Thursday, February 14, 2008

Happy Valentine's Day!


Isn't it true that kids love holidays?! We finally got it together last night and got some balloons and candy for the kids. They were waiting on the table for them this morning and the kids were really excited. Of course, this was just the beginning of the orgy of candy for the rest of the day. Do you remember getting as much candy as the kids do now at school? It is crazy. The kids have been so sweet though, even before the candy kicked in. Katie made several cards for the family and Mike and I. She wrote some very sweet things for us. Christian was very sweet also. Both of the crafts that he made at school today, he gave to Katie as presents. She was really touched. Now, he may have not wanted to keep something that was primarily pink, red and purple. But those thoughts never surfaced to his mouth, he just smiled and said they were for Katie because he knew she would like it. It makes the sugar rushed hysteria of this afternoon all worth it. Hopefully Valentine's Day was sweet to you today, even more than "just" flowers and candy.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

A Great Website to Save on Groceries

Today, the Sister Savings went to website instead of only being on email. While this may not help out of staters much, I thought it was still too cool not to share. Groceries have been getting more expensive with the rising price of gas and it is always great to get a good deal. I have never been good at looking through the ads to get the deals. Now someone has done it for me and I can get some great deals and stockpile a little so that I will pay an arm and a leg less and less for a few of our favorite things. Look under the weekly sales each Wednesday morning for the new deals of the week.

Don't forget about the fruit and vegetable co-op we have here in town too! Love that!

Thursday, February 7, 2008

I love silly quizzes!

This is a quiz I stole from another blog I love to stalk because it makes me laugh and feel a little more normal. Since I love these little quizzes I thought I should share it with you.

These quizzes are totally accurate too, as you know. :) This may be the first time the discreet side of me has been picked up on.

What my Jane Austen Profile said:

You are Elinor Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are practical, circumspect, and discreet. Though you are tremendously sensible and allow your head to rule, you have a deep, emotional side that few people often see


I am Elinor Dashwood!


Take the Quiz here!

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Tagged...6 Quirky Things About Me...

So, here I am writing about 6 quirky things about me, because I have been blog-tagged by my friend Katie. If you are reading this...you may be next. Quite frankly, I couldn't think of 6 quirky things about myself. As to why, see number 1.

1. My first quirk is that I can never think of facts, stories, or embarrassing moments about myself on the fly. Not that there aren't any, no quite the opposite, there are plenty. The reason for this may be because my brain is so actively working to keep those thoughts away from my consciousness. As many of you have experienced, I open my mouth and insert my foot a lot. I try not to, but it happens anyway.

2. Okay this next one I am not sure if it is a quirk or not. Because, really, aren't all women like this? Mike thinks that I get a little, no, "overly excitable" (his words not mine) on the phone when I am talking to my friends. Apparently, I have a voice for him and then a voice for other women, a little higher pitch and a little faster and loud. Talking to other women is very energizing and it is especially fun when I talk to friends I haven't talked to for a long time. That happens when you move around a bit. If the kids are asleep he makes sure that I know I need to go to the furthest reaches of the house and talk into a pillow or in a closet so I don't wake the kids up.

3. Okay, this is a little strange, and it seems that I can't fix it, especially, when I have been around my family recently. I am the 5th of seven children and I have a sister and a brother younger than me in that order. My children are the same sexes in the same order. This is the strange way I excuse it, since this is the only correlation I can come up with and it doesn't happen with any of my other siblings. So what is it? I call my children, Katie and Christian, the names of my sister and brother, Rachel and Paul. Often. I don't have other children to confuse their names with, so apparently I borrow from my family and screw them up in the mix instead. And it doesn't go one way. When I am around my family I will call Rachel and Paul, Katie and Christian, respectively. Mike doesn't get it and thinks I am crazy when I do it. I think this is a perfectly normal reaction when you come from a big family....yeah, okay, it is a quirk. I own it.

4. I can't go anywhere without make-up on. Okay, I have made progress. I actually go to the gym looking totally disgusting, and I will drop off the kids at school in the morning in my pajamas. However, besides that, I have to have my hair done and make-up on. This is because of the brutal and extreme training of my upbringing. Torturous, really. If I left the house without my lipstick on (it was wisely in my hand), I was asked if I realized I didn't have my lipstick on and wasn't I going to put it on. Now, I understand, my lips are chalky white and need all the help they can get. My mom has the same problem, so really it is all out of concern. But, now, I have to have my hair done and make-up on or I just can't go. When Mike and I were first married he commented that I looked great au-naturale. And just like that, BAM, he asked me one day, slightly trepidatious, if I was going to put make-up on. Yes, I had my make-up bag in my lap as we were on our way somewhere. Because this scenario had happened before with a previous boyfriend I was prepared for the rose-colored glasses to come off and him need my miraculous make-up back on. Yep, my little quirky drug, make-up. But I am not the only one who likes it... :)

5. Mike thinks I talk to fast. In college, when I called one of my married friends, I could talk so fast to her that her husband, who was right next to her and who could hear me clearly, could not understand a word I said because I was talking so fast. She could understand me, so that was all that mattered to me. I suppose it comes from coming from a big family, talk fast if you can to get a word in edge wise. There are still times that I will start talking to somebody in person and I will have to repeat what I said because it was to fast. Once again, I get excited. My mom talks fast too, so apparently it is hereditary.

6. Last quirk...that I am sharing...I have horrible fingernails. Not because I bite them or have in the past. No, not that. Growing up I would watch my mother file her nails just at the ends to keep them even. They were truly naturally beautiful. If she had had the time to paint her nails she would have looked like she had gone to the salon. I did not inherit those fingernails. My fingernails grow with ripples, or curling under, and while doing that spreading out in a fan shape from the nail bed. Yes, they are plain ugly and look best after I have cut them down to the nail bed. Maybe someday I will pay for manicures. But for now, I just try to stay on top of keeping them short.

Okay, enough about me darlings, even though I thought of another one last night (like how cheap I am and how hard I have had to fight to overcome it. Both Mike and I had nightmares after that came up...). Now I tag Jeralee, Chelsea, Melanie, and Jana (I know you are reading now...) you are next. I know you all come here often enough for me to see something soon...

Sick of Being Tired and Tired from Being Sick

Apparently the first day back to school after being sick was just a little much for these kids little bodies. I found Katie at the table around 5pm when she was supposed to be doing her homework. Christian was found hunkered down in his bed with the covers over his head. It was quite cute, although part of our FHE was dedicated to getting the homework finished. The picture was too funny not to share!

Sunday, February 3, 2008

I will take one touch of snow, thank you...

After a whole week of being shut up in the house from a long bout of the flu for both of the kiddos, we took off to Flagstaff to see if we could outrun it. Well, okay, not really, but we did go to Flagstaff. We drove 2 1/2 hours to get there and thoroughly enjoyed getting out of the car, snow falling out of the sky, just before the sun went down. Katie and Christian got to play in the snow for five minutes and then we headed inside where it was warm for a the District Dinner we went there for. Since the kids have been sick, that was just the right amount for them.
When we came back out they enjoyed sliding all the way back to the car. We got back to Phoenix where the roads aren't slick with no incident. You would think by the way I talk that I didn't live in the snow for 3 1/2 years. Of course, maybe that is why I take the ice seriously... However, I really am not missing shoveling snow and freezing. As you can see, the kids were thrilled to see snow and glad for a real reason to wear the winter coats.

Just plain cute pictures...

Katie is really getting patient with my ineptness at doing hair. She really is too cute when we take pictures her a cute doo's. She got sick by the end of Sunday and then she wouldn't let me brush her hair for 4 more days. (Being cooped up in the house for that long didn't cause me any rush on that either). I am living by proxy, just a little bit, on all this girly-ness.