Bad Jingle Elf

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="360"] Bad bad Jingle[/caption]

Day 2- Jingle Elf

Jingle wants to brush her teeth too.

Holding myself accountable..

I am going to hold myself accountable to get off my butt and get some exercise,  wether it be a walk outside around our "loop" or a walk on my treadmill or a cardio workout video.  I HAVE to get motivated and get moving.    So here goes nothing,  here is my pedometer picture from todays walk.  My husband and I went for a LONG walk at home on our dirt road and it felt good.  I have wayyy more energy when I exercise.  :)

{Christmas decorating}

Yesterday the girls and I started to decorate the inside of the house and had a great time.  We got all the inside decorations up.  I love this time of the year.  I love the lights,  the Christmas songs, hot chocolate, coffee, baking, cooking and spending time with my family.  We may not have a lot of money but my kids understand that Christmas isn't about gifts but being with those we love and enjoying their company.

Here are a few pictures of the decorations we did....

 

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="461"] Girls playing in the decorations[/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="461"] Cutest pug ever[/caption]

Day 1- Jingle arrives

Jingle has arrived at our home and has already made some friends.  She and Barbie have been doing brodie's all over the house.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="461"] Jingle getting in trouble with Barbie[/caption]

Thanksgiving 2012

This year we had a great Thanksgiving day.  It was small but perfect.  I got to do the cooking and loved it.  We had all 6 kids together and my Dad and stepmom came over too.  I love being able to spend time with my family.  They are the best.   The holidays can be a little tough for me sometimes because I miss my mom and sisters and gma and our holidays but they don't seem to feel the same way as me and do not miss us.  So I just have to let that roll off my back and love the family I do have.  :)

We celebrated our Thanksgiving on Tuesday night because Steve had to work on Thursday and because of Anna's schedule.  Then on Thursday we went to Drytown and spent the day at my half sisters house and enjoyed the family time with them.  It was a great Thanksgiving and I am ready for Christmas now.  LOL

 

Happy 8th Birthday Natalie..

It is so hard to believe my "baby" turned 8 years old yesterday,  well technically the 18th,   I am a little behind in blogging for her birthday.  Have a lot going on.  Seems like just yesterday I was coming home from the hospital with her and worried sick how it was going to go with a 1 year old and a newborn.   I am not going to lie,  it was verrrry tough at first and for awhile it was tough.  It was double work.  BUT it gradually got better.

Now here it is 8 years later and you are a bright star in my sky.  You are a great kid and try to make sure everyone is happy.  You make me laugh with the cute things you say and ask me.  I love you for always having the cutest things to ask.  Like when you saw all the black and white cows and only one lonely brown one and you asked me if that was the cow that has the chocolate milk.  I will never forget that .. I laughed so hard and you just coulnd't figure out why it was so funny.

For Natalie's birthday we baked a cake and she spent the night at Gma and Gpa's and had fun with them.  They brought her home Sunday and we had cake and ice cream with the family and she got to open her gifts.  We all had a good time.  She was a happy girl.  I am glad she had a good weekend.

Natalie Alice, I love you to the moon and back!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="269"] Birthday girl[/caption]

RIP {Twinkie}

Hard to believe there will be no more twinkies.  When I was younger I used to love twinkies,  I haven't had one in years and years but it is sad to see them go.

RIP- Twinkie

{Genna Sue}

We have my stepdaughter Genna Sue (Yes that is her real name, Well its not Sue, but Susanne) on Fridays and she is quiet the character.  She has no sense of humor and things NOTHING is funny.  LOL  So I am always joking with her and she just rolls her eyes and sighs.  haha  We got her a kids meal and she ate her meal and wanted her toy and I asked her if I can have it and she rolls her eyes and sighs really loud and says,  SURE!   I am going to get this kid to have a sense of humor,  it is doable since she is only 4 1/2 years old.    :)

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="367"] Genna today with a rare smile.[/caption]

 

We did a lot of running around and errands today and Genna was really good,  but this is what happened as soon as we got in the car. Rough life eh?

I like it here much better..

I just recently made the switch from blogger to wordpress and with some help from a friend <thanks Desiree> I was able to make the switch smoothly and wasn't overwhelmed.  So here I am wordpress and I plan to blog a lot more if I don't forget.  LOL   I don't know what it was about blogger but they were driving me nuts with the new features and not being able to maneuver through it like I used to be able too.   But I am happy to be part of wordpress,  I like it much better already.

So here is to blogging!  Happy blogging everyone.  LOL

Girls parent/teacher conferences

All three of my girls had their parent/teacher conference this week and here is the results and how they are doing;

Hannah- she is doing very well.  With her IEP and extra help she is doing beyond better than I expected.  She is getting VERY good grades and is still working at her own pace.  She is still behind grade level but she is progressing very well.  I am super proud of her.  Hannah's teacher said that she is doing fantastic at math and has started to read and do her own tests without and intervention which is a HUGE step for Hannah.  One thing that I am VERY happy with this year is that she LOVES LOVES her teacher and has a lot of friends that are not rude to her like her friend last year that had her in tears everyday because she was rude to her.  Hannah has 3-A's, 2-B's and a C.  Hannah you are my smart girl and such a sweetheart.  Keep up the hard work in school... You are doing fantastic.

Emily- is doing well although she is behind this year,  but given this is the first trimester and 4th grade is a BIG difference from 3rd grade.  It is much harder.  Emily's teacher said that she is behind but it doesn't worry her because it is the first trimester and things will mellow out and she is catching on but a little slower as well,  she gets extra help on Math a few times a week because this is her weak subject (all girls actually)  Her strongest subject is social studies and spelling.  We can't be good at everything LOL  Emily was very proud that she got a 100% on her math test today and that she doesn't have to retake it.   Emily has the highest score on her multiplication facts and test for her multiplication facts.  She is very proud.  Emily has 3-C's, 2 B's and a A.    Emily keep up the good work and keep being an awesome kid.

Natalie- is doing pretty well.  Natalie is strong in writing and reading,  Natalie's teacher today said that she has the highest score in Advanced Reader and is above benchmark.  WTG Natalie.  Natalie also had her first detention last week that she didn't tell me about and I heard today from her teacher.  She dared a boy in her class to go to the bathroom and flush a pen down the toilet.  <trouble maker>  LOL  Her teacher says she is a very hard worker and when she comes to school she is VERY ready and eager to work and get started and loves to participate in class reading and discussions.   Natalie, as well as her sisters is struggling in math and getting extra help.  I can't believe they are doing Algebra in 3rd grade,  I remember doing this in high school.  UGH!   All in all Natalie is doing fantastic and we are super proud Natalie keep up the good work.

So all in all I am a very proud Mommy and I am going to be finding extra help for the girls here at home.  Wether it be computer games or online games,  I am going to be doing some google searches and see if I can find some good educational games.

Sick and tired of being.......tired!

I just cannot seem to get anywhere anymore.  I have little to no energy to face the day.  I went to the Dr. and he ordered a TON of blood work to see if everything was going good and to see if I had any under lying issues that were causing the lack of energy.  Got my tests results back today along with an email from the Dr. saying that ALL my blood work came back within normal limits and it all looked great and my cholesterol was fantastic.   So I emailed him back,  that I was super happy to hear that everything was within normal limits BUT what is causing this horrible lack of energy.  I just have a hard time staying awake and it seems worse in the middle of the day.  I used to be able to buzz around the house and get it cleaned in an hour or so,  now I have a hard time getting it done without taking breaks.  The Dr. answer to me asking why the lack of energy etc was that I am entering the "middle" age woman part of life and that I am starting the change of life.  Hmmmm ok!  Maybe he is right I know we all have different times we start the change of life BUT this is ridiculous.  I just want to know what I can do to get my energy back and feel good about myself.  I have to force myself to workout and when I do I feel better but still feel exhausted.  Its a vicious circle.  Dr. also said that is the cause of me not being able to lose weight either,  the change of life that is.  Ugh!

So I have changed my diet and cut out a lot of the processed stuff and no more soda (maybe once in a blue moon)  I drink lots of water and have a cup of coffee a day.  Only thing I noticed I haven't added to my diet is a nice strong vitamin.  I need a good daily womens vitamin.  I already take vitamin D, B-12, chromium picolinate, and biotin.  This is super frustrating when I am doing all in my power to feel better and have more energy.  Some days I have a little more energy than normal but it is short lived.  I am going to keep working at it and find a combination that works best for me and get this back on track so I can be active again.  I still push myself daily to get done what needs to be done and that wears me out.  By the time the girls are in bed I am ready for bed myself but that is when I can sit down and have some peace and quiet for me, and take a bath etc.  Maybe I should just go to sleep.  Maybe I should listen to my body.  I will not let this ruin my life and interfere with what I love to do and that is be active.  So I am going to do some research online and figure out some variations I can try until one works for me.  :)

Until then.....................I will update later!  Wish me luck!  :)

Sick and tired of being.......tired!

I just cannot seem to get anywhere anymore.  I have little to no energy to face the day.  I went to the Dr. and he ordered a TON of blood work to see if everything was going good and to see if I had any under lying issues that were causing the lack of energy.  Got my tests results back today along with an email from the Dr. saying that ALL my blood work came back within normal limits and it all looked great and my cholesterol was fantastic.   So I emailed him back,  that I was super happy to hear that everything was within normal limits BUT what is causing this horrible lack of energy.  I just have a hard time staying awake and it seems worse in the middle of the day.  I used to be able to buzz around the house and get it cleaned in an hour or so,  now I have a hard time getting it done without taking breaks.  The Dr. answer to me asking why the lack of energy etc was that I am entering the "middle" age woman part of life and that I am starting the change of life.  Hmmmm ok!  Maybe he is right I know we all have different times we start the change of life BUT this is ridiculous.  I just want to know what I can do to get my energy back and feel good about myself.  I have to force myself to workout and when I do I feel better but still feel exhausted.  Its a vicious circle.  Dr. also said that is the cause of me not being able to lose weight either,  the change of life that is.  Ugh!

So I have changed my diet and cut out a lot of the processed stuff and no more soda (maybe once in a blue moon)  I drink lots of water and have a cup of coffee a day.  Only thing I noticed I haven't added to my diet is a nice strong vitamin.  I need a good daily womens vitamin.  I already take vitamin D, B-12, chromium picolinate, and biotin.  This is super frustrating when I am doing all in my power to feel better and have more energy.  Some days I have a little more energy than normal but it is short lived.  I am going to keep working at it and find a combination that works best for me and get this back on track so I can be active again.  I still push myself daily to get done what needs to be done and that wears me out.  By the time the girls are in bed I am ready for bed myself but that is when I can sit down and have some peace and quiet for me, and take a bath etc.  Maybe I should just go to sleep.  Maybe I should listen to my body.  I will not let this ruin my life and interfere with what I love to do and that is be active.  So I am going to do some research online and figure out some variations I can try until one works for me.  :)

Until then.....................I will update later!  Wish me luck!  :)

Happy Halloween

Hard to believe that today is November 1st, 2012,  October literally flew by.  Before we know it it will be Christmas and then a new year!  YIKES!!  So the holidays are sneaking up on me.. just like halloween did.  Thankfully I got to order the girls costumes online and they were delivered on time :)

Steve was off work for halloween and it is the first halloween he has had off in over 4 years and I was happy he got to go out trick or treating with us.  We started getting the girls ready for trick or treating at about 4:45 pm and I put their makeup on and did their hair and then we got them dressed.  I took them outside and took a whole bunch of cute photos of them.  I just LOVE them.  :)  It was overcast and I was sure hoping the rain would hold off and it did... YAY!  We left the house and did a little house to house trick or treating and then met my Dad and Stepmom at the trunk or treat and we had a blast.  Emily LOVES the cake walk and won a cupcake and Natalie did too.

We got done at the trunk or treating and we went to feed the girls and as soon as we got in the restaurant it started raining SO hard.  Thank god the rain held out long enough for us to enjoy the trunk or treating .. Girls came home took a shower and went to bed and were out like a light  .. LOL  We all had a good time.  Hope everyone else had a fabulous Halloween.

Happy Halloween

Hard to believe that today is November 1st, 2012,  October literally flew by.  Before we know it it will be Christmas and then a new year!  YIKES!!  So the holidays are sneaking up on me.. just like halloween did.  Thankfully I got to order the girls costumes online and they were delivered on time :)

Steve was off work for halloween and it is the first halloween he has had off in over 4 years and I was happy he got to go out trick or treating with us.  We started getting the girls ready for trick or treating at about 4:45 pm and I put their makeup on and did their hair and then we got them dressed.  I took them outside and took a whole bunch of cute photos of them.  I just LOVE them.  :)  It was overcast and I was sure hoping the rain would hold off and it did... YAY!  We left the house and did a little house to house trick or treating and then met my Dad and Stepmom at the trunk or treat and we had a blast.  Emily LOVES the cake walk and won a cupcake and Natalie did too.

We got done at the trunk or treating and we went to feed the girls and as soon as we got in the restaurant it started raining SO hard.  Thank god the rain held out long enough for us to enjoy the trunk or treating .. Girls came home took a shower and went to bed and were out like a light  .. LOL  We all had a good time.  Hope everyone else had a fabulous Halloween.