Soggy Camping Trip

Our 4th annual camping trip on the river for Memorial Day Weekend was anything but dry. It rained almost constantly, and we were all wet and cold. We still had a ton of fun though! We managed to have campfires and smores every night. We had our 2nd annual family softball game, which were were all looking forward to. The kids had fun and slept in the tent with Uncle Marty (brave soul!). Sunday night we had our deep fry night. Everyone brings different things to throw in the deep fryer. It is always fun to try new things, like deep fried tuna. In the picture above you can see Wayne as the fry master, with Tiffani holding an umbrella to keep him dry. While it was soggy, memories were made, and we wouldn't trade it for anything (well....... sunshine would help next year!).

Starfish, Crabs and More Fun Sea Creatures

Lily's class went on a field trip today to Larabee State Park. We had a great time. The weather was overcast, not warm or cold. When I went on this field trip with Nate's class, it poured down rain the whole time, and we were soaked. We still got wet stomping through tide pools, but at least it wasn't cold. We found a million starfish, and crabs of all sizes. There were multiple times when kids would pick up a big crab, thinking it was dead. When the crab moved, or tried to pinch them, they would drop it and scream.

Lily's not smiling in the picture, because she's giving the "quick take the picture because I don't like holding sea creatures" look.

This is my favorite of the kid's field trips, and I'm kinda sad that I won't get to go again. They really are growing up too fast!!

Need a Fundraiser?

Does your group or organization need a fundraiser? I can help you out by doing a Scentsy fundraiser. I can tailor make the fundraiser to fit your organization's needs. Click on the Scentsy link to learn more about the products, then contact me for more details!

Things to remember before the next surgery...

I'm writing this post to myself. I will have surgery on my right ear this summer, and I need to remember some of these important things.

• Stock up on yogurt and gummy bears. They will be the only things that taste good for the first 3 days post op.
  
• Hide the big blue ball. Otherwise, the kids will bounce on it right in front of you, sending your head spinning.
• Don't plan on driving for at least 10 days. Shop for groceries accordingly.
  
• If you sleep on your good ear, you will NOT hear the alarm, phone, kids, hubby.......this can be good and bad!
  
• Go over the rules with the kids about NOT opening the door for anyone that shows up at the door.
  
• Don't try to bake until you have regained hearing. Otherwise you will burn the cookies because you can't hear the timer go off!
• Sometimes the ringing is in your ear, sometimes it's the phone. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference.
  
• Don't take the applesauce the nurse offers you post op. You WILL puke it up immediately.
• Ask for more anti-nausea meds before leaving the surgery center. Otherwise the ride home will not be fun.
• Schedule surgery in the early morning. Fasting sucks!
• Shave your legs before surgery. Don't expect to do so again for at least a week.
  
• Don't try to watch TV with closed captioning. The words go by to fast and they make you dizzy.
  
• Try not to be too bossy to the hubby......and just don't go into the kitchen. It's just better to not know!
  

Can you hear me now?

So I am 8 days post op. I'm feeling much better, besides being tired and dizzy. I still can't hear from the ear that had surgery, and my other ear is at 50%. I got a phone call from my Grandpa the other night and the first words out of his mouth were, "Can you hear me now?". No, Grandpa, I can't hear you now. I'm getting very impatient, only because I don't like to sit and wait. I would rather be up and around doing everything, and right now I can't. I don't trust myself to drive yet, because of the dizziness.

Dan has been a good sport since surgery. When he puts the drops in my ears, he gets out his headlamp flashlight to see better. I give him a thumbs up when I can hear what he said to me. He cooked and took care of the kids the whole first week, letting me rest as much as I could. Most of the first week, food didn't smell, taste, or sound good. Dan would bring me a plate of food, then stand there and wait for me to spit it out, or refuse it from just the smell.

My family has been great. A big thank you to Katie, who brought dinner one night. Also thanks to my Mother in Law who "babysat" me last Saturday when Dan brought the kids to a church BBQ. My Mom and sister keep checking in and making sure I'm taking it easy.

So thank you everyone for the prayers. I'm still praying that my hearing will be fully restored. I was told that it takes about 10 days to fully hear again, so I just need patience for a few more days!

Thank you for the prayers!

Praise the Lord, and thank you everyone for praying for Grant. He was diagnosed with a serious soft tissue infection, and if antibiotics didn't work, they were going to have to do surgery to remove the infection. After just two days of antibiotics, Grant improved remarkably, and was discharged last night. He's home now, and able to walk around. He will still be on strong aniboitics, but at least he is home with family.

So while Grant was down at Children's Hospital, I went in for surgery on my ear. To be specific, a left stapedectomy. Surgery went well, and the doctor was happy with how things went. I was very dizzy and nauseous Wed night, and had a rough ride home. I am still very dizzy and not getting around yet. I am super tired, and am not eating much either. My right ear is feeling sympathetic to the left, and is plugged up. So now I really can't hear a thing. Dan put the closed captioning on the TV for me, but reading it just made me dizzy. Even looking at the computer right now has me spinning. It will take about 10 days for me to be able to hear clearly. I'm ready to get my family cards to hold up to me, because I can't hear them talking to me! I'm hoping that this all passes soon, or I may not be so excited to get the other ear done in a couple months!

Please keep both Grant and I in your prayers. Thanks!

Urgent Prayer Request

Please pray for my 3 year old nephew Grant. He had leg pain the last few days and after two days at the Dr., they sent him to Children's Hospital in Seattle. Right now they are waiting on test results. If the infection is bacterial, he goes into surgery tonight. If it's viral, then they do an MRI in the morning. Please, please pray that God will heal him and that the Dr.'s will find the answers. Thank you.

Happy Mother's Day!

Hope all of you Moms had a great Mother's Day. Here's the gift to my Step-Mom Marsha. The bottom pictures is all 6 of us kids and families. The top is all four of us kids for my Mom. What a crew!

Beautiful Saturday

We had such a beautiful Saturday! The kids and I went to two local parks today, then came home to play in the yard. I did some yard work, and the kids played in the sprinkler and slip n slide. I forgot how good a sunny day feels!

Lily's Pierced Ears

Lily has to plan and think everything through (I have NO idea where she gets that from). A couple weeks ago she came to me and asked how much it hurt to get your ears pierced. She has to know what she is getting into before she commits to anything. I told her it would pinch and hurt, but then be fine. She thought about it for a day, and came back and said she wanted to get her ears pierced. I was a little surprised, and not sure I was ready for that. But since her birthday was soon, I told her we could do it on her birthday. I figured this would give her time to change her mind. She held true and told everyone she was going to get her ears pierced on her birthday.

So yesterday after school I took her to the mall. She picked out cute pink daisy earrings. I wanted two people available so that they could do both ears at once. The store only had one person working, so I just prayed Lily would not freak out after the first ear!

Lily got a little nervous as she was sitting in the chair waiting for the poke. They had a teddy bear available to squeeze, so she held on tight to that bear. The gal gave a one, two, and pierced on three. Lily said, "Ow", and that was it. She said it hurt, but gave a big smile when we gave her the mirror to see the earring. She held still, and didn't even say a thing after the second ear was done. I am so proud of how brave she was, and how well she took it. We even had strangers that were watching comment on how well Lily did.

She loves her earrings, and knows they have to be cleaned three times a day. She bugged me first thing this morning to clean her ears.

I can't believe how fast she grew up overnight! My baby girl isn't a little anymore!

Lily Turns 7

Lily had a busy birthday weekend. Saturday we celebrated her birthday with the family. Sunday she invited her friends over for a party. Yesterday she brought brownies to class. Three days of birthdays. I let her pick out her pinata and she choose Sponge Bob. I'm not a fan of Sponge Bob, but the idea of them beating him up appealed to me. I was nervous about her party on Sunday, she had invited her whole class, plus a few other friends. We ended up with 14 kids, and they all did great. The all took turns swinging at the pinata, and even stayed back until the whole thing broke (I am always so scared that someone will get hit with the bat!). Lily had a great birthday and knows she's a "lucky ducky" to have three days of birthdays!

Mission Impossible

My Step-Mom called last week and asked for one, and only one thing for Mother's Day. She knew I was the organizer for the family (comes with being the oldest) and set me to the task. The mission was to get a family picture. Now you would think this would be easy, considering we have two fabulous photographers in the family. The first problem is those photographers have to be IN the picture. The second issue is that with my step-brothers, there are 6 of us sibling, and our families. That means wrangling 20 people together for a family picture. Being Dan is out of town, we had figured that we would have to photo shop him in somehow. Then on Sunday Dan called and said he was flying home Monday night, and home for that night only. I quick called all the siblings and by some miracle, got everyone together last night. Dan's flight was delayed, but we still got there before dark. We even got lucky enough to not get rained on! I'm very curious to see how the pictures turned out! I will post them after Mother's Day.....they are a present after all!

Thankful

Today I am thankful that I was able to go on my daughter's field trip. She insisted that someone go with her, and plans were made for my Mom to go with, until my surgery got postponed (my surgeon is stuck in Europe because of the volcanic ash!). First graders are fun, and I love tagging along with her class. I am very blessed that my two jobs allow me the flexibility to do things like field trips. I had to laugh when I noticed that there were three Scentsy consultants on our bus today. But that just goes to show that all three of us were able to have a flexible schedule that allows us to be there for our kids. So when I have a bad day and get frustrated with a volcano in Iceland, I need to remember that I am blessed to have this life and I wouldn't trade this for anything!

Baditude

The kids and I were walking to school this morning and they were fighting. Nate finally told Lily to be quiet. Lily in return said, "I don't have to be quiet, I don't like to be quiet. Why should I have to be quiet. Nate you can't tell me what to do, you are not the boss of me. You have a baditude.......". At that point, I told Lily she needed to be quiet. As she was walking away, her mouth was still moving. I really don't know where she gets it from!!

Scentsy World Tour

I had an amazing time this weekend at Scentsy World Tour, Tri-Cities. Here I am with fellow consultant Val and my Director Nicole. Aren't we cute in our matching t-shirts?

Dear Metta

Dear Metta,

You are one spoiled cat. You have the run of Mom and Wayne's house, you come and go as you please and are the center of attention. I am happy to help Mom out and come feed you while she is gone, but you and I need to come to an agreement. I will continue to come feed you, but you may not bring me any more dead creatures. I forgave you the first day when I found a little dead mouse next to your food dish. But the second day, and second mouse was too much. I don't like mice. Strike that, I hate mice. I won't go anywhere near them. See here's the thing. If you leave a dead mouse near your food dish, I won't go anywhere near it, meaning you will not get more food. Get my point kitty? Good. As long as we can have this mutual agreement, we will get along just fine.

Your caretaker,

Holly

Silly Lily

I had an adventure today. I took my kids to town with me and made 9 stops. Yes, 9. I had a big to do list, a Scentsy delivery, and some things to buy. The kids have been fighting, and it was not always fun to haul them in and out of one store after another.

So we got to Costco and they were fighting over who would get the cart. Really, cuz that's such a big deal! Anyways, Lily finally got into the cart, and we pushed her around with her in the basket part. As we walked out of Costco, the nice lady at the door checks our receipt, and Lily says, "I'm not a Costco item". Like we would confuse her with the celery! Silly girl!

So then on the way home the kids were fighting, again, and Lily looks at Nate and says, "You are not my wife!". Seriously? Last time I checked, I was the only wife in this house. What will she come up with next?

Spring Break, On A Budget

We are in the middle of Spring break right now. It's been yucky, rainy weather all week. The kids have gotten creative in their play. Nate built a fort out of blankets, and then slept in it last night. This morning they turned all the lights off and ran around with flashlights (wasn't exactly dark, but it wasn't bright either).
We have a big roll of paper that the kids like to roll out on the floor. They tape it down, color, then use it as a little city for legos and hot wheels.
The kids love to play with boxes, and I get many of them via Scentsy. This morning the kids took empty boxes, cut them into pieces, and made little characters. They also like to take the boxes and sit in them while watching TV. Maybe they think they are sitting in cars like a drive in?

I am hoping for a break in the weather soon, so we can go play at a park, and go for bike rides. Until then, we will have blanket forts and paper cities to keep us busy!

Easter Photos

What a great Easter we had with family!

Happy Easter!

He is Risen!

We went to Easter services at church last night, to skip the big crowds. I laughed because when I walked in the door I told the greeter, "good morning". I'm sure he got that a lot, since when we went to greet the people around us during the service, the man in front of me told me, "good morning". It's hard to break those habits!

So we were trying to get ready to go to church last night, and Lily didn't want to put on her Easter dress. She was trying to convince me that she only was going to wear it one day, and that would be Sunday. She was whining and I finally told her that I would put a note on the door telling the Easter bunny that Lily was being bad, and he should skip our house. She finally put her dress on, then gave me a hug and whispered, "Don't put a note on the door".

Today we will be going to my Aunt Ruthi's house for Easter. There will be yummy food (I'm making rolls!) and then an egg hunt for the kids and a raw egg toss for the "big" kids. We will be praying that the sun stays out and all this nasty weather we have been having will stay away for the day!

New Bikes

Dan has been really getting into bicycling when he is home. Last year he bought an inexpensive road bike, but was having a hard time keeping up with his friend Gordon on their 30-50 mile bike rides. So he ordered a new bike, and was like a little kid on Christmas waiting for the package to arrive. (He was as happy to see the UPS guy as I am when I get Scentsy packages!).
Nate had outgrown his bike and we were lucky that Dan's cousins were getting rid of their old mountain bikes. They offered one to us for Nate, and we didn't pass it up! Nate loves his new bike, and jumps on it when he gets home from school. And it's red, Nate's favorite color!
Now if we can only get Lily to ride without training wheels, we could do longer family bike rides!

Basket Party

I have my Scentsy basket ready to go out for a Basket Party. What is a Basket Party you ask? It's a cute basket full of testers of all of the wonderful Scentsy scents. When you take the basket, the idea is to take it with you and have everyone smell all the scents that are available. You collect orders, and when the week is done, you get the hostess benefits of a party. This is a fun and easy way to earn free Scentsy products! Want to know more about Scentsy and the products? Click on the link on the side of the blog and it will take you to my personal website. Want to have a Basket Party? Also click on the link, and find my contact information. Thanks!

Water Leak

So last week Dan found a puddle in the back yard. He dug down and found a leak in the water line. Problem is, he had no idea where this water line was going. He called the city and had someone come out to look. They told him they had no idea where the water lines go, and that the one with the leak is left over from when our water used to go back to the neighbors house. So Dan needed to dig up the water line and find where it took a Y, so he could cap it off. He started at the street, and started digging. Now common sense would tell you that the water line would make a straight path from the street to the house, right? Wrong! The line did little zig zag pattern to the house. He had to dig a huge trench all the way through the yard, making a big mess. He finally found the Y, it was 6 feet from the leak. After a trip to the hardware store and $1.25 later, the problem was fixed. But then he had to fill in the big trench. We have been wanting to reseed our yard, but we sit on essentially a gravel pit. Now, we really don't have a choice, we will have to redo the whole yard. This will include the removal of many rocks. I'm thinking we may have enough for a rock wall along the driveway. I have to say I am thankful for a cheap fix, and now maybe our water bill will go down. Of course, only after we are done watering the new yard we have to seed.

New Camera

I just love this picture from my new camera!

Being that my sister is a fabulous photographer (check out her website by clicking on her link), I have a high expectation for my photos. I know I am not nearly as talented as her, but I do want nice pictures. I had a great Kodak camera that I loved. It took beautiful pictures, and I loved the brillant colors. Last May, while camping, I dropped and broke my favorite camera. Dan searched high and low for a new one for me, and found a similar one that was referbished. It works ok, but nothing compared to my broken one. So I have been on a search for a new camera for months. I started researching by price, functions, mega pixels, and everything else. I really liked Costco's return policy of 90 days. I wanted to be absolutely happy with the camera. Everyone and everything led me to a Panasonic camera. I lucked out that the camera was on sale on my birthday and Dan gave me the go ahead to buy it for my birthday present. I really wanted to like the camera. It was user friendly, and a great small size. I played with it for a month, and even developed pictures to get a good idea of picture quality. I just couldn't get over the colors.They seemed blue/gray to me. I am so used to the brilliant colors of Kodak's that I was never happy.

So, because of Costco's return policy, I was able to return the camera. The guy at the return counter was shocked. He had the same opinion as everyone else, that it was a perfect camera. He told me I would be disappointed in any other camera, and to come back next time and make sure to find him so he could say I told you so.

I tried explaining to him how it was the colors I didn't like, and he agreed that Kodak cameras have different colors, but he thought I was crazy.
Just my luck (again) Costco.com had a new Kodak on sale last week. Same features, same everything, just a Kodak. I bought the camera and it arrived on Friday. I am in love! The colors are great, it's easy to use, and I am so happy I stuck to my guns and held out for a camera that I would be completely happy with.

I really want to go back to the guy at Costco and tell him I told you so!!! I won't though. I will smile every time I get photo's developed at Costco, knowing I was right and he was wrong.

Disclaimer:
This is just my personal preference of cameras. I LOVE Costco and their return policies. While I may run into some opinionated people there once in awhile, I will continue to shop there.

Dan the Man!

My hubby Dan is amazing. He is a great handy man, who can fix most things. He can drive a tractor and pull a trailer. He knows how to fix electrical things and computer problems. On top of that, he has a feminine side that makes flower arrangements! Lately he's been called Dan the Scentsy man, making deliveries and taking calls for me.

So today he found a water leak. (Because things always break when your tax return is coming!). After some digging, he found that the water line is a random old line, and is not connected to the house. Right now he is digging up our yard, trying to find where the line goes, so he can cap it off. (My new camera showed up today, so pictures will come later!). I am very thankful for my handy hubby!

Nate's New Glasses

Poor Nate got his eye sight from me. He went in for his yearly eye appointment, and his prescription almost doubled. We were going to change just his lenses, and not the frames, but he had outgrown his frames. The kids is really just growing up too fast! Here's Nate the Great with his new glasses!

Busy!

Sorry I haven't been blogging much. We have been really busy around here. My Scentsy booth at the Home and Garden Show went well. We had a lot of fun, and meet a ton of people. We laughed at some of the things people said to us. My favorite was when a husband tried to bribe me NOT to talk to his wife. She walked right into the booth, then proceeded to ask him for his wallet to buy some Scentsy. We talked to an 80 year old lady who said she had heard of Scentsy on Facebook. That one cracked me up! Or the man who said his wife needed Scentsy so that she wouldn't burn the house down. This weekend I will be at the Skagit Valley Home Show on Friday and Sunday. If you live in that area, stop by and say hi to me at the Scentsy booth!

The kids came home with report cards yesterday. They both are doing great and even improved some. We are very proud of them and what great students they are.

Another update is that I am scheduled for surgery on my left ear next month. They want to do one ear at a time, and the surgeon chose my left ear. I am fine with that, it's the ear that I put the phone to! Please pray that the surgery goes well and that my hearing will be completely restored. They will do surgery on my right ear sometime in May.

I'll try to be better about updates. Hope you all have a great week!

How much does Law School cost?

I'm convinced that Lily is going to be a lawyer. She is obsessed with controlling everything. She is attentive to details, and has every date and time on the calender memorized. She has been planning her birthday party for months. I talked to a mother of one of her classmates, who asked when Lily's party was, because she has been inviting friends for months now. I explained Lily's OCD about her birthday and told the mom that invites will be sent out. I was told by Lily's teacher that Lily watches the clock all day and keeps her on schedule. Lily likes to plan her wardrobe out days in advance. And she thinks it through. Tomorrow she is student of the day. She wants to wear a dress, but knows she has PE, so she needs to wear her tennis shoes. (I wouldn't put it past her to wear both).
It makes me happy that she is so smart and willing to learn. She is not very athletic, or graceful, so her brains will have to make up for it. So, how much does law school cost? I think I better start saving now!

Why you should always call ahead.....

I'm constantly doing Scentsy deliveries. Most of the time, if it's a friend or family, I stop by and hope to catch them at home. The other day I had a delivery to a friend, and was in her neck of the woods, and just stopped by to drop off her order. Her van was in the driveway, the TV was on and I figured she was home. I knocked on the door and her 6 year old opened it. I expected to see his Mom pop her head around the corner, but instead, I got a bit of a surprise. I guess the 6 year old said, "Mommy's home!" when he opened the door, prompting the Dad of the house to peek out from the bathroom door....... naked. Granted, I did not see anything improper, but I did get enough to know he was completely naked behind that door. I quickly handed off the Scentsy, and ran for the car. Then I almost put my car it the ditch on the way home because I was laughing so hard. Of course I then had to call my friend, who had just gotten off the phone with her very embarrassed hubby. She had the giggles, I had the giggles, and when she got home, she had a very long chat with her 6 year old about not opening the door. So next time, I will call ahead......and make sure everyone is fully clothed!

Whatcom County Home and Garden Show

I just got home from setting up the Scentsy booth at the Whatcom County Home and Garden Show. It's at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds in Lynden. We have a great selection of Scentsy warmers on display, and a huge selection of clearance bars. I'll have samples to hand out, and our new Spring/Summer catalogs. You can smell the new scents, and get great deals on your old favorites. I hope to see you there!

Tasty Tuesdays!

Yikes, I almost forgot about Tasty Tuesdays! Here's a new recipe that I tried tonight. I love a good skillet meal that only takes one dish! I don't know if I was really hungry, or if this turned out really good. Either way, I ate a whole bowl of it. This one comes from Taste of Home's Healthy Cooking Magazine. I changed a few things (because I always do!), so here is the way I made it. Enjoy!

Chicken Orzo Skillet

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
2 tsp Mrs. Dash
1 small onion, diced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup uncooked orzo pasta
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 cup shredded Italian blend cheese

Sprinkle chicken with Mrs. Dash, add to large skillet with olive oil and onion. Brown chicken, until no longer pink, add garlic, cook 1 minute longer. Add remaining ingredients (except cheese), cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until orzo is tender. Sprinkle with cheese.

Dear Tagalongs

Dear Tagalongs,

Once a year you come into my life. I feel like I am doing a service to my community by supporting the Girl Scouts, and buying a box or two of you. But why must you taunt me? Why do you call my name from the cupboard until I can't ignore you anymore? Why can I not eat just one cookie at a time? Why are you so addicting? Why do I feel so guilty after finishing a whole box? Really, I just supported a good cause, right? While you have been a dear friend, I am glad you will be gone soon. See you next year.

Holly

Last Chance!

This week is your last chance to take advantage of Scentsy's February special. Almost everything is 10% off. On top of that some of the scents and warmers are being discontinued. After this week, we say goodbye to some of our favorites like Snowberry, Boysenberry Moss, Coffee Shop and Bubblegum. Also, the warmer and scent of the month, Paws and Vanilla Suede are only 10% off in February. Isn't this warmer super cute?! Click on the link on the sidebar to see more! You can order directly from the website, or just contact me. Thanks!

Tasty Tuesdays!

Tasty Tuesday is back! I was really excited last week to find out that one of my favorite recipes will be published in an upcoming Gooseberry Patch Cookbook. I LOVE the Gooseberry Patch line of cookbooks. They have great everyday recipes from everyday people. I use many of their books for all the gift mixes that I make. They are going to send me a copy of the cookbook with my recipe featured inside, but since it's called Homemade Christmas, I'm guessing I will be waiting a bit. I won't make you wait that long, so here is my favorite bread machine recipe. I try not to make it very often, because I will eat the whole thing......in one sitting!

Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread

4 tbsp butter
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup sour cream
3 cups better for bread flour
3 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

Cheesy garlic mix:
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 tbsp minced dried onion
2 tsp granulated garlic
1 1/2 cups shredded Colby jack cheese

In bread machine, add the first 7 ingredients, in order. Select dough setting. When finished, mix the cheesy mix together. Turn dough onto floured surface, cover for 10 minutes. Pull bread by handfuls and dip into cheese mix, place in a greased, fluted pan. Cover and let rise for 45 mintues. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

More from the sleepover.....

Here's the link to the video of the Nerf gun and baby Drew. Click HERE.

And here is my sister's blog, she posted pictures of all the kids from her photo shoot yesterday. Way stinkin cute!

Click HERE.

Auntie Survived the Sleepover!

This Auntie is tired.......zzz.....oh sorry. The sleepover with my brother's kids turned out great, but man they wiped me out. I had 6 kids for 24 hours. My Mom was wonderful and stopped by at dinner, which helped because Drew was starving, and I was trying to get all the kids dished up. Drew is 13 months old and ate more than two of the other kids combined. Really. I bought some Scooby Do snacks and had fun giving him bone shaped crackers. It's funny to see this little guy chewing on bones. The kids all played well, and had fun in the wet sandbox. Bath time went without me needing a dry set of clothes(shocker!). Drew went to bed without fuss, and Nate read stories to the other 4 kids. They all went down pretty easy. Grant kept getting out of his sleeping bag, but finally crashed after an hour. Drew woke up about 6 times during the night coughing. I binked him each time, and he went right back to sleep. 7am came early for me, and was way too early for Nerf gun wars. I called my Dad and thanked him (again) for giving the boys Nerf guns. It's not that they shoot everything, it's the stupid noises they make. Ben walked around all morning with his finger on the trigger, making the shooting noise. I asked him to stop and he looked at me with big eyes and said, "I shooting monsters". How do you argue with that?
My sister Amy showed up at 11am to help, and we were all still in jammies. I escaped to the shower, and she proceeded to join the Nerf gun wars. (Video to that one is uploading as we speak). Mom stopped by again to help get clothes on everyone, and I (ran for the hills) went to coffee. Amy attempted a photo shoot with the kids, and I am very curious to see how that turned out. When I left, Ben had gotten ranch dressing in his hair, and Drew was trying to get revenge with the Nerf gun. When I got back an hour later, they had cleaned up the playroom (Thanks Sis) and were playing with play dough, making sculptures.
When Tiff was getting Grant ready to go he said, "I run at Auntie Holly's house". He loves coming to play here, and it makes Auntie's heart happy to hear that. I wish we could have sleepovers more often.......like when Dan gets home!

Sleepover at Auntie's

We are having a sleepover tonight with my brother's four kids. The baby was in bed and Nate was reading a story to the younger kids. Too cute!

Another Tooth Fairy Visit

Lily lost another tooth today. She's only 6 1/2 and has lost 6 teeth. The funny thing is that she has never lost a tooth at home. Her first tooth came out at the lake, the second at the fair. She has lost two at school, and the other two have been at friend's houses.

I picked her up this morning from a sleepover and she's grinning at me with this huge smile. She told me she lost another tooth, and wonders what the tooth fairy will bring her tonight. Well, the tooth fairy always brings two quarters, so it won't be any shocker tonight!

Yesterday at school the kids celebrated Valentine's Day with their classes. One of Lily's classmates gave her a little heart shaped box with candies in it. Lily thinks this will make a great box for her tooth.

I better make myself a note so that I will remember to let the tooth fairy in tonight!

Valentine's Day

I have already heard the moaning and groaning about Valentine's Day. Some say it's just Hallmark's way of making money. Some whine about not having a sweetheart for Valentine's Day. I'm going to get on a little soap box now......you are forewarned.

I am blessed to be married and have someone to love. But, he's rarely home for Valentine's Day. So let's throw out the traditional idea of Valentine's Day, and get back to the "heart" of it. What if everyone took the day to do something from the heart. It doesn't have to be for your "sweetheart", but if you had one, it would be a great day to remind them they are loved. If you don't, then use that day to show love to someone. Maybe your Grandparents, a friend who is ill, or a lonely friend who needs a shoulder. There is no greater feeling than to give. Think of the great wave of love that could be spread this Sunday.

In the past when Dan is gone, I have taken the opportunity to help out others. One year I volunteered at the church to watch kids while other parents went out. Another year I took my friend's kids overnight so that they could get a much needed romantic getaway. This year I am taking my brother's four kids so that he and his exhausted wife can have some alone time.

So forget Hallmark cards and the idea that you have to buy roses and chocolates. Try giving your time this year and showing love in the way that God meant us to.

Mom vs Mouse Part 3

I haven't caught any more mice, yet. I'm starting to think that there was only one, and I already caught him. I had to run to the hardware store to buy a mallet (I was putting some shelving together). My wonderful neighbors who own the hardware store saw me coming in and Ron asked if I had caught any more mice. I told him about the one and only mouse, and how I had to have a friend come and get rid of it for me. He was getting a good giggle out of my story. Then I told him I was there to buy a mallet. He looked right at me and asked if I would be beating mice with it. Really? I won't get within 10 feet of them, you think I would get close enough to beat it with a mallet? I know he was joking, and it was pretty funny. So then I take the mallet to the counter and Daisy asks me if I will be using the mallet to beat my husband.......hmmmmm.........she may be on to something there!

So I still have my trap set, and bait out in case of any more mice. And, now I have a mallet just in case I need to beat them......or anyone else.

Oregon Trail

Nate started learning about Washington State history and the Oregon Trail. He came home with a paper from class, and on the back, he had written his own Oregon Trail story. I asked him if I could share it on my blog and he said yes. (That is my disclaimer for 10 years from now when he reads my blog and asks why I embarrassed him so much).

On the Oregon Trail, two travelers were coming in covered wagons. One named Nate and the other named Billy Bob Jo Jr. They were walking besides their wagon when thunder struck. Everyone jumped. Again, thunder struck, but this time it hit a wagon and caught on fire. Now Nate and his family rode with Billy Bob and his family. What will happen next to the families?

Star and Rock Star

Today is my 1 year anniversary as a Scentsy Consultant. I love this job and have a great time sharing it with others. I have moved up in rank and am now a Star Consultant. I am thankful for my team and the wonderful group of women who are fellow consultants.

Today I also went to my other job, subbing at my kid's school as a Para Educator. I saw the class of kindergartners that I spent three weeks with last October, and they all came running, yelling "Mrs. Snow"!!! They looked at me like a Rock Star, and I was so happy to see them. They told me I need to come visit their class, and invited me to their Valentine's Party, even bribing me with cookies! I will have to pop my head in their class that day, along with both of my kid's classes.

I am praying that a job will open up for me to be at the school next year. I love being there and love that I get to see my kids while I'm working. I am very blessed that I love both of my jobs!

Spring Cleaning, a little early

Last month I bought a Kirby. Yes, I feel old now. We have finally come to the conclusion that any future purchased must be things that will last. We are past the "small children break and destroy EVERYTHING" stage, and are tired of buying things that need to be replaced within a few years. So along came a Kirby salesperson, and I was sold. The first day I vacuumed the cedar beams on our ceiling that were nasty! I have always left that job for Dan (because I am too short) and it rarely gets cleaned. Now with my new Kirby attachments, I can clean my ceilings, which need it BADLY!

So the last few weeks I have been trying to get things cleaned that have never been cleaned. I know this sounds like I am a horrible housewife, but I am just bad at deep cleaning. I do laundry every single day, and dishes, and almost always have cookies on hand......but HATE doing the big stuff.

Today I found out that the stones behind my fireplace where covered in cob webs. It was one of those things you don't see until you are up close (good thing and bad thing-I didn't notice it, and hopefully nobody else did too!). My Kirby and I sucked up all the cob webs and dust off the rocks. Now I am on to the ceiling in the kitchen. Unfortunately, this is very noticeable, and I have been needing to do it for awhile. The STUPID popcorn ceilings in this house suck, or more appropriately, they suck up the cobwebs and dust.

With any luck, I will actually finish my spring cleaning.......by the end of spring!

Tasty Tuesdays and Post #400!

Wow, it's my 400th post! I can't believe it! I feel like it should be an important post, but all I have for you is Tasty Tuesdays. Maybe I should start planning now for 500.

Ok, so today's Tasty Tuesday is a great soup recipe. If you love Italian food (like me) you will love this simple soup. I found the recipe from my Taste of Home Healthy Cooking magazine. Of course I added garlic to it (because I LOVE garlic). If you are looking for great new recipes, check out this magazine. I love the simple recipes that do not taste like they are "diet" or "healthy" foods. Enjoy!

Sausage Pizza Soup

1/2 pound Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed
1 med. zucchini, sliced
1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms
1 small onion, diced
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 cup water
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp dried basil,
1/2 tsp pepper

In large saucepan, cook the sausage, zucchini, mushrooms, onion and garlic over medium heat until meal is no longer pink, drain. Add the tomatoes, water, broth, and seasonings. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

Cheerleader in training

Lily participated in a mini cheer camp last week. She then got to perform her cheers at the High School basketball game with all of the other little girls. She had fun and was glad that cousin Bailey was with her. Here's the video of our little cheerleader (who cheers to her own beat!).

Tasty Tuesdays!

Yippee for Tasty Tuesdays. Today I brought a freezer meal to my grandparents. This is a great recipe that I made the other night, and just froze the unused portion. Any type of casserole can be done this way, or even doubled when you make it and freeze the second one. This is a great way to save time and money!

Chicken and Pasta

1 small onion sliced
1 large red pepper, sliced
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 large chicken breast, diced
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp Italian seasoning
8 oz dried penne pasta
shredded Italian blend cheese

In a skillet, cook onion, red pepper and garlic in EVOO (extra virgin olive oil). When softened, add tomatoes, chicken and Italian seasoning. Cook pasta according to directions. Serve chicken and veggie mix over pasta,top with cheese, or place pasta in a greased 9x13 pan, and top with chicken and veggies. Top with cheese, cover, and freeze. Add label with instructions: Thaw, bake at 350 for 30 minutes, covered.

Enjoy!

Mom vs Mouse Part 2

My wonderful neighbor stopped by last night and asked how the "Great White Hunter" was doing. I laughed and said I had not caught my little mouse yet. He offered to take care of it for me when I finally did. (His wife is the one that sold me the mouse traps, so he knew my little problem). So this morning I check my trap, and I got a tiny little mouse. Even though it is a tiny mouse, I'm not touching it! I posted on Facebook that I had caught the mouse and was going to bribe my neighbor to dispose of it for me. A dear sweet friend of mine saw this and offered to help me out. I took her up on the offer and she came and got rid of the mouse for me. (Yes, I bribed her too!). So I have officially won the first round against the mouse. Thing is, I know that there are probably more. I set another trap tonight, and still have my bait set out.
We already ate the first batch of cookies I made to bribe my neighbor......I better make more!

Scentsy

Scentsy has a great promotion this month! All hostesses earn double the half prices items. It's not to late to sneak in a home party or a basket party. The scent of the month, berry blush, is my new favorite. The warmer of the month, Hugs and Kisses, is a great Valentine gift.

Next month everything in the fall/winter catalog is 10% off. I'm going to have an end of season sale, and I'll keep you posted on a date for that. The scent of the month for February is Vanilla Suede, and the Paws warmer is super cute!

To encourage you to take advantage of these specials, I am throwing in my own special. Host a party or basket party in January or February and I'll give you a plug in warmer. Contact me to set up your party.

Don't forget you can always order directly from my website by clicking on the ad on the side of the page.

Have a Scentsational Day!

Mom vs Mouse

I HATE mice, well, any rodent for that matter. I'm a farm girl who has seen many mice in my day, and they still freak me out. I have many stories of me hiding up on a counter or screaming at the tiniest of mice. So you can understand my pounding heartbeat when Lily came to me yesterday morning.

Lily: Mom, I saw something run across the toy room.

Me: Like what kind of something?

Lily: Like a mouse or rat.

Me: (Totally freaking out) How big was it Lily?

Lily: Like this big. (Holding her hands to show a good size mouse)

Me: Where did it go?

Lily: It's behind the TV.

Me: Go see and tell me if you still see it. (As I stand at the edge of the room, not going in, Lily looks behind the TV).

Lily: It's still there. It's just a moth.

Me: Really, a moth, SERIOUSLY?????

She convinces me that it was just a moth, but I am still a little weary. Last night I was watching TV and saw a tiny little mouse run into the porch. So Lily really did see a mouse, but may have realized Mommy was freaking out, then called it a moth.

So today I have declared war on this little mouse. I bought bait and traps. Is it a clique to put cheese in the trap? I cut a little piece of cheese and went to set the trap. As soon as I slid it into the little hiding place on the porch, the trap snapped and had me jumping 3 feet backwards into the doorway, smacking my elbow. After my heart slowed down a little, I looked and could not find the stupid piece of cheese. So I cut another piece of cheese and went to reset the trap. Four times that thing snapped before I finally got it where I wanted it. Four times I jumped! Where is my husband when I need him for these things! Which leads into the next problem. There is no way I am touching that trap if it actually catches a mouse. I will have to ask a neighbor to come dispose of it for me.

Guess I better start making cookies to bribe my neighbor!

Tasty Tuesdays!

I made a very yummy soup yesterday and was amazed how quick and easy it was. I shared the recipe with a friend on facebook, and she loved it also. I'm a seasonal cook and love a bowl of warm soup in the winter. So make a batch of soup and be warmed!

Cheesy Cream of Broccoli Soup

2 cups finely chopped broccoli
1 can chicken broth
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups velveta

Cook broccoli in chicken broth for 7 minutes. In separate pan, combine butter, flour and milk, stir constantly until thickened. Add to broccoli. Add pepper and velveta. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Reasons why we need to go to Legoland

Legos Rule!

Legoland

We have been wanting to visit Legoland in California for the last few years. Nate is obsessed with legos right now, and we feel this is the perfect time to go. I started looking at airfare and condo availabilities, and found 5 days in March, over the kid's mid winter break. I just about bought the airline tickets, but the price had gone up (plus all of the rediculous extras they charge). We decided to wait until later this year to go.
I also wanted to take the opportunity to teach the kids a lesson. I printed out a map from the Legoland website and taped it to an empty canister. We told the kids that we are all saving up for a trip to Legoland. The kids emptied their piggie banks into the canister. Then they went through thier toys, and choose some that they will sell at our garage sale this spring. The kids are also planning on selling lemonaid at the garage sale (their idea). When they ask for extras (like paying for a membership to Club Penguin) I use that moment to remind them that we are saving money for Legoland.
Sunny California, here we come!

Say What?

What? This is the most popular word out of my mouth lately. It started a year ago October when I had a sinus infection and felt like my ears were going to burst. I was told by the Dr. that my ears were fine, it was just the pressure from my sinuses. I was told to take an antihistamine and it would dry up the extra fluid in my ears. I tried this for months, and still I knew I couldn't hear as much as I should. I struggled to hear in some of my classes, and learned to sit up front or under the speakers in class. This past October when I got yet another sinus infection, the ringing in my ears got worse, along with my hearing. I waited a few month to make sure it wasn't' just after effects of my sinuses (again) and after many battles with my husband over this subject, I went to the Dr. again. This time I had a hearing test that proved to me that I had major hearing loss. I was referred to an ENT specialist and went in last week. After another hearing test, the Dr. thinks that I have Otosclerosis. It is an overgrowth of bone in the middle ear that causes ringing and hearing loss. He put me on prescriptions for 6 weeks, but most likely I will need surgery. I am actually releived that they think this can be fixed, but at the same time frustrated that I have to wait another 6 weeks. I haven't told many people about my hearing loss (yes, I have been in denial) and am getting better about asking people to speak up. I am praying that surgery will fix the problem and I will not have to have hearing aids.

Funny story......

As I was leaving the ENT office, I stopped by the receptionist's desk to make an appointment for 6 weeks later. She asked my last name, I told her. She then asked my first name, but I didn't hear her. She looked at me funny and asked again for my first name. I said, "Oh sorry, it's Holly, I don't hear very well". She then looked at me dead serious and asked, "Are you here for your ears?". I just laughed and said yes. I wanted to day, DUH!

Balance

Yesterday at school Nate got in trouble for trying to make a snow goon instead of the snowman craft the group was making. He was upset after school and told me he was just trying to be like Calvin (Calvin and Hobbs Attack of the Snow Goons is his favorite book right now). I told him that there is a time and place to express his creativity, and then a time and place where you just need to follow directions. This was difficult for me because I feel that too many things today lack creativity. I have always encouraged the kids to be creative and think outside the box. At the same time, there are times in life where you need to follow directions. So how do I teach my kids balance? I deep down believe that their creative thinking will take them far in life. Society likes to make a little box for everyone to fit in and I want them to think outside that box, without causing trouble.

Mom loves to tell the story of my brother Rob's first day of kindergarten. The teacher gave each of the kids a picture of a ladybug and told them to color it. Rob and another little boy (who became his BFF) refused to color the "lady" bugs and wanted to color boy bugs. Rob struggled all through school, but is now a teacher. (A very creative teacher by the way).

I hope that I can find a balance with the kids and they can understand when and where to use their creativity.

Any advice???

More from Girls Night

Check out Tiff's Not Me Monday post about Girls night. Click HERE.

Girls Night

Girls Night was a blast.....as always! This was our 4th annual trip to Birch Bay with this group of gals. We call ourselves the BB girls, because we go to Birch Bay for our girls night. I love this group of friends and family and the fact that we all get along so well. They are a loving, caring group.....that I can not trust!! I take that back, I can trust them with secrets, and also trust they will keep a secret from me. This is the same group that LOVES to play tricks on each other. They got me while we were camping this past year, and decided to get me again at girls night. Because Friday was my birthday, I asked that they not make girls night about my birthday, and no gifts. They all decided to play a trick on me, and did a gift exchange anyways, and embarrassed me royally. I should have known they would do something for my birthday, since this is the same group that planned my 30th surprise birthday party.
So, note to self, don't plan girls night on my birthday again, and start planning revenge!

Getting Excited!

I'm really excited for Girls Night tomorrow. Once a year I get my close girlfriends together and we go to the condo in Birch Bay for an overnighter. It's a fun tradition that has made many fun memories. We stay up late, eat 6 pounds of gummy bears and other junk food, and talk and giggle until the wee hours of the morning. I would love to tell you more details but, what's said at girls night, stays at girls night!

Auntie and Drew

Baby Drew is 1 today! Here's a look back at my favorite Auntie and Drew pictures.....I think he likes me!

Tasty Tuesdays

Wow, it's been forever since I have done Tasty Tuesdays. It's been a crazy holiday season with me hosting Thanksgiving, two Christmas's and New Years. Things are settling back to normal, finally!

Yesterday I went to help out my sister in law Tiffani who was having one of her poop/pee everywhere kind of days. Click HERE to read her blog. I grabbed a freezer meal on my way out the door, and we heated it up for lunch. My niece Emma was asking what was in it and Tiffani called the pasta sticks. Then I told her that there were leaves (spinach) in it too. We ended up naming the dish Sticks, Leaves and Cheese. It's pretty tasty!


Sticks, Leaves and Cheese

2 (10 0z) packages frozen chopped spinach, cooked and drained
15 oz container cottage cheese
3 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
16 oz package penne pasta, cooked
26 oz jar spaghetti sauce
2 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper
16 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

Combine spinach, cottage cheese, eggs, Parmesan, salt and pepper, set aside. Combine pasta with spaghetti sauce and oregano, place half of the pasta mix in an ungreased 9x 13 pan. Layer with spinach mixture and half the mozzarella. Add remaining pasta and top with mozzarella. Cover with foil and bak at 375 for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10 minutes. Serves 6-8

To use as a freezer meal, cook as directed, then cover and freeze. Thaw frozen meal, then reheat at 375 for 30 minutes.

Happy New Year!

We had a great New Years Eve spent with friends. We celebrate East Coast time, so we watch the ball drop in New York, scream Happy New Year, and everyone goes to bed early!

I'm not one to make resolutions, but I do think it's important to have goals and purpose. While so many things (health problems) are out of my hands, I hope that by having purpose I can better determine how this next year will go. In the past I have always been optimistic of the coming year, but this year I have deep fears of what is to come. Since I'm such a control freak, I need to remember that God is in control and his plan is better than mine. Here's just a few of my goals for 2010.

• Slow down and enjoy the kids more. While life is always crazy, my kids will never be 9 and 6 again.
  
• Spend more time with my Grandparents.
  
• Be more financially responsible.
• Take better care of my own health, so that I can take better care of my family.
• Lean on God more and my own strength less.

Wishing you all many blessings in 2010!

Goodbye 2009

This has been such a crazy year, I really felt like we did a ton of nothing. It wasn't until I went through all of my pictures for the year that I realized all that we did. I think it's important to realize how much we really accomplished this year, and celebrate the milestones. Here's just a few....

• I Graduated!!! I finished my AA that I started 14 years ago, a goal I had for years. (And got all A's)
• I rejoined the work force. This was a scary transition for me, being a stay a home Mom for 9 years. I hope that I will get better at balancing work and home.
• We welcomed a nephew and niece to the family this year. What a joy baby Drew and baby Ashlyn have been to the family.
• We survived a 10 day camping trip down the coast. That was a long trip for us, but we all survived and had fun.
• I survived a camping trip and a road trip without Dan. This was a challenge for me. I don't like to do these things without him (and still prefer to have him with).
• Grandma Dennison endured a torn aorta, getting a pace maker, hip surgery and shoulder surgery. The family held strong and was by her side the whole time. With love and support, Grandma is home and healing.
• I started my Scentsy business and had a great first year. I'm still learning and growing, and have a great team of consultants now!
• Dan finished his schooling to get his Mate's license. This was a challenge considering his classes were in Oregon and he had to fit it in on his time off. We are very proud of his accomplishment.
  
• Lily had her first ballet recital. She remembered every step and gave great effort.
• Nate got glasses and adjusted with no problems. He managed to not break his glasses (my fear) the whole year!

While we had many struggles this year, I resolve to remember how much we overcame and grew this past year. Our family was rocked with miscarriages, cancer diagnoses and many other health problems. I pray that 2010 will have less struggles and more joy.

Happy New Year!!

Christmas Battle

Christmas with my Dad is always crazy. I tend to host because he lives out of state. Christmas with my Dad means 22 people this year, and this is just immediate family. So along with Dad and my step-mom Marsha, it's all 6 of us kids, spouses and families. Really it's an easy crowd, everyone is laid back and we all get along great......until Dad brings out the toys. Every year he finds a "toy" for all the boys. In the past it's been airplanes, zip pulley wheels, and air guns. This year he pulled out 8 nerf dart guns. He had pulled them all out of the boxes, put batteries in them (Oh yes, they make noises)and had them all ready for war. Once he handed them out, the battle began. Darts are flying everywhere, and we are trying to protect the babies. My step brothers are using chairs as sheilds and Nate is collecting darts to refill his gun. I tried to get pictures and video, but you really can't understand the chaos until you have lived through it. This year Jessica and Tiffani got tired of getting hit and stole a couple guns and fought back. Dad has been warned that it is no longer acceptable to dicriminate against the girls. We need our own weapons to defend ourselves. Great, 20 people with guns next year........I think I may need to hide the breakables before Christmas!

Here's one of the video clips.

More Christmas

Done! We are finally done with Christmas. Here's a few of my favorite pictures.

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a very Merry CHRISTmas! May you be blessed, surrounded by family and friends!

Christmas #1

Our first Christmas celebration was yesterday. We have a total of 6 this year, two being at our house. This is normal for us, so I'm not stressing out.....yet. Yesterday was the whole Stauffer clan. It was great so see most of my cousins and we all were shocked at how big the great grand kids are getting. Grandma wanted a picture of all the great grands together......that was a big job. Here's a couple of my pictures. I love the first one of Grant crawling away and two fingers pointing him back!

Great Gift Books

Last December I did a blog post on some of my favorite childrens books. Click HERE to read that post. I would like to add a few more books to my list of favorites. Books are a great gift, and really encourage the love of reading.

Toddlers/Preschool

Dinosaur Roar by Paul and Henrietta Stickland

I'm a Little Teapot by Iza Trapani

Edward the Emu by Sheena Knowles

5-7 years

Pigs Can't Fly by Ben Cort

Bedhead by Margie Palatini

Fancy Nancy series by Jane O'Connor

8-10 years

Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey

Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney

Calvin and Hobbs series of books by Bill Watterson

Priceless

New Christmas dress for Lily: $6.47 (Seriously!!)

New Christmas shoes for Lily: $8.00

The look on Lily's face and the "Oh my gosh" when she saw her new dress: Priceless!

Praise Report

Thank you everyone for your prayers!! Thank you Lord for answered prayers! Grandma Dennison is now home and doing well. We, along with the doctors, are impressed at how well her hip is healing. She still has her shoulder in a sling and needs to regain strength in her arm, but is learning to do everyday things one handed (Also very impressive since it's her left arm and she's left handed).

Yesterday the ladies of the family (along with some of the guys who drove the ladies in the snow) had our annual lefsa making party. This is a traditional Norwegian food that my Great Aunt Laurel always made for the holidays. A few years back she taught the next two generations how to make lefsa and a new tradition was started. We had this gathering at Grandma and Grandpa's house and helped them decorate the Christmas tree. The whole time there the snow was coming down, giving us a little more Christmas spirit.

So remember to pass on family traditions, and cherish the family you have this Christmas!

It's Begining To Look Alot Like Christmas!

You know it's almost Christmas when I'm getting daily boxes from UPS filled with Scentsy! I'm placing my last order this weekend, so contact me if you want a Scentsational Christmas gift! Also, if you place an order online, you must have it in by December 15th to guarantee delivery by Christmas. Some of my favorite scents right now are Snowberry, Cinnamint and Satin Sheets. Click on the link on the side of the page to visit my Scentsy website and see all of the products.

Jingle Bell Run

On Saturday Dan and I will be doing the Jingle Bell Run to benefit the Arthritis Foundation. Click here to find out more info. Tonight we are having a benefit dinner with all donations going to the Arthritis Foundation. We will have a spaghetti dinner at the Everson Fire Hall from 5:30 to 8:00pm tonight. Dinner is $5 a plate or $8 all you can eat. Dan has been working on evergreen table arrangements that he is donating tonight. We will sell them and all money will go towards the Jingle Bell Run. Here's a couples pictures of his arrangements. If you would like to support this cause and buy and arrangement, we will deliver it anywhere in Whatcom County.

Oh Christmas Trees....

This is MY Christmas tree. It's an artificial tree that we have had for 10 years. It's nothing spectacular, but Dan has always complained that I don't decorate it the "right" way. He likes lots of colors and colored lights. I'm a white lights kinda gal. So this is the first Christmas season that Dan is home the whole time. We have always wanted to go cut down a tree with the kids, but it just never worked out with Dan's schedule. So this was the year! While talking about cutting down a tree, the kids decided that it would be fun to have two trees this year. So I put up my tree and the kids and Dan decorated their tree.
We found the perfect tree at Noon Rd trees. They have a great place, beautiful trees and great prices!
Here is Dan and the kid's tree. They love it, and I have to say it turned out pretty nice. We may have to do this every year.......there is still no way I'm giving up my white lights!

When a great idea......turns into a fire!

This summer I had the great idea of making Scentsy samples for the fair. I bought cute summer themed candy molds and proceeded to melt wax, pour it into the candy molds, chill, pop them out, then repeat.....like a million times. I then thought that cute themed samples for each season would be a great idea.

So here we are at Christmas and I have snowflake candy molds and a brick of snowberry wax. I started making my samples, and the wax just would not come out of the molds.

Plan B: Melt the wax in an aluminum foil pan, let it harden, then cut out with small cookie cutters. Great plan. It worked great........until I put the pan back in the oven to remelt the leftover wax. I guess the cookie cutters cut through the pan, and wax dripped in the oven. Next thing I know, the house is all smoky. Yikes.

So tonight I turned on the oven to make dinner and not long after I have flames in my oven. I'm yelling fire, the kids are running out of the room screaming, and I'm trying to figure out what to do. I turned the oven off, then threw water on it (my hubby later tells me that water was a bad idea....oops!) and the fire is out. Once the oven cooled down, and Dan came home, we scraped the bottom of the oven to get all of the wax out. Right now the oven is on cleaning cycle, and we have a door and window open to get the smoke out of the house. Did I mention it's only 30 degrees outside? BRRRRR.

So the lesson is, put a cookie sheet under the pan of wax. And clean the oven in the summer!

Black Friday Shopping

My sister in law Tiffani and I decided we need to teach a class about Black Friday shopping. We really are the seasoned pros and are now famous after my Mom was interviewed by the local paper about our Black Friday traditions (and interviewed on the radio Friday morning).

Really the best advice we could give is don't go alone. Go with friends and family and keep a good attitude. Seriously, if you are grumpy, STAY IN BED! So here's a few tricks of the trade we have learned over the years.

• Don't get a cart unless you really are getting more than you can hold. A cart will slow you down in Target and make traffic flow much worse.
• Expect that the people behind you will laugh if you buy a snuggie for your dog! (We were the one's laughing!!!).
  
• Must have caffeine.....and lots of it! We have my Aunt Ruthi call in our coffee orders and pick them up for all of us. She always gets two extra hot chocolates for the people around us. This year a lady walked up to Ruthi and asked for two lattes and a hot chocolate (joking of course). Imagine her surprise when Ruthi hands her a hot chocolate and says Merry Christmas!
  
• Combine your purchases with family to get the most discounts and coupons. By combining our purchases at Target, we were able to use a $15 off coupon, plus they gave us a $10 gift card for spending $100.
• If you have a coupon code, share with the people around you! We shared a coupon code at Old Navy with a complete stranger and she saved an extra $15.
  
• Don't be afraid to wave down a stock boy who is walking by with a stack of DVD's that you were looking for!
• BE NICE! Just because it's Black Friday and it's 4am, don't be rude! Help others and be kind!
• Have a plan!!! Tiffani makes a notebook, I have a list, and we have a plan on where, when and what we need.

See you next year, bright and early!