A spot of my own

getting the hang of it

2011-08-01T22:30:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day of savings and I'm sharing it with you. :)

My 1st stop was at CVS, I was able to get 2 full size Tresemme products for....$1.50!!

I was able to get these 3 items for $5.49. :)

Then it was over to Walgreens, where I got the best extreme couponing deal, so far!! :D
Would you believe I got 3 pantene products and a candy bar for....wait for it.....$0.20!!!! :O

Yep, $0.20, I still can't believe it, I was SO excited!! :D
This is everything I bought from Walgreens and it only cost me $11.91!! :)

I LOVE COUPONING!!!!! :D

2011-07-21T22:06:00.000-07:00

I am sooooo excited, this is my 1st 'extreme' couponing deals!! :D

I was able to get 8 tubes of toothpaste for.....drum roll, please.....

$4.00!!!!! :O

Plus, to make it even better, I got $6 worth of coupons to use on my next transaction!!!!!

Woo Hoo!!! :)

extreme couponing?

2011-07-15T22:01:00.000-07:00

While in Missouri, we had no way to get local stations on our tv, so we signed up for direct tv.

You'll never guess what one of the 1st shows I recorded and started watching....yup, you guessed it...Extreme Couponing!!! :)

All I can say is WOW!!! I was shocked at how the people were able to get cart loads of groceries for free or really close to it!! :O

I was hooked and in May of this year, I officially started couponing...not just using a coupon here or there, but actually clipping multiple coupons and organizing them into my new double binder. ;)

I have been doing it now, for 2 months and am still learning, but have saved lots of $$ and am getting more confidant at what I'm doing. I do not claim to be and am no where near being an 'extreme' couponer, but I would say I am deffinetely addicted to couponing, lol!!

So, I am hoping to share with you some of the best deals that I make and give you a little of my own cou'poe'ning advice. ;D

2011-03-28T12:35:00.000-07:00

I'm amazed at how you try to get on and blog and WHAM

the kids are hungry
then you go to get the mail and find that the package was ripped open and some of your mail is gone!!! :O
a few phone calls later...
then it's naptime and they don't want to go down
now hubby will be home soon, and guess what?? no blog post written!! :/

Guess I'll try again tomorrow, lol. ;)

Making Herbs Simple winners

2011-03-19T11:33:00.000-07:00

Well, since I could give away up to 5 DVD's and only 3 people entered, they automatically win!! :)
Congrats Heather, Nicole and Sherri!! :D

Making Herbs SIMPLE vol 1 Review & Giveaway ~ CLOSED

2011-03-02T17:24:00.000-08:00

I LOVED watching the Making Herbs Simple dvd, even though I already knew how to make the tinctures and poultices, watching it gives you a renewed want to get up and make some tinctures!! :)

I picked up a few new things about herbs that I will be using for myself and kiddos. Every summer, we get sugar ants that like to come into our house, unwelcomed!! In the past I have tried finding their home and drowning them with boiling water, but can't find where they are coming from!! Next I heard of laying cheyenne pepper where they come in. I wanted them out of my house, so I laid it on thick, inside and out, but that didn't stop them, they just found a different way to get in, aaugh!! From the dvd, I learned that dried peppermint is an ant deterrant!! You can bet that I will be laying dried pepperment wherever they're getting in. :)

This next one is one that I am probably going to end up using a lot this spring, while we're here in Missouri. A plantain tincture, made with apple cider vinegar, is great for insect bites!! Since there's a lot of spiders and other bugs here, I am convinced I'm going to need to make some to have on hand, just in case any of us get bit!!

All my close friends and family know that this next one is a HUGE need right now!! My lil guy who's 5 months old, has decided that sleep isn't that important and that mommy and daddy aren't going to get any either!! A chamomile tincture, best made with food grade glycerine for lil kiddos, helps you relax and sleep!! :D We deffinetely need to make some so that we can get our lil guy to sleep!!

I am very hands on and loved seeing the actual herbs in the wild and watching how they prepared the herbs and how they use them in poultices. There is a BIG difference in how much information you retain and how it makes you want to get up and start using herbs when you watch someone show you, compared to just reading it in a book. Even my 3 yr old watched the dvd with me, twice!! :D

We got a food dehydrator last year and I am hoping to dry some fruits and try my hand at drying herbs, too. It's the same concept as drying it in your oven, but a lot easier.

The Companion Guidebook is great to have on hand, it gives you all of the herb info thats on the dvd and also has great pictures!! Mine will be going in the car, so I can use it if I happen to find some herbs while we're out in the wild.

I hope to instill the love of herbs to my kids and that they will learn how to identify and use herbs. :)

Now for the BEST part...Bulk Herb Store is gracious enough to let me giveaway 5 dvd's!! :D

Be sure I have a way to get your email address so I can tell you that you won! If I don't have an easy way to get it (in your comment, google profile, etc) I will automatically choose a new winner. A new winner will also automatically be chosen if any of the entries are not followed specifically (such as doing the mandatory entry). Also leave a SEPARATE comment for each additional entry that you do! One comment = one entry! Open to the US only and 18 years or older.

Mandatory Entry

This must be done in order for any other entry to count
Follow Me on Facebook

Additional Entries

1 Entry ~ Follow me through Google Friend Connect

1 Entry **Daily** Follow Me and @bulkherbstore on Twitter and Tweet.
Be sure to leave me the link! You may copy/paste the following:
Win one of five Making Herbs Simple vol 1 dvd's! @poek4 Ends 3/18 Pls RT! #giveaway

1 Entry ~ Follow Bulk Herb Store's YouTube channel, they have a lot of great short videos to watch.

1 Entry Each ~ 'Like' Bulk Herb Store, and Shoshanna on Facebook

1 Entry ~ Blog about this and be sure to link back to this post and leave me the URL to the post.

3 Entries ~ Buy something from the Bulk Herb Store and let me know what you got. They have some great tasting teas!! :)

1 Extra Entry ~ Have you ever used herbs to cure an ailment or made your own tincture?
Tell me about it. :)

This Giveaway will end 3/18/11 at 11:59 p.m. EST

I will choose the winners via random.org and contact them via email and post them on this blog. They have 48 hours to claim their win before a new winner is chosen.

Good Luck!!!

Thinking Positive

2011-02-28T20:08:00.000-08:00

Wow, February FLEW by, or is it just because I'm severely sleep deprived!?! ;)

Well, today is the last day of Mami's & Papi's February "LOVE" & Happiness Challenge. Even though I didn't write much here, I was constantly reminding myself every day to think positive. I will admit there were times that I told myself, 'I don't care, I don't want to be positive right now'. That's ok, because I realized I can feel that way, but to get over it and move on. :)

I would like to thank Mami's & Papi's for everything they do, for us their customers, and also those of us who consider them a friend. I have been able to come to them with my night time cloth diaper delema and they have been there to give me suggestions. If it weren't for them, I never would have met a wonderful mommy who is helping me figure out how to solve my heavy wetting lil boys night time leakings. Thank you Ashley, you have been a great help and friend. :D

I would like to say that this month has had a lot of ups and downs for me, but I have also grown in a way that, if it weren't for Mami's & Papi's challenge, I wouldn't have taken on my own. Thank You Mami & Papi!!!! :D

Positive thinking, you haven't seen the last of me!!! ;)

night time cloth diaper woes

2011-02-27T13:21:00.000-08:00

For a couple months now, I've been trying to completely switch over to cloth diapers. Day time, no problem, but night time has been very challenging!! :(

Gavin is 5 months old, tomorrow, and gets up 4-5 times a night. :/ I have been using disposables, but end up changing him once a night and he tends to leak with those almost every 3rd night. gah!!!

So I have been hearding that hemp is great for heavy night time wetters, pair that with wool covers and it've heard it's bullet proof!! So I bought some Hemp Babies Diaper Doublers and Hemp Babies Little Weeds.

After the hemp arrived, I first tried a flat wrapped around a hemp doubler, topped with a flip cover, it held, but was WAY too bulky!! Then I tried a hemp prefold stuffed in a Rump a Rooz, which didn't last the night.

So I asked, on Mami's and Papi's facebook page, and a sweet mama, Ashley, did a blog post for me!! :D you can read it here

So I promptly ordered some Babykicks Prefolds and Sustainablebabyish Organic Bamboo Fleece Doubler. Then I waited, impatiently, for the package to arrive!! :)

When it arrived, I promptly threw them in the washer and prepped them, about 4-5 times in hot water. I was excited to use them that night, so I diapered my boy, just like Ashley did and covered it with a Flip cover. During a couple of the late morning feedings, that I could feel something damp on my arm, which was resting on his side. I thought nothing of it, and figured he was swetting.

When I changed him in the morning, I noticed that the prefold was peeking out of the Flip cover on his sides, where I had felt the dampness!! Even though it was way too bulky and ended up peeking out of the cover, it kept his pj's and sheets dry. My lil guy seemed uncomfortable with the bulkiness of it, so I decided to try something different the next night.

Last night, I decided to try a Hemp Babies Little Weed prefold folded around a Sustainablebabyish bamboo doubler and cover it with the Flip cover. Making sure to tuck the cloth under the flap on the Flip cover. Well, half way through the night, he had soaked through the front of his diaper. :(

So, right now I am frustrated and not sure where to go from here. So I am asking/searching for more ideas, so hopefully the next time I write, I will be able to tell you what combination works for us!! :)

pre-review, a lil history into my interest in herbs

2011-02-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

I can't remember a specific date when I became interested in herbs, I'll have to ask my mom about that. ;) I think I was in high school and I think it all started when I started having back issues, which my mom thought was just me wanting to get out of doing the dishes, lol!! My mom had started going to the chiropractor and decided to take me with her and see what the chiropractor thought, whether I was just faking it or if I just happened to really have problems. Everyone was so skeptical that I almost chickened out, but I'm so glad I didn't!!!

The chiropractor took x-rays before he started working on someone. Well, imagine everyone's surprise when he brought the x-rays into the exam room. My spine had s-curves starting from my neck all the way down to my tailbone, which was also 'out'!!!! I think I had a total of 4 curves in my back, and you would never have known it from the outside!!! :o

Once I started going regularly, I started feeling a LOT better. My mom and I then started looking into natural ways to 'cure' colds and minor ailments. My mom and I also went to a herbalist who ran a test on us that showed what areas our body was overfunctioning, underfunctioning, or was normal. (I still have those results!!) :)

Needless to say, the herbal remedies we had to buy to help correct our bodies was pretty expensive, no big surprise there!! So we started looking around and researching more herbal cures that we could easily get or make ourselves for a lot less.

Researching information has changed a lot!!! When I started researching herbs, I had to go to the library and check out books and spend hours reading. I don't think I reatained much, considering I either didn't understand it or it just didn't pertain to our situation. Today I can Google an ailment or herb and get all the info I need, have it ordered and know how to prepare it in under an hour!!!

So where does my review for the Bulk Herb Store fit into all this??

Well, about 10 years ago, my mom started getting "No Greater Joy" in the mail and we started following their family. When they started the Bulk Herb Store my mom and I started ordering herbs from them. We knew they had pure and natural herbs and trusted ordering from them. You can read about how the Bulk Herb Store got started and how Shoshanna took over the business, here. My mom and I order herbs from them a couple times a year, they have a lot of great herbs, books, dvd's and more.

I admit, I love making tinctures, salves, poultices, etc, but am reserved about jumping into it like I would like to. I am just unsure about which herbs are best together and which should NEVER be combined, and when making your own herb mix, is more better or less?? There is SO much to absorb when it comes to herbs and their healing properties, how to extract those properties without destroying the beneficial properties, and how to store them to retain their benefits for their full 'life' span.

This brings me to my review of 'Making Herbs Simple' vol 1. I have wanted this dvd since it first came out and I can't wait to watch it and soak in all the valuable info!! :) They also have a vol 2, which I also want and will probably end up buying after I finish the review!!

Whew, that was a lot longer than I expected!! This is my story, in a very big nut shell of how I got my love of herbs. I will be surprised if anyone reads this whole thing, but if you do, let me know what you think!! :)

Thinking Positive??

2011-02-11T12:29:00.000-08:00

Ugh, I hate to admit, this has been a LONG and DIFFICULT week. :/

Even though I haven't been doing so well in the positive thinking department, I have been dealing with 'speedbumps' with a MUCH better attitude!! :)

I had a good dose of 'this is what it looks like to be impatient' moments. I was at the PX the other day getting some infant tylenol, which is impossible to find!! There was a lady infront of me with quite a few items and she seemed in a hurry. The cashier seemed to not be feeling well, so she was moving slow. Well, the lady, checking out, was antsy, she kept looking at her phone, and at one point, I noticed her 'lip speak', "come on hurry up"!! I felt really bad for the cashier, because I could tell she wasn't feeling well.

I noticed that when you are impatient or upset with how someone is doing something, it takes away your feminine beauty and glow.

So, aside from being good for your health, having a good attitude and patience is also good for your looks!! :D

My 1st review showed up!!

2011-02-08T08:28:00.001-08:00

Now to just find some free time to watch it... lol

I'm so excited, I've wanted to get this dvd for months now!!! I can't wait to watch it and gain more knowledge in a big interest of mine...herbs! :)

Keep checking back and I hope to have it up soon!!

Thinking positive #2

2011-02-05T08:31:00.000-08:00

This one came as an utter surprise to me.

I never would have imagined that sleeping on the floor and getting up every 2 hours for a month would be a great thing!?!

Ever since having Gavin, I abhore mirrors... They remind me that I STILL have my girls gift of twin skin and muffin top. :/ I don't have the drive to work out every day...or is that just a side effect of exhaustion?? hmmm ;)

Well, I just happened to glance in the mirror last week and my muffin top is almost gone!!! Woo Hoo!!!! :D

So, yes, getting up about 6 times a night and doing a form of stomach crunches to get myself and a sleeping 13 lb boy off the floor and into his bed, will help you tone your stomach!!! :)

Thinking positive #1

2011-02-03T11:30:00.000-08:00

So far, I have done horribly at the whole thinking positively, but I knew it wouldn't be easy!! lol

Today I had to call our realtor, who is very nice, and we were reminiscing over the weather. It's has been VERY cold and we had 2 whole 'snow days' earlier this week, which has been interesting, here in Missouri. The realtor said, "well, you shouldn't complain, we have had worse weather.." and I said, "I'm just glad I'm not at home, in Montana, it's FREEZING there!! It's much warmer here." She said, "That's a very good way to think about it!!"

I am truley very glad that it's warmer here, I'm a chicken for cold weather and am always freezing, lol!! So, I had my 1st true positive thinking, wonder what the next one will be about....

A February "LOVE" & Happiness Challenge

2011-02-02T08:29:00.000-08:00

The challenge is from Mami's & Papi's. They are a military family that carries cloth diaper and baby items and are a lot of fun. ;)

They have a monthly contest for their followers to do and they get entered to win some really great prizes. Here's parts from their post off their Facebook page, so go check it out for yourself here.

"So what is the M&P challenge all about? Every month we do something a little "more" to challenge ourselves. It could be a special request challenge (a sister or brother is dealing with some challenges and needs support) or something that is just lots of fun to see if we can DO IT!

The month of February is the "Valentine" month. The month of love!! But this is not a love your spouse or love yourself challenge.... NO, this is a love your Life challenge!

For the month of February ---- EVERYTHING that happens .... you will think positively! Need some explanation and examples --- here goes!"

"EVEN if you are happy person --- all it takes is one negative unloving second to let our day go to the pot. Negativity can eat us alive!

Everything gets on your nerves. Your pizza came cold, your husband or wife hasn't paid "enough" attention to you, your kids drew on the wall, your fluffy package came in and was missing something (LOL), your life is falling apart, the bills are piling up to the ceiling, the cable went out, the internet is to slow, the mom down the street "MUST" be talking about you, the play group is too unorganized, it's the teachers fault, the doctors a goober, the police officer was speeding too, she thinks she's so awesome, I can't do anything right................. It's my party and I'll cry if I want to.

The challenge is simple ---- each time a negative thought crosses your mind --- YOU STOP IT! You tell yourself NO. I am going to think positively and nothing is going to let me down. NOTHING! It profits ZERO to have ANY negative thoughts. Sometimes negative situations happen --- but our attitude can either make us survivors or sufferers.

If possible --- try and keep a HAPPY diary of how life is awesome.... even when it's not! :-)"

Now if you know me, you already know that I'm a 'pessimist, glass is half empty' type of girl!!! So this challenge, even if I don't win, which I REALLY do, will, I hope, help me get away form my negativism and focus on all the POSITIVE in my life!! :D

1st FTX

2011-01-30T07:25:00.000-08:00

The Army LOVES to abbreviate everything!! So, I will fill you in on what it means. ;) I believe FTX means, Field Training eXercise, I'll have to check with Mat on that. It started on Wednesday and ends...who knows, the training schedule isn't very clear on it.

So, how did it go, you wonder?? HORRIBLE!!! :(

1st: I was NOT ok being alone!!! Now I am used to being by myself at nights, Mat just got off graveyards at the SO, so I was doing 3-4 overnights by myself, so why did I have such a rough time?? Well, I'm in a new town, new house, with all it's new noises, and it's a condo, so if the neighbor makes noise, it sounds like it's coming from your house!!! The 3rd night, I'm positive someone banged on our door about 10p!! It was a very unnerving 4 nights, to say the least.

2nd: At the beginning of the week, I was told it would only be 2 overnights, on Wednesday it became 3 nights, and by Thursday, it became 4 nights!!! WHAAAAA????? I was only mentally prepared for 2, so 4 nights just pushed me over the edge. :( Thank God for Mom's and cell phones!!!! I spent a lot of the last 5 days talking to my mom, she's the best!! :D

3rd: Saturday was a, I'm not going to nap, day for Gavin. By 3:30p I decided we'd go for a drive and get Gavin to nap. We stopped at Wendy's for a snack and I just started driving. Now, this is only my 2nd time ever driving in Saint Robert and get lost VERY easily, so glad we own a GPS!! Well, I'm on this road, no idea where I'm at, so I'm driving just under the speed limit, surveying the area. I found a HUGE park, by the way!! :D Well, I'm driving along and of course everyone else is going over the speed limit and passing me. Well, this truck goes around me and ALMOST sideswipes me!!!! :O I quickly took in the vehicle placements, thinking he was trying to avoid someone, and realized he hadn't, so I did what anyone else, like me, would do and I honked my horn at him!! What was his response?? I'm pretty sure I got the 'finger' and lots of cursing and shaking of his fist and just all out PISSED at me!?!? That did not help my nerves or overall well being, so I decided to go back home, it would be the safest option. :/

3rd: I just found out that Gavin is going through a sleep strike for, possibly, the next 4-6 weeks!!! Which means, he will only take about three-45 min naps, and between the night hours of 8p-7a, he will get up every 1.5-2 hrs and nurse for about 30 min each time. What does this produce?? An EXTREME state of exhaustion.......

4th: I was just looking at Mat's training schedule and am pretty sure, military time is still slightly confusing, and it looks like he has ANOTHER night training on Tuesday!!!! :O I'm soooo tempted to get a hotel room, which feels safe, is WARM (that's a whole nother story), has a real bed, a pool, and the best part...CABLE TV!!!!! :D

Well, there you have it, my 1st FTX experience and I am so ready to put the whole situation/memory behind me!!

But....this isn't the last you'll hear about this, he has 2 more FTX's. One is only 2 nights, and the last one, right before graduation, is..........

wait for it...........

7 days and 6 nights!!!!!! :O

Who wants to come visit for a whole week???? ;)

A new year, new state, new, temporary, home.....

2011-01-14T09:11:00.000-08:00

Whew, it is only January 14, but soooo much has already happened!!

This is going to be the biggest year of first's for us. Mat was scheduled to go to BOLC, the last part of his officer training, which is located in Missouri. Neither of us have been there and we had no idea what to expect, we've lived in Wyoming and Montana our whole lives, what can you expect?? lol

So, the 1st week of January, we temporarily packed up our house, just enough to survive 5 months, and fit it in a 5'x8' Uhaul trailer!! Yep, I packed our family of 5 into that small trailer, whew!! :) Then we traveled 1300 miles and about 30 hrs in 2 days!! With two 3 yr olds, who did quite well, considering they were strapped into carseats the whole way, and a 3 month old who had to nurse every 3 hrs, was awake for 1 and slept for 2 and then repeated it all over again, who also did a LOT better than I expected. Guess what??? WE SURVIVED!!!! :D

We were able to find a 3 bedroom condo that fits us nicely, well, to be honest, we don't even come close to filling it up!!! The only furniture we have is a table, 4 folding chairs, a crib and dresser/changing table and 2 cots!!! No couches, or end tables, or entertainment center, or beds, nada. Although we're praying we can find these used or free, considering we won't take them back with us. ;)

The girls have done well, they haven't gotten 'home sick', of course they are with us, so just the location has changed. Gavin is too young to know any better, he has mom and that's all that he needs, lol. I am having a lil harder time adjusting than I had expected, but I just have to get into a new groove and hope that the weather warms up, NOW!! lol

So, stay tuned, I hope to keep everyone updated, at least weekly, with pictures, crosses fingers, but we will see, life tends to get hectic with 3 kiddo's, lol. ;)

Not so fat Wednesday, er Friday

2010-12-17T22:03:00.000-08:00

Well, here I go, I've finally started my pp workout, of course it only took me 11 weeks, oops. :) I have a 10 min pp workout that I'm following, not too long, so it's easy to stick to, and after we move, Mat and I hope to start working out together. :)

Here's a few pics to show what I used to look like. Oh, Nicole, I have a pic of us at my 16th birthday party, years before we were even married. :)

2006, our wedding, pre kids

2009, 2 yrs after the girls were born (I know I was sucking it in, too :o)

2010, 6 weeks pp, 3 kids later :)

So this week has been pretty stressful and had a health issue, too and found out that I lost 3 lbs because of it. :/ I weigh 122 lbs. I am hoping to regain my flat belly and loose my mommy pooch. I just want to tone and strengthen my body and also eat healthier. :)

I combined three cards into one!!! :D

2010-12-04T10:43:00.000-08:00

This was an exciting year for us, we added another addition to our family, Gavin!! :D

He arrived October 1st and by November I realized I hadn't gotten his birth announcements done!! I started looking around and made the family/friend list and found out how expensive it was, yikes!! I realized I also needed to do Christmas cards on top of birth announcements and my family/friends list is in the 70's. So the $$ for almost 150 cards is way more than we can afford, so I decided to combine them. :)

I also haven't gotten my thank you's sent out, so I'm looking to get the folded greeting cards, to get that done, too. I'm, in a sense, killing 3 birds with 1 stone, as they say, lol.

I'm looking at using the layout of this card.

I have always wanted to put together a calendar. Shutterfly has an awesome selection and might just do one for ourselves. :) Mat really likes the calendar posters.

Well, since I'm combining the birth announcement with our christmas card, I'll show you the one I was going to order, isn't it adorable? :)

A big thanks to Shutterfly for allowing me to blog about their 2010 holiday collection and giving me 50 free cards!! :D
Both pictures were taken from their website, so go check them out for yourself.

Hevea review

2010-12-01T20:55:00.000-08:00

After trying 3 different pacifier's and having Gavin not like any of them, I started looking online. I stumbled upon Hevea Baby pacifiers and was interested in them, because they're all natural and I was also drawn to the color. ;)

I 'liked' their page on facebook and saw that they were looking for bloggers to review their pacifier. I was excited to get chosen and couldn't wait for it to show up in the mail and see if Gavin would like it.

When I recieved the Crown Orthodontic Pacifier, I opened it immedietely and my first thought was, 'wow, this is really soft'!!! :D

I really liked the look and feel of the pacifier. I was happy that when Gavin used it, it didn't leave any marks on his face. I really liked everything about it, except I didn't like the strong rubber smell. That might be why Gavin wasn't into it, but I'm sure the smell can't be helped, since it goes with being all natural. :)

Gavin isn't too into pacifiers right now, but I will deffinetely be keeping it around just incase he decides to!! :)

A big thanks to Hevea for allowing me to review their pacifier! All opinions are my own and a few from Gavin. Both pictures were taken from their website here.

I've been converted!!

2010-11-28T09:00:00.000-08:00

Yep, it's official, I've switched over to cloth diapers!!! :O

We lost sooooo much money in diapers. Especially considering the girls just recently potty trained at 3 years 2 months!!! That is another story that you will get the pleasure of reading.

I have done a lot of research and made the decision when I was a couple months prego. Switching to cloth would save us a lot of money, it's healthier, especially considering the girls and I have a sensitivity to anything not natural fibers, it's easy to fit into my almost daily laundry and they're totally cute!! :)

I tried him in flats and a snappi, but they're a bit bulky on him, so I will probably use them when he's a lil bit older and after I hopefully get some wool soakers and longies knitted. :)

Right now he's wearing BumGenius Elements, they're a 100% cotton inner and water proof outer. It's just as easy to use as disposables, the only difference is that they get put in the wetbag, instead of the garbage, and get washed every or every other day, by themselves. Then I dry them, in the dryer in winter and outside during the summer, fold them and they're ready to use. :)

I've just started and got the 5 BG elements used and am planning on buying some more and really want to try the Rump-a-rooz, too. :) I will get some action shots put up after I get some taken.

1st time fishing

2010-09-12T14:01:00.000-07:00

We bought the girls fishing poles with their birthday money and took them to River Front Park. They had a blast and the only person to get hooked was Natalie. The fish were very hungry, so it was fairly easy for the girls to catch the fish.

Mat's showing Kiley her fish. He showed them the different parts of the fish and the girls 'pet' the fish, lol. :)

Natalie reeling in her line. :)

Mat spent the whole time casting and unhooking fish, lol, but the girls had a blast!! :)

After the girls got tired fishing, we decided to take a walk doen the path. This was my view, since I'm a slow prego lady, but it's precious!!! :)

Plain Pursuit by Beth Wiseman

2010-06-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

Plain Pursuit by Beth Wiseman, I absolutely love this book, I read it in less than 1 day!! I’ve always been drawn to Amish stories, I’ve never read any books by Beth Wiseman, but after Plain Pursuit, I’d love to read others that she’s written.
I loved how Beth took a tragedy and turned it around for the characters and they all learned to forgive each other and accept them back into their lives. She also stayed really close to what Amish life is really like and kept it real in her story. The romance intermingled was sweet and lovely. I was drawn into the story and just couldn’t put it down until I had finished it.
I can’t wait to read more books by Beth Wiseman and will be passing this one around to anyone who loves reading about the Amish as much as I do.

*I am a member of Thomas Nelson’s Book Review Blogger program, http://brb.thomasnelson.com/ and provided with this book. The opinions in this post are entirely my own and completely honest.*

24 weeks preggo and it's a BOY!!!! :D

2010-06-05T12:27:00.000-07:00

Wow, hard to believe I'm almost in my 3rd trimester!!! Hard to believe that I only had 9 weeks left when I was prego with the girls. It's going to be different to actually go the full 40 weeks.
My appt went well, so far I've gained 11 lbs, blood pressure is great, yay, baby boy's heart rate is good.
Lil boy is active, at times, but makes me think he'll be a mellow baby, which would be nice. ;)
I've been having stomach issues this time and am doing everything I'm supposed to, but it's not helping. :( I've been snacking a lot and making myself smoothies, which gives me the nutrition I need, but is easy on my stomach. :) I've also been drinking a lot of 'murphy' tea, pink lemonade and water. :)

So far we've gotten the nursery accent wall painted, glider put up, borrowed the crib from Jenny and got it put up, too. I found a dresser/changing table at a yard sale for $10, it needs to be painted, runners and knobs, but hey, the price was right. Right now, my dad's making a removable base for it, it's too short and not tall enough for diaper changes. I've also been garage saleing this year and have found some clothes, so far.

giveaway's I'm hoping to win ;)

2010-06-05T12:08:00.000-07:00

Potty Tots 7/4
My Belle Boutique 7/10
All Free Clear & How to Have Your Second Child 7/10
Infantino Giveaway 7/29

20 weeks preggo!!!

2010-05-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

Here was me at 12 weeks :)

and now 20 weeks :D

I can't believe I'm halfway through this pregnancy already!!! At my dr's appt we were comparing my pregnancy with the girls and realized that I was halfway through the pregnancy at 17 weeks!!! We were a little shocked and hope that this is my halfway point in this pregnancy. :)

I'm measuring right where I'm supposed to be, depending on our scale or dr's scale, I've gained 6-9 lbs. My blood pressure was 108/60, woo hoo!!!! Thank God, my blood pressure was already elevated with the girls at this time. Baby's heart rate is 138. :)

My cravings have changed, I'm loving fruit, any kind and can't wait for peaches to come out!!! ;) My new favorite drink is an Orange Carrot Sobe and soon to be slushies, homemade, once it warms up. :) Oh, and my biggest craving shocker.....hot wings!!!! I never liked anything hot like that, but now I have to have it atleast once a week!!! :o lol

I finally started feeling baby moving, off and on throughtout the day, what a relief!!! It's quite the change, considering I felt the girls move at 12 weeks and they never stopped, lol!! This baby is a lot more laid back and I think loves to sleep. :D

We get to find out if the girls are getting a lil brother or sister is 5 days!!!! I can't wait, it's been killer to have to wait. I'm excited to start decorating the nursery and getting it set up. :D

'spa at home' giveaway

2010-02-20T21:38:00.000-08:00

Ok, so you don't get a real spa in your home, but from what I've heard it's just as good, just a whole lot more affordable!!! :D
check it out
With being as sick as I have been, some home pampering would be the greatest ever!!!

9 weeks

2010-02-19T13:18:00.000-08:00

Teddy Graham is now the size of a grape, has grown about an inch since last week. Tiny muscles are beginning to form and he's gearing up to move his arms and legs.

So far I've been on Zofran for a week now and feel so much better, yay!!! :)
And I'm stoked that I have 3 weeks left of the nausea and exhaustion. :)

Cravings: well, I have a couple and unfortulately they have to be picked up, so I don't get them very often!! :(
Mocha Frappe from City Brew
Olive Garden Salad, mmmmm
Chicken Teriyaki Subway Sandwich
Raspberry Lemonade

The only wardrobe change I've had is that my pants don't fit so well, so I've been bumming around is sweats, a lot!!! lol :) Which is wierd, considering I've lost 4 lbs so far. I'm sure I'll make up for that once my appetite comes back. :)

Mat has said a couple times now that he can't wait for me to start showing, me either. :) Actually I can't wait to start feeling the baby move and I hope it's sooner with a second pregnancy!! :D

giveaways I entered

2010-01-14T19:16:00.000-08:00

Partridge Jewelry Tree-Jan 27
Ella’s Kitchen baby foods (Giveaway)-Jan 18

The Language of Love & Respect review

2010-01-10T15:21:00.000-08:00

“A Revolutionary Solution to the #1 Marriage Problem”

This is the first book I've read by Dr. Emerson Eggrichs. My mom says he's a great writer and liked his first book. It was really easy to understand what he was trying to reveal about how to have a “successful, happy marriage”. I liked how he tied in Bible verses and also shared stories of other couples, which I love reading! :)

Since Mat is gone, I can't apply much of the book, but I am hoping I will be prepared for when he gets home. I never realized it, but it's so true how a wife needs love and the husband needs respect. I have to admit, I crave to be loved and wanted every day and if it's a huge need for me, so much more for Mat. I want to start this new year by respecting, not jump to conclusions and not question his choices for our life.

This is another book that I will come back to many more times. I also hope that Mat will want to read it, too. This is a great book for all married couples to read and apply in their marriage.

*I am a member of Thomas Nelson's Book Review Blogger program, http://brb.thomasnelson.com/. The opinions in this post are entirely my own and completely honest*

2010

2010-01-01T22:49:00.000-08:00

2010 should be a very trying, but hopefully fun filled year.

The first major change happens Monday when Mat starts his first day, for 3 months, of his training at the police academy. He will also find out sometime this summer when/if he will be doing his BOLC III, which will be in Missouri for 5 months. We will be going with him, so we might also be moving this year.

This year will also bring our 4th anniversary, my 27th birthday, the girls 3rd birthday, and a possible move.

So here's to 2010, I hope for a safe and happy year!!!!

an important day

2009-12-22T13:31:00.000-08:00

Today was Mat's swearing in for the Sheriff's Office!!! :D

My parents had planned to come up to see it, but my dad had an emergency at work, so they couldn't make it. So, I got up early and had myself and the girls ready and got to the courthouse. Liz Cooper met me there and then Mat showed up and his parents, too.

This was the first time in awhile that they had the swearing in at the Commissioners Office, they were doing it at the Sheriff's office. They decided it would be nice to have it public, so family and friends could watch. It was really nice and I'm glad they changed it, so we could take part in Mat's new career. :D

Here's what his new badge looks like. :)

The Members were all very nice and everyone enjoyed watching the girls, who decided that it would be a great idea to throw tiger on the floor and then go get him. :s It was embarassing to me, but everyone else thought it was cute!! :)

It seems that Mat will be working with some great guys, which makes me feel better. :)

I feel so special!!

2009-12-20T09:03:00.000-08:00

I've been featured on my friend, Nicole's, blog!!! :D

While she's away spending time with family, she asked a few of us to write something for her blog, so she doesn't have to. I felt honored to help her out, so I wrote about a few of my favorite traditions.

So go check it out over at Ramblings by Nicole!! :D

poor girl :(

2009-12-15T22:22:00.000-08:00

The past couple nights, Natalie has been waking up and crying for about 30 min!!! :(
We're suspicious that she might have GERD, Gastroesophageal reflux disease. It's a more severe form of heartburn/reflux. They had it as babies, but Natalie had a slight case and Kiley's was worse, so it's wierd that Natalie's having trouble.

Tonight Natalie confirmed that it is deffinetely her stomach, she kinda pulled at it while we were reading books, and you could tell she was frustrated about it. :(

So, tomorrow, I'll have to call their ped and pray that he will be able to correctly diagnose what is going on. :S

Tuesday Twin Style

2009-12-15T13:40:00.000-08:00

It is so cute to watch the girls helping each other. Every meal, I have been teaching the girls to put their dirty dishes in the sink and put their cup in the fridge. Well, Kiley, hasn't mastered how to open the fridge, yet, but Natalie can.

Well, this morning, Kiley couldn't get the fridge open to put her cup away, so Natalie went over and opened it for her!!! :)

Natalie was also able to open doors before Kiley could, but Kiley was good at closing doors, but couldn't get it back open. Natalie has gotten Kiley out of lots of closed doors. :D

I ran downstairs to switch out the laundry and came back upstairs to them laughing and yelling and babbling to each other, both sitting in a laundry basket!!!! :D I wish I could have gotten a picture of it, it was adorable!!

I imagine that Natalie will always be helping Kiley out when she needs a hand. :)
It's so neat to see the bond that they share and how much fun they have together.

Tuesday Twin style

2009-12-08T14:24:00.000-08:00

Kiley has started saying 'mommy, mommy, mommy' (insert me saying 'what?' after each mommy)when she wants something!!!! I have no idea why she's doing it!! :)

Well, she also gets her daddy going, and this bothers him so much, lol. Kiley will say, 'mommy, mommy, pause, daddy' when she's trying to get Mat's attention!! It's so funny, but he doesn't think so. :D

The girls are getting so independent and I have to admit, I'm lovin it!!! :)

Last night while I was making dinner, the girls were chasing each other round and round the kitchen table and giggling. It was really loud, but they were so cute, that I let them be. ;) Then right when Mat got home from work, they were wrestling on the floor, which they've never done before, and laughing so hard, it was too cute!!

i heart faces ~ sweet dreams

2009-12-07T14:07:00.000-08:00

This week's theme at i ♥ faces is Sweet Dreams. This was the day we roomed in with the girls before they got to come home!! :D

an observer

2009-12-01T22:44:00.000-08:00

This happened a couple weeks ago and wanted to show that how we respond/react to our spouses has not only an impact on our children, but also on other people who are near enough to hear or in my case, observe from a fairly close distance.

We were out and about today doing returns and while I was sitting in the car, waiting for mat, I noticed that there was a couple in the car infront of us and you could tell something was up, just by the way they were talking to each other. I was watching them, but trying not to be nosey or rude. The lady seemed to be saying something sarcastic and smiling and the guy didn't like what she was saying and then he said some stuff she didn't like and it went back and forth for a couple minutes and they were getting more and more agitated and upset at each other.

I also noticed that there was an infant carseat behind the guys seat and while they were fighting, I noticed a little boy, about 4, come up to the carseat and stick his face close to the baby's and jump up and down. I figured he was showing off to make the baby laugh or smile. Well, the lady didn't think that it was funny and got mad at the little boy and mock what he had done and lashed out at him. I also noticed another child, probably around 6, sitting in the far back seat, just watching/listening to the parents argue. They then got out of the car and walked to the store, but you could almost see/feel an air of tension as they left.

As I watched this couple fight, I felt bad for the kids and was thinking to myself, 'the Pearls advise that you never fight or argue over something infront of your children. It's always best to talk about it privately.' I felt pity for the little boy that got yelled at, instead of being corrected, for the action he was doing wrong.

I was convicted while watching this couple. I realized how it looks to others when we fight out in public or infront of friends or family. I decided right then and there to make sure if I am upset or angry about something to not vent infront of our girls, but to talk about it in private with Mat or whoever I'm talking to. We need to be more diligant about our reactions and the way we act infront of our children. They're at an ? age and how they see/hear us is teaching them how to react to situations in the wrong way.

made me realize how important it is for us to be good influenced to our children.

Week 3: Created To Be His Help Meet

2009-11-29T14:03:00.000-08:00

Chapter 3: A Thankful Spirit
'A wise woman sets a joyful mood in her home. Through laughter, music, and happy times, she creates a positive attitude in her children. She knows that a lighthearted home relieves her husband of stress.'

Yikes, another chapter directed at me!!! I've really got to work on my poor-me attitude and get myself a merry heart!! :D There is so much good wisdom in this chapter, I will be quoting a lot of it. :)

'Discontentment is not a product of circumstances; it us the state of the soul.'

'Thankful people have a view of life that begins somewhere deep in their soul, and outside circumstances just can't mar their joy. To them, life is a wonderful, continuous dream come true. All of life is blesses, and they see themselves as being in a continual feast.'

Joy begins with thankfulness. Quite often our attitudes hang in the balance; by making a a conscious choice, we can tip our souls into dark moods of complaining, or into thankfulness and praise. It is amazing how much your mouth controls your soul. You can smile with your mouth and say, "Thank you, God; thank you, husband; thank you, children," and your spirit is directed into gratitude with joy following. Thankfulness is how you think; joy is the abundance it produces.'

'Most people have practiced hitting the notes of bitterness, sourness, hurt feelings, and frustration so long that their soul finds the discordant notes easily, almost without thought. But you don't have to keep on practicing discord; you can practice joy and thanksgiving just as easily, and certainly with more pleasure. Every day, every right response makes the fingers of your soul find the notes of joy and thanksgiving easier and easier...'

'Learn to enjoy life. Be thankful. Smile. When you catch yourself becoming irritated or disturbed at circumstances, stop and laugh at the little things that steal your peace. Count your blessings and learn to be appreciative.'

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23)

'Phil 4:6 tells us to "be careful for nothing," which is to say, don't worry and fret about everything being just perfect, but be content with what you have.'
WOW, that is exactly what I need to remember and start doing!!! I'm a total perfectionist and I often get frustrated when things don't go perfectly!!! I am working on this and praying that God helps me become a content and thankful help meet!!! :D

another awesome deal!!

2009-11-27T13:58:00.000-08:00

So, my girls love the Signing Time dvd's and ask for them every day!!

I am signed up to get emails on discounts and specials. Well, I got one and they are having an after Thanksgiving deals on their website, check it out.

Today's deal is get 50% off any orders over $25. I wanted to get vol 1 for my girls and my mom wanted to get vol 2 for my sisters, so we put our order together and saved!!! :)

Together we bought 26 dvd's for $294.27!! woo, hoo :D

Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T09:48:00.000-08:00

Spent a good day with Mat's parents and stuffed ourselves and played Sorry, girls against boys, both won a game and then played Canasta and the girls whooped the boys!!!! Fun times :)

Thankful that we get to go down to my parents for a couple days for Thanksgiving!!

Now I'm going to clean the house, pack, put up Christmas decorations, make dinner, then get ready to leave for parents house. :)

Week 2: Created To Be His Help Meet

2009-11-22T14:01:00.000-08:00

Chapter 2: A Merry Heart
"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones"
(Prov. 17:22)

Yikes, this one is going to be a tough one for me already!! lol
I've always had a hard time being happy with what I have and catch myself getting upset/angry over little things that bug me so.

Proverbs 15:13 says, "A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance..."
'Everyone is drawn to a smile. Who and what you are is reflected in your face.'

This is very interesting, I found out later, that when Mat and I saw each other for the first time, he was drawn to me because he liked my smile!!! :D Which is ironic, because I've never liked my smile and don't smile much, because of it. lol

'Everyone is drawn to a smile and wants to be a friend to someone overflowing with goodwill.'
I have never been a cheerful person and wonder that maybe this is why I don't have a lot of friends or even a best friend. I tend to hold people out at a distance, because I have been hurt by people I considered a friend and hate being deceived or hurt.

'Being pitiful, hurt, discouraged, and even sickly is one side of a "bad marriage" coin.'
I need to work REALLY hard on this one, I'm discouraged daily and probably act pretty pitiful, at times. I am quite the perfectionist and tend to want/expect things to go perfectly or in a certain way and when it doesn't I tend to think that I did something wrong to cause it.

I really like this next part. 'God's will is for a wife to have a merry heart, a cheerful countenance and a glow that will refresh the most stressed and tired husband on the planet. Bubbling cheer goes a long way to maintain or even restore a marriage. Make a decision to break the "poor me" habit.'
This is the type of woman I want to be, not just for my husband, but also for my girls!!

Today, tomorrow and every day after that is a 'new day' and I want to start right now, to have a merry heart!! <3

schooling plans

2009-11-20T14:43:00.000-08:00

So, my friend, Sara, and I got together this morning and ran some errands together and started talking about getting together more often. Which ended up with us making plans to get together a couple times a week to start teaching our kiddos their colors, numbers, shapes, crafts, etc. I left stoked and looking through my stuff that I've researched, noted and put into a ring binder!! :D I want to share this with all my toddler mommy friends, mainly Nicole. ;)

I just found yesterday, magnetic visual schedules from Little Billies. "For the children still at home on most days, this is a fantastic chart (visual schedule) that will help give both mum or dad and the child a clear direction for the day. It will help to assist to build a flexible routine into your home and give your child stability and security in knowing what is coming next." These are awesome and I have wanted to get something like this for awhile now, and probably will!! :)

A great homeschooling website is Hands on Homeschooling. She has an overview and preview of the curriculum and a checklist for ages 2-5. I was so excited to find something for 2 yr olds, I thought they didn't offer anything until kids were 4!! I would love to get the curriculum, but it's late in the year and we don't have much money, so I might not be able to get it until next year.

We are thinking about getting together 2x a week, one day at my house and the other at her house. Sara and I are also thinking about doing sewing projects on those days, too.

This is exciting for me, because I'm a procrastinator and get more things done if I have someone to do it with and it also gets our kiddo's together. :)

an oh-my-gosh moment...

2009-11-19T22:19:00.000-08:00

My girls gave me a heart attack today...

I was in our bedroom and I could hear the girls jabbering about outside, mommy's/daddy's shoes and go bu-bye. I could also hear Natalie messing with the door knob, now we have a child safety thingy on the door knob, but Natalie has already figured it out!!

Well, the next thing I hear is 'click' and muffled voices. I look out the bedroom window and both girls are standing on the front step!!!!!! I ran to the door and opened it and all I see is the back side of 2 little girls. Kiley is dressed in just a pj top and diaper and wearing Mat's shoes and carrying her tiger, and Natalie has her pj top and bottom on and wearing my shoes and carrying a lunch bag, given to her by Sara, full of stuff!!!

I couldn't help laughing, they looked like 2 miniature clowns!!! I was wondering if any neighbors saw them and what they thought about it. :O

I brought them inside and got them dressed and sent them to the back yard, which is fully fenced, hopefully they won't figure out how to get out!! I couldn't be be upset with them, because they weren't doing it to be bad, they just wanted to go outside. ;) I really wish I had gotten a picture of it, it was quite comical!! lol :D

Tuesday's Twin Style

2009-11-17T18:18:00.000-08:00

Ok, my friend, Nicole, is doing her own meme's, what ever that means. and no, i'm not stalking her blog, she just has so many good ideas! ;) lol So, I thought to myself, if Nicole can, why not me?

Well, here it is, Tuesday's Twin Style, every tuesday, I will be sharing about my experiences as a 'twin mommy'. Hope you enjoy it!!

Today's is short, mainly because I have no idea what to say!! :)

Inseparable, that's how the girls have been since birth and I imagine will always be. You will often find the girls sitting close to each other, quietly reading a book. I think this is the only time they're quiet!! They will sit and read in the morning before breakfast and right before bedtime and periodically throughout the day. They must get their love of reading from my mom!?! ;)

Then the next minute, they will be fighting over the same toy, that they have a double of!! Seriously, that's why I buy 2 of everything!! :) lol

This is all I can think of today, so come back next week to see what I have to say then.

I've been accepted

2009-11-16T13:19:00.000-08:00

My blog was accepted into the SheBlogs Network!!

"SheBlogs.org is a Web service that connects women bloggers, including mom bloggers, product reviewers, fashionistas, techies and others, with the public relations and marketing professionals who issue the news and promote the products that women care about most."

Read more about them here.

How awesome, huh? We will see what happens and if I get picked to start doing reviews for companies!!

eye-full giveaway ;)

2009-11-16T07:55:00.000-08:00

my friend nicole is having an Orglamix review. I've heard from her that their eyeshadow is awesome!!! I'm hoping to win her giveaway, since we don't have any money and I need some good eyeshadow. ;)
so go check it out, here and win some for yourself :)

Created to Be His Help Meet

2009-11-15T20:13:00.000-08:00

Chapter 1-God's Gift

While reading chapter one, I found a few quotes that I found meaningful to me:
"A good marriage, just like anything worthwhile, takes doing the right things every day...every hour...every moment."
So true, we spend little to no time focusing on our marriage, thinking everything will be ok and work out fine, and wonder what happened when everything blows up in our face!!!

"If you are a wife, you were created to fill a need, and in that capacity you are a 'good thing,' a helper suited to the needs of a man. This is how God created you and it is your purpose for existing. You are, by nature, equipped in every way to be your man's helper. You are inferior to none as long as you function within your created nature, for no man can do your job, and no man is complete without his wife."
Wow, I can't tell you how many times a hour/day/week that I don't feel inferior in some area of my life!!! I have struggled with my self-identity, who am I, and have come up empty. Right here, it says I am 'a good thing' a helper!!! That's it, I'm a helper, not a ruler and not a slave, but a helper to the love of my life!! 'When you are a help meet to your husband, you are a helper to Christ.' amazing

'When you honor your husband, you honor God. When you obey your husband, you obey God. The degree to which you reverence your husband is the degree to which you reverence your Creator. As we serve out husbands, we serve God.' 'You can only realize your womanhood when you are functioning according to your created nature.'
what more needs to be said? we are important and right where God wants us!!! :)

"A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband" Proverbs 12:4

'A good help meet will have a passion to be of service. Her first calling is to be of service to her husband, then her children, and when time affords, her passion of service will spill over to serving others.'
I have always had a passion to help others, I hate to see others suffering or going through a rough time, and my heart goes out to them. But I have things out of order, I put my girls 1st, obviously, since I'm with them all day, and then Mat or others are put next. Over the past few months, I have learned that I need to work harder at putting Mat first and foremost, then my girls and then others, God willing. I will be praying and striving to set my priorities straight from now on.

I am going to end this with a little bit from the 'Help Meet's Journey', the companion journal for this book.
Gladness is defined in the Bible by its association with:
-joy
-shouting and singing
-rejoicing and thanksgiving
-the voice of mirth and the voice of melody

My hope, for you, is that you got as much out of this chapter as I did and am refreshed and ready to take on a new week with gladness and purpose!!! :)

do I smell jerkey??

2009-11-15T19:52:00.000-08:00

It all started when we realized that we have 3 years worth of deer meat in our freezer and there's no way we can eat it all by ourselves!! :o Mat wanted to make it into jerkey, but I said there was no way I was going to do it in the oven, so he talked to his mom. He talked about it for over a month, so mom said ok and bought us one!!! :)

It is a Nesco American Harvest FD-1020 Gardenmaster. We can dry fruits, vegetables, meats, smoke fish, herbs, flowers, make fruit strips, and whatever else you can think of!! I love dried fruit, but it's so expensive!! I'm so excited to start making my own, for a lot less!!! :)

Mat was impatient and wanted to make jerkey so bad that he made some today. It only took him about 30 minutes to get it put together, rolled out, cut and put on the trays.

It only took 5 hours for it to dry!! Here's our 1st batch of homemade jerkey!! YUM :)

what a week!!

2009-11-13T18:50:00.000-08:00

whew, TGIF!!! I had quite a week, I got the flu, not sure which one, and was miserable for a couple days. The baby I watch is teething and was very unhappy and fussy, but luckly both bottom teeth are through!! The girls have been clingy, but are doing something new almost every day!!! The girls can count from 1-10!!! It's amazing, it seemed to happen almost overnight!!

We are really, really strapped for money and it's starting to stress us out. We're not even able to live pay check to paycheck!! :( We have been having to use the credit card for food and immediate necessities and it's dragging us farther into debt!! We are banking on Mat's new job and are convincing ourselves that it will be ok after he starts, but that's not till Dec 21st, which is almost 6 weeks away and another 2 weeks before we get a paycheck!! :( We're praying that we can sell the car we were given, to help pay off some of our bills or for something to come up where one of us can make a little extra money to get things paid off. :)

I'm really hoping that next week will be a lot better!! :)

just what I needed to read, part 2

2009-11-11T19:26:00.000-08:00

Here's another devotion for the next day, November 10. Taken from "New Day, New You" by Joyce Meyer, a few sections taken out by me.

Let Go and Let God Be God
O our God, will You not exercise judgment upon them? For we have no might to
stand against this great company that is coming against us. We do not know
what to do, but our eyes are upon You. - 2 Chronicles 20:12

"Here Jehoshaphat admits to God openly his total inability to deal with the problem....I remember wanting to give up simply because I was so exhausted from trying to fight my own battles. I went through all this on a regular basis until one day I was being really kind of melodramatic about it, trying to impress God with how miserable I was. I said something like, "God, I've had it. This is it. I'm through. Nothing I'm doing is working. I give us. I'm not going to do this anymore."
Just them, deep inside me, I heard the Holy Spirit say, "Really?" There was real excitement in His voice. That happens because the only time He gets to work in us is in when we become so exhausted that we finally decide, 'Instead of trying to do this myself, I'm going to give up and let God be God'....Why not give up your own effort and do what Jehoshaphat did in verse 12? Admit to God that you...don't know what to do, but you are looking to Him for direction and deliverance."

This is a weak spot for me, I am a very organized/in control type of person and have trouble 'letting go'. I have to be in control and hate to not be able to know what's going to happen or be able to plan for it. Hopefully through this tough time, I will learn to 'let go and let God be God'!!! :)

just what I needed to read, part 1

2009-11-10T19:02:00.000-08:00

Only a select few know what I have been going through this past couple of weeks and have been taking it pretty hard. I was reading from a daily devotion book and came across this one, for November 9, and it couldn't have come at a better time!! :) This devotion ,a few parts taken out by me, is taken from "New Day, New You" by Joyce Meyer which my mom gave to me a couple weeks ago, thanks mom!!

Love Does Not Rejoice at Injustice
'It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness,
but rejoices when right and truth prevail.'-I Corinthians 13:6

"Love is grieved at injustice. It always wants what is fair and right. It craves justice not only for itself but especially for others....
We should care about others and their pain, pray for them, and do what we can to relieve their suffering. Love is not unfeeling; it cannot look at unjust situations and just simply not care or do nothing. The worldly mentality of "don't bother me with it, that is your problem" has no place in the lives of Christians.
Obviously, we cannot physically or financially fix everyone's problem, but we can care. We can work with the Holy Spirit to make sure we don't allow our hearts to become hardened by all the violence and injustice all around us.
God is love, and He loves righteousness (knowing you are right with God-acting right, talking right, etc.)...Those who love righteousness are often persecuted for it-Jesus was, and we are not above out Master...Don't hate evil people, just their evil ways. God hates sin, but He loves sinners.
Keep walking in love, hating injustice and unrighteousness, and the favour of God will come upon your life in an astounding way."

WOW, this was just what I needed to hear and it felt like a weight was lifted off me!! I feel so much better about the whole situation, of course it still bothers me, but I now know how to handle it and that God is in control and will help me through this. :)

A Crazy Love Story

2009-11-07T19:17:00.000-08:00

After I graduated I moved to Wisconsin and nannied for a family I knew. I loved it there and imagined I'd meet my future husband, get married and live there forever. Well, circumstances brought me back home, and I lost hope of ever getting out of our small town or of finding a husband. The summer of 2004 I prayed and prayed and prayed that I would find a christian guy and get married and start a family, just as I had planned since I was a little kid. While I was taking a shower I heard God say 'You haven't met your husband, because he's in the Army fighting overseas'!! My first thought was 'oh, ok, that explains it' and I felt immediate peace and knew God was in control. I told my mom and she was a little skeptical.

On March 25, 2005 my littlest sister, Rachel, was born in Billings, MT. My Aunt and Uncle lived there and we spent some time with them and then went back home a couple days later. After being home for a couple weeks, my parents decided it was time for me to get out of our small town and move forward with my life. My Aunt and Uncle agreed and offered to have me stay with them.

I started going to church with them and they encouraged me to go to the College and Career, so I could meet people my own age. The first time I went, I don't think I said one word!! At the end of class, Jeff, the Sunday School leader, told me they were getting together later that day to play Ultimate Frisbee and if I wanted to come to call Mat and he would pick me up!! Mat said 'what, why my number?' and Jeff said 'because I don't want to give her mine'. Well, I was not comfortable calling a guy I didn't know, so I didn't! Soon after that I stopped going to Sunday School and just went to the church services. A couple months later my Aunt felt I needed to get out and make some friends. She found out about the College and Career bible study being held at a young couples home, which I found out later was Mat's twin sister and hubby's home!! I told her I didn't want to go, but she said 'yes you are' and that was that! She dropped me off and said I would have to find someone to get a ride home with. So since I had no choice, I went and was like a fly on the wall, quiet and observing. The only thing I really remember from that night was after the study was done a guy, named Mat, got his laptop out and started showing his friends the pics he had taken in Iraq. He had been in Iraq in 2003 and had just gotten back in February!!! He had been in Iraq when God spoke to me that day in the shower!! I couldn't believe it and I knew that day that Mat was the guy God had chosen for me to marry!! :)

After that, Mat started calling me and picking me up for Bible Study and activities and to go to the skate park at 10pm at night. He did it, because he said I was cute and was mysterious, because I was so quiet and I was there one day, gone a month and then magically reappeared. Lol. On August 28, 2005, I went to church with Mat and afterwards, we went to Taco Bell. I took a pic of Mat on my cell phone, then we went to the park and played folf and Ultimate Frisbee. Then we went to Bible study and afterwards, we went up to the Rims and sat looking at the lights and saw a shooting star. My aunt called to check up on me and asked if we were 'officially' dating, I looked at Mat and he said, sure!!

Three days later, we had our 1st date, which was to a Def Leopard concert, which he got into for free, since he was in the military. I said sure, didn't know who the band was and he was shocked, lol. It was also our First Kiss and the only guy I ever kissed. My parents flipped out after hearing about the concert and told me to dump him!! Well, I didn't!! :)

A month into dating, I told Mat about how God spoke to me and that I knew he was the one I was going to marry. Well, it freaked him out a lil bit and I thought for sure he was going to dump me. He said he needed more time to know for sure if I was the one for him.
Three months after our 1st date, I read through "Created to be His Help meet'. It helped me know what to look for in Mat and to know what I needed to do in order to be Mat's help meet.

February 2006, 5 months into our relationship, I could tell something was bothering Mat and I asked him about it. He wanted to separate for a while and I was heart broken. He wanted to make sure this was God's will for us to be together. We were separated for 1 week and 1/2 day = 180 hours. May 12, Mat gave me a sapphire promise ring. Three days after that, Mat wanted to separate again, he kept getting cold feet, because of previous relationships and being dumped. He wanted to take the summer off, from our relationship, but this time it lasted 11 days!! He couldn't stand to be away from me. I had a difficult time after that, always wondering if he was going to want to separate again.

I joined the Army on June 1st, I didn't think Mat was going to want to get married for at least a year and I didn't have a job and the army seemed to fulfill everything. I was In July, Mat asked when I was going to move the ring, he had given to me 2 months earlier, to my left hand. My promise ring was now my engagement ring and that was our engagement, nothing special, and I've never let him forget it. ;)

August 7th, I was medically discharged from the army. So since I wasn't leaving for basic, we talked and had to decide what to do next. I had no place to stay and no job, so I would have to go back home and i didn't want to do that. So we talked for awhile and decided that we were ready to get married, so we started making plans.
August 8th, a friend and I went to Goodwill and found me a wedding dress for $50!! Mat and I decided to talk to his parents about having the wedding out at their house and when the best time would be for her. She said we should have it that weekend, since Mat's siblings would be there and it wouldn't happen for quite awhile. They had me call my parents and tell them and my parents were shocked and said it was only a couple days away.
August 10th, we picked out and bought our wedding rings.
August 12, 2006 is the day we got married!!! 345 days after we started dating :)

A lot of people thought we were getting married too fast, which we did, we had 4 days to plan and prepare our wedding!! Mat's brother married us, which meant a lot to all of us. :) During the ceremony I had a bee try to sting me, that wasn't the only thing to happen. Mat was so nervous that he was pale and I thought he was going to pass out or throw up, he didn't, but was that way throught the whole ceremony!! When we got to, 'if anybody doesn't think these two should be together, say so now', a horse neighed twice!!!! :o Then right when they were giving our toast's a huge storm blew in and forced into the house!!! It's amazing we made it through the whole wedding without something horrible happening!!

Four months later, we found out that we were pregnant. Three months later we found out we were expecting twins and moved into a new house, since the 2 bedroom apartment wasn't going to be big enough. Two months later we found out we were having identical twin girls!!! The girls were born on August 9, 2007, 3 days before our 1st Anniversary, which we spent in the hospital!!

So this is our Love Story, it's really long, but we have been through a lot and it has helped us get through the rough times in our marriage. Now we are looking forward to the future.

Great Cloth Diaper Hunt extra

2009-11-06T12:46:00.000-08:00

This is my third hunt, haven't won anything, and boy I tell you it sure is addicting!! I could get myself into so much trouble if we had money to spend!! :D There are some awesome WAHMommies who make or carry some awesome items from cloth diapers to baby necessities to mommy stuff. If you want/need it, they've got it!! :)
Well, while hunting for the hiding diaper icon on Pea Pie Baby! ,Elizabeth, the owner, had surprises hidden all around her site and I found one!! When I picked what I wanted to get, she made a special discounted product listing just for me!! It was so neat to have a special spot of my own on her site!! Here's what it looks like. :) I will post a pic of what I ordered when it gets here. :)

the BOBA

2009-11-05T13:42:00.000-08:00

here's another awesome site, Rump-A-Rooz that carries this one. It also has a lot more pics to show you what it can do. :) I sooo really want one, actually two, since I have twins!! My favorite color is the pine, I should ask mat which color he likes. :)

sleepy wrap giveaway

2009-11-04T20:52:00.000-08:00

I was just looking at the BOBA carriers, they look really comfortable and we could use one for another 2 years and they're super cute!! :)
check it and other great giveaways at The Bragging Mommy

what to do?

2009-11-04T14:13:00.001-08:00

We have been stretching every dollar and can't seem to make ends meet, and need something I can do at home and make a little extra money. I'm not sure I'm cut out to start my own business, so I'm not sure what I can do. I wish I had a close friend that had her own business, so I could just help her part time and still be able to be home with my girls and make a little extra money. I'm hoping something will come up soon.

an awesome giveaway

2009-11-03T14:21:00.000-08:00

Suzie Homemaker is giving away a Gift Package worth over $50 in celebration of our 50 followers! It will contain items from:

http://www.beautyfromtheearth.com/ and
http://www.littledivatutus.com/ as well as other things!

check it out and enter to win!! :)

an encouraging word for my stay-at-home mommies

2009-10-31T22:03:00.000-07:00

Here's an inspiring quote I read in 'Staying Close' by Dennis and Barbara Rainey.
"When all is said, it is the mother, and the mother only, who is a better citizen than the soldier who fights for his country. The succesful mother, the mother who does her part in rearin and training aright the boys and girls who are to be the men and women of the next generation, is of greater use to the community, and occupies, if she only would realize it, a more ho0norable as well as more important position than any man in it. The mother is the one supreme asset of the national life. She is more important, by far, than the successful statesman, or businessman, or artist, or scientist."
-President Teddy Roosevelt

Honest Scrap Award

2009-10-29T14:31:00.000-07:00

Wow, my very first blog award, I didn't know blogs got awards!! lol
I recieved it from my bestest friend, Nicole, you can check out her blog at Ramblings By Nicole.

Rules for giving and receiving the Honest Scrap Award:

1) Present this award to 7 others whose blogs you find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged you.

2) Tell those 7 people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving the award.

3) Share "10 Honest Things" about myself.

wow, 10 things, well, here it goes

1. I had one date, and he's my hubby :)
2. I'm a total neat freak, i'm always moving and re-arranging and re-organizing things. I get it from both of my grandma's, double dose, yikes!! whenever my room got messy or my mom wanted it cleaned up, i would take everything out of it's place and re-put away everything!! my mom hated it, a simple 30 min project, would take me hours!! :)- it doesn't seem to bother mat though, which is good, especially since i rearranged part of the livingroom till 11 pm last night!! :)
3. I stress out when things don't go as planned.
4. I hate waiting and don't like waiting for answers, I like to be in control at all times. i have a bad feeling these go hand-in-hand :o
5. I'm a horrible procrastinator, I have projects that are only half done and over 5 yrs old!!!
6. I worry that I'm not training my kids right and that they'll be scarred for life!! :(
7. I fantasize about living in a million dollar house, with a huge kitchen, movie room, large playroom, huge back yard with a dog and a couple cats and a ford mustang in the 3 car garage. :)
8. I get road rage and everyone is a dumb driver, unless you're reading this ;) lol
9. I am a total tomboy, but love to go shopping, getting my hair done, wearing fancy clothes, wear shoes with heels, and want to get my nails done, and learn how to properly do my makeup.
10. I'm scared to get pregnant, because we could end up with twins again!!

Well, now you know everything!! ;) Since I only faithfully follow Nicole, who gave me this award and I can't give one back, I have no one to give this award too. So thanks again Nicole for this award, you're the best!! :)

crazy or not?!

2009-10-29T11:42:00.000-07:00

Natalie signing 'water' :)

As you can see from the pics, I let the girls play with water at the kitchen sink!!! They had a blast and of course soaked everything from the sink to the floor! :D Hey, it was water, easy clean up. :)

amazing savings

2009-10-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

So I consigned some clothes, back in September, to a child clothing store, (they only sell childrens clothing) and an adult clothing store (they only sell adult clothing) here in town. So the girls and I needed some winter clothes, so I went shopping. :) I was able to get 6 shirts, 5 pants, 2 Christmas dresses and a maternity shirt and spent only $6 after using my $47 store credit!! Then I went over to the new adult clothing store and got a pair of pants, 2 sweaters and 5 shirts and spent $8 after using my $27 store credit!! I got 3 bags worth of clothes, spent $14 and saved a total of $74!!!! Now there's a bargain!! :)

Wordless Wednesday #1

2009-10-28T18:01:00.000-07:00

awesome giveaway

2009-10-28T13:02:00.000-07:00

Mommy World is having a giveaway for a Thinkbaby feeding set. This set includes a bento box, a soup bowl, a baby bowl, a cup, and a spoon and fork. This stainless steel set is free of Bisphenol-A, PVC, Lead , Phthalates and Melamine. It ends Oct 31 at 11:59 pm est.
Go check it out!! :)

reusable snack bag

2009-10-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

reusable snack bag. It has a waterproof lining made PVC free with a lead free zipper. This bag is FDA approved and is actually machine washable. Amazing! Plus the outside is a cute cotton print of you choice and for $9.95 only, you will never need to buy those leeching plastic snack baggies again. When buying reusable lunch product look for things that say PVC, BPA, and Phthalate free. This optimized the chances that you are buying only the safest products! You can get these at Mom 4 Life and she offers a military discount. :)

Natalie 'reading' The Tallest of Smalls

2009-10-26T16:09:00.001-07:00

After we finished reading it together, Natalie wanted to 'read' it by herself. :)

my first book review!!

2009-10-26T16:07:00.001-07:00

My friend, Nicole, told me about a Thomas Nelson Book Review she is doing and I thought, hey, that sounds like fun, I want to do it too!! :) So I went to their website, signed up and picked ‘The Tallest of Smalls" by Max Lucado and Illustrated by Maria Monescillo.

I love Max Lucado's books and was excited that this one was geared for younger children. It arrived in the mail today and I was so excited, that after my girls got up from their nap, we read it together! They loved it so much, that they asked to read it again!!

They may be a little young to understand what is being said, but they loved the illustrations and enjoyed picking out things they recognized. The Tallest of Smalls is a great book that I can use to teach my girls about the love of Jesus and how to treat others.
Here are a few pictures of the girls and I reading it together.

*I am a member of Thomas Nelson's Book Review Blogger program, http://brb.thomasnelson.com/. The opinions in this post are entirely my own and completely honest*

a surprise win

2009-10-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I entered a giveaway and totally forgot about it, so in January I get an email 'Congratulations you've won the honestbaby Holiday Book Contest! We will be sending you "Kids in the Holiday Kitchen" in the next week.' I thought it was a hoax!!! So I waited for it to come in the mail and here it is. Now that the holidays are here I can make some of the recipes!! :)

winnings!! :)

2009-10-26T13:13:00.001-07:00

I wanted to post the things i've won through some great giveaways and here they are

I won a 8 oz Apple Spice Gold Canyon Candle from Really Working From Home's huge opening celebration giveaway. She had a lot of stuff and I really wanted the candle and was shocked to get it!! Thanks to Deborah at Gold Canyon Candles, check out her site

Here is a fabulous Mommy Bag from Marilee at Really Working From Home. There's a lot of great mommy business info and samples. :)

These next three pieces of jewelry I won on a crazy, fun facebook giveaway, thanks Crystal, check out her site here.

Light Green Necklace set

Green & Silver Hoop Earrings

Turquoise Circle Necklace

purse hanger :)

2009-10-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

helping mommy's win has a Joey Junior Purse Hanger review and giveaway.
I just saw one of these for the first time in a magazine and would love to win it!! :)
http://winningmommys.blogspot.com/2009/10/joey-junior-purse-hangers-review-and.html
so head over and enter her giveaway :)

win a diaper bag

2009-10-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

Jacci at Sprinkles of Scarlett is having her first giveaway and up for grabs is a sweet diaper bag by JJ Cole.
The giveaway will end WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28TH @ 12 a.m. central standard time.
http://sprinklesofscarlett.blogspot.com/2009/10/my-first-giveaway.html
so head on over and enter her giveaway :)

what to post??

2009-10-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

well, nicole told me I needed to find something to blog about, so I think I'll start with what I do almost every day, finding new favorites!! :) So if I find something neat or interesting, I'm going to blog about it and maybe my favorites will become your favorites!! ;)

a 'sweet' giveaway ;)

2009-10-22T13:56:00.001-07:00

CSN stores has graciously offered to give away something pretty amazing to one Tri to Cook reader...
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_g7_vN1zrRXA/StgA3Zlsp-I/AAAAAAAABAU/Bi-C-XA27AU/s1600-h/Automatic%2BFrozen%2BYogurt-Ice%2BCream%2B%26%2BSorbet%2BMaker%2Bin%2BWhite.jpg
if you want to join me to possibly win one go to:
http://tri2cook.blogspot.com/2009/10/year-gone-by-and-giveaway.html
Good Luck :)

BPA stainless steel water bottles

2009-10-11T22:01:00.000-07:00

'Helping Mommys Win' is having a lot of giveaways, but the EcoUsable BPA free stainless steel bottles caught my attention. I've been wanting to get some for my husband, kids and I for awhile now. I love that they're reusable and I am helping the enviromnent and they're so durable. Check it out at http://winningmommys.blogspot.com/

My new addiction :)

2009-09-30T20:10:00.000-07:00

My friend, Nicole, has gotten me hooked on entering giveaways. I've won 2 candles and some jewelry. :) Now she's got me wanting to review books. Guess this is what us stay at home mommies do to have fun!! :)

Life with Toddlers

2009-09-18T12:49:00.000-07:00

In the last week, I've taken Natalie to the er, for croup, had 2 little girls decide to color daddy's night stand and a living room wass with a sharpie marker. So, to get rid of the 'artwork', we decided to paint the wall a light blue. Mat had drill in Dillon, MT and had just left when Natalie managed to pull the paint can out of the cubby, which caused the can to dump paint on the carpet and linoleum!!! I was shocked and upset and not sure how I was going to clean it up, so i called mat to come back and then ran downstairs to get more paper towels and came back to find kiley had played in he paintt and got it allover herself!! After everything was cleaned up, I had to do something with what little paint hadn't spilled, so I put the girls in a playpen and proceded to paint the wall. It looks great and we will have to go buy more paint to finish the living room. :)
Right now I'm trying to plan and pack for a 2 week vacation, can it be called that when 6 kids are involved!?! My parents and the girls and I are going to Wisconsin and Michigan to visit family, which I haven't seen in almost 7 yrs!!! This will be the girls first vacation and we will see how they or I do!! :)
So my life with toddlers has been a 2 week roller coaster, stressful and shocking!! :)-

Happy 3 years to us!!

2009-08-12T12:55:00.000-07:00

Wow, 3 years, has it really been this long, then again it seems like we've been together forever!! Wonder if that happens when you have kids!?! We will both admit that it's been testing, but we're learning how to get through it and how to get used to being apart due to his military training.
This has been a quiet anniversary, our 1st was 3 days after the girls were born and I was still in the hospital. I remember it like it was yesterday, it was the 1st day I got to go outside in over a week!! There were a lot of fires that year and the air was filled with smoke, the sky was yellow/orange and it was like 100 degrees out! Needless to say we didn't stay out long. :)
Our second anniversary was very memorable, for a couple reasons. The girls had their 1st birthday which was a lot of fun. It was great to watch the girls make a mess out of their cakes!! We had planned an anniversary trip a month prior and my parents were going to come up and watch the girls for us. Well, a week before the girls birthday, my dad was outside cutting wood with his chainsaw. It was his last log before he was calling it a night. Right as he was starting to cut it, the chainsaw hit a knot and kicked back and cut the top of my dad's shoe and almost cut his big toe off!! So they were unable to come up for the girls 1st birthday and stay for our anniversary. Mat's parents agreed to watch the girls for us. Mat and I went to Phillipsburg, which was a blast and we want to go back soon. We stayed in an old hotel, went to Gem mountain and panned sapphires. We got quite a few 'perfect' ones. We also drove up a mountain and visited a ghost town that was started in the 1800's. We were so eager to get home, because we hadn't been away from the girls that long since they were born. :)
This year, there was no chainsaw accidents and my parents were able to be here for the girls 2nd birthday. We had it at our house this year. My parents and siblings, Aunt Steph, Kim and Tiff, Mat's parents and sister and her family and my neighbor, Cari and friend, Sara were here also. We had a very crowded house and it was loud!! :) For our anniversary, my mom was able to stay for a couple days and watched the girls for us. We stayed close to home and went to Harlowton. We fished and spent the night and then fished some more. We also drove to Miles City where Mat's new unit is located. Then we came back home and spent time with my mom and siblings. :)
Can't wait to see what God has in store for next year!! :)