Just Another Busy Day

I apologize for not having my usual Thankful Thursday post. It's not that I'm not thankful today. It's just that I'm so incredibly busy I don't have time to do it justice!

With Abby at home 2 days this week plus coming home early yesterday (that's a whole other long story) I haven't had any time to do any of the things I desperately need to do this week ... like color my hair! So that is what I am doing right now. The color is in and I will post a photo of the new me later. I have been holding on to my blonde hair for far too long and today I am letting it go!

Here is a picture of me with my blonde hair:

Stay tuned for the new me with brown hair!

Here's the update! Now keep in mind the blonde picture was about 6 months ago so my hairstyle is a little different. It did not come out quite as dark as I thought it would but here I am today in all my glory ... drumroll please:


To see this week's Thankful Thursday posts go to Sting My Heart.

WFMW- My Girls are Crafty

My two girls are very crafty. Not sneaky crafty, but artsy crafty. They love to do any kind of art project. I found that their art projects were taking over my house! And because they love to do them so much, everybody began to give them cute art projects for gifts, which we love to do but we couldn't get a handle on the mess.

Luckily, my dear hubby is a much better organizer than I, and he came up with the idea of using these office organizers for the girls craft stuff. There is one in each corner of our eat-in kitchen. This one is labeled for crayons, glue, stickers, crayons, coloring books, and all types of paper products:

This one holds all the craft kits we have received. At any given time when they are bored they can go get modeling clay, make sand art, create their own soap, or create a Spot (one of their favorites). Of course their is much more in the drawers and I'm sure they can list every item in there but you get the picture!
The main thing is they have freedom to craft and clean up-YEAH! Here is Abby's latest creation that she made Sunday afternoon. Alyssa was over at the grandparent's house with Dad so Abby made this for her. Any guesses what it is?
It's a music stand! She made it out of construction paper rolled up. It will actually raise and lower. How about that? The green piece is folded up to hold the sheet music.
Here you can see the back that she reinforced with a plastic knife because her sheet music kept flopping backwards :) LOL! I think that's pretty crafty for 7- years-old! Watch out Martha Stewart!

For more Works for Me Wednesday posts click here.

Confessions of a Bed Hog

I confess- I am a bed hog! I need my space when I sleep. When I first married my sweet hubby, we had a queen sized bed and things were just fine. Now we have 2 darling children who are afraid of thunderstorms and like to sneak into bed with us early in the morning.

A few years ago, sweet hubby felt the pressure (intense pressure) to upgrade our queen bed to a king bed. We thought that would be the answer to all our problems.

Last night we had quite a thunderstorm come through around 3:45 am, so my darling Abby comes tiptoeing into my room. Thankfully Alyssa slept through it! With Abby tucked in between me and hubby, I tried to return to my peaceful night of sleep. Somehow I was awakened every 15-20 minutes by an elbow in the back or a foot to the back of the knee! It was brutal! I know someday she will be too big to want to sleep with us, so I tried to suck it up and somewhat just enjoy the fact that she is still little and wants to be with us! But come on, Mama needs some space, too! Is that horrible?

Again?

Do you ever get tired of the same sicknesses revisiting your home? We appear to be getting another visit from the stomach bug!

If you recall just last week, the wee one Alyssa missed 2 days of school with it. She is on round 2 of it and it appears that big sis Abby may be getting a dose of it herself. Although Abby actually has a few more symptoms (fever and a bad headache) so we are going to the doctor this morning.

So far every time we have gotten sick I have said, "Well at least it's not the flu!" Do we want to take bets on whether this turns out to be the flu or not? I will give the results this afternoon!

2:15 Update: Doctors says strep throat - Woo hoo! No flu!

Time for a Vote

Fear not, this has nothing to do with politcs! I need some help! It's my turn to host Bunco and I need to pick a theme. If you're not familiar with Bunco, its a dice game played with 12 people usually once a month. Each person hosts it one time a year and it is my turn. It is so much fun because it requires no skill, you just roll 3 dice and try to roll 3 of the same number. When you do you yell "Bunco" as loud as you can. It is a loud, fun game and you win prizes. Who doesn't love that?

Last year I did an 80s theme. Everyone brought a picture of themselves from back in the day and we listened to a great mix of 80s music on my ipod. There was a prize for the best picture and signs all around the room that said "Gag me with a spoon" and "Totally Awesome". The best part of the night was when Vanilla Ice came on the ipod and everyone simultaneously stopped rolling to sing "Stop, collaborate and listen!"

So how do I follow that? I need another great theme and I have narrowed it down to two choices that I can't pick between. So I need you to vote!

One choice is "pajama party" where everyone comes in or changes into pajamas. We would eat pizza for dinner and listen to High School Musical songs. Maybe even do a little karaoke between rounds. The prizes would be spa type things like eye masks and lotions and nail kits.









The other choice is a "Grease party" where everyone would dress in 50s gear. The best 50s outfit would get a bonus prize. Music would be the soundtrack to Grease and food would be hamburgers, hotdogs, fries, and shakes. The prizes for winning Bunco would be a little harder, though. I don't really know what to do for those or if most people would be able to pull off a 50s outfit.



So go to the comment section and vote now! I need to send out invites on Tuesday so I REALLY need some help here!

Prayer Request

I just received an email from the director of a mission trip that I am going on at the end of May to Guayaquil, Ecuador. I haven't heard anything about this on our news but it just broke my heart. Apparently there has been some pretty severe flooding there (click here for the story) that has resulted in the loss of at least 10 lives including one newborn.

One of the hardest hit areas is a suburb of Guayaquil that we will be ministering in in May. Please pray for these people as they seek shelter and try to regain some sense of normalcy. Pray also that their hearts will be prepared for the time of our arrival. We will be doing medical and dental clinics as well planting and growing area churches.

Thankful Thursday- Alabama Weather

On this Thankful Thursday I feel like I have been doubly blessed! Yesterday was a great day to live in Alabama. We had gorgeous weather with a high in the 60s. I took my 2 girls to a nearby park for some much needed outdoor playing. Today of course we are having some rain. Since we have been in a state of extreme drought for almost a year, that is an answer to many prayers as well!

The past week my family has been overcome with one sickness after another. Abby (the 7 year old) had walking pneumonia last week. I had a return of the never ending bladder infection this weekend. Then on Tuesday morning at 4 am Alyssa (the 4 1/2 year old) woke up with the stomach virus. Never fear this is a Thankful Thursday post- there is good news! We are all restored to good health and very grateful for it! So grateful that we got outside and enjoyed some beautiful Alabama weather!


Here are the girls on their scooters at the park. They came zooming by so fast I had to retake the picture to catch them! You can't even tell they were ever sick can you?

Alyssa loves gymnastics so she always finds her way to the bar.

Maybe Abby has a little bit of monkey in her!

For more Thankful Thursday posts go to Sting My Heart.

Wordless Wednesday- Hawaii

The most fun thing that I never dreamed I would do:

Mama Got Honked At

... and it wasn't for a good reason! Has this ever happened to anyone else? This morning I was taking Abby to school and I got honked at for not pulling out from the stop sign I was at! Can I just say we were at a busy street and I had been up since 4:00 with Alyssa vomiting! I would think that little Mr. My Horn Works should thank his lucky stars that I did not get out of my minivan and come back to give him a piece of my mind!

I was so furious! I might have said some ugly words inside the van, though. I am an excellent driver and I can't stand to get honked at. I never honk at others unless they have failed to realize that the light has turned to green. Even then I try to give a reasonable amount of time for them to prove they are worthy of keeping their driver's license :) before I honk!

So, are you guys big honkers? What do you do when you are the honkee?

Getting Fit in February

Fit Mama Friday Presents "Get Fit in February"

Let's get fit in February! I'm kind of coming in on the tail end this but Metropolitan Mama is doing a 5 day fitness extravaganza from February 14-18. If you're like me and intended to get in shape this year and just haven't started, head on over for some inspiration, fitness websites, and some great giveaways. Don't waste another day of 2008 wishing you had started your fitness routine. Let's jump in and do it together! Who's with me?

John Black Love

It's time for another dose of John Black love! I just cannot get enough of him now that he is back on Days of Our Lives. Right now he is piloting a plane full of friends and family members that he does not remember. Even though he doesn't remember who he is, we still see the old hero that he used to be coming out.

Today I saw the funniest moment since he returned to the show. John has found a way to save the plane by dumping fuel. His friends and family had been deprived of oxygen and had passed out. Because of his heroics, the plane has now descended to where there is oxygen in the atmosphere (work with me people, it could really happen!). His wife, Marlena, regains consciousness and calls the cockpit to congratulate John. With joy and enthusiasm she says, "Oh, I love you!"

Now, who wouldn't want to hear that in the middle of a crisis? Especially from somebody you don't remember. Well John, with every bit of dry wit he can muster replies, "Good to know" and hangs up the cockpit phone! I laughed out loud.

If you are not watching this show, it is definitely worth getting started. If you need any help getting things straightened out with who's related to who, don't be shy, just ask. Or go to this great website - Dustin's Days of Our Lives page. He has great history information and all the best spoilers.

Thankful Thursday- My Valentine

With today being Valentine's Day, I have to share how thankful I am for my Valentine- my husband Alex. We have been married for 10 1/2 years and he still manages to surprise me every year on Valentines Day. This year he took me out to a nice restaurant last weekend, which I thought was our Valentine's celebration. It really was enough for me. I knew we would still exchange cards and that he would probably get me flowers, but I did not expect the following.

When I woke up this morning and went into our bathroom, this was waiting by my sink. If the picture is blurry, it is 3 tulips (which I love) with a card. I will also point out the Valentines that my sweet daughters taped all over my mirror for me!

Then I go to the kitchen to start getting breakfast ready for the kids. Last night he put gifts for the girls on the table, but this was added to the table for me:
Yes, that's a spa gift certificate good for a mani-pedi! Plus 6 roses and chocolates! What's a girl to do? I'm reminded of a great song from the 80's "What a man, what a man, what a man, what a mighty good man!"

Then, after getting the healthy child ready for school, we hopped in the minivan and found one more Valentine's Day surprise:
I am very thankful for such a loving husband, especially on the day of love!

For more Thankful Thursday posts go to Sting my Heart.

Illness Confirmed

Took Abby to the doctor this morning. We are confirmed with walking pneumonia!

The worst part is she will have to miss school tomorrow- that's the Valentine's Day party. Her class is having a secret pal lunch. She makes and decorates a box with a lunch for a secret pal and someone brings one for her. So I told her that we would take the lunch for her secret pal and take her Valentine's and leave them at the school in the morning. Then she looked at me sadly and said, "But what about the lunch that my secret pal was going to bring me?" We'll have to do a special lunch at home tomorrow!

Works for Me Wednesday- Car Organization

My car has been taken over by my children's toys! Recently I told them that they could only have as many toys in the car as could fit in this box:


Now when we go through the drive through, the toys go in this box. When the box gets full, it gets cleaned out. If they want a new toy in the car, something must come out of the box.

The box sits right between their two seats in the van with their headphones hanging on the end. My floorboard stays a lot neater now!

For more Works for Me Wednesday posts head over to Don't try this at Home who is hosting this week.

More Sickness

I keep reading on new friends blogs about all the sickness going around, so I felt the need to chime in. I finally felt like we were climbing out of our pit that we were in over the Christmas break. Three out of the four members of our house got some form of strep throat before Christmas. Then on Christmas Eve I woke up with a bladder infection that lasted about 6 weeks. During that time we all passed around a cold as well.

So for the past 2 weeks we seemed pretty healthy - which is pretty amazing considering the fact that the flu has hit so hard in our area that the doctor's offices are not taking well-child visits for the next month! I have a friend who went to the doctor yesterday at 8:00 and was not seen until 11:30!

Now, my sweet 7 year old, Abby, has been struggling for just a few days with a nagging cough. Do you ever get the feeling that something is coming? This is just one of those coughs that seems to just hang around. She has no fever or other symptoms and she is still playing fine. In fact, she is acting just like she does when she has had walking pneumonia in the past. I haven't heard of that going around but wouldn't that be our luck to be the ones to start it! We are waiting for the nurse to call back. I am hoping they will call her in something so we don't have to go in and get exposed to anything worse. Goodness knows if it's going around, we can catch it!

Dining Like Britney Spears

Last night hubby and I had the opportunity to dine by ourselves. Woo-hoo! So we did what any self-respecting Alabamian would do- we went to the local gas station! Before you start seriously questioning my sanity let me tell you that this gas station has the equivalent of a 5 star restaurant, complete with cloth napkins and a wine list attached to it. We ate at a place called Fox Valley in Maylene, Alabama and it was wonderful. I think even Ms. Spears would be impressed with this gas station (tee-hee).

When you drive up and see the Shell station, you really wonder if you are going to eat dinner there, but the inside is so nice. The food is awesome as well. I had the steak and cake (a filet mignon with a crab cake) which was terrific. Hubby had the seafood plate which he said was remarkably fresh for the middle of Alabama.

If you're ever in the neighborhood, don't go flying by this gas station. It's definitely worth stopping at, though you will probably have to wait your turn on the weekends. The locals know to show up early :)

Blogs I Love

Here are some of my favorite blogs that I visit regularly. Go check them out and leave a little comment. Maybe you will find some new favorites, too.

Living Proof Ministries - The Beth Moore blog

Table 4 Five - Mom of 3, lots of fun

Mommy Cracked -SAHM, well-written, fun

Moving at the Speed of Life - crafty, fun, and Gluten-free

My Tiny Kingdom -mom of 3 boys, great writing, very funny

Raindrops & Rainbows -inspirational, encouraging, fun

The Diaper Diaries -informative, SAHM of 2 toddlers, fun

Mom of 2 Dancers -crafty, mom of 2, fun

The Handmade Dress -sewing/crocheting, mom of 2, fun stories

Eagles' Rest - My Sunday School teacher's blog (Bob)

I'm sure I'm forgetting some, so I may edit this and add more later.

Thankful Thursday- Parents

Today I wanted to express how grateful I am to have been raised by my parents. I'm sure your parents are great (grin) but I was truly blessed with parents who really invested in me in very different ways.

My mom was the one who really kept us grounded in church growing up. As a teenager I had several rebellious phases! I fear my sweet daughters may inherit that from me. Mom endured those years with such grace and taught me so much that I now use as I parent my daughters.

I did not understand a lot of the things my dad did until I was much older. I now see a lot of him in myself and I understand him more. Through the years there are things I held against him (and I'm sure he against me) that I'm now grateful to see in a new light. They have also made me a better parent and hopefully a better daughter to him.

I am so blessed to have the parents that I have. I love them both! They have truly affected who I am and have made a better person and a better parent!

Proverbs 17:6b ...and parents are the pride of their children.

Head on over to Sting My Heart for more Thankful Thursday posts.

WFMW- Inbox Dollars

I got a little bit of a late start on this Works for me Wednesday idea. Today we are blogging about online shopping sites. One of my favorite sites is actually a site that I go to that makes me money ... who doesn't like that?

I am a member of Inbox Dollars. I read emails for them and they pay me to do that! I also take surveys on occasion. The best thing about the site is that I can also do my online shopping through their site and they pay me back a percentage of what I was going to spend anyway into my account. You can get up to 40% of what you were going to spend deposited right back into your account. What better discount is there?

You probably think there are no good stores to shop at, right. Well, here are a few of my favorite stores that I like that participate in the program: Best Buy, Hallmark, Gap, Children's Place, Limited Too, Old Navy, Target, PETCO, and PetSmart. There are over 600 stores to choose from. If I am going to shop online, I always check Inbox Dollars first to see if they are a participating retailer first.

I'm Rocking Now

I saw this over on Diaper Diaries yesterday and didn't get around to playing with it until today, but it was so much fun! You can actually see what your rock band would be called if you were ever cool enough to be in a rock band ... Not that I'm not cool enough to be in one now! That's a whole other blog!

Anyway, here's how you make your band:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random The first article title is the name of your band.

2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3 The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/ The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

Now take your pic, add the band name and title to it, then post it.

I bet you're just dying to know what I came up with right! Well let me introduce the hottest new band in town: The Pink-spotted Fruit Doves. You can pick up our new album when it drops Tuesday. It will be titled- Pangs of Disappointed Love! Here is our album cover:


Go have fun with it and let me know how you fare in the School of Rock!

Snuggle Me Contest

I'm really getting into these online contests. Go check out Redefining Perfect's Snuggle Me contest about how you stay warm when it's cold outside. There's a great giveaway!

Where I live we are expecting a high of 72 today! Woo-hoo! We have had an unusually cold January though. We even had snow a few weeks ago and there was no bread or milk to be found in the city (LOL)!

When it gets even remotely chilly here, I want nothing more than my purple chenille throw blanket and to snuggle by our fireplace. A nice bowl of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup doesn't hurt. Now go get yourself in on this great contest. I'm going outside to play!

Surviving the Super Bowl

Did everyone survive the Super Bowl? I am not a big professional football fan. College football is big in our house (War Eagle baby!), so usually Super Bowl Sunday passes pretty uneventfully. Not this year. My sweet hubby, whose praises I was just singing last week, decided to throw an impromptu get together with a few friends. This decision was made Sunday morning on the way to church. Do I need to remind everyone what a horrible housekeeper I am?

We raced home after church and began the cleaning frenzy. Even my sweet children were in charge of picking up all of their toys. There was a flurry of vacuuming, dusting, and washing. All for what... I didn't even know who was playing. I did pick a team and root with all my might for their victory. Guess what, I picked the Giants. Yeah, me!

Our friends came over, we ate more than we should, my house got cleaned in the process, and a good time was had by all. That sounds like a Super Sunday to me!

Thank Goodness for Smart Hubbies

Remember my awful problem with gaining access to the new New Kids on the Block website? After my dear hubby stopped laughing he clicked 2 things on my computer and I was immediately Hanging Tough! I always knew he had The Right Stuff!

I'm so sad that means nothing to some of you. If you need to catch up your New Kid lingo please visit www.nkotb.com. And let me know if you need a visit from my computer guru to get you in the loop, too!