Long Gone Are The Days

Long gone are the days of having leftovers. Long gone are the days where 1/2 of hamburger would feed our family. Long gone are the days where 2 chicken breasts would feed all of us and Mike would have leftovers for lunch. I sure am going to miss those days!

Now, 1/2lb of roast beef, 1/4lb 1 Hawaiian Sweet Bread Loaf and some grapes is not enough. We had to add 1 package of crackers and 2 apples with caramel dip. that was just for lunch. For breakfast, at 0730, The Three had vanilla yogurt with granola on top, blueberries, raspberries, a sausage link and a french toast stick. i think Mike gave all of them a handful of cheerios as well. They were all screaming for food at 10am! Seriously. I am going to have to rethink my menus, what I buy prepackaged and what I make from scratch. I am not looking forward to dinner tonight.

Now when we go out to dinner, the only place we can take them is to Ruby Tuesday. they eat plate after plate of ham, grapes, salad, tomatoes, cheese and dried cranberries from the garden bar. No kids meal is worth the price and they are still hungry! We can't afford to feed them at Chik-fil-a. The kids meals aren't big enough. Machines I tell you. They are eatin' machines!

I am so very thankful for our kids. I wouldn't know what to do without them. I am just longing for the days. For many different reasons but in this season of growing, I am longing for the days of cheap grocery store visits!

Time To Eat

I know. It has been awhile. I haven't had much to say. Till now.

All 3 of my children have eaten well since birth. They ate anything put in front of them and in mass quantities. Sofia ate 40 jars of baby food each week. Great eaters!

Now, you would think they had been abducted by aliens. They won't eat anything. I mean, anything we give them. I think I found the key, though.

Zach is a dipper. He wouldn't eat his ham at lunch today until the ketchup showed up and then he cleaned his plate. A dipper for sure. I will provide an array of dipping sauces for each meal so that he will eat. He really hasn't had much to eat at all lately. Let's see if we can turn this around!

Sofia like food, well, just how she likes it. Peanut butter sandwich is not just PB sandwich, please instead it is a PB, no jelly, just open please She is very particular. Ham in sandwich is another of her favorites, which she takes apart and eats in layers.

Ethan. Well Ethan will not eat with a poopy diaper(who would!) but he will not tell us his problem, he just runs around the table like a crazy boy and acts out. I suppose he IS telling us but a few words in the mix would be great! Some days he will eat anything, other days he will eat everything.

I guess I have only found the answer to one of my alien eaters but hey, its a start!

The Spam Folder

What is it about the spam folder that makes me so crazy? I cannot stand for there to be a number, indicating the number of messages , next to the word Spam. Why do I feel the need to delete the messages right away?
I have tried and tried to just leave them there and pretend they don't exist but I can't!
I have considered clicking the delete immediately button but sometimes responses to Craigslist or even my Mary Kay director's emails get sent there so I have to check it!
Is this an OCD thing. I hope not!

Shark Attack

I didn't order mine off the TV and pay a crazy huge price but I did buy one at Big Lots for $55.00! It is reconditioned and comes with a warranty. I say better than new!

I have dark, shiny hardwood floors. I can't stand them. If I walk, you can see the prints if the kids drop something, it sticks. They are terrible. The Shark Steam Mop is the only thing I have found that will clean them, fast and without leaving a build up.

Cons:
Hard to push
Once the pad is dirty, it streaks the floors
Doesn't get the big stuck on messes

These cons aren't bad considering not much gets the tough messes up better than elbow grease, it comes with 2 pads and I only need to change it for the kitchen/dinning room.

Pros:
Fast
No smells
No sink/bucket full of water
No ringing it out
Dries instantly

I am telling you, it is worth a try! You can return it to Big Lots if you are not happy and since it comes with a warranty, who cares if it is reconditioned.
I would like to hear your thoughts on it and if you have something that works even better, I really want to hear that one!

Just to Name A Few

(Sorry Mama Belle, you inspired a topic!)

Here a few things I have learned about myself in the last month.

I no longer live in California, Arizona or Colorado. I can accept the fact that we live in Tennessee, have wonderful friends HERE and can have a great life if we just trust and believe.

I don't have to have the biggest house for my money, I don't have to live stretched to the max and I need to take advantage of all Tennessee has to offer.

Tennessee can offer a slower pace of life, less expensive lifestyle, less pressure on our children and so on.

I will never understand why people from Tennessee drive like they do and the sooner I accept that fact the better off I will be. Not to mention, my kids will not be yelling unmentionable phrases at the cars around us!

I am pragmatic. I sometimes miss the humor in order to set you straight with a practical solution.

I am not my neighbor. I may want to be in so many ways but I am not. I don't have a clean house, I don't have a manicured lawn and I don't have a clean car. I want these things. I want my house to look spotless and smell good. I want my yard to be pleasing to the eye rather than half done because we just ran out of energy. I want my car to be clean and not full of laundry and bags and crackers.

I am a mom to 3 wild children who need me more than my house does.

I am a child of God. He thinks I am wonderful and will guide me in the right direction; but only if I let go of the reins and let Him.

Stuck In A Rut

I am stuck in an internet rut. I need some new websites to visit. I have been looking at the same ones forever and I cannot even think of anything to search to find a new site!

What are your fave sites to visit?

TV in the bedroom

Now, I am a big supporter of NO TV IN THE BEDROOM but I may be caving a little and not even due to my husbands requests.

I have been thinking and it would be pretty nice to have a TV in the bedroom for these reasons:

We already have 3 kids

Those 3 kids get up early on the weekend. If I had a TV with cartoons, a baggie of cereal in the nightstand and a sippy cup of milk in the fridge, then I could stay in bed longer.

Mike and I get up at 5am and go to the basement to watch the news and ESPN and shower. Wouldn't it be nice to do all of that in bed and shower in our bathroom?

The coffee pot is in the kitchen so I have to go upstairs for my second cup. I think I should come down to the computer with my second cup in hand.

Have I lost it? Should I really get a TV for the bedroom? What are the pros and cons for those of you with a TV in your room already?

Here is what About.com has to say.