess'...soooo...I finally just let her wear her princess dress over her clothes, and ofcourse all the jewlery to go along...it made her happy enough. Gaukers, yes...but who cares??? They are only 2 once, and soon enough the princess dresses will be to small :(

Brandi Carlile Concert

Brandi Carlile was the most amazing concert! We were so close!!!The Crystal Ballroom is beautiful, and she totally 'rock'd da house!' If you ever get the chance to see her live, definitely take the oppportunity! We paid 22.00 per ticket, the opening act was A Fine Frenzy, and she was superb! Standing room only, this sucked, BUT the overall experienced worthy well beyond the cost! *below my sister tried taking a video with her cell phone...too many people around us closing in.

FRUSTRATING: We ate before he concert, just below at McMenamin's, and my 12 yr. old was with us...they asked for my ID ( I was not ordering alcohol), it was only 6pm, and made sure to let us know whe had to be OUT OF THERE by 7pm, but they never came back to take our order!!! I was furious! They could have been much for tactful about it...really!

Throwback Thursday

I am posting this one day early, since I will be going to a concert tomorrow with my sister to see Brandi Carlile, so I will be gone most of day...

Anyway...here is ME, 8th grade recongnition day, ready to go out to dinner with a group of friends, so I was 14. I have collected Marilyn Monroe memorabilia for years! Since I was 12?? In my room I had an entire wall covered in various posters I received as gifts, or purchased on my own, *this pic only shows 1/3 of the wall. It really was a very cool thing to look at. I still have a few. My fave is at top right. Love natural pics.

What was I wearing those ugly slip on KEDS for??? Not a good match!

Playin' Dress Up

Leah has started playing dress up alot lately. She has also taken great interest in The Little Mermaid, and this morning, kept saying "I wan to be Awiel, Mom." I had almost forgotten...last year I had gotten Drew the Ariel/Eric barbie dolls, and there was a deal that gave you the dress up dress free if you bought the dolls or DVD. The dress was too small for Drew, so I saved it for Leah, thinking she would eventually want to play dress up too..and she does! So, I put the dress on her, and she walked around saying, "Mom, I a pwincess, Beau is a pwince!" lol.
OF NOTE: My Island Princess DVD Giveway has been canceled due to lack of response. Sorry, but I had hoped for more of an interest, and frankly, I am disappointed.
GIVE A LITTLE: Mom, check this out!
Play, and give food to the hungry at the same time...for every word definition you guess correct, you donate 10 grains of rice. I just donated 600 grains of rice!!!

Preteen Politician

Not sure what prompted the discussion, but when Grace got home from school today, she was all about politics. Something about 'The Turks don't want China to rule them anymore, so now China is all mad at the United States, and China is supposed to be our ali...atleast that's what everyone in my class keeps saying, I don't even know what that means...." I tell her what it means..."Oh, well, you know! Bush is saying that the troops have to stay for 5 more years, but he won't be president for 5 more years, 'cause his 4 years is up, and so he is just making a bunch of trouble for the next president..." Then, I expressed to her how the troops are why we are safe, why america has not had another terrible terrorist attack such as 9/11. "So." Ummm, do you want another attack to happen? "I wish something exciting would happen closer to us! Why does everything exciting always happen next to washington DC? I wish something exciting would happen here." Oh my lord, AND SHE HAS A 3.7 GPA! I appreciate a debate, but this girl better keep her politics to herself...

Finally, A BREAK!

Yesterday I took Beau and Leah to the park to run off the rotten-ness that has overcome them! That boy ran like his pants were on fire, all over the park, EVERYWHERE! With THE TRUCK, ofcourse. Did it do any good? NOT ONE BIT! This boy is driving me crazy! He wakes up early, refuses to take a nap. By refuses, I mean, REFUSES! I don't mean, I gave in and let him get up, I mean, no matter how long he is in his room, he does not go to sleep!!! He is even pushing bedtime later and later, sometimes, he won't go to sleep until midnight! And, he's pulling out every trick in the book. "Mommy, I have to sleep with you, there's a wolf in my room!" "Mommy, I can't sleep in my bed 'cause it's too scary!" "Mommy, I have to have ALL my fishies, go find them for me." "Mommy, you forgot to get me my bytamins" (which I never do!) "But, Mommy, is Daddy sleepin' wif you tonight? Is he comin' home?" (on DH's graveyard, that boy thinks he must sleep with me, but this is when I do laundry & TRY TO RELAX BY MYSELF) Anyway...
This morning started off rocky...Beau throwing a tantrum over there not being any juice ready for him in a tippy, like he's royalty or something! Ha! Then, Leah reading a book, Beau walks up to her, starts kicking his foot near her book, she says 'SOP IT!', he giggles, then, she moves her book away, he does it again, ofcourse...then he fell backward, I saw it all, she did not push him one bit, he's hollering, "Mom! Weah pushed me!" Oh Lord help me!
So,today, I did the same, I took them to run. Well, the boy ran. Like he always does. I only wish I could bottle up all of his fire and use it for myself! Today, it worked. Well, my perseverance did, in any case. THE BOY TOOK AN HONEST TO GOODNESS NAP! Haaaaaaaallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, halleeeEEElujah! So, he slept from 2ish to about 5pm!!! 3 HOURS! Little Lulu, unfortunately, pulled a Beau, and would not nap, but finally passed out at about 3:30pm, waking at 6pm. Not bad, I guess.
This is what I did with my tiny little window of spare time:
Dusted (I NEVER get this done, I hate this chore!)
Emptied/reloaded dishwasher, cleared kitchen counters (without a toddler trying to put dirty silverware back into the drawer!)
Sat down, took a deep breath, and realized I had some PEACE AND QUIET???
I have so forgotten what that even is anymore.
I have not sat with my own thoughts, let my muscles relax, my shoulders drop, my hands be still with nothing to rush to do. No toddler in my ear begging for a 'fut nak' (fruit snack), no dryer buzzer, NO NOISE!
Honestly, I didn't know what to do with myself. I have no idea what my life will be like when all of these kids are off to school. I don't think I could be comfortable with that. It's all so bittersweet. I need them just as much as they need me. As frustrated as I become, I could not live without the chaos.

My Tattoo

I got this tattoo when I was 24. After considerable debate, I finally decided to go with a friend, we got them done at the same time. She got a tiny rose (unspoken placement), I however chose to go with my lower back. I wanted something black, just something, a random design, no meaning. I thought the middle looked like a "V". My husband calls it the bat. Whatever!
Honestly, I barely made it through. It hurt sooo bad, and I am NOT a weenie! The pain radiated forward to my right leg and down my inner right thigh. Then, to make matters worse, in healing, it seeped and I got a terrible rash, it was so miserable! It was suggested I use something called 'tattoo goo', which my tattoo artist did not tell me. I got by with triple antibiotic, and soon enough it was healed. I would not do it again, I don't think. Although, I have thought about have my kids' names done all together on my ankle, like an ankle bracelet. Not sure I'll ever go through with it!
In case you are wondering...I posted this in response to Drea's Tattoo Dilemma

Patience...gone

Having been slightly 'ill' over the past week, it's all catching up with me. By all, I mean...laundry, lack of sleep, cleaning, LACK OF PATIENCE! I am really losing it. I am probably very scary, to tell you the truth. But, I HAVE NO PATIENCE. None, nada, zip, zilch...I am very short. I can feel it, but I just simply cannot bite my tongue. It's too quick. To take it all a bit further, that Boy, the largest focus of my affections, is turning quickly into my worst nightmare! Is it the age of 3, nearing 4? Is it the lack of outdoor playtime due to horrible amounts of rain? Possibly, his lack of sleep due to refusing to take a nap, and wanting to stay up until midnight, then awakening bright and early??? I AM A WRECK! Sweet Leah, she is also testing, testing, TESTING...full body tantrums in the crib when I lay her down for nap...OMG, it's like she's undergoing an exorcism, truly, I cannot take a minute more of this insanity!!!

I dare you~80's video faves

Oh, to dare me! I am all up for this one! I was born in 1977, I was 3-13 in the 80's. I was Cyndi Lauper for halloween when I was 12! I loved her! In fact, my sister and I just saw her in concert August 2005, that was one amazing show! She still rocks!My favorite ofcourse(wasn't it every girls fave?) is Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.

I remember sneaking early in the morning to watch VH1, to hopefully get a chance to see the video 99 Luft Balloons by Nena, I loved that song! Not realizing then what it meant at all, I was probably 7 or 8?
I also remember at about the age of 11 or 12, meeting a girl that was about 15, and we became friends. She was constantly playing Depeche Mode on her 'boombox', and it was music I had never heard before. I loved it! It intrigued me. Then again, I grew up listening to GOLDEN OLDIES, my parents sheltered me, come on' Mom, admit it!

I will admit, I also danced around, trying to look like and sing like Madonna in Like a Virgin. I'm sure my parents just cringed!
I also loved the song Gypsy by Stevie Nicks. Still listen to Fleetwood Mac, classic!

Update & Friday Fave

Acid Reflux? I have been taking Prilosec now for a total of 4 days, and honestly, IT'S WORKING! I am so relieved. I have been able to function, to EAT! I can drink a little coffee once again...I was really missing that! Although, all the water and tea has done me some good anyway. It was so miserable to constantly be worrying, and anxious of everything I took in causing me so much pain. It was all I thought about for the past week, practically. Very hard to take care of two high energy, demanding tots! Impossible to spend much time cleaning either! I did still go to work. But, you know, no matter what, when I am sick, DH still expects that I should function normally. Heaven forbid it disables me in any way. Yet, when it is him, he is such a big fat baby! He wants me to wait on him hand and foot, it's really pitiful! Whatever...thank the Lord that something has 'fixed' me for now...

FRIDAY FAVE

Leah is completely absorbed by all things 'Elina'. She thinks that Barbie IS Elina. Everything Barbie, she insists is Elina. Elina being the main character in the Barbie Fairy movies~Fairytopia , Mermaidia& Magic of the Rainbow. She has confiscated all of Drew's fairytopia, and mermaidia barbie dolls, mini dolls, and books. She sleeps with them EVERY SINGLE NAP AND NIGHTTIME. She is always pleading with me to play 'da wion', this fairies name is really, Dandelion. Anyway... we fly the fairies around the room, I make 'da wion' talk to Elina, "Hi, how are you? Do you want to play?" Leah..."I'm Awina, I'm pink!" And, THAT is what she says, all she says. Beau said,"Awina doesn't have words."

Throwback Thursday *The 80's

This Throwback Thursday is nothing to do with me...I am sure hoping this was on Halloween vs. 'just for fun'! LOL. My husband is 10 years my senior, he grew up in the days of KISS, and all the long hair, make up bands. He still listens to it all. This pic is of him and a couple friends, 'all made up' Posing. You gotta get a laugh out of this. (My husband is on the far left)

Wordless Wednesday

Power Rangers DVD Contest...GERD?

WHAT A PERFECT GIFT FOR MY LITTLE COUSIN, ACE! The Domestic Diva is giving away a new Mighty Morphin Power Rangers DVD! My boy, he has NO idea what power rangers are yet, so we'll wait a little longer to let that become his obsession...nothing wrong with keeping him playing with the planes, trains, and automobiles a bit longer, right??? Ace, I think my cousin Melissa has said, runs around in his Power Rangers costume naked! lol. He is such a cutie!

**************************

On another note: I had an appt. with my FNP today, regarding my "heartburn". Well, it did not stop at friday night, but continued on all weekend, and is still an issue. The DNS at my work, she thinks it is my gallbladder, however, my FNP seems to be pretty confident that the issue lies in my esophagus, GERD~Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease. I am not sure what I think about it. All I do know is that I have lost 7 lbs. due to NOT being able to eat without pain increasing. The wieght I am not concerned about losing, could stand to lose 40 more, really. My diet is consisting of hot tea, water, protein water, fat free milk with cheerios, and well...that's pretty much it. Juice is not working, and every time I eat anything else, the discomfort becomes so hard to bear! I have agreed to try Prilosec for 10 days, she gave me a free 10 day supply, yay! If, after 10 days, the pain is still there, or increasing (oh lord!) I will have to undergo an abdominal ultrasound to determine if the problem does truly lie in the gallbladder. I could have gotten the AUS today or tomorrow, but if it was negative, I would then have to undergo an Upper GI, and THAT I DO NOT WANT TO DO! So, by taking the prilosec for 10 days, it will pretty much be better determined that it is my gallbladder vs. my esophagus IF the prilosec does not work. Which hopefully then means I can avoid an Upper GI. God, I am getting so old! What happened to my 20's??? I think I skipped right over them, atleast it feels like it. I spent them all busy going to college, and popping out babies! Busy busy, and now, I'm 30, and facing the diagnosis of GERD, or possible gallbladder removal...rewind PLEASE?!

'PECIAL TWEET & A FUR REAL HORSE?

I have been going slightly crazy lately, all the running here, running there...it's getting to me! Now I know what it means when I see those bumper stickers on other minivans that say "MOM'S TAXI" lol. I love my kids, I love that they are interested in sports, and that they are active. Don't get me wrong...but at the same time, I love the quiet evening, the winding down time, NOT that it's ever really quiet. It's just that our schedule seem so hectic, so irregular that the little ones often miss a naptime, dinner consists of cheerio's, and bathtimes are spaced too far from the last! I sometimes feel like all that will help me deal with it all is a bottle of wine! (DID I SAY THAT?) No, seriously, I just cannot truly relax with all this going on!
So, tonight, I had Grace babysit shortly for me to go and shop around with my Mom. I promised a special treat if all went well. I was probably gone an hour at most. I get home, Beau and Leah come running, "MOM! MOM! YOU'RE HOME! DID YOU GET A 'PECIAL TWEET?" I had gotten them a bag of chocolate candies. Leah always seems to make an absolute mess of everything she eats. She doesn't just put it in her mouth, she licks it, she sucks on it with her fingers in her mouth, and then it's all over her hand and face! This is the kind of moment that just tosses me back on track. The little chocolate covered fingers, and chocolate smeared face. Priceless. One day, I will miss this so much. It helps me to step back and laugh a little. Which, believe me, YOU HAVE TO DO AS A MOTHER OR THEY WILL EAT YOU ALIVE!


While browsing at Target, me and my Mom came across the most insane toy ever! It is called Fur Real Butterscotch Pony. Priced at a whopping 249.99, you can ride this thing! The tail swishes, ears wiggle, eyes wink, and it makes real pony sounds. You feed it a carrot, brush it's mane, just like caring for a REAL horse! Well, without the poop, I guess. What are they gonna come up with next?
PSST! I took Beau and Leah to see this thing at Target today *10/16* and Leah LOVED IT! She would have stayed all day long feeding, brushing, petting it. Too bad it's 250 bucks!

Auugghhh!!!

I almost never ever get heartburn. I most NEVER even get sick! I am a very healthy person. I could stand to lose weight, but surely many Mom's can say the same. What am I getting at?
Well, last night as I lay down to bed, I had this overhwelming feeling of upper GI discomfort, I got up to take some Tum's, downed 4, drank some water, and it only got worse! I was in misery! I actually, sorry for the graphics, ended up vomiting just to fell better!
This morning, I was fine, and ate breakfast as usual. Not that much later, it came on again! This time worse than the last. I ate some Tum's again, only 2, drank some water, but once again, resorted to vomiting all of my breakfast up to get relief. Gross, I know.
Drew had soccer and basketball, so I refrained from eating till late afternoon. I should have just not eaten at all, 'cause not that long afterward it all came back again! My Dad had let me take one of his prevacid solutabs, but it didn't work. Then, he offered me a Protonix, but it didn't completely relieve it. On the way home, still causing me discomfort at 8pm, I stopped at the drug store, and got some Gaviscon, and Rolaids, 'just in case', heck, I thought about buying out the whole isle of antacids! I opened the bottle of Gaviscon (strawberry smoothie flavored) and downed 2 right away before leaving the parking lot. MAN ARE THOSE NASTY! I drank a sip of water, hoping for the immediate relief that the bottle promised, but...NOT HAPPENIN'! So, I got home, tried to shake it off, but it was unrelenting! I finally gave in, and took 2 rolaids, ATLAST, 9PM, I HAVE SOME RELIEF! I am scared to death to eat anything! What the heck is going on? I can't even drink water without getting a tingle of heartburn. I cannot function caring for 4 kids with any little bit of illness, or discomfort! I sure hope it stays away now that I've gotten it under some control!

General Audience!

I saw this on a few other blogs, and decided to try it out myself, not recalling if I had ever used any foul language in my blog over the past 2 1/2 years! So, here is my rating:

"NO BAD WORDS WERE FOUND"

Crushes Revealed

I have been 'blog browsing' recently, and came across the blog of Mother Bumper. She is absolutely hilarious! I love reading her blog! She has put out a challenge: SPILL ON YOUR CRUSHES FROM PUBERTY.
So, here I am revealing...
Back in my preteen days it was all about NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK...don't start laughing yet...My all time heart throb was...hang on...Joey McIntire. OMG, I LOVED HIM, I THOUGHT HE WAS SO HOT! I still have thier cassette tape, HOW PATHETIC IS THAT?



I will also admit, I crushed on Corey Haim

and Sean Astin as well (before the days of Froto)

Moving into High School, I totally fell for Keanu Reeves...

And, then, still now, I dream of life with Johnny Depp! There is just something about a bad boy that makes my heart race!

This was so much fun, I'm going to tag Cheryl, Margo, Jess, Donna, and Drea!

Infant/Child Cold Medicine Recall

THE MUST READ ARTICLE!

I, myself, do not use any of the recalled medications with my children, but if you want to know which medications specifically have been recalled you can go HERE to determine if you have any of them in your medicine cupboard. If you determine that you do, take it back to the store, and you can receive a refund.
I generally use Motrin for fever, and vapor rub along with a vaporizor for colds with my children. Cough medications never seemed to work for us anyway, and I have always been educated by my Pediatrician NOT to use OTC cough/cold medications. Although, the only thing I have ever resorted to, with the okay from my pediatrician is DELYSM. With a child, a cough has a purpose. Most pediatricians will tell you that. Unless it is affecting thier sleep, I refrain from using any medications.

Missed out!

I completely missed out on Throwback Thursday, and I had a stellar plan, but the pics I wanted to use had to be scanned before I could use them! *Cheryl, you'll be wanting to check back on this one next thursday! Anyone reading will get a kick out of it!

Friday Faves~Holidays

My favorite holiday is Halloween. I love getting all the kids decked out in thier little costumes! I used to make them myself, until #3 and #4 babies came along. I have made cinderella, snow white, the good witch from the wizard of oz, a witch, poodle skirt, a flamenco dancer, and dorothy for my daughters. It was fun! I also made a Hershey's kiss costume for Drew when she was a baby. Unfortunately this was most all before I ever had a digital camera...but I do have a couple pics. *Left: Grace as a 'punk rocker', I took a black ball skirt I found at ROSS(I love Ross!) and added purple sequin strips to bottom hem, and sewed in different colors of tulle beneath, found different colored beaded neclaces at goodwill in a big bunch for only a couple dollars, and we sprayed a rainbow of colored hairspray in her hair after crimping it, and pulled it up into a half pony with a fake hair pony tail holder that had pink hair on it. And, Drew in a cute witch costume made all by me! I used purple costume satin, and this sheer black overlay that had a spiderweb design on it, found the matching broom at the dollar tree! *Right: Drew in the 'Dorothy' costume I made for her, second year wearing it. This is one I kept, it came out so good! And, you can always find red glitter dorothy shoes at Target every year, so Leah will one day wear this!
I also love October, and Halloween for the changing weather, the falling leaves, and going to the pumpkin patch! Always on our list!

Dora Cupcakes!

The other day at work, a family had brought in a birthday cake for a patient and then gave the staff he remaining cake and napkins. They happened to be Dora the Explorer themed, and another nurse insisted that I take them home with me. So...I did!
The next morning, Leah immediately noticed and spent the entire day spreading them out, and saying "It's my bir-day cake Mom!" All excited!

We had also been reading her dora book, Dora's Picnic. In this book, Isa makes chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting, so I thought... why not? I went and got some cake mix, and pink frosting, we made some too! This made Leah so happy!!! It was so cute! So, they had pink frosted cupcakes like Dora! I ♥ the age of 2!

Fun at the Park!

Robyn's Nest Scrabble Earrings Giveaway!

Drea @ DE REVIEWS is having a contest to win a pair of scrabble earrings from Robyn's Nest. My dtr thinks these are so cool. I'm entering for her! Take a look for yourself HERE!

Love this song!

How totally crazy I feel, but I know I'm not the only one...I love this song! It is sooo catchy! And...how ironic is it that that voice is coming from this girl??? She kinda reminds me of Lisa Loeb on the soundtrack from REALITY BITES. One of my fave 90's movies! *psst...if you want to watch the video, scroll down and pause my playlist, or you'll be hearing the song with "echo"!

A mess of toys...New Vaccuum...SATEE'S!

This is what I found when I got out of the shower this morning...2 crazy tots rummaging the toy box...'findin' treasures'...long lost toys that gravitated to the bottom! LOL!


I did get my new vaccuum finally, today. Against the advise of the repair man, I used my old broken one a couple more times, and finally threw it out today. I was told it could light on fire, there was a chance anyway...luckily it didn't. The vaccuum I decided on buying is the Dirt Devil Reaction. I think I'm really gonna like it!

Perks: 4 year warrantee, *lifetime washable hepa filter (lovin' this since my old vaccume had one I had to replace every year at a whopping $30 a pop!), also has an option to add a scented filter into the hepa filter that distributes your choice of scents, it came with 2 apple cinnamon scented ones, I think an unscented one is in it right now. Also, the dirt chamber pulls off, and opens from the bottom to empty! How cool is that? No more messy dust in my face! Also, does not have the cog belt that caused the damage to my other vaccuums brush bar, so the same problem will not happen again with this one!

Today, I also received my SATee's T's! I love them! I got Leah's in pink, DILATORY means 'to cause delay', and she does just that!
Beau's GREGARIOUS mean 'sociable', and, well...ask anyone, he is very much so!
Can't wait to get reactions to these!
I will say, the 4T, which I got for Leah, runs a bit on the small side, and the small boys is kinda long. But, still very cute!

Throwback Thursday

This is me at age of, hmmm, 13 or 14 I think. I used to babysit many neighbors children. This little girl had spina bifida. She could not walk at the age of 2, she did learn to use braces and crutches at 3/4 years old. She was a darling! At this age, I had always planned to have 10 kids! Crazy, I know, but I did end up with 4 of my own, and boy, is that busy, I could never imagine 10!

Recall...Lead Paint Threat

Christmas is quickly approaching, and I have been browsing around, thinking of what each of the kids might like, or want. Leah is so into Dora the Explorer right now, and they just came out with these take-a-long Dora the Explorer playsets, like the Thomas the Tank Engine ones? They are so cute! I would really like to get THIS one for Leah but, the whole lead paint recall keeps resurfacing in my mind. Tons of Dora the Explorer products were recalled recently (none of which we own), then even more...and now there are 5 more Thomas the Tank Engine themed vehicles recalled, and...we have one of them. The Brendham Fishing Dock, cargo car. Luckily, only this one, I sent in 4 last time, and still have not received replacements. This is making shopping for christmas toys/gifts, very hard, the haunting thought that I might be buying and giving to my children something that is covered in lead paint! Maybe it's just time to go back to good old fashioned wooden toys?!
You can go HERE to determine if you might have any of the newly recalled items.

Lovin' it!

In case any of you reading may be wondering, I had Drea from Fina Drea create this amazing blog template for me, I AM SO LOVING IT! She does a great job! If you are enjoying it too, please, leave a comment! ( As MotherBumper stated...NO MORE LURKING WITHOUT COMMENT!) I am hoping that soon, Drea will have a button for any of you that might want to link to me!

If your wondering what 'delurking' means, click on the button below!

Pushing Daisies Premier Tonight!

I am looking forward to the premier of the new show PUSHING DAISIES, not often a TV show catches my attention...
Check it out here!
Basis: If you could bring anyone back to life for 60 seconds, who would it be? AND...what would you ask?
I pose this question to any blog readers...My answer would be, My Grandma Georgia, and my question...Am I doing a good job raising my children? I always wonder this.

Wordless Wednesday~Touchin' a King Crab