Time To Run Errands Tuesday

Today was 1st of the month errand day... I dropped off the children... Linebacker and I made our rounds... I dropped paper work off for a 6 month review and headed to the Property Tax office/county treasurer to pick up our reimbursement... Last year you just handed them a piece of paper and waited/hoped for it to come in the mail... This year I waited a couple of minutes and she handed me a check... Woo hoo!!! Now for our tax refund to come in a few days (yes, we already filed ::smirk::)... We will "never be broke again" a famous saying my husband uses... The good news is I will go from 7 debts to 4 after tax refund arrives... How awesome is that?!?! After Treasure's office I headed further into downtown to fill my oldest monthly prescriptions... I headed south to our repair man... He took a look at a few things we are fixing again after the refund arrives... He wrote down what he needs and we have an appointment set up for my husband's next day off during the week...To the PO was my next stop to ask questions and buy 'forever' stamps... Don't forget the price is going up again on stamps only after Mother's Day... A lady who I sold eye shadow to on eBay bought me out... So, I have NO MARY KAY in my house except a few outdated compact which you can't even give away for $0.99 and FREE shipping on eBay... To think I sold these to people for $16 + tax before the 'restyled' them and made them obsolete... ::eye roll:: So, I've paid off my debt from that mistake and removed all inventory from my home... VERY GOOD FEELING!!! I paid our car insurance (we are on the monthly payment plan). I tried to figure out how best to pack up my buy out... I chatted with my husband briefly before I left to pick up Peanut and he headed to his bi-yearly dental appointment... On the way home Peanut, Linebacker and I stopped at the bank to deposit the Property Tax Refund... After returning home Peanut drew on a note pad while Linebacker played at my feet... I was busy using up the rest of the crab meat I used to make Crab Stuffed Mushrooms into Crab Cakes (Mr. Food recipe)... They turned out DELICIOUS! My husband returned just as I finished the cooking of the last cake... We sat down and enjoyed lunch together before he headed to work... I took a much needed nap then headed out to pick up the boys... I figured out how to ship the buy out for the price I quoted... That was a relief... It was looking like I was going to be off by $2-4 and not in my favor... After the PayPal payment arrives, out it ships gone forever... Time for dinner... I'm going to make more Jalapeno Poppers (Pampered Chef Recipe) and Tater Skins (Taste Of Home Recipe) tonight... Hopefully catch up on dishes and laundry... Wish me luck... ::grin::

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::

Baptism

Today was Linebacker's Baptism... I'm finally downloading the PICS from my camera... Almost a 100 of them dating back to Mid-December... So, info and PICS will soon appear on my blog instead of titles only... ::grin::

General Update

Day After Christmas

Christmas Day

Christmas Traditions

Christmas Eve

Stay Tuned

Mid-December 2008 Blizzard

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Here is our Thanksgiving... ENJOY!

Prep for Thanksgiving is HARD work!

Moved to a more comfortable spot...
Turkey: One wing stuck out from under the foil after we covered to prevent over browning...
Table All Set (minus noted items below)...
Here is our healthy, happy, and very Thankful family...
Myhusband always reads Proclamation of Thanksgiving by Abraham Lincoln that they print in the paper ever year...
My husband has the honor of carving the turkey...

Our fridge full of 'leftovers'...

Our Menu:
Cheddar Potato Soup
13 lb Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Squash / Onions sauteed in butter
Green Bean Casserole
(doubled)
Carrots/Peas
Glazed Sweet Potatoes
Deviled Eggs
Cranberry Sauce

(not pictured see bread note)
Cornbread
Bread

(not pictured forgot to remove from pan till after photos)
Apple Crisp
2 - Sweet Potato Pies
Pumpkin Pie

Thank you for all those who helped to make our Thanksgiving Bountiful!

45 Years

35th President

John Fitzgerald Kennedy

May 29, 1917 - November 22, 1963

An Irish Roman Catholic born to Joseph and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy in Brookline, MA... He was their second son and second child... One of four sons (Joseph Jr., Robert, Edward) and five daughters (Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, and Jean)... He married Jacqueline Bouvier on September 12, 1953 and was father to Arabella (still birth), Caroline, John Jr., and Patrick (preemie/infant death)... The youngest elected President of the United States at the age of 43...

For a short time we had the honor to have him one of the greatest men in history to be president of this country that has been so richly blessed...

Let's take a moment in silent prayer to remember President Kennedy...

God Bless You... Rest in Peace Jack...

Time Off Thursday

I'm going to take some time off... See you all soon...

Happy Thanksgiving...

This, That and the other Thing Tuesday

We had some mild ills go through our house on Sunday... All is well now...

I know many of you will not be happy to read this but there is approximately 35 days till Christmas as shocking as that is... I'm currently trying to figure out what to put on my list... Christmas is a hard time for me one reason I never know what to tell people when they ask what I want... It is so much easier for me to say oh well such in such child needs x or my husband would really love x? For me I'm like uhhh... hmmm... ::silence::

So far on my list I have:

Book: The Duggars: 20 & Counting!: Raising One of America's Largest Families-How They Do It
Music CD: Johnny Cash The Millennium Collection (2 volumes)

Plastic Storage Container Set

Massage Gift Card

Gift Card to Favorite Hobby Supplies Store

?

So, I'd love people to write in the comment section ideas of things I might like or things they might be giving as suggestions for themselves... Thanks!

Towel Bar Replacement

Our only towel bar in the bathroom broke so we replaced it today... Now we just need to mud and paint were the old bar was...

Before:

After:

Where did we go wrong? Wednesday

Well, that thing that was supposed to END today has only become worse... We now are going to the next level and a DATE has been set in January... Praise God it is at least after the holidays... The other side doesn't want to talk about it at all A. because they know it's all just ridiculous and B. if they talk about it then they have to end it because there is no basis for it to continue... So, several more weeks of unpleasantness to come... Of course now it means a lot more money and even more mess to deal with on several levels... Our person remarked one man had been through this for 6 months and it finally just disappeared this morning on the day they had the set the DATE... He was staring at 20 years... So, all this money, and not to mention stress and turmoil of a possible 20 and it's gone in an instance with an opps never mind... That is just wrong... We could really use your prayers in this matter... It has decimated us financially and now it's working on us emotionally and psychologically... ::sigh::

On a positive note Linebacker is now 14 lbs 2 oz... Woo hoo!!! Talk about a silver lining... Speaking of Linebacker he's sounding his where's the milk alarm... ::smirk::

Typing Out Tension Tuesday

Today was going mostly good and then went wrong... I'm too upset to even type out the incident... ::sigh:: So, I decided my life is not going how I like it so I try to type up a schedule to better manage my time and well my life is unscheduleable! I don't know what to do to better manage my time because every day is different... I'm going along and then oh well we have this on this day and that on that day so let's move this here and that there... Despite my cleaning of my plate my life is still a busy mess... Grrrrrrrrrrr.... It's a why me night!!!!

Look at my 'big' boy!

Linebacker is growing up so fast... Here are a few pictures I took today... He can't do this on his own yet ie go from laying and sit up but if we sit him up he will sit and play... If he is 'propped' in a semi reclined position he can sit up right on his own... He does this often in his bouncy seat...
Another exciting event was me cutting Monkey's hair for the first time with a home trimmer system... Doesn't he look great...
Before:
After:

Homesteading Motivation!

One of the best ways to motivate me to accomplish daunting tasks is to stage a before and after... So, here are a few before of things I'm struggling with in my home...
Here is the top of my entertainment center:

Top of my dresser in the computer room:
My 'drawer' in the computer desk (not sure how I even close it?!?!):
After photos...
Top of my entertainment center:
Didn't make it to this one...
Top of my dresser in the computer room:
My 'drawer' in the computer desk:
On a side note gas has dropped under $2... Currently at $1.94 at most stations... Isn't that exciting? We also have light dusting of snow outside... Not even enough to turn the grass completely white...

Struggles

I'm really struggling with a few things here... I'm having that outsider/alone feeling again... My friends and I seem to have less in common now... I'm not sure how to feel/handle that... Hopefully the big mess that exploded mid-August will be over with before the next 'meeting' on Wednesday... We will see... I cleaned off my plate with 'outside' activities yet feel like I'm still overwhelmed and can't accomplish anything... Which isn't logical at all... I despise illogical things! I'm just confused and not sure which way to go or who to talk to in able to sort things out... I just know things are in need of changing but unsure as to how to change them... I'm not sure if I updated but Linebacker is now 13 lbs and 7 oz... I took Monkey to a Dino event at the library... He really enjoyed that... Things are going well with all the children's regular schooling... I can't say so much for their religious education... It's really difficult for me as a convert to grasp it and complete the activities... Either I wasn't absorbing said material in RCIA or they just didn't teach it... Your guess is as good as mine... I'd appreciate prayers... Thank you...

Election Day

The votes have been counted... The next President has been chosen...

President Elect Barack Obama: