4th Day Of Christmas

I headed out and stopped at the health food store for a few items... We made a quick stop at the $1 store downtown for Toliet Paper, Napkins and other things... Next it was to the library... Where some frustation followed... They had a cart sitting behind the desk... It was full of DVDs... The SAME DVDs that were sitting there when we were there on Wednesday! It has been 3 days and they can't put them back so they can be checked out again? Don't even think about asking for one off the cart... We've tried that before so the selection wasn't good at all... My husband is going to contact someone in the higher ups to let them know about this... It happens on a regular basis... Nothing to do with shortage of staff... We see the staff sitting around doing nothing (well they are waiting for people to check out or ask them a question but they are sitting around waiting when they could be up and working!)... I plan on volunteering at our local library near our homestead in PA... Something I look forward to in the next decade or so... Next it was to the Gas station... We were runnin on fumes... Off to the Mall... My husband ran into a few places while I hung out with the children who had fallen asleep... Next we went to Target for a quick 3 thing stop... Children still asleep so I sat and listened to my new CDs while my husband ran in... We made one last quick stop at the grocery my husband likes to pick up a few things and then home... Peanut and I went back out the grocery store I like to pick up a long list of things... My husband was at home with the boys feeding them something... They were hungry! Peanut, my husband and I all ate... I then went for a much needed nap... Who knows what's next... My husband is saying cookies... So, I guess I better go in the kitchen and mix those up...

UPDATED!!!

My blog has had a HUGE update... Please go back to December 17th to catch up... ENJOY!!!

3rd Day Of Christmas

Today I found out we were denied for the thing that I had applied for a few weeks back... They said reapply after #4 arrives when the go up since we are a bigger family... I stopped at the library to fix the videos I checked out on Sunday... All the boxes are locked and I forgot to have them unlocked... I also donated a protestant Bible to the local church at the corner since we have no use for that... There was no one there to give it to... Big shocker... I left it in their mailbox... One of the many reasons that I love being Catholic that someone is actually AT the church besides on Sundays... Life can't be put on hold till Sunday sometimes it is reassuring and comforting to know someone will be there if you need something... The rest of the evening was pretty quiet... I spent most of the time updating my blog...

2nd Day Of Christmas and 18 WEEKS

Today has been ?... First half was really good... The second half makes me want to pull my hair out... I will update later... I am too irritated to write! Now that I've calmed down I will write about the day... Today was my husband's first day back to work after 4 days off... The morning started off well... I put some more Christmas money in the bank... I visited a friend and dropped off a meal... Our homeschool group organized meals for her to help her out after #6 was born... Tonight was my night... I also made a quick stop at the library drive thru drop box to return some videos so they wouldn't be late... All was going quite well... A box arrived with more Christmas presents... I specifically asked that there be NO packing peanuts... So, I sat the box down and headed up to nap since the little ones were already asleep and figured I would open the box when we woke up... Grrrrr... I hear my oldest wake up... He heads down stairs... I lay there minute waking up myself... I proceed to wake up the others like usual... My oldest 'usually' heads down and turns on the TV or plays with a toy, make a snack whatever while I wake up the little ones... Not today! Today, he decided to take it upon himself to open the box that had arrived... The box with the evil packing peanuts... He then proceeded to SHREAD the peanuts and spread them about the house... When I came down I couldn't believe my eyes!!!! It was sooo awful I couldn't even bring myself to take PICS... Of course the toys had been left where they were last played with since it wasn't time to clean up... We usually only clean up before bed unless someone is coming to visit... So, above the static filled shreds of styrofoam was toys... Fast forward TWO AND HALF hours later it was cleaned up... I still can't believe that person who sent the box used packing peanuts when I specifically asked them not too... I also can't believe that my oldest did what he did! On a happier note I've been feeling my little guy moving around... I'm 18 weeks along today... Less then 22 weeks to go! My US is coming up soon so we will either confirm or deny my feelings that baby is indeed a boy...

1st Day Of Christmas

I spent a good part of the day sorting through the gifts... I also spent a good part of the day removing gifts from their boxes and putting them together... I took my oldest to the doctor... He goes for a test in January and then a follow up appointment the day after to discuss what they find out... My husband took him in for his bi-yearly blood tests... He also ran some errands with my oldest while the little ones and I napped... I had to return only one gift... So, I ran out quick to do that... It was actually somethingI had bought... LOL!!! I didn't realize how much peanut had grown and she will out grow it before it is warm... It was a clearance summer outfit I picked out for her to wear in the spring... So, I exchanged it for a shirt she can use now... We were out of milk, eggs, cheese, PB, cereal and juice... So, I picked those up... It was a quiet day at home picking up after Christmas... We bagged everything up for trash day tomorrow and put it out to the curb for pick up... We finished the Lord of the Rings Trilogy... All in all it was a quiet day at home with family...

Christmas Day!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
Our Lord and Savior is BORN!

Fell back to sleep and woke up when my oldest did around 8-9 AM... I take a PIC of each child as they come down the stairs and then playing with their 'Santa' gift...

First was my oldest:

He dressed himself before he came down...Loves his new GeoTrax track and train... This train goes forward and backwards... Our first one to do that... It even comes with a little man to ride in the train too... Another first for us...Followed by peanut about an hour later:I've found the Daddy...Let's put the baby on the chair...
Daddy's washing his hands (something my husband does often), Mommy's cooking in the kitchen (something she sees me do often), and baby is at the table... I'm sooo happy!!! I love my first doll house!
Last to come down was Monkey about 1/2 hour after Peanut:
Playing with his new Thomas the Tank Engine set... It is a figure 8 with bridge and water tower...
We woke up and missed Mass at our usual parish... So, we went downtown to the Cathedral... We had some snacks then opened presents around 2 PM... We then had a IHOP breakfast we cooked at home... Eggs (a zillion ways), bacon, sausage (links and patties), homemade shredded pan fried potatoes, biscuits, bagels, english muffins, toast and pancakes... We put the Ham in around 4 PM and had Ham dinner later that night with all the fixings (similar to Thanksgiving)... We ended the day like we always do with a 10 PM drive through the park to see the lights... From Dec 1st till Dec 31st... Various organizations create light displays in the park that you drive by a look at from 5:30-10:30 for $5... So, it's our tradition to end our day doing that then bath, jammies, and to bed...
My list of gifts:
Underwear
Cuddle Duds Bottoms
2 Jumpers to 'grow' into
Yarn
Knitting Tools
Knitting Books/booklets
Small Storage Container For Craft Projects
Fur Lined Crocs
Fabric and Pattern to make Peanut a Sundress
2 Loretta Lynn CDs for listing to in the Van
The Dorky Homemade Look by Lisa Boyer
Stash Envy by Lisa Boyer
Quilt Batting 110" x 110"
3 Quilt Books from Rodal Press
Quilting Tools
Wok
2 Burner Griddle
Indoor Grill
Dry Erase Marker for the Calendar
Wide Mouth Quart Canning Jars
Wide Mouth Pint Cannig Jars
Pectin
Liquid Pectin
Extra Wide Mouth Lids
Freezer Jam Pectin
Fruit Fresh
Hawaiian Beach Towel (bought in Hawaii)
Waitress (DVD)
? (to be filled in later when I remember something else)
Here is what the presents look like after we unwrap them... We put them all together and sort them later:

Christmas Eve

Today was yet another busy day... Today my FIL box arrived... There were more things to wrap and more money to spend... We headed out to Walmart yet again... Seems like we are living here these days... Yesterday we were at Walmart shopping with money from my dad and we also stopped Sam's too! I went out later and made another trip to the mall... I picked up the boys Christmas Eve PJs... Peanut already had hers... I also picked up somethings I needed for myself... All I've been doing lately is shop, shop, shop, and wrap, wrap, wrap... We had our usual seafood Christmas Eve... My favorites were the Cocktail Shrimp and Alaskan King Crab claws... Yummy!!! My oldest had Spider Man PJs with Wings... He doesn't know who Spider Man is but liked the PJs... Monkey had Thomas the Tank Engine PJs which he loved! Peanut had pink thermal stretch type PJs... Moving out of the footed zip up kind for her...

Here they are ready to open their Christmas Eve PJs:

Their sooo silly sometimes!!!Aren't they adorable?
We sent everyone up to bed around 10 PM... We tried to keep them up late so they would sleep in... LOL... I was still up until 1 AM waiting for the last of the children to fall asleep... The power went out around 1/4 after 1... We all fell asleep (minus my husband)... Who carried all the presents downstairs to be put under the tree... We don't put any presents under the tree until Santa comes and helps Daddy carry them downstairs... :-) He brought the 'Santa' gifts down... We have 1 unwrapped item for each child... He didn't set anything up considering he had to do all this by candle light... We called to report the outage about 10-15 minutes after it went out and they said 5:40 AM was when it should be restored but it came on between 3:30 and 4 my husband says... He was done around 4 something... I woke up took PICS of 'Santa' had arrived... Set up the toys because I'm the one who does that at 4 something...

Here is just a PIC of the presents... I usually take one upstairs before we carry everything down but didn't think of it this year...

Here is the whole tree:

No baby Jesus yet...

PS: Found the camera... It was in Peanut's sock drawer for some reason... It was missing just over week... LOL!!!

Slow Saturday

Today was kind of a slow day... I didn't do much of anything... I ran to the grocery for milk, eggs, cheese, cereal, PB and juice... I then this to the local 'hardware' store and picked up some 'sardine' keys so we can open inside doors... We lost ours some how and still now sure where it went... The key fits our room and nursery... I picked up two... We put one in our usual spot upstairs and one downstairs in the computer desk as a back up... I also picked up a night light for Monkey but something is wrong with it... I will have to take it back tomorrow and exchange it... It doesn't want to stay on unless you are pushing on it... It is the light and not the outlet... I need to clean off my sewing area... It is a disaster... It has become a catch all... I was going to do a before and after but the camera went missing... Will need to conduct a search... Here is our finished tree:

Busy Fun Filled Day

The day didn't start out so well... We overslept and missed my oldest dental follow up to his dental sedation and check up/cleaning/repair... I called before I headed out with him... They said they could fit him in, in the afternoon... I said sounds great we will be there... I was very tired but did a bunch of homesteading instead of heading back to bed... Now I'm beyond tired and will probably head to bed after I finish this entry... I did try to lay down a bit after I finished all my many tasks but then the little ones had woken up... When my husband woke I headed out to run a few quick errands... I stopped at my friends to pick up a case of can Whipped Cream... I also picked up her sisters and dropped it off... While at the sisters the Pampered Chef order had come in so I gave her the Whipped Cream she wanted and took my Pampered Chef home... By the time I was back home we decided we didn't have enough time to go out plus the mail hadn't come yet... We waited and waited... Peanut had ST... I picked up my oldest for his dental recheck... He refused to sit in the chair and actually laid on the floor while the dentist took a look... ::sigh:: When I came back home we decided we couldn't wait for the mail man any longer... We headed out to the Mall for Peanut's first hair cut... I picked up the LAST gift for my husband... We headed home to see that the mail man had arrived while we were gone... My daddy's box had come and some junk mail... So, one grandparent down and 3 to go in the mail dept... We then headed out to do shopping... We spent hours in Walmart and picked up a ton of stuff we needed... Among the things bought were a new steel wok and printer paper... We were going to go to Sam's after Walmart but it was late... We were tired and money was disappearing quickly... We decided to go another day... We stopped at Barnes and Noble so my husband could pick up some books I wanted... We then head home very tired... I watched one of my favorite new shows called Moonlight on CBS... Now here I am talking to you... Next I'm off to bed... I keep yawning... Night...

Here are Peanut's Before and Afters...

Hair cuts are serious business... ;-)

Sooo long and curly...

I'm a little Diva now...

Full, thick and still curly...

Shopping and Other Events

Today I made a list of 5 things and one bonus item of what to buy my husband... I figured out what stores I wanted to visit and found coupons... I headed out and made it to one store then headed to my oldest program where they had craft stations... We made a winter hat with yarn and a piece of TP tube, Snowman with foam and a white paper covered hanger, Reindeer Ornament with Popsicle Sticks and a Puzzle Piece Wreath Picture Frame Ornament... We also did 'Office' where he fills a rubber bin with craft supplies and Milk 'job' where he collects the empty milk cartons from classrooms after snack and cleans up the milk storage area... In the morning he fills everyone's buckets with the types of milk and OJ that each class needs... He then places them in the cooler for someone to come from their classroom to pick up... He really enjoys it... One of his favorite parts of the day... For snack today it was Oyster Crackers tossed with Dill Weed, Lemon Pepper and Garlic... He ate several helpings... I dropped him off at home with Daddy and the little ones for ST and I went shopping again... I stopped at the PO and mailed my last eBay item of the year... I then headed to the stores and picked up everything... My husband needed to head out himself before some places closed and asked I be back by 4:30 PM... I was back at 4:15 PM... LOL!!! That's me miss punctual... If it was my husband I'd be lucky to see him by 5 PM... He's the one who's always late... We drive each other crazy because he says I arrive too early and I hate being late any where... The children and I took a much deserved nap... We woke up and I headed out again to shop with the blessing my friend from NY sent to me... I was able to pick up some much needed things for our home and clothes for the children... She is truly a gift from God and I pray that she is richly blessed for all her generocity... Thank you! I'm off to eat my cheese steak now...

::sigh::

I don't know what it is but I just don't feel like coming here and posting... I think all the activity of the holiday has worn me out... I am EXHAUSTED!!! Today, my friend Kristin and I finally made it out to the Asian Market... It was a neat place... We really enjoyed looking around... I bought some Hoisin Sauce and Milky Way... They have a $3 min to use cards... Hence the Candy Bar... I will remember to stop at the ATM next time... They give 5% discount for cash purchases... How cool is that? Otherwise I didn't do much today... I did finally give up and order my husband something bronze online... I feel awful I had nothing to give him yesterday... He said his card was enough (had a bronze colored ribbon on it)... We started working on placing the ornaments on the tree... We have about 1-2 dozen up so far... I'm off to try and write some more on the other days... The next 3 days will be shop till we drop... Also, the great race of if the relatives packages will make it on time or not... All 4 grandparents are sending a box or package of something... It will be interesting to see if they all make it before Tuesday or not... They are using Priority but that isn't always guaranteed! My friend in NY decided to bless us with a wonderful gift to our family... Thank you... I will be going out tomorrow to shop for our needs... She is truly wonderful lady!!!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is my 8th Wedding Anniversary... It was another long and tiring day... We cleaned the house... It was a disaster! We put the lights on the tree and garland... I gave my husband a card... He gave me a card and Bronze picture frame... We went out to eat at Olive Garden... It was my first time there... It was sooo delicious!!! Baby doesn't care much for pasta so I had the Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad which is Grilled chicken over romaine in a creamy Caesar dressing topped with imported parmesan cheese and croutons... Waitress was like is that all? I'm yes... I'm thinking she's going to bring me this monster sized salad... She did... LOL... My husband had Garlic-Herb Chicken con Broccoli which is Rosemary-seasoned chicken breasts sautéed with fresh broccoli in a garlic cream sauce over orecchiette pasta... He also had some kind of sausage and potato soup with a name he couldn't say so I don't know what it was called... We also had Bruschetta for an appetizer which is a traditional topping of roma tomatoes, fresh basil and extra-virgin olive oil. Served with toasted ciabatta bread... We chose the Alfredo sauce to have with our bread sticks... It was soo good... We went at 4 in the afternoon and had the whole place to ourselves... We rarely go out alone or to fancy places... So, it was really special and memoriable experience for us... One neither of us will ever forget... After dinner my husband took me home... Peanut's Godmother came buy and gave her a beautiful sweater... We visited a bit... She left and my husband headed out to return things we bought over the weekend that were wrong and pick up things we needed... That night we relaxed and watched a movie called Just Friends... A romantic comedy...

Happy Birthday Hubby! and Out Of Time Monday!

Sunday:
Yesterday was an exciting and wonderful day... It was my husband's 39th birthday...

I made him a triple layer cake... One layer Vanilla, One layer Chocolate, and One layer in the middle that was Marble... It had white icing and I wrote on it with blue letters...He really liked his gift... We ate a birthday lunch at the Northtown Grill... He had a cheese burger... I had a grilled chicken sandwich and the children at free on the Breakfast Buffet... We went and picked out our tree... It's a BIG one this year... Isn't it beautiful? We had to bring it home ourselves this year and cut it for the stand... That was interesting experience... Our tree was free since we wait so late in the season to pick one up... They just had a whole bunch and it said Free... So, we picked one we liked... Tied it to the top of the van on the luggage rack (a first since they usually deliver, not sure why they 'closed' early this year and had a free sign)... We buy our tree from the Knights Of Columbus... We had Lasagna and homemade garlic bread for dinner... My husband went and ran some errands while I baked and decorated his cake... We watched Extreme Makeover: Home Edition that I recorded on VHS and went to bed...
Monday:
Seems like all weekend long and into today I've been out of time... It is just slipping away... I slept in because we went to bed way to late last time... We then headed out to visit my friend Jen (mom to 6) and, Stephen, her newest son who was born last Monday... We took a gift and visited for about 45 minutes... He is such a sweet baby... I then headed to Walmart... The two little ones picked out new sneakers... Peanut has a pair of light up Disney Princess ones and Monkey picked out a pair with 'Cars' on them from the movie... We also picked up more lights... I picked up some light winders so we aren't trying to SHOVE them into their original boxes when we take the tree down... I also picked up my first gift for my husband... For Cmas I picked up the children some under clothes... I couldn't believe the time when I checked my receipt... I hurried home... My husband went off to work and the rest of the day was same ole Monday stuff... I picked up my oldest... He had ST... We napped and ate, etc... Nothing too exciting...

Saving Spot

It was a long and busy day... Lets see what all happened today... I went to the PO to mail out eBay auctions... We stopped at the library, bank, gas station, $1 store, eBay shopping (husband), Home Depot for new kitchen shade, and Target... We then went home for a bit and then back out to Walmart... Picked up my oldest new shoes and some other things... Grocery Store and home... It doesn't sound like much but it took up a lot of time...

Food Friday

I filled out a form this morning to apply for something that will greatly help our family... They will call me for an interview once the paper work is processed... I hope we qualify because this could mean so much to our family... Today is Pay Day always a happy day in our house... We will be doing some more shopping this weekend for Christmas probably... The first of the Christmas gifts that arrive VIA the mail came today... So, I will be taking the children out each individually to pick up things they need... The boys have grown and worn out their shoes yet again... So, we will wrap the boxes and the boys will use them... My little princess is wearing out her tights... I also hope to find her some thermals (mini cuddle duds)... That will save wear in tear on her tights... She is a very active peanut... My friend and I weren't able to visit the Asian Markets again today... Her mother came in from out of town and they spent the day together... It was a pretty quiet day at home... I wrapped my husband's birthday present... What do you think?

Weather Channel™ Combination Radio & Cooler
Take your music anywhere you go — to the beach, the park, fishing or just hanging out in your backyard. Plus, it's insulated to keep your food and drinks icy-cold. AM/FM radio.

He asked for this... His current one is all worn out... He has a mini igloo type one now... He uses it to keep his check book, coupons, recipets, frequent shopper cards and stuff like that so his wallet isn't all fat... He doesn't use it to keep stuff cold except on occasion he will toss a couple soda cans in if we will be out for a while... I prefer a bottle of water...

I know he will be excited when I give it to him... I will share b-day PIC soon... We need to find a cake carrier (round)... He wants a double layer chocolate cake this year with white icing...

Girl Friend Time and Gardening

First off you are probably thinking who in the world is doing any gardening now? Especially given my climate how could I even be thinking about it... Well, I am... I just put in my order for next years garden... I saved a ton of money... It would have cost well over $50 but it was less then $40 because of the 'pre holiday' sale... So, I took advantage of the sale because we are going to need the stuff whether I order it now or order it in February... I'm sooo excited!!! I didn't need as much as I had predicted while setting up last year... So, that was nice and I was order to extra some special extras... So, I'm enjoying my snow but looking forward to gardening again... My favorite times of the year... Gardening and playing/watching the snow... Once we move to our homestead PA I will have he best of both worlds once our greenhouse is built...
Now to the other part... My girlfriend Kristin (mom to 6) and I did some running around today together... Do to kinks in both our schedule we didn't make it to the Asian Markets like we wanted to check out... We both have never been in one and wanted to see what kind of things they sold... Our husbands aren't to into that... However, we did have lots of good chatting and was able to run quite a few errands in the little time we did have... It was nice not to have to snap and unsnap the children at each place... It is so much fun running errands especially the boring ones where you are just dropping off paper work with a friend... We are hoping to do it again real soon... We both had a great time...

16 Weeks - Belly PIC ::grin::

Here is my first belly PIC... I've had many requests... So, here you go... I pulled my dress back under my belly so you could see it... ENJOY!!!

Recipe: Garlic Butter Broccoli

1 Bunch Broccoli (1 pound), cut into florets (about 6 cups)
2 T. Butter
1-2 Garlic Cloves, minced or pressed
Salt (as directed)
Freshly Ground Black Pepper (to taste)

Cook the broccoli in lightly salted boiling water until crisp-tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain. Place butter and garlic into the saucepan and cook until the garlic is softened but not browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Place drained broccoli in the saucepan and toss with the salt plus a few grinds of pepper.

Recipe: Romano Roasted Potatoes

1-1/2 lbs Red Skinned Potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1" pieces
3 T. Olive Oil
Salt (to taste)
Freshly Ground Black Pepper (to taste)
1 C. Romano or Parmesan, freshly grated; no powder
1-3 T. Oregano or Thyme

Heat oven to 400° F... In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. All potato pieces should be well coated... Transfer to a 9 x 13 baking dish... Roast, stirring once about 1/2 way through, until golden brown and crisp, about 50 minutes... Serve hot or at room temperature...

Newborn and Shopping

My friend finally had her baby... She would have been 42 weeks today... She had a 10+ pound boy early Monday morning... Due to GBS Positive and not breathing right away he was in the NICU... I went up to visit her just after noon... At 1 he was released from the NICU and able to room in with mom... He is very handsome and I was able to hold him... I posed for his first picture of someone holding him... I took a PIC of mom holding him and then had to head home to my family... I spent just about an hour there... I was parked in the 15 minute zone but saw no ticket when I came out... I ran out tonight with peanut and picked up milk, cheese and all that good stuff... We now have a surplus of milk but some will be good until Dec 28th according to the stamp on the container... I stopped at many places struggling to find my husband an anniversary gift in the theme this year of bronze... I had absolutely no luck... I went and picked up his birthday present he requested... I also picked up his birthday card, anniversary card, and Christmas card... They were out of Snoopy's... I should have went as soon as I saw the ad... I'm going to try one more place then I'm going to have to apologize to DH that he will have to receive his gift late because I had to order it online... I found several items I know he would like online... If only our anniversary wasn't less then a week away...

Recipe: Baked Chicken Recipe

Baked Chicken

8 Thighs
5 Legs
1 C. Bisquick
1 T. Garlic Pepper
1 T. Paprika
2 T. Butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees... Melt butter in baking dish... When oven is hot and butter is melted... Tilt dish so butter is all over the bottom... In a large bowl combine Bisquick and seasonings... Rinse and de-skin chicken pieces... Coat evenly in mixture... Place in baking dish... Bake 30 minutes... Flip and bake 15 more minutes or until chicken is done... Serve with your favorite rice, noodle or potato and a vegetable or two...

Christmas Shopping - Frustrated!

I stopped at the library and learned our 8th Anniversary Theme is Bronze... I'm trying to figure out what and where to buy items made out of Bronze for my husband... I found some little bronze turtles I think DH would like but only online or eBay... I don't have time to wait for something to be shipped... I goofed and didn't think about how I needed to know the theme so I could shop... DUH! I also need to shop for DH's birthday which is Sunday... Eeekk!!! Not to mention Christmas for him and spend any money family sends for myself and the children... Which leads me to my frustration! I have no clue what to tell people who are buying gifts... I'm also not really sure what to buy myself either for those who just send the spending power... I spent so many months running up CC bills for things I had to have at that moment and now I just don't want to shop... Even if it is 100% paid for and no bill will be coming... I have been on a Cash only system for a while now not using my CC for anything... If I could have anything it would be a debt free Christmas but I'm too far gone for that... I can only dream of a nearly debt free tax refund... We did shop for the children's "Santa" gifts yesterday... I ran in to pick up our daughter's first doll house... That was sooo very exciting!!! DH ran in for the boys... I need to go see what he bought so I know what to buy from relatives... It is sooo easy for me to buy the children or dh all kinds of wonderful things but struggle with what I want... ::sigh:: Praying for some peace...

Cleaning...

My house is a disaster so I'm going to set a goal for myself to pull my house back into shape... The toys are every where, laundry is taking over the kitchen that is stacked with dirty dishes that need to be loaded into the dishwasher full of clean dishes... Who knows what else... All I know is that the house has fallen apart and I need to put it back together again... I will take some before and after photos... Wish me luck!!!

UPDATE:
Here is the kitchen sick... We ran 4-5 loads in 2 days... We usually run one load each night... Almost everything in the sinks fit in one load but of course there are always dishes being made and those you find sitting around as you pick up other things...
Before -
After -
Here is the laundry area... Nice stack that needs to be put away and a few thing still in the baskets... I think I did 10-15 loads... I can finish up what's there in 2-3 loads...
Before -
After-
There is no before and after of the rest of the house... Our respite worker came (we have one every Saturday)... She had the boys pick up all the toys and everything then vacuum while I took peanut to the NON-ER for a rash... She is allergic to something we used to disinfect after everyone was sick... So, some allergy medicine orally and some cream to help with itches and she should be better soon...

My Thoughts

I was very ill early this week and with our computer troubles it took me a while to start up a new blog again after what happened with the old one... I've been thinking about what I want and don't want to include in my new blog... It will probably be very similar to my old blog but more about what I enjoy doing vs just daily ramblings about what happened... I hope I feel better so I can really have this thing up and running... My blog looks so naked without all the extra things... The about me just 'popped' up so I didn't have to do that... I had my 15 wk OB check up today... Everything is going well and baby's heartbeat this visit was 150 even... I will leave you all with some pictures of snow from the 1st of the month (about 8-10")... We have more now but I haven't felt well enough to take any pictures... It was actually snowing while I took the PICS... The children are really enjoying it when they weren't sick... It is quite chilly (not as chilly as it can be but cooled down fast)... We are in the single digits and sometimes low teens above zero during the day... Minus teens at night... The funny thing is all I can think about is what I'm going to do in my garden with the snow melts... LOL!!!

Starting Out

I'm starting out again... Still not sure what I will be writing or how often... First step to start is to publish at least one message...