I was directed to this cute website today!
Here's my crew as elves for the holiday season :D
[url=http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9559257093][B]my elves[/B][/url]
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9559257093
On a separate note, I survived the week of having 7 kids! Woohoo! It was kind of fun and the kids had a really fun time. There's still 1 extra here but she's kind of quiet. I'm trying to get the house picked up a bit before tomorrow. We're having dinner with my dad and family then some Black Friday shopping.
Trying to decide whether or not to get Madison a Nintendo DS Lite for Christmas, or perhaps her birthday. But they have the bundles on sale now. Gonna bake some cookies from a mix and finish the laundry and get the baby food frozen.
I made my own Monday and C LOVES IT! I gave her some bannana bread this afternoon at the park and she liked that too. Guess she's a foodie like her mother haha!
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Latest and Greatest
Well I've been a busy beaver in the digi-scrapping arena. I completed two more layouts from the Jessica sprague class and two Christmas cards. They both might be do-overs but we'll see. Let me know what you think.
ETA: I took the layout off because apparently, I already posted it. The card templates came from Firefly Creations. Very cute! The redpaper on the horizontal card came from Jannidee Designs, the white paper from Amy Teets and the papers on the Christmas tree card came from Kate Pertiet.
ETA: I took the layout off because apparently, I already posted it. The card templates came from Firefly Creations. Very cute! The redpaper on the horizontal card came from Jannidee Designs, the white paper from Amy Teets and the papers on the Christmas tree card came from Kate Pertiet.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Little Miss Lotte
I've taken to calling Charlotte Lotte in my head. When I say it out loud it doesn't quite fit but I'd like to have a small nick-name for her.
Yesterday was her 6-month visit. She checks out well for the most part. 16 pounds 7 ounces, 28.5 inches long and 43 cm head circumference. The perctiles are as follows, respectively: 60%, >95% (I think the dot was above the tallest line) and 35%. She's got the biggest head by far of the 3 girls and I think is the largest at this point. I can't quite remember but she just seems chubbier LOL! I figure she'll thin out when she gets to moving about.
What else, let's see... she rolls periodically but not on a regular basis. We started foods almost two weeks ago. So far she's had commercially prepared sweet potatoes and squash. I found a rough patch on the back of her leg at peds visit yesterday and the ped thinks it might be exzema from the foods. I'm to prepare fresh only for now and thin it with breastmilk. Hopefully the patch will go away. I do believe C's skin is the same type as Madison's so I wouldn't be surprised since Madison had it as well.
She got two vax but the ped threw me for a loop. We had agreed to give her body time to heal from the infection at birth so we set six months as the time to begin vax. Well, yesterday ped said she'd prefer to wait until two or three years. I'm so on the fence with this issue. I may have to return to work next year so I thought it wise to get started. Plus Matthew and Madison bring all sorts of stuff into the house from school as do the children I babysit. We're going to draw a titer at the nine-month visit and if she has immunities we'll not have to repeat those.
Mia got a flu vax, but we're only going to do the first dose. She's got a very poor diet and seems susceptible to everything. If she were still b/f I would have skipped it but she hasn't in over a year now. Wow, that was a fast year.
All in all, doing well. I have to set an appt. for Madison for the white bumps under her eyes and Charlotte goes back in February for her nine-month. Here's a picture for your viewing pleasure. I think my dear friend from UK sent this. I owe her a couple pix. Oy!
Okay, I couldn't find that one. Perhaps I neglected to take it so instead here's one in her Christening gown.
Yesterday was her 6-month visit. She checks out well for the most part. 16 pounds 7 ounces, 28.5 inches long and 43 cm head circumference. The perctiles are as follows, respectively: 60%, >95% (I think the dot was above the tallest line) and 35%. She's got the biggest head by far of the 3 girls and I think is the largest at this point. I can't quite remember but she just seems chubbier LOL! I figure she'll thin out when she gets to moving about.
What else, let's see... she rolls periodically but not on a regular basis. We started foods almost two weeks ago. So far she's had commercially prepared sweet potatoes and squash. I found a rough patch on the back of her leg at peds visit yesterday and the ped thinks it might be exzema from the foods. I'm to prepare fresh only for now and thin it with breastmilk. Hopefully the patch will go away. I do believe C's skin is the same type as Madison's so I wouldn't be surprised since Madison had it as well.
She got two vax but the ped threw me for a loop. We had agreed to give her body time to heal from the infection at birth so we set six months as the time to begin vax. Well, yesterday ped said she'd prefer to wait until two or three years. I'm so on the fence with this issue. I may have to return to work next year so I thought it wise to get started. Plus Matthew and Madison bring all sorts of stuff into the house from school as do the children I babysit. We're going to draw a titer at the nine-month visit and if she has immunities we'll not have to repeat those.
Mia got a flu vax, but we're only going to do the first dose. She's got a very poor diet and seems susceptible to everything. If she were still b/f I would have skipped it but she hasn't in over a year now. Wow, that was a fast year.
All in all, doing well. I have to set an appt. for Madison for the white bumps under her eyes and Charlotte goes back in February for her nine-month. Here's a picture for your viewing pleasure. I think my dear friend from UK sent this. I owe her a couple pix. Oy!
Okay, I couldn't find that one. Perhaps I neglected to take it so instead here's one in her Christening gown.
A New Layout
I'm behind in my Jessica Sprague class. Week 4's lesson was posted Monday (how sad is that?!) and I just finished Week 3. And let's not forget that I haven't downloaded all the freebies, nor have I done any of the challenge projects. All in good time, my dear!
So this was a two page spread. I kind of wonder how it will print out since the middle cuts right into a picture. I might tweak it some to avoid that. I've asked on the message board over at JS website. Can't wait to read the insight all the wonderful scrappers have. It really seems to be a happy bunch.
And my little surprise for anyone that cares -- I created my first freebie! Yep that's right me LOL! I was inspired by something I'd seen recently and ran right over to my computer. It actually didn't take that long but I want to tweak it some before sharing. Not really sure anyone will pick up on it but we shall see. I probably should test it myself before posting. So I'll have to do that later. It's not necessarily a style I'd use myself but I've seen a lot of others take to it. Check back in a week or so if you're interested :D
So this was a two page spread. I kind of wonder how it will print out since the middle cuts right into a picture. I might tweak it some to avoid that. I've asked on the message board over at JS website. Can't wait to read the insight all the wonderful scrappers have. It really seems to be a happy bunch.
And my little surprise for anyone that cares -- I created my first freebie! Yep that's right me LOL! I was inspired by something I'd seen recently and ran right over to my computer. It actually didn't take that long but I want to tweak it some before sharing. Not really sure anyone will pick up on it but we shall see. I probably should test it myself before posting. So I'll have to do that later. It's not necessarily a style I'd use myself but I've seen a lot of others take to it. Check back in a week or so if you're interested :D
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
The Jury is Out
I finally got around to visiting the new Trader Joe's they opened in town a couple weeks ago. The littles and I went yesterday. I've been waiting months and so excited as I've heard such wonderful things about the prices and quality.
So, I wasn't WOWed. I liked it but it has its pros and cons.
What I liked. The fruits and veggies seemed really fresh and good quality. They had a nice selection of milks. They have all sorts of things we use, i.e. fruits, veggies, cereals, packaged goods, baking goods, meats, lunch meat, cheeses, etc. They even had scones and tea bread. I'm going to ask my friend about these and see if she's tried them. She used to go to the other TJ that's way down the road. Although, I would imagine the baked goods would vary from store to store. They also had some nice prices. Bagged salad for $1.99, the butternut squash was cheaper than at Food Lion, fair price for deli lunch meat even though it's prepackaged and the milk was decently priced as well. The free balloon was a hit as well as the free samples. Although, the free samples were cranberry-based so a bit too tart for my munchkin.
What I didn't like. It's a small store so I'd never be able to get everything in one stop. A lot of stuff is really pricey or smaller packages, i.e. the applesauce cups were $1.79 which is cheaper than Food Lion brand and probably better quality. However, there were only four to a package instead of six. Perhaps it would even out. Most of the packaged goods I saw and household supplies were a lot more. There's not as much variety. I suppose if we had a small family, i.e. 4 people instead of six, I could probably feed my family full-time on the nice organic stuff. However, that is prohibitive, especially with meats and such. Also the veggies were pricey, over $3 for a couple of cucumbers. Albeit, the ones at Food Lion are not always good but at least they're less expensive.
Like I said, I'll try it a few more times and might try to get at least my milk, eggs and whatever veggies are on special. The people were nice and friendly and if get there at the right time, I can park on the side and not have to walk through the parking lot.
On another note, I tried playing a game with Mia yesterday; Candyland. Perhaps she's a bit too young yet. She'll be three in January but didn't quite grasp the concept of the game overall. She moved her gingerbread man to the appropriate colors most of the time but didn't quite get it when you had to move back or got stuck in a bog. I'm hoping to get a few other games for Christmas for her that might be better. Candyland can get long sometimes.
I'd like to get Hi Ho Cherry-oh. She loves to count. I'd also like to get the duck shape game and the new Candyland game. I need to spend more interactive time with her and I don't much like playing toys. At some point Charlotte will be old enough to play with her and they won't want me around LOL! On one hand I look forward to not being so needed but on the other hand it's so sad to see my babies grow up so quickly. I know I can't wait for some days (like yesterday) to be over but other times I wish the clock would slow just a tad.
So, I wasn't WOWed. I liked it but it has its pros and cons.
What I liked. The fruits and veggies seemed really fresh and good quality. They had a nice selection of milks. They have all sorts of things we use, i.e. fruits, veggies, cereals, packaged goods, baking goods, meats, lunch meat, cheeses, etc. They even had scones and tea bread. I'm going to ask my friend about these and see if she's tried them. She used to go to the other TJ that's way down the road. Although, I would imagine the baked goods would vary from store to store. They also had some nice prices. Bagged salad for $1.99, the butternut squash was cheaper than at Food Lion, fair price for deli lunch meat even though it's prepackaged and the milk was decently priced as well. The free balloon was a hit as well as the free samples. Although, the free samples were cranberry-based so a bit too tart for my munchkin.
What I didn't like. It's a small store so I'd never be able to get everything in one stop. A lot of stuff is really pricey or smaller packages, i.e. the applesauce cups were $1.79 which is cheaper than Food Lion brand and probably better quality. However, there were only four to a package instead of six. Perhaps it would even out. Most of the packaged goods I saw and household supplies were a lot more. There's not as much variety. I suppose if we had a small family, i.e. 4 people instead of six, I could probably feed my family full-time on the nice organic stuff. However, that is prohibitive, especially with meats and such. Also the veggies were pricey, over $3 for a couple of cucumbers. Albeit, the ones at Food Lion are not always good but at least they're less expensive.
Like I said, I'll try it a few more times and might try to get at least my milk, eggs and whatever veggies are on special. The people were nice and friendly and if get there at the right time, I can park on the side and not have to walk through the parking lot.
On another note, I tried playing a game with Mia yesterday; Candyland. Perhaps she's a bit too young yet. She'll be three in January but didn't quite grasp the concept of the game overall. She moved her gingerbread man to the appropriate colors most of the time but didn't quite get it when you had to move back or got stuck in a bog. I'm hoping to get a few other games for Christmas for her that might be better. Candyland can get long sometimes.
I'd like to get Hi Ho Cherry-oh. She loves to count. I'd also like to get the duck shape game and the new Candyland game. I need to spend more interactive time with her and I don't much like playing toys. At some point Charlotte will be old enough to play with her and they won't want me around LOL! On one hand I look forward to not being so needed but on the other hand it's so sad to see my babies grow up so quickly. I know I can't wait for some days (like yesterday) to be over but other times I wish the clock would slow just a tad.
Friday, November 9, 2007
I must be mad ... Oy!
I love that ... oy! Picked that up from my friend A! LOL. So, someone approached me about watching her two children during T'giving break which is week after next. Our kids go to church school and for some reason they get an entire week off. Probably because they don't get some of the other holidays like Vets day (???) and the Jewish holidays off.
Anyhoo, I asked my Friday charge two weeks ago did she want me to watch her dd that week because generally I take her in on days off school. She said no she had family in town so I told the other family I could watch her children (6 and 12). My Friday charge was a no show last week so this evening the mom tells me she would like for me to watch her dd that week as well.
Here's where the OY! comes in LOL! At least one of the three is 12 so she doesn't really need babysitting, just a place to be that's not home alone. It's interesting but a lot of the families I meet at our church school do not leave their youngish children home alone, even though they could. I was a latch key kid by 12 but I also didn't have any younger siblings living with us at that time that my mom had to find a sitter for.
So anyway, it'll be 7 of us all day Monday. The two siblings will only come for a partial day Wed. and Thurs. And in the end I count it as an answer to prayer because that's money that we really need right now. It will really help, especially with Christmas around the corner. I keep forgetting that God tells us in the Bible that we are more important than the sparrows and hears our prayers. I worry incessantly about finances when I probably should let God carry that burden more often. Even this month I took in more than I thought and was able to make a tidy payment on the medical bills. When we were both working it would have been a pittance but considering our current situation, it was a nice payment and for that I'm thankful. It's a nice way to start the Sabbath with a reminder that God is keeping our family in His hands every day.
Thanks be to God.
Anyhoo, I asked my Friday charge two weeks ago did she want me to watch her dd that week because generally I take her in on days off school. She said no she had family in town so I told the other family I could watch her children (6 and 12). My Friday charge was a no show last week so this evening the mom tells me she would like for me to watch her dd that week as well.
Here's where the OY! comes in LOL! At least one of the three is 12 so she doesn't really need babysitting, just a place to be that's not home alone. It's interesting but a lot of the families I meet at our church school do not leave their youngish children home alone, even though they could. I was a latch key kid by 12 but I also didn't have any younger siblings living with us at that time that my mom had to find a sitter for.
So anyway, it'll be 7 of us all day Monday. The two siblings will only come for a partial day Wed. and Thurs. And in the end I count it as an answer to prayer because that's money that we really need right now. It will really help, especially with Christmas around the corner. I keep forgetting that God tells us in the Bible that we are more important than the sparrows and hears our prayers. I worry incessantly about finances when I probably should let God carry that burden more often. Even this month I took in more than I thought and was able to make a tidy payment on the medical bills. When we were both working it would have been a pittance but considering our current situation, it was a nice payment and for that I'm thankful. It's a nice way to start the Sabbath with a reminder that God is keeping our family in His hands every day.
Thanks be to God.
Good-bye summer
we miss you already. I can't believe it's November and time for Thanksgiving almost! The kids get a full week's break that week.
Why I Miss Summer:
I miss warm days.
I miss leaving the front door open.
I miss sunlight.
I miss dashing out without worrying about coats, hats, etc.
I miss sandals.
I miss shorts and summer tops, capris.
I miss getting out of the house in 5 minutes.
I miss opening the windows when it's not too hot.
I miss walking around the lake and playing outside.
I miss the long days.
I miss summer fruits and veggies.
I miss ice cold drinks and ice cream.
I miss swimming in the pool under the sunshine.
I miss walking outside and feeling the warmth of the sun on my face.
I miss the cute little summer dresses for little girls.
I miss putting a diaper and shirt on Charlotte and that's enough for around the house.
I dread winter this year and the lack of natural sunlight. Perhaps it'll be fine. I just don't like the dark days and I don't like the cold, it's painful! However, it is nice to snuggle in on a cold winter's night with some popcorn, a movie, blanket and hot cocoa (or even a cold coke) and spend some quality time together. Right now I'm finishing up a taco dinner, the house is closed up, it's cozy and smells delish. It's also quiet since two of the girls have fallen asleep before dinner. Unfortunately, one of them is not the baby LOL! Wonder how bedtime will go tonight. Hmmmmm.
Why I Miss Summer:
I miss warm days.
I miss leaving the front door open.
I miss sunlight.
I miss dashing out without worrying about coats, hats, etc.
I miss sandals.
I miss shorts and summer tops, capris.
I miss getting out of the house in 5 minutes.
I miss opening the windows when it's not too hot.
I miss walking around the lake and playing outside.
I miss the long days.
I miss summer fruits and veggies.
I miss ice cold drinks and ice cream.
I miss swimming in the pool under the sunshine.
I miss walking outside and feeling the warmth of the sun on my face.
I miss the cute little summer dresses for little girls.
I miss putting a diaper and shirt on Charlotte and that's enough for around the house.
I dread winter this year and the lack of natural sunlight. Perhaps it'll be fine. I just don't like the dark days and I don't like the cold, it's painful! However, it is nice to snuggle in on a cold winter's night with some popcorn, a movie, blanket and hot cocoa (or even a cold coke) and spend some quality time together. Right now I'm finishing up a taco dinner, the house is closed up, it's cozy and smells delish. It's also quiet since two of the girls have fallen asleep before dinner. Unfortunately, one of them is not the baby LOL! Wonder how bedtime will go tonight. Hmmmmm.
Insurance
Every year or so I explore the different auto insurance companies to see if we can save some dough on car insurance. We were with Nationwide for years and years until I found out we were paying substantially more with them plus they had crappy claims.
I think I've gotten close to ten estimates. I even got one from Nationwide because I received a letter in the mail from my previous agent saying their rates have come down. I got a rate online from them for $775.00 every six months which is about $150 more than what we're currently paying. About 20 minutes after getting the online quote the phone rang and it was them :rolleyes: Sheesh. Glad I let it go to voice mail.
The next time they called I answered and told them their rates were too high. The gentleman kindly told me that if I get the quote directly from an agent, it would be less. Okay, I told them to call back so they called back when I was trying to get the kids ready for bed. I asked if they could call back today instead and they asked what time. I said after 9. Yep, you guessed it. 9:06 I received a phone call. I asked them to call back this afternoon which they did.
So I spent ten minutes on the phone talking with the agent to get a "better" rate than online. The agent's rate was over $900! For two cars for six months. That's more than we're paying for three vehicles right now. No, thank you.
Now I just need to compare everything and pick the lowest one. I think I can save $50 a month! Woohoo!
I think I've gotten close to ten estimates. I even got one from Nationwide because I received a letter in the mail from my previous agent saying their rates have come down. I got a rate online from them for $775.00 every six months which is about $150 more than what we're currently paying. About 20 minutes after getting the online quote the phone rang and it was them :rolleyes: Sheesh. Glad I let it go to voice mail.
The next time they called I answered and told them their rates were too high. The gentleman kindly told me that if I get the quote directly from an agent, it would be less. Okay, I told them to call back so they called back when I was trying to get the kids ready for bed. I asked if they could call back today instead and they asked what time. I said after 9. Yep, you guessed it. 9:06 I received a phone call. I asked them to call back this afternoon which they did.
So I spent ten minutes on the phone talking with the agent to get a "better" rate than online. The agent's rate was over $900! For two cars for six months. That's more than we're paying for three vehicles right now. No, thank you.
Now I just need to compare everything and pick the lowest one. I think I can save $50 a month! Woohoo!
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Too tired to blog.
I was going to write tonight but dh commandeered me for special projects. Thanks honey! So now it's almost 10 and I'm way too tired. Perhaps it's the time change. Remind me to write about why I miss summer and Charlotte's newest. Oh, there's also her Christening and my latest layouts, if I haven't post the l/o already.
Nighty-night.
Nighty-night.
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