Growing up

Life changes so fast. Too fast for this Mama.

This year has been full of changes. Changes that remind me how fast my kids are growing up. Starting preschool, starting middle school, the last year at elementary school, the last year in middle school, different kids in different directions.

But none took my breath away, quite like getting this brought home from school.

Tonight I sat on some stinkin' hard bleachers, in a smelly high school gym, listening to counselors, principals, students etc. Listening to them talk about classes, and college prep.

My heart broke a little at the thought that my daughter is growing up.

It is a bitter  sweet time when I want to hold on to her for a little longer. Turn her back into my kindergartener with pig tails. Into the girl who loved Princesses, Barbies and anything pink.

But also wanting to let go, and let her turn into the woman she is supposed to be. Looking forward to where she is headed and what she is going to do.

What is a Mom to do? Sigh...

11 reasons

Yesterday was my husbands 35th birthday...and today is my son Connor's 11th birthday!! Born at 12:15am he just barely missed sharing a birthday with his Dad.

So here it is, 11 reasons why I love my 11 year old....

1. He has the sweetest heart
2. He is kind to everyone
3. He is a master Lego builder

4. He is very smart
5. He is a voracious reader
6. He is a total gentleman
7. He looks after his Mother :)

8. He loves to get dressed up
9. He is my little meat-atarian
10. He loves music and loves to dance
11. He hates that he is so skinny, but he is so handsome that it doesn't matter

Happy Birthday Connor! I love you a ton kiddo!!

35 reasons...

My sweetheart is 35 today!! I am so lucky to have him in my life, and here are 35 reasons why I love my 35 year old...

1. He is so smart.
2. He is sexy
3. He has high standards
4. He is a hard worker
5. He takes care of our family
6. He falls asleep with the remote clenched in his hand
7. He puts up with me
8.He tries to make my life easier
9. He is extremely talented in woodworking
10. He is sexy
11. He is strong
12. He is merciful
13. He is quick to forgive
14. He loves his family

15. He works hard at everything he does
16. He cuddles with me every morning
17. He builds me shelves for my stockpiles
18. He calls me when he is going to be late
19. He spoils the kids
20. He is humble
21. He is sexy

22. He supports me
23. He is honest
24. He is giving of his time & talents
25. He supports my "addictions" ie. Harry Potter, Pinterest, coupons etc
26. He treats everyone fairly
27. He is a good cook
28. He is always trying to improve himself
29. He wants to give the kids everything
30. He is not ashamed to admit that he is scared of snakes & scary movies

31. He is super sexy
32. He is obsessed with Legos and has passed it on to his boys
33. He always carries the kids upstairs after they have fallen asleep
34. He is funny
35. He chose me

Happy Birthday honey!!!

Family time

Ben & I  had been talking about taking the kids on a family hike for awhile now.

Every time we talked to the kids about it, we were met with a less than enthusiastic response.

After googling  "family friendly hikes" we picked one and decided not to tell the kids about it.

We told all the kids to put their tennis shoes on and grabbed a bunch of waterbottles, granola bars and goldfish. And we were off.

The kids started out awfully grumpy but we told them there would be no video games for 2 weeks if they complained. That ended that! While we are not the most out doors-y of families, I don't think it hurts them to unplug for awhile!!

I am not sure what "Google" considers to be family friendly, but it was a lot harder than what I thought it would be! The trail went up and down and around.

The person who had the hardest time, the one who is completely out of shape, is ME! I didn't complain though.

This area was also open to horse back riders. Which meant only one thing...horse poop all over the trail. So there was a bit of complaining about that, which I felt was completely legit.

At the end of the trail, we reached a waterfall. Because you had to scale over some rocks, Mason and I stayed where we were. And then it happened..."Mommy I need to go pee pee." We all know that little boys can just go outside right? Well not Mason. Ben took him behind trees and Mason would say, " I can't go pee pee here, there isn't a bathroom." Holding it for the whole rest of the trail was not easy...

And then...we were almost all the way back when...Mason got going a little fast and biffed it. Cutting his knees and elbows. He was not a happy camper hiker. At the end of the trail was a small conservatory and luckily a bathroom.

We got him cleaned up and as we were heading back to the car, Mason told us, " I don't like this place. I want to get out of here."

Next time, I think we are going to google, "toddler friendly" hikes!

Staples good deal alert

***I am not a deal blogger. I am really not. But I have so many people ask for help that I have found myself doing it a little bit more often. So here is a deal others might be interested in...

**In order to get your Staples Rewards, you have to have the Staples card. It is free, just like any other store card. When something qualifies for "Staples Rewards" that money goes directly back to your Staples card. That way you can use that money IN THE STORE, for anything (like printer ink!!). If something is offered as "free after manufacturers rebate", that means you will get it as a check in the mail, that you deposit into your bank account.**

Staples is having a Presidents Day sale, and it has some nice little freebies to go with it. This is what I am doing...

In the ad, there is a coupon for a free pair of earbuds, when you purchase $25 or more. We go through ear buds like...water in our house, so this is a good freebie for me.

Here is my break down of how I am going to get there...

**A 5 ream case of paper is $4.99 after Staples rewards. You can do this twice. So you will pay almost $50 out of pocket. But you will get...

1 pair of ear buds
10 reams of paper(or you can just do 1)
and $40 back in Staples rewards. Staples Rewards can be used for anything in store!

But there are also a few other hot deals, you can get to get up to $25,
** 1 pkg of Bic-Matic mechanical pencils= pay $4.29 out of pocket (free after mail in rebate)
**2 pkgs of Staples photo paper= $14.99 each or $29.98 out of pocket
This will get you above the $25 so you can get the free earbuds as well!

Lysol disinfecting wipes are $3.99 each but you will get 100% back in Staples rewards. There is a limit of 3, so it would look like this...

3.99x3= $11.97 out of pocket and then you will get it all back in Staples rewards! Nice.

Lots of awesome deals! If you have any questions just ask!

ERM

Every other Friday, the stars all align and I have 3 whole hours to myself.

 It is blissful. I can use that time to do anything. Anything. Get my hair cut, go shopping, read a book, go back to bed...anything.

However, yesterday I did something that wasn't that exciting. Necessary but boring.

**I want to give a disclaimer because, I know absolutely NOTHING about cars. I know you have to fill it with gas and get the oil changed. anything else...yeah nothing. However, being a military wife, my husband is gone a lot. So I am the one that is responsible for my car.**

So yesterday, after I cleaned out my car, I headed to my local drive in oil change place. I love it there because:

1. They send me emails when I need to come in.
2. They send coupons for $10 off on a regular basis
3. It is a drive thru. I can stay in my car and not have to go into some stinky waiting room. I am sorry, but I don't like the smell of tires & oil. Sue me.
4. It is a drive thru. If I have kids with me, I don't have to take them inside.
5. They have a frequent shopper card. 6 oil changes and you get a free one.
6. Free drinks
7. Free wi-fi
8. It is fast
9. They are friendly
10. It is convenient

The $46.99 was my free oil change!

They make it easy to take care of my "other baby".

After that, I used a handy dandy app to find the cheapest price of gas in my area and filled up. Then it was off to the car wash.

On my schedule of household tasks, every other Friday is my "car day". Where I clean out my car and any other tasks that are necessary. It works for me to have a set day because we spend a lot of time in our car...also known as "ERM" :)

So ladies, while taking care of your car may not be exactly the most fun, it is something that you can and need to do. Just remember if, you are asked to buy something, that you aren't sure you need, it is ok to say no! I always ask for a reminder card (showing what the service is and how much it costs) and then I take it to my husband.

Do you take care of your car? Does your significant other? Why or why not?

Ladies, while car care may not be the most exciting thing in the world to do, but it is really necessary. If you know how

14 days of Love...contd.

Days 5-8

Time has flown by, and while I have shared all my 14 days of Love on Facebook, I haven't done it on here! So I am trying to get caught up and share...

Day 5:

Ben has been needing some new church socks, so I got him a package of socks and a note that said : "You knock my SOCKS off"

The kids all got a Valentine container of Reeses Pieces that say, " I love you to PIECES".

However, Ben was very jealous of the kids, so while at the store I got him a bag as well! Can we say spoiled?!

Day 6:

Ben got a Mt. Dew that said, "I am so glad that 14.5 years ago I said I "DEW".

The kids all got a container of colorful tic tacs that said, "you add so much COLOR to my life!"

Day 7:

The kids had a book fair at their school, so instead of something in their mail box they each got a book from the book fair.

Day 8:

Ben got a box of Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies that say, "you are the CREAM of the crop"
and the kiddos (thanks to a buy 2 get 2 free candy bar deal at Vons) got a candy bar that said
"my life is SWEETER with you in it".

cookies

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Whenever I have a hard cookie, it almost immediatley gets dunked in to milk. Soften it up a little, you know?

One day a friend of mine brought over a plate of nice soft, chewy, banana and chocolate chip cookies. Yummo. I could have eaten the whole plate.

I decided I wanted to remake them for myself. I found this awesome recipe and...loved them.

(** I am not sure where I found it. I didn't come up with this recipe, but am not sure who to give credit too!**)

If you are a fan of banana chocolate chip (and who isn't?!) then you are going to love these. If you try them, I would love to know what you think!

Someone snuck a bite...

**Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies**

2.5 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup white sugar
2/3 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed bananas(about 3)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I prefer milk chocolate, that's just how I roll)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400* Grease cookie sheets. Combine dry ingredients into a bowl and set aside.
2. Cream the butter with the sugar until  light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Mix in the mashed bananas. Add the flour mixture and stir until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Drop spoonfuls on to the cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

ouch

Having 5 kids that don't seem to be able to get their teeth clean, you log a lot of time at the dentists office. And the orthodontist.

Ours both  happens to be in the same office. They rotate days & times. When I say we log a lot of time there, I mean ALOT.

Dentist appointments every 6 months & orthodontist appointments once a month. Ugh.

Today was Connors turn to go and get some dental work done.

All the hygenists are in love with my cutie.Telling me how tough he is but also how sweet. Of course they all want his eye lashes! Heck, so do I!

His appointment was a little less than two hours long, and he BEGGED me to let him stay home from school. Being the mean Mom that I am, I said no.

I did promise a milkshake for lunch as he can't chew at all. The flavor he wanted was out.

He is  not happy with me. Afraid he will never be able to eat real food again.

Right now, he is sucking chicken noodle soup through a straw. He is not a happy camper. And telling him that he will look so handsome in the future is not getting me any points.

Poor baby. I hate seeing him in pain. Even though I know it will only last a couple of days. I can't, and don't want to see him go through some real pain.

Boy, being a Mom is tough.