While Hubby is away and my first giveaway!

Well Casey had to go out of town, 2.5 day run. I really miss him while he is gone, I miss him, but I also miss that hour in the day where he just totally takes over the kids and I can get dinner started, and other things done. So, I had gotten a free room comp at Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City. My niece Sara will be 21 on Saturday and I had offered it to her. In the end, we couldn't get the room she would like, all were smoking, and I was stuck with a room and no one to use it!. So since hubby is away, Mommy is going to go play! Taking the kids, my niece and her 2 kids and we are going to go and hang out at the pool there! Should be a great time!

My next exciting news is that I am about to have my very first giveaway! Kalahari Resorts in Wisconsin has given me and many other bloggers 4 passes to their waterpark to giveaway! I will give more details when I get the tickets, but lets just say I am uber excited, thank you Kalahari Resorts!

Student of the month!

So very proud of my middle daughter Carrie. She came home with the biggest honor at school. She is student of the month! Big honor for a kindergartner! Such a smart little girl!

What is with the weather?

I just wish Spring would arrive and STAY!! In March it was in the 80s, I had my a/c on and was wishing the pool was up and open. This morning it was 36 degrees....brrr....I so want some warmth!

Trip to the PBR and Katies Birthday!

Well it was a big weekend for us. My oldest daughter Katie turned 8 today! She had a party at Strikes and Spares and had a good time with her friends and assorted cousins. It really was a lot of fun. I cannot believe she is now 8, how time flies!

The second party of her birthday celebration was a trip to the PBR rodeo in Indianapolis courtesy of tickets won from PBR and Ticketmaster! It was our first rodeo, first PBR event and it was quite exciting. Lots of cute cowboys too Katie and Carrie remarked!

Let the Blogging Continue!

For those following me, please accept my apologies, there are truly no excuses as to why I quit writing, but I just did. There didn't seem to be enough hours in the day at times!

But things have moved on, to the better, my kids are all normal, healthy, get on your nerves in a heartbeat if you allow it little people. Life has been good to us and the good Lord has seen fit to grant most of our prayers. Life is good and I am truly blessed!

Well, in new news, I am now a Disney Parks InsidEAR! My obsession and constant Disney World planning has finally come to good to some use outside of our own trip planning! I am truly excited at the opportunity to help others with their Disney World questions! I even got a pretty nifty badge for it!

I Paper Clips

& Staples

Remembering Disney Trips Past

After talking about Walt Disney World most of the pay, it got me in the mood to look back at some of our stellar moments there. We have been there twice and then also on a Walt Disney 7 day cruise aboard the Disney Magic. We all just love Disney so much...so a few pics...

Disney Social Media Moms Celebration Quest

I try to be productive most of the time when I am not taking care of the baby. I get the house clean, dishes done, beds made, you know the routine. Then, and only then, I will hit the computer to chat with some friends, show up on Facebook and Twitter and enter some blog time and contests.

Well, today was a little different. I was told that it was possible that this blog that I do could actually enable us to fulfill another wish of returning to Walt Disney World and in the process I could learn how to use the social media a little more to my advantage. Now everyone knows, I am a Disney nut, I love everything there is to Disney and something is seriously wrong if I am not planning a trip to see our buddy Mickey. We have not been able to go in almost 2 yrs and little man has never been, so I was hyped and ready to enter into the vortex that is the web to try to apply to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration.

With quiet anticipation, I stuck the kids in front of the tv and I try to log on to the entry from.
It took me 90 minutes to finally get my application through and now I have this huge feeling of relief and hope that perhaps I will be chosen. I feel like I am in elementary school again and hoping not to be the last picked for the kickball team. So, crossing my fingers, toes, and eyes in hopes of getting the "yes! you are chosen!" email!

Holiday Recipes - Part 2

Sorry for the delay in posting but, with 3 kids, you know how that goes!!
Today I am posting what is probably the easiest holiday candy I make, around here they are called Buckeyes, most of the family calls them peanut butter balls. Make sure to use a quality peanut butter in them and real butter makes the recipe! You will see it calls for wax, this can be found in the canning aisle. It is what helps the chocolate stick to the peanut butter and gives it a good shine, you won't taste any difference.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. Peanut butter- room temp
1 pound butter- room temp
3 pounds powdered sugar
1/2 cup Karo Syrup
24 ozs chocolate chips ( We use Ghirardelli Chocolate)
1/2 of one bar of paraffin wax

Take the butters and cream together, combine with powdered sugar. This may take a lil more or a little less on the sugar. You want the balls to stick together and not be sticky on your hands. Roll balls into 1-1.5 inch rounds. I then put mine in the fridge while I am cooking the chocolate.

In the top of a double boiler take the chips and the wax and heat it, stirring occasionally over a double broiler. Some ppl say you can microwave, I don't, I believe it changes the texture of the chocolate too much. If you do not have a double boiler a nice thick metal mixing bowl and a sturdy pan will work. Melt and stir till combined. Working quickly take your balls and dip them in the chocolate, I use a slotted serving spoon, other use toothpicks. You need to dip the balls and then drop them onto wax paper to cool. Some recipes call for just coating 3/4 ball to make them look like real buckeyes, not us, we love the chocolate and dip it all! If your chocolate gets too cool and thickens back up, you can always but it back on the dbl broiler for a few minutes to re-melt it.

Makes around 100 balls. Keep in an airtight container or in the fridge.

This recipe is courtesy of Mrs Karn, she was my 7th grade home economics teacher. We have now made this a staple in our family for over 25 yrs.

This is also good for gifts when put in pretty tins, most of our friends request them!

While you are here, give a click on the button below, loads of great holiday ideas!

Another Day another challenge...

Well, the day started out really well, kids got up, no problems and within 90 minutes the girls were in school and Wyatt was in his high chair having breakfast. We have been working with him on trying to drink out of a sippy, because of his previous issues, he still has problems with his head/neck control and wants to keep his head more down than up. Well, with a sippy, you have to pull your head upward to drink and he just will not do that. So at his his developmental ped appointment last Friday, she suggested we go the straw route. I have look everywhere, I am unable to find a sippy small enough for him to handle. I tried one of the kids cups with the built in straw, he couldn't get enough suction on it, so I tried a glass with a straw in it and that ended up all over the place...very frustrating.
So tomorrow I will have to go to mall and try to find something he can drink out of. Always something to challenge us. But, on the bright side, he has made huge strides in his eating, starting to be able to chew a little better instead of choking on everything. He also took his first two steps Monday, of course they were him staggering backwards, but, it was steps!!

Holiday recipe- Church Windows

Just wanted to update with some holiday recipes that a few sister in laws have asked for. Christmas and Turkey days are coming soon,break out the bakeware everyone!This is the first in a series. Jamie asked for Stained glass window cookies like mom made, here is the recipe.

Ingred needed
1/2 cup real butter
16 ounce package chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts
16 oz pkg colored miniature
marshmallows
2 cups flaked coconut

Directions
Melt butter and chocolate chips in a heavy saucepan over medium heat; heat until smooth . Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Fold in the marshmallows

Scatter about half of the coconut onto a large baking sheet. Form the chocolate mixture into two oblong logs and lay them onto the coconut. Use the remaining coconut to coat the logs. Refrigerate about 1 hour. Cut logs into slices.

Great Giveaway from Mommy Katie

Just wanted to give a heads up on a great blog giveaway right now going on at http://www.mommykatie.com/2010/11/home-for-holidays-fisher-price-ixl.html#comment-form My own daughter Katie wants one of these iXL and I wanted to share it with my followers! She has some other great giveaways also

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Some great giveaways

Great Gifting Guide from an awesome blog

Check this out!

Great gifting guide

My best friend

My best friends in the whole world are my twin sister in laws, Lisa and Linda. We have been friends for close to 30 years, we grew up practically next door to each other and have remained best friends, even after I married their older brother. Lisa has 3 children 23, 20 and 16. Linda has 3 also, except they are 24, 18 and 4. Linda's youngest is 3 months older than my daughter Carrie.

Well, Lisa is a grandmother.She has 2 beautiful granddaughters, age 5 and 3. She became a Grandma at the age of 35....I had my first child at 36. So needless to say I have enjoyed rubbing it in her face that it will be "years" before someone who actually loves me calls me Grandma. Well, today, she showed me the other side of the coin.

Her oldest grand daughter has Grandparents day today in kindergarten. Lisa took off work and went. Well, she was the youngest Grandmother there, they thought she was Abigail's mother, and that same teacher had taught her son 10 years ago. She was very proud of the fact she was the youngest and reminded me I will probably in my early 70s before I get to see a Grandparents day. The realization kind of took me back....

So I called my other best friend, her sister Linda. Linda got quite the chuckle out of it and reminded me that the nice part of it all is that we wont have to worry about them thinking they are our children when we go!I guess there is a silver lining in there somewhere....

Holidays are coming, are you ready?

A fellow blogger is having a great giveaway along with some great info starting soon, here is the info and click the button! She is doing a Holiday Gift Guide again this year that will be full of reviews and giveaways. Holiday Happiness will begin November 1st and will run right on into December.

My Daughter the Weather Girl!

Big day here, my daughter Katie was chosen in a contest I entered to be the weather girl for a local radio station! We had to wake up at 5 am to be at the radio station before 6:30am and while I was dragging butt, she was so full of vim and vigor! We got there and the sweetest DJ Adam took her into the booth, coached her through the script and had her recorded within 5 minutes. She was given a $25 gift certificate to Meijers and we were sent on our way. It was a great morning for her and I have enjoyed listening to her forecast on South Bends WAOR 95.7 all day. Momma is very proud of you Katie bug!

Awesome giveaways!!

This blog is going to give some killer prizes away, check it out!