Clutter

Clutter:
1.
to fill or litter with things in a disorderly manner: All kinds of papers cluttered the top of his desk. –verb (used without object)
2.
British Dialect. to run in disorder; move with bustle and confusion.
3.
British Dialect. to make a clatter.
4.
to speak so rapidly and inexactly that distortions of sound and phrasing result.

I hate clutter. I am talking about the #1 definition (thanks to dictionary.com). I notice that when the room I am in feels cluttered I tend to feel helpless or out of control myself. This is no mental spot for a Stay at home mom to be in. I have done very well with eliminating clutter since about Nov 05. I am able to part with things that are broken, never been used, unwanted, ugly, or most anything that cannot "find" a place in my home. My only real trouble spot is my bedroom "office". Its the place where my computer is, all my papers, books, printer, unfinished projects, etc..... Its a mess to say the least. It is my resolution this new year to get it cleaned up and organized to where its a place that I WANT to be in. Not HAVE to be in. I just want a usable space!

April Frank

My sister has a myspace blog, I read it today and it sparked some really good memories.
I always wanted to be a mom like April Frank (yes beth, your mom). One of the memories I have is that whenever we got home from school (meaning beth and I...at her house) we were always greeted. I never really got that at home because my mom always worked until after 5. I guess its just the little things that really meant alot. Having someone else fix you a snack(Popcorn, nachos, fresh bread and butter), or ask about your day and really care, or even cheer you on when your friend (ahem....) was kicking your butt at skip-bo. (Im still not very good at that game).
Anyway....here is some of my sisters blog
"I got a bread maker for Christmas. I was really excited about the whole thing. I remember being like nine and going over to Emily Franks house and her mom always made bread and I wished that my mom would make bread. I am glad that Jillian will never have to go through that kind of resentment. April Frank made really good pancakes too, shaped like Mickey Mouse. Mmmm pancakes!" (just for the record my sister is a pleasantly sarcastic blogger like myself)
I just thought that I would share. Its always nice to talk about someone who made such a positive impact on my life...and obviously my sisters too.

Merry Christmas!

Its been such a nice day and I look forward to doing it this way all the time from now on. We spend Christmas Eve with extended family and then we spend Christmas with just our little family. I love it. The kids made out like bandits! I'm still thawing the turkey that I forgot to take out of the freezer last night(Brilliant Alicia!). Tom bought me the Cricut Expression. (its a die cutting maching) and I love it. Ive used it a ton in just a few hours. Im not much of a scrapbooker, but I love making home decor stuff. I umm....I mean "santa" filled the stockings last night and loaded everyone down with candy and goodies. The worlds worst invention :The BABY BOTTLE POP! I hate that darn confection! Its all over my kitchen floor cause my kids dont understand step 1: Lick. step 2: Dip. step 3: Lick again...repeat as necessary. No more powdered candy at my house! DOWN WITH POWDERED CANDY MAKERS!
I bought Tom rock band for Wii. That should make for some good pictures. =) Even Tom decided that about 12 is still not to early for a christmas "nap".

Little Drummer Boy
Boston this shredding through presents
Natalie LOVED her new doll house.

If I didnt laugh, I would probably cry.

Sooooo another "somethings burning" smell emits itself in my house. I go hunting for it. (already been there done that with the house fire thing) Its coming from the Boys' wall heater in their room. I look at the grate at it looks like it had mud or something on it. I touch it, its wet. The kids have no access to water in a cup unless they are in the kitchen and ask for it. Soooo Where is this mysterious liquid coming from. Then it dawns on me. This heater is exactly at the height of my sons weiner. joy. I yell to Boston to come to me and he does. "Boston, did you pee in your heater?" "yes, mom" Why?" "cause my weiner wanted too". What is a mother to do?! I just tell him never to do that again and i had him help me clean it all out. I had to take the grate off and wash out what I could. I mean seriously! Please tell me that this happens elsewhere and not just in my home.
Oh, and thank you Beth for following and keeping my self-esteem up to par =) . I dont feel like such a blogging loser anymore =)

The things that you forget about......

Boston eating breakfast...I think he was just a little over a year old
Yes, that would be Luke wearing a Bikini bottom out in our backyard (this last July)

Natalie had gotten into the Desitin and I had to use dish soap to get it out of her hair.

(2 1/2)

She was quite the artist. This is sour cream on her bedroom wall (2 1/2)

But the peanut butter was my most favorite. (again 2 1/2)

You know. Luke is 2 1/2 now and hasnt done half of the kind of stuff Natalie did. (knock on wood). Boys in my opinion are harder to keep a constant eye on, but my girl takes the cake on just toddler mishaps!

Funnel Cakes

I saw this recipe on another blog and I decided to give it a try...I mean, Who dosent like funnel cakes?

Heat 3 C of oil to 350-375 degrees ( I used peanut oil. Its perfect for fried sweets!)

Whisk together 4C flour, 1/3C sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt.
Make a well in the center and add 2 1/2 C milk and 3 large eggs. Whisk until smooth. Add batter to a ziploc bag and squeeze out excess air. Snip off the corner and drizzle batter into the oil. Turn after about 1 min or until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels and then coat with powdered sugar and devour!

These were EXCELLENT! I couldnt tell the difference between these and the ones at the Fair. I will never again pay 6.00 for something I can make just as good if not better at home! Enjoy!

Cheese Please?

Ummmmm No.

I go to check on my "being all to quiet" boys today and I find them in Tom's office. They have my bag of Costco shredded cheese cut open and all over the place. I send them to time out and then brilliant Alicia decides to vacuum it all up. Well, my wonderful Dyson vacuum gets to hot and melts all the cheese once it is all sucked up. So now I have a dirt/cheesy scent when i turn it on. Lovely. What could smell more like a home with preschoolers than dirt and cheese? I know...Maybe someone could fart?! Ha! and I wonder why I have no blog followers.....I think its because I'm nuts and nobody wants a piece of that pie =)

A Winter Wonderland!

We got our 1st real snow!

We have about 10 inches on the ground and the kids have been making use of it! Luke spent probably the 1st 20 min outside eating the snow.

We all built a snowman which I hadnt done in years and it turned out really cute! The kids played outside for probably an hour or so before they got too cold and decided to come inside.

We helped Adam and Karalee pack on Saturday and that went well. I hope all goes will with the final move and stuff. The kids loved playing in the packing boxes and that kept them entertained long enough for us adults so play a few games of hand and foot.

So Natalie performed in the Nutcracker this last weekend and she did wonderful. She was a snowflake. Too cute. The boys did not care very much for sitting through and almost 2 hour long show. But Kaylee, their cousin was there with her mom and that seemed to appease them that they had someone to play with (errr....i mean argue over who got to sit by her).

The Joys of Boys

Yep. So Natalie comes running upstairs and announces "Mommy, Luke put something in something!" I went running downstairs and this is what I saw. Yes that is 2 different bottles of windex in my toaster oven, and he had turned it on! They melted just enough to melt the nozzles but i got there in time before the bottle part melted so there was no "liquid mess" and thank goodness nothing caught on fire! ( Praise God!)

Yuck

The tree 2008

The kids being creative in how to get ornaments on the top of the tree

The Advent Calendar...AKA the Candy House

My 3 Blessings decorating their little hearts out!

Luke has had nasty explosive diarrea all day, everywhere. Including on me, the furniture, the carpet, his clothing, his bed, my bed...Its a little overwhelming. He looks as if he is starting to feel better and the cleanups are slowing down. I sure hope that he sleeps tonight.
I love wednesdays. I look forward to my date with Tom and the kids always look forward to AWANA. They ask about it all week. So this gives me hope for tomorrow (wed) that I can get a bit of a break if luke feels better and we can all just relax.
We put up the christmas tree yesterday and I think that it looks beautiful. The kids cant seem to keep their hands off of it or the advent calendar (ours has doors for candy).