Oooh La La....Someone thinks I'm Stylish!

The rules passed on to me say to accept this award you are:

1.Supposed to link back to who nominated you.

2.List seven things we might not know about you.

3.Share the “love” and pay it forward by naming six other blogs you enjoy.

Here goes-

Aimee - from A Day In The Life Of My Crazy Little World  bestowed this honor upon me.  I have known Aimee for several years and have never actually "met" her.  We both posted on a mom board.  She has older kids like me and her youngest was the same age as my (at the time, since then added Nathan to our crew) youngest.  I loved her no non-sense attitude and her snarky love of life.  She's been an awesome friend and a huge supporter to me during my "Getting Older Sucks Really Bad" stage of life.  Love ya Aims!!

7 interesting things about me.... 

•  I read magazines from back to front.  I have no idea why I read them that way, but I've been doing it for years.  And I always cheat and read the last few pages of the books that I'm reading.  I try not to, but I can't help myself.
•  I am late for EVERYTHING! I can't help it. I have tried setting the clocks five to ten minutes ahead, scheduled appointments for a certain time and then writing down an earlier time...trying to trick myself. Nothing works. When Rich and I were dating, he could never just sit in the driveway, honk the horn and wait in the car (not that my dad would have let him anyway), he always had to come in and wait because I was never ready to go. I was even late on our wedding day...you can literally watch the minutes tick by on the video. I'm sure Rich was standing up there sweating bullets wondering if I ditched him. LOL! There's a Brad Paisley song that reminds me of us called Waiting on a Woman.
• I'm an attention seeker.  I love a good pat on the head, "job well done" once in a while (but then, who doesn't want that?).
•  I am majorly grouchy when I don't get enough sleep.....We're talking MAJOR! I am not a morning person. I try to be, but I can't.  There isn't enough coffee on the planet to change this.
• I love murder mystery tv shows...books...movies. They scare the crap out of me, especially the freakier ones like Criminal Minds (you have to wonder who thinks up those stories) and I have a hard time sleeping but I like watching them.
• I don't, however like watching horror movies. If I get curious enough to watch them, then I have to do it during the day with all the lights on and even then, I can't go outside in the dark or downstairs by myself.  They freak me out!
• I have very vivid, freaky dreams (it probably has something to do with all those scary tv shows I watch before I fall asleep at night) and I remember all of them, even the ones I had when I was a kid.

Passing this onto six interesting people...

Emmy - She's such a sweet, fun loving girl....I wish I lived closer because I would totally love for her to photograph my family.

 Jackie - She is such a lovely person.  She not only comments on my blog, but on facebook too.  It's been a pleasure getting to know her and her little boy.

Deirdre - She has some really fun giveaways and great craft ideas.  She also has tolerated me emailing her endlessly and asking her tons of questions about blogging, giveaways and more...Plus, she introduced me to Tiger Tales books.

Christy - I love all fhe fun and super cute crafts that she does with her kids, especially when she incorporates books with them.

Kyrstin - She always has such cute ideas for crafts as well.

Valerie - Awesome crafts using things you already have on hand and her husband reminds me of mine with all his comments.  Thank goodness my hubs doesn't always grace us with his presence lol!

There ya go.....

I followed all the rules. 

Does that mean I get to keep my new shiny, pretty award now?

Oh please.....

Say yes!

A Craft to Celebrate Dr. Suess' Birthday

We made this last year...but it was so adorable that I had to pull it out and post again...Looking at how little Nathan is, makes me a tad bit sad.  He looks so much older now.  And this year, he can actually read most of Dr. Suess' books by himself....Wow, time flies and just keeps going, no matter how much I want to bottle it up and preserve it - Dangit!

Yes, we are celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday today. We read the Cat in the Hat and then Nathan made his own hat. Oh and bonus of the day, we found out that our local library had a "fine free February" because of all the snow. Thank goodness, since we had about 10 books that were due to go back. I'm notorious for owing fees at the library. I think I actually pay their electric bill with just my fines, we're not talking about the kids dues either.

I used poster board to make the hat "stiffer" and red and white construction paper cut into strips; We cut the poster board into a hat shape and also cut out a strip as long as Nathan's head to make the hat band.

Then we glued on the strips

And I trimmed it to fit the hat shape

Then we stapled the long "hat band" strip to fit his head and stapled it to the hat.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! And tell the Cat that he can come back and pick up his hat anytime as long as he brings that nifty cleaning machine with him....

Moms That Blog (The Interviews)

Introducing......Emmy - She's a coupon savvy, swing dancing, fun loving mother of three, who recently started her own photography business.  And that's what makes her a great Mom That Blogs

Tell us a bit about yourself.......I am a Midwest born and raised now transported and converted California girl-or well at least anywhere warm, my blood has gotten thin! I am a SAHM/part time pro-photographer. I have been married to my incredibly tall husband-not kidding he is 6'8"- for almost ten years now. We have three wonderful or crazy (depending on the day you ask me) children.



Name three fast fun facts about you....

1) -I lived in the same house growing up but since graduating high school I have lived in 5 different cities, 8 different homes and 4 different states.

2) - I recently, last October, started my own photography business. Sometimes I think I am insane for trying to do this at this stage in my life but then I get out and shoot and love it.

3) I really enjoy reading but try not to do it too often as if I get lost in a good book-well I am going to be lost until it is done. -


When did you first start blogging.......I started blogging almost 2 1/2 years ago now. I started because-said in a snotty teenage voice-everybody's doing it! I kid! Sort of. My SIL started a blog for a place to share pictures, share what was happening with her kids and I thought, hey that would be fun. I had no clue as to what the blogging world was like at that point and how many bloggers there are.



What is your blog about.......My blog is about me... and my kids... and my family... and my photography. Basically it has a little bit of everything. I will tell about the crazy things my kids do, the crazy things I do, and hopefully throw in some useful things too-like my Coupon 101 lessons or my Fix it For Me Wednesday's where readers can submit a picture for me to edit that I do on my photography blog. A few other reader favorites are my Time For Tot's Days, and my monthly meme of Ten Things to Smile About.


Why do you blog........I blog for the connections, the community behind it and just for the pure pleasure of writing. I also blog to have some sort of record of my life as I am horrible at keeping a journal. And I blog because I get addicted to things really easily and once I start, it is hard to stop.


Must read blogs that you visit daily.......I really do have so, so many blogs I love and try and read anyone's blogs who comment on mine. But on those days where I only have ten minutes to read, my must reads are:

CA Girl-one because I like her blog and two because she is family.

Rachel Tulip- My SIL who got me started on blogging

MiMi Living in France- she is hilarious and we're now FB friends-eek!

Cheeseboy Blog o Cheese- Yes a boy, well man--he is a first grade teacher who writes the funniest blog ever

Shell's Things I can't Say- She is way popular but still throws a stick to us little guys

Kmama of the Daily Dribbles- Maybe it's because she was in band like me

Burried With Children-Not only does Jen have triplets but she is such a great writer and I love reading everything she writes


What inspires you...........My knowledge of who I am and what this life is all about. It really drives me in everything I do, my blogging, my photography, my role as a mother. Without this knowledge and my beliefs I don't know who I would be or why I would keep going.


If you had a bucket list, what would be on it........I don't know if I really have a bucket list per se-but there are things that would be really cool, like I really want to go on a cruise someday- my ten year anniversary is coming up-hint hint to my hubby! Somedays I dream of being a super famous photographer but then I see my kids and feel that they are the most important thing. Really ultimately all I need is a loving good husband, a big beautiful home and happy successful faithful children.... Oh and the 24-70 L series Lens that I want.


Do you have any blogging advice that you would like to share........Figure out why you are blogging. Don't just try and copy other bloggers out there or write what you think others want to read as if you do you will lose yourself and get burned out really fast. Also never leave a comment on someone's blog saying something like "Hi nice post, come read my blog at www....." Even though I always try and visit everyone's blog who leaves a comment for me I might just ignore you.


You can read more about Emmy by reading her blog at Emmy Mom--One Day At A Time.

 

What To Do With Leftover Spaghetti?

Make a spaghetti pie......

another super easy recipe.

(sorry I didn't take any pics of this one)

Heat oven to 375*

Take about 4 cups or so of leftover spaghetti

(can have sauce, no sauce...meatballs, no meatballs, just whatever you have leftover).

Beat an egg in a bowl and toss with the spaghetti.

Spray a baking dish (or pie dish) with Pam.

Spread the spaghetti in the bottom and up the sides of the pan.

Pour some sauce on top.

Sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan cheese

And bake in the oven for about 10-12 minutes.

That's it.

When you hear the kids say...."Ahh Ma, spaghetti again."  You know it's done.

Chicken Parmesan

I've had a few people ask me how to make chicken parmesan.  This is the easiest, most simple thing to make...I swear.  And it doesn't take a lot of ingredients either. 

All you need is some boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I like to use tenderloins, but that's just me), olive oil, seasoned bread crumbs, a couple of eggs (beaten), spaghetti sauce and provolone cheese.

Heat your oven to 350*

In a skillet, heat some olive oil on medium low setting (a few splashes or enough to coat the pan will do).

Dip your chicken in the egg.

Coat it with the bread crumbs.

Fry the chicken in the skillet.  Turning only once.  It takes about 5-7 mins for both sides, if you are using the tenderloins....obviously longer when using the breasts (remember you can check for doneness by pricking it with a fork, if the juices run clear than it's done)

Layer a small amount of sauce in a baking dish.

Put the chicken on top of the sauce.

Place a slice or half a slice of provolone cheese on top of the chicken.

Spoon a small amount of sauce on top of the cheese.

Bake for about 10 mins or so....long enough for the cheese to melt.

Serve with pasta.

Ordinary Oscar

We love Ordinary Oscar by Laura Adkins. 

Oscar Slimeglider is an ordinary snail. 

 He eats ordinary lettuce and he is ordinary brownish greenish gray.

Just like his parents and brothers and sisters. 

But, he doesn't want to be ordinary.  He wants to stand out, be unique and be famous! He visits the Wise Old Snail to seek his advice on how he can be different.  The Wise Old Snail tells Oscar he just needs a little bit of magic and sends him off to visit the Fairy Godsnail. 

The fairy grants Oscar three wishes.  For his first wish, Oscar wishes to look different.  He turns into a colorful, bright snail that really stands out .  But this only draws the attention of a very hungry bird.  Then he wishes to be big, bigger than the bird that is trying to eat him.  Bigger than anything.  He ends up being so big that he scares people.  Oscar decides that he doesn't want to be famous for being scary, so he wishes to be his plain old ordinary self again. 

Oscar realizes that sometimes being ordinary, isn't such a bad thing after all.   And in the end, even ordinary snails (or people), can do extraordinary things. 

I thought the book had a great lesson for children.  Everyone wishes and wants to stand out and "be something".  We never realize that we already are "something" to those around us and those who love us.  And those that love us, love us for who we are...not what we are.  Great book!

I decided to use this book for craft time.  I asked Sarah to draw two huge snails on poster board.  I'm so lucky to have two girls who draw so well.

The boys painted their snails with poster paints.  I told them to make them colorful...like the "famous" Oscar.

Sarah also made stars for eyes, that we sprinkled with glitter

We added googly eyes to the centers, cut them out and glued them to the snails.

Nicholas embellished his painting and named it "Oscar Star"

We also added some extra sparkles with glitter

Great Book!

and Really Great Art!

*Disclosure: I received this book from Tiger Tales for review purposes only.  I was not compensated in anyway.  The opinions herein are my own and were not influenced by Tiger Tales or the author of this book.  The art was my own idea and done by my children.

Linking to....

For Once I Wish I Wasn't Such A Mom!

I'll be writing about this topic again soon, so I don't want to get to into the subject now, but I just wish sometimes I wasn't such a mom.

My loyal readers know that I recently had a D&C done, because of fibroid tumors and there was talk of doing a hysterectomy as well, but at the time it was just going to be a D&C.  At my follow up appointment my doctor told me that I would need the hysterectomy after all and I was told it would take place in March.

When I went to make my appointment, the receptionist said he does the surgeries every other Wednesday and that left March 2 and 16.  I was going to say the 2nd, but then I remembered that Anthony's birthday is March 3rd.  I thought I don't want to have major surgery the day before his birthday, because I wouldn't be there to celebrate it with him.  So I chose the 16th instead.

Why ?????

It's not like Anthony is a little boy anymore....he's going to be 17.  He probably wouldn't care if he had cupcakes on his actual birthday.  Anthony isn't a mama's boy, but he does love me enough to not want to see me suffering in pain.  He is intelligent enough to know what a huge ordeal this whole thing has been.  I don't think he would have minded. 

But.....

The mom in me, couldn't do it.

Now, I have to wait out not only the rest of February, but two more weeks in March as well.  Two more weeks (3 total) of pain and suffering and bleeding off and on and back pain and cramps and feeling tired and crappy.  Periods like they were before the D&C with clots and such.  Driving Rich crazy with worry, driving myself crazy with worry.  I'm tired of being in pain.  I'm tired of worrying about every little thing.  I'm tired of worrying about work and calling off when I don't have the sick days to cover it.  I'm tired of the whole darn thing and just want  it to be over with already.  I've been struggling with my feelings and everything connected to that part of me. 

  Why oh why do I have to be such a mom!

Why didn't I think of just Me?

 

*Linking to Shell's Pour Your Heart Out

Ch...Ch...Changes...

Yes, I caved!

I'm changing things up a bit around here some more.  It's freaking me out everytime I hit the "apply to blog" button....Believe me -  but I'm doing it anyway.  I'm still not happy about a few things, but I'll keep working on it here and there.  Life is a work in progress, so why shouldn't my blog be one too. 

I've been working on some things around the house as well.  Cleaning out some cabinets and closets....Ripping wall paper off the walls in the kitchen, so that I can prime and paint....Rich bought another chest freezer so we are rearranging the pantry.  We'll have one freezer in the garage and one in the pantry.  We have a storage room downstairs that we use as a pantry.  I did have the kids toys in there too, but I'm moving them to another room....I talked Rich into building some shelves in the laundry room too, so I will have more room to put junk (hahaha - like I really need more junk).

Busy Worker Bee

That's me.

When I'm not playing on the computer, that is.

I have a few announcements too.  I'll be starting the Moms That Blog series (see sidebar for interview links) back up soon.  If you're interested in being featured, shoot me an email - jfamilyofeight@hotmail.com and I'll send you the questions and info.

Also, I started a "link love" discussion tab on my facebook page.  Feel free to check it out and add your own links.  And of course like my page while you're there ;-)

Happy Weekend!

My Living Room Coffee Table

Did I ever show you all my "new" living room coffee table?

No?

Well then, let's remedy that, shall we.

Really cute...huh?

don't you just love the color?

Here's the best part - it was Free!

The table is actually our old kitchen table.  We had it forever and it just sat in the garage taking up space and I kept looking at it thinking that would make the perfect coffee table.  It's big enough for the kids to do their homework, play on it with their toys and do crafts on it as well.  It's super sturdy (not like those new tables that look like they will fall apart as soon as you put a glass of water on it). 

I threw my idea at Rich one day.  At first he thought I was a nut (but he usually does when I suggest stuff like that).  But the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea too.  So much so that one day while I was at work he cut the legs down and started painting it to surprise me when I got home.  I'm not such a nut anymore, now am I? LOL!

It's actually a little darker than what the pictures show.

My living room is almost done.  I just need new curtains...an area rug...light fixture...a few more do-dads...and somebody to hang up all my framed pics.  It's getting there, little by little, it's getting there.

18

On this very day 18 years ago....I became a Mom.

I was just 20 years old.  

I was full of hopes and dreams and all the possibilites.  My husband would tell you that he was scared to death!

It's weird, going from being responsible for only yourself to having them place this helpless little creature in your arms. 

When I was pregnant, I refused to be "one of those" women that went to the hospital in false labor.  So, when I started timing my contractions regularly at seven minutes apart, I called my mom.  Don't all new moms or soon to be moms call their moms? As I was talking to her and my contractions got closer together, my mom said "Charlene, how far apart are your contractions?"  I said Oh, about every five mintues now.  My mom said "Where's Rich?"  I answered he's still sleeping.  She said "Charlene you need to wake him up, you're supposed to be at the hospital when your contractions are five minutes apart....Go - Now!"

LOL! I sure wasn't one of "those women" that day.

By the time we got to the hospital the contractions were about 3 minutes apart - we got there at 6:30 in the morning.  My doctor, we found out was on vacation.  So another doctor covering for him was called.  Three hours later, with NO epidural (because ALL new mothers think they can do it all, even if they are dying in pain haha), at 9:36 a.m. a beautiful red headed little girl with a strawberry birthmark on her shoulder was placed in my waiting arms.  She weighed 6 pounds and 14 ounces and she was breathtaking. 

Rich and I agreed not to find out what we were having, but we were convinced we were having a boy, so we had no girl names picked out.  We bounced a few around (just in case), but never decided on an actual name.  For three days, our precious little one was called "Baby Girl J".  On the day we were to go home a nurse told us that we had to have a name for the birth certificate and other documents.  I had previously told Rich that I like "names that grew",  not some cutesy name, but one that would grow with her and sound nice when she was 80 something.

We chose Amanda Jordan

Amanda means "worthy of love" and we had no greater gift from each other or from God that we felt was so worthy of love as our new baby girl.

Jordan means "descended".  We like to think that this little gift descended from Heaven into our life.

Now this precious gift that was given to us is 18.

18

No one tells you when you become a parent that that baby will grow up and one day leave you.  No one tells you how hard it will be the first time they get their heart broken.  The first time they skin their knee.  The first time they color on the wall.  The first time they walk across the room to your waiting arms.  How hard it will be.  How much love you will feel.  How much that love will grow with time and with them. 

No one tells you how much your heart will break when their heart is broken.  Or how you will feel their pain and joy and sorrows.  How much it will hurt when they first tell you that they hate you.  How proud you will be when they write their name and color in the lines for the first time.  How scared you will feel, when you watch them drive away with that shiny new license.  How accomplished you will feel when they earn their first paycheck.

No one tells you that your heart will literally walk off one day, right out of your chest, while you stand there watching...hoping they will turn around and smile.  No one tells you how big of a lump you will swallow when that kindergarten door closes behind you.  Or how worried or mad or relieved or scared you will be the first time they stay out all night.  How awful you will feel when you hold them down for their first stitches or shots.  How much love radiates through those bear hugs and slobbery kisses. 

You know, they say a mommy's kiss can heal the simplest and most awful of wounds.....except that of the hole your child leaves when they steal your heart.

happy birthday my sweet girl.  I love you