Forgot one

26. I hate the phone. I wish it had never been invented. I believe everything should be handled by email or text.


I am a little late on my 365 picture project post. Hopefully I will get to it today.

Figured I'd join in

I've seen this on a few blogs that I follow and on facebook so I figured I would give it a try.

25 things about me

1. I am horribly shy. I hate meeting new people and I obsess over it for days when I have to.
2. I hated public speaking in high school. I gave up an A in English class because I wouldn't get up and read my paper.
3. In spite of that, I competed on my college speech team and placed at States.
4. I never thought I would move more than an hour from my hometown.
5. Obviously I was wrong since I've lived in Portsmouth,Nh (twice), Groton, CT, and now here.
6. I am researching becoming a childbirth educator.
7. I have a degree in Public Relations, but I NEVER want to do that job.
8. I had a horrible experience with a boyfriend in college.
9. When I was younger I wanted to be a teacher.
10. I can not sing a note.
11. I love to do crafts. Right now my love is quilting.
12. I have at least 10 unfinished projects going at the same time.
13. I spend way too much time on the Internet.
14. I've fed my kids cake for dinner once.
15. I love to bake and have made 50+ dozen cookies at one time.
16. I hate to cook. I am not good at just throwing things together.
17. Writing this I realize I am a very boring person.
18. American President is my favorite movie.
19. I am a Bravo TV junkie. Minus the Millionaire Matchmaker I watch pretty much every show on there.
20. I interned at Watkins Glen Raceway in college.
21. I had the opportunity to work for the Busch North series (Nascar) and turned it down.
22. The first time I spent the night completely alone was after I was married.
23. I have no close friends. Acquaintances yes, friends not really.
24. My sister is 12 years older than me.
25. My parents were 37 when they had me. My dad didn't want kids. I still torture him about that.

Brotherly Love

Have I mentioned lately how much I love being a mom of boys? It still amazes me how much the boys love their little brother. I was worried that there would be some jealousy issues, but they have been awesome. They have been patient with me having to feed him, they will check on him when he is sleeping, and are just all around great big brothers. I'm sure that eventually the jealousy will kick in and there will be fighting, but right now I am enjoying the love fest that is going on.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I have been thinking a lot lately about what type of job I would like when I decide to go back to work. I have a degree in public relations/speech communication, but I definitely do not want to be in the public relations field. I am glad that I took the classes, but I hate the actual job.

When I think about getting a job I really want something I am passionate about. I don't want to just do something to earn money (not that it is a bad thing, just not for me). After doing a lot of thinking and soul searching I've decided to look into being a child birth educator.

I loved giving birth to my children. I enjoyed learning about the process and just knowing what is going on in my body. I would love to teach other women about what is going on and how to get through labor and delivery the easiest way possible.

Right now I am just in the research phase. I know that it will be awhile before I am able to actual start working on getting certified, but I am excited to be at least headed that direction.

Meal Plan Monday

Our menu is pretty easy this week since hubby is on a weird schedule and I'm trying to use stuff up before our big monthly shopping trip.

Monday - hot dogs and beans

Tuesday - marinated chicken and veggies

Wednesday - pizza

Thursday - something from the freezer (I have to clean it out today so I'll figure it out then)

Friday - chicken pot pie

Saturday - homemade mac and cheese

Sunday - Superbowl snacks

Next week will be better once I stock up on groceries and actually have time to cook. I hate weeks like this where everything seems rushed!

Bowling

We went bowling with some friends yesterday. It was a lot of fun considering the fact that I am horrible. Give me Wii bowling anytime. The second game I got beat by all the kids that were playing. I really wish I would have gotten my grandmother's bowling skills. She will be 93 in February and last year she bowled a 300 game.

Cody has to throw the ball. It is so cute to watch him all intent trying to will the ball to go where he wants.

Cody patiently waiting to see how he did.

This ramp thing is awesome. It makes it so much easier for the kids.

Pictures of the week

From left to right:

Cooper jumping, Colton at 6 weeks, my mostly completed Motivated Moms list, the boys playing Star Wars, Colton sticking out his tongue, Cody with a normal smile finally, Colton smiling

Reusable grocery bags

We bought some reusable grocery bags at Walmart awhile ago and I wasn't impressed with them. They were flimsy and just didn't seem like they would last too long. Yes they were inexpensive, but was it worth it if you would have to replace them often? Then when the cat had a UTI she used them as a litter box and gave me a good excuse to get rid of them.

Since then I have been trying to find a decent bag that was sturdy and strong. I wasn't having much luck, but then I started cleaning out my fabric stash and found some duck cloth (a canvas like fabric) that I had bought for a project long ago. As I was sitting up feeding Colton one night it hit me that the duck cloth would make the perfect grocery bag.




After a few trial and errors the prototype was made. This one is pretty close, the only thing that I really need to change is that I put one handle on backwards.



Because they are stronger than plastic you can fit quite a bit into them. I just put a few things in that I had downstairs to show the size.

Meal Plan Monday

I am going to start posting my menu plan for the week. I found the site http://orgjunkie.com/ which has a TON of menu plans. I am hoping it will help me to stay on track with what we are eating.

This weeks menu includes:

Monday - leftovers

Tuesday - Cheddar chicken spirals (new recipe)

Wednesday - out

Thursday - Crock pot beef roast, potatoes, and carrots

Friday - Pizza

Saturday - Stuffed shells

Sunday - goulash

Shameless kid pics

Things here have been moving along. We got a shock about hubby's schedule yesterday so I am trying to adjust to that. I am seriously a creature of habit and must now what is going on to plan. It is very hard for me to change directions quickly. I will get there, it will just take some time.

I am loving the Motivated Moms system. My house has been clean every day for a week. It is amazing. I have always hated cleaning and keeping up on things. Crossing things off the list is very motivating for me. I love to see all the little boxes filled in.

I am hoping to have some crafty stuff done soon. It is hard to find time to get down there with a newborn and two others that need things. I have so many ideas and projects running around in my head that I really want to get to work on. Hopefully things will settle out with the schedule change and I will be able to get back to doing stuff for me.

Surprisingly, things are going very smoothly being a mom of three. It hasn't been as big of an adjustment as I thought. Colton is a pretty laid back baby. He only really cries when he is hungry and overly tired. The other boys are big helper and love their brother. We haven't had too many issues with jealousy yet. I'm sure they will come though.

I am still trying to find some balance with everything. I think that is going to be my biggest challenge this year. Trying to balance kids, Cody's school, me time, housework, time with the husband, and possibly a sport for Cody in the spring. Right now I am just trying to not let the scales tip so far that I fall over.

My week in pictures

From left to right:

Damage from the ice storm, Cody all bundled up for school, Colton stylin thanks to Aunt Sam, the boys playing games, Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta (YUM), trying to catch Colton smiling, and Cody trying to fly

Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta

Ignore the horrid picture. I took it after we had already ate. I really need to get some photo editing software to make these look better.


From the Taste of Home Busy Family Cookbook


Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta

Ingredients:


8 oz uncooked penne pasta


1 lb ground beef (or you could use ground turkey)


6 bacon slices


1 can undiluted tomato soup


1 cup shredded cheddar cheese





Directions:


Cook pasta according to directions


While pasta is cooking, cook hamburger in skillet. Cook bacon as you usually would.


Drain both and crumble bacon. Set aside until pasta is done.


Drain pasta and return to pan. Add hamburger, bacon, and tomato soup.


Heat through. If it is a little dry add some spaghetti sauce.


Once heated through, add cheese and cover. Cook until cheese is melted.

Project 365 Week 1

I'm not sure if I mentioned on here before that I am trying to do a picture a day for 2009. I thought it would be a good way to document what happened this year. Here is the first week in pictures.

From left to right:
Colton styling in his hat, Cooper being Cooper, scary dudes, my Dolphin fans, Colton at 1 month, Cody being Cody, and our homemade donuts.

My UFO list

One of my "resolutions" for this year is to get caught up on my unfinished projects. I went through my huge bag where I had them all stored and figured out which ones I wanted to keep and which ones I had moved on from. I am hoping to have the majority of them done by the end of June. There are a few bigger projects that will not get done before then, but at least I will have a start.



The list as of now is:

- green and yellow potholders

- patriotic pot holders

- penguin pot holders

- nautical pot holders

- folded ornaments

- Snoopy baby blanket

- Diagonal Paths quilt (long term)

- Cotton Reels quilt (long term)

- Kaleidoscope quilt (long term)

- big embroidery floss holder

- travel embroidery floss holder

- fall tablerunner

Homemade Donuts

We love donuts in this house, but the only kind we can have is Entenmann's because of Cooper's nut allergy. I have wanted to try and make my own for awhile, but just never found the time. Since Cody had a snow day today I figured it was the perfect time. I found this recipe online at http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Make-Delicious-Homemade-Donuts and it is really yummy. Next I want to try and find a baked donut recipe because the frying is unhealthy and time consuming.

4 1/2 c flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 c sugar
2 Tbs unsalted butter, melted
1 c milk
1 tsp vanilla

Sift together the dry ingredients.

Beat eggs with sugar until light. Add butter, mil, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix until a soft dough is formed. Do not over mix. If dough is too soft to roll, chill it for an hour.

Roll dough out 3/8 inch thick on a floured surface and cut with donut cutters. Fry in 370 degree oil until golden on both sides, turning once.

Remove from oil, hold over hot oil for a few minutes to drain, and then finish draining on absorbent paper. While still warm shake in sugar, sugar- cinnamon mixture, dip in glaze of choice, or dust with powdered sugar. 3 dozen

I made a powdered sugar glaze with 1/3c boiling water, 1 tsp orange extract and 1 c powdered sugar to dunk them in.

2009

Now that 2009 is here it is time to make some goals for the new year. I am not going to do resolutions because they always get broken. One of the message boards I frequent had a post the other day asking you to list where you want to be on December 31, 2009. I like this idea because you can be more vague that resolutions.

By December 31, 2009 I want to:

- be thinner
- be healthier
- be caught up on my crafting projects
- have spent more quality time with my kids
- explored the area more
- taken more pictures
- have less clutter

I am slowly working on getting more organized too. I worked on cleaning out our filing system yesterday. I also purchased the Motivated Moms planner. I tried something similar a few years ago (the Sidetracked Home Executive System) and I hope that will help me keep up on the cleaning and stuff. I really work much better when I have a list to go by.

I hope that your 2008 ended on a good note and your 2009 is happy, healthy, and prosperous.