December 8, 2009

This week I...

Started working out again (thanks brooke!)

Finished ALL my Christmas Shopping!

Did some stitching on my quilt!

Haven't let Madilyn watch as much TV...we've painted nails, colored and listened to Christmas Music, Puzzles, Stories...

Started babysitting again, but don't for how long...

Cleaned my stove (it was only 6 months over due)

Think I got all the cob webs, but they'll be for next week I'm sure!

But most imporatly, Finalized our Christmas Plans!

Leaving next Thursday and staying with Grandpa (I better call and ask!), Make it to Kansas for night 2, then on to Texas until the 3rd of January!

When she's tired, SHE'S TIRED!

The day I went Christmas Shopping, I took Madilyn and Landon to a babysitter.  Madilyn had a BLAST!  She didn't want to come home, but once we did she was so tired she wanted to go straight to bed.  I told her she needed to eat dinner first.  She wasn't happy!  I guess I should have believed her:

Merry Christmas Ronald!

I finally picked a day to go and get all my Christmas Shopping done!  I was so excited!  I love shopping when I can actually spend lots of money!!  :) I took BOTH my kids to a sitter and headed to town! I had to exchange a few things from my Black Friday Shopping Trip and got some other things.  Then I decided to go to the pet store.  For the last six months Ron has always wanted a fish tank.  He really wanted one for our anniversary, but I wanted to surprise him and get if for Christmas.

*In the past, my gifts are usually pretty boring or cheesy because I either can't pick them out or he wants something like a new sled (snowmobile).  The only year I did surprise him good, I didn't get to see his reaction. He made a deal with my little sister!  She peeked at all her presents under the tree, and she showed him the package I MAILED to Texas specifically so he wouldn't find them in my suitcase before we flew down there!* 

So this year I KNEW he was going to be surprised for sure!  I was going to get a friend to set it up while we were gone, then take a picture of it so I could put it in his stocking! BUT, I dropped my keys in the trunk of my car while loading the 20 gallon fish tank.  I had no other choice BUT to call him and ask him what to do!!  I was hopping he would tell me how I could fix it on my own, but he said he'd be on his way.  I was all but in tears!  It was going to be another Christmas with no surprises for him.  I walked to Subway to eat lunch and waited for him to come and get me.  It wasn't until then that I told him where I was really parked, earlier I had lied hoping he wouldn't be the one to rescue me! I had no other explaination for being parked at Petsmart!!  Even though it wasn't Christmas, he was super excited!  We went back into the store and spent at least a half hour discussing fish, decorations, and how to set it up.  He was just like a little boy!

 I think it turned out better that he found out early.  I didn't realize how much work went into getting an aquarium set up! He spent all Thursday night reading everything he could on the internet so he knew exactly what he wanted and needed to do, then all Friday afternoon setting it up.  THEN Friday night he decided he needed to make a trip to Petsmart just to get a fancy thermometer and ended up getting the fish then too!  (We were going to wait till after our trip to Texas).  BTW it was his THIRD trip to town that day: first to get a stand to put the tank on, second the garbage disposal chucked a nut, and THEN just to get a silly thermometer! He knew for sure we could make it back home...sure enough we didn't, we ran out of gas!!  We ended up sitting on the side of the highway for half an hour waiting for Taylor to rescue us from the bitter cold 1 degree temperature at 10:00 at night-ALL FOR SOME STINKIN" FISH!!  But I'd have to say its all been worth it.  *Maybe not worth it for FISH, but was to see him happy!*

December 1

This week I:

1. Went on a date with Ron (he took me to see New Moon)!!  We usually only get two a YEAR...we've already been on two this month!  WOOHOO!!

2. Had a good Thanksgiving with the in-laws!!

3. Went shopping on BLACK FRIDAY!!

4. Had Ron's family over for dinner for his mom's birthday-but I can't say I made the cake! Ronald spent THREE HOURS making a German Chocolate cake from scratch!

5. Decided to support the local store and got all my groceries from the market!!-that was a tough one!

 

6. Kept my mouth shut!

(Don't you love how many accomplishments I can make up so I can steer away from the original reason for these posts??  -nope not one workout, and the quilt is still sitting there!!) But I do have good news regarding my babysitting post! The lady's other sitter came back, but can't do it on Tuesdays. SO...I only have to worry about one day a week and get a little extra cash, without the too big of a hastle!!

BLACK FRIDAY!

 Black Friday was AMAZING! I absolutely loved it! We had SO much fun!! Last Sunday as we were waiting for Young Women's to start Bobi and Brooke were talking about Black Friday and going together. They found out I'd never been before and told me I HAD to come! So I did. Ron didn't think I would like it! And I'm sure I wouldn't have if I'd gone by myself, I'm usually the one to shop on line so I don't have to deal with the crowds, and brose around the store checking the deals! But Brooke got me a paper Thanksgiving Day. I knew EXACTLY what I was getting and where I wanted to go. (I've heard you HAVE to do that!) We were going to leave at 1:30 because Old Navy was supposed to open at 3:00, but Bobi's brother in law who works there informed us that our mall wouldn't let them open till 4:00. We got there about 3:20 and the line was out the doors of the mall!!! So we went to Penny's! Where there was NO line! We waited in the car for 20 minutes or so until a line started to form!

Brooke, Brittney, Bobi-waiting at J.C. Penny's!

We only waited in line about 10 minutes because they opened their doors 10 minutes early! We were in and out of Penny's and waiting in front of Old Navy by 4:00! AND they still hadn't opened their doors! HA HA!! We waited in the cluster of people in front of the store. Then all of a sudden some lady starts YELLING! "...this line of people were here at 1:30 to stand in line! All you people who have already been to Penny's need to go stand in the BACK of the line! There is NO WAY you're going to get in this store before me!"...yah, pretty sure we were in there WAY before her!! Too Funny! I got in there and out before Bobi and Brooke were even in line! I went back and waited in line with them for a while, then took all the Penny's bags and waited for them to check out! Then we booked it over to Target! The lines were clear down Hitt road...past the back of the store! It was FREEZING!! But we got in pretty quick! I ran and grabbed my pots and pans, and yes they were the LAST ONES THERE!!, ran back to get some earrings then helped Brooke find her stuff. I found a cart just sitting in an aisle so I grabbed it, we threw our stuff in and I waited while she searched through the toys. Then we got in a BIG line-called Bobi and she was way ahead of us in a different line. So we ditched the cart and pushed through her! I'm sure we ticked people off, but she was in a different line anyway! He he he! But there are no rules on Black Friday right?? We went back to Penny's and Old Navy just to brose to find some more deals, then we went to breakfast at Perkins! Yum Yum! Then Wal-mart, and HOME! We were back by 9:30!

On the way home! Yeah, its a good thing we didn't find anything else!!

All my killer deals!  I SAVED over $165 and spent LESS than I saved!  

Was it worth it, you ask?? 

 DEFINETLY!

 But only with amazing friends!!

A recap of November!

YES! Finally a post with pictures of the kids...

We've been watching Playhouse Disney.  Landon LOVES the sheep!

Madilyn has been helping her Dad at work.  She loves to go check cellars and help take care of the chickens!

Landon is a mischevious little bugger...you never know what he'll get tangled up in next-or where he'll go!

But his favorite place of all is Madilyn's Room with all the food and dishes!!

Nap time for Madilyn has been a struggle.  "The sun is still up" so she doesn't need to go to sleep! (Then she puts herself to bed at 5:00 and takes a nice FOUR HOUR nap!

But Landon doesn't care, he barges right in and steals all her toys while she sleeps!

Like father like son...need I say more?

Messy Messy Messy!  And he won't keep a bib on...so he usually eats in the NUDE!

We babysat a couple extra girls this week.  It was fun for the kids!

Madilyn got to make her first snow angel! ...or snow-leaf angel!

While the babies stayed inside where it was nice and TOASTY!

Landon got his first haircut!  I was too chicken to do it myself, so I made Ronald do it for me!!

The BEFORE!

The DURING: He didn't show much emotion and sat pretty still!  But I think he like it!

ALL DONE!

Such a proud little boy!

And of course I bath was instore RIGHT after!

My Handsome New Man!

Madilyn LOVES to wrestle her "little" brother

And he loves it just as much!

WE LOVE YOURS COMMENTS!

Decisions! Decisions!

Arg!  I hate making decisions!  So I want some input from my "readers"

The situation: A lady in the ward is in need of a babysitter.  She has two little girls that aren't in school yet.  She needs a babysitter from 6:30ish am till 5:30ish pm, four days a week.  The older girl goes to preschool at noon so its just the little one (she's a year old) in the afternoons. 

Why I want to say Yes: 1. It gives Madilyn someone to play with in the mornings.  2. A little extra money 3. It keeps me firm with my rules and on schedule (I don't allow so much TV!) 4. They have had a hard time keeping a babysitter-they've had 4 permanent sitters in the last year, not counting the in between sitters (like myself) that just watch them when one quits or can't do it one week. 5. I am at home all day anyway and it still gives me my Friday's off for my town day. (I almost feel guilty because I CAN help, I just don't want to because...

Why I want to say No: 1. Do I have to sign up with the state as a registered babysitter, especially since I'll have to claim it as extra income on my taxes...if so will I even be making enough to make it worth it? 2. It makes for a long day, except for when I get all three kids to nap in the afternoon AT THE SAME TIME 3. I don't want to be tied down, especially when Ron calls and says Hey, do you want to come with me to do...whatever? 4. Ron doesn't like the feeling that other kids are here so he can't pop in for a minute during the day...or if he gets done with work a little early and doesn't have time to get a good start on another project he can't just come home early, he thinks he has to wait until they leave.

So tell me what you think!