Mixed Up - Monday / To Do List - Tuesday

Monday was kind of an off day... I went to an appointment only to find I had remembered and wrote down several times the wrong day... I caught up on laundry... I reorganized my quilting drawers... I guess a while back the children knocked it over and my husband being helpful picked it all up but everything was mixed up... I also realized I'm missing 10 pieces of fabric for a quilt I had planned on working on... That's frustrating... I rested in the afternoon/evening... I have a little bit of a cold...

I rested most of the morning... I still have that cold... It's about the same as it was yesterday... I ran a ton of errands today... One place had a waiting time of almost 2 hours before I could be helped and take care of why I was there... It was downtown... I was in 1/2 hour parking and ran out and moved to 90 minute parking... Glad I didn't have to move again... It is all taken care of so I'm glad I took the time to just wait it out... It was really bothering me that I hadn't been able to do this last Thursday/Friday... I dropped off paper work at a couple of places... It was another thing that had been bothering me that I wasn't able to take care of last week... I dropped off donations to a local clothing pantry... I went to the post office to mail bills and my brother's birthday gift... I stopped in person and paid our car insurance... It is due within a few days once the month begins so by the time payday comes and everything I rarely have time to mail it... I'm glad the office is only a few blocks from our house... I shopped at Walmart for this years supplies of undershirts and PJs... I found Peanut's Christmas Eve PJs... I know she is going to be excited when she sees them... I picked up an electric pencil sharpener... Our manuals have been just eating the pencils... It will make homework pleasant... We have been using pen... I made sausage gravy n' biscuits and chicken enchiladas today... I need to get the laundry moving again...

Shopping - Saturday

Shopping is the prefect term to describe today... I shopped nearly all day long... First place I went to was Walmart to restock our pantry... I arrived at 11:45 AM and left at 2:15 PM... I didn't realize how long I'd been in there till I came home and saw the time... WOW! I rested for a bit after unpacking... Next I picked up Engineer and we headed to Sam's... We were in there about an hour... We dropped off my Netflix in the box and then I dropped him off... Roofer came by to see if he could find the leak... Our main roof is shot... Looks like we will be replacing that in the spring most likely... UGH! He is sending us some estimates on costs... It will be twice what the kitchen repair was because that was only 3-4 squares of shingles and the main roof will be 9 squares most likely... I rested for a few hours while my husband took the middle ones to the library and run errands... When he came home I finished up the last of the shopping at the grocery store... Another 90 minutes of shopping... We have about 10 things I couldn't find at my usual locations that I will have to search for around town for but we are fully stocked! The pantry, freezer, fridge, you name it... It's packed... This months budget was $500 since I had to restock many of our 'staples'... The rest of the month will be a perishable here and a gallon of milk there and that's it as far as shopping in concerned till after November 7th... Look for my new monthly menu that week from Oct 25th- Dec 5th... After all that shopping we cleaned cabinets, drawers and shelves so we could pack away all our purchases of the day... Amazing all the junk you can collect... LOL!! Have a great rest of the weekend...

Thankful Thursday and Crossing More Off The To Do List

Top 10 Things I'm Thankful For This Week

1. My Children
2. My Husband
3. My FMCHE Friends
4. Plenty Of Money To Pay All The Bills
5. Good Clothing For The Children
6. Plenty Of Food
7. Air Conditioning (was quite toasty today before the rain)
8. Rain to Renew the Earth
9. My Strong Faith
10. Internet To Purchase Many Items I Can't Locally

Today was busy... I took Peanut out with me and run errands today... I picked up some food, went to the bank, stopped at Kmart for their 50% off swim wear sale... All the children are outfitted for our camping vacation that's coming... I tracked and recorded the date our camping supplies will arrive... I couldn't have timed it better... I paid my last two bills that are due this month... I planned out my day tomorrow... I put in a request for my Catholic Home and Garden Show N' Tell Mom's Night Out item.. I hope it arrives in time... I will know more tomorrow... I hung plastic up so the ceiling can be sanded in the kitchen... Peanut and Monkey had Speech...

Tasty and Time Clock - Tuesday

I felt like I was punching the time clock day long today... I dropped the boys off and dropped Peanut off... I stopped in the grocery store for some juice, Linebacker snacks and breakfast... I ate the breakfast as I drove to the monthly meeting for my oldest... We had a good meeting... We are working on another extension and ways to coordinate his education with his general home life... I left there and went over to the PO to mail a book from my husband... I stopped in the local Ace Hardware store to use my 'rewards' coupon... I found an awesome stainless steel 'measurements' magnet... The one I have now is from a Tyson Chicken package... It is 'well loved' to say the least... I left there in plenty of time to pick up Peanut and head home for lunch... We are having fresh from the freezer my famous Mexican Lasagna that I made my friend when she had her twins... It tasted like I just made it this morning... I called the roofer about putting a tarp on the roof before the rain this weekend... Peanut, Linebacker, and I all took another walk today... It was shorter only about 10 minutes because I didn't realize the time and we left later then I wanted... I did a bit better in my eating but it was a struggle near the end to meet my daily recommendations... I had to eat a bunch of 'snacks' to fill in what was lacking... I was still a bit short...

My eating day went as (recommended in parenthesis):
Grains 10 oz (10 oz)
Fruits 3-3/4 C. (2-1/2 C.)
Veggies 3-1/4 C. (3-1/2 C.)
Milk 3-1/4 C. (3 C.)
Meat/Beans 8 oz (7 oz)

Now I'm going to fight my house back into an acceptable state... It seems to falling apart in the housekeeping department for some reason... I'm sure how since we haven't been here to make a 'mess'...

Monster Cookies

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 1/4 C. brown sugar
1 C. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. vanilla
1-1/2 C. peanut butter
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 C. M & M baking bits
1/2 C. chocolate chips
1/4 C. raisins
2 t. baking soda
4 1/2 C. oatmeal

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2.In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in, in this order baking bits, chocolate chips, raisins, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop onto cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not over bake.
4.Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags.

ENJOY!

My Day Off - Monday

Today was my first day off from the usual... The way it works right now to start is I have one morning off a week... I had a bit of a rough leaving the house... I wasn't as prepared so it was a late start and still recovered and had 90 minutes of ME time... It was wonderful... No errands, appointments or household shopping... I found myself a pair of tennis shoes I like and added to my wardrobe at my favorite clothing store Saver's... So, I have a few new things for spring/summer for myself and Peanut... Including an awesome baby pink corduroy jumper for Easter... I feel refreshed and ready to face the week... Peanut and Monkey both had Speech today... Monkey's Speech was a make up from the Blizzard... Peanut, Linebacker and I took a 20 minute walk this afternoon... I dropped some computer games in the library slot, put gasoline in the van, and mailed a letter... I receive a complimentary copy of No Cry Sleep Solution: Toddlers and Preschoolers...

My eating day went as (recommended in parenthesis):
Grains 11-1/2 oz (10 oz)
Fruits 2-1/2 C. (2-1/2 C.)
Veggies 2 C. (3-1/2 C.)
Milk 2-1/2 C. (3 C.)
Meat/Beans 11-1/2 oz (7 oz)

We will see what happens tomorrow...

Thankful Thursday

10 Things I'm Especially Thankful This Week

1. Warm Home
2. Functional Auto
3. Indoor Plumbing
4. Modern Medical Care
5. Plenty of Food
6. My Children
7. My Husband
8. Good Friends
9. Ability To Read
10. Religious Freedom

I dropped everyone off and headed to the dentist for visit... My second this week... It went very well... I stopped at Walmart to pick up Monkey's CARS Leapster game but they only had one and it the box was empty... ::frown:: So, I sat for 15 minutes and waited for TRU to open... It was cheaper there because I had coupon but I didn't really have time to wait for them to open... However I guess Walmart made the choice for me... I was about 10 minutes late coming home... I went and picked Peanut up and at a 'snacky' lunch... We had buffalo strips, mozzerella bites, pot stickers, creamed corn, pepperoni/sausage mini pizza and mini chicken egg rolls... We didn't want to fix a 'meal' because we knew we couldn't eat meat tomorrow... I picked up the house and vacuumed... The carpet man came and steamed cleaned the house... Monkey has ST in the kitchen because the carpet man was working where they usually work in the library... We took a quick drive around town while the carpets dried a bit... I didn't have respite because staff was attending a funeral out of town and wasn't unable to come back for their shift... I watched 1/2 a movie and did a ton of laundry... Almost ready for the weekend...

Whirl Wind - Wednesday

Today could not be describe better the the title above... I dropped the boy off and then wrote out the bills for mailing... Peanut had speech... I continued to work on the bills an other household items... I went out to run errands... I stopped at the PO drop box and put in almost 10 things to be mailed including my Netflix videos... All the bills are now paid or on their way to be paid... Always fills good to be over and done with that... I stopped in Kmart and picked up Linebacker an umbrella stroller... They only had one style and I'm not thrilled with the pattern but it's more about function vs design... It will perform the purpose I need it to... Umbrellas don't last long in our family so it's also a matter of what's the best deal over prettiness too... I will need it on my next trip to the dentist because I can't hold him while I have my tooth fix like I did when I had my cleaning done... I dread being numbed... At least the issue will be fix and I won't have that funny feeling forever... It was off to pay my husband's clinic bill off... When I was in there in February they said his was paid when I was paying on mine... I though that didn't sound right but the usual patients account lady was working with someone else who was having more serious problems then me coming in to pay off an account... We received a bill saying it wasn't paid off and so I finally made it back in there today to do that... I stopped at the Cake & Candy world, a cake decorating type store, to pick up the toppings for Monkey's birthday cake... I found a really cool Lightening McQueen Candle and some other little doo dads... I also picked up a tube of pre-made/pre-colored icing... No reason to make a whole bunch of icing and coloring it for a bit of writing... I picked up Monkey's Cake from Ice Cream Plus... Their ice cream cakes are 1/2 price on Tuesdays and Wednesdays... I made a quick trip into our bank (right next door to the ice cream store) because the ice cream store only takes checks or cash no plastic not even your check/debit card from the bank... My next stop was the grocery store... I picked up just a few things like Linebacker food/juice, bananas, bread, milk, juice, mustard, tuna, spices/extracts, and candles for Monkey's cake... I looked at my receipt and it had just turned noon... I headed home for lunch and kiss my husband before he headed to work... I unpacked all the items and put them away... I ate a bowl of stir fry and chatted with friends via IM... I found Monkey's Leapster CARS game (there are several) I will buy for his birthday present... It was time to pick up the boys... No nap for me today and now I'm starting to think maybe I shouldn't have skipped it... Monkey had speech... It is his speech therapist birthday today... She's 25... Happy Birthday R! We had religious education tonight... To Be Continued...

Tasty Tuesday

I'm going to write about the day then share a tasty Lenten friendly recipe... Today has been a busy day... I dropped the older three off... I made a stop at Kmart to pick up more pull ups for Princess... She is almost completely day drained... I also picked up Monkey a book for his birthday... I dropped a Netflix Disc in the Mailbox... I had a dental visit... Just a general cleaning... I have one tooth that is a bit rough and I have to floss that spot constantly... They are fixing that later this week... I called in my oldest prescriptions as to speed that up... I dropped off my form for mileage reimbursement... I went to the pharmacy and only had to wait a few minutes... I'm glad I remember to give them a call so I didn't have to wait too long... It gave me just the perfect amount of time to go across town and pick up peanut... I paid the electric/gas bill and the phone bill online... I also paid an eBay auction for my husband... He bought Monkey (who's birthday is around the corner) a coin bank... I went to the car insurance place and paid our bill... I also made a quick run to Sam's... I picked up a cooking magazine from Taste of Home and Love Dare the book from the movie Fireproof... I picked up the boys and did a 'recon' trip to the new doctors office... Linebacker has a check up next week and I wanted to make sure I had good directions and check to see how much time I needed to arrive on time... I also worked on the laundry... I am 'caught' up for the moment... I fixed the shower sliding door... I watched the rest of the Christy discs I have... I will drop them in the mail and excited to finish the series... I wish they had more then just a couple seasons... I'm really enjoying it...

Homemade Fried Fish w/ Homemade Tarter Sauce

2 eggs, beaten
2 C. crushed square crackers (saltines)
2 lbs of fish cut into 1-1/2" wide strips
Oil for frying

1. Beaten eggs in one bowl and crushed crackers in a ziplock. Dip fish in eggs and then shake in zip lock till lightly coated. Let stand for a few minutes before frying.
2. Heat oil to 375 degrees or when the water pops when flicked on the surface... Fry just enough for one layer of fish in your pan without touching. Fry 2 minutes or until golden brown on each side. Drain on paper towels.

1 C. Mayo
2 T. Sweet Pickle Relish
1 T. onion, finely chopped

Combine ingredients and chill well... Serve with fish...

Super Movie Saturday / Special Request

Several new Netflix movies arrived today... I watched most of this new series called 'Christy' some times it is hard to watch because of what the people endured during that time period (1912 and beyond) but I enjoy it because of how they responded to what times were like... My husband's first movie arrived today too... He wanted Enemy of the State... I will not be watching it with him... He isn't interested in watching Christy... I washed several loads of laundry today... My husband had to work today... When he works Saturday it makes for a long day for me... Our oldest flushed the toilet paper roll holder down the toilet... I went to the local hardware store and picked up another then installed it... I'm not sure how he managed this task... He did clean up his room today when asked... We bought him a drawer to store his toys in... It is working like we had hoped...

I have a special intention prayer for one of my readers... If you could please prayer for M. and her family in this especially hard time we would both greatly appreciate it... Thank you...

Super Tired - Saturday

I am sooo tired... I didn't have a nap as I had planned and was very busy this afternoon and evening... We went to the library, my husband paid one of his Mall bills, plus looked in JPenney for a deep fryer, next we headed Target and Sam's... We did a ton of shopping and stocked up on all kinds of great things we needed... After we came home and unloaded everything... I divided up all the Sam's items... We cleaned out of freezer in the garage and reorganized it and our refrigerator freezer... I had to go back out for regular grocery store shopping... We had 'snacks' for dinner.. We bought a new phone to replace our other one... The LCD went out on both handsets causing many issues in receiving and making calls... We are very excited to try them out once they finish their SEVEN hour initial charge... We spent the rest of the night watching our new DVDs from the library with the children... A new Netflix arrived today 'First Wives Club'... Old but funny movie... I look forward to it... I remember watching in my past... I've also recently enjoyed 'Overboard' and the original 'Stepford Wives'... After that I'm headed to bed for an even earlier night then last night...

To Do List - Tuesday

Today was super busy as predicted... I dropped the three older ones off and headed way up north to the Children's Museum... Monkey had a field trip there this morning... We were the blue group... It consisted of Glasses (girl), Miss In Charge (girl), Free Thinker (boy), and Monkey... We had a great time exploring all the hands on activities... After that I stopped at the post office to mail my mother some pictures of the children I printed out here on my photo printer... I stopped to see a friend of mine... They are recovering from the stomach thing... It was a brief visit... I went to the bank... I stopped and picked up 3 bars of face wash for my husband... It was time to pick up Peanut at that point... I picked her up... I fixed 'lunch'... We scheduled the radiator repair for the van... I ran out to the store to pick up 'dip' chips and breakfast bars for Monkey... I also had to go to 4 stores to find my husband his 'special' medicine he likes to take when he has a cold... He will only take one kind and it has to be name brand and not the long lasting... I ate lunch and paid the mortgage online... My husband was finally off to work and I took a power nap... I picked up the boys and made another stop at the bank... I fed the children dinner and thought I still have plenty of energy left in me... I'm going to do some quilting... Unfortunately a special ruler I need is missing... My 6" and my 12"... I ordered another 6" and 50 Fabulous Paper-Pieced Stars and Companion CD-ROM... I ordered both from Carol's website... I buy directly from her... My little you paid all your bills 'reward'... I used some money I earned answering surveys... Nice to buy things without worrying about interest later... It is like using electronic cash... I look forward to the day when I don't have CC bills coming month after month after month... I did make a huge dent in them with our tax refund so I'm on my way to be CC free... ::grin:: I also have a savings that is starting to build... All of which is very exciting... I'm feeling optimistic about life in general... Now if spring would come things would be just rosy... ::smirk::

Tasty Thursday

First I will recap the day then I will share my new chicken recipe I made Monday and Wednesday this week... I dropped all the children off where they needed to be... I went to the hardware store to pick up some 'keys' for the upstairs doors... The other ones have 'vanished'... I also picked up thicker and longer screws for our front door hardware... I went to the bank and cashed a check... I put gas in van... I was at a 1/8 of a tank... ::frown:: I'm up above a 1/2 now... I stopped at the local Catholic book store... I picked up a really cool book called Religious Customs In The Family: The Radiation of the Liturgy into Catholic Homes by Fr. Francis X. Weiser, S.J... I've browsed it casually but look forward to reading it cover to cover... I also picked up some prayer cards... A Valentine's gift for my husband and new Crucifix... My other one went missing after I had it repaired... After I picked up Peanut I went to the grocery store since we were almost out of milk... I picked up two more things for Valentine's for my husband...

Chicken Fingers

6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 Egg, beaten
1 C. Buttermilk (or 1 C. Regular Milk and 1 T. Lemon Juice/Vinegar stirred and let it sit a bit)
1-1/2 t. Garlic Powder
1 C. Flour
1 C. Bread Crumbs
1 t. Salt
1 t. Baking Powder
Oil for Frying

Cut the chicken into 1/2" strips; place in gallon size resealable bag. Combine egg, buttermilk, and garlic powder; pour over chicken. Seal and refrigerate 2-4 hours (I usually do overnight because I cook our 'dinner' mid-morning or do it first thing in the morning to cook that evening what ever works best for your schedule). In another gallon size resealable bag, combine flour, bread crumbs, salt and baking powder. Drain chicken, and discard buttermilk mixture. Place chicken in flour mixture; seal and shake to coat. In an electric skillet, heat oil to 375 degrees. I used a standard non-stick skillet on the stove... I heated it to medium... I knew it was ready after I flicked it with water and it made popping sounds... You may need to increase or decrease depending on your stove... I used enough oil so the chicken was 3/4 submerged when frying... Fry the chicken in batches (my pan held 4-5 strips) for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown... Again 4 minutes for the first side and 5 minutes for the 2nd side worked best for me... That had it nicely browned and it was over cooked or raw in the middle. Cut to test it is cooked through to a safe eating temperature. Drain on paper towels. Yield: Approx 18 strips/fingers

Messy Monday

Today has been just a messy day as far as weather goes... I slide all over the place this morning... Including into a snow bank (would have hit the curb if you was visible)... The front license plate came off when I backed up to continue on my way... To think I was only going 10... I hate the thought if I was going the 25 the sign says... I won't be going any where today and don't look forward to the mountain of errands I have to do tomorrow... I have appropriately named this post... I returned from picking up the boys and discovered my kitchen was WET... I was thinking ugh those children attacked the kitchen the sink sprayer again... NOPE! Our roof is LEAKING!!! In 3 places over the kitchen table... So, I mopped up the water and put out some plastic containers to catch the water as it drips... The down side was 3 of my cookbooks were on teh able two of them open to recipes... Now I have to figure out how to dry them out... The party has started huh? I made a new chicken recipe which I will share on Tasty Thursday (hopefully the cookbook will be dried out by then)...

Yesterday wasn't too exciting... We attended Mass...

Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from ailments of the throat and from every other evil. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. - Blessing of Saint Blaise

We received the Blessing of St. Blaise... I found quite a bit of information at the link attached to his name...

We had a quick 'sub' lunch... We picked up a DVD for Monkey's birthday which is about a month away now... I went out later with Linebacker... We picked up the rest of the 'grocery' list... We bought him a stand-up push toy... He loves it... I will snap some pictures to share... I also picked up a 'sometimes' baby gate... Linebacker likes to 'interrupt' ST so the gate would be used for that 1/2 hour 4 times a week to keep him so he isn't being confined to his jumper toy or being held the entire time... He will have the freedom to explore... He's really into the going out checking things out and then coming back to check in with mama phase... I finally have a copy of the new Duggar book... I flipped through it and already learned all kinds of new things... I look forward to when I can read it cover to cover... We bought a new 'fryin' pan over the weekend... We made burgers in it last night... They were awesome!

Simply Ordinary Saturday

Today was simply an ordinary Saturday in our house... My husband let me take a short nap while he made 'breakfast' for the troops... It was a much needed nap... We then headed out to run errands... We went shopping in search of a new 'family' size frying pan... We found an awesome one... However we didn't find a new 'phone' table for the library... Our current phone table was a tall slender dresser that has bit by bit been dismantled by the oldest and is nothing but an empty shell now... It is an eye sore... Really drags down the whole room... We de-cluttered that room last night of unneeded toys and books... We now have 42 gallons worth of toys in storage... We also threw out a LARGE garbage bag (not one of those tiny 13 gallon ones) of just plain TRASH! Trash meaning everything from ripped up paper, broke toys to pieces of crayon and unusable books... The room is so much more pleasant now to play in... Much easier to maintain... Just now I tackled my bookshelf... I wish I had taken a BEFORE picture because looking at the AFTER you can't truly appreciate the nightmare it was without knowing how far it has come... It looks really nice now and I was able to take media from other rooms of the house and put them where they belong which of course is the book shelf... ::GASP:: Keep books on a book shelf! Who thought of such a thing ?!?!? ::smirk:: We also picked up another tote which I filled with books I don't need in my current path in life but will want later... We made a quick run to the grocery store to restock the freezer/pantry/refrigerator... Also, to pick up the fixings for Sunday Dinner... My husband went out with Monkey to the PO and Library also earlier today... They found 'General Lee' the car from Dukes of Hazzard at a local 2nd hand store... My husband noted the large amount of people shopping he also noticed the jacking up of prices on the part of the 2nd hand store... How nice of them huh? That's all for now... I'm going to call it a night and take a much desired soak in the spa... ::grin:: As for the spell check and image buttons as well as all the other buttons... They have now reappeared... I 'cleaned' our computer and that fixed the issue... Thank you everyone for suggestions...

Beginning Again

I'm back hopefully without another long break like before... I'm going to work on the habit of blogging every day (minus Sundays) again... Today Peanut had ST... I made Crab Stuffed Mushrooms (Mr. Food Recipe) during that time... I then took my husband to the DMV... His driver's license expired on his birthday 16th of December and he didn't know it expired till January 31st when a check out girl asked to see it when he wrote a check... He is good till 2012... I stopped at the store with Peanut and Linebacker to pick up Milk, Juice, Linebacker food, and a few other things I needed for 'Super Bowl' food... I then spent the next hour systemically tearing our house apart to find my oldest Bob the Builder - Teamwork DVD box... It was due today... I found it INSIDE the recliner he likes to sit in... I had to flip it upside down and unfold it to dislodge the box... It has been safely returned... I picked up Monkey and my oldest... I had to leave the van in the driveway where I usually put it away after picking them up so I don't have to do it later when the temps really DROP... Well, with the BIG thaw we had the past few days snow melted and dripped in front of the 'work shop' door making it nearly impossible to go in and out of the garage... I did manage to squeeze through this morning to take the van out... I had 4-6" space to squeeze through... When my husband comes home he will have to pound the ice w/ a sledge hammer so we can open the door further... It will be in the teens below zero by that time... I was using the computer and notice an odd smell coming from the direction of the CPU... I turned it off and went hmm that isn't good... I opened it up and saw it was extremely dusty so I de-dusted it... It isn't making that funny smell any more... ::smirk:: I made Classic Mini Cheeseburgers tonight... Delicious!!! I will share the recipe later... It is from Pampered Chef... I have a crazy busy errand filled day tomorrow... I'm off to clear out laundry so my husband can clean out our room... I will wash the laundry if it is in the laundry area... I am however not going to go 'seek' out laundry to do... Anyone with 4 of more children understands me completely... It is good to be back chatting with you all again... I look forward to sharing my ups and downs with you... Welcome Back... ::smile::

Many Things To Say Monday

I've been quite busy since the last time I wrote... First off gas here is now $2.19 or LESS! Isn't that amazing? We were inching towards 4 not to long ago and now it appears it may be below $2 in the not to distance future... Crazy! I finally sew up the curtain for the bathroom linen closet... Photos to follow in another publishing... We switched all 4 children's clothes from summery/warmish fall... To coolish fall/wintery wear... Now that we have gone through storage we know exactly where we need to fill in if at all... My husband said it's like shopping in our home... ::smirk:: The highlight of my weekend would have been going to the 'Women's Showcase' and seeing Jo Frost a.k.a. Super Nanny... I didn't take a camera because I figured I'd be too far away for a decent PIC... Well, I was wrong... I sat with three friends from FMCHE... We were only 6-8 rows behind VIP seating or closer and centered stage (right behind the camera for the 'big' screens that were all over the arena)... So, we had a great view and Jo's talk was really good... I didn't see much of the 'Women's Showcase' other then Super Nanny... So, I can't really tell you what the 'Women's Showcase' even is... :-X I picked up Jo's newest book entitled Confident Baby Care... Other then the misinformation on Co-sleeping it is a really good book from what I've skimmed through and read thus far... I hadn't seen and finally met a new Avon lady... Mine has disappeared on me... So, it was a really cool afternoon... After Jo's talk I saw another friend from FMCHE and a friend from CCM browsing the booths and chatting... My husband had to work so I only had a short amount of time to attend the event... For $15 ($12 for show and $3 to park) it was a great deal... I might even consider going next year... ::grin:: Yesterday I made my first ever 9 pound Spiral Glazed Ham... It was DELICIOUS!

Norwex, 40 Days For Life Vigil, Caroline's Shepherd's Pie

I went to a 'party' tonight for a new product line I had never heard of called Norwex... WOW!! It was really cool... I will share more later... Off to figure out what I want to order well what I can buy now and what I will have to order later... If I could I would order almost everything in the catalog... LOL!!! I saw a few good 'Christmas' presents...

Today was my first day in front of the Abortion Mill to Pray for the End of Abortion... They have "clinic" staff posted outside now... I talked with several other people from other Parishes in town... We said Luminous Mysteries together... Linebacker was a great witness... ::grin:: I was thinking back that I had just found out we were expecting our 4th around this time last year... Just amazing... What a beautiful example of life...

Among all my running today I made my version of Shepherd's Pie this morning by 11:15 AM... Not sure how but I did... Between 6:30 and 8:45 I was with the children readying them for their day and dropping them off where they needed be... I spent an hour Praying downtown and picked up Peanut since her program is only half day... Not to mention nursing Linebacker 3 times... It was a busy morning... I then went shopping... I picked up Linebacker a 'bouncy' seat because his other 'house' seat isn't working now that he can wiggle out of it... It has no 'seat belt'... I also picked him up a really cute 'triangle' floor toy that has a spin toy, rattle/teether, mirror, bead slide and crinkle toy plus other 'tactile' items to explore... I received several more questions and complements on my nursing necklace... It has been a real hit!

We Were Busy Today - Wednesday

Boy was today a busy day... We woke up early to take the van in for repair... It was sluggish when you take off and idling rough... You think after all that time and money I spent not to long ago (about 2 weeks from tomorrow) would have fixed the issues... Well, I guess not... So, we call up the auto guy and say we will be there in a few minutes... He says oh I won't get to it today my mechanic is out of town... Then WHY did you say bring it in today at 9... @@ So, we are like ok never mind... We call the place my friend recommended... They said sure we can take a look at it and fix it today... So, we head over there... Turns out it needed a tune up... The spark plugs are in a hard place to change so the bill was over what we paid for the double flush (transmission and coolant) and oil change... So, total repair bill for this month was close to 1K... We aren't happy with that in the least! My husband was off today and went to a Treasure Hunters Roadshow... Like Antiques Roadshow they have on PBS... They gave him a check for $3 on the spot for some broken jewelry... LOL!!! Couple other items they told him to take PICS and contact the Smithsonian... That's exciting... So, we are going to do that... One item we don't know what it is so I will share some PICS and welcome any guesses... I walked to our home parish... My husband had taken Monkey with him to the antique show thing... My oldest was with respite staff having a blast at the local children's museum... So, I put linebacker in the sling and help peanuts hand and we walked 8 blocks... It felt good for the walk and I wasn't tried at all... So, I'm in pretty good shape... We were all warm and needed a good drink of water when we arrived... I packed water bottles and I added ice to give them a good chill... I'm sure we were quite the traveling attraction... Peanut skipping along holding on the sling ring... Me wearing a sling with Linebacker and a backpack type diaper bag... I had a meeting with Sister... She hadn't met Linebacker since we aren't attending Mass there currently and we talked about things are going with our family... ST came to the church and had ST with Peanut... She did well today despite change of location... I had planned for her to be home with daddy while I was at church meeting with Sister... I told my husband if he finished before a certain time I'd like to be picked up vs walking all the way back home... He was... So, we had a nice ride home... We arrived home just in time for me to leave with Monkey, Peanut and Linebacker to the Barber appointment for Monkey and Peanut... Monkey had an all over cut and the Barber was kind enough to trim up Peanut's bangs again... Two hair cuts $16 (including tip)... Sure can't beat that! Especially considering what 'salons' charge... After that was done it was time to pick up the van... We did that... I filled the tank and did a quick shop at Walmart... They finally had my dry erase markers in stock... I picked up two packs... They also had an awesome 'reading' light that clips on your book... I picked up a frame for Linebackers 7 week photo... We are going to hang them up soon... I didn't want to hang the other children's 7 week photos till Linebackers was ready... I stopped to see my friend who had Twins on Monday... She was doing much better today... A ate while I was there and S was setting in to eat when I left... Linebacker decided since the twins were eating he needed to eat too... On the way home I stopped at the grocery store for milk, juice, eggs and cheese... I spent the evening catching up in email and IM with friends... Now I hope to type up some of these recipes I've 'promised'... Wish me luck!

Seat, Swim, Shop Saturday

Today I ran around like crazy... Now I'm just tired... We bought the children a Froggy Shaped Pool (photos to come soon)... I switched out Peanuts Convertible with a 5 pt harness booster... We went to the library and grocery store... Today was a very good day... I'm going to enjoy my DVD and wait for dinner to finish cooking on the grill...

Selebration Continues - Saturday

The Fourth of July Celebration continues today... I made this delicious dessert:

It is really simple... Pre-made Graham Cracker Crust, one Can of Strawberry Pie Filling, topped with one container of Strawberry Flavored Whipped Topping, and finally a pint/quart of blueberries arraigned on the top... Simple and Delicious! Enjoy! I've also did a bit of laundry and organized our library stuff for our trip to the library... We went to the library, buy eBay stuff, Walmart, and the grocery store... My husband ran back with just our oldest to the $1 store and pick up more supplies for the remodeling... We bought Peanut a trike... Her's was broken today... So, we wanted to replace it... The last one lasted 2-1/2 children... Isn't she cute?

We bought one that would be able to be used by Linebacker too, when he's big enough... We had steaks, brats, and hotdogs on the grill tonight... Rib Eyes are on sale this week... They were very juicy and super tender... One of the best steaks I've ever had... Wish we had the extra money to stock up on them for the rest of the summer celebrations... We also picked up a Pork Roast... We are going to turn it into Eastern North Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwiches on our grill... I can't wait! Pork Roast was on sale too... Once this delicious dessert above is gone I'm going to make a cheese cake... I will share the recipe and a photo then... We played a bit more with fireworks and I enjoyed the classic sparklers... I like going to the shows but for my own personal use I like the simple sparkler... I was up late last night and didn't nap today so I'm more then ready for bed... I think I will take a relaxing shower and call it a night...