{Help!}

As most of you know my Carlie and her cousin Tylie have been dubbed the "Terrible Two". Well, in the last few weeks the Terrible Two have struck again, and again, and again. What are they up to now you ask? Emptying out their closets, and I mean E.M.P.T.Y. They not only take out all the toys, but every article of clothing comes off the hangers. I promise, we do watch them, this all takes place in less than 5 minutes. I honestly don't know what to do with these lil' darlins. See for yourself the destruction they cause.....

Notice one measly pair of pants along with a dress!
I swear the pictures don't do justice to this mess!?!

Not only do they make the messes, I have a really hard time getting Carlie to help me clean up. Everything in her room has a specific place, and she knows where everything goes. I wondered if that was part of the problem, so I tested her and when I gave her something and asked where it went, she definitely knew. The other problem I'm having is we change clothes a minimum of 6 times a day. Not a day goes by that she wears the same outfit all day. How do I stop that? Any ideas, help me please, I'm begging. Any and all advise is appreciated, heaven knows I need it.

How can I make it stay like this?

{Happiness is......}

Happiness is...........

• Sitting in Church with my Hubby and kids.
• Listening to Miss Carlie and her growing vocabulary. So Cute!
• The warm sun as we enjoy a Sunday family drive.
• Finally having an idea for my upcoming Primary sharing time.
• Yummy food and great company, completed by chaos... compliments of eight crazy kids.
• Watching K read his animal books and absorb crazy facts.
• Comfy jammies and a fluffy pillow.
• Seeing Brock's excitement with the outcome of the Super Bowl tonight.
• Reconnecting with old friends, while making cards! (That's a 2 in 1)
• Exactly four weeks till a much needed vacation with Derrick.
• Dove Chocolate with Almonds.
• 3 darling SLEEPING children.
• Knowing tomorrow is a new day, and hoping I can do just a little bit better.

{Adding a Little at a Time}

Adding to my food storage is one of my goals for this year. I know it's going to take awhile doing it a bit at a time, but I'm making an effort and that makes me feel better. My parents gave us food storage for Christmas and then apologized because it wasn't "fun", but I was super happy to get it! Along with some other things we got flour and sugar. My sister-in-law, Julia called a few weeks ago and said she had the portable caner at her house and wondered if I wanted to can anything. All the girls, except my mom, got together and put our flour and sugar in cans, along with some other things, like beans and rice. It was fun to hang out with Lisa, Julia and Katy while the kids played.I also decided to add a few more things when I went grocery shopping this last week. I figure even if I just add 3 or 4 things a week, depending on the sales, pretty soon it will add up. I know I have a long way to go, but we'll get there a bit at a time....right!

{I didn't forget....}

Have you been wondering if I would ever give away any prizes? I bet you thought I was only going to wait a day maybe two, right. Yea...that was my plan, but well, it's been busy ok! What have I been doing you ask? Well, cutting out 160 cards to start. So, every 6 weeks or so (I know it's been longer than that, way longer, but from now on every 6 weeks or so.... I promise), I do this little thing I call card night. I design and do all the prep work for 10 cards (usually 5 cards and we make 2 of each). I provide all the supplies and you come and stamp and put together your cards. Ten cards for $10, plus it's a girls night out. I enjoy doing it and it helps me keep up on my Stampin' Up! minimums. But, this time there were quite a few people who planned on coming and couldn't make it, so I've been working on their cards for the last few days.

That would be 46 cards done.

and only 28 to go! Maybe I'll get them done while I'm waiting on the Dish Network guy tomorrow?

Anyhow, it's kept me just a bit busy. Plus I do have to admit..... I loved all the comments I've received this last week.... an all time record for me. Hmmmm, maybe I should give things away more often if I wanna feel the love? No really, thanks for all your comments, it was so fun to see what you remembered and liked. ARE YOU READY? I know you are on the edge of your seats. And the winner is, oh, I forgot, I decided to pick two since there were so many to choose from, so.......MEGAN and KIM C. , come on down and claim your prizes! What kind of cards do you want, birthday, thank you, anything, a combo of all of the above, or do you just want me to surprise you? You tell me my friends and you'll get them! I'm also adding in a few additional prizes. I had 3 people comment for the first time ever, and they will all be receiving a small little thank you....Wendy, Kim and Michelle. I have to admit I almost fell off my chair when I saw that Wendy commented. She has been reading my blog from the start I think, and has NEVER left a comment! Thanks again guys, I really do love you all :)

{1 Year Bloggy-versary}

It's my 1 year bloggy-versary! Wow, it doesn't seem like I've been doing this for a year? Where did the time go? I've learned a lot this last year....about myself, about all my bloggy friends, about computer stuff. I've learned comments can make my day, and no comments tend to make me sad. I've learned that you always feel better after you vent away on the blog. I've met new friends, and been re-acquainted with old friends. I've learned I can't please everyone that reads my little blog, and that's ok. Mostly, I've learned that blogging makes me happy!

To show all of you how grateful I am that you continue to read my blog, I'm going to do a give away! I thought and thought about what I could give you, but well, I just kept coming back to.........you guessed it, cards! So, (yes I'm copying Ann here), leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite post from this past year was, and I'll draw to see who the lucky winner is and let you know in my next post. Any comments are welcome, newcomers, stalkers, anonymous (just leave your name, so I can get you your prize if you win), I just love comments! Here's to another great bloggy year!

** This is a completely random assortment of cards I just grabbed from my stash. They won't necessarily be the ones I send you, unless, of course, you happen to want these?**

{He's the Man!}

Some of you may remember this my little fender bender I had a few months ago. Well, it didn't look so little when we got the bid back and it was almost $2800. This is when I remember how thankful I should be that I have a "handy hubby". I can't think of anything that Derrick has tried that he can't figure out how to do. He may have to practice a bit, but if he sets his mind to it, he does it. Number one example, our houses.....when he announced we were going to sell our house and build, I immediately told him no way, like he knew how to build a house. Guess what he not
only did it, but he did an excellent job, twice! When he told me he had decided to major in education, I honestly thought he was joking and laughed at him, well, guess what he's an excellent teacher. So you get the picture, I need to be more supportive and not doubt him, because when he sets his mind to it, he does it and always does it well! Well, he proved once again how talented he is. He did the body work and paint on our Tahoe and it looks pretty dang good.

He got a completely new body panel and then cut the piece he needed and welded it in.
He was hoping to get it done over his Christmas break, but the paint booth at his cousins garage was always full, so I got to drive it with no bumper and this lovely red primer job for awhile. Yea, I felt pretty cool~ I think that may have been my punishment?

And finally the finished product! Once again, he proved to me that he's the man! Doesn't it look great?

I also need to shout out a big thanks to James and Richie for pitching in and helping out, you guys are the best!

{Are You KIDDING Me?}

Do you know what this lovely stuff is???

How many of you have seen the stuff inside a disposable diaper/pull-ups? I've seen it a time or two, but never in my washer! Yes, my washer. All over my clean clothes, I guess technically they aren't so clean. My friends, it's not a pretty sight when a pull-up is stuffed inside the leg of Miss Carlies's jammies and it gets washed and therefore explodes all over the rest of the clothes along with the inside of the washer! So now what? After much thought and deliberation, I took all the clothes outside and shook them off the best I could. Now there is still a bit of gel remaining on the clothes, more on the patio and the lawn, and even some in my hair (I'm pleased about that one). I'm hoping one or two more runs through the handy dandy washer will get the rest off the clothes. I'm thinking this may motivate me to work on night training my little darlin'! YUCK!