going to school

I'm going to school. Not in the traditional sense, as it isn't really traditional school, but I'm going. I'm glad that I'm not wasting my time when I'm not working as much. Learning about skin care products is interesting, but surely not my passion. Homework is kind of fun, and I do like learning new things.

extended cable

This past weekend Chris called to see how much extra getting some additional HD channels would be on our bill. Of course, it seems that they had a special where we now have a ton of new channels. I'm staying out of the billing part of it, but I am so happy with 2 of our new channels. The first that I love is Boomerang with all of it's old school cartoons. Last night Ivy and I watched Penelope Pitstop and Hong Kong Phooey (sp) and she loved them as much as I remembered. the other one is the Cooking Channel. I love Extra Virgin and they have Nigella too! I haven't seen a Nigella episode in ages. It was so relaxing and brought a smile to my face to watch her again.

Another post about my kids

On nights that I'm at the end of my rope, I really need to sit down and remember the good and happy things that my kids bring to my life. Here is my post for today.

DD is getting ready to graduate from first grade this week. And it seems just right! She brought home a certificate today that she had exemplified the character trait of the month for May which was helpfulness. I'm proud of her.

DS is getting ready to graduate from preschool this week. And it seems appropriate as well. He is ready to be a kindergartener. He has a new tennis racquet that he is sleeping with tonight. He was able to go on a play date on his own this weekend. I'm proud of him.

DB (Dear Baby) is being potty trained and doing so great at his school in his big boy panties. Not so great at home, but we'll take what we can get. We put him back into his crib tonight because he just can't get the handle of the toddler bed. He is right in the middle between baby and toddler. His sassy talk shocks me. But he is so cute I can hardly stand it.

lunch with friends

I'm so happy that I have a friend that keeps on me about lunch dates. She will email the group of us and say that she is needing a girl's lunch, and then we all send in dates that will work for us. It normally takes a few weeks for everyone to find an open day but when we get together, it is so nice to see each other. Bonus for today was that I was able to use a gift card to pay!

I love my babies

but oh my goodness, sometimes it's hard to be a mama! So, let's take a deep breath and write down a couple amazing things about my amazing kids! And I'm very happy that they are not yet old enough to usefree dating online yet!


Miss Ivy

1. finished a full book of Ivy and Bean withing 24 hours of checking it out at the library




2. took over all of her medicine duties for her canker sores in her mouth. whoever said that childproof caps are made only for children is right




3. she can wear her pajamas all day and love every single second of it.

Mister Bec

1. the kid runs on every single cylinder in his body at full tilt from the minute his eyes fly open in the morning




2. he is my only child that can tell when I'm in a bad mood and may need a kind word or two




3. he can play with his toys like no other child I have ever seen. the noises that he makes for his trains and cars are like none other as well

Mister Hen

1. He is starting to talk so much more now, stringing more and more words together




2. He still takes a nice long nap which lets me snuggle him and take a nice long nap beside him




3. this kid loves to sing and dance along with his television shows. even if he is super tired, he will jump up and sing and move to the opening of Backyardigans and it makes me smile.

7 things that make Ivy happy

While I was typing away the other evening, Ivy wanted to come up with her own happiness list. Here is what she came up with.



1. my dog




2. my family




3. my cousins




4. my babies (stuffed animals)




5. doing crafts




6. art




7. my polka dot blanket

riding boots

New Zumba

I ran into an acquaintance on Saturday at the grocery store, not shopping for indoor tv antennas, but for yogurt.

We were chatting and she started telling me about a Zumba class that she takes during the week that is really close to my house. I went today and had a lot of fun. I'm going to try to go again tomorrow and maybe talk my sister into going with me. The music was great and I was sweating like crazy.

had my

beautiful baby niece over for a play date today. she is just the most perfect baby girl ever. quiet, happy, cute as can be. Stays away from all office equipment and scanner software since she can't crawl yet.

I couldn't ask for more.

just a teensy

tiny bit of time for quiet before the husband and the baby get home while the girl and the boy are screaming around downstairs.

This is a very happy moment.

My word these kids are loud.

Done List

Today I have

• taken Bec to dental appointment


• called Roto Router about a backflow test


• called Whirlpool to find out where our water heater part is


• ordered flowers to be delivered to Bec's dentist office


• updated Chris on Bec's progress today


• made Bec 2 bowls of hot cereal and gave him 2 popsicles


• gave Bec ibuprofen and calming drops


• changed gauze packs for Becken 4 times


• called on photo schedule for basketball tonight


• made eyelash appointment for tomorrow


• made Hendrix ear dr. appt.


• worked out for 30 minutes


• massaged a knot out of my nephew's back


• did not order a plus size bridesmaid dresses


• gave becken a bath


• arranged for Henry's pick up from my niece

I think that's enough by 7 pm :)

we had such great

service at the dental office today that I ended up having flowers delivered to their office to thank them. What a huge differece in experiences from our othe place that we went to. When we pulled up to the office today, Bec said, "Yay, I like this dentist. It's the quiet one."

Finally tried

the much advertised fruit with oatmeal from our neighborhood coffee shop. And, it was gross! But I'm happy that I finally tried it and got it out of my system! Every night for the past few weeks, I see their reader board and think, "I've got to try that"! And now, one more thing off of my mental list.

sparkling dishes

Well, maybe not sparkling, but I wasn't using the dishwasher this weekend and I set the newly cleaned and rinsed dishes on the counter in the shining window sunlight. It made me happy. Kind of like hanging out laundry to dry, but inside.

It's all me baby!

I haven't resorted to using diet pills
yet, but I did get some good measurements from my gym weigh in this week!
I lost 3/4 inch in my chest, 1.5 inches in my waist and 2.5 inches in my abs, .5 inch in my hips. I gained an inch in my thighs, calves and arms which is fine by me!

Is it time to tan?

This weather has been amazing! It's been around 7 degrees with a chance of snow all week, and although there hasn't been any snow at all, it's still nice to be around the cold. That being said, I have been considering using the tanning bed at my gym for a couple of visits. My cousin has been using hers and she looks to much happier. If I wasn't so worried about age spots and skin cancer in the future, I'd be there right now. But, I'm still considering it...

TLC's new puppy

My partner at the spa is fostering a new little puppy and has been for about 8 weeks now. He was the runt of the litter and only has 3 legs! I haven't seen him for about a week and he came traipsing out of the office today like a big boy! He's gained a lot of weight without the help of hemo rage black
. Just good old puppy food. So cute and rambunctous, just like any other puppy on the market. He is just a doll baby.

I never thought that

I would look so forward to my dermatologist appointments. The nurse there is very nice and holds my hand while I'm getting my shots. I haven't tried juvederm yet, but there are some days that I think that I'd like to. I have a friend that uses it above her lip where she has a tiny, but deep wrinkle that bothers her quite a bit. Most of the time that I see her, I forget that it is even there or has ever been there.

Another costume

Last year, or the year before, I posted about how much I loved seeing those people dressed up in the statue of liberty costumes around tax time. Well, this year have you seen all of the enveloopes waving from the intersections? Just more fun to love while driving down the street on my way to work. Now I don't need anything complicated like rv financing
to make me happy. Just a random costume here and there.

Eyelash extensions!!

I have been addicted to my bathroom vanity today and any other mirror I can come across. Why? Because I got EYELASH EXTENSIONS!!

And I'm in love with them. Chris says that I look like a doe. I'm so happy that I got them done :)

1/27/11

Today for lunch I made myself one of my favorite meals. A broccoli/egg burrito. I know it sounds gross, but I love it. I make the frozen broccoli. Then I scramble a couple of eggs and put the broccoli in. Today I had a little bit of spinach and I threw that in too. I sprinkle on some cheddar and let it melt. then I scoop it all up in a warm flour tortilla with hot sauce. I could eat this every day. And it's so easy I could make it while talking on my various cell phones
And I will eat it again and again until I run out of broccoli. then it'll be weeks before I have it again because I'll forget to buy broccoli. but when I finally remember, this is the first thing that I make.

Playing hooky

from basketball tonight. Instead of driving 3 hours to watch my nephew, I had Ivy's dental appointment. I would have loved to go to the game but taking care of the cavities seemed more pressing. I can only imagine what it's going to be like when I have to start thinking about the best acne products for all three of them. I'm going to go nuts. I hope that my sister remembers to text me the scores throughout the game.

1/18/11

This may seem over the top for a lot of dog owners, but something that has made me happy today is our bark collar for Zel. Hey, at least I'm not writing about colon cleansers!


When we first got her, she would not bark at all. She was so timid that she rarely made a sound. Now that she is much more comfortable with us she has been barking more and more.

The night barking got pretty bad. She sleeps downstairs in her own bathroom, but a couple of weeks ago she started to bark after being put down for the night. Since she wanted to be around us, she would stop barking when I went down to reprimand her and could never catch her in the act. It was soooo frustrating.

We bought one of those collars that sprays them with citronella right when they are barking. I only put it on her at night when she has to go to bed. On the third night I was able to leave it off of her and she still did not bark. It's been a godsend!

Right now

DH is treating Henry's eczema after his shower, while we are waiting for dinner. It has been wonderful that DH has been having a wonderful route and getting home at a wonderful time each night this week.

On the side table in the dining room is a huge package of zines and indie books just waiting for me to open them and read them. It's one of the best presents I can ever give to myself.

I'll let you know which ones I love. I'm sure there are many treasures.

Saving Henry

I finished this book on Saturday. It was rough to read as it was about parents and doctors trying to save a little boys' life through stem cell research. Thinking that since I had a little bit of experience with infertility and such, I assumed that I would be able to kind of tolerate and empathize with this family, without being blindsided by the devastating lows that they would go through. I was wrong. It was heartbreaking. I should have researched the most popular diet pills of 2010 instead of reading it. But, I did learn a lot. It's going to haunt me.

I gave it 3 stars.

The Heretic Queen

Making myself happier, includes reading on a regular basis. I finished The Heretic Queen on Sunday.

It was easy. It kept my attention. I only really read it because it was given to me by a friend at work ( no barcode scanner needed for this book) and some of my other friends had read it. I like anything about ancient Egypt, but now after 3 or so books that are labeled "historical fiction", I don't think that I like that genre very much.

I gave it 3 stars.

Bec 1/8/11

Last night when we were driving back from a basketball game, Bec tells me that when he is older he is going to fly an airplane to his land. (Africa) He then says, "Mom, will you come with me and sit right in the spot next to me? You will have to hold the globe. Then when I need to find Africa, you can hand it to me, so I can find Africa and not get lost." As long as he had an HDTV set up for the flight, I'm going with him!

Becken 1/6/11

My niece Jaiya, Ivy and Becken were playing at my mom's house this week. While in their playroom, Bec saw a globe by the glass tile in the window and showed Jaiya (12) where Africa is. He said, This is my land Jaiya. Then Ivy says, "Becken, what was your Africa mommy's name?" Then Bec replies, "I'm not sure that I remember, but I think it was Cindy."

Where does he come up with these things?