Proof of hubby's love for me

This picture cracked me up so I had to share it with you ladies!

How does this show hubby's love for me? He drew me with a baby in my arms. Aww...how sweet! Even though we have agreed to have another baby in the future (once our finances are more stable and I can stay home full-time) having more kids is not something he wanted when we met. Glad has realized marriages are about compromise.

Second, looking at his picture you probably think he is some crazy person. Hubby is all about his hobbies. His jeep in the picture, one of his favorite hobbies. He also enjoys his computer, computer games, guitars, brewing his own beer, his tools and building things, and someday in the future restoring old cars. My dad has gotten him into his latest hobby, guns. First, he thinks we need a gun for home safety. I learned to shot a gun at age 8 or 9 and we always had guns in my house growing up. I am not opposed to guns but was not comfortable having guns in the house with children. Previously hubby was not interested in hunting so that argument was off the table too. Now he things he needs a gun and fingerprint safe for home safety and rifles and shotguns to hunt with. Sigh! I am beginning to cave with the appropriate precautions although guns will never be my thing.

Anyone else's husband obsessed with their hobbies? I am beginning to realize it is a guy thing.

Off on a shopping adventure

Today I am off on a shopping adventure. I am proud to say all my Christmas shopping except hubby's is done. Today I am not shopping for Christmas presents, today I am shopping for my self. Shocking, I know.

Don't get me wrong I used to love to shop. When it was just B and me we logged many hours in the mall with him strapped into his stroller. Even when he was way too big for that stroller (baby containment devices are necessary even for toddlers). I think the last time I shopped at a mall was when one of my besties came to visit in June. That was 6 months ago and I think I bought 3 things for myself, the rest for the kids.

Today I face a dilemma. I am searching for the right dress, at the right price. Kids are in school, good thing I have most of the day. I want a dress I can wear to hubby's holiday party and to church for Christmas. Hubby's holiday party is more like a holiday dinner and most likely different and more casual than any other Christmas party I have attended. I did look up the restaurant it is being held at online and it seems fairly formal so I am going to for the middle ground. My want list for this dress is long sleeves (it has been freaking cold here lately), knee length, not too casual, not too dressy, and I prefer to wear it with tights and black knee boots.

In preparation for my shopping adventure today I did some looking online and I think I may be out of touch with the fashion world. First, Express which used to be one of my favorite stores has some adorable dresses, if I would like to wear a mini-skirt in the middle of winter and would like everyone at the party too see my booty. H & M is a whole new world of affordable fun for me. There are no H & M stores in Colorado. They had at least one promising dress online but all their fashions were paired with ballet flats. Is it not ok to wear knee boots anymore? They keep may legs warm!

My biggest difficulties are cost, and fit. To address cost, I could spend probably up to $100 but spending more than $40 or $50 makes me uncomfortable so I am shooting for that range. Fit is also difficult for me. I have a tall, slender build but weigh 5-10 pounds above my "perfect" weight. As hubby lovingly puts it I have a little "muffin top" so I don't like things that cling to the mid-section. I also I am tall (almost 5'9") so finding dresses long enough for me is very difficult. I am most comfortable in dresses that hit me right above the knee. Then finding the right shoe to pair with it (hopefully from my closet) is difficult. I want to wear knee boots simply to keep my legs warm but I own several pairs of ballet flats and some really cute heels. I am not much of a heels girl though. After 2-3 hours in the most comfortable heels and I am miserable. Looking cute is important but not at the expensive of being uncomfortable.

So anyone have any advice? Stores to look at? Great finds? Specific dress suggestions? I would love any help/suggestions you may have. Thanks!

20% off at Kaskey Kids (Sports Action Figures Set)

I did a review and giveaway of the Kaskey Kids Sports Action Figures product back in September. You can read the review here.

They are offering my readers 20% through January 1st. Just use the code "holiday" at checkout for 20% off http://www.kaskeykids.com/ . I know a lot of you are trying to finish up your holiday shopping and a lot of you are shopping online so I thought I would share the wealth. Who doesn't enjoy 20% off?

Happy shopping!

Disclaimer: As indicated in my review/giveaway post I was not compensated by Kaskey Kids but simply provided one Sports Action Figures Set ($24.99 value) to review. In the end I even donated the product to my children's school after one of my readers commented how her students would love this for indoor recess. With all the rain here in Maryland my kids get a lot of indoor recess.

God gives you what you need...

which isn't always what you want or think you need.

This week has been an interesting one for me. If you follow me on Twitter you probably saw my Twitter vent last night about all the sickness going around my household. I've had sick kids, been sick myself, and was hoping to go back to work today.

FiFi came home feeling sick yesterday and the fever started last night. Around 11pm it was around 102 degrees. Hubby was traveling for work and it was supposed to be the kids first day with a new before school babysitter. I prayed FiFi would be well enough for me to go to work in the morning. When I went in around 5am she had 104.3 fever. I guess that is a bold answer if I ever saw one. Kids with 104 degree fevers don't go to school and mommies of said kids stay home from work and take them to the doctor. Done.

I called my boss bright and early so she could make arrangements for her babies, called the new babysitter and told her it was a no go, and went back to bed for a bit. Once I was up and about a sense of peace came over me and I began to realize although everyone being sick this week was certainly not what I wanted (I hate seeing my kids sick, it makes me feel so helpless) it must have been what I needed.

Staying home with B Monday, we did just that, stayed home, rested, talked, and I did some chores around the house.

I mistakenly sent B back to school Tuesday pumped full of Motrin to make it through the day. Tuesday night his fever spiked even higher.

Wednesday hubby stayed home with B and took him to the doctor where he was diagnosed with a sinus infection and double ear infection and given antibiotics.

Wednesday I woke up feeling like death but went to work anyways thinking it would pass. I was light-headed, and weak, and really nauseous. I thought after I ate and got some caffeine in me I would be ok. Wrong, after I ate I began throwing up violently and could barely pull myself off the couch long enough to give the babies a bottle. I threw in the towel about 1 1/2 hours after I started throwing up and called my boss to ask to go home. Luckily her stepfather was there in less than half an hour to pick up the babies.

I am not sure how I made the drive home, I was certain I was going to throw up again but somehow I made it to my bed where I spent the next 20 hours. I could not even keep down sips of water, it was bad. To top it off my head was killing me. I still don't know if it was some nasty virus or a migraine or what. I have definitely had migraines close to that severity but never where I couldn't keep down water and never that lasted that long.

A whole day in bed feeling miserable was, well miserable but it kept me down and in my bed. Lately I haven't been able to manage more than 6 or 7 hours of sleep per night. Apparently I needed to be knocked to my butt to really get the rest I needed.

Thursday hubby left on a business trip. I still had not ate and B could not go back to school so I stayed home another day. B was looking better by the evening and so was I. I took it slow but was able to eat and drink regularly by the end of the day.

FiFi came home Thursday complaining of headache, looking miserable, and then we jump to fever story of hers above. The doctor diagnosed her with a sinus infection and she started antibiotics too.

The past few weeks I really haven't felt like myself. I have feel stressed, and anxious, and grumpy, and I didn't know what my problem was. Now I feel rested, and relaxed, and I am almost even caught up on washing laundry (which never happens), the folding will hopefully come tonight. Even though missing work is stressful, I am at peace with the way things have turned out.

I hope I am out of my grumpy, stressed out rut, and ready to enjoy the holiday season with my kids. When it comes down to it they are most important, no matter what! I love my job. I love the babies I nanny for but my three little babies have to come first. If they are sick and daddy can't be with them then mom has to be. End of story!

Peanut Butter S'More Bites

Visit Catherine at Evolving Mommy to see more yummy cookie recipes.

Peanut Butter S'More Bites

B found this recipe in a school library children's cookbook. These are some of the most delicious, unique cookies I have ever made. They are simple enough for the kids to help and mommy to not pull her hair out while letting the kids help.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
3/4 cups milk chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup mini marshmallows

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine peanut butter, chocolate chips, and 1 cup graham cracker crumbs with a rubber scraper.

2. Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix with the rubber scraper.

3. Form 2-inch balls of dough. Press 3 or 4 mini marshmallows into each ball. Pinch dough so that it completely covers the marshmallows.

4. Place the remaining graham cracker crumbs into a small bowl. Roll each ball in the graham cracker crumbs.

5. Spray baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Place dough onto cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.

6. Bake for 15 minutes.

Enjoy! Yum!

My holiday card is featured today at McMommy's Holiday Spectacular

Visit McMommy's Holiday Card Spectacular to see our card! It is featured today!

Spoiler alert: for all my IRL friends this is the same card you are getting so you may want to wait for the IRL version I am mailing tomorrow or you can simply enjoy it more than once.

Dear my lovely bloggy friends

You may or may not have noticed that I have sucked at posting lately and even sucked more at commenting on your blogs. Oh how I love blogging, writing, and reading your wonderful thoughts but I have come to a big realization that I spend entirely too much time on the internet!

Yesterday I took a full day to be unplugged. I did not check email, I did not check Facebook, I did not check Blogger, heck I didn't even check my bank account. The only thing I opened the computer for was to Google the phone number for my pharmacy but that was out of sheer necessity.

I have been feeling quite overwhelmed lately. There is never enough time to get to all the stuff I need to do done, let alone to please all the people I need to please. When I am stressed I become a crabby, agitated version of myself. I get easily annoyed with my children and yell way too much. I hate it! I truly hate it!

I would like to say instead of apending time on the internet that I had some time to unwind, some time to get caught up on laundry, heck some time to balance the stupid Cub Scout books that I agreed to take over when I knew I had too much on my plate. I merely made it through the drudgery of another day. Honestly I feel like I have been sucking at everything lately, which in turn makes me feel sucky (is sucky even a word?). The only thing I feel like I haven't been sucking too bad at lately is my nanny job but I still struggle to make it to on time everyday. I usually am 1 or 2 minutes late and never wear makeup anymore, heck I am lucky if I got a shower the night before. I stumble in with clean clothes, my teeth brushed, my hair brushed, not having eaten, coffee in hand, still have a sleep, but I try to do it with a smile and hope they don't judge me for seeming so un-put-together. I try to be put-together but I am failing miserably lately.

I don't have much Christmas spirit yet but I have put that on the back burner until the weekend of the 12th. Sure I've picked up my holiday cards and addressed half. Heck I even ordered a bunch of cool presents to mail to my family that already shipped to me but the Christmas music on my regular radio station has been annoying me not putting me in the spirit. December 12th will come, I will pull all our decorations out of the attic, and hopefully that will put me in the Christmas spirit.

I will still be here and I will still comment when I can and even post some but until the end of the year you may not see me as much as you are used to. I have to get my personal life in order and try regain some sense of control over my household of five.

I know my job is a financial necessity to us at this stage of our lives and I truly love the babies I nanny for dearly, they bring me a lot of joy, but managing a household of 5 people, with 3 kids under 10 is a full-time job. I struggle with working full-time and managing the household full-time. I once again feel like my job gets the best of me and my family gets the leftovers, which end up being the worst of me.

B pointed it out best the other day when he said he misses me. When I tucked him in at night he said, "Mom it is 20 hours until I see you again and I miss you!" Ouch that hurt! I leave work before my kids are up in the morning so I tuck them in at night around 8pm and then don't see them until 4pm the next day. Even then I only get 4 out of 24 hours per day with them. So sad!

For now I may not be around much but at the end of December I get twelve days off from work, paid! I hope to use that time to get more organized and really get into the groove of my life as it is now. I will miss you all and stop by as much as I can!