Savannah could use some prayers...

Hi everyone! Savannah had an accident on the trampoline today. She came down on her ankle the wrong way and broke it in two places. Tonight we are having a mom/daughter sleep over at the hospital. Tomorrow (Thursday) - she will have a CAT Scan and then on Friday morning she will have surgery to reconstruct her ankle with a couple screws. She just had a little more pain medicine and seems to be doing better now. Timmy was her hero and carried her off the trampoline to the car and then from the car to the Urgent Care, then from there to the car, then to the hospital. He was AWESOME! So, if you could keep her in your prayers, it would be really great. I will post an update when I can!

Well, hello from SC...

I have Internet and cable! Is there anymore to life? Okay, I know there is, don't panic. I have yet to take any pictures while we have been here. We have gotten a lot unpacked, but there is still a lot more to go. I think the first week went way better than I expected. I guess I didn't really know what to expect, but it was not all that bad. There are a few things I can't find like remote controls and a laundry basket. I suspect they are in Timmy's car. It is amazing how you can just learn to live without these things until you can find them. Let's see... Sebastian is finally adjusting. He was a little whiny and into everything the first few days. Savannah has been playing, playing and playing some more. She did ask to call Elizabeth one night, but then something else happened and she never did make the call. I think it helped tremendously that she had family to move to. Timmy is not doing as well, but not bad. He misses his friends. I have noticed something. I moved away from my friends when I was 18, too. When I moved, it was like I was just cutoff. It was expensive to call friends back then. I was limited to who I could call and how long I could talk. I would plan my call for weeks and then call. In today's world, Timmy hears from his friends via cell phone, text messages, im (sent to his cell phone), My Space (also sent to his cell phone), pictures and email. He knows what his friends are doing almost at the time they are doing it. I think they do this to make him feel included, but at the same time I think it stings a bit. He knows they are out at the movies or Starbucks and it makes it all too clear that he ISN'T with them. I think it is a such a blessing in one way and not so much in another. I know he will be okay, I just sorta hurt for him. Tim started his new job last week and seems to like it well enough. It is hard work, but that was no surprise. It seems to be an easy employer to work for and that is always helpful. He spent a lot of time cutting down a path to the lake on Sunday. He does seem to love the yard we have. He also burned some more boxes and stuff. Did I mention he likes to burn things? My mom and sister, Michelle, are doing pretty good. My mom is looking for a house to buy. We know the right house will show up at the right time. Michelle found her health club and already went swimming last night. She has also been walking up the BIG HILL (I should post a picture of that) with the dog once a day. Then there is me. I am fine. A little overwhelmed with things finding their "home". I like everything to have a place. I am missing Debi. I love looking out the window or into my living room and seeing my nieces and nephews. It is a great feeling. Then I have moments where I miss Debi so much, my heart just hurts. I knew this would happen. I was prepared for it. I missed her in Florida and I knew that as soon as I moved, that I would wonder how I could be here and she wouldn't be. Like everything thing else, it will work out. It is just going to take some time. Today, I have big plans to unpack toys and craft supplies. Sounds exciting, huh? Some of them have been in storage since May. It may feel like Christmas finding them all again. Hopefully, this is my return to some routine blogging. Come back soon!

Finally, a post...

We are here. We are unpacking. We may dig out by spring. I would love to write a ton, but I don't have my own computer at the moment. The internet guy is coming on FRIDAY. Hopefully, by the weekend, I can sit back and blog for a bit. Come back soon.

I have packing ADD...

I haven't googled to see if this is a real disease, but I definitely have it. Packing ADD. It is where you get a box, take it into a room to pack it. Then you leave said room and go to another room with another box and begin to pack that one. Then the phone rings and you go answer it only to grab a box and begin packing that one. The next thing you know you can't remember what you were packing. You go back and find that you started on a box only you can't really remember actually beginning to pack that box. Then you try as hard as you can to remember what is under the other stuff that is on top. You want to mark the boxes with a little more than "office" because you may need that survey for closing later or Girl Scout books for a meeting soon, etc. Then you have to sorta dig through to refresh your memory on what is in there. AHA! You know now, so you can write it on the box only your marker is in ANOTHER room. You head for that other room and on the way start putting stuff in another box and forget you were headed to get the marker. Finally, you go to where the marker is and just start packing the box by the marker and forget to see what is already in that box. You wing it and write "OFFICE" on the side of the box because you are not opening that tape and look. And so... there you have it... PACKING ADD. I think I need a support group or medication or something. I guess chocolate will have to do.

Savannah's tears...

It is late and I am tired, but my heart just hurts. Today, we went to Savannah's girl scout meeting. I went just like it was any other day. Sure, I was happy to see my mom friends. It was on my mind that this would be my last Thursday of sitting with them chatting. I found myself thinking about it in the car on the way there. Savannah started scouts with these girls when she was just 3 going on 4 years old. In the beginning, I would stay, but there was not a lot of time to chat with Susie and Cindy. The girls were younger then and needed more direction. Time went on and we moved the meeting closer to home. We went from twice a month to every week. Since Sebastian has been with here, I have left him home with my mom or sister. I sorta viewed this as my "me time". I loved sitting and talking away a couple hours. I felt the ache in my heart knowing this was my last time to do this. I still walked into the meeting without seeing what was going to happen. I guess because my mind was full with so many things. Boxes, packing, cleaning, etc. The list seems endless. We noisy moms always get kicked out to the couch room once the official girl scout meeting starts. We talk too much. We grabbed our stuff and went to talk. Not too long into the meeting, Susie came to get me. Savannah was crying. Oh my heart just dropped! I went to her and she was just so sad. They had been discussing cookie sales and what they could do with the money they earned. There was talk of Sea World or a sleepover at the zoo. Things that she would miss. Why didn't I see that this was going to happen? How could I miss the pain that she was going to face? It was all I could do to hold back my tears. My poor baby girl. She had been with these girls for the last 5.5 years. Oh, why do things have to be so hard sometimes? I promised her that we could take a girls trip to meet them at Sea World or the zoo. After all, I am quite the pro at driving back and forth from SC to FL. We would just make it an adventure. That helped some, but soon the tears came even more. She managed to tell me that she as just going to miss them so much. I know there is nothing I can do to change the fact that she will no longer be at these meetings. I know that she will survive. I know all of these things, but it doesn't help the awful feeling that I have hurting my little girl's heart. I just so wish I could fix it. On our way home, I told her about my friend, Jorgena. She knows I have two best friends from childhood. First was Patty. I met her when I was two. She was always, always there. Then I met Jorgena (Jorge) when I was 12. She was and is my very best friend. We have lived apart for 17 years, but we still see each other when we can and talk often. I told her that when I was 9 years old like her, I couldn't have imagined that I would ever meet another person that would be my best friend like Patty was. I had a best friend and her name was Patty and that was that. At 9 years old, I would have said that was the end of the story. As God would have it, I was supposed to meet Jorge when I was 12 years old. My life was changed in such a wonderful way when we became friends. I told her that maybe God had a special plan for her to meet a wonderful friend. Or maybe that wonderful friend is her cousin, Karis. Then I think about how my next best friend to come into my life was Debi - Karis' mom. I met her when I was 16 and again my life was forever changed. I would like for nothing better than for Karis and Savannah to be as close as Debi and I were. I know that Debi is looking down from heaven and happy they will be together. So... tonight my heart is aching. I wish there were something I could do to shield my girl from what has to come. I guess I will have to leave it to God and pray that He has special plans for her friendships just as He did for me.

Laptop issues, etc...

Well, my laptop is acting crazy. I have been trying to save my pictures since yesterday. It won't copy them to a disc. It won't let me access the web. My next thought it to use Timmy's zip drive, but I keep forgetting to ask him. Once I save my pictures, I will probably need to wipe the thing clean and see if that helps. Did I mention I am moving in a week? Lots of packing going on. I have this magic closet. I keep taking stuff off the shelves and miraculously, things keep reappearing! I feel I may never be at the end of packing this one computer room. I did go buy some of those space bag thingies that you suck the air out of. My friend, Vickie, told me about them working so well. I got three jumbo ones. So far, I put ALL of my coat closet, two comforters and a pillow in ONE BAG! Amazing! I think I may love these bags. If only they could suck toys down and make them all lay flat. Oh, I also had two house showings yesterday. Neither seem to be interested, but at least that is a sign people are out and looking. I hope. Anyway, I would love to promise pictures and wonderful insightful posts soon, but the truth is my computer is being mean to me and I have lots of stuff to get done. I don't know when I will get to it all. Keep checking in and maybe you will be surprised! Oh and one more thing - how could I almost forget - My mom sold her place today! One house down, one to go! Keep praying!

Still here...

I sat down to load Christmas and New Year's pictures. When I hooked my card up to the computer - it said I had 357 pictures to download. That took a little longer than I had hoped. So... I just downloaded them and now I want to head to bed. The quick update is that I think I have a moving truck reserved, a rental company in mind, some boxes packed and a long, long list of other things to get done. I want to post the New Year's pictures though. I really, really do! Come back tomorrow, please!

My life is just getting CRAZIER...

I know I haven't been writing. I haven't had much computer access time. Anyway, I do have BIG NEWS! BIG NEWS! No... not that I sold my house. Not quite that big of BIG NEWS! I could only wish. No, this BIG NEWS is that Tim got a job here in South Carolina. He went out on Thursday and went to exactly ONE place. He walked in, talked to the guy, got a job with benefits, with a pay increase. I was waiting in the car at the time. You see we thought we would have to drive all around the area to find something. We don't know our way around that much, so I went to help navigate. This place is like 3 miles from our new house. I guess the guy has a mechanic leaving in a few weeks and Tim is supposed to start in 3 weeks! AHHHHHH!!! Did I mention that we are in SC for the rest of this week? Then I have to go home and find somebody to rent my house, pack and move! It will all work out, right? Please keep telling me that. Okay, I gotta get a shower and pick paint colors for the basement. I may be back with more news later. Stay tuned!

A message from another blog...

Today has been busy, busy. There was making sugar cookies, fudge, mashed potatoes bake (for Christmas Day) and the list goes on. Like I said - busy, busy! I did take some time this morning to read some blogs I enjoy. One of them is Sarah's In the Midst of It. I wrote about her blog last year. I was praying for her sweet little girl's health. Anyway, her husband is a pastor at a church in Texas. She linked to a sermon he gave last week. I went ahead and clicked... I was really glad I did! Here is the funny thing... at one point while he is speaking, he says, "It's not about you, Kari!" I was like.... whoa... that was weird! Even Savannah looked up from her playdough and asked if he was talking to me. Too funny! If you have a minute and want to be inspired check out this link. Tomorrow will also be busy, busy. There are more cookies to bake. Yes, more! There can never be enough cookies, can there? Then there is cleaning to do - since we are leaving the day after Christmas. Just in case somebody wants to come and buy my house while we are gone. I am sure the day will zip by and before I know it - it will be Christmas Eve. I am not going to promise a post between now and a day or so after Christmas. I am sure I have things to share, but I don't know how diligent I will be at getting my list done. Come back in and check on me.

Christmas and food...

Food has been a big discussion on my homeschool message board I read. Lots of questions about what people are serving for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day along with recipes for cookies, rolls, etc. Lots and lots of talk about food. I think most of us have traditions that we stick to for one reason or another. We make peanut butter blossom cookies. Sometimes I make them other times, but always at Christmas. I also make my mom's fudge (which is actually just the recipe on the marshmallow cream jar - recipe below). This will be my first year making a ham for Christmas Day. I don't love ham, so I just never found myself making one. I don't hate it either, I just prefer turkey over ham. My family happens to all love ham, so I am giving them a ham dinner this year. I had to go buy it today. I have never bought a ham before seeing as how I had never made one before. It was actually quite simple once I looked at the Honey Baked Ham site and saw how many pounds of ham feeds how many people. I opted to not spend $50 on a Honey Baked Ham when I could buy one from the store for about $15. I may end up regretting that decision, but I hope not. I have had the Honey Baked before. It was good, but not that good. Anyway, for Christmas Eve we started having Chinese several years ago. We all go to church and then go back to my mom's for Chinese. Actually, when we first started this we didn't just get Chinese. We got some biscuits and shrimp from Red Lobster and Italian Beef from a local deli. The idea was to have lots of the foods we loved without the work. Now that we don't have as many people, we just stick with the Chinese food. I love it and so does the rest of the family. All this thinking about food got me thinking back to when I was a kid. My mom always cooked dinner on Christmas Eve. It was just our immediate family and possibly my grandma. I can't remember a thing she cooked, but I know she cooked. On Christmas Day we had a brunch with the rest of the family. Egg quiche that I hated (still do). So, this one Christmas Eve was different. My mom always worked the Christmas Eve night shift in the ER. We would have dinner and then my dad would take us out for a drive, so Santa could come. Then we would open gifts. Now that I am a mom, I can see how overwhelming it must have been for my mom. She had 4 kids, dinner, presents, all the hoopla and then work all night. This one Christmas Eve, she broke down and ordered Pizza Hut. I was probably 8 or 9 at the time. I was SO EXCITED! Okay, we didn't get fast food or pizza like my kids do today. It was a treat! A huge treat! I remember dancing around the living room waiting for the pizza guy to come. I can still remember the smell of the pizza and sitting around the table with my family. Ahhhh... it was the best! Here is the funny thing... I talked to my mom about this once. I told her how much I loved it. She went on to tell me that she felt so incredibly bad that she was just too tired to cook a big dinner. She felt like she was FAILING her children by not doing the traditional thing. Here she had no idea that I couldn't remember a single other dinner, but that one... that one pizza dinner had stuck in my mind all these years. Sometimes we think we need to plan the best meal and decorate the best cookies. Sometimes we want all the decorations in just the right place. Sometimes we get all wrapped up in all that is going on. Then there are those little things like an unexpected pizza that make it feel like Christmas! I am so glad that I thought about this today. I hope my kids can grab hold of a memory like that and remember it for years to come.

Fantasy Fudge Recipe

3 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 small can (5 oz) evaporated milk (about 2/3 cup)
1 1/2pkg (12 squares Baker's Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate Chopped) OR 2 cups Semi-Sweet chips - I always use the chocolate chips.
1 jar (7 oz) Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme
1 tsp vanilla

Line 9 inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over the sides of the pan; set aside. (I have never done this step!) Place sugar, butter and evaporated milk in large heavy saucepan. Bring to full rolling boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 4 minutes or until candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees, stirring constantly to prevent schorching. Remove from heat.
Add chocolate and marshmallow creme, stire until completely melted. Add vanilla and optional nuts; mix well.
Pour immediately into prepared pan; spread to form even layer in pan. Let stand at room temperature 4 hours or until completely cooled; cut into 1 inch squares. This recipe says to store at room temperature, but I alway keep it in the fridge. Otherwise it can get mushy. Enjoy!

Florida, vacations, and perspective...

Hi there! It has been awhile again. Busy, busy, busy. Today we went on our last visit to Busch Gardens. It was BEAUTIFUL out today. This was one of those PERFECT Florida days. I was chatting with another mom in a ride line. She asked me if I lived here. When I told her that I did indeed live here only over the bay... she responded with a sound of awe in her voice saying, "Over by the beach?". I told her yes, that was right. She just looked at me with amazement. Then I told her I was moving to South Carolina probably next month. She said, "WHY???" Too funny! I told her that is was crowded and expensive here. She still looked at me like I was crazy. I asked her where she was from. She said Tennessee. She had the Southern accent for sure. I told her that we had bought a house on an acre and were ready for some space after having 10 feet to our fence for the last 8 years. She then told me that they had 5.5 acres! Even more funny! She went on to say that it was their first time at Busch Gardens and it was all just so fun. I agreed with her and told her a few places not to miss. It was fun talking with her. Then I started doing what I always do... second guessing myself. Maybe she was right... how on Earth could I decide to leave Florida after over 17 years? Would I miss Busch Gardens terribly. Nevermind that I hadn't been to Busch Gardens in years before we got a pass this year! Somehow I did survive all of those years. Would I miss this GLORIOUS weather? Oh, that's right, I was just whining last week that it was so hot and humid in December that I was running my ac. Still, I wondered. Then I started to think about all the new things to explore. Charleston, Stone Mountain, Atlanta, Savannah, Smokey Mountains, Outer Banks, DC and on and on. These things have been too far to drive to for the most part. Sure, we have been to a few, but haven't spent a lot of time there. It is exciting to think of all the possibilities! Even with all of those new places, Disney World is still special to me. We will have to come back for that. No doubt! Sebastian has only been once when he was 2 months old. As much as Tim will hate it... I see a week at Walt Disney World in his future! Shhhh... don't tell him just yet.

Sean and Haley...

My nephew, Sean, got married today. He married this wonderful young lady by the name of Haley. I met Haley this past March and instantly fell in love with her. I can only hope and pray that my son will find a girl like her. She is smart and loving and just a joy to be around. I didn't go to the wedding because we are set to go to SC the day after Christmas. I just couldn't make the trip twice in about a week's time. I am hoping somebody (hint family) will send me some pictures of the actual wedding soon. Okay, here is my sentimental mushy part of this post. I just can't believe Sean is married. I sware it seems like just yesterday that Debi and I were pregnant with our first boys. Wasn't she just telling me about teaching him to read with Sing, Spell, Read and Write? Where did all the time go and how did he get old enough to be a husband? Ya know... I married young - at 18 - just like them. Somehow I didn't feel like I was so young when I got married. Now that I am a mom and older, they just seem so young! Funny how that happens, huh? I pray they have a happy and fulfilling marriage. I pray they stick together through the tough times (there will be tough times). I pray they trust in each other and talk to each other. I pray so many things for them. Most of all, I pray that they believe in each other and their marriage. If they do that, they will get through anything! Congratulations, Sean and Haley!

Mary, Did you know?

I love all sorts of Christmas songs. Who doesn't love Bing Crosby and Christmas songs? C'mon, you gotta admit that you sing along with him. Then there is Brenda Lee and Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. Another great favorite. I gotta say I really, really don't like Bruce Springteen singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Not one bit! We have a radio station on in the kids room that plays Christmas music all the time till Christmas. I turn it on in the car too. For some unknown reason to me, they don't play this song much. When they do it is the Kenny Rogers/Wynonna version. I love Wynonna. I honestly do. I have like 4 of her cds. I love her voice in this song, but I hate Kenny Roger's version. That brings me to Kathy Mattea's version of Mary, Did You Know. I love it. I try to sing with it, but honestly you don't want to hear me sing with it. I am sure it is pretty bad. I don't care. I still sing with it! Here is my Christmas song for you. I hope you enjoy it.

A lame attempt at a post...

I just looked at my counter and saw that many of my friends and family have been checking my blog today. I am so sorry there has been no new posts. I wasn't THAT busy that I couldn't have found something to post about. I just didn't do it. I sat down TWICE today trying to come up with something to write. I looked back at some pictures. There are a few pictures I had wanted to post weeks ago and never really got to it. Yesterday and today were pretty typical days. I went grocery shopping yesterday and cleaned. I did laundry and cleaned today. I did work on my Christmas cards and will hopefully be getting them out soon. I still need Timmy's pictures. I guess I am in a funk over the house things still. I was so hoping for some type of Christmas miracle that my house would be sold. I am feeling that is not going to happen, so I am not coming up with a lot to post about. I need to write my Christmas letter too. That is pretty hard to do when I am not inspired. I keep thinking it will all come to me and my typing fingers, but no such luck as of yet. To top it all off... we are still working on potty training. UGH! This is not working! I don't know what to about that. I think the boy needs to drink lactaid to help with his digestion or something. More than you probably ever wanted to know, huh? Well, there you have my lame attempt at a post. I feel bad when I see so many people came to read my blog and I haven't added anything new. I really hope inspiration comes back soon. Until then, here are some pictures for a few weeks ago. We met Tim for lunch at the McDonald's on the water. We had some cookies and I scrounged the bottom of the diaper bag for a baggie of cereal. They had a blast feeding the seagulls!

Advice from a 3 year old...

Tonight, Tim and I were watching Grey's Anatomy on the DVR. It was a particularly bloody episode. I don't like blood... I know... who does? I mean I sorta freak out at the sight of it. There was this guy and blood was SPURTING out of his neck. I was sorta screaming something like, "OHHHHHHH!!!! GROSS!!!!! OOOOOOOHHHHH!!!!!!! YUCK!!!!!!!!!" Sebastian was in his bed - supposed to be sleeping. All of a sudden, we hear him call out of his room to me. He says, "Mom, just close your eyes! Just close your eyes!" Good advice son! I did close my eyes. Worked well!

Before the Christmas tree fell over...

I just remembered I took pictures of putting the tree up this weekend. It was not only "Put up the tree day", it was also our first day of official potty training. Thus the reason Sebastian is sporting a pair of undies and a t-shirt. Someday I am sure he will be thrilled that I have him on video tape prancing around in his undies and a Santa hat!

Good thing he is cute because I don't even want to share with you how many pairs of underpants we went through in one STINKING and I do mean STINKING day!
Isn't he precious?

Savannah is really the tree decorator in our family. I sorta put a few ornaments on here and there.

Sebastian managed to put one or two ON the tree. I think he managed to also take 12 or 14 OFF the tree!

Trees, boxes and hugs...

Yesterday was not a great day. I know I don't whine here, but yesterday was not a great day. I woke up and decided to plug the Christmas tree lights in. I had this BRILLIANT idea to leave the back bottom branch off the tree and sorta scoot the back branches that go up to the right or left of the tree. That made it set up against the wall better and not stick out in the middle of my living room. I will post pictures when it is all decorated, maybe. Usually, we put it on the corner by the couch. We end up moving the couch and rocking chair down. It doesn't look all symmetrical when we are done. I thought since just maybe somebody would come to buy my house, that I would try to keep the furniture in a good place and do this. In theory it seemed to be working out well. I was even wondering why I hadn't thought to do this before. (Well, years ago there was an aquarium where the tree is now - I couldn't have moved that!)As I was saying, I went to plug the tree in. The outlet is DIRECTLY behind the tree. I had to reach through the branches and plug it in. When I set the tree up, I remember thinking I should get extension cord, so I wouldn't have to reach into the tree. I hadn't done that yet. There went the tree! It just fell over! I screamed for Timmy to help me! He came running and I just lost it. All I could imagine was that all of my ornaments were broken! I was a wreck! Timmy lifted the tree up to find that only 2 ornaments had broken. One can be fixed, the other not so much. We got the tree back in place and I rearranged the lights and garland. It still needs more ornaments, but I think it will be okay. We also put a power strip where it is easy to reach. Next up, Timmy and I went to our storage unit. I have been needing to get some things out of there. Winter clothes, hot cocoa maker (yes, I am obsessed with hot cocoa), sewing machine and most of all - a box of Christmas gifts. I found everything I was looking for except the most important box of Christmas gifts. I thought maybe I had stored it in our shed, but when I got home and looked - no luck. I was just so down. Actually, I still am pretty bummed about it. It has all sorts of gifts in it for our family plus Christmas cards and some stocking stuffers. I just laid down on my bed and cried. I am tired. I am worn out and I am just plain tired of trying to sell my house. This sure sounds like a whiny post, huh? I know... keep reading. I am whiny and I am frustrated. I am trying to potty train Sebastian this week and it is not working. Life is just not exactly what I want it to be. As I laid on my bed and cried, I started thinking about things. I was trying my best to pull myself out of my pity party. I thought about how I was very lucky that I had a strong and helpful 18 year old son to rescue my tree that morning. I thought about Timmy some more - about how he helped me search through the storage unit. We even had a few good laughs (not that I was laughing when he and his friend closed me INSIDE the storage unit!). I started thinking about options to replace the Christmas presents in the box. I realized that I am blessed with an extended family that really doesn't care all that much what we give them. Tim's brother and sisters are great people. My sisters are great people. They would be happy with whatever we gave them. I realized that while I have really cute cards in that box, that as long as I take a moment to write a Christmas letter - that was all that I really needed. I won't say that I cheered myself up sky high or anything, but I wasn't crying anymore. Tim called me on his way home like he always does. I told him that I couldn't find my box. He did what he always does... he told me he would find it for me. Somehow I always believe he CAN fix my problem. It is amazing that I can search through tons of boxes and feel completely lost and then he can just say, "I will find it" and I feel like he will. Best of all, when he came home... he told me that I looked like I could use a hug. He gave me the best hug and somehow I just knew it would be all better.

A short Monday morning post about Starbucks...

I have a ton of things I should be doing at this precise moment, but I haven't had my shower and I am still very tired. To some that know me well... they would not believe I would write a post about Starbucks. See, I don't like coffee. Nope! Never drink it. I love the smell of it. It goes back to my mom always drinking it and also my 7th and 8th grade Spanish teacher. This teacher had a little coffee hot plate in the back of the room. I sat pretty close to it and just inhaled the smell of the coffee. Mmmm... Love the smell, but hate the taste. The only time I usually have anything from Starbucks is either a Peanut Butter cookie from the Barnes and Noble one or a hot chocolate from the Super Target one. That is maybe once a year. I know you are asking what the heck is this all about? Last week, Timmy brought me a hot chocolate with a splash of hazelnut. OH MY GOSH! I loved it! It wasn't the best hot chocolate I have had because it didn't taste exactly like hot chocolate. It was just the best new type of taste for a warm drink containing hazelnut! Crazy, huh? On Saturday, I went shopping. Certain events were slightly frustrating. Nothing huge, but when you add that I was at a PMS high point for the day... I needed something to make me happy. I stepped into Super Target. I saw the Starbucks. Then I read the menu. I couldn't find anything that said anything about a Hazelnut Hot Chocolate. I don't like asking for things that aren't on the menu because I think all the people around me will point at me and laugh because I asked for a stupid thing. I know, silly, but true. I kept looking and looking. Finally, I saw where is said something about adding a flavor or something like that. I know you true Starbucks people are just laughing at me, but some of us just don't know how Starbucks (and IPODS for that matter) work. I meekly asked the counter person if I could get a Hot Chocolate with Hazelnut in it. She said, "Of course!" Woo! I could stop holding my breathe. I strolled the store with my Hazelnut Hot Chocolate WITHOUT KIDS! It was a nice shopping trip. There is one tiny problem though... I keep thinking about another cup of this stuff. I am "one of those people" who thinks is crazy to spend $4 on a cup of coffee or hot chocolate as the case may be. Sure, once in a while, but not every day. But, I am finding that I WANT ANOTHER ONE and I WANT IT NOW! Oh well, I will survive... at least till I have to go somewhere near a Starbucks this week.

Refrigerators, freezers, microwaves, OH MY!

I have been shopping for appliances for what seems like weeks even though it has actually only been days. It all started with a Sears ad on Black Friday. It was offering 18 months no interest and 20% off of appliances. Great! We *think* we may be moving in January even if we don't sell our house by then. We will need appliances. While we do still have money in savings to cover the cost of these, we also do not know how much longer we will have to pay two mortgages. So, it would be better to borrow their free money for 18 months. I was supposed to go look on Black Friday morning, but I was so sleepy from staying up so late the night before, I forgot! I got home and remembered that I was supposed to go look. My mom being the great mom she is... told me to go with Tim later that evening. After my nap, we headed out. I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted and we really just needed to write it up. The refrigerator guy was nice and wanted to make a sale. The oven guy - not so nice. When I asked him about the 18 months no interest - he told me that was only till noon. OOPS! Okay, that was fine. I have found that if you are going to spend a couple thousand dollars, that usually they will magically find a loop hole on the till noon rule. Nope - not Mr. Oven Salesman. He was rude and didn't seem to care. That just ticked me off. I realize that $2000 is not a huge amount of money to some people, but it is to me! I would expect a salesman to be decent and he was not. I politely and I really do mean politely told him we would just have to go to Best Buy as they were offering the 18 months deal and FREE DELIVERY all weekend. As we walked away, Tim offered to talk to a manager, but I just didn't want to at this point. I still had an uneasy feeling because now I had to rethink all my decisions and my mom is a Kenmore (Sears) brand loyalist. We head over to Best Buy. I begin looking and looking. I find a refrigerator, but it doesn't have the lock on the water/ice maker. That stinks! I really wanted that, but when I asked the guy he said I would have to make like a $400 to $500 price jump to get it. I am really lost. I start to fill out the financing paperwork and then I just stop. I tell the saleslady that I really need to go home and think about this more. She had to think I was nuts! We leave and go home. I spent some time reading online, but for some reason my mind was not working well. Probably too much leftovers and pie on the brain. The next afternoon, Tim and I went back with the kids. I chose the refrigerator without the lock, a stove, a super cheap microwave and Tim suggested we just go ahead and get a deep freezer because that will save on trips to Sam's and gas usage. Fine, they wrote it up and I was done, right? NOPE! I just didn't feel right about it. Do you know what I mean about having that feeling that it is just not the right thing? Okay, honestly, I pretty much always second guess every decision I make, but this was different. I didn't think about it a lot over the next couple days, just here and there. Then, yesterday, I was reading this blog Amazing Trips. She mentioned her triplet 3 year olds going crazy with the water/ice maker if she forgets to lock it. I instantly felt ill. Every time we go to Tim's brother's, we use the lock on the fridge. Sebastian is OBSESSED with this. Tim told me we will just have to be stern. The truth is I don't want to argue with my toddler EVERY STINKING DAY about the ice maker. I also don't want to argue with any other children who visit. I also don't want a flood on my beautiful new laminate flooring. I just felt like I HAD to change my refrigerator somehow. I decided that maybe I should order the refrigerator from Sears and keep the rest of my order the same. I looked and Sears had free delivery for two days only. Then I looked at the Best Buy website and lo and behold they do have a refrigerator like what I wanted for just $100 more. Didn't that sales guy tell me I would need to spend $400 or $500 more? He sure did! Now I decided I could just change my refrigerator to this other one that has a lock and even more good news - it is the Consumer Reports Best Buy for the year! Woohoo! I also decided to change our very cheap microwave with horrible reviews to the Consumer Reports selection. It took some talking and being on hold and faxing a signed document, etc., but I am happy to say I think I make the right decision. I know this all sounds crazy, but I have never bought that many appliances at once. It freaked me out! With our other appliances, it was just as they broke. When the fridge broke, I went to Sears Outlet and got a great deal on a pretty boring fridge. It was what I could afford and it would work. I found my stove on clearance at Lowe's for $200. I bought it without a way to take it home. When Tim when back for it, they had resold it! They let him go back and pick out a brand new glass top stove for $200. When we bought our dishwasher, I was broke, so I got the base model that cleans dishes. If I were to do that again, I would get a quieter model. This is just saying that I really never put a lot of thought into my appliance purchases before. Since things have been so unknown lately, I really wanted to try to make good decisions. I really hope these things will work well for us for a long time and we won't have to think about repairs (knocking on wood). I think we are done with major purchases for awhile and quite honestly I am really glad. I guess if my house were sold, I would not be nearly as freaked out by it. Oh and just in case some random young person is reading this or even an older person who needs to know... I FIRMLY believe you should only charge what you can pay off each month. Tim and I have done this for the last 12 years. I don't think racking up credit card debt is a good idea. We have also used free interest offers a few times. As long as you pay it off before the time limit, you don't pay interest. The key is having a plan to make sure it is paid off by the right time. Please, please don't think you can just go out and buy stuff and HOPE to pay it off someday. That is not what I am trying to get across here. That is a really bad idea! Okay, now you can enjoy the EXTREMELY INTERESTING photos of my appliances. It is really exciting, let me tell you.

GE 25" Refrigerator
Hotpoint/GE Glass top Range

LG Over of the range Microwave

Frigidaire 7.2 Freezer

I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth... I promise...

I just realized I was supposed to post pictures. Then Wednesday came and I had kids over to play. I was "super involved mom" and took them on a nature walk to get leaves for a craft. Then there was lunch to be served and crafts to make. Not to mention mashed potatoes, homemade cinnamon rolls, stuffing, and pies to be made. Lots of stuff going on. Next it was Thursday and though I should say I was very busy... the truth is that I really wasn't all that busy. I had to cook, but I had done a lot of prep the day before. Timmy worked until 6pm, so we had dinner late. That gave me all day to prepare. I don't really know what took up my time all day. Maybe it was cuddling with my wonderful husband when Sebastian went down for a nap. Oh and we all watched the taped show of Oprah with Hannah Montana and American Girl dolls. That was extremely exciting! I am not kidding! I wish they had American Girl dolls when I was a kid. By Thursday night, all the food had taken its toll and I was very tired. Not tired enough to go to bed, though. I sat and talked with my sister-in-law, Jessica, till 3am. She was driving home from SC to NC, so I kept her company on the phone. Then I had to figure out if I was going shopping and where. My mom called at 9am on Friday to say she was ready to go shopping. I pulled myself out of bed and into the shower. Even if I didn't need much, I had a free shopping trip without kids! I was going! We only actually went to like 4 stores. I got what i was looking for though and it was a great deal. I came home to take a nap. The rest of the weekend included more shopping for bigger things that I will write about in a whole separate post. That was my Thanksgiving weekend.

He took collecting leaves VERY SERIOUSLY!

I made them look for a picture.

This is our neighbor's yard. I don't know if they were home. They are nice people so I don't think they would have cared that kids were rolling around in their leaves! At least I hope!

My silly boy!

We attempted to make turkeys out of leaves, but the draw of bubbles and sidewalk chalk distracted them. I don't think any of them really turned into actually turkey pictures. Oh well... they loved collecting the stuff for it and they had fun with the glueing they did do.