Dagoba Chocolate!!!

Okay, so I though maybe I should lay off the blogging about contests - then - I came across a giveaway for Dagoba Organic Chocolate! Yes, you read that right - YUMMY! Not only are they a responsible company, but they sell chocolate - yummy, organic chocolate! Does it get any better than this? No, I didn't think so. LOL. So, the giveaway is here: Sage and Savvy, and if you want to check out Dagoba Chocolate go here.

Bazil Essentials

Bwahahahaha - getting tired of the contests yet? No! Fabulous - read on family and friends. I am THRILLED to have found this company. They are an eco-friendly company whose products are cruelty free and 100% vegan. I can't wait to try some of their stuff. It will have to wait for regular, gainful employment, but I do have faith that will happen soon, and pssst dear husband - I have a birthday in May! Check them out here: Bazil Essentials. If after looking at their stuff, if you are drooling - as I am, go to Rundpinne's giveaway and enter! Lots of luck.

Another cool giveaway - Twisted Silver

So, being sick with the flu sucks, but you can find positives everywhere, right? Because I am home sick with the flu, I also get to spend the day cuddled in bed with my two little munchkins (one who is also sick - the other who will probably get sick because he won't stay out of my face! LOL.), and while they watch Blue's Clues, I get to surf the web. I'm having fun finding all these cool contests, and I'm not one to keep a good deal to myself, so I'm sharing it with you all!

Rundpinne blog is having a giveaway from a very cool store called Twisted Silver. They have cool, funky jewelry. Check out their celebrities page, and you will see their jewelry on one of my fave celebrities - Finola Hughes! If you like their jewelry, then go to Rundpinne and enter her blog giveaway for one of their bracelets! Good luck - let me know if you win!

Want to win an iGo?

I have recently stumbled across a pretty cool blog called Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls. She has a lot of very cool giveaways on her site. Check her out: Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls. If you'd like to check out the iGo giveaway and enter to win, click on this link for information: iGo Giveaway.

Remember to be thankful

Sometimes it's good to step back and remember everything you're thankful for!

1) I'm thankful that I have five (one is still thankfully gestating) beautiful, healthy children. They may drive me insane sometimes, but they also fill me with love, joy, and gratitude. It's pretty amazing to have not one but FIVE people in your life that you love so deeply and passionately that you would lay down your life in a heartbeat for them.

2) I'm thankful that I am married to an amazing man who loves me back! There are so many people that I know who have gone through devastatingly painful divorces, and my heart breaks for them. It also makes me all the more grateful for what I do have. It's an awesome feeling to be married to your best friend.

3) I'm thankful that I have such a great relationship with my parents. I talk to people all the time who distance themselves from their parents as much as they can and gripe every time they have to spend time with them. I would love to live closer to my parents, so I could see them all the time. I'm grateful for the times I do get to see them and for free in-service mobile minutes!

4) I'm thankful that this crap I have appears to just be the flu. It will eventually go away, and I'll be able to breathe again. Too many people deal with health problems every day. I can handle the flu.

5) I'm thankful for good friends who I can gripe to and turn to, and who hopefully feel like they can do the same with me.

6) I'm thankful that we live in an area of the country that is not as hard hit economically as other places. I'm hopeful that it will mean jobs are easier to find.

7) I'm thankful that we've found two fabulous schools for our children. Growing up is hard sometimes and having a good school with caring teachers is one way that it can be easier.

There's so much more that I am thankful for, but I'm getting pretty sleepy, so I am going to TRY and sleep again!

Scrabble

Even in the middle of uncertainty and chaos - you've got to stop and have a little fun! Tonight I played a fun game of Scrabble with my daughters.

Bally's Total Fitness is horrible

I would like to tell the world (or the twenty people who occasionally come here) that Bally's Total Fitness is a horrid company, and please, please, please go ANYWHERE but there. I'm really regretting ever going back to them. That's all I'm going to say at the moment, because my mommy told me I have a potty mouth!!! Trust me, that potty mouth is about to make another appearance...

Happy New Year Part Deux

I think if any year needs a do over, it's this year. Today is Chinese New Year. We've all decided to pretend that we have Chinese Heritage, and well - who knows? In another lifetime maybe? LOL. Anyway, I think we're calling this year a do over. So, Happy New Year everyone.

Cliche' Time

What are those cliche's? I am really feeling like I am "between the proverbial rock and a hard place" right now. Do I "trust in the universe to provide" or is there truly "no fate, but what we make?" Yep. Told you it was time for cliche's. Trey is certainly not less stressed than I am about this whole situation - his situation is just more clear cut: find a job. My situation is muddy. I am 25 weeks pregnant today. I can't wait a few more weeks to see if he can find a job. My only shot is now - right now. I can hide this pregnancy this week - maybe next week - and that's pretty much it. No one is going to hire someone as pregnant as I am. Okay, legally they can't NOT hire me because of my pregnancy, but I'm not a fool. If insurance wasn't an issue, there would be a much more clear cut plan - wait until after the baby is born. Most likely, things will be great - baby will be healthy - I'll do fine - blah, blah, blah. Do we trust that things will work out that way, or do we lose the house if something happens? *sigh* Remember when you were a kid, and you thought things would be easier as a grown up?

Time for pictures

Okay, it's time to lay off the bitching for a while and post some cute pictures. My children turned my living room into.....well.....I'm not exactly sure what this is, but they turned my living room into this the other night! Notice Louis on the floor covered up in a blanket. Beth Ann actually picked him up and moved him when he fell asleep in the family room and put him there and he stayed asleep!




Here is a cute picture of a sleepy Louis. He was cranky and just went in the other room and fell asleep on the chair! LOL.

Interesting tidbit

Beware - this blog may just become my own personal bitch session for a while with a few cute pictures thrown in every now and again. Okay - disclaimer over....

We just found out today that our lovely government taxes severance checks at 41%. Yes, you read that right - 41%. Smart, eh? At a time when families need the money the most, the fucking government takes out the most. Now, unemployment on the other hand looks at the gross amount on a severance check. Nice.

Guantanamo Bay detention center is closing. Yes, I am glad about that - truly glad. However, Mr. President - it's time to make good on your promise to help the American people. I've got one place you can start. Tell the fucking money grubbers to pull their heads out of their asses and tax severance checks normally.

Non-believers

Watching President Barack Obama's speech today, I have to admit that he hit a nerve. I really wanted him to make it one day before he pissed me off, but such is life. LOL. He said, "Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, blah, blah, blah, non-believers...." It is, of course, not the first time that I have heard the term "non-believer" before, but I was very irritated that our new president - the one that so much of the country has put so much hope into - had the arrogance to use that term. Truly the arrogance that someone has to have to use that term is mind blowing. Since becoming a Unitarian Universalist, I have come to see the strong beliefs so many "non-believers" have. I have met "non-believers" that have some of the strongest beliefs I have ever seen - much stronger and more deeply held that many "believers." On Sunday, the intern minister mentioned a UU minister and parishioner who were killed while standing up for civil rights in the '60's. What a slap in the face to those two individuals who were willing to die for their beliefs to call them "non-believers." These "non-believers" have lost their lives, their jobs, their friends, etc. for their beliefs. I suppose my husband and I take our children to rallies and protests because we want to teach them our "non-beliefs." Really, as much as I try to stand up for my beliefs, I can only hope that faced with significant loss, I would be willing to stand strong. Their are many, however, who have been asked to do exactly this and have. Mr. President and anyone else who chooses to use the term "non-believer" take note - the term is offensive, inaccurate, and arrogant.

I can't leave on a bad note. Let me mention the thing that President Obama said that made me want to shake my first in the air in triumph - that we DO NOT have to compromise our ideals for peace - the two aren't incompatible. Perhaps their is hope yet!!!

Little Ballerina

Today was Olivia's dance sharing class. She is so cute when she dances. She loves it so much. Here's a short video. I've been trying to upload the longer one all day - it may be a while.


I think we're going to get the compost bin done tomorrow. I really love it. It's looking so good!

Weekend Warriors? Maybe not.

Well, we gave it a shot, but we didn't get it done. We did get a lot done. (I even got a little demolition work done on what's left of the deck!) It's looking good. Hopefully, we'll get a chance to work on it tomorrow. Here's how it's looking, and here are some pictures of our "helpers!" I think we both need a good soak in a hot bath - ouch!



Today Beth Ann sang with her choir the Chalice Flames. They sang the song "Never Turnin' back."

Work begins on the compost pile!

Well, we didn't get it finished, but we did get work done on it! Trey and Beth Ann went to Lowe's and got all the materials that we need to make it. Luckily, Lowe's is just down the road because Trey had to drive home with the van gate open and the wood sticking out.

We got the bottom built and the side boards cut. I think we'll get it finished tomorrow. I am excited to get it up and be able to use it! I'll post a picture tomorrow.

Here's a cute picture of the munchkins that I snapped tonight, well - except Livi. She's sleeping over at a friend's house tonight!

Nesting

Okay - this manic nesting phase is either going to whip my house in shape..................or kill me. Not sure which! LOL. I am getting a lot done, and I think my family is finally - FINALLY - beginning to see that when I say "clean" I don't mean neat - I mean CLEAN. I would rather have a clean messy house than a neat filthy house any day. We'll see......

I finished up the last of the t-shirt bags today, fixed some diapers, got some gift bags sewn, and culled a bag's worth of stuff from my scrapbooking/pictures - along, of course, with the things a mother does EVERY day - laundry, dishes, vacuuming, cleaning, dusting, homework help, yadda, yadda, yadda! :-) At least I am seeing some progress, and that is my focus!

Back to Basics

I had an interesting conversation with my mom the other day about how so many things are coming full circle. She made a comment about how much things have changed. How when she was a kid they had to wear cloth rags, "and they had to be washed out, and it was gross!" I just laughed. I talked about how now we're finding out that the chemicals in disposable menstrual pads are causing all sorts of problems including but not limited to making cramps way more painful. Now, there is a growing market for "mama cloth" pads. So many of the "conveniences" that have come out since the 50's haven't been all that "convenient" after all. The increases in beef production have just caused an increase in heart disease, high blood pressure, etc. along with the outrageous, detrimental environmental impact. The loss of handmade crafting has gone hand in hand with the increase in sweatshop garments. The technological advances have increased toxic waste creating environmental damage and health problems.

Now, before I start to sound like someone who should forsake the world and become Amish - don't get me wrong. Do I want to live without my modern refrigerator or other conveniences like laptops, air conditioning, and cell phones? No. I do think that we as a group of people need to start taking more responsibility for the waste we are creating. Getting back to basics does not mean we have to give up electricity and start washing our clothes outside with a washboard. I don't everyone needs to take up sewing or live a life that they are not interested in. I do think we all have to take a hard look at the way we live and make the changes we can to reduce our impact on the world. If we gripe about global warming, and then eat beef five times a week - hypocritical much? What can I do to change the world I live in? What can I do to teach my kids social and environmental responsibility? It's been weighing on my mind very heavily as of late. We cleared our garage last weekend, so that we could make our compost bin out there this weekend. It's important to me to teach my children composting. It's important to me to teach them about ecological responsibility. It's really important to me to get them out of this polluted city - come on economy - time for a rebound!!! Nothing I can do about that right now though, so I just have to keep trying to improve my little corner of the world - even if it is in an ugly, brown, dry, crowded, polluted city.

A small change that I have been thinking a lot about lately, is getting some houseplants. My problem is that in the past I have never been able to keep houseplants alive. I forget them! I had gorgeous, lush plants in my office when I had a paying job, but they were always in my face. I'm trying to figure out how I can remember to water them and keep them alive. Indoor air quality is a big deal. Research has shown that most indoor air quality is worse than outdoor air quality even in such a smoggy place like Denver. We've been cutting out the harsh chemical cleaners - which should help - we have an air purifier, but a few plants would be awesome. I also need to figure out what kind of plant that won't be poisonous to the children or the cats - BOTH would eat the plant if given the chance. Loelle - if you read this and have a suggestion - please tell me! So, after the compost bin - I am going to attempt to have houseplants again. It's just another thing to try and "green" up our lives!

Bad karma vs. deep determination

You know, I feel like I have engaged in a battle of wits with karma itself. Now, with a normal personal I can hold my own and quite often much better. However, karma can kick my ass every. single. time. I'm putting up a fight though! How do I fight? Trudging along - digging a hole in the sand. My darling, amazing husband reminds me that pirates bury their treasure in the sand! Until then, here are some fun pictures.

Here are my terrific boys enjoying some fun time together playing in the snow. Louis looks up to Ray so much, and Ray adores his little brother to pieces.

Today, the snowball king visited our front yard! Ray spent nearly an hour creating this field of giant snowballs today.

More progress

Well, the last three weeks have been hell. So, I have decided that I am just going to focus on the progress that we've made. The upstairs is almost completely decluttered. The girls' room still needs a little work, but we need to get them some kind of storage stuff, so that'll have to wait a bit. Today we managed to get the garage cleaned out and decluttered. It looks so much better. Tonight I actually walked out there (even though it's freezing) in my nightgown just to look around and make myself feel better! LOL. Now, we have room in there to make a compost bin which is on our list for next weekend. I've put stuff on Freecycle and made three trips to Goodwill and will make another one tomorrow. The house is already beginning to be easier to clean and feels more peaceful to be in. I finished Trey's scarf which is one of my January craft goals. If all this extra crap would stop happening, things would be feeling pretty darn good.

On Tuesday, I took Louis and Olivia to play at Chuck E. Cheese for a while for our "fun day." Here's some pictures - including the cutest game of air hockey ever played!




Here is a picture of Louis' boo boo from last night.

It's all still good but getting old!

You know, I'm really trying to be an upbeat person, but it's getting a little challenging. In less than three weeks our garage door broke, our heater broke, we've had three doctor's visits, four urgent care trips, and an emergency dental visit. It's time for a break! Tonight, Louis fell and hit his head on the brick fireplace, so we had to take him to the Urgent Care Center. It was his second trip there in two weeks. The doctor looked at me and said, "Haven't we met?" Um, yep. Luckily, they were able to patch Louis up with glue instead of stitches, so he would have a "better" scar. *sigh*

Making progress

I am making some progress on my January goal of getting the upstairs decluttered and organized. I got a lot done today. I've designated Mondays as my clean/purge/organize days for the next few months. I took four large garbage bags full of stuff to the thrift store today. This evening I collected another small bag worth of giveaway stuff. I have to try and find a bit container for Ray's Legos and other building stuff. He needs a good place to keep them where he can keep them contained and organized. My problem is relaxing once I get done! I'm sitting here exhausted from a long, busy day, but I can't get my brain to turn off the "You need to go upstairs and clean X, Y, and Z" tape. Sheesh. Oh well. I'm too tired to do more today, so all that has gotten done is all that is going to get done!

I also made some progress on Trey's scarf. I got about 4-5 inches done while Olivia was in her dance class. It is going to be a very warm scarf - a little short though. In retrospect, I would have made it a bit narrower, so it could have been a little longer. Live and learn.

Here's a cute picture from dinner. Louis is really enjoying his Tofutti fudge bar!

Cold, cold day!

Finally, on the LAST day of Christmas break, we all felt good enough to get out of the house and go somewhere. We decided to go out to Cherry Creek State Park and walk on the frozen lake. Trey talked to a fisherman out there, and he said the ice was a foot thick. Louis did not think walking on the ice was cool! He hid his face in Daddy's jacket and made Daddy carry him the whole time. We had planned on taking a short hike, but it was way too cold. After just a little while on the ice, we all rushed back to the car to get warm.


We made our annual trip to Zoo Lights tonight. It was all of 19 degrees! COLD! We bundled up good though, and we made it through - quickly. Then we came home and had hot chocolate!

Louis slept through the whole trip!

A Razorback - cool.


The only picture I could coax Ray into being in.

It's All Good

You know, sometimes it's hard to see past a particularly craptastic week. That has been this week. All six of us have made an unexpected visit to either the doctor, dentist, or urgent care. This morning we woke up to a cold house and the smell of gas. Lots of little crappy things have happened too numerous to mention. It's easy to get down and frustrated. Here's the good part of frustration. When I get angry and frustrated - I clean! Three bags to Goodwill; three bags to the trash. The big picture is that even though it has been one hellacious week, things are still good. There's nothing wrong with us that a good dose of antibiotics won't heal, our house didn't explode, we're all together, and things are good. My dad lost a good friend today. Nothing that's happened to us is beyond being fixed or blown off.

Tonight the girls and I decided to be "girlie." They took a bath, and then we had manicures and I braided their hair. Ray's still feeling yucky, so he stayed on the couch and watched a movie. Louis decided though that he needed his nails painted. So, now he has green sparkly nails! Livi has pink sparkly nails, and Beth Ann has both blue sparkly and green sparkly nails. It was fun, and I am a lucky person to be surrounded by such awesome kids.


After this week though, I still think we're calling a do-over. We're going to pretend that we have Chinese heritage somewhere in our past and celebrate Chinese New Year this year!