Another Lost Tooth!

And this one got knocked out too! {Well, it needed to come out anyway, it just needed that extra little push!}

Isn't it funny how goofy their smiles become when they start losing teeth?? Gone are those perfectly straight little baby teeth!

Valentines Day

As you all know, I work part time at a Florist shop. So it's no surprise that Valentines Day - er, I mean WEEK is our busiest time of year. {Well, Mother's Day is a very close second.}

Anyway, I have worked every day for a week and my very sore, achy feet can attest that I put in way more hours than this old body is used to.

The girls have only seen me for tiny amounts of time in the very early morning and then again at bedtime each day. I have been so blessed to have so many people help care for the girls this week. My wonderful hubby, my in-laws, my Mom and my very good friend Caroline. The girls have had so much fun that I don't think they minded one bit that we did not have a 'regular' school week at home. But I have to say ... I really missed them! Since I normally see them all day, every day ... it was sort of weird to not see them at all!

On Saturday I worked all day and so did Bob so we decided on a very easy dinner once we were all home that evening. We ordered pizza and the girls and I decorated the table all festive for our very last minute Valentine party. Bob and I really don't do gifts for each other but we did exchange cards and a couple of small items. The girls were excited that I brought home balloons and this super cute candy and flowers arrangement for the table. {They also got new Webkinz for Valentines day which they were thrilled with!}

The pictures below are the 5,000!!!!!! roses that went out from the flower shop along with all the other hundreds of arrangements we had to do. I still have to go in tomorrow for one more day of work, then I'm done for awhile. I'm exhausted and I'm sore and I'm ready for normal life again ... but we have several things going on this week too - like Joy's birthday and friends visiting and other happenings ... sigh ... no rest for the weary I guess!


This is what 5,000 roses looks like!


You know, I just re-read my post and thought I sounded very whiny - I'm sorry! I'm not whining! I'm thankful for my job, my hubby and my kids {among many, many other blessings in my life} so please don't think I'm whining!

Oh and one more thing. Even though this week has been super busy - I found little ways to show love to my family. Each day I wrote them personal little notes expressing things I loved about them so they would find the notes every morning when they woke up. The girls were so excited each morning to look and see what I'd written to them. One morning Hope even made ME a note which she told me I could not open until I got in my car on my way to work. When I read it she expressed how much she loved having me as a Mom and told me she was sorry that my feet hurt! Ha! I love them all so much. I am so blessed!

Free Printable Valentines

We printed and decorated some super adorable FREE Valentines to give to our home school co-op classmates. For the girls we made these Tootsie Pop Flowers and for the boys we made the Alligators {below}

Since I already had the colored paper, stickers, glitter glue and googly eyes at home this whole project was totally FREE! I added the link below if you want to go print some of your own. They have a few other designs as well.








Just follow this link to Skip to my Lou for free printable Valentines just like ours!

Beating the Winter Blues

This week's Meme at Heart of the Matter is all about how we beat those winter blues. Well, I was just talking about this over lunch today with my friends ... and I can honestly say that I'm not always the best at actually beating them - wanting to beat my kids, maybe!? But beating the winter blues is a real challenge for me!

{Surely you know that I'm joking about beating the kids, right?!}

Anyway, winter is hard for us. Winter is the one and only time when I actually do wish we lived in a Southern state. Don't get me wrong, I love where I live ... but when the cold, cold temps go on for months on end we all start feeling like wild animals who've been cooped up too long.

So, we have to have some coping strategies! Here are just a few ideas to help beat those winter blues without losing your mind ...

• Let the sunshine in. Every morning as soon as I've filled my coffee cup, I go around the house and open up all the blinds and curtains. It's not always sunny out, but it's nice to let in whatever natural light that you can.
  
• Get out of the house. This is hard when it's cold out and especially hard when your kids are sick. But if you're all healthy find ways to get out. Our kids go to Awana and Girl Scouts this time of year. We also try to go to the library or any other indoor field trips that we can. We recently went to an art museum with a group of home schoolers.
  

We also have a yearly membership to a local aquarium - and even though it's too cold to see some of the outdoor exhibits, we can still go see the indoor ones. Some times we might even just go to a local McD's that has an indoor playplace. Just bring a good book and let the kids play for a 1/2 hour while you read. Just having someplace else to go {a different change of scenery} can do wonders.

• If you can't get out then make fun at home. Do something different than you would normally do. Shake things up a bit. Make a fort and eat your lunch picnic style under it. Have the kids help you bake something to bring to a neighbor.
  

• Do your school work in a totally different way - let the kids teach the lesson, or anything else that is new and different.
  
• Tell everyone to put on dress up clothes, grab there favorite teddy bear and meet you in the living room for a teddy bear tea party.
  
• Pull out some board games and play something you haven't played in awhile.
  
• I keep a huge assortment of craft supplies. Kids stuff and my stuff. {And I'm even getting better at sharing my stuff with the kids!} There are lots of things that we can pull out and get involved with on any given day.
• Read, read, read! Long winter days beg for snuggling on the couch surrounded by piles of books. Gather the kids in your lap, snuggle up with blankets and get lost in a great story!
• Do something for yourself. I'm talking to you Moms! Take care of yourself and plan for time to be alone and time to refresh. When the kids have naps or quiet time in the afternoon - put down your mop and broom and go lay down yourself - read, pray, or just simply rest. On Friday nights, my kids go to Awana Bible club. While they are at Awana (for 2 hours) my girlfriends and I go out for dinner or coffee. We often go to Panera to eat and spend the time just chatting. It's so refreshing for me to get a little break from the kids and get some girl time with with girlfriends. I have also begun to make exercise more of a priority in my life {see previous post}, doing something good for my body helps give me more energy and makes me a much happier Mama. Another thing I often do for myself is my own personal little spa night {at home!} I soak my feet in a foot massager, repaint my toe nails, put a mask on my face and relax in front of the TV.
  

There are so many {little} ways that you can take care of yourself, even when you're a Mom of little ones.

• Plan an overnight weekend at a hotel. We recently went to a hotel with an indoor waterpark. Being in the warm water, flying down the waterslides, having such a blast ... it all made us {almost} forget that there were piles and piles of snow just outside those hotel doors!
• Or when you've run out of ideas ... just decide to make the best of things, bundle everyone up real warm - and head out to play in the piles of white, fluffy snow! The fresh air and exercise will do everyone well ... and when you come back in you'll all really look forward to that warm cup of cocoa!
  

And lastly try to remember ... these days will not last forever. Meaning the winter days, but also these childhood days. Next winter your kids will be one year older - another whole year gone by. It goes so fast. Yes, the winter is hard, yes, it seems to last forever, but trust me - these days will be long gone before you know it. The day your daughter gets married you might actually think back and long for one of those long winter days where you snuggled her close with a book in your lap.

Weight Loss

Today is the day I'm going to be really honest with you. {Not that I'm not usually honest, cause I am, but today it could get brutal!} I have hesitated to share this journey with you because it forces me to actually follow through on what I say and not flake out like I've done so many times before.

Plus, what woman ever wants to share her weight with other people? But after the whole CVS {KY} post I figured you guys are all pretty comfortable with me now. *grin* Might as well know a little more about my personal journey to try and lose weight!

So, I will say right up front that I know I'm not fat. I know that I am not in a desperate situation where my health in on the line. However, I will explain to you why I'm doing what I'm doing.

1. I have genetics working against me.
2. I have bad habits which include eating too much {I love food!} and not exercising {I hate to exercise!}
3. I have watched my weight creep up little by little year by year.
4. I want to be healthier for my kids, so I can be active with them and so I can live long and be a good example of health to them.
5. I am now in my 30's and it's harder and harder to lose weight and I know that if I continue to do what I'm doing that it will only get worse as I get older.

I'm not the type of person who wants to get all anorexic skinny ... but I do have a goal in mind. When I got married 12 years ago I weighed 130 pounds. That is a weight that I feel great at. I also know that for my height I should be weighing between 124 - 155 pounds. I'm starting this journey slightly over the top of that scale at 156.4 pounds. I would much rather be in the low to middle end of that scale. So 130 is my ultimate goal.

I have a couple of motivations {laugh if you want but it's what pushes me to keep going!}

• One is a picture of Bob and I on our honeymoon cruise. I am wearing a {small!} bikini in the picture. I use that photo as my inspiration because I would love to look like that again!

• My second motivation is in my closet ... I have a stack of no less than a DOZEN pairs of jeans that I have accumulated over the years that are just too small or tight. I have been unable to give them away because quite frankly I'm just too cheap! They are perfectly good jeans and I am motivated to be able to fit in them again.

• My third motivation is a trip we are taking this June ... my family and I are taking a cruise to Bermuda! Bob and I have cruised several times before but this time we are taking the girls for the first time. I never feel confident in summer clothes or swimsuits. I want to feel confident on this trip and really just enjoy myself.
  

So, what am I doing about all this?
First I am trying to incorporate more exercise into my life. Like I mentioned above, I hate to exercise and I have used every excuse in the book to avoid it. My famous excuse is that I'm a Mom of little ones, I'm homeschooling them, my life is so busy and I just can't make the time for it! {Always convincing myself that someday when the kids are older I'll make it more of a priority.}

Well I'm starting to realize what a lame-o excuse that one is! After all, if I'm too tired and busy to exercise now ... and I allow myself to steadily gain more and more weight over the next ten years ... how can I ever expect to have the energy to keep up with teens - or how about the fact that 10 yrs from now I'll have EVEN MORE weight to try to work off! Putting it off til the kids are older only puts me in a far worse position than I'm in now!

I'm also realizing that my life needs to be prioritized. Much like the way I like to keep my home organized ... I also need to organize my time and my priorities. If I never make the time to be healthy and make the time to take care of myself - how can I expect to be in any shape to care for my family? I spend PLENTY of time on the computer, watching TV, reading fiction books, doing other hobbies I enjoy. I know there IS time to exercise - I just have to make it my priority over the other {more enjoyable} things!

So, the other thing I'm doing is Weight Watchers. I have started and stopped 'diets' at least 3-4 times every single year. I always go through spurts where I don't care, don't exercise, don't eat healthy ... then after feeling like crap for a few months I'll get on a kick again and start another diet plan. I have started and stopped more times than I care to count! My husband and Mother in law could tell you - because I always share with them all my good intentions ... and they always see my fall off track over and over again {thankfully they love me SO much that they never give me a hard time when I don't follow through!}

This morning at the Weight Watchers meeting we had a new leader. She was very thin and in-shape and I could almost feel the tension in the air - the 'what can we learn from a skinny minnie like her?' attitude. Then she shared her story ... and that skinny minnie has lost 135 pounds! She was once more than double her current size! I think she won us over at that point ... it was such an inspiration to me! I may not have 135 pounds to lose ... but if I want to be thin and in shape, I need to do this!

What I love about Weight Watchers is that no food is off limits. You do have to count the point values of everything you eat. And yes, sometimes it's a pain to keep track all of that. But it helps you learn control. When I think about the large portions of food I was eating before -- it's no wonder I wasn't able to lose any weight!

This week, my first week on WW, I lost 2.8 pounds ... and yes, I even splurged - we had a Super Bowl party in which I ate WAY too much junk food -- but I still managed to lose weight because I knew that the rest of the week I needed to eat extremely well. It's OK to splurge from time to time and enjoy those things you really love ... but it's got to be in moderation and you have to eat well the rest of the days.

Real quick I want to go back to the exercise thing. Just a quick thing to motivate others. I know lots of Moms. One thing I noticed was that the Moms I know that are thin are either runners or they have great genetics! I always heard how great running was for you and how you lose weight when you run.

But I can't run. I never could. I would always get side splitting cramps and aches from my head to my toes - not to mention a bright red face and the feeling that my lungs were about to collapse!

Then I read about a program that taught you how to run. It's called the Couch to 5k plan. Basically they have you start out easy with only 30 second intervals of running mixed in with 2 min breaks of walking. I started this program last fall and could barely jog the 30 seconds the first few times I tried it! I remember telling Bob that there was NO WAY I'd ever make it to the 5k mark!

This winter has been hard to maintain the running thing. We've had more snow than the past 12 winters that I've lived here and I haven't been outside to run in weeks. But I have started using the treadmill at the gym. I am happy to say that I can now run for 20 min straight! I'm still not ready for that 5k yet ... in fact there is one coming up in about a month that Bob asked if I would like to sign up for - but I don't feel ready just yet. But I have seen how the plan CAN work if you keep going and keep trying. So now I try to do the treadmill at the gym at least 2-3 days a week and try to do something else at home {elliptical machine or workout videos} a couple other days a week.

Wow, all of the sudden I'm realizing how LONG this post is getting - SORRY! Anyway, there is more I could say but for now I need to wrap this up. At the bottom of the page I've included a weight loss ticker - a visible reminder of my goal and my progress. And if anyone has any questions I would love to chat. I'm no expert in this field - but would love to have others join me on this journey to good health. Take care of yourselves my friends! You only have one body and one life to live in it!

Contest Winner!!!!

So first I have to share with you a really {funny} 'dumb blond' moment I almost had when thinking up this contest ...

I went through my old posts and figured out how many comments have been left on my blog since day one. The number was 439. So I said to myself - that will be the winning number for my contest! Now, I'll ask my readers to guess how many comments have been left and I'll tell them they need to guess any number between 1 and 439. {Are you catching my dumb moment now?} If I'd phrased it like that one would naturally assume the answer was 439 otherwise why would I have come up with that totally random number??

Thankfully I had the presence of mind to re-word it before I posted the final blog! I'm such a dork sometimes!

Anyway, on to the contest winner! I said to pick any number between 1 and 1,000 and the number that was closest without going over would be my winner ... since the number I chose was 439 that would mean the winner is ....


MARY who said: "Now this is a way to get people to comment! haha!
Humm.... Sarah took my guess of 300 so I guess... 423 (scripture reference in your title)."

So Mary is the winner! I guess it's a good thing Sarah took your number! I love that Mary chose the scripture reference as her number! How clever!

And the great thing about Mary being the winner is that she lives locally so I won't even have to pay for shipping! Ha! So Mary, congrats, I'll see you on Friday and award you with your prize! =)

CVS this week

OK, this week is a great week for anyone who might be looking to get started in the whole CVS thing. I got some great deals with very little out of pocket ... and a fun way to spice up Valentines day! {wink, wink}

So, the first thing I bought was two facial products from L'oreal. I found coupons for both in my local paper so here is the breakdown:

Cream cleanser $5.99
Facial cleansing wipes $5.99

Approx. $12
Minus $2 coupon and $1 coupon = $9
Minus $4 in ECB's (extra care bucks) that I had = $5 oop (out of pocket)

This deal gave me back another $10 in ECB's
So I took those $10 ECB's and made another transaction ...

KY Yours & Mine (I will comment on this later!) $19.99
Minus coupon from my local paper OR available online! $5 = $14.99
Minus the $10 in ecb's I just got = $4.99 oop
AND this deal also gave me ANOTHER $10 in ECB's which I'm going to save for my shopping next week ...


So, I didn't get a lot of loot this week ... but did get a couple good items for only about $10 out of pocket and came home with $10 to use next time. Basically they are paying me to try these items for free. =)

Now, a quick product review on the KY. And forgive me if this is just TMI for my readers but hey, I'm a married woman so deal with it! I had seen this product advertised and thought it sounded kind of intriguing. But at $20 I don't think I would have ever bought it. And I have to say that although it was OK, the 'sensation' is not really worth the $20 price tag - besides it's not a very big container so it probably won't last too long. SO, basically what I'm saying is that it was really nice to try it 'for free' with my extra bucks because I don't think I'd buy it again for that price. Just my 2 cents ... for whatever it's worth!

Home Schooling Questions

Today's Friday Meme at Heart of the Matter is all about those goofy questions people ask you about homeschooling and your even goofier responses. Well, for the most part our friends and family are all very supportive of what we do ... but there are always those rare times when some stranger will ask us "oh don't your kids have school today?" or my favorite is the questionable looks we get from other parents when we're at the park in the middle of the day on a 'school' day.

So I haven't really encountered too many funny questions but I do recall one funny discussion I had with an acquaintance ... ( who I'm sure had innocent and well meaning motives behind her questioning!)

She asked 'do they still have to learn math and English like the public school kids?' Well of course we do!

She also wanted to know if my children have to take tests and how do I know how well they're doing in their school work.
Seems like an innocent enough question - but for some reason it makes me laugh. After all, who knows my children better than I (besides God!) ?! Yes, we do (some) testing, yes, we track their progress ... but to me the biggest indicator of their 'success' is simply seeing their growth from day to day! Any classroom teacher can tell you how her students have changed and grown from September to May - and we are no different! We can see clear differences in their abilities and educational growth just like any 'normal' classroom teacher.

So that's all I've got for funny stories for the moment ... I'm sure as the years go by we'll encounter many more moments that make us laugh. I think it's simply out of curiosity about the unknown that people ask these things. And I think most of the time it's purely innocent and not meant to hurt the home school parent. Homeschooling is becoming a lot more 'acceptable' and widespread ... but there is still a lot people don't know about it.

Have a great weekend everyone ... and don't forget to page down and enter my 300th Post contest below!

300th Post Party!!!

WOOHOO! This is my 300th post! Are you excited? Would you like to win something?

OK, how about I share a little bit of my craftiness with you. I just made a few of these super cute 'Boo Boo Packs' and I'm going to give one away to one of my readers. And I won't say what ... but I'm pretty sure I'll be throwing in a little something else for the winner.

What is a 'Boo Boo Pack' you might ask? Well that is the term my kids have given to this item. Basically it's like a large bean bag that we stick in the freezer ... when someone gets a Boo Boo, they use the cold pack to ease the pain. And what would a Boo Boo pack be without a big, loving heart sewn on the front? Let your kids know you love them and are always there to ease their hurts.


So here's what you need to do to win ... guess any number between 1 - 1,000. The closest number (without going over) will win! One guess per person please! This contest will end on Sunday night 2-1-09 at midnight eastern time. Happy Guessing!

Contest coming ...

I have almost reached a big milestone ... 300 posts! In honor of that I want to let you know that sometime in the next week I will be posting a contest - so keep your eyes peeled if you'd like a chance to win! {And don't forget to tell your friends!}