Snow Day

We actually had a little snow on Tuesday!
(A rare commodity here on the Eastern Shore).
The kids were already on staycation, so we made it part of the day!

Success!

Staycation
What a magical word!
We had a marvelous time.....simply mar-ve-lous!
The kids were so surprised and all agreed it was one of our best vacations ever!

Mission Complete!

"Stay"cation

My kids have off school today and tomorrow, and starting this afternoon when Jeff comes home from work we will embark upon our first ever staycation! Shhh...It is a surprise!

Itinerary:

Monday Night:
Fancy dinner at La Chez Rogers
Movie at the Rogers Family Cinema
Camping under the attic stars

Tuesday:
Breakfast a-la Room Service
Trip to Rogers Day Spa (includes Manicures, Pedicures, and Facials)
Walking tour of Downtown Salisbury (hopefully in the snow).
Tour of Salisbury Zoo
Souvenir Shopping
Game Night and Finger Foods

It should be a lot of fun. If you need to reach us.... sorry, we'll be on stay-cation!

Desires of My Heart

Have I ever told you that I have a really cool house???? It is old and funky and totally unique. It has dark wood everywhere and cool windows, an oddly large front foyer that we never use, a creepy basement, a whimsically angled attic, two stair cases, old doors with original hardware, a front porch, a back porch, and a picket fence.

It could be my dream house. I love it more every day, despite the many quirks...(and believe me there are quirks...like breaking tile, crooked walls, and 900 dollar electric bills).

There is much to be grateful for, but every once in a while I feel sad. Sad inside that I am keeping this house from reaching it's potential. My non-existent budget and my cheap cluttery-stuff makes this diamond in the rough look ordinary, dull and uninspiring.

I have a dream, a dream of decorating.

I want to paint, to create, to have the mula to give this house the makeover it deserves. To transform my house into the home I have always wanted. Ahhhh....Alas, it is but a dream.

Until then, I will continue to plan and plot and collect, and steal ideas from people who know what they are doing.

To start maybe I will begin collecting these cool prints to adorn the angles of my girl's room.



Are they not the epitome of whimsy???

Click on pic to see tollipop's etsy shop.

fLoUnDeRiNg....

I am feeling a little lost this week. I have 100,000 things to accomplish and no good plan to get them done. I think I need a blog just to list all of my to-do items. I am the type of person that needs things to be perfect, but I do not have the motivation to get it all done...so guess what I end up doing? Nothing. Nothing, at all. I also get side tracked a lot. I'll start one project and then start another one, and then another one. What is the secret to just getting one thing done at a time? I had a conversation with my friend Kelly this past weekend about this very topic. She is able to focus on one thing at a time and calmly get it done. Not me, I panic. I get all frazzled and get grumpy with my kids and Jeff.

I have five kids...I really need to get this down. Seriously, it is my job. I am supposed to be organized and together, with dinner on the table, and all the laudry folded.

Actually, I'm lying. The real problem is that I think I am just not cut out to be the mom of five, maybe the mom of two, I think I could handle two.

Okay, I'm lying again. I think I am just not stay-at-home-mom material at all. I seriously stink at it. We hear all the time that we do not need to be that "Perfect, Molly Mormon, Mom" we just need to be doing the "best that we can" but what if you want to be that perfect mom? I want to be perfect. I want to do it all. If I cannot do it all, I might as well just stop being a mom.

So here it is...this is what I am putting on my next to-do-list:

Crafts, Cleaning, Sewing, Mending, Scrapbooking, Prayers, Scriptures, Family Home Evening, Temple Work, Cooking, Baking, Food Storage Expert, Gardening, Skinny, with a nice butt, sexy arms, and perky boobs, Nice Hair w/ highlights, White Teeth, Perfect Wardrobe, PTA President, Cutest Kids, Community Volunteer, At Home Entrepernuer who contributes to the cash flow, Grind own Wheat and make Jelly from scratch, Can Fruit, Bake Bread, Excercise Every Day, and Go on Walks with Kids Every day, Bike Rides, Hiking, Camping, Library Story Time, Eat only Organic Food, Eat only fresh Vegetables from my OWN Garden, take my kids on VACATIONS to exoctic places, want to WANT to Homeschool, Dust and Sweep everyday, paint all my Walls, garage, front steps, and my fence, Decorate like Candice Olsen from Devine Design, be Taller with bluer eyes, smaller nose, and smaller feet, Visit teach every month by the 5th day of the month, be the YW President, Primary President and Relief Society President all at the same time. Oh and lastly, I want to walk into a room and have people tell me I am the most glorious woman, mother, and wife to ever grace their presence.

What do you think? Am I over zelous?

Happy New Year!

Time has slipped by without me knowing. It has happened before. 2009 is upon us. I hope all of my family and friends had a wonderful Holiday Season. I did! Truly one of the best Christmas's on record. I failed to send out Christmas Cards (forgive me, please), but if I did they would have surely said:
"I hope the true meaning of Christmas fills your heart and home this year."

It filled mine.

Thank you for all of the well-wishes, cards, happy blog posts, and cheery Facebook remarks over the last few weeks. It never ceases to amaze me how technology has brought so many friends, relatives and loved ones back into my life on a daily basis...I love it!

This time of year not only helps me look forward, but I often find myself looking back, feeling gratitude for the abundance of blessings that touch my life, for loved ones, for health, for the joy of the gospel, and for the miraculous love of our Savior.

Happy New Year!

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the "ACADEMY" for all of their support and advise during my creative process. Special Thanks goes to my roommate from Ricks: Leslie Mingo who posted a blog in my honor: http://mingofamily.blogspot.com/2008/12/pottery-barn-knock-off.html
Also a special thanks to Natalie who told me to throw some silver or gold into the mix. I'm still not sure about the tall flowers, but that's all I got to work with this year....I'll perfect it next year. Also...stocking are in the works...I'm making new ones.

Better?

I tried.

Moving On

Is everyone done there Christmas Decorating? I am just getting going. Decorating is not one of my strong points. I wish I could just open a Pottery Barn Catalog, twitchle my nose, blink my eyes, and POOF my house would look like designer Christmas wonderland.

This is my first year I have a fireplace. I was very excited to have a "Christmas" mantle. I like the rustic-country Christmas look. I do not think I have succeeded...any suggestions? What am I missing? It looks so bare. In person the red in the candles is a deeper, closer to burgundy color. And there is a super cute pine cone garland wrapped around the candles. Are the tall flowers stupid? Help!

Heritage Makers 411

So what is Heritage Makers exactly you ask?

Check out this website:
http://www.hmstories.com/home.html

What I am most excited about is how much this is going to benefit me and my family. Family history is very important to me. However, I have never been diligent about journaling or scrapbooking. Most of my pictures are taking up memory on my hard drive or are in a box shoved up on a shelf. Digital Scrapbooking and Storybooking is exactly what I need! I cannot wait to get a book together about my family! So...that's the main reason I am doing this, to put my memories in a place that is safe, creative, and where I can share it with family for years to come.

I have been thinking I will probably set up a separate blog for posts about Heritage Makers. I'll post a link when I get it set up.

This is something I have thought long and hard about. I knew I needed to do something to contribute. How perfect is it that I will get to have fun at the same time? Since it is not plausible to work a regular job with five kids at home this is definitely the best alternative for me!

Going For It.

Desperation? Maybe....
Excitement? Perhaps....
Extra Money? Hopefully....
Change Of Pace? Definitely!


I decided to become a Heritage Makers Consultant. Details forth coming.

What's Cookin' Good Lookin'?

Can you smell Thanksgiving in the air? I can. I am pretty sure that the neighbors are baking pies and my tummy is rumbling.

We are going to Ben and Cyndi's for Thanksgiving this year. My mom and Dad, Kym, Marshall and Dana are all coming too! It will be the first time we have all been together for Thanksgiving in forever! And I am super excited.

Cyndi and Ben are making their famous Alton Brown turkey that they brine in a bucket of salt water, and spices over night. I haven't had it yet, and I cannot wait. It is supposed to be the juiciest, tastiest, most tender turkey ever! Cyndi is also making her homemade rolls, which are absolutely divine. Kym is in charge of pies: Pumpkin, Apple, Frozen Chocolate, and a Turtle Pumpkin (can you say yum?). My mom, of course is in charge of the best part of Thanksgiving...her glorious stuffing. I mean it, it's glorious. I could eat it by the bucket full.
I am doing potatoes, veggies, and one of our new favorites...cranberry mousse. (Light, airy, fluffiness that is to die for!)

I am salivating just thinking of all the ways I get to stuff myself tomorrow. Does anyone have special recipes they are looking forward to?

Side note: Jeff told me this morning if I want to work off all the calories that I will ingest on Thanksgiving I would need to run for 20 miles, without stopping.

Ha!

Calories, shmalories. I am certainly not going to worry about it. Eating is what I do best, I would not want to disappoint anyone.

Starting Over

For the last six months I have been walking every morning. I get up at 5:00am and walk with my friend...we do about 3 miles. It was good to get out and get some kind of exercise but lately I have really been wanting to get back to the gym. I have missed doing a work out that really gets my heart rate going. Yesterday was my first day back. I probably should have started out with something a little bit less intense. I did a kickboxing class. OH MY! I cannot move this morning. Every muscle in my body is ON FIRE! I have to say though, it felt awesome to work hard, and push my body. So, hopefully by 9:00am I will have convinced myself that the pain is worth it and I am excited to be back at the gym!

Does anyone remember Tretorn shoes? They were WAY cool when I was in high school, and apparently they still are. I want a pair!
Check em' out!
http://store.tretorn.com/US/details.asp?catalog_name=tretorn&category_name=WomensFootwear&product_id=47111908&mainCategory=Women

BTW

I should have mentioned that the white substance in the pictures below is baking soda (for laundry) and that Kym and I were literally only five feet away from the girls...how did we miss this disaster in the works? Kym was alerted by weird swishing sounds (girls swimming in baking soda). Oh! And the pictures are a little blurry because there was a cloud of baking soda hanging in the air. Kym and I will probably be tasting baking soda for the next couple of days!

Goes With The Terriritory!

I've come to accept that Two Year Old's are mischievous. But, a couple of Two Year Old Cousins...TOGETHER.... are down right
DIRTY!

It's Been a Bit

Here are some long-over-due Halloween pictures. Dallin, Elizabeth, and Anna used costumes from previous years, and Audrey was a butterfly fairy-princess.

Merry Christmas

Oops....Wrong Holiday.

But seriously does this statement stress anyone else?

55 more days to go....

Yummy Baby

This might...quite possibly....be the cutest thing I have ever seen!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16178069

Fall News

I had to turn on the heat today. I had vowed to wait until after Thanksgiving to do this, but alas, 28 degrees outside makes for goose-bumpy kids, and icy toes so I had no choice but to bow to the energy gods. Putting aside the terrorizing thoughts of bigger electric bills, the chill in the air makes me very happy. I just love fall.

The kids had their fall break this past weekend so Jeff took off and we took the kids to Busch Gardens. (It was the last time we were going to be able to use our season passes that we got last year, and we won't be able to afford them this year.) It was a great weekend. During October the whole park becomes a Halloween dream land. Costumes, shows, decorations...it was fall-a-liscious! My absolute favorite part was being able to spend time with Jeff. I've missed him lately. With him working two jobs, we hardly see him any more. It was a lot of fun.

I cannot believe Halloween is just a little over a week away. I decided to be lazy this year with costumes. Whatever is in our costume box is what they will have to choose from. I cannot afford new ones for all five kids, and I do not have the energy to make them this year. What do ya do? What are your kids going to be?

So, it looks like we are going to have to put our other house on the market again. (the one my parents are renting) My mom has yet to find a job and I have a feeling they are going to have no choice but to move....so, we obviously cannot pay for two homes. It feels pretty hopeless at this point...I mean come on, who are we kidding, it is not going to sell. I am trying to stay positive...really I am. What is the worst thing that can happen? As much as I love fall, I wish I could just skip winter. Once Halloween is over I think I am going to get under a blanket and cuddle up until the spring. Humans should hibernate.