Miss Snippity...

Double-digit Birthday Angry Bird style

2012-01-16T16:32:00.001-08:00

We had a 10th birthday party for Jedi boy. I almost chose a Star Wars theme, but at the last minute switched it to Angry Birds. We rarely do the big parties, so these were a special treat.

Angry Bird Cake and Rice Krispy Piggy Treats

Friends were able to join in and fun was had by all!

This time last week

2011-12-09T17:50:00.001-08:00

We took the kids for a whirlwind tour of NYC! One day in the city. We had a blast. Kids saw Times Square, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty and rode two ferries, buses and subway. What a great adventure. It was a lot of late night driving for the grown ups, but worth it!

Beauty and Life

2011-10-07T08:54:00.000-07:00

Today is beautiful! The sun is shining, light wind, and a cloudless sky...with temps at 70 degrees. Perfect in my opinion!

I have a few minutes to post about us! At the end of August, we had Hurricane Irene come. Our home is usually quite safe in these storms, and this one was no exception. (We have been working hard to support the many in our communities that were devastated).

But, since the opportunity was there (School delayed, no work for me, etc), the two kids and I left Mr. Snippity here while we went to visit Jedi girl on the other side of the state. It was a good move. We were able to have good weather and a fun time. We got there so quickly, that we had to wait for school to let out! Princess Leia's dad took us over to visit the horses at the clinic.I am not really a "horse person", but I am pretty sure that crocs and flip flops are NOT the ideal riding shoes :)

Then, we waited very very patiently:

And here was our Girl!

The rest of the weekend was kind of a blur. I vaguely recall PetSmart, Old Navy, Krispy Kreme and Ikea in there somewhere :)

Thanks to http://smartbutnotwise.blogspot.com for letting us crash with her for a long weekend! We are getting ready to go visit again soon...and I will be looking for the Hot N Fresh sign! :)

Still Here

2011-09-13T12:15:00.001-07:00

I'm still here! Keeping up with my everyday challenges takes a good bit of my time, so blogging has to take a back seat.

Work is a big one! Taking good care of 5 infant/toddler/young preschoolers is a lot of hard work, and naptimes are not consistant. That makes it even harder to get routine tasks done.

All that said...I'll be back...at some point...probably sporadically for a while.

Losing a girl

2011-08-03T19:54:00.000-07:00

I know, I am always complaining about teenage drama. I guess I am going to get a little bit of a break from all of that. Jedi girl is leaving me to go live with her father. They live about 5-6 hours away from us.

I'm still processing how I feel about all the changes. We are down to a few days before the move, and the tensions are high.

I never once dreamed in these last 15 years that this would happen.

Freecycle

2011-07-29T13:23:00.000-07:00

Does anyone use this service in their community?

I have been a subscriber to the freecycle group for about 2 years now. I've seen lots of random items posted...but nothing that has been useful to me. Until recently, that is. Mr. Snippity & I had been looking for a bedframe. We have a king size bed, but were using a queen size frame that had been made to work since we were reluctant to spend such a large chunk of money. Last week, I saw a post for the king size frame. Emailed the contact. Waited and waited. Figured I wasn't quick enough to score the deal. Finally, the person emailed me back, and I was the first one to claim it! I had to send the Mr and his dad to do the pickup, as it is a BIG bed. Now, my room feels 'fancy' as my 7 year old said! Of course, putting a new bed frame in meant I had to *clean* the room too...so it is fancy and CLEAN! :)

Now, if anyone has a matching dresser...I'm your girl!

Wants

2011-07-11T15:11:00.000-07:00

My teenager has a terrible case of the "I want's!". Let me start by pointing out that she is almost 15 years old and has: a cell phone (not a smartphone), an ipod (a few years old), a laptop computer (a few years old). I'm going on a 13 hour car ride, and I want a new $300-$500 tablet computer to take on the ride.

Recent conversation :

"I don't have the cell phone I wanted, I don't have the ipod I wanted, My laptop won't work unless it is plugged in and keys fall off...it's all crap!

Here's what she doesn't have: A job. And that's why she will not get any of those new things any time soon.

Music at McD's

2011-03-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

This morning, I was splurging on a fast food breakfast for the kids(dollar menu!) It was a last minute decision since Jedi boy had some 'assessments' today. We get to McD's (the only fast food breakfast choice in my town). There are about 6 guys in line ahead of us. My kids go sit at a table and are waiting patiently (seriously!) and keeping the childcare baby happy. One of the guys in the line makes a comment to me about how good the kids are...(I know!?!?!? Right?) So we strike up the 'are you from around here' talk. (Since we live in a touristy area, we have this conversation often!) It turns out these guys are a Christian rock band and are filming a video on the sand dunes. I was chatting with their lead vocalist. Since the food service was kind of slow, we had plenty of time to converse. Long story short...he gave us one of his band's cd's. Once we were back in the car, we had time to listen to two songs before we got to the school. I like it!

I came home and looked them up online. It appears that this group is on the road to being a well known group...they've played with some big acts. You can check out the band for yourself...Love Like Gravity. I'm rocking out to their CD right now :)

Melva

2011-01-23T16:34:00.001-08:00

I still have 1 living great grandmother. She and I are not particularly close, but I have some fond memories. She is my father's grandmother.

She has had cancer in the past and has been living in a nursing facility first for rehabilitation after surgery and then due to her Alzheimers. Now her cancer has returned and she in in the hospital listed as terminal.

She has her children and some grandchildren and other family at the hospital with her, and they say she is resting, but not really responding to them much.

I'm sad...

Bargains at HT

2011-01-08T16:19:00.000-08:00

Harris Teeter has been doing super doubles this week. I've gone twice so far.
My favorite deals were:
Ziploc XXL bags (pack of 3)for free {I love these bags!}
Ziploc sandwich and freezer bags for 1.50 each
HV Ranch dressing double packets for .95 each
16oz Coffee Creamer for .39
2 pounds frozen broccoli florets 1.75
Pudding cup snack pack (4 pack) for .50 each
French's honey mustard dipping sauce for free (new item for us...tried it tonight...it is good!)
Coke 2 liters for 1.17

I don't always do great keeping up with my coupons, but even if I do this once or twice a year, it still saves some $$$!

Drama Cat

2010-12-13T17:28:00.000-08:00

It was a dark and stormy night...halloween night, 2009 to be more specific. My children and I had walked over to our neighbors house to warm ourselves at the fire pit. Some of their friends drove up to visit as well. Some other neighbor friends of ours were walking near our home and thought they heard a weird thump. Turns out that our neighbors friends had hit our cat. We couldn't find the cat that night. Or the next day. On the third day, I found him hiding in the backyard. He looked ok, except his tummy had some indentions. Of course, this meant a trip to the vet was in order, as we are not the type to break out the guns and put animals out of misery. Mr. Snippity took him to get checked out. The cat had multiple xrays without a definate diagnosis. If we wanted to save him, they were going to have to do surgery. It turns out he had a hernia...and the first surgery didn't work, so they had to do it again from a different angle. (They were so kind to not charge for the unsuccessful surgery...).

Anyway, long story short. Now that same kitty is sometimes limping. He holds his paw up and hops around. No sign of external injury. (AND I am NOT taking him to get it checked out) Because then he is using it...and the next time you see him, he is limping. A few minutes later, he'll use it. I even saw him go pull a fast one on my neighbor. Kitty went up to his porch, limping terribly, while crying out the most pitiful meow. That neighbor came out and gave him treats. Neighbor went back inside. Then, kitty came home at a full run with no limp. I think my kitty is smarter than we give him credit for! I think he's working us all for sympathy treats!

date night

2010-11-26T19:43:00.001-08:00

Mr. Snippity and I had an opportunity for a date night. We had the kids with grandparents. Us adults weren't quite sure what to do with our time. Even though it is "black Friday", we do not usually go shopping. This evening we did. We did not get anything extravagant, but it was nice to just browse the stores with my honey and point out things for the kids/family. After a really nice dinner (at Wendy's, hahah), we are now sitting behind the mall, waiting for a tow truck for a family member. AAA is really worth it.

My Christmas gift

2010-11-22T19:33:00.000-08:00

It has happened again...major appliance failure.

First, the outdoor air unit. On the hottest day of the year...August 2009. Got it repaired.
Next, the washer. Small parts...over and over and over...replaced June 2010.
Today, refrigerator...dead. Pretty expensive repair to make...so I've got one ordered. It will get here just before Christmas...so can we say Merry Christmas to me?

I'm just wondering, which one comes next?

I'm so very thankful for spme friends that had an extra fridge that we are borrowing until the delivery...this way I could get what I wanted, not just what was in stock.

Saturday night rambling and thoughts

2010-11-20T16:34:00.000-08:00

Well...it is Saturday night, and I am home alone. Normally, I would love to take some time for me, crash on the couch or take a hot bubble bath. Not so. I am past many of the obligations I had to do...but now I am still stuck in the schoolwork rut. So much to do, and not too much time to get it all done.

Mr. Snippity took two of the kids to the movies. One other is with a friend. I could have gone with them, but I just have no desire to go spend that much money on a movie ticket these days. There are plenty of things on Netflix that I haven't seen yet, and plenty of other things for me to spend my money on!

Of course, it could be like one night recently. Sitting on the couch, using the Wii for watching Netflix. My hubby has the remote. I say, just pick something. I suggest a couple of titles that flash by...nothing. I think he looked for about 40 minutes before he finally to watch some action flick. It was crazy! I love to flip channels just as much as the next guy...but seriously pick a moie already!!! So, tonight...the Netflix is all mine! I do not think I will be doing any schoolwork, hahah!

Mr. Snippity has been working many nights lately at the second job...then had about 4 nights in a row off. I was just getting used to him being gone in the evenings and poof* he's back! It is nice to have him home...I am just surprised at how much of an adjustment it is....

I had the opportunity several times recently to be around adults...no kids that I was responsible for! I could get used to that again. Like today, I went shopping with one of my friends, and I even went to the Dollar Tree...and did NOT buy any toys! :) I guess now that my kiddos are getting older, they are more independent, and therefore do not need constant supervision...usually. I left Jedi girl home with Jedi boy while Cinderella was at an event with others. I am really lucky!

Then I realize, while I have some really amazing friends, we really do not get to spend much time together. I need to make time for that in the schedule...but I'm not optimistic about being able to actually do it any time soon. Oh, the life of a busy mother, wife, student, worker, etc...

HT super doubles

2010-11-08T15:13:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I went grocery shopping on Saturday. It is super doubles week at Harris Teeter and one of my friends asked if I wanted to go. I haven't been using my coupons very much lately (I blame it on being too busy, silly me!). So, when I had the chance, I quickly scooped up a few coupon flyers and picked a few things. I did pretty good on that trip. Full price would have been about $175, My cost was $90. (Not bad, I thought...since I didn't have time to really plan the coupon deals, and I bought many things that didn't have coupons that were regular sales.). So then today, I had to go on another errand one block over from HT, I figured I would hit it up again.

So...the summary from today! All of the items pictured above, plus one box of oven bags not pictured would have been regular retail $98. I paid $42. All of this is stuff that will get used, and some of it was a bit of a splurge..like the poptarts. I rarely buy them...but my kids adore them. I haven't had very good results with the make your own variety...so for $1.33 per box (after coupon), I think I did pretty decent deals. I even added in a few other items without coupons because I needed them (ranch dressing, for one!).

Now, I need to decide if it is worth the effort to make a special trip tomorrow to get more deals...25 minute drive makes it a challenge...so I probably won't...but I do adore shopping at HT.

Breakfast time!

2010-10-12T12:50:00.000-07:00

I really love making homemade pancakes. Recently I even did some modifications to the tried and true recipe! Applesauce and cinnamon made a special flavor for snack time that day.

But, today...today is the post about cereal. I love to cook for my family. Usually they eat pretty much whatever I fix. Lately has been a different story. They want cereal. For every meal. I'm slaving away...and they have already rushed in to the kitchen grabbed a bowl and are pouring the milk.

I love to foster independence in my children, so I just wrap up whatever I was making and send it to school for lunch! :)

Check out a blog by a hilarious lady, my inspiration for this post ;)

Frog adventures

2010-09-09T19:08:00.000-07:00

No cute story to this one, except my kids found a tree frog & Jedi boy took a short video of him.

Storm?

2010-09-02T12:59:00.001-07:00

It is Thursday afternoon, and everyone has been all hyped up about hurricane Earl. Of course we are making the necessary preparations...but chill out people. Relax already!

bright teenagers

2010-08-11T17:38:00.001-07:00

The sky is lit up with crazy lightning...the radar has all sorts of red and yellow blobs blazing....yet it is not raining. Yet my teenagers think it is ok to go for a dip in the pool. Real bright!

Dinnertime!

2010-08-06T15:20:00.001-07:00

Cinderella and I are having a girl night. We're eating ribs that have been cooking ALL DAY. Add a side of mashed potatoes and some grapes (because we must get 5 fruits/veggies a day).

another day

2010-08-04T19:40:00.001-07:00

Today was one more day on the hampster wheel of my life. Not too bad, really. I'm trying to get some work done around the house. Yesterday saw the flower bed get the weeds pulled. Today, some paperwork was finished...and I got a start on cleaning out some junk from the kids' rooms. There is a lot more left to do where that job came from. My mom is supposed to come tomorrow to help me clean out the utility room. Fun Stuff!

Teenagers

2010-07-31T16:41:00.001-07:00

Princess Leia is a teenager...and she has done this to my family:

In case you are not alive & breathing...this is Justin Beiber. The teenage princess in my house has a crush on this guy. Bigtime. She played his music so much that the other two kids now love him too. I kind of thought that with said princess spending most of the summer with her dad, I wouldn't have to listen to him for a while.

This would be wrong. On the way to a magic show last night, my two kids and a friend made me listen!!! Isn't technology wonderful, so you can use an SD card and play it in your nintendo dsi, laptops, Wii system and even in the new radio in our van. Yay, us! :-/ :)

Trying something new

2010-07-31T16:39:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I've had this 'smartphone' for one year and two months. I use it for all kinds of neat things...but who knew there was a blogging app? Maybe I will have a minute with my phone in hand to share more frequently! So now I can text, facebook, pandora, solitaire, weather channel, calculate, create ringtones and more.

Alaska....was fantastic

2010-07-06T19:12:00.000-07:00

The view from behind the church where we worked

I took a trip to Alaska recently, to work at a church, helping with VBS. It was gorgeous. I could totally move there. Here are a few pics to show you just a little of the area. The pics do NOT even begin to do the scenery any justice. Mountains, snow, pointy trees, glaciers, lakes & more. The people were so welcoming, & fun! There were quite a few who's accents sounded entirely too much like a certain politician. The plane rides were long, but worth it!

"Rainbow Ridge"

Water, clouds & sky...and I think a beaver dam in there somewhere :)

VBS was great

2010-07-06T19:09:00.001-07:00

Of course, I am only telling you about it over a week late. We made tons of snacks and preschool lunches. Fun times, everything went rather smoothly. All the daycare kiddos came out & were well cared for while I was working. We enjoyed Saddle Ridge Ranch! Next year's theme? New York City! I just happen to be going on a trip there really soon! Maybe I can find some good inspiration for "authentic" city food!

Summa time

2010-06-24T11:22:00.000-07:00

It is already summertime & the living is good! It is still crazy around this ranch, with so much going on.

We finished up the school year. Cinderella finished Kindergarten, Jedi Boy moves up to third grade & Princess Leia finished her middle school career! As the kids were finishing up that, Leia and I joined with other local people to do some missions work at a church in Alaska! In order to get there, we held a few fundraisers & that took up a good bit of time and energy.

I need to write some thank you notes :)

So, the trip was a blast. I'l try to write a seperate post about that. The day I came back to work, I had a couple of new kids start attending my childcare. It is pretty difficult on a first day back from a vacation...so if you add in jet lag and 2 kids who are new to the program, it gets even harder! I will definately re-think those logistics if necessary in the future! We are going to miss the two who have moved on, but we are lucky that our lives will still be linked. We live in the same community and cross paths pretty often. I am excited about that :)

This week is VBS, and I get to be the snack lady again! I love it! It is messy, hot, and so fun!

I just thought all my dedicated readers (ok, 1 or 2 of you) might like to know I am still here!

Stuff

2010-05-05T08:48:00.001-07:00

There is much going on! I'm sure that is a universal feeling. This college semester has been a fun, yet demanding one. There were lots of special projects, done at the last moment of course! Tonight I will take my last final for the semester. That is a relief! I got an A in the project-full class. If I do well tonight & get 41 or more points out of 50, I will get an A in that class as well. At this point, I really don't care so much. I am willing to take a B if that is how it goes down.

Mission trip fundraising is in full swing. I'm not sure if I shared on here, but Princess Leia and I are going to Alaska to do mission work. The timing of this trip happens so that my eldest is going to miss the last week of school. She really is not disappointed about that! She is a little more sad about missing the 8th grade promotion ceremony, but she said the trip should make up for it! We will be assisting a small town church with VBS in the morning hours. In the afternoons, we will be helping a youth camp, by cleaning and making repairs to get it prepared for the summer campers. We will have a blast!

In order to get there, we are doing fundraisers. Lots of fundraisers! We have done a car wash, a bake sale, a yard sale, and are getting ready to host a breakfast at applebee's.

This past weekend I have rediscovered my love for geocaching. One of my old caching pals came into town, and we had a couple of cache runs. She even convinced me to go to an event with her. We did, and it was pretty fun. Unfortunately, she had to go back home. The good part is that I have passed the geo-bug on to a couple of other friends that are still local. Maybe our 2 families will find some time to adventure together!

Ok, so now that your eyes are tired of reading these ramblings, I'll stop. I'll make no promises of when the next blog post will be...but I am thinking soon!

Good Citizen Award

2010-04-24T20:36:00.000-07:00

I guess time has gotten away from me again!

Here is Cinderella, very proud of her "Good Citizen Award" at school.

There has been so much more and I just haven't had time to upload photos, much less to write about them!
I'll try to catch up with more soon!

More CVS deals

2010-03-13T12:02:00.000-08:00

Today was pretty nice at CVS. It was very slow, not many customers. Probably because it is one of the most beautiful weather days in a long time, and what crazy people would be shopping instead of out enjoying the weather? Oh, wait...that would be me. I was feeling a little sick today, and needed to get some medication. I figured while I was going anyway, I'd see what kind of deals I could find.

I broke this up into several transactions...but I got:

2 Nivea Lip products
1 Gillette Fusion Razor
2 bottles pantene products
2 oral B toothbrushes
1 packet antacids :)
1 4pack double end permanent markers

Using coupons and extra bucks...For a grand total of $9.13 including tax for what would have been $51.52 at regular retail

She ditched me

2010-02-28T14:35:00.000-08:00

At our church, we have occasional 'sing n share' nights. Princess Leia and I both play clarinet. She wanted us to play something together, but would never make a choice, nor did she bring home her instrument to practice with me. So...the program is tonight. Of course she wants to wait until the last minute & practice this afternoon. Fine. Then, every song she picks is hard for me to make a transition on certain notes (she picks one in the key of dflat...I'm kind of out-of-practice). I don't have the time to transcribe it to something else. She is unwilling t practice other songs. Finally we come up with 2 that we can pull off, but haven't practiced together. Then she want to run off and practice with her friend "K". So, I've been ditched. I was going to play something on my own, but now she ran off with the instruments (a bass clarinet and a regular clarinet...our extra regular clarinet is broken)...and I cannot practice on my own either. This pretty much stinks. This has been the abbreviated version. There were lots of temper tantrums and stomping around involved.

Celebration

2010-02-24T11:27:00.000-08:00

Today is February 24th. I am having a personal celebration of "National Tortilla Chip Day". It's not really a federally sanctioned holiday or anything...but hey, why not? While the kiddos are napping, I'm having a little snack of...you guessed it...Tortilla chips. I'm enjoying them with a new(to me) delight. I ran into one of my childcare parents at the grocery store, and they highly recommended the Newman's Own Black Bean and Corn Salsa. It is sooo good, I almost don't need the chip!

Drug store game savings

2010-02-15T11:47:00.000-08:00

I have been paying closer attention to some deals that can be gotten at CVS. Today, I made some good bargains. I broke these up into four transactions, but I got $70.58 retail regular price of stuff we will use for $16.22 out of pocket. I will go back and do one more transaction to get $10.38 worth for $2.31 and will still have $4 Extra bucks left to use next week, then my grand total will be $80.96 worth for $18.53, with $4 left. Good stuff! Some of the things I purchased are crest toothpaste, mouthwash, colgate toothpaste, bic razors, cover girl pressed powder and several glade air freshener products.

Happy Love Day

2010-02-14T05:00:00.000-08:00

Here's the valentine card that Cinderella gave her kindergarten classmates.
Recycled crayons :)

So, from us to you...Have a colorful valentine's day!

Craft idea credit: the longest thread

Out of the mouths and minds of kids...

2010-02-10T12:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Jedi boy came to me with a request. I, of course, was doing 3000 hundred things at once, so I wasn't paying him full attention.
Following is the scenario:
JB: Mom, we need to get a shell.
Me: um, what?
JB: We need to buy a magic shell for school.
Me: what?
JB: For school...we need a magic shell.
Me: Ok. Wait, what? A magic shell? I'm thinking*What are you guys doing at that school anyway *
JB: Yes, we need a magic shell, I have a note (shows me the note)...do you know how to get one?
Me: Ohhhh...I get it now! Magic shell ice cream topping for the ice cream party on Friday.

My poor kids, I have never bought them magic shell before...they don't know what it is...what a tragedy. :)

I'm a winner

2010-02-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

I won the copy of Turbo Tax! Woo hoo! Thanks to Mike at cleverdude.com for the giveaway...he saved me money! This is the first time I've ever won anything on blog giveaways. I was drawn to his site a long while ago from an article he wrote on making peanut butter & jelly sandwiches:)

Door off the hinges

2010-02-02T17:25:00.000-08:00

Ok, so Princess Leia is 13. Needless to say, she knows everything. The other night she seemed to think she could be in charge of the adults. (Ha!)! She sassed me, and stormed into her room. She slammed the door. I opened it and made her close it gently. Then I made her open it, just because I said so. She told me I cannot tell her what to do with her door. We removed the door to prove our point. She did not like it. We gave it back the next day after she made nice.

Tax time

2010-02-01T10:03:00.001-08:00

It is the first day of February! This means tax preparation is in full swing. I spent the weekend sorting paperwork, printing year end statements, and letting Mr. Snippity use the shredder. Now I am ready to take the next step, which is updating spreadsheets for mileage and other things. So few steps to take before I am ready to file! I love the TurboTax product. In fact, I have turned most of my family (mom, granny, aunt, cousin...) into turbo tax filers. Of course, that usually means they ask me to help them do it. But, Turbo tax is so easy, I do not mind at all, as long as they have all their paperwork in order. One of the blogs I like to read is Clever Dude. He is giving away copies of the premier version of turbo tax. I usually use the deluxe version, since it suits my small business needs. however, free is free, so I am blogging about his contest in order to enter it for myself! You can enter if you like by going to CleverDude's blog and following the directions.

Farewell...

2010-01-29T09:46:00.000-08:00

Polka Dot and Squishy have gone to hermit heaven :(
We had them for a little more than 3 weeks. I'm not entirely sure why...but I don't think they enjoyed the field trip to Granny's house over the weekend. The other 2 are still alive, but are burrowed with each other in a corner, and haven't moved much. Fortunately, we did find a local source of crabs, even in the winter 'off' season.

New pets

2010-01-27T05:30:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of new additions to out pet family.

"Polka-dot", and "Pinchy"

They poop a lot ;)

(not pictured: Hermie & squishy)

Do I look like my grandma?

2010-01-26T05:25:00.000-08:00

One of the grandma's came over a couple of weeks ago. We have told Cinderella that she looked a lot like this Grandma. So, when Cinderella asked for my glasses to show Grandma...I snapped a quick picture.

Unfortunately Grandma kept closing her eyes...but I think you get the idea.
What do you think?

Self portrait

2010-01-25T11:20:00.000-08:00

In recent days, I had to submit a photograph of myself as part of an application.

I hate seeing myself in photos. I didn't have a good one already on my computer...so I used the timer feature on my camera (for the first time ever!)

This is what I came out with.

Is it good enough? I hope so, because I've already printed and attached it...ready to mail. Maybe I will be selected for the award I applied for :)

Feeling good...on a Monday?

2010-01-25T10:24:00.000-08:00

I admit it, I dread Mondays. It is always so hard to get back into the routine, ya know? Anyway, today has been great so far! I attribute it to good friends and bacon bits. Yes, you heard me right! Good friends: because I got to have a fun conversation witha faraway friend this morning. Also, because I had bacon bits on my lunch salad. I love bacon bits. ;)

Baby & more

2010-01-21T13:41:00.001-08:00

My newest client was born on Monday! A baby girl! All is well.

Also, one of my BFF's called today with her great news...baby #3 is in her future. :) Her youngest is 6, so she is in for a nice re-adjustment time.

I have gotten so spoiled with homemade pancakes. I have been using Money Saving Mommies recipe ever since she posted it. However, my grandma brought me a box of mix to use the other day. I used it to make breakfast earlier this week. Compared to homemade, they were so gross! Really, they were fine, I guess...as long as there was lots of syrup. With the homemade mix, the pancakes are slightly sweet, and I usually eat mine without syrup. I'll finish the box of mix (waste not...), but I can't wait to get back to the homemade!

Playing babies

2010-01-14T06:55:00.000-08:00

One of the daycare children is going to have a baby sister very soon! The mom is scheduled for a c-section next week. That translates into lots of baby talk at my house! For a few weeks, the kids have been wearing babies in their shirts, having doctor visits, and taking good care of their babies. Today, we even had ultrasounds to check and make sure their babies were healthy!
In my childcare, I let the children direct most of our playtime topics...and I just ask a few open-ended questions here and there to get their brains clicking. I introduce more words that correlate to what they are playing, and they are like little sponges. So much fun! And as much as I enjoy these older kids...I still can't wait for the new baby to get here!

going along

2010-01-13T05:57:00.000-08:00

Things are good...

I mentioned car troubles in a recent post. Let me give you an update. Mr. Snippity has started the time consuming major repairs to his car. I think the parts so far are in the $500 range. I think his car will be out of order for at least two weeks while he does the work in his spare time. My van: the mechanic FINALLY came out, and found that I was low on some fluid, that there was some sort of a leak and air was getting in...so it was going to need repair. It is not a safety issue and doesn't have to be done right away. However, since he added the fluid, there has been no more noise! I think we have found our short term solution! But, I had to get my yearly state inspection and I had to buy new tires. It is no fun spending money right after Christmas on something so boring! But, I like my driving freedom, and I want my passengers to be safe, so it wasn't that much of a sacrifice. Except now my bank account is empty.

But I said things are good! They are! Our family life has been very satisfying. We do have a teenager, so it is not all peaches & cream...but we are all spending time together, playing games together, and just really enjoying each other most of the time. Jedi boy & Cinderella have been best friends and are so sweet. Last night, they dried and put away dishes(not anything they have ever done before). This morning, they left me a three stage scavenger hunt, complete with handdrawn maps. They had made a very colorful love note for me as the treasure, thanking me for several things. I love those little darlings!

My classes have started again. Two courses this semester. So far, they are much more organized and should not be as much of a headache as last semester...even though I think they will require more actual work. I'm grabbing my books and reading in spare moments. Usually when the daycare kids are resting is the easiest time to do reading. I'll have to carve out some evening time to complete projects, but it should work ;)

If you have read this far...I'm impressed. I think of so many things to write on this blog, but by the time I get to physically write them down, the ideas are gone! I was never very good at keeping a diary or journaling either! I've typed all this out quickly, in the time that is has taken for 4 kids to eat breakfast. Time's up! Gotta go!

First post of 2010- it's going to be a long one :)

2010-01-03T10:44:00.000-08:00

That was the first time I have had to write the date so far this year! It will certainly take some getting used to.

It has been such a wonderful day so far! My ladies group (WoM, aka WMU), hosted a luncheon at church today. I was the organizer...anmd I enlisted people of the church to make soups to donate. We had 7 different soups to serve!

I went shopping yesterday to do my part...salad stuff & some tea. I didn't have to do anything hard...just slice some cucumbers & tomatoes, make some croutons & ranch dressing. I made way too much ranch! Anyway...I did all that last night. But I was so excited and anxious, I couldn't get to sleep. I finally settled down around 1 am. My alarm was set for 8 am...but I woke up at 7:15 and jumped up to get ready.

I packed up my bags with stuff & headed with the family to church. My Sunday School class volunteered to help set up the tables & prepare the fellowship hall, so we did that as a team. In talking together, we discovered we were all having car troubles and had busy schedules ahead. But we all felt good! It was fun to fellowship with this class in a way that we do not usually get to do. We had tons of people stop by the kitchen and ask if they could give us a hand. We really didn't need too many at that point, but it was nice to have offers! In so many parts of life, you are left to your own devices. I am proud to be part of a church family that has willing workers.

We prepped as much as we could, then went to 'big church' for the music & praise part of the service. It was awesome! Our church has been searching for a music director. One man was hired on a trial basis, and it did not work out. He was very musically talented, but didn't 'fit' just right. So, we have people that step in to volunteer wherever they can. Today's group was really in the spirit & they were jamming! I loved it.

In order to make sure the food was hot n' ready...a few of us slipped out right before the preaching. There was much to be done, and it just came together so well! I am so thankful for a great time.

We talk about doing something like this more often...like once a month to support different mission opportunities throughout the year. I hope we keep it up! I know of several mission trips coming this year that will need financial support. We all love to eat, and I think this will turn out to be a good thing!

Now, it is Sunday afternoon, and I my house has seemed to explode around me this Christmas break. So, after a quick nap :) , there will be much to do to get everyone back in the swing of school and work tomorrow! If you've read this far, you are brave...thanks for reading!

December catch-up

2009-12-28T12:08:00.001-08:00

December has made a hasty journey through our home! It has been a busy month. It seems like every gathering or party, performance, etc... had to be scheduled in the beginning of the month so no one would have conflicts with Christmas gatherings. So many, that these things were conflicting with one another. Just when you thought things would settle down, right?

We had a Children's Christmas program, Middle school Band concert, Adult Choir Cantata(plus rehersals), Elementary school PTA, my network of providers 'party'(I missed this), slide show presentation I had to put together for church, 2 grades' class parties to prepare for, Children's field trip to see lights, 3 'official' family gatherings and countless other activities. Add to this a mission project I was helping with, plus just decorating and shopping for my family get-togethers. I am kind of over the busy-ness of the season. I sure am glad that is not the only reason we celebrate at Christmastime. If the busy things were all we had, that would be a huge letdown. Thank you Lord for Jesus!

We have had some car troubles, with mine, and Mr. Snippity's cars. My car has been making strange noises for weeks. I've mentioned it several times to the MR., but it just is not one of his priorities. It works fine, and I think it should be a simple fix, if he will just get to it. However, on Christmas morning his car would not start. It has made him extremely grumpy. Grumpy McGrump is his name especially this week. This grumpy mood doesn't help anyone else be happy! I will be so glad when this car thing gets straightened out!

The two younger kids have been such a joy these past couple of weeks. I have had time to spend with them one-on-one, and it is sweet. The teenager...well, let's just say she doesn't enjoy my company quite like the little ones.

I've been trying to focus on getting our home a little more organized, a little more decluttered. The trash and recycling bins are full, but there is still so much 'stuff'! I'm going to be continuing this job. As this year winds down, I am going to focus on simplifying our lives as much as I can. I also love the fresh pages of a new calendar...although I am sure they will be filled quickly!

Sausage Pinwheels

2009-12-11T12:19:00.000-08:00

I recently (okay, I admit...last month) put out a request to my recipe sharing friends for new food ideas. I have been bored with all the usuals'.

I present to you sausage pinwheels:

1/2 pound sausage, 1 tube crescent rolls, shredded cheese
Spread crescent roll dough out, pinching the seams together. Spread uncooked sausage over top. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Roll up from long side and slice into pinwheels. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for about 20 minutes.

I have made this 2 times now. Once for family, once for daycare. Both groups were pleased.
The first time, I misread the recipe and used the whole pound of sausage. I let it cook a little longer to make sure all that sausage was done.
On the second attempt, I did it as the recipe directed. It was good too. On the second try, I used one of the 'recipe creations' crescent roll tubes. It is not perforated, as it is a solid sheet of crescent dough. Or, supposed to be. When my can opened, there were a few rips as it came out of the tube. I thought I would try a shortcut...but at a about 10 cents more per can, I won't be buying this again! I'm sticking to regular crescent rolls...I can pinch ;) Pinch pennies, too!

cute PTA moment

2009-12-03T07:10:00.000-08:00

Cinderella singing with her kindergarten class at a recent PTA meeting.

So cute :)

One thing left

2009-12-01T14:47:00.001-08:00

I have one assignment left to do for my college class this semester. It is to post on the discussion board our 'final analysis' of the class. So far, I have hesitated to post my feedback. Why? Because every other person has posted only postivie remarks. This class has seriously stunk...and this professor has been the most scattered and unorganized I've ever had. It is an online class, and so I only know one person from my class 'in real life'. Her experience has not been good either.

One problem has been the due dates. They have changed several times during the semester. When I've emailed her with questions, she pretty much sends the exact copy of the assignment information, without clarification. I have turned assignments in and she has not given us any feedback about how we did, other than a number grade. I have had to remind her to post grades for some of my work, and for others I have had grades come up on the chart for things I had not turned in yet. Major projects had components posted in 3 or 4 different places, with the details varying from place to place. I am concerned that if I put the truth out there, some of my grades might disappear or change, or I will get a bad grade on this assignment, which could be the difference between an A or B for me.

So, are all these other people lying? Should I only look for the positive? We have an anonymous survey that we turn in to administration at the end of the semester, so I have an avenue to give that feedback. What to do?

November 30

2009-11-30T09:27:00.000-08:00

It is the last day of November. I cannot believe how fast this year has gone! I have so much left to accomplish before this year leaves me behind!

We are home from our Thanksgiving travel. I love to go see my friends, but leaving home is hard work. The neatest thing happened on our drive home. We had to travel major interstate near Charlotte, NC. There was a cool parade of planes coming in to land. These weren't any little mosquito planes like I am used to seeing at home. Every minute or so, a large plane would pass across, and you could see 3 to 4 more following in the same flight path. This kept up for about 10-15 minutes, until we had passed the airport, and couldn't see them anymore. (I'm sure the planes kept it up, as this was Sunday...all those Thnaksgving travellers flying home, right?)

Now, the crunch is on to get things ready for Christmas! I am excited for Christmas, as usual...but I feel totally unprepared for this years' season. I want to do some major cookie baking, I need to do some major housecleaning (yuck!). I also have some other crafty fun projects to accomplish. I need to make a list!

Getting ready

2009-11-24T18:06:00.000-08:00

My family is getting ready to travel a bit for the Thanksgiving holiday. I get to stay over at my friend Heather's home. I am excited to go, but why does it have to be so dog-gone hard to get everyone here ready to go? I wanted to have the house somewhat tidy before we leave...it makes it so much nicer to come home to...you know? Anyway, I wrote up a short list of things to get done. You would think that I introduced my family to a firing squad. Their reactions put me in a bad mood...which didn't help their moods any. So, today I am choosing to be thankful that we have a home, even if the inhabitants don't take care of it.

After the coupon guilt passed..

2009-11-23T17:17:00.000-08:00

a little bit of redemption. (hee hee) coupon redemption, that is! I went to CVS and made a pretty good bargain, I think. I needed a foundation. I usually use Mary Kay foundation, but I couldn't pass up trying the Cover Girl deal at CVS. There was a special on Simply Ageless foundation and blush. buy one of each($13 and $10, $23 total), and you get $10 extrabucks. Not too shabby. But, when paired up with the buy one cover girl ageless foundation, get another cover girl face product free...I couldn't stop myself! I also had a $1.00 off any cover girl product coupon. Since I was 'buying' two products, I could use two coupons. Sweet, right?

So I checked out that transaction, then since I needed a few other things, I bought them using my extrabucks.

Here's what I got overall:
foundation
blush
3 boxes kleenex (.99 each on sale, plus .50/3 coupon)
refill pads for princess leia's face washer (7.99 regular price, CVS coupon for $2.00 off)
tic tacs

all for 14.59. Regular retail price would have been over $40.
I think that was a pretty good deal.

Coupon Guilt

2009-11-19T13:55:00.001-08:00

I am feeling some guilt over my wastefulness. In other words: What not to do with your coupons! I get the Sunday paper, and each week I put the coupon insert into a notebook I have designated for the purpose. Usually, I go through them and cut out & plan for each shopping trip. I have gotten WAY out of the habit this summer, when my local Harris Teeter does not have any triple coupon events. I finally sat down recently to sort & purge my coupon stash. I found piles and piles of coupon inserts that I had never touched. Some of the circulars dated from late May. I did not realize how long it had really been since I had used coupons! Now, I have a huge pile of waste :(

Recent Run

2009-11-09T12:01:00.000-08:00

Mr. Snippity recently finished his first half-marathon. He finished in about 2 hours 22 minutes.

Here are his cheerleaders! We anticipated his locations and cheered for him in 3 places along the route, plus once when we passed him in the car.

Fun stuff!

mouse

2009-10-21T10:48:00.001-07:00

I was a little late getting up this morning. Something about staying up late trying to beat my husband at the bejeweled blitz game on facebook might be one reason...

Anyway, I got the kiddos out the door to the school bus, and I went straight for the computer (to check my email~not facebook). I was a little bleary-eyed at first, but quickly noticed my mouse was not working. This happens from time to time, because we have a wireless mouse, and we have to recharge the batteries sometimes. I went to check the batteries, and realized the mouse was really a bar of soap. Real, soap! Complete with lines drawn to resemble the real mouse buttons. My wonderful son is responsible for the soap moouse...but the bad part is I cannot find the real mouse! I am so glad I have access to a laptop, so I can get my naptime facebook fix!

Tasty treat

2009-10-14T09:52:00.000-07:00

Our church's youth recently participated in a progressive dinner. I helped out making some appetizers. This was part of my contribution:

It is fruit kebabs! I used cantaloupe, fresh pineapple, kiwi and grapes. I used a sturdy plastic coffee stirrer for the stick...and red delicious apples halved as the base. I served them with a yogurt peanut butter dip.

Game or no game?

2009-10-07T15:38:00.000-07:00

I'm hanging out at home, listening to my oldest whine and complain because I wouldn't let her go to a football game. She even posted it as a status on her facebook.

A little history:

She is in 8th grade, but plays in the high school marching band. We go to all their home games, plus competitions and we participate in fund raisers.
She plays Parks & recreation soccer...meets 2 or 3 times a week.
Her middle school has a football game tonight against their rival school.
She has a soccer game at 7:30, so she would have to leave the football game early.
She has no money of her own.
The friend she was going to ride with was going to be late going to the game.
She threw a temper tantrum earlier when I politely requested her to pick up some stuff in her room.
more, but not going into details

Therefore..NO game...and I am ruining her life. This teenage thing is lovely.

Reading Corner Flannel Board

2009-09-24T11:47:00.000-07:00

I made a neat thing in my playroom recently. I call it a Reading Corner Flannel Board. I had been intending to paint a tree in this corner for quite a while. Well, I made a few changes and now it is a multipurpose tree!

There are a few small shelves behind the center tree section for storage of flannel board story pieces. Also, two small shelves in the trunk are perfect for highlighting a specific story or theme material. Now, I need to create or buy some stories to use!

My local child care resource is going to use this idea in their next provider newsletter. One of provider friends told them about it.

Blog Jam

2009-09-17T04:36:00.000-07:00

I keep coming up with ideas that I should blog...but I am not at a computer. Then, when I have computer time, I keep forgetting what it was! Sorry. There is a lot going on for me right now, and I don't always like to share the serious stuff...I want fun & happy to shine through on the blog, and not weigh anyone down with the difficulties of day-to-day life. I figure you all have enough of your own.

So, in my attempt to keep it light, and to let you laugh at me, I'll tell you about something I did recently.

I went to Walmart. Woo hoo, I can hear the excitement now! hahah! I did go...a couple of weeks ago. I was out of many pantry staples, and I also needed some fabric for a craft project. We have no other place to get the fabric locally...so I went. I was kind of trying to hurry, as shopping on Saturdays gets a little crazy due to the influx of vacationing families in our area. I bought a huge container of grape jam. I love jam because it spreads so easily. Went home, unpacked, and got on with my day.

The following week, I went to make pb&j for lunches. I realized I bought jelly instead. Now I have this five thousand serving size jar of jelly. It just is not the same. When all I wanted was jam :)

Any suggestions on how to use it up quick? I am too frugal to just get rid of it!

4 stars

2009-09-17T04:26:00.000-07:00

For my non-facebook followers :) I am so excited to announce that my child care has recieved on increase on the state scales...to a four star childcare home. It has been two years since I licensed my home. I have been doing childcare for seven years so far (september 2002). I started out as a legally-operating non-licensed home. I kept 2 children plus my family. Then I had another baby. And somehow, I ended up with a child in my care who was going to have a baby brother. And I had no legal spaces. So, I jumped on the paperwork bandwagon. I wish I had gone ahead and gotten a license at the beginning, since it really hasn't been as terrible as I thought it would be. Anyway, when you start out, you can only have one star for the first six months. Then I started taking early childhood college classes. After that, more paperwork, and I got a 3 star license. I recently had the consulant come visit again, did the paperwork, and have the extra star. There are only 5 stars available, and I am not eligible to get the fifth star until I have the famil child care home rating assessment completed. This is a pretty intensive undertaking, so I am not planning on having it done soon...but eventually.

Last night before school begins!

2009-08-24T16:41:00.000-07:00

Officially, tomorrow I am no longer a parent of a preschooler. Cinderella goes to Kindergarten, Jedi Boy is a second grader and Princess Leia is starting eigth grade.

I am looking forward to the routine, I admit it. It is a time to start making dinner a little earlier each day...daily baths for the kids (maybe every other day :~)! Earlier morning wake-up alarms, and more.

I may be a little hectic again this fall, as I am enrolled in another college class for myself. All three kids are doing soccer, and the youngest two are also taking gymnastics once a week.

So, a busy, but hopefully fun fall, ready to go!!!

I used the dishwasher!!!

2009-08-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

I surprised my family recently. I loaded the dishwasher & started it! I usually do dishes by hand. If the dishwasher is used, it is because I asked one of the family members to do the dishes.

However, the dishes were in a huge pile and it was late. I went to move some stuff out of the sink to reach the drain plug. The green goo that greeted me was disgusting!!! I figured the only way to clean moldy gunk would be the dishwasher. I got all the nasty stuff in there, and when I found the bottom of the sink, I realized one of my kids had poured their "fruity pebbles" cereal in there. The green stuff was not mold, but a green waterlogged piece of cereal! I laughed at myself so hard.

Dryer woes

2009-08-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

I am a weekend laundry warrior! I am home during the days, but it is hard to get to the laundry task while I am working at home. So on the weekends, I play catch-up. Last weekend was especially hard, because a lot of our kids' bedding got dirty with a wetting "accident" 2 times in a row... So...add two more blankets/comforters and sheet sets to the usual pile. I got most of it washed, but the first load through the dryer stopped early, and would not restart. I do not have a clothes line, so I had stuff hanging on the deck rails and the shower curtain rods, plus the small drying rack I have. It was a nightmare...

The Mr. tested everything he could with his special tools & stuff...and he thought he found the problem, yay!!! But then, it wasn't. BOO :( So, he left it there for a while, than came back to try to figure it out again. He found the real problem! Double Yay!!! Except it was Saturday night, and he needed a special part. He called a distant relative that is in the appliance service business. The guy said he would drop the part off on Monday. (ACK!, that long!!! but still). Monday came and went...nothing. So it was supposed to be Tuesday. Guess what? Nothing! I called another family member to inquire about the man. They said he is never very punctual. I was mad that I had not thought to ask about this BEFORE we called the guy.

At this point, I am on the home depot website, dreaming about new super capacity dryers that can hold about 45 pair of jeans & more...

So, Mr. decided to call another guy that lives about 4 houses away...and presto, he left the part at our house while we were out that evening. Sixteen bucks for the part. WAY less money than buying a new dryer. The Mr. got it all back together, and now, I am again a weekend laundry queen. :)

Chief Family Officer hosts a giveaway

2009-07-30T11:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, if you know me, you know that my family is no stranger to Mcdonalds. My son used to beg to go to 'the french fry house'. Well, of course we have seen the 30th anniversary beanie babies. We only own about 4 of them now. We had Ronald ( Cinderella gave him away to a friend), and still have Quackly, Yammy, Fable, & Grimace. I'd love to have the entire set...so I am sharing the info with you about the giveaway. Go to chief family officer to enter for yourself!

My friends

2009-07-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

Of course, if you read my last post, you know I had friends come to visit. The original friend is Smart...but not wise, but we count her husband and kid as friends now, too. We had a good time. I met her oh so long ago...at college. My second college, as a matter of fact. (I've only attended 4...and do not have that many degrees to go with it :) We met at a residence hall council meeting. I have been told that I was going to help tutor her for one of her classes...but I really don't recall that part of the story. I do know that we got talking(us, talk, ha!), and eventually realized that her high school band teacher had left them, and had become my band teacher. On nearly opposite ends of the state. We thought that was pretty hilarious. And now, 14+ years later, we have no clue about that strange teacher, but we are still great friends.

Random whatever playing catch-up

2009-07-14T09:58:00.001-07:00

Ah, a *few* more days have gone by, with no blog posts to show for it. I guess you'll just have to take what you can get my friends :)

I had a wonderful birthday...complete with friends and food, etc... no cake though. I'm really not sure why. It's ok.

We had friends come in to stay "at the beach" for most of the week. We ate plenty of course. I even have a pretty decent tan happening. I hit the sand and surf quite a few times. I was actually able to go out and play in the ocean, since it was so calm and clear on one of the days. (I am usually a "pool" kind of gal!).

Speaking of pool, we now have our own above ground blue monstrosity. You know the kind! Really it is awesome to me, until I can save up for the huge in-ground complete with concrete deck & pool boy. It was a hand-me down from an aunt who wasn't going to use it. The water is still pretty cold...but my dear husband started filling it up on my birthday, while I was out playing around without a care in the world. It took it think about 3 days to get it full & the chemicals ready. Now I need to get an awesome raft to bask in the sun with my book & a soda...

I was 'on vacation' from my paying job, so I was able to play a good bit with my friends. I did have a couple of tasks like doctor & dentist appointments to get done, but otherwise, it was a 'whatever' kind of time.

It was a fun time, except I spent too much money on dining out. :(

Yesterday was my Granny's birthday (and my mother-in-law's). I made cake for the Granny, and we had a dinner at a family member's home. For my MIL...pretty much nothing. They don't seem to do the celebrations like my family does. At least Mr. Snippity called her!

Summertime

2009-07-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

Ah, the joy of summer! I am on a countdown to the holiday weekend. It is extra special to me, because I also celebrate my birthday tomorrow! I have always liked the number 3, because I was born on the 3rd...and this year I will be 33! I know, it is old...but it sounds good :)

Enjoy your weekend, and thank God for America!

Cinderella's Last day of school

2009-06-18T19:39:00.000-07:00

Not the best photo...

But, this was on the last morning of preschool for my baby girl.

What a bittersweet day!

My great grandfather

2009-06-17T19:34:00.000-07:00

I recently was given this photo of my great grandfather.

This was taken when he was a young man...I am not sure what year.
He was born in 1896 and died in 1989.
I was able to enjoy him for the first part of my life. He spoiled me rotten.
He used to drive around with me sitting out the window of his car. (I know, not good).
He encouraged me to act crazy.
He saved me from many, many spankings.
His old house (purchased and built in the early 1900's) is still in the family, and I go there sometimes, even though no one lives there.
He used to cook me breakfast when I slipped out of the house before my mom woke up.
He let me play with his hair (what little was left) while he watched wrasselin'.
I always read his farmers' almanacs.
I think this picture is pretty cool. It gave my grandma (his daughter) and I a good reason to remember out loud.

Meow

2009-06-08T14:29:00.000-07:00

This is Max. He's a happy outside cat now.

A day at the beach

2009-06-02T09:21:00.000-07:00

We ran away to the beach yesterday afternoon...just because.

The weather was nice, so we just went for a walk after my work day was done. We found a washed up jellyfish, some shells, and lots of tire tracks from the lifeguard patrols. Cinderella is still terrified to even walk near the water, just like last year. Princess Leia is ready to get in the water, and saw one of her pals from surf camp last year. She is signed up again this year...maybe she will learn some better technique. I'm thinking she may get a starter surfboard for her birthday this year. She's been asking for one for quite a while...shhhh don't tell her :) Jedi boy enjoyed a jog back to the parking lot.

Then we went home and invited one of the grandmothers over for a simple dinner & board games. It turned out to be a nice time. I'm practicing that hospitality thing.

Mr. Snippity's Birthday Treat

2009-05-15T20:56:00.000-07:00

Mr. Snippity has had a birthday! He got to go bowling, which is a one of his favorite things. And to top that all off, his amazing wife (...ahem...) made him a spectacular treat.

This is triple chocolate layer cake with peanut butter cream cheese icing and chocolate peanut butter glaze. I got the recipe from the SmittenKitchen blog. (I think she calls it chocolate peanut butter cake).This was a big hit...Mr. Snippity said it was so good he would think I didn't make it, except he saw me making it. I think that was supposed to be a compliment. I asked him if he meant that he would think I bought it out of the freezer case? After a chuckle or two, he clarified his statement to mean that it was better than that! Anyway, birthday fun is always good.

Softball woes

2009-05-12T15:57:00.000-07:00

Softball has gotten the best of Princess Leia! While attempting to perform a maneuver similar to that of the last photo (aka...a slide into home plate), she had her hand in the wrong position, and caught it behind her in the fall. It is broken. It is not a terribly serious fracture, but it is in a cast for at least 4 weeks. Which means she *might* get the cast removed just before the last two games. Or she might not...I'm going for optimistic!The cast is now covered in grafitti...not nearly as nice looking as it is in the photo!

And for you sports enthusiasts...you'll be happy to know she was safe, her run counted and her team won!

Ball photo

2009-04-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

I submitted the photo from the last post into a photo contest from our local parks & rec department. They chose it for their monthly winner, to be featured on their website. I also get a gift certificate of some sort as a prize!

First out

2009-04-28T17:37:00.000-07:00

Princess Leia, on the ground after a slide into home.

It was an out. Before she got to the plate, the pitcher had her tagged.
I really like this photo, though.
I will say, I didn't think she should have tried to steal home, but she listened to her coach.
For that, I told her I was proud.
It was the first out of a game that went into extra innings.
There was controversy over some of the calls.
I haven't been to a girls' game in a while where there wasn't some issue on one side or another.
I do not know for certain which team won, because I had to leave right after this play.
I think it was the red team.

I heard they both played really well.

another week

2009-04-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

It seems another week has flown by, and I have no blogging to show for it! Sorry 'bout that!

It is the Monday of getting back into the swing of things. Last week was spring break, so my kids were home all week. We had a few tough days with sickness (I already talked about that). We really didn't do anything out of the ordinary. Just our regular selves happening. We did get to have some friends over for dinner one evening...which was nice. We stayed up too late, of course! We've been playing a game called "Sequence", and it seems we are quite competitive. Not competitive, as in of a high enough quality to be a competitor...but the 'we don't like to lose' kind. So, we stay up past bedtime trying to beat each other. It really has been fun. Throw in a bit of yardwork, and house cleaning, and voila! There's us!

I made a pretty yummy spinach quiche for my lunch. I didn't get to take a picture because the food just disappeared! There are 5 kinds of cheese in my recipe. I might have to make it again soon, since it is so delicious!

Cinderella won an art contest at her school and got a $10 certificate to use at the upcoming book fair. I like that kind of prize!

Leia has spring pictures tomorrow. She better brush her hair!

Jedi boy gets to visit the orthodontist tomorrow due to the suggestion of the regular dentist when they saw his new bottom teeth coming in all crooked. I'm not looking forward to that.

Mr. Snippity has been having car troubles. He's pretty handy with all things mechanical, but is strugging with a problem on his fast car. He'll figure it out soon.

Me, well, I'm just the cruise director for this ship :) School is fine, work is plentiful, and lots of projects formulating! I thought I was having major car troubles, but it turns out it was just the battery. I left my cell phone charging for about 2 days. My mechanic (Mr. Snippity) said not to do that again!

busy days

2009-04-13T14:38:00.000-07:00

It seems I've missed some more days on the blogging front. It has been pretty hectic around here, with lots of coming and going for school, work, and softball/baseball and others. We had a lovely Easter with family.

We've also had the sickies. Cinderella was sick with a fever on Thursday, and some Friday. Princess Leia was sick with stomach crud on Saturday night, and now Jedi boy has spiked a fever...while I am feeling pretty queasy. Fun, huh??? I don't have much energy to keep thinking right now, so I'll post and run. I just wanted to let ya'll know we are still around!

A blast

2009-03-31T10:56:00.000-07:00

The Great Wolf Lodge was a blast. A little on the expensive side, yes, but a huge blessing to go have some fun. Next time, I will take a one piece bathing suit, instead of the tankini...going down slides and such causes some concern with the bottoms! Fortunately I don't think anyone could see under the water! The girls were not too wild and crazy...just one girl (not my kid thank goodness!) who was rude to one of our waiters at IHOP...I don't think she realized it, though. Our waiter was very olive complected and his name was Ali. This girl, very loudly, asked "are you from Japan?". We (as in the chaperones and most of the other girls) were stunned! He took it well, and gave her 2 more chances to get it right (she never did, she guessed France and Saubi Ababia...yes, she really said it like that)(What are they teaching kids these days?) He was from Usbekistan(russia). We turned it into a fun moment by telling him to ask her if she was from Mexico (If you saw her, you'd be pretty sure she was not). Anyway, he had an interesting family story that he was able to share through this dialogue. So anyway, we all had a blast, and were pretty dog-gone tired by the end of Saturday.

I've rushed through the rest of the weekend, and into Monday. I've really been craving fried chicken. I got inspired last night and was going to cook som for myself. In the process, I made my kitchen a huge greasy mess, and all I can smell in here is blackened chicken, because I burnt it to a crisp! My family had a last minute meal of McDonald's, sincetheir ususally patient and perservering mommy(yeah, right) was pretty upset with the thought of cooking after that.

Today, I've had the opportunity to run back over to Harris Teeter for a few more triple coupon sale adventures. I also went last Thursday night. I was fairly pleased with my deals this time around...and cannot wait until the next triples sales!

I'm on my way!

2009-03-27T06:30:00.000-07:00

If you are reading this around noontime on Friday 3/27...then I am probably just arriving for a stay at the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, VA. I'm going as a chaperone with some sweet middle school age gals from a church youth group. (one of which is my Princess Leia). Cinderella gets to go sleep over with her Granny, and the Jedi boy is going to have some quality time with Mr. Snippity.

Hopefully these gals don't want to be too pranky, because I might have to show them a thing or two. I've been on quite a few overnight trips with my peer group, and, well, lets just suffice it to say: band camp wasn't THAT long ago :) One highlight of a particular high school trip (not band camp): Someone in the girls room (* blink blink with innocence*) snuck into the boys room and took all their toilet paper. And tissues. They didn't notice until one of them was in dire need. The funny part happened when they had to come ask to borrow ours... Sorry Jeremy ;) school band.

Tasty Thursday 3/26/09

2009-03-26T19:54:00.000-07:00

Man, am I really messing up on the Tasty Thursday segments! I keep forgetting. Of course, I have a good bit of other responsibilities that should come first, so I guess that my praise is that I am taking care of the truly important things first. Oh, and sorry for all my typos lately. You'd think I would 'proofread', since I notice mistakes in other people's work *sheepish grin*.

No photo today, but dinner tonight was inspired by a recipe I found on a blog devoted to crockpotting. Of course I altered it so much that it really wasn't the same recipe, so here is my version of their "asian ribs".

ribs- I used "country style" pork ribs (you could use beef)
about 1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water, if you have extremely lean meat
throw the meat in the crock
pour everything on top
cook about 8 hours on low

Of course, they were tender, with a salty/sweet flavor. I liked it, especially because it was something different from our usual bbq pork version. I'm guessing the soy sauce is the reason it is called asian?

Difficult concepts

2009-03-25T08:31:00.001-07:00

Simple things my kids do not seem to understand

(even though we've been working on it for years!)

When I tell you to put your shoes away...

it means in the closet, not behind the couch or under a pillow.

When I remind you to pick up your dirty clothes...

it means put them in the hamper, not under your bed or under a pillow.

When I say go to bed...

it means YOUR bed, not your sisters'.

When I say wash the dishes...

it means ALL of them, not just the cups.

When I tell you to come home at a certain time...

you might want to wear your watch (or take your phone), especially when you are the one that has someplace to be.

When I ask you to clean up the blocks...

yes, I mean the whole pile!

Do you really think I'm not going to find/smell the rotten apple core on the closet floor?

Everyday when you get home from school, you have to do your homework first.

Every time, every day...

and no you cannot play Wii yet!

When you finish using the bathroom...

you must wash your hands EVERY SINGLE time!

Where should you drop your backpack everyday?...

in the middle of the living room, really?

When I am talking to someone else, and I see you coming to me,

and I hold up a finger to signal 'just a minute'...

I really mean a full minute, not 2 seconds!

Ok, enough venting for now. Thanks for listening. Sometimes it feels like I am banging my head agains the wall with some of these topics. I need a beter attitude

before they get home today.

Tasty Thursday on Friday 3-20-09

2009-03-20T09:11:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of the goodies I made this week.

They were called cheese triangles, and the recipe came with a pampered chef cookie press. I was hoping they would turn out like a "cheese straw" or even a flavored cracker like sociables. NOT.

The recipe had cheddar & parmesan cheese, flour, dried dill weed, mustard and water.

Here's my review: do not try this at home. I ate about 3 triangles, just because I was hoping they'd taste better than they did. Cinderella ate one, and no one else would go past the first nibble. So, no do overs! I liked the shape & size, with the zigzag texture, so I may look for a different recipe to try with the press. If you have a good recipe, pass it on!

Word-full Wednesday

2009-03-18T10:19:00.000-07:00

I've seen several other blogs use a picture to represent their words for Wednesday posts. I'm not doing that today...but I may start that later. Today, I feel like talking. Really! I stayed up late reading last night, and am kind of sleepy. It is kind of quiet here, since babes are sleeping. I'm chatting to you to keep myself from putting my head on the table and crashing!

Today is supposed to be the first day of baseball in my house!. Jedi boy has his first "real" baseball practice~as opposed to Tball in previous years. I hope he likes it...he is a little anxious.

I am feeling a bit blue in my heart for Princess Leia. Her paternal grandfather has died, and she will find out from her dad this evening. I know she is going to be upset, because she has only gotten to meet and know him in the past year, and really enjoyed him. His home is about 10

I have a training for my work later tonight, so I will be leaving Mr. Snippity in charge of all the shuffling kids, dinner, and getting ready for bed time. I hope he's up to the task! (I am prepping the meal stuff for him, so all he has to do is warm it up, so it should be easier.)

For classwork, I should be doing some work...but I am procrastinating, as usual. I have worked ahead most of the semester, but am at the point where I slow down. Fortunately, the class I am taking does not require any papers this semester! I have until tomorrow night to finish the labwork...and I haven't started yet. It better not be too complicated!!! (I' m not going to worry about that so much...they have been easy all along, and I don't think that is going to change...)

For church, I am working on a mission project, and I need to make a powerpoint presentation for Sunday to solicit helpers for the project. So why am I still here rambling? I think I'm using this post to gather my thoughts and action plans...thanks for helping!

Nap time

2009-03-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

Something unusual happened to me yesterday.

Normally, parts of this would have been a good thing. Except this time, it wasn't.

After church, I had to go pick up Cinderella, who had spent the night with her Granny. We ate lunch, and then headed home. As I was driving back , and got about 5 minutes from home, my head started pounding...like the beginning of a migraine. When I get to the house, I tell Mr. Snippity about my head and tell him I am going to take meds and rest for a bit. None of that is so unusual...right? Who wouldn't love a Sunday afternoon nap???

Here's the unusual part: No one disturbed me! Not one peep from any of the 4 people that normally slam doors, stomp around, fuss and just can't make do without my input for more than a couple of minutes. I never dreamed that would happen, so I didn't bother to set an alarm. Cinderella finally caved in and came to ask me to fix her some juice at 5:15!!! I had a 3 hour undisturbed nap!

Of course, I was supposed to be at a Bible study at 5 pm...so I missed it!

I was quite restless when it came time for bed, and I didn't sleep well the rest of the night either, so I had some punishment in addition to missing the study. :(

Reflections-5 years

2009-03-11T19:15:00.001-07:00

I've read on several blogs recently that have the theme of advice to your younger self. I think that it is an interesting idea, and I think I will try it. I'll have to do mine in small increments, though. Spread the joy, right?

Advice to myself, 5 years ago: (2004-ish)

Don't spend that money on worthless pursuits...it is not worth the time! Pay debts instead.
When visitors overstay their welcome while you are in the hospital laboring with your 3rd child, tell them to leave!
Backup your hard drive frequently or go ahead and print those photos...you are going to wish you had!
That new couple you are going to see around at soccer games...definately get to know them! (and she did, great friends now, btw! yay!)
Don't forget to water the veggies (that is advice I need every year:)
It is PPD...don't wait, just take the meds!
Pray more! Keep your faith strong, and you will not be let down.

Laundry Conspiracy

2009-03-10T03:03:00.000-07:00

I think the piles of dirty clothes in my hampers have been formulating a plan to take over the world...beginning with my house! Keep an eye on your laundry...it may have been talking to mine!

Yes, I said hampers, plural. There are 5 of us that live here! (and then there's the childcare:)One in each bedroom, plus 4 sorting bins in the laundry room. Usually the bins in the utility room and bedrooms aren't full at the same time...it's kind of a "staging area" thing. And does anyone have any good tips on how to teach the clothes to put themselves away when they are finished with their attack?

Early Morning Scenario

2009-03-07T01:52:00.000-08:00

Princess Leia has a trip planned for Saturday(Today). She has a friend stay over so that friend can go with her. Departure time: 4:45 am from our home(being picked up in van).

Miss Snippity (me!) has to wake up at 4 am to get those girls out of bed. I will have the world know before we go any farther...I am NOT a morning person. So this whole thing is a stretch for me. As soon as they are up and starting to get ready, I head to the kitchen, where I whipped up a big homemade breakfast because Princess Leia asked for eggs and bacon. And, in order to make sure those girls didn't have empty, rumbly tummies I made a batch of pancakes. Homemade. (Really yummy!!!). (And I was out of bread, so I had to do something, and now that I think about it, there was a whole pack of english muffins I could have used...argh...oh well) Breakfast is ready on the table at 4:28 am. I was patting myself on the back, cause I was on-time. The girls come to the table. The first thing out of Leia's mouth is "Mom do you have anything besides eggs, because 'my friend' doesn't like eggs!" I usually ask the friends before I cook if they like whatever it is. This friend has stayed before, and I was sure I've cooked eggs for her before, so I didn't ask this time. It was so hard not to come back with an answer, well, that was SNIPPITY! I'm thinking...there's pancakes and bacon on the plate, that is something else! But I didn't say that! You would have been proud to see how nice I was :) I offered some yogurt and extra pancakes with a smile. The friend ate plenty, and Princess Leia took the eggs all for her own.

Of course, Princess Leia wasn't totally ready...and had some to the table without fixing her hair, and didn't pack her 'entertainment bag' last night like I told her...so she wasn't quite ready when the van got here. They had to wait a couple of minutes for her...if she had only listened to her momma!

Friday

2009-03-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

It is a lovely Friday. I have been outside, and it is beautiful!

My only hang-up is I am dwelling on a waste. I experimented with a recipe the other day, and it just didn't work out. I wasn't all that broken hearted, but I am mad that I wasted 1/2 cup of olive oil! I have just gotta let that go! Maybe now that I have shared that with the blog world I can get past it! I know I am a little strange...I can handle the truth :)

Tasty Thursday 3/5/09

2009-03-05T09:48:00.000-08:00

Homemade Biscuits for dinner last night, thanks to Melody

Before:

After: I had to stop hands from grabbing them all up in order to take the photo:They turned out really good The taste was delicious. Even Mr. Snippity, my Mr. Picky, said they were really good. Better than the ones in the blue freezer bag, I think! And I know it was fresh! (Mommy B is rubbing off :) Mine took a little longer to cook than in her recipe, but maybe that was just my baking stone or something like the fact that I was multi-tasking the oven at the time. I also rolled my dough a little thinner than she did (not intentionally), so next time I will leave it thicker.

Brief Hiatus

2009-02-20T09:30:00.000-08:00

I am still here. However, I have been struggling to keep up with all the other activities that are going on. My kiddos are keeping me busy, plus my job, classwork, and several other factors. I will be around, but I won't blog much for probably the next couple of weeks or so. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Happy Love Day

2009-02-15T07:20:00.000-08:00

IIt is valentine's day. While we do not make this a totally commercial holiday with candy and trappings...we do make a few cards for each other. We also use this day to just make things a little more special. Pink heart pancakes for breakfast. Sugar cookies with sprinkles for later(preview done with some of the younger kiddos yesterday), and do these things together. It is usually a nice, low-key day. I like that!

Tonight, we are trying something new. There is a dinner at our church that the youth put together. Our oldest is now part of that group. So, we are going to dinner at the church, and my child, dressed as Cinderella, is going to serve me! I can't wait for that!

Not today!

2009-02-12T09:45:00.001-08:00

I admit, I do not have a Tasty Thursday for today. I guess I get an F on that assignment! I made some really cute & yummy cream puffs yesterday. I should have saved one to show you today...but I forgot to take photos, and they disappeared fast! As for today, I am out of eggs...and I can't bake without eggs :( Plus, I really don't feel like cooking anything else today. After a trip to the store, I am planning a little bit of baking for tomorrow...so maybe I can share something then!

This makes me happy...

2009-02-10T10:30:00.000-08:00

I love this kid. This was back in 2004 at a social event that obviously included ice cream.

Jedi boy at age 2. He was sleepy, and from the look of his hair...he had been sweating :)

Photo courtesy of Jodi...thanks!

I just needed to post a little something to make me smile.

Triple Coupons

2009-02-09T09:30:00.000-08:00

I recently had my first experience with triple coupon sales. Mommy B gave me a quick tutorial, and I was out the door! I actually had a lot of fun searching out stuff to use my coupons on. As I began to shop, I saw a lady I know, and she was doing the same thing. She gave me encouragement all along the way. I was able to get a couple of free items, and several more for really cheap! My better deals included 2 free bottles of mustard, eggo waffles for $.54, pepperidge farm garlic bread loaf $.27 and a toothbrush for $.05. I hope this store will do this promotion more often. As I was checking out, the manager was at the checkouts...and he and the cashier both thanked me for coming in to shop. And it seemed sincere! This is a serious difference from the store I usually shop in, where they act as if you should be pleased they even bothered to let you go through their line, and will barely speak to you. I may have to shop in this place more often.

(for some reason, the end of my post was cut off...sorry for the terrible form!)

Tasty Thursday 2-5-09

2009-02-05T09:12:00.001-08:00

Homemade Pancakes!

I put MommyB's recipe to the test. You can find it here.

I used store-bought flour :) They turned out perfectly. I cook mine using a scant 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. It makes them manageable for us. I got 12 pancakes total out of her recipe. This definately a do-again. I may never buy boxed mix again!

Onion Dip

2009-02-04T13:12:00.000-08:00

I think I am in love with french onion dip. Seriously. I made some yesterday, and I cannot stay away from it. You know the traditional onion soup packet mixed with sour cream...oh, I love it. Could someone please hide the bowl?

Grocery Challenge

2009-02-03T17:09:00.001-08:00

I'm jumping on the bandwagon with Mommy B and company to track my grocery spending. Check it out...maybe join in, if you want, and aren't scared to publish your numbers!

stuff

2009-02-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, so last week I lost one day. It seems like now I have lost almost a week! There has been nothing major going on, just the same old stuff. I've been trying to get some household tasks worked on, with minimal success. I get started on something, and then I am needed for something else, and my project gets shoved aside. I know, it's the Mom problem! I love my family very, very much. I do think they need to do a little more for themsleves rather than just rely on Mom to do it all. This isn't a new idea, but you'd think it was killing the fam!

It broke my heart this morning to send the Jedi bo off to school with such a rotten attitude. To him these days, school is "so boring!" Except on PE day. I'm told that he is fine once he gets there. These tough mornings are so hard on his mama's heart.

Tasty Thursday 1-29-09

2009-01-29T15:50:00.000-08:00

Tasty Thursday, late edition!

This is a Sugar Cream Pie

It was pretty good. Different from the kinds of pies I usually prefer. I pulled a random recipe from allrecipes.com. I don't know which one exactly.

This is a smooth pie...it remined me of custard. I might make one again.

Miss Snippity...

Double-digit Birthday Angry Bird style

This time last week

Beauty and Life

Still Here

Losing a girl

Freecycle

Wants

Music at McD's

Melva

Bargains at HT

Drama Cat

date night

My Christmas gift

Saturday night rambling and thoughts

HT super doubles

Breakfast time!

Frog adventures

Storm?

bright teenagers

Dinnertime!

another day

Teenagers

Trying something new

Alaska....was fantastic

VBS was great

Summa time

Stuff

Good Citizen Award

More CVS deals

She ditched me

Celebration

Drug store game savings

Happy Love Day

Out of the mouths and minds of kids...

I'm a winner

Door off the hinges

Tax time

Farewell...

New pets

Do I look like my grandma?

Self portrait

Feeling good...on a Monday?

Baby & more

Playing babies

going along

First post of 2010- it's going to be a long one :)

December catch-up

Sausage Pinwheels

cute PTA moment

One thing left

November 30

Getting ready

After the coupon guilt passed..

Coupon Guilt

Recent Run

mouse

Tasty treat

Game or no game?

Reading Corner Flannel Board

Blog Jam

4 stars

Last night before school begins!

I used the dishwasher!!!

Dryer woes

Chief Family Officer hosts a giveaway

My friends

Random whatever *playing catch-up*

Summertime

Cinderella's Last day of school

My great grandfather

Meow

A day at the beach

Mr. Snippity's Birthday Treat

Softball woes

Ball photo

First out

another week

busy days

A blast

Random whatever playing catch-up