Flower By Kasi

So what do you think?

Looks like it was painted by a two year old, right?

Nah, I'm just kidding! The girls were given some magnets to paint as Christmas gifts, and this was the last one Kasi did. I think she was pretty much done with painting by the time she got to this one.

I love the crazy eyes, though. They are SOOOO Kasi! lol!

It's Raining

Most of you know why I hate the rain. I already have the buckets out, waiting for the drips to start. The weatherman is calling for heavy rain all day; up to four inches. Just in case you are new here, let me explain. My ceiling leaks in like eleven places, and whenever it rains I have to live with buckets on my floor to catch the water. It is not a fun experience.

This also means that my mom probably won't make it to Brandi's performance tonight, because she has a hard time seeing in the dark to begin with, and add in the rain and you are asking for disaster. It's okay, though, because I plan on having Ryan videotape it for me so I can post it on here for everyone to enjoy.

It's times like this, though, that I wish I had invested in a camera bag for him. I have a very small one for my camera that fits into my purse, but his video camera is going to get a little wet tonight without something to protect it. When we went camping, I had him use a small tote to carry all his electronics, like his video camera, mp3 player, portable dvd player, psp, and all the movies and games that go along with them. That will not work tonight.

I think a camera bag might be something that Santa can bring him. I found these really cool sling camera bags that look like backpacks. The great thing is that you can kind of unstrap one side to sling it around to the front, so you don't have to take it off, and you have a harder time dropping it. I would say that you couldn't drop it, but I know my son and I am sure he will find a way.

I guess for tonight I will just have to carry a bigger purse.

How Creative Is This?

Those of you who read my main blog can skip this, because I posted about this over there lasy night. BUT...it most definitely needs to be seen over here, too, because this is one of the most creative things I have seen in a long time.

See, I entered a picture of Brandi and her bff in their Halloween costumes...the pink fairy and the angel...and it won a Halloween costume contest! How cool is that? I got my prize in the mail yesterday...this awesome pumpkin! The girl who made it cut the front off of one of those foamy pumpkins they sell in craft stores and decorated in this awesome witch scene. I have never seen anything like it before!

I am so excited to display it next year for our annual Halloween party.

Being Overprotective

When I was a new parent fourteen years ago, I questioned everything I did. I was so inexperienced. I have three younger siblings, so I had been around babies. It was just that I had never been solely responsible for one.

I was just like every new parent, I think. I mad sure everyone washed their hands before touching him. I made sure he was always wearing a complete outfit, from onsie to shoes. I never let him out of my sight, and I was completely overprotective.

I can admit this now, but at the time, I just thought it was good parenting. By the time I had Brandi, I was a pro, and I think I was a little more relaxed. I remember when Ryan started walking, we used to put him in a harness buddy whenever he wanted out of his stroller in public. People used to give us the strangest looks, but we didn't care. I thought those things were great, and I was thrilled the first time I saw my sister use one with Carson. In fact, I see them all the time now.

I still think they are great, and now they can look like animal backpacks. I told Junior the other day that we needed to have another baby just so we could use all the new baby stuff they have available these days.

He didn't go for it.

Teacher's Gifts

Every year, I try and make something for the kids teachers and the bus driver. Now that Ryan and Kasi are in the middle school, I only have to make for Brandi's teacher and Peggy, the bus driver. This means I can spend a little more money on each of them.

The problem I am having is figuring out what I want to make.

I am slap out of ideas. What do you do for your kids teachers? Gift cards? Apples? lol! I really want to know~!

Management Companies

I have made real headway with the packing this past week. I am about ready to take out the Christmas decorations so I can use those totes to pack. Every year I put away my everyday knick-knacks to put out the Christmas ones, so I figured I would just pack the everyday stuff for good instead of putting it back out. Makes sense since we are moving in February.

I was researching online what recourse we have if any, with the management company. I believe with my whole heart that we are dealing with the worst one in the country. We have been here for almost 16 months, and for those 16 months we have complained about our leaking faucet. Well, I say leaking, but what I really mean is that the bathroom tub faucet doesn't turn off completely, so water pours from the faucet 24 hours a day. I'm just glad we don't pay the water bill.

During my research, I found Real Property Management. Now, this is a company I would love to rent from. They are award winning, and come out three times a year to check on their properties, making sure the tenants are taking care of their properties. If they do that, I am sure they are interested in keeping their properties in good repair. The company we rent from obviously doesn't care, but you have all heard my horror stories.

I just can not wait to move.

Beautiful

That is the only word I can use to describe this bowl I found on etsy. It is in Karen's Karvings etsy shop. This is just one side of a four sided bowl, and each side is just as beautiful. She hand carves everything...I am so impressed. This is one talented lady. You can find the other four sides of this bowl here, and make sure to check out all her carvings. Elephants may be my favorite, but you may like one of her other animal carvings better.

This bowl is way out of my price range, but I just had to share it's beauty with you.

To Play Or Not To Play

Okay, who plays this game?

Because I don't have enough things to keep me busy, I am thinking about checking out World of Warcraft. I know, it will probably suck me in like all the other games I play. I have heard that it is fun to play, and extremely hard to stop playing once you start.

Can you tell I have an addictive personality? I am now active seeking out things that will take up what little free time I have these days. I was also wondering if any of you players have ever bought gold to play with, instead of finding or earning it yourself. (See, I am not even sure how you get gold in the game, but I am already looking for shortcuts!) I have heard you can buy wow gold so that you can "skip the boring parts of the game". What boring parts? How long do these boring parts last? Is this game as fun as everyone says?

Come on people. Help a girl out. Should I start playing?

My Ratty Looking Children

This is what my brats looked like going to school this morning. Can you tell it's been a long week? I promise you that the girls hair really did look a lot better than this picture shows...or maybe I was just too tired to notice! lol! Either way, it's Ryan's birthday today, and we are meeting some friends and family for supper tonight at Golden Corral (Ryan's choice) and I am really looking forward to it. I just love spending time with the people I love.

Laser Hair Removal For My Legs

I hate shaving. As much as it embarrasses me to admit this, now that I am no longer wearing shorts every day, I am no longer shaving every day. I know, it's mostly laziness, but I can't help it.

I am thinking that I might need to look into laser hair removal in chicago and maybe have the problem taken care of once and for all. The thought of never having to shave again is nice, but I am curious about the pain involved. I am too chicken to wax, so I don't know how brave I would be about having laser treatment.

I think I might need to do a little more research. I am not even sure if they do legs. Here I am getting all excited, and I don't even know if what I want is possible.

Okay. I just did a little reading, and it seems you can have your legs done, and it will kind of hurt. They use a topical anesthesia for large areas, so that tells me there will be some pain involved.

Now I need to decide if the discomfort will be worth it.

I've Been Shopping

I bought this bracelet for Kasi last week as a Christmas present. I am happy to say that all the "girls" I have already bought for, I have bought home made off of etsy.

I bought myself a black and silver "memory" bracelet for myself a few months ago, and Kasi loved it. She keeps begging me to let her wear it to school.

Um, no. She has a tendency to lose/break things. So, Santa will bring her this cute pink and purple one. It's more suited for a 12 year old than mine is. I found this in trinitygrace's etsy shop. This bracelet was $4, and that includes shipping.

I hope Kasi loves it!

That Means What?

I have got to tell you all about this website I found. I can not think of one reason why I would need to use this, but it looks so cool.

Basically, it is an online translator. You submit what you need translated, and depending on the length of the translation, you could have results in as little as one day. I am curious about the name translation. I think it would be interesting to see what my name looks like in Chinese or something.

I have to make sure my kids don't get wind of this. I am sure they would figure out a way for this site to do their Spanish homework.

All Done!

I love this! I had so much fun with it. I am glad it is finished, because I want to try something else. It's really not crooked like it look in the picture...I think it was because I took the picture with it laying on a chair. I wish I had bought all the kits they had at that yard sale.

I am assuming this is the same general way that beaders make all their beautiful jewelry. I am excited to draw out a pattern and try my hand at a bracelet. It might have to wait until after Christmas, though, because i found so many other projects that were packed away when I started packing the other day. It's amazing how many things I have started and never finished.

It's time to finish...

Chinese Withdrawals

From now until February, we are on a really, really, really tight budget. One of the easiest ways for us to save money is to stop eating out. We usually only do this once every two weeks, because it is so expensive to feed our family of five, especially now that Ryan and Kasi are considered adults. A trip to the Chinese buffet can easily cost us about $45. We usually only do this about once every few months. But, since Chinese is my favorite food these days, I crave it all the time. I have been trying different recipes, in an attempt to create my favorite dishes at home. The only thing I have come close to making is the inside of an egg roll.

I recently found this store that sells asian food online. The best thing is that they also have recipes that you can follow, and a few cooking videos. I really want to try to make their fried rice recipe, because I can never seem to get this right. I have tried many times, but it never comes out tasting like it does in the restaurant. I can also buy the ingredients online, and they offer fast shipping, with a flat rate of $4.99. If I spend over $50, I can get free shipping. I bet I could easily qualify for that free shipping, because there are so many things that sound so good.

Don't worry. Once I perfect some of these recipes, I will invite you all over for supper.

Trying Something New

Over the summer, I found this kit at a yard sale to make a banner out of beads. Last night I pulled it out and decided to give it a try. As with most thing, I can not put it down. I just can't wait to see the finished product. I thought it was going to be a lot harder than it is.

In fact, it makes me want to try making some bracelets with little beads...

Tea, Sweet Tea, Iced Tea...Too Many Teas!

I remember as a little girl, going to my Grandma's house, and watching her drink tea. My sister and I always begged her to try some, but it wasn't until we were a little older that she finally let us.

I hated it. In fact, I am not too fond of any type of tea. I know, living in the South and I don't like sweet tea. People look at me like I am insane. But, growing up in NY, when people asked for tea, they got hot tea. When I first moved down south, I got a job at Hardee's. I will never forget the first time a customer asked for tea, and I handed him a cup of hot water and a tea bag. It was more than embarrassing having him tell me that in the South, tea or sweet tea means iced tea.

Who knew?

I keep hearing about the benefits of drinking white tea, but I just can't do it. I do, however, usually keep tea in the house, because Junior and the kids love it. They can go through a couple of gallons a day. Ryan has taught himself how to make it, so at least that lightens my load.

Maybe I should teach him how to clean the bathroom properly, so he can do that for me, too.

Christmas Ideas

Walmart has their Christmas stuff out already. I needed to get toothpaste today, so while we were in there, I decided to walk through their Holiday aisle. They had so many cute things.

I wish I had money to spend, because they had a nice selection of $1 stuff for the girls stockings, like makeup and bath stuff. They also had $3 bath sets that will work great for teacher gifts.

I also checked out some of their Christmas crafts, trying to get some ideas. They didn't have a lot of stuff...it was mostly foam sticker crafts, which to be honest, I hate. I have to go to Hobby Lobby and Michaels the next time Junior gets paid, so hopefully they will have a better selection.

SCUBA Diving

I have to share this with you. Every time I hear the word SCUBA, I think of that old Family Ties episode where Alex is tutoring Mallory, and he asks her what SCUBA stands for, and she was able to answer correctly. It will forever be stuck in my head that it means self-contained underwater breathing apparatus. I know, it's crazy the things that stick in my head.

My sister has been SCUBA diving. She said it was an awesome experience. She had to take classes for a couple of weeks, and learn how to use the scuba dive gear in a swimming pool. I remember her saying how when they finally went on a real dive in the Caribbean somewhere, on the first dive she couldn't get her ears to pop, so she couldn't go down very far. After a while she was finally able, so she got to go all the way down. I am not too sure I could handle being underwater that low, and not know what I'll find. I am kind of having an anxiety attack right now just thinking about it.

Maybe someday I can get over my fear.

Happy Christmas Elephant

Isn't this guy totally adorable?

I found him in Shelly Schwartz's etsy shop. He is only about 1 1/2 inches tall, and I want him! lol!

I love the Santa hat and the candy cane in his trunk.

You should definitely check out this shop, because she also has angels and dragons. I know, that's quite a combination!

At only $10 (and $2 shipping) this guy is a steal.

Remember him when you go to buy my Christmas present! **wink wink***

Three More Months And I Can Take A Bath!

Notice the exclamation point on the end of that title? That just shows you how excited I am to move. Don't misunderstand...I do bathe. I shower every day. It's just been a really long time since I have gotten a good book and soaked in a nice, hot bubble bath.

Why, you ask? Because this apartment we rent has the most disgusting bath tub. The tub is really old, and apparently rusting. So the management company just slapped a coat of paint on it, making it look pretty when we viewed the apartment for the first time. About a week after we moved in, the paint started peeling up, and the rust showed through. It's fine to stand in and shower, but there is no way to enjoy a relaxing back without scraping up whatever body part touches the tub.

Now, in a perfect world, when we move it will be into a place that has a jacuzzi tub, with a separate shower. We used to live in a trailer that had both of those things, and the only thing I hated about it was that the shower stall didn't have a door, just a curtain. It leaked water everywhere! Junior actually looked into Shower Enclosures, thinking maybe he could put one of those in. We had no idea how expensive those things can be, and it was a rental, so we didn't want to invest the money. Luckily, we had another bathroom with a standard tub/shower, so it was no big deal.

I miss that trailer...we never should have moved from there, but three kids and two adults didn't fit in a 14 foot wide by 70 foot long 2 bedroom trailer too happily.