How did I miss that tornado?

I must be getting old. I didn't even realize a tornado had hit our house. Well thats what I'm telling myself. How else could my kid's room get so messy. My sweet little angels always pick up after themselves without even having to be asked. *Wakes up* Awww what a nice dream. lol Today after nicely asking my daughter to pick up she told me she couldn't because it wasnt fun and she didn't like stuff that wasn't fun. I wonder if she thinks I have fun picking up? Hmm, I do listen to fun music... maybe a tad fun :)

Christmas Cards

I knew we would eventually finish our Christmas Cards. Though finishing on Christmas Day was a bit late lol. Oh well here's how they turned out. They were really cute and it's always nice to have something homemade. Family Fun came through again :)

Psst… want to save up to $46?

Hey! I just learned a clean little secret about Lowe’s. They have quite the selection of cleaning products plus air and water filters to help keep your home spic and span inside and out. And they’re sending out up to $46 in savings so you can really clean up. Get your coupons before they’re gone! Go to vocalpoint.com/Lowes.

Attn Branson Mommies

Hey there all you moms in the Branson area, have I got a deal for you. See I used to live in Kansas and my family loved Silver Dollar City but it wasn't a trip to Branson without shopping the many outlet malls. Prices are already low but right now Tanger Outlet Mall is giving away a $10 gift card. Just sign up here.

Christmas Spirit

A lot of the time the kids are too busy fighting to do fun holiday activities but yesterday my daughter helped me make a strawberry cheesecake (yum!) and since I'm playing Christmas music hopefully she'll be in the mood to make Christmas cards with me :) I'll post the finished product when we finish.

Children's Magazines

Today kids are learning to read faster than ever before but finding a magazine for them that doesn't cost an arm and a leg seems almost impossible. Well I've just run across a great thing from Sesame Street. It's the Sesame Street Magazine and it's totally free. Just download the PDF and print it out.

Awesome contests

There are great giveaways everyday on the net, you just need to know where to find them. For instance, on the Frugal Family Fun Blog they are having a Blogiversary Celebration Giveaway. They are giving away this adorable Pizza Party Prize Pack from CSNStores.com. Check it out and enter at Frugal Family Fun Blog but enter quick...the contest ends Sunday, Dec 5 at 6:30PM EST. Hope all you ladies have a lucky Monday :)

Adorable Turkey Necklaces

We made these adorable turkey necklaces today. And they were so adorable I had to make one for myself lol. They are so cute. We got the pattern from Family Fun, but we made a few variations. Instead of hole punched cardboard for eyes we used wiggle eyes. And instead of making them pins, we punched holes into two of the feathers and attached yarn. Thank you Family Fun for another quick, easy and totally cute craft project.

Feeling Old

So a few days ago, I threw my back out picking up my 18 month old son. I had to see the doctor and she said it is a fairly common cause of back injuries. And I thought it was just because I'm a weakling. Apparently lots of people have no muscles lol :) Now that it's been a few days I'm feeling quite a bit better but everytime I move, my back pops. Just the beginning of the hill I guess.
Oh and I saw a funny joke the other day that I'll share with you girls.
Go to Google Maps. Ask for directions from Japan to China. Direction number 43 is sure to illicit a few giggles. :)

Terrible two's at 18 months???

Boy oh boy is my son fussy. Nothing is good enough. If he's being held, he wants down. If he's down, he wants picked up. Anyone else think the terrible two's gives false info? It kind of implies that kids are good til they turn two. Of course mothers know the truth, huh ladies? lol :)

Boo at the Zoo

We took the kids to Niabi Zoo on Halloween for an event called Boo at the Zoo. It was really fun. Not only did the kids get tons of candy and cool prizes but also got to see the animals and ride the train. Where was all this stuff when I was a kid? :D

HyVee is the store for me :)

Okay so I rarely shop at Wal-Mart anymore because 1.) it's way to crowded, 2.) they never seem to have what I want in stock, and 3.) it's further away from us than other stores. Well anyway I have to say that before I moved here to the Quad Cities I always shopped at Target but now we seem to do most of our shopping at HyVee. I love there Red Hot Deals. For instance, I got a 64oz jug of Old Orchard juice for 99 cents. I've never seen juice so cheap. And I love the Kids Club at the John Deere Road HyVee. My kids get a free slice of deli cheese, a free cookie, a free sticker, and a free balloon just for shopping with me and my daughter get to push her own little green cart. It's so adorable. I just had to tell all you ladies my latest love. Weird to love a grocery store but I don't get out often. I'm sure some of you ladies know what I'm talking about :)

Just Call Me Lucky ;)

I'm always entering contests. I enter them in stores and online. It's fun to enter even if you don't win but how can you win if you never even enter. Well I entered a contest at our local HyVee (a grocery store for you ladies who don't have one) to win a copy of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory on DVD and I won. I couldn't believe it. And it's the old version not the new kind of creepy looking one with Johnny Depp. I should be getting off of here. It's about time for the baby to wake up from his nap. So go out there and win, win, win ladies! :)

Fussy kids....not today :)

Yesterday was awful. I held/rocked the baby for over two hours before he finally fell asleep for a nap and then he would only sleep on my lap while I sat crosslegged. I was a bit frustrated. And to make matters worse my daughter was going nuts and fighting with everyone in sight. Today on the other hand is much better. Just wish she could be nicer to her brother. Oh well. More later ladies.

Inspiration returns

I used to have all kinds of inspiration to write short stories. Most of which end up being childrens stories. I must have been visited by the inspiration fairy ;) because I just finished a story about cows jumping over the moon. I'm kind of excited about getting back into writing.

Earth Day

What do you ladies do to help keep our Earth green? Well right now I'm living with my sister-in-law so there isn't a ton I can do here but she recycles and has some CFLs. We also try and keep all the lights off as much as possible. I personally use reusable shopping bags every time I shop if I can remember to put them in the car (which is more often than not if you can believe it). I also plan on recycling as soon as we get our own place. And we took all of our CFLs from the old apartment so we can keep using them at the new one. Also I am hoping to get a bicycle sometime within the next year and that may mean that I'll be able to ride to the store. Lots of games and contests are available today too. Check out the Parent's Connect Earth Day party at http://www.parentsconnect.com/connect/boards/hot_topics/earth_day/chat_it_up.jhtml

Farmville Calms Babies

My son is obsessed with his father. Every time Daddy leaves the room he freaks out and starts bawling. Unfortunately that means when my husband goes to work I have to deal with a screaming crying baby. I usually try to get on my Facebook page and do my Farmville stuff every other day but the sound and music are always off. Well today I decided to turn it on and the look on his face is priceless. He is dancing to the music and every time an animal makes a noise he smiles so big. Who would have thought that a little farm music could be so calming. :) Guess I should be thanking Farmville.

To Quiet To Hear

I've been sick the past few days and unfortunately I have laryngitis. Try keeping a five year old under control without any voice. Not very easy if you ask me. Course if you did ask me you wouldn't be able to hear my response lol. :) Well anyway hope all you ladies have a great weekend.

Five years old but still a child

So it was my daughters birthday on Tuesday. She is now five years old. I can't believe how big she is. And today she buttoned and zipped her pants all on her own for the first time. And she is buckling herself into her car seat. Pretty soon she won't need me at all. Course right at the moment we are living with my sister-in-law and her four children and you would think that a five year old would be able to stand up for herself against her two year old cousin. I guess that it's a good thing that she doesn't want to hurt him but still I don't think that means you can't use words and tell him that you don't like what he's doing and that you won't play with him until he is nicer. Yes, we've all told her to just hit him back but she doesn't and I'm not really upset with that so much as I'm upset that she cries so much about it. I mean if you aren't willing to stand up for yourself then you'll never make it in life. We don't want her living with us when she's 30. :) Here's to hoping that she starts acting her age.

Not enough time in the day

Ever been in a house with 6 children? Well we live in one :) Never seems to be a dry eye in the house. But after living together for about two weeks don't you think they might start to learn just a little that there just isn't enough time in the day for everyone to get what they want? LOL yeah, what was I thinking? Hope all you ladies are having a nice night. We're all getting set for movie night. Too bad we don't have 6 TV/DVD players so everyone could be happy huh. :) Good night all.

Easter Egg Hunting

So this Easter we went with my sister-in-law to two different Easter Egg hunts. Is it just me or do some of you ladies out there "help" your kids out even though they are old enough to bend down and pick up eggs on their own. I don't see the problem with helping the young ones. They don't really understand how things work but as they get older then they should be able to do it on their own. My daughter is 4 and though there will always be those "go-getter" kids who are super competitive (hated playing those kids in school, I could never win lol :P), my daughter seemed to be getting knocked down by more parents than kids. Maybe those parents are just sugar deprived :) Oh well at least she had fun. That's what really matters. I just get worried when I see an over-eager mother rushing at my child because there is an egg next to her foot. :)

We've moved

Recently we moved to northern Illinois so we could find a better job market. We are living in my sister-in-laws basement until we find a place of our own. I'm hoping that we get some of the jobs that we've applied for soon. Not that I don't like living here and having my daughter play with her cousins all the time but it would be nice to have more room for all of our stuff. You never realize just how much junk you accumulate through the years until you have to pack it up to move. Good grief, I'm a pack rat. Course I've always had a hard time getting rid of things. Well I thought I'd just give an update since I have been busy and not had time to get my blog updated.

Human Bouncer

And no I'm not talking about the big burly guys standing outside a bar. I mean, why pay 30 or 40 dollars for something you can do yourself for free? Now I'm not saying that store bought bouncers are useless, say if you have household things to do but I am always looking for ways to spend quality time with my son. When he was younger I breastfed him but had to stop because I developed gallstones and was too ill to continue feeding him. Now he's nine months old and unlike his sister he doesn't like to snuggle up and play, he is much more rough and tough and the way he plays is proof of it. He's still to small to play horsy (ride on your back while you crawl around) but this is a way to kind of play that as well as keep him calm just like a bouncer would. First I lay flat on my back (preferably somewhere soft like on the bed) with my knees bent. Then I sit him on my pelvic bone and lay him back against my legs. Trust me, you don't want to put him on your stomach/gut because after bouncing him a few minutes it feels like you've been attacked by a professional wrestler. You can change speeds and height of the bounces to get him to laughing. What a great bonding moment. :)

Quiet in the library??? What's that?

Well ladies here I am again at the library trying to do what little I can in the short time I do have and my daughter wants to put her feet on the desk and talk and sing but silly girl doesn't understand that at the library you have to be quiet. Course she doesn't ever use a quiet voice so why should I expect it here. It's finally good to be out of the house though seeing as the whole family has been sick and it's like we've been quarantined for the past week. Ever feel like you’re in prison when you're too sick to leave the house? :) She has been having a great time in preschool but she also has speech therapy after class on Mondays and apparently she gets all huffy and tells her teacher that "This is gonna take a long time (big sigh)." LOL what a drama queen.

Have to Use the Library to Blog

Well ladies, money is tight these days. More tight than those pre-pregnancy pants, if you know what I mean ;) So we have decided to forego the internet at home and start going to the library to use the internet. Unforunately you only get an hour a day but at least it's better than nothing. And while we're here we can always pick up some books for the kids.

Standing Out in the Cold for Free Food

Yes I was one of the many who stood outside of Denny's waiting for a free grandslam last Tuesday. But it was well worth the wait. Unfortunately I think my daughter was the only kid there standing on the booth seat and pointing saying look mommy, those people are eating too. Well at least it was a free meal right :)

Wash Your Own Mouth Out With Soap

Well sort of anyway. As a parent I think all kids do a few weird things. For instance, four years ago my daughter loved to chew on baby wipes. She would suck the soap right out of them. It wasn't so bad. At least wipes aren't toxic but still it was a bit strange. She eventually grew out of it but apparently she has passed on this love of the wipe to her new baby brother. He just turned nine months and continues the wipe eating tradition. How funny. LOL

Late Night Kids

Don't know about everyone else but my daughter has the hardest time going to bed at night. It's almost 1am and she is still wide awake and wanting to watch cartoons. I can't really fight with her because she'll throw a fit and wake up her brother but it's only a matter of time before she falls asleep on the couch. Any of you other moms feel like you vaguely remember staying up all night and partying in high school but now that you have kids you just want to take a nap in the afternoon. LOL