Keepin' it Real February 3rd, 2010 34/365

This is what my kitchen table looks like at the end of a long day. Homework is strewn all over the place---yes, I know I should make them put it in their backpacks. I haven't quite mastered that yet. No napkins left in the napkin holder. Just keepin' it real.

Who are they kidding? February 2nd 2010 33/365

Pools in February??? This is what I saw in Target tonight. Has anyone told them that it is 25 degrees outside??

Finding Time February 1st, 2010 32/365

In the last six months, I've started reading again. Not just magazines either, but real books! Today I took the kids to the library and picked up a few books for myself. I'm already about 6 chapters into the Nicholas Sparks book and having a hard time setting it down.

Ebay time January 31st, 2010 31/365

I'll be spending the next couple of weeks ironing all the clothes in this bin, taking pics, and writing descriptions. Gotta love Ebay!

Scrap night January 30th, 2010 30/365

Just after midnight, early on the 30th. It was scrap night with the girls. We scrap from 8pm until about 2am. I was really unproductive tonight, as this was the only layout I worked on and I didn't even finish it. (sigh)

Brrr...it's cold! January 29th, 2020 29/365

Trying to get a shot of the girls breath, while they were waiting for the bus. I could see it in real life, but it didn't show up in the pics.

The Big Apple January 28th, 2010 28/365

I was just amazed at how big this granny smith apple was when Little man held it up to his face to take a bite.

Fortunate January 27th, 2010 27/365

Tonight at my daughter's basketball practice I was talking with other mom's about grocery shopping and meal planning. How much we spend, where we shop, what our kids like, Healthy alternatives, etc. Then tonight when I walked into my kitchen, the pantry door was open. One of my biggest pet peeves, is when family members don't shut that door, but with everything going on in the U.S. and the world, I felt very fortunate to have a full pantry.

Just the Beginning January 26th, 2010 26/365

I'm hoping this is just the beginning of her enjoying cooking and baking as much as her mom does. Tonight, Roo asked if she could help with Dinner. We made one of her favorite dishes, Spicy Cajun Chicken Fettucine. Her job was to watch over the chicken and add the spices and whipping cream. She even did the taste test! I think I'm creating a monster!

Music to my Ears January 25th,2010 25/365

Roo started playing the clarinet this year. Just like I did at her age. She's not real good about practicing though. I had to basically force her to practice tonight and after hearing her squeaks...she could use it. However, It's still music to my ears.

My Sick Boy January 24th, 2010 24/365

Doesn't he look pitiful? My Little man started puking at bedtime last night. No other symptoms. I felt so bad for him. He started perking up later in the evening. Thank Goodness.

Caring Dinner January 23rd, 2010 23/365

Today our Sunday School Class hosted the Caring Dinner at church. We served a couple hundred, elderly and less privileged people a meal of Open Face Roast Beef, Mashed potatoes, green beans, coleslaw , and cake. The kids loved helping out and to me that is the best thing about it. They asked if they could help out at the next one.

Going to the Zoo January 22nd, 2010 22/365

Today my younger two got invited to go to the Zoo's Rainforest by their Friends. The nice thing is that the friends are also brother and sister and like my kids, just over a year apart! Works out perfect for sibling friendships!!

Two Roos. January 21st, 2010. 21/365

The Two "Roos." One of my daughter's closest friends has the same first name as her. It's not one of the most common names and both us and her friend's parents call them by the same nickname, Roo. To make things worse they are on the same basketball team. Today Roo 1 had a sleepover with Roo 2.

January 20th, 2010 20/365

Seems like many of my pictures revolve around food lately. Princess loves her Rootbeer Floats! Anytime I have Rootbeer in the house, she asks for one. Tonight was no exception!

January 19th, 2010 19/365

The reason why I can' t lose weight. This is what I was eating while watching "The Biggest Loser" tonight.

January 18th, 2010 18/365

Our 2nd day at Kalahari! We are waterlogged and tired, but boy did we have FUN!!!

January 17th, 2010 17/365

Today we went to Kalahari with some friends. Kalahari is a HUGE indoor waterpark. For dinner we went to Kahunaville. It is a great place to go with the kids. They have a deejay who plays all the kids favorites--Hannah Montana, Taylor Swift, Lady Ga Ga. The kids went up on the stage and they Danced. It was so much fun to watch, especially since my three aren't shy at all!! They acted like they owned that stage. Some day, maybe they will.

January 16th, 2010 16/365

My little ones are playing basketball too. They spend most of their time working on the skills, but today they both started scrimmaging. The coach told them that when they are playing, they need to keep moving. Princess looked like she was dancing...hence the pic of her up in the air!!

January 15th, 2010 15/365

Today I had to make a trip to an area of Downtown that is known for being "Artsy." After my errand, I drove around a bit, just taking in the scenes. I stumbled upon a Cupcake Shoppe. Some of my closest friends know that owning a Cupcake Shoppe is my dream!!! So I couldn't help but stop and pick up a few cupcakes, one for every member of my family. I got Lemon Raspberry for me, Cookie Monster for my little man, Oreo for Roo, Peanut Butter Lovers for my hubby, and Grasshopper for the Princess. They were very good---but I think I can do better. ;) Do you think Princess enjoyed hers? There wasn't a crumb left.

January 14th, 2010 14/365

This is an awful pic of Roo, but she hurt her finger at Basketball practice and was making such a huge deal about it that I used Pre-wrap from Justice to wrap it up. Anything to make her think that it is helping.

January 13th, 2010 13/365

Way to much exposure on this pic, but it's all I got today. Roo is trying to catch marshmallow's in her mouth, by throwing them up in the air. Not sure if she ever caught one.

January 12th, 2010 12/365

My co-worker Mary had a birthday yesterday. Today I treated her to lunch at California Pizza Kitchen--her choice. Yum! Happy Birthday Mary!!

Princess has been working on a Fairytale Triorama project that is due this week. She chose the story of "CinderEdna." Yep, Cinderella has a neighbor who is down on her luck, just like her until she meets her Prince Charming--Ralph. The four of them: CinderEdna, Ralph, Cinderella, and Prince Charming get married in a double ceremony!

January 11th, 2010 11/365

This is what I ususally look like. Never in front of the camera, always behind it.

January 10th, 2010 10/365

See this picture....all I can say is GUILT!!! Yes, they are Christmas gifts and Yes, they are sitting on the floor of the front seat of my car. I can't even to begin to tell you how guilty I feel everytime I look at these gifts. We adopted a family through a homeless program at Church. I bought the gifts for the mother and son, with every intention of getting them to them before Christmas. Well, the mom's phone number is disconnected and she moved! So I was going to take them to the organization that is helping them, but then I got sick. Then we went away for the holidays, then we had a snowstorm....you get the drift. Today was one more of those days. I had every intention of dropping them off and I had another appointment that went way too long and it started getting dark. The organization is in a "not so great" area of downtown, so I chose once again not to go there. I feel horrible--even though I know they are not expecting these gifts! Just Awful! I'm going to call the organization tomorrow. (sigh)

January 9th, 2010 9/365

Today I'm posting two pictures. Roo plays basketball. She is #1 in the 2nd picture. She loves it, but is the smallest girl on her 5th and 6th grade team. So, very rarely does she get a rebound. Her team is undefeated and as luck would have it they were winning this game by over 20 points. In an amazing act of teamwork, the older/larger girls on the team....Every time they would get a rebound, would pass the ball off to one of the younger/smaller girls. Every one of those younger/smaller girls scored a basket in today's game--including Roo! It was amazing and fun to watch as you can tell by her excitement in the first picture. I just felt bad for the other team. Roo's team won 27-0.

January 8th, 2010 8/365

Today the kids had a Snow Day! One of my best friend's daughter's came over to stay with us and brought her Nintendo DS. At one point during the day, Little Man came down all excited. He told me that friend's daughter gave him her Mario Hoops 3 on 3 game and was letting him keep it because she didn't play it anymore. To give you some background, he saw another friend playing this game back before Christmas and asked if he could get it. I--I mean "Santa" Looked before Christmas and couldn't find it anywhere and it has an outrageous asking price on Amazon. So needless to say he was Thrilled to have this game and what a nice gesture on Friend's daughter's part. I think he played it all day-- and for once I didn't tell him to put down his DS and go find something else to do.

January 7th, 2010 7/365

To think that 3 years ago this child had "Severe" Speech issues. I was so proud of her as I listened to her read her Science Textbook tonight. Pronouning words like milliliter and interference with the utmost clarity! Great Job Princess!

January 6th, 2010 6/365

It's always nice when people affirm what you already know. Roo got invited to be in All City Choir! Our district chooses 5th and 6th graders from all the schools to be in one choir! She has a beautiful voice and totally deserves to be there....and I'm not just saying that because I'm her mom. ;)

January 5th 2010 5/365

This is the task I have in front of me! New Year means Projects. We have too many white walls in this house. I need to pick paint colors for the Living Room, Dining Room, Stairway/Foyer, Master Bedroom and Roo's room. Roo's is easy--her's are the blue paint chips. Most likely going with aqua. For the main living areas....I can't decide between a cinnamon, gingerbread, khaki, or sage green. Help! Bedroom is Chocolate and Blue and I think I have the perfect color for that.

January 4th, 2010 4/365

Headed back to work this morning after 11 wonderful days off and this is what I had to deal with. A foot of snow and a commute that normally takes 30 minutes---took 2 hours! Personally, I didn't think the roads were that bad. It's the Snowbelt folks! Somehow, people forget how to drive in this stuff every year! It took me an hour and 45 minutes to get home. We are supposed to get another 1-3 inches overnight. I hope everyone remembers how to drive in the white stuff in the morning.

January 3rd, 2010 3/365

I took the kids to McDonald's for lunch today. They each got a Happy Meal and each kid got a different toy from "Alvin and the Chipmunks--the Squeakel." After playing with his toy for a few minutes, my 6 year old son burst into laughter. "Listen Mom, Alvin says a bad word!" My son continuously pushed the button that made the toy talk and out came " Hell, Hell, Hell, Hell, Hell." The toy actually says "Hello Gorgeous! " Fortunately, the fun wore off after he showed the entire family and his best 6 year old buddy.

January 2nd, 2010 2/365

As if I have time to find another Facebook Game to play! Recently several people have mentioned their addiction to the game Farkle to me. Well, I thought I would check it out this afternoon and play it once or twice. Wrong! It ended up being an hour or so...followed by another hour later in the day. It's kind of like Yahtzee. You roll the dice and try to get ones, fives, three of a kind, 3 pair, or a straight. So I now add this to my little daily addictions along with Bejeweled Blitz and Farmville. Soon I won't have time to do anything but Facebook.

January 1st, 2010 1/365

12:00am

We spent New Year's Eve hosting 36 people in our home. 18 adults and 18 kids ranging in age from 4-11. What a blast we all had! We did a traditional champagne toast at midnight. I wanted to make sure that none of the kids drank out of the wrong champagne glasses. So in order to keep things straight I served them Red Grape Sparkling Cider, instead of the White grape. Although later in the evening, the kids opened up the White Grape Cider and told me they were drinking real champagne and for a quick moment I freaked out! They were just teasing!

2:30pm


Yep...that's Salt! Just my luck, the first day of the new year and I break a salt shaker. I was getting something out of the kitchen cabinet and the shaker fell right into the Baked Beans sitting on the counter below. Shattered! I hope this is not a sign of things to come or else I'm in for a long year. For those who are superstitious, yes--I did throw salt over my left shoulder, just in case.