Homework already?

How is this possible?  My daughter has homework after her first week of school.  It seems so wrong to assign a young child with homework already.  But I am going to work on it with her this week while my husband is at work and while her brother is napping.  Hopefully it won't take long but you never know.

I'm excited that I will be sharing my awesome news with you in a couple of days.  I hope it turns out well, but with all things, it could take time.  But this is something I am really excited about and can't wait for it to take off!

I have been making two cards this weekend.  It's a slow process because I have had to do some cleaning and get things ready for when my mother-in-law comes out here in a couple of days.  I was going to finish it today but I don't think I will be able to.

I actually ventured off and did something new this week.  I made lasagna and meatloaf in the crockpot!  I never thought those would be even possible, but I guess wonders never cease.  My husband rated the lasagna a 10 and he rated the meatloaf a 9.  I can't wait to make it again!  Tonight for dinner we are having leftovers as we have lots of leftovers to eat.

I need to do some laundry today.  My least favorite thing to do is laundry.  Why does laundry always seem like it is never ending?

It is Friday already!

I am beyond excited to share my good news with you in a few days!  I hope you guys will be as excited as I am!  But I am just right now trying to work out the little minor stuff so I can get everything out there for you in a few days.

Today is Friday.. I can't believe how fast the week is flying by!  I think it is mostly because my husband comes home from work earlier and my daughter is going to school so it makes the days go by fast.  I feel like I don't have a set schedule for myself as far as cleaning and cooking and taking care of the house goes, but I hope to figure it out soon.

My mother-in-law comes out in a few days.  I am looking forward to it.  It is always nice when we have family come visit.  She is only here for a week but we'll just make the best of it.  I have no idea what to make for her as far as dinner goes.

I haven't made a card or anything crafty in forever.  But after my mother-in-law goes back home, I am going to start making two birthday cards.  There are two people we know who have birthdays in the month of September, so I need to make them cards.  Unfortunately, one person will be getting their card a little late.

Today I am making lasagna in the crockpot.  I can't wait to see how this turns out.  I need to get my son to take his nap now.  So, until next time!

Week one done

Time sure flies, doesn't it?  I can't believe my daughter is already done with the first week of school.  Today her teacher told me she is going to be painting!  That should be fun as she has never really painted at home.  The most arts and crafts that she does at home is drawing in her notebook and coloring either in her coloring book or in the bathroom during bath time.

Last night we went to go pick up my husband's brother.  He's in town for a couple of days for a bachelor's party and he decided to show up a day early to spend time with us and see the kids as well.  It was a little bit of a nightmare at the airport because his flight was delayed by a hour so we were stuck in the airport with two kids waiting at least an extra hour.

Tonight for dinner will be leftover chicken burritos.  But tomorrow I am planning on making lasagna in the crockpot.  I never made it before so I'm looking forward to seeing how this will turn out.  This meal I will take a picture of and post on my blog.  I haven't done that in a long time and I do apologize.  I have heard of lasagna being made in the oven but I have never heard of it being made in the crockpot.  First time for everything.

Alright, I need to get some work done before I have to pick up my daughter from school.

School has started

Yesterday was the first day of school for my daughter.  I was a ball of emotions as I was getting her ready for school.  I made sure she had everything in her backpack, every paperwork I was to fill out was signed and dated and filled out completely, I made sure to include a  change of clothes in case she soiled herself, and made sure I had all her school supplies bagged up.  It wasn't until I was saying goodbye to her that it hit me.  Hard.  My little baby, my little miracle baby, is starting school.  I was emotional when she went to daycare for the first time at nine weeks, but I was more emotional with her going to school.  

After I dropped her off, it was just her brother and fur-sister with me at home.  It was a little quiet at home, but the sounds of a child's program was heard in the background as I was sitting on the floor staring at the toys that needed to be picked up.  I could see the dirty dishes that were piled up in the sink asking me to wash them.  I looked to my left and there was a pile of clean clothes begging me to be hung up in the closet.  I disregarded everything that I had to do that day.  The only productive thing I did all day yesterday was picking her up from school and dropping her off.  The rest of the time I was crying and looking at all of her pictures.
   
I'm pretty sure it will be the same when my son goes to school, too.  For mommies out there, I understand the roller coaster of emotions you feel when your first born, or any, child goes off to school for the first time and on their first day.

Big news coming up

I am so excited to share some great news with you all!  I can't go into much right now but in the next few days or so I will tell you all about it!  I can't wait to share it with you.  It is going to be something new for me.  Please stay tuned for the news!

I haven't been on the computer much lately because I have been so busy.  My daughter starts school tomorrow.  On Friday I went to her school to meet her teacher and teachers aide.  I saw where her classroom was, too.  This weekend we went to buy her school supplies and her uniform for school.  I can't believe some of the stuff that was on the list of school supplies.  I can't believe that my little baby girl is going to school tomorrow.  It is going to be one of the most saddest days but happiest days for me.

As far as meals go, I haven't been cooking anything too elaborate.  But I did do a little menu planning for this grocery shopping visit.  We didn't buy our usual month's worth of food this time.  My brother-in-law is coming out this way on Wednesday, so we're picking him up at the airport and he's spending the night.  Then the week after that, my mother-in-law is coming out to visit for a week.  It will be a lot of fun while she's here.  But I don't know what to cook for her so we're going to do some last minute food shopping after she gets here.

That is all for now.  I need to start doing some much needed laundry.

25 Random Facts About Me

I am going to share with you 25 things about me that you may or may not know about me.  I kind of stole the idea from a magazine I used to read.  But I figure I would do this so you can get to know me a little bit better.  So, without further adieu, here we go.

25 Things You May or May Not Know About Me:

1.  My favorite animal is a dog, but my favorite breed is a chihuahua, obviously.
2.  My favorite colors are pink and lime green.
3.  I cook better than I bake, but my husband thinks I can bake just as well as I can cook.
4.  As a child, I have always had bad asthma.  As an adult, it's a little more tolerable.
5.  I didn't start watching Disney movies until I was in high school.
6.  My proudest accomplishment in my life was giving birth to my two children.
7.  I absolutely cannot stand the taste of tomatoes, but I absolutely love salsa.
8.  I also don't like ketchup, and I don't like sauce on my pizza.
9.  My husband proposed to me on center ice during a hockey game between second and third period in front of 6,200 people.  It was one of the most romantic things he has ever done for me.
10.  I read the whole Hunger Games series in three weeks while I was at work.  Think about it: five days a week at work, eight hours a day, and working and reading in between.  No, I'm not a fast reader, those books are just that good.  Suzanne Collins is a pure genius!
11.  I am a major germaphobe and hate shaking hands with a stranger.  
12.  I love to travel but I am terrified of flying.
13.  If I could eat sushi everyday for the rest of my life and not have the fear of mercury poisoning and I could afford it, I would do it in a heartbeat.
14.  I have a younger sister but I am not close to her at all.  Although we are only five and a half years apart, she somehow thinks we are from two different generations and cannot be close to me.  But my sister-in-law and I are nine years apart and we are super close.
15.  I have a deep fascination for unsolved and unexplained stories.  It drives me absolutely crazy not knowing what happened.
16.  I always multitask when I am doing something, whether it's writing, reading, crafting, watching tv, folding laundry, whatever.. I always am doing something else while doing what I am supposed to be doing that.  Case in point: while I am doing this, I am watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with my daughter and checking Facebook and Etsy at the same time.
17.  I am probably one of the most boring people ever because I don't smoke, drink alcohol, or do drugs, and I am a homebody.  But at least I know there are no bad toxins in my body.
18.  My favorite smells are lavender and lemon.
19.  I could watch Dawson's Creek over and over all day long and not get tired of it.  
20.  I was born in the middle of the summer and I absolutely hate the summers.  I don't know if it's because my birthday falls during that time or because of the heat.
21.  I used to be an avid runner, but I stopped running after I moved here.
22.  Paranormal stuff fascinate me to no end.
23.  I have an eclectic taste of music.  I listen to anything and everything.  
24.  I can play the piano by ear, I can listen to a piece once or twice than play it back.
25.  I love Starbucks!  My favorite drink is their Iced Caramel Frappachino with no whipped cream and extra caramel.

There you have it, 25 random facts about me!

And so it has begun

This has been a roller coaster of a week so far.  Pebbles is getting her shots updated and her teeth pulled tomorrow.  I'm afraid to know how many exactly are loose in there.  But I know she's getting older and it happens, but I'm still scared for her.  Tomorrow morning while my husband is driving to work, I'll be driving Pebbles and the kids to the vet's.  I hope she will be okay because I know when she wakes up from surgery, she'll be a bit loopy.  I think the next time this needs to be done, I'll do it on a weekend when my husband is home to help me with the kids and Pebbles.  I guess I could have scheduled the appointment for this weekend but I didn't want to delay the inevitable.

My husband has been back at work for a week now and I've been slowly but surely trying to get back to my routine again.  I just wish both of the kids would sleep through the night.  Thank goodness my daughter doesn't wake up screaming and crying hysterically anymore.  She now wakes up and calls out for milk.  My son still wakes up like an hour after I put him in his crib.  No matter how long I have him fall asleep on our bed, he still wakes up after an hour of putting him in the crib.

Next week, my daughter starts school.  I'm feeling both sad and happy.  But it's only two and a half hours a day and her school is less than five minutes away from my house which is nice.  I think this weekend we are going to go school supply shopping for her and buy her school uniform as well.  I can't believe a school for a three year old has a uniform for her to wear, but whatever works I guess.

I haven't done anything crafty lately.  I am planning on making something for my mother-in-law before she visits in a couple of weeks.  I don't know what all we have planned when she visits but I don't know if I'll be able to blog as much.  We'll see how things go.

Last night for dinner I made chicken with some corn and peas and yellow rice.  My husband loved it.  My daughter loved the yellow rice but I wanted her to eat some chicken and the veggies too, but she didn't want any.  I have no idea what to make tonight.  Yesterday morning my husband woke me up by asking if he could treat me to breakfast.  I agreed because it's usually me who asks if we could go out to eat.  It was a nice surprise to go out for breakfast though.  Hope to do more of them again.

Exhausted after the first week

It has been a crazy week now that my husband went back to work.  I don't have my groove back yet.  Between my husband going back to work and my dog having some teeth issues and taking care of the kids by myself, I have been exhausted!  

I registered our daughter for school last week.  I still can't believe she is going to school for four days a week for just two and a half hours a day.  It is going to be different while she's in school and I just have our son to take care of.  But I think I will get more stuff done around the house while she's in school.

I haven't been making anything too elaborate for dinner lately.  I made some chicken stir fry and then I would switch it up and make a regular veggie stir fry.  But last night I made my version of a shepperd's pie.  My husband loved it so much that he rated it a 10!  Wow.  I guess I should incorporate that in the meal planning once a week or so then, too.  I knew he loved it but didn't realize just how much.

Today we are going to take our dog to the vet and get her shots updated and her teeth taken care of.  I know this will be the best thing for her to get them removed but it still saddens me to think of her getting them pulled.  Last night I counted five loose teeth!  That's just sad.  But I know she's getting older and that makes me sad.

Sad news

This is my little Pebbles.  She is the only picture of my children I will post.  I have had Pebbles for almost nine years now.  It's hard to believe that she's been in my life for that long.  But I remember the day I got her like it was yesterday.  It's just crazy to think of her being in my life for as long as she has.  She is the best dog I have ever had in my life.  Okay, that's not saying much since she's the only dog I have ever owned.  My family has had pets but this is the first one that was my own responsibility.  I pay for her food, clothes, and shoes.  She is beyond spoiled but I don't care what other people think of me for spoiling her the way I do.

I am sad to say that the other day I discovered she has three loose teeth.  I was wondering why it was taking her so long to finish her dinner, why she'd take forever to eat those doggie treats my husband bought her last week, and why she seemed so lethargic for the past week.  She's due for her shots, so next week I am going to take her to Banfield and have her shots updated and get her loose teeth removed.  

I hate when she gets teeth removed at Banfield.  They put her under anethesia and when she wakes up from it, she's so loopy and walks all funky.  But this needs to be done, so we are going to get it taken care of.  The last time she went to Banfield, she had two teeth removed.  A couple of years ago, my husband discovered two of her teeth on the carpet.  Now she is going to be needing three teeth removed.  Soon she will have no teeth if her teeth keep falling out or rotting.  But after she gets those teeth removed, I am going to start giving her carrots.  One of my friends told me to give her a carrot a day because it is supposed to help with the removal of plaque and freshen her breath.

I love my dog more than anything in this world.  She has been there for me when my ex-boyfriend and I broke up and I was left broken hearted after he and I went through an extreme tragedy.  She has been by my side, listening to me cry and my problems.  She is the best secret keeper ever!  My only wish for her, other than everlasting life, would be that she get along with my daughter and son.  But I know, chihuahuas don't get along well with children.. but one can only hope and pray they'll get along one day.

Football season

Has it really been five days since I last wrote in here?  I am slacking off.  Seriously.  Well, the good news (not really for me) is that my husband goes back to work soon so once he is back at the work force, I'll be able to blog on a daily basis.  I hope.  

Yesterday we made our own burger for dinner last night.  It was pretty good.  We put our own special seasonings we love and grill it.  We tried grilled turkey burgers once but it was an epic fail.  We don't eat red meat that often so it is a treat when we eat burgers for dinner.  I wanted to make a salad to go with it, but I was feeling a little lazy yesterday.  I have been so tired lately so I didn't make anything else to go with the burgers.

I haven't crafted anything since I made those 17 cards.  I lost my creativity juice somewhere.  I haven't had any ideas on what to make so everything has been on hold for now.  But I need to finish to work on the stuff for my husband's office before he goes back to work.

Time to start watching more Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with the kids.

Cards, Donating Blood, and He's Walking!

I made this card a couple of weeks ago.  It is seriously so cute!  I mean, an image of a whale with the sentiment, "Get Whale Soon".. I mean, it can't get any cuter than that!  But for some reason, I think this card is lacking in something else.  But I think I will keep it the way it looks.  It's available for sale at my etsy page at www.etsy.com/shop/SerendipityKisses

Yesterday my husband went to go donate blood.  It is something he enjoys doing.  I love that he's giving back to the community by doing something so good like this.  I would love to do that but unfortunately, I'm terrified of needles.  When I was pregnant with my kids, they would have to give me shots every once in a while and I was scared and had to look away.  I am such a big ole baby when it comes to them!

I was planning on making a veggie stir fry for dinner last night.  But when my husband got home from donating blood, we went to the mall so he could buy some more work pants and to walk around.  We usually try to avoid going to places like the mall when our daughter is all over the place and doesn't listen.  But she was so good yesterday.  She listened to me and didn't run off on me, and when we went in a store and it was time to leave, she didn't cry or fuss about it.  The best part was when we ate our dinner, we went to the food court and had Subway.  When she wanted a bite of our sandwich or chips, she said "please" to us.  It totally blew me away because usually she just grabs our food.

On another good news, our son is walking now.  He still teeters here and there but he's walking!  I remember when our daughter was eleven months old, she was standing on her own; at twelve months she was pushing a tote and walking with it; and by thirteen months she was walking on her own.  Our son is almost sixteen months old and just now he's walking.  I heard the old saying "Girls talk first and boys walk first."  But I guess that didn't happen with my kids.  My daughter's first word came out when she was five and a half months old and she was walking by thirteen months.  My son's first word came out when he was four months old and he's now walking now at almost sixteen months.

I have been itching to do something crafty lately, but haven't done anything.  Boo.

School starts soon

I can't believe that tomorrow I am going to be driving my kids to my daughter's school and registering her for school.  It just seems so unfathomable that she is going to be starting school.  I mean, I knew this day would happen.  I just didn't realize that time went by so fast.  She starts school at the end of this month and it will be for only two and a half hours a day for four days a week.  But she will be somewhere else other than with me during the school year.  I am sad because I can't believe just how fast time is flying by!  I still remember being pregnant with her and going for the ultrasound and them telling me, "it's a girl!".  Ahh, I hope I can enjoy the moments with my son before he starts school.

I think once my kids are both going to school full time I am going to start going back to school myself and work part time either at home or somewhere else.  I haven't got that far as planning goes.  But it's a thought that has been plaguing my mind for the past year.

Today we went grocery shopping.  We did pretty good!  We cut back about $30 this month.  It is always nice when I find a sale on food.  I also menu planned for this month as well, too.  I still need to work on making a cleaning schedule.  I am sad to say that I let the laundry pile up again and I have a big mountain pile of dirty clothes that needs to be washed.  I hope with my daughter going to school, I'll get some cleaning done and laundry done and I won't be taking three days to finish doing laundry. 

My husband starts a new job at a new school this year.  The good news is that the school ends at 2:10pm, which means he will be home by 2:45pm.  The bad news is that the school is a bit further of a drive.  But the best news is that he won't be waking up at 5am anymore!  That was just tough for all of us to wake up so early and him being so tired so early in the evening.  At least this way he gets to wake up one hour later and still get to help me a lot when it's time to get the kids to bed at night.

Summer is almost over.  Insert sad face here.

Friendship Card, Kids, and Cooking

Tomorrow is Friendship Day so I thought I would post a picture of a card I made a couple of weeks ago.  This card was used with my Cricut Expression and I used the Create a Critter cartridge.  It is one of my favorite cartridges by far!  The sentiment is from one of my favorite stamp lines, My Pink Stamper.  However, I believe the sentiment from this stamp set is retired unfortunately.

The day is still early, but I just have to say that both of my kids are incredibly pleasant today.  Neither of them have fussed or cried or had a meltdown yet.  But it is still early and there will be plenty of time for that to happen.  My hope is that by the time they go to bed tonight that neither will have made my day difficult.  But we all know kids can change at a drop of a hat.  I just have to hope and pray that they'll be pleasant all day.

For the past few nights I have been making a chicken stir fry of some sort for dinner.  There isn't a set recipe for it.  I just throw in some veggies, cook the rice, put the rice in with the pan, and add seasonings here and there and call it a meal.  My husband loves it though.  So, tonight for dinner I am going to make another chicken stir fry.  We went grocery shopping yesterday to get enough meals for the weekend.  While my son is napping today and tomorrow I am going to start menu planning again.  I also need to start writing down my cleaning schedule for when my husband goes back to work.  Right now I just do laundry every once in a while; which is a big mistake cause I end up with a mountain pile of dirty clothes, I haven't done a deep cleaning to the bathrooms since June, but it's not that dirty surprisingly, and there are so many other things that I need to start doing again once my husband goes back to work.

This summer has been fun but we didn't go anywhere and didn't see a lot of family.  But my brother-in-law is coming to visit at the end of this month, and my mother-in-law is coming out to visit at the beginning of September.  It will be nice to see them since we don't get to see that often.  My mother's best friend came out to visit and we got to see her and her husband, which was nice since the last time I saw her was twenty-seven years ago!  

I am going to try to make a few more cards to add to my Etsy shop this week, but I don't think I will get very far.

How did you spend your summer?