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THIS IS THE BEST $10.00 I HAVE EVER SPENT!!!
That is my living room and my tree with Santa! I just had to get this, it was super simple to do and I can not wait until I show my children Christmas morning.
Just go to Capture the Magic and make your own!
It has been A LONG time since I have played along...no reason just busy with life and the holidays. What??? Never played Fx4??? It is so simple just go tell Candid Carrie that you are playing...you need to sign her Mr. Linky thing that is it SIMPLE!
This ended up being the Christmas card photo. Little guy keeps licking his upper lip.....it is still red!!! It does not show up as much as I thought it would. TG for B&W!
They are just growing way too fast.
Merry Christmas.
Girls weekend was a BLAST. Here is the break down...
Arrive in downtown Chicago at my parent's condo at 4:30 PM. Traffic was not bad at all and I was thankful for that, I hate traffic!
Walk 6 blocks with my suit case to my hotel where my gals were waiting, arrive at 6:00. SLAM 2 cocktails right away out of pure excitement!
At some point, I lost track of time we went to the Drake for cocktails. They were very yummy. We witnessed a lady of the night, so we think, get kicked out of the Drake for not complying with dress code.
Vision this.....a red sequence bikini top/ bra, black spandex carpi pants...she was a bit on the chunky side so it was not pretty. That lovely ensemble was topped off with black Reebok high tops and a black sequence ball cap. She was arguing with hotel security apparently she can not read. It clearly states that there is a dress code...no base ball caps allowed! As we were leaving we saw her again, she was still there this time however security was carrying out her 10 speed bike as she followed!
Before you ask NO I did not get a picture! Boy do I regret that now!
Saturday after a rough night and morning we went on an Architectural river boat tour, yes it was VERY COLD but alas the boat had a bar! Our group wiped them out of Bloody Mary mix.
Saturday night 5:30 we ate a super yummy restaurant Flat Top Grill. Then it was off to Second City for a comedy show and a first hand "how to" be a lesbian from a couple who were not afraid of a little PDA. First I must say I do not care about ones sexuality, I may not agree with it morally but I will not judge you based on that, in fact I have several friends who prefer the same sex. I do however have problem with it being thrown in my face. These two women we going at, it was so embarrassing. We were there with my cousins 86 year old Aunt Betty, man it was awkward! When the show started they stopped and we were all so happy! I would have been just as uncomfortable if were a man and a woman going at it just in case you were wondering. Anyway the show was HILARIOUS!!!! I laughed so hard.
Sunday wake up walk to my parent's condo have bakery and coffee then head home into a snow storm. That was so much fun. I just love driving through a white out. Made it home safe and watched as 6 inches of snow fell.
So there you have my adventures in Chicago, no shopping! I know crazy right??? I am going down again in a few weeks to meet my other couin there, then I will shop!
Hi all...time for Tuesday's Green tip.
There are a ton of web sites that offer Green tips, it is hard to find just one that offers it all. I came across this site a few days ago Ideal Bite and it is GREAT!!! You can sign up for a newsletter that will deliver green tips to your inbox! There are categories for larger cities, daily tip and mama tip! You can choose what edition you would like!
Here is some back ground...Founded by Jen Boulden and Heather Stephenson in 2005, Ideal Bite offers bite-sized ideas for light-green living. Easy eco-living tips are presented in a short, sassy and free e-mail each weekday that is delivered to more than 350,000 subscribers. Ideal Bite's mission is to create a more sustainable world through incremental environmentalism -- small changes that truly add up.
so go check it out, I promise you will find a wealth of green tips and information!
Until next week......keep it Green!
Today we became the proud owners of.....a new fish! A Betta to be exact!
Little guy picked him out and named him.......Smartie!
Cool digs huh???
Happy Friday Foto Fiesta!!!! If you have never played then head on over to Candid Carrie and see how easy it is to participate!
I love the look on little guys face, the eyes kill me! The picture screams "You can't keep me in this thing, I will get out" Trust me he did not that day he was only 6 months but a mere 2 months later we had an escapee!
I HATE word verification, I do. But due to 2 comments that were left I must turn it back on! What was the comment you ask well........
John said...
Online Viagra resource containing quality information on Erectile Dysfunction, Impotence, Viagra News, Viagra Usage, Viagra Forum etc to help you understand the most effective treatment available for Erectile Dysfunction(Impotence)http://www.viagracare.com
So..there you have it. Why I don't know and I don't even want to!
Yes it is that time of year, time for the dreaded flu shot. I made the appointment a few weeks ago for both of the boys. In the past the flu shot has been nothing but THE.WORST.THING.THAT.COULD.HAPPEN. to big guy.
When he was 6 we, meaning myself and 4 nurses had to peel him off of the floor of the waiting room where he was laying spread eagle face down screaming "NO FLU SHOT" over and over. Then we had to get him into the exam room. By this point I was freaking out thinking I am the WORST mom in the world. I was seriously about to say forget it, not worth the damage and therapy bills in the future. But we got that little bugger pinned down and got him! I swore after that I would NEVER do that to my children again. No more flu shot.
Fast forward 4 years(last winter) big guy get sick, super sick, for over 2 weeks. Guess what??? Yep he had the flu, diagnosed by the Dr. It was not fun. I got scolded by the Dr and he promised that he would get the flu shot because having the flu was "the worst".
So flu shot day comes this year and big guy claims he is sick. He coughs and it sounds like it could be a little exaggerated, this is not uncommon with him. Later that afternoon I get a call from school. The secretary has been on to him since day one. He gets a "headache" if he feels like he doesn't want to be in class. That has not happened this year so much but he does have a track record. He had been to the office TWICE!
So we laugh about it and come to the conclusion that he is not sick but wanting to be because of the flu shot. Oh did I forget to tell you that when I said we were getting flu shots he said NO WAY. Yes I did remind him how sick he was but i guess he forgot how bad it was! There was only one hour left of school, he stayed.
OK so we get home from school, just a few hours before the WORST.THING.EVER and guess what? Yep big guy is sick! Crap! No flu shot for him, he had a fever of 101. So it is off with little guy.
We get there and all is well until we get into the exam room. He starts acting all "freaky" making odd noises, weird faces and then states "NO SHOT!" The nurse comes in just as that comes out of his mouth. He sees the needle, I so blame the nurse for that one, she just took the cap off right in front of him! DUH!!!!
Then came the FREAK OUT and struggle....this was not as bad as the whole big guy experience little guy is small and easy to hold down and not freaking out as much. So there I am again having to torture one of my children by laying across him and holding his arms. As the nurse holds his legs he screams at the top of his lungs.
"You idiot, you poop head" then silence.....then....."that is it?"
So I am trying SO HARD not to burst out laughing, seriously hard, I kid you not! I scolded him and make him say sorry to the nurse who had no expression on her face at all! Not sure what she thought she is a pediatric nurse and I am sure she is rarely verbally assaulted on the job by a 5 year old!
We walked out of there with me still trying not to laugh!
Big guy thinks he got out of the whole thing, WRONG! Appointment will be rescheduled tomorrow! Just hope he does not freak out like he did when he was 6, he is a lot bigger and stronger now! He might just win.
Sorry I am late for this weeks instalment of Tuesday's Green Tip, I had a super buys day. Work all morning then I had to go to Target to get a gift for my nephew, Guess who I saw there? The one and only Candid Carrie, yep live in person! She now knows a secret about me that someday I will reveal.....no I am not pregnant, I so know that is what you were thinking!
On to our Green Tip......I live in Wisconsin and let me tell you it gets cold here in the winter, very cold and snowy, last winter was brutal! So to help keep the heat bills down and conserve on energy I recommend a programmable thermostat. Not only does it help with keeping the heat bills at somewhat of a digestible amount, but it saves energy!
I am not going to recommend any particular one. Before we had a new furnace installed we replaced the old style thermostat with a low end programmable one, it worked fine. We got a new furnace and it come with a super fancy programmable thermostat, too many buttons but again it works fine.
Now for the shocker.....I am VERY strict with the temperature. I have it set to go down to 64 at 10:00 PM then at 6:00AM it goes to 67, yes 67!!! If you are cold you can layer up. It is not that bad really. I will confess that we do have a wood burning fire place and we do use it often to keep warm. We get free wood, trees that have fallen by my brother in laws house, there are lots of them!
We have not turned the heat on yet, it was 66 in the house this AM but I knew it would warm up during the day and it did to 70! So here we sit playing the "we are not turning on our furnace game", one we play every year. We lasted until December 1st last year!
That's it folks until next week....keep it green!
Look at this poor little guy! He is a mess! So thankful that his school pictures turned out retakes are not an option. It has been day after day of injuries for him, the picture does not show all of them.
1)Bruise under eye. From Dad who thought it would be fun to show a 5 year old how to shoot rubber bands.
2) Bruise on cheek. From Dad again, was being followed out did not know and slammed door on his head
3)Chapped lips. Why is it both my boys ALWAYS suck on their top lip resulting in a super chapped upper lip (notice the glossy shine from the Vaseline that was self applied?)
Now the ones you do not see....
5) Smashed finger. His fault. Apparently he thinks the railing on the stairs is a monkey bar. He actually got his ankle caught the smashed his finger try to free it.
6) Big bruise from Flu shot. hum....no blame here just bad luck.
Another Tuesday another green tip.
With the holidays fast approaching I have noticed my mail box filling up with catalogs from EVERY store you can think of. I AM SICK OF IT!
I swear I get 10 different Pottery Barn catalogs during the holidays. They may have different covers but the contents are the same. And don't even get me started on LL Bean.
Fear not my green friends there is something you can do. There is this great web site I found GreenDimes.com.
Some companies do have catalog opt out forms right on their web sites, Green Dimes will let you know! This can take some time but the thought of no more Pottery Barn catalogs makes me drool!
Until next week......keep it Green.
So today I am cleaning and little guy is in the bathroom singing.......
"Plant heroes oh oh Planet Heroes save the day"
Too cute, I know.
I have to go see what he is actually up to in there. He has proven in that past that he can not be trusted for long periods in there. Can I say dental floss everywhere???
I peek around the corner and watch in amazement.
He has his pants around his ankles.
His leg pressed up to the toilet and his hips trusted froward.
Then he pees.
After that he pulls up his pants and raises his leg and uses his FOOT to flush the toilet.
All while totally unaware that I am watching him in wonder and fright.
He walks right by the sink the sees me and smiles.
I say " You need to wash your hands"
His response "I didn't touch my sinep (spelled backwards) and I did not use my hands to flush the toilet, so I don't have to wash my hands"
I am not sure if I should be impressed or concerned.
Wanna play??? Go tell Carrie!
This is my FAVORITE Halloween Decoration, I am tempted to keep it up all year!
What is going on? Doesn't ANYBODY have respect these days? I understand it is an election year and feelings are heated. But that is NO EXCUSE to go onto someones property and destroy a campaign sign.
This has nothing to do with who I believe is best suited to run our country, it has to do with being an American and having the right to voice my opinion and choose who's name is on a sign in MY YARD. And how wonderful that we have that freedom. I am very thankful for that.
Let me tell you what has been going on in my neighborhood. One neighbor has a HUGE sign in their yard they woke up the other day to it cut in half. The neighbor next door has the other opponent's sign, HUGE one as well and guess what? Yep, his was destroyed as well. Again RESPECT people!
My sign has not been tampered with but so help me if I catch anyone doing so I will FREAK on them! Then call the cops and have them arrested for trespassing and theft. This has to stop! Support who you want but don't get mad at those who do not agree with you. I don't I RESPECT other peoples views that is what makes this country we live in so great!
Welcome to my new segment "Cooking with the Little Guy" My older son wanted NOTHING to do with this.
This is going to be random, meaning I will not be posting "Cooking with Little Guy" on any certain day of the week like my Green tips. He is not always a willing participant. Not that he doesn't like to help me in the kitchen but sometimes he has "more important stuff to do" you know, 5 year old boy stuff.
The recipes will be kid friendly-we all know kids love to help us??
I must disclose I have an ugly kitchen. It is dated and we are saving for a remodel. I just had to put that out there. My sweet husband and I have had a 10 year argument over the kitchen, actually the brick. I will save that for the remodel posts whenever they may be!
Now it is time for the first instalment of...."Cooking with little Guy"
Homemade Butter
2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1/4 teaspoon of salt (you can omit for unsalted version)
Put in food processor and turn on-time depends usually 5 minutes or more. (You will know when it is done)
Look it's salted whip cream!
Viola...we have butter.
YES!!! Tuesday Green tips are back!! Sorry for being gone so long. Let's get started!
This has got to be one of the coolest Green clothing web sites I have seen! Clothes made from scrap.
What makes this company so ultra cool you ask? Well EVERYTHING is made from recycled products, yes EVERYTHING! How cool is that??
What could be more Green then purchasing clothing and accessories that are earth friendly! They sell T Shirts, Tote Bags, Caps, Aprons and Jackets for adults and children. And the icing on the cake is.....all their products are made in the USA!
until next week .......keep it Green
Happy Birthday T!
It is so hard to believe that you are 11 now. You are such a sweet, caring, sensitive and kindhearted young man.
You adore your little brother even thought he wrecks your LEGO creations on a daily basis. I send you to your bed and you ALWAYS sneak up to the top bunk to sleep with him. You are truly his protector.
I marvel at your intelligence. I love watching the Science and History Channel with you and our in depth discussions afterwards.
What I don't like is that you have to kiss and hug me before the bus comes. Just another sign that you are getting older.
The last few months you have been off, different. Not quite yourself at all. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks...PUBERTY! Oh my gosh! Yes my sweet boy you are so hormonal I can hardly stand it and trust me when I say this is just the start for you. I promise to be more patient with you, more understanding.
I love you so much sweetie and I hope you have a great birthday....now if I can figure what the heck to get you.
THEN
NOW
Wanna play along???? Go tell Carrie!!
The joys of Homecoming!?!?!? This is my neighbors tree. Their daughter had to clean it up, I watched her fill a HUGE garbage can 2 times! It was in the back as well. My question is how did this become an Homecoming tradition??
Wanna play??? Let Carrie know! Happy Friday
This picture is purely for Outnumbered2to1's enjoyment! (Read her post about it)
I was a a red light and because I am a REALTOR, a blogger and a Mom I always have my camera with me, this is what I saw......
So most of you know that I had to go to Montana for my grandfather's funeral a few weeks ago. I am still having a difficult time with all of it. I am still in a funk with blogging.
I promised you all stories because there were plenty but this is one that just plain makes me mad!
This is what happened TWO days after my grandfather passed away....
My brother and Aunt live in Philadelphia and were flying in to Billings together.
My cousin Dawn from Cleveland had arrived earlier in the day and was planning on picking them up from the airport.
She was on her way driving her sister Melissa's car with my Grandmother in the front seat and Melissa's 2 year old daughter in the back.
As she came around the corner she saw headlights coming right at her. She said she screamed and thought she was going to die along with our Grandmother and her niece.
Then bang! Hit almost head on!
This is what she told me the next day.....
First she really thought she had killed everyone in the car. After the impact she realized that they were all OK. She got out dialed 911 and told the operator the driver was obviously drunk.
The 911 operator wanted to know why she thought that
"No sober person drives that way"
Just then the driver, a woman comes up to her asking if everyone was alright. Dawn smells the alcohol from a foot away, tells the operator "Yep she is drunk"
Then the woman had the balls to ask Dawn if she could use her phone to call her boyfriend. WTF?????
Dawn ignored her, called Aunt Eva whose house she was leaving.
Keep in mind this is a day before the funeral and it was 9:30 at night. The ambulance took them all the hospital and they were there until 2:30 am.
My poor cousin was beside herself. She was so upset! And rightfully so. We were all sad about Dzia Dzia and then this! Too much!!!!
So anyway this stupid ass drunk driver who they determined did not even slow down or hit her brakes and was straddling the yellow line got 1 day in jail and a $680 fine. That is it! What is wrong with the laws? SHE WAS DRUNK and choose to get behind the wheel of her car and she gets a little slap on the wrist. She could have killed them.
We are convinced that Dzia Dzia was with them. The car was so mangled that the first responders could hardly believe that there were no serious injuries.
One story down...........
This is what I found when I pulled the lid off a chocolate pudding cup. Now only if it was Jesus...I could sell it on EBay!
Wanna play? Just let Carrie know!
Leah tagged me for this meme so here we go...................
1. Where were you 10 years ago?--Most likely thinking about my son's 2nd birthday
2. What is on today's To Do List?--Work, work some more, laundry, laundry
3. What would you do if you were a billionaire?--QUIT MY JOB!!!!
4. Name 5 places you have lived:
Columbia Station, OH
Danbury, CT
New Milford, CT
Goshen, CT
Leicester, MA
5. Name 3 of your bad habits:
Swearing
Speeding
Organized Challenged
6. What are your favorite snacks? Chips and Dip
7. Who will you tag for this meme?
Outnumbered
Toni
Blarney
I have been gone almost a month! Where have I been??
Lets start with I went to Montana in late July for my cousin's wedding. When I was there I saw my grandfather for the last time, I knew it was the last time as he was very sick with stage 4 Lymphoma. I left with a VERY heavy heart and a nasty stomach parasite. The parasite took almost a month to get rid of, it was not pretty.
I was in a funk. Sad about my grandfather, missing my Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and my grandparent's and sick of being sick, I had nothing I wanted to say or share.
Then I had to go to Montana again, my sweet, wonderful, awesome grandfather passed away on August 25th. I wanted to fly out found a ticket and was ready to go but there was one thing that was in my way, my children were with my parents and they are 8 hours away.
My mom drove the boys up on the 26th and suggested we drive to Montana together. I hesitated for many reasons that I will not get into but I said "sure, sounds fun?". We left my house in Wisconsin on the 26th for our 17 hour venture. It was a long ass drive!!
I am home now and thinking I might have some things I want to say. I am still in a funk but I think writing will help me get out of it. I look forward to "being back and catching up"
Happy Tuesday! Lets start with the contest. WOW is all I can say! I ended the contest with 355 comments, CRAZY huh? My inbox is full! I would like to thank everyone who participated and Charlie's Soap, you all ROCK!
The winner is....122
Timestamp: 2008-08-12 04:07:32 UTC
Jennifer said...
We have been using Method products for quite a while now, but I have been waning to try Charlie's soap products. So many green suggestions;
reusable canvas bags for shopping
recycle
compost
use rain barrels...
Congrats Jennifer! Jennifer please contact me with your address so i can get your soap to you!!
Now for the Green tip....I have decided to use some of the wonderful tips that were given for my contest.
windycindy said...
I have been washing most of my laundry in cold water.
CanCan said...
My green tip is to have your husband switch from shaving cream to shaving soap and a shaving brush. This keeps those shaving cream cans out of the land fills, and it's cheaper, too! We find our shaving soap and shaving brushes at CVS.
Jenn said...
I just recently discovered that it is not necessary to wash blue jeans every day. In fact, it is recommended to NOT wash them. Supposedly, it's recommended on the tag of pricey European jeans to go a month without washing them. I don't think I can stand to do that, but I can go a couple days. It is also recommended to line dry them, which is something I prefer to do anyway.
nanja said...
My green tip Don't add to our over used thrash accumulation by throwing out dryer sheets After each use put then in a jar that you add a few cap fulls of fabric softener to, shake take out and clip them all with a one clothespin, let dry and voila! new dryer sheets to use.
janetfaye said...
Instead of using Ajax cleanser to clean my sinks I have been using Baking Soda, it works very well.
Ginny said...
My green tip is to turn off the water while brushing your teeth & soaping up your hands while washing. Saves a bunch of water! Also, you can use gray water to water plants, etc.
Reiza said...
Okay, here's my green tip:Resell, donate or make something out of old kids' clothes. If they get stained, either use the fabric or pass it on to someone else who can. If we reused more clothes and bought used ones instead of brand new, we could eliminate a lot of waste.
There were so many WONDERFUL tips and again a HUGE Thank you to all!!!
Until next Tuesday...... keep it Green!
Welcome all campers headed my way from Camp Candid Carrie. I hope you enjoy your stay no mater how long it may be!
We have a tradition on the weekends in the summer.
Saturday: Get lawn mowed, get caught up on yard work, get caught up on house work, get annoyed by kids every five seconds with "I am hungry, I am thirsty. Mom he hit me, Mom can I play inside, Mom, Mom" , get caught up on laundry, do big grocery shopping, watch America's most Wanted.
Sunday: Go to Tommy's pool. Tommy is a dear friend of ours who has this AWESOME pool! And EVERY Sunday depending on the weather of course we pack up the kids and go over there. This Sunday big guy brought a friend.
Here is the pictorial:
The Pool
The Bar/Shed
Packer Raft, of course!!
Three boys having fun 
CANNONBALL!!
Lounging on the raft
Little man!
Is someone tired or cold?
Hanging with mom
Dad looking too cool!
Time for a nap
Welcome and Happy Friday! It is time for Friday Foto Finish Fiesta aka Fx4! If you are not familiar then head on over to Candid Carrie and check it out! Want to play? Post a Foto and let her know!
Sand+water+5 year old=this
CONTEST IS OFFICIALLY OVER! WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON TUESDAY AUGUST 12! THANK YOU!!!! 355 entries!! WOW!!
Happy Tuesday! Time for Tuesday's Green tip and a Green give away!
Oh my word!!! This is too much! Leah over at Diaries of a Domestic Goddess has awarded me the Kiss Ass blogger award! I am so excited to have this honor bestowed upon me! Thank you! Thank You! Thank You Leah! You rock girl!!
Here are the rules:
-Choose 5 bloggers that you feel are "Kick Ass Bloggers"
- Let them know via email, twitter or blog comments that they've received an award
-Share the love and link back to both the person who awarded you and back to http://www.mammadawg.com/-Pass it on!
-Grab the code's from this post and post your award for all to see and then blog about it
- Link up the person who nominated you (meaning me) for the Kick Ass Blogger Club.
Here are the 5 I nominate
1) Scargosun - I love her passion for Cape Cod. She recently learned some hard lessons with wine and lobster!
2) Judy over at Coffee Jitters-Poor girl is dealing with angles flying over head!
3) Good Golly Miss Blondie- I found her through another blog and saw she had my button! Hers was the first blog I saw it on! Thanks!!
4) Outnumbered 2 to 1- Without her I may not have become a blogger. Thanks T!
5) Blarney Spot- One of the first regular blogs I read and still do!
Happy Friday Foto Finish Fiesta! What???? You have no idea what I am talking about? Well...here is goes. You pick a Favorite Foto and post it. Then you go to Candid Carrie and tell her you are playing! Simple huh? What cha waiting for? Go on now, do it!!!
These pictures are from Montana. We spent part of a day at Bighorn Canyon. The pictures do it no justice, it was take your breath away beautiful! It was so peaceful, I loved it!!!
