{Insert Witty Blog Title Here}

Yes Autumn, there is snow in Texas...

2011-02-10T07:06:00.003-06:00

Crazy past month, Autumn turned 5 this month and won't let anyone forget it. :) And we got snow!

Yes, in Texas we had maybe 1/2 an inch of snow on the ground and the whole city closed up (they even closed the freeways!) for the day. Autumn is defiantly a snow child, she stayed out in it until it was almost gone.

Say What?

2011-01-07T23:51:00.002-06:00

Lately little Miss. has been a fountain of fun with the things that come out of her cute little mouth. The most recent comment involved the word "kitty" and her constant desire to use the "t" sound instead of the "k".

That's right, yesterday her teacher told me that they were pretending that they were cats and little Miss. was asking the other little kids to pet her "titty". Oh my.

Almost as good as when she told me I would make a great witch for Halloween, only she used a "b" instead. Yupe that's my daughter.

On that note, she also concerns me with some of the things that she says. Last night she was telling me that she just didn't feel like herself. I asked her to tell me what she felt like, and her response was to tell me she felt "white", I asked her to elaborate a bit, and she said "you know, blank, nothing." Where does a 4 year old learn this? Should I be concerned? Such a deep thing for a child to say.

I think I would rather have the cute things, rather than the deep, disturbing (at least to me) comments.

A few of my favorite craft things this year....

2011-01-07T08:17:00.006-06:00

In no real order :

All the rings that I made for Autumn

Some hair clips that I also made (she wanted to look like Rapunzel)

My camera strap. I wish I had taken a picture of the one that I made for my friend!

I love snowmen, so I decided to grab some vinyl and make my own snowman fridge!

The snack for Autumn's class in December...they don't travel very well!!

November's snack! Take a sugar cone for ice cream, steam it for just a few seconds and then bend in half to form a cornucopia! I filled it with trail mix, candy corn and some gummy cherries!

Another hair thing for Autumn. When I was teaching preschool, I was able to get a hold of a bunch of fabric sample books. Now that I am not teaching, my husband wanted me to get rid of them. I was almost going to throw them out when I figured that I could do hair things and some cute applique with them. :)

Just for fun a bag that I put together when a bunch of friends and I went on a trip to Austin to hit up the scrapbook stores, have lunch and get cupcakes!!

Trying to win!

2010-12-30T15:13:00.002-06:00

I am in crazy mode trying to win a lovely Silhouette (and for those of you that say I ALWAYS win something, that isn't true!). I have tired to win one several times with no luck. They just look like soooooo much fun!

Dave refuses to buy me one since I have the Cricut, but those carts are just to darn expensive...I love the idea of buying the image I want and only that image.. keep your fingers crossed!

Boy time flies...

2010-12-26T22:05:00.003-06:00

It's almost a new year and I have not posted since Spring Break!

Lots going on in the Andrus household. I am now a full time SAHM, and while I love it to death, I am bored some days.

Autumn is growing like a weed, and is more like Dave everyday!

One of my goals this next year is to get back on the blogging bandwagon, but only time will tell if I can keep up with it.

We added a new kitty to the family back in July, and she is now 6 months old (yes she was super young when I found her, I even had to bottle feed her) and a royal terror, but a sweetie!

As you can see, Autumn likes Bagheera as well. :)

Spring Break Fun...before the start

2010-03-20T18:21:00.002-05:00

In true fun fashion, we made some flower bonnets this morning with paper plates and foam flowers. Autumn had a blast with it!!

This evenings dinner was bbq chicken, twice baked potatoes and for dessert..... smores made inside since it is super chilly out!

Autumn had made these before, but I am sure she doesn't remember it! They were a hit, and I think we will be making them alot this summer!!

You know you are old when....

2010-03-20T08:05:00.003-05:00

You can't make it a whole night sleeping on the floor! Last night Autumn and I camped out in the living room with some popcorn and a movie. I think around 3 am I moved to the couch, and did for a split second think of going to my bed, but alas a scared four year old wouldn't have been fun.

Spring Break has started for us and I have lots of plans for Autumn. Yesterday we stayed at home instead of going to school because Daddy's car was in the shop and I didn't want to deal with all the logistics of finding her a ride. So what does a kiddo do when stuck at home instead of out and about? Collect rolly pollys! Autumn now has a bucket home filled with soil and decaying plants full of rolly pollys on her bookcase. We shall see how long they last. The best thing is that there is no lack of rolly pollys around here!

This week we have plans to see the Dinosaurs at the Witte, the Zoo, bluebonnets, cookie decorating with friends, and who knows what else we can find to get into!

Bad Blogger!

2010-03-14T17:38:00.006-05:00

I have been a horrible blogger, so here are the past few months in review!

You had to be there to really get this picture. On a girls weekend we drove out to Lake Dunlap and rented a huge house for the weekend. Driving up one of the girls spotted this on the side of the road and couldn't stop laughing. I never saw it when I drove up, so when we went out to dinner she slowed down so we could see it. I so thought it was a perfect place for pictures, so after dinner we had a blast taking pictures. The woman who owned the property came out to see what we were doing and we assured her that we were not crazy teenagers, just a bunch of mom's away from the kiddos!

Family picture at the inlaws house! We had a blast playing in the snow!

Can you tell she loves the winter weather!

It didn't take to long before Autumn figured out how to ride this.

Super fast daddy ride! (the house is on an incline so you can sled down to the water.

Febuary rolled around in time for someone's 4th birthday! I couldn't resist a picture of her with all the stuff she recieved! My goodness what a spoiled little child. She did get rid of toys to make room, so all was good.

We had Autumn's birthday at the local gym place called J and R. She invited both her classes and had a blast running around and playing on all the gym equipment. A special thanks to my friend Amber L. who took the pictures for me!

And finally birthday wishes. Instead of a huge cake, I went with cupcakes again this year. Simple and easy to clean up!

Back home again

2010-01-20T06:46:00.002-06:00

This past Saturday, we headed to Michigan for my husband's grandmother's funeral. Dave had intended to go himself and then said he knew his mom would love to see Autumn, so off we all went. :)

Other than the sad part, Autumn had a blast playing in the snow and seeing her cousins. Grandma only cried a few times when we left because Autumn didn't want to leave her Grandma.

It's crazy to see how big the kids are getting. I love getting to spend time with Dave's family since we don't see them very often.

One thing that did stand out was that the family he was always compared to ("you should be more like your cousin..etc), didn't know basic funeral etiquette. Dave and his mom, dad, sister and bil were the only ones that were dressed up for the funeral. It was weird seeing people so casual for it. Go figure. I think his grandmother would have been unhappy that the cousins weren't dressed right for church. :)

Happy Preschool Dance!

2010-01-03T22:49:00.003-06:00

Okay not really. But I hear the pounding of feet everywhere, as moms get ready for school to start tomorrow, and I am a bit happy as well, but not 100% happy.

You see, Autumn has developed what I like to call the "preschool princess" syndrome. She thinks the world revolves around her, and has no need for manners as well. I don't understand that since I know the school is big on manners and being good, but the exposure to many children who don't hear the word "no" at home on a regular basis, has come to haunt us. I see it in the hallways at pickup and drop off times when little Joe Bob and Sally Sue are having fits and mommy or daddy or even grandmother promises something in return for going to class and not fussing. HELLO out there, there is no reward for school! You go, you either have fun or not, but you don't get rewarded for doing the basic thing that most people do!

That said, Autumn has turned into a bear on wanting things here and now and there is no other answer except yes. It has taken two weeks, and finally today, she has been an angel! And now I send her off again to learn all about the dreaded "me me me" attitude. Sigh.....

The good thing is that if I am consistant at home, she will figure it out.

It's not just the attitude issues either, it's me missing spending time with her and doing whatever we want at random moments. I can say I am looking forward to Spring Break! We are planning a short tour of Texas that week and will be driving to little towns around us to visit. :)

This is how we do it!

2010-01-02T09:57:00.003-06:00

Nothing says welcome to 2010 like a lazy night at home!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2009- Out with the Old in the the New

2009-12-31T21:35:00.002-06:00

This year has seen many things:

1. Job loss and then job found!

2. Travel for funerals, and family.

3. Paying off both of our vehicles! And we didn't even go out and buy new ones after that!

4. Time spent taking care of others (love ya Michelle), and much more time spent volunteering then ever before.

5. The wedding of my brother to the wonderfuly fun and sweet Ashley!

And finally, the loss of our beloved dog Puss. After 16 fun years, he developed a large tumor that could not be taken out. He will be greatly missed.

This new year holds promise of many great things, but the one thing I am going to focus on is living in the day, not what is going to happen in the future. I am still planning to do several things this year before I turn 35, and those "future" goals are:

1. More pictures!!! And not just taking them, but sending them to family and friends!

2. A vacation with Autumn and Dave to the Happiest Place on Earth.

3. Daves 40th birthday (it's a secret since he could read this!)

4. Organize, organize, organize. I have way to much stuff!!

5. Finish all my crafty things that I haven't done, but have the stuff for (part of organizing is getting rid of things!

6. Health! Started the gym already, and plan to keep it up!!!

7. And of course Focus on my family. All to often this year I have told Autumn to go play and not bother me during one thing or another. It hit home this month, and I have made a promise that no matter what I am doing, nothing is more important than time spent with her. I don't have many years of little girl snuggles and love left, and I need to take advantage of it NOW.

Catch up with pictures!

2009-10-07T08:33:00.003-05:00

MIA

2009-09-26T09:56:00.003-05:00

Life has a funny way of moving at the speed of light.

Autumn has gotten taller and is a handful.

Autumn is now in preschool and I can see why the mommy wars start. It is your child's project, not your own......those of us that let our children do it, feel as if our child's projects look sorry next to the ones mom's helped make!

I am teaching preschool, working at our church, and taking care of a super cute little boy named Garner.

Dave is working for a new company.

We no longer have any car payments! (now I crave a new one....which means another payment!)

I have joined the Y, in the hopes of getting back into the shape I was when I met Dave.

Fall is finally arriving and I love it!

Almost a month....

2009-06-17T22:25:00.002-05:00

If ya know me, you know that life has been super crazy and busy right now. Lots of patience testing, and trials, but with God, we are chugging along! That said, I have avoided my blog for awhile...About a month to be exact. Not a good thing....

You see awhile back I got to look at some super cool cards on a neat Blog Hop and I commented on a couple that really stood out to me. I am all about simple and also complex designs when it comes to stamping and scrapping. Right now I am in my simple but classic phase. Clean lines, no crazy embellishments etc. So I loved the Thank you card over at 2H Design. Well low and behold I WON her giveaway during the hop! Only slacker in the blogging world that I have been, I didn't see her post a comment to my blog and just now noticed almost a month after the fact!

While I whined on Facebook to my friends and was super bummed, I thought I would email just in case she may have not picked another winner.........She hadn't!!! YEAH ME!!

So those of ya'll that know me, know that this couldn't come at a better time, and I am super duper happy! :)

Here kitty kitty....

2009-05-19T21:22:00.003-05:00

I have been a bad blogger! I admit it. Life has been busy, but I have remembered to take some pictures!

Autumn has been upgraded to a "big girl" bed. It is actually the bed I had when I was about her age. It has some wear and tear, but at a later point, we will strip it and refinish it, since it is almost 30 years old!!!! We took Autumn to Wally World and let her pick out her own sheets, and the result was not Tinkerbelle, but Littlest Pet Shop! Here she is in her "new" bed.

Side note about the bed....can you believe that when Dave and I were first together, we slept on this TWIN bed together! Wow!

Next on the agenda after having a new bed, was the fun of taking the cat for a walk!

How to torture the cat 101!

Haha he can't get away!

This isn't really torture since he will actually jump up in the stroller when she tells him to! :) It's the cats only saving grace that he is so great with Autumn.

The new me, and some Autumn to boot

2009-05-09T18:23:00.005-05:00

Here is munchkin finding the one lone strawberry in our patch! Alas now that Peter rabbit is gone, something else is attacking them! Blah!

Okay I HATE taking pictures of myself, but I decided to post my new do! SO here it is in all the glory, with me doing my best to do a good FGA. :)

The front...excuse the lack of lipstick on my casper white face!

And here is the back! It's all gone!

Oh my

2009-05-08T10:40:00.004-05:00

I can't seem to wake up today! Autumn has been bored, so I decided to let her paint. She loves painting and will do it every day if I let her. (I usually give in because I love painting and crafts and I am happy she is the same.) But....

never leave a 3 year old alone with her water paints....

And yes, even her teeth are a lovely blue green......

Bad games to play....

2009-05-04T19:23:00.003-05:00

I know some people are super concerned about the Flu. I feel horrible for the families in Mexico that have lost loved ones. But in times of stress I joke, it's a horrible fault I have, and it was something that my Dr. was concerned about when I lost yet another baby in September and almost died in the process. (I did tell her I already took crazy pills, she was out of luck, this was my normal!)

That said, some jokes aren't funny. I went out to do my Sunday ritual last night. I buy the paper, a Dr. Pepper that I so don't need and then I go home and cut coupons and watch the Amazing Race...yes I am getting old. As I was leaving the local Pack and Sack place, the girl that was working decided to Lysol the area I was just in, and then use some hand sanitizer.

Overkill. I mentioned it to her, and she said that she wasn't getting the swine flu! Caution is great, but damn I could smell the Lysol way over by the counter. She asked me if I knew what the swine flu stood for, and I told her that I didn't, other than it was a flu that came from pigs. Her response: Stupid W... Infected Nearly Everyone. Now the W is a slag term for a certain nationality. I was floored, and told her it wasn't funny. I think she was surprised at my response, but my husband always says that if someone tells you something that offends you, it usually means they think you are okay with it. I was NOT. You can still be funny without being Ugly...

Wanna leisurely trip to the store? Cough as ya go down the aisles! That is funny!

Want that last piece of pizza at the serve yourself pizza places? Cough and sneeze, and watch people move.

Yes I have a bad sense of humor, but I also know that life goes on, and God has a plan for me, no matter what happens. Live life, enjoy today!

PS if ya saw me last week looking flushed, it wasn't the flu....it was because I reached my Margarita limit!

Day ? -- okay not keeping track!

2009-05-03T22:46:00.003-05:00

Swine Flu panic is still around us. Autumn is going stir crazy and misses her friends. :( We have done lots of art and craft things and I have gotten so major cleaning done as well.

I think everything with this flu is over kill. Less than 30 people have died from it, but we are being warned that we are getting close to a Pandemic Level 6. Overkill.

For some reason I am having trouble getting pics up on blogger! I will post picks of Autumn tomorrow!

Day 1 --swine flu

2009-04-29T19:02:00.003-05:00

1 Margarita, 2 margarita....... Nothing like good friends and a couple of drinks to start the Pandemic of 2009! :) Here's a pic my friend Judy took of Autumn chilling at Los Cucos!

She was having fun!

We passed around the hand sanitizer and loaded up on cheap drinks!

Sad

2009-04-29T06:37:00.001-05:00

It appears that one child has died in Texas from the Swine Flu according to CNN. :(

It's gonna be a long week for some people!

2009-04-28T22:50:00.002-05:00

It's official, they have close all the schools in town. All daycares and private schools are closed as well. Good luck finding any germ X as well. Many people who need childcare are up a certain creek. It's getting wild here. The number of infected people is less than 1% of the population of Texas, and we are in a panic. Nobody has DIED from it in the States. It is scary, but we are going to drive ourselves sick with worry and tax an already taxed health care system with people freaking out about any perceived illness, that could be swine flu.

School will resume in 2 weeks or May 11th according to the news. Fun Fun Fun.

Swine Flu

2009-04-28T07:08:00.004-05:00

Ahhh I JUST started my job and I get the week off for Swine Flu! How crazy is that. It's a great excuse to catch up on cleaning, but Autumn isn't very happy to be missing school. :)

Life is getting super busy around here, but I love it. Mops is almost over and I will miss it, but I know that before I blink, August will be here again.

Autumn is more like her father every day. :) She is a little smartie pants and has a bit of an attitude. I am stuck between wanting to laugh at her behavior or pull out my hair. Laughing wins, my hair is thin enough! She has a new habit of telling you that hugs and kisses make her heart go "thump thump". It is super cute. Autumn has also become interested in babies. She loves to help me if I am holding one at one of my jobs, and she will tell you that she wants to have "two babies", and she will change their diapers, feed them bottles and share her blue blankie! :) I would love to give her what she wants, but only time and God will tell. :(

I will put some pictures up later today after my computer stops backing up. :)

Hair...here today, gone tomorrow

2009-04-25T11:36:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I trimmed Autumn's hair. I went to bed and left the scissors out. IT was a sleep in day. Dave was telling me about finding hair on the floor near the chair where I had been doing her hair. I was 100% sure I had gotten it all, then I saw the hair he had collected. I didn't trim THAT much off.....yes, she gave herself another trim.

Only I can really tell where it was at, and I am thanking God that she has curly hair that hides accidents like that!! Sigh, I swear I didn't think she would do this until she was at least 5.

Many things

2009-04-22T11:23:00.003-05:00

Oliver came home! Yeah!

I started another job! (double yeah) I love working with kiddo's!

Our car was leaking gas, and we found out it was abut an 800$ repair, but....car dealer said that it was still covered under warranty! (super double triple yeah!)

And on the bad side:

My heart is breaking for my bestfriend and her 12 year old daughter. "Issa" as my daughter calls her, lost her father on Monday. He was involved in a horrible car accident in Utah on I-15. He leaves behind several children, and a wife and step-children. I can't imagine what his oldest daughter is going through, and I know it brings back bad memories for her mom (she lost her own mom in a car accident about 6 years ago). Please keep them in your prayers if you read this blog, I know "Issa" isn't going to really have it hit home until the funeral and then she will need so much support. I am super happy that she is close to her stepfather and will be able to lean on him.

Oliver oh Oliver

2009-04-15T07:34:00.003-05:00

We have two cats. I can't find one. :( He got out the other day when Autumn opened the door, and she didn't tell us until much later. :( So if ya live near County Line and see this handsome fellow, give me a call!

Oliver is the one of the right:

Late late night

2009-04-07T22:42:00.002-05:00

I had a bible study tonight that ended later than I was expecting. I felt bad for the nursery workers, but Autumn was in a great mood when I picked her up! :)

Today has been one of those days where ya want to offer your child up for sale on Facebook, but worry that someone will think you are serious! :) My day went as follows:

(Autumn's actions are in brackets)

" Autumn don't touch the table, it has cleaner on it"
(look at mommy, and then touch table)
"Autumn I said NO"

"Autumn, mommy is moping the floor, it is slippery, please don't step on it"
(runs across floor to other side and laughs "haha hehe")
"Don't make me spank you!"
(haha hehe)

"Sweetie, please pick up your shoes"
(NO NO NO)

"Autumn, you are quiet, what are you doing?"
(hiding behind chair with Mommy's gum from her purse, and upon seeing mommy shoving the rest of it in her mouth)
"SPIT IT OUT"
(yummy mommy!!)

And then to end it all, I get the house moderately cleaned up, and Dave gets home (after I called and told him he was doing dinner and I was napping before class), and Autumn proceeds to point out the "pretty" house, and how she helped.

I swear my jaw dropped at the total 180 she did when he walked in the door. :) She must get it from my thespian side. She executed, the "perfect little angel" character without flaw. Blahhhhhh

I hope tomorrow is better!

More Blog Candy!

2009-04-05T13:51:00.003-05:00

I was cruising 2 Peas and found a blog with a great giveaway! Check out TwoSheep Greetings to find out what I am talking about.

While you are there, check out her stuff, she has some super cute cards, and makes me crave some more Papertrey stuff! Easter can't get here soon enough, I need a no limit credit card, and some time in my fav scrapbooks stores in order to get all the stuff I have wanted during Lent! :)

Bluebonnets

2009-04-03T22:03:00.003-05:00

Today was a super busy day! I am a bit bummed because we missed out on the park, but I had so many things to get done, and I didn't gage my time frames right. :( It was the perfect day for the park, and Autumn loves to play with her friends.

The good news was that we got to take some bluebonnet pictures with friends! I was super worried that we wouldn't get any since there are almost no flowers around because of the drought, but Johnson Furniture had a small patch that was perfect! I was super happy that one of the owners was gracious enough to let people take pictures on their property!

And for fun, a cute pic of one of our crazy cats!

Yummy Blog Candy

2009-03-30T14:24:00.002-05:00

Okay, ya'll know I don't blog about other blogs very often, but, and that is a big butt, over at My Corner of The Studio She is giving away some super Scrapbooking goodness from K&Co!! Check it out, and check out her blog as well.

Yes I am so going through withdrawl from buying scrapbook supplies....and the worse thing yet, is that I am discovering new crafts to do.

Monday Blahhs

2009-03-30T07:54:00.004-05:00

I think everyone in the house is in a funk. I took an almost 3 hour nap yesterday and woke up feeling like crude. I am not sick, just in a weird mood. :( Tonight I have a meeting for work, and I need to get the house clean, but all I wanna do is veg and do crafty things. :) Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

Flying her new kite!

Isn't is beeeeaaauuutiful! :) Daddy picked it out and brought it home on Friday instead of flowers for her.

In the bathtub! I wanted to show everyone how long her hair really is. I tried to catch it right after pouring water on it, but I couldn't get it. It is a bit longer, but as you can tell it was already starting to curl.

We wanted to hit Austin for the Botanical Garden fair that was going on this weekend, but Dave wasn't up to it. :( I did tell him that come h-e-double hockey sticks or high water, we are doing the Butterfly Festival in Wimberly on the 18th, and I want to go to Poteet for the Strawberry Festival as well. :) Gotta love that Strawberry wine!

Poop Face

2009-03-28T09:49:00.002-05:00

Autumn is in love with the song "poker face" by Lady GaGa. That said, Dave once told her that when she goes potty she should make her "poop" face. I can't get that song out of my head now, and its with the wrong words at that! :)

Anyways, back to the poop. Daddy bought some Twizzlers yesterday and Autumn found them this morning. He said she couldn't have them, so she went to the bathroom and went potty and came back out and told him she wanted candy for going potty. I told her she could only get them if she went poop. You guessed it. She went to the bathroom, showed me her "poop" face, and told me to leave her alone so she could go potty. A minute later she calls to us all excited that she has gone poop. Yes, she went poop, the tinniest little bit she could squeeze out. I bet she almost busted a blood vein to do it. So I am torn between giving her the candy, and telling her that she really has to go to get it. I mean come on, she has conned us big time with that. (Oh yes she is like her daddy!!) We finally agreed to give her some candy, and Dave in his infinite wisdom (ie, he knows how to play the game), let her take a piece out of the bag, but only after he had torn it into a third.....

You must be smarter than the 3 year old....

Sleep where art thou?

2009-03-27T07:55:00.002-05:00

Please tell me the "I wanna stay up"..till after 9:30 phase will end soon. Especially when it is followed by the "mommmmmmmyyyy UP" comments before the sun has a chance to shine. Ugh Mommy needs her sleep.

I don't know what is up with this child. She gets up way to early and goes to bed way to late. First thing this morning she was talking about "hopping" because I told her we would go to Playnastics today. Sigh. She remembers everything!

Funk

2009-03-24T23:17:00.002-05:00

I am in a weird mood tonight. Can't sleep, couldn't even sit and watch Twilight without losing interest. I watched "What would you do?" on ABC and started bawling when they did a follow up on the wonderful woman (Linda Hamilton) that stopped to render any aid she could to a man on the street that everyone else ignored. If anyone missed it, she is a homeless woman who is a true example of angels that walk among us.

April is almost here and it's putting me in a bigger funk. I can't understand why after all this time, I would be this affected by things in my life. I roll with the punches, show little emotion, and yet I find myself snapping at Autumn, and being short tempered. (that in itself makes no sense at all, and I know she wonders what is up with mommy) I don't know what I want, but I do want to stop being so weepy. It's not like I am some uncaring person, but life gets in the way of being able to dwell on things. Isn't that the point, we have to move on, or we go crazy. I am a strong person, and have always been strong (well not that physically, since Dave will tell ya I am a wimp haha), but lately I let myself get upset of such little things. I don't know why.

I have found my mind wandering so much that I swear I am going to make Dave stay home one day this week, and get so rip roaring drunk that I pass out and sleep for a day. Maybe that is what I need, some good uninterrupted sleep.

Missing friends

2009-03-24T06:29:00.004-05:00

I am kinda bummed today. I haven't talked to my friend Kelly since last Thursday. I know she went out of town to spend time with her hubby, and I HATE to call and interrupt that time since he has been traveling ALOT lately, but it's such a bummer not to get to chit chat. :)

Yesterday we went to the park and had a BLAST. Autumn loves to ride the train, and let's face it, it's the cheapest entertainment in town.

We also had a picnic in the park! And boy are those squirrels super friendly! One came up and took a part of Autumn's ants on a log. If I had let her, she would have fed it by hand, but alas, to many germs in those critters!

And of course the park is only fun if ya get to hit the playground!

And here are a few pictures from the last few days. One is of Autumn painting her St. Paddy's day shirt, and the other is finger painting butterflies!

Butterflies and cookies

2009-03-18T14:01:00.002-05:00

Today since I was feeling 100% better, Autumn and I headed to church for Lenten Lunch and CVS for some stuff. After lunch, Ms. Autumn saw that there were cookies leftover from the lunch and wanted one so I told her she could have once since she had eaten all her lunch. As we headed out she saw some butterflies in the school area that the kids had decorated and couldn't stop commenting on them. Soooo when we got home I cut some butterflies out of construction paper, spread a plastic cloth on the table, and squirted fingerpaint on it. She had a blast. We used some glitter glue and she was even happier! This is the reason I love having crafty things at home. I can always do something artsy with her at the drop of a hat, and she has a blast at it. As soon as I get off my lazy behind I will post some catchup pictures!

Bummer day

2009-03-17T12:49:00.003-05:00

It started last night......the burps that were bad....the constant runs to the bathroom....I so didn't eat something good. It seems that Autumn and Dave were spared, which is weird since we had the same things. I ended up calling into work today because of it, and what makes me mad is that I slaved over a super cute shirt for Autumn to wear for St. Paddy's Day and now only me and daddy get to see it today.

To add insult to injury, Autumn got up at 4:00 am and would not go back to bed. We finally gave up at 5 and got out of bed. Add mommy not feeling good to the mix and it has been a blah morning. Thankfully someone crashed at about 10:20 and I was able to get some more sleep. Sigh.

Baby it's cold....outside!

2009-03-13T05:53:00.002-05:00

Brrr!!! I know my northern friends will laugh, but it was 45 last night when I was getting off of work, and even with a long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, jeans, and my warm fuzzy socks, I was still COLD!! We turned the heat on last night, after having the air on just a couple days ago. Gotta love that Texas weather.

The best thing to do on a cold day and a cold night is to snuggle up and just relax. Someone please tell my dd that getting up at 5 am is not a cool thing to do!!

Rain Rain...please stay

2009-03-12T08:11:00.002-05:00

Yes, it is finally raining! I don't know how long it has been since we had some real rain, but sometime last night it started, and it is still going. We are in desperate need of rain. On the Autumn front, she has been having so much fun with her friends. We really need to get to know more people in our neighborhood that she can play with everyday. I know she is going to love it when she starts school.

Yesterday, we had some friends over for a St. Paddy's Day cookie decorating party. The kids had a blast, and mom's and one dad had fun decorating the cookies as well. We were missing a few of the group, so with one of the girls I decorated a few for her and took them to our Lenten Lunch in the afternoon. :)

After the party/decorating get together, we all headed over to church for lunch. I had so much fun yesterday. I love days like that when I can hang out with friends and enjoy their company, it always puts me in the best of moods. I sometimes can't believe how many wonderful friends I have made here.

I wanna grow high...

2009-03-09T11:33:00.002-05:00

Today while shopping at Target, I was looking at more panties for Autumn since her's are getting to small. I looked at the back and from the size chart according to the company, she wears a 6. NO! I will not have my 3 year old that big. I will concede that she needs maybe a five, she is 39 lbs, and very tall, so I know that the 6's will be to big...at least I hope. :) I told her she wasn't allowed to get any bigger. She looked at me and told me " I wanna grow high, go to school, and ride the school bus". I told her she was always gonna be my little girl and she said "it's otay mama". Sigh....she is getting so big.

Children's Museum

2009-02-27T19:37:00.001-06:00

Today we spent some time at the local resale shop and then headed to lunch at Panda Express with friends, and then the Museum! Autumn had so much fun! I seriously need to see about getting a membership. We could spend hours there! I had just as much fun as she did! As soon as I can, I will post pictures!

"it's otay"

2009-02-23T10:34:00.002-06:00

Autumn is talking more and more each day. Her fav thing to say when we get upset with her is that "it's otay", as she caresses our arms. :) She is a stinker.

Speaking of being a stinker, the other night I had a much anticipated Mommy's Night out with some friends. When my friend Kelly showed up she said she had some bad news for me. Seems her husband also took their munchkin to McD's for dinner and ran into Dave and Autumn leaving. Someone had an accident.

When I got home from dinner I told Dave I was sorry he had a bad time, and that I knew what had happened. He told me I had no idea, and to wait a minute while he got Autumn in bed and he would tell me. Seems that Autumn had to go, but both bathrooms were taken. He finally got her in after telling her to hold it, and it was way to late. She had a nasty blow out and it wasn't pretty. Normally not a problem, as I packed up a spare outfit and even extra socks and shoes! But alas, since she had already gone poopy earlier, I figured I didn't need to include wipes. Yupe, no wipes, and all he had was the tissue thin stuff that McD's thinks passes for TP. :(

His parting words as he went to work on the computer..." never again.."

Sunday morning, Kelly told me that she knew it must have been bad because her husband said that when he took their son to the bathroom he saw the underwear in the trash. :) Lord help us get through these days!! :)

More updates later, and more pictures when I get the chance!

I don't know, but I've been told.....

2009-02-17T12:07:00.002-06:00

...Steffie eats High Pro Glow....

Doesn't make sense does it? When I was younger, my sister, myself and my father used to go jogging every night for about two miles. My Dad was in the Army and used to sing cadences to keep us going. I made one up that was a bit mean towards my sister, it insinuated that she ate dog food. Life has come full circle.

I came home from work today and fixed lunch for Autumn and me. I was almost out of ham and didn't want to wait for the stuff in the freezer to defrost so I decided to eat one of the instant meals I bought for Dave (yes I had a coupon). As I was making Autumn's lunch I had a Hormel Completes Home style Beef with Mashed Potatoes & Gravy meal in the microwave, cooking away for me to eat.

It smelled okay when I opened it, but I was in for a surprise. The putty errr mashed potatoes was a glob of semi hardness surrounded by gravy. It tastes NASTY, and the meat, could honestly taste like dog food for all I know. It was horrid. So I shall have to resort to Girl Scout cookies for lunch, and I am so trashing the other meals I purchased as well, because there is no way in hell I would donate them to the food bank. I can't insult people that are down on their luck, by sending dog food disguised as human food.

Where has the time gone??

2009-02-12T08:00:00.006-06:00

It's been awhile since I have blogged ( that seems to be a trend). We have been busy around the house and just living life. Autumn has turned 3, Daddy has also had a birthday, and mommy is rolling in online winnings! :)

Here are a few pics of the last few days/weeks!

A cute hairstyle that I found!

The Tutu that I won and blogged about:

The birthday girl and her birthday outfit that mommy made:

Yummy birthday cake!

Ohhh what could be in the box???

Why is is the amazing necklace that I won from PlanetJill, on a giveaway from: Midwestern Mommy!

Yummy goodness from Bakerella!

Valentines Party fun! (she loves licking the icing!!!)

This is how we have been the last few days. We are also going diaper free. We do wear them for nap and bed, but the rest of the day we are in undies. We have had a few accidents, but for the most part, we are doing a great job. We told Autumn when she turned three that there were no more diapers! :) Now we just need to get Daddy on board!

It's 5 o'clock somwhere..

2009-01-27T06:31:00.002-06:00

Is 6:30 am to early to start drinking? :) I am tired, and the day hasn't started yet. Around 8:45 we will head to work, then come home around 12:00 and then head back out at 1:30. I'll get home in time to get dinner ready, and then housework. Tuesdays kinda stink. :)

We had our MOPS meeting last night. I love all the women there, but sometimes I want to pull out my hair. You can't please everyone all of the time, and the constant concern about offending anyone is annoying. I think I lost my "I am a woman" badge last night, because I was frustrated with the whole idea of it, and at home Dave said I sounded like a man. Who gives a flying *^^O!@ if someone gets offended. Not that I advocate upsetting people for fun, but to avoid doing something informative in the off chance that one person might be upset by it, is just plain silly. All the PC, kumbaya, life should be fair is frustrating me.

It's all about perception. I could say I hate the stand up in a circle and let someone blow out a candle that is expecting game. Yet another reminder that I only have one child. So should we get rid of it? Not at all, it is neat to try and guess who is going to have a baby, and I get excited for the new moms. That is MY personality, but others in my situation would most likely be upset and offended by the constant reminder. We CHOOSE to let things offend us. Who in the group might benefit from something we decided not to do, lest it offend one member.

Okay enough rambling, especially when it is pre-coffee rambling!

Fun day

2009-01-25T22:30:00.003-06:00

Today was long, but fun. I had to work at church this morning, so I headed out with Autumn at 8:30. She went to Sunday school, I worked in the nursery. I popped into the Church around 10:25 to catch the video that a friend did on why bad things happen to good people. It was a great video, even if my face is HUGE on film.

After work, we had a Pastor Appreciation lunch, so we stayed for that and then spent some time on the playground with the kiddo's playing. It was so nice to spend that time with my friends, we never seem to get a chance to all hang out together.

Later this evening I went back to work for the Adult Fun night. They were doing game night, and since Dave didn't want to go, I was willing to work instead. We had a full house, but it wasn't bad at all. I love the kiddo's, they are so funny to watch. I even brought dessert. Not for me, but for my friend Kelly. She had said she wanted cake when I told her I made one for Dave, so with the extra batter I made a sheet cake and wrote "Just Because" on it. :) I am glad she liked it. I hope it tasted good.

Dave and Autumn had a "Daddy and me" night with a trip to McD.'s and some fun on the playground. I had to laugh when he told me that there were older kids there, and that the parents were not paying attention and Autumn got plowed into. He told her she was okay, but when he was telling me the story I could tell he was upset at the parents for letting such old kids play on the thing. (He sounds so much like a mommy!!) hehehe

Tomorrow is " catch up on cleaning" day, and craft time with Autumn. I also have a meeting to go to and my lovely Dr. appointment. UGH. :)

Mommy up!

2009-01-24T08:23:00.002-06:00

It's the little things. Every Saturday I get to sleep in. Dave gets up with Autumn, and I get to sleep. Not today (well I did get to sleep till 7:30 so I kinda did sleep in).

My sister gave me a cute key chain of a little orange bug ( the car), and I thought that putting a key on it for Autumn would be a good idea. Now Autumn would have her own keys, and stop taking ours. It worked! But now little miss thinks that she can open anything with that key. And today she was lucky.

I woke up to someone messing with the door. It can be locked from the inside, and when Dave got up he locked it so I could sleep without interruption. The noise went on for maybe a minute and a half. And then it happened....the door opened, and a little voice called out "Mommy up!". Then the little body hurled itself onto my bed and kissed me to "wake" me up. :) I couldn't get mad, it was way to funny. So sometime today, we think that little key chain is going to disappear! It will be hard, because as Dave was taking her out of the room it was on the bed and she had a fit that her "keys" were not in her hand. :) Oh what will she figure out next?

Bad blogger!

2009-01-22T13:08:00.003-06:00

It's been awhile since I have updated! (this is becoming a trend, maybe it has to do with me trying to keep New Year's resolutions.....no more time to chill on the computer).

We have had a busy couple of days. I am working more hours (yeah me), and Autumn has been fighting some fierce allergies and an ear infection! She has never had one, and all of a sudden the other night she started saying her ear hurt. Out of the blue, I took her temp and nothing, so I wondered if it was the start of one. Took her to the Dr. first thing the next day, and noticed she had drainage coming out of her ear. Dr. couldn't see a hole, but because of the fluid, he wants it treated as an eardrum rupture, as well as a super bad infection. :( My poor little baby. No wonder she was screaming. It must have hurt like the dickens. I felt bad because he had asked if it had been bothering her, but she had no complaints till that night! It's almost as if he felt I had ignored her, and let it get that bad...grrrr No fever, no pain comments, how was I suppose to know? Heck if her nose hurts from allergies I get to hear all about it. She knows to tell me when something hurts, it just didn't hurt till that night.

Dave just had another birthday! He is now 38 *gasp*, where has the time gone. I am taking him to PF Changs this weekend, and making him a cake. :) He doesn't want presents, and keeps telling me he has everything he needs. He comes off as such a hard ass sometimes, but he is a huge softie, I know this because last year I made a list of 100 things that make me love him for a card, and I was looking for some paper work in his desk, and he had it saved. This is the man that throws everything out. Mr. Anti Clutter! I figure Autumn and I will do a cute card for him as well, and a nice back rub. :)

This weekend, I will sit down and blog more, we have a full weekend ahead of us, but that's what makes life fun!

Updating!

2009-01-14T07:42:00.003-06:00

Okay I have been the queen slacker of blog posters this past week! I have been on a roll doing house things, and with my added issues of perfectionism, my house gets trashed before it gets better! The good news is that I am getting a ton done, the bad is that my blogging falls to the wayside!

This year I am doing Project 365. The idea is to take a picture everyday of the year. My focus is on me, my life, etc. So I have an eclectic assortment of pictures already. :) My latest was from the other day:

Yes, the kitty is looking at it's tail. Dave and Autumn were playing and the poor kitty suffered damage from it. Like any good mommy, the kitty went to the animal hospital, and the "Dr." *cough* "Mommy" fixed him up. I wish I had taken a picture of her holding him after he was repaired, and being a good little nurse to him.

A dorky pic of me! I was trying to do the FGA that my friend Amy was talking about, I think I did a pretty good job! (and yes those are pigtails..hehe)
The elusive hubby. He hates when I take random shots, but we were playing with Autumn and I snapped this one, it's a bit blurry, but as I read somewhere online: "The best moments in life aren't always in focus."

Fishies!

2009-01-07T06:51:00.003-06:00

Very early yesterday morning, Autumn and I joined Dave for a work trip to Corpus Christi. God has a way of telling us when we might want to rethink our plans though!

The morning started out pretty good, I was in a good mood getting up that early, after going to bed at midnight because at the last moment I decided that Miss. Thing needed some hair bows to match her outfit for the next day. I went outside to put the car seat in Dave's car and it was raining! But this is Texas, not a big deal, plus we were going to the coast and I was sure it would clear up (it did). We finally had everything ready to go and while taking Ms. Thing to the car, I managed to do some funky slip move and watched as my coffee in slow motion went flying into the car. Yes, a full cup of coffee went into the car. My coffee cup lid had managed to slip off and now there is coffee on the ceiling of the car and all over the seats and floor. Daddy was not happy, but I pointed out that now it smells like yummy coffee. Guess who is cleaning the car today....

After our little incident, we headed out. Had to get gas, and Dave used his corporate card since it was a business trip. At the gas station, we found out that the zip code changed for the billing address so he couldn't pay at the pump. He had to run in and show his ID. Good security measure, but not good when you are now running late to meet your boss.

Things went smoothly when we met up with his boss to switch vehicles. (he has a cast from surgery and wanted to take his truck) Off we went. It was a good ride, Autumn crashed, I took a bit of a morning nap, and we made it to the Naval Base with lots of time to spare. Autumn and I took the truck and headed off to find the Aquarium and have some fun.

Here is Autumn sticking her head in a viewer:

And here we are with our dolphin friend. We caught the trainers practicing with the dolphins and Autumn wanted to do the hand motions to make them move after the girls had left!

The place was empty except for us, so Autumn spent alot of time playing the the touch pool. She loved the little crabs.

Looking at a "high" (big) fishy, and some nurse sharks.

We had a blast, and I can't wait to take her back! We didn't get a chance to hit the beach, so we will save that for next time.

Tutu! I'm a winner :)

2009-01-06T21:39:00.003-06:00

So I found this cute blog the other day The Fairy Tale Boutique and entered the contest for the tutu.

Some of you may have heard my grips and groans about trying to make a tutu, and how I failed miserably at it. I still have the tulle, but I think it is useless now after all the damage I did to it. So My little princess has had no tutu because mom just gave up. And now this!

I won! :) I am so excited. Not only that, but for all you who are terrible jealous (I would be), she has an Etsy shop as well, so check it out and if ya need a tutu, she can do them in the color of your choice, and she has other things like hair bows and wall art.

Starting Early

2009-01-01T16:39:00.006-06:00

Last night we started New Year's at 7:30. Autumn has a bedtime of 8:30 and we wanted to make sure she had a bit of fun as well. We even had some "champagne". Gotta love sparkling white grape juice! Autumn was so excited to have a "mini" party. Here are just a few pics of the night:

A family photo in front of the tree

Autumn with her bubbly!

After munchkin hit the sheets, I scrapped a bit with a friend and then Dave and I toasted in the New Year with some wine and just chilled. I think I crashed about an hour after the ball dropped. Not once did I miss the wild crazy bar nights for New Year's. :) I wanted my zzzzzz's!!

Now to start working on my resolutions and get the house in order!! :)

Cool giveaway!

2008-12-31T08:19:00.002-06:00

I am a sucker for giveaways, and not only that, I am a sucker for giveaways from blogs that I find on my friends pages (judy) . That said, SassyFrazz is hosting a giveaway for your very own box of Personalized Fruit Rollups! What better way to celebrate a party. And imagine how happy parents will be with a party favor that gets eaten and then thrown away instead of all the little toys that are always in treat bags! :) Check it out, and check out the blog as well.

New Year's wishes and goals

2008-12-29T21:08:00.003-06:00

It is hard to believe that Christmas is over, and the New Year is right around the corner. Looking back at this year, I am happy at what I have done, and how my life is going. I couldn't say that a year ago. We have had some wild rides this past year:

1. Autumn entering the terrible two's!

2. My brother getting married

3. My best friend getting married as well.

4. My sister in law giving birth to an adorable little girl!

5. An amazing time spent with my friends here! (from birthday's to shopping trip, and a cookie decorating party or two)

6. Losing Autumn at a restaurant!!!!! (it's amazing I don't have a grey hair)

7. Autumn learning to ride a bike.

8. The start of potty training.

9. Adopting a new kitty (that Dave hates! :) but only because it has messed up the furniture)

10. Finally getting better at being organized!

11. Weekly trips to the library.

12. Directing a children's ministry at Church that lasted 10 weeks. (Though VBS is much harder! -- and NO I will not be running that)

13. Finding out that losing 11 units of blood is a bad thing. As well as suffering the loss of another pregnancy.

14. Learned that God will send us messages, and if we don't listen, he WILL get louder.

15. Many, many trips to see family and friends (my poor truck and car and getting up there in miles and I JUST got the car darn it)

This year has been crazy busy, but well worth it. I have made new friends, reconnected with old ones, and worked harder at keeping the ones that I have (yes, you can be a bad friend). I have a deeper and closer relationship with my amazing husband, and I fall deeper in love with Autumn every day.

Looking back I would not change a single thing.

Looking forward, I see many fun things ahead. Paying off both cars in the next year, will be a HUGE thing! :) Autumn turning three, and many other things that only God knows are in store for us.

My goals for next year, are to live life to the fullest, have no regrets, do even more crafty things for myself, my friends and my family, and become the queen of saving! :) (it's a game for me, I love getting a good deal, but I KNOW I can get even better at it)

My wish for next year: That everyone I hold near and dear to my heart, will have a safe, prosperous, and productive New Year

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T00:15:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas!

Giveaway goodness!!

2008-12-21T18:18:00.002-06:00

One of the websites that I hang around is having an amazing giveaway! Check it out : Life as Lou And while you are there, look at some of the amazing stuff she does. I love her layouts! :) And I wanna find the time to make the things she does, I mean hello! She has two kiddlets (one on the way) and just moved her family, minus a hubby (military). Where does she find the time!!!!

Just call me stupid...

2008-12-20T12:19:00.002-06:00

I had a great night last night. We dropped Autumn off at PNO and went to dinner and a movie (Four Christmas's (LOVED IT)). We got home, chilled and went to bed. Dave let me sleep in today, it was great, until I woke up at 8:45 and freaked out. I work today, I was sure I worked today. I jumped out of bed, and raced around getting dressed to get to the church. Yeah....... no Christmas Cantata practice today, because it was LAST week! :) And yes I was there to work it! :) Sigh......so much for sleeping in.

Cookies and Santa

2008-12-18T21:35:00.008-06:00

We had friends over the other day to decorate cookies! I went a bit overboard with the amount I made, but that is okay. I am going to take them to church to hand out on Christmas Eve. :) My friend Amber reminded me about that, and I figure that is a great idea. (plus according to one friend, my cookies rock)

I need to get good coloring for the icing since everything was more pastel than I would have liked (these are the ones I had fun decorating):

Autumn with her first cookie of the day:

Sprinkles, Sprinkles everywere...... even on the floor! Before we decorated, the munchkins managed to pilfer the jar of sprinkles pictured below and were sprinkling them on Jade's stuffed lovey, as well as the carpet! :)

And here we are waiting to get into the Santa Villiage at Canyon Lake:

And finally SANTA! Autumn loves Santa, and talks about him all the time. The other night our old neighbor came over and when she knocked on the door, Autumn started calling out "Santa". The picture we paid for is even cuter than the one I took. She has the biggest smile on her face and told Santa she wanted a doll house for Christmas. The photographer, his wife, and Santa had a blast with her. :) My little charmer was working her magic. Santa even gave her a blow pop instead of the dum dums that he was handing out.

There was also a fishing pond where Autumn snagged a huge chocolate bar! And she adopted a kitty doll, made a jingle bell necklace, as well as got a book from the library. It was a great night for her. I can't believe we have missed this gem of an event!

Busy Bee

2008-12-15T18:49:00.008-06:00

It's been a crazy couple of days! We decorated our gingerbread house, went to the Cantata, did pictures downtown and several other holiday things! And peppermint ice cream is super easy to make!

Here are a few pictures of our adventures:

Mommy did the icing. Next year I will let her do it!

Even daddy got in on the action.

"One candy for the house, one for me."

And the end result............

Autumn had a blast decorating the house. She did great sticking the candies on, and didn't eat to many of them. I can't wait for next year.

We took lights downtown this year as well (thanks for doing the group one of us Jolene!) Autumn had a blast running around and seeing her "tree" (the big one downtown).

Wheeeew...

2008-12-11T15:27:00.002-06:00

So far today I have:

1. made cheesecake for tonight
2. vacuumed the floor
3. sliced apples for the chocolate fountain
4. cashed in a bunch of coins at the bank (my purse was way to heavy)
5. put away the dishes, and cleaned the kitchen
6. dragged out decorations for tonight
7. finished some Christmas cards
8. wrapped my gift for our gift exchange tonight
9. did laundry
10. cleaned the living room

Now I am chillin...at least until 5! Then I get to go to our meeting and decorate the table and set things up. I also need to get more cards made sometime tonight. I didn't finish the two blankets I wanted to bring in either! Blahhh. I have started Autumn's pants, so I hope to have them sewed by this weekend. I would sleep in all day Saturday, but alas...I work!

Symbols of Christmas

2008-12-11T07:07:00.002-06:00

Yesterday throughout the day, Autumn and I talked about all the symbols of Christmas. She has totally grabbed onto the tree idea, but also started to understand the star. She has an interest in the three wise men as well. I wish I was able to find some children's books on the symbols, but that provided to be a bit difficult, so I turned to the net like any other Generation x-er! :) We are going to do the gingerbread this weekend so that daddy can help us with it. I had visions of making the gingerbread from scratch, and getting all the candy, when I realized that it was gonna be way to expensive that way. A nine dollar kit is the way to go!

Last night I decided that I don't do enough for myself (big surprise), and I wanted my nails done. I know how to do nails, I can actually do the fake ones if I feel like it (hate the smell though), but last night all I wanted was some color. I painstakingly painted them a beautiful red. Waited the required time, tapped them together to see if they clicked (learned that trick from a salon owner), and then went to bed. YUPE ya guessed it, they have a lovely pattern from my bedsheets. UGH.

Money vent

2008-12-09T20:42:00.002-06:00

I work at my church. It's not alot of money, but it helps with some extras. Money is tight at our church this year, giving is down, and expenses are up. That is going on around the country. For the first time in awhile we are running the church in a deficit. (using money from savings etc)

Some members of finance think that we should nix the nursery. Why pay when we can get volunteers? Not going to work. It is an easy and hard job at the same time. And honestly I give enough of my time at church right now, so I wouldn't volunteer. And several others would have to find jobs elsewhere, because they depend on the income from it.

So why does our church waste so much money? It bothers me to no end that we had a beautiful fence put in to hide the air conditioners, and someone didn't like them, so they were removed! (hello! we paid to have it done!!!) Then we got a fryer for the kitchen. Good idea, IF we could use it! Something about safety, training and other excuses on why we couldn't use it. I don't think it has been used more than twice. And that leads me to tonight....

Our Finance committee requested childcare. NOBODY came. I get paid for two hours, the other worker gets paid for two hours, and we had no children to watch. IF money is such a huge issue, why on earth wouldn't groups that need childcare be more diligent in making sure it was needed. They wasted at least around 60.00 tonight, and that adds up over the year, not just with them, but when other groups don't show. Sigh.

I wish someone would sit down for a meeting and layout all the waste that has gone on in the past year.....

My Christmas List

2008-12-08T17:26:00.002-06:00

It's silly to post, but maybe a certain person will get some idea's:

1. New perfume (another bottle of Butterfly by Hanna Mori)
2. Some more cartridges for my Cricut (holiday or alphabets)
3. Gift Card to Hobby Lobby (insures it is spent on me and not Autumn)
4. Bath and Body antibacterial foam soap pumps (love orange, vanilla)
5. Any kind of Dragonfly item. :) Ornaments for my tree would rock

A simple list, but some things are kinda extravagant! :)

Lots o' fun

2008-12-08T16:36:00.003-06:00

I've been a bad blogger! This past week, we went to look at Christmas lights, and we went to our church's La Posada. Autumn had a blast! We have all been kinda sick feeling lately, and while I think it is just bad allergies, Dave is heading to the Dr. on Friday to see what the deal is. I have no pictures yet, but will get some up in awhile.

A shopping we will go...or not

2008-12-04T21:02:00.005-06:00

I must confess, today's activity was shopping for gifts, and we already did that. :) Autumn picked out gifts for my mom and her daddy. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces. ha ha So today we did some decorating around the house. She helped me hang a handmade banner for Christmas that I did on a message board called: Two Peas in a Bucket Here are some pictures of it.

Obsession

2008-12-04T16:44:00.003-06:00

And no, not the song by Animotion!

There is a giveaway over at : Maple Lane check it out! I have a thing for aprons right now, and this one is sooo pretty!

Ornaments

2008-12-03T19:08:00.005-06:00

Another simple activity today! Since Autumn is a bit young to do to many things (scissors, paint), we stuck to paper ornaments with crayons and glitter glue! :) She gets so darn excited about doing her crafts. Later on we are doing a glass ornament one, but that is one that I am doing with her fingerprints, and she only has to do the prints (no glass handling!).

Glitter glue is so much easier to clean up than the glitter was!

Hanging out to dry and then they will hang on her tree. I think I am going to try and laminate them so that they last longer.

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree....

2008-12-02T19:46:00.005-06:00

I wasn't sure we were going to get this done today. It's not a huge undertaking, since Autumn's tree only has lights and pink balls on it. But I had lots of errands and then I worked tonight. Lucky for me, work was a No Show, so I got my hours and got home before bedtime! Here is Autumn putting her tree together:

And excuse the messy room! It's a constant struggle! :)

Busy Busy busy

2008-12-01T22:59:00.005-06:00

We are back from our fun trip to Dallas! I miss it already, and miss my friend even more. I love that Autumn has her buddies to play with, and I can just hang and chill. And even better, is the great cooking! (and I don't have to do it!) I hope I can get back up before Christmas!

Today we started our 25 Days of Christmas in our house. Before dinner I got out some craft supplies and printed some cards out that had some cute graphics on them, and let Autumn have some fun. Here she is enjoying her craft time:

And yes, that is glitter she is playing with in this one!

We have many more activities planned for this month! I can't wait.

Honey....it's your turn!

2008-11-29T16:52:00.002-06:00

Prunes, Prunes the magical dried fruit, the more you eat the more you..........

Oh my God what was I thinking when I fed her those things! The good news, is that I am *SURE* that the magnet is gone. While I didn't hunt for it, I can't see how it is still there. YUCK!

Check out my other blog! At 5:00 pm today the first post will be up! It has ideas on things to do for the 25 days leading up to the birth of Christ (or Christmas!).

Ya don't have to do everything, some aren't good for little kids, but the idea is to stretch the season out and enjoy spending time with our loved ones! :)

Craft Supplies....who knew?

2008-11-25T17:40:00.002-06:00

Marbles with flat backs from Walmart 4.99 (large bag)

Decorative paper for underside .59

E6000 glue 3.49

Magnets 2.50

x-ray to find out just how much magnet is in your child 20.00

Daughter still alive: Priceless

Turkey Countdown

2008-11-23T18:41:00.003-06:00

In just a few days we will be heading to Dallas to hang out with our friends for the holiday. I am so looking forward to it. :) Autumn loves to hang out with the kiddo's and picks a lot up being around the older kids. I wish I was doing more though. My friend (she is a feeder: the kind of person that loves to make food for her family and friends and even strangers!) has already purchased all the food items and will be cooking before we get there!!! I am regulated to bringing paper goods and drinks, along with my sewing machine. :) You see, when I visit, we ALWAYS do a craft. It has become a tradition! :)

Today I worked at Church, and then they had a potluck Thanksgiving lunch thing. It was nice to sit and chat with friends. And any chance to get turkey has me a happy camper! (Judy the Pumpkin Pound Cake was great!!)

Now to get finished with house cleaning! Blah

Breakfast with Santa

2008-11-22T16:07:00.006-06:00

This morning after going to bed at 2:00 am (mommy and daddy that is), we got up at 7:00 am to get ready to go see Santa for breakfast! Autumn has been talking about it since Thursday when we went and got a ticket to the event. She didn't want mommy to hold the ticket at all. She did great with Santa, and had a blast. There was a shopping event as well, but she wasn't in the mood, so we ended up going home early. I hope to get back to do some Christmas shopping, but if not, it is no big deal.

Elf on a Shelf story time (I think Daddy liked the story as much as Autumn did:

Meeting Santa (in the middle of telling him she wanted a choo choo):

Decorating the biggest tree cookies I have ever seen!:

Hanging out around the decorations:

In all I think she had a great day! She was excited to see Santa, and even ate some breakfast as well. I love that she is so into the holiday this year. I can't wait to do all the things I have planned for us. I want her to enjoy the secular aspects of Christmas, along with the non-secular ones as well. Christmas isn't just about presents and Santa.

Signs

2008-11-21T07:05:00.003-06:00

I was suppose to work today. I was supper excited about it because it was for the Theatre teacher at the High School. (what my degree is in). And then I got the call.. "you are no longer needed for this position". BLAH! I was so looking forward to doing this job. I was going to just jump back on the system and get another job since there was a choir one I had in my clutches, but then I realized that maybe God just didn't want me to work today. I am tired. I would have been cranky at PNO tonight with the kiddo's, and to top it off, my friend Kelly was going to watch Autumn, and her husband just got back from being out of town. She was still going to watch Autumn since she offered, but I felt bad about it.

I want the extra money for Christmas, but I figure I can find another way to get it in the next month. So today, Autumn and I are going to enjoy the cold weather. We may go shopping for some cute outfits, and I want to make some bows for her as well. Plus I need to finish the first installment of my "25 Days of Christmas Fun" to get that out after Thanksgiving. :)

Tithing

2008-11-20T08:18:00.002-06:00

Many people know that I belong to the Methodist Church. One of the things you commit to doing when you join is to give of your time, talents and gifts. Now if ya know me, you know my time is spent at Church. I do ALOT, and have actually tried to scale back because I need more family time and me time. Some people that attend the church tend to give mostly in the form of tithing because they are older and can't give the time or talents anymore. That is totally fine. But...yes there is a but, it makes me feel bad that I don't tithe as much as I should. In a good world, I would give 10% of my husbands check. But alas, he has issues with organized religion and while we are working on it, his willingness to give to the church isn't there yet.

That said, the money I earn at church, and various other jobs is the only money I have to tithe with. So last Sunday, after getting my whopping 24.00 check, I put in 2.50. It felt so wrong. What a pathetic amount of money. I felt silly putting that in there. If I had my way, it would be much more than that.

I have no problem with people knowing what I tithe. Money is such a taboo subject, and it is one that doesn't bother me. After all, what one person thinks is alot, may not be alot to someone else. We all have different views on money. Who cares if "so and so" can live on 3,000 a month, or that someone else thinks they can only live with a minimum of 5,000 a month. It's a bit silly, nobody knows what peoples commitments are, nor do we know some of the vices that some people may have that they spend to much money on. (mine used to be shoes and jewelry, until we moved, and the extra money was gone with a capital G).

Why is it that when giving my 10% do I feel bad about it?

Busy Busy

2008-11-20T07:22:00.002-06:00

I have been away from Bloggy world, and not keeping up with things. Life has gotten busy! Lately I have been working some sub jobs in the local school district for some extra Christmas money, as well as working at the church. Monday I get to watch an adorable little boy named Conner, because his mom goes back to work and her daycare provider can't take him till after Thanksgiving. I am looking forward to it.

I started a new Bible Study at church yesterday, and I think it is going to be a blast. I am not leading, my friend Jolene is, but I knew she had a long day yesterday so I lead the first one for her. I could tell she just wanted to chill and be a participant, more than a leader.

Autumn is growing by leaps and bounds. She is so tall for her age, and can be a little bugger at times. She likes to put her hands on her hips when she is annoyed or mad. I try and not laugh, because I don't want to encourage it, but it is soooooo funny!

Cuteness

2008-11-12T08:08:00.004-06:00

Still not over

2008-11-11T19:21:00.001-06:00

Got my medicine. They gave me 23 pills (31- the 8 I purchased out of pocket), and they are 37.5 mg!!!! Dave went back to explain that it was wrong, and got no real answers. So I am just taking what they gave us even though it won't last the month. Dave said he was going to take care of it tomorrow. I so don't want to be on the end of that phone call. :)

I love my husband...

2008-11-11T16:31:00.002-06:00

Dave came home this afternoon and took one look at me and asked what was wrong. I was almost in tears telling him how fed up I was trying to get this medicine, and that the withdrawals were really messing with me. He took our insurance card, the two numbers I have been calling and left. He just called to let me know that he would be home in about 20 minutes with my prescription. I love him.

Annoyed!

2008-11-11T12:13:00.003-06:00

It's no secret that I take what I call my "crazy pills". You know the ones that help with anxiety and depression. The ones that you don't stop all of a sudden because withdrawal can be horrid. Yes those pills. The ones I have been trying to get refilled since the 3rd of this month.

If it isn't one thing, it's another. First insurance won't cover them because I take two 37.5's when it turns out they make a 75 mg one. Now why wasn't this caught 3 months ago? Who knows. Turns out I need authorization to get more, and it is taking forever. I asked if there is something else I can take and I don't get an answer from the Dr. *I* call the insurance company to get the ball rolling, and find out that my insurance will cover the 75 mg, with no authorization needed, but has the Dr. called this in? NOPE!! Not only that, but the nurse asked me if I was out of them! Duh, that is why I called in for a refill a week ago. I just don't have the extra cash right now to pay out of pocket, it is 25 dollars for 2 days worth of pills. Grrrrrrrrr. As you can tell, it is getting to me!

I am so annoyed with all this. My fingers are raw from chewing on them because of the withdrawal, Autumn is getting to deal with my crabby emotions and all I wanna do is curl up and bawl for no reason. I hate this with a passion.

Slacking

2008-11-08T18:14:00.002-06:00

I haven't blogged in awhile because my mom has been visiting and we are out and about. Friday we hit the Zoo and Autumn had a blast (first zoo visit ever). Today we hit the stores. My mom is a power shopper and had been saving up almost all of her shopping for when she got here. WE are still not done......

Concerned

2008-11-05T06:35:00.002-06:00

We are now at a new point in our lives as American citizens. We have elected a very Liberal Democrat who has views that scare me. I keep telling myself that the POTUS doesn't have the power we think he does, but we also now have a Senate and House that are controlled by the Dems as well. I am to tired to post more about it right now, but I will later.

My mom is coming in tonight, I have the last night of BRICK, and need to get ready for that, and once again, my darling daughter was up before the sun, and decided to take her poppy diaper off. It's going to be a loooooong day!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2008-10-31T08:09:00.003-05:00

I know, I know, what is a Halloween post without pictures! I will have some up later tonight when we go trick or treating. I will be going as Medusa tonight, and got the idea that I needed to curl my hair in foam curlers (only way my hair will stay curled for more that 30 minutes) last night, so that I could weave some rubber snakes in it today......(please note, my hair is as straight as a board! Honestly! I am not hiding anything)

That said, here is what happens when I do this.....don't laugh! All I can say is Autumn looks so much better with curly hair than I do. I wonder if I could go as a 70's character? Humm that is an idea!

Oh the people I know....

2008-10-29T07:56:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I spent way more time than I have entering contests. How did I find these contests you might ask? I shall not name this person, but she knows who she is! (cough cough Judy!) Yes Judy sent me over to Bloggy Giveaways , and I discovered their Bloggy Carnival! Who wouldn't want to win free stuff! Did you know they have over 1000 contests going on!!! That's a lot of websites to cruise, a lot of comments to make and new blogs to get addicted to! So I will have to call Ms. Judy and ask when she is coming over to pick up my housework slack! Hahahahaha

Witches and Books

2008-10-25T18:57:00.003-05:00

Today I took Autumn to a play date at the Red Rooster Cafe . The owners of the place are part of our playgroup and they did such a wonderful job! She wore her little witch costume and looked so cute in it. She HAD to bring her hat which kept falling off, so I need to do something with it before Halloween. I know Autumn had a blast, and I could spend all day there looking at all the goodies in the store.

After that we headed to the Book Sale at the Convention center. I had gone earlier in the day and picked up a few books, but went back after 1:00 because they had their "3.00 Brown Bag" special. That's right, for three dollars I got to fill a bag with any books they had (even hardback!). I let Autumn hand me what ever books she thought looked good in the kiddo section, picked up some cheesy popcorn romance books (and one I had already read but forgot, and probably donated myself!), and some older cookbooks, and holiday books! I love older books. In all I managed to come home with 31 books. Most will get donated again to the library at some point and they will make money on them again! :)

It's 8 am....what do I want to eat?

2008-10-24T07:59:00.002-05:00

I want cheese fondue! haha I just found the online menu for the Melting Pot and I wanna go so bad it isn't funny. I am not a big cheese person, but the food looks amazing. The prices, not so much. Makes me mad that I sold my fondue pot in our garage sale. :)

I have been having the weirdest dreams lately. One involved eating a beloved pet?!?!# It was disturbing on so many levels. I have no idea what it was about, but I think it had to so with me reading an article about some guy that killed his lover and then cut a piece of his flesh and tried to eat it (he spit it out). No more caffeine and chocolate at night after reading weird things. I am still upset over that one!

Dave has been home sick the past two days, but I am hoping that he will go with Autumn and me to take pictures at the pumpkin patch. I heard that it has some slim pickings for pumpkins, and I don't think we are getting another shipment. Oh well, that is what I get for waiting till the last possible moment.

Blahhhhh

2008-10-23T15:54:00.001-05:00

I can not get motivated to do anything today! I did the truck, the Tupperware, and some decorations, but that is it. I just want to crawl in bed and sleep. I wonder if it is the start of the wonderful weather we are having. I love love love cold days! Maybe now that it has warmed up, I will get motivated!

I'm a winner!

2008-10-21T16:13:00.003-05:00

I am always intering one contest or another, and I finally won another one! It was at twopeasinabucket.com Yeah me! I can't wait to see what scrapbook goodies I am going to get!

____________________________________________
without further ado, the FIVE winners chosen at random. make sure your address is up to date in your profile so that your goodies will find their way home to you. congratulations to :

eagage
bAbYbEcKy
Iowa girl
o-pea-one <--- that's me!!!!! :) hehe
oldwesternpea

-- melanie
two peas education + community manager

Mommy's night out!

2008-10-21T14:36:00.002-05:00

Not the best picture, but yes it is that time again! I haven't gone in forever! I love getting together with the girls and playing. I have a blast, and while it is fun to win the pot, it is much more fun to get together with everyone and just visit! Tonight's theme is fav candy that we don't pass out to the kiddo's on Halloween. I don't do candy every often, and when I do it is cheap candy. That said, I decided to get two huge bars of Geridelli? (sp) chocolate. That is something I am sure nobody would share with kiddo's. I am not a big chocolate fan, but that seems to be popular!

I can't wait!

Cookie goodness

2008-10-20T21:18:00.004-05:00

Today we decorated Halloween cookies! I love it when all my friends come over to do things. They are such a great group of moms. We are all so different, but so similar. :) The kids had a blast, and we decided that for Christmas, we needed a mommy decorating day for cookies. We had as much fun as the kiddo's did. :) The husband of one friend came over, and even he decorated cookies! What a cool daddy. Here are some of the ones that I did. Autumn made a few messy ones and had fun with the icing, but those cookies are now in her tummy.

What can one do when they get up at 6??

2008-10-20T08:55:00.002-05:00

If you are me, you sit around and bemoan the fact that you are not still in bed sleeping soundly. But today was different. I actually woke up and did things! So far this morning I have:

1. moved the car seat to my truck
2. put away laundry
3. started more laundry
4. made the bed (miracle since ya just get back into it)
5. cleaned my desk off
6. cleaned the hall bath
7. did the dishes
8. cleaned the kitchen
9. actually cooked breakfast!! (normally a weekend thing)
10. swept the floors
11. started dinner (beef stew)

Now I am off to:

1. clean up the hall table
2. straighten Autumns room
3. make sugar cookies
4. work on bedroom

I wonder if I will get more done? I want to know what I did different last night that makes me so motivated this morning. I would say it is because I have friends coming over, but honestly I would normally just do a quick clean. I hope we can get the Halloween decorations out today as well.....

2 weeks plus 1 boot = kitty love

2008-10-18T18:27:00.005-05:00

Honestly, I have washed my boot. I really have. But like a hockey pad during playoffs, it stinks to high heaven. I still get to wear this for 2 more weeks, and I am going nuts from the smell. I have washed it, dried it and put lots of cream on my foot to no avail. My darling husband said to treat them like a hockey pad, don't wash it at all, and after a year the smell goes away (yes we know this first hand because he used to play hockey....I don't miss that smell in my car, but I do miss all the eye candy!!!).

Here is the lovely item in question:

It has some lovely decorations on it, and a sticker that proclaims: "Fashion is general, style is individual." I did have some cute yellow flowers on it as well, but since they were raised a bit, every time I took the boot off, they would pull a bit until they finally fell off. I think one got lost in bed. I figured if I was going to have to wear it, I was going to make sure that it was cute. Maybe I will do something for Halloween with it? We shall see. I am hoping that I can walk enough for Autumn to have fun doing the trick or treating.

On to the cat. Nappy short for Napoleon, our annoying kitty that likes to scratch everything, loves the stinky smell of my foot. So today when I took the boot off, he attacked, err loved up on me....

He just kept loving up on it, and was content to lick my foot and rub all over it, until he realized I was snapping away with the camera. He isn't a camera happy kitty. Maybe it's all the silly positions I have caught him in? Or that I laugh when Dave gets after him when he is scratching, but the minute he notices a camera, he is gone. No more pictures. But at least I got a little bit of love! :) I tried to get Dave to rub my feet, and it worked for a minute until he realized that I didn't wash it first...hehehe

Cool Contest

2008-10-18T15:24:00.003-05:00

My friend Judy had a linky to this amazing contest! It is for a beautiful button bracelet! Check it out at: a tad bit prudish

I love the smell of poop in the morning

2008-10-16T10:45:00.002-05:00

Autumn doesn't like the diapers she is in. Mommy was sick of buying pull ups and having her go through so many a day that half the pack was gone, so mommy went back to diapers. Now Autumn wants to go potty like a big girl! That said, she had an accident and took off her diaper to throw it out, and then went to go in the bathroom. I didn't catch her in time, and she went poop. Normally not a bad thing, but she missed the toilet and got it on the edge of her little potty. Then she moved and made a bigger mess! Blahhhhh I hate days like that. Now we are clean, the bathroom is clean, and I hope she doesn't go again, I don't think my nose can take it!

9 years ago today....

2008-10-16T06:44:00.003-05:00

I married the man of my dreams. Sure we dated for 7 years before that day, but it was worth the wait. I love him more today than I did back then. He is my rock, and my friend. I look forward to many more years with him.

Something I have learned along the way, is that marriage is a job, you have to work at it to make it last. It isn't always easy, there are ups and downs, but we made a promise to see each other through those issues when we stood in front of our priest.

Happy Anniversary sweetheart.

Testing one, two, three...testing

2008-10-15T21:10:00.003-05:00

I thought that God had given me enough this past few months. I hear his message and I am working hard on listening to it and doing what I need to do. That said, I got another test today.

I haven't been working alot since my surgery (a whole 3 hours this pay period). Money is a bit tight right now with everything costing more, and Dave's salary not going up. :( Sure both vehicles will be paid off in the next few months and things will be great, but in the mean time I don't get to do alot of my fun things. There are no extras in our house right now, and I miss them (don't need them, I should be CONTENT +++for all you BRICK people++ with what I have). With that in mind, Dave brought the mail in when he came home today.

In the mail was a check from the school district. I didn't work last month at all as a sub. What is up with the check? I logged into the system and it says I worked 2 days in September. I know I didn't. I had prayed to God the night before to help me come up with a way to satisfy my crafting needs and do extras, and then I get the check. I am not sure of the message!! UGH

So tomorrow morning, Autumn and I are going down to the main office to return the check. I could so use that extra money! It's a decent amount, but I just can't deposit it, knowing I didn't earn it. I hate tests like that. Blahhhhhh If God ment for me to have the money, he will send it to me in another way I am sure.

My mixer

2008-10-13T07:33:00.002-05:00

So I was hoping that I could get a deal from Kitchen Aide for my mixer that has been overheating, but alas no such luck. Blahhhh.. I was thinking of sending it in, but they don't make parts for it anymore!!! Grrr I don't wanna spend 300 on a new mixer, but I love Kitchen Aide. If anyone knows someone who tinkers with electronics and would look at my mixer I would be forever grateful, it's 35 years old, and I still like it!

Been awhile...

2008-10-12T20:23:00.002-05:00

I haven't had a chance to do much blogging, as I have been up to nothing lately.

I hate crutches, and haven't been using them like I should. Dave got mad at me because they were 40.00 and I am not using them enough. I am to worried about the pain I get from where my incisions were when I use them, to bother using them alot. The good news is I don't need them after tomorrow!! :) Plus, my foot feels pretty good, I don't understand the need for the boot either, but I will wear it for the next three weeks like a good little girl. :)

I am anxious to get back into things and organize and clean the house!!! I need it done so badly. I still don't have my Halloween decorations up! What a slacker.

Autumn is growing by leaps and bounds. She is so big, and so very active. She will run the entire length of the street now without stopping! I want to bottle her energy and sell it. I could make millions. She has learned that she can turn her clothes basket upside down and climb up it to reach even higher. Nothing is safe now. She is doing good on the whole potty training thing. I haven't been a hard ass on it, as I want her to do it at her own pace. She went all day in one pull-up today! We went to Rudy's and she went to the bathroom (1 and 2) and then came home and went again after her bath (1 and 2 again!). I do think that if I was harder about it, she would be fully trained, but I hate being like that. I know she is just lazy about it sometimes.

I am starting to look forward to the holidays like crazy! I love this time of year and love all the things that go on during it. I have tons of crafty ideas that I want to do, but I am so far behind already. I found a website where a mom wrote about doing something everyday during the holiday season. ( kinda like my friend Judy's site: http://judys50days.blogspot.com/ . ) I want to do that with Autumn this year. It was all Christmas related things. From coloring Christmas pages, to baking cookies, and hanging garlands. I think it will be a blast!

Sprain on me....

2008-10-06T16:47:00.002-05:00

Okay so in my head I am singing " take me on...." anyways.. I do have a sprain. He said they rate them 1-3. I have a three. The protruding from my foot is the blood from the tear on my radial something or other. Crutches for a week, boot for three. I swear! Actually I do swear. I did at the park when it happened and now have been labled the crazy lady that said "efffn a" when it happened. UGH