What I'm Thankful For

It's November.  November is the month to be thankful.  On Facebook all you see is daily thankful posts.  Now, I'm not committed enough to do a daily post on what I'm thankful for.  I am grateful and thankful every day for various aspects of my life.  I just can't commit to remembering to post them on Facebook every day.

I have much to be thankful for lately.  I'm thankful for our amazing little baby that came into our lives earlier this year and made it that much richer.  I'm thankful for my two older ones that have adjusted and helped in ways I did not think possible before.  I'm thankful for an amazing husband that busts his butt both at work and at home to support our family. I'm incredibly thankful for Blessings in disguise.

This little one put me out of work. Daycare for her full time and for the other two along with commuting costs and work related expenses were close to, if not more than what I would have been bringing home.  Because of that, I have had the opportunity to stay at home with my babies.  We've done things we couldn't do before.  I have been there for them in ways I couldn't when I was working.  We've had more time together.  I'm more relaxed and not rushing to get everything done in the short span between work and bedtime.  I'm enjoying being their mom more than I ever have. For this I am grateful.

Linking up with Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop.

Friday Hopping

1. If you had $1,000 to donate to a charity, which would you choose? I would probably give to a children's charity or the the American Diabetes Association. I have quite a few family members with Diabetes.


2. Snow days: Do you welcome them happily or are they a pain in your butt? HUGE pain in the butt. We got 16 inches of snow yesterday. I keep saying I want to move South. One day I will.


3. What talent did you wish you had and why? I wish I was naturally organized. I feel like my life is an organized chaos mostly. Other than that I would love to be able to sing!


4. Are you a news, politics or celebrity gossip junkie? Celebrity gossip. My husband hates it, but we listed to news in the background all day at work so when I get home my brain just wants to mush out.


5. What is your favorite "cocktail"? I'm more into the fairly sweet and doesn't taste alcoholic kind of cocktails.




It's Friday - you can also find me hopping at the following blogs.  Stop by and check them out!

52 Weeks of Organizing: Junk Drawer

 I saw that OrgJunkie was hosting a 52 week organizing challenge and I decided that was just what I need right now!  Motivation and accountability?  Yes please!

I decided to start with our two junk drawers.  Yes, two.  One is more of a office supply drawer, but it was junky none the less.  Here is the office supply/tool drawer before:

After:

Here is the real junk drawer.  What a mess!

After:



Show all

Hopefully I will stick with this and get a lot of things organized around here!  Once a week isn't too bad, right?

Five for Friday 10.8.10

1. What do you listen to while driving? 

When the kids are in the car, we usually listen to Barenaked Ladies, Snacktime CD.  If we are on the way to school, it's usually the whining and fighting over the one and only toy in the back seat.

If I'm alone, I'll listen to music or traffic reports.  The last two days I've been listening to an audio book.  I've been trying to listen to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  This is the first time I've tried to listen to a book like that as an audio book.  I'm not sure I like it.  I think I would much rather hold the book in my hands and read it.  Problem is, if I wait until I have time to do that it will never happen.

2. What is your least favorite thing about Fall?

I really like fall.  I love the crisp cool weather.  I love the changing leaves.  There isn't much I don't like.  I can say I don't like that with fall and the return of school our schedules are so busy.  I feel like we are running non stop and every moment of our life is planned out.  I may have to schedule in some down time. 

3. What does your dream house look like, inside and out?

I have two houses I would really love to have.  One would be a perfect little mcmansion.  Preferably in a cul de sac of a gorgeous little private community with a pool and a golf course. 

My second choice, though much more work, would be an old victorian home with a huge wrap around porch.  I live in a pretty old home right now and would not want to do all the work to an old home.  They are so pretty though!


4. Would you ever own a minivan?

We just had this debate as we needed to replace one of our cars.  In the end we went with an SUV.  I like the space and the features a minivan offers, I just don't feel quite right saying, "I drive a minivan."  We only have two kids and now that they don't need all the baby gear and stuff lugged around with them all the time, we don't really need all that extra space.  I think if we had another kid, we would have to go for a minivan. I just can't see fitting 3 kids and carseats/booster seats in what we have now.


5. Do you wash new clothes before wearing them?

When the kids were babies I definitely did.  Underwear is a definite yes.  Anything else is a no.  I probably bought them because I was behind on wash as it is, so would I wash the stuff I just bought?  Negative.



You can also find me hopping with these blogs today:

  

Five Question Friday 9.17.10

Someday I will get back to regular posting, but for now here's a Five Question Friday.









1. What is the first nightmare you remember?  I remember being about 8 years old. I think I had heart burn from the keilbasa we had for dinner.  I remember my stomach hurting really bad and I went and laid in my mom's bed.  I had a really freaky dream about a cemetary and hiding behind the tombstones.



2. Even if you're not a sports fan, what's your favorite sport to play/watch?  I love Baseball.  More so in person, but I will watch it on TV too.



3. If you could pull off one piece of trendy fashion, what would you want it to be (jeggings, hats, thigh high boots, etc.)?  Thigh high boots in my dreams!  Other than that I would love to wear scarves, but I always feel like a dork when I put one on.


4. Did you make good grades in school?  I did.  I was on honor roll all through elementary.  I attended an academic high school where I promptly slacked off and started goofing around.  Let's just say I didn't make honor roll after that.


5. What magazines do you subscribe to?  Rangefinder, Ladies Home Journal, OK, Readers Digest, Southern Living and Maxim.  The only ones I actually subscribed to are Rangefinder and OK.  Not sure how I started getting the other ones.





  

Five Question Friday

1. Do you feel guilty spending money on yourself?


Definitely.  I don't know why though.  I feel bad to spend $30 on a mani-pedi, but the hubs will easily drop a $100 (or more) on stuff he wants.  Good thing I'm not spending it so its there for him to use.  ;-)


2. How well do you know your neighbors?

Some better than others.  We have a few with kids about the same ages as our girls.  We spend time with them and the kids play nice together.  We get along and chat with almost all of them.  Hubs usually runs the snowblower over their sidewalks too, so that helps. 


3. What age are you looking forward to being?

Hmm... that's a good question.  I'm pretty happy where I'm at right now.  I'm certainly NOT looking forward to the having two teeneage girls in the house.  Can I skip past 10-15 years from now?? 

I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch on a porch swing with the hubs, holding his wrinkly old hand. 

4. Do you get excited when the mail comes? Why?

Yes!  I do.  I have no idea why, since it's usually just bills.  And American Girl catalogs.  And Noodle wants ALL of them.  Ironically she never plays with dolls, it's LaLa that loves babies.


5. What is your earliest childhood memory?

This is a strange question for me.  I'm not sure.  I think I have memories, but then I wonder if they are really memories or just that I heard the stories so many times, that I think they are my memories.  I know I went to California when I was about 3 or 4 with my grandparents.  In my mind I can see the cable cars, I can see Disney Land, I can see Fisherman's Wharf.  Then I realize there are photos of each of the places that I "remember" and a story to go with them.  Do I remember the actual events?  Or do I just remember the hours spent as a little girl in my grandmother's lap as we rocked in the rocking chair and looked at pictures as she told me the stories? 

I remember fishing with my grandfather.  I remember visiting downtown Philly for the historic tour with my parents and my sister.  Again, do I really remember?  Or am I remembering pictures and stories?

I remember standing next to a telephone pole when I was about 7 or 8 years old, with my sister behind me.  I remember that she was crying and kids were teasing her because she had a speech problem and they couldn't understand her.  I remember yelling at those kids and threatening to bash their heads into the pole we were standing next to if they ever made my sister cry again.  They were older kids.  Bigger kids.  I didn't care.  I remember taking my sister by the hand and going into our house.  There is no pictures, no stories.  It was just me and her.  I wonder if she remembers this too. 

I hope not. 

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Find me hopping here today:

Getting to Know You

The Q's.

1. If you could host a Reality TV show, which one would it be?  Wipeout.  It makes us laugh until we pee our pants.  Not really.  Close though.

2. Do you put your seatbelt on before or after you start the car? After, sometimes even at the stop sign at the end of the street.  Or when one of the kids yells that I don't have it on.  The car does not move unless they are buckled though.

3. Shave or hair removal cream? Shave

4. What's your favorite feature in a house? Space and character.

5. What is your favorite "Fall" scent? Pumpkin spice.  There is also a crisp warm smell in the air when the leaves here in the northeast begin to change.  Yeah, that.

6. What tv show are you looking forward to seeing the most this Fall?? Sons of Anarchy

7. Personal Shopper or Personal Chef? Personal Chef.  Unless the Personal Shopper comes with a neverending money bag.  

8. What is the first word that comes to mind when you think of "Fall"?  It was actually Autumn, but since that is the same word I'll go with leaves.

If I Could Do It Over Again...

Kat over on Mama's Losin' It is doing a writer's workshop.  One of the prompts was "If you could do it over again..."   This one got me thinking.  Of course, that's what it was meant to do.  I know it's cliche, but for the most part I wouldn't do it over again.  I would leave everything the way that it was since everything I've done so far has made me the person I am today.  That's what I'm supposed to say, right?

There are some things I might possibly have done a little differently.

I would have been nicer to my sister when we were kids.

I would have gone to class in high school instead of skipping.

I would have taken that high school photography class a little more seriously.

I would have studied more, and been a better student.  Not to say I was a bad student, I just could have been a much better student.  I could have been honor roll material.  At the time I didn't want to apply myself, I was lazy.

I would have gone on a date with that dorky boy in college that I was too embarrassed to talk to in public.  Sometimes dorky boys end up as rich men. 

I would have moved to NYC for a few years after college.  My roommate and I talked about it constantly, but never made it a reality.

I might even have done a semester abroad.  I hear so many stories from people that did and what a great experience they had.

I would have taken that college photography class a little more seriously.

I would have majored in photography/design.

I would have gone to visit my great grandmom that Friday night instead of putting it off until another day.  There wasn't another day for her.

I would have had a big red bouquet on my wedding day, instead of the bouquet of white roses that I thought I wanted.

I would have done everything I could have to put us in a position financially to allow me to stay home with my children.  At the same time, I would still want to send my kids to the school they are in now.  They are learning far more than I could ever have taught them myself.

I might have given one of said kids a different name.  Maybe even the (wrong) name I called her by no less then 5 times in her first 3 months of life.

All of those aside, there are things I wouldn't change for the world.  I love my life and all the things that have made me the person I am today.  I love my husband, my children, my family and the people in my life and if changing something way back when, would mean life didn't lead me to them then I wouldn't change a thing.

Meet & Greet Monday

Come meet some new bloggers!

I'm Hopping

I decided to participate in a few blog hops today.  If you are looking for some new reading material, please check out the following hops: