Wordless Wednesday

Miscellany Monday

{1} I finally got out of the house this weekend.  Yay!  Good thing, too, because as I type this St. Louis is under a Severe Winter Storm Warning.  We are expectin 1-4" of ice and then anywhere from 6-12" of snow.  I don't know how people "up North" handle this stuff.  Hate it!

{2}As I said above, Scott and I went out on Saturday night.  It was nice to go out with just the two of us.  We went to Trailhead and had a good dinner, met up with some friends, and then ended at the casino. 

{3} I tried a Skinny Girl margarita this past Saturday night and it is my new favorite drink.  The best thing is that it is only 1 point for 4 oz on Weight Watchers.  Easy to make:

2oz Patron (or a good white tequila)

Splash of Grand Marnier, Couintrea or Triple Sec

4 lime squeezes

These margaritas were so good!  I did not miss the sweet and sour at all.  100 calories and NO GUILT!

{4} My birthday is this Friday.  I am trying to forget about it.  LOL 

{5} I am so proud of GracieAnn for giving up the binky.  We had a couple of rough days.  You can read about the first night here.  It only took 2 days for Gracie to kick the habit.

Five Question Friday

Today I'm doing a new link up with My Little Life for

 1.  If you had $1,000 to donate to any charity, which would you choose?It would definitely be either a children's charity.  I think I would donate to a charity for abused children. 2.  Snow days:  Do you welcome them happily or are they a pain in your butt?I would normally welcome a snow day.  We would lay around in jammies, play in the snow, drink hot chocolate, watch movies, build a fire. But we have had so many snow days already and it is hard to keep them all entertained.  NO MORE SNOW DAYS!! 3. What talent do you wish you had and why?If I had any talent in the world, it would probably be to be a great singer.  I would love to be an entertainer and travel around the country.   4.  Are you a news, politics, or celebrity gossip junkie?If I had to pick one, I guess I would be a celebrity gossip junkie.  I don't really even pay attention to that stuff but sad to say I really don't watch the news and I do not really pay attention to most of what is happening around me.  I don't pay attention to politics, either, and rarely discuss it. 5.  What is your favorite cocktail? (Are you a beer person, a kiddie cocktail junkie, or perhaps you are more of the Cosmo kind?  Anything flies . . . doesn't hafta be alcohol.)If it is alcohol then it is either Greygoose/Kettle One and cranberry juice.  Wine would be either pinot grigio or a merlot.  Beer is Bud Select 55 (0 points-woohoo!).  Non-alcoholic would be unsweetened tea with lemon or water with lemon.  I do love fountain Diet Pepsi, too. Drawing for the Made For You Lifestyles 2 months free on-line registered dietician consultation will be Monday.  Don't forget to enter!  Click Here for details.  

Wordless Wednesday-Not Such a Good Idea

Post It Note Tuesday

Miscellany Monday

1. Kanin went back to school for the first time in 10 days.  Between snow days and him being sick, he has gone to school a whopping 4 days for the entire month of January.

2. About 3 days ago I realized that Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and the ABC Song are actually the same tune.  I am 36 years old and never noticed that.  Did you know?

3. Both of the teams that I was pulling for lost yesterday.  I've liked the Bears since I was a little girl and had a huge crush on Jim McMahon.  I even bought those dark sunglasses that he used to wear.  Refrigerator Perry, Sweetness, and the Iggy Shuffle.  Those were the days.

I wanted to Jets to win mainly because of Rex Ryan and the HBO Hard Knocks series.  Guess I'll root for the Packers now.

4. Gracie has suddenly become very re-attached to her binky.  I don't know what is going on with her but everytime I turn around she has one in her mouth. 

5. I hope that I didn't gain weight this week.  I have weigh-in/meeting tonight at Weight Watchers and I'm afraid that I might have gone up some.  We'll see . . .

P.S. Don't forget to enter my "Giveaway".  Drawing on January 31.

Confessional Friday

 I confess . . .
  that I have worn pajamas everyday this week.  I am sure that my husband is getting sick of leaving me in the morning and then seeing me in the same cothes that I went to bed in the night before.

I confess . . .
  that my children have really been on my nerves the last two days.  It is obvious they are feeling better because I hear is fighting and arguing.

I confess . . .
  that to eliminate some of the fighting and arguing, I have let Kanin play way too many video games these last few days.

I confess . . .
  that sometimes I would love to just be able to run away, do whatever I want, go where I want, and answer to no one.  I'm sure I'd want to come back, but sometimes I dream of a different life.

I confess . . .
  that sometimes I am jealous of my husband that he is out in the world all day, talking to adults.

I confess . . .
  that sometimes I don't answer my cell phone, just because.  It isn't that I'm trying to be mean or rude but it's usually because at that exact moment I am actually sitting down, eating, or getting a minute to myself and I just don't want to talk. 

I confess . . .
  that I am craving a cheeseburger and french fries so badly but I know that it is counter-productive so I won't do it.

If you need some confession therapy, head over here and participate:

Blog Hops: Monday

When I first started blogging I had no idea how to find other blogs to read.  I would go up to the navigation bar at the very top of the page and just click "Next" until I found a blog that I liked.  I Googled "blogs".  I just had no idea.

Since I've done this for a bit now I have found out that the way to meet other people is through blog hopping and checking out who the people that you follow, follow.  Make sense?

I've decided to put together an easy list of daily blog hops so that each and everyday you (and I) can meet new friends.  I will add as I find out more. 

If you have never participated in a blog hop or blog party, all you do is click on one of the links below.  This will take you to a blog that will have tons of links.  Scroll down to the bottom and "Enter" the party.  Follow the directions.

Giveaway: Made For You Lifestyles L.L.C.

Don't forget to enter into my very first Giveaway!  Drawing is January 31st!

My sorority sister, Lea Anne, is a registered dietician who recently quit her job to pursue her own business,

Made For You Lifestyles, L.L.C.  Lea Anne is committed to living a healthy lifestyle and she has a passion for teaching others how to live their healthiest life, as well.

Made For You Lifestyles, L.L.C. offers so many ways to help you get started on your way to a better you.  Meal Ideas for only $5 a month. $5 a month! Nutrition Services, Web-based counseling, and Corporate Wellness services are also part of this wonderful business. 

As part of Lea Anne's dedication to health, she has created a brand new All In One Weight Loss program.  This new program is personalized to your needs and offers you:

*Help to determine the number of calories your body needs to lose weight.
*A weekly meal plan to tell you what and how much to each to see weight loss.
*Recipes and a shopping list for Monday thru Friday dinner meals.
*A weekly weight loss tip.
*A weekly workout plan to help you incorporate exercise into your life.

You can join the All In One Weight Loss program for only $15 a month.  $15 a month to healthier, happier you.  Not to mention, bathing suit season is only 6 months away! 

For my first giveaway, Lea Anne is offering one lucky winner 2 months free (a $30 value) of the All In One Weight Loss program.  What a great way to kickstart the new year and your road to weight loss.

To be eligible to win, you MUST do the following:
#1 You must Follow this blog. (if you already follow, skip to step #2)
#2 You must "Like" Made For You Lifestyles, LLC on Facebook.  Click HERE for the FB link.

You can also earn 1 extra entry by:

1. "Sharing" Made For You Lifestyles, LLC on Facebook.  

Leave me an individual comment below for each entry (i.e. following me, "liking" MFYL on FB, and "sharing" MFYL on FB.  Do all 3=3 separate comments)

Drawing will take place on January 31 and your membership will begin on February 1.

Good Luck!

How to Make Extra Money on Your Blog: LinkFromBlog

This blog is and will always be a way for me to document the day-to-day life of our family.  The crazy things the kids do and say and the chaos that ensues on a daily basis.

However, I have been looking for ways to make a little extra money and still be able to stay at home.  I have tried the direct sales route and, to be honest, I am just not a very good sales person.

In my quest to find out about how to make more money, I came across a site called LinkFromBlog that pays bloggers to write reviews.  To activate my account, I had to write this little blurb so they could monitor the traffic the blog receives. 

If you are interested in finding out more information on how to make money on your blog, click on the link above.

Soar Throats, High Fever, and a Scared Mommy

Wow.  What a weekend this has been. 

It actually started on Thursday.  My Sweet Baby Caleb who is normally a great napper refused to take an afternoon nap.  In fact, after his morning nap he refused to go to bed until 9:30 at night.  He was so fussy and whiney and cranky.  I really didn't think too much about it and was very relieved when he finally went to sleep around 10:00.

Fast forward to Friday morning and it was about 7:00am that Scott told me that he thought Caleb felt hot.  I took his temp and it was 101.  Again, I wasn't too worried because I thought he could be teething or just have caught a little bug.  Tylenol was given and we went on about our day.

About 11:00am, I noticed that his fever was back.  I gave him more medicine but realized by then that he was sick.  He was very clingy all day on Friday and just wanted me to hold him . . . which I really loved.

I was leaving to get Kanin from school and took Caleb's temperature again and it was 103.3.  Well, I knew that something wasn't right then so I called the doctor and she immediately got me in.  She swabbed his nose and his throat to check for strep throat and influenza and they both came back positive.  No wonder my baby had been crying and drooling all over the place.  His throat hurt too much to swallow and he was achy from the influenza.

(Notice the Friend in all of the pics)

Scott had to dj last night and my mom and dad took Kanin and Gracie so I could focus all of my attention on Caleb.  He was so lethargic and non-responsive and it was really scary.  Around 10:00pm I gave him more Tylenol and about 15 minutes later he was burning up.  I grabbed the thermometer and it said 105.3(in the ear).  I freaked out!  I grabbed him and ran out on the back porch in the snow and all.  I stayed out for a couple of minutes and then came back inside and stood right by the door.  His temp had fallen to 104.8 so I called the exchange.

The back story on this is that Kanin had febrile seizures as a toddler and while every medical professional in the world can tell you that they are no big deal, they are when it is your child.  I actually told the on-call doctor that last night when she told me that febrile seizures were no big deal. 

"I understand that YOU may think it is no big deal but when it is your child laying their twitching, writhing, foaming at the mouth and their eyes rolling back in their head.  It IS a big deal.  I've been through that a few times with one child and I would really like to prevent it from happening to another." 

She really didn't have a whole lot to say about that.

We were up for most of the night giving Motrin/Tylenol combinations and can you believe that when he woke up this morning he was a totally different kid?  He was up playing and walking around.  He still wasn't 100% and ran a low-grade fever but nothing like yesterday.

In the meantime, though, my mom said that Kanin ran fever all night so I went ahead and called the doctor for medicine this morning for him.  When I got to my parents' house to pick Kanin and Gracie up, Gracie was sick, too.  So all afternoon I have had three feverish, cranky children.

I'm hoping that we have seen the worse of the fever around here.  Kanin will definitely be missing hockey tomorrow and probably Monday which he is already sad about.  He has done nothing but lay around all day and hasn't played at all.  Grace has run a temp but so far she is the "healthiest" of the three.  Caleb goes in spurts.  When the Motrin wears off he starts in with the fevers again but at least he is playing a bit.   

As for Mommy and Daddy, we sit waiting.  Just waiting for this nasty bug to hit us.  We know it is inevitable.  Just wish it would come on already and get over with.

I absolutely have to mention how much I appreciate all of my FB friends and family praying for Caleb and for me last night.  I know that God answered those prayers and brought the fever down.

 

Welcome! Come and Read

I just wanted to say Hi to everyone who is stopping by from one of these blog hops:

Bee Friendly Friday (I couldn't get the button to work)

Check out my previous posts over on the sidebar.  Some of my favorites:

What the F***?  It Doesn't Matter

Disney World 2010

Cut Out To Be a Mom

Fantastic or Fraud

Just a Mom

The Friend

Today I am joining a new blog hop, Toddler Talk Thursdays.  I already follow The Life of a Sippy Cup Mom so I always check out her posts.  When I went to her page and saw that she was involved in a blog hop I thought it would be fun to participate.  When I saw the topic I knew I had to participate.

 

 Today the topic is Toddler Lovey's.  In our house we call them, there are two of them, either "the friend" or "the snuggie."   Caleb received his first Friend from Nene (Aunt Dayna) at his Baptism.  I didn't really think about the Friend until about 2 weeks later and Caleb was crying and I let him hold it.  It was love at first touch.  From that moment on, he had to have his Friend.  Anytime he would cry or be fussy, I would put that Friend in his hand and he immediately would calm down. 

The Friend became the "go-to" thing to calm Caleb down.  We had to make sure to pack in the diaper bag everytime we went anywhere.  One day we went to the mall and Caleb dropped the Friend.  I was a mess.  I called Scott bawling because I thought we had lost it forever.  Luckily, though, someone had turned it in to the JCPenney customer service desk.  After that, Nene got us a back up Snuggie.  LOL

 The Snuggie was there the first time Caleb had to do the nebulizer and boy, did it help. 

 The Friend was there when Caleb learned to sit up.

 When he tuckered out from playing.

 

 The Friend has gotten go with Caleb on several adventures.  It's gone to the park, the zoo, and to the Science Center to see the Pirates.

The Snuggie's biggest adventure was going to Disney World.  It sure provided a lot of comfort to Caleb and helped in take naps all during the day.

Caleb's love affair continues with the friend.  As I'm typing this he is sleeping in his "pen" and his faithful Friend is right there beside him.