So much to do...

...so little initiative!

Laundry

{one of four loads that needs to be folded and put up}

Dirty dishes

{that need to be put in the dishwasher}

Material

{that I need to use to make the boys' Easter outfits}

My sister's dress

{that I need to alter for her to wear in a wedding}

What do you do to motivate yourself ?

{when you don't want to do the things that really need to be done}

I'm So Excited.....

And I Just Can't Hide It!

The mom part of me hasn't been SUPER productive today...

{laundry piled up everywhere and clean dishes waiting to be put away}

But my blog sure does look SUPER cute!

Thanks to some much appreciated help from Jill at Sneaky Momma Blog Design!

I figured out how to get my background to display correctly...see the cute pattern on the sides....that has been there all along, it was just WAY too big to see!
And I figured out how to make an html box so everyone can grab my SUPER cute new button that matches my header!

Go check out Sneaky Momma Blog Design...she has SUPER tips to help make your blog SUPER cute!

Don't forget to grab my SUPER cute button over on the sidebar!

Wordless Wednesday: Playing Outside

For more Wordless Wednesday check out 5 Minutes for Mom!

I Heart Faces Week 11 No Flash

This my entry for I Heart Faces Week 11 No Flash!

Go check out the I Heart Faces blog to see all the SUPER cute faces in this weeks contest!

I took this picture last weekend while the boys were playing in my grandparents' yard. It was a nice sunny day, and I didn't need to use the flash to get some great shots of them in action!

Not Me! Monday

Please say a prayer for Mckmama, Stellan, and the whole Mckfamily.

********************

Welcome to Not Me! Monday!
This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.


I did NOT exercise on my elliptical machine this week after the orthopaedic doctor told me to stay off of treadmills, stair steppers, and elliptical machines. My knee is NOT still swollen from whatever damage I did to it by not listening to my doctor.

I am NOT SUPER concerned that I am never going to lose any of this baby weight if I can't exercise on my elliptical machine without destroying my knee!

I did NOT spend almost all day Saturday shopping with Mandy, which SO did NOT make my knee hurt even worse! I did NOT have to stay home from church Sunday morning because I was hobbling around like a 90 year old woman!

I did NOT stare disgustingly at the number 24 on my blog for a majority of the week. I was NOT hoping that someone else would follow me, so I would have 25 followers {25 is a much better number than 24...don't ask why, it just is, I know I am strange}! I was NOT thinking that if I only had one more follower that I wouldn't have to look at 24 anymore! Then I got 3 more followers last week! YAY! Now I am up to 30!!

I did NOT have to make Grant {my 3 1/2 year old child} wear Eli's {my 6 month old} pant this weekend! He did NOT poop in his pants while we were working in my grandmother's yard, and I certainly did NOT put a pair of 3 month pants on him without undies. I always have change of clothes for my kids with me! I did NOT consider putting a diaper on him before I found the pants, because I thought that was the only thing I had to put on him! And I definitely did NOT take a picture of him and laugh! That would just be mean, and I would never do that!* {These are NOT a new cute capri pant trend in little boys clothes!! They ARE size 3 month Carter's pants that belong to Eli}

Pay it Forward!

A few weeks ago, Amanda over at Proud Mommy of Four posted about a “Pay it Forward” that she had participated in.

*

I was one of her first 3 comments, so I got a SUPER cute happy in the mail from her.

*

She sent a cute bag full of great stuff…some cute stationary with a matching pen, some M & M’s {which I immediately opened and devoured}, three Sesame Street books {one for each of the boys}, and a SUPER cute handmade card just for me!

*

Thanks Amanda! It is so much fun to get stuff in the mail!
*

So now, I am going to “PAY IT FORWARD”

Be one of the first three bloggers to comment on this post. You then agree to share your snail mail address with me so I can send you a small gift. When you receive your gift, blog about this game & link back to my blog in that post. You ALSO AGREE to "pay it forward" and send a small gift to the 3 people who comment on your blog post..... Remember - only comment if you're willing to send out 3 small gifts to other people.
Remember NOT to post about this game until AFTER you have received your gift!

So, those are the rules!

Leave a comment if you want to play along.

I had a lot of fun getting some SUPER cute stuff in the mail, and even more fun finding SUPER cute thing to send to other people!

A Recipe a Week #1

This is weekly post created by my bloggy friend Shasta over at Crackers and Chaos! Go check out her blog and see all the great recipes she posts on Sundays!

This is a recipe that I got out of the back of a Martha Stewart magazine. These are amazing cookies that are pretty easy to make too!! Though they aren't very diet friendly with all the sugar and butter!! But they are oh so yummy!!

Pecan Butter Cookies

1 cup of pecans

2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325. Cream butter and sugar until pale. Add vanilla and salt. Gradually add flour, beating until just incorporated. Stir in pecans. Cover and refridgerate until firm {15-30 mins}. Drop 2 tablespoon scoops of dough onto baking sheet. Bake about 15 minutes or until edges of the cookies are golden. Cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Random Picture Challenge

Go check out 4 little men and girly twins to see everyone else's Random Picture Challenge.

3rd folder

1st picture with the color BROWN.

This picture is from a vacation Jason and I took the spring before Henry was born.

Our last vacation without kids!!

I was probably 7 months pregnant and we camped at a state park....in a tent! It was a really fun despite the hard ground and the major pregnant belly!

A Few of My Favorite Things (2)....

I am participating in 5 Minutes for Mom's

Ultimate BLOG PARTY 2009!

I thought I would do another one of my Favorite things posts just to share a little about myself and what I am LOVING right now!

********************

My Favorite Utensil

The Boon Squirt Baby Food Dispenser

This thing is SUPER DUPER amazing!

You put the baby food in the big {orange} end, twist on the spoon end, and then just squeeze the baby food out!

No holding the baby food container {which my boys always love to grab} so you have an extra hand to deter those grabby baby hands way from the spoon!

I got mine at Target for less than $10 and it is SO worth it!

********************

My Favorite Pajamas

Matching Monster Pajamas

My mom bought the boys matching PJ's at Old Navy about a month ago.

I didn't think they would get to wear them anytime soon, because she got Eli a 12-18 months and I thought they would be too big for him.

I was WRONG!!

I put Eli's on one night this week and they fit him just fine.

The next morning, Henry and Grant came downstairs in the same PJ's!! {Jason puts them in the bed so I usually don't see what they are wearing until the morning}

They looks so cute in their matching pajamas that I had to take a few pictures before they went to bed last night!!

********************

My Favorite New Gadget

Our new {RED} Dell Studio Laptop

Jason has been wanting to get a new laptop for a while, but I really didn't want to spend a lot of money on a new one when we had perfectly halfway decent good one already.

He finally talked me into it....and we really did need a new one {our old laptop is 6 years old and as loud as a marching band!!}.

********************

My Favorite New Recipe

Cocoa Krispies Treats

I made these a couple of months ago and Jason and I LOVED them!!

They are great for curbing a major chocolate craving...especially if you don't have any chocolate in the house!

I {actually Jason made them this time because my wrists were hurting} made these earlier this week. You make them the same way that you make regular Rice Krispies Treats.

Butter, Marshmallows, and Cocoa Krispies

They are SUPER yummy and SUPER easy to make...though probably not SUPER good for my diet!

********************

These are a few of my favorite things. Leave me comment and tell me about some of your favorite things!

********************

Prizes I would chose for the Ultimate Blog Party 2009

#41 Necklace or locket from Elemental Memories

#22 $50 Target gift card from Beginner Baby Blog

#89 $100 gift card to Homegoods from HG Openhouse

others: 1, 19, 21, INTL 13, INTL 20, INTL 23, INTL 35, USC 11, USC 12, USC 45, USC 46 or anything else related to babies, young kids, or a blog makeover!

The First of Many!

Look Closely... Do you see it?

Eli has his first {of many} tooth!

He has been cutting that tooth for a while, and it finally broke through about a week ago.

I took this picture yesterday.

And I could see his lovely new little tooth!

I am little excited....it is a first!

But a little worried....because once they get teeth they start chewing and biting everything!

Henry and Grant better watch out!

Wordless Wednesday: No Training Wheels!

For more Wordless Wednesday check out Wordless Wednesday and 5 Minutes for Mom.

Sneezes and Germs and Snot! Oh My!

I hate when one of my kids is sick. I almost think it is worse when only one of them is sick....

The sick one feels cruddy {and is whiny and ill} when all the other one wants to do is play. And you have to worry about everyone else getting sick later {which just turns into a germ swapping merry-go-round ride that never seems to end}.

I feel like every time one of my kids is sick, I need to completely fumigate my house to get rid of all the germs that they have spread on every thing in sight! Fumigation seems to be the only possible way to stop the snot covered merry-go-round of germs!!

It is particularly bad in our house when Henry gets sick, because he is one of those kids {even at almost 5 years old} that always has something in his mouth.

If it's not his hand, it's his shirt, his toy, or someone else's toy!

It is gross!

Just thinking about it makes me gag a little!

He will chew on things {his clothes especially} until they are soaked.

Now this habit of his is pretty bad on a regular day, but when he is loaded up with germs and the snot is flowing like a river, his habit is even worse! And it makes my post-sickness cleaning job that much more difficult!

Henry being sick has also really thrown off our schedule because he missed preschool at the beginning of the week. That means we were in the house all day long for three days...except to walk to the mailbox and feed the dog.

Cabin Fever!

Henry is starting to feel better, and will probably be back at preschool before the end of the week {which means the rest of us will be able to get out of the house even if it is only to drive the five miles back and forth to preschool}.

But for now, I feel like I am constantly washing hands and wiping noses!

I guess that is the life of a mom....

I just wish we could get rid of the germs a little more quickly so I can take a break from all the handwashing and nosewiping!

I Heart Faces Week 10 Green

This is my entry for I Heart Faces Week 10: Green!
Go check out the I Heart Faces blog to see even more SUPER cute {GREEN} faces!

This is Eli in his crib that has green bedding....a green sheet, a green bumper, and the walls in his room are green too. We like green around here!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday!This blog carnival was created by Mckmama at My Charming Kids!Go check out her blog and see what everyone else has NOT been doing this week!

I did NOT have to go to the doctor again this week because my wrists were hurting so badly. I did NOT have to get some old lady SUPER stylist carpel tunnel braces for both of my wrist. I do NOT have to sleep in them every night. They do NOT make my wrists feel 400 times better. I did not tell my friend Mandy that I may have invest in some sexy lingerie to offset how SUPER unsexy the braces are.

I did NOT have an awesome time out with my friends Friday night!! I so did NOT need a Girl's Night Out, and we did NOT stay up until after 1 am just chit-chatting {and maybe gossiping a little}!

I was NOT excited when Henry's t-ball practice was cancelled Saturday because it was raining. I love sitting at the ball field watching 4, 5, and 6 years olds 'learn' how to play t-ball. So I would never be excited that practice was cancelled.

I did NOT stay home from church yesterday, because my oldest child did NOT wake up running a 102 temperature. We did NOT stay in the house all day, and we are NOT going to have to stay in the house all day today too. I am NOT getting cabin fever just from two days of being inside.

I do NOT have a ton of stuff to do around the house to make up for feeling so lousy last week. I am NOT going to be doing laundry and cleaning for HOURS today.

Have a SUPER week, and don't forget to go check out Not Me! Monday.

Saturday at the Park

Nap Time

Snow Cones

Close Up

Every mom...

...IS A SUPERMOM!

A few weeks ago, I {finally} let my husband check out my blog. I really respect his opinion, so I had been sort of {but not really} hiding my blog from him. I just hadn’t shared my blog with him, mainly because I thought he might think it was silly or a waste of time {So, this is why the dishes aren’t done!}.

When I finally showed it to him, I anxiously waited for his response.

All he said was “You think you are a supermom?”.

Now, I don’t think he meant for it to sound rude {at least I hope he didn’t, though he does really know me and all my faults and flaws}. But it did make me think.

Is it a little pretentious of me to call myself a SUPERMOM? I don’t mean for it to come off that way, but I guess some people could take it that way….

The thing is, I don’t think I am the one and only SUPERMOM. Actually I think there are a ton of SUPERMOMS out there. There are probably more than I could ever imagine, and blogging has helped me discover a bunch of really fantastic SUPERMOMS who are also wives, sister, and friends.

The day after I showed Jason my blog, I got a parenting magazine in the mail.

The front cover said:
“it’s a bird, it’s
a plane, it’s…you!!
why every
mom is a
superhero”

I thought “WOW! This is just what I need!” An article that tells me why every mom {including me} is a SUPERMOM! And guess what the title of the article is….”I AM SUPERMOM”

That’s right.

Paula Spencer {the SUPERMOM who wrote the article} apparently thinks very much like me, because she thinks that mothering is what gives us these wonderful superpowers that make all us mothers: SUPERMOMS.

The article talks about the five heroic traits you didn’t know you had-until you had a child.

SUPER COURAGE
SUPER FEROCITY
SUPER STRENGTH
SUPER PRESENCE OF MIND
SUPERSTRONG STOMACH

This was great reminder that I am not at all being pretentious when I call myself a SUPERMOM, because we are all SUPERMOMS!!

Go check out the whole article on the Parenting website!