How do I do it?

When asked by one of me dearest friends "how do you get it all done in the morning, in such a short amount of time" I decided to share my morning routine. My tips for a.m. success if you will.

We need to walk out the door by 7:40. We don't crawl out of bed anytime before 7:15. That includes breakfast, beds made (usually) hair flat ironed and teeth sparkling clean and fresh. We only have one tardy on the report card! Not a bad record huh?

I AM NOT A MORNING PERSON!

MY GIRLS ARE NOT MORNING PEOPLE!

I would prefer to not even utter a word until after I've been up for an hour or so. I admire those Moms that can get up before their kids, have their quite time, a cup of coffee and be charged and ready to go when their little darlings wake up.

That's just not me!

I love to sleep.

I need my sleep.

I must sleep!

If I've learned anything over my 14 years of Mothering and 10 years of getting up for school it's that the snooze button is your friend! Monday through Friday it is my very best friend.

Now my husband can get up and within minutes be ready to face the day and have the ability to carry on a complete conversation. The girls and I...NOT SO MUCH! It is one of his most annoying character traits! SERIOUSLY!

So to help alleviate any additional stress in the morning I have everything possible done the night before. When I do not live by this routine I become "that" Mom. Yelling is one of my biggest downfalls as a Mother and it is no way for anyone to start their day.

Angry and Confused Husband

Sad Children

Guilty Mommy!!!


So if you are a person that lives by a clock that looks like mine...

Here are 5 easy steps that I promise will help.


1. Have that coffee ready to pour as soon as you walk in the kitchen. If you do not own a coffee pot with a timer, get one! This one grinds the coffee beans fresh every morning which also works as an additional alarm clock ~ It's so freaking loud!

2. Prep breakfast, scrambled eggs was on the morning menu here. The eggs, milk, salt and pepper were already in the Magic Bullet and set in the fridge ready to place on the Bullet for easy mixing. If they're having cereal it's in the bowl sealed with Press N Seal, waffles ~ everything sitting out and ready to go, you get the picture.


3. The skillet is on the stove with the Pam and spatula, everything is ready to go. I know this may seem a little over board but when you and mornings mix like we do every step removed from the morning is a true blessing!

4. The place mat is already set, ready for breakfast to be served. I flat iron Peanut's hair while she eats ~ Honey takes care of her own.

5. Lunches are prepacked. My girls refuse to eat the school lunch, you would think they were serving slump~ who knows though. Since it's been so cold Peanut has been eating soup, it's all ready to be warmed (I rarely use the microwave), placed in the thermos and set in the lunch box.


While teeth are being brushed I'm throwing on a bra (on my good mornings) and getting in the car. I always take Peanut to school in my jammies, no one can see me right? Honey rides the bus and it doesn't leave until 8:30. Having her old enough to do her own thing is such a blessing. I'm sure I would be singing another tune if I had multiple little ones going at the same pace. I so respect my friends with 3 elementary students ~ ya'll rock! And my working out of the home friends ~ you WOW and AMAZE me ~ SERIOUSLY ~ You are amazing!

What are your tips for morning success? ~ I'm always up for new suggestions!

Fantastic Friday Finds!

I'm having some girlie-friends over tonight to scrapbook, it's one of my New Years resolutions ~ schedule time for scrap-booking. I absolutely feel it's necessary to preserve family memories for my girls. This will be our first meeting, hopefully we will stay on track for the remaining 10 months in 2009.

I have tables and chairs set up, I have baked a devils food bunt cake with cream cheese icing with cherries on the side and pineapple upside down cupcakes. If nothing else we'll eat our weight in desserts and have a great time!

**On to my Fabulous Friday Finds**

While I ran to the mall this afternoon to pick up my pictures I had to walk through Dillards. It may be super dangerous for Ritz Camera to be located next to Dillards! Upon walking through the doors I heard an astounding OH NO in my head. I had parked by the shoe department, seriously I didn't know what door I had parked by. Can anyone say HUGE SALE! Almost every shoe in Dillards was 405 off take an additional 30% at the register. Again the words OH NO rang clearly in my head. How could I justify a new pair of shoes when I am supposed to be on a spending freeze? hmmmm, let me think....oh I have it. I'm not going to the NFL after dark party or Super Bowl 43 as planned, somehow I got shafted on that one, so I'll use the money that my daring husband would have spent on me eating and drinking on shoes instead! Ladies let me tell you I found the deal of the freaking century!

These shoes where regularly $79 ~ there were marked down to $47.50 ~ take an additional 30% off that means that I got these kick-booty shoes for the low, low price of $33.18! Babe I promise to wear these "for lunch" one day soon!

I know, I know they're freaking awesome! I may have to plan a trip overseas to have my little toe removed to wear them painlessly but I always say if at the end of the day your feet don't hurt you didn't look cute enough!

I also ran into SteinMart to return yet another shirt for my husband. Now I forgot the shirt but decided not to waste a trip so I went in anyway. I have had my eye on two different items. Being the good non-spending girl that I am I have been waiting for them to go on sale. Guess what? One of them was on sale, not just any sale a huge sale. Yes I found another HUGE SALE! I may just have to play the lottery today!

The large Fleur-de-le was normally $29.94 (SteinMart price) marked down to $19.94 ~ take an additional 30% off ~ ending price $13.96. The candle sticks were normally $19.94 (SteinMart price) marked down to $12.94 ~ take an additional 30% off ~ ending price $9.04 each.

Are you freaking kidding me??!!


Have a Fabulous Friday everyone!

Extra Extra Read All About It & Random Ramblings

The February edition of Skirt! Magazine is finally out. Honey and Babe called to say the new edition was in the stands...bring 'em home I shouted! Just a few minutes later Babe came walking in with a STACK. As I eagerly tore through it looking for my girls I was not disappointed. I love the article, well it's more of a snippet but it's still wonderful! I have plenty of copies so holla if you want one.

They don't "do" for the recognition but if I'm being honest, this sure does feel good!

** Random Ramblings**

This is just because "you don't know what's in my head!" (hey Rebecca) and that my friends is probably a good thing.

Why do the over friendly McDonald employees always feel the need to ask "do you want fries with that" even after you say ' um, yes, I'll have one vanilla cone ~ that's all thanks'?

Mirrors are pretty standard pieces of furniture in every home right? Then do some people just choose not to look in them or when they do do they see something completely different than I do?

If sex is a beautiful, natural, God breathed part of life then why do I either feel the uncontrollable need to either throw up in my mouth or giggle like a school girl when I visualize some people "getting busy"?

If the online definition of clean is free from dirt, marks, or stains: the room was spotlessly clean then where are my children and husband getting their definition from when I ask them to clean their rooms or help me clean the kitchen?

If something we just smelled nearly makes us gag why do we always ask the person we're with to smell it?

Did you know you have the complete control to make someone think they have a boogy in their nose. Just run your finger under your nose while talking to them and within seconds they will do the same. That makes me giggle!

Why do old people have a box of tissue on the back window of their car? If they sneeze do they plan on reaching back with their Go-Go-Gadget arm to get one, as if their driving is scary enough! 

If the plane is going to crash will it really matter if my seat back is in the up-right position and my lap try has been put away?

See, like I said being in my head is really not a safe place to be! But it has been fun going on a field trip in my own head. This may be something I will do more often. hmmmmm ~ what do you think?

2 years ago today

Today I found myself at a loss for what to post. While staring at the computer I glanced at the on screen calendar and the date immediately sent a knot to my stomach. Two years ago today I lost my very best four legged friend ~ Gator. His death was very unexpected, came without cause or blame and left me hurting like only another doggy Mommy could understand. I cannot believe it has been two years already, it still seems like yesterday. There honestly isn't a day that passes that I don't think of him or call his name, I'm sure Deja has a lot to do with that!

After Gator died I was NOT going to "replace" him because I new there would be none other like him! Well that didn't last long, I just had to have another dog plus Jewel was so depressed. So the breeder that I got Gator from GAVE me another dog. Deja's Grandfather is Gators Father and I was hopeful they would be one of the same, at least in appearance, little did I know how close they would be. As a family we decided to name her DejaVu, the name has definitely lived up to it's meaning.

Gator was a little darker on his muzzle and had a black back but other than that they look identical. Gator loved me more than anyone else and would do anything I told him to do. Deja is similar in that but almost to an obsessive level. When she sees that I'm even heading towards the garage she runs to the door, opens it (yes she can open any door in or out) and lays in front of the car door ~ like a tree hugger in front of the bulldozer! As a result I take her with me everywhere I can. She sits in the front seat next to me like a human...I am so her best friend!

Here is Gator...

...and this is Deja

**Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans Update**

I only lost one pound this week but in my defense I had a "visitor" and she brought with her the uncontrollable desire for the best treat you can eat in February, Reese's Peanut Butter Hearts. SERIOUSLY those bad boys should be illegal! I was able to move the jiggly parts three times this week, I know it needs to be every day but getting back into that routine is sooooo hard!

On a positive note I was able to make it all week without my dear friend, Mr. Diet Dr. Pepper, although driving by without stopping has been very difficult! As a matter of fact I went all week with no soda at all! Instead of soda I have made the switch to green tea. I haven't gone caffeine free because, well I'm just not that crazy! I have a coffee in the morning and then it's green tea sweetened with Stevia the rest of the day. I do feel better and I've saved $7.49 by not going to Sonic all week.

Well the Reese's hearts are officially gone, I just ate the last one while posting so hopefully this week will bring better results!

Happy Wednesday!

Gasparilla

Another Saturday with Daddy at work...what to do, what to do?

Honey came up with the idea of going to the Gasparilla day parade. I wasn't too excited about the idea at first but we ended up having a great time. We went out to lunch to a great little sidewalk safe and then walked around before we staked out our place on Bayshore Blvd.

Gasparilla is always good for people watching if nothing else.

Here are a few pictures from our day.

I'm not so sure what the face is all about, she said the burger was good? Pre-teens arghhh!

Seriously, we had a great lunch, I swear. This one seems to be lost in her i-pod.
Teenagers, again I say arghhh!

Ahhh, finally a little proof that I'm not lying. Smiles all around!

While looking for the perfect place to catch some beads Honey spotted this. She thought it would be the perfect opportunity to teach her little sister to just say no to crack!

Peanut waited very patiently for the parade to start, I was completely shocked! Waiting and lines are not her strong spot, put them together and it's always a recipe for disaster!
I was impressed.

This was even more of a shock. Do you see the love? Love in public even! For a minute I was fearful the end was coming but nope it was just a little sisterly love and now I have the proof!

Thanks to some very nice people, they were few and far between,Peanut scored some serious beads. This isn't a bad amount of pirate booty considering we left about half way through!

Get to know your fellow bloggers

During one of my sleep deprived nights I stumbled upon Kasey's blog,  All that is Good. I read it and have since found myself coming back again and again. She is super sweet, I have really enjoyed 'getting to know' her.

She is starting a new weekly activity and I thought I would give it a try. So hopefully I will follow all of the rules, I hate to be a rule breaker. If you would like to participate please follow the link above to Kasey's blog.

Here are 10 random things about me that you might not know or that I just want to share.

1.I always saw myself as the Mommy of boys. God saw things different and I couldn't imagine myself without my girls! If  I could guarantee a boy I would maybe do the whole pregnancy thing again, 5 years ago that is.

2. Unlike some people that I may or may not know, I MUST shave my legs EVERY day.

3. An unmade bed will drive me crazy. I will make it as late as 7 p.m. just so I don't have to look at it.

4. I have to have my ear covered with my sheet and blanket in order to fall asleep no matter how hot it is. 

5. I am a rule follower. I know that's hard for many of you to believe but it is the truth!

6. I have to have my morning coffee before I brush my teeth. Minty coffee....not a fan!

7.  I love the smell of my dogs paws. Please don't judge me.

8. I secretly want a tattoo...I guess it's not a secret any more is it?

9. I have issues with throwing things away. I still have all of Honey's kindergarten papers in the attic and she's almost in high school.

10. My favorite pass time is sitting on the beach with a cold drink. Is there anything better?

And just to be an overachiever and because I know my hubby reads this here's one more.

11. I hate, hate, hate, hate ~ one more time I hate a loud TV!

Are You Kidding Me!

SERIOUSLY people this is Florida and for all that is holy in this world these temperatures must stop!

This is the second morning in a row I have awoken to temperatures in the high 20's. I'm a Mid-Western girl, only by birth, but never have I been this cold ~ well that could be a mild exaggeration but whatever, right now in my head that's how I feel. I've had to start the car in the morning to let it warm up and it's parked in the garage. Babe has been letting his run in lieu of scraping his windshield. I'm not sure if it's because we don't own a scraper or if his soft as a baby's butt hands can't stand the cold. He's been using the steering wheel heater, now that's funny!

Once the initial shock wears off I have to admit the frost is pretty and it brings out the puppy in the dogs and that's always fun to watch. So after I returned from driving Peanut to school and before I drove Honey to buy coffees for her friends and her 1st block teachers, every bit of suck-up helps, I went out with the camera. Here are a few pictures from this morning...keep in mind it was still below freezing and I live in central Florida. The horror of this cold is more than I can handle!

The pool gives off such a beautiful steam. Keep in mind this is the same water that Babe had to use to wash his hair in yesterday morning because our pipes had frozen and then burst and we woke to NO FREAKING WATER. Like I said this is just too much! But I do have to admit that seeing him all laid out on his stomach stretched on the cold pavers dipping his head in the water was the funniest thing I think I have ever seen, especially when I could she the deep gasps he was forced to take when his head hit the freezing water!
Can you visualize that? I about wet myself!!

Deja loves to run through the yard in the morning. Usually the grass is wet and she heads directly to the sand box and returns to my bed looking and feeling like a granola bar. I guess if forced to find the silver lining this could be it.

The cold brings out the puppy in Big-Mama. She plays with Deja like she's 5 years younger. I love my Big-Mama ~ Jewel!

A close-up of the frost on the grass. My girls think this is the coolest since it's the closest these Floridians get to snow.

Our attempts to cover our tropical plants failed and without having enough sheets to go around most of our stuff now looks like this.

**Moving past the cold to bring you this**

While returning one of Babes birthday gifts at Steinmart today I keep hearing someone call my name, it was faint but clear as a bell. I looked around and saw no one I knew. I was getting ready to leave because I am on a SERIOUS spending freeze, my bank account grossly resembles the grass this morning, but this voice was persistent. So I walked around to see if I could see who was calling me. Well I found her. It was a new friend and she goes by the name 

YUMMY ~ SASSY ~ TRENDY ~ ZEBRA BAG!

Now in my defense I am a serious bag snob and since this bag costs the same as the thread on the inside pocket of my others I felt no guilt making this purchase ~ hopefully Babe will agree. The way I see it I just saved him A LOT of money because I have been in need of a new black bag for quite some time now ~ I love ya Babe! So with no further ado I would like to introduce you to my new friend. BTW she has sisters at Steinmart and they could be yours for the low-low price if $19.99!

SERIOUSLY ~ Dontcha love her!

I had Honey take the picture of YUMMY ~ SASSY ~ TRENDY ~ ZEBRA BAG!, she asked me if she washed her hands could she touch it, I just love her wit! Anyway, while she was taking the picture Deja jumped up on me, I am her favorite person because I apparently I taste good. I call her the Booby-Biter because, well, see likes to bite my boob. Just one, always the right, I guess it's not just Emma that has a favorite;). Honey was able to capture the moment and so keeping with my opinion that everyone should have a good laugh every day I decided to share these as well.

There she is going in for the kill.

I'm not so sure why I'M always shocked, she does it every day. It doesn't hurt but for some reason it still shocks the s@*t out of me!

Happy Friday everyone!

New Tote Anyone?!?!?

Ok so a girl can never have enough totes!

One for junk in the car

One for Bible study

One for PTSA stuff

One for Homeroom Mom stuff

One for Scrapbooking

You get the idea. 

So if you need, ok lets be honest if you want a new tote check this out.

Good times

Before Mike and Sue flew back to the frozen tundra, a.k.a Minnesota, we went on a canoe trip down the Alafia river. This is something we love to do with anyone that comes down for a visit. Alligators are still exciting for us to see and we've been here for almost 15 years! It was quite chilly so the gators were few and far between, we usually see between 20-30 this trip only produced 2.

Peanut was only about 4 the last time we went so she still didn't know fear, this trip, well...she did. We laughed saying she had crocodile tears while we were looking for alligators, she didn't think that was too funny. Honey being the loving sister that she is found every way possible to torment her baby sister. I did think the "Hey Peanut do you remember the movie Lake Placid?" comment was hysterical but we won't tell Peanut that! She finally calmed down for the last leg of the trip and took the camera, this helped keep her focused on something other than her fear of an alligator tipping our canoe and eating her. Sue was very reassuring and told her repeatedly that with 2 Mammas around that there was no chance of her getting eaten. I guess the fact that her Daddy was within reaching distance of her and is Crocodile Dundee knife, yes he brings it every time, wasn't enough. She did capture some pretty good shots!

We split the girls and Mike and Sue tookHoney, how I drew the short stick is still a mystery! The first gator we saw was pretty big the second was only about a 6 footer. After seeing how small he was Babe thought it would be a good idea to see just how close we could get to him. Now image the "freak" that went on in our canoe~ Peanut was pretty upset too. We were within reaching distance of the freaking alligator for goodness sakes. If that joker had decided to jump the chances of him landing on my lap were fairly high.

It was the perfect ending to a perfect visit with our very dear friends. Sue did you think I was going to say our perfect frineds?

Sue and my girls.

Mike ~ Sue ~ Honey 

He has shorts on ~ Crazy mid-westerns!

The water level was VERY low, only 12'" in some spots, and crystal clear. It did make navigating the fallen trees somewhat of a challenge. I do have to say that we had crazy skills!

Hello Mr. Alligator! Seriously! This is freaking close!

The beautiful Florida sun did keep us warm on this chilly 72 afternoon.
BTW ~ Peanut took this picture!

Time to move the jiggly parts!

Well as my friend Sue says, it's time to move the jiggly parts! My daily hang-over (the hunk of fat that hangs over my jeans) has finally gotten the better of me and the lack of energy that has been tagging along needs to go bye-bye as well!

I know better than anyone that in order to have energy you must burn energy ~ it's just so dang hard to get off my derriere and away from the computer long enough to do anything, this screen has become a true addiction for me. I also know that my eating habits have got to change and that the large amount of caffeine I consume everyday needs to stop. It's just so much easier to lift the fattening crap to my mouth than it is to run up the stairs and work out on that very expensive piece of equipment we all just had to have! I mean really step away from the freaking donuts sister ~ enough is enough!

So since I couldn't sleep last night ~ up til 3:15 ~ I read some new blogs. Not only did I stumble upon some pretty funny people I also found a group of women that are trying to get healthy and back to their skinny selves. I love what they're calling themselves ~ The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans, so I decided 'what the heck' and I'm giving it a try. Now they want me to have accountability by listing my weight every Wednesday here on my blog...now that's a little hard for me. You see I'm the "big 'ol girl" of my circle of girlfriends and admitting to them, and you, my true weight is not something I really want to do, it's hard enough to look at it myself, the thought actually makes my stomach hurt. So I have decided to cheat just a little in my attempt to save face and I will only list the pounds that I have lost, or not lost every week. Perhaps when I get down to a more respectable weight I won't have such an issue with throwing my number out there. But for now the scale and I are going to have a secret affair. I am also going to do my best to only weigh myself once a week. I am very guilty of weighing every day, sometimes multiple times a day. I know that's not good so I'm going to give it my best effort.

Lastly I have decided to give up my beloved Route 44 Diet Dr. Pepper. I visit Sonic everyday for an afternoon boost. This comes after my 2 large cups of morning coffee, I'm also going to cut that in half. I may need a nap but I'll be healthier and caffeine free while a sleep. I may have one occasionally but my daily trips are no more and I will not have one at all this week...pray for me!

Farewell dear friend!

Happy 40th Babe

Babe's 40th birthday party was a huge success with the exception of horrible pictures and nippy weather!

Babe's friend  from high school, Mike, flew in with his wife Sue to surprise him as did my sister, she actually surprised us all, that was the highlight of the weekend! Keeping the entire party from him would have been impossible, the missing money and a huge tent with tables and chairs in the backyard would have been dead give-a-ways! He had a great time and was thrilled to see so many of his friends both old and new in one place. All of his local family came as well, all of us together is always tons of fun!

Here are a few pictures from the night.

Me and my hubby

A few of our nearest and dearest friends ~ aka the triangle plus our husbands.

The cake was amazing both to look at and to eat! Sorry for the arm in the way, like I said horrible pictures.

Babe shares his birthday with Cambree, she turned 6, so we had a little cake for her too. She calls him her Birthday Buddy.

The Weber's and the T's. We had such a great visit with them, I wish they lived here!

Babe and Sheila, the sister he never had.

I had several pictures blown up and hung them on the inside of the party tent. One was a collage of pictures from when Babe was a baby, 6 months through age 6. Everyone has always said Peanut looks just like me and Honey looks just like Babe and have always agreed until I saw this. I swear these are my children too, I was the one that nearly died during the pregnancies and I'm the one that delivered them, honestly they are mine too! This is just too amazing, she looks just freaking like him, it's just not fair!

My Girls

Well what can I say I'm a proud Mama!

I received an e-mail a couple of weeks ago from the editor of Skirt magazine, a local Woman's magazine, asking my permission to have my girls in their magazine. The February issue is dedicated to Girl Power and she was told that the girls would be perfect for this. I was unsure at first as I have tried to teach the girls to "do" because they can, because they want to, because they should and not for the recognition. But I guess someone can't learn ways to help others if they are not taught so I agreed.

The thing that I am most proud of is that I had NOTHING to do with this~ I did not seek this out~they found them.

I of course had to follow behind the photographer during the shoot to capture the moment for myself, I will put these pictures in their scrapbooks next to a copy of the magazine. I cannot wait to see what was chosen to be in the article, listening to their answers without hearing the questions was very interesting.

I have also included pictures of the newest addition to the family Peepers, Honey's gerbil and Twinkie, Peanut's fat hamster just because they're cute.

We met at the park for natural outdoor pictures.

I like this one, it will be interesting to see which one they choose.

Honey and Peepers ~ he is pretty darned cute!

We just got Twinkie a new cage ~ he is Houdini reincarnated I swear ~ hopefully this one will be escape proof ~ it looks like Jewel is hoping for the opposite!

Happy New Year

I hope everyone's New Year was safe and fun. We decided to play it low key this year and stay home with the girls.

We had a movie marathon, poor Daddy has to endure chick flicks, ate popcorn and candy, set off a few fire works and rang in the New Year with a glass of sparkling grape juice!

We did find the one thing that Deja is afraid of...fireworks. She was absolutely terrified! She ended up jumping on my head and would have crawled inside of me if she was able. As I lay there with a 75 pound dog on my face my loving family all reached for their camera phones, all three of them, to take the picture instead of freeing me for the unpleasantness of dog butt on the face. Oh how I love them!

I have my LIST of New Years resolutions in my head, yes I have several this year. My thoughts are that if I have more than 10 things I want to do this year and I accomplish half of them I won't feel like such a loser. You know, like every other year when I make just one or two and by February 1st I've already stopped working out and am yelling at my girls like a crazed person again. I think I can stick to several of them this year, I'm off to a good start as I have declared the first Friday of each month as Mom's night out. There are about 10 of us meeting at Chili's tonight at 7, join us if you'd like. However, there's three criteria you must meet to join us. First-you cannot have a penis, second-you have to be over 21, and third you must leave all under 21 "people" and the "penis" in your life at home!

I hope your list of resolutions are obtainable and that 2009 brings only the best for you and yours!

Happy New Year
xoxo~Shawn

Oh please... no words are needed! I have no clue why her eyes look like this. She is the only one that this happens to, she so looks like an alien dog!

The girls loved the foreworks!

A New Years toast.

Before viewing this next picture please remember this was a jammies-no make-up-New Years Eve for us...please no judging I know I'm ruff not "done" so pleae give a girl a break! Dang I'm as freaking OLD as the Krypt Keeper!

Happy New Year from the T's