Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  We had an awesome one. 

We host every year, which is nice since then we can have my family and my husbands family over at the same time!  We both have small families so it's great to combine the two.  This year, however it was smaller then ever.  My sister, her husband and 3 sons were not able to come this year.  Their household has been battling Strep for the past two weeks.  Their middle son was finally fever free today, but with having had a fever the whole week was not up to being out.

My brother-in-law did come over to drop off the sweet potatoes they were supposed to bring for dinner.  He left with containers of Thanksgiving food for them to eat at their house then!  I am glad that they were at least able to have their own little Thanksgiving together.

My goal this year was to have a moist turkey.  It seems every year no matter what we try, I am unable to have a turkey that is not dry.  I found this recipe yesterday and tried it out today.  It turned out REALLY good!  I also went one step further by injecting butter into the legs and breast!  I know everyone says the deep fryer works, but we have one and to be honest I've never really been very impressed.  Everyone commented on how good the turkey was this year so I think it was success.

I am so Thankful for this wonderful family that God has blessed me with, I never cease to be amazed by them. 


(I was going to try to take the day off from working today - but I think I'm going to get just a little bit in!)

Has Everyone Recovered From "Falling" Back An Hour?

So I honestly thought I had the system beat!  Well, it back-fired on me.  :(

Every other year I've kept the kids up a little later to make up for the adjustment for falling back an hour and it's actually worked (in the past)!  I actually made the mistake of keep them up a little later then I had intended.  Since at the time they were being so good, I thought it would be a good idea to take a quick shower.  It was a very busy day and it had not been an option earlier. I was up pretty late that night - 1:30 am getting work done.  I have a tendency to stay up much later then I should, but that seems to be the time I can get the most work done for my blog/web design business.

The morning came a lot sooner then I had anticipated, Anna showed up in my bedroom the next morning at what I thought was about 7:40 am.  Rather early for her, usually she is an 8 am gal.  Megan was sleeping with me since Rob is at the Fire Department so she woke up too.  We came downstairs at "8 am", only to find out it was really 7 am.  I forgot to change the clock upstairs...so Anna really woke up at 6:40 am. Ethan showed up downstairs at 7:40 am - he is usually an 8:30 am/9:00 am guy.

We had a pretty rough morning and evening - but survived.  It did take a couple days though for the kids to really adjust to the time change.  Amazing how just a one hour difference can have such an impact!

Also, for anyone interested, I do have a couple of Superpoints Network invitation available.  You can join by invitation only.  I am posting the invite below, if anyone else wants one just leave a comment with your email address and I will get more invitations!

http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/fabfc3

http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/m7n4p2

http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/xtsvyd

Have a great day!

Pardon My Dust!

I am working on a new design!  I've been so busy working on designs for other people I have yet to re-design this blog!  So, I've taken the plunge and am getting it done.  Quickly though since I am also working on designs for other people as well!

Anyone interested in custom design for Blogger or Wordpress, or just adding a little bling?  Please come and visit Nifty Creations by Jodi, I'd love to help you out!

Love the Nice Weather, But My Head Does Not

Here in the Midwest, we are feeling the effects of what may be "Indian Summer".  After having a hot summer of numerous days in the 100's, we then went in to fall. Our fall weather has actually been quite nice - 50's and 60's mostly, although there were some nights in the 40's and one in the 30's.  Not so ready for the 30's just yet.

 The day after we had the night in the 30's our temperature's started rising.  Today, and the next several days, we are in the low 80's with it cooling down to the 50's over night.  This is ideal, perfect weather - reminds me of San Diego.  But alas, it will be short lived.  In the next week are temperature's start the slow decline once again.

So, as much as I am trying to enjoy this nice weather, my head has been a pounding mess.  My sister and I, who have always suffered from migraines, have recently come to the conclusion that over the last couple years our headaches are actual sinus headaches and not migraines.  I believe mine are triggered by the change in weather.  I'm not sure how that change in weather triggers these, but I also get them a lot in April which is generally when we go from the cold depths of winter to the warmer weather of spring.

Coming to the conclusion that these are sinus and not migraine have been difficult to diagnosis.  Since we do actually suffer from migraines as well, we are aware of the symptoms that come with those.  As it turns out, sinus headaches have very similair symptoms.  One of my big triggers that this is sinus related was my mom giving me a sinus pain and pressure pill and it almost instantly taking away the pain.

It seems that I should be able to just treat this headache with the sinus medication and the pain should be resolved, right?  No.  It doesn't seem to be that easy.  I seem to have to take a few different things before I finally find relief.  My next doctor's visit will definitely include a discussion of my headaches and what I can take to prevent and alleviate this pain.

For those who suffer from sinus headaches, any friendly advise you can offer would be appreciated!

Thank you.  :-)

We Survived First Week of School!

This first week of school was much more exhausting, especially more for me, then I expected!

Prior to Wednesday all of us were sleeping until at least 8 - 8:30 am every morning, getting up now at 6:45 am is much difficult then I remembered. Besides the earlier mornings, I find it very interesting how much the household in general has had a little difficulty adjusting to the new schedule.

Anna and Ethan, who have always played together are having a hard time with Megan gone all day. They start asking who soon she'll be home each morning and by lunchtime get very anxious for her to be home.

I am not used to being home all day - we have spent the whole summer at the pool so although there are things I have to take care of around the house, it's been difficult to get back in to the groove.

Other than waking early and being tired now at night, Megan seems to be the one who is least effected...and she's the one who went back to school! She loves her teacher and she has all of her friends in her class this year. Megan was nervous about starting 3rd grade this year, she's never worried in the past about starting a new grade before but I believe she got it in to her head it was going to be much more difficult and very rigid. I'm glad her worries proved to be for nothing. Starting of the school year on such a positive note has been great.

This is the first year that it seems we are all a little effected with school starting up again. I'm sure within the next couple weeks we will be back on track. Just on time when Anna and Ethan get started at their new preschool!

School Starting Again

Usually at this time of year I am very anxious for school to start up again since the kids are normally bored and ready to get going with the routine.

Not this year, I think this is the best Summer we've had since Anna and Ethan were born. Up until now it's been very difficult to do things with them on my own when my husband is working. He does tend to work a lot so basically we were stuck at home a lot.

Our major mode of entertainment during the Summer is to go the pool. Last year Anna and Ethan clung on to me for dear life and made it virtually impossible for me to be at the pool with the 3 of them by myself. Since a lot of the kids in our area have various activities and are vacationing off and on it made for a very bored and grumpy Megan.

This year Megan joined the swim team at our pool. Not only did it allow Megan to become a much more proficient and confident swimmer, we were able to meet a lot of swim team/pool members for the kids to play with and for us adults to have some adult time with. Not only that, but with Anna and Ethan being at the pool every day it really allowed them to get much more comfortable with the water.

Ethan now floats around with his floatie on his tummy will blowing bubbles in the water. He looks like a human float! Anna has turned out to be quite the little swimmer at 3. She now performs the breast stroke and butterfly for us! She actually does the arm movements but not the feet. She goes completely under water and can swim about 4 - 5 feet. Wow, what a difference a year makes.

Megan has turned into an incredible swimmer and is now able to go in the deep pool to swim with all of her new pool friends.

We have been going to the pool everyday - actually twice a day for the past week. We now go up for a few hours in the early afternoon to enjoy the warmth of the day and then back in the evening to cook out with the other families. Most of the time it is too cool for little one's to really enjoy the pool, but they have their friends there then to play with!

None of us are ready for this to be over... I am really so grateful that Megan got involved with the swim team this year, it really improved our quality of life in so many ways. :-)

Face Plant

Recently we were outside hanging out with some neighbors while the kids were playing.  All of a sudden I hear a thump and turned to see Ethan face down on the sidewalk.  He was racing with our neighbors little girl and caught a bump in the sidewalk with his shoe.

Poor sweetie pie.  I felt so bad for him, but he actually did handle it quite well. About an hour later Megan had a swim meet.  When we walked in to the pool everyone was asking what happened to his face!  They just saw Ethan that morning at swim team practice.

What was cute though was when his nose got the brown scab on it he looked like a little bear with a brown painted nose! Ethan's nose is now all healed and without a scare.  Kids skin tends to heal so nicely!

That thump on the sidewalk really scared me.  Luckily, kids can whether those rough falls much better then us adults. Although I did still go in to his bedroom to check on him a couple times that night.  :-)

Now Ethan refuses to wear those shoe's that he fell in, since it is the shoes that make him fall.  He has also boycotted another pair of shoes since then for making him fall too.  I told him at this rate he won't have any shoes left, maybe he should just watch where he's going...  Kid's are so cute - they say the darnest things!

Busy Summer Days!

Megan

I told Megan this Summer my goal is to not hear her say "I'm bored".  I believe I've succeeded so far.  The swim team has managed to keep our days, and most evenings, very busy...in a terrific way.

Anna & Ethan

On the 4th of July the swim team participated in a parade ~ their float won a youth award for the town.  Not only did Megan get to ride on the float, but siblings were invited as well.  Anna and Ethan had a great time on the float with Megan and the rest of the team!

I drew and cut out 90 fish in assorted colors and then each member of the swim team designed their own fish.  They were then hung on the float using a huge spool of wrap.  It turned out very cute.

It was extremely hot that day, so at the end of the parade the swim team coaches had a huge cooler filled with Popsicle for everyone!

Too Close For Comfort

This past Thursday there was a tornado that passed through our neighborhood. Although it was a small one (EF-1), it did cause an amazing amount of damage.

Thursday evening we were at Megan's swim meet at the pool we belong to, which is in the next town over (Downers Grove). The swim team knew a heavy storm was coming so we were trying to get in at least 1/2 of the swim meet so it would not have to be rescheduled.

As the storm grew closer the swim meet was stopped, getting in a little over 1/2 of it. When we were walking to the car the Tornado sirens started going off. We got home in just a few minutes and got the babysitter home (a couple houses away). Anna and Ethan were asleep so we let them sleep while we kept an eye on the weather.

Usually I am rather afraid when it comes to storms, although I try my hardest to hide this from my children! This time when the sirens were actually going off - I wasn't really afraid...at all.

Maybe it was the fact my husband was actually with me this time (he's usually at work), or maybe because I was too busy trying to keep Megan calm. She was crying and very scared.

The next I was driving Megan to swim team practice and I saw a lot of down trees, tree's uprooted, light posts leaning over, etc. I was actually shocked at the amount of damage I saw. I felt very naive thinking that the storm passed with just a lot of rain and wind!

I spoke to my neighbors the next day also who said they had taken shelter in a large closet under their stairs. They asked what we did and we said nothing...hung out in the back room with my in-laws while Rob made pizza.

Apparently the tornado was rain wrapped, which apparently makes it not visible. Next time we get these types of warnings, I will take it more seriously and move everyone to safety.

Has It Really Been That Long????

Wow, I can't believe it's been since May 23rd since my last post!  That is horrible!

My how time flies when the kids are home...  Anna and Ethan were done with preschool as of May 19th and Megan just "graduated" second grade this past Monday.  I think it's been non-stop go, go, go since Anna & Ethan finished their preschool.

There is a local pool we join every year that the kids love...and, as parents, we love too!  It is not an overally crowded pool (which we love), it is easy to keep track of all age groups of kids since you have a clear view of all the different pool areas from anywhere, and (I actually like) that they don't have a zero depth pool.  My kids were all very timid with the water and not having a zero depth pool really forced them to get used to the water much more quickly!

Megan is on the swim team this year!  This is her first year.  She really doesn't know how to swim but they really encourage the kids to join because they do learn to be great swimmers.  Megan has swim team practice every day now through about mid-July.  Plus, next week she has "stroke" clinic.  So each day they will have a one hour lesson on a particular stroke, i.e. freestyle, backstroke, breast and butterfly.  The last day is on starts and turns.

Next week swim meets will start as well!  From what I've been told - they are a whole lot of fun and not intense...which is good.  I Megan to just have fun with it and not focus on winning - just doing her best.

My sister's kids are all on the swim team this year as well.  I had asked Megan awhile ago if she wanted to be on the team as well and at first she said no.  I was fine with that - it's a big commitment and I wanted it to be something she wanted to do that I wasn't fighting to get her to attend every day.  Then last Friday we were at my sister's when the my sister and my nephews came home from practice, once Megan saw them with their suits on she was adamant about joining.  She is doing really well and is having a lot of fun with it.

I do have to say how proud I am of her though!  I was on the swim team in high school and really loved it.  I am a huge advocate on my kids learning to swim, so I definitely think this will help out.   

Anna and Ethan are just excited that we are at the pool every day since they can go in the baby pool and play during swim team practice.

So now with the pool being an everyday thing, I'm also doing web and graphic designs, trying to keep up with household chores and have a little time to relax. :-)

Have a great day all!  It's a hot one here - 94 degrees and climbing.

Pizza Night with Family

Last night I took the kids and went to my sister's for homemade pizza - YUMMY!!! I swear my brother-in-law is the best pizza maker!

It seems like it's been forever since we have just gotten together to get together. We used to do it all the time, but since Anna & Ethan were born we have not been doing that much with them. They live less than 2 miles from us, so it has been really hard to not be with them.

My husband works a LOT. In fact, he is working 60 hours this weekend alone - and that's at his part-time job! I have had a hard time getting all three kids out on my own without everything falling apart. (I believe I've mentioned before that since having the twins, I've been dealing with some anxiety issues.)  My sister and brother-in-law have 3 children of their own, so I don't want to do things with them expecting them to be able to help out. So, we've become a little reclusive ~ well, we've just rather stuck around the house more and then play with kids in the neighborhood.

It was so nice to go over the my sister's yesterday and, not only have some adult time but have all the kids play together. My sister's middle child told my sister in privacy how much he enjoyed playing with his cousin's and he was so happy we came over...but asked if this was a one time a year thing. :-( Nope - planning on starting to do things on a more regular basis again!

I forgot though that we will be out for pizza again today for lunch - end of preschool year party at Home Run Inn!  End of year for many things this month...that's another post.  :-)

Have a great Saturday! ♥

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day!  Whether you take some time for yourself or have a special day with your family ~ enjoy. ♥

Coming Up For Air!

I feel like I have been drowning in "stuff" for the past couple weeks.  I'm working really hard to keep a sense of calmness, but I don't know that I am doing a very good job...

Financially we have been in a pickle for awhile now - I hate dealing with financial stuff.  So very stressful.  I am in the midst of reading Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness.  I'm still somewhat in the beginning of the book - but from what I know of the "plan", it's pretty radical.  The problem right now with setting a budget is you have to actually have money to set a budget, right?  If all the money is already spoken for - then what is there to budget?

I have been in prayer a lot - asking for guidance and peace.  I believe I'm on the right track with helping my family financially...but nothing is ever a quick fix.  Things are moving along better with my business Work At Home United and I'm also getting my blog design site, Nifty Creations by Jodi, up and running.  Between those two things we should be alright.

I am very excited about getting back into web design.  That was the plan when I was finishing up my Master's several years ago when pregnant with the twins.  Now that they are a bit older...it's time!

Other then the financial stuff - my husband has been working a lot.  Which, of course, will help financially but it is very stressful being the only parent 80% of the time for 3 children.  I, more then ever, give single moms so much credit.  My mom was a single parent and I always felt so very luck to have a mom who did so good raising two children on her own.

I feel with so much going on in my head it's so hard to concentrate on any one thing.  I hate feeling so scattered and uneasy.

My husband was at work all day yesterday for Easter.  The kids had a great time...but I felt so stressed it was hard to relax.  Thankfully church helped bring that sense of peace that I so desperately needed.

Okay, I think I'm doing being a "Debbie Downer" now!  :-)  I know things will all work out in their own time...it just seems like a never ending road right now.

Have a great day! ♥

Happy Sunday!

Finally, a beautiful day!  This has been such a long winter - it seems so much longer than years past! 

The day started off a little chilly, but by afternoon warmed up quite a bit.  We spent the whole afternoon outdoors, which was awesome.  All the kids were out playing, I got outside and read a book and my husband worked on the yard and the garage.  All the neighbors were out too.  It made me think of the summer to come. :-)

It's the first summer since Anna and Ethan were born that they are really at a good age to play outside without us having to do much...other than just be outside to keep an eye on them.  It was very liberating!

It was a little bit of a bummer that we didn't have this weather a week ago.  Our oldest was on spring break all last week and it was pretty chilly out.  Now that she goes back to school tomorrow is the time the weather decided to cooperate.

We are now in the middle of a big thunderstorm - actually the thunder is REALLY loud. We are supposed to get back down in to the 40's again this week, but gradually go up to 70 again.  I think I can definitely get through the remaining cold days knowing that it truly is coming to an end. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful day.  Love to all. ♥

It's Going To Be A Long Night ...

My daughter has a friend over for a sleep over, need I say any more?  They managed to scare themselves while they were chit chatting in bed.

After I got them calmed down from their scare they started talking again.  Now I think they are both tired but wired...over-tired.  I've been going up there to check on them rather frequently for them to go to sleep.

I know it's so fun to have a sleep-over - I honestly remember how fun I had!  But I don't want them to ruin it by not going to sleep and then being complete cranks tomorrow.

Ugh, just went to check on them and they are still giggling away.  Hopefully they will giggle themselves to sleep soon!

Love to all! ♥

Absentee Blogger

Sorry for being so absent lately!  There have been some exciting things happening around here which has pulled me out of my blogging for a bit.

When the twins were first born I was finishing up on my Master's in Information Technology - Web Development.  Since then I've not been able to do a whole lot with my degree since they have been so demanding of my time.  Now that they are getting a little older - and I need to add more moola to our income stream - I am re-familiarizing myself with coding.

When I went through Blogelina's Profitable Blogging for Beginners a couple months ago part of the course included a free year of web hosting on Go Daddy.  That was my perfect opportunity to get back in to doing some coding for web development.  I've been doing some customization to change the theme and really revamp my other site - Helping Moms Work From Home which is already on Wordpress.  I will also be customizing a Wordpress theme to move this blog to Wordpress as well.  :-)

At the same time as all this we have new neighbors who are both graphic designers.  One of them is looking for help with a website - Wordpress - which I've offered to help with.  I am very excited to start moving into this area of work again.

Other then that, I'm still working my home business with Work At Home United and trying to keep up with blogging and reviews/giveaways.  Oh - and I started a new workout routine a few weeks ago which is going very well.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Love to all.  ♥