My Very First Award!!!!

I am bummed because I missed Thankful Thursday this week! The last two days have been so busy here that I missed a day of blogging on challenge and it took two days to complete one room.  With that said, though.....

I owe a HUGE thank you this week to

 There's Just One Mommy

for awarding me the

Stylish Blogger Award

I am still so new to all of this and feel blessed to have been thought of for this award! Thanks!

There are rules that go along with this award.  Here they are:

                      1.  Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.

                      2.  Share 7 things about yourself.

                      3.  Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers, or less, its up to you.

                      4.  Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.

Seven Things About Me:

1.  I am a child of God and a work in progress.  I like the song "He's Still Working On Me...".  For those of you who know it.. CONGRATS that will be officially stuck in your head all day now!

2.  There was a time I did not think I would be able to have children and NOW..... I have four beautiful blessings!  Two boys and two girls.

3.  In my former life, I was a teacher.  Currently, I am the Director of Operations at the Harmon Home. I am so blessed to have a job I truly love and enjoy.

4.  I am absolutely a Texan by birth and virtue, but never want to live there again.  I HATE being hot!

5. I met and married my amazing hubby of eleven years in a time span of eight months. He's the love of my life even if he makes me crazy... It's a good crazy!

6.  My favorite phrase is "Oh my word".  Who's word???? Mine, yep, all mine.  Sometimes I wonder about myself.

Again, "He's still working on me...".

7.  Just recently, I have discovered that I have become a true hockey addict.  Never thought I would say that!  I don't like sports at all, but there is just something about boys fighting over that puck on the ice that gets me.

And the Stylish Blogger Award goes to:

1. Daddy Can Cook
2. The Real Life of a Hockey Wife
3.  Love From Texas
4.  Oueen of Pink In a House of Blue
5.  Organized Chaos
6.  The Farm Princess
7.  30ish Mama
8. Wacie's Way
9.  Love In Num8er3
10.  Just Another Crazy Day In Our Lives

One Room A Day Challenge: Day Two

The Entryway

Welcome to our home!

This is the main entrance to the house and a is a main traffic area.  The coat closet is usually my nemesis here!  I chose an easy room today because the kids were home for a SNOW DAY.  I find that I get very little accomplished when they are all home. So here is the mess...

Before:

The Coat Closet (floor)

The Coat Closet (again)

Entry cabinet

What a mess!!!

Amazing how cabinets and closets hide a multitude of messes!

And After:

The Closet Floor

I love these blue bins I found at Target! They have wheels and are stackable.  I used the bottom one for gloves, hat, etc. and then stacked the second one for the kids book bags!

Top of the Closet

Entry Cabinet

And... I'm done!

Up Next...

The "Bean's" Bedroom

So, how did you do today?

One Room A Day Challenge: Day One

The Laundry Room

This room drives me insane.  Very little storage space and narrow.  Not enough space to be a "mud room" for six people.  It is our primary entrance to the house through the garage.  It is just the dumping ground for everyone's things. 

My goal:  Make this room more functional and organized

Before:

My Folding "Table"

The Tool Drawer

The Dog/Catch All Cabinet

The Craft Cabinet

When I opened this things started falling out!

The Counter

(had some trouble getting these pics b/c the area is sooooo narrow - sorry!)

See how messy and unorganized...

And After:

My Shoe Solution

The Craft Cabinet

The Catch All Cabinet

My Folding "Table"

Tool Drawer

TP/Diaper/Paper Towels

The Counter

Goal Achieved!!!

 How about you? How did you do today?

Day One

Before I get into the challenge, I have to tell the tale of Day One. 
Here's the scoop:

• Got the kids off to school - all four arguing, fighting, ended up with one grounded and arguing with me!
• Started Day One cleaning project - dog has accident, child has accident, dog and child have accident, little cleaning accomplished
• Venture to Target to get much needed organizational items - make quick exit from Target without a thing because said child from above throwing "gi-normous" temper tantrum, left out that other child threw herself on the floor in the store screaming.  No, really, didn't we have a full moon????
• Meet hubby for lunch!!!!  (in the parking lot, I might add) Yeah, something went well! 
• Returned home and successfully completed Day One just in time for hubs to come home and tell me we were having someone over. Never mind, that the rest of the house had been totally NEGLECTED!
• Mom leaves for VIP night out at the Penguins game with a great friend! YEAH!!!!!!  All is well, except for the snowstorm inhibiting our path to the game! Not to mention, not knowing where the entrance was and walking blocks to find the "Correct" entrance for VIPS. 
• Dinner - ummm, well, let's just say that I could have done without being a VIP for that one!  Just let me have my nachos and I'd be all good!  Seats - AMAZING!!!!  Three rows back from the goal!!!! Game - Pens shut out :-(
• The Ride Home - HORRID! Given that we accumulated 6 to 8 inches from the time the got there until the game was over, the tunnel to get us home was completely shut down.  Rerouting..... longest way home, slow pace, but SAFE.  Get to our subdivision:

                      Completely Snowed Out!

After attempting four times to get through the subdivision, almost getting completely stuck, driving around aimlessly, calling the police (which, I must say, I know that officer thought we were STUPID!) and receiving "I don't know what to tell you."......

A plow finally arrived to clear our path. 

Ten minutes later...

the cop drives up as we are clearing our driveways.  (Let me just say here, too, that this is definitely not the South where hospitality is a common as warm days!)

Finally, to bed! Where the hubs grinning-ly asks, "So, you made it into the driveway?"

My "Knight In Shining Armor", how I do love you!!! (Even if you leave me stuck to fend for myself in the snow!) In his defense, he did clear me a path up the driveway.

I must say, it was quite a day!  In all honesty, though, I am so very blessed to have a  hubby who will stay home with the kids so that I can go to a hockey game with one of my favorite friends. I am also very blessed to have that amazing friend who thinks of me when she has an extra ticket!

God is Good, even when the day is bad!

Up next....

One Room A Day Challenge: Day One

One Room in One Day Challenge

So, every computer in our house has hit some sort of glitch this week.  Currently, I am using my hubby's computer and HATING it! Uuuugh!  Well, it could be worse, right?  No, really, it could. I am a total work in progress and am still learning daily how to be content in all circumstances! 

I decided this week was an early spring cleaning week.  Each day I was going to "Cleanse and Purge" a different room of the house.  OK, so why am I still on the first room and have been in that room for THREE days???????

I find that when I start a project like this my perfectionist nature takes over and I go off on a complete tangent!  It's insane! The other issue is that I go to put something away in another room and start doing the same thing (cleansing and purging) in that room.  It's nuts!

JUST STAY FOCUSED!

My goal: Make tomorrow the last day in the kitchen!

I am taking the weekend off (except for our "field day" cleaning time on Sat. and will start fresh and revived on Monday!!!!! 

So, here is my

CHALLENGE to you:

 Starting Monday, choose one room a day in your house to "Cleanse and Purge" along with me!

Then, tell me all about it!

This way, I have some partners and encouragement and so do you.

I will take a picture of the room I choose each day and any unsightly spots it houses.  I will do my best to organize and clean each room within that day! Some rooms may take a few more ;), but the goal should be one room in one day!  After I am all done, I will post after pictures. Will you do the same? 

I hope you will take the challenge with me!  I look forward to having a "spring cleaned" house before spring so I can spend those gorgeous days outside with my kiddos!

How About You?

"Choc"-ed Full of Love

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tara's class party is today, so the hubs and I spent last night making chocolate peppermint hearts for her friends.  These are soooo incredibly easy. I saw this recipe somewhere (so sorry, I can't remember where!) and I decided to add a little twist.  Instead of just using white chocolate, I used red candy melts.  Next time, I think I will try adding more color to the candy melts to make them more vibrant.

The key to these is remembering to purchase your Candy Canes at CHRISTMAS!

Here is your "Cast of Characters":

(I love the The Pioneer Woman! She always has an amazing cast of characters for her recipes!)

Mini candy canes

White chocolate morsels or colored candy melts

(your choice)

Valentine sprinkles

Lollipop sticks

Cellophane lollipop wraps

Ribbon

The "Script" for this play:

First, I laid out freezer paper (to keep the pops from sticking). Waxed paper would work fine, too.  Then, I laid two candy canes down to form a heart shape. I put a lollipop stick in between the two canes. I melted chocolate and poured it inside each heart.  This is where I had some issues... (see the "screen direction" section below!) Let's just say, my valentine (the hubs) was not my valentine anymore after this process! ;) Love you, babe!

After the chocolate was poured, I added the sprinkles to the top. Once the chocolate set, I added the lollipop wrappers and tied with ribbon.  I think a cute tag would just top it all off! However, due to not "scripting" my time better, I had to leave them off. :(

Direction 1:

I used a small spoon to pour in the chocolate, but I would recommend a plastic bottle with a nozzle for easier and smoother distribution. Usually, you can find these at the craft stores with all the candy melts. I tried a icing tip and decorator bag... Fail!

Direction 2:

Work in stages! If you melt all the chocolate at once, you have to work fast to get the chocolate poured and the sprinkles on before the chocolate sets up.

Hope you enjoyed the play!

Have a great Valentine's Day!

Mission Marshmallow Complete!

After talking to my "typical boy" about what he wanted on the tags...

 You guessed it, plain old "Happy Valentine's Day!"

Well, it's what he wanted, right?

Mission Marshmallow Complete!

How Do You Manage It?

Time.... it seems as if there is never enough!  For example, right now I am on the computer.  How long will I be on here? Am I neglecting a million other things to be on the computer?  How much time is too much? 

Balancing it all is delicate.  The house is a wreck, the kids are a mess, laundry is piled up,  but my blog is done!

Then, there are those days where the house is clean, the kids are clean, the laundry.... well, I wouldn't say that is ever really all clean in our home!  The point is that when all that is done, I find I haven't blogged in days.

I found this image at FreakingNews.com and thought it was fitting. If we look at our children and their time with us it feels like time flies!

What's more important?  Obviously, my hubby, my kids, and my home.   I just wish I could balance it all better.  I sooooo want to be a scheduled person, but I find I am inconsistent.  How about you?

HELP!!! Ideas...

See these yummy looking treats?

See this typical boy????

I need to mix the two!

Problem 1: Convincing him that these are okay to send to school for his valentine treats!  "Mom, come on!"  So, I think I solved the first problem... HE ATE THEM!  Problem solved! They are yummy enough to send. 

Problem 2: Coming up with a cute V-day saying for the tag to coordinate with the pop and not totally embarass him in the process!

HELP!!!!!

So here is my thought...

If you come up with a saying/phrase (something) for the tag, share it in a comment on this post and I use your comment on the pops, then I will make my next post all about your blog and link it to my facebook page!

That may not be much, but you would also be making my day by helping me out!  You would be a blessing to me!

Thanks so much for all your help!!!

Blog Hops and Followers!!!

So I have been checking out Blog Frog on a daily basis! I love it! New friends, new projects, and just so much to see and do! I highly recommend checking it out. With that said... I am participating in my very first blog hop today! Yeah!!!!! Thankful Thursday by the host (ChicnSavvy Reviews) & Co-Host (Mom In Orbit) I am looking for my hundreth follower!!!! Looking forward to making a special post devoted to their blog!!! Who's is going to be?????? So excited!

Mothers & Daughters

Just wondering about other mothers & daughters today... How's your relationship? Close, strained, codependent? Just asking, that's all! Being sick, I have had a lot of time to just rest(thanks to my adoring hubby!) I find that when my body gets still, often my mind does not. So, today, I want to know about you... how's your relationship? with your mothers? with your daugthers? any wisdom you have to offer?

Party With Pikachu

So, I finally found my adapter for the Nikon to download my pics! They are not fantastic, but it seems like the boys had a great time!  It was supposed to be a "laid-back" birthday party... what was I thinking?  When the boys arrived we ate - nothing fancy just pizza and pop!

I let them hang out and play for a bit as we had some late arrivals, but they started to get a bit crazy. So, we began our first project.... Professor Sebestian's Workshop

(for those of us non-pokemon types, Prof. Sebestian designs things for the Pokemon characters to better defeat their competitors with.)

Prior to the party, I gathered all the recyclable items I could... paper towel tubes, yogurt cups, coffee cans, pop bottles, water bottles, boxes, etc.  I also put together any thing from my craft stash I could find... pipe cleaners, stickers, goodle eyes, pom poms, glitter glue, markers, foam stickers, beads, etc... I made a seperate container for adhesives... clear packing tape, glue sticks, elmers glue, tacky glue, and glue dots.  I set up the tables and let them get to work!  I have to say... I was completely amazed at all they came up with!  They could have done this for hours!!!  In fact, they designed more from the leftover items the next morning!

After Prof. Sebestian's workshop, we played Pin The Tail on Pikachu!  My hubby drew a life-sized picture of Pikachu and we printed out tails with the boys names on them.  They we so good at the game that I ended up giving out three prizes in the first round - even with a blindfold and spinning!  My one mistake... not taking a picture in all the chaos! However, I do have a picture of Christopher's Pikachu cake I made him and the pokeman cake balls!!!!  They kids absolutely love the cake balls and so did everyone else that had some!  Can't wait to make more!

Overall, I think he had a great bday! The boys finished off the night with gifts, a little Wii, a movie and finally sleep! 

Party On!

So I decided that since I spend half the year planning parties for all the kiddos in our family anyway, I might as well develop a blog devoted to the process!  I like planning.  I like parties.  I love little details!  I know there are a million ideas out there, but I wanted to plan a party like a play - with a script!  Some laughed at me when I literally had a script (plan of events) for Jenna's birthday party!  That's quite alright!  I would rather be scripted and over prepared then have a houseful of kiddos running aimlessly about!  So up next for the planning process, Tara's 7th birthday.  OH MY! Did I really just say her 7th birthday????  Not possible.  My sweet, sweet baby girl!  I hope to post pics of Christopher's party and all the cool concoctions the kids came up with as they pretended to be Prof. Sebastian from his Pokemon themed party!