Applause for Victoria's Secret

So I'm not really an online clothes shopper. I love browsing online stores and looking at catalogues but I never actually buy anything, just dream. Because you just don't know how they are going to look on.

Well I was wanting some new yoga pants because mine have a hole and some new linen pants because my old ones are maternity. I usually get them at Old Navy but I am avoiding malls because I don't have money to spend and I am a spender! I know my weakness, so its better not to go there! Plus it was easier to clothes shop with one kid, not so much with 2. And I use to shop all the time when Jackson was in a stroller, he was the perfect little shopper, now he is a terror and Andrew doesn't so much like the stroller like Jackson did. Needless to say, going to the store to get pants just isn't in the cards right now.

Well I found a pair of yoga and linen pants on sale in the Victoria's Secret catalogue, looked at the sizing chart, measured myself, and bought them.

They came in and were HUGE on me. Now while it sucked that they didn't fit, I felt good because that meant I wasn't as big as I thought I was! But they were the perfect feel and cut, just wrong size. So I mailed them back to replace them for the next size down.

I got them in yesterday (in record time, I might add!) and they fit perfectly! Exactly what I wanted. So my kudos goes out to Vickies online, very impressed with their pants and return service.

Rainy Day Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these today.... they turned out FANTASTIC!

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp hot water
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Cream together the butter, white and brown sugar until smooth.
• Beat eggs one at a time
• Stir in the vanilla
• Dissolve baking soda into the hot water and add to the batter with the salt
• Stir in flour, the chocolate chips
• Drop spoonfuls onto ungreased pans
• Bake for 10 minutes or until edges are nicely browned

I made about 12 cookies. I seperated the rest of the dough onto some plastic wrap. Wrapped it up and put it into a freezer ziplock for another day. (double wrapping prevents freezer burn and odor absorbtion) The dough will be good for up to 4 to 6 weeks, so I wrote the date on the bag.
When its time to cook some more cookies I will put the dough in the fridge for a few hours to dethaw and then I will let you know how they taste, after freezing!

Dinner Last Night: Lemon Chicken with Roasted Garlic

I made Lemon Chicken with Roasted Garlic with Oven Baked Potato Wedges. The chicken recipe called for thighs but I wanted breasts so I replaced it with 3 chicken breasts and it seemed to work out perfect.

I loved it and so did all the boys. I will definetly do the chicken recipe again. I liked the potato recipe but I think if I used a better roasting pan it would have worked better... next time!

Counting My Blessings

My hubby, Tim, has been building his collection of tools to prepare for when he gets out of school and can go to work as a mechanic. Yesterday, he was in a position to buy some really nice specialty ones. So he did and we were very excited! We sat on his tailgate as he showed me each one and what the use for it was. I think I got most of what he was saying but its kind of like me trying to explain my sewing tools to him... a foreign language. Well he had to get to a meeting, so he thought he grabbed the bag with all the tools in it (in his defense he was distracted because the meeting he was going to was something heavy on his heart) and put it in his shop. So he was left and I was trying to pile my 2 kids and my sister's daughter in the car to take them to the park, like I promised them. Well as I was driving out of my street, there in the middle of the road was the box to one of his new tools. As I stopped to pick it up, he came driving back down the street. He couldn't tell me what all he lost or where he lost it. But I have to feel like this happened to try to keep him from this much needed meeting. Well he retraces his steps to find them and they are already gone...

So he goes to his meeting, it is as important as I thought it would be. But he got home and was rightly very upset about losing his very expensive, brand new tools. He walked up and down Maybank Hwy trying to find some trace of them and only found a container in front of an Auto shop. I tried very hard to be the supportive wife but in this situation there is really only so much one woman can do. But we prayed over it and then tried to take our minds off of it until we could actually do something about it.

Well today, I went to that Auto Shop to see if they picked them up. Tim didn't think it would be worth it but I told him he underestimates the power of a crying woman with 2 kids on her hip. I went and talked to the main guy there who went to each of his employees and asked them if they saw the tools. No one had but he wrote my number down just in case. I left pretty positive we weren't ever going to see those tools again. But about an hour later, the guy from the shop called me saying one of his employees that wasn't working today did find some of them and was dropping them off.

I went there and he had a box full of the majority of tools Tim lost yesterday. I wanted to cry. How amazing is that?! And to emphasize the quality of these tools, they were apparently run over and have minimual scratches on them.

The lesson we took from this when all subsided, was that God gives us our earthly things and He can take them away, so our happiness can't be based on things of the world. We have to continue to realize that He is ultimately in control and we need to hold less tightly to the things He gives us.

Beauty Tip #2: Foundation Primer

So I have never used a foundation primer before, simply because Mary Kay didn't offer one so I never really knew about it. But this spring they came out with one.

Now I will say I love my mineral powder foundation but by the end of the day if I don't reapply it does tend to fade away. I never really paid much attention to it since I hadn't been wearing a whole lot of foundation, since my kids don't care whether I wear makeup. But its a fact of life, a mommy does go out occasionally and she does like to look pretty when she does.

So I decided to test this new primer with my foundation. I was thoroughly impressed! My makeup lasted longer than it ever has and I have been using that mineral stuff for quite some time! So my newest addition to my makeup collection is the Mary Kay Foundation Primer!

My primer is a lightweight gel, containing silica (a mineral optical diffuser) formulated to diffuse light to help reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and pores. But it also is oil-free and has an ingredient that absorbs excess oil!

Quick tip: Always use your fingertips when applying something to your face, because your palms have a lot of oil and your fingers don't have nearly as much!

Some TV Favorites

So I have never been a big TV show watcher but there are a couple of shows here and there that have captured my attention...I will admit when I first saw this show advertised I thought it looked ridiculous and I didn't want to see it. But we were bored and it was on Netflix instant so we decided to watch the first episode. I was hooked! This pair was awesome, the love interest is entertaining, the character cast is perfect, even the theme song is classic! I love it and Jackson did too, he could sing the theme song! I can't wait for season 5 to come out. So if you like dry wit, sheer ridiculousness, and pineapples.... this show is definitely for you! and if you do decide to check it out watch for a pineapple in some form in every episode.

Basically the main guy was trained by his father as a child to be a detective but he wasn't really cut out for an actual police job. so he pretends to be a psychic and does private detective work, sometimes for the police department. My only problem with the show is after 4 seasons of him solving all these crimes for the department, they still don't trust him. But he always shows them up so its all good.

Here is another show I underestimated... it came on reruns on local TV and we watched a couple of episodes. I wasn't sold at first because we picked up in the middle, I had no idea what was going on, and the main character I didn't like from that movie, Hitch. He was a douche bag and I never wanted to see his face again. Well my hubby really liked this show so I sucked it up and we started it from season 1. I am truly enjoying it now. Another great casting job, story, and good location. So far I've been pretty impressed but I'm still on season 2.

The main guy was a spy for the US but he got burned on a job and shipped back to Miami. He is stuck there until further notice, doing private recon for people in need. I think my favorite part of this show is that he is obviously well trained and good at what he does and does it with style.

This one is definitely an all time favorite! I have been watching Law and Order: CI for years and I think its safe to say I have seen them all... well at least until they changed the cast. I stopped watching it when they took away Goren and Eames. The story line was interesting but it was nothing compared to the main character pair. I loved them, they just played it all sooooo well!

This is actually a police show, but they are so not typical police detectives. They are wounded and intellectual. They can tear apart the bad guy with their minds. Its so good! I don't really care for any of the other Law and Orders, just this one.

I never even heard of this show until I visited my in laws one weekend. It captured my heart! I can't believe it only got aired for 1 season! But then again I would hate to watch them ruin it with too many seasons if they had no more ideas. It had nice blend of sci-fi and western (very unique to say the least). I would have never thought I would like it but I did!

It was pretty much the story of a lone ship flying around the universe just trying to survive and staying off the radar of the alliance. The crew was an odd blend of people that just happened to end up on the same ship at the same time. I never knew what to expect from one episode to the next. The characters were predictibly unpredictable and so was the plot. If you haven't seen it, watch it! and then watch the movie, Serenity. But don't watch the movie first or it will make absolutely no sense.

When I went back to work for a little while, my hubby had to find something to occupy his time. This show became it. He was addicted! So when I could I watched it with him. And skeptical isn't good enough for the feeling I had about it, but it ended up being very interesting. I don't know how these people come up with the ideas for this show... it was completely outlandish but I couldn't look away!

This police officer got sent to this town in the middle of nowhere to be the sheriff. As it turns out the town was some government operation, where they stashed a lot of incredibly intelligent people, like unnaturally intellegent. And this poor guy was left to clean up the messes of intelligent people with a lot of resources at their finger tips. Needless to say, this town almost got blown off the map numerous times.

Different Personalities

I never really thought about life as a mother before I became one. I watched my mom who had 4 girls and 1 boy but I took her for granted. I think I just expected that she knew what she was doing. But as I go through each day with my 2 little boys, I find out how drastically different their personalities can be even at such a young age. Jackson, my 3 year old, is a doer. He have to always be doing something. Always need 2 toys, one for each hand. He likes to be fixing things, or he loves cutting things (I have to control those times), he loves building robots out of legos. As long as he has something in his hands he is happy. He is very easy going and is ready for anything. Even when I have to punish him, it doesnt even really phase him. He handles pain very well, which is good since he is accident prone. But Andrew, my 16 month old, he has firecracker of a personality. He is a watcher, he watches everything. His bear is his favorite thing in the whole wide world. Which is funny to me because I got that bear at Jackson's baby shower and Jack Jack wouldn't even touch it. But Jackson had his paci and his tag on his specific blanket. But the thing about the bear is, it is now a collector's item, if I were to try to buy one now I would have to pay $30. Andrew is very emotional. If he is upset about something, even something as simple as taking away something he is not suppose to be playing with, he throws a fit. And his fits are UGLY! He throws himself backwards and screams like he is being beat. Now when Jackson had a fit I could distract him with something else, Andrew will not be distracted, if he is in the middle of a fit the only thing that will calm him is Bear or "Baa Baa" and even bear doesn't always fix it. Andrew likes to be held, He would climb back into my skin if he could. Jackson wanted to be on his own and doing his own things. I am constantly learning how to deal with and teach these boys in a way that they will understand. And what works for one, doesn't necessarily work for the other. Its exhausting! And I'm only in the beginning stages of their lives!

I sit here and think about the differences in just my two boys, and I don't know how some mothers do it with more than 2 because that is a lot of personalities to keep up with. I tip my hat to those woman, you are stronger than I!

Dinner Tonight: Shredded Pork BBQ

Crock pot is my friend.... it makes wednesday church nights sooooo much easier!!

I bought a pork tenderloin on sale last week at Bi-Lo and my friend gave me an awesome EASY!! recipe for Shredded Pork BBQ.

Ingredients:

Water
Pork Tenderloin
BBQ sauce (whatever you prefer)
Salt and Pepper (optional)

Directions:

Put your tenderloin in the crock pot.
Fill some water up about halfway on your pork.
I seasoned it (to taste) with some salt and pepper.
Turn it on high for about 5 hours (or low if your going to be gone all day).
Drain the water out of the bottom and shred your meat with a fork. (It should just fall apart... if it doesn't, its not done yet).
My crock pot has a "keep warm" setting, so I turned it on that and soaked the meat in BBQ sauce (I used a brown sugar and hickory because my hubby likes tomato-based sauce and I like sweet)

We are going to have macaroni and cheese and green beans.... This is my first time make this and its turned out pretty tasty. I'm excited! :)

Light at the end of the tunnel

It all started sunday night, we were in the backyard hanging out and Jackson started wandering off. So automatically I asked him if he had to go potty. I always ask him this and he always says "No!" especially if hes doing something he doesn't want to stop. But he looked at me and said "yes". It caught me a little off guard but I snatched him up and put him on the potty and my little boy pooped!! For some reason ever since then he keeps calling the potty a spaceship. Whatever works, I dont care! So this morning he told me "mommy I got to go poop in spaceship". He got on and I guess couldn't go. So we waited a few hours then he told me he had to go poop and got on the potty all by himself and went!!! It was very exciting. Then after lunch, he was walking funny, so i just kept asking him if he had to go. He kept saying "no" but then out of no where he gets up and runs to the potty, is gone for a few minutes. Then he runs back out to me to tell me he went!

Today was a huge break through!! Needless to say; he got 2 stickers on his chart, a lollipop, and a cupcake! YAY FOR JACKSON!! I hope it lasts!

Also he is now consistantly peeing in the potty with very few accidents. I havent had to clean his sheets in at least 3 days! Thats huge since I was washing them every day before!

Pasta e Fagoli

This turned out AMAZING!! I was nervous about all the ingredients but it ended up being SUPER tasty!

Ingredients:
1 tbsp oil
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion; chopped
2-3 carrots; slivered (I put it in my processor)
2 stalks celery; diced
1 cans diced tomatoes
1 can Red Kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
32oz Beef Broth
1 1/2 tsp Oregano
1 1/4 tsp Pepper
2 1/2 tsp freshly chopped parsley
3/4 tsp Tabasco Sauce
24 oz Spaghetti Sauce
6 oz dry pasta (I used macaroni noodles)

Directions:
In a large sauce pan, Saute beef in oil in skillet until brown.
Add onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add beans, beef broth, oregano, pepper, Tabasco, spaghetti sauce, noodles.
Simmer until carrots and celery are tender. (Approx. 45 minutes)

This fed 3 adults and 2 kids and I still had about 8 cups leftover!

Dinner Tonight: Pot Roast

I got a great deal on a roast at Bi-Lo, so tonight is pot roast night! I prep this in the am and put it in a crock pot, so tonight all I will have to do is make the egg noodles.

Ingredients:
3 medium potatoes, cubed
3 large carrots, cut in chunks
1 medium onion, cut in wedges
2 celery ribs, cut up
2-3lb Beef Chuck or Roast (salt & pepper to taste)
2 tbsp oil
3/4 cup of water
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Beef bouillon granules

1. Place veggies (potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion) in bottom of crock pot

2. Heat oil in skillet

3. Season meat to taste (I use pepper and garlic salt) and brown in oil

4. Place atop veggies

5. Mix up water, Worcestershire, bouillon, and basil and pour on meat.
6. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours
7. Serve with egg noodles and ENJOY!

Grocery Shopping

So after a few long grueling days of preparing a menu, making my grocery list, searching sales and coupons; I went shopping yesterday! I hit up 4 stores with 3 kids. We went to Publix first, because they have the best buy 1, get 1 free deals! And my friend taught me, if its B1G1 I can redeem a coupon for each item. So for example, my husband LOVES triscuits; and they were B1G1, I also had 2 coupons for $1.00 a nabisco item. So I basically paid 75 cents for each box because they were around $3.50 each, so if I didnt have a coupon they would have been $1.75 each.

And I just want to say, the person that invented those car shaped carts were geniuses and I love them. With my 3 yr old, my 1 yr old, and my sister's 4 yr old, we needed a little something to keep them happy while I made my way around these stores. They also got a Sonic slushie for being so wonderful, as I dragged them around James Island.

Then we went to walmart to buy the large items such as toliet paper, dishwasher detergent, cat litter, etc. I always love walmart runs and I would do more of my bulk shopping at walmart if a super were closer but that fight is not worth the savings....

Then Food Lion, I usually don't do a whole lot there but they had the best ground beef and chicken deals this week. So we had to make a special trip.

We ended at Bi-Lo. They had the best prices for roast and pork loin. At that point, all the children were way past nap time and getting a little crazy. It was kind of funny to watch play out. Jackson couldn't fit in the cart and it was Naomi and Andrew's turn to ride in the car, so I had to let Jackson walk. He was wandering aimlessly, messing with things and when I would call him, he would look at me with this glazed over look in his eyes. So we finished up our shopping and I took them home to chill.

Best way to wear your kids out (and yourself), go shopping at 4 different stores.

the hard days....

Some days are just harder than others.... the kids frustrate you, your husband frustrates you, the dogs frustrate you, basically everything gets on your nerves.

On those days, trusting that God is there and knows the struggles I am having is such a comfort. That and knowing even though I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel, I do know its there.

Life is just hard sometimes, but no one ever said it was going to be easy.

Here's to... getting stuff done!

It may have been a rather dreary day but it actually worked out great because I was able to sit and the tedious things done I never have time to do.

Took on the side of the yard that needs a little TLC. I got a lot done, but it would be a heck of a lot easier if I had the proper tools and a great pair of gardening gloves. But in the process I gathered lots of vines and branches for the Survivor themed Youth Lock-In next weekend! So that's exciting.

I got all my coupons printed and sorted. Then I took my store sale fliers and found where the best deal for my coupon was located. I wrote out my menu for the week according to the best meat prices. Now all I have left is to write my grocery list and take inventory on my cabinets, and I will be ready for shopping day!! Then to keep my fingers crossed that all this crazy work will be worth it.

I cleaned and swept the house, picked up my children's toys, loaded and ran the dishwasher, made dinner and now its time to brush teeth and get these kids to bed, so I can hang out with my hubby!

Its so nice to end the day in a clean house! What a stress reliever!

Beauty Tip #1: Makeup Brushes

Every Makeup lover should have an awesome set of brushes. But that brush can collect a lot of unneccesary buildup. So here are some great brush cleaning tips:

• It is best to clean brushes monthly to avoid product and bacteria buildup.
  



• To clean, wet the hair. Squirt a mild shampoo in your palm and sweep bristles back and forth in a circular motion.
  



• Rinse well. Squeeze out excess water with a towel; reshape bristles with fingers and lay brush with hairs extending out over a ledge to dry.
  



• Never dry brushes upright, as water can seep in and weaken the handle.

My opinion of Direct Sales

I have heard many mixed reviews on direct sales. Some people love it, some people can't stand it, and some people just can't say "no". Bottom line is direct sales has been around for longer than we can begin to imagine. These days the idea of someone coming to your door to try to sell you something repulses a lot of people. People, nowadays, go home to get away from consumerism. But in the days of people, who lived and worked and never left their homes, sales people (depending on the person and the product) were probably a refreshing break from their normal lives. Plus they didnt have to go anywhere because it was all done at home. I don't know a lot of history on direct sales, I just know snippets of what i've read, heard, and seen. And the idea of a direct sales party to a bunch of housewives was a big deal. Women use to love that stuff! And from what I hear it does still go on but not to the extent it use to. I can't seem to get anyone to show up to my party or get anyone to host any. Maybe thats a sales flaw on my part, who know. I'm not overly worried about it though, life is just different these days. I mean why buy something from someone out of a catalouge when you can just run to the store and get something similar right now. Basically, why wait for something you can get immediately somewhere else?

I started using Mary Kay products back in middle school. My mom was a consultant, she had all kinds of products and did parties. She LOVED it! Well when I got into high school, the peer pressure finally hit me hard. Yes, there was peer pressure with makeup. All I ever got to use was Mary Kay because thats the only thing my mom would buy us. And I didnt understand, all I knew was everyone else got the "cool" makeup off the commercials and I could only use Mary Kay. Some when college rolled around, I was finally on my own and could buy the "cool" makeup. Yeah, I found out quickly the REALLY good stuff it astronomically expensive and the cheap stuff didn't last at all. So when I moved back home, I switched back to MK. It was then I realized that I was really lucky that I used those products as a kid because my complexion has just always been really good. So when I started staying home after I had Jackson, I realized I needed a creative outlet. My mom still had MK products but wasn't really doing parties anymore. So I took over here inventory and fixed it up. Its been almost 3 years since I started selling it.

Now I've read all the books on "how to sell" but I realized when I worked at Victoria's Secret back in college that I am no good at selling something I don't personally stand behind and I also learned I am absolutely no good at talking people into stuff they don't want. Some people have a talent for that... I am not one of those people. I am the kind of person that if you come to me, looking for a product that I sell, I can help you, take good care of you, and get you everything you need with a big smile on my face. But I am not good at seeking people out and trapping them in an awkward situation, a situation neither of us want to be in.

So now having said that... I love Mary Kay products and I also love PartyLite candles. I can't find anything in stores that can even begin to compare to these two products. (Pampered Chef is great too but I have enough direct sales businesses on my plate as it is). I have my businesses set up so that if anyone wants something I sell, I will get it for you and deliver it to you. If you want to do a party, I can do that too.

My whole point for writing this is because, I want to start doing some product reviews on here. There is a lot of new stuff out and since I don't do alot of parties I'm not able to tell anyone about it. And I do thoroughly enjoy my products, I wouldn't sell them if I didn't.

PBS Kids

We have been cutting costs and one of those costs was cable television. But we got a digital antenna so we are able to get a few local stations (fox, abc, cbs, pbs, cw, etc). I actually prefer it this way because i'm not living in front of the TV because I can't handle soaps and court shows. But I have found that PBS is actually a really great channel (sometimes). So here is my reviews on the kids' shows... (I promise my child does not sit in front of the TV all day... these reviews were developed over a long period of time of watching at random times of the day)

Martha Speaks - It is actually not a bad show, totally a ridiculous concept (a dog ate alphabet soup and now she can talk??) but not more ridiculous than spongebob I suppose. Aside from that they teach vocabulary and is a clean funny.

Curious George - I personally enjoy this show. It teaches practical application of math and science concepts. At the same time its just enjoyable to watch. But I will say that man with the yellow hat is rather irresponsible with him monkey.

The Cat in the Hat knows a lot about that - I am a huge Dr. Seuss fan and was very skeptical about how this one was going to be played, but they definitely did a good job. Its is one of Jackson's favorites. While he makes some book references, it is NOTHING like the book. He teaches the kids about animals and nature stuff but makes it entertaining and fun. If you remember Martin Short, he plays the voice of the Cat in the hat.

Super Why - This show aggrivates me, it twists childhood favorites to fit their agenda. I find it kind of annoying, Tim won't even watch it. I allow it because it teaches words and letters in a fun way and Jackson seems to enjoy it.

Dinosaur Train - The kid dinosaurs on this show are annoying, the voices they chose are not the best. I dont personally watch this show unless I'm desperate.

Seasame Street - Man, I feel like the show has changed from when I was a kid... Some of the people are still the same, most of the muppets are still the same, they are still teaching letters and numbers. I hate that cookie monster is gone. But overall, its still a good show. And I love that celebrities still take time to be on it, that makes me happy.

Word World - This show is really creative! I like the way it was done. It is very innocent but well thought out. I just don't understand why they had to make the Sheep so annoying and why does she she um between every word?? was that really necessary?

Between the Lions - This show creeps me out. We don't watch it.

Calliou - Aside from the fact that the boy sounds like a girl and has a really whiny voice, it is cute and shows the creativity of a 4 year old. When I can watch it, it gives me good ideas on activities for Jackson. But the TV usually is off when it is on so we don't get to watch it very often.

Barney - Jackson would watch this if he could, but Barney gives me nightmares, so we don't

Word Girl - Its good fun. Cute Idea. Teaches vocabulary a little above Jackson's level but hopefully he picks up on it.

Arthur - This show gets on my nerves. I feel like there are a lot of awkward situations and I don't like awkward. I think Jackson likes it but I can't stand the voices. I remember my sister use to love it, and It teaches good stuff but I just can't watch it.

Fetch with Ruff Ruffman - This one is usually one when I'm making dinner so I haven't really sat down and watched it. Apparently the real kids go on scavenger hunts and do contests assigned them by a cartoon dog. It seems educational, so I allow it at times.

Electric Company - This one is cheesy and strange. I dont really know what to make of it. Jackson has no interest in it so we turn the TV off.

Interesting Phone Call

So a lady calls me tonight about 8:30pm. I'm not really sure how she got my house number... I don't think anyone has that number (well except the creditors looking for LS Thompson). I'm not worried about it though, its not like I'm doing anything crazy at the moment. Well she sells products from a wellness line Melaleuca. I have never heard of it before but apparently they sell natural, non-toxic household products (I believe) at wholesale.

So if your interested in that kind of stuff, she gave me her number and I'd be happy to pass it along to you or click the link to check out her page Shoshanna Szuch

Smoothies are my favorite!

So for christmas I wanted a blender! So my wonderful husband went out and found me the best blender he could find. So for Christmas I got a NINJA!! It is AMAZING!!! If you have a Costless Outlet nearby, I saw one for about $35... and it was a 3 piece, blender/processor set.

I want to share my smoothie recipe with you, so you can go make your own. I found I was spending $7 a cup on smoothies at Smoothie King and Planet. But the ones I make at home are just as good and actually fresh and not soaked in syrup.



Ingredients:
Frozen Strawberries
Can of Crushed Pineapple
Apple Juice
Orange Sherbert or Mango Sorbet (or yogurt of your choice)

I make my batch for 2 adults and 2 kids, so its a pretty good bit. I put the bottom layer of strawberries to the 1 or 1 1/2 cup mark. Then I pour Apple Juice to the top of the strawberries. I then add 2 or 3 scoops (I use an ice cream scoop) of Pineapple. Then 2-3 scoops of sorbet/sherbert. I have needed to add ice unless I put too much juice. Just play with it because its tasty!

Adventures in Potty Training

While I was a sister to 2 younger sisters and 1 younger brother, I don't remember them being potty trained. I remember a lot of things about their childhood but all I remember about potty training was they were in diapers and then they weren't. So potty training my 3 year old, Jackson, has been an adventure (a gross one!) to say the least. And I'm afraid its only just begun. Now new mothers, don't read this and think "oh no, my child is going to be impossible to potty train". Everyone I've talked to (especially mother's of little girls.. because that's all I really know) didn't really have a fight with it. But what I have been reading is little boys are the potty training problems. anyway....

My adventure began sometime after Jackson's 3rd birthday (in August), it was brought to my attention that it was "time"! That thought alone scared me. I was definitely not ready for this... So we start putting him on the potty, slowing introducing it. He would only go a little bit but it was something. Then one day, I knew he had to go Poo so i sat him on there for a little while with a book (this is the reason men spend so much time reading on the toilet, because their mothers made them do it when they were potty training). He finally went! I was so excited! I gave him a lollipop (I keep a bag of dum dums in the bathroom), we put a star on the star chart, I sang a song. But he was so incredibly freaked out by the whole idea of pooping in the potty that he hasn't done it again.

He's becoming a pro at peeing in the potty! He holds it all night, he's holding in between potty breaks, we are getting somewhere but the poo... I just can't handle this.... I can't let him in the backyard to play if he hasn't gone because he will hide behind a bush and go in his pants (he's exclusively in underwear now) or he will hide under the table and go, and the past two mornings he woke up before me and went in his bed. I am officially tired of cleaning sheets, floors, underwear, pants and shoes and the list goes on, oh the things my child has ruined! At least hes not spreading it all over the room before I get in there, like he use to do. This things don't frustrate me nearly as much as when I'm cleaning his legs and bottom, he starts instructing me on what "I need to do next"... such as "mommy put me in the shower" "mommy clean it up" UM EXCUSE ME! I don't know how well my pride can handle being bossed around by a 3 year old. I've taken to making him help me clean it up and he has to wash it off (with my supervision of course) But I'm at the point, you're old enough to help me with your disgusting mess!

I have tried reasoning with him, I have tried bribing him, I have tried sitting him on the potty for half the day... I am so tired of cleaning poo.... I guess my many years working in the back of a veterinarian office has trained me on dealing with this current situation. Everyone keeps telling me there is a light at the end of the tunnel, I'm definitely in the tunnel but I don't see the light yet!

Bills=Stress... for me anyway

I want to hear your opinions on how to deal with the dreaded time of the month.... bills and budgeting!

There's just never enough and I'm always juggling. How do you make bill paying less stressful???