Updates...

Wow!  Has it really been almost three months since I've posted?!  I guess life got in the way like it always does!  Since I've last posted....

• I graduated and recieved my certificate in phlebotomy (blood drawing) -yay me!
• LKS graduated from her program and recieved her degree - yay LKS!
•  We've had 4 visits from family
• My house got really messy (okay, it's always been messy, lol)



Lots more has happened, but I can't think of it all right now.  The kids and I just returned from a LONG, fun, LONG, exciting, did I mention LONG, weekend in Pennsylvania at Blue Knob State Park on Monday.  Me and my kids; Leah, Gene and Sarah; Matthew, Taya, and their kids; Dad and Kay; Gramma Baldwin; and Mom and Tim all went camping together.  Yup, two sets of divorced and remarried parents who hadn't seen eachother in oh.....eight years or so, and my Dad and Kay, and Gramma, had NEVER met Tim.  Considering that fact (yikes!), it was a really fun time and I'm so glad we went.  The kids all got a chance to hang out together, and mommy had a chance to relax and not worry about both boys 24-7.  Yes, there were many awkward moments, but isn't life all about those awkward moments? 

No??  Oh. 

Oh, well....lol!

So now that I have mountains and MOUNTAINS (there literally is a mountain of clothes right now in my laundry room!) of laundry to do, what did I decide to do instead?  fart around on the computer, yeah!  That's a good idea.  Maybe not.  I hear the laundry calling my name.  I think it's actually starting to creep out of the laundry room, slowly so I won't notice of course, and wind itself around my legs.  Ok, laundry, OK!  I'm COMING!  Sheesh, that laundry is impatient.  Alright, blogging can wait, back to real life. 

No fun.  But here's some fun pictures!  And oh yeah, I turned 29 again-hah!

Where Have I Been?

Where have I been? Crazy-land, that's where! Trying to get the house cleaned so I don't come back to a huge mess, trying to find someone to take care of the dog while we're gone, trying to wash laundry with a halfway working dryer, trying to take care of the kids and keep them happy and entertained.....the list goes on and on. I feel like I'm doing a halfway job on everything, there's just not enough of me to go around. Whenever I have a free minute to myself, I find myself thinking, oh, I should be doing this or that, or cleaning this or that. I have to stop myself and just try and relax for a few minutes.


So for Motivate me Monday this week, my list is way too long to even think about. I'll just start with what I want to get done TODAY:

-clean kitchen and wash dishes from making 4 dozen cookies yesterday
-get kids clothes in the dresser and closet
-finish laundry (ha! this will be a miracle if it gets done today, but I'm going to try REALLY hard)
-wrap presents
clean out sewing/computer room-it has gotten very very messy, only because I tend to just throw stuff in there and close the door and not worry about it, lol
-start packing for trip to NY
-drink a few bottles of wine-KIDDING! Just seeing if you're paying attention :) Although it is pretty tempting right now....

So that's my list. We'll see how much of it gets done. I also want to make fortune cookies, but that's at the absolute bottom of my list. I found a neat recipe online to try here :

http://www.ywconnection.com/Refreshments/pageRfortunecookies.html

If I ever get to it, I'll post pics and opinions. I highly doubt that will happen though :p

Well, off to start on my list. We are leaving for NY the middle of this week, so wish me luck getting everything DONE!!!!!!!!

New Saturday Series: Christmas On the Cheap!

So I have a little extra time, you know, like 3 minutes before I have to get in the shower and get both kids ready for a birthday party, lol, so I thought I'd start something I've been considering for a while now. If you're like me, you have NO FUNDS FOR CHRISTMAS this year. And, (insert grumbling moan and choice words here), my embroidery machine is BROKEN! I KNOW!!! No monogrammed gifts for Christmas this year :( It's OK though, I'm still trying to convince hubby I need a Cricut Expression now, lol. Have you seen them?! They are freakin' cool! You can do so much with them, you can cut fabric, vinyl for your walls or your car windows (I know you've seen all those cute monogrammed initials on people's cars!), and so much more. But I'm totally getting off track here!

My first idea in this Saturday Series is....printable paper dolls! Now, I know, they canNOT compare to those cool $100 electric scooters, or a $60 Barbie dream mansion, or whatever else the toy companies are shoving down our throats this year, but they are still really fun! Here is a place where I found some REALLY cute vintage ones:

http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/2009/11/free-printable-boy-paper-doll.html

If you want a couple more, including cute little girls, scroll down to the end of the post and there are 2 more dolls with accessories. They are very easy to cut out, not a lot of jagged edges or funky shapes, and they go together great (yes I played with them this morning, don't hate me cause I'm awesome!). You can print them out on cardstock or thin cardboard cut to the shape of whatever paper your printer takes, you can print them in color or leave them black and white and let the reciever color them in, or you could even print out the whole sheet and give it to them and let them cut it out! I will probably do the latter, because I'm mean and like to make my kids practice their scissor skills (and I'm lazy!). So there you have it! I better go jump in the shower and wash the stank off me so I can go to Chuck E Cheese.....yay.....

Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?

So I found this neat service called www.hireahelper.com. Pretty cool! You can search for someone in your area to help you move your stuff, clean your house, mow your lawn, wax your back hairs......ok, maybe not the waxing part, just making sure you're awake! But then again, you never know, it IS the internet.....lol. Anyway, you can either search for someone to help you, or you can sign up to be a "helper". I signed up to be a cleaner and a seamstress, and I even made a shiny new button for my blog! Check it out, it's pretty cool-------->

I know, I rawk. And I'm very po. Speaking of which, that's who Ayden is for halloween! Here's a preview, sorry it's so cruddy, my camera phone sucks.



Silly mama realized as we were leaving for his fall festival, that I THOUGHT was this morning at ten am, that in fact it was TOMORROW morning at ten am. Sigh. So, we just had to go around town in his costume, cause he didn't get all cutied up for nothing!
Well, it's off to bed for me, another Wacky Wednesday down!

Why I Love Fall....

No words.

Happy Birthday Adam!

Well, today's your birthday, and you're not here. I wish you could be here to celebrate with your family, but that's life in the military! We will make it up to you when you get home, don't worry! Love you hon, have a good birthday.

Happy Birthday to Me A Day Early

Yay! Tomorrow is my birthday. I am almost 30. That scares the crap out of me :( I have already gotten some nice presents from people, the ones who didn't know not to send them to me before my birthday - lol! I'm saving the cards to open til tomorrow, though, I'm not a total birthday Grinch. Besides, I like it this way, it's like my birthday all month long! I'm so smart.....

It's really early for me...or is it late?

It's 5:45 a.m. I am not usually up right now. This is wierd but in my defense, I've been awake since three....ugh. I'm sure I COULD have gone back to bed, but I didn't really want to. I fell asleep with Anthony again, his bed is just way too darn comfy! Then when I woke up, I wanted to do all this stuff, sew, crafts, cook, you know, anything except housework that really NEEDS to be done, lol!

Today they are having "Cruising Keesler", a car and motorcycle show on base, and I'm taking the kids to it. It should be fun. I took them to Lynn Meadows last night to see Bob the Builder (in Ayden's words, "Fun seeing Bob the Builder!") and play for a little bit. They had a lot of fun. They haven't been in a while, cause I normally work on Fridays, and Adam is just too tired after working all day to take them (I don't blame him). But this Friday I was actually off work. I've been out of work since Tuesday because I hurt the tendon in my left arm. I left work early Tues. night to go to the ER because it hurt so bad. They gave me prednisone, aleve, and vicodin. So, thanks to my friend vicodin, I've gotten lots of sleep the past few days, so I'm not worried about being up so early. At least, I'm not worried right now....just give me a few hours, lol.

It's the time of year that I absolutely love, fall! I love all the smells, all the leaves blowing, the cold, crisp air, Halloween, and the start of Christmas season. I had a lot of fun painting a jack o lantern flower pot (pictures to come) a couple of nights ago. It was one of those things where you're afraid what's in your head will not be the final outcome. But it actually turned out better than I imagined! I really like it. It was cheap, too, the pot was $3, the paint was $3, and the finishing spray was $5. And I still have lots of leftover paint and spray.

Now I'm trying to think of some fun crafty things to do with the kids. I bought a really cute plastic picnic table at the thrift store on base, and they love to sit out there and color and paint, but I think this weekend I want to do a big craft thing with them. I just don't know what. I have these masks that go over your eyes that you can glue and paint and decorate, and some glitter and stuff, so maybe I'll do that.

I also found a really good recipe for homemade oreos - here is the link:">http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/05/my-kingdom-for-a-glass-of-milk/
And I mean, it is GOOD. The first batch I made I cooked for nine minutes, and although oreos ARE crunchy, these came out a little TOO crunchy. So the next batch I cooked for eight minutes....and they were HEAVENLY! They tasted like a mix between regular oreos and cakesters. Man they were good.....they didn't last too long, either.

I love fall because I get so much more inspired to bake. Baking is definitely a passion for me. If I can bake something really good, that will just make my day. I would love to open up a little bake shop one day. Who knows, though....I always change what I want to do on a daily basis.

Now it just needs to get light out so I can take pictures of my flowerpot...................