Wonderful World

Wow, what a fun and long day I had. I did take pictures, but I'm too tired to download them just now. Another day, I promise :)

So my day started off at 4am, with my hubby asking me if I had seen this Scouting paper he needed. He was taking Jacob up to Scout camp, and had to be at the church at 5am to pick up the other kids. No, I hadn't seen his paper. I looked through a few stacks, but couldn't find it. I assured him that he didn't need it (it was something about paying for camp, and I'd talked with the lady at the scout office on Friday, who said we were all paid up). I said bye to Jake, and went back to sleep.

I woke up for the 2nd time at 8:30am. The kids were already awake, and looking for food. I can't even remember what I fed them, but they had food. I think. I hope. LOL!

We were supposed to be going to the movies at noon-ish, and I started checking with the girls to make sure the plans were still on. It had been moved and changed so much. Well, Adelas hubby thought we were going on Tuesday, so he made plans for the family on Monday. She said she couldn't go. Katy and I decided to just postpone it a day, so she could go too. Instead, we made plans to go to the Sprinkler park at Biggs park. The one with the mini pool and mushroom sprinkler. I facebooked all my friends to tell them.

We spent a few hours in the morning cleaning the kitchen. The stove, especially, was HORRIBLE. Boy did it look nice when I was done. I cleaned off all the counters, and the store, and the sink. I didn't get a chance to do the rest of the house, but at least the kitchen was clean.

Then, I baked Pumpkin Muffins with a crumble topping. Mmmmm, they smelled EXACTLY like pumpkin pie. The kids sure liked them. Here's the recipe for ya :)

Sift together:

1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Cream well:

1/3 cup shortening

Add gradually, and continue creaming until light and fluffy:

2/3 cup sugar

Add, and beat well:

2 eggs, well beaten

Add alternatively with flour mixture:

1 can Libbys Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix

Place in lined mini muffin tins. Prepare crumble topping as follows:

Cream together:

3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
cinnamon
nutmeg
cloves

Sprinkle over muffins. Bake at 350 until done.

Mmmm, they sure did smell good :)

So, at 11:30am, we started to get ready for the sprinkler park. We made sandwiches, cut up apples/oranges, and the muffins. I also make some diet lemonade to take with us. We got on our suits, gathered the towels, and headed out the door.

It was a lot of fun at the sprinkler park. We stayed from noon until about 3:30pm. The kids had a blast. It was super hot, and I even got in a few time. Standing under the giant raining mushroom sure felt good. At one point, Tom came over holding his "junk". He said that his swim trunks had ripped. OMGosh did they ever! There was no way of hiding it. I told him to take my shorts, and wear them. I was just in my swimsuit anyway. They were a little big, but fit well enough to continue playing in the water. hehehe.

We were all tired when we got home. The big kids played on the computer, the little ones watched a movie, and I watched Kyle XY on the computer. I only have 1 more episode left! I made dinner for the kids (BBQ chicken and mashed potatoes), and for Captain America and I (He got home at around 5:30pm from camp), and went back to watching Kyle XY. Captain America was still working on his project for class.

He said that he needed to go to bed early (9am), because they were going somewhere early in the morning. 5am-ish. Ewh! So, I had a GREAT plan to go to Katy's and watch a movie! She said she doesn't sleep well when her DH is gone, so some girl time would be PERFECT! So, I got on facebook, and invited myself over to her house. Terrible, I know. Some people - hehehe. She, luckily, checked her facebook, and said "Come on over!". Thank goodness!

I checked on the kids, tucked Jimmy in (he was already asleep), told Joe that he could finished the last little bit of him movie, and Tom and Eme could keep playing computer until the movie was over, then they all needed to go to bed. I trused them. And Captain America was there. Sure, he was sound asleep, but he was there :)

I headed for Katy's at about 9:15pm. I decided to drive, even though it's only about a block away. I didn't know what time we'd be done, and don't really like walking home by myself that late.

We texted Adela when I got there, and told her to come play (hehehe, told!) She was at Wal-Mart at the time, but came over as soon as she got back. We watched a movie called "Prime" with Merryl Streep and Uma Thurman. It was decent. I enjoyed it. Too much sex, I though. I just put the blanket over my head during that part - hehehe. Like I have the big kids do when we watch Harpers Island, and some inappropriate skin comes on screen - hehehe.

We stayed and watched some TV (I don't have cable, so it was kinda fun to see what was on) until about 1:40am. I was falling asleep, so Adela and I headed home. What a fun day. Long, that's for sure, but DEFINITELY fun!

OK, so it's not 2:12am on Tuesday, and I'm tired. I'm gonna give you a quick freebee, and be done with it :) I promise to put more thought into the next one I make. I promise :)

Click on the link below to go to my accounts to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work. Thanks!

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100% Slacker

Hey girls! How was your Sabbath day?? Relaxing? Hopefully! We were up and out the door by 8:35 am. Church started at 9am, but I like to be a bit early. We usually sit on the side, where the rows are a bit smaller. Jake, Tom, Eme, and Joe in one row, and Captain America, Jim and I in the next row back. That way, I can whack the backs of their heads if they get out of line - LOL! It was a bit crowded in that row, though, so I sent Jake up 2 more rows to sit with some lady. He sat very nice and reverently by himself. And the other kids did better when there wasn't any "touching" issues. hehehe.

Primary was good, since I wasn't the only one in charge there. hehehe. Someone else conducted, and someone else taught the lesson. I was just on crowd control. That's ok. I can be the heavy - LOL! Some small child was trying to "escape" from his chair, and we had a little go-around. I just kept putting him back in his chair.....over and over again. After about 10 minutes, he gave up. He sat nicely in his chair the rest of the time. It's all a matter of will. And I won. You know, the next time that kid sees me, he'll be like "I remember that lady. She makes me sit in my chair. I'd better sit so she won't come over". Whatever it takes to keep order. With 30 kids under 8, you NEED order :)

We were home by 12:30pm, and started lunch. Mac N Cheese. My kids' favorites. Tom wanted Taco Mac, and the little kids didn't, so I just cooked up some Taco Meat, and let people add it if they wanted. With a little bit of shredded cheese on top. Boy, did it smell good! Me? I had cheese and cucumbers.

I was all excited to watch Harpers Island on the computer, but unfortunately, because of the 4th, it wasn't on on Saturday. Next Saturday they'll air the remaining 2 episodes. So, I watched more episodes of "The Listener" on NBC's website. SO good :)

I think I even fell asleep for a little while. I sure felt rested when I woke up. And I felt productive. I went in the kitchen, and Tom, Eme, and I (with a little bit of help from Joe and Jim) cleaned the kitchen, and made cookies. Mmmmmm.

First, we made Carrot Cookies with Orange Zest Glaze. We had to boil the carrots, which took a LONG time, and zest an orange. I'd never done that before. It's kinda messy, you know. But they sure smelled good when we were done. We also made Pumpkin Oatmeal cookies with Lemon Glaze. Mmmmmm.

We baggied up 4 plates of cookies, and delivered them to our friends/neighbors on the block. First, we took some to the across the street neighbors. The moved in last week. Nice family. They have 4 little girls. Ages 2-9 or something like that. They just had twins, 10 weeks early, and they're like 11 days old. In the NICU at the hospital. The mom said that they'd be out in 4 weeks or so. But that they're doing fine. Seemed like a real nice family.

Next, we delievered a plate to our backyard neighbors. They weren't home, so we just left them on their front step. They won't know who the cookies are from, I'm sure, but that's ok. Tom said that they'd think it was from their secret admirers. Sure, that works - hehehe.

Next, we took some to Adela and her kids. She was home, and seemed to like them :) And next was Katy's house, but they weren't home. I left the cookies on the front step, and left her a note on Facebook. hehehe. She replied back later, saying thanks. Don't you just LOVE technology :)

We came back home, and cooked dinner. Fish stick sandwiches. I know, I know, crappy meal. I don't care. I was all "baked" out. Fish stick sandwiches were SO SO SO easy to make. I made myself my typical stir fry, and Captain America had a protein shake.

Captain America had been working on his army project ALL day long, and continued into the night. I'm SO glad it's not me. Poor guy. He's a driver for Boy Scout camp today. He really should be home doing his school work, but they really needed him. And it'll be good for Jake to have his dad there the first day. I really hope he's safe this time. And wears his hat. Sigh.

Jim and Joe were being SUPER rowdy last night, and Captain America wanted me to put them to bed at 7pm. Um, no. Do you know what time they'd be up the next day??? I told Joe to go lay on the couch and watch "Back to the Future II" with the big kids, and had Jimmy come in my room with me. I was watching Kyle XY on the computer. Who knew that there was a 3rd season??? I was sure excited, though. We watched 2 episodes, and he was OUT. I carried all 49 lbs of his little sweaty (hehehe) body back to his bed, then noticed that Joe was asleep on the couch. The was so sweaty that his head left a sweat pool on my couch. NASTY!!! One more reason why boys are gross - hehehe.

So, here it is, 9pm, and I'm almost done with my blogging. Early, I might add. I think Kyle XY is calling me. One more episode, then off to bed. Early-ish night for me. I'm feeling sleepy, for some reason. I think I'm pre-PMSy. Do you get like that??? All meloncholy and lathargic right before you get PMSy? I don't like it, but I think I do. Kinda depressed-ish too. Crazy woman hormones. But then, the alternative is to be a man, and NO THANK YOU! I'll keep my crazy hormones, I guess. If I must :)

I was thinking about what freebee I could give you guys today, and for some reason, this kept popping into my head. It kinda evolved into this WordArt cluster. It didn't start off this way, but it ended up that way - hehehe. I thought it would be PERFECT for pics of my kids playing on the computer. hehehe.

Click on the links below to go to my account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work!

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Fireworks

So, how was the 4th for everyone? Well, all you US girls, that is :) hehehe. Hopefully it was filled with family, and fun, and friends, and fireworks.

I slept in until about 8am (not to shabby, with 5 kids), then got up to crowd control. I let Captain America sleep in, since it would be his only day to sleep in for a while. He got up at around 9:30am, and went exercising. I was farting around with the computer (I don't even remember what I was doing - LOL). I decided, that since he needed to study, the kids and I would go to the pool. Great distraction.

I called Katy, and she wanted to come too. It's not fun at the pool without another mom to chat with. That's the WHOLE reason I go. Well, to let the kids play. Kinda - hehehe. Anyway, when Captain America got back from his run, I "token" invited him to come too. He's not a big water fan. Part of the reason is because of the level of his whiteness. Seriously. He burns SO easily. But, being the loving wife, I invited him too.

And lo and behold, he wanted to come! Crazy, eh? We were a little late getting there (but it was ok, because Katy was still later than us - hehehe) because I had to shave his back. Nasty. He's not like a rug or anything, just a bunch of random hairs. The things we do to keep our men happy - LOL! So, once he was hairless on his back, we headed off.

He had fun swimming around with the little kids, and the big kids. Here he is with Joe and Eme, "power" swimming. They liked going SUPER fast - hehehe. I bet he's the only person you know who swims with a hat. Remember - SUPER white guy :)

And here are the guys getting ready to CANNON BALL!!!

And here they are actually doing it!

Check out the height on that jump! Way to go, sweetheart!!!

And what did I do, you ask? Katy and I sat in the kiddie section and chit chatted. LOVE it! I'm SO loving having friends! Seriously, you should all move to El Paso so you can come and hang out with us, because we're just SO much fun. Well, that's what I tell myself, anyway :)

Captain America stayed for about 30 minutes, then headed home. The rest of us stayed until around 2pm, then headed home. Jim and Joe were getting cold, and hungry. They didn't eat much of their peanut butter sandwich on the way over, and were STARVING! How Jimmy could be starving is beyond me. Joe, yeah, I can see that. Jim? Not so much.

Anyway, since the kids had done ALL their chores in order to get pool time, they were free to relax when they got home. Jim, Joe, and Eme watched a movie, and Jake and Tom got computer time. Captain America was studying for his test/writing his OP order/working on his slide show, and I found a GREAT new show on NBC to watch, called "the Listener".

It'd seen it promo-ed on TV before all my channels stopped working, but never got a chance to see it. I went to NBC.com and was able to get the first 2 episodes streaming. I really liked it. Kinda like the paramedic version of Edward Cullen (Twilight), but without the vampire bit. He can read minds. Hear peoples thoughts. Kinda a cool premise. He helps people with his "talent".

We were supposed to leave the house at 5:30pm to get to the Stake BBQ at 6pm, but we ended up leaving closer to 5:55pm. Oh well. No biggie. Captain America and I cooked dinner before hand for oursleves (back on the diet, baby! oh wait - I didn't get off, because Friday night never happened, right???), but not for the kids, because they were having hamburgers/hot dogs at the BBQ.

It was a madhouse when we got there. Captain America went to set up the chairs in the baseball field, and I took the kids to wait in the food line. Dang, I SO wanted a hamburger. Boy did they look tasty. And the potato salad/macaroni salad looked super good too. See what happens when you eat something you shouldn't. It messes with your head the next day. I'd been resisting MUCH tastier things for the last 2 weeks, and all of a sudden, my appetitie is running rampant on me. But, I'm proud to say, I resisted. I just drank water, and chewed my gum. My stomach was full from the dinner I'd eaten before we came, so it was just all mental.

Anyway, we got the kids burgers/dog, potato salad (for the big kids, anyway), cherries, peaches, and watermelon. Plus lemonade. They LOVEd it. They kept going back all night for the watermelon - hehehe.

At one point, Eme wanted to put on extra bug repelent. See, it's not usually too misquito-y in El Paso, but with all the rain we've been having, there were quite a few of them around. We'd sprayed ourselves down pretty good at home, and even sprayed our jackets with it inside a trash bag. Then sealed the trash bag, to let the bug spray soak in. Anyway, Eme grabs the bug spray, and tries to reapply it on herself. Do you see where I'm going with this? She got herself directly in the eye. Poor thing. We flushed it with water, and wiped it best we could. She was ok, but a bit red and puffy for the rest of the night. Look how BROWN the child has become! Dang, girl! Imagine if I wasn't putting sunblock on her. (Oh yeah, and the baby is Jensen - he's Jenica's baby - friend from church - also from Oregon)

Here's Jake. He got to wear his contacts for 6 hours today. He had just got back from the bathroom after taking them out.

Here's Jenica and Jensen. She's my "whiter than me" friend. hehehe. But then, so's Katy - LOL! I'm usually not the tan one of the group - Ha!

And here's me! ( I had to CRANK the exposure on the camera to get it to turn out - it being dusk/night and all)

And Captain America and I - Arent's we cute!

And what's the 4th of July without the fireworks. The kids LOVED it! Jimmy especially. He had wandered off when it first started, but after about 10 minutes, Tom found him and brought him back. He's found some new "friends" to watch the fireworks with - hehehe.

Right next to the church was a golf course. And that's where they were letting off the fireworks. I'd never been that close to them before. It was AMAZING!!! But then, I just LOVE fireworks :) All in all, it was a fabulous 4th of July!

OK, yes, I know it's not a religious one. Sorry. I was just SO impressed with the fireworks last night, that I had to design it. It was calling my name... Sorry. It won't happen again - hehehe.

Click on the link below to go to my account to download the PNg file, and leave some love if you like my work. Thanks!

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Independence

Hey girls! Don't forget about the HUGE sale over at the Orchard. Spend $10.00, and get 40% off your order! Fabulous deal!!! Click HERE to go to my store to start shoppin'!!!

OK, here's a few pics that I just got off my camera. They're from Thursday. Was that really just day before yesterday? Are you sure??? How do I possible manage to squeeze so much life out of my days??? No wonder I'm exhausted when I go to sleep at night - LOL!

Here's one of Tom at the pool. He was SO disappointed when his swim goggles didn't work. Poor kid. But what do you expect. We bought it at the Dollar Tree. I always tell my kids, "There's a reason it only costs a dollar". It's not meant to last forever. I just wish it would last longer than 20 minutes. Anyway, his goggles broke. So, I tied them on him. Look how squeezey his face is - hehehe. Poor kid.

These next 2 pictures are hilarious. Remember I said that Captain America and I walked the tramway the other night? Well, here's what we found when we got home. The little boys were watching a movie ("Snow Buddies") when we left, and they'd both fallen asleep by the time we got home. It looks like Jimmy passed out after a long, hard night of parting - ROFL!!!

(And NICE, with the hands down the pants - he's ALL boy)

And Joe, all curled up with the laundry - ha!

And here's me, after the tramway, all "glistening". Because girls don't sweat.

So, that brings us to yesterday. We were up and moving around 9am (well, the kids were up before that, but they had the presence of mind to leave Captain America and I to sleep - THANKS!), getting ready for the Eye Doctor. All 6 of us had appointments today. And Captain America had the day off, so he was gonna come and help crowd control. Unfortunately, he decided to go exercise and cut it too close. He didn't show up until 20 minutes after we were already there. I wasn't too happy. Jim and Joe were running around the office like madmen, kicking off their shoes and throwing it at each other. They were playing musical chairs, and smacking each other. AHHHHH! I wasn't a very happy mama. I was trying desparately to fill out 6 people's worth of paperwork. I really needed Captain America.

Jake went back first. Eme and Tom went next, with another eye doctor. The doctor said that Tom definitely needs glasses, and wrote us a prescription. Eme, he said, would eventually needs glasses, but for right now, she was fine.

Joe and Jim were next. I was worried, because they went back by themselves with the doctor. Worried for the doctor, that is. But, he said he was fine with the 2 of them. Huh. About 3 minutes after they left, Captain America showed up. Sigh. I wasn't too happy with him, but I let it go.

Jim and Joe came back out, with a "no problems" report! Jake came out, with a trial pair of contacts, and a glasses prescription. He was SO excited. I got contacts in 7th grade, and I always told him he could do the same. Guess what? 7th grade is here. Crud! Be careful when you make promises. Kids listen and remember. They may not listen and remember when you assign chores, or give directions, but if it involves something they want, you better believe they will.

I went in next. The eye doctor said that my last doctor OVER prescribed my contacts. So, my eyes were used to having a super strong prescription. He gave me a trial pair of contacts, and said that it'd take a few days to get used to the prescription. And I think he's right. It's gonna take a few days. Not the most fun, to see blurry. Sigh. It's getting better, though.

This was the eye doctor in the PX (Army equivalant to the mall), so we mosied out into the food court to get the kids a snack. We bought 1 Cinnabon for all 5 kids to share (they cut it into 5 pieces), and Captain America bought 2 Strawberry Smoothies from Taco Bell (who knew?). Nice little snack.

There was this old couple sitting next to us (well, at least late 50's - not terrible old, but just keep reading) in the PX. When the lady got up to go and get something else from Taco Bell, I noticed that she had on the SHORTEST shorts I'd ever seen. Sure, she was slender, but OMGosh! When she walked away to Taco Bell, her BUTT CHEEKS were hanging out. NASTY!!! There were these tiny red/white checkered shorts. WHO wears those??? Age appropriate, anyone? Actually, I don't wanna see anyone's butt cheeks. Gross.

We headed home, then, and made lunch. Standard cheese and cucumber for me, and Bologna sandwiches with apples for the kids. The kids changed clothes (Jim had on cowboy boots with shorts, and Joe wasn't dressed any better), and we headed out to the mall. I had bought a shirt at Old Navy last week, and didn't like the way it fit, so I wanted to return it. AND, Joe and Jim both lost their new swim shirts in the PIT that is there room (or somewhere), and I wanted to see if there was any more of them left.

After my shirt return, and my 10% discount (for doing an online survey on my receipt from last time), I got both swim shirts for $4.85. Not too shabby, eh? I was pleased. The boys will look SO cute next time we go to the pool :) We've been using Dave Ramsey's "Envelope System" this month, so I took cash from my "Kids Clothing" fund. I'm SUCH a dork, but the envelopes, and tracking the monies makes me SO happy - hehehe. Captain America got a shirt out of the "Grown Up" fund, too.

Tom has been obsessed with the Old Navy maniquines since he first saw the commercial, so he just HAD to pose with them when we left. He even put his sunglasses on the little kid - LOL!




Next, we headed for Vitamin World. Captain America got what he needed, and the kids played in the "play place" for a few minutes. I'm not much of a mall person, so we didn't really stay long. When we left the mall, it started to rain. AHHHH!!! I'd straightned my hair, and just KNEW that it was gonna curl up when tbe rain hit it. I took the Old Navy bag, put it ontop of my head, and ran for the car. I left Captain America with the kids trailing behind me. I didn't even care - LOL!!!

Unfortunately, the windows in the truck were down, and my butt go wet. By the time we got to GoodWill, my butt was soaked. Oh well. People shouldn't be looking at my butt anyway, right??? I just LOVE Goodwill. Some are better than others. Well, thrift stores in general, I like. I found Sunday shoes for Jimmy for $3.50, Sunday shoes for Tom for $2.50, a pair of Abercromie jeans for Jake for $6.00, and a pair of capri jeans for me for $3.50. Not too shabby, eh?

We hustled home, and got there in time to fix some Chorizo and Eggs with Tortillas and Sour Cream for the kids, change our clothes, and head out the door. Jacob was babysitting for the evening (I even budgeted $$$ for babysitting).




Captain America and I went out to dinner at Applebee's. I got a nice salad, and while it wasn't technically on my menu plan, I ate it anyway. I'm trying not to dwell on that fact too much, for fear that it will sabotage my WHOLE diet. It's done that in the past. So, moving on.

We met 2 of Captain Americas army buddies at the Diablos Baseball stadium at 7:00pm. A HUGE thunderstorm had just rolled through El Paso, but seemed to have moved on. One of the guys brought his wife, and the other, he girlfriend. They seemed like nice people.

We were seated like this : Captain America's friend, his wife, the girlfriend, the other friend, Captain America, then me. I had no one to chat with, except Captain America. Who was trying to chat with his friends too. The girls were SO young, but seemed nice. Not much in common with me, 33 year old and mother of 5 - hehehe. I had my phone, so I checked my email a few dozen times, and even updated my facebook status. LOL! I was SO terrified that a ball was gonna come and hit me. You know, that's the reason I don't play sports. I don't want to be hit by a ball. So, if you can think of a sport that doesn't include launched balls, I may be able to take up a sport. hehehe.



By the 5th inning, I was SO SO SO bored. Captain Americas friends were gonna leave, and get something to eat, then go back to one of their houses. Yeah, didn't sound like fun to me. I told Captain America that since they were leaving, that we should go too, and that he should take me to the movies on Post. They're only $2.00 a ticket. We could afford that :)

So, we headed back to the car, and headed to the movies. "Drag Me To Hell". OMGosh! Captain America just shook his head the whole time, but I was jumping, gasping, grabbing his arm, freaking out the whole time. I absolutely loved it. Sure, the plot was weak. Sure, the effects were mediocre. I didn't care. It was a PG-13 suspense/horror film, and I loved it. Instead of screaming at the scary parts, the whole audience was laughing hysterically. I'll share one example. When the scary lady was attaching the blond, she got her nasty false teeth knocked out. So, she tried to bite her, and ended up gumming her face instead. It was so nasty we were ALL laughing. And she kept getting bodily fluids on her. Puke, blood, slobbers, puss. It was SO gross it was comical.

OK, so now that I've turned you off from EVER seening the movie..... Here it is, 1am on Friday night (It's still Friday until I got to bed, don't ya know!). I really need to go to bed. We may go see Monsters VS Aliens at the Post theater, or maybe go swimming. Haven't decided yet. But kids can get into the movies for $1.25, and kids under 5 are free. Not too shabby an activity. But then, pool-ing is fun too. Not sure what we'll end up doing. Then, in the evening, we're picnicing with the church. Should be a good time :)

So, since it IS 4th of July, I thought I'd make you guys up a LOVELY 4th themed WordArt :) I thought this one turned out nicely. I just LOVE these 2 fonts together. Fabulous :) Click on the link below to go to my account to download the PNG and PSD files, and leave some love if you like my work. Thanks!

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FONTS:
Independence - Teen
All rest - AL Verdigris

Accidents Happen

Check it out, girlies! We're having a sale :) If you spend $10.00, you save 40%! Aren't you excited??? AND, I have some new stuff this week. It's not on sale 20% off, because of the spend $10 get 40% off. If you buy all 4 of them, it'll add up to $10.00, so you get the 40% off, which makes it $6.00 for all 4, or making them $1.50 a piece! What a great deal is that!!!!

OK, shameless plug is over! Click HERE to go to my store :)





Here is layout from my CT girl, Jen (Graham Like the Cracker)


So, I woke up yesterday morning at 5am, realizing that I hadn't sent something into my online advertising that I was supposed to. Do you ever do that? Where you basically sit upright in bed, wide awake, heart racing, going "OH crap!". Yep, I had one of those moments. So, I made up what I was supposed to, and sent off an apologetic email with the items attached, and hoped that they'd accept it, even if it was after the deadline.

I must have went back to sleep, but it wasn't the same. My plan is to sleep in today. hehehe.

I got up at around 8am for real (hehehe), fed the kids breakfast, and even chatted on the phone with my Mom. She and my dad drove to Utah to visit my sister and her family for the 4th, so she and Dad were still in the car driving. Don't know how they do it, but they drive all night, then get there at about 9 the next day, and play all day long. I don't know if I could do it - I'd fall asleep, I bet :)

I made a quick stop at the commissary before our pool time, also. I'd bought the wrong soda yesterday, and I was also out of yeast. I make "pigs in a blanket" for the kids each week, and the biscuit dough is kinda rough. I used roll dough this time, and they were soft and yummy this time. The kids LOVED them :)

We were at the pool by 11am with Katy and Adela and kids. Adela had her sister and her man in town for the weekend, so we got to meet them. They're good people :) We coudln't stay too long at the pool, though, because Katy was giving someone a ride home from the airport, and I had an appointment for a physical for Jacob.

We hurried home at 12:45pm, changed clothes, straightened up a bit (ok, so really I checked emails, you caught me!), and headed out to the Scout Office. I needed a physical form. My ink cartridge is TOTALLY dry, so stopping on the way was my next option.

We got to the clinic with 1 minute to spare! The little kids were a bit naughty, but not bad considering I had all 5 with me. Sigh. Not so much fun. But, it was a cheap physical. Only $10.00 because it was for a Church Boy Scout activity. Sweet! I could have got it free through my insurance, but they couldn't have gotten us in that fast. And Jacob needed it for Monday. And everythings closed on Friday. Yeah, they were a real life saver!

We came home, did chores, cooked dinner, then I was off to a Pampered Chef party. I told the girl that I wasn't buying anything, because I'd bought at the last party. She said that was ok. It was at Adelas house. Adela, her sister, Katy, Laurie, Chelsey (she was the consultant), and Heather (the Sentsy lady) were there. We had a lot of great girl talk, and fun just hanging out. I'm so glad for friends!

At 7:45pm, I headed back home, and Captain America and I went for a walk on the tramway. OMGosh! I was sweating by the time we got to the top. This walk was NOT for the faint of heart. Heck, it really wasn't for me. The army guys run it for PT. They're insane! I was going SO slow. I told Captain America that he didn't want to take me, because he woudln't get a good work out because I'm slow. He said that he's walk my pace, and it would be fine.

About 5 minutes into it, he complained that I was too slow. Nice. He quickly re-tracted his comment, though, after being reminded about the whole "go at YOUR pace," and "not ditching" me comment earlier.

We did make it to the top. Boy, was it high. But a great view. It was dark by the time we got up there, and the lights in the city were BEAUTIFUL. I have a pic on my phone, but I can't download them. I'll text them to Captain America, and he can email them to me, and I'll see if I can maybe get them on here tomorrow.

So, here it is, 11:31pm on Thursday night, and I'm beat. I got a real quick freebee for you. No, nothing bad happened, I just thought it was funny. Yes, accidents do happen. And I have a TON of "accidents" pictures that this would be appliciable for!

Click on the link below to go to my account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work. Thanks!

4shared

Love Mask

So, I was up yesterday at 6 something am. Jacob had his GT testing at 8:15am, and I wanted a shower - LOL! Vain, I know. But sometimes, you just wanna look pretty. My hair didn't quite fix as well as my makeup (LOL), so I just put it in a bandanna. I do LOVE my bandannas , you know.

We dropped Jacob off at the testing center, and all headed to the grocery store. Jim, Joe, Eme, Tom and I. I had my money envelope, and my shopping list (to go with my menu). AND, I was even under budget. I had $200 for the week, and I only spent $156 (and that included a $2.00 tip for the bagger). Sa-weet!

We were home and putting the groceries by 10am. Captain America got home for lunch at 11:25am, and said that he didn't need to go back till 3pm. He said that he'd pick up Jake, and the kids and I loaded up in the truck, and headed to the sprinkler park. We were supposed to meet our friends there at 11am. Luckily, Katy got there late too - she was only there for 5 minutes before us :)

They had bouncy castles, bouncy water things, and food. Apparently every Wednesday at 9:30am there gonna have activities like that there, then lunch at 11am. I'm SO there. That's our new Wednesday routine. The closed up shop about 15 minutes after we got there, so we mosied down to the sprinkler park. Next time, we'll be there early :)

I got a few pics of us a lunch, but none from the sprinkler park. Here's Joe

And Jim

And lunch - Ham/cheese hoagie sandwiches, milk, potato salad, and watermellon

My friend Katy, and her son Eric (he's 8)

And her daughter Emily (she's 13)

And here's me :)

And here's me and my boys!

We stayed until 1:15pm, then came home. There's only so much sprinkler-ing that the big kids can handle - LOL! Today is the pool - it'll be better :)

I spent the rest of the afternoon designing. The kids did their chores (ok, I helped a little bit), and Jimmy had some "down" time with PBS. It was a nice, relaxing afternoon. Eme and Tom went to Laurie's house to play with her kids at around 3:30pm. We picked them up on the way to scouts.

I decided, that since I'm in charge, and we have no leaders (well, 1/2 no leaders that come, 1/2 no leaders), that we're gonna just have Pack Activities for July and August. We're doing a Swimming meeting, a Basketball meeting, a Marshmallow Shooter activity (LOVE the PVC marshmallow shooter gun!), and a Bike rodeo. Should be good!

Scouts was very short. No one had activities planned (go figure on that one), so we just helped a new boy get his Bobcat. We were home by 8pm. Gotta like that :)

So, since I have a few new Mask WordArt packs coming out this Friday, I thought that I'd make you up a Mask freebee! Aren't you excited??? I found this WONDERFUL website for Brushes, and as long as you credit them in your TOU, they're CU friendly. Fantastic! I LOVE it :) I have their website down below my preview - give them a look-see - you'll like them too :)

Click on the link below to go to my account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work. Thanks, girls!

4shared

FONT:
York Script ITC

Brushes - www.obsidiandawn.com

AND, if you wanna have the corrected "Perfect Pout" png, click HERE to grab that - sorry!

Love For A Lifetime

OK, first off, I have some pics to share! I just downloaded my pics from my camera, so be patient with me - hehehe. Some are from last week :) LOL! First, here's my new purse. Yeah, I'm not sure what that pink thing is supposed to be, but it's attached, so I'm assuming it's supposed to be on there.

Actually, I just went and did a little research on my purse (there's a number inside the purse to search for), and I found some pics of it. You're supposed to tie that fabric piece in a tighty little bow. Who knew? And it retails for around $250. Holy crap! I'd NEVER pay that much money for a purse!!! Walk around with it when it was given to me for free??? Heck, ya! LOL!

And, heres a pic of Jimmy in his new Sunday Suit. Katy tried to sell them at the garage sale, but no takers. We decided that they'd fit Joe/Jim, so she gave them to me :) I gave her daughter 2 of my pairs of pants that I was getting rid of, so it's all good - LOL! Isn't Jimmy darling! (He got the bigger of the 2 suits)

And Joe. What a handsome boy!

Backtracking, a little. Here's a few pics of our garage sale. We did it on the walking path that's between Adela and Andrea's house. Aren't we tricky! And NO, the chair is not for sale. I think everyone that came by asked us that. We need somewhere to sit, people!

And my lovely treasures!

OK, now here's a few pics from Monday. We went to the other sprinkler park. My kids liked it MUCH better than the one at Kelly Park. Biggs Park takes the cake, apparently. It's shapped liked a little lagoon, and has 2 slides, a mushroom waterfall, and some sit-on animals that squirt water. What could be better???

Like my self-made panaramic????

Eme on the duck

Jacob in the mushroom

Jimmy on the little slide (he tried 3 times to go down the big slide, with me standing at the bottom, but he chickend out every time - hehehe)

Joe down the little slide

Tom down the big slide

Eme down the big slide

SPLASH!!! (It's Tom)

Jimmy with the tiger

See how much fun we had!!!

OK, so on to yesterday. We'd planned on waking up, cleaning the house, and going to the pool at 11am. BUT, it started raining. It was still warm, but it was coming down pretty hard there for a while. I called the pool at 10:30am (opens at 11am), but no one answered. I told the kids that it was closed - hehehe. We spent the morning cleaning and re-arranging.

Captain America and I decided that he'd get the kids' old computer room (too big for a closet, but too small for a bedroom - just an odd little room, really - no outlets, no ventilation, but a light). You should have seen him yesterday. He was almost giddy. He's in LOVE with his Man Room. I feel bad that it isn't bigger, but he's loving it. And it has a door. So he can escape every once in a while :) That's important for men, I think.

I moved the computers to the dining room, moved the hutch to the living room (and put all the DVD's, alphabitized, inside it), moved the couches around a bit, angled the TV dresser (yep, we're too cheap to buy an entertainment center, so we use a MASSIVE white dresser) a bit, and put all the books back on the shelves. I also went through the books, and got rid of about a box worth. Some were duplicates, some were just dumb, and some I could find the same information online. But, we still have 4 bookcases full of books. It hardly dented it - hehehe.

At noon-ish, Captain America came home for lunch. Our power promptly went out. Sigh. What a pain in the butt. The rain had stopped by then, and I'm not sure why we lost power. 5 times in 3 months. Dang! It came back on after about an hour. Captain America called housing to tell them about the situation, and see what the heck was the problem. Don't know if it'll do any good or not. We'll see.

I cleaned up till 2:15pm, then scurried around crazily to get ready for the "Sentsy party" at 2:30pm. We walked over there (boy was it warm and humid), 'cause it was only a few blocks away. Kids need the exercise, you know. Heck, I need the exercise.

Laurie had made a TON of food. Motzarella sticks, sliced burritos, potatoes skins with bacon, chips, crackers, goldfish, spinach dip, a TON of fresh cherries, fruit juice. Yummy, it smelled good. BUT, I'm doing well on my diet. No cheats in over 3 weeks. I smelled the food, and while it smelled good, I was fine with water. I'd eaten my crackers and apple on the walk over, and was physically full. Actually, it wasn't really even that had to resist the food. I sat right next to it the whole time even. Yeah me!

The candle thingys smelled really good. It's a wax melting system, really. No flame. No SUPER heated wax that could burn little people. I don't know, I kinda like candles. And the fire and flame. Call me old fashioned, I guess. And the power cords were kinds out of place on the pretty warmers. I did like their night light plug in warmers, though. Those were really cool. But they were $15.00 each, and that didn't include wax. Dang! The big ones were $30 each. The wax was $5.00, I think. I could have afforded the Air freshener for the car. It was only $3.00.

But, we'd just sat down during lunch and did the budget for July, and I knew that I had $15.00 for the week to spend on myself, and I didn't really want to lose $3.00 for an air freshener. Know what I mean? I wanted to save it for something fun and exciting. LOL!

Speaking of that, I'm REALLY excited about the budgeting thing. You start off listing all the money you get for the month, and go down the list, declaring what you need per item, and subtracting from the total income. When you get to the last item, you should have $0. It forces you to budget your money. I had enough to pay Jacob for babysitting each week, give the kids each a $2.00 allowance, budget for groceries, gas, entertainment, eating out, well, everything, really. It's been the first time in a long time that I had enough money to budget. Always before, we'd declare the bills that had to be paid, and we'd have $200 left over for the month. That doesn't even start to touch groceries. So, it was a different, and TOTALLY welcome experience! We even got out cash, and filled our little envelopes. Once the cash is gone, we're done spending in that category. I'll let you know how it goes, though! I got out my $200 for groceries for the week. I'm grocery shopping today :)

So, the party went well. Adela, Katy, Laurie, a new girl from church, and the hostess, um, yeah, her. What's her name??? She's from South Carolina, and has a thick Southern accent. Heather! That's it. Heather was the hostess. I took an order book, just because I might save up my $$$ and get one here in a few months. I'd like to have one for my kitchen. They do smell fabulous.

We came home at 5:30pm, and got here a few minutes after Captain America did. Since the kids ate food at Laurie's house, I just gave them a bowl of cereal for dinner. I know, bad mom. I didn't care, though. I'd been a long, hard day of cleaning. Cereal was right up my alley.

After dinner, we all headed out to Wal-Mart. We needed more white paint, a personal fan for Captain America for his "Man Room", contact solution for me (I was TOTALLY out), refills for the scented plug-ins (MUCH cheaper than Sentsy). We looked for a printer cartridge, but they were out of the one that I needed. Nice, eh? Wal-Mart is always out of the stuff that I need. How rude!

Captain America had to leave to go to a meeting, the the kids and I wandered around for a tiny bit longer. On the way to the front, the bakery had a dozen donuts for $2.00. Great price, eh? There were 3 with nuts, 3 with a white, thick glaze, and 6 covered in sugar. The kids were SO excited for Breakfast in the morning. Breakfast of Champions, baby! Donuts! Good thing I don't always feed my kids like this! hehehe.

After Wal-Mart, we headed out for the Dollar Tree. We drove around for about 15 minutes before I admited to myself and the truck full of kids that I didn't know where the Dollar Tree on our side of town was. So, we hopped on Highway 54, and headed to the NorthEast side's Dollar Tree. I knew right where that one was. Sigh. I know it was further away, but it was probably less gas than wandering aimlessly - hehehe.

I let the kids each pick out a swim item. Jim got a spiderman floaty ring. Joe got a water squirter. Jake, Tom, and Eme got swim goggles. They were pretty excited. We're going to the pool on Thursday, so they'll get a chance to try them out. I also got some little notebooks to record my cash accountings, and a little bag /purse to keep the envelopes in. It's the PERFECT size. I also got 2 bucket hats for Jim and Joe.

Back home, kids to bed, orgainzed the money/envelopes, typed up my budget, and started designing/blogging. Oh yeah, and I printed out my grocery shopping list. But the ink ran out 1/2 way through, so I had to hand write in the other half. Big pain in the butt. Curses on you, Wal-Mart, for not having my ink. hehehehe.

Today, Jacob has his GT testing from 8:15am - 11:30am. Holy cow! I sure hope I don't have to stay the whole time. I'll send him with the phone, and he can call when he's done. That way, I can go grocery shop while he's in his test.

Then, at 11am (yeah, I"ll be a bit late), the girls and I are going to Kelly Park. It's the 1st sprinkler part I we went to. I heard that they're giving away free lunch on Wednesdays. I'm all about free. Really, I am. And luckily, so are my friends - hehehe. It's good to have friends who are like yourself :)

Also, it's Scouts night. Busy, busy, busy. And, I only have 2 WordArt packs designed, so I'll have to find time to do the other 3 in between all of my going and doings. Oh yeah, we're having a HUGE 4th of July sale at the Orchard! Keep your eyes peeled for more info!!!

This WordArt request is from Henriette. It's the song from Titanic :) Hope you like it, girl! Click HERE to go to Scraporchard's gallery to download the ZIP file, and leave some love if you like my work!