Season of Giving

I stole this from my sister's blog! She blogged about giving today. She points out that children's hospitals are often overlooked at this time of year. However, whatever your cause it is a wonderful thing to remember those less fortunate or those who have reached out in some way to help you when needed. I typically donate to St. Jude at this time of year. I know too many people whose children have or have died of cancer. I have also given to poison control at this time of year as well. I have had to call them several times and am thankful for the free call. However, each call costs them $50. They have provided excellent answers and even contacted the local ER to alert them we were bringing our child in. I am thankful for them! I also like to remember those service providers in my life that deal with those who I love the most. This list includes teachers, Dr., and our Vet. I like to provide a tray of baked goods for these people. They work so hard all year and while they are paid for their job, I can't count how often these people have gone above and beyond the call of duty for my family. So, however it is you donate to this holiday season, enjoy what you do and spread good cheer to those you care about. I know I will

1000 Things

So, it has been a while, huh! There has been a lot going on here in Mommy's Daze Land! Nothing overly excting, just life. I started Facebooking, so I am addicted to that now. I am trying to be a "runner". Working full time and having four kids, has made it difficult to really get into a running routine. I have had sick kids and a sick self at home, making me overly tired (not that I a not overly tired all the time). I also found out my sister has a genetic mutation which puts her at an increased risk of developing blood clots, having a heart attack, or other cardiovascular problems. Needless to say, I am currently waiting for the results of my blood test to determine whether I have this same mutation. At lease she and I can be mutants together! So what will this post really be about you ask, now that I have given you a list of excuses as to why I have not updated this in over a week? Well, it's about arts and crafts and cooking. With Thanksgiving coming, I have had nothing but Christmas (and the stuff list above) on my mind. I purchased a t-shirt to make a snowflake t-shirt with my daughter yesterday, but forgot the paint. We will make it when she comes home from school this afternoon. I also bought MOST of the ingredients to make Lemon Coconut Quick Bread with the kids. My husband went to the Safeway to purchase the lemon extract. He is the greatest! I made that by myself at 8:30 last night. So, what craft did I make with the kids. My daughter and I made pilgrim hats for the 4 kids and then she painted while my husband and I looked for the winter coat we want out son to wear this year. My husband found it out in the garage where we keep all the coats that fit. Funny, our oldest has not worn it in 2 1/2 years! By the way, the coat doesn't fit! My other son is wearing a new winter coat from Target. Love Target, the coat was $17.99. That is all I will pay for a coat from Target because I bought one for our daughter there and it ripped about the 5th time she wore it. So, if this coat rips, no big deal. It was $17.99. I am hoping it lasts so I can sell it in 7 years for $10 at a consignment sale. So, that is it. This post, about nothing was about arts and crafts and cooking. But, here is something to ponder, what can you do with your kids this holiday season? On Friday, my 3 older kids and I will make reindeer cookies out of Vienna Finger, M&Ms, pretzels, white icing, and chocolate chips. Take the Vienna Finger put a little icing on 2 chocolate chips for eyes, on a red M&M for the nose, and on the pretzel for the antlers. (I saw this in Family Fun magazine). This weekend we will make ornaments out of pipe cleaners and beads. I am hoping to make candy canes with white pipe cleaners and alternating red and white beads. We will finish off the weekend making our first batch of Christmas cookies. It will be great fun! Hope it all gets done! We shall see!

What a stink!

Do I have a story for you! Yesterday I was sitting in the family room with my kids while the dog was in the kitchen attempting to eat cheerios from my youngest child's high chair. I heard the high chair getting pulled across the floor. I look over into the kitchen and see the dog's head stuck in the leg whole of the high chair. Then the high chair flies through the kitchen, hits the cabinet, bounces off the oven, flips over and comes to rest upside down on the floor across the room from where it began. During the process, the dog fell but managed to free himself from the high chair. I think o.k. it's over. I go back to playing with the kids and realize gosh something stinks. I immediately blame my middle son who denies pooping in his pants. Next, my daughter starts gagging. So I figure I have to solve the mystery of the stink! I enter the kitchen where it smells awful. I see there a three drops of liquid on the floor where it really smells bad. I clean it up and realized that the dog had diarrhea. I call the dog over and see his back side is all wet. I proceed to send the dog out back for the afternoon. I go upstairs to take care of some house work and my husband comes home. Before I can get down the stairs to tell him what happened, my daughter informs him that the dog had some drops of poops come out. So, my husband comes in starts unloading the dishwasher and lights a scented candle. I come down and it still smells like we had a sewer back up in our kitchen and I notice there is more diarrhea on the floor and all over the front of the oven. So, I spend the next 1/2 hour cleaning the floor, and all my cabinets, and scrubbing the oven top to bottom. Ugh! It was awful. So what started as something I could have submitted to AFV, became an evening of cleaning my kitchen. It was funny though all thing considered (I guess)!

Clutter!

Ugh! So the holidays are around the corner! I am trying to get in holiday mode. Figuring out what to buy the kids is easier said than done. They all go through the Toys R Us Big Toy Book. I get one for each of them so there is no fighting. Unfortunately, there is still fighting. One sees what the other one is circling and then cries because he/she wants it. I explain you can all wish for it and maybe Santa will bring each of you one or maybe you could share it. That of course does not appease the crier. But back to the Toy Book, I take the book and go through it systematically figuring out what is appropriate for each child to "wish" for, add it to their individual Christmas list, add what I think I would like that child to have and then divide that list by three. I make a list for us, my mom, and hubby's mom. Knowing my mom will purchase everything on the list, those are the gifts I fell are must haves. Wishing I could buy everything on there list, not be in debt, and still be able to walk around my home, I pull out the ones I think I would like them to have and go from there. Then, I give my mother in law the rest. My mother in law hates shopping so my father in law takes care of it all. He likes the hustle and bustle of the holidays and finding that hard to find toy that everyone wants. So, he comes through with some great not on the list gifts that afterwards, I realize are ones that hold meaning to me because I know how badly he wanted my middle son to have that TMX Elmo that is sitting on the basement shelf. However, I look at that TMX Elmo and it reminds me of how much my middle son is loved by his grandparents! Isn't that the joy of Christmas? So, back to the clutter, that TMX Elmo doesn't fit in my house anymore, nor do the 150 transportation vehicles I try to sort by type every few months after they are dumped out on the floor over and over again for no reason. They are never played with. So now I have 200 toys, perfectly good toys that no one plays with and I can't bear to throw out because one day someone might play with them. They are also still perfectly good so I can't throw them out. But, no one wants my old toys when they are experiencing the same clutter as I have. So, how do I get rid of this clutter? I don't know, but I have been researching organization online. By the way, I just heard those 150 transportation vehicles get dumped out in the basement just now. And now I hear my husband going no, no, no, no, you get to clean everything up. Mu husband is now telling me he is getting rid of every toy in the basement. Well, that is one way to de-clutter!

Christmas all year through!

So, I Am a Christmas fanatic! I have been in Christmas mode since before Halloween. I have been listening to Christmas music in the car, buying Christmas gifts, writing Christmas lists, planning meals, and searching stores for Christmas clothes and accessories. I just received this awesome shirt from www.darlingmummy.com It is so cute! It is navy blue with a wine glass on the front. It says "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas". Which I of course am, both in the snow sense and the wine sense. Oh, that is right, I am nursing. Well, one glass never hurt anyone! I bought my kids a few gifts already and I searched 4 stores yesterday looking for Star Wars Christmas Galactic Heroes for my kids. Luckily, my husband was able to get them at Target. Love Target! Shh.. If you know my kids, don't tell. I can't wait until this weekend, I will start to see Christmas lights out I am hoping. Some people are as keyed up about Christmas as I am. Here's my take, I am happiest at Christmas, relaxed (if you can believe that) at Christmas and enjoy family the most at Christmas. Why not celebrate a little longer?