smell my what??

I don't remember where I was reading but I came across someone discussing not knowing whether or not her significant other was a slob and just cleaned up before she came over or if he was truly a neat person. Someone suggested to her to smell his sponges. It's probably been 3 weeks since I read it, and yet I still keep thinking about it. Basically she was saying if his sponges smell bad, he's probably a slob.
Well, I don't know about all of you, but um YUCK. There is a reason you periodically throw away your sponges...enough said. So before you think I'm a slob based on the smell of my sponge, just take a sec and remember what you've wiped down with your own sponge. And for those of you without kids, we're talking about a whole other realm of icky sticky stuff.
I'm sorry do you really want to smell my sponge? I think I might have to reconsider our friendship if you do. :D

For your viewing pleasure...

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What is it about ketchup??

...that little kids just cannot resist? Seriously, my kids seem to be obsessed with ketchup. Tonight we had hotdogs for dinner (so healthy!!) and as we were eating, I watch Lexi. She picked up her hotdog and some of the ketchup brushed onto the plate. Of course she couldn't resist the urge to lick it off her plate. Haley puts ketchup in it's own food group, and I'm quite sure she would eat that by itself if I let her. Robby has been known to actually pick up his plate and lick the remains off it. I don't get it, but I guess there are worse things. :D

What works for me

I was scrambling my brain trying to think of something to use for my WFMW, and it wasn't until I was hunting for a game for my daughter that I found one I can use. So here it is. To store CD's, both blank and used, we use the container that the blank ones come up. I have one specific "stack" that is just for CD's with important stuff like picture. The other stack is more of the junk my husband uses. :)


So there you have, it works for me.

A big victory....and moments that make you smile.

Alexis has struggled for what seems forever to successfully pedal and steer her bike. And more often than not, after only a few minutes of trying, she'd throw the towel in and be upset and just quit trying. Despite much encouragement from me, she would just give up each time.
Well today, we were out riding bikes in the carport, as well as drawing with sidewalk chalk and playing in the sprinkler in their bathing suits. I'm SO proud to say that she has mastered not just pedaling but also steering. I'm serious, it's like night and day difference. I'm not sure what clicked in her little noggin, but she just all of a sudden can do it! I'm so happy for her!

And onto moments that just make you smile...
Little Haley is such a hoot. She's just so little and innocent looking, and yet at times she is a total TERROR. Ohhh man does she have a healthy set of lungs on her. Tonight we had pancakes with vanilla ice cream and strawberry syrup. She LOVES strawberries. I absolutely LOVE how she says strawberries though. It comes out something like "stwabbies". It just makes me giggle. "moooom you get me some stwabbies? Pleeeeeeeeese?"
Then there's my poor son. We call him Robby. His full name is William Roberts though, and despite his best efforts, still struggles to say it. So if you ask him his full name, you're likely to get something like "Ribblets Robblets". It makes his older sister laugh to no end. Poor guy. My little Riblets. :D

Monday Me-me's

1. Do you have a particular meal-in-a-pinch? Something you always have on hand that can be whipped up at the last minute? I usually keep on hand ingredients for Spaghetti or Sloppy Joes.

2. Do you have a Emergency Kit for when and if the electricity goes out?
What is in it? And where do you keep it? I'm super slacking in this area...I have candles we could use if the lights went out, but beyond that, not very prepared.

3. Do you save water? Where and how do you store it? How much? Again, not so prepared. The trouble for is having the space to store it. My mom lives nearby tho, so we'll just drink out of her swimming pool LOL. (ok only kidding).

4. Do you know how to change a tire on your car? This one I CAN say yes to! While I've never actually done it myself, I do know how to change a tire. I feel confident enough that if I ever had to, I could change it. :)

A cropping I will go

Today is another all day crop!! Not only do I get to go, but I don't have to worry about a baby sitter who may or may not fall asleep and let my 4 year old be in charge of everyone....although DH probably WILL fall asleep. LOL

I'm a BLOGGING CHICK!!! :D

Woo Woo!! I feel so special! :D

Works for me Wednesday!

My "works for me wednesday" is all about Bounce dryer sheets. I found this list at www.wackyuse.com

Repel mosquitoes.
Tie a sheet of Bounce through a belt loop when outdoors during mosquito season.

Eliminate static electricity from your television screen.
Since Bounce is designed to help eliminate static cling, wipe your television screen with a used sheet of Bounce to keep dust from resettling.

Dissolve soap scum from shower doors.
Clean with a used sheet of Bounce.

Freshen the air in your home.
Place an individual sheet of Bounce in a drawer or hang one in the closet.

Prevent thread from tangling.
Run a threaded needle through a sheet of Bounce to eliminate the static cling on the thread before sewing.

Eliminate static cling from pantyhose.
Rub a damp, used sheet of Bounce over the hose.

Prevent musty suitcases.
Place an individual sheet of Bounce inside empty luggage before storing.

Freshen the air in your car.
Place a sheet of Bounce under the front seat.

Clean baked-on food from a cooking pan.
Put a sheet in the pan, fill with water, let sit overnight, and sponge clean. The antistatic agents apparently weaken the bond between the food and the pan while the fabric softening agents soften the baked-on food.

Eliminate odors in wastebaskets.
Place a sheet of Bounce at the bottom of the wastebasket.

Collect cat hair.
Rubbing the area with a sheet of Bounce will magnetically attract all the loose hairs.

Eliminate static electricity from venetian blinds.
Wipe the blinds with a sheet of Bounce to prevent dust from resettling.

Wipe up sawdust from drilling or sandpapering.
A used sheet of Bounce will collect sawdust like a tack cloth.

Eliminate odors in dirty laundry.
Place an individual sheet of Bounce at the bottom of a laundry bag or hamper.

Deodorize shoes or sneakers.
Place a sheet of Bounce in your shoes or sneakers overnight so they'll smell great in the morning.

I also found one other use that was odd enough I thought it should be included with the above. I found it here
A friend at work swears that Bounce dryer sheets work to keep the mice out of her basement. She places them around the basement perimeter and has had no mice problems. She used to have a lot of rodent problems before using Bounce. I’ve never tried this trick since (knock wood!) I don’t have mice in the house.

4th of July!

Happy Independence Day!
I'm so very thankful to live in the United States where we are free to live how we chose to. I'm so greatful to those who came before us, that they had the strength and courage to enable this nation to be what it is.

We celebrated our 4th of July just with our wee family. It was a great day. I love spending time together. Here are a few pictures from today. :) As usual, Rob managed to not be in any of the pictures. Should have taken so of him grilling. :

my (late) monday meme's

Sorry I'm late with my meme...I didn't even see that I had been tagged until now! :)

1. Do you think that anyone with a desire to create is an artist of sorts?

2. What frightens you most about getting older?

3. When was the first time you travelled by air? Where did you go?

1. No, I don't think anyone who has a desire to create is an artist. Have you watched American Idol (especially the first couple episodes)??--my point exactly. A lot of those people have more desire than anyone who wins, but can they carry a tune? Heck no. They're aren't artists. lol.

2. I think along with what Lammy said about losing my memory, I also worry about my kids having to take care of me instead of me taking care of them. I don't want to be a burden on anyone.

3. The first time I traveled by air...hmm would have been when I was little because my dad was in the air force and we lived in Germany.

decisions decisions

Recently I've become hooked on the world of html...well ok not exactly just html, but more particuarly, creating custom blogs for a couple people. I suppose it appeals to me because it's definately a little more challenging than making signatures...which I still like making, when time permits.
So, I think I've decided to go to school for graphic design. I still want to go into nursing, and think I will, later down the road. But for now, I think this will fit into live a little easier. Espeically since I enjoy it. So there you have it! I need to go by the college and register and all that stuff, but I'm hoping to take 2 classes this fall...one online and one "real" class. I know it doesn't seem like much, but with kids at home....well, baby steps. :)
I'm actually excited about going back to school. It's adding another element to me. There are a lot of days that I feel like just mommy, cook, maid, a slave. LOL

Oh, speaking of slave....lately, I've been trying to teach my kids to be a little more helpful around the house. So, we've implemented a few new rules, like clearing their own places when they are finished eating. One particular day, I was just fed up with picking up everyone's stuff, and had to remind them to clear their places, and I added "because I'm not the slave around here.". So now, when I ask them to make sure they clear their places, Alexis will chime in "yeah because she's not the slave".

Oh, and a mini update to fireworks on the 30th of june LOL.....well as it turns out the other city we had planned to go to on the 4th for fireworks had their "show" on Saturday. We were going to go, but the kids were just TOO grumpy, and we decided to just let them burn sparklers. Of course, it ended up only being Alexis and Robby, as the 2 younger ones crashed (we made them wait until it was dark outside). They loved the sparklers! Way too much fun! Of course, what would my day be like if that's where it ended.. (normal maybe?)..After burning the sparklers, we were getting the older two ready for bed, and Robby starts complaining about his lip. It's a little puffy and swollen, so I got him to me for a closer inspection. (can you see where this is going??). I new as soon as I saw it what happened. He burned his top lip. Can you guess on what?? can you?? Yep, you guessed it......a sparkler. He had touched one of them to his lip. OUCH! I don't know why he didn't complain when he did it, but it wasn't until after that he was fussing about it. Poor guy....guess he won't do that again!