Giveaway from ME and a twist

The first five people...
to leave a comment on this blog will receive something made by me.
However there are some limitations:

1. I make no guarantee that you will like what I make :)
2. What I create will be just for you
3. It will be done within a year (might take a while)
4. You have no clue what it is going to be
5. I reserve the right to do something really fun

Here the catch: if you choose to do this, you must post this on your blog and be ready to make something for five people too. This will be fun! When you receive the fabulous item I make you, you must post a picture of it on your blog.

I signed up on Sarah's blog. So I get something too!

Kaden is 3!

I know you are waiting with baited breath to discover if I managed to potty train him! :) LOL! The answer would be yes and no.
Some days are perfect, some nights too, and some are not. Yesterday, his third birthday was perfect- no accidents. Last night, one accident. Today, 4 accidents (one during naptime). So..... I thought he was trained. I still think he is trained. He's just lazy some days or distracted. Right?

Happy Valentine's day!

Got the idea from Odd Girl Out? Used photos that my Mom and I took on trips to the LA and Seattle zoos. K is obsessed with animals so I thought this was perfect for him. Hope you have a Happy V-day! We are going out!!!!! Without the kids!!!! :)

posted my super bowl menu

find it here.

Giveaway!

I love giveaways! I was recently a winner for the first time ever! I won a FQ pack from Sewmamasew that I can't wait to receive! They are doing FQ giveaways every week over there so check them out. Even better they are posting a whole month of Tutorials of what to do with your FQs. I think I may need to make myself a purse and a wallet and maybe some slippers... so maybe I'll have to buy some more FQS to supplement the 6 they are sending me. :) I am VERY excited! Check out SewMamaSew and see what they are making.

But that's not all folks! I am trying my luck in another giveaway at Domestic Anarchy . Her family could use some positive thoughts and prayers too. She's got some really cool felt cell kits that would be great for a summer project with the kids or for homeschoolers. Check her out and leave a comment to win a mini jelly roll of Red, Pink, and White fabric. Tell her I sent you and she'll enter my name twice! So many fun projects to do!

Update on Goals

Scrapbook page made with Karla Marano's February 365 kit available at KKD or Divine Digital- both are in my sidebar.

Goals...
Budget- we are still spending too much on food but we are meeting our savings goals as of January.
Menu planning- I have done it I just forgot to post.
Not watching TV and doing other activities- We are still watching too much TV but we are watching less. We are doing lots of activities! Park, Kids club at the mall, Chuck E Cheese, Farmer's Market, letter craft projects, dancing/jumping on an extra crib mattress, playing with cars and animal figurines, flashcards....
Cleaning house- Still need tons of work here. I am doing better at getting the front room tidier each night. Not perfect but better. I give myself this week of focusing on just that and then I will add the bathroom next week. I think there will always be some toys out in the front room - at least until Asher starts going to bed earlier. But at least I am vacuuming regularly and cleaning out extra toys regularly. That counts as clean right? I do have some more photos. I tend to do better at the beginning of the week and terrible on the weekends. I always think I will do better on the weekends since Matt is home to help... yeah... not so much...

Upshot... We are making progress.

Any Quilters reading my blog ever?

Or if you aren't a quilter you can donate fabric or money to this cause. American Hero Quilts gives quilts to wounded American soldiers at Fort Lewis' Madigan Hospital. According to their site an average of 10 wounded soldiers arrive there each week. American Hero Quilts has the goal to welcome each of them with a "hug" in the form of a patriotic quilt. Check out their website and how you can help to honor the soldiers who are protecting our freedom.

American Hero Quilts

And if you live in Washington:

Feed the Hungry

Go to Ohana Mama and find out how you can help feed the hungry by simply taking a photo and commenting. Also check out Quaker Oats Facebook page- enter a upc code from one of their products on the page and help feed the hungry that way. (They also have a valid code on the page you can enter if you don't have any of their products.)

super bowl menu

So you want to know what we finally decided to eat?

steak bites
buffalo chicken bites- basically marinated chicken in butter aand hot sauce- yummy
potato skins
mozzarella sticks- used string cheese sticks - dipped in egg mixture then flour then egg then breadcrumbs.

Meat/cheese/crackers
chips and french onion dip
A&W Root Beer (our current family addiction)

It was yummylicious! For the first time we ate nothing frozen (well, the chicken and steak were frozen but we bought them fresh) . For the first time we didn't overbuy. We focused on what we really wanted and made just that. Truly excellent.

Lessons in Diligence, Patience, and Consistency

Potty training is the most intense lesson I have ever had in my life when it comes to diligence, patience, and consistency. If I fail in those three things then I have a big mess to clean up. More and more this life with kids is pushing me toward a life with a schedule and a structure in order to make life easier. I resist mainly because I am lazy. I don't have a vendetta against structure or think it destroys creativity. I think that if it is done right it will encourage creativity (not crazy no flexibility schedule) . It doesn't come to me naturally. Naturally I am lazy. Kids are designed for a schedule. They need to be fed every blah blah blah; they need to be changed every blah blah blah;they need to be cleaned up after every meal; they need to sleep such and such hours broken into blocks throughout the day and night. They do well with a schedule. That doesn't mean we have to do the same thing every day- there should be blocks of free play time and days where the schedule just doesn't fit (Sunday Kaden doesn't get a nap because of church). I need to conform to their schedule in general because then I will take better care of all of us.

So By the end of last week I had Kaden going #2 in the potty. I brought his potty chair in the front room in the morning until he goes #2 and then it goes back in the bathroom for the rest of the day. The weekend totally threw us off so we started over again today. He is beginning to resist going to the potty again even though he can. (On Friday we went out and he stayed dry the whole three hours we were gone or he told the sitter to take him not sure which) He went #2 on the potty fine this morning and then later I had to carry him kicking and screaming to the potty later. He lied to me about going in the potty and wet his pants about 5 minutes later. I can't let this become a power struggle. So I have to be patient. And diligent. And clean up messes. I have to be consistent. He can't wear pull ups except for sleeping or going out. He is good at keeping them dry and will ask to go to the potty while wearing them but he slowly becomes too comfortable in them and will use them for #2. He knows they are almost a diaper. So they have to be limited and eventually eliminated. soon.

So much to learn...