Learning to say no

I happened upon this little nugget the other night when I was postponing my bedtime and playing on pinterest. 

It kind of sums up my life right now. I REALLY need to work on saying no.
Here is what I have on my plate right now: Mileage club co-coordinator, Book Fair co-coordinator, Box Tops for Education contest coordinator, helping with science night, VP for PTA next year- which includes throwing the first 2 events of the year... first day of school parent breakfast AND the ice cream social open house (all in the first month of school), active PTA mom, parent chaperone for field trips or anything needed in the classroom, United Way volunteer, mom of 2, wifey and friend. So.. yeah. I think this might be the limit where I have to start turning down things. Remind me of this the next time I start talking about taking on another project.

I need wine.

Back to the grind

School is back in session. I survived having to get up early, but just barely. The holidays are over and so are my excuses for not being in better shape. That means: it is grind time. I have this friend who goes to the gym 4 times a week plus does a yoga workout... it makes me feel like I am a shlub. In effort to make myself a super hot mama once again, I will be attempting to complete the 30 day shred. Every day for the next month, I will be shredding. 30 minutes, I can handle that. I mean if Rob can lock himself in his office for hours at a time working, I can probably sneak in a 30 minute workout. I already know that Jillian is the devil, my body is going to hurt.

I survived 2011

I have pretty much sucked on keeping the blog updated lately. I am calling it my holiday hiatus. Well, hiatus is over and here I am.

2011 was a decent year. No major complaints. I have a home, a family that is healthy and we are pretty damn happy. I am hoping 2012 will be even better to us. :)

Christmas seemed like it snuck up on me and then came and went as quickly as possible. I feel like it has been a whirlwind 2 weeks of vacation. I could honestly use another few days before I have to get Em up and around in the morning.

We crammed 4 christmas celebrations in 3 days. It was a flurry of wrapping paper, bows, gifts, family, food, and drinks but I wouldn't ask for anything more. I know that everyone is just dying to know what we got...

Emma & Arabel:
bunk beds
room makeover
3D horse and unicorn that you color yourself
Easy bake Oven cookie and cakes kit
DQ blizzard maker

Emma:
iPod shuffle
LalaLoopsy doll (if you haven't seen these... get on it, they are freaking adorable!!)
VTech InnoTab
InnoTab games
clothes
iTunes gift card
Toys R Us gift card
coloring stuff galore- activity books, markers, crayons, paint
color your own messenger bag
friendship bracelet kit
make your own beaded necklace kit


Arabel:
Littlest Pet Shop treehouse
Littlest Pet Shop walkables
More littlest Pet Shop stuff (she is obsessed)
LalaLoopsy doll
clothes
VTech MobiGo
MobiGo games
Toys R Us gift card

Kimm & Rob:
framed picture of Rob and his brothers & sister
framed picture of the 2 of us
gift cards to Applebee's and BW3
Visa Gift cards

Rob:
Arcardia Brewing Co. variety pack
slippers
new pens
electric pencil sharpener

Kimm:
laundry baskets
KEURIG!!!!!
Keurig k-cups
Ugg type boots
coupon book (all sorts of awesome stuff in there for local businesses)
variety pack of beer
MSU pullover

*I am sure that I am forgetting a ton of stuff. I will be back to update and add more links. I am running on battery power and laying in my comfy bed now. I feel like I need some more motivation for that. HA!

Resolutions:

I don't know that I really love the idea of resolutions. Last year, I didn't have a set resolution but I knew that I wanted to be healthier. Well, I quit smoking in August so I feel like that was a huge step in the right direction. I don't drink as much as I did before (not that it was a ton to begin with) and in general I feel like I did alright at being healthier.
This year, I would love to save money and continue being healthier. Who knows, maybe I will even start running or something. (HA!!!! Who am I kidding... I HATE running.) I am ready to move to the next level in my relationship with Rob... seriously, 2012 HAS to be my year right?? I am ready to have another baby and be on our way to the next phase that awaits.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and I wish a prosperous new year to all.

goings on

So here is what has been going on with me.

I am going to the first B1G Ten Championship football game on Saturday, oh and Michigan State is playing. That alone is amazing... but, I will be sitting in a suite on the 50 yard line. I will be screaming my lungs out in the comfort of a suite. (HUGE thank you to my wonderful mother in law for that! She is the one who got us the tickets and hotel!) Early Saturday morning we are meeting my in laws and driving down to Indy. The hotel that we are staying at is a surprise(!) but we were told we should get there a little early to enjoy it. *SQUEEEE* We have dinner reservations and we were told to put on our party pants. :) I am so excited it could scream!!!

Rob is contemplating a career change. I should say that an opportunity has kind of presented itself, and Rob is very familiar with the industry it is in. More than likely his IT stuff will go on the back burner a bit to go back into the mortgage industry. Rob used to own his own mortgage company, obviously when the housing market when in the crapper... he decided to go back to his IT roots.

All I know right now, is that I am excited and happy. :) Happy December everyone.

P.S. I also got an email that I am now part of the She Speaks Blogger society. :)

30 days of thankful

I am sure we have all seen the November trend of posting something you are thankful for everyday. Well, I am going to go ahead and post them all right here. Some will be serious, some will be silly... they are all things worth being thankful for.

1. My parents. They always seem to take the girls when I need a break the most.
2. The internet. I am pretty sure I would go a little bit crazy without it.
3. My daughter's elementary school. I feel blessed every single day knowing what an amazing place that it is.
4. Benadryl. I don't think that I would be able to be out and about without it some days.
5. Coke (as in Coca-Cola Classic). It is my go to "drug" of choice. Nothing better than a fountain coke. :)
6. Emma. She truly is another version of me. We drive each other crazy but I wouldn't have it any other way. She makes me want to be better.
7. Arabel. She is one of the funniest children I have ever met, she never fails to make me laugh.
8. Friends. The new friends that I have made at school, and my old friends who have stood beside me for years and years. I would be a puddle of mess without you.
9. Rob. He works his butt off to support us. He supports anything that I want to do and doesn't complain too much when I make a terrible dinner or don't clean the house.
10. Vinegar. White vinegar has single handedly changed my cleaning ways. With all of my allergy issues, going chemical free was the way for us to be. It is cheap and works better than any cleaner I can buy.
11. Pinterest. Where else would I put all of the recipes, crafts, decoration ideas I find online??
12. American Eagle jeans. I was so excited to be back in a size 8 again, plus they look killer on my butt. :)
13. DVR. I get so annoyed when I watch live tv now. I am a spoiled little brat.
14. The lack of snow. Seriously, it is mid November and we don't have the dreaded white stuff on the ground. We have seen our first snow but it was gone as quick as it came.
15. GLEE. The amount of joy I get from that tv show is silly.
16. Julie Andrews. She makes the most amazing musicals that my kids love (me too!) and they aren't so annoying that I want to stab someone when I have to watch it for the 8 millionth time.
17. Sleep. I think my ideal vacation would involve a ton of sleeping. My bed is just so darn comfy!
18. Our home. We were able to find this place in record time when we needed a place. It has been perfect for us, and we couldn't be happier.
19. Food. Whether it be fresh mozzarella or a McMuffin, I am thankful that we have the nourishment that we require, and then some. Fresh baked cookies are a definite plus. :)
20. Our cats, Oscar and Zoe. They have been through the ringer over the past year and half, they are old and still kicking. Not to mention that the kids may terrorize them on occasion and they still love us.
21. The family. I covered my parents earlier, but the rest of the family deserves a shout out too. I happen to have pretty decent in laws. They dropped what they were doing to come here and be here for Emma's haircut.
22. Quitting smoking. I am thankful that I was able to quit my nasty habit and not look back. I am getting healthier by the day. :)
23. Pandora. Kidz Bop Pandora has become a staple in our house. We have nightly dance parties. It reminds me to turn off the tv and watch my kids be silly.
24. Kisses. Hugs and other forms of love that I receive from my kids all the time.
25. Norwex cloths. My mom and I stumbled upon these babies last week. They have done wonders for our terrible skin! No soap, these microfiber cloths are antibacterial and they exfoliate without being rough. Emma's poor skin is looking better than it has in awhile thanks to these.
26. Social networking sites. facebook, twitter,  pinterest, tumblr  I have an issue huh? They have allowed me to connect to a number of people that I don't know that I would have without it. Follow me, friend me... whatever. :)
27. TV. Phineas and Ferb is right up there. :)
28. The fact that I still got "it". I still get flirted with and whistled at. Hey, I am 30, I will take what I can get. :) Some of the guys are even pretty hot.
29. Our school parent association. I have been lucky enough to have the time and ability to be very involved this year. I am even more thankful that I have been asked to be next year's vice president, then the president the year after. I couldn't be happier to be a part of an organization that is so wonderful.
30. Victoria Secret underwear. I don't own many pairs, but holy cow... they are so comfy.

proud beyond belief

Halloween came and went. Honestly, I was a little let down. Arabel wasn't 100% healthy yet and was over trick or treating within a couple of houses. Emma had fun, but it was nothing to write home about. It was very ho hum. I was slightly disappointed because I spent so much time on their outfits. Oh well, I guess that is part of the deal .

Emma cut her hair. That is the understatement of a lifetime. She cut off 16 inches of hair to donate to Pantene Beautiful Lengths in memory of her schoolmate. 16 inches. I had minor heart palpations while they chopped off the ponytail. I was so afraid that Em was going to be pissed when she saw short hair. She hasn't ever had short hair. I think she looks adorable, and a few years older now. (sob) My life has been made loads easier... no more 20 minutes spent washing and rinsing or 15 minutes spent detangling and combing. 2 minutes tops is what it takes now. Proud is the understatement of my life. She made a selfless decision because she knew that it would help someone else. I also found out that the random acts of kindness done in Adie's name is one of the things that is keeping her parents going on the bad days. We will continue to do random acts of kindness, if only to help her parents grieve.

I really enjoy doing things with the PTA. I volunteer for everything that I can, I just really love being involved. I was actually asked to consider being the vice president next year, which would then make me the president the year after. It is a huge honor to be asked, and I think that I am going to take it. I am excited about it to be completely honest.

alive and kickin'

I am alive. Tired, exhausted, drained, beat, pooped... you get the idea. It has been one of those type of months.

I had an allergic reaction on my face. AGAIN. (This exact thing happened last year at the same time, only it was so bad I had to go to the ER.) I was all hopped up on benadryl and pepcid. I am still undecided if my Burt's Bees face wash had anything to do with it. *I don't think so, but I am afraid to get another reaction.

I decided to take on yet another thing and made the girls their halloween costumes. They were princessy pirates. Honestly, I thought they looked adorable, though I can be pretty biased. I freaking painted stripes on shirts because I couldn't find what I wanted.

Sickness has hit our house. Em was out of school twice last week, then of course, like clockwork Arabel gets it. Arabel had a nasty high fever for what seemed like forever. She didn't feel great so she only trick or treated to about 5 houses. I haven't slept for more than 2 hours at a time in a week.

I had to address death with Emma. A little girl at her school passed away from cancer a couple weeks ago. It is definitely a subject that I am glad I haven't had to address with her beforehand. It is not fun. E is sensitive, she was upset, I was upset, it just wasn't fun. AT. ALL.

E is cutting her hair. This is serious business... so serious that she is cutting off 11 inches (!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and donating it to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths (think locks of love, but free) in honor of her schoolmate. Do I have the best daughter in the entire world or what?