Quick Update...

Well, it's been awhile since a regular post update. I just needed to take a bit of a break from the blog. Sometimes I get a little frazzled trying to keep up with everything, and when I get to that stress point it's just good to "un-plug" for awhile. 
I will try to be back here regularly because I have missed blogging, joining in on group posts/blog hops, etc.
Here's some info on what's been going on lately:

The hubby and I wrapped up our summer business at the end of July. We sell novelty items at festivals and parades. It's a lot of fun, but also very much hectic. It's more of a hobby really although the extra income is nice to do. It's something we have done the last couple of years.

The kids are back in school for the year. It's been a crazy time getting them both adjusted, especially my youngest who has started for the first time ever. There have been some ups and downs, and we have been considering homeschooling. However, our minds have not been made up officially yet. The kids love school, seeing their friends, etc. While I would love to have them home all the time I have to worry that I'm taking away their daily social experiences. I know I can teach them just as good if not better than the public school system, the socialization part is very important, and there are a few things they get to do at school they would not get to do at home. Still it works the other way too so a pro and con list is in the making, and it's being discussed but no decision has been made yet.

We are gearing up for fall in our little neck of the woods. I am thrilled because fall is one of my favorite seasons. I love the changing of leaves, the crisp cool air, fall festivities and holidays, etc. It's a lovely time. Especially since usually in our part of the world summer's are scorching and winters are frigid. Fall is a nice in-between most of the time. 
Plus I honestly love decorating for fall.

I have a surprising bit of news to share, although I'm not ready to just yet. Waiting for the right time so stay tuned on that! :)

I am still doing book and product reviews. I plan to continue with those, but I don't want my blog to be ALL about those. I do hope to introduce some fun giveaways here soon though, and hope to be able to get the time to come back and at least update weekly on our lives around here.



I hope you all have been doing great! I've so missed personal blogging, and I look forward to be back to it! :) Don't be shy to drop a comment or two. I would love to connect with some of you, and if you have a blog of your own leave the blog address in the comments and I will gladly follow back! Let's show some blog love here! ;) lol

Well that's all for right now, the household is waking up. (They all actually slept in today, go figure this is the day I would get up early when I have the chance to sleep in lol).


Goodbye for now...until next time. :)

Home Warranty Tips

So as you all know me and hubby have been doing research into buying our own home. While we aren't ready just yet it doesn't hurt to look around and go ahead to see what's out there for the price. We don't care to have a bit of work ahead of us when buying a house. It's to be expected as you will pay quite the price to have everything your looking for and for it to be move in ready. So while we save we research, and we look. It's exciting to see houses, what they are selling for, what they have sold for, how they are renovated, etc.

One thing that is kind of scary though is it would be so hard to purchase a home and then have something suddenly go wrong with it. So we are definitely going to be getting a home warranty when we purchase. That way if something major or even minor goes wrong we aren't looking at a huge financial setback. It's always a good idea for a homeowner to protect themselves as much as possible. Because once you take that buying plunge it's yours good and bad.

Years ago we started out buying a starter home. Being young and excited for the venture we entered into a contract sale where we would rent for the first two years and if we decided upon buying after that all the money paid would be deducted from total cost of the house. It was a pretty sweet deal but as our family grew and the house did not we started having issues. Our AC unit went out, our refrigerator started having issues, and our stove was also having issues. Thankfully it was covered under the seller's home warranty and it was all fixed. Appliances are a major financial setback when you aren't expecting to replace them. Nothing lasts forever after all.

We decided against buying the house anyway even though we loved it, it was just too small with no room for adding on.
But it was an eye opener for sure. So this time when we take the deep plunge to purchase a home we are going to do it right and have our own home warranty. There are so many companies out there that offer great contracts. One of them is Choice Home Warranty and they have a really helpful Facebook page too.

As I know a lot of you out there are also about to take the homeowners plunge here's a few facts about having a home warranty you may find very valuable:

• Home warranties insure against repair and replacement costs for appliances and other components of a home that quit working. They can be purchased for any home, no matter what its age.

• A warranty helps assure the buyer that he won't have to buy new appliances or other covered items if they fail a month after closing. Warranties are often purchased at closing, but can be acquired any time.

• The cost of a home-warranty policy varies. A basic policy is similar among the major providers, even though the items covered sometimes differ. Evaluate coverage by jotting down covered items in a column on the left side of a blank sheet of paper. To the right, make a separate column for each policy, and check off the items that are covered by each provider's basic policy. If you must purchase coverage for some systems separately, jot down the price.

Here's some articles you may also find helpful:

Home Warranty: Why get one now?
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/homestyle/12/30/toh.home.warranty/

How to Determine if You Need a Home Warranty
http://www.wikihow.com/Determine-if-You-Need-to-Buy-a-Home-Warranty




Disclaimer: I was compensated to write this article, however, all opinions expressed are solely my own.

Happy Homemaker Monday - 10/28/2013

It's been a couple months since I've gotten to participate in Happy Homemaker Monday and I am so glad to be back, I can't even begin to tell you how glad! Well, I could, but then I'd just bore you. haha
Things have been completely insane around here and finally things are starting to slow down enough to where I can get back to regular blogging. I am so glad!
So firstly I'll start with joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy Homemaker Monday. If you want to join in head on over to her blog and link up! :)

photo is from Sandra @ Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

~::As I look outside my window::~
Sunny but cold outside. All the leaves are falling off the branches faster than I'm used to, but there are plenty of birds and squirrels coming to eat the food put out for them. The grass is still mostly green with a few brown and yellow patches here and there. All the frost from this morning has melted away. Here's a look at our weather this week:

~::Right now I am::~
Sitting on the couch while my youngest takes his nap. I've been doing laundry all morning and the normal day to day chores. Gilmore Girls is playing on the TV.



~::Thinking and pondering::~
About how busy this week is going to be. Tonight there's a Halloween school carnival at my oldest son's school, tomorrow is karate practice, Wednesday I'm babysitting, Thursday is errand day, karate practice, and Halloween (trick or treating), and luckily nothing is going on for Friday just yet. Hopefully it stays that way. Also thinking how nice it would be to have hubby home. He has been working non-stop all the time lately and it's been hard to handle as we are barely seeing him. It's been a big adjustment and one we all are not taking to well. It's been very stressful.



~::On my bedside table::~
The Hanging Tree by: Michael Phillip Cash
Stillwell Manor by: Michael Phillip Cash
going to the library this week so I'm sure this list will grow. I also just finished about five books, so I'll get some reviews up for those :)



~::On my TV tonight::~
Gilmore Girls
Bones
The Voice



~::Playing on the radio::~
The radio is off at the moment



~::On the menu for this week::~
Monday- porkchops, steamed baby carrots, rice
Tuesday- chicken casserole, biscuits
Wednesday- pizza pasta casserole, garlic bread
Thursday- (shopping day) something out as we won't have a lot of time
Friday-
Saturday-
Sunday-


~::On my to do list::~
Washing and ironing Lucas's Gi
Change bed linens
Cleaning windows and shelves
Mopping kitchen and bathroom floors
Vacuuming living room, and bedrooms
Give Gizmo a bath
Organize kitchen cabinets
Organize living room shelf (sadly it's become our dumping ground and all things are getting put there when we come inside as it's right in front of the door. I'm going to clear it off today, and set it back to rights)
normal day to day chores


~::What I am sewing, knitting, or creating::~
Not much of a chance to do anything lately. I've been lucky to find time to read or even sit for more than fifteen minutes lately. LOL
I am hoping to start on some crafts soon, especially since my local Walmart finally started carrying fabrics! I'm very excited about that fact.


~::My simple pleasure::~
Hot cup of freshly brewed tea and any kind of chocolate. :)


~::Lesson learned this past week::~
You can't always do what pleases others. You have to put yourself and family first. When times get hard people will give you all kinds of advice, some good and some bad. If they truly care about you they have good intentions. Trust God and trust your heart to do what is best for you and your family. You can't please everyone. Everything worth having is worth fighting for at some point or another in life. Life isn't life without some struggles here and there, but God holds our hand every step of the way, and you are NEVER alone in anything, even when it feels like it.


~::Looking around the house::~
Some dishes in the sink I need to get done, living room needs a little picking up from the kids coloring in here before school this morning, Levi is napping, Gizmo is laying on my feet, and I'm about to make BLT's for lunch.


~::From the camera::~
Nothing this week. Sorry :(



~::On my prayer list::~

• Our family as we go through some financial struggles.
• Me and hubby, we have had some tough times the last few months. It has been extremely difficult as we have had to get used to some changes that have not been easy on any of us.
• Family and friends for good health. It seems like everyone around us is getting sick, and I know how rough that can be. We were all sick for about two weeks and actually spent my son's whole fall break being sick! It took a huge toll on us, but I am thankful we are all back to normal now. Praying for everyone else's good health.
• Family and friends who are going through some personal struggles.

~::Bible verse/Devotional::~
John 5:30
"I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

Fast Max

Phew, what a crazy week. School got out in our area on Tuesday so we spent the day celebrating. We went to Burger King per our new kindergartner's request, and then we went to the local fair which happened to be in town. We had a great family day albeit extremely hectic.
Suddenly me and the kids started coming down with a sore throat and just felt like crud. Luckily the kids went to bed easy with no fuss, so I was able to lay down while I hoped for the best the following day.
No go though, when I woke up I couldn't talk at all. I had the usual: cough, sore throat, itchy watery eyes, and even ran a bit of a fever. I took Dayquil but it just wasn't helping me at all. To make matters a bit more hectic I was babysitting so it was like a day in the circus. Imagine watching 3 kids ages 5 and under while you can't talk other than a few hoarse notes here and there. And two of them were sick with mostly the same symptoms so it was filled with children's mucinex, allergy medicine, and tylenol per pediatrician's orders. They were grumpy. LOL
The children's mucinex works well for my kids so I was curious as to some of their adult products.
I did finally get the chance to do some research later Wednesday and find this:

It had good reviews and I really needed something. I felt like my chest was going to explode at any moment from coughing, and I just wanted to breathe through my nose. Hubby bought some and I was able to take it right before bed. Thursday when I woke up my cough had broken up more and my voice was almost all the way back.
Luckily today I am feeling a ton better and I'm more than ready to get back into our daily routines.
The kids are feeling much better also which means less grumpiness. And we are all going insane being indoors right as school lets out. So I have some family plans to make next week and awesome one so we can finally start enjoying the summer. Maybe it will help ease some of that sibling rivalry that's been going around here the past couple of days. Let me tell you it's not been pretty. They have even taken to fighting over the exact same things.
Anyway I have some great reviews I've been waiting to publish on here coming your way this week.
And I have some pictures I'll share from some of our adventures from this past week.
Right now I better go and start preparing dinner. Time waits for no one.
I wish you all a great evening, and happy weekend.

Mommy's Crazy Life

Sorry for my absence last week. I should really just change the name of my blog from Mommy's Musings to Mommy's Crazy Life. LOL

Did you all have a good memorial day? It poured rain here but we still had a pretty nice day. Hubby had to work so we went to my mom's house for dinner. She made her famous homemade fried chicken, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and grilled corn on the cob. The rest of the day we decorated outdoors in between all the rain and played with the kiddos. I am just so thankful for all the men and women out there who have/and do fight for our freedom each and every day. Without them our lives here wouldn't even be possible.

Hubby got some bad news from his work that there would be a significant amount of layoffs and cutbacks. Luckily he is only one of four others that weren't affected by this. Half of the other's got their hours cut but work more days in a week, and the other half have been laid off indefinitely. It's all very stressful. He has been with his company for over 8 years now so he is in no hurry to leave, the instability of it all just has us a bit on edge.

Also I have been winding down getting excited for the end of this school year. My son only goes to school for 4 more days but we recently found out there has been a change for next year. A couple schools are only announced for being positively affected, but the others I'm thinking will follow suit. Rather than have K-5 in our schools they are trying to push for 1-5 and one whole building for just K. Which doesn't bode well considering the building they want to use for Kindergarten is close to ten miles away from us. That just makes me incredibly uncomfortable. If an emergency came about it could take at least a half hour just to get to the school. So needless to say we have been a bit stressed. Our school system has never fully functioned well when it comes to making decisions. Last year they put all the preschooler's in one building, which wasn't really a huge ordeal although we weren't happy about finding out until a couple weeks before school began. Not to mention I had a huge ordeal where they didn't even have him registered.
That's exactly what we are afraid of happening this year. So we now have to take a look at private schools and homeschooling. We aren't sure what route we want to take yet. We aren't even sure if his school will be one of those affected, but we want to be prepared just in case. That way he doesn't have to be thrown behind in the next school year.

Also in the news the boys are getting sick. What a way to end the school year. It could just be allergies for my oldest son, but for my youngest I think he may have a sinus infection. He's got the bright green gooby snot going on, itchy watery eyes, and ultra irritability factor. I'm going to keep an eye on it and run the cool mist humidifier tonight. If he is no better by Thursday I will set a doctor appointment for the same day.

Anyway, I have much coming up in the way of reviews so stay tuned. If your interested on guest posting on my blog or you need something reviewed just send me an email: mommywonderland (at) gmail (dot) com.
I will get to you as soon as I can. :)

Thanks for stopping by.

Good Morning

Good morning everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful day today!

It's 8:39am in my neck of the woods, and I'm sitting on my patio enjoying the beautiful day. The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and it smells like fresh rain.
We got some pretty heavy thunderstorms last night, and it was much needed as it cooled things off a bit. Yesterday was just so hot and muggy.
It's been an interesting week so far, but I must admit, I am ready for the weekend to arrive. This weekend my plans are just to relax as much as possible with the kiddos. We finally got to break out our sandals even, which I just love!

I'm hoping to catch up on some blog reading tomorrow. Today is errand and grocery shopping day, and it's sure to be a busy one. To be honest I was a bad mommy and didn't even make out the meal plan for the week. I'm getting ready to do that as soon as I end this post. I have most of the meals planned in my head so that should count for something right?

And I'm hoping to get to my emails finally today. Every time I get online I get called away so I haven't had much of a chance to check on anything. If any of you sent me an email and I haven't replied yet, please don't think me rude. I promise you I will send you one back. I've re-worked my schedule a bit to allow myself at least one hour in the mornings (before the kids wake up) to be online. This should catch me up on everything surely, and I'm looking forward to connecting with all of you again.

I just seen the cutest little bunny. He approached me, but then fled. I'm going to get some veggies to put out for him, and hopefully I can snap a picture to share with you all next time. The cutest little thing. It's amazing the wonders we see early in the morning or when not many people are out.

I'm thinking of starting a Saturday Seven for all of you who may want to join in. On Saturdays we can play catch up with each other and read about one another's weeks. We can either tell seven important things that happened to us this week (or even unimportant things), or tell one thing about each day, etc. I think it will give us all a chance to see what one another has been up to that week, and it could be fun. What do you think? You can let me know via comments or send me an email:
mommywonderland (at) gmail (dot) com.

Look forward to seeing you Saturday! There will be a Mister Linky in the post if you want to link up. :) Wishing you all a wonderful day!

Sincerely,
Tori

Busy Day Spent Indoors

Today has been a pretty productive day. I FINALLY got down all of our Christmas decorations. I just couldn't take it anymore. I LOVE Christmas trees all lit up, decorations, etc., but once the holiday is over I just start feeling cluttered and then you know it's time. It feels so much better around here though now that things are back to normal.

I got all the chores done at a fairly early time and got to spend time playing with the kiddos which is always nice.

I'm also going to be doing some re-arranging to the kids bedroom this weekend. With all their new stuff and the both of them in one room it's getting mighty crowded.

I wanted to stay in this apartment until we were ready to buy a house in a couple years, but to be honest I don't think we're going to get to for the simple fact as the boys get older them sharing a room works less and less. I think once our lease is up close to the end of this year we're going to have to get a bigger apartment with an extra bedroom.

Seems like today sped by which always seems to happen when your busy.

I was going to make a trip to the local library, but decided to hold off. I just didn't feel like getting out today when so much needed attention around the house. Not to mention it's super cold outside. I must say I do feel a lot better after getting everything done. Now just to tackle the re-arranging of the kids rooms, and I think I'll throw the closets in there too. haha

I hope everyone had a happy, fun, safe New Years. We spent our New Year's Eve at home. It's the one night we all stay up late and we usually watch the ball drop on TV from Time's Square, but this year I fell asleep when the kids did. We didn't even make it. haha. On New Year's Day we all went out to eat at the Golden Corral and tried their dinner buffet. It was nice to get out the whole family and just enjoy good food and each other's company. Plus no dishes! How can I complain?

Then once the kids were tucked in bed me and hubby enjoyed a glass of wine and some quiet time together.

I didn't make any New Year's Resolutions lists. To be honest I always find them hard to stick to. I stick to them for the first few months or so and then by summer at least I've lost track and just given up or forgotten completely. One thing I can stick to is my Day Zero List. There's a website called: dayzeroproject.com

Here's a bit about it I took from the website:

Whether you want to travel, make things, discover new experiences, or completely reinvent yourself - Day Zero has something for you!

Choose a challenge, such as our original 101 Things in 1001 Days, then build, track and conquer your list with the help of thousands of other participants.

I'm doing the 101 in 1,001 list. It's much more realistic to try for 101 goals in 1,001 days rather than 365. And I'm not setting the bar too high because that just makes it all that harder to stick to the goals, and can get a bit overwhelming.

Another great thing that I've really started getting into is a website called: Paperbackswap.com

For all you readers like me out there, it's really easy to get into.

Create your account, list books you want to get rid of (10 books earns you 2 credits) and then once you get credits you can start requesting books. There are literally millions to choose from on there. Search by author, book, genre, etc. Users can request books you post, and you request books others post. Makes it so easy to trade. You simply pay for postage which isn't that much, and Paperbackswap even has a printable wrapper which makes it that much more easy.

For every one of your books someone requests you get a credit. So the possibilities are endless and it saves a lot of un-needed book clutter. I am always coming across books I buy and they aren't what I thought or I just want to make room for more books so I get rid of them. But I realize how many other people may want to read that same book so why not keep it circulating?

Anyway give it a try if you haven't. I had been hearing about it for quite some time and finally decided to take the plunge and so far I'm loving it!

Anyway, time to go. Have a good night/day. :)

Sincerely,

Tori

Farewell 2012

I can't believe it's already the end of 2012. It seems like this year has just flown by as I look over it. As with every year this year was filled with it's ups and downs. But I am thankful for all the good and here's my top 10 list for 2012 favorites:

1. Levi turned 1 years old and Lucas turned 5 (yes, I'm rolling these into one as they are equally important)
2. Lucas started preschool
3. Me and Josh celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary and 7 years together.
4. We got our puppy Gizmo.
5. We moved
6. Me and hubby each got Ford Taurus's which we have always wanted
7. We moved
8. We celebrated the births and birthdays of many loved ones and friends.
9. I have made a lot of new bloggy friends, and gotten lots of blog opportunities which I am very thankful for.
10. And most of all I am extremely happy and thankful for family and friends to have them not only in 2012 but in the years to come. :)

So that's just my top 10 faves. I always get nostalgic at the end of the year looking over the memories and seeing how the kids have grown. :) 

I missed Happy Homemaker Monday also, today I know, but due to hubby's crazy work schedule after the holidays we had to make up for grocery shopping and errands earlier. No way do we get out once it starts getting late on New Year's Eve or even New Years. We will be spending our time inside and together. Tomorrow will finally be doing some home re-arranging and playing games together before hubby goes back to work again to start a long work week on Tuesday.

I do urge you to go visit Sandra's Happy Homemaker Monday and visit all the other participants located on her Mister Linky: http://familycorner.blogspot.com/2012/12/happy-homemaker-monday-goodbye-2012.html

So now I will leave you with a Happy New Year. I hope you all have a fun, relaxing, and safe holiday!

Merry Christmas! 2012

I can't get over the fact that it is already Christmas Eve! This year has just flown by so fast I can't believe it. But that's how years go. Just when you get ready to look back over the year it's done and gone.

We're spending a quiet evening at home. Luckily we finished our Christmas shopping early, and while I have a few gifts to still wrap there aren't many left.
The one downfall of this Christmas is both the boys have now gotten a cold. They woke up like that yesterday. One thing that's keeping them in good spirits is that yesterday we went and picked up the newest addition to our family.

Meet...

Gizmo 

our 8 week old Havanese puppy

He is a happy little puppy and has already bonded with all of us. He follows the boys around wherever they go, and we can tell they are just going to be the best of friends. He's doing pretty well for only being away from his litter for 24 hours and I'm hoping he continues doing so good. We are all attached to each other already, and the boys were just over the moon when they seen him. It was after all the main thing they asked for this year.

Tomorrow we are having a few family members over, but otherwise we are going to spend a quiet easy Christmas just relaxing, enjoying good food, each other's company, and just being all around happy to spend time together. I will be glad to have the hectic-ness of the holidays out of the way. Christmas is my favorite holiday, but oh my is it a busy time.

Anyway, I have some more food prepping to get done, and we're going to be playing a few more board games. We were going to go look at some Christmas light shows nearby, but it is going to be getting colder and with the boys being sick already I don't think it's a good idea.

I hope you are all having a very good Christmas. Feel free to comment below on how you are spending the holidays. I would love to hear what everyone is doing. :)


Sincerely,
Tori

M.I.A.

I know I haven't blogged for a little while. We've had crazy schedules here lately with appointments just about everyday! Insane. I'm so glad that Lucas is finally on Christmas break so we can all just relax (aside from the normal daily chores that is)! Running too and fro school admist juggling appointments and running errands isn't always easy since there is a time constraint. LOL

Plus it's snowing outside right now and the temperatures all of a sudden dropped compared to yesterday. The wind is fierce and the temperatures frigid. I'm so glad to be in our cozy little place.

I'll be glad to get back into the groove of blogging. I've missed it but at the end of the day I've just been too tired to do anything. I pretty much fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

In a few days we go pick up our pup. I will be coming back to post pictures as we are so excited about his arrival. I can't wait to see how much he has changed since we went to pick him out. He's going to be bigger and more furry. haha

Anyway I don't have much more time left on this post. I'm putting the kiddos to bed and we are going to crash early. It's been a long cold day, and tomorrow we have an early Christmas dinner with some family so it's already promising to be busy.

If your an author that has has/will have a book coming out feel free to send me an email. I am always looking for new books and authors to discover, and it would help boost some advertising (free). I will also be taking guest posts, and there have been a few whom has sent me an email wanting to do guests post. I'm very sorry but I have not been able to get back to you just yet, but your not forgotten. I will be answering those this weekend. Some got stuck in the Spam folder and I've been organizing my email so you'll be hearing from me soon.

I will also be back to visiting all your blogs as I've missed hearing what all you've been up to!


Happy Holidays!


Sincerely,
Tori

December Launch

Oh my what a crazy week last week was! I'm hoping this week is a bit more tame.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. I hung up some Christmas lights today around the windows. Just because you live in an apartment doesn't mean you can't decorate right?
I also hung/set up some other Christmas decorations here and there. I have much more to do, but it's feeling really nice. This is my favorite month, and Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. I love the snow, the music, the movies, the family time, the joy, I am thankful for the birth of Jesus who saved us all, it's just a wonderful time of year. While we don't have snow yet in Indiana everyone around already have the decorations up and everyone just seems more cheerful all around.

Yesterday we launched our Advent calendar. The kids are really loving the activities for each day, and I think it's going to become a yearly tradition. I did a hand-made calendar this year and for each day I have fun activities planned. Yesterday we wrote letters to Santa, today we're making Christmas Cards, tomorrow we are making snowflakes to hang around the house, then we are reading the story of the birth of Jesus, etc. There are many good ideas for making your own advent calendar on Pinterest, and to be honest it's a lot better to make one (I think anyway) than buy one. Mine only cost me $2. I'll try to post pictures of it for tomorrow's Happy Homemaker Monday post. I'll be joining Sandra again from Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. :)
BUT...if I don't happen to get the pic of it posted tomorrow I will get it posted this week so you guys can see what it looks like. Tomorrow is just promising to be a VERY busy day for us around here. I'm struggling to make it through my to-do list today so I'll have less to do tomorrow and it's a bit overwhelming. Still once it's all done and completed the feeling of accomplishment will be worth it. I would rather be overwhelmed today with chores than tomorrow when we have school, doctor's appointments, etc on top of it all. Just thinking about it is exhausting me. haha

I did have a recent scare the other night and suddenly started having chest pains. It was unlike anything I'd ever felt. I'd been having sharp stabbing pains off and on for the last week, but pegged it down to stress. I mean let's face it, as much as we love the holidays they do come with their fair share of stress. My right arm went numb, chest felt like daggers were repeatedly offending me, I couldn't breathe, couldn't move, etc. Considering I was alone with the boys it was even more terrifying. Even when sitting I couldn't shake it. As soon as hubby got home we had my mom sit with the boys while I went to get checked. I have pleurisy. They doctors could give me no reason why I would have such a thing so I have to follow up with my family doctor. They prescribed some hospital strength ibuprofen to help with the inflammation and thankfully it's non-drowsy.

ANYWAY, I have some reviews coming up. One I'm hoping to get posted at least later on today, given I can get through my to-do list. Anyway guess I better get back to it. Sorry for the such short post.

Sincerely,
Tori

Thanksgiving Eve

Thanksgiving Eve! Today is going to be a hectic day for sure and I can already tell I'm going to fall in bed exhausted by the end of it.
I have last minute preparations for shopping to do (yes I forgot a few things on the list, nothing major thankfully), normal cleaning, and Thanksgiving preparedness. Hubby is at work today which means I'll be going it alone. Thankfully he's off for 4 days straight starting tomorrow so it will be nice to have him home.
There is so much to do though! I'm getting tired just thinking about it!

I'm hoping that tomorrow goes smoothly. Me and the boys have been fighting a very annoying cold. Lucas had it first and had a fever over the weekend. He was fever free right in time for school this past Monday, but a runny nose, scratchy throat, etc, still lingered. Then Levi woke up with a fever yesterday morning and still had one last night. Low and behold yesterday I started feeling the body aches, my nose clogged, and my throat started getting scratchy. Today thanks to this new Afrin I'm trying for free via BzzAgent my nose is unclogged, but my throat is still a bit scratchy. I am praying it goes away by tomorrow because I want to enjoy the good food and family time!

I also have more reviews coming up, and if you haven't been on here lately I just launched the Howard B. Wigglebottom book giveaway so it's not too late to enter! Just in time for the holidays too so it could make a great gift! I for one can personally attest that my 5 year old LOVES Howard B. Wigglebottom. We have several of the books and we read them over and over again. He has learned so much from them it's just amazing how it reaches children.

This weekend we get to go pick out our new little fur baby. I'm excited about it. We don't get to bring him home of course since the litter isn't yet ready to leave their mom, but we will have him right in time for Christmas. The boys are going to be so excited and there isn't a day that goes by they don't talk about a dog so I can't wait to see their little faces light up with joy.

Anyway, I better get off here and get the breakfast dishes cleaned. It's almost time to take Lucas to school and I have LOTS of cleaning to do today. This weekend I will also be working on an advent calendar. I have been getting tons of ideas from Pinterest. The only thing I have left to do is go buy the Elf on the Shelf. Can't forget that! After all Christmas always flies right up on us after Thanksgiving.

How are you spending Thanksgiving? Do you celebrate with an early meal or a later one? What is your traditional Holiday Dish? Ours is ham.

Sincerely,
Tori

A sippy that actually works!

This is going to be a personal post of mine. I didn't receive any free products, was not compensated in any way, nothing like that. But this post is of my own doing. All opinions expressed are my own as is this post.

First let me start by saying that I have been super frustrated lately by sippy cups in general. Lucas is 5 and Levi is 1 1/2 years. During the whole 5 years of me having kiddos I have NEVER found a sippy that doesn't leak. And we still try time and again. I have tried almost all the major brands and they work great at first and then low and behold I am greeted with puddles on the floor in various parts of my house. My husband was so frustrated with it that he just kind of gave up. We were both tired of wasting our money on sippy cups that promised to be spill/leak free only to find our kids beds soaked, their clothes, or puddles on the floor. Hubby even likes to joke that we would be better off just giving them a cup with no lid as good as most of the sippy's we buy work. Wouldn't be much of a difference I must admit.

Then Levi lost his sippy cup. We had an especially hectic trip out of town to the children's museum and somewhere it got lost. So we stopped at Walmart to pick him one up. I was stopping at a relatives house on the way home so I had the chance to wash it, but didn't want to wait until we got all the way home before he had a drink.
I didn't want to spend another eight dollars or more on a pack of sippy's that was going to start leaking in a few days time and I noticed the Gerber's Graduates Fun Grips. There were 2 in a pack for only five dollars and some change.

These were about the only sippy's we hadn't tried yet so I figured since they were definitely affordable we would go ahead and give them a try. Why not?
I was SO pleased! So far we have had then for a little over two weeks and they work wonderfully! My son has even thrown them and there's been no leaks so far! Instead of a rubber valve there is a plastic one which doesn't wear out after washes. Plus the hourglass shape makes it really easy for little hands to hold. It's easy to wash as well, and very easy to drink out of. They come in various colors and are for 12 months plus.
Plus the lid seals tightly and the hard spout is so perfect for teething, chewing babies. They can't just squeeze the spout and cause liquid to flow out. They are made in the USA and they are BPA free. The brighter colors make them fun, and if they get lost they are easy to find.
I was blown away by the excellence at such an affordable cost, and the reason I am sharing this with you all is because sippy cups are a parents worst nightmare. I'm sure all of you have suffered from random puddles on the floor, a soaked shirt/onesie, finding wet in your baby/toddlers bed from a leaking sippy, etc. And so far so good for these! I have always loved Gerber baby food and the onesies, but I never thought about trying the sippy cups. I guess to be honest I figured the more expensive ones that promised no leaks would be better since they were so high. But money has nothing to do with it. These sippy's have blown the others out of the water! Just goes to show that such a trusted brand needs to be looked at further and I wish I had tried these sippy cups beforehand. I probably would have saved a LOT more money and a lot more time scrubbing floors and carpets. LOL.

I would highly recommend them, and I plan on coming back after a few months of use to update on how they are still holding up. After all every child has to have a sippy cup and it's up to us parents to stick together. I'm always trying to scour websites, blogs, reviews, etc to find out others response on products because I'm simply tired of throwing my money down the drain.

The only advice I have on these is just make sure you push the plastic valve in all the way. It will stay put once it's in there, but you do need to push it in tightly. Otherwise you will be led to believe these leak when really it's just the valve isn't in there tight enough. That happened to me and I was getting frustrated because I thought it was the sippy, but really it was just that I didn't have the valve pushed in all the way. Ooops! Once you push the valve in tightly it WILL stay, my son even threw his sippy from his booster on the floor and the valve didn't budge at all. When you want to take the valve back out to clean it just twist it and pull. It's really easy to do, and I'm just pleased all around. I highly recommend these sippy cups, but if you want to see how it's still holding up for us in a few months time I will be doing another post to update. :)

Thank you for visiting! By the way I posted a comment on Gerber's facebook wall and got such an incredible response on comments. I found out some fantastic information through Gerber and other parent's comments which you might find helpful such as:

• If you register through the START HEALTHY, STAY HEALTHY Resource Center you can get informative booklets with nutrition and feeding advice, product information, as well as special offers through baby's first years. Just click this link: http://bit.ly/cG89Wy
• You can also find Gerber coupons on the target website and other websites. Just print them out and use them! Simple and easy.
• If you have any stories about sippy nightmares, good experiences with Gerber, or anything you would like to share I would love to hear your comments. Just leave them below. Thanks!

Sincerely,
Tori

Just a lil update...

Oh my am I ready for bed and it's only 10am. I still have this horrible cough that just does not seem to want to go away. It's actually gotten to the point where I have to take Dayquil before I go to bed at night JUST so I can sleep. Otherwise I wake up the whole house (literally my kids get up asking if I'm okay) with my incessant coughing fits which seems to happen every five minutes.

I know I missed Happy Homemaker yesterday, but yesterday was SO busy. I actually sat down and started it, but then I was needed elsewhere so I clicked save and just wasn't able to get back on the computer the rest of the day. I didn't get another free minute until 11pm and by then I was frankly completely tired and exhausted. I pretty much fell asleep right as my head hit the pillow. I didn't even get to cover up all the way. LOL

Yesterday I had to make a trip to the library. I actually misplaced a movie that was due and I spent 2 hours searching for it. I found the case right where I left it but the disc wasn't in it. I could have sworn that I put the disc in there, but it wasn't there. I was flipping out because it was a new release and I don't want to have to pay for anything. I am usually so consistent on keeping all the library stuff in one place. The library movies have a place, and the library books have a place. But anyway by sheer accident I finally located it in a yo gabba gabba case. At that point I decided I NEEDED to get the movies back so with the kids in tow we set off. I was so worried because normally taking the kids ensures that our library trip will be over with before it even begins. I'm the mom chasing after the 4 year old while the 1 year old screams in his stroller because he doesn't want to sit there. I usually end up with only one movie and some children's books and rush out of there as fast as I can before I get asked to leave by security for alarming the other library patrons because my kids are screaming. But yesterday I had faith (and a dollar to use for bribery for the vending machine). So we went in and automatically Lucas started helping me turn in the movies that were due. Then we went in search of some children's movies for him and Levi. Levi only yelled a couple of times but he did sit in his stroller which I was thankful for. Lucas didn't run off at all and stayed right by my side and was the perfect little gentleman. He even helped with Levi a few times when he started hollering loudly. We ended up with a lot of great movies (theirs and mine) some great book finds (theirs and mine), and as promised I got them something to split out of the vending machine before we left. Behold the power of a dollar!

By the time we got out of the library around 5:45pm it was almost fully dark outside. I can't believe it gets dark so quickly! But I'm not complaining. I kind of like it actually! Call me crazy, but it seems appropriate for the winters approach that it does get dark sooner. Although I probably shouldn't actually write that down because later I'll probably find myself complaining about it getting dark sooner, but for now I don't mind it in the least. It seems to calm the kids sooner. They know when it starts getting dark that it gets closer to bedtime.

I love the winter because of the snow, the holidays, etc. The only thing I don't really care for is the cold. BUT with the good comes the bad and we can't have snow without cold obviously.

I must go do dishes and clean now. It's almost time to take Lucas to school and I'm hoping Levi decides to take his nap during that time so I can get some reading time in. I used to get up early to read but I have been so tired lately it's been impossible to concentrate, and staying up later to read seems next to impossible for the same reason.

Anyway enough rambling from me right now. I've been working on a lot of great reviews to go up this week so stay tuned. One will be posted about everyday this week so there will always be something great to look for and learn about! Plus there will be my usual rambling posts. LOL. I hope you enjoy!

Sincerely,

Tori

Conner Prairie and other things...

As I'm writing this the kids are settled with the Fresh Beat Band just riveted. So that gives me about 10 minutes to share with you what we've been up too. I've been a bad blogger I know. Can I bribe you to forgive me with some Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts? There we go. haha.

Last weekend on Saturday we took the kids to Conner Prairie. It was suppose to be in the mid 70s with plenty of sunshine but ended up being cloudy and windy. It wasn't really cold though so we still were able to have a great time. Here's some of the pics:

on the way to Conner Prairie we couldn't help but enjoy the open road and pretty fall colors.

Arriving in the parking lot we see this huge hot air balloon in back.

the hot air balloon as we are heading to the gates

one of the Lenape Indian huts

Inside the Lenape Indian hut. Bed on the right hand side, fire pit in the middle, bench on the side. There was another bed and more seats on the other side.

The larger, better built Lenape Indian hut. Made from tree bark and on the inside the walls were mud. Again there were some beds inside, pallets on the floor, fire pit, and seating

One of the houses that has sat there for years. I believe this was the Conner house actually. It was so big inside!

This would have been the lady's room. You can see the cradle beside her bed.  The room was actually large in size, but due to the crowd I couldn't get a picture of the whole thing. There was a huge armoir, built in shelves inside a huge cabinet that held blankets, baby items, etc. There was also a smaller room connected to this one that had a writing desk, chairs, etc., which would have acted as her personal sitting room, and of course there was a fireplace in each of the rooms.

Loom

Oh goodness, for some reason blogger is not letting me post any more pictures on this post. How frustrating! I guess I will have to try again later on. What is it with blogger messing up? Does anyone else experience these freak issues or is it just picking on me in particular?

***

In other news they finally came and fixed our thermostat today. Or so they say. I'm skeptical but then again I don't know a lot about gas heat. That's hubby's job and know how. So when he gets home he is going to check it himself to see if it truly is fixed. As you know our thermostat was broke and we could either have heat on and eventually burn up or have heat off and freeze on the cold days.

Well now it's supposedly fixed and it will get hotter as I turn it up, but when I turn it off the heaters are still warm and I can still feel heat coming off of them. Maintenance says it's due to us being on the top floor and the units below us have water running through their pipes, heat rises, and all that. Still I would think the heaters would cool off right? But I could be wrong. Only hubby will be able to tell for sure. I'm glad he knows about things like that. Phew...

We took Levi for his first haircut the other day to a place called Cookie Cutters. He was less than thrilled. As a matter of fact him, me, and the hair stylist were all in a sweat from being nervous. haha. But on the plus note he looks and I'm sure feels so much better. I didn't want to cut his hair because he had those baby curls going on and it looked so sweet, but it started getting in his eyes causing him to scream and cry and swipe his face every few minutes so it was time. We took Lucas there for his first haircut and even though it was hectic it was so much easier! They are completely kid friendly, they are used to screaming crying kids, they generally have a playground inside with toys, books, etc. They also let you play video games or watch a movie while they are cutting your hair and the kids enjoy it. Lucas sat in a police car and got his hair cut and I had to hold Levi in my lap while he got his cut. He wasn't going to fall for sitting in any of their cars or figurines no matter how fun they looked!
They also take a picture and put it on a little poster and they give you the locks of hair in little baggies you can keep or tape onto the poster.

We have had a pretty lazy day today. We've sat around watching cartoons, drinking hot chocolate, playing blocks, and reading books. At some point I'm going to have to drag my lazy self into the kitchen and do the dishes. Luckily that's all there is to do besides pick up toys here and there. I'm thankful for that.

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday so we'll be going to her house and spending most of the day with her. I'm excited about it. You'd think other people's birthdays were my own as excited as I get about them. 

Lucas turns 5 in just a few weeks. Halloween is a little over a week away, and Christmas is right around the corner. Seriously where is the time going? Does it go at lightning speed while we aren't looking or something? I wish it would slow down already!

We've yet to make Lucas's birthday plans, he is always fine at others parties, but tends to get a bit overwhelmed at his own so we may just have a small family thing.

I was going to make the boys costumes this year (they are going as Batman and Robin), but it was going to end up costing more to make them than to just buy them outright so this week we are making a trip to Party City to get them since they have a good selection there.

Also in the works are some great reviews and giveaways coming to Mommy's Musings! I hope your all excited as I am, and make sure to stay tuned so you don't miss it!

I would love to stay and chat, but the fresh beat band has been over for a little while now and as I turn to check on the kids I notice they are close to fighting over blocks and who can build the highest tower. Better settle this before it gets out of hand! Talk to you guys later! Make sure to come back and visit for Happy Homemaker Monday! There will be a Mister Linky posted so you can add your links.

Sincerely,

Tori

The power of communication

Communication between anyone is important. It's important between parents and children. It's important between husband and wife or any couple. It's important between friends and family members. But one thing that can be forgotten is it's also important between parents and teachers.

If you all have read the last few posts of mine you'll know that Lucas was going through some bullying at school. It was devastating to us to find that out. This is young preschool children after all, and there isn't a whole lot of options. It already happened so we had to take it from there.
We went up to the school office, talked again with the teachers, and were invited into the classroom. Before we were told that this child cannot control his body and that's why he was doing things. Lucas was punched in the back and stomach. I don't take a pat answer like a child can't control himself punching other children. So we accepted the offer and decided to observe the class.
What I found out was, it's not that this boy can't control his body, but that nobody is showing him HOW. The teachers are helping him, and I still don't think it's right that he hit my son. I made sure that it is not to happen again and if it does I want notified immediately.
This little boy desperately wants to be my sons friend, he even gave him a giant hug when we got there. He just doesn't know HOW. It's obvious nobody has taught him to deal with his emotions. I come to find out the hitting incident as well as the other incidents took place when Lucas was apparently playing with other children and this boy wanted to play also. When he felt as if he was being ignored and nobody listened to him he lashed out because he wasn't sure what words to use.
I of course am not going to let my son be hit on no matter what, but now I'm glad I have the whole story because the boy wasn't doing it to be malicious but to get my son's attention. Even though it's the wrong way to get attention the teachers have been helping him use words to express himself.
I also had a talk with Lucas about maybe trying to include him more and paying more attention to him. Lucas thought because of the things this boy has done that he didn't like him, but since Lucas has shown him kindness and included him there have been no more incidents. I'm so pleased with how things worked out, and I'm so pleased that they are now like best friends. It has taught me a huge lesson in communication. Had the teachers have let me sit in on the class sooner to observe and explained in more detail the circumstances I never would've had to have went through the main office, but I don't regret it anyway because I will always do whatever I have to do to keep my son safe. And I really do think after seeing things first hand the teachers are doing an excellent job with the students!

This Saturday we are planning a trip to Conner Prairie. It is a historical museum a few towns away. We have had the tickets forever, but have not had the chance to use them yet. We actually won the tickets in a school raffle back in May! They expire in 2 weeks and since Saturday is suppose to be the only nice day this week we are going to be using it wisely. haha.

This week has been exhausting so I'm eager for the weekend to come. Hubby has worked overtime all week to cover for vacations. The vacations were suppose to be all covered, but I should have guessed I wouldn't get that lucky. Needless to say that whenever he is gone like this is when it always seems like everything goes wrong. The leak in our ceiling has still not been fixed or dealt with unfortunately and still leaks. This week we are suppose to get rain so I dread to see it then. The attic is obviously holding water and since we are on the top floor we get the brunt of the roof rot area. What other luck could we have after all? I shouldn't be surprised.
Then our thermostat broke! It was 100 degrees in our apartment and when they sent someone up to fix it all he did was unhook all the wires! So now we've been without heat the last few days! I have went up to the office and called relentlessly to get it taken care of, but still nothing has been done. It's highly frustrating.
The kids have been extremely rowdy since Josh has worked everyday. There must be some meeting they attend while I'm sleeping where they are instructed to be at their best worst behavior when alone with mommy. So thankfully tomorrow is Friday and daddy is off this weekend! My sigh of relief can probably be heard all over the world at this point.

This weekend is also our local library book sale! I'm so excited about it I can't even tell you. I have an entire shelf full of TBR (to be read) books on my bookshelf, but it doesn't matter, I can always make room for more. I love books, and the prices at our local book sale are more than affordable. The most common price is $1 and most are even under that. Since we are a family of readers it always goes like this:
We all walk in together and then hubby splits in his direction checking the genres he so loves. I take the kiddos over to the children's section where they browse, play puzzles, etc.
Then hubby comes over with his selection and sits with the kiddos while I go in search of my finds.
Confession: I always take longer than hubby. I just get lost in all the aisles, looking through all the books, cds, movies, etc. It's usually not until I hear one of the kids being rowdy or the kids and hubby come in search for me that I return. I just can't help myself! ;)

I just wanted to make sure to give you guys an update on everything, especially the bullying situation. And thank you for those who sent encouraging and uplifting emails on the situation. I love getting mail from my readers.
Don't think I've forgotten about any of you either, I haven't got to do much blog reading this week due to everything going on/wrong. But tonight I plan on fixing that. Since the kids decided to get up 2 hours early today they are going to go to bed 1-2 hours early. It seems like if they don't get 10-12 hours of sleep they are even more difficult when they wake up so I try to keep them on that schedule.

Anyway I best be off, I need to make Lucas's school lunch, get him in his uniform and out of his play clothes, go to the bank, drop him off at school, and then me and Levi are off to run some errands (one of them being the library).
Thanks for stopping by, and I can't wait to hopefully visit you all later on throughout the day. :) See you soon!

Sincerely,
Tori

Time for the weekend...

I'm going to try to take Garfield's advice and relax this weekend. Well, as much as I can with two kiddos anyway. haha.

Yesterday was me and hubby's 6th wedding anniversary. We have been together a total of 7 years all in all and have known each other much longer than that. I actually met hubby when I was 17 years old and had a huge crush on him, but he never talked much so I didn't talk much. I would see him around here and there and he would always nod at me or give me a simple: "Hi" so I always just kind of "girl crushed" on him from afar. LOL

Then when I turned 18 he came to a party that I was at. Turns out some of his friends were friends with some of my friends. It's really funny because he sat in a chair across the room and kept looking at me. He didn't say too much and I didn't say too much because it's just not my way. I can be shy too and I figured he probably didn't like me the same way so I was just nice but not really talkative. Then one of his friends came over and started talking to me (I wasn't interested in his friend but tried to be polite) so after awhile I excused myself and went to sit with some of my friends to talk and play video games. Josh comes right over then and sits right beside me and finally starts talking to me. LOL. To tell you the truth I was so nervous I don't even remember what all we talked about. It was one of those nervous first conversations where we just talked about a little bit of everything. When the party was over he actually gave me a hug goodbye and said he had a great time talking to me.
Then a couple of days later he asked one of my friends for my phone number which I gave the okay to give. He called me and asked if I wanted to go for a drive so I said okay.
Want to know what happened next?
Gum chewing...
You heard me right, after he picked me up he didn't talk hardly AT ALL. Just a few answers to some of my questions but other than that he chewed Wrigley's Spearmint gum. 2 packs to be exact! LOL. The big packs too not the smaller ones. Then after our drive he asked if I wanted to go bowling with him that weekend so of course I said yes and it just proceeded from there. He courted me so gentlemanly. He got more comfortable the night we went bowling, I got more comfortable and there was nothing in the world we couldn't talk about. I found out that he actually seen me at the library before we were even introduced and watched me pick out books from a table in the center, and said he fell head over heels for me but was too afraid to say anything. I didn't ever see him at the library but then when I get to the library I zone right in on books, movies, etc. LOL He didn't think I would be interested in him which I find hilarious considering I harbored a crush on him for a year. It's kind of funny to look back on things and see how we were being thrust together until we finally started talking. We spent every moment we could together and a year later in May 2006 he got down on one knee in my driveway and asked me to marry him. (I even found out later that he asked my parents permission first) I was so nervous that even though I knew what he was doing I said:
"What are you doing in the gravel?" LOL
Of course I said yes and then on October 4th, 2006 we got married and moved into our apartment. It was nothing big and spectacular, we went up to the courthouse because neither of us had much money but it was so special. In February 2007 I got pregnant with Lucas and Josh was so over the moon that he jumped right up and gave me the biggest hug and kiss right in front of the doctor even! And then in June 2010 I got pregnant with Levi and he was just as thrilled having much the same reaction. haha
We have traveled the marriage journey together, and learned to be parents together. The road has never been dull but always interesting.
And here we are today. I am still so happy with him and while we have certainly had our differences and arguments over the years (and I'm sure more to come) I wouldn't trade them for the world.

Yesterday, even though we had to do our normal day to day activities (school, chores, errands, etc) it was still really special for us. We got done with setting up things how we want them around the house, we had much re-organizing to do in our apartment. You know how it is when you move and you set stuff up in a certain place only to move it around again a couple months later once you get settled a realize that this bookshelf would work better over there, the couch would be great on this wall, etc. But I have to say after re-organizing each room it feels so much better in here and there's more space. I'm really happy with the way it all turned out.
Last night hubby made some of his famous steaks while I made scalloped potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower. I was tempted to make a dessert for us as well, but figured we would be too full to enjoy any desserts. I bought some dreamsicles at the store just in case, but I wasn't wrong in my prediction. We were all so stuffed even the boys couldn't eat any dessert!
After the boys went to bed me and hubby sat down and watched TV together catching up on one of our favorite shows "Call of the Wildman" and just had a wonderful evening. We reminisced over the years together, and just enjoyed being with each other. We didn't want it to end, and even though hubby had to get up and go to work this morning we stayed up until well after midnight.
I couldn't have asked for a better day!

So this weekend since most everything is already in place I will probably just try to relax. Hubby has to work all weekend and overtime next week to cover for yet another vacation. We miss him so much when he's gone because as I've said before he leaves well before the kids get up and by the time he gets home it's almost time for the kids to go to bed. But I am thankful that we still get to see him everyday even if only for a couple hours. And he still gets his days off when he isn't covering for vacations so that also makes up for it.
We have a bunch of movies from the library we can watch over the weekend while daddy works, and the kids and I are going to make some Halloween decorations. It's rainy and gloomy outside which I don't mind too much as the kids are finally starting to get better after they have been sick off and on for the last few weeks. It makes it less bitter for them to stay inside and get better knowing that no other kids will be playing outside either.
Of course I will have my normal day to day chores, but that's no big deal to me. I actually use to despise household chores. Dishes, cleaning, laundry, etc. But since hubby works and provides for us financially I see that I am providing in my own way a clean and comfortable house for our family. So while I don't particularly like those chores still to this day I don't despise them. They have to be done, they are a part of life, and it contributes to our family so I don't mind. I love being a stay at home mom and wife and always knowing that our children are well taken care of. Besides even though I plan on taking a relaxing weekend you will probably eventually find me somewhere in the house doing something out of my normal cleaning chores. It's hard for me to sit still too long, I tend to get a bit antsy, but we'll see how it all goes.

Now I'm going to go watch Yo Gabba Gabba with my boys while we build a block castle. Later I'm hoping to get some more reading done. I'm right in the middle of To Love and Cherish. I will admit I've been having a lot of difficulty staying intrigued with this book. It does have it's interesting moments but there are a lot of parts that I feel sort of lag. But we'll see, it's too early to make a final judgment, but I will be posting a review as soon as I'm done with it so you can read more of my thoughts on it there.

I will be posting again for Songs That Make Us Sing Saturday tomorrow so if you want to join in just come back and visit and I'll have a link up so you can play along too. I join in with a couple other mom bloggers I've met through Voiceboks and it's a lot of fun. :) Hope to see you soon.


Sincerely,
Tori