Snickers Hot Chocolate

So, the one thing Alaska has done to me is hooked me on the drive through coffee shacks.  Before you go crazy, I get hot chocolate.  Different kinds.  I have found one that I LOVE and have learned how to make.  Hopefully you will enjoy my recipe.

Snickers Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups skim milk
2 Tbsp cocoa
1 tsp vanilla extract
caramel syrup
hazelnut (or peanut butter) syrup
chocolate shavings


Directions:
* Step #1 Measure water, cocoa, & sugar in glass measuring c or large mug.
* Step #2 Microwave on high for 1-2 mins to make chocolate syrup.
* Step #3 Stir in milk & vanilla & microwave until warm.
* Step #4 Stir in 2 tsp caramel syrup 2 tsp hazelnut (or peanut butter) syrup.  Depends on what you can find.
* Step #5 Top with whipped cream & chocolate shavings.

Seriously, my favorite!!!  ENJOY!!

Long Overdue Update!

Sorry folks.  Here is an update.  I know it's long overdue and I could list all my excuses, but how about I just get to the update.

Aaron - He is sure glad to be with his family in Alaska.  Being deployed was a good experience for him for his career, but he enjoys his job here more!  He is slowly getting back to where he needs to be and feeling more a part of things.  He has a few business trips planned next month, both to San Antonio.  While there, he will interview for the fellowship he is applying to and if accepted (we find out in Dec.) then we would be moving in May.  Extra prayers would be appreciated that we get this spot.

He recently returned from a canyoning trip at Lake Powell with his dad that he really enjoyed.  He spent 5 days in the canyons and then got to catch up with his family. 

Sassy - What is there to say?  She hasn't scrapbooked in months, she spends her time teaching Kennie & Justin, cleaning the house, making dinner and trying to keep Maggie out of trouble.  Sounds really pathetic and only takes up 2 sentences, but it really takes all day.  UG!!!

Kennie - He is sure growing and learning at such a fast pace.  Kennie was baptized July 3rd surrounded by family & friends.  (We missed you Mark & Carli).  He was super excited for that milestone in his life.  He likes to read his scriptures and will also read anything he can get his hands on.  He LOVES dinosaurs and can tell you all sorts of crazy things about a whole lot of different dinosaurs.  Not just the ones we learned about when I was in school.  He can tell you more dinosaurs than there are letters in the alphabet.  He still says he wants to be a paleontologist when he grows up.

Justin - He has really turned into his own person.  He is still very interested in Sharks.  Will read everything he can get his hands on about them, but to get him to read a chapter book or ANYTHING else is like pulling teeth, until recently.  He started reading the Weird School series and is liking it and doing well.  Here's hoping!  He loves to torment his sister and also really enjoys driving his mother crazy!  Which he does very well.  He can still see the unspoken need in others and will offer to help or just help before they can ask.  One of my favorite qualities about him. 

Nate - Nate is loving being a big Kindergartner.  Today was his day to take snack for the whole class and he was over the moon!!  He basically bounced to school this morning.  He loves bringing home his green apples everyday (A way to communicate to parents their behavior for the day) and checking out books from the library.  He is making incredible progress there and everyone that works with him loves him.  They don't believe me when I tell them he is a holy terror at home.  He's just too cute.  Which is what everyone said about his Uncle Josh.

Maggie - Maggie recently decided she wanted to be a boy.  Okay, not really, but she cut her hair.  And not something that we could fix, she cut it to the scalp.  She is not sporting a short pixie cut.  She thinks she is beautiful and that's all that matters.  She (hopefully) understands that she is NEVER to do it again.  She is still the total princess and loves anything pink and glittery.  She dresses up constantly and loves to play house with her brothers where she is always the kitty.  Super funny girl.  She still has Aaron wrapped around her finger and uses that every chance she gets!!  We are very thankful she potty trained (easily) and is now a big girl!  No more diapers for us!! 

We are enjoying fall this year, not necessarily the cold, but the colors are amazing!  Snickers Hot Chocolate and cuddle time with a blanket on the couch are definitely the best!!  Slow cooker soups, White Chocolate Pumpkin Cheese cake and all kinds of pumpkin treats are the best!!  We are looking forward to our last winter in Alaska (Hopefully) and they boys are excited for the ski team.  Sorry for pulling the disappearing act.  Hopefully it won't happen again, although I can't promise.

Time Out!

Okay, I have been terrible about keeping this up during the last summer but I promise an update on everyone soon.  Right now, I need to record some feelings and emotions I am feeling. 

I just finished a Mommy Time Out!  Or, Time Out for Women by Deseret Book.  I was super excited when I found out they were coming to Anchorage.  I couldn't go when they came to Indianapolis because I was super pregnant with Maggie and I didn't want to chance being so far away.  She ended up being born on the first day.  But, I wanted to go so bad.  So, I got a couple of friends to agree to go with me and was super excited.

Trey, Sassy & Lyn

I took 6 pages of notes.  Single spaced and small handwriting.  As I think back over the last few days, I am truly lifted and edified.  The theme for 2011 is Choose to Become.  All things are possible...to those who believe.

The highlight of the event for me was listening to Brad Wilcox.  He is one of my modern day heros.  As the author of The Continous Atonement he made the Atonement real for me.  Explained and taught me the Atonement on a different level.  I took 2 pages of notes on his talk.  LOVED it!!!  I will share with you just a few things he said that touched my heart. 

• The Celestial Kingdom isn't the end.  It's a means to the end.  The end is becoming even as our Heavenly Father is.
• If our on.y goal is to get back home, why did we leave in the first place?  Our goal is to return better than we left.  At a higher level.
• God loves us just the way we are.  But he still wants us to learn and grow and make good choices.  Just as a grandfather loves his grandchildren just the way they are.  He still wants them to learn to talk, walk, read and play.  He wants them to become better.

And, the best line in his whole talk, If He always holds our head above water, would we ever learn to swim?  Simply amazing.  I got to meet Brad.  He hugged me and I felt the love and grace of my Heavenly Father fill me as I hugged him and spoke to him.  Such an amazing man!!!

Another fun thing for me was Mercy River.  Hello, where have I been.  They are amazing.  They sang a song that they are working on for their new album and can't wait to get my hands on it.  Laughed until I cried - seriously.  Bye Bye Bye.  Remember NSYNC?  It's a remake of their song but it's about putting kids to bed.  We were all on our feet.  They also sang a song from their CD coming out in February about being beautiful.  It was truly beautiful!  Just reinforces that if we could see what He sees, we would truley love ourselves. 

With Mercy River

If you can go to Time Out for Women, I will recommend it with my whole being.  I really needed this "Time out" to rededicate myself and be reminded of my divine potential.  We can always use a pick-me-up.  I want to share with you one more line.  It's probably my favorite line of the whole weekend.

Don't you dare be the one thing standing in your way!!

9 of the BEST years!

Aaron - I love you with ALL my heart.  Thank you for the best 9 years of my life!  The smartest decision I ever made was to say yes!!  Glad I did.

A small update

Kennie is just about finished 2nd grade.  He is enjoying his ignite program (the high IQ class he's in) and is looking forward to playing outside this summer.  He enjoyed soccer and is looking forward to coach pitch baseball starting soon.  Kennie is rebelling in his responsibilites of being the oldest and the most common phrase out of his mouth is "Why am I the only one?"  My response, because I love you!  :)

 Justin continues to be my biggest helper and is at the top of the list of trouble makers.  It seems he is always grounded from something or in his room for something.  We have gotten to the point in his allergy shots that we only have to go 1 time a month.  Holy cow.  GREAT day.  

Classic picture - right?  So Nate!  He continues to rebel against potty training and I am sick of trying to encourage him.  So, he wears pull-ups.  He enjoys the time at home with his mom.  He wants to go to school but doesn't seem to grasp that if he potty trains - he will be able to go to school.  Meanwhile, he continues to destroy things in my house and cause trouble.  He would be at the top of the list in the trouble maker department.

Maggie - as much as we don't want to admit it, she runs the house.  She enjoys it and loves being the center of attention.  Her vocabulary is amazing.  She does what Nate does which isn't ever good.  She really enjoys reading time and especially her "printces!"  She is obsessed with bling and anything pink.  Such the girl.  Thank Heaven we only have 1!!

Aaron leaves Saturday morning for 2 weeks.  He will be traveling from village to village in Alaska treating patients.  He will be the acting Endocrinologist for the group.  He is looking forward to this adventure and hopefully he will learn a lot.  He continues to work crazy hours.  I am almost looking forward to another residency so we will at least know how crazy his hours will be and there will be some down time.  Now, there is no down time.  He spends a lot of his time tired.  

Sassy continues to do anything in her power to survive from day to day.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  She has gotten pretty good at keeping the house maintained, but hasn't figured out how to throw the rest of it in.  It's a slow process and those of you that know her know that she doesn't work in slow.  She is learning patience slowly and is trying to learn from every challenge.  She is looking forward to starting up scrapbooking classes and that will help to calm her.  She is her calmest when she is scrapbooking.  

Alaska has been difficult for us, but we are excited about this summer and all the fun things we will be able to do.  We have lots of visitors planning to come up and Sassy is looking forward to her trip in July to Washington D.C.  That's us right now.  Enjoy your spring and summer!!

A Year...

365 days.  What a differance a year makes.  I was just looking at pictures of Maggie after her heart procedure.  With tears in my eyes, I am so thankful that she is okay.  She is a stubborn and mean girl, but I sure love her.  She completes our family. The way she smiles with her head ever so slightly turned.  The way she gets her dad to do what ever she wants. 

As difficult as it is, I am complete.  I am blessed.  I am loved.  I have everything in my life that I desire - except a clean house.  I am so grateful to a loving Heavenly Father who knows exactly what we need! 

Thank you for being part of my life.  Thank you for all you do.  Near or far, know that you are in my heart!!

Super Shopping Trip!

I just returned from a SUPER shopping trip!  I wanted to share my purchases with you!

2 gallons 1% milk
2 gallons Chocolate Milk
6 cartons of Maggie's Milk (Soy)
1 Things game ($28 retail)
1 Taboo game ($30 retail)
1 Pictureka! game ($30 retail)
1 Scrabble Junior ($16 retail)
1 Clue Carnival ($16 retail)
1 Sorry ($16 retail)
6 My Little Ponies ($7.69 each)
1 Almond Joy mini pieces (my guilty pleasure)
3 Dinasour eggs (Easter Basket items - $7 normally)
3 dollar items for Easter Baskets
2 Strawberry Shortcake Dolls
1 Tag system animal cards (for a friend)

Grand Total - $125

Had I paid full price for all of these - my total would have been around $280.  A lot of the games and My Little Ponies are going to be gifts for birthday parties.  Never can get enough of those.  I am going to head back tonight or tomorrow to get some more.  Lots of birthday parties.

Question -

So, I was just talking to one of my best friends via text. We were talking about how stressed we were and how we could get it all done. We were both almost in tears (at least I was!) Out of the blue, she text me a question and then answered the question. I have known her for 8 1/2 years and I never knew this about her! Imagine that! So - my question to you is:

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I'll be the first to answer the question.  I want to be a high school math teacher.  Sounds crazy right?  Anyway, share with me what you would like to be.  It was fun thinking about something else for just a minute!  And, if you have a few spare minutes - (which I don't) check this out!!

Reaching out

This is very hard for me to do. I am not one who normally asks for help. I have had to do it quite a bit more than I would like to admit because of health issues, whether mine or my kids. I can't do it all. I have struggled the last 6 months in Alaska to find a balance in my life. It's not happening. I hate to admit it, but I am not superwoman! {you heard it here first}

So, I am asking for your help. Do you have any ideas on how to balance school, laundry, dinner, dishes, order, bathrooms, paying bills, showering, exercising, sleeping, grocery shopping and bathing the kids? That doesn't include reading lessons for church, fhe, family scripture time, personal scripture time, scrapbooking, Biggest Loser {my one guilty pleasure - I fold laundry the whole time.}, reading and homework with the kids and some good old fashion me time. Where did the days of Bon-bons and soap operas go? Seriously. I need to add somewhere in there potty training Nate, cleaning the car, cleaning the garage, putting away the 13 bags food storage I bought last week, getting everything ready for the next Activity Day's and getting everything ready for Aaron to start nights. Yep, no Valentine's Day for me yet again. This will make 6 years of Aaron working the night shift on that beloved holiday.

Back to the issue- I don't see much I can cut. However, I can't manage it all. I spend my days putting out fires because everything is in disarray. My bedroom is trashed, I haven't packed my kids lunch at all this week and I don't even want to think about allergy shots on Thursday. So, can you please help me? I am as close to insane as I have ever been. I struggle falling asleep at night trying to figure out which fire I forgot to put out and my order of fires for the next day. So, I am officially saying, "my name is Sassy and I need help. Can you help me?"

Finally

So, it's finally happened.  Let me 'splain!  When we moved to Ohio, I was 7 months pregnant with Nate, Kennie was 3 and Justin was 2.  I was a bit overwhelmed at the thought of moving away from my safe home (okay, so D.C. was not safe, especially the area we lived in, but just pretend!)  We knew 1 family that lived within 30 minutes of Dayton, but I was scared.  I was one that didn't take change well.

Dayton got off to a rocky start.  Our house was a gazillion years old and looked it.  No carpet and my raging hormones made the problems much worse than they probably were.  However, within a few days, it was evident that Dayton was home.  We were invited to the courtyard cookout and instantly felt loved and accepted.  Kennie and Justin were the happiest I had ever seen them.  The next 3 years were a dream (kind-of) and I was VERY sad at the thought of leaving.  However, I knew there wasn't a choice, so I tried to be positive with our move.  Anchorage scared me (okay terrified me) and most of it was leaving my home.  (Still hurts!)

Anchorage started out worse than I could have ever imagined.  I have never felt so alone.  I have never been so full of despair and the "why me" mentality.  I couldn't figure out how a loving God would take me from what I had in Dayton to Anchorage.  We met the Holmes pretty quick and gelled with their family.  They were a HUGE blessing in my life those first few months.  I am sure I saturated her, but I had no where else to turn.  I have so much respect for her and who she was for me. 

Tonight, on my way home from a baby shower, I realized that I am comfortable here.  When the time comes for us to move again, the tears will flow.  I have grown to love the few friends that I have hear and appreciate all that they made an impression on me.  I feel "safe."  I have someone LOCAL that I can call just to chat.  Or because I have a headache and my kids are driving me crazy.  It is nice to finally be at peace with this being our home.  

So, for the next 2 1/2 years, we need to get as many girls nights, play dates at Arctic Playground, workouts at the base gyms, play groups and whatever we might come up with.  Maybe even a craft night!  To you - my Anchorage friends (you know who you are...) I say thank you!

Totally loving 30!!!

I am 30! I didn't dread 30 as much as a lot of other people I have talked to. For some weird reason, it is okay to have 4 kids if your 30, so now I am ok! J Anyway, here is a list of 30 random things about me. Some you may already know and some you may not!

1. I started out wanting 6 kids. That only changed after I had Maggie. There is no way I can handle any more!
   
2. I am an NFL fanatic. I love Sundays because of Football. Church is awful (at least for the time being, with the kids so young) but I get to watch football! (GO COLTS!!!)
   
3. I don't do the dishes every night before I go to bed.
   
4. I prefer ham for Thanksgiving!
   
5. I CANNOT stand Pie at any time of year (Comes with a birthday around Thanksgiving!)
   
6. Is loving living close to a Costco!!
   
7. When I was 10, I beat up my babysitter. She locked me in my room and I snuck out my window and "ran away."
   
8. I can turbo clean if listening to Metallica, Tori Amos or Sarah McGlochlin.
   
9. I have enrolled in a cake decorating class for December!
   
10. I really don't like the brown/pink combo (and I am not in the closed either – Dana!)
    
11. The one thing in life is to make people happy. My kids, my husband, my friends and even strangers!
    
12. I was almost bald until I was 2! When I turned 3, I had Shirley Temple ringlets down to my waste.
    
13. I lost my Wedding ring somewhere in Idaho while visiting my grandparents.
    
14. When I was 4, I sang "I am a Child of God" in front of all the guests at my grandparents 25^th Wedding anniversary!
    
15. I have soft spot for Justin and love it when he comes to cuddle with me!
    
16. I want to take a photography class. (Not that I don't have enough to do!)
    
17. I need a new cell phone. Don't quite know where mine is right now. Only 1 month until I can switch to AT & T
    
18. Took 1^st place in regional's (Debate Tournament) every year of High School!
    
19. Lettered in Debate my sophomore year of High School!
    
20. Saw the light and switched from Mountain Dew to Diet Cherry Coke!!
    
21. Love me a Blue Cheese Bacon Burger from Red Robin!
    
22. I am a sucker for a good deal!
    
23. I am currently stuck on 2 CD's – Full Circle (Creed) and a Hilary Weeks CD.
    
24. When I was born, I had 8 sets of grandparents.
    
25. I am the youngest person (as of 1998) to be diagnosed with Graves Disease.
    
26. During Christmas time, my favorite CD to listen to is Connie Lou's Christmas (Forgotten Carrols.)
    
27. I don't have any memories under the age of 8. My brother died when I was 7 ½ and I guess the way I dealt with it was to block it out.
    
28. I have been engaged (kinda) 3 times. Once in high school (3 years) and I was waiting for a missionary when I met Aaron and then Aaron.
    
29. Since I have been married, I have lived in Utah, D.C., Ohio and Alaska!
    
30. I love to be surrounded by the people I love. So, since you are here and read my list, leave me a message and show me some love!!
    

I got the best birthday present ever. All 4 kids slept through the night. Kennie gave me a note (see below) telling me how much he loves me and I didn't have to have a pap smear at my doctors appointment this morning! It is a great day!!!

Note from Kennie:

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you Happy birthday to Mommy Happy birthday to you.

Dear Mom,

Happy Birthday! I love you with all my heart. your the best mom in the whole wide world. Love Ken, Jus, Nat, Mag and Dad.

20 pounds down, 10 to go!

Here is a quick update. I have 9.7 pounds to go. Very exciting!

I saw this fun post on a blog and thought I would do it....

Here's ME:
Age: 29

Bed size: Queen

Chore you hate: laundry

Dad's Name: Jerry

Essential start your day item: Sleep

Favorite actor(s): ??

Gold or Silver: Silver

Height: 5’1"

Instruments you play(ed): Flute & Piano (flute for only 6th grade)

Job title: Mom, Close to My Heart Manager

Kid(s): Kennie, Justin, Nate & Maggie

Living arrangements: We are kind-of homeless right now. Aaron's still in our home in Ohio, but for only 2 more weeks.

Mom's name: Paulette

Nicknames: Sassy, Sassy Pants, Sissy (before 9th grade!)

Overnight hospital stay other than birth: recent 5 day admission (unknown), appendics removed, thyroid removed,

Pet peeves: Dishonest People, flakes

Quotes you like: "Live so those who know you, but don't know him, will want to know him because they know you." and "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." -Oliver Wendell Holmes

Rightie or Leftie: Rightie
Siblings: Justin & Joshua

Time you wake up: 7:00 (It would be later if it wasn't for my sweet children!)

Umbrella: not usually, although, I really should

Vegetable you dislike: Peas

Ways you run late: Kids needing to go to the bathroom, or they can't find their stuff (ie backpack).

X-rays you've had: To many to count

Yummy food you make: My family's favorites are Rost (crockpot style), Beef in Onion Gravy, Artichoke dip, grilled meat and sauteed squash & zuchinni

Zodiac: Saggitarius

It's my birthday...

Well, not really. I went out with my girlfriends tonight (only a few could make it. There are 3 that wanted to come but had the stomach flu. We missed you, but thanks for not coming!)

We went to Sake (a knock-off of Benni Hanna). I was in Heaven. One of my favorite places! On our way out the door, Shelby said, "Happy Birthday!" and the guy walking out behind us said "Yea, Happy Birthday!" Wow. This is the longest my birthday has ever lasted! I guess my birthday comes to a close tonight! Farewell 28. Hello 29. I can't believe I am only 29. I feel much older than that. 4 kids will do it to you!

This and that (it's a long one)

It's been a while since I did a general update, so I am going to do it today. A lot has been happening, so bare with me.

Aaron is enjoying a laid back month this month. He is doing geriatrics at the VA. He doesn't like the VA and is excited to be leaving at the end of the month. However, the first 2 weeks of November are night float, which is never good for me. He works all night and sleeps all day. His only night of the week off is Monday nights. He is going to D.C. the 19th of November and found out he gets to present his case at the conference he is going to. YA!! Maybe that will help him get his fellowship.

Kennie is doing well in first grade. He struggled in the beginning with his writing, since he hadn't been introduced to it. We worked with him conference weekend and now he is doing better. We are working with him on creative writing and including more details in his stories. Once we explain it to him, he is off with it, so it just takes us introducing things to him. He is still the top reader in his class and continues to excel in Math. He is very pleased with himself to say the least.

Justin is currently down with a stomach bug. He has missed the last 3 days of school and will miss today because he doesn't feel good. You can tell when Justin is sick (he acts just like Aaron) and he is sick!! Hopefully we are on the upswing of it and he will be back to "normal" by the weekend! He is enjoying preschool and he has started teaching himself how to read. He is really smart and is doing exactly what Kennie did last year. He has also won 2 of 5 football polls and is very pleased with himself!!

Nate is getting cuter by the day. He is learning all kinds of new words and won't stop talking. While Grandma and Grandpa Lewis were here, we cut out his nap and is doing so much better with it gone. We actually sleep through the night most of the time. Now, we just have to work with him about not throwing objects. I have many a bruises from him.

Maggie (this is where this post will turn into a book. This is more for me to remember than anything, so please bare with me.) We have had a couple of rough months with Maggie. She hasn't been a happy girl since August 13th (the day of her 2month shots.) She cried a lot, went from sleeping a lot to hardly sleeping and just no fun to be around. I was really at the end of my rope and didn't know if I could handle much more, so I took her into the doctor for her excessive crying and a 4 month check-up. Well, she weighed 10 pounds 11 ounces (she was 10 lbs 6 oz at her 2 month check up.) This was quite concerning to the doctor. (Let me take a minute and thank Troy. He is in our ward and just happened to have appointment openings when I needed an appointment. It was so nice to know that the doctor knew my family and my kids more than a normal doctor.) 5 ounces in 2 months isn't good. At her 2 month check-up she was in the 50%. At 4 months, she was in the 2%. Yes, that's right, 2.

What we decided in her appointment is that we upped her Zantac from .5 ml's twice a day to 1 ml 3 times a day. I also cut just about everything that is worth eating out of my diet. Gluten (wheat, barely, and rye to just name a few), dairy, nuts, eggs, sugar, artificial sugar, caffeine (that means chocolate) and carbonation. So, you might be asking yourself what I ate. NOT A WHOLE LOT!!! I was at a loss. It isn't too difficult to do one of those. But to do wheat and dairy was the killer. So, that was last Thursday. I noticed a change by that afternoon. She took an hour and a half nap. By Friday night when Shelby came over to hang for a bit before girls night, she took one look at Maggie and said "welcome back Mags!"

We have our old Maggie back, almost. She isn't quite sleeping through the night again, but we are getting there. I took Maggie back to the doctor today for a weight check and to touch base with the doctor about how things were going (we also did a mini appointment in the halls at church on Sunday and he said that since her change was so immediate, I could introduce wheat back into my diet because it wouldn't change that fast if it was wheat.) Anyway, so today Mags weighed 11 lbs. She gained 5 oz in 1 week. PERFECT. I don't have to go back for another 2 weeks for a weight check.

Now, we had some fun things at our appointment today. Troy heard a slight murmur while listening to Maggie's heart. For those of you who don't know, I also have a slight murmur. My heart is turned almost 180 degrees (they call this dextrocardia). It hasn't caused me much grief other than to limit my sports activity (like they could stop me) but I do have to be careful and I get winded easy. So, if she still has the murmur in 2 weeks, she will have an EKG and maybe an Echo and an X-ray to see if her heart is turned as well.)

There is also a chance that her hip socket is out of place. We will know in the next day or two if it really is. We went and got an X-ray. If her hip is out of place, she will need to wear a brace for 2 months and then we will have it re-examined to make sure all is well.Other than that, Maggie is doing a lot better.

So, you may have noticed that I have left myself out. What more is there to say. With all of this going on, I haven't had much time to do anything. Stamp camp is tomorrow night and I haven't finished the layout. I have a swap due the 1st of November and I haven't even started it. My house is a mess, my laundry is almost caught up (thanks to a throwing up kid I had to wash everything so we could live in this house with the smell.), I haven't exercised in 3 weeks (but have still lost a total of 11 lbs). I go to bed exhausted at the end of the day and wake up exhausted at the beginning of the next day.

I better head to help out with the screaming children in the bathroom who need their teeth brushed, medicine administered, prayers and kisses. Peace!!!Just a quick picture of our new Mags. Enjoy!!

I've been tagged - 5 things you may not know about me

1. I'm scared to try new things. I don't like moving to new areas (a bad thing since we are in the military.). I don't like to try new foods. I like to watch the same movies, eat at the same places, hang out with the same people. Once I have a comfort zone, I don't like to get out of it.



2. I don't like going to the restroom in public places. This is a bad combination with my small bladder, so I end up using public restrooms quite often, but I get a sick feeling in my stomach when I do.


3. I don't remember anything from my childhood. My brother passed away when I was 7 1/2. It took my a while to deal with it and then I blocked everything out. I don't remember my baptism or playing with my friends. I can visualize things happening from the stories people tell, but I don't actually remember them.



4. I have a hard time falling asleep if Aaron's not here. (Which happens qutie often.) That is why we have a TV in our room. When I am alone, I turn my TV on sleep mode so it goes off after I have fallen asleep.


5. I love to look at the ads. That is why we get the paper. Just so I can look at the ads. I am a bargin shopper. If there is a bargin, I am there.

I got my butt kicked!!

It has officially started. I joined a group at church that is doing the biggest loser. We started today with the first weigh in. It is a 12 week process. Each week, we e-mail the head honcho (is that even a word) and report our current weight and the weight lost that week. So, I decided to start last night.

Shelby and I went and got our butt's kicked last night. We went to a Zumba class at the gym. Wow!! 60 minutes of sweating. I didn't get up and exercise today, but had to run to the school to get Kennie, and I mean run. I ran the whole way and most of the way back. It felt pretty good.

I am proud to say, that when I weighed in this morning, I still weighed 11 lbs less than July of last year. That means, I had a baby and I still weigh less. Dang Depo shot. My advise, DON'T DO DEPO!!!!

My goal: Lose 25 lbs before we move (next May.) Anyone want to join me in my quest? I would love some company!!

Girls Night Out!

I went out for a much needed girls night out last night. It was Megan's birthday, so we went to Red Robin. YUM! Then, we went back to her house for Cake. Again, YUM!! Anyway, here are some pictures.

They brought her out a treat and sang to her. She's pretty shy, so she didn't like it. She said she would have covered her eyes if she could.

One side of the table, Alexis, Rebecca & Karen

The other side: Megan, Brandy, Me, Shelby & Maggie

The whole table. Sorry this is kinda dark, I guess that's what happens when you leave your fate in the hands of your waitress!

Cake back at Megans. Doesn't that cake look yummy? I spent all day working on it. (Ya, right. Thanks Kroger!!)

I didn't get home until after 1 am. It's almost 11 and I am already set for another girls night out!!