Giveaway: Burts Bee's 1000 a day giveaway for 25 days

Burt’s Bees is giving away 1,000 lip balms a day for the next 25 days! That is 25,000 Total lipbalms!!! I heart Burt's Bees products!!

They’ve already given away the allotment for today but check back tomorrow at Burt’s Bees 9am to noon EDT for a chance to win!

Wordless Wednesday - hanging out with big brother

Random Tuesday Thoughts - basically random

.....I have random Tuesday writers block, my post today may weigh in as *blugh* overall. Go over to The UnMom for lots of randomness.

• My 3yo pottys alot. A-freakin-LOT. This morning I took a shower while he took a bath in the garden tub beside my shower.... and during the time he was in the tub splashing around in the bubbles, he had to get out to go potty 3 x's! It wasn't just getting out for getting out's sake either, he was really going. At least he wasn't peeing in the tub.
• I think the front of my car has a 'get in front of me and go as slow as humanly possible' sign on it.... maybe a shorter version of that, whatever. What the HECK is it with people who drive 10 mph under the speed limit?? I'm in no hurry in this life, but I do appreciate doing at least the speed limit when I have a schedule. argh. I have NO road rage, and my husband laughs at me because this ALWAYS happens when we're going somewhere as a family on the weekends... this weekend alone - at least 4 times!!
• What's with Hardee's? Does EVERYTHING have to be ginormous? I stopped by there this weekend to grab a drink, never ever EVER eat there (stressing EVER) because the commercials absolutely gross me the H out. Big nasty greasy burger with several layers of meat and oozing grossness being shoved into some stick thin models body.... what, all so she can go puke after? Seriously, we all know that no person that size eats at Hardees even remotely regularly. But back to the purpose of this part of my randomness.... the drink I ordered was a small and it was gigantic. So gigantic that the straw was like a yard dart. GEEZ.
• I'm on the fence about Jon and Kate - because honestly, I haven't watched in 2 seasons at ALL and the 1st and 2nd season were touch and go for me..... but it seems to be the buzz this week. So I watched the first episode of this season last night, and wow - it seems that becoming superstars has come with it's own set of problems for this family. It almost seems as if one of them regrets the continual publicity, and the other thrives on it. It's sad for the kids in general, I hope for the kids sake that they remain civil and/or get things worked out.
• I can't figure out what I want for lunch....
• I'm excited about some new recipes for dinner this week!! I love trying new stuff!
• Kid's napping, hopefully.... he has a stuffy nose today and sneezing alot.... but while he's quiet I must get some work done. Later peeps!

Memorial Day

Send a thank you to a soldier at HERE.

**Added my Wordless Wednesday HERE

Memorial Day

Send a thank you to a soldier at HERE.

Wordless Wednesday "mommy, the sock don't work"

good grub

I never really liked the idiom "chewing the fat" because - ewwww - it sounds gross. Just like the idea of clogging my arteries, gross..... genetically I'm greatly predisposed to coronary artery disease, my husband has already had his share of heart events, and so we are to lead our kids down a different path.... one that has less of the yuck that can affect their little bodies negatively - one that puts forth every effort to break this nasty chain of heart disease in BOTH of our families.

We generally only eat fish or chicken as our meats, occasionally turkey, and I'd found myself pretty bored with the same ole same ole in the kitchen. I've even posted on here about how I can make chicken different, because chicken CAN be boring.

We're LOVING the recipes we've tried so far from the new Lifetime show Cook Yourself Thin. So far we've tried the crispy oven baked chicken (we did without the slaw, and tarter sauce), and the penne ala 'not-ka', which was delicious. With the penne ala notka, I added another 1/2 can of crushed tomatoes because we love tomatoes and that's no extra fat, so why not!!

We plan to try several more, I've downloaded every one they have to offer online so far that fits our taste and is heart healthy - and we're excited to have more variety and lots of fresh ingredient options to boot! This weekend I hope to make the peanut butter dream bars.... I'll let you know....

Random Tuesday Thoughts - Um, it was a snake after all...

• Last week my toddler came in to tell me he was 'scared of the snake' he said it in such a non-threatening way, and we often play pretend with the foam 'noodles' that they play with in the pool and call them snakes.... he had walked toward the garage to stand by the car and his daddy was standing right at the door watching him, when he said that he was scared of the snake we really thought he was talking about nothing major.... we live in the city.... a pretty big city at that.... but sure enough - there was a 3 foot long black snake under my husbands car!!! You can see a photo of that snake HERE!


• Drove right through THIS last week, and it really opened my eyes to how fast your life can be changed and/or lost. The scene looked just like something off of CSI. This is our regular commute 2 x's a day, the last report was that the shooters have not been located.


• Where's the global warming at? It's been in the 40's at my house for the past 2 days most of the evening and in the morning..... I miss the spring warmth we had a few days back! East coast weather is so unpredictable.


• I think Danny Gokey should have been in the top two on American Idol.


• I heart cook yourself thin on lifetime.


• I bought SmoothAway recently, for whatever reason I was thinking that it'd be easy to remove the stubborn stray facial hair, or even the hair on the knees that always seems to be a pain to shave.... then I had a reality check - sandpaper on my skin? Doesn't even seem natural. So - I tried it on my legs, didn't work. And it was a true sign of my idiot thinking pattern when I bought it! Good thing it was only $9.99 wasted. Geez, sometimes I wonder where I put my brain?


• My cat snores.

That's all I have.... stop by The UnMom for more!

some things...

• Today my father in law and my husband installed an in sink erator, ours had been leaking some grossness for a few months and we bought a new one and just never installed it! YAY - no more stinky sink!! I was unloading borax in that daily to absorb odors! YAY!!!!!!! Did I say YAY??!!?!?!?!?
• I enjoyed watching my boys sit at the kid sized picnic table and play with playdough while the bubble machine whipped up tons of bubbles during a windy morning outdoors. It was really peaceful, and so sweet to watch our 10yo hang out with his 3yo brother like that. Truth be told, I like playdough too.
• For some random reason, little J cried like someone stole his trains when we went into Red Robin to eat today for lunch, but after about 3-4 minutes of that and one really sweet waiter, he got over it and was fine. Not sure what that was about, he said he was scared of the balloons???? But then when we left, what did he get??? A yellow balloon. I think it was that he woke a little early + benadryl for weird allergy day + hungry = sad/confused/frustrated boy! Absolutely out of character for him!
• After nap we went to the airport to watch landing/take off, it's one of our favorite past times on the weekend. While we were there, one of the largest planes we've ever seen took off, and it was really loud. So loud that little J announced "HOLY CRAT mommy, that's LOUD!'.... SERIOUSLY???????? He says this at the exact moment when I'm thinking it. I have NOT been saying this for some time, because he picked it up from me (holy crap, he says holy crat).... wow - what do we do????? The husband/wife beside us sitting on the hood of their car looked right at us with a smirk that almost seemed sympathetic! We're encouraging 'oh my goodness'..... not sticking so far. It is a fact that I keep posting about this, and that's because I'm in shock what sticks with a kid!
• Drove right through THIS yesterday, and it really opened my eyes to how fast your life can be changed and/or lost. The scene looked just like something off of CSI. This is our regular commute 2 x's a day, the last report was that the shooters have not been located, and they're unsure if this was a random act of violence or if this was gang related.
• When we tuck little J in nightly, it's pretty common that big E is on his bed across the hall reading a book before bed. He usually reads about 30 min each night before bed, just routine for him. Little J likes to have a little routine at bedtime where do play a silly game with daddy for a minute or so, then kiss daddy good night and daddy leaves the room while I stay behind with little J to read a short story and sing a lullaby each night. Just as daddy was leaving the room big E sneezed, Little J says from across the hall "u ok???" and big E says "yes, I'm fine", little J says "I love you E" and big E says "love you too" and little J said "bless you E"...... my heart melts for such sweeties.

Strawberries I think I love you

**Edit to this post 06.18.09 - I decided to post this recipe and THIS RECIPE I posted recently for Strawberry Bread in FishMama's summer dessert recipe swap!!!

Head over to her blog for more yummy recipes HERE!

Tonight I made a dessert that everyone LOVED and it was almost guilt free! Each serving was originally at 300 calories, and with my substitutions I calculated appx 180 calories for each serving... and we lost NO flavor! IT WAS YUMMY!! You can make it three ways, as waffle bowl icecream scoops, as a "pie" with oreo crust, OR how I made it - mini pies (no crust). Our oldest called it "heaven pie".

After having made this tonight, in the future I plan to chop the "mix in" strawberries up a little more because they do freeze and a big chunk of frozen berry is hard to work through after eating that soft creamy filling. Saving a few slices to lay on top of each mini pie makes for a pretty finish - but I didn't even think to do that part! I did cut the recipe in half for us, because let's face it with this yummy stuff I'd be tempted to over indulge!

INGREDIENTS

1 (8 ounce) package PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened {substituted this for reduced fat}
1 cup cold milk {I used skim}
1 (3.4 ounce) package JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding {I used French Vanilla - next time will be Sugar Free Vanilla to cut more of the yuck out}
1 1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping {I used FAT FREE}
20 NILLA Wafers, coarsely broken {I used reduced fat}
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup strawberry ice cream topping

DIRECTIONS
Beat cream cheese in large bowl with mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in milk. Add dry pudding mix; beat 2 min. Stir in COOL WHIP, wafers and berries. Swirl in ice cream topping.
Serve it your way!

PIE: Spread filling into 6-oz. OREO Pie Crust. Freeze 6 hours or until firm. Garnish with additional berries, if desired. Makes 8 servings.

MINI PIES: Spoon filling into 12 cupcake liners. Freeze 4 hours. Remove paper linings. Garnish desserts with additional berries, if desired. Makes 12 servings.

WAFFLE BOWLS: Freeze filling 6 hours or until firm. Let stand 15 min. before scooping into waffle bowls. Makes 8 servings.

frugalness: Canon Selphy CP760 Pink Compact Photo Printer $39.99

Amazon has a 60% off deal on the Canon Selphy CP760 Pink Compact Photo Printer (3255B001) This is a GREAT deal on this printer!! It's so tiny, won't crowd your space, and it's reviewed as soooo easy to use!! Regular 99.99, marked down to 39.99!!

freebie: Quickbooks Simple Start 2009 - free after rebate

Frys.com is selling Quickbooks Simple Start 2009 for 80.00 and you receive an 80.00 rebate making it FREE!

Great deal!!

seriously?

What's the story? Big E was getting ready to go to TaiKwon Do and little J always likes to hop in the car with big J and big E for a few minutes to say goodbye anytime they go places, so little J made his way outdoors first to go stand by daddys car and came back in and:

Little J: Mommy, I scared, I scared of the snake. (calmly and almost jokingly)
Me: What? Let daddy check. (daddy standing by the door watching all along)
Little J: See, big snake, I scared!
Big J: Um, come check this out.
Me: seriously??????what??????


At this point I told big E to get ready it was time to go, and I ventured outside and saw a black shiny skinny snake sticking out from under big J's car! Little J was right!!! He spotted the snake! I guess we've lived here around 6 years now and have never spotted a snake, we live in a pretty big neighborhood with very little woodland around us and this was a little out of place. It was about 3 feet long when stretched all the way out, but it wasn't interested in us OR moving!!


I grabbed the camera and was trying to decide what kind of snake it was because last year there was talk of copperheads in our neighborhood in one specific area.... So, little J wanted to hang out with big J at the door so I ventured out to try to take a picture. It had squirmed it's way right into the crack between the pavement in our drive, and I wasn't going to get too close until I knew what it was! So with the kids watching I asked:


me: What do we do with it?? {intention was for big J/daddy to answer}
Big E speaks up: Call the police!!
Me: ((turned around to avoid him seeing me laugh really hard)) I'm betting the police wouldn't be interested


Big E and big J left for TaiKwon Do, little J and I rounded up one of our neighbors and his wife and we tried to be the snake wranglers... Don was successful in getting it on my broom stick one time, but then the snake retreated into the neighbors shrubs, literally winding itself up in one of them. Unfortunately the neighbor that lived in that house wasn't home yet, so I waited on her and her 3 daughters and told them the snake was in their brush area... it peeked it's head out for her to see almost as if to introduce itself!! No idea where it went overnight... but I can tell you, I'm stepping up the pace on my 'natural area' that I'm working on in the front of my house!! Getting rid of the low shrubs this weekend!!

I took these pictures when it made it to the street, right before it moved into the neighbors shrubs... I didn't get good pictures, but here they are....

Wordless Wednesday - Smiling Llama

I took this photo at the Lazy 5 Ranch on Mothers Day

It's Random Tuesday thoughts

• I am writing this as I sit in my house with the HEAT on!! Wild weather around here, Mothers Day proved to be simply GORGEOUS and then yesterday was just a 'blah' kind of rainy, overcast, cool day with a low last night of 43. Weird weather for sure.



• Why do the people who run regularly in my neighborhood tend to ignore that there's a sidewalk?? I love walking on our sidewalks, I don't get it!! Entire neighborhood paved with pretty white sidewalks, and they chose to play frogger with cars.



• I think that there should be some reconsideration on the name of the planet: Uranus.



• I can't believe that the end of the school year is nearing!! My oldest will be entering 6th grade next year.... middle school. wow.



• We went to the Lazy 5 Ranch for the afternoon on Mothers Day, it was my pick.... and while we were there we were stampeded (is that even a word?) by some SERIOUS bulls. It's a drive through animal ranch where you can feed the animals.... here's the view from my windshield: ...they DID end up knocking those huge horns into the side of my SUV. Interesting experience, to be fair, no one in my car was scared... it was just funny.


• Speaking of bulls,cows and such, over the weekend the hubby had planned to grille out a couple nice filet Mignon for a Mothers Day dinner at home, we eat red meat about 1 x a month if that.... anyway when he went out to clean the grille early in the day he found that some pretty important parts of it had rusted through.... so we had to get a new grille.


• My brother-in-law/sister-in-law are officially adopting their little boy today!!! YAY!!! This has been a long awaited event and we're all so happy!! You can run over to her blog and send her some lovin if you want too!!

That's it for today, head over to The UnMom for more randomness....

Happy Mothers Day 2009

For All Mothers

This is for all the mothers who froze their buns off on metal bleachers at soccer games instead of watching from cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see my goal?" They could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who have sat up all night with sick children in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Meyer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's OK honey, Mommy's here."

This is for all the mothers of Kosovo who fled in the night and can't find their children.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see and for the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.

For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes and for all the mothers who don't.What makes a good mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time? Or is it heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that takes you from sleeping to dread, from bed to crib at 2 a.m. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

Is it the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a school shooting, a fire, a car accident, a baby dying?

I think so.

So this is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the mothers who wanted to but just couldn't.

This is for reading "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then reading it again, "Just one more time".

This is for all the mothers who mess up. Who yell at their kids in grocery store and swat them in despair and stomp their feet like a tired two year old who wants ice cream before dinner.

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started to school and for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

For all the mothers who bite their lips (sometimes until they bleed) when their 14 year olds dyed their hair green.

This is for all the mothers who lock themselves in the bathroom when babies keep crying and won't stop.

This is for all mothers who show at work with spit-up in their hair and milkstains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

This is for mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for all mothers whose heads turn automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home or are grown.

This is for mothers who put pinwheels and teddy bears on their children's graves.

This is for all the mothers whose children have gone astray and who can't find words to reach them.

This is for all the mothers who sent their child to school with a stomach ache, assuring that they would be just FINE once they got there, only to get a call from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up right away.

This is for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation. And mature mothers learning to let go.

For working moms and stay-at-home moms. Single mothers and married mothers.

Mothers with money and mothers without.

This is for you, so hang in there. The world would be a terrible place without the love of mothers everywhere. You make it a more civil, caring and safe place for the precious children in our world....

Author Unknown

Happy Mothers Day 2009

For All Mothers

This is for all the mothers who froze their buns off on metal bleachers at soccer games instead of watching from cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see my goal?" They could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who have sat up all night with sick children in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Meyer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's OK honey, Mommy's here."

This is for all the mothers of Kosovo who fled in the night and can't find their children.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see and for the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.

For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes and for all the mothers who don't.What makes a good mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time? Or is it heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that takes you from sleeping to dread, from bed to crib at 2 a.m. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

Is it the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a school shooting, a fire, a car accident, a baby dying?

I think so.

So this is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the mothers who wanted to but just couldn't.

This is for reading "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then reading it again, "Just one more time".

This is for all the mothers who mess up. Who yell at their kids in grocery store and swat them in despair and stomp their feet like a tired two year old who wants ice cream before dinner.

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started to school and for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

For all the mothers who bite their lips (sometimes until they bleed) when their 14 year olds dyed their hair green.

This is for all the mothers who lock themselves in the bathroom when babies keep crying and won't stop.

This is for all mothers who show at work with spit-up in their hair and milkstains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

This is for mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for all mothers whose heads turn automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home or are grown.

This is for mothers who put pinwheels and teddy bears on their children's graves.

This is for all the mothers whose children have gone astray and who can't find words to reach them.

This is for all the mothers who sent their child to school with a stomach ache, assuring that they would be just FINE once they got there, only to get a call from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up right away.

This is for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation. And mature mothers learning to let go.

For working moms and stay-at-home moms. Single mothers and married mothers.

Mothers with money and mothers without.

This is for you, so hang in there. The world would be a terrible place without the love of mothers everywhere. You make it a more civil, caring and safe place for the precious children in our world....

Author Unknown

Mom of Boys....

I received a forwarded email yesterday, I generally don't read alot of forwards but this was was funny and I thought I'd share it. I can totally relate to #'s 3, 7, 15, & 18.

You find out interesting things when you have sons, like...

1.) A king size water bed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq.ft. house 4 inches deep.
2.) If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.
3.) A 3-year old Boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.
4.) If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound boy wearing Batman underwear and Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can,to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.
5.) You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on.When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.
6.) The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.
7.) When you hear the toilet flush and the words 'uh oh', it's already too late.
8.) Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.
9.) A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36- year old man says they can only do it in the movies.
10.) Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old Boy.
11.) Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.
12.) Super glue is forever.
13.) No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.
14.) Pool filters do not like Jell-O.
15.) VCR's do not eject 'PB & J' sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.
16.) Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.
17.) Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.
18.) You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.
19.) Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.
20.) The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.
21.) The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.
22.) It will, however, make cats dizzy.
23.) Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.
24.) 80% of Women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kids.
25.) 80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.


Happy Mother's Day!

A characteristic of the normal child is he doesn't act that way very often.

~Author Unknown

freebies and frugalness: Mothers Day goodies

Most Moms feel overloaded and rundown at some point. On May 8th and 9th ONLY - The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal by Renee Trudeau is offering a Free Book Download.

Help Mom to Create a Spa atmosphere at home! Old World Limited carries Bath and Body products every Mother deserves for Mother’s Day! And you can purchase it with a 15% discount, now through May 15th. The code is MOMS15.

Home Depot is offering a FREE workshop that shows women how to transform their outdoors - Outdoor Maintenance, Vegetable Gardening, and Outdoor Style Projects. Plan to go together as a Mom/Daughter activity…and it is FREE! May 14th from 7-8:30pm, check your local Home Depot to see if they're participating.

Semi-Wordless Wednesday - Bear having a spa day...

Last week I posted about this bear from my dad's vacation HERE....

Random Tuesday Thoughts - frugalness, boogers, and auto accidents

Random Tuesday Thoughts is hosted by Keely.... go check it out for more fun randomness!!

• I scored a super hot deal at Aldi's this week. I've been slowly buying random outdoor stuff for the toddler since we're home all day, and most of what I've been finding is off of Craigslist. I found THIS sandbox on craigslist for 25.00 and it was in NEW condition, the women I bought it from had only let her kids use it for floating mini boats and playing in the water... so it had no scratches or sign of wear... and I found THIS slide on there for 10.00 that had been used in a basement only.... so it was like new too.... then I found THIS matching table/umbrella at Aldi yesterday for 49.99 (regular 99.99 and up). We have lots of kids over in the afternoons, so I'was stoked to find it on sale. We were given a freebie one but it is very tiny and almost worn out from sun exposure, the plastic was really weak. So I felt super frugal, especially when you combine what we paid for all three combined... it doesn't even equal what the cost of one would be if bought new!!! SCORE!


• Moms/Dads.... this may be 'eww gross' to some... so sorry in advance, and I'd suggest skipping this one all together. Anyway, my toddler will call me in his room sometimes at night to tell me he has a booger, and he'll hold his finger out with it.... I've found that I have absolutely no hesitation about grabbing that and walking to the bathroom to wash my hands.... is that just me??? Recently he was sick, and I was WEARING a snotty shoulder shirt and realized this after I was half way to where I was going... to be around ppl. So I took a baby wipe to my shirt shoulder and did the best I could. Having kids has totally changed my perspective on ALOT of things... importance doesn't lie in me having a clean crisp shirt anymore, it is in knowing that my little snot nose boy is happy that mommy picked him up for lovin when he needed it.


• Yesterday I went to the grocery store and when I went inside it was not raining, I came outside to a total downpour. In leaving, I saw one wreck that was a front end collision, both vehicles airbags exploded, and then not even 1/4 a mile away, there was a single car accident where a car hydroplaned and ended up off the road in between two trees in a very steep down slope. Wild stuff. Thankfully, everyone seemed ok.


• I still haven't went to the dentist.... gosh I put the "pro" in procrastinate.


• I use quotations in excess often, and I'm ok with it.


• I need to go do laundry soon.


• My 3yo says "holy crat" (his version of crap, is crat) in the right situation.... and I am trying my best to get him to stop. He totally got that from ME. I have really stopped saying it, now trying to get him to stop. A few scenarios where I've heard this: when I have to stop short when driving because someone may pull out in front of me, OR when a car suddenly stops to turn in front of me.... the other day he was playing w/ his Thomas trains and the train "fell" off of the bridge he said "holy crat, did you see that???".... no I'm not proud, but I have to admit I can't help but giggle because he does use it at the right time. It's not right that I've said that, and honestly, he may have said it 3 times in the past 3 weeks.... ok - we're working on that. I've told him "oh my goodness" is appropriate and I'm doing my best to say that in substitute for holy crap.


• I think that we're getting the April showers, in May.


• Well kids, thanks for reading my RTT... I'm gonna make like a baby - and head out.

not your ordinary daffodil

It's not your ordinary daffodil.... not when it was picked by your three year old's chubby little hands just for mommy. Not when he worked so hard to pick it and ran across the yard proudly with excitement and said "mommy, I got you this flower". Watching his face gleam with excitement melted my heart....

You see, he's a little scared of bee's, but he sat right beside this flower and waited patiently for that bee to finish 'eating' and when the bee flew away he picked this flower just for me.

While we try to teach our children all about life,

Our children teach us what life is all about.

~Angela Schwindt

mmmmm yum

The Strawberry bread was YUMMY.... I posted the recipe HERE. I just wanted to add that instead of just 'mashing' my berries, I put them in the mini-chopper for a quick chop, only very lightly chopped.

Cooking time for my oven at 350 degrees was 45 minutes.

The yummy bread was a hit with the entire family, we're going to finish it off today! One friend suggested that softspread cream cheese would be a good idea.... hmmmmm.... I'll have to try that - I have some fat free... so that makes me feel less guilty. HA.

I like the way this bread baked, so the hubby and I came up with the plan to use our jumbo muffin trays next time and make the 'bread' into muffins. MAYBE when we do that, I'll spread a tiny bit of that fat free creamcheese on top and call it a special dessert for the boys!!

random: Fitness Friday - Frugal Fitness

I often use the excuses "I don't have time or money to get a gym membership." OR "It's hard to stay fit when you're a mom on the go."

I've found a few simple, easy - and FREE ways to stay better fit. Julie over at WiiMommies is hosting a fitness Friday share all, so be sure to stop by and check out the many ways to keep yourself fit! Here's a few of my favorites:

1. Get your walk on.... don't park at the closest parking spot you can find.... burn a few extra calories and get extra cardio in by parking further away and walking! Take a walk in your neighborhood, or go to the mall and do a few laps with the kiddo's. My kid(s) both enjoy window shopping, while I get a lap or two in at a little faster then normal pace.
2. Get in the back yard with your kids.... playing soccer, or a fun game of dodgeball is sure to get your heartrate going. Sometimes we even put a cone in the back yard and do relay races with our boys. It's fun for the whole family, and you get a bit of cardio in while you're at it!! We generally like to do this for 20-30 minute intervals in order to get 'actual' cardio in. Leapfrog is another fun activity that gets the heart pounding.
3. Get off of your booty.... instead of sitting down to do laundry, stand up - it actually burns more calories to stand.... listen to music while you're doing housework, and step up the pace. No one is looking, so if you stop to cut a rug with some aerobics and dance a bit - there's even more fun fit time - for FREE.
4. Give your dog a break (if you have one)... take that puppy for a walk!! It's a good time for him, and great exercise for you!
5. Step up... If you have stairs in your house, then use the bottom few steps while you're listening to music to do some aerobic stepping..... occasionally I'll pull a Rocky and do my entire flight of steps several times over and get my heart pounding.