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| Clark Kent, Wonder Woman, Bat Man (C), Iron Man (O), Super Man(d) and Bat Woman |
Monday, October 31, 2011
Upcoming
Is it seriously already (pretty much) November? Why on Earth is time flying by the older I get? Do you remember when you were a kid and you would think ahead to the future and a month seemed like an ETERNITY? A year felt like an inconceivable amount of time.
Now, a whole year can pass and I feel like I have hardly blinked.
Just getting used to writing 2011 on your checks? Oh well! Too bad! Here comes 2012!!
---
Tonight, we're going trick or treating in our neighborhood. Our little neighborhood has 60 houses, so it's just about the right size to drag 4 small children through. At least 2 of the children will whine about walking and want to be carried after approximately 8 houses. If our neighborhood doesn't have a lot of lights on, we may go to the bigger neighborhood across the street, but really... we don't need that much candy.
I only bought stuff I have no desire to eat this year. Dum Dums, Laffy Taffy, Sweet Tarts and Smarties. I'm a chocolate girl, and therefore I bought none. I can't promise there will not be any stealing from my children's bags after they collapse in bed from a sugar high.
We will all be dressed up tonight, so look for a family super hero picture tomorrow. (here's to hoping I actually get a decent one.)
---
We have been talking - for months - about going to Disney World after Christmas. Our kids are still very young, but we thought we might go for a day or possibly two and hit Magic Kingdom and then do something else. A very nice friend was kind enough to let us borrow a planning book and right off the bat we read that the time we were planning to go is supposed to be the busiest time of the year.
Secondly, we read that kids should probably be around 7 years old to really get the full experience. I know lots of younger kids that have gone, so I don't know if I agree with that, but it did give me pause to think that at least 2 of my kids will have no memory of the experience. We were hoping my parents could come with us, to up our adult:child ratio, because 2 grown ups and 4 kids, six and under, is probably not the best combo for a trip like this. However, they weren't sure if they could, and they didn't seem too enthusiastic about it.
I was also a lot less enthusiastic after I checked ticket prices. Yipes.
Miss L is still free, but even if we went for only one day it would be over $400 and that doesn't include my parents. Plus, we don't live near Orlando. At all.
Maybe I'm just being cheap, but as I added up travel expenses, tickets, meals, and incidentals, I decided that I wanted to wait until all the kids are old enough to really enjoy it! So... no Disney this year. Maybe in a couple years when Miss L is four, or five. She'll probably be into princesses then, right?
(she's not now.)
There is a much cheaper, much closer to home, vacation in the works now. We haven't yet decided if it will be all of us or just the two of us.(!!!)
---
As you may remember, Miss L had hernia surgery about 3 months ago and last week I noticed that it looks like part of the hernia came back. (do they do that? I'm not sure of the correct terminology...)
Anyway, there's definitely an issue going on and I'm hoping it's something else - scar tissue? - or something. She has an appointment tomorrow with the surgeon who did her initial surgery, and I'm hoping she won't have to have another surgery. 3 (albeit minor) surgeries in the span of 3ish months?! It seems too much! That's more than all the boys combined, in their entire lives!
So... wish us luck for that appointment tomorrow. I'm getting a bit of nervous tummy over it.
Now, a whole year can pass and I feel like I have hardly blinked.
Just getting used to writing 2011 on your checks? Oh well! Too bad! Here comes 2012!!
---
Tonight, we're going trick or treating in our neighborhood. Our little neighborhood has 60 houses, so it's just about the right size to drag 4 small children through. At least 2 of the children will whine about walking and want to be carried after approximately 8 houses. If our neighborhood doesn't have a lot of lights on, we may go to the bigger neighborhood across the street, but really... we don't need that much candy.
I only bought stuff I have no desire to eat this year. Dum Dums, Laffy Taffy, Sweet Tarts and Smarties. I'm a chocolate girl, and therefore I bought none. I can't promise there will not be any stealing from my children's bags after they collapse in bed from a sugar high.
We will all be dressed up tonight, so look for a family super hero picture tomorrow. (here's to hoping I actually get a decent one.)
---
We have been talking - for months - about going to Disney World after Christmas. Our kids are still very young, but we thought we might go for a day or possibly two and hit Magic Kingdom and then do something else. A very nice friend was kind enough to let us borrow a planning book and right off the bat we read that the time we were planning to go is supposed to be the busiest time of the year.
Secondly, we read that kids should probably be around 7 years old to really get the full experience. I know lots of younger kids that have gone, so I don't know if I agree with that, but it did give me pause to think that at least 2 of my kids will have no memory of the experience. We were hoping my parents could come with us, to up our adult:child ratio, because 2 grown ups and 4 kids, six and under, is probably not the best combo for a trip like this. However, they weren't sure if they could, and they didn't seem too enthusiastic about it.
I was also a lot less enthusiastic after I checked ticket prices. Yipes.
Miss L is still free, but even if we went for only one day it would be over $400 and that doesn't include my parents. Plus, we don't live near Orlando. At all.
Maybe I'm just being cheap, but as I added up travel expenses, tickets, meals, and incidentals, I decided that I wanted to wait until all the kids are old enough to really enjoy it! So... no Disney this year. Maybe in a couple years when Miss L is four, or five. She'll probably be into princesses then, right?
(she's not now.)
There is a much cheaper, much closer to home, vacation in the works now. We haven't yet decided if it will be all of us or just the two of us.(!!!)
---
As you may remember, Miss L had hernia surgery about 3 months ago and last week I noticed that it looks like part of the hernia came back. (do they do that? I'm not sure of the correct terminology...)
Anyway, there's definitely an issue going on and I'm hoping it's something else - scar tissue? - or something. She has an appointment tomorrow with the surgeon who did her initial surgery, and I'm hoping she won't have to have another surgery. 3 (albeit minor) surgeries in the span of 3ish months?! It seems too much! That's more than all the boys combined, in their entire lives!
So... wish us luck for that appointment tomorrow. I'm getting a bit of nervous tummy over it.
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| Look who can FINALLY wear pig tails! |
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Anybody have Band Aids?
My feet hurt from walking on eggshells the last 5 days.
I've had more alcohol in the last 4 days than I have in the last 6 months.
Related: My inlaws went home this morning.
----
My 4 year old, who has napped reliably every day for pretty much his entire life, has abruptly stopped napping save for 1 or possibly 2 days a week. I know it's a good time; he'll be going to Kindergarten next year. But, I want him to nap. I need him to have quiet time that does not involve coming out of his room every 2 and a half minutes to see if quiet time is over yet. He's in there crying right now because I just lost my temper and yelled at him. *sigh* (Although, he got VERY LITTLE sleep the past few days and actually DOES need to sleep today.)
----
My inlaws kindly offered to watch the kids so we could go out on a date on the one night we didn't have something planned while they were here. We had a late and large lunch, so we weren't up for dinner, and the only movie that sounded decent to us didn't start until after 8PM. (the kids have been getting up at or before 5 - urgh.) We decided against the movie but I wanted to go out and get either a drink or dessert, coffee... something. I thought it would be nice to sit and talk. We get a date maybe 2 or 3 times a year, so it's so rare. I didn't want to waste it!
D thought we should... it's so bad I can barely write it... go to WalMart. We needed a few groceries. WalMart.
For a date.
WALMART.
He thought sitting and talking sounded boring. It's making me feel sad and pissed off all over again now.
Don't get me wrong, we've gone to the grocery store before when we're out on a date. Maybe after dinner, or a movie or something, but not JUST to the store. We were only gone an hour. I came home and drank wine and ate ice cream. My diet has been seriously derailed since then.
He sat on the couch with his parents and watched the World Series. (which... it seems like that was on TV every night while they were here. No offense to sports lovers, but goodness! Sports are so damn boring.)
DATE FAIL.
----
There was good stuff too though. Two highlights were d's school Fall Festival and the pumpkin patch.
I've had more alcohol in the last 4 days than I have in the last 6 months.
Related: My inlaws went home this morning.
----
My 4 year old, who has napped reliably every day for pretty much his entire life, has abruptly stopped napping save for 1 or possibly 2 days a week. I know it's a good time; he'll be going to Kindergarten next year. But, I want him to nap. I need him to have quiet time that does not involve coming out of his room every 2 and a half minutes to see if quiet time is over yet. He's in there crying right now because I just lost my temper and yelled at him. *sigh* (Although, he got VERY LITTLE sleep the past few days and actually DOES need to sleep today.)
----
My inlaws kindly offered to watch the kids so we could go out on a date on the one night we didn't have something planned while they were here. We had a late and large lunch, so we weren't up for dinner, and the only movie that sounded decent to us didn't start until after 8PM. (the kids have been getting up at or before 5 - urgh.) We decided against the movie but I wanted to go out and get either a drink or dessert, coffee... something. I thought it would be nice to sit and talk. We get a date maybe 2 or 3 times a year, so it's so rare. I didn't want to waste it!
D thought we should... it's so bad I can barely write it... go to WalMart. We needed a few groceries. WalMart.
For a date.
WALMART.
He thought sitting and talking sounded boring. It's making me feel sad and pissed off all over again now.
Don't get me wrong, we've gone to the grocery store before when we're out on a date. Maybe after dinner, or a movie or something, but not JUST to the store. We were only gone an hour. I came home and drank wine and ate ice cream. My diet has been seriously derailed since then.
He sat on the couch with his parents and watched the World Series. (which... it seems like that was on TV every night while they were here. No offense to sports lovers, but goodness! Sports are so damn boring.)
DATE FAIL.
----
There was good stuff too though. Two highlights were d's school Fall Festival and the pumpkin patch.
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| Family picture at the pumpkin patch. |
 |
| The Supers. |
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Good Stuff
* One of my favorite couples (Hi M!) is having a baby! They also happen to be my brother in law and sister in law, and soon they'll be able to find out if the baby is a boy or girl! I'm so excited to have another baby in the family to spoil!
* My friend Tracy is going to have her baby any day now, and since T is my Htown family; I could not be more excited. PROBABLY not as anxious as she is, but I can't wait to meet her little girl!!
* I finally broke the plateau and have started losing weight again! I'm *almost* to 10 pounds lost, and although that doesn't sound like much - it has been a fight for every single ounce. So, I'm proud of those 10 pounds!
* Fall is here. Enough said. (although my allergies are a pain, so that's a trade off)
* Pinterest is still an obsession. I've made a lot more things but I'll just show you a couple that are very easy and CHEAP.
I used scrap felt and the cloth bins from our play room, a hot glue gun and this tutorial and made these super cute Super Hero bins for our play room:
The next craft is the picture frame/dry erase board. I was at Target and they had picture frames on sale. I got a 2 pack of 8x10's for only $2! I put pretty scrapbooking paper in each one and keep one (pictured) by my desk to do adding of bills or writing of recipes. I keep the other by the kids' school area, to remind me of things that need to be sent in or when someone needs lunch money.
This requires no skill, just put the paper in and you're done! Plus, I've saved a ton of paper that I usually scribble things down on - now I can just erase it and start over!
* My friend Tracy is going to have her baby any day now, and since T is my Htown family; I could not be more excited. PROBABLY not as anxious as she is, but I can't wait to meet her little girl!!
* I finally broke the plateau and have started losing weight again! I'm *almost* to 10 pounds lost, and although that doesn't sound like much - it has been a fight for every single ounce. So, I'm proud of those 10 pounds!
* Fall is here. Enough said. (although my allergies are a pain, so that's a trade off)
* Pinterest is still an obsession. I've made a lot more things but I'll just show you a couple that are very easy and CHEAP.
I used scrap felt and the cloth bins from our play room, a hot glue gun and this tutorial and made these super cute Super Hero bins for our play room:
 |
| They cost me nothing but my time. |
The next craft is the picture frame/dry erase board. I was at Target and they had picture frames on sale. I got a 2 pack of 8x10's for only $2! I put pretty scrapbooking paper in each one and keep one (pictured) by my desk to do adding of bills or writing of recipes. I keep the other by the kids' school area, to remind me of things that need to be sent in or when someone needs lunch money.
This requires no skill, just put the paper in and you're done! Plus, I've saved a ton of paper that I usually scribble things down on - now I can just erase it and start over!
 |
| The beautiful mixer is my Christmas present which I opened a *little* early. |
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Christmas shopping in October
All the kids are getting new pajamas, and a body board for our next trip to the beach. (whenever that may be...) So, those were left out of the following lists.
We're also spending a day or two at Disney World after Christmas as our family gift and family vacation for the year, so we tried to go light on presents this year.
6 year old:
Lego Space Shuttle
K'nex Mario
Lego kit
Magic Treehouse, books 5-8
Super Man t-shirt
4 year old:
(out of stock at Target, but Amazon has it.)
K'nex Yoshi
stomp rocket
rain boots- I got these at Zulily so there is no link. The only picture I could find was TINY too. They are blue stripes with a pirate logo on the front.
Iron Man t-shirt
3 year old:
Melissa and Doug truck
K'nex Luigi
take apart crane
rain boots - from Zulily as well. Green camo.
Bat Man t-shirt
Will-Be 2 year old:
dollhouse
I actually bought this at WalMart, at their last after-Christmas sale and got it for an insanely low price!
dress up clothes/crown/jewelry (I'm planning on picking most of this up after Halloween stuff goes on sale!) I already have this crown from Carter's and some little "junk" jewlery.
pillow pet
rain boots
backpack - I got it at Land's End for only $5! However, I can't find a picture of it now. It's pink with little green fish on it!
stockings:
Super Hero books
Target $1 items including
pots you can paint and then plant seeds in, socks, assorted candy
candy necklaces
toothbrushes
other odds and ends
Friday, October 07, 2011
accent vlog
Yup, I vlogged. I'm not going to the Blathering, but I thought it seemed fun and I was looking for something to blog about. Here it is:
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Dear,
Dear AT&T,
Promising one bundled price and then charging WAY OVER THAT PRICE, is not cool. Really, really not cool. Especially considering the giant pain in the ass it was to switch companies and be without service and get different answers every time we called.
Sincerely,
This Is Not Over
Dear Miss L,
I realize that you are in love with your newly acquired skill of opening the refrigerator, but that doesn't mean you actually need to eat/take bites of things in there every 4.5 seconds. It's only been one day and I'm already sick of it.
Love,
Breaking Out the Lock
Dear Weather This Week,
I love you.
Love,
Fall Is Here
Dear Husband,
Due to your extra overtime hours, I am also working extra overtime. I haven't seen you at dinner in 2 weeks. I think we need a vacation.
Love,
Miss You
Dear Cars and Car Insurance,
Why does one of you increase in price while the other decreases in value?
Signed,
Confused
Dear Miss L,
If I have to watch Rio one more time, I may misplace it for a month. Or two.
Love,
Mama with songs stuck in my head
Dear O,
Same goes for Tangled.
Love,
Mama
Dear Facebook,
Far be it from me to complain about a free service, but your new layout still sucks. I gave it time, I tried to work with it, but I still hate it.
Sincerely,
Yes, I Complained Anyway
Dear Children,
I'm so glad I finished vacuuming just in time for you to smash your crackers on the floor.
Signed,
Never Ending
Promising one bundled price and then charging WAY OVER THAT PRICE, is not cool. Really, really not cool. Especially considering the giant pain in the ass it was to switch companies and be without service and get different answers every time we called.
Sincerely,
This Is Not Over
Dear Miss L,
I realize that you are in love with your newly acquired skill of opening the refrigerator, but that doesn't mean you actually need to eat/take bites of things in there every 4.5 seconds. It's only been one day and I'm already sick of it.
Love,
Breaking Out the Lock
Dear Weather This Week,
I love you.
Love,
Fall Is Here
Dear Husband,
Due to your extra overtime hours, I am also working extra overtime. I haven't seen you at dinner in 2 weeks. I think we need a vacation.
Love,
Miss You
Dear Cars and Car Insurance,
Why does one of you increase in price while the other decreases in value?
Signed,
Confused
Dear Miss L,
If I have to watch Rio one more time, I may misplace it for a month. Or two.
Love,
Mama with songs stuck in my head
Dear O,
Same goes for Tangled.
Love,
Mama
Dear Facebook,
Far be it from me to complain about a free service, but your new layout still sucks. I gave it time, I tried to work with it, but I still hate it.
Sincerely,
Yes, I Complained Anyway
Dear Children,
I'm so glad I finished vacuuming just in time for you to smash your crackers on the floor.
Signed,
Never Ending
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