:: music, again ::

Not sure why I listen to country, but I do.  Hunter likes it when it is on it the car and ask for country music when I try to change it so I put it back on.  He likes the Tornado song right now :) not the best for kids but he likes the beat and it sounds like science to him.  I just bought 2 albums today on Itunes.  It is a rare treat for me to buy music and it makes me giddy when I finally do so Larry gave me some extra money and I thought why not buy some new albums.  The first one is from this band, Zac Brown Band...



I love this song and I have no clue why?  It is just horrible to have someone see a person not want them anymore but for some reason I like the music and I am drawn to it.  The other album I bought was Blown Away by Carrie Underwood!  I love her and I wish I had her legs and she married a hockey player :) She rocks in my boat.  For some reason I like the song Blown Away and Two Black Cadillacs.  I would post them but not sure how everyone would feel about them. ")

My girlfriend sent me this song because she thought of me and Larry but not all the lyrics just some.



For some reason I like the version with the swear words cause it makes more of a point about him and me.  My take on this song is that I miss him to the moon and back cause he is not here and I am so tired that I fall asleep even if he isn't here and wishing that he was when he isn't and that I sleep to dream that he is here.  If you pray... if you can pray for him and me that would be good.  It has been rough and I am much stronger then I was in the past and we just both need to know we are a team and that we both need each other even though we are apart SO much.  Our lives are constantly changing with his job and what makes him feel good but not happy.  And that I can communicate to him that I love him to the moon and back. Thanks!

Music is such a big part of my life and you can tell where I am at in my life.  I think I listen to country when I am being tiger mom and doing it all and when I am not then I get into the pop and rock cause I feel young and not so stressed and let my guard down.  I listen to celtic and piano when the kids are crashed and it is just me and the animals and a good book and a glass of wine.  I love music and going through counseling helped me realize that you need to find something that helps you when you need help and music is my help for me cause you can't always ask/tell people you need help. 

Enjoy the music my friends!  Hugs to you all!  I had such a relaxful day with my whomps and I finished my book and the house is cleaned.  Happy dance!

:: quietness ::

 

I think Thursday's are my favorite day in the week.  I get to take my whomps to school and then I can either do errands, come back home and clean, or go to Starbucks and veg in the quietness.  This was what my Starbucks morning looked like.  I am almost done with this book and onto the big last book(maybe) of the Game of Thrones.  I read for one and a half hours at this table and it was so nice and quiet.  I am still not done with the book but my goal is to finish it today.  Larry's friend that he works with is letting me borrow the last book since it isn't in paperback and I don't want to pay $35 for a hardback when all of Larry's in this series are paperback.  So the book came from Canada and I hope it doesn't take me a couple months to finish it but it might.  It is an addicting series of books, but not the best if you only like romance.  If you like reading about war this book series is for you.  It isn't really a girls kind book series to read but I thought I would give it a try and now I have to finish it to see how it ends. 

 

When Grace and I picked up Hunter we heard the fire trucks sirens and I thought I hope they are not coming to Hunter's school and then they parked right in front of the school!  My heart dropped and I got Grace out of the car and one of the fireman was still outside and I know most of them and he saw me and I asked if it was a kid or adult they were coming for and he said kid and I asked what the age was and he said 12.  I felt so relieved but I hope the 12 year old was ok.  It was kinda hectic at the front of the school because this all had happened right when the kindergarden classes were to come out and go with their parents or on the buses and the buses had to be moved and the kids came out a different door.  I was really glad to see Hunter's teacher outside taking charge cause she wasn't in his class today he had a sub and just to know she was out there to make sure her kids and the other class were going in the right direction and to the right place she was a blessing.



:: portland aquarium ::

 Larry was home a short time this last homecoming just for a few days.  Let me tell you it sucks but it is what it is at the time being.  I took Tuesday afternoon off cause I worked Monday and we made it a fun afternoon after both whomps were out of school.  They had no clue what I had planned for them.  I suggested it to Larry a few days before and he was game we were finally going to check out the Portland Aquarium!  I have wanted to take the whomps but I wouldn't go on the weekend too many people and this was perfect it was the weekday in the afternoon!  I picked up the whomps at mom's after working in the morning and told them we were going to go see some fish and celebrate them passing their swimming lessons!  They were thinking we were going to buy new fish for our tank (totally different topic and too sad to post) but I told them nope we are going to see fish at a secret place and it would be fun!  We waited for Larry to get back from the doctor...he was in the ER the morning before for chest pain and is fine thank goodness but needs another stress test (that is another story but will not happen until he comes home again) and we meet him at our secret place!  The Portland Aquarium!  It is in Milwaukie in the building the Black Angus was and it was so weird to be there and not have it a resturant I can tell you the last time I went to this place was with my girlfriend and her boyfriend when we were all dating and now we are married with kiddos!  So crazy.    We had a good time and it wasn't crowded at all, thank goodness!  We ventured out and put our fingers in the water and Larry and I touched a stink ray and I think Hunter might have too, not sure he was scared cause I was like oh my goodness they have sting rays!  And I think my tone scared him cause all I could think of was the animal guy who died from one.  But I touched probably 4 of the slimy sting rays!  We feed them fish and we touched star fishes and feed more fish! 

 

 

 We had bought bird food for the birds and let me tell you when we got to the bird room it was fun!  Their was a jungle gym for the kids to play in and I watched the birds in the bird cage.  Then came bird drama!  They put in a male that they had to take out yesterday cause it caused such ruckus with the female birds and they had a brawl about it and they were going to try to introduce him in there again!  I have never heard so much bird screaming and cheerping in my life!  Those girls did not like him one bit!  There was another male in there that had a girlfriend who layed eggs and that male was not having it and he didn't like the alpha male bird in there.  I saw birds flying at each other and one bird was taken down and fell on its back and 2 birds were so stressed they had to spray water from a water bottle to calm them down.  I watched this for a good 1/2 hour it was like a very loud soap opera and I got to hear all about it from the bird people it was kinda fun but no way was my kids going in there yet so they kept playing.  Finally, it quieted down and I was the brave one to go in with my kids.  Larry didn't want to get pooped on and neither did I but I already touched a sting ray so I was on a roll.  I am not a big fan of birds in a cage with me.  I will feed the outside birds and love to see them but I am not a fan of birds if one comes flying my way...

So with that said...here I am holding a bird with my Buddy

 

 I hope this video comes out but I have 2 birds feeding off my hand the food we had bought (after I just watched bird drama) and one bird lands on my head and the bird person takes it off and then another lands on my shoulder.  I am trying so good to be cool with it since my Grace is watching me.  She thought it was so funny that a bird flew in my hair.  The things we do for kids.  When I was in the bird cage with my kids and Larry was outside he yelled "Al" I looked at him and he pointed up and of course their was a bird above me and I moved to the side I so didn't want it to poop on me.  I made it through the bird exhibit poop free and had fun watching the bird drama and hope there is peace in the bird cage with the males and females.

 

We were all set to go and I saw on the hand out we got that Roxie the octopus would get fed in 3 minutes so we checked her out again and she was amazing.  She is only 2 years old and has a couple more years left.  They make her try to figure out puzzles to get to her food.  Today it was a craw dad in a plastic box with a tube.  We watched for 15 minutes and she and us gave up it was too tough of a project to get to the yummy food.  I hope she did get it eventually.

 

We had a great time as a family and I was glad we went!  They are going to have otters and puffins in the spring! 

:: proud mama ::

Last night was the last night for swimming and I thought it was going to be testing night but I am still figuring out how the swimming pool does things.  Last month we didn't make the last class because Hunter does skating on Wednesday so they mailed us their report but I already knew Hunter passed and Grace didn't cause I asked the teacher.  This month I thought last night was testing day and had prepped Grace for trying to put her face in the water like I did for her Friday class.  The both went in the pool and did their class but there was a table of report cards right in front of us and I was thinking to myself maybe they are already done and weren't getting tested.  So as I was watching parent after parent take a card off the table I glanced over and saw my Buddies name on a report card.  I wasn't worried that he didn't pass cause he already did I just couldn't get him in Swim tots B it was already full for this month I was just curious about my Grace Kat.  I leaned over and took theirs off the table and...

 

Grace's is on the left and Hunter's is on the right

 

My baby girl passed!  I was so amazed her card was all checked off (the pic is the back side of the report card) and said she could go to Swim Tots B!  And another shock was Hunter passed and could go straight to Level 1 and not have to do Swim Tots B!  Whoo Hoo!  As they were doing their lesson I went and checked if I could get Buddy in level 1 and keep Grace in Swim Tots B since I couldn't get her back in A if she didn't pass and it worked out that I could get Hunter in Level 1 at the same time as Grace for Swim Tots B.  Happy mom!  This was Larry's first time watching them at their lessons and seeing them swim, too.  On Hunter's report card it said to listen better to his teachers which he needs to it was he was not challenged and was bored cause he did all the stuff last month I totally get it but he still needed to listen.  Pretty sure he will listen next class cause it is for big kids!  We waited until they got done with their lessons and of course they came running to me to see if they earned ice cream with chocolate syrup (I gotta try to encourage them somehow :) ) for doing good and I said yes but had Larry tell them that they passed and what class they were in next.  Dude was so excited he got to pass a level my homegirl was jumping for joy!  This is her first official passing something and it was a great milestone in her life!  She has seen her brother (her idol) pass Preschool and lots of ice skating classes and knows it is a big deal to pass something so last night was a huge night for her it was her first official passing something and leveling up in something she wanted to do!  It was a happy night for my little swimmers let me tell you!  I am one proud mama and now they will be in seperate classes which I think will be good for them and they will learn better.  :)

:: him ::

 

Larry might kill me but that is OK.  I think this is my first blog post ever about Larry!  Sad, I know we just aren't photo people so I told him I was taking this picture but he might have fell back to sleep and didn't hear me.  He He.  Just giving you a glimpse of my life in a nut shell.  Larry came home today!  Woo Ho!  But the downside of it is he traveled most of the day to get here and he has worked 21 days straight 10-12 hour days.  He doesn't get weekends off he just works everyday until he comes home.  So what I am saying is when he does come home to us he is one tired dude.  He is one hour ahead of us in his state of mind and he tries so hard to stay up but it usually takes 2 days for him to get back to our schedule and back to life and the first night he is out before we are.  It is just what it is.  The bummer part of this home trip is he goes back a lot sooner then he usually does the whomps don't know that so we will try to make the best of it.  But he looks pretty handsome and content being home :)  

:: swimming and birchbox ::

My whomps are in swimming lessons and this is their second month of doing them.  Hunter passed his class last month but the class he was to go in next was full so I just signed him up for the first class again with Grace.  We only make it to 2 of the 3 classes a week because of Hunter having skating lessons on Wednesday's, but that will change now since in February we head to Sherwood on Thursday's for hockey lessons!  Both kids are doing great in swimming and love it.  I am not sure if Grace will pass this current class or not.  She has to put her whole face in the water and go all the way under the water something she doesn't like to do so we are going to practice this weekend in her bath.  The bummer part is I just started making her take showers which she was scared of but likes now. I signed them both up for the next level just in case she does pass but if she doesn't she will have to sit out next month because the class is full.  So she really doesn't want to sit on the bench with me she wants to swim will see what happens.  In the picture below Hunter is the big, tall boy at the end and Grace is the only girl in pink. :) Last month the class was just Grace and Hunter so this time they have splashing buddies!  The swimming pool is 2 blocks away from our house so I am going to keep trying to get my kids into swimming lessons until they say they don't like it because I am trying to getting us ready for SHARC or Great Wolf Lodge whenever we get to go! 

 

 Have you heard of Birchbox?  My BIL, Dan, told me about it and I was super excited to finally get my first box!  It is a box full of girl type goodies and the bummer part is it isn't all paraben free stuff but when I was registering for it they did have an option for products that were so I think I still will get some.  I got this box because it has all the latest fashion product like nail polish, perfume, lotions, and etc.  The cost is $10 a month and I choose the month by month option. 

 

It comes in a pretty, little box.
 

 

And this is what was in it.  A sample size perfume from Juicy Couture.  It smells good and I like it.  The next is a multi-purpose mattifying moisturizer the cost of buying this is $68 for a bigger size and that is way too much for me to spend on a face product.  So I am going to give it to someone to try.  That also is the cool thing about this box I can give the stuff as little gifts to people if I know I am not going to use it and don't open it.  Next is a lip gloss, which I love!  It has a mirror on the side to help you see what you are doing how crafty is that!  This is definitely a keeper!  The next is a Rose water Hydrator spray and last is a healthy bar which I ate and it was good.  So there you have it something fun that comes in the mail full of fun little samples of beauty products. :)

 

 

After swimming last night we had left overs since it is so late when we get done with swimming and I didn't want to cook.  We had leftover pizza and after Christmas we bought a bench that I wanted for our dinner table.  Grace loves it and hasn't fallen off it once that was her issue with our chairs and I thought the bench would be better and more people can sit on it.  Well, last night Lucy has decided to sit by Grace.  Lucy in her old age is just doing new things all the time.  I am pretty sure Larry would not approve of this but I let her do it because as you can see Grace was laughing about her being right there.  So you see that little bit of pizza crust on the place mat?  Grace doesn't eat the end piece of the pizza crust and I usually give it to Misha but tonight someone else wanted it...
 

Lucy!  She really had Grace laughing about this!  She did this twice the first time I didn't catch it on my phone the second time I did.  After the first time she did it she kept head butting Grace's elbow cause she wanted it and kept eyeing it so of course she wasn't doing it again so I could take a picture so I moved the pizza crust over just a bit and bingo got her on camera and Grace laughed about it again.  And no I did not give it to her and yes she will not be at the bench again at dinner time.  It was just to funny and cute at the time. :)

 

My whomps both woke up sick this morning.  Hunter had a sore throat but is cured after having some Tylenol, thank goodness.  My Grace is just getting sicker and sicker.  She has the viral cough, snotty nose but no fever yet so thank goodness a certain man in our life is coming home today to see us at our best and hopefully doesn't get the bug but he probably will. 

 

Happy Saturday to you all!

:: thursday's off ::

This is what my morning's look like on Thursday's :) I take my whomps to Canby to go to school and Misha always comes with us.  I love having Thursday's off because I get to be a school mom and it is so fun to take them to school see their teachers and the see their artwork on the walls and pick them up and see their smiles and hear about their morning while it is fresh in their minds. We usually veg in the afternoon's at home and I get caught up with laundry, housework, and read a book.  I love Thursday's!

:: hockey with the big boys ::

Late last year Hunter was in the Learn to Play Hockey class for one class and one game and they made me pull him out to do more skating lessons even though the skating teacher said he passed.  It was such a frustrating thing to do and Hunter was so bummed he couldn't do the class and his friend, David, was in it who was a couple years old then him and he wanted to stay in the class cause he wanted to be with his friend.  So we did what the skating rink said I put him back in skating lessons for 2 months and he still wasn't ready for Learn to Play Hockey. When I was signing him up for more skating lessons they told me there was this new class for only hockey players that passed certain skating lessons and since he had passed them I could put him in this class it was an Intro to Hockey a new class made that if he passed it would definitely put him in the Learn to Play hockey.  I was so game with this and I signed him up.  It was on a Wednesday night at 6:05pm and I work until 5-5:30pm.  I had to have my mom and Wayne help me get him there and dressed in his hockey outfit and it was such a lifesaver to know he was in his gear and ready to go.  Thanks mom!  This class was for 2 more months and the teacher was a hockey coach not a skating coach!  Super cool and Coach Joe loved teaching this class you could tell!  There was 4 boys in the class and they got to do so many new things and do hockey moves and fall on the ice and slide under a broom set on top of cones and skate around cones!  It was such an awesome class to watch instead of the skate back and forth with 10+ kids and these boys got time with the hockey coach and it was so fun to watch them act like hockey boys.  Tonight was testing night and all boys including Hunter passed!  These boys are all 5 years old and they were super excited to know they are going to play hockey now!  They have one more class together next week with the 4 of them and then on to hockey playing and learning with the big boys and using their hockey sticks and hitting pucks!  I am so excited for Hunter cause he has been trying so hard and having so much fun and now he has 2 new friends to follow him through the next skating phase.  I am pretty sure he will not get asked to go back to skating cause a hockey coach passed them so I am feeling good about this. :)  The cool part about the Learn to Play hockey classes is that it is on my day off so I can take him now and it is an hour long not a half hour so Buddy is going to have so much fun but be one tired dude when he is done and he can play in the hockey games on Sunday's if he wants. :)



 

I just also want to post something about Kiwicrate!  Thanks Lori for posting that you like it and your family is getting one that is so cool!  Hope you like Blissmo!  So our Kiwicrate came in the mail today!!! I took a picture of it!

 

 

Hunter is going love this one cause it has a board game they make themselves!!  I am bad.  I don't give my kids their Kiwicrate when it comes.  Yes, sometimes they see it on the porch and get excited but I show them we got one and then I put it away until I think it is a good time to bring it out, which it is usually on the weekends.  But I have a month to have them do 2 different projects and I use up that month!  Last weekend we did the last of the second project cause I knew I was getting another box this week.  It is so random when I bring out the box and I only do one project at a time.  Sometimes I wait for Larry to be home to do a certain one I think he and the whomps would like to do together.  So I am going to wait until this weekend or next to show Hunter the project on the left cause Larry can be here for it.  Basically, what I am saying is I love, love Kiwicrate and I can do projects when I want my kids to and I love knowing it is here for those rainy days or if my kids need some brainpower time.  And this box came with a handmade Valentine's day card to make for both of them so I am going to have them do that in February.  You gotta try Kiwicrate it is the best!!!



:: i "heart" instagram ::

I can finally download pictures to my blog!  YeAh!  So here are all my lastest Instagram photos!  I had to download all my pictures off my phone because I had no more room for pictures on it.  I guess I take too many!  Hee Hee

 

Lucy, trying to sleep by me while I was reading my book in bed.

 

My Buddy playing his DS with his serious concentration face (it is the same face his Papa does the lip comes out and eyebrows are up).

 

Misha and Larry his last night home and she is getting some serious dog belly scratches while we are watching Parks and Rec on the DVR.

 

Grace giving her kitty pillow pet she got from her Uncle Dan some kisses and loves.

 

Grace sleeping after her birthday Party with her new kitty pillow pet and her new Build a Bear German Shepherd that Nana and Gramps got her.  I love how she is holding it's leg :)

 Buddy making his creation of Lego's.  It turned out to be 3/4 of his Lego's in a big, tall tower.  We haven't even taken it down yet and it still sits in my room on the floor with the rest off all these Lego's.

 

Grace snuggling watching cartoons while Buddy play's his DS.

 

Lucy loves to be up high and her new perch is Grace's new carseat her Papa got her for her birthday and it came in the mail on her actual birthday!

 

I love this picture of my Buddy.  He was so serious about taking care of the animals especially this seal at the Children's Museum.  I took the kids there for Grace's birthday week.

Swimming lessons!  They are in the big huddle learning about life jackets.

Larry's jeep when Jack Frost came and a spider.

More snuggling with her kitty cat pillow.

 

Lucy likes it too!  And she isn't supposed to be on the couch!  Don't tell Larry!  I love how Grace has to touch and feel her stuffies.

My apple eater.

 

A stuffie that came from my mom's house..crabby that got the royal treatment when he was here. He got to sleep with Grace on her duck pillow cause he was scared.

 

My buddy being silly with Ferb.

I am so excited that I can post pictures again!  :)

:: La Fresh ::

I am kinda weird about my environment and my World.  I am trying to be the best recycler but I need improvement.  I am all about doing what is good for the Earth.  I am such an animal person that I probably should be vegan and do the no eating meat part.  But I don't so I need improvement but the one part I am doing good at is trying to be Paraben-free!  Yes, I still buy product that isn't but I would say I am 80% better about being Paraben free in my lotions and whatever I put on my body.  Why?  Well cause Paraben's are banned in Europe and if they are banned there they should be banned in the USA.  They are one of the leading causes of cancer and I am trying my best to not put it on my body and on my whomps.  So yes I still have Victoria Secret and Bath and Body works lotions but I am trying to use them up (save money you know) and I haven't bought any of their product for over a year just trying to use up what I have alot of my fav's that I can't get anymore.  Tough, but really need to do!  So DeOna said that Grace's skin is dry and needed to have lotion on it so of course Grace heard that and now we put lotion on her after her shower!  My girl is taking showers now!  After Dr. B told her she needed to stop taking baths cause it was causing yeast down yonder and of course she hates getting her face wet so after thinking about it for a day she tried showers and now loves them.  Thank goodness!  I started having Hunter take showers that day to and now no more baths we are shower's!  This is a huge transition for me!  No more babies we got big kids standing in the shower and taking less time to shower then bath.  Anyways back to my original post!  So now I have to use lotion on Grace so we are using up my last Pear Glaze V.S. and I know I shouldn't put it on her but she is excited to use my lotion and it is almost gone then she can have her own safe Paraben free kind! 

Introducing my new favorite organic company....Blissmo!  I buy a box of organic product once a month that comes to my door once a month I choose what kind I would like and I can also decided to not have one come that month and I love that.  Here is there website http://www.blissmo.com/ I have been doing there boxes for over a year and I love it!  I get new paraben free and animal cruelty free product from them.  My favorite boxes are the beauty, animal, and cleaning one!  My last box I got had lots of fun beauty supplies in it and my favorite so far out of the box is from La Fresh!  The La Fresh product I got was an Oil Free Face Cleanser and it comes in a small baby wipes container and it is actual wipes!  I love it and have been using it on my face and it works great!  I missed a couple of nights of cleaning my face and my face let me know it! 

Here is the link to them...http://lafreshgroup.com/oil-free-face-cleanser-fragrance-free-30ct.html
 
I have gotten a lot of cool things from Blissmo that I had to say no don't send me on this next month because I am trying to use up what I have gotten in the mail first!  You can do month to month or do a year's subscription. 

:: there was a time ::

I will not lie I love musicals.  Do I go to them...no.  But I have been to a couple when I was in my 20's.  Fun, but now I just like to listen to the soundtracks.  So I will have to Netflix Les Miserables!

:: took a leap ::

I just took a leap and decided to not post pictures or write what I am doing on Facebook!  Crazy, I know!  But I seem to realize that people don't text me or call or ask about me and my kids cause I keep posting what we are doing on Facebook.  So, I am gonna post on my blog.  Silly I know but when you raise your kiddos by yourself 3 weeks out of the month you get lonely and you just want to have some adult time and mine was Facebook but I realized I don't need that anymore.  So blogging is where I will communicate my best!  Or you can call me or text me! I talked to Larry tonight and vented about stuff and realized that I wanted him to get angry with me about stuff and stand up for me but you know what he can't he isn't here and I have to do it on my own so my first step is if you  want to know how my kids are or how I am then you are going to have to ask me and if you don't want to communicate with me then just check out my blog. 

And hopefully soon I can post pictures and for some reason my lovely background isn't working, this is so not cool!!

:: grace kat's stat's ::

For some crazy reason I still can't download pictures to my blog!  Frustrating.  Maybe this weekend I will try to figure out why but for now it is all words.  My dad had a heart attack either on Christmas eve or last weekend so he had 2 stents put in his heart and now he is all better.  So the day that all happened I was at the hospital for most of the day and missed work but I had my big girls well child check for the evening with her doctor (my boss) so I kept it and brought her in after I knew and saw my dad get out of recovery.  It was such a long day and to sit in a room at a doctor's office that I work at just me and my girl playing I spy something....was a very relaxful time.  She was awesome for Dr. Bridgeman and is such a big girl and I just let her talk through the whole thing and told DeOna to just talk to her if she was a big person and she did.  So I give shots pretty much every day to kids and I see how mom's and dad's have to deal with their kids and siblings getting shots.  Some are great some kick and scream.  My kids do pretty awesome.  The reason why I think it is because I don't tell them they are getting them and I don't have them get their shots together. At Grace's appointment I still hadn't given my kids the flu shot.  Why?  I don't know for some reason I ? the flu shot and it is hard to get my kids to come to the clinic without asking for help.  So since flu is getting bad I thought why not.  My mom helped and I took Hunter back first and he talked to Molly and she gave him a shot.  He didn't like it but he was a trooper and didn't fight or scream just was sad cause he got hurt and it was over in a few seconds and I told him to not tell his sister yet and he didn't!  Then it was Grace's turn.  She was awesome she got 3 shots and she didn't kick or scream and didn't like it at all but cried and was sad and said she didn't want to go to the clinic again.  Super sad, but I think she will be ok I told her she didn't get shots everytime she was seen.  I was so proud of my kiddos cause they listened and did what I told them.  Yes, shots hurt and tears were shed by both but they ended up saying thank you and got a sucker.  So on to Grace Kathryn's 4 year old stat's!  Which totally suprised me!  She hasn't gained any weight in a year!  This girl eats all the time and asks for a snack every 30 minutes it seems like.  I guess she is just a picky eater and doesn't eat everything.  So home girl is going to get more growing food!

Weight          31 lbs...17 %, same weight a year ago :(  and at her 3 year check she was 35 %)
Height           40 inches...57 % she was 37 inches at her 3 year :)

DeOna says she needs to eat more but looks like she will be my body shape type.  So I shouldn't be worried I just was suprised at her %.

So there you go!  My tall, skinny 4 year old!

:: grace turns 4 ::

My Grace turned 4 today!  I can't believe how fast time has flown and my baby is 4!  My mouse is growing up so much!  I have called her mouse since she was born cause she was so tiny!  6 lbs and 5 oz and 19 inches long and so little compared to her brother who was 8 lbs and 1 oz and 21.5 inches tall, so she became my mouse.  She is so clever and so creative.  She is way to smart for words.  She talks UP a storm and knows her ABC's and can write them pretty good.  She can count to 100 but misses a number here and there.  She can draw so good when she wants to.  She loves to draw cats, dogs, and hearts.  She loves to swim even though she isn't doing what she is supposed to in her lessons but she is having fun and is super excited to go!  She loves her brother to death but he can also get on her nerves in a heartbeat!  She loves anything he does and if he accomplishes something she is there to congratulate him and give him a high five!  She is stubborn and loving at the same time.  She loves Preschool and still doesn't talk to the boys much.  Sigh.  Not sure how to fix that one.  For some reason the last week I can't download any pictures so I am using an old one.  Also, Misha turned 7 last week and I tried to post about it with a picture of her but it wouldn't download!  My girls are getting older and time is flying by!  Next week I will have her stats and homegirl isn't going to like her shots at all!  I mentioned the word and she was not happy with it at all so I am keeping that all on the downlow!  This is the only time I don't have to give kids shots at the clinic is when my kids come in!  Thank goodness.  :)  Happy Birthday my big girl momma loves you more then life!

:: crunch time ::

Crunch time is a time that I call when I need to just stop and slow down on spending money and use what I have/got.  So I am in a crunch time right now.  This happens now that I am more self aware of our money and how we spend and how to keep us from over spending.  Christmas is past and Grace's birthday party is past (even thought her birthday is Tuesday).  2 big fun times in our life that we spend money on so now back to reality and realizing that I gotta cut back and not spend money.  So, I have only one credit card debt left!  It was my KIA car loan that I paid off and had my title of my car for a few months and Larry and I worked out our drama and I helped him with his credit card debt and since I had better credit I took 2 of his debts and gave the title back to the bank and put Larry's debt on it.  Larry last month paid off the other debt I had of his.  Whoo Hoo!  So now I am down to one!  And I am on the goal of getting it paid of in 6 months or less.  Yes, we did buy the van and it is under Larry and I know that is a debt but I am still working on credit card debt first and let me tell you we have paid off a ton when I am done with this last credit card debt I will share how much give or take we paid off.  It is amazing and embarrassing at the same time but in the end it will have taken us 3+ years to pay it off if the next 6 months go OK financially for us. :)

Back to crunch time what this means is (and I wrote myself a note on my fridge to remind me) is this week and for one week (and maybe longer if all goes well).

*** I cannot spend any money other then for essentials for the kids like milk and stuff they are used to eating and drinking.  All else I have to try to use what is in my fridge, pantry, and cupboards.

***No shopping for stuff for me or the kids.  We have enough.  No Internet shopping for me and saying no to the kids when they see something at the store.

***Make lunches for me no going out to lunch.  I didn't even give myself my usual $20 allowance a week.  What I have in my wallet is what I have to spend this week.

***Try not to drive everywhere and just stay home and do fun things around the house and play with all our new stuff.

There you have it.  Pretty basic but really hard to do sometimes.  But I started this on Thursday and we have done really well.  The kids and I vegged all day today in the house.  We didn't even go outside.  We should have to get some fresh air and run around but they played with Lego's for 3 hours together and apart that I didn't want to bug them.  We didn't go anywhere in the van.  :)  By doing this crunch time I save almost $100 a week it is crazy!  It is sad to say but I can do this better when Larry isn't home cause I am in charge and in better control of what we do but knowing he is saving money on his end being in the middle of nowhere makes me feel like we can do it here too.  So hello to crunch time!