random thoughts...

Grumpy, grumpy, grumpy... pretty much sums up my mood! It really takes a lot to get me to this point, but I am here- it's okay to be here, and I openly admit to being grumpy, grumpy, grumpy!

Kadyn and Gaby have been out of school Thursday and Friday- that has actually improved my mood. I love having them home. The morning isn't rushed, we hang out, and it is just more relaxing. I love it. I think every week we should have a "stay at home" day from school- Okay, I know not everyone will agree with that one.

We had our daycare Halloween party ( and I haven't blogged about it yet) yesterday. It was fun. We had a full house, some of my older kids came to visit and it was overall an entertaining time. Party days are always crazy as the kids are so excited! It's fun to see them react to the games and snacks, and goodies.

On the daycare subject- I hit 3 inservices this week. I only need 10 hours but because of the other programs I am doing, I have over 35 hours this year. Plus, my mom is my second person and she needed hours too- so last week was "get er' done" week and now we are both good to go. Being gone so much away from the girls and Dustin was not fun though. D was single parenting it as I did the classes and not get home until after 9pm. By day three, I was a grump!

We had parent teacher conferences last night! I am very proud at how G and K are doing. Both girls are doing very well and their teachers have nothing but nice to say about them. Gaby's teacher did say that she has been warned about talking 1-2x's. If one to two times is all in 9 weeks of school, I'll take it! Anyway- very proud momma!

I have had a very heavy heart this week as I have had to make some choices about daycare that were just not easy! Actually, it really just sucked! And while I do not want to go into details, it is sometimes hard working with great people. You develop friendships, you don't want to hurt feelings, and you love the children in your care as if they were your own. Whoever said, " it's just business, it's not personal" never had a job like being a child care provider. My parents are my friends and it makes it very personal. I am sad for this change and it will be a big change with my family as well as we approach the holidays and birthday season. It's tough but I know God has a plan- I say it all the time as it is my personal reminder that I will never be given more then I can deal with! This is all a part of God's plan!!!

A part of my grumpiness is coming from being the end of October. Next week kinda kicks off the Holiday Season. I am no where prepared for this and really wouldn't mind just skipping it this year- horrible huh??!!! I know once I get Gaby's party planned and more Christmas gifts purchased I will be excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas (then daycare vacation). I am feeling old, rushed, and broke! (And grumpy)

I did have a weight gain last week- I knew it would be higher! I just didn't care, didn't write things down, and I even skipped a WW meeting! This week I have been track! I am back down and will be going back to weigh in Monday- which will help me control myself with Halloween candy!!! I am looking forward to the challenge of loosing weight while there are bad things in the house! I have faith I can do it!

Tonight we are going to get pumpkins ( this will make me less grumpy- I love family time and I have been looking forward to this all week). We have put it off just because of not having time, well, now it is the last weekend, we kinda have to do it! So, tonight it is- did I tell ya I was looking forward to this--- I feel less grumpy just typing that.

Okay- wrapping this grumpy post up! I love scrapbooking! Last weekend I went to a crop and got 33 pages done in Mia and Kendal's album! Mia is updated to May and Kendal is still in my belly but at least started!!! Here are some of my layouts I was working on...

Enjoy! I am going to pop some popcorn and have a diet hot chocolate- more things to make the grumps go away! Have a fabulous weekend! Check back for more daycare fun next week!

(Mia at Kendal's age)

(Mia's 1st b-day;cupcake theme, I am uber proud of this page)

(Minus a title, this is Kenni's first page of her album)

(Kendal's pregger pictures...)

Happy Friday!

Halloween week has started...

The book of the week is, "Mouse's First Halloween". Although we have been reading this book everyday, we have enjoyed a lot if fall and Halloween books this week...

We have been busy this morning- we made hand print bats.
Most of the kids enjoyed getting their hands painted, some did not. First, we had to paint our hands black.

Then, we pressed them on to the paper- then we had to hurry and do the other hand before we got paint anywhere else- about 85% successful! I am wearing a lot of black and white paint today- when will I learn???

After our hand printed bats were done and drying we did one of our classic Halloween projects- foot print ghosts. The kids loved this one, mainly because they thought it was cool to sit on the table.

We painted our feet; it was gooey and it made everyone laugh.

Even the babies got in on this project, Kenni 9mo. old.

Baby K, 5mo. old.

Our finished projects... super cute!

We ended the morning in the kitchen... we made "Crazy Spiders". We melted chocolate chips, some made into our mouth instead of the bowl thanks to all my little helpers. We all took turns mixing in the crunchy noodles. Then we made our spiders and put candies for the eyes. What a tasty treat!!!

*insert daycare blog entry here*

Today has been a crazy day! Crazy day does not equal a bad day by any means. I have a lot of crazy days that are great, but I still call them crazy!

This post will have no pictures of the activities we have done today- we barely got our circle time completed! This morning started out with Kendal sleeping in, she is normally up when Dustin and I are getting ready but not this morning. After all the daycare kids arrived, I heard Kenni moving around and talking. I went into our room to smell the grossest of gross smells. She was poopy! Not just poopy but blown out! It was everywhere... so, I pulled her bedding off, threw her PJ's in that same pile and I gave her a bath... and that was that.

*insert cute daycare picture here*

After her bath, I went to get milk for her bottle and breakfast cups for daycare. I had the gallon of milk in my hand and it slipped, it dropped, the lid was off, and I lost the milk that I had. (Which was just enough to get through the day as it was on my list of things to get tonight.) So, I cleaned up the mess, served some fat free milk which I had just a little of, listened to the kids complain because it tasted different, and filled up Kenni's bottle. She would not drink it for anything- my mom watched the kids while I took Kenni and Mia (so we would be in ratio), and trucked up to the store for milk.

*insert another cute daycare picture here*

Kendal went down for her nap, we completed circle time and calendar activities when she started to wake up. I put her in the highchair and gave her crackers to snack on. A few minutes later she is crying and very upset. I pull her out and poop is everywhere once again. Added to the original pile (which was waiting for the washer to finish) was outfit #2, high chair cover, my shirt, and another towel from bath #2.

*insert another cute daycare picture here- oh the kids are laughing in this one*

I was getting lunch started, the kids were playing dress up, and everyone was happy! I decided to cut up the summer sausage for Gaby and Kadyn's Halloween parties tomorrow while corn dogs were in the oven. I told myself I could do this task... I could cut this food up and not eat it! But, I tried one bite, then it led to another, and another!!! Yikes! I hate when I make bad choices. I figured up WW points and it is 6points for 1 serving. This week has been a total defeat when it comes to weight loss. But, you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again!

*insert another cute daycare picture here- look how happy they are to be finger painting with pumpkin filling- such a fun activity*

As I am cutting the meat and cheese, I hear a knock on the door- this is never a good thing. It was my food program! They do 2 visits unannounced (I think) and 1 announced. Today was unannounced. Not a huge deal, but in order to be in the food program, your paperwork, attendance, and menus have to be kept up to date and ready to go whenever they stop by. Past couple of months, I moved all my stuff in by the computer so it looking at me in the face and I fill it in everyday! So, I passed on that one and finished getting the kids lunch ready!

Like I said- it has been a crazy day- not bad- just crazy! To finish the night off, I have another in-service to go to with my mom, we are on "the list" so I am not 100% sure we'll be getting in or not but you still have to show up to know... Tomorrow I am off, life seems to get crazy right before a day off for me! I am looking forward to spending the morning with Mia, Kendal, and Dustin then going to the school for the Halloween Parade and class parties!

*Insert the last cute daycare picture here*

random thoughts...

This week has been a little crazy to say the least. I had an observation on Monday and yesterday I got this in the mail... daycare licensing packet. I am not due until January so I hope I have some time. I am ready any time but I just want hate knowing it is coming up- and there are the fees, you have to be ready to pay them when they come. So... that is me... sighing... because I have another inspection coming up!!!

Because Monday was crazy, I ordered pizza for daycare lunch. I did not get thin crust with no toppings so... I did not attend my WW meeting for the week. I chalked it off to having a crazy day, went to work out, and enjoyed not weighing in! So, I hope to have a better update next week!

Last night I bought new tooth brushes. I normally get a family pack and we all get brushes at the same time. Last time I bought a pack, we had 2 pink brushes. SO, I stuck a little piece of tape on one of them so Kadyn and I would know which toothbrush was ours. Last night I pick the one that has no tape on it and put my tooth paste on and start brushing. Yuck! I almost threw up. I had the nasty taste of soap in my mouth. I asked KK, "did you take the tape off your toothbrush?", and she replied, " YES", and "I washed it to make it all clean with soap". Needless to say, we have new tooth brushes now and again they are all different colors.

Halloween partied for G and K are Friday. I took the day off from daycare so I could pick up party supplies, get meat and cheese trays ready, and pick up cookies without worrying about coverage for work. They are doing them a little early this year but it'll be nice to get it over with. Dustin was able to get off too so we are both looking forward to the day!

Last night I went to Barns and Noble to have a drink with a friend. I went a little early so I could pick up this cookbook. This gal is simply amazing! She has awesome recipes and makes them super healthy and super tasty! Lisa also sends out daily emails and is on FB too. I was able to borrow this book from a friend before buying it- in the week I had it- I tried 4 new recipes and we all loved them! You can also go to her website and get the Weight Watcher points for each recipe too! I am so excited about new ideas to cook!

Before I went to B&N, I stopped at Target! I haven't been there in a while because I just can not help myself when I am in the store. I finally told myself I would by one pair of jeans until I lost more weight- I could get by with one pair! So... going to shop just for me, I ended up getting a couple of shirts for Mia and Kenni, PJ's with the feet for G, K and M, and Kenni got new sippy cups. Hmmmm... did you read that I got jeans for me??? Nope, you didn't! I didn't get any that wanted and truth be told, I spent less then 5 minutes looking because I spent too much time looking in the girls' section. Everything is owls and penguins and I love them both, they are just too cute!

And my new favorite find... WW spreadable cheese stuff. It has awesome pepper flavor and it is only one point per wedge!!! So far I have had it with celery, wheat thins, and a soft pretzel. It is filling and taste great- I feel like a commercial this week but I am really excited for some of the new finds like the cheese and cookbook! I found it near the deli section, not the cheese area, they have a plain one too that is like "Laughing Cow" (we are using that tonight inside our lean hamburgers-another new recipe).

Wednesdays are always crazy (Awana's)- so I am trying to blog early this morning before kids come so it is done and I don't feel like I am forcing a post during nap time. Today we are making pumpkin cookies and painting- always a fun time when we are cooking. Plus, I don't like pumpkin products/taste so the cookies will not be tempting at all! I am so happy!

Off to finished getting ready! Have a wonderful day and check back on us soon!

It's brown day...

All of us in our brown...some our of brown is small, but we all had it on somewhere!

today we painted our fists to make fun little pumpkins... out little pumpkins turned into a pumpkin patch... uber cute!!!

We finished up our morning by talking about pumpkins and how we can use them to bake. We made pumpkin spiced cookies. We all added butter, eggs, water, pumpkin flavor, and canned pumpkin to make our cookie dough. The group did a wonderful job of sharing, listening to directions, and taking turns. Can't wait to have the kids try them, they smell yummy!

Pumpkin week

is finally here... we did a lot of fun activities yesterday to start our week off to a good start but I had a fun visitor here (not) so I didn't get pictures.

We decorated our pumpkins, we colored a jack o lantern picture, we hid our pumpkins and found them...all things that would have made nice pictures.

Our decorated pumpkins...

The fall season is super hard for me to just pick 1-2 books for our book of the week. So, I picked my top 3 favorites. Here they are...

Today compared pumpkins... we talked about size, color, texture.

Then we used our little pumpkins to paint... we made fun designs.

Check back soon... tomorrow we are in the kitchen!!!

Friday's Favorite Pictures...

Happy Birthday A!

Today we celebrate because A is turning 3!!!

Happy Birthday A!!! We love you!

traingles and the color brown...that's what we're talking about!

Books, triangles, painting, and more... we have had a busy morning!
After circle time, we sat down to look at books. We looked at pages and found items that were brown and/or shaped like a triangle.

Looking for all those objects made us hungry. So, we made a triangle snack. It didn't take long for the group to realize that our snack was made into a familiar shape we had been discussing.

We did a little art today... we finger painted not with paint but with pudding! It was the perfect color and yummy too!

Little artist at work...

Some of us wanted to eat our art which made clean up a little easier...

Lots of licks this morning...

One friend even ended up in a bath after turning a purple shirt brown... but she still had fun!

We also tried water-coloring today...

we painted... triangles... you guessed it!

I was super impressed, 6 kids painted all under the age of 4...

and not one bowel of water spilled...

starting week 2

Thank you for keeping up on my journey to lose weight. If you really don't care- don't read this post! That's okay, not everyone is interested! So, last week was good. I had a weight loss. I like reflecting to see what worked for me and what did not. Here are a few... (maybe you can add to some new ideas to try as well)

Trying 7lb weights at Jazz class did not work. (Next week I am using them again)
Counting out only 1 serving of M&M's (for 5pts) did not work. I wanted more.
Eating and snacking all day vs having bigger meals did not work for me. I never felt really full- I do snacks/lighter meals for am and lunch then a bigger dinner-so far, it works better for me!

Working out 6x a week worked for me.
Writing down what I ate and how many WW points worked for me.
Skinny Cow icecream bars worked for me.
Complaining (just a little) worked for me.
Sharing to people personal goals to help me stay on track worked for me- not to brag but to help stay accountable!
Taking this picture and seeing my dimples and face shape worked for me.

Stopped drinking pop worked for me.

My 2 new things to try this week: Smoothies (I saw packaged ones on the Biggest Looser last week). Chicken Pot Pie recipe from weightwatchers.com

Total loss to date: 11lbs.

beef stroganoff

Yesterday I tried a recipe from allrecipes.com. It pretty much rocked! First of all, I have never made my own beef stroganoff. Second of all, I have never seen it done in a slow cooker (my hero).

Here is what we need ...

1-1 1/2 pounds of cubed beef stew meat
2 cans of healthy request cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup of onion (I did not use this)
1-2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup of water
package of noodles
6oz of Weight Watchers cream cheese

Combine it all in your slow cooker -do not add cream cheese-

Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 5 hours. Stir in cream cheese just before serving.

Our finished product!

This is a keeper! Everyone in our family enjoyed the dish and it made 6-8 servings. It was very filling when served with a veggie. So simple and tasty! Maybe this is an old recipe and everyone has made it but it is super new to us and I thought I would share a new favorite!

random thoughts...

I love the fall season but hate that it gets dark so early. I wake up- it's dark, I eat dinner- it's dark! I thrive on light and sunshine! I like my light and longer days for sure, I feel more productive I guess!

In the past 2 weeks, I have worked out everyday by going to Jazzercise class, a DVD, or riding my bike. I love working out- it really is a fun time for me. I see friends at classes, I have instructors that are motivating, and I feel so good after working out.

I have been spending a lot of time on the Weight Watchers website. My goal is to try 2 new recipes a week. It takes a little more time, but I think it really worth it. We are all board for healthier meal choices so it has been fun "researching" some new dinner and crock pot ideas. -And let me just say, I love Ronzoni's brand of noodles(switched over a year ago to this)- I feel I can eat pasta and not feel uber guilty! And, they are not that much more in cost to get the extra fiber!

Daycare is going well- it is busy, loud, never sitting down, talking all the time, writing grants, attending meetings, arranging furniture, adding more projects to my plate, ratings, observations, multitasking, supply orders... never a dull moment in my daycare world!

I have already started my Christmas shopping. I am normally a lot further along then I am but at least it is started, I have my list made out and ideas written down! We have some down time coming up since soccer is almost done so I can hit this project harder when 3 days are freed up!

The girls' Halloween customs came in yesterday. One day later then we needed them- we had pictures Sunday! I actually am pleased with the pictures w/o the dressing up! The girls did great and I only had to threaten Gaby once! Success! Now, I just have to go through and pick out the faves and order!

I used my b-day money and purchased the 1st season of Glee. I had not watched it and finally saw one show and I was certainly hooked for sure! I spent pretty much Saturday and Sunday with the show on while I cleaned, did laundry, and worked on daycare stuff. Fun times!

Even with 2 kids in school, things have not slowed down any on the home front! Mia certainly stepped up to the big sister role after KK and Gaby started school this year! She is just 2 and boy she sure shows it! Today I caught her standing on Kendal's high chair pointing to all of our circle time concepts. When I asked her what she was doing she answered, "you can't get me?". Really, did she just say that? Come on, one good child, that is all I ask for, one good child!

Dustin gets the hubby of the year award... last night he took the younger 2 kids to his dads and took the older 2 to the SHES skate night. They had a blast, I was bummed I couldn't make it but glad that Dustin still took the girls. G and K had such a fun time!

I think that about catches everything up- 4 posts in one day, geez... too much! Thanks for checking in! Hope your Tuesday is going well!