First Day of School

Ack!  Where did my pictures go?  Working on this...

First day of the 2014-2015 school year was August 21, 2014.  I'm getting this done on the 27th...not too shabby!  I'm usually a few months behind.

Up first is 8th grader, Zach.  This is his last year of middle school.  I'm going to have a high school child soon, then he'll be driving, moving out, going to college and starting his own family and I'm just not ready!    

Too cool for photos.

 

4th grader, Amara is starting a new school due to a huge change in the district.  She's adjusting quite well and loves her teacher!  

My smiley, photogenic little girl.

Henry is missing all of his big siblings already.  Henry won't be starting school until next week.

1st grader Jonas was very excited about starting 1st grade.  We didn't have the best Kindergarten year but he was really looking forward to lunch and recess.  Lunch and recess at school can make a world of difference! 

This was how Jonas prepared the night before.

And here he is, showing how excited he is to be heading into the building.

Happy school year! 

Wordless Wednesday: Hey Mama, I'm a Space Man!

Wordless Wednesday: Kayaking

Wordless Wednesday: Tiny Dancer

Wordless Wednesday: Elmo in NYC

Wordless Wednesday: Caught! Superman Eats Ice Cream

Guess Who Lost a Tooth

Look ma, no eyes!  Why does this boy with the beautiful eyes have to squint when he smiles?

Yep, I know the world cares about my kid losing a tooth and that's why I'll tell you all about it.  Jonas is 6 and lost his first tooth on May 9th.  It had been wiggling for weeks and he wouldn't stop messing with it (though he wouldn't let me tie it to a door) and it finally fell out while he was doing nothing in particular.  
Then about 3 days later (yeah, I know- great mom, right?) he lost his second one.  Good thing we have a reasonable tooth fairy.  She left him a gold dollar for the first and a quarter for the second.  It took a few days to get to him because someone takes forever to go to sleep when he goes to bed and someone's mom was really tired. 

Someone got out of eating apples for a few weeks.   Yay, applesauce!

I'm pretty sure this whole post was just to show off my kid's gorgeous face.  Yeah, I know I'm a little biased. 

Wordless Wednesday: Lemur Photobomb

Look What I Bought

Just look at this and don't fall in love.

Every month a local consignment and other goodies shop, The Little Green Owl in York, PA, holds a community night for two of our local elementary schools.  I totally dig supporting schools and local small businesses so if I can get there on those dates, I go out and buy a couple things.  It's never much, but it makes me feel better about myself and I love coming home with a few new things.  
At recent community nights I grabbed a few shirts and sweatshirts for the kids; things we needed anyway.  A friend set up her Tastefully Simple biz at one of the nights and also donated some $ to the schools so I bought myself some Orange Dreamsicle cheese ball mix because it's a necessity and absolutely delish.  Next time I go I plan to grab one of the super  adorable American Girl outfits that a local lady makes and sells at ridiculously affordable prices.  
The last time I went I actually snagged a photo of my swag so you can get excited and travel to my little city and get your very own awesome swag.  Or find someone in your town who makes cool stuff too.  

 

First up is this adorable grandma photo or whatever holder.  I'm not a grandma, but I know someone who is and they are getting this.  It could hold one 4x6 or a few wallets.  The hearts are magnets, making switching up the photos super easy.   

That fabulous wine thing in the first photo?  I don't even know where I'm going to put it but at $2.50 I had to buy it.  I'm going to buy more too.  It's big and great and I love it.   

And last, but not least, there's the itty-bitty chalkboard:

You are so cute.

I'm not sure it's big enough to write more than,"hello" but that's big enough for me.  I don't know where I'll put  this either, but I like it enough that I'm sure I'll find a place in no time. 

By the way, if you want to shop with me and support some local schools and a local business, head out to The Little Green Owl on Carlisle Rd. on May 29th from 4-8pm. 

What Happens When a Mom Cleans Under Her Bed (After Months of Neglect)

 

This is not a small bin.

I am absolutely not the best housekeeper but I seriously skipped cleaning under the bed for the longest time.  I actually only did it because I can't find the dang tv remote and I really wanted to watch Heroes on Netflix.  

So, what does one find under the bed of a family with 4 kids who love to visit mom and dad in the middle of the night, hands stuffed full of the Lego toys that they need to have?  The bed that doubles as the home of mutant zombies or ninja warriors?  Well...I can tell you!  Lots of socks, enough toys to fill a large bin, enough dust (and trash??) to fill the vacuum.  Twice.  Enough books to entertain bored kids all year, enough Lego pieces to build an empire and the Fitbit I couldn't find for weeks.  I put that on stat, so that I could make myself feel better today about eating 3 donuts yesterday.  But seriously, it's like The 12 Days of Christmas in here.  Sort of.  

Well, hello tiger.  Long time, no see.

I'm nowhere near done cleaning out from under my bed.  Or the rest of my room.  Or the rest of my house

But I got it in my head that everyone would love to see what I found under my bed.  Because everyone loves being bumped up a notch on the good mommy or good housewife list.  You're welcome :) 

Throwback Thursday: My Blog's Myers-Briggs, 2009 and Now

I must be really bored, or I'm totally avoiding a dozen things I really need to do.  Because today I'm doing a throwback to my 2009 Myers-Briggs blog personality test.  

I am:

Back in April of 2009 I decided I needed to test my blog's personality.  I had to make sure my blog and I were on the same page.  So I visited Typealyzer  to check.  The Typealyzer determines your personality based on your blog writing. You type in your blog address and within a few seconds you get a result. Then it matches your blog to a personality type, based on the Myers-Briggs personality test.  Fun!

I like looking back on the past.  Plus, I have to make sure I don't repeat any bad history.  

So here's what my (old) blog personality was like:  
ESFP - The Performers was my 2009 blog.  When I take the actual  test I go back and forth between extroversion and introversion depending on my mood.  I typically end up with sensing over intuition but it changes sometimes.  I've never been anything but an FP- Feeling and perception, rather than thinking and judgement (TJ).    

My 2014 blog is also an ESFP. 

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.


__________________

Is that me?  Entertaining?  Maybe.  I see myself as boring.  Friendly?  Definitely!  I do see importance in my surrounding- I like to feel, smell and see nice things (who doesn't?).  As for living in the present moment and not planning ahead...well I plan all the time but tend to make impulsive decisions anyway.  I am constantly exhausting myself with my thoughts and plans for the future.  It's very overwhelming being me.  While I am impulsive, I have the most amazing self-control when it comes to shopping.  I can window shop like a pro. 


I do enjoy work where my effort shows, whether or not it is with people.  I always try to avoid conflicts and I will not initiate confrontation.  Ever.  So that is spot-on.  I never did have a problem working in management though.  

___________________


Also back in 2009, I took the regular test to compare.  The Myers-Briggs personality test agreed with the Typealyzer:

Your Type is
ESFP
My exact results:

Extraverted	Sensing	Feeling	Perceiving
Strength of the preferences %
11	12	62	22

Qualitative analysis of your type formula
You are:

• slightly expressed extravert
• slightly expressed sensing personality
• distinctively expressed feeling personality
• slightly expressed perceiving personality

After taking the test again (just to remind myself, this is March, 2014) my score is very similar:

ESFP

Extravert(44%)  Sensing(25%)  Feeling(88%)  Perceiving(67)%

• You have moderate preference of Extraversion over Introversion (44%)
• You have moderate preference of Sensing over Intuition (25%)
• You have strong preference of Feeling over Thinking (88%)
• You have distinctive preference of Perceiving over Judging (67%)

Artisan^TM Portrait of the Performer (ESFP) (More in-depth.)

Performers have the special ability, even among the Artisans, to delight those around them with their warmth, their good humor, and with their often extraordinary skills in music, comedy, and drama. Whether on the job, with friends, or with their families, Performers are exciting and full of fun, and their great social interest lies in stimulating those around them to take a break from work and worry, to lighten up and enjoy life.
Performers are plentiful, something over ten percent of the population, and this is fortunate, because they bring pleasure to so many of us. Performers are the people for whom it can truly be said "all the world's a stage." Born entertainers, they love the excitement of playing to an audience, and will quickly become the center of attention wherever they are. Performers aren't comfortable being alone, and seek the company of others whenever possible-which they usually find, for they make wonderful playmates. Performers are smooth, talkative, and witty; they always seem to know the latest jokes and stories, and are quick with wisecracks and wordplay-nothing is so serious or sacred that it can't be made fun of. Performers also like to live in the fast lane, and seem up on the latest fashions of dress, food, drink, and music. Lively and uninhibited, Performers are the life of the party, always trying to create in those around them a mood of eat, drink, and be merry.
The Performers' talent for enjoying life is healthy for the most part, though it also makes them more subject to temptations than the other types. Pleasure seems to be an end in itself for them, and variety is the spice of life. And so Performers are open to trying almost anything that promises them a good time, not always giving enough thought to the consequences.
Like the other Artisans, Performers are incurably optimistic - "Always look on the bright side," is their motto - and they will avoid worries and troubles by ignoring them as long as possible. They are also the most generous of all the types, and second only to the Composer Artisans [ISFPs] in kindness. Performers haven't a mean or stingy bone in their body-what's theirs is yours-and they seem to have little idea of saving or conserving. They give what they have to one and all without expectation of reward, just as they love freely, and without expecting anything in return. In so many ways, Performers view life as an eternal cornucopia from which flows an endless supply of pleasures.


Have you taken the Myers-Briggs or Typealyzer test for fun?  What were your results? 

The Walmart $25 and Free Del Monte Product Coupons Giveaway Winner Is...

We have a winner!  After moderating the giveaway (yes, I do that!) for the last few hours, the winner for the $25 Walmart gift card and 2 Del Monte free product coupons has been announced!  Check the original post http://weaverswobble.blogspot.com/2014/02/del-monte-fruit-burst-squeezers-and.html to see if it's you. 

Congratulations to the winner! 

Del Monte® Fruit Burst® Squeezers and Fruit Cup® Snacks Review and Giveaway

Learn more at Delmonte.com

Snack time in the Weaver house is practically all the time.  Particularly when we aren't on a regular schedule or we have a lot of extracurricular activities, we will graze a lot throughout the day.  But I don't like feeding my kids a bunch of junk.  I prefer convenient and healthy.  During the peak seasons when fresh fruits and vegetables are readily available for low prices we make sure to stock up on apples, strawberries, green beans and anything else we can get our hands on.  Sometimes I go the homemade route and make granola bars.  But when I'm not feeling $5 for a pint of fresh strawberries or like Suzy Homemaker, I check the snack food aisles for deals.  

Lately I've been struggling with energy and fresh produce is at a premium so I'm very grateful that Del Monte sent me a few samples of their product to try.  They are a healthy snack food giant!  I was able to try Del Monte Fruit Burst Squeezers and Del Monte Fruit Cup Snacks, or rather, I should say that my kids got to try it.  I sneaked in a bite here and a taste there but they were a bit stingy with their snacks!  The Fruit Burst Squeezers have even been affectionately named "fruity snacks" by my 3 (I should just call him 4- he'll be 4 next month) year old, Henry.

Some facts about the products we tried:

Fruit Burst™ Squeezers are made in the USA, contain 1.5 servings of fruit or fruit and vegetables and are an excellent source of vitamins A and C.  In addition (and my personal favorite part)- there are no artificial flavors or high fructose corn syrup! 

There are 2 varieties of Fruit Burst® Fruit + Veggie Squeezers:  
-The Peach-Mango contains pear puree concentrate, water, pumpkin juice concentrate, peach puree concentrate, pear juice concentrate, carrot juice concentrate, carrot puree, mango puree concentrate, natural flavors, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and citric acid. 
-The Blueberry contains pear puree concentrate, water, pumpkin juice concentrate, pear juice concentrate, natural flavors, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and citric acid.  

There are 3 varieties of Fruit Burst® Simply Fruit Squeezers:
-The Apple Cinnamon contains pear puree concentrate, water, apple puree concentrate, pear juice concentrate, natural flavors, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), cinnamon and malic acid.
-The Mixed Berry contains pear puree concentrate, water, pear juice concentrate, natural flavors, strawberry puree, red raspberry puree concentrate, blueberry puree concentrate, fruit and vegetable extracts for color, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and malic acid.

-The Strawberry contains pear puree concentrate, water, pear juice concentrate, strawberry puree concentrate, natural flavors, carmine, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and malic acid.

Mango Fruit Cup® Snacks are a fat and cholesterol-free snack high in vitamin C.

Mango Pineapple Fruit Cup® Snacks combine mango and pineapple- two of the world's most popular fruits.  They contain no high fructose corn syrup and are a good source of vitamin C.

I don't know about all of them, but the Mixed Berry Squeezer, Peach-Mango Squeezer, Mango Fruit Cup and Mango Pineapple Fruit Cup are under 100 calories per serving. 

The Squeezers come in a convenient foil package that is easy for little hands to hold, and there wasn't even an accidental squeeze from my accident-prone kids.  They are great on the go or when you need a healthy and simple snack in a pinch.
We tried the Peach-Mango Fruit + Veggie Squeezer and the Mixed Berry Simply Fruit Squeezer.  They were about the consistency of baby food- smooth and easy to swallow.  "There are zero chunks", as my kids would say.  The Peach-Mango was a brownish-orange color and the Mixed Berry was a purplish-red.  They tasted primarily of their description, though I could detect hints of other flavors in the Peach-Mango.  My two younger boys were my main taste-testers for the Squeezers.  My 6 year old- Jonas- was able to eat about half of one Mixed Berry Squeezer (he has a low sweet tolerance).  Henry ate all of his and the rest of his brother's.  I wasn't too sure about the Peach-Mango because of the odd mix of flavors.  Mango just isn't a common flavor for young kids so I just told him that if his belly was too full for all of it that I would eat the rest.  But Henry devoured that one on a car ride, and demanded another!  Jonas wouldn't try a second one.  My 8 year daughter- Amara- didn't try any of these because her little brother ate them all.  My 12 year old- Zach- refused them all, which is typical of him.  
These are definitely going on future shopping lists because Henry couldn't have enough of them.  They will be great when we are out for hours or camping.  

We also tried both varieties of fruit cups- the Mango and the Mango Pineapple.  Except for my husband- who doesn't like mangoes, and Zach- who doesn't like anything, we all tried these.  Henry devoured both kinds.  And again, he demanded more.  I am pretty sure he is going to grow in the next few weeks because he's eating like his belly is a bottomless pit.  Jonas really liked his Mango cup.  Amara enjoyed her Mango Pineapple.  While I am not a fan of sweetened fruit (in light syrup, aka sugar), I do believe that it played a role in them liking the fruit more.  For me, I would have been happier if they had been in plain juice rather than syrup. 
I had actually never had anything mango before this so I didn't really know what to expect.  They taste and feel a lot like peaches.  The pineapple in the Mango Pineapple variety was the same quality as Del Monte's other pineapple products.  I liked both varieties a lot but would definitely search for non-sweetened products.  If I can find that, I'll be a repeat customer!  

These products, and other Del Monte products are available at your local Walmart, or you can pick up Del Monte Fruit Burst Squeezers on Walmart.com.   

I never would have thought to look up Del Monte for recipes, ideas for parties, tips in the kitchen or ways to upcycle your used cans, but they are there and they have an amazing social media presence!  
Follow Del Monte on Pinterest for fabulous Pinspiration, including plenty of mouth-watering recipes.   
Like Del Monte on  Facebook for recipes, ideas and more.  
Follow Del Monte on Twitter for even more fantastic ideas. 
 

And now drumroll please..........
The moment you've all been waiting for: the giveaway!  You can earn a few entries to win a $25 Walmart gift card, plus 2 coupons for your choice of 1 FREE Del Monte Fruit Cups Snack Pack.  Try all of the varieties when you win!  US entries, only.  Giveaway ends at midnight, March 2, 2014, EST. 

Walmart Gift Card and two coupons for FREE products!

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

 Disclosure:  The Del Monte products, information, gift pack and gift card have been provided by Del Monte to help facilitate this review and giveaway.  No other compensation was received.  All opinions are expressly my own.

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Because I'm already down.  I seriously feel like I can't win right now.  Apologies and a warning before I begin...this is going to be nothing but wallowing in self-pity.  I warned you. 

We are finally getting back on our feet after a lengthy period of unemployment.  Or we were starting to get back on our feet.  First it was our heater, which the installer forgot to register which almost made for a VERY costly repair.  Fortunately it was only $140 that we couldn't afford and not $500 that we couldn't afford.  My vacuum needs a new belt.  Again.  That one is not a big deal- just a few bucks.  It's just a pain because the belts are getting increasingly harder to find.  Next...my basement backs up.  It's bad.  Really bad.  This isn't the first time and I'm just so scared that the cost for this venture is going to be way beyond what we can handle.  But we don't have any other options.  Jason did try to fix it with the snake, and he had no luck whatsoever.  We can't live with it like this- it's not safe or sanitary or convenient.  Right before it happened I put all of our dirty laundry down there.  Crap.  Literally.  Our dishwasher has been broken for a few weeks.  I can't even begin to explain how much time I've spent doing dishes.  I want clean dishes but it's the kids' chore so I have them do the first round, then I rewash them once all the grime is off them in clean, soapy water.  It's probably doubling my water bill too.  I hate dishes.  I hate not having a dish washer.  I could easily do two loads of dishes every day (dishwasher loads, not sink loads).  Then my dog wants to make sure we don't forget that she can be trouble too, so she has been working hard to thoroughly saturate our carpet.  Should I just be glad it isn't the wood floors right now?  Or should I just hope (with all my being) that it isn't a UTI? 

That's just the big stuff.  Then there's the not being able to focus on anything ever which leads to nothing ever getting done, my desperate need for new contacts (I really love the headaches, glasses- really, but I'd like this relationship to be over), constantly picking up after my lazy family (getting them to help is like pulling teeth, and ensuring it happens takes 3 times longer than just doing it myself).  And I have so many errands to run.  Ugh.  

Okay, I'm done.  Thanks for listening.             

Here Comes Santa Claus

Every year we are fortunate to have a Christmas Eve visit from our very own Santa Claus who, with Mrs. Claus, get to ride the local fire truck up and down the streets of our tiny borough offering waves, candy canes for the kids and puppy treats for the furry friends (Mrs. Claus' second job is heading the local doggy rescue and she is very passionate about all pooches).  Just about every year I forget that it's happening, or I forget when it's happening so we were lucky to be home when I heard the sirens running up and down nearby streets.  We all rushed to get dressed and ran outside many times for false alarms.  Amara stood as lookout and shouted to us all when the truck turned down out street. 

The kids ran around up until they were about halfway down the block, then they sat and waited anxiously for Santa and his crew to arrive.  The elves know we have a 4th kid so they made sure to give us an extra candy cane for the moody one inside the house. 

We look forward to Santa's visit every year.  In the city I live, there are more holiday activities, like the tree lighting ceremony, New Years Eve celebration and more and while they are only about 1-2 miles from us, I like having them right outside my door.  What does your town do to celebrate the holidays? 

Holidays with Starbucks: Share the Joy! A Review and a Giveaway

Starbucks goodies!

Happy Holidays!  My Christmas hasn't met the expectations that one with a family full of children might anticipate, due to the loss of my father after a battle with cancer.  I know I have to keep the spirit of Christmas alive for my kiddos and while it's been a struggle, I realize what a strong support system I have in my family and friends and without them- and copious amounts of coffee- I'm not sure I'd have left my bed much.  What's Christmas without a tree (at least we got it decorated by Christmas Eve), lights, holiday music and shopping for presents (something I didn't begin until Christmas Eve)?  Without moping any longer, I give you a review of good coffee and the chance to win some of your own. 

Holidays in my home are a bustling time of visiting family, drinking coffee, running to the store for last-minute things, eating cookies, forgetting to by regular groceries, visiting more family, drinking more coffee, going back to the store, ignoring the laundry build-up, avoiding piles of boxes of Christmas decorations until I have no other choice, watching others put up Christmas lights while I stand by being helpful (telling people there's a light out can be helpful)...all while listening to Christmas music, which I diligently avoid until about December 10th.  I get too angry at the world when it reminds me that two of my boys (my hubby Jason and my son Jonas) have to share their birthday with one of the biggest holidays and I don't have enough time or money to focus on all of them at once.  Probably sounds a lot like the holiday for many people.  

Thankfully, Starbucks and Modern Mom sensed my plight and blessed me with the opportunity to try a new holiday blend of Starbucks ground coffee.  I didn't have to run back to the store for coffee after all.  
I made some right away, with my favorite milk (shameless plug for Rutter's right here) in my Keurig.   

How did I make ground coffee in my Keurig, you ask?  With my handy-dandy reusable k-cup!  Close up so you can't see the clutter.

The Starbucks Holiday Blend- available at major grocery stores- is created with "vibrant Latin American and smooth Indonesian coffees.  It's balance of herbal and sweet maple notes pairs pairs beautifully with everything the holiday season has in store for you."  That's what Starbucks has to say about their coffee.  I have to say it's definitely smooth; it's not a strong coffee and does have a holiday flavor.  I prefer strong, smooth coffees and while this one is weaker than my normal choices I can fix that by adding extra when I brew it.  Without reading the description I honestly couldn't have told you what flavors were incorporated into this blend, but it's a relaxing taste (that's the best way to describe it!).  After knowing what's in it, I can smell a light maple scent.  I made sure to use only sugar and milk to be sure I didn't think I was drinking coffee but was actually drinking cigarette ashes (I never had cigarette ash flavored Starbucks but there have been quite a few others that really did taste like cigarette ashes so I wanted to be certain).  It was very good.  Good enough that I wanted to keep drinking beyond my normal two cups in the morning.  

I had it while stringing up the tree lights:

I'm so helpful.

While wrapping Christmas presents at 1am:

This was just the first one...

 And of course, I had lots of it while spending the holidays with my family.

Sorry for the blur.  I blame my camera's inability to work with movement.  So unfortunately you can't see the amazing breakfast that my in-laws make every Christmas morning for their family.

Merry Christmas!

And now for the news you've been waiting for:

Starbucks and Modern Mom also provided me with a bag of Holiday Blend ground coffee to give away to one of my readers.  I decided to keep the coffee because it's good, and sponsor a giveaway for a $15 gift card instead (with permission).  Then you can try the Holiday Blend yourself, or any other coffee or Starbucks product (but if you don't try something new I will think you're boring).  United States entries only.    


a Rafflecopter giveaway




Disclosure: Starbucks & Modern Mom supplied me with Starbucks Coffee Holiday Blend to help facilitate this review and giveaway.  I didn't want to share the giveaway coffee and was given the okay, so I am sponsoring the gift card giveaway myself.  No other compensation was received.  All opinions are expressly my own.

Awkward

Always with the food on his face

My 3rd (out of 4) child, Jonas, can be a trouble maker.  He is also a comedian and pretty good at diffusing a tense situation. 
The other day I let him play on his big brother's desktop Minecraft account.  He apparently went to town, deleting or altering everything in every single world that Zach had created.  When Zachary got home he lost it.  He went completely berserk and all I could think was Geez, it's a flipping video game.  A hurricane didn't wipe out your REAL house and half of your family; a burglar didn't break into your REAL house and steal all of your REAL crap.  Just be grateful you have a stupid game to destroy your brain cells.  And you get to start from scratch!  What I said was, "Chill, dude."  
But even better than my relaxed response was Jonas walking out from behind my chair and saying, "Woah...things just got awkward in here."  Zachary didn't think it was funny when I laughed.  I thought it was hilarious.  I love hearing little kids saying big words.  
I guess he isn't so little anymore.  On December 9, Jonas became a humongous 6 year old.  He's grown like 4 inches in the last year.  Do boys always grow so fast?  I don't remember Zach hitting a major growth spurt until this year (at least 6 inches since Sept. 2012).  My daughter has only grown about 2 inches in the last 2 years.  Anyway, I already miss my little Jonas but I'm enjoying how well the new and improved Jonas is doing at school and how hard he works to be better every day.  He no longer wants to be a tree when he grows up, but he still wants to be able to make fire with his hands.  I'll enjoy his adorable young mind for as long as possible.                    

Moody

I thought working out was supposed to help with depression, outlook, overall mood but that doesn't feel like the case for me.  I'm around 7 weeks into working out (the most workout I've ever done in my life) and I feel kind of miserable.  I do it almost every day now and feel pretty lousy when I miss a day.  My body itself is starting to feel good; my leg and butt muscles are in a constant state of burn, sort of like you feel after you've been working out for about 5 minutes.  It's actually a good feeling!  I'm not always as tired as I used to be.  I'm losing an inch here, gaining half an inch there...no weight loss but that stuff isn't really getting me down too much. 
But I never want to leave the house anymore.  I was happy to get out for Christmas, but otherwise I don't want to go anywhere or do anything.  It's all I can do to get a shower by 3pm every day.  When asked what I wanted to do for New Year's Eve I mumbled, "I don't know".  I like celebrating and getting out of the house!  So what's wrong with me? 
Lately I've been thinking about the fact that I'm almost 31 and I've never been further south than Florida, further north than New York, Further west than Illinois.  I want to go somewhere spectacular.  But I can hardly leave my house, so I don't know how that would work.  I'd probably talk myself out of it anyway.  I think about how I never got to finish college.  Not that I even know what I want to be when I grow up.  But that clock that stopped and told me to enjoy 30 (I was seriously super excited to turn 30) seems to be tick, tick, ticking away, faster than ever.  Not that I'm dreading 31, I guess I'm just more aware of aging?  I don't feel old, so that's not what's dragging me down. 

I just don't want to feel like this anymore.  Needed to vent.  Haven't talked about this to anyone so I had to get it out somewhere.  This seems as good a place as any. 
What do you do when you feel like crap and the things that should help aren't? 

Important Questions

The most important (and nagging) question today is:
Where the heck is my library card? 
Why do I need it, you ask?  I'll be happy to tell you.  I got a Kindle for Christmas.  And I'm too cheap to buy books.  I love borrowing them from the library through my Kindle.  It's like a present that keeps giving.  Beautiful.  But you need your card number to borrow it and I had it saved on auto complete but then Jason did stuff to our computer and now that's gone.  Damn computer geeks making my computer better but my life suckier. 

My next question:  Did anyone notice that I changed my blog design?  It was a substantial change but I kept the same colors.  Now a really super awesome change would be if someone took pictures of my family and turned all of us into our own Weeble and made some of us leaning one way, some the other.  Of course I would be centered perfectly because I'm awesome and I'm the steady crutchy Weeble.  Who's up for the task of designing this sweetness at the great price of free? 

This is What Happens When I'm Gone for a While

My life has been so boring that I haven't really bothered writing about it.  Sometimes my kids will say something I want to remember but it's few and far between so I just end up boring my Facebook friends with the info instead of writing about it in detail here.  Now I can give a big boring update all at once.  Ready?

So, since I've been here last we've celebrated two birthdays: my baby Henry turned 2 on March 30 and my daughter Amara turned 7 on April 19th.  Henry got everything he wanted- babies, a football, basketball, baseball mitt and a bunch of other sports crap.  He is obsessed with sports.  He never put his cake in the oven for "you and me".  Instead he did it for "baketball hoop!".  It's cuter than the 2 year old singing Adele.  I should record it.  He also wanted more motorcycles, Legos and Zoobles and got them.  Then promptly lost almost all of it.  Amara didn't want a whole lot- she asked for an Ipod.  When I told her that little kids in our house don't get $200 presents she apologized for asking for something so expensive then asked for a camera, mp3 player, some dolls so she would have toys to play with when her friends came over, Zoobles, Xia Xia Pets, Lego Friends and a pull up bar for her doorway (yes, I'm serious).  After some discussion she decided she wanted to upgrade to a second-hand Nintendo DSi (she had the Lite) with games and accessories and I surprised her with a nice tea set and a Xia Xia home (junk).  Her brothers got her a Xia Xia shell, an itty-bitty stuffed bunny and a Lego Friend set.  Her friends and family ended up getting her everything else on the list (except the pull up bar), so she was a very happy birthday girl.  She also received money and decided she wants to save it, so now I'm searching for a bank that offers youth banking.  The credit unions have some awesome accounts but I don't know if they can become a member if their parents aren't.  I might look into it if I don't get distracted by something new.   

I was a Cityville (on Facebook) addict for a while.  Recently I've almost stopped playing, going from a few times per day to barely once a week and only for a few minutes each time.  Go me!  
I'm still a Pinterest addict.  I love my Kindle like I love water.  I enjoy both necessities and rarely leave the house without them.   
I guess I scratched my eye a few weeks ago after taking an hour nap in my contacts.  I have glasses but I can't see out of them very well.  I have another pair that I can see better with, but they don't stay on my face.  Every time I think my eye feels better I put my contact back in, only to have my eye explode in pain again after a few hours.  Then I look and my eye is incredibly bloodshot and I'm back to square one.  It hurts.  I don't have insurance and it looks like a visit to the eye doctor will be necessary...this is going to cost me.  Suck. 
There's absolutely nothing else to say about me.  I'm just not that interesting. 
Oh wait, it seems that everyone in the world has become an advocate of me getting married.  I guess that's interesting.  It sure was interesting one day when a handful of people, unbeknownst to one another were planning, discussing or commenting on our upcoming (unknown) marriage.  The discussions are still trickling in every few days too.  Jason and I have been together for 11 years and our kids think we are married.  My daughter was horrified when she asked for the ring, dress and photos and I had nothing to produce.  I maybe should have told her then that it's because there was never a production date but it was just easier not to have that potentially long conversation.   So I picked out a ring (that I'll never get because you can only order it online and that's too big a committment to make online) and decided on Jason's metal then made dinner and promptly got distracted by other stuff that doesn't cost as much money or time.   

My 4 year old has been cracking me up a lot recently.  Just the other day Jonas was with us at Cracker Barrel and we had just been served our meal.  Jason and I always get breakfast and the little boys got some kid food.  He saw my grits and freaked out.  He said he didn't want any of his food; he just wanted "that".  Being the nice mommy that I am, I took Jason's grits and gave them to Jonas.  He polished them off in seconds and...said, "May I please have some more porridge?" .  I laughed so loud that the entire restaurant was probably giving me dirty looks.  We live in Pennsylvania.  It's not okay to laugh in public.  But seriously, what kid asks for porridge?  Where did he hear it?  I'm still laughing.  Then the following day he was browsing through my kitchen (I'm pretty sure that if he doesn't become a police officer he will be a chef.  He could really go the extra mile and be both), grabbed something and ran to me.  He said, "see mommy, you still have a spatula!"  (I had thought I broke them all) then went on to say, "Now, can you make me some flapjacks?".  This wouldn't be a weird word except that I have never, in my entire life said the word "flapjack" unless I was talking about the word.  No clue where he got that one either.  Oh, and Jo is FINALLY potty trained.  FIIIINALLLLY! 

Henry, who was practically trained by about 20 months completely quit trying.  Those two are constantly on opposite ends of the spectrum. 

Zachary, my 10 year old, has made it his life goal to ruin his little sister's life on the pretense that it's she who is ruining his life.  It's super annoying and I'm totally out of parenting ideas so I often just ignore them.  They fight so often and it's practically impossible to split them up because there aren't enough neighbors to ship them off to. 
And I'm ruining his life because I nag him too much.  That's me saying it, and not him.  I know I do it but what else are you supposed to do when a kid won't take a shower, clean his room, leave his sister alone, pick up his toys when he's done with them unless you are on them about it at least 15 minutes out of every hour?  I seriously need to know!  
On a good note, he is doing great in school.  He doesn't try as hard as he should but he gets by with good grades.  Next year might kick his skinny butt if he tries to pull off his first year at middle school like he has been these past few but I know he can do it if he tries.  He's been taking piano for the last few years and he's been slacking on that also.  As far as I know he's doing well, but I think he'd do better if we had a piano in our house.  I'm working on that but I have a lot going against me.  

Did I talk too much?  I'll talk about the nighttime stuff in another post.