Vicky's Blog Journal

New Baby

2012-02-10T11:58:00.002-06:00

I had a friend of mine texting me yesterday about a few of them getting together and throwing me a baby shower for the last baby. That is something that I surely do not want. It was very nice of them but I do not like to be the center of attention and I honestly think that if you have more than one baby shower in your life that is kinda greedy. I just don't think its right for some strange reason. I don't mind going to other peoples double showers but I don't like to invite people to a shower for myself that I don't feel I should have. I suggested to them just having a girls day would be perfect. I only need a few things anyways so it would not be a big deal to buy them myself. One of the major things that we need is a stroller. We had one from Ben but ti was very old and we tossed it after Aidan was born. I don't think we will get a stroller travel system but it seems they all come this way now days. We will have to shop around. Maybe I could even find one at a garage sale this summer. That would be the best idea if you ask me. It saves money and you can get something nice.

Feeling Better

2012-02-10T11:53:00.002-06:00

I am so thankful that I am feeling better. The last few days I must have caught a bug or something because I was not feeling good at all. I was getting sick all the time and I was so tired. Today is actually the first day that I feel like getting out of bed. I had to the other days because I was the only one here but today I did not mind. Ken was so sweet he asked me everyday if he could take a personal day so that I could sleep and he could take care of things. I told him that he needed to go because he was going to get his promotion. He called me that day and told me that I was right he was promoted. I was very happy that he went that day or we would not have found out. He asked me today if he should also take off but I told him I was feeling a little better. I am very glad that I am because I have lots to do before the kids have their valentines day parties at school. We still have to go shopping for their treats for the class to pass around. Maybe tonight we will get that done. Going to bed last night at 8pm really helped out.

Motorcycle

2012-02-06T19:56:00.002-06:00

One thing that Ken has been wanting for many years is a motorcycle. I know it is not a mid life crisis but rather something that he has been wanting for many year. He does not have a license to drive one so that would be his first step in ownership. I don't really know how I feel about him having one. I know that they are dangerous and that scares me a little bit. Its not that I don't trust him driving it but what about all the other drivers on the road as well. If he does get one in the future I will look into an Alpinestars Jacket. I know they are made for motorcyclists because they cut through the wind and they also cover your body in case of an accident. Not that it would really protect you much but at least you would be fully covered to take some of the spill. They are pretty stylish and I think he would look good in one. We will have to see as we have other things we need before he gets a bike.

Long Day

2012-02-06T19:29:00.002-06:00

Well today was a long day. Aidan got up pretty early it was only 8:45. I know that is not early for some but I was exhausted at that time. I was already up at 7am to get Ben off to school. I also did not go to bed as early as I should have after we went to the super bowl party at a friends house. After lunch Maddie was ready for school and Aidan and I came home and I was very thankful he took a nap. I also was sleeping the second I hit that pillow. It is always amazing to me how much easier I can fall asleep for a nap than at night time. Ken had school right after work today and did not get home until 6:45pm. Then cub scouts for Ben started at 7pm so he had a bite to eat and left with Ben just five minutes later. Now its just Maddie, Aidan and I, and I am so tired. This pregnancy is really running me down that's for sure. I am glad for the most part my morning sickness is gone but now if I could just get some energy. I think I am going to turn into bed early tonight. I hope Ken is tired since he always goes to bed at the same time as me.

Cooking, Cleaning, and Watching TV!

2012-02-06T10:50:00.001-06:00

Contribution by Stevie Kirby
I recently purchased a new high definition television! I was excited to add some new Cable televisionchannels to my subscription at home. Watching my shows in high definition is so cool! I am a television junkie but I lead a very busy life. So I love that I can use the digital video recorder daily! I am not a couch potato, mind you. I am actually a little obsessive compulsive about cleaning and organizing my home so watching television, while important to me and very relaxing for me, is not my top priority. I love making my house into a home. I want it to be comfortable and clean without producing the feeling of being perfect and untouchable. I enjoy having guests over and cooking dinner for them. When I invite friends over for dinner, I light candles, play music through my television music channels, and open a great bottle of wine. It is the best way to share good times with great friends! Cooking is very therapeutic for me. Some people play tennis or golf to alleviate stress. I cook!

Feeling behind

2012-02-03T13:13:00.002-06:00

Well I have to admit I always feel so behind. It seems as if the laundry is always piling up and the housework never ends. With everyone wearing an outfit a day I have to do laundry everyday in order to just keep up. I am so lucky to have Ken because he is great at always doing laundry as well. I am also so tired all the time. I actually went to bed last night at only 9pm. I have to admit I slept wonderful. It seems like I never get enough sleep but I was feeling so refreshed when I woke up in the morning to get Ben ready for school.
This has by far been the worst pregnancy so far. Not that I have been unhealthy or had complications but because with having three babies already you seem to grow at an amazing rate. I have only gained three pounds so far but I am already sticking out like I am six months pregnant at just barely four months. It seems like the more kids you have the faster you grow. I don't know how my friend had been through five pregnancies. She is for sure a human super woman. I always tell Ken that I don't know if I am going to make it till the end. He always laughs and says "you say that every time". This time i'm pretty sure I mean it! I cant wait till summer. Not the hot summer but when you can open the windows and go outside without a jacket. A cool 68 degrees is perfect for me. It has been a mild winter and I am so thankful but still spring could not come fast enough:)

My music

2012-01-31T20:00:00.002-06:00

One thing that I always love is when my kids sing. I love listening to my little ones sing while they play music. I found a presonus audiobox that lets you record your very own music. I would love to record them singing while they are small and really enjoy me listening to it. Then when they are older it will be a cherished memory that I will have forever. It seems to be pretty reasonable in price to have some cherished memories forever. Ken would also like to use it to record some songs that he plays on his guitar as well. I might have to look into one for the family hobby.

A Business

2012-01-23T16:49:00.002-06:00

Ken always tells me that he would love to make fixtures like his job does at home and completely work from home and run his own business. I always encourage him to not quite his job because he does not have any clients and that means no money coming in as well as health insurance. We need his job right now. I do encourage him to try his dreams on the side if that is what he really wants to do but he would a stimulusfunding small business loans to get started. We might have to look into it later down the line but as for now he plans on sticking to his job. Maybe in the future he will start a business but right now I just don't think we have the time.

School is Back and Work

2012-01-21T16:36:00.000-06:00

Well school is back for Ken and I already hate it! I really wish that he would have taken a semester off some days but I know that I will be happier when I have this baby. It seems like there is always so much extra work to do now that he is going two days a week especially when on Mondays when there is cub scouts right when when he gets home. I am hoping that this semester goes really fast since it leads into spring.
I am also hoping that Ken gets a promotion that has been in the works at his work since November. They have been talking about changing things around and maybe promoting him but it takes a lot of time to get everything done. In the meantime he has to pretend that he knows nothing about the changes because he has inside sources and that could really jeopardize his chances at the job promotion. So for the mean time he will just act like he does not know what is going on and hopefully sooner rather than later he will have a nice new job title and more money to go along with it. I try to keep this in mind when I'm having a bad day because I know it is something he has really been wanting.

A Charm

2012-01-17T18:10:00.002-06:00

I have a few charms that go on necklaces that I never wear. I keep them because they are very special to me. As a matter of fact some of them are the very first pieces of jewelry that Ken gave to me when we were just dating. I really don't wear them because I don't have enough gold chains to keep them all on. These days the price of gold is so high that we just don't want to spend the money on getting a couple new chains right now. Right now I have a few chains and if I want to use a different charm on them all I do is change the charm and switch them out. It works for me and it saves me from spending more money on high priced gold.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND

2012-01-09T10:48:00.001-06:00

ANNA MARIA ISLAND
Guest post written by my buddy Royce Heath
We rented a beach house for a week last summer. The house ended up being a great place. We were very pleasantly surprised. A friend suggested that we look into Anna Maria Island, Florida. It was a really great little island about thirty minutes outside of Sarasota. We flew into Tampa and rented a car. The place that we stayed was a great deal. It had beautiful marble counter tops, home security Florida system, a pool, beach chairs, and all of the beach toys that you could want. My favorite part of the whole house was the large deck that looked over the ocean. My husband caught some fish off of the pier and we grilled them right on the porch. I made margaritas and just relaxed the entire vacation. I had such a great time. I hope that we will be able to go back again next year. The water was a beautiful blue and the beaches a pretty white sand. Florida is a great place and in the United States, just a plane flight away!

Yoga

2011-12-22T10:40:00.002-06:00

One thing that I have always wanted to try was doing yoga. I have heard that it is very relaxing and really relieves some stress. With three kids you can imagine that sometimes I can get pretty stressed out. I think that I deal with stress pretty well but I would like to deal with it in some sort of work out. I seen that yoga blocks can help you with just that relaxation that I need. I love everything about it do far because I like the relaxing music that they play while you are doing the yoga. It also increases your flexibility which i'm sure is good for your body as well.

Nice relaxing Vacation

2011-12-22T10:33:00.003-06:00

Well today is the last day that Ken is working this year. It sounds like a long time but I wish it was longer. It will be the first time in a long time that we will not be going to Texas when Ken is on vacation. I am not sure if we will do anything while he is home but maybe we can plan a small trip someplace fun before he goes back to work. Maybe to a hotel with an indoor water park or something. I don't know if they would be busy so close to Christmas but I hope not. That would be fun to do with the kids. Maybe we should look into that.

Medical Cart

2011-12-20T15:28:00.002-06:00

I know this might sound a little crazy to some readers, but did you ever see a
medical cart at your doctors office or hospital and wish that you had one? To be honest I could use that cart for so many things. The one thing that I like about it is that it has a lot of drawers and can be used for sorting things. I love to have things organized. With that said I have to confess that I may love things organized but our house is a disaster. Things are all over the place. The only thing that I can say is organized is our bills and paperwork. The rest of the stuff is just about everywhere. I guess that's what happens when you have three small kids and a tiny house. A medical cart would really come in handy. Maybe someday when I get things more organized I will purchase one for myself.

New Business

2011-12-20T15:14:00.003-06:00

When I was 16 years old I already was working three jobs. I tried to keep myself busy during the summer since I was not in school. I worked at a pharmacy, and ice cream shop, and a electronics store all at the same time. I would make it so my days were mixed up to give me a little variety of work. Working at the ice cream shop made me really want to have my own business some day. I did not know there were small business equipment financing so that you could purchase the machinery that you need to get started. I am sure that it is a huge up front cost. That is very nice that there are places to offer you payment options so that you do not go into debt before you can even get started. I still have not opened my own business and right now I don't know if I ever will. I have other interests but its nice to know there is help if you are interested in that sort of thing.

Going out

2011-12-20T15:11:00.002-06:00

Tonight I am pretty excited because a friend and I are going to have dinner together. I have been wanting to go to Panera bread for some soup and so has she so we decided to make a date. It will be nice to get away from the kids and husbands for a little while and enjoy some girl time. Not to mention they have my favorite soup the broccoli cheddar that is so yummy. It is not an expensive date but it does not have to be for us. I just enjoy the company and the food. I'm really looking forward to meeting tonight.

North Face

2011-12-05T19:12:00.002-06:00

Well I have heard of the North Face about a million times. As a matter of fact you really can not go out in public without seeing someone wearing on of their jackets. I have heard many great things about their jackets. I know a few friends that have their jackets as well. They have only said good things about them. I guess that would mean they are of good quality. I really did not need to buy jackets for the kids this year but next year I might and I will probably give them a try for myself. I did not know that in addition to jackets they also have a north face backpack. That would be good for Ben at school since his backpack zipper has already broken on this years school back pack. I guess that's because we did not buy a good quality one. They always say you get what you pay for on merchandise. Next year we know to get a better brand name back pack.

Lessons

2011-12-05T19:05:00.002-06:00

Well one thing that I have always wanted my kids to take was piano lessons. I am ashamed to say that I still have not even started getting them going with them yet. I know they are old enough I just have not got around to do it just yet. I have talked to the piano teacher and I know I need to get a keyboard for them to practice on or the lessons would be pointless. I always wanted to take piano lessons as a child but we never had the space for a piano and they did not have keyboards back then that would be good for lessons. When I first meat Ken he took guitar lessons and I always thought that was neat. I did not know how to read music but Ken was doing really good playing numerous songs on the guitar. I know he would like to try lessons again maybe that would be a good gift idea for him this year. I might just look into it.

Forgetting to Blog

2011-12-05T12:32:00.002-06:00

Gosh It always seems like we are so busy that I almost forget to blog these days. With Ken in school and Ben having homework now every single night its like we never get a minutes to ourselves and when we do we just want to relax in the quite. Our new thing is sitting with all the lights off in our living room with only the Christmas tree lights on. We just sit and talk about our days and about the kids and what they are learning and what we need to work on with them. Its nice to sit and just look at the Christmas tree in the evening now that we got it up this past weekend. We went on Friday to get the tree before Ben and Ken had to go decorate the cub scouts float. Ken got the lights on the tree (he always does it) on Saturday. I used to do the lights but Ken always said he could do better so from then on I let him! On Sunday the kids were very excited to hang the ornaments on the tree. Now it is beautifully decorated in our living room. I am also happy Aidan has not even attempted to remove any ornaments.

Skiing

2011-11-25T11:21:00.002-06:00

One thing that Ken always mentions giving a try is going skiing on our next vacation. I am the type of girl that loves a tropical vacation and he likes one full of adventure. I am honestly terrified to ski. I know that I would get to the top of the lift and probably just cry because I would not know how to get down the mountain. I would be so scared to try and ski down I would just stay up there forever. There are a lot of people that are really good at skiing. They have many different accessories that go to a ski outfit like Black Diamond Poles. I don't really know what the difference is when doing down a hill but i'm sure that there is one. Maybe someday Ken will get me to try it, but I know that I will sure put it off as long as I am able.

Claw Foot

2011-11-25T11:15:00.002-06:00

My very best friend growing up had a much bigger house than I did, and it had more bathrooms as well. I never really cared that her house was bigger because to be honest we were at my house most of the time anyways. One thing that I did love about her house was her bathroom. I always loved and I actually do still want to have a claw foot tub someday when we have a bigger house. I would like one bathroom with a claw tub and one with a big jacuzzi tub in our bedroom. I love to relax in the tub. I really do not do it much now because we have a metal tub and the water always gets cold so fast. I don't see us remodeling our bathroom soon so I prolly will not take to many more baths as of right now. Some day I hope to have my dream bathroom, in my dream house.

Special Christmas Memory

2011-11-06T16:18:00.002-06:00

I have a friend that makes a personal kids Christmas stockings for each child that she has as a little special something. I think that is a very nice tradition. My kids all have Christmas stockings and they all look forward to Santa filling them up each year. I am not really a crafty mom but I think that I am getting a little better as the years go by and I have to make more crafts with the kids. I also have to make sure the kids have crafts for their parties at school so I am seeing more and more cute craft ideas on different websites that I come across. I don't really know if making a stocking is something that I want to do but I will keep looking to find the perfect Christmas tradition.

Eye lashes

2011-11-06T16:00:00.008-06:00

When Ben was born the very first thing that everyone noticed on him was how long his eyelashes were. As the other kids came about they also have very long eyelashes. Ken does not have long eyelashes so I know it does not run in his family. My mom always told me that I had really long ones as a child too. I still get comments that people think I am wearing mascara when I am not because mine are so long. I have never used fake eyelashes but I have always been tempted to see what they would look like on me. During Halloween you always see them selling in the costume section. I guess my kids will never need to look into www.besteyelashenhancer.net because they have already been blessed with them. However I do know some friends that would really be interested in getting longer lashes with out having fake ones put on. This might be an easier way to get them. It is suppose to make them have more volume and texture, something that every girl wants. I love eyes and I think that is the first thing that people notice on your face. Why not make them pop out with a little extra help.

WIsh I blogged more.

2011-11-06T15:52:00.003-06:00

I always wish that I blogged more once I get started. It is so hard for me to get doing again since I always feel we are so busy. So much happens in our daily lives that I should writ it down so that the kids can read it when they are older.
Some new happening that are going on in the next few weeks are exciting for us. Madison agent has called us and she has an audition for a clothing model in a couple weeks. She is very excited. And let me tell you if they pick her they are going to my all time favorite store. It would be so neat for us to see her in their sales paper. I went shopping and found her some really cute pants to wear to her audition and I cant wait to see how it turns out. We still have a few weeks to wait.
Ben is doing very good in school. We have upcoming parent teacher conferences with him soon. his teacher always tells me how good he is and I could not be more proud.
Aidan is talking complete sentences and is like a ten year old with his thoughts. I tell you if speech is amazing. He is also getting so big these days. Yet he still is so little to me.
Ken is very excited for Christmas soon and I am excited to go get our tree. We are hoping to get it at the beginning of December this year.

Good to Know

2011-11-03T18:03:00.002-05:00

It is good to know that there are many places around that can help you if you should need the help with an addiction. I never really knew places like malibu rehab treatment center were even around. I guess you would not really know about them if it was not in your town. I have noticed that there are more and more places like these in our homes towns that we have ever had before. I guess it is because there is a higher demand for places like these for suffering people. Its very sad when a member of your family or a young person turns to drugs but it is very common. Some may not even know it is going on in their own homes unless its to late. I hope that nobody in my friend group ever has to use this place but maybe someone passing by my blog.

Christmas Shopping

2011-11-03T17:40:00.002-05:00

It is that time of year again. My husband is a huge fan of this time of year. While I love it as well Ken is always worried the kids will not have enough gifts and I hate that the most. The kids are happy with anything they get as a gift and I wish Ken would realize that sometime soon. He always thinks the kids do not have enough. I know its because he wants them to have everything but I am the opposite. I don't want them to have everything but to be thankful for the blessing God gives us. I know Ken feels the same he just gets over joyed with the season and love to buy gifts for people and for his family. I am excited to go get a Christmas tree this year since it has been a few years since we have had one at our house. Aidan has never even seen a tree in our house. It should be a good year. I'm looking forward to spending it with family and friends.

Halloween

2011-10-12T14:06:00.002-05:00

Well Halloween is just around the corner. I have to admit that I am always a little behind when it comes to finding a costume for the kids. Ken was asking me if I was going to dress up this year because I did and he did also last year. I told him that I don't think I will be this year, I have not even figured out what the kids are wearing. I am not to crazy on spending a ton of money on a costume. I do have a costume for Madison that I bought after Halloween last year so I know she will be a snow princess. As for the other kids I have no idea I will have to check my Halloween costume pile in the basement. I know some people are really into spending a fortune on sexy school girl outfits and other costumes for their children but i'm not that into it. I love the holiday but spending that much for a day of candy collecting seems silly. I don't think bad of those that buy costumes every year but it is just not for me. I would rather have a nice outfit that I can wear all year!

Book forms

2011-10-11T16:21:00.002-05:00

I am pretty sure that when I mention the work scholastic every mom that has a kid in school thinks about books. I know that with two kids in school I am blessed to see every month a book order form that they are sending home in my children's backpacks asking me to buy the books. While we do not buy books from them every time we do every once in a while. I try to encourage the kids to be readers some are easier than others. Madison is a total reader and would look at books all day long. Ben likes to as well but not as much as Maddie. I try to get Ben to pick out books that he can read himself to better his skill. Aidan right now just loves books and likes to pick out all the pictures and show them to me. I noticed that there were some scholastic coupons that might come in handy. I will have to give them a look.

Getting used to it

2011-10-11T16:15:00.002-05:00

Well at the end of the month the first official trimester of school will be over. I have to say it was a long trimester. Ben's school divides the year into three instead of four what I am used to having. Ben has transitioned to the new school very well. He needs some practice on his reading because he is a little behind. I know that is our fault because over the summer we slacked a little bit on making him read everyday like he was doing during the school year. Besides needing more practice he is getting all A's on his progress report that was sent home last Friday. Madison is loving school and things it just a big play day even though she does not realize that she is learning so much. Aidan is finally used to her going to school three days a week and no longer cries in which I am very thankful.
I on the other had still hate very much waking up to get Ben off to school but I know that I do not really have a choice so I must push forward. I am sure looking forward to summer vacation again that's for sure. Ben is really getting used to waking up since he does it everyday. He now wakes up on the weekends at 7am. He is so considerate of us though he just sits on the couch and watched cartoons or reads a book until we all get up. What a blessing that it to still sleep in on the weekends.

Job Security

2011-10-07T19:01:00.002-05:00

Well these day nothing is for sure. I always worry about Ken at work even though he tells me that he is fine and that the company is not letting anyone go at the moment. It all came to fast last time and I was really worried. It seems like more and more places are cutting back and relying more on computers. That means that Web Developer Jobs should be on the rise. Almost every single company has a website these days and it is their main way to reach their customers. I think that if you don't have a web page in this world that you will never make it as a business. Maybe that's the way to have job security.

Batteries

2011-09-15T17:27:00.002-05:00

With three kids in the house one thing that I swear by is rechargeable batteries. Every kids toy takes batteries and every thing for a baby takes batteries as well. The baby swing and the bouncer all use batteries. I think with Ben I used to use a set of batteries a week. It seemed like the swing was the only thing that would keep him happy. I found a secret place that offers all types of batteries that you can use for just about everything. They have nimh rechargeable batteries and batteries for tons of my kids toys. It is so much easier to spend a little more for batteries and to just plug them in over night than to run to buy new ones. It saves my family money every year.

Gift Ideas

2011-09-15T17:10:00.002-05:00

When I first meet Ken I had the worst time trying to think of a gift for him. Every time Christmas would come along I would ask my friends what to get him and they would always suggest the same thing. Tools and bulova watches were top on the list. I knew however that Ken would never wear a watch. To be honest I am thankful because Men that wear watches are not attractive to me. I hate that people always get watch lines. If he would wear a watch as more of a dress up thing that would be fine with me. I think these watches are really nice and they are not as expensive as you might think. I might just start my Christmas shopping a little early.

School in Session

2011-09-15T17:06:00.002-05:00

Well school for both kids is in full swing. I have to admit I am so not used to having to get up at 7am in the morning to get Ben off to school. I am not by any means a morning person. It is a real struggle for me to get going in the morning but I know that I have no other choice. For some strange reason God has blessed me with kids that also love to sleep late all these years and I have really enjoyed it. I have been very thankful for my mom since school started because she comes over every morning to sit at my house while Maddie and Aidan sleep so that I can run Ben to school. That way I do not have to wake them in the morning. It sure has been a blessing to me. I have sometimes found myself crawling back in bed after dropping him off because the other kids are still sleeping. Today was the first day I stayed awake. I wonder if my body is getting used to it.

What to use

2011-09-08T16:23:00.002-05:00

Last week Ken and I decided to take the kids on a factory tour. We seen how different things were made and the kids thought it was really interesting. I noticed that there were about a million different things running through a metal hose. I was reading about the company later and found out that different chemicals need to be ran through a metal hose so that it does not break down a regular hose that we think of using in our household use. I always like touring different places and learning about how things are made. The kids had a blast and we all learned a little about the company.

been a While

2011-08-19T15:00:00.001-05:00

I can nto believe that school is already starting. It seems like lately we have been really busy because we have been doing so many things. We have the kids registered for school and we almost have all the supplies. We have not really had to much time to do many other things like play our Nintendo Wii. As a matter of fact we have not even got any new games in a while. I like playing some games with Ken but it has been so long that I might just suggest doing it tonight. I know Ken really enjoys it and I think later we might have some time. We will have to see but I might suggest my favorite game wheel of fortune.

Cosmetics

2011-08-18T20:26:00.002-05:00

One thing that I have noticed as I get older is that I always getting a pimple or two when its my time of month. I never used to be this way but now that I am older it seems they come more often and they also last a whole lot longer as well. It takes me forever to get rid of one once it plants itself on my face. I do know that when I use different cosmetics it tends to bring more pimples to my face. It must be the different things that they have in them that causes them to give me mild acne. I have been thinking about trying orogold but I have put it off because more pimples scare me. I might just suck it up and try them out soon however. I really like what they have to offer.

Insurance

2011-08-12T22:40:00.002-05:00

One thing that we really do not even want to think about is loosing someone in our family. I do not think that I could even bare with the pain of the loss not to mention affording the proper burial for them. Ken and I have really been looking into life insurance rates this past few months. Not just for ourselves but also for our children as well. A parent is never suppose to bury their child but it is an insurance that everyone should have. It could always be passed on to them later in life. Ken actually had one as a child that his dad had given to him. It was not a huge policy but it will help in case something should happen. I would actually like to have a policy for each family member by the end of the year.

Winter

2011-08-06T09:52:00.001-05:00

Oh I do not even want to begin to think about winter time already. While I am a little sick of this heat wave that we have been having I like summer much better than winter. I do not like to have to get the kids ready to run down the street and begin to dress them in their coats and hats a half hour ahead of time. It is a lot of work. I also do not like having to go to the van to shovel my way out of the drive way. We are not allowed to use snow chains in my state so we have to make sure the driveway is always clear of snow. Last year was rough with the big snow that we had. I think we were completely snowed in for a few days. Ken was even off work one day because the place was closed. That was nice. If winter has to come I would like a snow like that again.

Concert tonight

2011-08-06T09:49:00.000-05:00

Well tonight Ken and I have asked my mom to watch the kiddos while him and I go to a concert. We have not been to a concert in a a few years so it should be a fun time. I have been looking forward to it for a long time. It will be nice to go see one of our favorite country singers. We don't really go out very often to do something so it will be nice. Neither Ken nor I have been to the stadium before so it will be new to both of us. Im sure it will be fun tonight. A break is much needed once in a while.

A little Better

2011-08-05T17:37:00.003-05:00

If you want to know something about me than one fact would be that I have not and never will smoke. Growing up my mom was a smoker and I always hated the smell and I always told myself that it is something that I would never personally do when I was of age. I have to admit that in high school my best friend and I did try it one time and I tried to lite a cigarette and I almost threw up. I never again wanted something like that in my mouth. I also did not want to marry a smoker because I did not want to kiss one and I did not want to smell the smoke that a cigarette produces. I am very thankful that my husband does not smoke and that our kids are not around the second hand smoke. I really do not know anything about the tobacco industry but I have a friend that has a husband that has an electronic cig. Now personally before him I did not even know about them. I was impressed that they do not leave any smell on your clothes or in the air. It is nice so he can have his addiction and the kids are not at risk. I personally would still not like my family members smoking but it is nice to know the smokers have options.

Thinking deep about The Help book

2011-08-02T19:23:00.000-05:00

Guest post written by Abby Steihm

It's kind of weird to read a book set in the 60s talking about the civil rights movement. It's just that because that was so long before my lifetime, it's hard to imagine a time like that. Granted, things definitely aren't perfect now, but reading The Help and imagining that as normally every day life is just so strange. It's a little startling too, but in a really positive way in that it's a good thing that I see all the wrong in it. Hopefully lots of people feel the same way.

I'm just about winding down with the book. I barely have any chapters left to read, but I'm really excited about the movie coming out. I'm interested to see how everything is portrayed in it. I was looking up some info on the casting for it and while I was doing that I ran across a website about satellite internet packages. I showed it to my husband and after that I decided to click HERE and change over our internet service to it.

I'm really excited to see how evil Hilly is in the movie because boy is she evil in the book. I'm really interested to see how that actress comes across as that character.

A Loan

2011-07-08T14:44:00.002-05:00

I remember one time not to long ago that Ken and I really needed loans ot cover some of our deb and to buy everyday thingst. It was a terrible situation. We really did not know what to do anymore. Ken was out of work after Ben was born for a half of year and it was not something that we planned for with a new baby. We looked into Equity loans on car titles but thankfully were not approved. I am just glad to say that time in our life is over. It really made our relationship extra hard and with that I know we can make it through anything. Not getting the loan actually helped us find a different way to make things work. I am happy to say while now we do have some debt we will never be where we used to be back then. We are both very happy for that.

The Boys

2011-07-08T14:41:00.002-05:00

I have to say that I love having a husband that is always there to have family time. Not just with our small family but also with my family. I wish that we were closer and did more things with his family as well but it always seems like everyone is to busy for family get togethers. I like to get together with family and also friends more than just for a holiday or special occasion. I was actually shocked when Kens dad said they should come over for a summer drink on our new patio. I can not wait to get the furniture set up so that we can have them over. It will be nice to have a family get together for no reason at all. I just wish there were more of them.

Swimming

2011-07-08T14:36:00.002-05:00

One thing I am sure going to miss is swimming. his past weekend we sure did a lot of it. We went to the beach as well as to our friends pool in Monee. It was very nice. The kids were doing great in the water. Ken was wishing he had checked out some swim goggles review. He was telling me that he really likes to swim under water. I love to swim. I have to say it is one of my favorite things to do with also being roller skating. I have never taken the kids skating before so I really don't know how they would do, as a matter of fact I think Ken and I only went one time together. Maybe we can plan a skate day this summer. I know we need to get Ken some swim goggles because we have many plans for camping and swimming this summer. As a matter of fact in two weeks we are going to do just that swim again. I better get ordering them.

Getting Skinny

2011-07-08T14:31:00.002-05:00

Getting skinny is for sure not an easy task. I have to say I have tried many times to stay with a hard core diet but it is very hard if everyone in the house is not with you on the same diet. With ken and I we always snack when the kids go to bed and I know that is a very terrible thing. I always tell him that we need to stop doing that and we would probably loose a lot of weight. We could always try the best diet pills on the market as well as cutting back on our late night eating. I am sure if we would make a few changes it would be easy for us to drop a few pounds. I always hate being over weight and so doe Ken. We need to start working together.

Air Dry

2011-07-08T14:28:00.001-05:00

One thing that I wish I had was a clothes line in our yard. I am always hanging my laundry out on the awnings of our house to dry them. I love line dried clothes and it also saves money and a lot of it. It seems to me that clothes on the line dry much faster anyways. I am finally almost caught up with laundry since we had the long holiday weekend. I did not wash any clothes because we just did some family things so I sure fell behind with a family of five. I am almost caught up and that is thanks to nice weather and being able to hang things outside as well. Maybe next year we can get a nice clothes line for my laundry. I sure would love to have one.

Blowers

2011-07-01T22:07:00.002-05:00

Until last year I never used a blower for the leaves in our yard. I would usually just use the old fashioned rake and rake them up. I still use the rake but I have come to realize that cleaning things off the driveway is much better with the shindaiwa. The blowers have such power that they take off things that I thought would take months to leave in the rain. It takes up not just dry leaves but also the wet ones that have been there form the past fall season. I love to use the blower as well to clean out the garage once in a while. The kids are always playing with sand on the floor and it make the job so much easier than using a broom. I simple grab the blower and its done in a few short minutes. As a matter of fact I have to do that again this weekend.

New Camera

2011-06-16T10:51:00.002-05:00

Well it has been a very long time since Ken and I have been in the market for a video recorder. As a matter of fact it has been about eight years or so and they have really changed since we bought ours. We bought the latest model when we were shopping for it back then and it was also a very small model compared to the types that they have had back then. Now however when we look around at them we notice that they don't even use tapes anymore. Most of them record directly onto an sd card or some other type of digital device.Compact digital cameras are sure getting smaller these days. I like them small because it makes them a lot easier to carry around with you. We are not yet looking to buy a new one because ours works just fine but I am going to look online when I start to research them.

Baptism

2011-06-16T10:42:00.002-05:00

I have been to quite a few baptismal events in my days. As a matter of fact I have quite a few God children as well. During this really special event I always try to get
personalized gifts for kids because it is so much more personal. Last time I got my God son and his brother a personal nightlight with their names written on a glowing cross. I really loved them. It was more special than the average gift of money or a new toy. I was happy to see their mom liked it as well because she has them displayed in their rooms. I love personal gifts. It makes them more special in my opinion.

T-Ball

2011-06-16T10:38:00.002-05:00

Well the time has finally come for Madison that she is old enough to play t-ball. She was very excited to be able to play since she has been ready since Ben started playing two years ago. Ken is coaching her t-ball team this year and she could not be any happier about it. She gets very excited for practice and for games. I know she will miss it when it is over at the end of June but then maybe we will try ballet or something different.

Zumba

2011-06-15T19:54:00.002-05:00

I have been considering taking a zumba class at my local park district this summer if they offer one. I have heard many good things about the dance and exercise. I really have never seen it done before but I have heard that it is loads of fun so that interested me. I don't yet have a
yoga mat but then again I do not know if I really need one either. I would like to take the class if I could only find the time to take for myself. I might just try to squeeze it in this summer because I love having a little time for myself after having three kids all day every day.

Miss it

2011-06-15T19:50:00.003-05:00

One thing that I really miss doing is my blogging hobby. It seems to take a lot of stress off me and with three kids I could use a good stress relief. I seem to be so busy with baseball and t-ball practice and games lately. It seems like they are almost everyday of the week. As much as I love to watch both the kids at their games I am looking forward to the end of the month because both sports are then over for the summer. I will have a lot more free time during the evenings and so will Ken. our patio just might get finished and that will be really nice to sit and relax in a comfy patio set. The kids are also attending VBS this week and they are really enjoying that as well. So not just my nights are busy but also my mornings this week. It will all be over soon and we will be able to enjoy our summer vacation.

More Space

2011-06-11T20:48:00.002-05:00

One thing that I would love to have is more space. I would love to have a place that I could do a few things. I could go somewhere else to get away and it would also be nice to have a place to put some things so we were not so crowed in this house. I think a lot of people have steel buildings so they can put things like their outdoor equipment. It would make more room in our garage. Maybe we could actually park in our garage. That would be nice.

My dads ATV

2011-06-04T21:55:00.002-05:00

My dad recently purchase an ATV from one of his friends. He got a great deal on it. He has always wanted on a long back as I can remember. He uses it all over his yard from moving things like trailers and he even gives my kids rides just for fun. He has been looking into atv winches for the past couple months. He said he has many uses for it but i think he just wants one. I have to admit though it sounds kind of cool to have and could prove to be very useful. I just might have to get him one for Fathers day coming up. This would be one gift I know he would love.

My Business

2011-05-28T11:19:00.002-05:00

I really do not have a business of my very own. I know it is a dream of Kens to have his very own business. I have tried things before like selling gourmet food as well has selling a woman's makeup line but I seemed to buy more that I ever made in profits. It was not much of a business for me but maybe because I never made got business cards printing that had my name and phone number on them. I am not really one of those pushy sales men so I guess I chalked my no business up as that I am not a good salesman. I don't think selling is the right business for me. I am not very pushy and I don't like to be either. I know if Ken decided to start his own business someday I will be very happy to help him make it grow. I will not be the pushy sales girl but I will help him with the advertising.

The Best Solution

2011-05-28T11:09:00.002-05:00

I have not really decide what I thought was the best hair loss treatment is on the market. I have seen many thing that promise to restore hair growth for people that have lost it. I really don't know if I even believe that hair restoration is a good idea at all. I have never lost my hair but I am sure that it can really cause a problem with some peoples emotions. I know hair loss is not only a thing that happens to the males in the world anymore. It can also happen to females. I think I would be very upset if it happened to me and I would try just about anything on the market to get my hair growing again. I know that sometimes they say that hair loss runs in the family of the moms dad and that determines if you will or will not loose your hair. That might be the reason that Ken is not loosing all his hair just yet. I know that grandpa Neis has a lot of hair where Kens dad has almost none. Kens moms dad has some hair but not much. I guess you will have to be the judge if that is true of not in your family. If you would like a solution you could always try a hair loss treatment.

Having a Baby

2011-05-18T14:12:00.003-05:00

When you first think of someone having a baby the first thing that pops into my mind is that I want a baby too, but the second is that they should buy black and mild cigars. Cigars are often passed out by the father when a new baby is born. I remember that Ken passed out some chocolate cigars and some smokable cigars when Ben was born. It was a little something that he as the father enjoyed doing. I have known quite a few new fathers that have passed them out. I think it is really nice because it also makes the father feel special as well. I personally love the small of a cigar when I smell someone smoking one that is walking bye. I am not for smoking at all but once in a while it is nice to smell a good cigar. I think that having a baby is the perfect time to pass out a nice smelling cigar in honor of the newborn.

God Son

2011-05-18T14:09:00.002-05:00

I was so happy the other day when my cousin sent me some new pictures of my God son. I have not seen him since November but I was really surprised at how big he has grown. I have to say he has also gotten even cuter than I remember. I wish they lived closer so that we could see each other more but I am thankful that I get to see them a few times a year. Him and his brother are getting go big and I can not believe they will be four this year. They sure did grow up fast.

Lingerie

2011-05-18T13:56:00.002-05:00

Well lingerie is not really something that I like to wear or to buy for that matter. I prefer to sleep in a nice old tee shirt and some shorts. I don't know why but I always think that if something happens in the night I want to be dressed and ready to go if I need to be up in a hurry. I do not want to have to waste time having to fine clothes that are appropriate to walk out the door in with my kids. I did not know there was so many place online to buy plus size intimate apparel anyways. I thought that they did not even make it if you want my honest opinion. I could never see myself in it so I thought others thought the same as well. I guess you can find just about anything online if you really looked around. Well if you are looking for some really nice apparel in bigger sizes this is the place to find it.

In the News

2011-04-27T13:54:00.003-05:00

I don't know if you watch the news but I do almost every night. I like to find out what is going on in the world an in my community. I noticed that the other day on the news that there was a big controversy with the diet pill industry because some of them are making false claims of weight loss and now they are getting in trouble for it. Well I think it is about time if you ask me. I can not believe that companies can just make claims like that and not have any proof anyways. That is nice to know they are finally cracking down on them. I have looked at many reviews of different weight loss products on the market. Just the other day I was looking at http://www.oxyeliteproreviews.org/ wondering if they were actually legitimate reviews or if they were also false. It seems they have nice reviews but as you heard on the news that does not always mean the product is good. I will do a little more research before I make my judgement. I encourage you to do the same as well.

Maddie

2011-04-27T13:38:00.002-05:00

Maddie loves to look at out pictures of when she was a baby. It was my idea to look through all the old pictures and get a slide show put together for her to always look at when she wants. We have the tv to display it so why not get one going with some nice music behind it. This was one of the pictures that she insisted be on there because she loved how she was sticking her foot up at the camera. I liked it too because I love baby feet. I loved Maddie as a baby. She really loved her mom and I hope she always will.

We are Secure

2011-04-27T13:16:00.002-05:00

When we first moved into our house a few years back it was totally a secure house. It had the top of the line in home security. It was not activated but that soon changed after we moved into it. I wanted to make sure our family was safe so Ken thought it was a good idea to again pay for the home security system. He first did a little research and found out what place had the best
home automation software that would work with the system that was already installed. It then would save us money of installing a new system and it also saved us money on our home owners insurance policy because we were protected from theft and also had a direct link to the fire department if the house should catch on fire. Today we are still fully protected and that really gives us a since of security. I like knowing that we are safe home and away from home.

Black Heads

2011-04-27T13:00:00.002-05:00

Did you ever see a person with a ton of blackheads on nose? Well I have to say I used to work with a girl that had a really beautiful face and it was pimple free but she really had a ton of black heads on her nose and it made her look terrible. I do know that some people do not even realize that they are there. I personally do not really know how you could miss a huge black spot on your face. You can not only get them on your face but they are also very popular in your ears and places that you can not see. I know that I am always using a very popular over the counter solution when I get a black head on my face. I try to get the right away because I do not like how they look and I always feel like they spread if not caught in a fast manor. I am sure that's not true but I consider them just like a pimple so why not get rid of it. Do you have a black head solution?

Feeling Better

2011-04-27T12:53:00.002-05:00

Well Madison is now feeling better thankfully. It was nice that the other kids did not get the fever that she had. They did however get the cough and they are still coughing today. It is a terrible cough and I am really hoping that it goes away soon because if it doesn't then we will be taking them all to the doctors office. That is not really something that I wanted to do because Maddie has to go to the doctors in the beginning of May anyways to get her kindergarten shots. She will not be in kindergarten this year buy our doctors office recommends getting the shots when the child is only four years old because it is easier on them when they are younger rather when they are five years old. I have to agree I did Ben's earlier as well and I was glad I did. I am not looking forward to getting Maddie's done but I am sure she will do better than Ben because she is always a little more brave than he is lately.

Seedlings

2011-04-27T12:42:00.002-05:00

April showers are for sure bringing May flowers in our party of the state. It has been raining for the past few weeks over here and to be honest we are pretty sick of it. There are so many things that we want to start doing outside. Ken wants to work on the patio he is creating and we also want to get the driveway sealed this year. We also really want to get the garden going and getting the dirt flipped over ready for planting. Last year we started our plants inside the house because it was cold outside still and because some say that they need to be started indoors. I noticed that they now have hydroponics to help you get things started. They are really suppose to get your plants going by regulating a few things to give them a healthy start. I know Ken is planning on getting the garden started sometime soon. We really just need for it to stop raining and for the yard to dry up a little bit. The grass still has not been mowed but all our neighbors have already mowed theirs but our was not really that long yet. Why mow it if you can not even tell it is long. There is so much to do yet nothing we can do because of the weather.

Retire in Style

2011-04-27T12:30:00.002-05:00

One thing that Ken and I really hope to do is to be able to retire in style. We want to be able to go on vacation when ever we want to and to be able to just pick up one day and leave for a while. I know that we should be saving more for our retirement right now but we are so far doing a pretty good job. We never use his 401k for a loan or to use it to pay anything. We always just keep it in savings and continue to add to it in hopes that it will grow. One thing that I would love to be able to do is get an rv and travel the country without worrying about how the bills are going to be paid or who will be taking care of the house. I would have to get some really good rv insurance so that we would be covered in case of an accident as well. It would also cover if the rv was in a hail storm or if someone else hit us as well. I like to be covered in case anything would happen. I think that it would be very cool to travel the countryside and stop why ever we would feel like sleeping. We could just park at a camp ground and relax for a while. It would be a dream of ours some day. We will see what happens, hopefully it will some true.

A Favorite

2011-04-22T10:53:00.002-05:00

Then other day I was going through some old but not to old picture cd's that we have of the kids. I came across Ben's third birthday party. It seems like it was just yesterday that he was turning three. Ben grew up way to fast. If you ask me it seems as if all the kids think they are older than they actually are. Aidan already thinks that he is a big kid and he is still only one. This was one picture that really stood out to me. I remember telling both Pat and Phil that they should sit at the big table but Ben really wanted them to sit by him. Well I guess Ben won and his poor aunt and uncle suffered for him. How sweet it was of them. I am so glad I grabbed a picture of it.

Moving Up

2011-04-22T10:37:00.002-05:00

Well if one thing is for sure that is everyone in the world likes to move up on the working chain. Most people I know would love to be managers and actually would be really good at it if they had the opportunity. I personally think that Ken would be an excellent manager. Not just because I am married to him but because I know he has an excellent work ethic and he is very dedicated to his job. He does not ever call in sick just because he does not want to go and he hate to call in sick if he has to because he is sick. He usually goes to work and they send him home. He also is not the type to let
management jobs go to his head. I have had many managers that were terrible in my lifetime. They thought that because they were managers they were awesome at their job. Well they weren't and they got a big huge head just because they had the title. I am sure you have had one as well. I have also had great managers that did not think they were better just because they were a manager. Those are the ones that make working more fun and that you like to do your best for all the time. I know Ken would be perfect at the job. I am sure he will get a promoption soon.

Sick

2011-04-22T10:13:00.003-05:00

Well our never sick daughter has finally caught a sickness. I am just praying that she will recover before Easter Sunday in just a few short days. So far we are in the clear with the other two having a fever but Aidan has been coughing all night last night and Ben is also coughing today. Maddie told me yesterday morning right when she got up that she did not feel to good. I know they got it from a party we were at on Sunday. Kids don't just usually get sick. Well mine don't ever get sick anyways unless they are around a sick child. They usually then show symptoms a few days later because that's how long it take to germinate in your body. I am just hoping that the other two will stay away from Maddie and we will still be able to see our family for Easter. I love Easter and Good Friday service at church. They have always been my favorite. Ken will be staying home tonight to stay with Maddie and I will probably take Ben with me to church. He was kind of disappointed not to be able to go but he knows its my favorite services so he told me to go and he would stay home. Anyways I hope she will break the fever tonight or we will be staying home.

Love the Look

2011-04-18T14:32:00.002-05:00

One thing that I love the look of is a babies nursery. I love the designer Sferra. He has such beautiful kids room and as a matter of fact every other room decorations as well. I am a huge fan of his baby collections however. I really like the soft pastels he uses when he makes his designs. It always reminds me of a babies room. I don't like when people use primary colors for decorating a babies room. I think that they should be kept in pastels. They look so soft and innocent in cute baby cloths. I never had a nursery before I had Aidan so I was so happy to be able to decorate his room. I am sure we will be moving him in the future to the upstairs and be putting Maddie down in her own room. It will be nice to be able to make the room different again. I will be sad to see Aidan's go because I do love it so much.

Practice Make Perfect

2011-04-18T14:28:00.002-05:00

One thing that we have been doing the past few weekends was to teach the kids how to ride a bike. I want to get them both to be able to ride with no training wheels this summer. I know that they can both do it if they tried. Ben is getting much better and Madison is also improving a lot. I know that she is two years younger than Ben is but she is a great learner. Ben has also been doing so well. He gets really nervous if you let go but he can ride for a while without us holding on to the back of his seat. That is my goal for this year with the kids. I am sure that they will be able to ride with out them really soon if we keep on practicing with them. I know when they will be able to do it they will be really excited to go for bike rides. Hopefully soon we will have some really nice days so that we can practice more than we have so far.

A Bad Knee

2011-04-18T14:14:00.002-05:00

My dad for as long as I can remember has had a bad knee. When he was young and stupid he was riding his motor cycle and he fell off it trying to impress my mom. Well he was put into a full leg cast and ever since he has had really bad knee problems every once in a great while. It did not stop him from running around the yard with me as a kid or playing tag but he sometimes has to use a knee brace. I think it was because when he was working for many years he would always have to kneel to get the work done and he never then used a brace or a knee pad for protection. I don't really know if it would have helped him now if he would have done those things in the past but it would have helped some I am sure. The braces on this website really look nice and well made. I am sure they would really help out with my dads knee problems. Maybe I should pass the site to him to see if he would be interested.

Saving Toys

2011-04-18T14:10:00.002-05:00

One thing that I have realized is that some toys you just need to save. The other day Ken decided that it was time to bring out his old toys that he used to play with as a kid. Ken loved being able to give them to Ben and watch him play with them. I must admit they both still play with them every single day together. I know there are certain toys that I will always keep for my kids to pass to their children as well. Legos are one of the huge toys that will always be kept along with Madison's baby dolls. My mom kept mine and not Maddie plays with them. I will keep hers so she also can pass them to her daughter some day.

Number one Site

2011-03-29T14:07:00.002-05:00

Do you have a company that you want to be the number one site in all the search rankings? Well I think that everyone with an online store wants their website to come up first. Well that just means that you will get more people visiting your site and hopefully more customers as well. Well if you are trying to get your website noticed then you should really read the linx boss reviews. They make promises that they can get your website on the very fist pages of many different search engines. It sounds like a good promise if you ask me. It would bring an increase in business as well as people talking about your website.

Living so Close

2011-03-29T14:01:00.002-05:00

Well living so close to my parents has more than a ton of advantages. As a matter of fact Ben's school just called me and told me that Ben got sick in the classroom. I was very thankful that my mom said she would go and pick him up because then I wont have to wake Aidan from his nap. He is a monster if he does not get a nap. I don't think Ben is really sick I think he may have just choked on something or gagged. Ben has had a terrible gag reflex since he was born and he pukes if something goes down wrong or if he smells something bad. He got that from Ken because ken also gags at things like smells and the dentist. Huh I hope he just gagged and is not sick. He was playing just fine all morning so I am sure he is not sick.

Home Office

2011-03-29T13:47:00.002-05:00

I guess I would consider us as having a home office space. We have a small spot in the kids room with a desk top computer and the printer. It is all sitting on the desk that was passed down to Ben when he was born. It came from his great grandpa Neis and came with a few dressers and also a bed and a mirror. I wanted to make an office space down stairs but in the winter is gets really cold. I have never really bought any office supplies online but it seems like you can get some pretty good deals online rather than going to the store. It would also save Ken and I from taking the kids to the store when we are grabbing some supplies. I am going to look into everything they have because right now I could really use some more printer paper.

A Day with Aidan

2011-03-29T13:37:00.002-05:00

Well today was an unexpected surprise. My mom called me last night and asked me if Maddie wanted to come over to her house today when Ben was at school. She was very excited. I kept Aidan home with me today because I wanted to make sure that he had his nap because he has an appointment for his hair cut later in the afternoon. I did not want to attempt that without a nap. I will be taking Aidan and Ken will be going to baseball practice with Ben and Maddie will stay with my mom unless she wants to go to baseball as well. After the hair cut I will be meeting them at baseball practice. It is still pretty cold out but it is nicer than it was last time we had practice. I'm still looking forward to warmer practice days.

My Hair

2011-03-28T14:38:00.002-05:00

I remember when my hair used to be really thick. It was not super thick like some people have but it has thinned out a lot. I do not really know why I have lost so much hair over the past few years but it seems like every time I shower my hair comes out. It still comes out when I take showers but not as much thankfully anymore. I did not every think that I would need to look at hair loss products for myself so I sure hope that I will stop loosing hair. I would be really embarrassed if I was the one int the family using the hair loss products. I did not know that it was common for women to use them as well but I have seen a lot of women that really need to try it out. Hopefully I will stop loosing hair but in the mean time I will not worry about it because I'm sure then I will loose more.

Planning the Garden

2011-03-28T14:23:00.003-05:00

Well as every year Ken is already planning his garden for this year. Last year the garden did not go very well because when we went on vacation it was covered in weeds when we returned. They were overwhelming and we never got around to weeding it. I personally do not like gardening. I don't know why because my mom loves to do it but I just do not. Ken on the other hand loves it as well and so does Ben. Ben will pick fresh green beans out of the garden and just eat them without washing them. I don't like that but it is healthy and organic since we don't use chemicals. I always wonder what Ken will decide to plant but I am sure it will be good like always. I just cant wait for the tomatoes because I love fresh salsa.

New Phone

2011-03-28T14:17:00.002-05:00

I am not in the market for a new cell phone but that does not really stop me from looking around. I noticed the new htc desire android phone and it looks really nice. Ken and I first bought smart phones last year because that is pretty much all they have anymore. It was not a more expensive plan for us so it really did not matter much. I like the cell phone that I have right now but in maybe a year or so we will be looking again. I know our phone company was just bought out by another company so we will have to see what happens. I really do like the htc phones and I love the android marketplace. I know Ken will be needing a phone before I do so I will have to show him this new phone to see if he likes it.

Diaper Addiction

2011-03-28T14:11:00.002-05:00

Well I think I have a diaper addiction. I was getting suck a good deal on diapers that I was buying so many of them. I actually even bought some really small baby diapers so that when we decide to have another baby I will have some diapers. I know that I have enough diapers for the rest of Aidan's diaper days. I am really hoping to start potty training him in the future. I know we stated Madison when she was two years old. Boys take a little longer so I am thinking about two and a half but absolutely no later than that. I don't even know how people wait any longer. By then they are like a full sized adult in the diaper department. I have boxes and boxes of huggies but we will save what we don't use for the next time around. Ken keeps asking me but I'm not to sure just yet. Maybe by the kids birthday I will be ready.

A Dry Basement

2011-03-28T13:59:00.002-05:00

One thing that I love about our house is that it has a basement. I know that some people can live without one but we personally love it. I have no idea what we would do with all the stuff that we have if we did not have a basement. We are not junk collectors but we do have things that we want to keep. Things like our baby stuff. Ken was just talking to me the other day about having another baby. I am not quite ready yet but we do agree that we want one more maybe sometime in the future. I am just glad that we can put stuff in our basement because we have a really good dehumidifier. It really makes the basement dry and not musty smelling. I think that you have to have one if you have a basement. We had a really old one but Ken's dad gave us a newer one. You can really tell the difference when it is running. We almost leave it running all year long especially in the summer.

Hair Cut

2011-03-28T13:54:00.002-05:00

I am always very nervous when I cut Aidan's hair. I guess it is just because I really do not know how to do it very well. He has a different hair style than Ken and Ben so it makes me nervous. On Tuesday I am taking him for his first real hair cut. I usually cut it but I wanted to take him so that I could learn how to do it better. I did it with Ben and with Ken as well. I go with them and watch how it is done and then I have pretty much learned how to do it. I am taking him to pig tails and crew cuts in Dyer Indiana. Then I know that I will be able to know how to cut it. I learn from watching. I wanted to get it professionally done because we have a picture appointment for him on Friday and I wanted to be sure it looks really good. I will have to take his before and after picture later. Hopefully it will look great even though he hates hair cuts.

In the Office

2011-03-15T13:11:00.002-05:00

I have to say one place I have never worked before is in the office situation. I have always wanted to work in an office because it would be different from retail my usual line of work. I do not like retail because the people really can get pretty mean. I always thought that in the office it seemed much happier and people were much more happy and less stressed out. The one place that I would not mind working in a doctors office sometime later when the kids are in school all day long. I would like to wear scrubs because these days they make them so decorative. It also is much better than dressing up. I could get discount scrub sets online in just about every pattern. Not that I yet have a place in mind that I would enjoy working but I have already found some really cute little discount scrub tops that are so inexpensive. I think that wearing scrubs is even a little less expensive than buying dress clothes for every day of the week.
When I go to the kids doctors they are always wearing high fashion scrubs with little kid friendly characters on them. I really thinks it makes it more fun for the kids and makes them interested a little longer. Scrubs used to be boring and all one color but I am glad that they have improved over the years. I am sure the people in the medical fields are happy as well.

Slimming Down

2011-03-04T14:14:00.002-06:00

Well in all the stores these days in my part of town is the swim wear. It seems like they pull it out in the middle of winter just to give us hope that warmer weather is on the way. I like to see it but at the same time I don't because I know that there is still so many weeks of winter left before I can even go swimming. Summer also reminds us that we should start slimming down from not getting enough exercise in the winter. With adapexin-p it can help you to get a slimmer figure before the bathing suit season is here for sure. There are still many weeks for my part of town but that is just fine with me. I am not yet ready for swimming but I would like spring to get here soon.

Hoping to sell

2011-03-04T14:09:00.002-06:00

Ken is hoping that we sell our entertainment center very soon. I am not that eager to do it because I have not yet found one that I have really loved enough to buy just yet. The other day Ken and I did not have the kids so we went to many different furniture stores in search of a new center to hold all of our stuff. I want something smaller and so does Ken. Since we will be putting our new tv set on the wall we do not need such a big unit any longer. I do have our old center listed online and I am hoping that selling it will also help pay for our new center but if it does not thats fine as well. Hopefully soon I will find one that we like and that is of good quality. It seems like everything is put together furniture these days. That is not something that we want to have. Ken is anxious to get one very soon but I would rather wait and find one that I really love.

Vacation

2011-03-04T14:02:00.002-06:00

This year we are not planning to take a huge vacation. We already went to Texas for Christmas and we went to Disney world last year with the kids. This year we are planning to do something for some small little vacations here and there. We have not really decided where to go just yet but I am sure we will find something to do this summer. As a matter of fact yesterday I booked a small trip for us in July this year already. It will be a camping trip but we will be staying in a little cabin with a few sets of bunk beds. I know that the Outer Banks is always a nice choice that we will consider. It is not a huge vacation for us but it is still a nice vacation that maybe we can relax a little and enjoy some family time with the kiddos.

Addicted to Lisa

2011-03-04T13:57:00.002-06:00

One thing that I have to admit is that I am totally addicted to watching Lisa Ling. I know its terrible to be addicted to a tv program but I just love this woman. She always has such interesting programs and some of the time they are very sad but it really interests me. I love watching her the best more than any other person on tv. Her programs are so educational and informative. I always get so excited and dvr her programs if I see that she is on. I wish more shows were like her. I always liked her when she was on the view as well but she is so much better as a national geographic reporter.

Business Partners

2011-02-28T13:39:00.002-06:00

Did you ever have a business with a partner and everything was split in half. You both made the same amount of money and you both owned everything equally? I have always wanted to go in business with a partner but I really never knew the business that I wanted to get started in owning. I really do not know of anything that can be my speciality. I know that Ken really wants to have his own business some day and he tells me all the time that I can do all his bill keeping. I don't know if he could do the business by himself and what happens if one of his business partners should happen to have a sudden accident? Well thats where I read about buy sell insurance where if one partner dies than the other ones buys their portion. It seems like that would work out wonderful. That way if something happens to either partner the other one would have some security. It seems like a plan if you are in business with another person. I like the idea of sharing the responsibility and also having coverage in an emergency.

Sunday

2011-02-28T13:31:00.002-06:00

After such a busy Saturday Ken asked me if I wanted to go out to Michigan City Indiana and walk around the mall. He always likes to try to bribe me so this time he told me that if I would go he would buy me a new purse from the coach outlet that is there. I really liked the offer but I did not really feel up to going all the way there after such a busy day on Saturday. I know that he will make the offer for the purse next time we head out that way so I don't feel like I was missing anything. I would like a new purse from there but I did not feel like going to the mall. I don't really like it there in the winter. I love it in the summer or even in the spring because we don't have to wear coats and lug them all around with the kids. I don't much like shopping in an outdoor mall in the cold. Instead we took a ride to Lowell Indiana and checked out an auction. My mom and dad had the two older kids so after that we went to Bradley and had dinner and thought we were going to go shopping for a new entertainment center. We ended up not buying a thing except filling the gas tank and getting dinner. We wanted to check out an entertainment center they had in the Target add but when we got there it ended up being really cheap and was not something that we wanted for our living room. We did find one that we liked but I had the idea to try and sell our old one online first so that we would have a place for the new one. I'm just happy that we found one we really liked even though it was four times the price. It was not cheaply made and that made us happy.

Nikon

2011-02-28T13:13:00.002-06:00

I really never knew that much about different brand names when it came to television sets or to digital cameras and things. I did know that a few brands were really good while a few other brands were basically a generic brand and not made that well for the money. I did not know much of the Nikon brand until I bought my digital camera. I knew I liked the Olympus brand because we had a smaller camera that was that brand. I did not know that some brands are just the leaders in what they make. I love the Nikon brand because now I know that they are really a leader in everything they make. Nikon binoculars are also a very good purchase. I know because my mom has a pair and she always uses them when she goes in nature hikes and to concerts to see things that are far away. They really make good products that use high class lens. I am actually looking forward to getting a new lens for my camera sometime soon. I have not yet decided what one I want to get first but I have my eye on a few.

Good Weekend

2011-02-28T13:06:00.002-06:00

I have to say overall we had an excellent weekend. We were pretty much gone all day on Saturday because we decided to make a trip to schaumburg and go to the Ikea store and to spend the day up north. It was a really fun time. I just love the ikea store and it was Ken's idea to go up there so I just said that I would love to go and check it out. We bought a wall decoration for our living room and a few other things. We also stayed at the store and had lunch and then went to the mall. I have never been to that mall before and I have to admit it was a little overwhelming. We only stayed for a couple minutes and then decided that it was much to crowded for our taste. The kids were really good but I just wanted to go home. I was tired and the day was almost over. I could not believe there was a three level mall. Most of the store were really high class and I was not wanting to spend to much money so I asked Ken if we could just head home and stop at a few other stores on the way. He let me top at Target in Tinley park and Ulta the beauty supply store. By the time we got home it was around 8pm. I was so exhausted. We still managed to watch a movie before we went to bed.

Swim Suites

2011-02-21T14:23:00.002-06:00

Well just about every single store that you go to these days has all their swim suite stuff on display. I love to look at all the summer clothes in hopes that spring will be here sometime soon. I bought Madison her swim suite last year from kohl's and it was really cute. I know that this year she will need a new one and I honestly have already been looking around. I know that we still have a ton of winter left so I am also looking at the winter clothing that they are already putting on clearance. It seems like I am always looking at the clearance sections for clothes for the kids a season ahead of time to save money.
I know I am going to be needing some new summer clothing as well. I hope that I will be a little lighter and I will need a smaller size than last year. I have not tried diet weight loss pills yet but I have not really ruled them out. I would like to loose some weight for the summer months and well for the rest of my life. It would make me healthier and give me more energy. I can not wait for the warmer weather. I feel this summer is going to be a great one filler with lots of camping trips and lots of fun.

Where for art thou Spring

2011-02-21T14:17:00.002-06:00

Oh I can not wait for spring to come. I know my kids are dying having to be inside all the time. One thing for sure is that I do not have inside the house kids. They beg every single day for me to let them go outside and play. I do let them go outside sometimes if it is not very cold outside. I know they are just waiting for summer to come. Over the weekend the kids and Ken were outside while I was dropping off our rental car and picking up the van. Ken took down the Christmas lights and he also picked up the dog droppings in the back yard. I was very thankful that all the snow melted but now as I look outside it looks like its snowing again. I long for the day I can open up my windows and let a little fresh air inside the house. Hopefully that day will come sooner than later.

Just Like Salt

2011-02-21T14:10:00.002-06:00

One thing that I have never heard of before was sensa . I was very surprised to read a little about it. It was very surprising to me that it says that you can loose weight without any exercise. Things like this usually really turn me off since I know that you need exercise and healthy eating habits in order to slim down. I was interested in this product since it was not a pill so I kept reading and found out that it is as easy as salt and pepper. All you have to do is sprinkle this on your food like you would salt before you eat it. I was a little worried that this would change the taste of the food that I would be eating so I thought right away it was not right for me. I them kept reading to find out that it is actually a tasteless powder. They might actually be on to something here. it is suppose to make you feel full faster and that is something that really catches my eye. I will have to keep reading and see if it still sound interesting to me.

Back Up Diapers

2011-02-21T14:05:00.002-06:00

I have to say since we have had Aidan our shopping routines have changed a little bit. I have for the most part gotten free diapers for the most part of his life. As a matter of fact I was just delivered from ups an hour ago two packages of diapers for free again. I am part of a diaper research group and I test them out for free and they call me for my feedback. When I finish the short five minute phone call I am then mailed a check for ten dollars. I also have used my couponing to get mostly free huggies and store brand diapers. It was really nice not having to buy diapers for him like we did for the other kids when they were younger. It sure saves money and makes your realize that if you coupon then you can get a super deal on diapers and kids are really not that expensive. Well when they are babies anyways. I am sure that will change as they grow up and need more things.

Alli

2011-02-21T13:56:00.002-06:00

I have heard m any different good reviews about this new over the counter diet drug called Alli. I really did not know much about it but I do always see coupons in the local newspaper as well as in the local drug store add. It would be nice if the alli reviews were really good because you could really get a good deal on them with the store and manufactures coupons. I have not really read that much about the new drug but I did read that it was the only drug that was approved by the food and drug administration. That must mean that it works quite well and that it is somewhat safe for your body. I will have to read a little more about it to be sure. I might just start looking into it to help me loose a few extra pounds.

New Laptop

2011-02-21T13:52:00.002-06:00

I have to say I am pretty sad because I am in need of a new laptop. I have had this one for a few years now and it still does work but it's half broken. I dropped it the other day and the part that holds on the monitor broke off. It only broke on one side of the screen so it is still usable. I have been using it for a week now even if it is broken because I do not want to buy another one just yet. Ken keeps telling me that I can go buy an new one but I have not yet wanted to because I would not want to have to make payment for it. I want to be able to buy it out write just as we did this one. I really like the dell brand so maybe when I save enough money I will break down and make the purchase. Ken says he will keep the old one for himself. It's pink but he does not seem to mind. Maybe in a few months I will get one we shall see.

Business Degree

2011-02-21T13:38:00.003-06:00

I remember when I was in high school everyone knew what they were going college for and I have no idea. I wanted to do criminal justice but I knew that it really did not make that much money. I should have stuck to the plan but I changed my mind so many times that I ended up with so many college credit hours. I never knew how so many of my classmates already knew what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives. It seemed to me like it was such a hard decision. I know most of them wanted to get a business degree and some of them even got an online business degree. I already worked for a company at the time that hired people with business degrees and I knew they went to school forever and ended up just being a manager at a hardware store. It seemed like such a waste of time and money for a job that I already had. I wanted something different but I just did not know what it was going to be yet. I could get an online business degree as a back up and it would be easy since I could do it at home.
I do now have my associates degree but it is not very useful since I am still a stay at home mom. I have to admit it's the most rewarding job ever.

Another Baby

2011-02-21T13:33:00.003-06:00

I have to say I am rather excited to have another baby around or maybe even more than one. A few of my good friends are pregnant and I could not be happier for them. I love to hold new babies and I can not wait to see them. They just recently found out that they are pregnant so I will have to wait for a long while but I am still excited. I love when new babies are born. I am really hoping that one of my friends has a little boy this time since I know that she really wants a boy. She has three cute little girls and only one boy. It's funny actually because their whole family wants a boy this time around. I'm sure it will be a boy just for that reason. There is just something about holding a small little baby that is just such a miracle. I can not wait to have another baby in our family hopefully that will happen sooner rather than later. As for Ken and I we are not ready to have our last one just yet but I'm sure in another year we will be ready.