Things I Know

This is a random post of things that I know....

I know November went way too fast.  2014 is almost over.  How is that possible?

I know that my daughter and her husband were here for the week of Thanksgiving in our home.  I took a total of zero pictures while they were here.  All of my kids in the house and no pictures to show for it.

I know that my father-in-law was here for a week also.  We went to Starbucks every day.  Sometimes twice a day.  I actually got tired of Starbucks.  I shutter to write those words, but it is true.

I know I went to Bath & Body Works on Black Friday.  I went to get 6 jars of their foamy soap.  They were having a buy 3 get 3 free sale.  $101.00 later, I left the store with two very large bags!!  So if you're expecting a gift from us this season, it will most likely be Bath & Body Works!!

I know my sister gave me a bowl of pumpkin buttercream frosting on Thanksgiving.  All for me.  Guess what?!?  It's gone!  Yes, I ate an entire bowl of pumpkin buttercream frosting all by myself.  Most of it with just a spoon.

I know my jeans are getting tighter.  It might be because of the above.

I know that some girls I work with and I are going to do the Whole 30 Foods Challenge in January.  Hopefully my jeans will fit a little better in 2015!

I know I can't decide if I'm going to send Christmas picture cards this year.  If I'm going to do this, I need to get busy!

I know December will be over in the blink of an eye.  I hope I am able to slow down and enjoy it!

November Happenings

School Lunch Accounts....Got a text yesterday from oldest son saying he had 20 cents in his account.  Checked online to verify and also saw middle son's account was in the negative.  Options:

1.  Do nothing.  Let them eat cheese sandwiches.

2.  Drive to both schools to put money in their accounts.

3.  Deposit money online into their accounts and pay a processing fee {which I think is crazy!!}...something I said I would NEVER do.

Guess what I did?!?  Option #3....yes I paid even more for their crazy expensive school lunches.  Guess I'll have to keep closer tabs on their account balances.

Basketball....All three boys are playing basketball right now.  The twins are on the same team {this makes it so much easier for me}, and they are hilarious to watch.  Strangers come up to us after the game and ask if they are twins.....they definitely have their own thing going out there on the court. They are getting a little better at passing the ball and not just to each other.  But if it were up to them, they would play 2-on-5 all season long!  My oldest made the 8th grade school basketball team and has been practicing for a few weeks now.  He cannot wait for their first game!

Random....It seems like everyone I know is selling something these days.  And I keep thinking I need to start making something/selling a product/doing more/earning more money.... But I am really trying to just be content right where I am with what I have.  I am a busy mom of three active boys, and I work 24 hours a week {sometimes more, sometimes less}.  Right now I don't know where I would find more time to do more!  Contentment.  Why you gotta be so hard?!?

Walmart.....I went to the Walmart today and left with a buggy full of drinks.  What's for dinner? Gatorade, vitamin water, and rock stars!

World Adoption Day.....Just found out about this on the actual day (November 9, 2014) from some people I follow on Instagram.  Of course I had to post a picture of my two favorite twin boys!  I am so lucky to be their mom.

Cold Weather....it's here!  Do you see the little snow flurries falling?  We are now using our wood burning stove.  Which means there is wood mess everywhere, and I have to remember to keep the fire going all day.

P.S.  This crazy dog really fell asleep in this position.  For privacy sake, I added the blanket!

Stuff and Things...

This is my first time to join a linky party with Stuff and Things.  It's been a long time since my last post.  So here goes as many random things that I can think of.

Sweet boy {aka Zac the dog} spent 10 days in the kennel while we were in Florida for Fall Break.  The day after we picked up Sweet Boy he started hacking like a chronic smoker.  He hacked for a week, then we finally took him to the vet.  Symptoms:  dry, barking cough {sounded like a seal}, hacking up white foamy junk, wouldn't eat, not acting like a normal puppy.  Diagnosis: kennel cough.  Treatment: steroids and antibiotics.  Cost: $106!!!  He's pretty much back to normal and proceeded to chew up an Under Armour sweatshirt tonight.  Sweet boy is not so sweet anymore!

I love, love, love to read outside on a warm, sunny day.  I'm pretty sure this week was my last day to do this for a very long time.  We have a freeze warning issued for tomorrow night.  My husband wants to bring in our wood burning stove this weekend.  Beautiful warm days are pretty much over.

A friend of mine whom we carpool for basketball with sent home a container of homemade chocolate chip cookies with my son after practice.  They were so good and reminded me why I don't bake very often.  I love to eat them too much.  This time I only ate 1 cookie because we had lots of boys over at the house that day and they gobbled them down.

I have been reading a very interesting book called It Starts with Food by Dallas & Melissa Hartwig.  Let's just say there is a ton of information in this book!  I've taken nutrition, biology, and chemistry classes, but don't remember any of the things they talk about in this book.  A few of the girls I work with are considering the Whole30 program.  I know I've got to do something because I have a ton of clothes that no longer fit.  I loved this quote in the book.....  

At some point, you will have to weigh the fleeting pleasure of a slice of pizza, pint of beer, or frozen yogurt {or homemade chocolate chip cookies} against one or more of these scenarios.

*I'm not there yet!!!*

Last thing....I am so excited about the time change this weekend.  When my kids were little, I dreaded the time change twice a year.  Now that my kids can fend for themselves, I love it when we fall back and momma gets an extra hour of sleep!!

My Television Shows

I decided to talk a little bit about the TV shows I'm currently watching.  Keep in mind I only watch TV while I'm exercising on the elliptical machine at my house.  Right now I'm doing 38 minutes every day, so I can get through about an hour's worth of TV (fast forwarding through commercials) during a workout.  Here's what I've been watching lately.

1. The Biggest Loser.  This new season is all about former athletes (who have "let themselves go" in the words of my 13 year old son) getting a second chance.  I cried about 7 times watching the first show!  Seriously I don't know what makes me so emotional watching this show, but thankfully I have not fallen or injured myself while crying & working out.  I really really like the new trainers, especially the girl....can't remember her name.  One of the things she said was that you either operate out of fear or love.  Everything you do, every choice you make is either out of fear or love.  Wow!  Deep deep words that I really liked!

2.  Extreme Weight Loss.  I recorded several of these episodes during the summer and finally got around to watching them.  To be honest, some of them I couldn't really get into, so I couldn't make myself watch the entire episode.  But there was one gal named Georgeanna Johnson who became my favorite EWL contestant ever.  She started a really awesome website called FIT is WELL, and I have really enjoyed reading about her journey.

3. Fixer Upper.  This is an HGTV series based in Waco, Texas.  A really awesome couple (Chip and Joanna Gaines) takes really old houses and renovates them for really fun couples.  Some of their projects are monster undertakings.  And their style is just incredible.  I am ready to move to Waco, Texas and start stalking them.  Just kidding.  I do love this quote that Joanna put in one of the new homes.  TODAY IS A GOOD DAY FOR A GOOD DAY.  Yes it is!

4.  Parenthood.  This one makes me a little sad, because Parenthood is going to end.  I have been a faithful Parenthood watcher since day one.  I have laughed, cried, gotten mad, and wished I was a Braverman all in one episode.  I am sad to see this show end.  So I will have to cherish each episode this final season.  I'll probably be crying while I watch this show too.

kidecals Review!!

On occasion a company will contact me to review a product or book and usually I decline because I am way busy with three very active boys.  But when the folks at kidecals reached out to me, I couldn't say no.  The kids are back in school {hallelujah!}, so I have a little more time to get stuff done.  It also means we are on the go once school gets out....sports practice, games, meetings, dentist appointments, etc...

When my boys go to practice {right now we have football, soccer, & basketball happening}, they always take a reusable water bottle with them. And there are always about 7 water bottles that look the same. There's nothing worse than drinking from the wrong water bottle at practice!  Okay, there are some worse things, but I would rather my kids NOT share germs with the entire team.  I ordered these durable, water-resistant labels with our last name on them so everyone in the family could use them. And let me tell you, they are awesome.  They have stayed on the water bottles through the dishwasher and hand washing also!  No one has accidentally taken a swig out of our water bottles. {yay!}  

I also ordered some very trendy chalkboard labels.  I did have to buy a fancy chalk paint pen at Walmart, but it was only a couple bucks and looks way nicer than trying to use a thick piece of chalk.  I used one label on my homemade laundry detergent {which I need to make more of}.  And I am hopefully going to use the rest to organize my pantry which needs to be done so badly.

The last thing I ordered was a Christmas gift, so I can't show it.  But it is really cute and will be put to good use I'm sure.  So here's what I love about kidecals:

They are a Boulder, CO company {after living in CO for 5 years, I'm a forever fan!}

They offer free shipping on any size order!  {my order arrived in 2 days!}

You can save 15% off your first order if you sign up for their email list! {which lets you know about even more ways to save}

Maybe you're ready to start organizing, or Christmas shopping, or just need to label your kid's stuff. Either way, I highly recommend this company...you will not be disappointed in the quality of their products!!

*I received these products from kidecals in exchange for my blog post/review.  The opinions are mine.*

Where did August go?

I always have grand hopes of getting so much stuff done after school starts.  The boys have been in school for almost a month now, and I wonder what I've been doing with all my free time?!?  The school day sure goes fast for me.....way too fast.  Although anyone actually in school would probably disagree with me.  So here's a quick look at some things that have been going on around here.

I found out that Chips Ahoy! and my birthday are one day apart.  Who knew?!?  I turned 40 this year and it was very uneventful.  It's almost like I didn't even get older which I am totally fine with.  I did decide (not on my birthday) to paint doors around the house.  The two doors below are the pantry which get opened and closed a lot!  It's amazing what a coat of paint can do (door on the left).  They look really good now and hopefully I can keep them looking that way for a while.

I planted some sunflower seeds in early spring, and when they popped up, I really didn't think they would produce flowers.  Glad I was wrong!  These little seeds made some gorgeous flowers that I have enjoyed looking at the last few weeks.

This is a random picture of my fourth grade twin boys from meet the teacher night.  Yes, my nine year old twin boys are small...small enough to fit in their lockers!  Thankfully they have not gotten shoved in their lockers by anyone.  Fourth grade has been a BIG adjustment for these two.  They have more than one teacher, change classrooms, have lockers, are getting actual letter grade (as opposed to checks and smiley faces), and are in a new school with lots of new kids.  We are slowly getting into the groove and have made some progress...thankfully!

And lastly because I have to always have something to take care of, this sweet boy went and got bit by something.  We still don't know what it was that bit him, but he had a swollen nose and eye for a day, then hives all over his body the next day.  I gave him benadryl two days in a row, and thankfully he returned to his normal hyper puppy self.

Now that it's almost September we are looking forward to our two week fall break in October, then it will be Boo Boo!  Gobble Gobble!  Ho Ho!  Happy New Year!  And then it will be baby time!!!  My daughter Megan and her husband Garret are having a baby {GIRL!!} in January.  I get to be a Glam-maw....I am so excited about my new title!!

Tackle Football

My youngest and smallest son decided he wanted to play tackle football this fall.  I was less than thrilled.  He weighs next to nothing and his arms and legs are so skinny!  He is playing in the 3rd/4th grade tackle league, and has never played organized football before.  He is playing with kids that have been playing for 4-5 years already.  We have had several practices and one game so far.  I hope this season goes very quickly.

Last night at practice, it was very cold and rainy.  I was wearing a jacket {in August!} holding an umbrella at a picnic table reading a book.  I'm sure I looked like the biggest book nerd ever.  And I forgot to bring water or gatorade for my kiddo to drink during his two hour practice.  Of course, I didn't forget my diet coke.  So every break, Devin would run over to me, hold the umbrella while I unsnapped his chin strap {it's harder than it looks}, then guzzle some diet coke.  Mom of the Year Award for me.

After practice he kept saying his right knee hurt, but he wasn't really sure why.  When I woke him up this morning he said it hurt really bad.  So what does a nurse mom do?  Give him some motrin, wrap it up in an ace wrap, and send him out to the bus stop!  2nd Mom of the Year Award for me!  I did tell him if was still very painful after school, we would go to the doctor (they get home at 2:45, so we would have had plenty of time to get an appointment).  After school, he said he felt fine.  We took the wrap off, and he's outside riding bikes with his twin brother. So hopefully that's the worst of our football injuries this season.  But I'm not holding my breath!!!

My son is #2!  Go Buckeyes!!

Sweet Boy!

I've never been much of an animal person.  In fact I really enjoyed being a pet free family for close to seven months!  And then my husband took our three boys to Colorado for Spring Break.  They got to hang out with their sister, her cool husband, and their dog, Sadie.  Steve watched our two nine year olds love on Sadie for a week and decided they really needed a dog.  So I reluctantly gave in, and we ended up with Zac, the cutest yellow labrador retriever you've ever seen.

I've started calling him "Sweet Boy" because I truly believe one day he will be a sweet boy.  {Kind of like if you build it, they will come.  Only in this case, it's if you call him it, he will become it?!?!}  My thirteen year old thinks I'm crazy for this.  But I truly believe he is a sweet boy.  Even though he chews Xbox charging cords (every one that worked...he didn't chew the broken one!), my couch, shoes, Xbox games and cases, socks, and pretty much anything else my three boys don't bother to pick up.

He's four months old now, and I know we still have a lot of chewing left.  I'm just trying to remind everyone to pick up after themselves, so my Sweet Boy doesn't get in any more trouble!!

2014 The Year of the Trophy

Earlier this year, one of Noah's friends posted a picture on instagram of all the trophies he had accumulated in his short 13 years of life.  He had a lot of trophies!! I know this kid has played on lots of basketball and baseball teams.  And his teams must have been really good because he had lots of hardware to show for it.  Another one of Noah's friends posted that all he had on his shelf was participation ribbons.  And then Noah commented he had nothing!

All this lead to a family conversation about how none of our boys had any trophies.  I've often said that if we talk about something, it tends to happen (especially in our family!).  And wouldn't you know it, 2014 became the year of the trophy in our house.  All 3 boys got at least one trophy this year (and it's only June!).  We have trophies for the fastest runner, the "hot shot" from basketball camp, a 2nd place basketball tournament trophy, and the "hustle" award from basketball camp.

I love all my boys whether they get trophies or not!  But I just might have to post an instagram picture of all our trophies now.  

What I learned this week!

1.  I should have planted more sunflowers!  I thought I was being very generous with my row of sunflower seeds in May, but now that they are growing, I wish I had planted way more.  Oh well, there's always next year!

2.  It is way more fun at the public pool when my older son takes a friend.  The tall boy is my oldest son, and the two shorties on the end are the twins.  And the boy in the white shirt is my oldest son's best friend.  Two weeks ago we went to the pool, and they didn't even last 90 minutes without begging to go home.  This week we stayed for 3 hours!  So taking an extra person along is totally worth it.  I've often said when there is an even number of kids it tends to work out better for everyone.

3.  iPhone cords can catch on fire!  I'm pretty sure the puppy got a hold of this one, or my kids were just too rough on it.  When I plugged it into the car charger, it started smoking and got hot enough to burn my fingers.  It's never good when your nine year old yells, "something's smoking in this car!"  So now we are down one charger!

4.  My nine year olds know no fear!  This was at our county fair on Friday night.  They got to the very top and yelled out of the side of the ferris wheel car, "take out picture!"  Since we have gotten our puppy, I have realized that lots of kids and people are afraid of dogs or just don't like dogs.  And I really cannot think of one thing these boys are afraid of!  {definitely not heights!}

5.  If your shoes look like this, no one will steal them.  We had a friend of ours get his new under armour slides "taken" at the kid's basketball camp this week.  I am always telling my kids they need to take better care of their stuff, but I guess in this case, if your shoes look like this, no one will take them!  These shoes are less than a month old....he took them to church camp this week, then maybe when he gets back I'll buy him another pair.

6.  My oldest son and I are home alone for the week while the twins and my husband are at church camp.  We plan to shop and eat lots of chinese food, and I have to take him to basketball practice, games, and open gym all week!!  Fun times!

I'm Still Here!!

2014
So 2014 is almost half over, and I've blogged a total of seven times this year.  My mom sent me a message on FB saying she wants me to write more.  So I will try to make mom happy. I'm not real sure why I haven't written much this year.  And I cannot promise there will be more frequent posts, but I will try!  Here are some things that have been going on around here.

GAS PRICES
I am one of those people that tend to freak out about rising gas prices.  I know there are some people who pay no attention to gas prices.  When they need gas, they pull into a nearby station, fill up, and have no idea what the price per gallon was.  I am in the opposite camp.  I pay very close attention to gas prices, have gas buddy alerts on my phone, and do all I can to save money on gas by using Kroger fuel rewards or our local Speedway Speedy Rewards.  The funny thing about this is my commute to work is about 1.5 miles (my husband's commute is even less)!  Maybe one day I will not pay attention to gas prices, but I doubt it!

JURY DUTY
I got the honor of going to our local county circuit court for jury duty yesterday.  I had no idea what to expect, and it turned out to be not so bad.  I showed up, sat around for a few hours, watched a movie (about jury duty), listened to a judge talk, listened to two lawyers talk, never said one word, then was dismissed.  There were about 45 of us in the courtroom, and when the judge said they only needed six jurors, I was hoping the odds would be in my favor. Luckily they were!  And I am now exempt for two years which makes me and my employer very happy.

GOODWILL AUCTIONS
I friend of mine told me about goodwill auctions, and I am obsessed!  I have watched about five pair of boots go for really cheap.  But somehow I keep forgetting to bid near the end of the auction!  After our brutal winter, I decided I need to invest in a really good pair of winter boots.  So I hope to find a good pair to buy, and then we will have a mild winter!

PUPPY
Our puppy is still really cute, but he is rotten.  He definitely cannot be left alone for a minute. He chews and digs and jumps and chases strangers.  We have to wait a couple more months for the electric fence training to begin, so I will keep chasing him down the street in my pajamas.  It's such a beautiful sight in the morning!!

I'll try to write more this month, but there are no guarantees, mom!!

JUST SOME NUMBERS

FOURTEEN

When my boys get off the bus today, they will only have FOURTEEN more days of school.  Wow has this year gone fast.  Faster than any year before.  One of my uncles tried to explain a theory he has about why time goes faster the older you get.  I nodded and smiled appropriately, but don't remember a thing he said.  Although I do agree with his bottom line, the older you get the faster time goes.

SEVEN

I have cleaned up SEVEN puppy pee puddles.  For some reason the puppy only pees in the house when I am on duty.  We have Zac for seven days now, and I'm pretty sure we are all smitten by his puppy cuteness.  I forgot how hyper puppies can be, but he has adjusted very well in his new home

SIX

SIX more jr. high track meets.  I still have no idea what's going on at a track meet.  I just watch for the tall blond kid and hope I don't miss the event he is in that night.  He has tried a little bit of everything...hurdles, long jump, sprints, and relays.  He has learned he is not a distance runner.  More than two laps around the track is too much for him!

NINE HUNDRED SEVENTY NINE

It feels like I have spent $979.00 on all the camps, summer activities, and fun things my kids want to do this summer.  Basketball camp, church camp, trips to Kings Island, and the list goes on.... It's like having another bill to pay every week!  But it is definitely worth it to keep my 3 boys busy.  Which hopefully means less time in front of the XBOX, less time fighting, and less times I have to get mad and yell!!

ONE

I lasted exactly ONE warm day without turning the air conditioner on.  After our brutally frigid winter I thought I would be able to stand a little hot weather.  But when I am inside running around the house I get hot and sweaty and grouchy!  So the A/C is officially turned on.  Let the electricity bill start rising!

Life Update

Where have I been?!?  I know it has been forever  since I have written.  School's almost out. Which mean life will get even crazier.  I've pretty much given up on trying to keep up.  So in no particular order, here's what's been going on with the family.

All the boys in my family (3 kids and husband) drove out to Colorado to see Megan (their sister) and Garret (her husband) for 8 days.  I had to stay home and work.  But before you feel too sorry for me, I worked just 24 hours that week (my normal schedule), then had the rest of the week ALL. BY. MYSELF.  I really don't remember ever having that much time all by myself.  I read a lot, ate whatever I wanted, and went wherever I wanted to go.  I went to Target and TJ Maxx and walked out emptied handed both places!  (who does that?!?)  By Thursday, I really missed having my family around.  And when they walked in the door with all their dirty clothes and clutter I was thankful to have them back.

We are FINALLY done with basketball.  I have had kids in basketball for 7 continuous months.  It was a lllloooonnnggg season.  My oldest finished his season with a 2nd place tournament win and a trophy.  His first real trophy!!  Then my twins got to finish their season by playing a game on the Indiana Pacers court at Baker's Life Fieldhouse.  Fun times for everyone!  The twins are currently taking a sports break, and Noah is now participating in Jr. High track and field.  I am totally clueless when I watch a track meet.  Noah has been trying the long jump, something I know absolutely nothing about.

I cannot believe the kids only have 24 more days of school left.  This year has gone really fast.  My third graders both passed their state reading tests, so we are moving on to 4th grade next year.  They will be at the intermediate school with 4th through 6th graders.  We are really hoping for a growth spurt because they look really short next to kids two years older than them!!  They turned 9 years old on Earth Day, and we are having an all boy slumber party Friday night for them.

My oldest turned 13 last month.  I'm officially the mom of a teenage boy.  Nothing really has changed, but I'm sure changes are coming.  March and April are kind of like Christmas around here with 3 birthdays and Easter.  

We are getting a new dog.  A yellow labrador puppy to be exact.  Have I enjoyed being pet free for almost 7 months?  Yes I have!!  But in a weak moment my husband convinced me "these boys need a dog!"  And I said yes!  So I am looking forward to potty training and puppy teeth marks and all that fun puppy stuff.

It's almost May and we still are turning the heat on at night!  It has been really cool here for Spring. Which makes track meets even more fun.  If I take another long blog break, I read this about moms of older children and this explains it pretty well.  

I signed up to run jog walk crawl another half marathon.  This will be my 3rd half marathon, and every time I sign up I tell myself I will train for it.  How many days have I trained this time, ZERO!  So it will be fun times for me next Saturday...or not!

In August I will be turning the big 4-0, and I am trying to come up with something exciting to celebrate my 40 years of life.  Stay tuned....

March

Reasons I love March...

1.  Spring

2.  March Madness

3.  St. Patrick's Day

4.  My oldest son's birthday

5.  Spring Break

Reasons I don't love this March...

1.  It may be Spring, but the temperatures are still saying it's Winter.  We are supposed to get some {MORE!!!} snow tomorrow night.  It's cold here!  I am so ready for warmer weather.

2.  I love watching basketball!  This year everyone in our family filled out their own brackets, just for a little friendly competition.  I said there would be a prize, but I haven't even figured out what the prize is yet.  So far, I am in last place.  Boo!

3.  Every year I check out and read a book from the library called The Life of St. Patrick.  A friend of mine told me about it a few years ago, and I have read it once a year since then. This year I went to check it our from the library and it has been taken out of circulation.  Big bummer.  I just need to buy it from Amazon so I can have it to read next St. Patricks Day.

4.  My oldest son will turn 13 on March 30, making me the mom of a teenager.  He turns 13 this year, and I turn 40 this year {in August}...yikes!  I keep telling myself age is  just a number.

5.  I usually get excited about Spring Break, but this year I could not get off work, so my husband took all 3 boys on a road trip to Colorado.  So I have been alone since Friday.  I have gotten several adorable pictures of them, and it looks like they are having a blast.  I'm pretty sure I will run out of things to do around the house eventually!!

Two Words.......

WINTER....
over it!

FLAPPY BIRD....
too late.

OLYMPICS....
love them!

BOB COSTAS.....
pink eye!

WATERLOUGUE APP...
not yet...

WOOD BURNING STOVE....
messy. thankful.

FROZEN PIPES....
this morning!!

BASKETBALL....
still playing.

2 HOUR DELAY....
still waiting.

Six on a Saturday Night

1.  It is cold here.  Bitter cold.  I really don't like cold.  It's supposed to get even colder next week.  Hibernation sounds really good right now.

2.  Last week, my kids missed one day of school, and they had two-hour delays the other four days.  A friend posted on FB that she wished a two-hour delay meant they stayed two hours later in the afternoon!  I wish that was the case also.  We do all get to sleep in two more hours, but then the time they are at school goes way faster, and my productivity goes way down!!

3.  So far we have to make up two days during Spring Break.  If we miss any more days, we will miss more of the first week of Spring Break.  We are guaranteed our full second week of Spring Break.  The joys of the balanced calendar in our school district!

4.  I am so thankful for our wood burning stove.  Yes it makes a mess all over the floor, and it's really cold when we have to bring in wood.  But it keeps our house warm and saves us lots of money on our gas bill!  The boys camp out in front of the fire to keep warm.

5.  My oldest son lost his school team basketball shorts!  He has a game on Tuesday, so I'm not sure what he's going to do.  I keep thinking they will turn up, but they are not in our home. I've looked everywhere.  I'm sure we will have to pay to replace them if he doesn't find them. He's lost a bathing suit, American Eagle underwear (not cheap & who loses underwear?!?), a gatorade sports bottle, a really nice Nike sweatshirt, and now the shorts this year!  Not sure what I'm going to do with him.

6.  We went to my nephew's sixth birthday party today.  It was super windy, there were snow drifts and icy roads, and it was freezing!  But we braved the weather and the kids got to burn off some energy at the Jaycie Phelps Athletic Center.  Then we went to Chick-Fil-A and TJ Maxx.  Coming home there were more snow drifts and icy roads.  Now we are safe and warm and settled in for the night!

Weekend Links

I really want to try this recipe called Crispy Cheddar Chicken-Baked!  It sounds so delicious, and I think everyone in my family would eat it.  Which is a big victory for me!!

 

I love to eat normal puppy chow (the peanut butter/chocolate chip kind).  And when I saw this recipe for Red Velvet Puppy Chow, I had to share it.  It looks like a yummy Valentine's treat.

mnmlist:

I cannot remember how I found the mnmlist blog, but I love the true cost of stuff post.  It is very eye opening.  Really the entire blog is eye opening!  I could spend hours reading the posts.

After reading God will give you more than you can handle: I guarantee it, I decided I need to read this every day!

And lastly I've mentioned that I will be turning 40 this year {August 5th to be exact}.  So I loved this post called This is 39.  My favorite part was crying at commercials and YouTube videos which I did twice this week.

We are so glad the Broncos won tonight and cannot wait for the Super Bowl.  We are hoping for a Colin Kaepernick win tonight.  He's adopted and has cool tattoos, so we are cheering for him.  Then in February it's all Broncos baby!

January Currents

I cannot believe January is half over!  Every time I write the date I have to do a double take. We are busy with basketball, school, jobs, and trying to stay sane.  Here is what I am doing this month!

Current Reads: Divergent (by Veronica Roth), David and Goliath (by Malcolm Gladwell), Hands Free Mama (by Rachel Macy Stafford), and The Bible.  I have a big stack of books that I carry around the house with me!

Current Shows: Biggest Loser, Downton Abbey, Duck Dynasty, The Middle, Parenthood, and I could keep adding to this list.  In my defense, I still only watch television while I am doing the elliptical at night.

Current Drink: I drink way more coffee in the winter months.  I've been drinking a lot of it with sugar free creamer.

Current Want:  I am really debating buying a new {to me} car.  I have been trying to save money for a while and can't make up my mind.  I really thought I wanted a car for my 40th birthday, then I wanted one last week, then I couldn't decide if I really wanted to do this, or just save the money!  So I still haven't made a decision!!

Current Plans:  Just getting into the school routine again.  After our two week Christmas break, we had really bad weather with lots of snow and sub-zero weather.  So the boys were out of school for another whole week.  After 3 days of school we are all tired and ready for a weekend.

Current Music:  I love the song Sunny and 75 by Joe Nichols.  Every time I get into a freezing cold car I start singing it hoping it will warm me up!

Current Goal:  I made one resolution this year, to read through the Bible.  This is something I have never done!  A friend from Colorado inspired me to do this when she posted about it in December on Facebook.  It was the one resolution she had kept in her entire life.  I am determined to keep this up!

Current Addiction: Instagram.  I check it way too often.  But I have to keep up with my 12 year old son.  So that is how I justify my addiction!