My Accomplishments List

Ok, so I am tired of always focusing on what I did not get done during the day and all the stuff I have to get done the next day....so, I thought I would take a minute and make a list of all the things that I did get done today (no matter how trivial they may be....they were "accomplishments" - things that probably would not have gotten done if I did not do them!!)

1. Packed kid's lunches this morning - making a turkey sandwich at 7:30am is just not fun

2. Went to the bank - gotta have money to pay those bills

3. Got a friend's b-day card all ready to mail - only a month late!!

4. Changed two dirty diapers - fun, fun

5. Cleaned out the Yukon - wonder how old those fries really were??

6. Pulled weeds in the yard - so Matt would not feel like he had to mow the lawn tonight

7. Fed my kiddos - mini frozen pancakes do count as a meal, right?

8. Went running - gotta look good for my man

9. Did my Bible Study - and it was just what I needed..."Be still, and know that I am God!"

10. Updated my blog - and aren't you so glad I did :) :) :)

So, these things may not seem like huge accomplishments, but sometimes I think that we as wives/mothers forget that even the trivial, annoying, time-consuming things we do are very important to our families...just stop and think what would happen if you did not do some of the things on your list ...it would make a big difference in how smooth your day went for both you and those you take care of. In fact, if you have time, why don't you share your list of "accomplishments" for today....I think it would be encouraging to us all to see how great we are as moms and wives - time for a little pat on the back, don't ya think??

You NEED a vacation, right?

Since my last post was kind of a bummer and it talked about how money is so tight these days, I thought I would post about a great way for you to go and spend some of that hard earned cash....Well, I have come upon some useful information for any of you guys that might be planning a Disney trip anytime in the next year. I just found out yesterday that the Magic Kingdom is offering everyone a great birthday present this coming year - free admission to the park on your actual birthday! I think that is a pretty sweet offer, considering that the ticket price is around $70. Of course, you still have to foot the bill for the rest of your family.

But, I have another great deal to share with you that can help you save even more money. The Nickeoldeon Suites in Orlando (www.nickhotel.com) will let you stay there free for the night on any one of your children's birthdays (you do have to agree to stay at least 3 nights - basically buy two get one free)...But that hotel is awesome. I have friends that have stayed there and they said there kids never wanted to leave the hotel because of the water park, pools, arcades.... And most likely, you would be in Orlando for at least three nights anyway, so it is a great deal to only pay for two!!

So, if you plan it just right, you can get one of your kids a free ticket and get one night free at the Nick Hotel. Seriously, you will be saving somewhere around $300....That is a pretty good chunk of change. So, go now and beg your hubby for a Disney vacation and tell him ALL the money you will be saving - hopefully, he won't want to discuss all the money you will be spending on a Disney vacation no matter how many great deals I can find you !!

Money, Shmoney

So, is anyone stressed about the "finiancial crisis" that America seems to be in? I would say that I am concerned but not stressed. I mean, I really don't understand all the details and even what all the consequences are that we may face from the problems with the economy....but, I do understand that I am paying WAY TOO much for gas and WAY TOO much for some of my basic groceries and necessities. And, I know that pretty much every other news story is about another bank closing, the stock market crashing, or some person's house being forclosed on...but I guess I feel like the situation is somewhat out of my hands and there is not a whole lot I can do about it. I am trying to make better choices with my money and for the first time in a long time, I am really watching what I spend and stopping before I spend any money to ask myself if I really need whatever it is I am thinking of buying.

Sometimes I do catch myself worrying about the future, specifically sending four kids to college, but that is when Matt reminds me that all our kids will either have an academic scholarship or an athletic scholarship (can you tell he has big dreams for all our kids!!) Of course, I have peace in knowing that God is in control and He is most definitely going to take care of my family. I always try to remember that if he takes care of the little sparrow, he is always going to take care of me!! And, really, who wants to waste their day worrying about money....I sure don't....I would rather enjoy all that I do have and when I stop to think about it, I am so blessed and have plenty to be thankful for!

Stating the Obvious

So, I knew it was coming sooner or later, but I had to have the "fat" conversation with Brody. We were at Target and there was a very obese lady and so, of course, Brody comments on how fat she is. Well, I proceed to tell him that it is not nice to call someone fat. He then says - like any 3 year old would - "But, she is fat, mom." I tell him that I realize this but it is still not nice to comment on how big other people may be. He goes on the tell me, "Just look at her tummy, it is so big...." Ok, so I realize I am fighting a losing battle and decide to continue this "lesson" another time....Hopefully, in the privacy of our own home and not when he shouts out that someone has a huge tummy or even worse, a huge booty (cause we all know that is a favorite word of most normal 3 year olds)!!!

So, I was trying to get ready in my bathroom this morning and I kept getting really frustrated....all because of a really cute (but really curious) one year old. That's right, Kassidy was getting into everything!! First, it was the toliet bowl cleaner brush thingie....she kept grabbing it, then I would yell, "No, that is yucky!" I would proceed to do what all the experts tell me to do - remove her from the situation & distract her BUT she would go right back to the toliet brush and we would start back at square one. I always knew those so called experts did not have a clue :) :)

Then, she moved on to the trash can. She dumped the whole thing out on the floor before I could get to her. Once again, I informed her how disgusting that was and politely asked her to please leave everything that she is not supposed to mess with alone! Well, that approach did not work either. Because she simply moved onto the cabinets. She pulled out all my hand soaps and then starting throwing random stuff on the floor. By this point I found myself raising my voice and getting really flustered. Finally, when she grabbed my hot flat iron and threw it on the floor, I decided I was done getting ready (no matter what I looked like) and we got out of there.

What is funny about this whole scenario is that it was only like 5 minutes from start to finish. She came into that bathroom like a raging tornado and left the same kind of destruction that a tornado would leave. But she is so cute and so much fun right now. I love my Curious Little Kassidy!!

Food for thought

I was watching a little promo for the upcoming season of Dr. Phil and there was a segment that totally caught my attention. They are going to do a show about a typical "soccer mom" who left her kids in the car for a couple minutes while she ran into a store. She says she could see the vehicle the whole time and she was constantly checking to make sure the kids were fine. But, when she came out of the store, there was a cop car behind her vehicle and the police officer proceeded to arrest her for child endangerment. I was stunned by the fact that they arrested her...but let me give you a little background as to why I am stunned.

A couple years ago, I was parking my car at Walmart and I looked at the vehicle beside me, and there was a toddler sound asleep in his car seat - no parents anywhere in sight. So, of course I was shocked and scared for the little boy so I proceeded to yell at some lady walking in the parking lot and I asked her if she would go get a manager or call the police or something (I did not own a cell phone at this point) while I waited with the little boy. Well, the manager came out and said they were paging the mom over the intercom system - meanwhile, a fire truck had pulled up and they were using some device to check the temp inside the car (it was locked and thankfully she left the air running). Anyway, she eventually came outside and they did absolutely nothing to her - not even a slap on the wrist. She got in her car and left - end of story. I was shocked and angry that nothing was done to her....I mean, she was shopping in Walmart while her kid was left alone in a vehicle in that huge Walmart parking lot. What in the world could she have possibly been thinking??

So, I am now very curious as to what the actual law is about leaving your child in the car...I doubt there is one of us that can say we have never ever left our kids in the car - even for a few seconds while we drop something off at the Post Office or the Dry Cleaners and yes, most of us would only do it if the vehicle is in our sight and we can keep an eye on the kids....But, this lady was arrested and they considered taking her kids away from her - can you imagine?? It is definitely food for thought....believe me, I will think twice before I ever even consider leaving my kids in the car, even if it is just for a minute or two!!

You will get fat, boy!!!

Micah is my oldest child...he is such an awesome boy - so obedient, smart, and caring. We have been dealing with some "health" issues with the last few weeks. He has pretty bad asthma and we also just realized that he is way too skinny and not gaining much at all. So, when we went to his asthma doc a few weeks ago, he saw where Micah had not gained at all in the past 8 months and he had actually lost 1/2 pound. This seemed to concern the doc and he told me to come back in 2 weeks for some tests and we would talk about sending him to a specialist about his weight.

Well, taking him to a specialist for some random, invasive testing was my LAST resort so I decided to fatten that boy up myself! (First, as you can tell from the above pic, I had to tell him to quit working out so much - no more of that intense weight training boy!!) We decided to make him eat as much as possible for the 2 weeks while we waited to return to the doc for a recheck. His Grammy bought him a blender so that we could make him eat a milkshake every night....he thought that was awesome. I decided to start taking him a hot lunch and drop it off so that he would get more calories during the day. And we basically let him eat whatever, whenever for 2 weeks straight.

Well, I am proud to announce that it worked. He gained 3 pounds in that 2 week period. That is an awesome accomplishment for him...that is more than he had gained in the last year. At least now, I think he registers on the growth chart (probably 5% percentile, but he's on it now!!) We go back in 6 weeks for another check and so we are still going to stuff his face and hopefully we will at least maintain the weight, if not gain an additional pound or two. Micah thinks all these snacks and drinks are cool - I mean, can you imagine if you were actually obsessed with gaining more weight instead of trying so hard to lose it?? Just imagine - all the shakes, brownies, chips, sodas....without an ounce of guilt....ah, to live in that perfect world :) :) :) :)

We're In!!

Yay!! Calling everyday (sometimes twice a day) paid off...we get to go to Chef Mickeys. I found out last night so I went in the kids room to tell them the good news. They were super excited. Micah started singing in his "opera" voice and Kenzie jumped up to hug me. She said I was the best mom ever and then she made the funniest statement....she said, "Mom, I have never been prouder of you!" And Brody just jumped up and down on the bed. Being able to share that good news with them put a huge smile on my face....there is nothing better than knowing that you just brought some serious joy to your kids. I love being a mom!!!!

What, no Chef Mickeys???

Ok, so I am so frustrated right now. No, it is not because one of my kids is being naughty and No, it is not because Matt is being a bad husband.....it is because I cannot get reservations at Chef Mickeys!! I know this may sound trivial to you non-Disney Loving people, but to a true Disney addict, this is very heart wrenching news. This is the most awesome character meal they offer at WDW...you get to meet all the A-listers (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Pluto, Goofy...)

I have just been wasting my time and not really been too worried about calling...simply because for our last Disney trip, I called like 2 weeks before we left and they had 3 or 4 openings. Not the case this trip - and I learned my lesson the hard way. I have 4 kids (well, really only 3 that care) the are REALLY excited about going back to Chef Mickey's this year (just look how excited they are in the above pics) and I have to tell them that their mommy is a total loser and did not call soon enough so now we can't go. Although there is a tiny, weenie, itty-bitty light at the end of the tunnel....the lady said to call back every day until we leave for Orlando and ask about any cancellations. So, I will be calling every morning and every evening between now and October 4th. I went ahead and made reservations for a character breakfast at Cape May Cafe (any ever been there?) but sadly there will be no Mickey and no Donald (my kiddos favorites)....You better believe I will be cancelling that reservation if I can get my foot in the door at Chef Mickeys!! You Disney Lovers send some Positive Mickey vibes my way!!!