Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy New Year!

My dear bloggy friend Jeannie received this fabulous award today. In true Jeannie fashion, she passed it along to all of her followers. Because I am absolutely proud to be one of her followers, I gladly grabbed it for myself. Thank you Jeannie!

So, following along with her plan, I am passing this one on to all of my followers! I thank you all so much for your friendship. Your kindness is amazing and your generosity is inspiring. I hope that you all have a fabulous New Year! Make 2009 a year to remember:)

Foot Print Snowmen


You all know that I have a love of snowmen. Right?! Here is a classic snowman using your child's foot print.

1.Paint your child's (or in this case, my nephew's) foot with white paint. He loves this part and wanted me to do it, "again, again".



2. Print the foot on the paper.

3. Draw a face, hat, scarf, and arms. Cute and easy!

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

To Work Or Not To Work..........

In a past post, I mentioned that I'm thinking about returning to the workforce. For a while I was not sure if I wanted to post about this, it's a very personal part of our lives and I was not sure if people would even care. But, it's my blog and I have nothing to hide. My blog is a reflection of our lives. I would not be telling the whole story if I didn't include the times when we are down. And besides, I have found my blogging friends to be more supportive than anybody else in our lives. You all give advice, pray when someone needs prayers and are ALWAYS here for us. It's not that our family and friends are not there for us. They are. But, at times you can tell that they just don't know what to say.

In order to bring you up to date, I sort of have to go back a few years. (I'll try to keep it brief;) Before Mike and I were married, he became ill. He developed a condition that left him unable to walk for awhile. When this first happened, it was a hard fight to get him any form of disability compensation. He was fighting the unknown. The doctors could not figure it out and therefore no one was willing to consider him disabled because of this. Eventually, he was given disability, but that was not the life he saw for himself. Through many months of physical therapy, he was able to walk on his own, but not fully recovered. He was not taking that. He could not stand sitting around and not work. That was just not an option for him. We wanted a family and he was going to do everything in his power to provide for us. The next fight was trying to convince his doctors that he was able to work. It was kind of ironic because, we had to fight just as hard in the opposite direction for this one. Eventually he won. He has been working hard ever since. He does not call off sick, EVER. He is always willing to work late and signs up for more overtime than anyone else at his job. He is a hard working man!


That brings me to my part of the story. I too worked hard for our family. When I was pregnant with our first child, I got a job at a daycare. I LOVED IT! It was perfect for me and I knew that someday, I would be bringing my own baby to work with me. The best of both worlds. I could help provide for my family and be close the them at the same time. When Michael was two weeks old, I returned to my duties at my job and it was great. At times, I cut back to part time and I left briefly to stay home with my kids. I always went back. I had been doing it for so long that when I had a new baby and went back, it was like I was bringing them home. It was like family. Not always perfect, because really, we were all together all the time and sometimes different people just clash. But I loved my job. In the end, I ended up dedicating too much of my time to work. My family was suffering. I was getting home late and stressed because of all the things that had to be accomplished every evening. Dinner, dishes, homework, baths, cuddle time, laundry. I'm not complaining, after all, we chose this. We wanted a house full of kids and that is what we got. It came to a point when my kids had not done well in school. I was sending them to after school tutoring, but it was not helping. They needed their mom. The end of that summer, before the start of school, I made a promise to my kids that I would be there for them after school to help out. I was not working late hours and it would work out perfectly. That was when my hours changed. I would then be required to work late every night. I couldn't do it. I could not abandon my kids anymore. I cried all night that night. I wrote my letter of resignation immediately. It was the longest two weeks of my life. I was not angry at all. Just sad. I could not talk to anyone about it.


It has not been easy to live with our size family on one income. It's tight. The cost of EVERYTHING has gone up so much this last year and Mike is exhausted from all of his hard work. I am so grateful that he has such a tremendous work ethic. I was in bed the other day, trying to sleep, but thoughts of our life kept me from slumber. Guilt for making Mike be our sole provider for so long makes me sad sometimes. I know that I contribute to this family too, but it's just not the same. So, I want to start the new year off better financially. Maybe, we will be able to take a long needed vacation or just have Mike home with us for a day here and there. I'm not sure where I will go, but where ever it is I will work hard. I always do. My parents have also instilled a strong work ethic in me. I can do it.


I didn't set out to write such a long post. These are some things that have been weighing on me for so long and I just had to get them off my chest. If you're still here, thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to hear my thoughts. Blogging is Therapy! Thank You:)

Muffin Tin Monday

This week, Muffin Tin Monday comes with a twist. We can only use cupcake/muffin tin liners. We made our tin for snack. Here it is:
Graham crackers, peanut butter, and banana slices.
To participate in Muffin Tin Monday please visit Her Cup Overfloweth! It is a great way to share a meal with your kids in a fun way. I am sure they will enjoy it and so will you:)

10 Honest Things About Me

Whitney, you know, That Girl, bestowed upon me an award last week. Along with it I was required to list 10 honest things about myself. I promised I would get to it this week, and because I am honest, here goes.



1. I love doing laundry. Even though I may grumble about the never ending pile. It 's relaxing to fold it and smell the fresh clean smell. Putting it away is another story!

2. I also like to vacuum! The sound of a vacuum is very relaxing.

3. At one time, I wanted to be a police officer. Funny, because now I'm like a kiddie cop. Hehe!

4. When I'm stressed, I bake. That could be the problem with my weight. LOL. Maybe I should do more laundry and vacuuming to relax...

5. I'm a recovering Pepsi addict. I was drinking 2 liters a day. I quit cold turkey! Yay for me! Hahaha! (no wonder I'm so darn tired)

6. I love to color in my girls coloring books. Even when they are not coloring.

7. I hate going to the mall! Gasp! It's just so much easier to shop online where I don't have to be bothered by other people.

8. I love pregnant bellies. Almost as much as babies. Too cute!

9. I have never been on an airplane. Maybe someday:)

10. I'm thinking about returning to the workforce. More to come on that.....

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas to you all!
May your day be filled with laughter and love:)

Peace and love,

Merry Christmas!

Now the day is finally here. This is day that we celebrate the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ! Please remember that Jesus is the reason for the season. Enjoy your day, open your presents slowly, hug your kids often, pay attention to the little things. I am sure you will see how truly blessed you are. A very Merry Christmas to you all!


Peace and love

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Oops!

I accidentally dropped Brandon's cell phone in the washer! UGH! I guess he will be getting another present for Christmas! I swear, there is never a dull moment around here. I hope you are having a very merry Christmas Eve.

Wordless Wednesday-The Stockings Were Hung....



Merry Christmas! For more Wordless Wednesday visit Momdot!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Handmade Gift Tags or Bookmarks

Making your own gift tags can make your gift a little bit more personalized. These snowman gift tags are a really great way to do that. They also make cute bookmarks and would be great to give along with a book.

1. Cut card stock to the length and width that you want to make your tags.

2. Punch a hole at the top of the tag.


3. String a piece of yarn through the hole.


4. Paint one of your child's fingers with white paint.


5. Press the finger on the paper at the bottom of the tag.


6. Allow it to dry.


7. Add a face, hat , and scarf to your snowman and your finished!

Monday, December 22, 2008

Sorry, I Have Been Busy!

I know that I have not been posting very many projects lately. We have been so busy, as I am sure you all are too. We will hopefully be getting back to normal tomorrow.


Myspace Graphics

Christmas at Nana and Poppy's House


Yesterday, we had our family Christmas party at Nana and Poppy's house. It was quite crowded, but a good time was had by all. Lots of yummy food and presents for everyone. Family time with lots of cousins and Aunts and Uncles and Nana and Poppy and Grammy. Perfect!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

I'm Finally Finished!

Well, I thought I would just go out to the stores and finish my Christmas shopping. Simple. Right? Wrong! There I found myself with thousands of other procrastinating shoppers, with the same look of panic in their eyes. I actually stopped and said "why did I wait so long?". The sales were great. But, the lines were horrific! I have determined that they do not sell little girl's pants in size 4 or women's boots in size 9 1/2. They just do not! Crayola glow station, does not exist! The place on there shelf where it is supposed to be is always perfectly clean. Alright , so a few things on my list where not available. No problem, I can live with that. One really good thing that came out of my shopping excursion was, Michael's cell phone that he dropped in a puddle (grumble) was still under warranty and replaced. Thank goodness! He would be phoneless if not for that and then I would have to live with all that teenage whining. Ugh! All complaints aside, when Christmas morning rolls around, I am ready. My kids have gifts and they will be happy and that is what it is all about! Have you finished your shopping yet?

Saturday, December 20, 2008

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!

When I started to blog a few months ago, I thought it would be a great way to share pictures of my kids and sort of document what goes on in our lives. I really did not know too much about blogging. I quickly learned and it has become somewhat of an addiction for me. Little did I know that I would be "meeting" so many wonderful and supportive people. It's amazing! When you're down, they lift you up. When you have a funny story, they laugh with you. When you experience joy, they share in that joy. Need prayers? They take the time to pray. It can at times feel somewhat isolating being a stay at home mom. There is often no one to confide in or no adult conversation throughout the day. I am truly blessed to have found so many wonderful friends here in bloggy land! Thank you all so much for giving me the lift that I needed:) This week I have received a number of awards from some really fabulous bloggers. I am honored to accept them!

Mesa at The Bush Family gave me this award!



The award states "This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!

Mesa, thank you so much for thinking of me! I love reading your blog! You are so fun girl! I wish we could hang out IRL! Who am I kidding, blogging is REAL LIFE for me!


Whitney at That Girl has given me this award!




Whitney, You make me laugh every day! Thanks!
I know I'm supposed to list ten honest things about myself. I will do that, I promise, sometime the week:)



I received this cool award from Jane at Jumpin in the Jungle



Jane, thank you too! I am so glad I have had the chance to "meet" you. Your awesome!

I know I am supposed to award these to my fellow bloggers. But, this week has been an amazing week for bloggy love and I have passed that on to so many already. If any of my readers have not received one or all of these awards, consider them yours. I love you all and I feel that you all are worthy of these awards. Have A Great Day:)

Friday, December 19, 2008

How Sweet! An Award for Me!

Tranquility gave me this lovely award! Thank you so much! I love it:)

The Lemonade Award

This award comes with a few rules and here they are:

Put the logo on your blog or post. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude! Be sure to link to your nominees within your post. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

Here are the bloggers that I believe really deserve this award:

Barely Domestic Mama

Perfect Pen

Yaya Stuff

Junior Mints and Reeses

THAT GIRL

The Bush Family

Decisionally Challenged

Me and the Blue Skies

Jumpin' In The Jungle!!

An Italian Mama Gone Crazy

Making memories

I really do think you are all wonderful. Thanks for being such good bloggy friends:)

Snow Day

Today we awoke to all schools closed. The snow had not started yet, but it began soon after. It's coming down rather quickly and I couldn't be happier. I LOVE SNOW! Thankfully, my kids share the same love and we are having a full blown SNOW DAY! We play outside until our fingers are numb and then we come in for hot chocolate. It is a great day. We'll be back to crafting another day, but for now we are going to play. JUST FOR FUN:)

We're Having a Snow Day!

It's a snow angel making day at the Adam's house!

Awarded By A Friend

I actually received this award a few days ago from Angie @ Making Memories. She has a great blog. Those of you that have not visited Angie, please do.
This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships!These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.
I am so thrilled to receive this award from Angie. She is becoming a very good bloggy friend and I really appreciate her kindness. Thank You!
Because I feel that all my readers are fabulous, I am going to give this one to the first eight people who comment on this post. It's almost Christmas, consider it a gift from me:)

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Paper Clay Ornaments


This is a great craft to do to use up all your scraps of paper.

Here is what you will need:

2 cups of construction paper scraps
4 1/2 cups of water
1/2 cup of flour
glitter

1.Tear paper scraps into small pieces.


2. Put scraps and 4 cups of water in the blender.


3. Blend for about 30 seconds until the mixture turns to "pulp".


4. Drain the pulp.


5.Remove the pulp and squeeze out the excess water.


6. Combine the flour and 1/2 cup of water.


7. Add the pulp to the flour mixture and knead them together. I had to add extra flour at this point because it was too sticky.


8. Add some glitter as you knead the dough.


9. Roll out the dough and cut shapes with cookie cutters.



10. Poke a hole in the top to string ribbon through when they are dry.


11. Allow them to dry for 1 to 2 days before adding the ribbon and hanging them on the tree.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Poinsettias




The girls were actually excited that we were making flowers today. These poinsettias are simply made with construction paper, but the centers were made out of popcorn.



1. Cut out several leaves using red and green construction paper.




2. Glue three green leaves to a piece of construction paper.




3. Working around in a circle glue the red leaves over the green leaves.





4. Apply glue to the center of the flower.




5. Place popcorn on the glue. (make sure you pop extra, my girls ate a piece for every one that they glued:)







So there you have it. A popcorn enhanced poinsettia!