I'm sorry, hurry up and WHAT NOW?!?!

I love being married to my soldier.  He is everything I could want in a man and everything the Army could want in a soldier.  He is a phenomenal husband, father, friend, and soldier.  But I HATE waiting for him to come home from deployment.

These last 8 months have been hard.  The kids are getting older and they are understanding more of why Daddy isn't home and that he won't be home for a long time.  They know that Mom is in charge now, she's good cop and bad cop, but more often then not, they see the bad cop.  It is difficult to find that balance between good cop and bad cop.  I try every day to see things from a different perspective, especially when the littles act out.  I try to look at the situation and think, "It's because they miss Daddy.  They are testing their boundaries, they are seeing how far they can push me."  But I hate that that is the excuse.  I miss Daddy too, but I'm not going around acting like a crazy mad woman, hitting people, throwing tantrums and being rude to every one.

Thankfully, this deployment is coming to an end and very soon at that.  These last 8 months went by very fast, but these last couple of weeks have been dragging on and on and on.  It is so hard to sit back and wait. This last week I was busy every day.  We had the Holiday Shoppe at the school where the kids all came and shopped for gifts for their family.  It is a really fun time for them and they all loved it.  At the end of each day I was so exhausted I ended up falling asleep super early.  But now, I have nothing to do! What do I do?  I could clean the house and do the laundry, but that only takes so long and then after that I've got nothing left.  I've got lunch with some girlfriends on Monday, but after that, nothing.  NOTHING!

Needless to say, I'm getting restless and I just want my husband home.  It will be a weight lifted off my shoulders and the littles will (crossing my fingers) go back to being themselves again.   Plus, I could totally use a Mommy's Night Out.  I've been missing my Mommy time for the last 8 months.  Don't get me wrong, I've been missing my Husband time too.  Lord knows I could go for an all day cuddle-fest.  But Mommy needs some adult interaction, preferably with some wine in the mix.

Okay, now that I have ranted, I will go back to watching my awesome reality television!

Goodnight all!

It's December and that means...

Time for Fancy Projects!

Last night I was up late creating a cute advent calendar for the kids.  I got the idea from iHeartOrganizing!  I love the website. Jen always has some great ideas for organizing and family fun!  I used her idea for a holiday countdown, and created a variation of my own. 

First, I went to Hobby Lobby.  By the way, do not go there on a Friday (it was also payday), after school (which is 3:30), and expect it to be not crowded.  Holy CRAP!  There were so many people there.  I suspect it was because there was a 50% off sale on all Christmas decor.  I was nuts to think it would be slow there. 

I got a cute wooden box.

You can find these online here. 

First I painted it all white.  A little accident happened after it dried.  Oops! I forgot to leave the top propped open a little so it wouldn't stick to the box.  When I went to pry it open I ended up ripping off the top, the front edge and side edge.  Thankfully there was a part still attached to the hinges and one of the other sides.  So I scrambled through the house to find some Krazy glue.  When I found it 10 expletives and 20 minutes later,  I was able to glue it all back together. YAY!

After the scary party was over, I then painted on red stripes to the top of the box.  I just used regular scotch tape to tape off the lines.  No, I did not measure, I did it all by eye. 

After that was dry I tried to use a stencil and paint on letters that spelled "Advent Calendar"  Unfortunately, that did not work out as I had hoped.  Grr.  So I had to hand paint the rest of it on.  Yes, the A looks funny.  Sue me!

This is what it looks like when I finished it.  I think it looks cute no matter how cracked out the letters look.  ;)

From there I made cards for each day and wrote down activities for the littles to do each day.  

I used a lot of the ideas from iHeartOrganizing, but I added in a few of my own.  One, in particular, is my favorite.  

They don't know when Daddy is going to be home.  All they know is that he is coming home this month.  We have talked about different scenarios to surprise them.  

1. Surprise them at school during class. (that can only happen if he gets home during school hours)

2. Surprise them at the park after school. (again depends on the time he gets home)

3. Waking them up super early and having them see what Santa brought them for an early Christmas present. 

4. Having them see this card before knowing Daddy is home. 

Any of these will be great, I'm just hoping we can pull it off.  Thankfully I have amazing friends that are willing to help out with each scenario.  

The other project I did turned out fantastic.  I LOVE IT! I have seen it about a billion and 13 times on Pinterest, so I thought I would finally do it. 

Super cute Wreath wrapped in red and ivory yarn with cute felt rosettes and holly!

It is now hanging on our front door. We have never had a hanging wreath on our front door. I am loving this one! 

One last thing the littles and I did for a few good times and a bunch of laughs was made chocolate mustaches on a stick!

Needless to say it was a lot of fun!  And they tasted delish! I love dark chocolate mustaches in the evening! tee hee.

I hope everyone is having a great December so far.  I know it has only just begun, but it's never too late to have a great time!

When Christmas Comes to Town

Before I get into anything regarding Christmas, first I must reflect on Thanksgiving.  At first the littles and I were a little sad because Daddy wasn't here for yet another holiday.  But, we have the BEST friends here and the day before Thanksgiving we got a phone call from our BEST friends asking if we would like to join them.   Immediately, my eyes welt up with tears, but I held back a sob and graciously accepted the invitation.

The littles and I were so excited to be going over to our friends to spend the holiday with them, laughing, playing, and eating some darn good food. And boy was the food GOOD!

If it was not for friends like these, we would have been home alone, moping about Daddy not being here again.  We truly do have some of the best friends anyone could ask for.  They opened their hearts and home to us and I could not be more appreciative. Thank you very much!


NOW... on to the next holiday!  Someone stopped by in the middle of the night and greeted the kids this morning.  Can you guess who?

The Elf on the Shelf has made an appearance people!  The littles and I decided to name him Elfred! Get it!  It's like Alfred, but since he's an Elf... HA HA HA!  Okay, sorry.  I guess I got a little carried away with the name. But I just think it's too darn cute!

The littles have already told them what they want for Christmas and have filled out their Letter to Santa.  I made these up last night on Microsoft PowerPoint.  I told them that they came with the Elf and that Santa wanted each of them to fill it out and Elfred would bring it back to Santa tonight when he goes back to the North Pole to give his Daily Report.

I love how they turned out.  So super cute! I love reading what they wrote down.  Here is what Little Man wrote down for what his Christmas Wishes are...

He just wants Daddy to come home.  I have to admit, I cried like a baby just out of the womb.  Hard sobs.  This kid knows how to make the flood gates open.

I'm going to let you all in on a little secret.  The kids do not know when exactly he is coming home... but I do!  We are not telling them because we want to surprise them either at school or however we can.  They know he is coming back in Dec, but not the date.  Tee Hee.. I'm so mean.  I LOVE IT!

Do not worry though fellow friendlies, I will post pictures of the awesomely, tearful reunion.  None of you will be left out of knowing how it all turned out.

Lastly, tomorrow is the last day of my 24-Day Challenge!! WOOT!  So far I have lost 5 pounds and 7 inches!! Mostly from my thighs and hips.  On an even MORE awesome note,  I have dropped a pant size!! YAY!  Instead of being in a size 6 I am now in a 4!! WOO HOO!  For the last 6 years I was in a size 7 and while that was all fine and dandy ( I started off at a size 0 before having kids), I am just so pleased as punch to be in a 4!!!

If any of you would like to see results like mine or better, please contact me and we can get you started on a 24-Day Challenge as well.  Those who do the Challenge will be entered to win a Coach Purse!  WOOT! COACH! Who doesn't want a Coach Purse?  This lady does, but I already completed (or just about to complete) my challenge.

Well, that is all for my verbalage (is that a word, oh well I'm making it one) for today.  I hope you all had a wonderful and full of Thanks-giving! Ha, see what I did there? Yea, I'm pretty cool like that.  I also hope you all have a magical and festive holiday!

I haven't lost my mind, but I have lost...

4 pounds!!!  

I cannot believe how much I have lost and it's only been 5 days.  I have been feeling on top of the world with my energy levels, I feel healthier now that I've been eating better, and I feel like I could take on the world!

Over the last few weeks I had been so busy that things just sort of fell by the wayside.  Laundry piled up a bit (a lot), and clean dishes were disappearing on a few occasions, but with the break in events going on in my busy life, I finally had a day of nothing but cleaning.  My house is CLEAN!!

Before taking AdvoCare products I would not have been able to get as much done as I did today.  My husband can totally vouch for that.  I would get tired easily and I would get distracted or unmotivated.  Essentially, I would just give up and the house would still look like the aftermath of a tornado/nuclear explosion test site.  However, today I was able to do so much and I didn't get tired, distracted, or unmotivated.  I got 5 loads of laundry done, all the dishes, swept, mopped, counters, stove, oven, threw away old papers, and even had enough time left over to do the main bathroom before I had to pick up my kids.

I owe all of that to AdvoCare!  It has changed my life and now I want it to change yours.

If you would like to start on a 24 Day Challenge, or even gain a little insight into some of the products, please do not hesitate to ask.

Choose The Challenge

My AdvoCare Website

24 Day Challenge

Hello friendlies,

As you know from my last post I have started selling and using AdvoCare products.  And let me just say, WOW!  I am in love with just the few products I have started taking.

Friday morning I started with the Herbal Cleanse.  That first day I was rewarded with so much energy, and let me tell you, I needed it.  The day started off early in the am with an early morning wake up from my two lovies (my children).  I started with the Fiber Drink in Peaches and Cream, (yummy!) and a healthy breakfast of scrambled eggs and fresh fruit. Then I made a Spark drink in Pink Lemonade (my fave!).  Then it was off to the lovies school to get things started for Fall Fest!  Once we had the last few things done and done, a few of us headed off to the FRC (Family Readiness Center) for a Spouse Event.  It was AWESOME! Lots of activities, information, good conversations, oh and did I mention FREE SWAG?  Yep, there were giveaways.  Sadly I did not win the one thing I went there for, the iPad. *sad face*  Then it was back to the school to start on decorations for Fall Fest.  Lots of signs were hung, an outside display of hay bails, pumpkins, mums, and Scarecrows.  The evening felt long, but I had the energy to spare and finally at 8pm it was all over and we were on our way home at 8:15pm.  When we got back home I had remembered that I had math homework to do. Oops! I'm a bit of a slacker (don't tell my mom).  At the end of the day I rolled into bed by 11:30pm and ready for Mr. Sandman to bring me a dream.

But the moral of the story is... AdvoCare is AWESOME!  I was able to get through this long and hectic day without feeling tired or run down at all.  Before I used to feel exhausted by noon and need a nap before picking up the kids from school and another when we got home.  But not Friday! It was amazing.  I love feeling like I have energy to spare.  I have been able to get so much done over the last few days, it is incredible.

If you would like to feel like me and also lose pounds and inches... ask me about the 24 Day Challenge!  I am only at the beginning but I can feel the changes being made already and I am loving it.  I want all of you to feel this way too.

Are you ready for a new, more energized and slimmer you?  Contact me today!

Starting a New Adventure

Over the weekend I started a new adventure.  I signed up to become a distributor for AdvoCare.  This company provides overwhelming results in weight loss, energy supplements, and fitness and wellness aids.

I have taken the first step into providing more for my family. I have been a stay-at-home mother and wife for the last 7 and a half years.  I started online college last year and have also been volunteering at my children's school as the PTO Vice President.  I didn't think I could fit any more on my plate, but my sister-in-law told me that because I am involved in so much, it will only help my business!

So here I am! I am excited for the possibilities!

Soon I will start recruiting people to take on the 24-Day Challenge.

Stay tuned for more information!

Popularity Contest?

When I was younger I had a small group of friends.  We were inseparable, we did everything together.  But there were times when I would not be invited to things. I felt left out, like they were mad at me or just didn't like me any more. When I grew up I thought to myself, I want my kids to someday have a group of friends that will love to be around them. I want them to have play dates and go to each other's birthday parties. I want them to feel included. 

Sometimes, you don't always get what you wish for.  I find myself feeling awful for them when they don't get invited to play dates or birthday parties.  They see what is going on and they know when they are not invited, they then cry to me about it and my heart breaks.
What am I supposed to say to them? How do I ease that hurt that they feel? I sometimes just do not have the words to make them feel better.  All I can do is simply cuddle with them and let them know everything will be okay.  Sometimes I cry with them.  It brings me right back.

Yes, that was in my past, but when you have children, you want everything for them. You want them to be happy and loved.

Today my heart aches because it has turned into another one of those days.  Though in a strange way I feel like it's been a slow process in the making.  It's strange to say, but I feel like I've seen it coming.

I just hope that my kids will bounce back from this, myself included.  I want nothing more than my kids to be happy and love life and the ones in their lives.

Weekly Menu Planning

For a long time I have been trying to get more organized. It was my New Years resolution.  I have done research on organizing pictures, books, files, and life in general.  Now I am working on organizing our weekly menu.

I will admit, in the past I used to make whatever we felt like for that day. But it is time for a change.  Gone are the days of Mommy the Short Order Cook.  Starting this month I will from here on out be known as, Mommy the Amazing Chef.

I have looked at many free printables from multiple bloggers, but I never came across one that I really liked.  So, being the creative gal I am, I made my own.

Down the left side I put the meals of the day.  B for Breakfast, L for Lunch, S for Snack, D for Dinner, and of course D² for Dessert.  The reason for D² is because everyone always wants seconds.  See how clever I am. Tee hee. 

I also have another list for the groceries I will need for these meals.  It is a little extensive, this being because I am a couponer and like to know what I am paying for everything I am buying. 

{Click here to download for FREE}

I scoured my cookbooks looking for recipes to switch up the every day meal we usually go with, that being spaghetti.  Mind you I still have put spaghetti on my new menu planner, only because it is an AWESOME family meal. I love how it brings us all to the table. 

My next venture will be creating chore charts for myself and the kids, because this summer I will be needing all the help I can get. Thankfully they are both old enough to start helping around the house.

Again, I have found some very cute templates, but in the end i will probably end up making one myself.

Well, that is it for me today.  Do you have any awesome templates or Menu Planning tips to share? Leave a comment.

Planning for Little Man's 7th Birthday!

I am sorry it has been a while since I have posted. I have been busy with PTO, Kid's Schoolwork, My Schoolwork, Volunteering, Cooking, Cleaning, Being a Mom, and... Planning for Little Man's 7th Birthday Party!!

I am extremely excited for his birthday this year. We have both agreed on a pretty nifty party theme. This year the theme is.... Superhero Theme!!

I have had so much fun scouring the internet to find ideas for invitations, party favors, decorations, and other awe-inspiring ideas. All of my work has paid off and I have been slaving over the details like a workhorse. (I may have to enlist the help of my PTO lady friends to help out with some decorations. We will just see when I end up burning out.)

So far I have bountiful amounts of ideas. Masks, capes, comic book fighting word decorations, and SUPER cool invitations.

The invitations I found on etsy are absolutely amazing looking. However, at $30 for a set of 12, and me needing 24 invites... I decided to make my own for half the price. There is no way I am shelling out $60 for invitations.

The Etsy Invitation

My Invitation

Though mine may not be as perfect looking as the etsy invite, I love how the ones I made turned out. I still have about 18 more to make. Lord help me! My hands are going to feel dead by the end of the weekend. 

The capes will be made out of tablecloths. Little Man's will be black and he will have a black mask. The boys at the party will have blue masks and capes, the girls will have pink masks and capes. EEP! I'm so excited to see them run around the playground in masks and capes!

I found a good tutorial here ---> How To Create Superhero Capes

Next was the fun part... I got to use spray paint!!! I bought white masks from Hobby Lobby to use for the boy and girl masks. Then I spray painted them Hot Pink and Ocean Blue. I got the spray paint from Hobby Lobby as well. I love that place.

The next idea I came across was fabulous! Onomatopoeia words with jagged bubbles staked into cupcakes! No need to mess with fondant! This idea I got from Cupcake Decorating Ideas.

I am also going to make those into larger cutouts to hang around the party area! This is going to be one AWESOME party!!!!

I can't wait until March 30th. Little Man will be turning 7 and I will be turning 82! Not really, but it sure feels like it. I will make sure to take a ton of pictures of the exciting events.

Project Gallery

What started off as an idea in my head has exploded on our walls. So far we only have two walls with photos on them, but in my head I would like to have every single one of them loaded with pictures.

I have found many crafty blogs with posts regarding gallery walls. I love every single one of them. they have all given me inspiration to create my own.

First place we started was the wall in our "dining room" area. I put dining room in quotations because it's not really a room, but more of an area behind where the couch and desk sit.

The wall was white and bare. Nothing to give it any life. So, after we got our taxes I made the ultimate decision and booked us an appointment to get our pictures taken. The whole process from leaving the house to leaving the mall was an adventure in itself and I will not get into that. But, needless to say, after 4 and a half hours, we had our pictures and were headed home. The next day I started my project.

First I measured out where I wanted to the pictures to sit, and then I started hammering in some nails. I love hammering nails, it's fun.

This is what the end result came out as...

Though, I know it is not the biggest and most extravagant gallery wall every made, but for now it is simple and I love it. 

The next wall I tackled was the bare wall next to our GIGANTIC television. Trust me when I say it is big. 

There was nothing next to the television. It was where we had our love seat, but we moved that in December to make a space for our Christmas tree. After Christmas was over and the tree was put away we really didn't feel like going through the trouble of moving the love seat back, so we left it in the family room. 

Now I was faced with about a 5' x 3' area to work with. So I set up shop. I craftily made a desk out of two tv trays and the top to my old desk that mysteriously lost one of it's pieces, thus making it so I could not put it together. I laid the top of my old desk across the two tv trays and viola! A new desk for me! I set up my laptop with my printer next to it and had my very own work desk. 

Then I realized the wall needed a little something. So I started digging for pictures that would fit the frames I had. Sadly only 1 of our newly taken pictures would fit. I was so sad. But I did not let that get me down. I love looking at old pictures and reminiscing on the good old days. 

After about 20 minutes of trying to place them where I wanted them to I ended up with a pretty neat looking wall. 

The quilt in the frame is from a quilt that my grandmother made me. It had already been torn up between me, my kids and the dog using it. So I decided to turn it into art. I cut out my favorite part, (the only piece left untouched) and placed it in a frame. 

I love my walls. I will most definitely be adding to them in the future. I can't wait to show you all the process and how it all comes together. 

RAWR!

I am a couponing MONSTER!

Last night I stayed up super late to get all of my deals in order, my extensive shopping list together, my transactions separated, and my coupons divided up.

I woke up at 7am ready to tackle the day.

My first stop Walgreens. OOP (out of pocket) was $16.42. But, I saved $20.23. A 55% savings! WOOT!!

Next stop was Publix. I am in LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, with Publix. Their Buy One Get One Free deals are outstanding and I absolutely adore (as Fancy Nancy would say, adore is fancy for really liking something), pairing those deals with coupons. So, OOP there was $69.52. I wasn't planning on spending that much and I stuck to my list, however, I made a fatal error and forgot a few coupons at home. My reaction was as follows, "Aww, Poopstick!" This outburst was then followed up with a few strange looks from other shoppers. I gave a big smile and a slight nod and kept walking. Anyways, as I was saying... I saved $33.84. A 32% savings. I know I would have done better had I not forgotten the blasted creamer coupons. Blarg. Oh well. On to the next store.

Last but not least, Kroger. I love Kroger when they have their awesome Mega Events. This week it was buy 10 participating items and get $3 off instantly at checkout and save $2 on your next purchase. So of course I made my list out to where I would have 4 transactions and get to use 3 $2 coupons off my purchase.

I started off with my 10 Totinos Party Pizzas. They were on sale for $1.29 and I had coupons for $1 off 5. So I rang all of my pizzas up so I would have my 10 items and $2 coupon. After I paid I noticed that I didn't get my $2 Catalina coupon. "Uh... excuse me? Oh no you didn't!", is what I said to the self check out machine. I spoke with the self checkout register assistant came over and asked if I needed help. I said, "Yes sir. I scanned my items for the buy 10 item get $2 back deal and I did not receive my coupon." He looked into my bags and said, "Ma'am, you only have 9 items in here." OH MY GAH! How embarrassing? I was so mad at myself for not double checking to make sure that transaction was complete before paying for it.

After kicking myself in the ass, which is hard to do and looks silly when you are doing it in the middle of the self check out lane, I sorted out my remaining items and placed them neatly together so I knew what went with which transaction and this debacle would not happen again. The rest of my orders turned out like I had planned. My OOP for Kroger came out to $72.20. I saved $35.67. Drum roll please.... My savings was 33%.

It wasn't too bad of a day. I got a good amount of groceries, though I wish I had spent a little less. I still came out on top. I love when things go right.

Next week I will make sure to have every coupon with me before I leave and I will double and triple check every transaction before paying. I still can't believe I did that. Grr.

Now time to spend a little cuddle time with the babies before we head off to the basketball court.

Finally...

I got a NEW, to me, camera!

Now I can take pictures of all my crafts, projects, adventures, and my little ones.

Another awesome thing happened. Last night I got my new photo organizer. So far I have used 15 of the 16 cases. I had a great time going through all of our old photos and trying to separate them into the right categories.

After my Grandma had passed I went up north to Wisconsin to visit my Grandpa for the funeral. We went through all of the pictures she had, and boy did she have a lot. I would have to say she could have easily had over a thousand pictures of her family, spread out between over 30 or so photo albums. I got to take home all of the little albums she had of my two babies and also a couple that she had with pictures of me when I was a baby.

Yes, that is me.

It was so much fun getting to reminisce old memories with my family. It was sad that a death in the family brought on the reunion, but it was also nice to see my extended family. Some I had not seen in over 10 to 20 years. It was amazing to see the look on their faces when they realized it was me.

Anywho, back to the story at hand. I received the new photo organizer last night and today I am happy to say that all of my pictures are not put away in an orderly fashion. Before they were either hanging out in an old shoe box, in small albums, or laying around in drawers. I admit, I didn't take very good care of my photographs, but again, that is why I bought this awesome organizer.

YAY! This thing is the shizz!

Next thing I need to do is create labels for each of the boxes. 

I highly recommend this photo organizer. Jen from IHeart Organizing! was a genius when she put this nifty organizer on her site. I am obsessed with her blog and with my new photo organizing friend!

Tomorrow, I will show you how I jimmy rigged my own crafty little corner. I think it is pretty spiffy.

Critics Choice

Now, I don't claim to be a good critic, but each and every one of us is critical about something in life. I chose to be critical of movies. Particularly movies derived from books.

I love, love, LOVE reading. I have read The Twilight Saga more than once. I have read The Hunger Games trilogy more than 3 times. (I will admit that I am very much looking forward to seeing how Hollywood adapted these books into movies.)

    The Book

The Film

I am in the process of reading all of the Harry Potter books. I originally set a goal for myself that after finishing each book, I would watch it's corresponding movie. After the 4th book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, I cheated and watched the rest of the movies. However, I have been able to still compare notes. I am almost completed with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. So far, my favorite has been Goblet of Fire.

The Book

The Film

Over the next few months I really want to explore different books that were made into movies. Were they kept true to the book? What was different? What was kept the same? And last, but obviously not least, what was my favorite and least favorite part.

If you have any suggestions on books to read and their movie counterparts... please let me know. I would love to hear from you.

Out with the OLD, in with the NEW...

Year!

This year I have a lot planned. Not only do I have my own personal resolutions, but also resolutions for the family.

For the last almost 7 years I have put the family first, as most mothers do. But after the last 7 years I have come to the conclusion that my waist line has seen better days and my backside tends to jiggle more than the jello I made the night before.
Starting next Monday I will be starting my journey to rediscovering my pre-baby body. Though I know I will not be as small as I used to be, because as they say on One Tree Hill, "Zero is NOT a size!"
Come Monday I will be starting P90X.  I fully plan on sticking to it this time. The last time I "tried" I lasted all but two weeks. This time I am bound and determined to fit into my size 5 jeans that I absolutely LOVE!

Another resolution for myself is to become more organized. For anyone that has known me either since birth or from when I was a teenager, knows that I am not the most organized person on the planet. When I was a child everything that went missing in the house ended up under my bed. Though those days are long gone, I still have not gotten the hang of putting everything back where it belongs. So, to begin the journey to my organization resolution, I have subscribed to 3 organizing websites and I have already begun little projects.  The first was to organize all of our photos, and trust me we have a lot.

I have purchased a Photo Keeper from Amazon.

I got the idea from Jen at iHeart Organizing! She has amazing ideas when it comes to organizing. I recommend her site to everyone who is struggling with their organizational skills like me. 

When it came to resolutions for the family, I could think of one right off the bat.  Less time on our computers and the Xbox 360 and more time with each other. So much time of ours has been spent on the couch watching TV, playing Call of Duty, or sitting at our computers playing games or surfing the internet. 

With the cold and rainy days that have plagued us as of late, we have found that getting out and about is a difficult task.  Building forts has become our new favorite even here in our home. If it were up to them, they would have a fort in every room in the house.

I also want to start leaving the weekends to family time. No Xbox, TV (unless it is a family movie time), and no computer time. We are going to fill that time with crafts, reading, board games, and family outings... if the weather permits.

These don't seem like too much to ask, right? Hopefully it will all go over well with the little ones, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will stay on top of my personal goals as well.

Here's to a new year! Cheers!