could this be showing up in Coles christmas stocking

I could definitely see this showing up in pumpkins stocking. I can just see it now....

how about a pink hard hat

or a really cool tool belt....

they even have a whole set of pink tools. Hey wait a minute- I want them!

Have you ever been excited about a bill?

So anyone who has been reading this blog knows we have been working on our house. Over the winter we installed an instant hot water heater. Not only did we get a great deal on the heater, but the past three months our gas bill has only been $30-$45. I love it!!! I actually get excited when the bill comes in and I have to go and compare it to last years bills. Right now our gas bill is a little over a 1/3 of what it was last year. I love it- LOVE IT!! As you can tell I get very excited about saving money. We have also made other changes as well. I started washing our laundry in cold water- all except whites , an idea I got from my blogging friend Kate. I still use the dryer for everything, but I would like to start hanging some of our things outside. I'll have to work on that! I'm wondering if a big part of our savings has to do with the new gas line they put in last year, but then again I also went 125 days without using the stove and our bill is still a lot less than last year. What ever the reasons I am very happy. Now I would love to compare our electric bill from this year to last but we still haven't finished rewiring the house and I only have 3 lights right now. I would love to put a solar panel up on the roof but they are still to expensive. We have also installed larger windows in our house. The new windows let in soooooo much more light that I find I don't turn on the lights, that we do have until dusk. It wasn't that way with the old tiny drafty windows. I think we had the lights on all the time before, our house was like a dungeon! We just finished replacing our heating ducts and sealing them so there won't be any air loss that way. They where in really bad shape- so many holes. We still have so much to do. Ed is working on sealing every little opening in the house and upgrading our insulation. That should be a big help.

cleaning

We have been spending the last couple of days up in the attic cleaning out. The kids have been having a blast pulling out their toys that they haven't played with in a while. I shoved several bins upstairs and they have been joyfully going through them.


I on the other hand got rid off one of the kids crib, dresser and other baby things. I want to cry. It was a very hard thing to do.

All is quiet on the home front

It's after 8 and the kids are still sleeping. I love it! There is sooooo much I could be doing, like taking a shower by myself for a change. Maybe even laying down the grass seed I bought for the back yard. Instead I'm checking up on blogs I haven't been able to read in so long. Ahhhh, I missed my blogging friends.

International Chocolate Day

Whoo-hoo!!! Like I need a reason to eat and celebrate one of my favorite things in the world.

The Summer of 2008

What does the summer of 2008 mean to you? This was a summer of hard work. This was the summer I went with out a kitchen sink! That's right from Memorial Day to Patriots Day, I survived washing dishes in the shower.

Dirty Dirty Kids

So I was thinking the other day.... I know it's a dangerous thing- because it happens so rarely. Anyway my sister in law always gives me hand me down clothes for my daughter (which I love-love-love) and some of these clothes have been handed down two or three times. They are always in perfect shape! Now, I get them for Cole and I can't keep them clean. So I have tried every kind of cleaner to get these stains out and nothing works. Even the stuff that is guaranteed to remove set in stains. Nothing works for us! So I was trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong. I end up throwing a set of clothes out at least once a week. It's driving me insane, that and the fact that anytime I go somewhere my kids look like ragamuffins compared to the other kids around here. So what do I do?? I do have play clothes for them. They do wear them when we are playing, but when we are going out somewhere I like to dress them nice. It doesn't help when you have a pile of sand or dirt to draw their attention on the way to the car. I don't know how many times they have gotten dirty before we have even made it there. Ugh! Thank God for the wipes and the tide pen we keep in the car as well at the change of clothing. How do I change this? How do I keep my kids clean? Do I keep them lock in the house? Wrap them in plastic wrap- that would just suffocate them!

I love my little explorers! I love that they like to feel the sand and the dirt. I love the fact that they think nothing of picking up a cricket and holding it in there hands. I love that they will stomp in the river to feel the water and mud squish between there toes.(I just wish they would take their shoes off first) I've decided that I won't be embarrassed anymore by my dirty little kids. Let people look at me strangely and think I don't take care of my kids. I'm going to let them wear their stains proudly like a badge or an award. I have one shirt that Cole wore that I was going to throw away. It has cement on it from helping daddy last weekend at Uncle Rays. It has glue from helping seal the duct work in our house. It has mud stains from playing in a mud puddle. Yeah, the only thing I'm going to change is me. I'm going to stop worrying about what people think of me and my parenting skills. So what if my kids clothes are stained and they have dirt under their nails, I know my kids are happy and that's all that matters to me.

It's 3.30 in the morning. Why aren't I sleeping????

Why, Why, Why??????

I have this weird feeling like something is wrong. I want to call my parents to check up on them, but I don't think they would appreciate a call this early. So, I'm just going to sit here bleary eyed wishing for a cup of coffee, catch up on emails and pretending I can comprehend what I am reading.

craft time

The kids love to paint. They ask to paint nearly everyday. This weekend their craft time consisted of painting and sealing our air conditioning and heating vents as we put them together. They are a little messy but the kids had a blast helping us. We even had them sign them and dated them before we put them up. We have one more run to do and then we are finished replacing all the duct work. I can't wait to check that off our list.

Beware ordering online

Make sure you know who you order from online. Twice now my credit card info has been given to a third party and they started charging 8.95 & 14.95 a month for something I didn't order. I will never again order from proflowers or vistaprint. I was told when I called both companies that when I put my email address in I signed up for their programs. I remember ordering these items and you had to put your email address in to verify and complete the order. This is really starting to piss me off. Ugh!!

Geocaching in Hartshorne Woods

After working on our house we took a break on Sunday and headed to Hartshorne Woods Park. Such a beautiful park. We completed 5 out of the 6 caches we set out to do. Not bad. Aunt Nancy, Uncle Ray and the boys joined us. I was very surprised that the little ones lasted as long as they did. I think we spent at least 2 1/2 -3 hours hiking with just a few small stops. I had taken my nephews camera with me, but of course I forgot to check to see if the battery was charged. That left me with just my camera phone. Uncle Ray videoed us climbing down this really steep trail down to the water. I couldn't wait to see what a bunch of goofball we looked like. I went to download the pictures and video he took and the disk was no good. Ugh! So you'll just have to trust me the views are just amazing. We'll have to go back again to make that last cache and take some pictures.

I should note that we have been to the park before (The other side). The last time we got so lost. This time I printed out my own map for the park with the trails so we would know the way out.