Come on

I never make New Years Resolutions. I think they just set you up for a failure. Why do you have to come up with a goal when a new year is starting? Why can't you just decide to do something new in June? Why January 1st? Those were my questions before. I am looking forward to 2010. I can't wait to say goodbye to 2009.
I should have taken the ringing of 2009 as sign. I truly believe that I was right. So this year I have decided that I will not ring in the New Year with black eyed peas and ham.
No way! I am skipping my traditional meal and going for a ribeye steak complete with pirogies, sweet corn and garlic bread. It can't hurt to try a new meal if the old one didn't work. I will be making a New Years Resolution too. Well actually a few resolutions. One of them...

I am taking my life back. It's time to cut some ties with obligations and people that are holding me back and keeping me busy from the important things in my life. I have already started working on it and it feels good to lift those weights off of me.
Cheers! Here's a toast to the good times!

Look at me mom

I couldn't resist taking a picture of Little E wearing his sister's church shoes. I told the kids to put on some shoes to come say goodbye to momma this morning. It was pretty cold out today, 33 degress to be exact and I wasn't letting them walk on the cold concrete. We have a ritual of daddy and the kids following me outside to get kisses, hugs and waves goodbye when I leave. I wasn't letting the cold weather stop us. So, Little E grabbed the quickest shoe he could shove his foot into. Actually, that is not the whole truth. For the past few days, he has been putting them on and walking around the house in them. I can't help but laugh.

Kids will be kids.

Not me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.Welcome to Not Me! Monday where you can see what things I have "not" been doing all week.

I did not order Christmas cards this past Tuesday morning to be picked for same day developing. Then rush around after picking the kids from after school care and daycare to get them picked up. The same cards that are sitting on my kitchen table in front of me to be finished and mailed out. Not me! I'm not that bad of a procrastinator!

I did not let my daughter convince me to order a chocolate lava cake at Chili's when it was 9:30 at night, an hour past her bedtime. Nope not me!

I would never after letting both kids eat such lava cake go to bed without brushing their teeth. I always brush the sugary sweets from their mouths before bedtime. Not me!!

I would never spend 2 hours of my employer's time refreshing a website to watch and wait for a giveaway. When I should be waiting on customers and giving them my undivided attention. Not me!

I would never forget to pull out the camera from the stroller while my kids were enjoying the snow at Celebration. Not me! What kind of mother forgets to take pictures of the event that they waited weeks to go to do. Drove an hour to do and didn't get THAT picture. Never, not me!

Mystery Box

Have you ever gotten a box at your door that was unexpected? I'm sure you have. I got one of those yesterday. I slowed down in front of the house as I was pulling around to back into the driveway. The kids could see the box and they were so excited! What made this box more enticing to Kay and Little E was that it had one of those smiles on the side of it. ( It's one of those Amazon boxes.) This is the conversation in the truck.

Kay: "Mom there's a box a the door!"

Me: "I see it. I see it."

Little E: "A box, momma! A box".

Me: "I wonder who sent that."

Kay: " I don't know, can we open it?"

Me: "Let's see who sent it first."

I continue to back into the driveway while we're discussing the curiosity of this box. As soon as I get the engine turned off they were squirming to get out of their car seats. (E is in a car seat and yes my 6 year old K is in a booster seat.) They ran over to the box and were inspecting it and couldn't wait until I got over there to look at it too. This was the conversation at the door.

Kay: "Mom look at it! It's a big box. It says it's from FedEx." (It had a fed ex drop off label)

Me: "Oh I see. Yes, FedEx delivered it sweetie." I answered her as I'm reading the label on the box. Hmmm, LTC Nutrition. Who the heck is that? I thought to myself.

After I got the kids, the box and all our stuff in the house I knew it would be a matter of minutes before they would want to open it. Thankfully they were more concerned with turning on the Christmas tree lights and our polar bear. I called DH to see if he purchased a Christmas gift for me and I shouldn't be opening the box. After I found out he didn't get me a surprise gift, I figured what the heck. I opened it without any little eyes watching ( how did I get so lucky) and found a Hot Wheels toy track inside. I closed the box quickly and told Little E and Kay to leave the box alone.
I knew who the box came from now. Haha! My brother who lives in North Florida is coming into town for Christmas and he must have had Little E's gift delivered to our house. It would have been helpful if he had called to tell me this ahead of time. It would have saved me the curiosity of what, who and why.
I called my brother after securing the package. I told him that I got a very large box delivered to me.Of course he thought he told me about it. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt since he does have a new baby this year. The holidays are crazy enough, but add a baby to a first time father. Well you know..it's crazy. He did tell me that Kay's gift would be showing up too and when they get in town (Christmas Eve) that he'll need to wrap them. Good luck on that one. I may need to step in and do it for him. Not sure where I'll find the time either, but I'm sure I can squeeze in another package to wrap in amongst the large pile I already have.
Geez, I don't even want to think about it.

All I want for Christmas is......

Photoshop Lightroom 8!!! At least I hope I win it because I won't be buying it.You can try to win it also. Just get on over to MckMama's website! You'll see all the details over there. So get out your keyboards and don't forget to link up to Facebook, Twitter and get a blog! You're going to need those tools to get into this contest! No Dear Santa letters will get you an entry.

Merry Christmas and good luck!

Not me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.



This is the first time I have participated in Not me! Monday. Now you can see more of my crazy ramblings.

I did not frantically call hubby after Little E turned on the Christmas tree this morning and it rotated but the lights didn't turn on. To only find out later, when I was more calm, that the plug had come loose. Nope, not me!

I did not let Little E eat the candy cane he got from Santa after crying and whining for ten minutes, even after he didn't eat his dinner. Nope, not me! Why kind of mother am I anyway? Not me!

I did not shoosh my daughter and tell her to wait while I was chatting on the phone, when I could have just answered her in the time it took do shoosh her. That was not me who should have just let her ask me her question and get on with my chatting. Nope not me!

It was not me who uploaded the Christmas pictures of the kids, picked out a design and never ordered them. Then thought about maybe making them after-Christmas cards instead. Nope not me!

I did not make hubby stay awake with me Tuesday night while I stayed up wrapping Christmas gifts for the kids at church. I would never force him to stay up until midnight when it was my idea to help out, not his. Nope not me! That would have been so insensitive.

I did not lay in bed ignoring the whining dog in his crate to go potty and make hubby get up and do it. Seeing how the dog who wanted to go out is My dog. Nope, Not me!


There you have it! A few of my Not mes for the week. Now go do yours!

Greener Pastures

I couldn't resist taking pictures of Kay and Little E in front of the cow pasture. These cows have been some fun entertainment for my kids and my niece and nephew. I'm glad that I got some pictures because my brother is selling his house. I'm going to miss those cows.

I mean the bovine, cows. MOO!! Not my family. Just a little bit of humor.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of Little E while I still had the camera in the truck. He was being pretty silly while enjoying his first piece of gum. Well actually his fourth piece. That was the first piece that he continued to chew and not swallow.

Photographs in my mind

Have you ever thought, " I wish I had my camera with me"? The thought might have crossed your mind on a routine outing and your kids did something silly. You wished you had it right then and you maybe even attempted a shot with your cell phone. I had the same thought this morning. But the only difference was that I wish I had slept with it. Crazy, I know.
I woke up late this morning, as I do every Saturday. I lay there debating if I should get up then or wait for the alarm to go off again after me hitting the snooze button. Then I heard my sweet little boy's voice. I looked up and expected him to be standing in my doorway but he wasn't there. I sat upright in my bed and could see the family room illuminated by colorful lighting. I quietly slipped out of bed and walked to the doorway of my room. There I could see that the Christmas tree was lit up and there on the floor was Little E. He was laying on his stomach, one arm around the cat and they were admiring the tree. It was a moment that I wish I could capture.
The thought crossed my mind about trying to get the camera and take his picture. But I knew if I attempted to do it, he would notice that I was up and it would be over. I quietly got back into my bed and told hubby about it. He got up and looked out the room at our son. It's one of those quiet, tender moments that you will never forget. Even if I couldn't take a picture, it will forever be in my mind.

Pretty Boy

I am proud to admit that I really like my Little Man's haircut. I have discovered that hair gel and de-tangling spray work wonders. Even a little hairspray has helped too. Of course by the time I pick him up from daycare his big boy hairdo is gone. It's ok though, everyone should be able to start thee day with a good hair day. One day he'll outgrow the rolling around on the floor, pulling my (just made bed) comforter over his head and rubbing his head into the couch and pillows. I'll miss those days when he gets older. For now, I'm enjoying the moments.

Yummy Recipe

Last night at my Bible study group we celebrated Christmas. We throw ourselves an annual Christmas party and exchange gifts and enjoy potluck food. Each of us was asked to bring a dish of our choice, whether sweet or salty. Of course most of it was sweets. Well, my favorite in particular was homemade ice cream sandwiches! And they're not made with ice cream. They're made with cool whip, milk, pudding mix and sandwiched between graham crackers. Oh they were heavenly. I had never had one before and the lady that made them said they would be a great dessert to make for my kids.
So here's the recipe. It's really, really easy.
1 4oz box of pudding ( she used vanilla flavored)
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups cool whip
16 graham crackers (halved)

In medium bowl, blend in the pudding to the milk with electric mixer. When well mixed, fold in cool whip. On a plate or pan placed 8 halved graham crackers and dollop the cool whip mixture on top of each. Top each with the other half to make a sandwich. Immediately freeze them for at least 2 hours. They will be soft enough to eat if serving thereafter. If you are planning to store them, move them from the pan to ziploc bags. When serving at a later time, they only take about 10 minutes to soften for eating.

You can vary on the pudding flavor and the graham cracker flavor. I'm going to try some strawberry flavored with chocolate graham crackers. I will update and let you know how they turn out.

Girls Night Out

This past Wednesday I went out with some friends with high school. The girl Ti (as I will call her) who invited me to go was in town for a week. She and her boyfriend live in New Jersey now. My other friend Ji whom I keep in contact with on Facebook was there with a few of her friends. The plan was to go to see New Moon followed by dinner at Carlos and Charlies. I was apprehensive about going because I had no idea who else was going and I don't like to leave my comfort zone. If I know you and we're in the same room I'm energetic and bubbly. If I don't know you, I'm shy and keep to myself.
I was running late, or at least I thought I was, to the movie. I had missed the exit of the interstate and called Ji to let her know what happened. She knew the area well enough to give me directions through town if I got off at the next exit. She said she would save me a seat in the theater. I got worried about that, only because I wasn't sure where the seat would be. I figured that I'd be stuck on an end some where next to ome one I didn't know.
I made it to the movie with 5 minutes to spare, even after grabbing a small popcorn and a Sprite. To my surprise, my friend Ji had saved me a seat right next to her. I was relieved and happy.
The movie was awesome! If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. I was an Edward fan after the first movie, but now I have switched to the other side. Anyways, I've gotten off track. It happen easily for me. Random thoughts all over the place.
After the movie was over we headed over to the restaurant. If you've ever been to Carlos and Charlies on a weekend, getting in the door is not an easy task. It's crazy crowded and you can't move with the amount of people in there. On a weekday, in the middle of the week. We were like the only ones there! Talk about preferred service! I have never been there for dinner, let me say their food is AMAZING!! They serve some really authentic mexican food. I highly reccomend the guacamole. It is fresh made.
There I go again, randomnness.
Hanging out with the ladies was exactly what I needed. We all went to high school together so sitting around laughing, reminiscing, having a drink and dinner was so fun! I didn't run in the same circle as any of the other ladies except Ji. So getting to know them now that we're older was fun. She and I were friends in school and still have kept in touch for the past 15 years after graduating. I am so looking forward to hanging out with some fun friends again. Just catching up, laughing, being us.