Thinking

My mind is always racing. I mean always. I have 500,000,000 ideas swooshing around me constantly. Sometimes I wish I could just call a time out and have a moment to just write down everything into a list and call it good. I know a lot of other ladies out there can relate. So here's what I am going to do, I'm going to try to get some of those thoughts out and post them right here...it is completely random and free form, so take what you will from it...

I am frustrated as a teacher right now
I want to be sewing every day
There is a lot to do to set up a legitimate business
I want to be playing with fabric right now
K needs a new cell phone..his is MIA
I don't want to be coughing right now
Z's birthday was great!!!
I am such a lucky mom
I have more laundry to get through today
I should be resting, but I can't
I hope N has a good time on his field trip!
My class get's to go on a field trip next week
We still need the permission slips from the office
I want our debts gone and K's business to flourish
I love the bloggy world
So many amazing ladies out there inspire be daily to be more, but also to know I am enough
This house needs to be dusted and vacuumed in a bad way
I wish I had more energy this week
I have an awesome marriage
Drama annoys me
I love talking to people, but I don't want to hear the bad stuff over and over if you're not going to change it
It is so quite right now and all my boys are snuggled up
I love that L and N snuggle in one bed even though they don't have to share
I love that I get random hugs from my boys and that K always tries to make me laugh and smile

Whoa, that felt good! Sometime just releasing a few thoughts is all I need to quiet my mind just a tad!

if you got through this whole post you rock! If you didn't I totally understand!

Until next time,


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Linking with WFMW at We Are That Family

Shower Schedule

I don't know about your house, but with three boys in my house who's turn it is to take a shower was becoming an ISSUE!

I was tired of hearing:

"I took my shower first last night..."

"No, I did!"

"It's your turn!"

I am happy to report that for the last month and a half I have not. heard. those. words. YAY! I finally printed off a free calendar from the internet and sat down with Z, L, and N's favorite color markers. I went day by day and made a scheduled rotation for taking their showers. It was the best investment for my 10 minutes that I have made in a long time.

I truly believe kids need routines and boundries, so they get both with the "Shower Schedule". It is fair and just and all is right in their world. I love it!!

It works very well for me!

Join everyone at We Are THAT Family for more Works for Me Wednesday!

Until next time,

House Wife

Someone told me yesterday I would make a great house wife. She said since I love to cook and bake and sew it and be a mama it would be natural for me. It was such a compliment to me!

We are working now to get to the point where I can stay home and care for my family and my home. I cannot wait to just have them to focus on everyday! Working hard now so I can be home full time for my family later works for me! Join everyone over at We are THAT Family for more WFMW.

Until next time,

Hard Work

My poor, poor vegetable garden has been sorely neglected this summer. That coupled with the fact that we got so much rain this spring made for a weed patch from H-E-double hockey sticks! I mean serious mess, but in spite of our neglect we have had a nice little amount of veggies this year. Not has much as I had hoped, but we're learning and we'll do better next year!

Well the weeds and I had a battle the beginning of this week. I am proud to say I am sore beyond belief, but the weeds have been defeated (for now, humph!). It took me about 4 or so hours to get it under control and cleared out. My plan was to have my beautiful monkeys help out. Ya, not so much. They are not so sure about what to pull and what not to pull and they like to bicker. I love my monkeys more that words, but the bickering gets to me! Anyway, I decided I would pull and they could just put everything in the yard waste can. That worked for a while, then I lost my crew. No big deal because I was on a roll! K came out to check on me. His eyes always get big when he sees the progress. That is reinforcement enough for me to push on. I finished one side started the other, but I needed a break.

First words out of K's mouth when he sees me in the house, "You need a bath!"

Me: No, I'm going back out. I want to get this finished today.

K: I don't think so, it's getting too hot.

Me: You really think so? Okay, but I'll finish in the morning.

K just smiled at his crazy wife and said, "I know you will."

I did get it finished and filled up the huge yard waste can twice. I couldn't wait for them to dump it on Monday. I mean I needed it so I could fill it up again!!

So if you made it through this whole rambling post I think you need pictures. I remembered to take befores and afters this time! I can not believe I am going to show you the befores, but here goes!

North side of the garden before. Geesh!


South side of the garden before (not as bad)


I bet you didn't know there were corn stalks and onions under that mess!


South side cleared out. We have carrots and squash still growing!


The 2nd pile of weeds waiting for the yard waste can!

I am happy to report that the second batch of weeds is in the yard waste can and I was able to get the last of our red potatoes yesterday. It was hard work, but it is so worth it when I see the finished product! I don't mind working hard for my family, it works for me!

Join everyone at We are THAT Family for more Works for Me Wednesday!

Until next time,

Summer Busy-ness

I love the summer for the ease of the days and the peace and renewal in our house, but most of all I love the summer for my time! Usually during the school year I am constantly striving to get myself and everyone else ready for our days. Planning, planning, and preparing are the drivers for my life from August until June. Not so much during the summer. I try to keep bed times consistent, but other than that we don't have a whole lot of planning going on. Guess what! That is exactly what we all need! We have a few adventures here and there, but we try to keep our schedule pretty light!

During this down time I have been blessed by a hubby who knows I need a creative outlet and a space to work. We have been making our unused front room into a sewing crafting area for me. The best part is that my boys have chairs in there to come and hang out with me. I LOVE IT! I can be sewing or pinning or cutting and my monkeys can hang out with me. Love I tell you! They come in an sit for a spell to chat or giggle. I am quite fond of giggling! It has been great and it has only cost us one can of paint and a yard sale trash can to make it all come together. I love shopping my house for accessories! Hopefully all of the furniture painting will be done this week and the room will be totally put together!

My sewing and cutting tables. They were dining tables we have had over the years.
They will be getting a coat of black paint to tie the space all together!

An old armoire and bookcase for storage.
K already painted them black and is finishing the shelves!

This space has already been put to good use! I have been busy making goods for my Etsy shop. My goal is to open up for business by next week! It will be good for us financially (I hope) and creating is a great relaxer for me! I can't think of a better combination! Here's a sneak peek at some of the things I will have listed in my shop. It has been a lot of fun so far!

A sampling of my beautiful aprons!


A sample of my shopping bags
(This one was a special order for my frog loving sis!)

So there you have it, what summer busy-ness and happiness is to this momma! It's what works for me! Head on over to We Are THAT Family to see what works for everyone else this beautiful summer day!

Until next time,

Veteran's Day

Today I want to thank all of my friends and family members who have chosen to serve our country in the military! We have every branch covered by someone we know and love very much. I am so very proud and humbled to have these brave souls in our family circle! The Air Force, Army, Navy, Coast Guard, and Marines are lucky to have or have had your time and your dedication to the defense of our great nation!

My grandpa Don paid the ultimate sacrifice and lost his life protecting the men who served under him in Vietnam. I never had the honor of meeting this man, but I hold him in the highest of regards for the sacrifice he made. His bravery is what serving in the military is all about!

So today it is our duty to honor and salute those active members and those that have retired from the armed forces! We should be humbled by the choice made to serve, it is an awesome responsibility.

Hug a veteran or active member and say, "THANK YOU!" For all you do!

Saluting our service men and women works for me!

Until next time,

So Cool!

I got to do the coolest thing ever last night...I walked out into my garden with a bowl and a knife and I cut our very own homegrown broccoli for our dinner! Okay, well maybe it's not the coolest thing ever, but it sure is AWESOME!

I really thought my broccoli was never going to produce, but I decided to leave it alone and see what happened. You know what happened?!? It grew! Who knew?!? I am so stoked to be able to serve something so fresh and so full of flavor to my family! My kids and hubby gobbled it up! We will be having broccoli often as my plants continue to grow. I just hope the weather keep cooperating!

I always have broccoli on our Thanksgiving menu, but it will be even better this year coming from our own labors! Maybe we'll even feel like the pilgrims celebrating the harvest! Well, that may be a stretch, but we will enjoy the broccoli of our labor. Hehehe!

Having a garden in my back yard totally works for me!

Until next time,

Ghosts, Goblins, Bats, Oh My!

K, N, and I went out window shopping on Saturday and N spotted some Halloween shaped pasta. It wasn't too expensive so I decided to get a package. Then my mind went to work like it does when I get a little inspiration. A full fledged Halloween themed dinner was in the works.

Here's what we started with...

Add a little of Mom being silly and here's what you get on you plate...(red sauce was served too, but picky eater doesn't like it on his pasta)

I busted out a couple Halloween cookie cutters and a couple of cresent rolls cans we got on with a coupon deal at Costco. Wa la... ghost and pumpkin rolls to go with our Halloween pasta dinner! It was fun getting the boys into the meal by making the silly rolls.

It wasn't on my menu plan, but getting a chance to be silly with a meal works for me!

Join everyone over at We are THAT Family to see what works for them!

Until next time,

Freezer Pancakes

As the new school year approaches I find myself making sure we have everything in place to get our new year off to a great start. I think breakfast is very important and even though I have to leave to go to my own school early each morning I want to make sure my monkeys have a great breakfast. They love pancakes, but I obviously do not have time to cook them on school mornings. I tried buying pancakes from Smart & Final, but they were super expensive (and not very tasty). Finally I decided if some company could make pancakes and freeze them, then so could I! So I made a super huge batch of pancake batter. It goes something like this...

I lay out one of my large cookie sheets with wax or parchment paper spread out on it. Cook up the pancakes as normal.

Layer them on the cookie sheet to cool. It is important that you let them cool off completely before freezing or they will stick together and make a mess when you try to get them apart to reheat.

I go ahead and start stacking them as I cook. Going from one end of the cookie sheet to the other. By the time I get back to one layer it has had time to cool off.

I use a gallon size freezer bag and make four stacks four pancakes high.

Place in the freezer, I'm not sure how long they will stay fresh in the freezer. The ones around here get eaten pretty fast! (I do my bulk pancake making a couple of times a month.)

When the monkeys ask for a pancake breakfast I simply get out however many they want and defrost at half power in the microwave for about 1-1 1/2 minutes. I then flip them over and heat on high for about 30 seconds. I use a pizza cutter to slice them, add syrup, some bacon or sausage (also precooked by me) , and I have a hot breakfast ready for their busy day!

This works for me every time! Head on over to Kristen's at We Are THAT Family to see what works for everyone else this almost-back-to-school week.

Until next time,

Security When Traveling

I always liked dressing the boys in matching shirts when they were little (ahem-shh don't tell-I still like it when they match at 7, 8, and 11 years old). It was something my mom did with my sister and I, so it was pretty natural to me (HI MA!).

Fast forward to traveling with little people and I decided that the boys all had to wear the same shirt when we were going to any kind of fair or amusement park. My husband said it was absolutely for security.

We can spot our monkeys in a crowd because of what they are wearing that day. Heaven forbid if any of them were ever lost or taken we would know exactly what they were wearing just by looking at the brothers.

It was pretty easy to do this for our last trip because I was able to go to Michaels (during their sale) and get them each matching t-shirts. Another tip is to let each of them pick a color, so they all feel like they have some control over what their wearing especially as they get older.

This really Works for Me! Head on over to We Are That Family to see what everyone else is up to on this WFMW!

Until next time,

Taking a Mom Day

Today is a rarity for me, I am going out for the whole day A-L-O-N-E. This is big for me because for a LONG time I would not go anywhere without the monkeys. I felt guilty if I wanted to just be by myself. I know I am not the only mom with that struggle. I had to really work to accept that I needed time away in order for me to regroup and be a better moma to my boys and wife to K. I am not usually gone more than a day when I do go off on a "mom day", but those hours are a necessary retreat.

I hadn't originally planned to go anywhere, but a teacher store in the city is having a 20% off everything teacher appreciation day. This store to me is like Legoland to my boys. I just L-O-V-E being in there! I get inspired and pumped for the new year as I begin gathering my supplies and wondering who will fill my desks this year. I do not have a big list of things I need from them this year, but the local store doesn't have the plan book or desk name tags I use so I am going to take advantage of the sale in the city. I thought about going digital with my plan book this year, but there is just something about actually hand writing my plans...anyway back to my post.

Normally everyone would come with me (it is not really their idea of a good time), but K decided I should go by myself and hit Trader Joe's while I am up there. I asked if he would mind if I was gone most of the day and of course he said no problem. So I decided I would get my must do stores out of the way and then hit the thrift stores around the city. I think I'll pack a lunch so I don't have to eat any junk food while I'm out and about. I don't know if I'll find any other baragins out there, but I know I will have a day to kind of regroup and just be me for a while...

This time works for me. So what do you all do when you take time for yourselves?

Join Works for Me Wednesday to see what everyone else is up to today!

Organizing the Pantry

It's WFMW time again...

I love to have order in my life and my home, so when we looked at the model of our house for the first time I fell in L. O. V. E. with the pantry. (Well that's what did it for me!) I am usually way too busy during the school year to be hunting for things, so I make sure that my pantry is in good order to make our lives easier.

If I were to just put things in they pantry without any rhyme or reason I would 1) never know what we have and 2) never be able to find anything. I have my shelves organized by like things.

On the top shelf is the pasta, paper and plastic goods, and extras.


Second shelf is baking supplies (flour, sugar, oats, mixes), rice, extra olive oil and cooking spray, and our little candy stash.



The third shelf is cereals, drink supplies (Nesquik, lemonade, tea bags, coffee, hot chocolate), and condiments.



The fourth shelf is all about the breads and snacks. I have a basket for the cheese crackers, the little cookies, granola bars, fruit rolls, chewy bars, popcorn, and breads. I LOVE my baskets. Let's just say K is very happy we don't live closer to Ikea! I on the ther hand wish we did live closer because their prices for baskets are so reasonable!




The fifth shelf is where I keep all of my canned goods and K's cup-o-soups.



I use the floor area too! I keep the drinks (juices, root beers, mochas) and potatoes and onion baskets on the floor.



I try to keep all of the items together so I know at a glance what we need when it is time for grocery shopping. I know it may seem a little too OCD, but it works for me and best of all my family knows just where to look when they need something from the pantry. I hope this helps answer any questions from this post.

Until next time,