Happy New Year!

We are doing nothing for new years again! It's just me and the kids hanging out with my sister in law and the baby. Our hubby's are working and we are left home with the kids. Too bad for all of us! I wouldn't want to be out anyway. Too many drunks and bullets falling from the sky! That's the bad thing about my husbands job, come the stroke of midnight they get bombarded with calls of shots fired and who knows where they come from. He plans on sitting in his car under one of the highway bridges untill all of the bullets come down and it is quiet again!!!! I'm sure he wont be that lucky and will end up scrambling to hundreds of calls. I wont see him till late and will have to text him Happy new Year! Oh well.

Happy New Year bloggy world!!!!!

Damn that car wash!

Thanks to the lovely weather we have had over the past few weeks my car was disgusting! It was covered in dirt and that crap they spray on the streets to melt the ice. I had to get it cleaned. So me and the kids loaded up and headed to the gas station for an automatic car wash. I chose this method because I figured the kids would get a kick out of it. All except one did. Poor Riley, I thought he was gonna have a stroke. I wish I had taken my camera with me. I have never seen him more terrified! When the thing passed over us the first time with the nice soft rain like spray he was fine. When the thing passed over us like a fire hose he was NOT OK! He was buckled into his seat and had nowhere to run, all he could do was tremble and scream at the damn car wash. I tried to comfort him from the front seat and he held my finger as tight as he possibly could, all the while giant tears rolled down his face. I have never seen so much relief on a child's face as I did when we pulled out of that car wash! Damn that car wash. Next time I will have to bring the camera! How mean am I?

Elmo is a little scary!

Riley got elmo live for Christmas and he ADORES him. I on the other hand find him a little creepy!! He scared the crap out of the hubby when he walked by him and was politley asked by Elmo for help up! I have never seen that kind of look on the hubby's face! I walked by him tonight and he started rapping to me. So I felt the need to sit down and "play" with the little creep.

Here are my questions for the makers of Elmo......
Did he just fart or sneeze?!!?
Since when does Elmo rap?
Why do you make him mention anything about the dentist and no cavities when he doesn't have teeth!!!! Was that suppose to be a joke? I don't get it.

Did you notice doing his twinkle toes dancing? Hee Hee my kid is such a dork.

What to do with all of this stuff!?

Merry belated Christmas all! I hope everyone spent precious time with their loved ones, ate to their hearts desire, got presents they loved and had a wonderful day.

The hubby and I will be spending the day going through old toys and getting rid of as much as we can to make room for the new ones!

Shay got a new MP3 player and an I dog. He was so excited about that I dog, and I don't get the stupid thing. It just dances to the music right? Jaxson got a storm trooper helmet (which changes his voice) and a storm trooper gun. I think he has gone to heaven! Riley got an Elmo live ( I think that's what it was called) and he hasn't let it out of his sight! Santa brought a Radio flyer wagon deluxe which Riley (and Elmo) would have slept in if I had let him! I can't even begin to tell you all of the other crap they got. I just know that the house is busting at the seams from all of this kid crap. Anyway, the kids had a wonderful Christmas and Shay really made out this year! I guess that's what you get when you have double the family.

All in all we had a wonderful holiday and got to spend time with our dearest friends and family. We did dinner at my parents on both Christmas Eve and day. We ate so much food we could have rolled ourselves out in wheel chairs! Thats pretty usual for us as you all know. We just can't say no to good food!

On a sad note, I would like to ask a favor of all my friends and bloggy friends to say a little prayer for a close friend of mine. He lost is wife to brain cancer on Christmas day. She was 25 years old and left behind her parents and family, her husband and a 3 year old son. I am so sad for them but it was for the best. She was in so much pain. Please just say a little prayer for them and thank you!

Another Christmas come and gone in the blink of an eye! Now it's time to get back to the everyday tasks and start prepping for next years holidays. Yea right, I say that every year! I never start shopping early!

I would sooooo love to post more pictures but...........blogger wont let me! Is anyone else having this issue?

Santa and Mrs. Clause

We were lucky enough to run into Santa and Mrs. Clause last night. The boys were so excited and more than willing to sit and visit with them!

Riley wasn't at all thrilled about sitting with or even near Santa! I'm not sure what or why he changed his mind but oh my goodness. The party that we went to was a friend of my parents. She collects Christmas houses and her husband buys her a new one every year for her Birthday. I can't believe how big her little town is! The picture doesn't do it justice. They go out and cut a tree every year and it is giant. It touches their vaulted ceiling and then she puts the town under and around it! It's beautiful.

I am so excited! I just found out that I won the new Microsoft office 07 from Ree at confessions of a Pioneer Woman. Go check her out I love her blog!

Wordful Wednesday

We went from loving bath time to this. I don't know when or why it happened, but it has become a real chore to get my little "angel" clean! Why do they make it soooooo hard. Does he think I am trying to drown him?

How do you spell cooperation?

I couldn't help but laugh at my child! He is trying so hard to learn how to spell.

Still MIA

Yes I am still REALLY distracted. You will all be glad to know that I am almost done with the third book! Only one more to go. I am soooooo excited to know how it finally ends. And then it will be back to the normal life of cooking, cleaning and paying attention to my family. Hee Hee. I feel bad, I have totally ignored them for the past week and I have been consumed by Bella, Edward and Jacob. I promised my husband that the insanity will end soon and I will be back to my own insane world before he knows it. Till then I wont have much to write about cuz I' m not paying much attention!!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Missing in Action

I'm sorry for not paying as much attention to my bloggy world but I found a new obsession. Yes I have been sucked into the Twilight world and can't get out. No pun intended there either, I am being totally serious. My cousin told me I had to read it and that I wouldn't be able to put it down. I know all of you girls are addicted too so I gave it a shot. I started the almost 500 page novel on Saturday evening and I finished it today. I am having withdrawls already and I HAVE to go get the second book. Now. So if you don't hear from me for a few you know why and I'm sorry but I have Edward on the brain! Yeah yeah I know I jumped on the band wagon late but I did it!

Split lips and cookie dough

Yes that about sums up my day thus far. We are having a cookie party at my house tonight and I have been making cookie dough all morning in preparation for tonight's fun. There will be 4 moms and 9 kids making holiday cookies in my tiny kitchen. I figured I would make it a little easier to maneuver if some of the stuff was already done. I'm excited about it and I think we will all have a good time. I am making Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies, Cassie is making Spritz cookies, Nanette is bringing Peanut Butter dough and Sunita is going to surprise me! Then we will all trade some.

In my household these should last us about a week and you can find the remainders on my and the husbands growing asses! In the past few years my sweet tooth has grown as big as my spare tire or should I say muffin top has. I will blame that on the Hubby, I never used to eat sweets and now I eat them a lot more than I should. People always tell me "your soooo skinny, you make me sick". But you know what..............those people don't see me nekkid. They don't get the pleasure of seeing my roll hang over my jeans because I do a very good job of covering it Nor do they get to see the ever growing cellulite on my butt. I don't enjoy letting it hang out and I am sure people are thanking me for it! Anyway I have gotten completely off the subject.

Riley has had one of "those days" today. He started out the morning by falling from his chair and smashing his face on the table splitting his lip. He got over it and ran around the house with a growing fat lip this morning and then Jaxson got home from school. It wasn't 5 minutes and they were fighting and wrestling and Jaxson popped him in the lip! Oh did Riley ever cry. Then we had to take Eleyna to school and as the kids were running ahead of me I watched (in slow motion of course) as Riley trips over his snow boots and hits the blacktop with his face!!!! I swear to god people are going to start to think I beat him. He is now taking a nap with his beat up face and it is only 1:00 in the afternoon. I think I might make him wear a helmet for the rest of the day. Seriously.

For those of you who have a sweet tooth and would like to partake in the muffin top growing contest here is my recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! Hey that's what the holidays are all about right? It is for me anyway, I love my food and I will eat it all day if you let me and now that I have a sweet tooth I WILL enjoy my cookies too! I need something to keep me busy before summer, so I will make a point of working off all of my enjoyment before bikini season arrives!

1 cup butter softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar packed

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

4 oz. grated Hershey bar

2 1/2 cups blended oatmeal (measure after blending)

2 cups flour

12 oz. chocolate chips (I mix dark choc and white choc chips)

1 1/2 c. chopped nuts (any kind and it's optional)

Blend the oatmeal to a fine powder. Cream the butter and sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla. Add all dry ingredients slowly to make sure it is all combined really well. Add the chocolate chips and nuts last. Bake 375 degrees 10-13 minutes or until a light brown. Cool and enjoy!

Wordful Wednesday

I have been dreading the boys dentist appointment for a week now. Let me give you a vision of our last visit. 3 boys in tow one who loves the dentist (Shay) one who is terrified of the dentist (Jax) and a baby in a carrier who doesn't know what the hell is going on. He is just along for the ride. Jax sits along side Shay and watches as he gets his cleaning and exam. So far so good. Then it's Jaxson's turn and the whole world begins to crumble. I had to hold him down just to count his teeth and do the quickest cleaning I have ever seen. All the while Shay is trying to calm the histerical baby down who is crying cuz Jax is crying and Shay thinks he is helping but he really isnt. Bless his little heart. Those 30 minutes were enough to commit me.

So yesterday we made our way to the dentist and the whole day I was giving Jaxson a pep talk and explaining that there was nothing to be afraid of and that he needed to be a big boy. He agreed and I was doubtful!

It was like night and day! He watched Shay and was so intrigued.

He jumped up in that chair, layed down and said Aaaaaaa.

He even took his first xrays! Look.........I am so proud and happy.

Now if I could just get the baby to sit like that! It was a very good day. All kids have pearly whites again, no cavities and the real relief is that Jax has all of his teeth and loves the dentist! He never got two of his lower baby teeth and the Dr. said that he had a 50/50 chance of getting the permanent ones. Since we were able to get an xray this time we were able to see his big boy teeth and he has them all. You don't know how relieved I and my future checkbook are.

Merry SITSmas everyone!!!

This is my first SITS attempt so bear with me!!!
I will attempt to sit at my computer all day today (not like that's anything new) if my children will allow me. I will ignore the messes calling my name behind me and I will definitely try to visit as many blogs as I can and leave as many comments as possible. Those are my SITSmas vows. I wish I could promise you more and I can't guarantee that time and my children will allow me to do enjoy this day fully but I will try. Have a wonderful day, have fun and comment to your hearts desire! Head over here for the chance to win a $200 target gift card and to meet a ton of new and wonderful people.

It always tastes better off the ground!

It has finally stopped snowing and the kids got to go outside for a while today. It was still really cold so it only lasted for about 15 minutes and I think I was colder than they were!

This year is really the first winter for baby, he is finally old enough to go and play in the snow. I was really excited for him so we went and bought his first snow boots today. I had to force them on his feet he wanted nothing to do with them and I think he was a little scared. We got his snow gear on and went out for his first time to play in the snow! All he wanted to do was eat it. He took two steps into the yard and that's where he stayed.

Jaxson attempted to make a snow angel with the lower half of his body on the sidewalk! It was funny, he was a little apprehensive about laying down in the snow though.

It only tood a few minutes before I was freezing and had finished putting my lights up so I tried to get the kids inside. I had to force Riley to go out and then I had to drag him in and he refused to take the snow gear off. He ran around the house as I tore each piece off every few minutes.They had a blast and can't wait to do it again tomorrow. I hope the snow stays, it's suppose to be 64 degrees. That's Colorado for ya.

One down and one to go

The holidays are now in full motion! Thanksgiving came and went in the blink of an eye and Christmas is only a blink away. Our dinner was nice, quiet and pretty relaxing although I was still rushing around like I said I wasn't going to do!
Our guests showed up at the door at 9:30 in the morning and I was still in my pajamas with no make up and still cleaning. At least I was wearing something decent. My hubby usually laughs at me and my ensemble in the morning. Hey I can't help it, I throw on whats close to my bed and comfortable. I don't really think about coordinating my tee shirts and fat pants!!! The best one is the Tye dye shirt (pink, green and purple) and the purple plaid pants with white socks! Hee hee, I can't help but laugh at myself for that one, it is pretty bad.

Any whoo...back to the holidays. We ate our dinner early and headed to my parents house to visit with the rest of the family and to see my new favorite nephew. He is so damn cute I cant stand it and guess who snatched him up first? My husband! I didn't even have a chance, he sat there and slept with the baby and would not give him up! Finally at the end of the night I had bribe him for a turn. I got to hold him and feed him and I miss it soooo much, I do, I guess it's my comfort zone. I would be happy taking care of babies for the rest of my life I think. Too bad they wont be mine.

Back to the holidays again, we have never been ones to go out on black Friday and do any shopping. We both hate the crowds and end up cursing people and their carts but this year the hubby had a change of heart and we braved the stores (cue the horror music and screaming). We weren't brave enough to go before the ass crack of dawn though, those people who are lined up at 4 am are just retarded in my mind. Seriously, who goes shopping at 4 in the freakin morning? it's crazy I tell ya. We got a lot of our shopping done for the kids and spent way too much money. My husbands excuse....." they are kids and it's only money". He makes the moolah so I guess he gets to chose how to spend it. I was only along for the ride.

Slaving away and thankful

It's the night before Thanksgiving and I have been slaving away in the kitchen for 3 hours now. I decided that I am not going to spend my holiday rushing around cooking and cleaning and forgetting to get myself ready before our guests arrive!!! Nope not this year, this year I am going to be prepared and relaxed.

This will be our first Thanksgiving with only my family and 1 grandparent. We had no idea when baby Phoenix was going to arrive as his due date was yesterday and we weren't sure if we would be spending the day back and forth from the hospital. So I made plans to have a small dinner at our house with my Grandfather in law and just have a relaxing day. I have made the stuffing, the potatoes are peeled and cut ready for cooking and the turkey is thawed, the green beans are cleaned and the house is kind of clean.

For those of you who know my family you know that there is no such thing as a small affair! For those of you who dont here is a scenario of any family function......I am one of 22 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren, 14 aunts and uncles, plus my parents and my brother who now has extra family to count!!! That is just my mothers side.........it's a good thing my dads side equals 2! If you think of inviting just one or two cousins the others will hunt. you. down. If you think about inviting certain aunts or uncles the others will hunt you down and throw a fit to make you feel so guilty you could cry. Therefore any family get together includes about 50 guests! 50 wild, loud, laughing guests that eat a shit load of food. This is how you can imagine a Thanksgiving dinner with EVERYONE there! We tried it and it looked similar to this...............................

Now you understand why I am thankful for this Thanksgiving. Nice and quite.

Photo Tag

My 6th folder and the 6th picture is............................................

A view from the airplane. I surprised my hubby with a trip to Vegas for his birthday this year. It was our first trip alone since having Jaxson. I think I will pick a few people to pass this along to. I pick Tasha, Cena, Lula, Scary mommy, and Anna

The horror is back

Here they go again.
They barely had Halloween taken down and they already got the Christmas ones up! Come on people give the neighbors eyes a rest!!! They can't wait until Thanksgiving like the rest of us? I have yet to see it lit up, so maybe they are waiting......Nah, I doubt it. I just haven't been lucky enough to see it's full glory and scorch my eyeballs. Yes you can bet that I will be taking enough photos of it next month to torture you all and leave you in amazment and awe! Where in the hell do these people store this crap?

I'm sorry but the pictures just don't do it justice!!!!!!!

What a little s@*t

Remember all that hard work that I did a few days ago? I folded all of the clothes. Well that's as far as I got. They just sat their in nice, neat piles hoping that they would be picked up by their prospective owners and put away. Wishful thinking huh? I went to work this morning and did not feel well so I came home early. This is what I found.

Apparently while Daddy was taking care of business in the bathroom Riley decided to entertain himself with the damn laundry AGAIN!!!!!! Why? What is so freaking entertaining about clothes?

Introducing........

Phoenix Sebastian Viedma Reutter

8 lbs (exactly) and 21 inches long ( I think that's what my brother said)

Born around 7:30 pm this evening

I am so excited to hold this little bundle of hair and joy!!!!!

He was stubborn, defiant and unwilling, but he finally came after almost 3 hours of pushing

Hence his cute little cone head!

Delivery day

So I know I said I was going to post about the holiday decorations gone bad but I have something even better!!!! My new nephew will be here in about an hour and I am so excited I'm about to pee myself!!!! Hehe, I can't wait to hold a little baby. I will post pictures tonight......I'm headed to the hospital right now.

Update.....I'm still at home. My brother said her labor has slowed and now he wont be here until this evening. So I may go ahead and do my original post since I wont see the little booger until late tonight.

Mom on a mission

My mission this evening is to restore some (laundry) sanity! Yes I must say since our little dryer mishap (click here for that story), laundry hasn't been the same. I have gotten horribly behind and just didn't feel like doing it. So 3 days ago I bit the bullet and washed ALL of the clothes that were starting to overtake the laundry room, the bedrooms and the floors ( or where ever they felt like landing). Only one thing remained.....folding them. I just didn't have it in me until tonight when I decided that I can no longer stand looking and the ginormous pile that has formed on my couch and keeps finding it's way to the floor (thanks to Riley). I WILL be folding laundry tonight and if you don't hear from me for a few days.....send someone in to find me please!

This is only half of it. Scary I know

That reminds me.....I have another scary holiday decoration installment (click here to see the last one)coming tomorrow!!!

We have a visitor, meet Squishy

My brother and his wife are getting ready to have a baby (yeah!) and her mother is coming to town for 3 weeks. From what I have been told she HATES cats with a passion! I offered to keep him and now I'm wondering if that was a good idea!!!!! He is kind of a shithead. He wants in the baby's bedroom and is scratching on his door! I tried to pull him out from under the crib and he bit me! I know he doesn't know me but I can't help that and now I feel like a have to cough a freakin hair ball out of my throat. I think I'm allergic to the little shit.

My Grandma's Stuffing

I am VERY picky when it comes to stuffing. I like it simple! I don't want fruit or nuts in mine and I like it kinda dry. Yes I'm wierd I know but this is my favorite stuffing in the world.

Grandma's Stuffing

12 Cups white bread, dried a little and cubed
1/2 Cup dried parsley (if you want to use fresh parsley use a 3/4 cup)
1 tbsp poultry seasoning
2 tsp salt
1/2 pepper
1/2 butter or margarine
3 cups celery chopped
1 cup onion chopped fine


Combine all ingredients (except the bread) and mix well. Then add the bread and combine in the largest bowl you have!!
Like I said I like my stuffing dry, so I don't stuff the bird very much. I only put about 1/4 of the mixture in the bird ( to satisfy the rest of the family) and I put the rest in a casserole dish to bake and dry it out!!! If you would like to make it moist you can add some chicken broth (1/2 cup) and then bake it. If you opt to do it like me, it only needs to bake for about an hour. If you do it the other way it can go alllllll day long.

Enjoy and I guess if you want to add stuff you can! I'll allow it :)

I've got nuthin'

I wish I had SOMETHING to write about. Can't come up with a damn thing. I've got nuthin.....except a headache. It wont leave me alone and has been torturing me for a week now. My hubby thinks it's a tension headache and I think I need a massage, but like I said I don't need one THAT bad (refering to yesterday's post). My hubby will do it but it hurts, he doesn't realize how strong he is. So yeah sorry, that's all I have for today!

I need a massage but not that bad!

I was browsing through some pictures on the Internet today and some how came across this article. Apparently it's the newest thing in massage! Eeeeew. Don't get me wrong, I am not afraid of snakes and I don't mind touching or holding them but this? No thanks.

Photos courtesy of http://weirdnews.about.com/ and http://allvoices.com/

First Snow

This morning we woke up to our first snow!

Our weather here in Colorado has been so odd. Usually our first snow is on Halloween, it never fails. This year we have definitely had an Indian summer, I mean it was 65 degrees yesterday! The wind kicked up last night and brought the cold with it.

If we could get snow once a month and have the rest of the days be bearable I would be sooooo happy! I don't really enjoy the snow, it's just a big pain in my ass. I loath taking the kids out in it to do the errands and the back and forth crap. Put the coats on to get out to the car to take them off cuz they don't fit in the car seats, put them back on when you get to where you are going, get inside, take the coats off again........you see what I am getting at right? Then you have the snow boots, hats, gloves and snow pants to deal with! I don't even mind driving in it, thats the part that I do like. Now if I could only figure out how to do donuts in a mini van. If we didn't have places to go and things to do and just hang out at home all winter then yes I would like the snow.

By noon it was sunny and melting! Yeah!

Happy Anniversary

My sexy husband and I went out to dinner for our anniversary (#4) last night and had a great dinner. We started out with a big glass of red wine and beer. Of course we couldn't decide on an appetizer so we got 2 - Calamari and a Bruchetta sampler. They were both awesome and we just about finished them off. Bad idea, I was already full and I still had my dinner to eat. I ordered Gnocchi with a spicy red sauce and Italian sausage. My dh got a 14oz. strip steak topped with Gorgonzola, garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus.

It was an awesome dinner and it was so nice just to be out by ourselves. No kids, adult conversation and heavy rich Italian food. Who could ask for more? Us! all we wanted was a bed (yeah I know what your thinking.....sex all night?) We hurried to pick up the kids and made our way home. We put the rugrats to bed and rushed up to the bedroom where we stripped in the blink of an eye. Of course we did we had to alleviate the growing pressure in our guts!!! Yeah we were hot and bothered alright, my heartburn was enough to make me puke and I felt like a freakin helium balloon! Yes you heard me right, we ate sooooooo much that we barely made it to the sitters to pick up the kids. I was so stuffed and sleepy I felt like wrecking the car. We were so bloated and exhausted that we were in bed by 9:00.

We ended the evening gassy and falling asleep to the CMA's. Guess we will have to make up for the missed activities another night! Love ya honey, Happy Anniversary and I can't wait to get old with you! Oh wait I think we already are.

Veteran's Day Tribute

Thanks Dad for all that you have done and thanks for serving our country!

United States Army Veteran

Served in Vietnam

Monday Menu

I have been trying to come up with a good title for a weekly menu post. I really like Sunday Spread, with thanks to Tattooed Minivan Mom. I felt like crap yesterday so it got put off until today and I am hoping to have it again this coming Sunday!
This is what I have planned for this week (6 days worth, 1 day for leftovers or eating out). I have attempted to use some of the same ingredients with totally different dinners trying to cut cost for a budget that fits most family needs and cut your time in the kitchen without feeding your family boring meals.

Menu for the week

• Meatloaf and loaded baked potatoes
• Tacos, rice and beans
• Homemade Mac and Cheese with fruit
• Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo
• Homemade chicken pot pies
• Goulash (noodles, tomato soup and corn, ground beef) with a salad

Grocery list - $45.00 if you bargain shop. Not too bad for a weeks worth of dinners for 5 people.

• 3 lbs ground beef
• lg potatoes for baking
• sour cream
• Lg bag shredded cheddar cheese (split 2 ways)
• small bag of long grain rice
• 1 can refried beans
• elbow noodles
• Velveeta cheese
• 1 lg rotisserie chicken
• 1 small head of broccoli
• 1 jar Alfredo sauce or Alfredo mix
• 1 pkg Fettuccine noodles
• 1 pkg frozen mixed veggies
• 1 jar or mix chicken gravy
• 1 pkg pie crust
• 2 cans tomato soup
• 1 can corn
• fresh fruit
• lettuce and any of your favorite salad fixings

If anyone is interested in any of these recipes just email me and I would be happy to share them with you. Happy cooking!

I Just about peed my pants twice!

I got a few unexpected treats today!

1. I got a child support payment (something that doesn't happen very often) from my ex husband! Did I ever mention that I was married before? Yes I call that one my practice marriage.

2. I went to my parents to do laundry, really just to dry the damn clothes and get a free dinner that I didn't have to cook. As I was pulling away from their house I saw that the gas station across from them had gas for............wait till you hear this..............$1.77!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I about peed myself right then and there. Actually I almost wrecked my car when I flipped a bitch to get back to the gas station! I filled my gas guzzling mini van for $20! I was so excited that I called everyone I know just to brag.
Finally a day when I didn't want to drown myself in the sock filled toilet. A much needed stress free day!

That's one way to clog a toilet!

The boys have been wild ones all day! They are on my last nerve and it's only getting better! While making dinner tonight and on the phone trying to get a bill paid the kids decided to entertain themselves.....with socks. My love seat is covered with a ton of socks that are either folded or need to be folded. Due to my lack of a working clothes dryer my laundry situation is getting a bit nasty to say the least. Yesterday I had a working dryer that just ran with cold air. Today I have no dryer at all. Just a growing pile of clothes and nothing to do with them even if I had the motivation to do so! Anyway, the boys started by unfolding almost all of the pairs and throwing them all over the living room making it look like there was an explosion of some kind or another. How they managed to migrate to the bathroom I don't have a clue but they did and decided to put the remaining folded pairs of socks into the toilet. Let me remind you that Jax the 3 year old and rookie of the potty, forgets to flush 8 out of 9 times!!!! While on the phone with the very nice lady at target Jax informs me that "Riley got a sock stuck in the toilet". Yes Linda (the lady on the phone) can't help but laugh when I repeat the question back to jax, "there is a sock stuck in the toilet?" I go downstairs to find little one making pee and sock dumpling soup......with his hands. Yummy. Thank god they had not attempted to flush! So what do you do with sock dripping pee water all of the bathroom floor? Throw them in the empty washer to drain, cuz I won't be using it anytime soon!!! Eeeeeewwww.

Wordless Wednesday

Getting screwed one way or another

As I was doing laundry yesterday, like I do everyday, I got a very unexpected surprise. I put the clothes in as I was running out the door to the dentist, in my attempt to multi task. I came home and did my usual stuff (alternating between computer and cleaning) and as I was sitting here at my desk I heard this familiar noise running in the background but it didn't really phase me for like 2 hours. Suddenly I thought to myself "is the dryer running? Still?" Yes it was! Running for the past 4 hours!!! I quickly ran down the stairs and into the laundry room, yanked the darn thing open to find.....wet jeans. WTF is going on here? Apparently the timer on the dryer quit working as well as the heating element. Wouldn't you think jeans would be dried after 4 hours of air drying? Nope! So what's a girl to do? I turned it on again in hopes of getting the load dry!
Just my luck. I called a appliance repair place and do you know what they want to charge?!!! They want $60 just to come out and look at the damn thing. That didn't include what they wanted for parts and labor IF they could fix it. Ummm last time I checked money doesn't grow on trees nor can I pull it from places that I won't mention!!! I have 5 people in my house and only one of them thinks that (she) can wear a pair of jeans or a shirt more than once before it's dirty! My laundry is OUT OF CONTROL as it is. What am I going to do without a properly functioning dryer even for a week before we can get this problem solved? My family is going to end up recycling their underwear or they are gonna get crunchy line dried clothes and they are going to like it! Oh yeah, I don't have a line to dry them on. Great, just my luck.

Paranoid mommy

I have been a wreck for the past week over the baby's teeth. I was giving him a bath one night and just happened to notice grayish black spots on his lower front teeth! OMG he has bottle rot. I went into sheer panic mode and called the hubby at work.

I have never gone by the book as far a raising my kids. I was bad and put all 3 of them to bed with a bottle. So kill me. Anyway, the first thing I said to myself......this is my fault, I should have never let him fall asleep with that damn bottle. That very night I cut him off from his night time bottle and he was fine with it. Throughout the week I have been brushing his teeth like a freaking obsessive compulsive mad woman! 3-4 times a day to be exact. I have worked in the dental field and I know what happens when kids get bottle rot, and I will be damned if my kid has to go through baby root canals and crowns.

We got into the dentist this morning and he did an awesome job! He was such a big boy at his first dentist appointment.

Do you want to hear the good news or the bad news first? Well the good news is that the grayish stuff was staining and not decay and there really isn't any bad news! I am ecstatic about a clear bill of dental health!!!! I am such a teeth freak, but now I can relax.

Chicken Marsala

My family has been begging for Chicken Marsala for months now, so I gave in tonight and made it. It really is pretty easy and my kids were very thankful!

1 pkg chicken breast ( I like mine thin)
1 bottle marsala cooking wine (12.7 oz)
1 can chicken broth
2 tbsp oil
3 tbs real butter
2+ tbsp flour
canned or fresh mushrooms

1/2 of an onion sliced into thin strips
1 lb angel hair pasta
fresh parsley

Begin by melting the butter and oil together in a pan and start the water boiling for the pasta. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Saute the chicken until it's golden brown on both sides. Remove it from the pan and let it rest while you make the sauce. Add 2-3 tbsp flour to the butter and oil in the pan to make a paste and cook it for a few minutes to get the flour taste out. Add your bottle of Marsala and whisk until smooth. It will thicken quickly! Whisk in the can of chicken broth and mushrooms, cook for 15 minutes on medium low. Add the chicken to the sauce and let it cook another 15 minutes on low (or until the chicken is fully cooked). Cook the pasta while it is simmering. When everything is done, top the pasta with the chicken and sauce. Use the fresh chopped parsley and parmesean cheese for a garnish. Enjoy!

Round 1

Tonight Chatfield Senior High hosted their annual trick or treat street. They do an awesome job and give out a ton of candy! There are about 30+ rooms with different themes and games for the kids to have fun and rake in the candy. The kids have an absolute blast, the parents on the other hand (begging for an absolute mixed with anything) can handle about 5 rooms before they start swearing under their breaths with frustration and endure the ever rising temperatures in very cramped quarters!

I have been dreading this moment all day. I don't particularly enjoy crowds, especially with 3 kids and 1 stroller. We got there at exactly 5 pm thinking it wouldn't be too crowded. Once again I was wrong. There were kids, teenagers and strollers everywhere!!!!! Parents laughed at one another and with the ones who actually voiced their growing frustration (me). We got stuck in a room with a very slow moving line and I told the kids that this was the last room (after about 20) and then we were going home. I think I heard 100 parents agree and laugh!

Even Jaxson was asking to go home, he was roasting in his costume and he was only wearing his underwear and a tee shirt underneath for that very reason. It made it impossible to take his costume off. He would have gone from monkey to the white trash baby in a flash. White tee shirt, tighty whiteys and crocs with no socks. Cuuuute!

There were a lot of funny costumes for the evening and I can't wait to see more tomorrow night.

I love passing out the candy, that is until 9 pm, when I turn off the lights or I run out of candy and that is entirely possible considering my block alone has 27 kids!!! There had better not be any little shits ringing my door bell after that.

Wordless Wednesday

What to do in Denver when your broke

We all know how it is, the kids are freaking bored and tired of being stuck inside and the parents are feeling pretty stir crazy themselves. it's really frustrating when you think about it, you have to be rich to go out and have fun with your family!
Living in Denver can be a challenge when it comes to entertaining your family on a budget! Over the past few years the weather can be a factor sometimes. You never know in Colorado, one day it's freezing and snowing and the next it's sunny and almost enjoyable outside. There are also days that you ask yourself "is it really winter?" Believe it or not it has been known to get up to 70 degrees in our coldest months (December thru March)!
I have tried to come up with a list of things to do in Denver that are family friendly and affordable (free or close to). So for those of you who live here or want to visit someday I hope this is helpful.

Littleton Museum is free to get into and fun for the kids. It has two farms dating back to the 1800's, old barns, a blacksmith shop and an old house. It is really neat to see how people lived back then and it is so much better in person than looking at pictures!


Chatfield State park is fun if you like to be outdoors. The lake is huge, there are a ton of trails to hike and wildlife to see. At the end of summer there is the hot air balloon festival, during the winter they have sleigh rides and pumpkin patches. It is $6 to get in for a day/per car.




Dinosaur Ridge is cool for the older kids. It's free, so it's cool for the parents also. It's a little hard for the little ones to understand dinosaur fossils and footprints! My youngest thought we were going to see real dinosaurs. He was really disappointed!

Heritage Square has free admission. You can go in and wander through the shops, people watch and if you want to spend minimal money you can get some ice cream or ride the train. There are rides for the kids and a pond with bumper boats. For the big kids there is an alpine slide! I have to admit, I have lived here my whole life and have never riden it.

If you have the patience for crowds and strollers you can visit the Denver Zoo or the Museum of Nature and Science on one of their free days. The best way to go with the zoo is to buy a membership ($80 for the family) and it's good for a year. You can go once a week, take a picnic lunch and not spend a dime if your kids will let you! During the winter they have zoo lights. It is so fun to go to and very beautiful with the whole zoo covered in Christmas lights and decorations. I haven't purchased a museum membership before, I can't see my kids wanting to go there all that often, but they do have a really cool IMAX theater and planetarium for when they get older. The big dinorsaurs are a little intimidating for the little ones!

For those freezing cold and snowy days there is Sledding Hill. It's at the corner of Ken Caryl Ave. and Kipling street in Littleton. It is a huge hill that is perfect for sledding. They constructed a new parking lot this summer, making it a little easier to find parking.

Foothills recreation center has a lot of actvities for the kids and parents. My kids really enjoy the indoor swimming pool, the baby gym and taking art classes there. The baby gym is at the Lilly gulch center and it allows parents and children under the age of 5 to go in (for $4/child) and play in the gymnasium for an hour. The little ones love running, jumping, swinging, dancing and just being silly there. They take really good naps afterwards!

The Rocky Mountains and foothills (Tiny Town, Morrison, Red Rocks park) are always good for a drive or a hike and it's free. Generally speaking of course, you still have to pay for the gas. If you go in the fall it is worth every penny! There are plenty of hills to go sledding, there are little towns to go have lunch and site see or you can just drive to your hearts content!

If your not a mountain type person you can go downtown via car or the lightrail. There are soooo many things to do down there. You can wander down 16th street mall, Larimer square or go see the Capitol building across from civic center park. It's all free so you can spend some cash and grab some food! There are plenty of places to stop. Lots of people watching (yes that can amuse you for a whole day). Interesting window shopping and many attractions that can cost a pretty penny! There is just too much for one day.

There are the Elvis Cinemas (dollar movies) on Bowles and Kipling if you need to get out of the cold. You can get your whole family in there for the price of one admission ticket to the new release movies! The only downfall is they also charge an arm and a leg for the concessions. It's a decent theater for what you pay.

I will need to brainstorm to come up with some more ideas! I hope this has helped out in the boredom/broke department. Coming from a broke and bored mom of 3 I hope you can get a little information from this one!!!!