"I'm a mother, I'm a lover, a chef, a referee. I'm a doctor, and a chauffeur seven days a week. I ain't asking for a medal, yeah I know you work too. I'd just like a little credit where credit is due. It's the hardest gig I've ever known. I work my fingers to the bone. Yeah the dishes and the diapers never stop. Lousy pay, there ain't no 401K. I know this may come as a shock, but this here's a full time job!"--Full Time Job sung by Gretchen Wilson

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

MIA This Week

I just wanted to let you know that I will probably be MIA this week. My dear hubby is on vacation and I am trying to spend time with him. I might try and sneak on sometime though. I'm thinking I might have to do some sort of contest...hmmm....what to give away? Suggestions?

With love,
Theresa

Friday, May 21, 2010

Things I've Come To Realize

I found this on one of my new favorite blogs to read, This Chihuahua Bites. I hope that you enjoy learning a little more about mt. If you use this meme (anyone know why they are called this? Because you learn more about "meme" perhaps?), leave me a link so I can check it out!!

I’ve come to realize that my body is strong, but hour-glass shaped. It has taken me a long time to accept that, but I am and now I'm TRYING to dress for that shape.
I’ve come to realize that my job is so unbelievably difficult. I wish someone would have sat me down and said, "Look, this job can really suck! Being a mom is NOT easy and anyone who tells you it is is lying."
I’ve come to realize that when I’m driving
I look in my rear view mirror probably way more than I should, but I want to make sure the girls aren't killing each other!
I’ve come to realize that I need a night out every now and then! Really need a night out!
I’ve come to realize that I have lost myself, but I am determined to find me!! It is difficult NOT to lose yourself when you become a Mom. Your needs automatically become a back seat and it is a struggle to find time for those things that make you happy.
I’ve come to realize that I hate it when my daughters do not share. J screams bloody murder and L makes this weird guttural noise. I've started taking things away when they can't share them just because I can't stand those noises!
I’ve come to realize that if I’m drunk I become VERY "friendly"!!! ;)
I’ve come to realize that money
is always on the lacking side and it sucks!
I’ve come to realize that certain people have no respect for anything. There are so many murders and crimes against man-kind that it make me very sad.
I’ve come to realize that I’ll always remember singing on the stage at the Grand Ol' Opry. There was no audience (except for the tour group that I was with), but what an experience!
I’ve come to realize that my sibling(s)
have come in the form of my cousins, amazing In-Laws and wonderful friends. As an only child, I had to find siblings in other forms. I have been very lucky to find some amazing ones!
I’ve come to realize that my mom is an incredible grandma! She didn't think she would be a good one, she is a great one!
I’ve come to realize that my cell phone is addicting! I love you my wonderful Blackberry! I would have never thought I would become a "texter", but I am! ;)
I’ve come to realize that when I woke up this morning, I was SO not ready to get up, but already running WAY late!
I’ve come to realize that last night before I went to sleep, my eyes were shutting before I even laid down!
I’ve come to realize that right now I am thinking I need to go pack the girls to go to grandma's!
I’ve come to realize that my dad is incredible!! We've always been close, but have become even closer a I have become an adult. He taught me to drink Mr. Jack Daniels and encouraged my love of reading and music. Today is his birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPPY GEORGE!!!!
I’ve come to realize that when I get on Facebook, I get sucked in!!
I’ve come to realize that today has gone too fast. I've been going since waking up. Looking forward to sitting down to rest for longer than it has taken me to type this.
I’ve come to realize that tonight should be so much fun. We get to hang out with some friends of ours that we rarely see!
I’ve come to realize that tomorrow comes too fast!
I’ve come to realize that I really want the best I can give my children, whether it is experiences, education, or needs. I want them to have the best I can give them.
I’ve come to realize that the person mostly likely to repost this is Miss Carli.
I’ve come to realize that life goes by way too fast and way too slow all at the same time!
I’ve come to realize that this weekend should be a good experience for E. He is running his 4th 1/2 marathon!
I’ve realized the best music to listen to when I am upset is
My lady Janis Joplin or a little Black Crowes.
I’ve come to realize that my friends help keep me sane (or at least some semblance of it!). They are wonderful and I am so very blessed to have the wonderful friends that I do. I love you all!
I’ve come to realize that this year is going by VERY fast. Is it really almost June?!?!?
I’ve come to realize that my husband is an amazing man. I love him so much. He is my rock and my partner. He makes me laugh and he makes me think. He challenges me to be a better person, wife, and mother. I love him so very much and I thank God so much that he loves me.
I’ve come to realize that maybe just maybe I might get to sleep through the night again at some point!
I’ve come to realize that I love my children with a fierceness I would not have thought possible.
I’ve come to realize that I don’t understand
how some people can be so cruel to their children. Those people should not be parents.
I’ve come to realize my past is over. I need to do a better job of letting go of the things I regret.
I’ve come to realize that parties are fun but quite a pain. I do love to throw them though. I'm thinking I might have to get around and have one soon.
I’ve come to realize that my life may seem like the same thing day in and day out, but I don't know that I would have it any different. I really do love my life: spit-up, screaming babies, poopy diapers, and all.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
With Love,
Theresa

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Everywhere An Oink Oink!

It is Thursday! And that means it is time for a little Fiber Therapy! I have been busy working on lots of different projects in my incredible amounts of spare time (excuse me as I take a 20 minute break to laugh my head off here!). Before I show you what I have completed, let me explain a little something about knitters.

There are 2 different kinds of knitters: process knitters and product knitters. A process knitter pretty much knits for the relaxation that is knitting (usually). They enjoy the repetition of wrapping the yarn, the feel of the yarn sliding through their fingers, and the clickity-clack of the needles (assuming they use metal needles as I usually do) or the soft warm feel of bamboo needles. These are knitters that finding themselves stranded on a deserted island would simply frog (also known as rip out) whatever completed product they have just to knit it again so they can continue knitting. Product knitters are the opposite. They knit for the end result. They want something tangible at the end of their hard work. Product knitters want to put that hat on and wear it proudly. On an island a product knitter is going to finish their project and then go in search of grass or fronds or something else to knit another project with. (I can't take credit for the island references. I read them in a book by the Yarn Harlot, but unfortunately can't remember which one. But, I read it and it stuck with me. If you have to know which book, check them out yourself. They are great reads!!) Which kind of knitter am I you might be asking yourself? Well, I am mainly a product knitter, but with a little bit of process knitter thrown in. I live for the end result, which is why I don't do socks...they take too long, you have to do 2, and I like a little more instant gratification. Now that doesn't mean that I won't knit something with smaller needles or thinner yarn, because I will, I just make sure that I have smaller projects always going on so I can still have my finished projects.

There is also another way to categorize knitters. Some knitters are monogamous, meaning they will only have one project on needles at a time. They finish a project before they start a new one and rarely every "cheat" on a project. Then there are what I call ADD knitters. ADD knitters have many projects going on at a time, rarely less than 3. They commonly fall prey to "startitis", an affliction that is made worse by an addiction to Ravelry (see my post here about the wonderfulness that is Ravelry). Now me? I am an ADD knitter!! I admit it proudly. I currently have 6 different projects on needles, 2 that I am in the final process of finishing, and another that I will probably Cast On (aka start) for today. I jump from project to project depending on my needs at that moment. Sometimes I need to just get something done. Sometimes I need simple knitting for TV/Movie viewing knitting. Sometimes I want a bit of a challenge or something that I actually have to pay attention to (lace and cables are good for that!). Sometimes I need something portable (Which is why I ALWAYS have a hat on needles. Some people use socks for this purpose, but as you probably know, I don't do socks!). Sometimes, I just get sucked into something and can't take my mind off of it. And sometimes I get an idea for someone else and just have to make it right then and there.

That was the case this week. My friend Mary put a post on Facebook about needing to find a pig nose for her son's performance as Wilber in his school's production of Charlotte's Web. The catch? She only had about 2 days and would have had to pay big bucks to have a $2.50 piggy snout shipped to her in time. After reading this, I remembered a pattern that I had seen on the aforementioned addiction Ravelry and told her I could knit one up for her. This is an instant gratification project PERFECT for an ADD Product knitter like myself!!

05.17.2010

Project: Adapted Swine Flu Mask or on Ravelry here
Made with Caron Simply Soft, Soft Pink and Black
Size 7 needles
WAY easy!!

I hope to have pictures of her son wearing it soon!! Hopefully she will let me post them as I would love to see the "Oink Oink Here" Nose in use!!!

Well, the sun is shining, birds are chirping, and children are running wild. We are going outside! Have a great day!
With Love,
Theresa

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

FINALLY A Book! (Book Worm Wednesday)

Yes, you read that correctly! I FINALLY have a book review for you! I actually finished this book about a week and a half ago, but I haven't been able to blog about it yet. Now, as you should know by now, I LOVE vampires. I'm a dork and I love it! This book is from the wonderfully creative series "Real Vampires" by Gerry Bartlett.

Photobucket

Real Vampires Hate Their Thighs was really funny! As a curvy girl, I can relate to the main character Glory St. Clair and her frustration of having a little more of herself to love. I can imagine have to be frustrated by it for all eternity though! At least my curviness is starting to be less curvy, but that is exactly what this book is about. Facing an eternity of being heavier than she wants to be, Glory is offered the chance to lose that weight. Who wouldn't take that opportunity?!? Well, of course there is a catch, which I will let you discover for yourself. As for a review, I really enjoy this series. If you like this genre, you should seriously check these out. I have laughed out loud in just about all of them. They are a little bit of a lighter take on vampires, but still quality vampire fiction. I HIGHLY suggest you check them out!! Let me know what you think!!

Right now, I am working my way through Chasing Harry Winston by Laura Weisberger. It is pretty good, but I am not having as much time to read as I would like. I have been so tired lately that I just want to sleep at night as opposed to staying up reading! I just got some new books from the library today though so I will try and get a little more "literature" on here.

Have a great day everyone!
With love,
Theresa

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Check Out These Cupcakes!!

What? Two posts in 1 day you say? Why not!! You HAVE to check out this post over at Skip To My Lou for the most AMAZING looking cupcakes!! I can't wait to try these with the girls!

How To Make Rainbow Colored Cupcakes

I mean really!! How awesome!! They just look so yummy! I've got to get me some Wilton colors...I think they are on sale at Hobby Lobby and Jo Ann's this week (Unfortunately, I am not paid to advertise there! Oh well!).

If I can get them made some time soon, I promise to post pictures!
With Love,
Theresa

What A Crazy Week This Has Been!

I'm really not doing very well here with this blogging the past 2 weeks, am I? I apologize, life just has been crazy as I am sure it is for all of you!

Last week was the week of doctor appointments in this house! M had an ENT appointment, L and I had eye doctor appointments, and M had an eye appointment and had one eye probed. Then this morning, he had tubes put in his ears. Crazy huh? Good news is that L's eyes are fine and she doesn't need glasses. I am getting new specs and can't wait for them to come in!! They are extremely cool!! M is doing well now, he is resting comfortably in his room and hopefully will be feeling great when he wakes up (doubtful, but one can hope!) He still has to have the other eye probed, but that will be in June. So, after a stressful week of appointments, we can rest a bit!

It is Tuesday and I do have some weight loss to report! Technically this week I lost about 6 pounds, but not really. Remember? I had gained 3 at my mom and dad's house over last weekend, but I'm not really counting those. So, I really lost about 3.2 pounds. In total I am down 48.8 pounds!!! I have hit my 4% goal for in between Biggest Loser contests. The next one begins June 1st. I know that I most likely won't win it, but I am going to use it to help me get the next 20 pounds off! I would love to ht my goal before the end of it!!

I know I have missed the past 2 Munchy Time Mondays so you are probably really wanting a recipe huh? I know you all just crave my wonderful culinaryness (no, not a word, but one I will use anyways!). So, I have given this some thought and decided on Chili Parmesan Chicken and Cake Cookies. The chicken is SO good and moist and the cookies are a very easy recipe that always gets RAVE reviews!! I could sit down and eat them all by self! Not that I would mind you as that would be bad. Nor have I ever done that, nope not me, not ever! :) Okay, maybe once! :)

Chili Parmesan Chicken
(from www.kraftfoods.com)
1/4 c. KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 rs. chili powder
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves

Mix cheese and chili powder in pie plate. Add chicken, turn to evenly coat all sides. Place chicken in shallow baking dish (spray first!!). Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Cake Cookies
(origin unknown)

1 box cake mix (I've tried these with just about ANY kind, lemon though are my favorite!)
1 egg
2 c. cool whip
powdered sugar

Mix first 3 ingredients. The mixture will be dry...do NOT add more Cool Whip, trust me on this!! Shape into balls, roll into powdered sugar. Bake 10-12 minutes in 350 degree oven. Let cool on pan for about 2 minutes, move to wire rack to finish cooling (assuming they last that long!) Makes around 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

I hope that you enjoy these recipes as much as I do!!

Have a great day everyone!
With love,
Theresa

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

And The Days Go By...

I'm so sorry I've been MIA for a week! Last week got really busy and so far this week shows NO sign of slowing down! It is doctor appointment central this week, seriously!!

Today is Take It Off Tuesday and I am supposed to tell you about my weight loss. Well, huh. I weighed myself on Friday morning because I knew I was taking 3 days off from exercising and from eating as I have been eating because I was going to visit my parents and I knew it would be a glutton food fest! We went to Red Lobster on Saturday for my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. That's right, I wrote 60! Isn't that amazing? It is just so inspiring to see 2 people still so in love after all those years. They are so cute together! Anyways, I ate WAY too much! Then my aunt made breakfast for everyone Sunday morning and it was awesome! So, I was really feeling it come yesterday morning. This morning, I got on the scale, knowing full well that I was going to have to accept the damage I did over the weekend. Well, I GAINED 3 pounds since Friday!! Yes, I know that some of that is water weight and I am feeling a little PMSy too, but still! Wow! So, I really worked my tail off in the gym today. Let's hope that I can get that off soon. I really would like to hit 50 pounds in the next 2 weeks! Wish me luck!

I am finding though that this will forever be a battle. I just love to eat. The thought of not counting points now really scares me. I only have so much self control. If the bad stuff isn't around me, I do okay, but when faced with it directly, it is very difficult for me to walk away from. I dream of ice cream and cake and pizza and steak. I just love food! I think I could have been a foodie, but when it comes down to it, I'm really not all that particular. I just really like to eat. So, once I hit my goal, I am probably going to have to work even harder just to keep it off than I did getting it off. Anyone else have experience with this? Any advice?

I hope that you all had a wonderful Mother's Day on Sunday! I did. We didn't do much, but it was really nice. I did get two beautiful pansies in pretty pots painted by my adorable girls thanks to my wonderful neighbor! They are very cute! What fun things did your family do?

I hope that you all have a wonderful day!!
With Love,
Theresa

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Another One Bites The Dust!

Another pound that is! I weighed in this morning and now my total is 43.6 pounds!! YAY!! It was a little weird to see only a loss of 1 pound after all the big numbers I have been dropping, but I know that the weight loss needs to slow down if I want to keep it off. I also have been lifting so much more and muscle weighs more than fat. I MUST remember that! I went to Body Pump this morning and we did a new track (#71 if you are familiar). WHOOO! Killer! I upped my weight a little in the upper body too so that even made it more killer. But, man do I feel good about it. It is that good kinda sore, where you know the benefits will SO be worth it! I have my friend Casey going with me. It is a blast! LOVE IT!!

OK, so my complaint for the day...This old woman in Hobby Lobby! Now, let me preface this by saying that I truly respect my elders. I think older people have a lot to teach us and I have so much respect for the lives that they have lived and the knowledge and experience they have gathered in that life. That said, this woman, seriously! Here's what happened. I took the 3 kids to Hobby Lobby. Sometimes they can be good, but today was NOT one of those times. By the time we got to the check-out, I had had about all I could take. There was only one lane open and the line was long. There was another family in front of me (a woman, her hubby, and their 2 kids). This elderly lady got in line behind me with what I am going to assume was her middle age daughter. It had to be very obvious that I was barely hanging in. L kept touching everything even after repeatedly told not too, J kept TRYING to touch everything, and M was crying. I was trying to handle it, but it was quite clearly NOT going well. Another cashier FINALLY came up and opened another lane. She said quite clearly, "The next person in line please step over here." Well, the next person in line was the family in frontof me. The mother though took one look at me, and said, "You go ahead hon." I smiled and told her thank you. I started to head over to the other lane when the old lady behind me seriously cut me off and went instead. I was FLABBERGASTED!! What made her think it was her turn? I mean, had she been by herself and was having a hard time, I probably wouldn't have thought anything of it, but she wasn't. She had help. I did not. I ALWAYS try to let older people go ahead of me if I can, always. Would it have been too much to ask for her to let 3 kids and a very flustered mommy go so we could just get out of the store making EVERYONE's shopping experience better? Seriously? No? Well, I guess not! Ok, done complaining!

I voted today. I didn't really feel like I was prepared to go vote. Is it better to vote somewhat uninformed or to just not vote? Well, I firmly feel like if you don't vote, you shouldn't bitch about the government. I want my right to bitch so I went and voted. Luckily for all but like 4 positions, there was only one person running, so that made it all easier. And the 4 positions with more than one person...well, I think I voted OK. If you haven't voted yet, get out there, you still have about an hour!!

Don't forget to go vote for my friend Natalie at Mommy On Fire. Click here for the details!

Did you know that today is Star Wars Day? MAY the FOURTH be with you! :)

Have a great one!
With love,
Theresa

Monday, May 3, 2010

The Never-Ending To Do List!

Do this, do that, do this, do that...Does it ever feel like that list ever ends? Mine doesn't. It seems like every day, that list just gets longer and longer! Laundry, dishes, laundry (5 people, lots of laundry!), pick up toys, clean out closets, make dinner, vacuum floors, wash floors, make sure kids aren't killing each other, and that is just normal mommy stuff! I also need to hem the sleeves on 4 shirts for my dad, finish my commissioned knitting, and find time to make it to the gym almost every day! I know all moms go through this, just sometimes it feels like so much. And there are plenty of days when all I would really like to do is sit down and play a game with my beautiful daughters! I have a hard time remembering that the chores will always be there and the kids will only be this little for this long. I MUST do better to remember that!!

So, what IS for dinner tonight? Well, dinner is being made courtesy of my good friend Natalie over at Mommy On Fire. After M was born, she brought us this AMAZING buffalo chicken. I LOVED it so much and have been craving it. Well, found out that she has the recipe posted on her blog. So, Check out her recipe for Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches!!

To thank Natalie for supplying this recipe (although she doesn't actually know that I linked to it...oops!), I want to encourage everyone to do something for me. She is up for a BLOG award at I AM MOMMY. So, please, please please go check her out. Scroll down to "Most Inspirational" Blogs and click on "Mommy On Fire". You don't have to join anything to vote, just go check her out and PLEASE vote for her. I would love for her to win this. Natalie is an UNBELIEVABLY strong woman who inspires me greatly. She is a wonderful writer, and even better friend, and a beautiful beautiful child of God!

Well, gotta get to that To Do List while kids are napping! Have a great day everyone! See you for weigh-in tomorrow!
With Love,
Theresa