My new love...

For years I have heard my Sisters in law RAVE about WinCo, and now, Deena, I totally understand what you were talking about!...TODAY a WinCo opened just minutes away from us!! Why am I so excited about a grocery store you ask? Let me tell you a few of the things I bought today- Boneless, skinless chicken breast for $.98 per pound!! For real. 4 pounds of strawberries (nice ones!) for $3.98! Darigold butter for $1.50, Sara Lee bread for $.58, and Bananas for $.18!!! I could go on and on, I filled up my cart for just over $50! It feels like a miracle! and I'm totally in love with WinCo!!

FINALLY!!

Finally a sunny and sort-of warm day!!! Hallelujah!, that was miracle #1, and the fact that I got a picture of all 3 kids smiling was miracle #2! Addison had half-days all week long, and I had used up all my keeping-busy ideas, so THANK GOODNESS they could play outside today!! Even Hailey loved it, she crawled all over the grass and ate a little I think. Still no teeth for our little Hailey, but she has almost perfected the art of mess making! She still is the easiest , happiest baby I know and makes everyone smile!

Miracle #3, George and Lucy came over and kept Addison and Laynie entertained OUTSIDE for 2 full hours! I didn't even know what to do with myself!! (okay, that's a lie) It was a dream come true though.

Awww, so cute....

I went to Parent Teacher Conference with Addison's teacher this week. He showed me a story that Addy wrote about his sister biting him! He drew a stick figure with 'her' mouth wide open and another stick figure with tears running down 'his' face. Poor Addison, he's such a victim!!

And here is the scary offender! Actually Laynie is my biggest helper. She loves to load the diswasher, and help me sort to laundry, lately when I ask her to do something she answers "Of Course!" But, one should be careful that the wrong thing is not said to her...she can also have a pretty firey temper!

Daddy came home just in time to enjoy some of the sunshine himself! There is nothing the kids love more than wrestling their dad! Kelly has been working hard, taking some ski days, and playing some mad basketball with his church team! But he always makes time for his favorite people!

Thanks Julia for this fun tag, although 8 was a hard number of things to come up with! Not the wishes of course, I could've written 800 wishes...but restuarants? I guess I don't get out enough!

8 favorite TV shows:
1. The Office
2. American Idol
3. Biggest Loser
4. the last 10 minutes of America's Next Top Model (it makes me think ANYONE, even me,could be all made up and look like a model!)
5. Anything on HGTV
6. Today Show (although if I get to watch even 5 minutes of it, it's a rare occasion!)
7. Heroes (it's the only show on during my MOnday-night-folding-laundry-marathon)
8. Arthur - 7am on PBS means I get to stay in bed just a little longer if I want to! :)


8 things I did yesterday:
1. Made Kelly lunch for his trip at 5:45am!
2. Went back to bed
3. Planned a trip to the children's museum
4. Cleaned up throw-up
5. Canceled the trip to the children's museum
6. Wii fit (for a WHOLE 30 minutes)
7. Snuggled with Addison
8. Let Laynie sleep in my bed


8 things I'm looking forward to:
1. Sunshine, green grass, warmth, telling the kids to go outside and NOT feeling guilty when they come back in with frost bite(okay, maybe not frost bite, just red cheeks and freezing fingers)
2. Lake Cavanaugh
3. A Garden
4. Going running without 5 layers of clothing on
5. Starting/finishing our basement
6. Kelly coming home tonight
7. Mom and Dad moving closer
8. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (where they're sending the top NIFB employees and spouses next year...I'm sure Kelly will be on that list!)

8 favorite restautrants
1. Hires Big H
2. Panera
3. Cafe Rio
4. Red Robin (but just for Mile High Mud Pie)
5. Papa Murpheys (Supremem Veggie Pizza- YUM)
6. Quiznos (flat bread salads)
7. I honestly go don't out much so this is hard!!
8. Anywhere that we have a coupon for... just take me out!


8 things on my wish list
1. NO MORE WHINING! (is that considered whining when I say that?)
2. Beautifully-finished-where-every-kid-wants-to-play basement
3. Ice Cream every night, with no added poundage
4. TRAVEL! to Africa, Germany/Italy, Anywhere!
5. Housekeeper/Cook/Nanny
6. Cute legs
7. Daily Massages
8. My sisters to live closer...2 down, (Julia, Blayre) several to go!

How to manipulate your mother 101... by Addison Ditto

I have to threaten Addison every night with "don't get out of your bed, or else I'll have to...(place scary threat here, i.e. shut the door, turn of your light, etc.) So, tonight when Addison got out of his bed I immediately said, "Okay I guess I have to shut your door" and Addison said "But Mom, I need to tell you something!" (This is ALWAYS what he says after getting out of bed and the really important thing he has to tell me is usually something like this: "Can fish Fly?") So, I said "What?" in a little bit of an irritated voice, and he said "It's something I like about you...(pause) when you smile." Well, can a boy melt a mom's heart more than that? I had to grab his face and kiss him...and then send him back to bed!

Rescue Me!

In response to my last post on giving, Becca suggested that I should do a give-away, and she's right!! With all the preaching about giving and I don't even give something?!!? What is wrong with me? Well, I have seen the error of my ways and am ready to give, in exchange for...

Yes, it's that time again folks...a little recipe contest-- but before you roll your eyes, realize that I am asking you to rescue me from all the mundane, 'I've see you a thousand times before' recipes that I have been stuck on the past few months! I want your recipe that you would make for dinner to impress friends! I want the recipe you think is your BEST entree! I want deliciousness!

And now to the giving portion- I will send the winners WHATEVER vinyl project their little heart desires! Anything you can dream up, anything you see on another site (i.e. etsy), ANYTHING you want, you got it!! Just give me a great dinner idea and it's yours! Winning won't be hard folks- if my family likes it- you're a winner!! This same little plea worked so well last time, I found Deena's Meatballs, Kathryn's Chicken Marsala, and Peggy's Baked Ziti-- so I am expecting greatness! Post away folks!

A week of giving...

I just saw that this is my 100th post! WooHoo! I hope you all have enjoyed the 100 insights into our lives that I have been 'giving.' Give is the catch word for this post because I have been thinking a lot about giving this week- Kelly and I watched an awesome speech called "Why giving matters" If you have 30 minutes or so, I would HIGHLY recommend it...just click here and you can watch/listen. Anyway, the speaker talked about all the benefits of giving and all the wonderful things giving does for the giver, and then said something like this: If the government takes away the responsibility of giving from the people of this country, we will be a poorer more miserable country that ever before. I totally agree with that!

I have been given so much in my life...but I'll just share a few things that happened this week-

THANK YOU to Blayre/Julia for GIVING Kelly and me a great day on the slopes!! Kelly and I went to 49degrees north on Saturday to do a little snow boarding and LOVED it! It was so fun to spend a whole day together doing something we love.

Kelly was GIVEN a great compliment by his boss in their weekly news letter, he pointed out to everyone what a fantastic week Kelly had had and that he had done it in 4 days because he spent a day in Olympia for "Small Business Day at the Capitol." (Kelly really did have an amazing week!) Way to go babe- thanks for giving me a wonderful life!

I made this sign for some good friends-- it is their family motto...it turned out good, and they loved it. When they asked how much, I told them and they handed me cash, plus a card...only later did I find out that inside the card was a gift certificate to a fancy restaurant! They are some of the most GIVING people I know! We had an auction this weekend for the boy scouts to raise money for scout camp and this same couple bought several of the cakes being auctioned off and then promptly cut them up and passed out pieces!! They are great examples of giving!

Now that I have posted a project picture, here are a few more...above is the design for the girl who cuts my hair! She GAVE me a hair cut/highlights and I GAVE her some vinyl for her salon! I love sweet trades!

Here is my favorite of the projects we worked on last week. This 'coat rack' is right inside our back door, and hopefully it will solve the problem of coats being strewn all over the kitchen! That's the plan at least, and if it works it will 'give' me a little more sanity!

One more thought on giving...I hope Addison doesn't 'give' his fever/sore throat to anyone else! He was one miserable boy yesterday!...but I do have to admit I love the snuggles that he 'gives' when he doesn't feel good! It's really the only time he ever even holds still!