CRAZY 8'S

Jenn tagged me to do this meme and how do I say no to her? She rocks!
8 Things I'm Passionate About
1. My kids
2. My hubby
3. My daughters dancing
4. Life
5. photography of my kids
6. Living a healthier life
7. scrapbooking
8. Blogging!

8 Things I Want To Do Before I Die
1. Watch my kids grow up
2. Be there when my kids graduate
3. Enjoy the pleasures of being a grandma
4. Travel with hubby
5. Take the kids to Disney world
6. Clean up our debt
7. enjoy life to the fullest
8. have funeral arrangement taken care of LOL

8 Things I Often Say
1. I love you
2. settle down
3. Where's Blake
4. In the van...
5. Good morning!
6. Good night!
7. brush your teeth
8. I LOVE YOU!!

8 Books I've Recently Read/Currently Reading
Unfortunately I don't read any books but wish I had time to read...

8 Songs I Could Listen To Over and Over
1. please don't stop the music
2. bubbly face
3. Ordinary Miracle
4. Let them be little
5. Don't laugh at me
6. tattoo, Jordan Sparks
7. Martina McBride
8. High School Musical with my daughter

8 Things That Attract Me To My Best Friends
1. HONESTY
2. Sense of humor
3.kindness
4. trust
5. Fun
6. Giving
7. Strong
8. Compassionate

8 People To Do Crazy Eights
1.Matt
2.Petula
3.Darlene
4.Jocelyn
5.Anna
6.Anne
7.Kim
8.Juliana

SHE LOVES HER JEWELERY

In a couple of weeks my daughter will be turning 8 years old and all she wants this year is jewelery. She has always been my little jewelery collector and seems to want something different to go with each of her outfits. I call her my girlie girl and for her birthday she will be getting what she wants and that is lots of jewelery.

To find her jewelery that is different and very unique I have turned to CrystalCrib.com where they offer a huge collection of anklets and bracelets, necklaces and pendants and I can't forget to mention their Colorful unique crystal jewelry from Asia. The best part is that if I buy two items I can enjoy discounts up to 40%. I spent a few moments browsing through the kids collection and come across the perfect beautiful little Happiness bracelet for kids with seashells that I know she will absolutely love. On of her favorite t hings to do each summer while we are on vacation at the beach is to collect shells so I am sure this would mean the world to her. I can't wait to see the look on her face when she opens this gift and I am hoping to find her a great pair of earrings to go with it as well.

AN EXTRA DAY OFF SCHOOL

Today I have all the kids home because of parent teacher interviews. I went to two interviews last night and went back this morning for my oldest sons interview. All the kids are doing well and there isn't much to worry about with them. They wanted to go to the school book fair but we always take them to the big book store when we go back home to visit family on March Break so I convinced them to wait until then to get a new book. Things are already crazy around here, there are literally bouncing off the walls so it looks like they will all have a quiet time later in their rooms with a movie. Then baby I can concentrate on my blogging. I am so behind on my blog hopping it's not funny! But it is Friday and I will have the weekend and I don't think I have any running around to do.

Happy Friday :0)

New Family

In today's hectic world when parents are desperately trying to balance family with work it can be a delicate balancing act. When a new baby comes into the family it is truly a blessing and can bring challanges for the most organized of families. The first few years of your childs life are the foundation of the rest of thier development. It has become acceptable for families to turn to professionals in child care. AuPairCare's offer Infant Specialized Care Programs that are specially designed for infants from birth to 1 year of age. Properly trained au pair's specialize in infant caregiving and development. Having this expertise can put parents at ease knowing your au pair caregiver has been specifically trained in infant specific child care, development and child CPR.

Another tag....I love them, this one I took from my Jabber Jaws blog where I posted it earlier from Picturing of Life. I figured that the more exposure we give this chain the longer it might get.

~~Begin Copy~~

This is the easy way and the fastest way to :

1. Make your Authority Technoraty explode.

2. Increase your Google Page Rank.

3. Get more traffic to your blog.

4. Makes more new friends.

Rules :

1. Start copy from "Begin Copy" until "End Copy" to your blog.

2. Put your own blog name and link.

3. Tag your friends as much as you can.

1. Picturing of Life 2.Jabber Jaws 3. Rantings of a Woman

~~End Copy~~

I am tagging EVERYONE, who want join this tag. Together we can make this list as long as we want it.

Executive Recruiting Firm

How do you take your approach on finding the right job for you. I will be looking into getting back into the work field in the fall and have heard many great things about using an executive recruiting firm. A.E. Feldman Associates has a reputation of discretion and consistent record of successful placements and have built strong and trusted relationships with top quality candidates and industry leading clients. Some of their practice areas include legal and legal support services, human resources consulting, luxury products and filling a number of positions in these fields from middle to executive to top level management.

MY FAVORITE BLOG AWARD EVER!

A BLOG AWARD JUST FOR ME!

After such a long day I finally got the kids off to bed and now at almost 9:00pm it's my turn to sit down and relax. Of course there isn't anything I like to watch on tv but I have lots of blog hopping to catch up on. As I sat here on the couch with the fireplace turned on (electric) I hopped on over to visit my husbands blog and found a great award waiting there for me along with a great post that he wrote about me his wonderful, loving, stubborn at times (he didn't say that lol) wife. He had so much nice to say about me that I just had to share it with you all!

Get the tissues handy!

"My wife definitely deserves an award for being the best wife ever, so I made this one especially for her. Everyday I look at her in amazement of her beauty and remember all the good things that have happened. I have to thank her for saving me really as before I got together with her I was travelling down a dangerous path in which all I really worried about was working and going out to bars with friends. It was a bad habit that I had gotten myself stuck in where I would spend 3-4 nights a week out drinking with friends. It wasn't really something I was doing for fun but to get out I guess. Her strength and love for me made me realize there were much better things to do with my time than bounce back bottles. We have been together for 9 years now and have 4 amazing little children. There have been times when everything wasn't a rose garden you could say but the underlying love we share gets us through the hard times. She really is an amazing woman and having her with me is my grace during the hard days. I love her with all my heart and could never imagine life without her."

Isn't he just the best!

YOU ARE MY FRIEND :0)

I am so behind on posting about this great award that I got the other day from Petula. Here it is the "You Are My Friend Award"! Thank you so much :0)

I am happy to pass this award on the Jenn, Kim, Anne and Matt

CREATE A PUBLIC PROFILE

Now you can be one of the many to make use of the public profile powered by linkedin.com. Here you can create a public profile just like George Divel III. He is a Vice President of investments / financial advisor at Global Wealth Advisers. Here you will view current and past employment history on him and his experiences and more. Be contacted directly or get introduced through a connection.

A BETTER UNDERSTANDING WITH JAY'S PRINCIPAL...

I took Jay to school again this morning to see what the outcome was going to be with the school principal. He was very disappointed with the way the situation was dealt with on Jays end of things and he apologized and was glad that we had appealed the vice principals decision and very glad to hear that Jay ended up playing the basketball game. He said that none of what Jay had to go through yesterday on the discipline side of things should have happened at all. Jay went to class and continued on with his day. I stayed behind and discussed this issue further and tomorrow morning I have to meet with him again to talk with the other kids parents. This could get interesting because I am going to push for better discipline while I am there. Better yet the school principal approached me to join the school advisory council to help come up with new and fresh ideas to help the school. I accepted and am now a member of the advisory council! Yay for me I just hope I am not committing to more than I can handle.
So tomorrow I will have my last meeting (hopefully) over this incident. I think I might be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

That special feeling

In today's world dating websites are becoming more mainstream and a great way to meet new people and explore new relationships. There are sites that are created to introducing men and women all around the world. If you are searching for a mate over the internet it is important to deal with a service you can trust to have your best interest in mind. The best sites will screen all applicants before signing them up, to give added protection against to it's users. Reputable sites also will provide anti-scam disclosure policy to re-inforce their commitment to you.
If you are a male and looking for a unique connection you can build a free profile and meet Ukraine girls for free, your access will allow you to relay messages free of charge and sample the experience before you decide to sign up. Once you have signed up you only pay a flat rate and no limit on the email communication you can have. If you desire a unique new relationship with that special person and are willing to try a different idea stop by loversplanet.com

SIGNING OFF FOR THE NIGHT :0)

Ok so I think I have done enough work on the computer so I will turn it off and head off too bed. I am expecting that the kids won't have school tomorrow so I am in for an eventful, hectic, crazy fun day!
Nighty Night Everyone!

OYSTER AWARENESS

Here is a tongue twister for you:
A noise annoys an oyster but a noisy noise annoys an oyster more... Now say that one fast!

Ok so with the thought of oysters brings me to think about summer. I know that you can still eat seafood during the other seasons but I seem to only think of it during the summer. There are many, many people who love Gulf oysters but I am a bit nervous to eat them but when you are considering eating raw or undercooked oysters, Be Informed...Be Cautious...Be Smart...and Be Sure. Take some time to check out beoysteraware.com to learn about Vibrio Valnificus related symptoms and treatment. Could you be an at risk consumer? Something to look into!

NOT MUCH BLOG HOPPING DONE TODAY :0(

I want to apologize for not getting to visit many of your blogs today. If you read my earlier posts concerning my oldest son I'm sure you will completely understand. I am hoping to get by to visit you all tomorrow but first we have and appointment at the school in regards to the in school suspension then it's off the our appointment with the bank...that one, well I guess both appointments are making me nervous and to top it all off Jay tells me that we are to expect bad weather for the next two days and I hate travelling far on messy, slippery roads.

So please bare with me here and I'm sure in no time I will have my life straightened out again. I am still thinking of you all . You are the best!

Letting Go

One of the most daunting skills we can learn and develop as human beings is the ability to surrender or "let go" of life's hardships. The Sedona Method is an easy yet powerful way to discover your natural ability to embrace life's freedoms. The Sedona Method will allow you to transcend what is referred to as the "ego" and the "pain body". This will immediately release your inner presence allowing you to express yourself fully to yourself and those around you. As you progress through the Sedona Method you will effectively learn the four basic methods to letting go of limiting thoughts, feelings and tendencies in your person. You can discover through presence awarenessthat you would have never dreamed of once you unlock the fifth way of releasing, a true exploration of the presence of you. As you use the Sedona Method you will naturally stop conflict and distress in your life and find you possess greater harmony with your thoughts and expressions of those thoughts with others. With Sedona Method instilled in your daily being you can stop living your life based on the past or fear of the future and thrive in finding yourself in the moment you are in. Imagine the effect even just yourself letting go will have on your family or co-workers. This will be a changing effect for your life and how you live it if you allow the method to work in you.

UNFAIR SCHOOL DICIPLINE POLICIES....

So just when you think your morning is going pretty good the phone rings and it's the kids school. The thoughts start running through my mind....who's sick?, who's hurt, oh no maybe it's another bullying issue....my heart was pounding as my husband answered the phone then I hear, " is he alright, how did that happen?" Gulp....I am panicing now :0( so here it is my stressful morning with the school:

There is nothing worse than getting a phone call from the kids school only to find out that Jay was given an in school suspension for fighting. After talking to the Vice Principal and with Jay on the phone we realized that we needed to go to the school and look into things. Sure enough Jay didn't start the fight. What happened was that he tripped over a bench and ran into (accidentally) another boy and before he could apologize he was jumped on from another boy out of no where. Jay tried to do everything he could to walk away once he got him off but he kept coming back for more. Jay's teacher is very protective of Jay with the bullying issues and questioned the class on the matter and it happened exactly like Jay said. But because of the school rules anyone involved in a fight is to be punished by the guidelines. How is this fair. Jay not only had in school suspension for the day but he wasn't allowed to participate in the school basketball game after school today. Now isn't that punishment enough. Well guess what the kid that caused all the trouble got? The exact same punishment as Jay. I didn't agree with this and neither did the teachers and the vice principal but he had to follow the guidelines. OMG I was almost crying (again) at this point and to see Jay in tears the whole time was killing me and his teacher. After almost 2 hours of talking to the vice principal with Jay he felt that what Jay was getting for punishment was unfair so we were told we could appeal his decision for discipline until the principal who knows Jays bullying history was back at the school (tomorrow). After confirming that Jay was only defending himself (not hitting just blocking the punches) we appealed and Jay decided to stay at school with his teacher and continue on with the day instead of coming home and he will be able to participate in his basketball game today. I tell you that if it was my kid that started the fight I would have brought him home from school and took him off the school basketball team all together.

The problem with the school is that they don't give concequences to the kids to make them think twice about doing it again. Sure the bullying will stop...but will move on and bully someone else. Now I am stuck in a situation on how I am going to deal with this issue. Jay was punched more than once and other kids witnessed all this so is this the time I prove a point and press charges for assault. Will it really make a difference and get the point across to this kid and maybe his parents? He probably wouldn't get anything for it anyway just another talking to. I feel that he should be removed from the basketball team for the rest of the year and really give him something to think about.

How would you deal with an issue like this. Should there be more punishment for the one who started it or fair punishment like school guidelines want.
GRRRR I can't take this anymore and I pitty the next kid who lays a hand on Jay because I will be taking matters into my own hands.
I am getting ready to head up to the school to pick up the younger kids and stay to watch the basketball game. I am just hoping that the rest of the day was ok for Jay. It was so hard leaving him there this morning but he said he would be ok. Why is he being targeted for bullying. He is new to the school but I mean come on it's already the end of February, I have noticed that one of the kids he is having a problem with is on his basketball team and from what I see he sees Jay as competition. Both boys are really good but the other kid is use to being the best and having everyone looking up to him and now Jay is moving into his spotlight. Will I ever figure this out?
I hope that with him going into Junior High school next year these problems will go away...

A NIGHT OUT WITHOUT THE KIDS...

With my hubby only getting paid once a month is makes it hard but one of the things we find the hardest is making sure we buy enough food to get us through the month. Other than buying milk, fresh bread and fruit we get our groceries monthly. It takes the two of us to push the carts and managing the kids and sometime even that isn't enough but we manage and often have people laughing at us but how else would we got it done. We don't have any family around and this is something we have done for the past 8 years so it's routine for us. But today with poor little Blakie being sick I didn't know what we were going to do? Our cupboards were empty...seriously we had nothing left, you should have seen me trying to find something for lunch. LOL Our sitter was able to come at the last minute and of course by then Blake was back to his old self again but they like having Heidi here and we were looking forward to getting out again without the kids. I am starting to feel guilty here.... a sitter for the kids twice in one month, usually it's once a year if we are lucky. I booked the sitter in for at least once a month on grocery night to make things easier for us :0) Wow why did we wait 8 years to finally start bringing in a sitter.

We enjoyed out time out and it was like being out on a first date...almost....we first stopped to have supper Kentucky Fried Chicken....will probably hurt my weight loss results for tomorrows weigh in so I am going to apologize now :0( then we took turn running into different grocery stores to get the deals before heading to our main store. My hubby said the funniest thing on our way home....he says " you know...when I was walking into Price Choppers (grocery store #2) I was thinking the silliest thing..." ok so he has my attention " I was wonder if she (being me) is checking out my butt?" I bursted out laughing and told him "ah no!"..."I was looking towards the furniture store." We laughed the rest of the way home about this...I felt like we were two teenagers. LOL I think with this being said it's time that we get our more often.

FLU BUG ROUND 2....GUESS WHO

My poor little baby boy. Blake is not the best to deal with being sick, he is whiner and cries all day so I am in for a long day with him although I do have to admit that he isn't too bad right now. I have Blake and my laptop and we are curled up on the couch watching a dinosaur movie and his belly seems to have settled...well at least for the time being. Now I have his room to wash down, his laundry is started and he already had his morning shower....it didn't matter how made he felt he was determined not to miss out on his shower with dad. Anyway this flu seems to be the 24 hour bug so we should get through it all quickly enough. Oh what a week I am in for lol! Two down and 4 of us to go....who will be next!

Here is Blake at 10:30am just after I covered him with a warm blanket out of the dryer :0) Maybe I will take advantage of him sleeping and lay down for awhile myself!

GRRRR.....GRRRR.....GRRRR !

HEAR ME ROAR!....

OK so this isn't as much as an issue for me because I live away from my family but I know what my sister is going through. When we grew up there was only my dad and his sister on his side with my parents having 5 children and my aunt having 2 and all girls. We were always treated different but not individually but as a group it was them and us. It didn't really bother me growing up being an easy going person that I was but we all felt the difference. Nothing ever got said and things continued. The worst thing is that now we are sitting back watching this happen to our children but this time it's all the 8 grand kids verses one grandchild. My mother seems to treat her like a princess and everyone else comes second. This is not fair to the rest of the children and it doesn't matter what is said to my mother she gets all defensive and won't listen.

I'm not around to deal with these issues but I am here to listen when my sister calls upset about how her girls are being treated. She phoned me at the first of last week all excited that her girls were finally having their first sleep over together at Nana's on the weekend so she made plans and come Friday night she dropped them off only to find out that the little princess was there so she questioned their arrangements for the night and my sister was told that princess was being picked up and going home for the night so she felt comfortable leaving the girls there for the night. Come to find out when my parents dropped the girls off home this morning guess who was with them.....yep the princess! She ended up spending the night but as I recall a few weeks back when my sisters baby was sick and she needed some help with the kids now that she is on her own my mom would only take the oldest one because it was the princesses night to sleep over ( she is there ALL the time ) and my mom can`t handle the two 3 year old together...so why could she do it last night...hmmmm Anyway I guess I understand her frustration with all this and I am so thankful that I don`t have to deal with all this but it is so hard to hear what is happening with my nieces.

Can anyone relate to this and how did or do you deal with it...to me all kids are their own person and deserve to be treated equal without fighting for their grandparents attention. I tried to talk to my mom about this on MANY occasions but she gets all defensive and won`t see it as we do. I know that my other sister has bi polar disorder and can be set off easily so is my mom tip toeing around her to keep her happy so that she doesn`t go into one of her rampages, I don`t know I can`t figure it out.

I spoke to my mom on the phone about this earlier and got no where so I will see what it is like when we visit during the March Break. Could be interesting!

Sorry about the long post but I`ve been told before that I don`t rant nearly enough so here it is...and boy does it feel good to get it out and keep in mind this is just the super short version of the story imagine if I told it all.

FEELING MUCH BETTER!

Kohl woke up this morning like nothing was wrong. He said he was feeling great and he even looked better:0) He ate his breakfast and lunch then I put him in for a sleep before going to the birthday party, he woke up at 3:00pm just in time to get ready to leave for McDonald's. He had his supper and cake then wanted a sundae so I think the flu bug has passed. For him at least. Trinity has been complaining about having a sore throat for a couple of days so I have been giving her Tylenol to help and she went to bed early. I am sure it is just a matter of time before someone else gets sick.

A Day at the Spa

Having spent the last 10 years at home raising my 4 kids, getting them off to school and being there for them it is coming up to the time within the next couple of years when my youngest starts off to school for me to start working on my career. I have often thought about finding work in the beauty industry and would like to look into spa jobs. I think it would be a lot of fun to work in that environment. To assist along the way I have turned my search online and came across beautyjobs.com which is a location that brings employers and job seekers together in one place. Employers can browse multiple applicants quickly and job seekers can view available opportunites coast to coast.

THE FLU BUG FOUND US...

Today after meeting Matt for lunch he decided to drive us home so that I wouldn't have to take the kids out to pick him up at suppertime. Just minutes before we got home Kohl threw up all over the van and himself. What a mess.... I managed to find him a small container that someone thankfully left in the van and continued on home. Teasing with Matt I told him it was a good thing we went for lunch because if we had of been home I wouldn't probably have a bigger mess to clean up on lots more laundry. Matt laughed at me and said " you always find the bright side of things don't you?" Then I thought but maybe if we were home he would have ran to the bathroom but poor Kohl doesn't have a fast mode in him and he wouldn't have made it there either and would have got the floor. This kid is so slow that Matt said that the throw up (gross I know) would probably crawl to the toilet before Kohl got there LOL. What a time to pick on Kohl. He isn't feeling any better yet but he's in bed playing with his new lego Matt brought home for him and unfortunately it looks like he won't be able to attend his first school friends birthday party at Mcdonal's tomorrow at 4:00pm. See what tomorrow brings but I'm sure it will be another sick kid in the house then another then another then it will be our turn. Get it over before March Break. I would hate to have to cancel our trip home.

WHERE HAVE THE TV SHOWS GONE?

I use to be a big fan of ER, Private Practice and a few others but lately I can't seem to find them on tv. Are they still on or did they run our of new episodes? Frustrating....Grrr. Is there anyone out there that is a fan of these and knows what is going on or what night and time they are on...I could use some help here...I want my show back!

A NEW WAY OF PROTECTION

With the recent purchase of MP3 players and iPods for the kids at Christmas time I looked into invisible sheilds to help protect these players. This is also something I want to look into for our cell phones as well since they get banged around quite often. To get an idea at how strong and durable theinvisibleSHIELD video invisible sheild is check out the to see the sheild strength test.

WINDOWS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!

What a great way to start off a day. We just got the phone call to tell us that the financing for new windows has gone through. Now we have to sit down and figure out which windows we need replaced first and make the arrangement with the company to get the work done. From what I understand we are looking at around 5-6 weeks until it can be done but it's still cold outside so why hurry. They will have to rip out the old garage door which will leave the house open to the cold and I have had enough of the cold this winter. So that is my exciting news for the day and now I can start thinking about renovating once again.(the picture is just an idea of what the window should look like in the family room. Maybe a little bit shorter in heigth...)

Flower Arrangements

When planning a big event like an anniversary party or wedding for example there are always plans for beautiful flower arrangements involved. One of the easiest ways to do the flowers is to buy bulk flowers and Fifty Flowers provides roses, rose petals, calla lillies and many more types of flowers and greens for all your special ocassions and events. I really could have used some great help with flowers when planning our wedding. I couldn't seem to find the right flowers and not to mention the cost of them. Fifty Flowers also will save you up to 75% on their cost of flowers by removing the wholesalers and retailers from the supply chain and their prices include the cost of shipping. What ever the ocassion, if it calls for flowers Fifty Flowers will sent them.

THE JUBILEE JAGUARS WON THE GAME...

Today after school Jay's basketball team got ready for their second game. They were all given their uniforms which were well worth the money and the boys were so proud to be wearing them. The Jaguars started off strong and took the lead right away but towards the end they tired themselves out and the game wasn't going there way. I had to leave at that point to get Trinity to dance but the smile on Jay's face when I got home immediately told me that they won the game. Sure enough I was right! What a great game :0)

LOOKING FOR A BOOK TO READ?

I don't have any time to read with having four children around all the time but I know there are people out there that can enjoy some time reading. Matt Carson has a new book published called On a Hill They Call Capital. I will ahve to leave it up to you to decide whether this book is fiction or is there a revolution coming? This book is availble through a Book Website for you to purchase and enjoy.

WEIGHT LOSS RESULTS

Ok so some (most) of us didn't have a great week with our weigh in but it's nothing we can't handle. With a little extra hard work and determination we will all see good results next week!

Here are this weeks results:

1. Jenn gained o.4 lb for a total of 12.2 lbs
2. Petula lost 1 lb for a total of 14 lbs
3. Matt gained 1 lb for a total of 11 lbs
4. Carrie gained 1 lb for a total of 5 lbs

If you would like to participate in our quest to lose weight then click here and leave me your name, weight loss goal and every tuesday just leave me a comment with your weekly progress!

(Jenn, Petula and Matt let me know if I made a mistake with your results...thanks)

I CAN DO THIS....

With today being one of my busiest days of the week I am going to try to get some house cleaning done. Can I do it? I sure hope so! The house is a mess and the cleaning needs done and that is just what I am going to attempt to do...first the beds need to be made, the rooms cleaned, sweeping and vacumming (can't forget that), oh dusting...long over due. Laundry is started and almost finished and Jay can unload the dishwasher when he gets home from school. I will take any little bit of help. Ok so while I am doing all this I still have to run to the computer to look for job opps what else is new there. I have until 2:00 to get this all done and it's already 11:00am. I will be impressed with myself if I can get the cleaning done...did I mention my house is pretty big GRRR! Time to get started.....

FURNISHING THE LIVING ROOM

Now that our Living room renovations are almost finished it is now time to start thinking about getting new living room furniture. I think that for the shape and size of this room , looking into sofa sectionals with a bed might be a good choice. Furniture From Home is a great website where quality meets convenience and that has made things easier for us in finding the right furniture from sofas, dining room furniture to bedroom furniture and so much more. Not only is it time for a new sofa and other living room furniture but I think a sofa with a pull out bed will make sleeping arrangements so much better when having family stay over. It will be sure to let us get a good night sleep.

MORE AND MORE RAIN...

Our winter has been filled with lots of rain and has made things here really wet. We woke up to a snowstorm yesterday morning and by afternoon we were getting rain which quickly turned to heavy rain. This continued into the night and I lay in bed hearing the winds pick up I knew we were in for a good storm. The power flickered on and off throughout the night until 6:00am it went out and didn't come back on...a few minutes later all I hear from down the hallway was a little voice saying" hey, hey, turn on the hall light." That was Blake our 3 year old, he hates having the light off. Once Blake was tucked into our bed I then realized that without power the pump in the basement to drain anywater wasn't working and ran downstairs. OMG water and lots of it. Our basement was flooded with at least an inch or two of water. thankfully it's unfinished and only used for storage of things not to important. I got the kids off to school and when I returned home the power was back on and the water in the basement quickly drained and is now drying out. What a day! Thankfully it happened today and not tomorrow when hubby is off. It would have messed up my day to go shopping and have lunch out :0)

CAN COLD WATER CLEAN DISHES?

This is for all the germ conscious folks that worry about using cold water to clean.

John went to visit his 90 year old grandfather in a very secluded, rural area of West Virginia. After spending a great evening chatting the night Away, John's grandfather prepared breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast. However, John noticed a film like substance on his plate, and questioned his grandfather asking,

"Are these plates clean?"

His grandfather replied, "They're as clean as cold water can get em. Just you go ahead and finish your meal, Sonny!"

For lunch the old man made hamburgers. Again, John was concerned about the plates as his appeared to have tiny specks around the edge that looked like dried egg and asked,

"Are you sure these plates are clean?"

Without looking up the old man said, "I told you before, Sonny, those dishes are as clean as cold water can get them. Now don't you fret, I don't want to hear another word about it!"

Later that afternoon, John was on his way to a nearby town and as he was leaving, his grandfather's dog started to growl, and wouldn't let him pass. John yelled and said,

"Grandfather, your dog won't let me get to my car".

Without diverting his attention from the football game he was watching on TV, the old man shouted.

"COLDWATER, GO LAY DOWN NOW, YAH HERE ME !!!"

Meet Coldwater...............

A FULL DAY OF FUN!

Saturday morning I got up early and got the boys ready for their youth group ski trip. My husband made them pancakes for breakfast and I gathered up all their gear and snacks for the day. The weather was quite cold with windchill of -20 degree but we headed to the ski hills anyway. The kids were excited to be going and it was Jay and his friend Matthew first time skiing. They had a great day skiing and after lessons were off to the bigger hill where we spent the day. Jay caught on quick and Matthew struggled with being able to control his speed....yep a few crashed but somehow he managed not to get injured. I also survived the day and had the time of my life with the youth and would love to go back again soon. I tell you though my legs muscles are sore and I can barely move today and I think Jay is feeling it as well. We left the ski hill around 4:00pm which got me home just in time to get ready for our Valentine's Gala! With minutes to spare our sitter arrived and we were quickly out the door. The Gala was amazing! I am so glad that we decided to go and to be able to talk with adults for the evening was so nice. The dinner was fabulous with stuffed chicken breast, garlic baby potatoes and veggies followed by a buffet dessert. When we arrived we had the option to purchase a prize balloon each for $10 (every balloon won a prize from $10 up in value) It came time to redeem our prize as they called us up in groups of ten. Matt won $10 Tim Horton's gift certificates (being #9) and I won a 19" flat screen TV with DVD (being #64). It definitely was worth the night out. What a great Valentine's gift this night turned out to be. The dance afterward was nice with the live band but after having such a long day I was ready to return home! The kids were still up with the sitter and they to had a fun evening. Today is going to be a day to relax and the fact that I can hardly move will make it all that much easier to do so LOL

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PASS IT TO THE FRONT MEME

I got this tag from Juliana.

Here are the rules:

* First copy and paste it.
* Do not remove any content.
* Just add One word related to your blogs.
* If you don't like the concept Pls! say no?
* Our main goal is we are going to circulate our number of friends.
* The more people join the "pass it to the front" the more links we generate.
* Lastly write only one word "short" for your blogs...
* Keep it simple and short, I know some of you have more than one blogs.
* The color is only black, gray, or white plssss avoid using any color okies.

Let me show you:1.-Filipina, 2.-Darling allen, 3.-Abroad, 4.-Halfway, 5.-life, 6.-culture, 7.-interracial, 8.-pinaystories , 9.-pinaysinglelooking, 10.-health, 11.-Miscellaneous, 12. Children 13. postcards 14. photography 15. Family

I am going to pass this on to Jenn, Tammy, Jocelyn, Anna, Petula and Matt...

CHECK OUT THIS GREAT BLOG AND CONTEST!

Jocelyn has launched her new blog and has a great contest open to win a fabulous, beautiful purse. Stop by her new blog and check it out and don't forget to enter this contest for your chance to win!

PASSING ALONG MORE VALENTINE'S GREETINGS!

Anne gave me this cute Valentine's Greeting today and I want to pass this along to some of my good blogging friends. Here you go Jenn, Tammy, Kim, Misty, Petula, Jocely and Matt. This is for you!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

A Valentine Greeting to all my blogging friends!

If you are here visiting then consider these hugs and kisses for you!

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And what did I get for Valentine's Day....Lots of hugs and kisses from the kids along with many great poems and cards that they made in school :0).......

......and here we are celebrating this wonderful day set aside for LOVE and my husband has to work late tonight :0( So last night he came home from work with roses and a card that he couldn't wait for me to open and in it was a peice of paper with a letter. OMG...it is the most perfect gift I could ever want...hubby bought me my very own....are you ready for this? LAPTOP and it's pink! I was shocked! He said that in reward for my recent nomination for babe blog of the month, he thought I deserved to have my own computer! It should be here in a couple of weeks. I am so excited!

SCHOOL PROJECTS...

This week I am going crazy with all the school projects the kids are coming home with. Jay my oldest who is in the 6th grade had a science project on Mercury that was due today and tomorrow he as a french project on Polar Bear due (only 2 days notice...eeeks). Kohl (firtst year of school) had a bit of notice to get his done and of course I put it off to long so now it will be rushed. It's on the 100 day of school! So I came up with a great idea and to do something different I am getting together 100 pictures of him from birth until now and printing them off and he will glue them onto a project board. To make things harder I am editing the photos through picnik.com then I will burn them onto a CD slideshow for his class presentation to make it easier for his class to see. Wow I think I got myself in over my head. This project is due on Monday...then Trinity (secong grade) comes home and tells me that her class is also doing the 100 days of school project and she wants me to do pictures of her...Sorry sweetie that just isn't going to happen. I'm only half way there with her brothers. Once this week is over I am hoping things will slow down. It's a lot of hard work but it will be great when finished.

As I sit here typing this up I noticed that the snow has starting once again and we are in for a messy night then turning to heavy rain by morning. The house is getting cold and I still have to go pick up hubby from work in an hour. Maybe with any luck schools will be closed tomorrow...fingers crossed! Trinity has her long dance class tomorrow night and Jay has his first basketball game and Matt has to work so I will have to figure out how to get them back and forth and coordinate times. I'm tired just thinking of tomorrow. Friday night brings another dance class and off early Saturday morning for a day of down hill skiing with Jay and the youth group only to rush home by supper time to get ready for the Valentine's Gala with hubby and somehow get things organized for the sitter! Boy when this week is finished I will need a vacation! LOL I can only wish :0)

WEIGH IN TUESDAY

WEIGH IN TUESDAY

Here we are at another week weigh in and we have all lost weight this week! Yay, way to go everyone who participates! One of the things I love about doing this together with good friends is the motivation and the support that we offer one another. Doing this will help us reach our own personal weight loss goals.

I know that if it wasn't for the motivation I am getting from Jenn, Petula and Matt I wouldn't be making progress achieving my goal.

Here are this weeks results:

1. Jenn lost 2.6 lbs for a total of 11.8 lbs

2. Petula lost 1 lb for a total of 13 lbs

3. Matt lost 1 lb for a total of 12 lbs

4. Carrie lost 1 lb for a total of 6 lbs

If you would like to participate in our quest to lose weight then click here and leave me your name, weight loss goal and every tuesday just leave me a comment with your weekly progress!

INSTALLING NEW WINDOWS

With our recent home renovations we are starting to get estimates done for windows installation in our home. Withour house being 80 years old it is in need of new windows and doors and hopefully if all goes as planned we will have window intalled in the early part of spring.

I AM FLATTERED!

How often do you sit at your computer only to find that you've made the list of blog babes for the month. At first I felt a bit uncomfortable but after showing this to my husband I then realized that Yes I am worth it! I am proud to be nominated for one of Maddog's blog babes of the month but just remember I am married and a mother of four amazing children that own my heart and the only one who will be dipping into my honeypot will by my husband!

BLOG OF THE MONTH AWARD

Anne gave me this blog of the month award and I am posting it with pride. This puppy reminds me of my FIL's dog named Bel! Thank you so much Anne, I really really appreciate it :0)

One of the best parts about receiving these great awards is passing it along to other deserving blogs. So if you are here visiting me then consider this award for you. There are too many wonderful blogs out there mention , so this one is for you!

WEIGHT LOSS PROGRESS

Here we are already Tuesday and it is wiegh in day! How much did I lost this week you are probably wondering? I won't know this until later on today because my digital scale isn't working. I stip on the scale and it keeps showing me error. Could I have done that bad with my diet this week that the scale won't show me my weight? No this isn't the case, I have been pretty good this weeka dn the scale is over 5 years old and is used pretty much everyday. So I will be heading out shortly to purchase a new bathroom scale. I am looking for a digital scale that is in an affordabel rpice range andone that not only show me my weight bu my body fat percentage as well. I am hoping to find the line of Escali scales which are both affordabel and fashionable.