Happy New Year!

I thought I would do this one early..lol.

New Years Eve is an awesome day for me, because I get to celebrate being married to an awesome man! Okay he isn't always awesome, but neither am I. We have our spats and sometimes we drive each other crazy!?!?! Sometimes we disagree and want different things and sometimes we may not talk to each other for a little minute. But then on the other hand...we can make each other laugh so hard, we encourage each other when we need too, we serve each other, we make a good couple most days. This year will be 12 years! I can't believe that we have been married that long, it's crazy! I love him with all my heart! He is a hard worker and the husband to my two children. He believes in me and loves me. He is a God fearing man who leads his family the way that God intended for him. I am blessed to be his wife.

This is also the time of year that people begin to make New Year Resolutions. Yes...I have a few personal ones and some that aren't so personal that I will share with you...

We always fast in January and I almost can't wait to start this! I love spending time with God and getting to know Him on a much deeper level. Usually this fast last 21 days and then it is over. I plan on trying to devote one day a month to fasting...I don't want it just to be for January. I want to make this a life change to constantly long to be in His presence this way.

I would love to actually read a couple of books too! I have a few that I start and then I get distracted and never pick them back up. If I want my children to have a love of reading then they need to see me reading and what I read counts too!

I plan on not being hurt so easily. I tend to let people hurt me with their words and then I think about it for about a week. I need to learn to let go and that maybe they are not that happy. One such influence in my life is a constant. She likes to knock me down and she does this well. I have allowed this too affect me for way too long ~ so no more! I will try my hardest to let God have it right away. I know this will not happen over night but I have a WHOLE year to accomplish this!

I want to take one day at a time and not stress out about next week! I tend to plan WAY ahead and then I start to stress and then I get all flustered and then I feel like I am going to blow!!! Yes, I know I need to stop doing this and focus on today and only today. This will also take some practice but my husband will be happier too! I know that I need to have plans and not wait to last minute but I don't need to over stress something I can't even take care of today or tomorrow.

Of course I have more but these are the only ones that I am willing to share right now. I may share the others later? we will see. I hope that if you make any resolutions let them be reachable. I think we tend to think I can lose 50 lbs by March 1st and when we fail the first week into the new year then we give up. DON'T GIVE UP! Pray about what God would want for you to change in your life. Seek Him first because He has the perfect plan for you! I hope that you all have an awesome new year and I will hopefully not write until then...See you in 2011!

Merry Christmas!

I know that this is a little late but hear me out...

Merry Christmas to all that read here:) We had a wonderful Christmas, well it started that way. We had Christmas with my husbands parents on Christmas Eve and my dad's wife's family (not really mine) on Christmas Eve night. All was good and then my little man woke up bright and early at 3am! Yes, you did read that right!!! I was horrified but we told him as long as he went to sleep he could get up whenever he wanted too...of course I am telling this to the child that NEVER sleeps...should have known better. Baby girl was up too so we might as well do Christmas right? Well I started to run a fever so when the baby went to sleep so did I. My husband decided to go out and get some meds and some Chinese food (mainly because of the Christmas Story) and then our trouble begins...

I took my medicine and every time that the baby slept so did I. I didn't feel good at all. I don't think that I actually ate much either:(. Finally we put all the children to bed about 8pm and we went to bed too! My husband woke up around 4am Sunday and was SUPER sick! He now had a stomach bug or maybe it was some bad Chinese (I didn't eat any...so we are hoping that it was bad Chinese food). He continued on his routine visits to the bathroom all day long until he finally passed out around 6ish and I ran a fever all day (again) so we both didn't have a great Christmas but we were thankful that we didn't have to leave the house to go visit anyone! We also felt bad because we missed out on church.

Yet! Yes there is always a positive side...My little man received everything that he wanted for Christmas and loved being able to stay home and play with all his new toys. Baby girl's first Christmas ended up also being a White Christmas, something that we will never forget! I enjoyed watching them play and enjoy the day even though I couldn't be right next to them all day. I am thankful that whatever came upon us has now left our house and I praise God that it didn't affect my children. Plus we learned to never order Chinese food on Christmas Day! (lol)

I hope that all of you also had a wonderful Christmas!

Coffee Shots?

I had to share this with you! My super cool husband brought home something for me. I tend to drink A LOT of coffee. Which may be the reason that I never sleep...lol:) I LOVE Starbucks because I can add shots to my coffee and if I drink two of them in one day it's dangerous. I thrive on caffeine and I seem to need it more now since I have a baby and she is in demand of my attention. My husband likes to make fun of me because of my coffee addiction so this is what he brought home to me as a joke:

Catch the phrases: "Limit 2 per day" and "intense coffee shots". They even have a "warning" on them...lol!

These things are little and they are super strong. My husband took one and it made him completely "stupid" - he said he couldn't be still nor could he think straight...lol. I took it and stayed up until about 2am and cleaned the whole house:) So if you are in need of something to get you going then I suggest these coffee shots. I don' know where he got them but they work!!!

Applesauce!

Last week we made applesauce! We had a bunch of apples that were about to go bad and I thought it would be best to make applesauce:) Here are a few pics:

Like I said we started with apples...LITTLE apples. I think we peeled about 20?



Little man was super excited to help! He loves cooking with me in the kitchen. He will make an awesome husband one day:)



So we boiled them under they were super tender....

drained them and then we put them in a bowl to "mush" them...

I added a little bit of sugar (like a pinch) a dash of cinnamon and little bit of water and "mushed them up:) They were absolutely delicious!

On the 12th Day of Christmas....

Over the past 12 days I have participated in trying to win items from ClothdiaperAddiction.com. I did win a diaper cover and some wipes from http://www.zookiescrafts.com/, it's a really cute diaper!!! If I am receiving my first pick it is black with hot pink and white flowers:) I can't wait until I get it and try it out. I have cheered for the others that have won items as well. I have really enjoyed this and I hope that she does it again next year.

I have entered to win the 12th Day because I am super excited about what she is giving away! Listen to this...First: planetwiseinc.com is giving away a FREE wet/dry bag. For those that do not know what this is it's a bag to keep your clean diapers from your dirty ones. I think it's super cute and has some really adorable prints. I like Midnight Swirl, Art Deco and Dot Tastic..it will be so hard to choose! Just some of their features: PVC Free and Lead Free Zippers, Reusable to avoid using plastic bags, helping to protect our planet, Reusable to avoid using plastic bags, helping to protect our planet, Resists most stains odors - keeping smells in!

Second: www.grandmaels.com/ is giving away a diaper rash remedy and prevention cream. It's fragrance free and it it great to use with cloth diapers. I am finding out (through reading) that not all diaper rash creams are usable with the cloth diapers...some of them can cause damage to my baby girls diapers:(

Third: Lena Loves is giving away a dryer ball! You can get to her site here. You can cut your drying time up to 30 minutes depending on how many dryer balls you use. They come scented and unscented too! They are colorful and I think I would love to use these:) They don't have to be just for cloth diapers, you can use these with your regular laundry items! So for the mom that spends forever to dry clothes these might help...just saying.

Fourth: Northern Mom (click here) is giving away this absolutely adorable snowflake diaper!!! If you know me then you know I LOVE snowmen and this is super duper cute! I would love to win this item as well:) I went to her website and I now have a "wish list" for her store, lol. I know, I know...I think baby girl will be getting some cute cloth diapers for Christmas!

I know some would say I am gong a little overboard but I love sharing this with you all. I actually had someone comment that this is all that I talk about...well I am new to this and I am excited about what I am doing. I haven't bought disposables in over a month now! Talk about saving money!!! WOW! Could you imagine how much money (without coupons) that I would have spent in the past month??? The only expense right now is formula:) I am so happy that I ran into a woman who introduced me to cloth diapers when I was pregnant and she didn't pressure me to have to buy them or make me feel bad when I made that face that everyone makes when you mention cloth diapers. Her name is Emily and you can view her site here.

We actually went to church on Sunday with just the cloth diapers. I also made a quick run to the grocery store with just cloth diapers! All the sites highlighted here I have personally been to and looked around so feel free to look even if you don't think that you are interested. Maybe it will give you a visual when I start to talk, and talk, and talk about cloth diapers:)

Disappointed but Blessed

We have been looking for a house for what seems like forever. We found one that we liked, my husband liked it more than I did, but it was cute and I was ready to make it my home. I had started getting ideas on what to do in each room, how to place the furniture and so on. Then the news hits us that the house that we are trying to buy should have never been placed on market. It comes to our attention that there is a tax lien against the property that he supposedly "didn't know" about.

I was a little crushed because I had seen the house three times already. I liked the laundry room - I constantly wash clothes and so a nice big laundry room would be nice. I liked the big yard and the fireplace, the new carpet, and the plantation blinds. I did not like the bathroom or the closets and there were a few things that needed some updating but that is ok, I guess.

So now we are looking again. We found one house that we like and placed a bid on it as of yesterday. It's a little more modern and I like the openness of the floor plan but now we have a little yard. I can't seem to have both :( .

I decided to get a little curious...I started looking in the city of Auburn. OH MY GOODNESS!!! You should see some of these homes...seriously! I found huge homes on huge fenced in lots! I was extremely impressed. I fell in love with some of the homes that I saw...you know the ones that you dream about when you are a little girl. I called my husband and started texting him all these pictures of these beautiful homes. I think I sent him about 7 houses, all sitting on an acre or more. I asked him if that would be too far away to to work...lol.

I feel like I am having to compromise : big house, small yard or small out-dated house with a huge yard. I wish I could have both...but the only way to get that and actually afford it is to move to Auburn. I know that the Lord has a purpose for me and my life and I know that He has the perfect house for me and my family no matter where it is...so pray for us. I want the Lord to help us find that "perfect" home.

Cloth Diapers...

Yes! I am starting to love my cloth diapers more and more everyday. I actually went a whole week using just the cloth diapers (NO disposables). I was so proud of my accomplishment! I hope to keep this up...now to venture out of the house with cloth diapers only is the next step...maybe we will try this Sunday???

I joined a blog about a week or two ago called Cloth Diaper Addiction. I was told that once you start cloth diapering you become addicted to these diapers and the cuteness of them too!...lol. Anyways, she is having what she calls, "The 12 Days of Clothmas". She has joined forces with several companies to give away FREE stuff! WHAT?!?!?! I am super excited! Who doesn't like getting something free?

Today she has teamed up with GDiapers. I think these are super cute! I like the little "g" on the back of the diaper because my daughters name starts with a "G" and this would be too cute!!! I would love to win the package that is being offered today :)

If you cloth diaper or know someone that does then hook up with her over the next few days. Not only is this a cool way to win stuff but she has a lot of interesting ideas on her blog as well. You can also find her on FB!

Christmas already???

I LOVE this time of year. I love the rush, the shopping, the sales, the give aways, the surprises, the hot cocoa and coffee, and the parties and family get togethers.

I love decorating my house and putting up the Christmas tree as I carefully unpack the ornaments that my son has made over the years. I get caught up on each one as I remember when and why we got each of our ornaments. I have some from when I was a baby, dating my husband, getting married, and the birth of our son. Now I will get to continue that tradition with my daughter. She will receive her first Christmas ornament this year!

Yet, this Christmas is different...I am not decorating the house, putting out all my snowmen (I collect snowmen and I place them all around the house), putting up the lights, or hanging the stockings. We have found out that we are getting a house, as long as everything goes through, we will moving the week before Christmas and the whole first week of Christmas break!

I am super excited, but at the same time I am kind of sad. I have raised my son to love the holidays. He makes me decorate for every occasion!  I really want to do something but can't decide what I can I do for him. I need some suggestions. I don't want to do anything "big" because we have 15+/- days to pack up the whole place and by the way I have only two boxes done because I can't get anyone to save boxes for me:(

This Friday we are headed to the Lego store to drop off his "wish list" and then over to Bass Pro Shops to play in "Santa's Wonderland". They have free games:) and hopefully we will see Santa and get a free picture! I hope that he will enjoy this and hopefully we can make a paper ring to count down the days until Christmas.

I know that it is not about the decorations, and that we are celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus, but I will miss this part. I hope that if we do close on the house in the next couple of weeks that we can at least put up the tree? If not I will have to go buy the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree, lol!!!

Our Thanksgiving...yes I know this is late!

We had a great Thanksgiving. My sister-in-love and I actually cooked just about everything this year! We were so impressed with ourselves...lol. Then my family headed over to my mom's family where they were having Thanksgiving and a ton of fun. I haven't seen them in such a long time!!!





So here is a picture of our completed "Thankful Wreath"...

It was wonderful eating with the family and hearing all the wonderful things that we are thankful for in our lives! I will do this again year after year. We are NOT a perfect family, in fact we are far from it, but we do try our best to be a good family:)





Here is a picture of one of our crafts that we made this year...

I had a friend of my son's over for the day and we walked around the lake and did a scavenger hunt. When we returned home this is what they made! I thought they were super cute:)