Tuesday's Giveaways!

Here are some of the giveaways that I have entered in this week! Hope you enter too and have a chance to win some of these great prizes!

Our Busy Little Bunch is having a giveaway for TWO lucky winners to win a a full yard of laminated fabric and a package of Insul-Fleece! Ends Today!

The Eco Friendly Family is having a suprise giveaway! Ends tomorrow!

Giveaways!

So out there in blog land there are a bunch of giveaways and I always enter them to try to win fun things and in turn, I end up following some really awesome blogs. Here are a few of the giveaways that I found today!


Lily's Quilts is having a giveaway and give to one lucky reader a 14 FQ bundle of metro living circles. Ends 10/14

Natural Mommie is having a giveaway for P90x for Women! What an awesome giveaway! Ends 10/20

It's Sew Kiki is having a giveaway for a Jelly Roll of Etchings!!  Ends 10/14

The Eclectic Quilter is having a giveaway for your choice of 5 different prizes! Ends 10/8

Happy Saturday!

How is everyone? Things have been going ok in my life lately. I feel like I have been running around and around, but things are still good. I have a feeling of not being accomplished because I haven't really finished one projet in the last few days. I rarely finish things which is a bad habit of mine, but as for my defense, I do have three children (and a needy husband) who require a lot of attention and therefore, I don't always finish things. I need to buckle down on that part of my life.

For those who are reading this blog, what do you feed your kids? I am having troble finding things to feed my boys, especially the twins. They are 19 months old right now and will try things, but they still haven't gotten all their first set of molars so they aren't really capable of chewing tougher things. I get stuck giving them the same few things over and over and I don't want them to only want to eat those things. What are good snacks (besides goldfish and regular crackers) what about protein? What are some foods that your kids will eat no matter what?

I don't know what is up with the kids lately. They have been waking up before 6am. NOOOO I like to sleep in! They apparently don't. I wish they would get back to sleeping better! When they get up that early, it makes for a really long day. Their schedule is thrown off and even though they have 2 naps that day, they are really cranky when they are awake. I know that if I had a regular schedule that we could all follow that it would be easier on them. Instead, I work 2-3 days during the week which that means that we have to leave the house around 530am. So the kids' body have become accustom to getting up early. Momma doesn't like to get up early unless I have to!

Happy June

Hi all! Wow I can't believe that it is already June! I think that May was the fastest month so far this year. I guess when you are busy, things go by fast. May consisted of Mother's day and my birthday (that was the 29th). Overall it was a great month, so I can't complain. It was full of interesting things that I learned, not only about myself, but about others as well. I learned that I have to make a goal attainable to meet it. If I want to make a change, I have to actually be able to set my mind and make it.
One thing that bothers me about my house is laundry that is washed and then forgotten about and it ends up souring and then I have to use more water/energy to was it again. It just frustrates me because it not only does it waste the resources we have to pay for, but it also wastes time. I have to wait for it to be washed again and therefore I am not using my time as wisely as I could. So my goal is to make sure to never leave the house for longer than a 2 hr period of time with laundry in the washer. I even get up a few minutes earlier to switch it out so that I don't have to get mad at myself for forgetting! So far it has worked and I haven't gone back on my goal (we are only one week into it though.) I am going to set myself a new goal soon. Something small like the laundry thing so that I can feel like I have done something.

I have also wanted to set a personal goal to do things for myself more often. I often forget myself when it comes to my life. I am always focusing on the boys or my husband or my house and things that need to be done, that I forget to do things to make myself happier and healthier. Well I have done 3 weeks in a row of Zumba. I was petrified the first time because I am so out of shape and I was sure that I was going to make a fool of myself and not be able to walk the next day. I loved it! I felt so energized afterwards and was so happy I went. My mom went with me the first time so it was nice to know someone there.
I even went out and bought myself some new clothes! I havent went out looking for clothes for a while, so focusing on me and want I wanted was a chance. It was nice to know I have some new, nicer clothes to wear!
I will write a post soon about the twins doctors appoint that we had about 2 weeks ago. Ciao!

Another Getting to know you Sunday!

I guess that was last week's one that I just posted! Here is this week's!

1. what's your favorite rainy day activity?
I would have to say reading a book or snuggling in bed!
2. what time do you go to bed?
Normally it's around 10pm. If I am tired, I will go to bed as soon as the kids are asleep!

3. how many magazines do you subscribe to?
Two. Parenting: The early years and another kid magazine, but we are about to subscribe to All You because they have amazing coupons in there!
4. did you sell all your belongings because you thought the world was ending yesterday?
I didn't even worry about yesterday. The Bible says that no man knows the day or the hour when he will return. That guy who said that yesterday was the end of the world is full of honkey.

5. what's your beauty obssesion?
Picking. I know it's gross, but I can't stop myself. I pick at pimples on my face.

6. if you could only wear one designer/brand for the rest of your life...what would it be?
Honestly, I don't have a brand that I HAVE to have. Whatever fits is what I wear.

7. what's your summer must have?
Flip Flops. enough said.
8. do you make weekly dinner menus?
I tried to make one last week, but with our crazy schedules, it didn't happen. This week is already starting, so maybe next week :0
the end.

If you want to participate, link it up to Mannland5!

Getting to Know you Sunday

The questions:

1. have you ever gone to see a movie by yourself? No I haven't. I enjoy talking to whoever is with me after the movie about the movie, so I wouldn't have anyone to share it with.

2. would you rather go through a tornado or a hurricane? I would have to guess hurricane. We have had some pretty severe tornado's here in the Midwest recently which has claimed a lot of lives and houses so they scare me at the moment.

3. have you made summer vacation plans? Nope. We did have two different sets of plans for the weekend after 4th of July, but since my car is broken down and that is more of a priority than vacation, we won't be going. We were going to visit my Aunt and Cousin in Texas or go to Wisconsin Dells, but oh well. Maybe next year.

4. what's your favorite accessory? Honestly, I don't really have any accessories that I use on a regular basis. The only jewelry I typically wear is my wedding set, a ring my dad gave me, and a necklace with my name on it (which is broken right now). I don't really wear earrings, I don't have fun hair things. I guess I am boring. Or plain. One of the two.

5. have you ever been thrown a surprise party? Yes. For my brother's 30th birthday. We had everything planned so well that he had no idea! It really made his day! (some of his friends even came in from out of town to see him!)

6. are you friends with your neighbors? Not really. We casually talk when we are both outside, but we don't seek each other out. One neighbor has a little girl around my sons age, so we chat if they are playing outside together.

7. what's the last movie you saw in the theater? Little Fockers back in February

8 what's your favorite food network show? I like the show, "semi-Homemade" but the host annoys the crap out of me.





If you're interested in participating in talking only about yourself (which is pretty awesome sometimes), take a look at Mannland5!

Woo Hoo!

So for those of you who know me, my birthday is in two weeks. As much as I love my birthday and Christmas, my parents always ask me what I want for those days and I always have no idea. They normally come up with something that I would like and that works, but its close to my birthday this year and I didn't have any clue on what I wanted. I would rather them put money towards something for my kids instead of me. Well for a few weeks now, I have been able to play with my mom's new toy. An Accuquilt Go Cutter!!!
To some people, this doesn't seem like a big deal, but to those who sew and quilt, it is a great big deal! This thing cuts fabric so fast, it's amazing. I cut 8 fat quarters into 3 1/2 in tumblers in about 20 minutes! I couldn't even imagine how long it would take me to do it by hand! Soo....back to my birthday. I had said that I wouldn't mind the Go! Baby cutter. It's smaller and doesn't cost as much money. Well my dad found a deal today and my parents, my brother, and my husband are all going in on it for me! YAY I get my own! I don't know if I have ever been so excited for a birthday present since I was a little kid!

On another note, I got my kindle replaced and now I have a working kindle again! On our trip to my Grandpa's funeral at the beginning of April, I somehow broke it and the display wasn't working. I just got my replacement (just because I just took the time to call about it) and yesterday morning, I had a working kindle again. I had only called them on Wednesday night and I already have it! YAY. So I can't complain too much right now. I have a cool gift coming and my kindle works again!

Sunday Senses!

Here we go...

Sight:  A semi cleaned living room. At least I finally got my husband to put his clean, folded clothes away.

Sound:  The tv. Other than that, my house is pretty silent. Everyone else is in bed and its only 920pm!

Feel:  Feet hurt. Went out with friends last night and ended up dancing in my platform heels (well the only heels I own) and now they hurt. Oh well. It was worth it.

Taste: Sweet tea. That was the last thing that I drank. Also watermellon. I shared some with Joey!

Smell:  Bacon. We had bacon sandwiches for dinner.

Getting to know you...

The questions:

1. did you watch the royal wedding? Parts of it. I was woke up by the dog around 6am cst and watched a few minutes of the super long, boring ceremony. I did catch the highlights on Kathy Griffin's review of the Royal Wedding which I think was so much better than the real thing. Too much hubbub for me. And the kiss? I think I have had longer/more passionate kisses with my dog!

2. tea and crumpets or coffee and a scone? Coffee and more coffee.

3 who's cuter..prince william or prince harry? I have always had a crush on Prince William but now that he is older and losing his hair and looking more and more like his dad, I think I made a mistake.
4. can you speak in a english accent? No. I don't even try. It is bad.

5. do you own a fancy hat?  Nope. The only hat I own is a St. Louis Cardinals visor.
6. would you rather live in a castle or an english cottage? I would have to say castle because then I would have a lot of money right?
7. how old were you when prince charles and princess diana got married? were you even born? I wasn't even born yet. I had to google to find out when they got married.

8. have you found your prince? Yes I have.

Play along with Keely if you're so inclined!

Happy Belated Easter!

Happy belated Easter everyone! Jesus has risen and he lives again! I love this time of year. Not only does Easter give me the thoughts and feelings of new life, but so does Spring.
Although we haven't had typical Spring weather here in the Mid West. In the last week, we have had a few storms that have produced hail and tornado's. One of the tornado's was an E4. That is the second strongest tornado that can happen. It was scary that both of mine and my husbands parents houses were in the same area as the tornado, but neither were touched. A quarter of a mile from my in laws house was the tornado and it destroyed a few houses. About a mile from my parents house was a tornado and it missed them too. God has blessed us with safety from the storms.
We have had so much rain lately. I know that God is blessing us with it, but there has been so much that there are flash flood warnings all around us right now. In front of our new place, the drainage isn't that good and when it rains a lot, the sidewalk floods and we have to either walk through it, or we have to walk around the long way and it takes forever. And the boys love being outside. Joey loves to run and play with the next door neighbor little girl. We could be kicking a ball around or just walking around and he would be happy.
The twins are good as well. They are getting bigger and bigger as the days go on. I found 2 new teeth on each boy on Saturday so Johnathan has 8 and Jonah has the same (I think).

Easter was a bit interesting. We got up and went to church. Joey was in a mood of his own. He has had a fever for the last few days and ended up with a huge sore inside his mouth. We took him to the doctor on Saturday and they said that he just has a cold and the cold virus is in his mouth and that's what caused the sore. He has been in a lot of pain and just miserable. The only thing that the doctor could do for him is to give him some Tylenol with Codeine. It helps relieve the pain and helps him rest. We have been giving him anything he wants just to make sure that he eats or drinks something. After church, we headed straight up to Marc's Grandpa's house for lunch and for the kids to do an Easter Egg Hunt. Joey didn't want anything to do with anything. He sat in the bedroom and had the door shut. He went outside for a few minutes, but I had to carry him everywhere I went. We loaded up the van and headed back to Maryville to see my side of the family. We got there and Joey was sleeping again, so Marc stayed in the van with him until he woke up and I took the twins inside and fed them. Joey woke up and was acting bad and was just so irritable so we didn't stay long.
We went home and tried to make everyone comfortable and feel better. Marc made dinner of pork chops and I made some stuffing. Not a normal Easter dinner, but still good none the less.
I have had a few sewing projects on my plate through all of this. I have been making some coupon clutches for a friend to sell, I have been working on my swap blocks, and I have been trying so hard to finish Joey's Toy Story blanket.  Hopefully I can get some of them accomplished soon!

How do you clean?

How is the best way to purge when it comes to cleaning your house? We just moved and I am already overwhelmed with the amount of things that we have in that small of a space. Some of the things I can't imagine getting rid of, but I don't use them! I am in that boat that if I get rid of them, I will need them. How do you systematically get rid of things that are essentially "cluttering" your life and your house? My goal for the year was to do this, but after moving, its hard to get into the mindset that I need to do this. I want my boys to grow up in a house that they feel comfortable in, not one where there are a billion breakable things and we are constantly yelling at them to stop touching or get away from certain things.

I know it sounds stupid, but I am afraid of getting rid of baby clothes. I have kept almost everything that I have ever been given for the boys in case if/when we get pregnant again, it might be a boy or possibly multiple boys again. I know. That sounds insane, but I am scared! I don't want to get rid of them and then need them again. I have run it through my head. God wouldn't give me children and not provide for them. I have fully believed that he provides for my family, one way or another. We have been so blessed to have more than enough clothes for the boys, but I still have that thought in the back of my mind. I have even tried to give them to other people who have had boys, but no one will take them. I guess its that people are having their first children and they want all new stuff. When do I let go? When and how do I make the decision that I can get rid of the stuff and that it will be OK?

I guess that I let sentimental things get to me. I let little things bring back memories and then I don't want to get rid of them for fear of loosing the memories. I can't remember a lot of the stuff from my childhood so I am scared that I will forget my kid's childhood. I want to remember every bit of it. The good and the bad.

Well if you have made it this far, bravo. I ramble and ramble sometimes and don't realize until I am pushing Publish Post that I have just typed and typed and really been on about 40 different tangents. If you have any thoughts/advice, leave it please!

Yay!!! We are out!

So we are finally moved into our new place. Hallelujah! It is so refreshing to be able to call a place your own when you have lived with someone else for a while. We were at my in laws for 6 months. That doesn't seem like a long time, but it sure felt like it was. Last Sunday we moved a majority of our stuff into the new place. We couldn't live there yet because the gas wasn't turned on and therefore no heat or hot water. We stayed at my parents house on Sunday and Monday night. On Tuesday, I got called off work, so I was there to be able to let the Ameren guy in so he could turn on the gas for us. What a relief!
We have been slowly settling in. We had the beds and dressers already in the house first so that when everything was ready, we could stay there. On Friday, we finished getting the things that we need from his parents house and now we have pretty much everything in the new place! We just have to get it put away. That doesn't sound like such a big deal, but it is. When you have 3 kids 2 and under, its hard to get anything done. I will work on it as much as possible when I can.
I also really like the fact that we have a bit of a yard that the kids can get out and play in. There is also a 2 yr old little girl next door so Joey likes to play with her. Every time we go outside, he points to her house, says her name, and wants to go and get her so they can play together.
Bad news is that my car broke down today. I believe that it is something to do with the transmission which means $$$$$$$$$$$. Booo! Well God will provide. It will stink that I won't have a car while I am home with the boys, but it will all work out. Just no trips anywhere while Marc is at work.
I have a few projects that I want to work on anyways, so maybe I can persuade the boys to play upstairs while I am sewing in my room (which is also upstairs) Oh well. We will see what happens.
Happy Sonday to you all!

I see the light!

The light at the end of the tunnel! Two weeks ago tomorrow we were approved for a townhouse! It's a two story, two bedroom townhouse! Its in a quaint little town. There is a super nice park about a quarter of a mile away from where we will live. We are also only 10 min away from a friend I work with (who just so happens to have twins herself.) We also will be living near a few people from church. This will be great when we need a babysitter!~ We will be about 25 min from my parents (which is sooo much closer than the hour and 15 min we are right now) and about 40 min from my work. I can already feel the stress falling off my shoulders. Things are looking more clear now and I can start to breathe again! Now if we can get moved in a timely manner and get things organized, I should be able to regain some sort of sanity!

The twins are sleeping a bit better, but Joey is a hit and miss. At least one night per week he wakes up during the middle of the night and doesn't go back to sleep until almost naptime. It is driving me crazy! I just wish that I could figure out what was going on and help him sleep better! We have found the key to getting the twins to sleep all night. Stuff them with babyfood right before they go to bed. On the nights that we don't do this, they are up at least once for a sippy cup of milk. They are eating almost all table foods now with the exception of the baby food right before bed. I am running out of ideas for finger foods for them! We have exhausted peanut butter sandwiches, chicken fries (small chicken strips), and the occasional hot dogs. If anyone has any good recipies, I am all for it! They are just beginning to do well with different textures.

God is doing great thigns!

Misc

So here I am. 4 weeks past my last blog post. You would think that I would have written in that time, but I just haven't. I have had a lot of things going on since then. A lot of work, a lot of teething boys, and a lot of sewing projects. I have also had a lot of things going on mentally.

It is rough living with other people, especially if those other people are your in laws. Now don't get me wrong, I am very happy that they have let us live with them for almost 6 months now, but it is time to get our own place and be a family again. It is hard to be a true family when you live with someone who babies your husband and then it seems like you have 4 boys instead of 3 and a husband. I want to be able to cook whatever I want to cook for dinner, but instead, I have to make sure that my meal choices are "diabetic approved." I should really use this term lightly. My father in law says that what he eats has to be healthy, but when its not meal time, he eats ice cream, candy, and things that are not good for him. He eats them when others aren't there and it makes me furious! I dont cook too terribly, but he has to be able to say no. He has to have some willpower. He is a grown man and he can make his own choices. But that is a whole other post.


The boys have been pretty challenging lately. We are working on potty training with Joey and that is fun in itself. He will do great one day and do horrible the next day. I don't know how I can do this! And the twins are teething. Not just one tooth or anything, they have gotten 5 and 6 teeth in a month and a half. They are always wanting to be held and I just can't do that. I feel bad as a mom for not wanting/being able to hold my kids all the time. I can't sit still. I have so many other things that have to be done that I can't really stop and hold them all day long. I have noticed that they get very, very fussy when they are hungry. They are doing great feeding themsleves. but at the end of the day, we still give them baby food to fill their bellies up so that they sleep all night. Oh well. Whatever it takes for them to rest well and for mommy and ddaddy to be able to sleep good as well. Joey has been waking up in the middle of the night. The only thing that I can think that he is doing is that he isn't eating much in the evenings. He will only eat when and what he wants to. He is very stubborn. I really try to encourage healthy things for him to eat, but when it comes down to it, I will let him have two yogurts if that is what he will eat. As long as it isn't complete junk, I sometimes give in.
My relationship with Marc isn't alwasy the best either. It is hard I am sure for him to be between his parents (who we are living with) and me. I guess I have expectations that his parents will stay out of my parenting and that they will let me be mom to the boys. This doesn't always happen. And they also don't treat my boys as they do their other grandchildren. I wish this could change, but its up to them to do it. I can't change them or the way they treat my kids. I won't, however, let them treat my kids badly. It's one thing if they treat me badly, but its a while other ballgame if they are doing things that aren't right for my kids. I love them, but my kids come first.
I started sewing for my friend Kadie. She runs a successful coupon blog which can be found here. She makes coupon binders for people and sells them and she wanted something to go over them to make them pretty. That is where I come in. I am about the only person that she knows that can sew, or sew decently, so she asked me to sew them for her. They are so cute! I wish I had a picture to show you, but I don't. She has the fabric and everything shipped to me. All I have to do is to cut the pieces out and sew them together. This might sound easy, but with 3 boys, I don't always get as much done as I would like. I normally sew after the twins go to bed or when they are all napping (which I about pull my hair out when they don't nap at the same time.)
Well thanks for listening to my ramblings. I hope that those two readers that I have can understand where I am coming from...Sooon I hope to have our own place so we don't have to worry about half the stuff I just wrote about...Soon...

I have one of "those" kids?

While growing up, I remember very vividly going to my Aunt's house and her son, who was very close in age to me, was super picky. I remember that everything that he ate was "fish sticks." If they wanted him to eat it, they would just call it fish sticks. No matter what it was. Same thing with his sister. Everything was Bacon. "Emma, just eat your big bacon." That is what I heard every Thanksgiving for years. I told myself that I didn't want my kids to be told that a food was something that it wasn't. Until I had a 2 yr old who doesn't want to eat.

Well he doesn't want to eat it unless its ice cream or pancakes. Well when I started to worry that he wasn't eating enough and not eating things that were nutritious for him, I had to do something. Someone at work told me to call yogurt, ice cream. Well I was hesitant, but I tried it. And it worked! The next day, he asked for pancakes for breakfast. I didn't have any pancake mix, but I had some french toast that I had frozen from a few days before (when I make pancakes or french toast, I make extra and freeze it so that I don't have to make it another morning, or so that Marc will just have to reheat it) and I called it pancakes and it worked! Well I was so happy that he was eating something different. Kids can't live on pancakes alone. So the next day when we were at my mom and dads, I played it up that Joey was eating my dad's "ice cream" and he gobbled it down. Even though its just a small hurdle, its a big win in my book. I just hope that this pickyness doesn't last too long. I don't' have much of an imagination!

Multiples and more...QOTD

What keeps you up at night?
Well honestly that vaires day to day. Most of the time, I am thinking about the next day. Since we stay at my parents house when I have to work more than one day in a row, I pack our bags for at least 2 days. This means clothes, diapers, cloth diapers, pullups, food, self care items that we might need for the next two days. I have to make sure that we have everything because I won't have a car to go get something if I forget. We take the van down, but Marc drops me off at work and then picks me up when I am done.


Other nights I stay awake for other reasons. Mainly when my husband snores and I can't fall asleep. Some nights its that I drank something with caffene in it too late in the night. And very, very rarely I can't sleep because I took too long of a nap. Like I said that happens very rarely (but ultimately bittersweet when it happens.)

Sunday Senses

So a blog that I follow, Unexplained X 2, has a post each Sunday about what your five senses are feeling at the exact moment of the post. Here are mine!

Sight-Snow, snow, and more snow. With more snow on the way! Normally I love snow, but it has to snow the week I decide to start my Couch to 5k training! Guess that will have to wait.
Hear- If I have heard Joey ask, "Mommy, What's that?" once, I have heard him ask it fourty billion times this week. I am glad that he is curious about things, but he is asking about things that he knows what it is. He points to a Toy Story toy and asks what it is. He can almost quote the movie he watches it so much, he doesn't need to ask what it is!!!
Feel-Cold. I haven't changed out of my jammies yet and it is almost noon. It is like 20 degrees outside and the computer is near a window so I am cold.
Taste-The coffee that I had a little bit ago. Maybe I need to shower and brush my teeth ;)
Smell-Pizza. Marc is making homemade pizza (if you can call the pizza you make from the Chef Boyardee box homemade) It smells pretty good right now. Guess that shower will wait until after lunch.

What are you feeling right now? I hope that the day brings everyone a good time! (even to those who have to work on Sundays)

Diary of a Quilter: Vintage Alphabet Quilt

Diary of a Quilter: Vintage Alphabet Quilt This is such an awesome quilt! I so need to make this! I think that my boys would love this and also, my mom would be too. (since she is a teacher and all!) Sooo cute!