The Countdown Begins

In one week

One week from now, my family and I will be waiting at the theater for the midnight premiere.  I am so excited!  We are a Harry Potter family.  Even the little kids know Harry Potter.  I can't wait til they are old enough to read the books, I'm sure they will love them as much as the rest of us have.

Next week also begins birthday week!  My birthday is Tuesday, one year closer to 40 - sigh.  Then Saturday Gabe will be 15!  I can't believe he will be that old.  For his birthday he decided he wants to take some friends to the midnight Harry Potter movie then have them stay over so they can play Xbox all night.  At least it will be easy for me.  All I have to do is buy movie tickets and a kitchen full of snacks.  Birthdays definitely get easier the older they get.

Are you planning a trip to say good bye to Harry, Ron, Hermione and all of the Hogwarts gang too?  Make sure to take kleenex, I'm sure there will be some tears involved. Well, maybe only if you are a sap like me ;)

Have a great day!

Let's Review

So, since my last visit in

September

Work, work, work

Brody turned 3

Work, work, work some more

Gabe started High School Soccer, on the Varsity Team

October

Work, work, work

Soccer at least 4 nights a week

Work, work, work some more

Celebrated yet another anniversary with my Hubby <3

November

Work, work, work

Start planning for Christmas, finish up soccer, take on more hours at the store

Work,, work, work some more

Thanksgiving at my house, less than a week to plan, shop, clean, and cook - fun times!

December

Work, work, work some more

Plan, shop, hide, wrap, clean, bake, package, cook, label, decorate and all the other good things that come about at Christmas

Work, work, work some more

*Try* to make it through Christmas day without passing out from exhaustion

January

Work a little less ;)

Spend most of the month trying to recover from the holidays

Spend the month trying to keep all the bills paid after the holiday spending

February

Work, work, work more than the last month

Freeze my butt off in the arctic weather

Work, work, work some more

Valentines Day, and 2 hours out with my Hubby for dinner

March

Work, work, work some more

Gabe started managing the High School girls soccer team and being a line ref for recreation soccer teams (yay! his first paid job)

Work, work, work some more

Lindsey joined Girl Scouts just in time to complete their cookie sales, and Brody started a soccer tots class - you know, just because I didn't have anything else going on. :)

So now you are all caught up on what's been going on with my life. I've been wanting to get back to this, but this is the first time in over a month that I've had more than 1 day off a week. I'm exhausted, but at the same time I love my job. I've been promoted to full time, so I guess thay like me too (haha). I'm also going to try to get back to my WIWW posts. When I work I have to wear a uniform - black pants, socks, shoes and either a black polo with the university logo or a long sleeve button down with black tie. I'm getting really tired of all black. It's time for Mom to do something for Mom! Now if I could just find someplace to escape to for a weekend where I could just sleep and relax, life would be almost perfect, well, at least for me.

See you soon!

So Yummy. . . I May Be Addicted

I've been trying to cut down on all the sugary sweet snacks we tend to keep in the house. If the kids realize what we have, they drive me crazy until I give in and give them something. But then, when Mom decides she really, really needs chocolate, that doesn't leave me with many choices. Well, yesterday was that day. I HAD to have some chocolate. It was almost 9:00 on a Sunday night, which meant that my run-out-and-pick-up-something-gooey-and-chocolatey choices were really limited. And, I really didn't feel like baking something because by the time I got it mixed up and baked I would be too tired to even want it anymore. So I did what any good Mom would do - I dug around the pantry behind all the boring stuff until I hit upon the jackpot

Rold Gold Honey Wheat Twists and Nutella. I realize it may not look like much, but together, WOW! And so easy, all I did was take a twist and dip it in the Nutella. It was heavenly, truly the best thing I had ever had (at least at the time, hehe). I have now eaten my way through most of the bag of twists and about half the jar of Nutella and I'm sure gained back part of those 8 pounds I recently lost. But it's all worth it. Mom's happy now! And lucky for me, the kids don't realize that it's sweet and good, looks like it's a treat all for me.

Have a great day

Update and Inspiration

I'm still here! I've just been overwhelmed this past week with kids, work, high school soccer, back to school shopping and just basic everyday Mom tasks. I have also been busy with some projects that have me kind of excited. I'll post more about that later when I can get some pictures taken.

I'm sure if you have been on the internet for any amount of time you have seen these images. The Keep Calm and Carry On image has been around since WWII, and has become quite popular in the past few years. I have always been inspired by that image, but I have also loved some of the variations that other people have created. Here are just a few that give me inspiration, in many forms.

This one is pretty self explanitory, coffee, my favorite ;)

This one has been my driving force this past week. I love the lightbulb!

This one just makes me laugh! Haven't we all had those days?

Just because I am a huge Led Zeppelin fan.

I think I need to just post this at the coffee maker so I can see it first thing every morning. Again, it's all about the coffee!

I hope these will make you smile, and possibly give a little inspiration too! I'll be back to full swing soon, so until then, have a great day!

I think I've created a monster

I love my iPod Touch, it's like my lifeline most of the time. I keep my calendar on it, check my email, keep up with facebook and work on my solitaire score. But here lately it seems my youngest child, my baby who still gives me hugs and cuddles, has developed a love for it that is all his own. He is obsessed with it! He can actually work it better than Lindsey can. Luckily he hasn't figured out my password to download apps yet (but believe me, he's tried). I have now started using it as a bargaining tool. If he does something that I want him to then he can play with it for 5 minutes. The five minutes doesn't always work, but at least it gets him to clean up toys or take a bath.

Just look at that face. I told you he loves that little gadget.

And as soon as he gets ahold of it, he gets to work.
I guess the little fingers do just fine with the touch screen.

His favorite app is the flixter app. You can go on it and watch movie trailers. He's a movie fan, just like his Mom.

I'm not sure if this is the best thing for him to be playing with so much, but as long as it keeps the fights over toys to a minimum, it works for me.

Have a great day!

I Want To Go Shopping

Have you noticed all the fall/back to school clothing that is hitting stores right now? I'm loving so much of it. I love fall and spring weather, cool mornings and mild afternoons. I enjoy wearing layers and being comfortable. I'm not a shorts person at all, and I have just this summer started wearing sleeveless shirts out of the house. The heat has just gotten to me worse this year than in the past (except for those summers I was pregnant, but they don't count) and I've gotten over as many clothing issues as I can. I still refuse to leave the house in shorts that are more than 2 inches above my knee. OK, that may be a little drastic, but you get my meaning.

I've been looking at all the new cardigans and layering pieces and I have already started my "want list". I thought I would share a few things I'm thinking about.

I love this cardigan and shirt. Both are made from a really soft knit, the kind that will keep it's shape but just get softer with each washing. The shirt is also available in other stripe color combos and in solids.

Again, the knit Boyfriend Cardigan, but this time in a great soft red. I'm not a huge fan of bright colors, but this red just screams fall to me. And the tank, I know it's hard to tell, but it has small flowers on it that are the same color red and the cardigan brings out the color really well.

This is another knit combo. I really like that with the cardigan you can wear it dressy or casual and I like that the tank has a banded bottom. The banded bottom helps camoflage the bit of "baby belly" I still have left over. (yes, my youngest is almost 3, but that is a whole other post!) Oh, and both of these pieces just went on clearance for $19.95, I may just have to push them to the top of my list ;)

Don't you just love the ruffles on this cute sweater? Lindsey was looking at these with me and she now wants one too (hehe, that's my girl!). It's available in other colors, so you could buy one for every day of the week! And the tank is another knit that has off white dots that match the sweater perfectly. Cute, cute, cute!

All of the pieces are available at American Eagle, or at http://www.ae.com/ except for the ruffle sweater, that is from Target, and is also available online.

Hopefully you'll see me in one or more of these outfits in a WIW post really soon!

Have a great weekend!

Ikea Love

I Love Ikea! I mean I really, truly, big fat puffy heart love Ikea. I live in North Carolina, and Ikea just opened here a little over a year ago. Up until that point I had only heard of Ikea and only had a faint idea of what I was missing by not having one in my life. I went the second weekend they were opened (FYI for anyone planning to go to one that is newly opened - leave the kids at home) and within about 5 minutes I looked at my Husband and said "How is it we have never been to an Ikea before now?" I'm sure he now regrets taking me on that little adventure. I guess I should also let you know that I live over an hour away from my closest store. That is the only reason that I'm not there weekly spending money I don't have on things I just can't live without.

The reason I'm writing about this now is that the new Ikea catalog will be released the beginning of August. Do you know what that means? More eye candy for me to drowl over, a catalog that equals (to me) the Christmas toybook! I get giddy just thinking about it!

I thought I would just give you a look at just of a few of my favorite things from there.

First off, my Gynnsam knife. This is hands down the best knife I have ever owned. It is extremely well made, sharp, and cheap! I have worked for both Williams Sonoma and Sur La Table, I have had knife training from Wustof and Shun, and I have sold many different types of knives (good and bad) and this is still my favorite knife. And at $14.99, I could just go buy another one when it needs sharpening, and would still save money. I have been using this knife since Christmas (it was a gift for my Hubby) usually daily. I always handwash it (you should always handwash good knifes) and it still cuts like it is new.

Second is the Ikea 365 white wine glass. Love this glass. It costs $2.99 and is comparable to the $20.00 Riedel glasses. The size is perfect, they are dishwasher safe, and hold up well with a somewhat clumsy Hubby.

This is the Arstid wall lamp. We have these hanging in our bedroom on either side of the bed. I love that they can work in either a formal or casual room. I also love that at $14.99 each, I could put them in every room and not worry about the little kids breaking them.

And then there is this. I am sure if you read any blogs that have anything to do with decorating you have seen and heard about the Ektorp couch. No, I don't have one - yet. This is on my wishlist. We are on our second hand-me-down couch that matches nothing else we own. I feel like we owe it to ourselves to save up the $400.00 ($400.00!!! where else can you get a brand new couch for that?) and have a couch we will all be happy with. It probably won't happen until tax time next year, but it will happen!

And lastly, the best reason to make your Ikea trip and day trip - Swedish Meatballs! Even if you don't spend the day, make sure you go hungry so you can enjoy a plate of these. Yummy Delish!!!

So there is my little Ikea spiel for today. I'm sure that after I get my new catalog (yay! happy dance!) I'll have lots to add to the wishlist. And another trip will be in order. I guess my Hubby should start planning now.

Have a great day, I'll probably post later today for WIWW. Yay, the week is half done!

Monday finally got better

Monday started just the way it was supposed to - bad. I woke up late on the one morning this week I had to be up for work. I rushed to get ready and get there, then forgot to clock in when I did get there. When I got home from work I think every toy that Lindsey and Brody own was on the living room floor. Guess who gets to clean most of that up? Yeah, me. But my Hubby just got home from work and handed over the mail and made my day so much better.



A new Pottery Barn catalog and free Starbucks!

There are 2 things I should probably explain about myself. First - I LOVE looking through catalogs. I could look and dream for hours with the right materials. PB, Restoration Hardware, Ballard, Williams Sonoma and Sur La Table are my favs. I can't afford about 98% of what I like, but I can dream. I can also find things I think I can make myself. I've become quite the DIYer. I love all the knock-offs that can be found on all the DIY linky parties on various blogs through out each week. They give me hope, and that makes me happy too.

The second thing you should know is that I LOVE coffee. Seriously and completely. It's pretty much what I drink all day every day. There are 2 Starbucks not too far from me that I hit almost daily. The employees at each store know me by name. If you are a coffee lover/Starbucks addict then you should also have a Starbucks Gold Card. They are awesome! For every 15 drinks you buy (the free drip coffee refills count too) you get a postcard good for one free drink!



I have become much better about my coffee spending. For a long time I would get at Triple Grande Breve Mocha at least once a day. If you don't know what that is, the Triple and the Breve basically equal expensive. It got to the point that my Hubby told me I was going to have to get a job just to pay for coffee. I now usually get a Tall Bold Coffee in a Grande Cup and then pour in extra half and half. It's as close as I can get without the price. And I get free refills with my gold card. I now only get my expensive drinks when I can get them free. I am not sure exactly how you get the gold card now. I got mine when you had to pay a yearly fee (a valentine gift from Hubby - I was thrilled - told you I was addicted) and then this year when there is no fee they sent me a new one when my other expired. I'm sure you can go to the Starbucks website and get all the details.

I hope all your Mondays turn out pretty good like mine. I think I may try to sneak out tonight after the little kids go to bed, go to Starbucks, get my expensive free drink and soak in the new PB catalog. Wanna join me?