Wordful, Wordful Wednesday

This week I was bound and determined to take my kids to do a few things over spring break and have some fun. We don't have the extra money for a "vacation" so I tried to plan something for us to do close to home.

Yesterday morning it was just Jax and Riley, shay was at a friends house, so we took them over to the rec center for open gym time. It's for kids 5 and under and they have a blast and especially nice when the weather sucks and you cant go outside. They get all of that pent up energy out and take great naps! Its only an hour but they run and run and don't stop the whole time. When we got home it was really nice outside and I went and made snowmen with the boys.

Today we went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (http://www.dmns.org/). I was VERY brave and took 5 kids!!! I couldn't believe how busy it was. I don't know why, it shouldn't have surprised me, it's spring break, I should have expected it! The museum is huge, so once you found a stinkin parking spot and got inside it really wasn't that bad. The only bad thing is the price. I spent $35 for 1 adult and 4 kids (thank goodness Riley was free) and then we went and had lunch which was $27 for 4 kids meals and a burrito. I also had to factor in the gas money too, considering I drove about 80 miles round trip in my gas guzzler. All in all we had fun and it was worth the money to take them somewhere that they are learning and having fun at the same time. I haven't been there in about 5 years, so it was fun for me as well. The kids were really good and it was nice to just have fun with them and not worry about them getting into trouble.

We stopped by the pizza shop and Shay got to make his own pizza and cook it. He loves to cook! The little ones loved his cooking too! Not bad for his first pizza! Guess we know who to pass the family business to huh?

I'm hoping to come up with something else for the week, but I'm afraid it's going to get ruined. Were expecting 2 more snow storms by Saturday. Crap. To top things off, I have a major sweet tooth, again. So tonight I'm going to make a chocolate cake and I'm not going to make this mistake!

To get your wordful Wednesday fix head on over to Angies blog 7 clown circus! Happy Wednesday.

The cat needs help

Squishy is a permanent part of the family now. He is definitely getting comfortable (doesn't look like it, I know) with us and is much more loving, the hubby says he doesn't like him, I beg to differ ( I now have photo proof). I don't know what kind of help is offered but he needs something! He is soooo goofy.
The kids got that balloon from a party, the cat thought it was the coolest thing ever. He played with the string when the balloon was new and dangling above the floor. As it slowly died the cat couldn't accept it and dragged it around the house with him. Wierdo, he just couldn't figure out why he couldn't get around/away from it!!!!

Just what my cold frozen body needed

Ummmmm brrrrrr freeze

We ended up with a total of 15.5 inches of sloppy wet snow. Tonight was one of those nights made for soup. Not just soup from a can, but soup made from scratch (or semi scratch). We have been freezing for 2 days now and I needed to warm up. Yesterday I started the makings of chicken noodle soup by throwing some pre marinated (roasted garlic and herb) chicken in the crock pot and cooking it all day until it fell apart. I saved all of the juices and shredded the chicken. I also made chocolate chip cookies and banana bread, so check out yesterdays post too!Today all I had to do was put it together. I don't go by any recipe so here's what I did. Chop some carrots, celery, potato and onion and saute them in a little bit of oil for about 10 minutes on medium heat, season them with salt and pepper. I added the juices from the chicken and about 12 cups of water. To give it a lot more flavor I use a chicken stock paste (2-3 tablespoons), half of my shredded chicken, some oregano and a bay leaf and pasta. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes and enjoy. I made a crusty garlic bread to go with mine. The kids loved it and I am all warmed up! I think I will use the rest of my shredded chicken for sandwiches smothered in warm BBQ sauce. Yummm.
Now that I'm all fat and full I am joining Ann for a virtual girls nite out. If you want to join and meet some new bloggy friends click here! It's a nice relaxing environment where you can pull up a chair, grab your favorite cocktail and a bowl of soup and lets have some fun!!!!

If I had my choice of any drink to I think it would have to be a frozen margarita and a sunny beach to go along with it! But since I dont have a sunny beach I would love a hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps. Instead I'm having a beer and getting ready to slip into my comfy fat clothes. Enjoy your evening, I know I am.

Snowed in and goin crazy

Remember the other day when I was bragging about our beautiful weather and my sweet little flowers? Last week it was almost 80 flippin degrees!!! Today................blizzard. It's our first blizzard of the winter and I'm not liking it at all. All of the schools were cancelled, my boss called and said not to bother, the hubby said hell no (cars + blizzard = busy policeman freezing his tush off) and called in sick and I'm going crazy! Nothing new for me though. Today I just have no excuse to put off the deep cleaning that really needs to be done. I have stripped all of the beds and washed the bedding, I will clean the bathrooms and do some organizing. Luckily I did the floors yesterday so that's one less thing for today. This is what it looked like when I got Up (7:30 am) This is now (1:40 pm) and still going strong. The news has been updated, saying the storm will go thru the night and into tomorrow. Yippy (note sarcasm)! I can't believe how much snow is coming down and the wind in horrible! Shay got all bundled up and walked to the neighbors house to play in their back yard in the snow (I'll bet that lasts 10 minutes and that's how long it took to get all of his snow gear on) , I was watching him from the window when the wind started up and the visibility went to zero after about 2 seconds, I could no longer see him across the street! Holy snow storm batman. I just checked the news for snow totals and it says my area has 6 inches so far. We're suppose to get 16 inches, yeah, I can hardly contain my excitement. When the weather is like this I get a major itch to do some baking! So I guess today is baking with the boys. I gotta keep them entertained somehow or I will pull all of my hair out! It's cookies (click here for that recipe), banana bread and chicken noodle soup! I cant help it, I love to cook but I hate to clean up the mess. Here is an update.............the snow has finally quit and the sun is out and shining. I'm sure the 15.5 inches we got will be gone within a few days. Yeahhh!!!! Second, I have had a few requests for the banana bread recipe, so here it is!

Banana Bread

1 1/2 cup Flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg
1 cup mashed bananas (3-4 of them)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup walnut or pecans ( I don't use them due to allergies)

Grease the bottome of a loaf pan and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. If you have a mixer start by mashing your bananas, then add the sugar, egg and oil. Add all dry ingredients and mix until combined but still lumpy. I like to add some vanilla to my recipe, about 1 tsp. Put the batter into your pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Wordful Wednesday

It's that time of week once again to show off some pictures! Wordful Wednesday is for those of us who cant keep out mouths shut about our precious pictures. For more Wordful's go check out Angie at 7 Clown Circus.

Jaxson has a new favorite toy when we go to the pool. He just cant seem to get them on the right way!!!! Too bad that second picture came out so blurry. I don't know how many times I had to try and fix those darn goggles!

Miscellaneous Monday

I don't really have anything specific this evening so it's just random thoughts and ramblings of a miscellaneous Monday to entertain you!

First off, this week 5 minutes for mom is hosting the Ultimate Blog Party 2009. It's a great way to meet new bloggy friends and to get your name out there for all to see. So head on over to 5 minutes for mom and give Mr. Linky a try and start some major blogging!

Second, spring is coming!!!! I cleaned out my flower bed this weekend and look what I found. I am so excited to get my flowers and garden going. That is the best part about summer. All of the trees are getting ready to bloom and the grass is beginning to green! I am sooooo ready!

We have bee hanging out at my parents pizza restaurant a lot in the past few weeks and I have definitely eaten my fill of pizza. Well I cant say my fill because honestly I could eat the stuff for breakfast lunch and dinner! That's if my family felt the same as me. It is a car themed kitchen (the men have converted a warehouse into a hot rod garage/pizza kitchen for catering). My dad and uncle own a few and they like to tinker with them constantly. So here are the boys wearing their 50's style hats that the cooks are wearing when they are tossin dough!

As usual my laundry is out of control. As much as I would like to think that I am "caught up" with it, I'm really not! This is how my couch has looked for weeks now. If I could only teach the cat to run the washer and dryer.

I found some really cool beds that I want to get for Riley and Jax. Shay is getting to the age that he needs a room to himself and Riley is sleeping well enough at night to have a room mate. I have searched and searched for these beds to buy. Well guess what? I have only seen them sold in the UK of all places. Can you imagine the shipping on those? LOL, I don't think so! They are called mid sleepers and they are like mini bunk beds. I want 2 of them to put in the little guys room. Wouldn't that be so much fun for them? I made the mistake of showing this picture to Jax, um now he obsessed and wont stop talking about his new bed. I have asked my dad to build 2 for me (that's if he ever gets the chance to).

I totally forgot that Tasha at The Housewife Diaries gave me an award! Thank you sooooo much girlfriend. I am so excited to visit her in Vegas ( next month is a girls weekend/bachelorette party). Um sorry I don't even remember how this one goes so I'm just going to pass it on to the first 3 commenter's!!!!! Tasha is also having a contest/giveaway for her 1 year bloggiversary. Go and check it out!

Bored on a Friday night!!!!

This week 5 minutes for mom is hosting the Ultimate Blog Party 2009. It's a great way to meet new bloggy friends and to get your name out there for all to see. So head on over to 5 minutes for mom and give Mr. Linky a try and start some major blogging! So no more whining for me, I'm not bored anymore!

So tonight I'm sitting at home by myself blog hopping and I bumped into Ann and took part in her VGNO (virtual girls nite out). I found myself hungry with a major sweet tooth and a slight dilemma. Now go down, turn my music off and watch what I did..............


Chocolate part 1

Chocolate part 2

Holy CRAP that was gross!!!!! I think it could actually be a decent recipe.............it just needs a lot of adjustments, like sugar. That sure as heck did not calm my sweet tooth, so I went and finished off the bag of chocolate chips! This is my mission.........to perfect this coffee mug cake.

The greatest thing since sliced bread!

My kids LOVE the new trampoline!!!! It's not just my kids either, it's the whole stinkin block. I cant tell you how many kids I had over here yesterday. Swarms of them, all attempting to take turns and share. Yeah that was sweet! Jaxson can't stop laughing and jumping, Shaymus is sore from so much jumping and Riley.................well he's a little intimidated by the whole thing. He so wants to be a big boy but just cant summon up the courage to get up there and just have fun. He is stiff as a board! He loosened up when he got on with big brother though. Watch my little jumping beans!

Wordful Wednesday

We went to the zoo on Monday and it was such a beautiful day. I think the animals loved it too, they were all showing off.

For mor Worful Wednesday check out Angies blog 7 clown circus. Happy Wednesday!

Happy St. Patricks day

I have never really celebrated this holiday, at least not recently. Now that I have kids I don't really get to go out and drink it up. I tried making corned beef and cabbage last year and my hubby wouldn't touch the stuff, my kids looked at me like I was crazy and needless to say I had a lot of leftovers! I thought about doing it again tonight just to piss them off, but I guess I'll be nice. Now I don't know what the hell to make for dinner. I will make the effort to dress my kids in some sort of green and attempt to make them believe in leprechauns although I don't know if they are old enough yet. Shay on the other hand has outgrown that stuff. That kind of makes me sad to think about, it proves that he is growing up and will be all mature (yeah right) in the next few years. I'm guessing that I will need to come up with some sort of St. Patricks Day tradition.............so I want to hear from you guys, give a girl some ideas, what do you do????

Week in review

Things have been soooo crazy around here!

Lets see, Thursday started out great and ended horrible. The hubby was at work everyone went to bed and around 10:30 I heard Riley literally barking through the monitor. I knew immediately he was getting croup. I layed there and listened hoping it would get better, it didn't. 15 minutes later he was in bed with me and getting worse by the minute. Considering I have been through this before there was no need to panic, so we went to the bathroom and turned the steam on. It wasn't 2 minutes and he was gasping for air and choking on brownish red crap. That's when I panicked!!! In the 30 seconds that went by my head was filled with a million thoughts of what I should do. Did I wake all of the kids up, load them into the car and drive us all to the emergency room? No way in hell, he didn't have that much time. I called 911 and the ambulance was here in 5 minutes. I didn't even have time to fully dress myself, I had to go back inside and get my socks, shoes, and purse. I woke my neighbor up and she came to the house while the other 2 slept. Riley and I then got an expensive ride to the hospital. Can I tell you how effin excited he was to actually ride in that thing? We came out of the house and his crying stopped when he saw the firetruck, ambulance and police cars out front! I didn't know what was worse his lack of air or the extreme excitement worsening his breathing!!! We ended up meeting a very frantic daddy at the hospital and stayed there doing breathing treatments and steroids until almost 3 am. Photo courtesy photobucket

Needless to say Friday came VERY quickly. I was up at 7:30 getting the kids ready for school. I then remembered that Jax had preschool pictures in less than an hour. Crap. I got them off to school just in time for Eleyna to get dropped off for the day. I was a walking zombie the whole day, it was a blur really. I was in bed at soon as I was done coloring my hair. That strange color was coming back to haunt me again, read here for that story. I'm sure some of you can relate!

Saturday I was up at the butt crack of dawn getting ready for another day at Cafe de France waiting on demanding customers and dealing with a boss from hell. Thank god I got some sleep. It was going to be a long night, I was watching my nephew Phoenix until 10:30 that night. When I got home from work he was already waiting for my undivided attention. You know how babies can be! Buddha baby kept me busy all night, he had a cold and you know how I love babies!

Anyway, it's now Sunday and I have been going ALL day long, although I did get to sleep until 9 am. Can you freakin believe it? I still cant. I spent the morning cleaning the house that had been horribly neglected over the past few days and started looking for either a swing set or trampoline for the kids online. After telling the hubby my plans he went out in search of something and ended up coming home with a tramp. It was a beautiful day so we got it put together in a few hours. Yes it took us that long! The kids are thrilled (especially Jaxson). He should be exhausted this evening, he jumped for 2 hours straight.

Tomorrow is suppose to be 72 degrees and I think were going to go to the zoo! The perfect way to start out another crazy week.

Wordless Wordful Wednesday

I really don't know what to say about this picture except that I HAD to take it, it was so blogworthy!

I took the kids to the rec center yesterday afternoon to go swimming and this man just came out of nowhere and went outside. May I remind you that it was 20 degrees yesterday. I wish the darn windows weren't so dirty, this picture was hilarious, he was just walking back and forth for about 10 minutes. We were all watching and laughing at him. We DID NOT need to see that!For more wordful/less wendesday go visit Angie at 7 clown circus! Happy Wednesday.