Another Vacation

Not that I'm complaining :) See you when I'm back in August. We're off to the quiet camping area of Pennsylvania. No computer access...so, I will miss you all!

Go, Run like the wind...

My very, very good friend Jen over at Harried Mom of Four is having a spectacular giveaway. She is giving away so many wonderful things. One of which is a fabulous tote from "Tar-Jay". She swears it will hold all your swim stuff + entertain your kids items for swim practices. Not like my kids need those or anything ;0

So go!! Run like the wind over to her fabulous site. I've made it easy...just click here.

Good Luck! Just remember, if you win...you have to share with me ;)

xoxo

Government Motors New Car

This car has a new challenger on the block:

Check it out!

Freakin Hilarious!!

No, not Nicholas Sparks...scroll down to see who I'm talking about ;)

So no sooner do I join the "book club", and go get the book, but a book I've had on hold at the library is ready to be picked up! Damn!

Have you ever read 2 books at once? I never have.

Until now :)

Enter into my life the funniest author I have ever read. I mean ever!! Jen Lancaster. The really great news is. She has a blog...Oh. Yes. She. Does. Check it out here. Hilarious!! You can get a taste for her style and humor.

I just felt the need to pass on this little tidbit for those of you searching for a fast read this summer. Really, it's not hard to follow. It's technically a "memoir" of how she got laid off for...well lets just say,a really long time!!

I can't wait to get my hands on the next book.

Editors note: Please go check out Connie's picture on Jennsylvannia.While you're at it, check out Connie's very wonderful blog: The Young and The Relentless. I almost feel like I know Jen Lancaster now. Thanks for hooking me up, Connie!!

Gourmet S'more

I know you are all familiar with the s'more, but recently I found another more decadent way to make a s'more. Call it a Gourmet S'more.
After we had finished grilling out one night the kids wanted to roast marshmallows. Sure, why not. One of the kids asks, "Can we make S'mores?".
I replied, "No, I don't have any chocolate"




Got Graham crackers.


Got marshmallows.


Don't got chocolate!!

But...

wait.....



My genius eldest child (who is not really my most creative one, very cerebral) says,
"Mom, don't you have those Andes Mints?!"

Uh, yeah, I do!!
(How did he know? The little sneak, who turns out is sneakier than me)


And there you have it the Gourmet S'more was born. Minty, chocolatey, gooey and crunchy goodness.

No need to thank. Just doing my job :)

xoxo

I want to be a lifeguard

We had a wonderful vacation!! The weather was wonderful. No major sunburns...always a plus. And the capper...the friends we made last year in the house next to ours, were there again! Wonderful, wonderful family!

Now for the not so great news...For those of you that don't know it, Corolla and the Outer Banks of NC can be prone to strong rip currents and rough waters.

I am deathly afraid of drowning. Me drowning. Someone I know drowning. Anyone drowning. Now, there is a reason for this. When I was 17 our family "beach" trip almost went awry, when a humungous wave knocked me over and toppled me round and around like a pebble in a washing machine. I couldn't tell which way was up or down. I managed to hold my breath just long enough to figure it all out and was okay. Shaken, but okay. It took a long time for me to even think about going swimming in the ocean again, but I managed to do it...later...as an adult :)

There's my background...just so you have an idea of where I'm coming from.

We drove down early Saturday morning to North Carolina. Arriving at the beach by 11:00 a.m. Awesome! Just as planned. We changed into bathing suits, lotioned up and headed down. Hubby went in the Suburban to pick up the umbrella and wait to get into the house we had rented.

Me and the kids were having a great time. Jack (13yrs.) and Finn (9 yrs) are boogie boarding. Dunn (6yrs) and Kelly (3 yrs) are with me on the edge of the ocean jumping waves and having a great time!!

As the little ones and I start walking up the beach, we pass Jack and Finn who wave at us shouting "Hey Mom". Only, as I keep walking past them I realize with fear and terror that they are actually yelling "Help Mom!!!". I start running into the water when my brain yells at me...Hey, you don't know what's wrong (is it a rip current or something else?), you aren't the strongest swimmer, and you're never supposed to go in and try to rescue someone, because more than likely you will all drown. They are asking for my help. I'm there mom. I am the one who is supposed to help them.


I yell at them to hold on! I'm going to get the lifeguard (we were about 70 yards from her chair). The boys were close enough in that I was hoping they were going to make it to where they could touch.

These are also very sparsely populated beaches. Even at 11:00. I took off running up the beach waving my arms, screaming at the top of my lungs "Help, help, help" . No one on the beach is reacting. I only see an old couple and people that are just as far as the lifeguard. I kept turning and checking to see if the boys were still there. Can I just say that was the most frightened I've ever been in my life! I was scared to death that I would turn and not see them. Not see their heads bobbing in the water.

The lifeguard saw me when I was about 10 frickin feet from her. Uh, hello. Waving arms. Screaming for help. I turn around to still (thank God) see my boys heads and run as fast as I can to them. I am booking now!! I run into the water. By this time a man in the ocean has moved over enough to grab Finn's hand and hand him to me. Jack just gets to where he can touch. As I'm getting close to Finn's hand the lifeguard actually turns to me and says "Do you want me to get him?" Uh, yeah.

Finn, Jack and I hold onto each other for dear life, crying!! I'm shaking and crying hold on so tightly!! I thought I was going to lose them. I honestly did. They did too. The fear in their eyes was heartbreaking. Finn kept saying he thought he was going to die. I was so grateful that they were okay.

I found out later that Finn actually was yanking on Jack and pulling him down in the water, asking Jack to save him. So I'm giving props to Jack for keeping his cool enough not to let his brother drown him!

Maybe now's a good time to mention Finn needed rescuing last year, as well.

He was on his boogie board, when he got out past the waves and couldn't get back in. He wasn't out far...he just couldn't get in because when you are floating ON your boogie board you actually will float OVER the waves. I knew he was nervous when I saw him kicking and trying to paddle...to no avail! Luckily, at that time Jack was nearby with a High schooler that they were swimming with and the older boy just grabbed Finn and pulled him in a little closer.

Well, all's well that ends well!

I'm outta here :)

I'll be in Corolla, NC until next Saturday :)

Have a great week everyone! Catch ya'll later!

xoxo

You can't handle the truth!

So there I was doing my regular grocery shopping and it's time to check out. I snag a spot in a line with my usual cashier who has just finished ringing up all the items for the lady in front of me! Bonus! She's done and will be paid up by the time I get all my stuff loaded on the belt.

Uh, no! Here come the coupons. I don't mean a few coupons. I mean handfuls of coupons. Don't get me wrong...love me some great coupons! Especially since it was triple coupon day!! Oh, Yeah!!

When I stopped and realized what I was actually witnessing, it was really quite spectacular. This nice young lady with her 2 toddlers had all her coupons organized.

This is what she bought:

16 bottles worcestershire sauce {16 individual coupons}

4 bottle French's mustard {4 individual coupons}

4 boxes powdered sugar {4 individual coupons}

20 100-calorie pack box snacks {20 individual coupons}

8 bars soap {8 individual coupons}

4 dishwashing liquids {4 individual coupons}

8 things of toilet paper {8 individual coupons}

and some other things that I just can't remember, but you get the idea.

I got to see her receipt. The cashier showed it to me, because I was in such awe, and I always shop with this particular cashier, if I can get her. She even said to me when I asked if I could see it "I want you to see what she does". The whole time she was ringing up the coupons, the cashier kept saying, "I think we're going to actually owe you money, this time".

The lady paid $7.42 , she saved $103.27

Uh, yeah!!!

So I stood there in awe, watching and talking to her. I can't fathom how much work goes into collecting the coupons, scouring the grocery store adds, finding which stores are offering the best deals, storing all the items that she bought and having 2 kids with me while I shop :)

So even though she saved herself all this money. I ask you, Do you think it's worth it? I mean where's the actual food? No produce. No dairy. No meat. No pasta. No frozen food. This is someone I would catagorize as a "professional shopper". Someone who shops "to save". I love saving. Really, I do. But, uh, 16 bottles of worcestershire sauce?! Is that for marinade?

Tag, you're it!

Well, I got tagged by Jen at Harried Mom Of Four.

This is a fun tag, that I could have come up with sooo many things.

Six Things You Should Know About Me

1. I spend way too much time on the computer. I will jump up and pretend I was doing something else, just so hubby doesn't suspect. (He works at home...hard to keep things secret, ya know).

2. I have a secret stash of candy that no one knows about (well, except you).

3. I can't stand the way hubby takes forever to do the dishes. (But, hey, he does them).

4. I'm lazy.

5. I love to read. I will ignore my children, friends, hubby, whomever...when I'm reading a good book.

6. I have to buy childrens sunglasses. My head is that narrow. Really!! Love me some sparkly Hannah Montana glasses ;)

xoxo

I'm not sure who to tag, so if you want to do this, comment and link up!!

Can you? Will you? Please? Thank You!

* this is not our play area

Since it's getting to be summertime here, we are having our usual crop of sudden afternoon thunderstorms. Sometimes they don't realize they are supposed to be gone by the next day and actually decide to hang around longer than I would like :)

It was on one of these rainy days that I decided to take Kelly to the "froggy's". This is our play area at the local mall. It's not new. It's not even updated, but the kids don't care! They just want to run around, jump and be wild. And we just want them to tire out enough that they'll take a nap or fall into bed exhausted after an early dinner ;)

Here is my latest issue with the "froggy's". Let me set the stage. This area is a large enclosed area with glass half-height walls. There are fountains with pennies outside of those walls to look at. The area for the parents to sit and watch over their little ones consists of 4 tiers {think very wide steps}. They run the length of the play area {about 20 feet} and are about 3 feet deep. Not too high, so everyone can manage going up and down them easily.

I was sitting on the second from bottom tier. My feet resting on the first tier. That left 2 tiers behind me. As I'm sure you're familiar with, you get to know a lot of the kids and what type of "player" they are based on the mommy/caregiver and how often they are yelling at their angel to "watch out for little ones", "don't jump down on kids", "be careful", etc...

As I was reading my book {yes, reading a book} a little baby/toddler started crawling up the first tier towards someone behind me. He had just gotten up onto the step and was thrusting his balance forward when another little boy of about 5 mows him down, causing the little one to fall straight backwards onto the back of his head. {Kinda like the nestea plunge...anyone remember that?} So, anyway, as I see this unfolding I start to stand up to try and catch him but he fell too quickly. I'll give the tyke credit, he didn't seem too upset. In hinsight I think this happens a lot {the roughness}. He just got up and started back up the tiers to his mama. The mower downer gets to his mother {uh, turned out to be the same mother} to tell her something. Here is the exchange that I heard:

Mom: "Can you please watch what you're doing? You knocked Will down"

Son: "Uh mom, Did you see that I jumped off the dragonfly?"

Mom: "Yes." "Will you try and be a little more careful, Will fell down when you were coming up here?"

Son: "Uh mom, I'm going to do it again. Can you watch me?"

Mom: "Yes." "Please, can you watch what you're doing? You knocked Will over!"

Son: "Uh, sure"

Mom: "Thank You"

What's wrong with this exchange? At first glance you may think nothing. But, if you're like me and are wondering why so many kids have no respect for adults and are getting out of hand at schools, I think this is one of the reasons! She isn't demanding obedience from her son. She's wishing her son would be obedient. She's asking, not telling. Do you see the difference?

Here's my take on what her son actually heard:

Mom: "blah, blah, blah blah :)"

Son: "uh, mom Did you see that I jumped off the dragonfly?"

Mom: "Yes." "Will you be more careful...knocked down Will...but if you aren't more careful, I understand :)"

Son: "Uh mom, I'm going to do it again. Can you watch me?"

Mom: "Yes." " Please, blah, blah, blah, knock Will, blah, blah"

Son: "Uh, sure"

Mom: "Thank You"

Some of you may be thinking, Well she probably didn't want to embarass him. But let me ask you this: What's wrong with a little embarassment? Since when did my 5 year old become my peer? Why are his feelings more important than mine or his brothers? Now everyone will wonder if my child will run roughshod over their child, and rightly so.

My major concern was that she wasn't upset her. She didn't check on the other child or even acknowledge the fact that I had been concerned and tried to help. It seemed "appropriate" for the older boy. As in, that's just who he is.

Feel free to stop reading here, because this is when I get judgemental. Sorry, but this is right up there with the no seatbelt thing for me.

I see this as a lack of discipline. Parents not wanting to do their "job". Hey people, it's a JOB! We can't always be their friends. We can't always have a nice voice and be calm and supportive with candles in a fellowship circle time. It's a tough job. You have to be tough. I am not talking corporal punishment. No,no, not at all. But tough can be a number of things.

Just to set the record straight on what I would have done if this had happened to me with my own children. I would have pulled {not so gently, to make sure they understood the severity of the situation} my child over by the arm, reamed him out quietly and let him know if it happened again we would be leaving and it would be quite some time before he got this "priviledge" again. Everything we do in our family is known as a "priviledge". It is so my children understand that this is not something to take for granted. You have earned this fun time, because you are loving, wonderful, we like to have fun and be goofy and you're kids and need to play. But make no mistake...we never, ever have to do this. This works for us when punishment is needed. I can just say to any of my children "Do you want to lose a priviledge?" This leaves them open to uncertainty. Which priviledge will I lose? Ice cream, computer, tv, game time, froggy's, movie theater, etc...This allows me to be in control of their punishment, not vice versa.

If I were to have said something more specific, my little one may decide that that particular thing isn't as important as what they're trying to get away with at the moment. It could completely backfire on me. Hence, ambiguity is my best friend :)

I hope I haven't lost some of you as friends and readers. I'm just being honest. I know we won't all agree on this. I welcome others perspective on this. I should say that I just read John Rosemond's New Parent Power. He's really wonderful, and has the same values as me and my hubby.

xoxo

Extreme Makeover: Update

I've lowered my standards :) Welcome to EMME. Don't know what I'm talking about? Go check out Amber, you'll get the whole scoop there.

A few weeks ago I announced that I had reached my goal weight. After further consideration, I think I need a new goal. I'm not sure this is where I think I should be, after all. I have quite the "mommy pouch" and it's really starting to bug me. I don't really want to say I should lose more weight, because my "weight" is fine for my height. So is my BMI. Technically so is my bodyfat %, although it's at the highest possible number for my statistics.

Long story short...I'm still a work in progress. I have really loved following everyone's stories about getting healthier and all the tips everyone's shared through our wonderful host, Ms. Amber!!

This week's question is:

What's your favorite thing to drink while you're losing weight? We all know how important it is to get that water intake up, especially with summer almost here. What's your favorite way to spice it up?

My answer: Crystal Light! I consider it the same as water.

I also love to mix it with seltzer water...just for a little fizz :)

xoxo

Fabulousness

J.J. over at I'd rather be laughing has bestowed this fabulous award to me. 'lil 'ole me :) Thank you J.J.

She has been a great friend and a wonderful supporter of my new habit...running :)

The rule for this award is to pass it on and then list 5 of your least favorite things.

Here they are:

1. Finding the missing sippy cup that was used for milk...3 days later

2. Snakes

3. The look on my kids face when they don't like what we're having for dinner. My comment "Too bad".

4. Seeing children not wearing seat belts in cars that clearly should be wearing seat belts!!

5. Water spots on the kitchen floor...oh, that just bugs me!

I am passing this award on to:

Connie
Rocksee

Liz

Tecia

Sue

I think I'm a runner

First let me just say that as most of you know I've been working hard to become a "runner". I have asthma which is pretty well controlled, but does seem to get me a little off when I do run/jog.

Anyway...I decided to map out a 5k course in my neighborhood and run it today. Check out this awesome site and you can do the same...map out anywhere in the world...it's soooo cool!!

I usually run on the treadmill and have only run outside a few times. As mentioned here, I thought I would be training better on the treadmill. Let me also say that I do take walking breaks when I run outside. I try and make them no more than 1 1/2 min. Today, I took 6 in my 5k jog. For a total of 8 mins. I jogged for the rest of the time. I ran my 5k in 40:26. I was hoping to beat 45 mins., with only 3-4 walking breaks. Now to be fair there are 2 big downhill slopes...but on the other side are 2 uphill slopes...hence a little more walking :)

All I can say is I'm just so darn excited!! I found a local race, but it's not until September. So my friends there you have it! I can run...well, jog/walk...whatever!!

* Now, if I could only get those shapely legs :)

See my prize from Melissa!!

I love this!! For those of you who missed out on my crazy, deliriously happy post about actually winning something, you can go here.

Now, it's in my home! This cute little desk caddy, from Melissa at Bloggin' It, has stepped up the eye candy quotient at my "desk". Notice, that my desk is actually the little cubby between my oven and hallway. Do you feel bad for me?! Don't! I now have this handy dandy caddy to help me keep my space looking perfect!

Thank you so much Melissa! I really, really love it!

xoxo

Vinyl Love

So today starts off like every other day...crazy busy!! But, I finally get a moment to sit down with my bff {the computer} and start going thru my blog reader, and first up we have Kimba from A Soft Place To Land and what giveaway is she featuring?????...My gal, Brittany from Lewa's designs who did such an amazing job on a custom order for me!!! I love her!!

I've been meaning to tell you all about this for almost a year now!! Last year for my oldests birthday, I decided to "give" him his own room. Now most 12 year old boys aren't that big into their room. But I think on the sly, Jack was pretty excited. Let's get real, he'd been sharing a room with his 2 brothers since they were born. So there I was thinking...almost a teenager...needs his own space...will start needing more sleep than the "wake up at the crack of dawn 4 year old"...definately needs his own room!

We picked out bedding. Uh. duh. Mom. Black, red and grey. Hey, he's a guy! Oh, and we're HUGE Maryland Terps fans {red and black are their colors}!! But what do you put on the walls of a tween boy's room? Luckily the answer slapped me right in the face as we were watching tv one night. Summer X-Games!! We needed the X-Games logo for his red wall. Oh, didn't I mention that? We painted {oh, and yes, he did help paint} 3 walls are a light grey and one wall is red {4 coats later}.

So, I'm off to scour Etsy {the only place I shop} to find someone to make a huge X-Games logo for me. Enter Brittany!! She was so sweet. I knew it would be a problem to make the exact logo, due to copyrights, but she worked with me until we came up with the perfect look!!

And that's it!

Isn't it cool!!

I also bought her large "dandelion blowing in the wind" to put in my renovated bathroom, but that will be in another post. This one is long enough!!

So, go check Lewa's designs out!! She Totally Rocks!!

Extreme Makeover: Me Edition - Update

Welcome to another edition of Extreme makeover. Join us at Amber's for tips, support and lively entertainment as a bunch of ladies try to fit in a healthier lifestyle amongst everything else we do!

I've been trying to work on my running game and have transitioned to running outside. Man, that is way tougher than being on the treadmill! I can do it, but it's more difficult, and I find myself needing to stop every once in awhile to catch my breath. Today I got back on the treadmill and ran for 2.5 miles, no stopping. For now, I'll probably stick with the treadmill :)

My weight is back to slightly fluctuating, which I will just resign myself to. I'm at my goal weight now, and will focus more on getting in shape. My game plan is to be using weights and running to go from flab to fab!!

Scared Smart

Has everyone seen these cars? It's an electric car. The Smart Car

Does everyone suck in their breath every time they see a driver in their "can" of a car driving in one?

I must say, I worry about these people! I know their trying to save gas and their "carbon footprint" {don't get me started on that little conspiracy theory}, but these have poor crash test ratings!!

Yet, people buy them to "commute". Where I live, that ususally means driving with nutso drivers {can you say road rage?} all around you!!

Also, I don't know about you, but my utility bills...electric and gas...have gone up astronomically!

All I know is I'm scared for those drivers...I'm scared smart!

Happy Memorial Day

For all the men and women that valiantly have served and continue to serve our nation, I will have my entire family watch this movie today. It is about a fallen Marine and the effort that goes into "bringing him home".

I appreciate all that these brave soldiers do, so that we may live a life of freedom. This means a life where we do not have to have our children walk across a "line" that is guarded by machine gun carrying soldiers, just to get to school. We have running water, food and medicine available to us on a daily basis. I do not live in fear of daily air raids, sirens or bombs going off at any hour of the day or night.

I will pray for all the families that have had to bear the weight of losing a daughter, son, father, mother, brother or sister so that I may have these freedoms. This is a day here I will take the time to remind my children of what a wonderful country we live in and what makes it so great.

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day and remember all those that have died so that we can live

.

Edit: Have since re-found where I first found out about this movie. Visit here.

Gone Fishing

Well, not really. But, I am gone. Long gone! We pulled the kids out of school today and are headed to see some dear friends {best man in wedding, wife and kids} on our annual Memorial Day Weekend with them! I hope you all enjoy your long weekend, whatever you're doing!!

xoxo

Tried it again...CUPCAKES

Well, since it's my baby's birthday, you know I had to try and do some special cupcakes for my guy!! Once again I turned to my handy dandy resource cupcake book.

After making these adorable ones for the Kellster, we couldn't leave Dunn out in the cold!! So what do you make a 6 year old boy? At my house, it was going to be the sharks!! They looked a little less labor intensive than Kelly's, and better for a beginner, such as myself.

Here's how they turned out:

Not bad, but not close to how beautiful they are in the book!! Why do they have to make it look so easy, and it's actually really hard?! See that shark in the lower left corner...how he's all spotted??.

Of course there was something dripping in our extra refridgerator where these were being stored.

So I get more frosting and make it gray {so I can re-dip the mottled sharks} and it comes out a whole lot darker. Oh, well!

Gotta love my Jack {he's 12}...he says the mottled ones look more realistic. So the dark gray ones are more of a blob shape due to re-dipping. I still like them but they don't look like this:

And for the record...they are so top heavy!! No matter how I tried to angle them on the top, they would fall over...can you say difficult!! Let me also state, these are expensive to make!! You have to buy so many things just to use a fraction of what you actually bought.

Example: those really expensive thin round chocolate wafer cookies...yeah, you use 3. Cut them in half to use for the fin. I found flower shaped thin wafer cookies and cut the petals off for a fraction of the cost, but still. Then there's the fruit roll ups for the mouth. Honestly, we don't buy them. Couldn't find plain red, and when I found something that had red in it, they also came with those tongue tattoo's...really had to weild the knife to get that shape right!!

But, I would do it all again for love!! He loved how they looked!! "WOW, THOSE ARE UNBELIEVABLE", not that I'm quoting or anything ;)