Money-saving Tip!!!!!

It's TRUE!!! I've tried it out for a week now (you may think a week of doing laundry isn't a lot, but consider STARTING with 11 loads to do from the broken dryer and coming back from a weekend trip) and it's official. Throw in 2 NEW tennis balls that are clean and still fuzzy (I bought Walmart brand) into the dryer and it gets rid of static!!! You don't ever have to buy dryer sheets again if you don't want. I hated throwing in sometimes 2 dryer sheets on big loads and STILL them coming out with static! Our dryer is downstairs, so the balls bouncing off the sides of the dryer doesn't bother me, so take note, it makes noise. But hey, it saves money!!!!

Humble Pie!

Here's the first heat of the St. Patrick's Day jellybean race!

Although you may think Bronson was the shu-in.....you're wrong. Camden actually started beating everyone else....then he cheated and used his hands to push the jellybean (have to push it with your nose), so he got disqualified

So it was down to Emerson and Bronson. As you can see, Emerson was winning and really should've. But Sally ate Bronson's jellybean so I threw him another one and it gave him a good head start. So Bronson ended up having one good nudge and won.

Now comes the REAL race between Brooks and me. Here we are at the starting line. Quick history.....Brooks CAN'T beat me. Afterall, I've had at least 25 years practice. I still remember sneaking the jellybean in my glasses, then learning the trick to turn sideways, etc. Brooks has only been doing this for 5 years. Pregnant or not, I was going to win and I let him know it. (I'm holding Sally back so she won't eat more jellybeans.....as you can see Brooks thinks I'M the one that will be going down). Note: adults can't use their hands on the ground for balance. After some more smack talking the race began.....and it took ONE, let me repeat that, ONE nudge to get it all the way across the room for the obvious victory for.....Brooks. Are you kidding me?!?!? I TOTALLY didn't count on the wood floor factor. Seriously, next year, we're doing it downstairs on the carpet to slow the jellybeans down.
Next Brooks raced against Bronson to see who the real winner was while I sat on the couch eating humble pie. Brooks won (knowing Bronson was going to pick Red Lobster to go eat, I encouraged it), and chose his favorite restaurant.....McDonald's! Actually it's Aleeya's favorite, but whatever.........there's always next year.........

GREAT DAY!!!!

First of all, can I say, "Darn" because my camera/lighting doesn't really capture it. But a while back a friend (Larissa) talked about on her blog about making stencils with freezer paper (by wax paper, aluminum foil in store). It sounded super easy.
So I found a step-by-step tutorial on the internet. Brooks has ALWAYS wanted some Wake Forest stuff. But seriously, a hoodie is 55.00!!! Especially because he only likes the ones with zippers that go all the way down. So I free handed the "WF" from looking at it on the computer (come to find out I could've printed one off and made life easier on me....whatever) and put them on this sweatsuit. OH, but the sweatsuit makes me so excited! Because he's NEEDED new sweatpants and I knew they'd be on sale at Walmart now since spring is coming. I got the sweatpants for $3.00 and the hoodie for $6.00. So the whole outfit cost $9.00 (Maybe close to $10 if you count the fabric paint). He was super super excited how it turned out! Here's the link tutorial that I followed since there's major pictures and easy instructions. (Seriously, it's so easy. I did it during naptime and gave it to him that night.....make sure you leave enough time for it to dry!)
http://www.unwindknitting.net/archives/2006/09/freezer_paper_s.php


I was bummed though because my ORIGINAL idea was to give it to him for the NCAA tournament when I thought Wake would play here in Greensboro that he would've gone w/ a few brothers and his dad......but oh well.

The OTHER reason I had a great day yesterday was by bargains I got. First let me tell you, they're not as good as some friends of mine but I did spend more then I normally would've because we needed diapers and soap. Anyway I got the following all for $9:

2 packages of diapers

14 bars of soap

toothpaste

toothbrush

mouthwash

floss

Irish Spring Body Wash (smells awesome and hey it's St. Patrick's Day!)

deoderant

8 bars of kid's soap

8 packages of baby wipes

2 bags of jelly beans (for the jellybean race today!)

It was a mixture of CVS and Walgreens, but it sure was fun and Aleeya and Emerson were troopers (jellybeans didn't hurt either). I went to bed with a smile on my face finishing a super easy project and getting some deals. Who needs drugs to get a high?! Just get some coupons! :)

#1 (again)!!!

Brooks' (center bottom) b-ball intramural team won last night!!!! YAY!
I wish you could see the cool shirts better. I look forward to wearing Brooks'! :)
Aleeya sat in the stand calling "Daddy" for a lot of the game. It was so fun. It ALSO didn't hurt that Grandma's package of Bakugans just arrived in the mail that day. I don't remember really seeing Bronson and Camden the whole game. Every once and a while Bronson would look at the score board though to see who was winning.

Preschool St. Paddy's Day Party!!!

Here are my leprechauns before we headed off to the preschool party last Thursday!.....yes, I have some pretty big hams for kids. They love cheesin' it up.
And I HAD to put a picture of daffodils (which are my favorite flowers!). They're everywhere and all my neighbors keep giving the boys bouquets to give to me!!! (Probably feel sorry for me since our yard is the only one without them......but it's full of tulips!)

Oh, and my pretty-much-sister sent me this recipe for Neon Green St. Paddy's Day Cake. I haven't had time to make it yet, but I look forward to doing it. It I wish I had the ingredients here to make it!! Maybe next year.

Tropical Lime Cake

1 lemon cake mix

1 small package lime jello (not sugar free)

5 eggs

1 C oil

3/4 C orange juice

1/2 c fresh squeezed lime juice

2 C powdered sugar

Mix eggs, oil and OJ in blender or in a bowl with a hand mixer until well blended. Add jello powder and cake mix and mix well. Pour into a well-sprayed bundt pan and bake for 45 minutes at 350°. Mix lime juice and powdered sugar well. When cake is cool, remove from pan and drizzle icing over top to let drip down sides.

Check this out!!!!

I'm sorry, but this was just tooooooo cute and I HAD to post it!

Can you tell who runs this place yet?

Birds of a feather and pillows don't mix.

Ummmm, yea, we have a bird that just flew in our house. The boys and Aleeya are in HEAVEN! I feel sorry for the thing, especially since I just found 7 pillows on the floor where the bird was flying around. I guess since the bird didn't understand Camden's plea of "Bird, get on my hombro", they decided to knock it down with pillows. Thankfully, the bird is faster and my kids have bad aim.

Even as I write this now Camden just ran and said, "Mom, come turn on the fan" (obviously the bird is on the fan). So I better return now to save the bird from the kids......but it HAS proven to be great entertainment.Hopefully I won't be updating this mentioning a bird funeral......wait, WHAT THE......my dog just walked past me with a huge HAM BONE (size of Aleeya's head) in her mouth sneaking it in from outside! Stinker. Seriously, I should go before the animals (kids and animal kingdom-ites) take over!

I love my bathroom!!!!

So that may sound weird and you may be wondering why the "potty/bathroom talk". When we got the house, my bathroom was a plus because we've always just had one bathroom but to be honest, it's super small. I know, beggars, can't be chosers, but I stand with my arms spread and touch opposite walls/shower curtain standing both ways.....THAT'S how small it is. But lately, it's become my favorite room in the house!

Reason #1- check out this picture.....PURE GENIUS! Whoever thought to put the heating vent right by the toilet SEAT was enlightened beyond anyone's understanding! (For this reason though I've had to kick Camden out of the bathroom since he only wants to unload in this toilet seat because "it's warm".........another thing, why do boys complain over sitting down on the seat?!?! Hello! The majority of the time they're standing up! I don't hear girl's complain about it!)

Reason #2- Like I said, it's small. So EVERY bit of steam from the shower stays in and after I get out, I have a nice little sauna.....if only I could get the door to lock to maintain my privacy from my sweet followers.

Reason #3- It's where I unwind before bed usually. Because it only has one light switch, the light is connected to that loud/annoying fan, I never turn on the light (last thing I need to unwind is noise!). So I take my shower to unwind in the dark every night and I think it's the most relaxing thing EVER!!!

Even after reading my post and you're STILL wondering why I go off on my bathroom, let me tell you one more reason why.......I'm pregnant, and we pregnant ladies have weird cravings and passions and they don't always come in the form of food!!!!!

Note: The comment above is only true in this cicumstance.....EVERY OTHER craving IS related to edible items at this point.

A little late......

"A little late" on many accounts......#1 being that this snowfall happened on March 1st!!!! And #2 this was a week and a half ago and was followed by a weekend of high 70s and touched 80 once. (Just yesterday while talking to my sister the boys were outside in the sprinklers wearing their swimsuits.....)
That being said, my oldest, Bronson, LOVES LOVES LOVES the snow (and says Utah is his favorite place.....he's been there twice and one of those times when he was 6 weeks old). He just played and played outside. Bronson made his own snowman (above) and he was super proud of it too. Did you notice my yellow cleaning gloveshe has on his hands?!?! I know, pathetic. They pulled out boxes, tubs, and other things to try to make sleds (they don't sell them here), so yes, my yard looked a little ghetto, but they had a great time. I think the best thing they used was the little car they ride on around the house.
I WILL say though, my favorite thing about the snow is when it gets stuck on the branches like in the picture above with Bronson. It is just sooooo peaceful and it reminds me of driving down a road so close to my childhood home (Center Street). Camden and Emerson played maybe a total of 30 minutes outside, but Bronson really is the snow dude. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Aleeya did break free outside many times!

How did it go? You ask?

I know you were all wondering with baited breath on how the kiddos would behave in sacrament meeting this week after our practice session for Family Home Evening....

The fact that the BOYS have the suckers in the van after church should answer that question for you.......Bronson and Camden were great. Emerson was Okay-ish, considering I had to keep reminding him we don't sit on Mommy's lap, and we don't lay down either. Oh the whole though, for a 2 year old, he did pretty well.

Unfortunately we can't say the same for Aleeya......she talks, and talks, and talks, and talks. (Brooks says she gets it from me.........whatever). She did scream once but that was because she fell off the bench and whacked her head. Even during family prayers now, she'll sit there folding her arms (kneeling and everything) but just talk more loud then the person giving the prayer. I think in quiet settings she thinks its the only time she can get a word in around here.
Needless to say, she STILL got a sucker (like I'm going to explain to a 17 month old that your brothers are eating a sucker but you can't get one because of how you behaved two hours ago!).....it was obviously, red, and she enjoyed it VERY much, thanks for asking.