My Christmas Wishlist: 2014

Arnold and I made up Christmas wishlists the other day, mostly for fun, but to give each other some ideas for what we'd love this year. We don't always do gifts for one another but thought it would be fun this year. We have some extra cash coming in from my jobs and plus, who doesn't like something for themselves ;) So here is the list I came up with for myself. I would be happy with ANY of these things. I know I will not get them all! I don't even expect anything. But boy was it fun to look around and dream!! :)

I would love some boots! Preferably in brown, because they go with anything! Brooke has some that sort of look like this.. wouldn't it be cute for us to match ;)

I became obsessed with this show when I watched it on Netflix! We got rid of Netflix so I missed seeing the 3rd season! I'd love to watch it!

I'd love some new dishes. I love our set we got at Ikea, but we could use some more. I'd love some with a pretty pattern. They have lots at Target!

I like adding new ornaments to the tree every year. Anything dachshund or owl will do ;)

We need a new set of floor lamps in our living room!

I don't get my nails done often, but love it when I do! I'd love to get a giftcard to go get them done one day.. probably in a  pretty red shade! Girls' day anyone??? ;)

I love the Nick & Nora pj sets at Target. They have so many cute designs!!

I want a planner for 2015! Especially now that I have so much going on and it's hard to keep track of everything! This is an Erin Condren planner but I also like the "Real Simple" brand planners. 

ANYTHING off my book list would always make me happy. These are two that are on my list right now!

A KNOCKOFF Pandora bracelet! First off, I wouldn't let Arnold spend that much on me to get a real one. Secondly,  I have bad luck with electronics and jewelry, as most people know. I tend to break watches and bracelets (on accident!!) I wouldn't want to break an expensive one! But... I DO love them! The knockoffs are still cute! They have them at Kohl's!! 

Weekend in Review!

We had a busy but fun weekend! Friday morning I went to my classes. I got back a test I had taken in English and made an 100! I was so happy! I did a little shopping after that. Brooke had been begging me for some boots, so I went to get her some at Kohl's. I had some coupons so got them for a great deal! They are really cute- I wish they made them in my size! I was supposed to meet Erika and Joanne over at Tutti Frutti to get some ice cream at 11:30. I showed up a little early and waited, but they never showed up. I didn't have my cellphone (of course!!) and so after awhile I decided to order something. I sat in one of the comfy chairs, ate it, and eventually left. Later I found out that it was a mis-communication thing, but I hate that I missed them! The inside of that place is really nice, but I still think I prefer the taste to Sweet Frog better! Later that evening Brooke went over to her friend's house for a sleepover. Arnold watched the little kids and I took on an extra evening working childcare. I got to do childcare with Erika and Shana so it was a blast and the time flew by! We watched 12 kids for a special church service they were having. Everything went really well and the kids all seemed to behave!! When I got home, Arnold and I caught up on Grey's Anatomy. We had missed 2 episodes!! I don't like how they are making Derek a big jerk lately. Are they setting him up to leave the show soon?? I hope not!!!! :(

Saturday morning Arnold and I had an idea to make some homemade chilli! Everyone knows I do not like to cook and I am not that great at it, so I don't cook many fancy or homemade things. Arnold does a lot of the cooking actually, he is a lot better at it! Arnold went to the store to get all the ingredients while he was out picking up Brooke from her friend's house. Funny story-- the recipe said to use 6 CLOVES of garlic, but Arnold came home with 6 HEADS of garlic. We were confused and ended up googling pictures of cloves! Thank goodness we found out that we were only supposed to pull out 6 little globes of garlic to use before we screwed up the whole thing! ;) I chopped up then browned the veggies, and Arnold worked with the meat (I HATE raw meat!) then we mixed everything together, added the spices, and put it in the crockpot to cook! It made the house smell really good!

Later that afternoon we went over to my in-laws church to have lunch and hang out awhile. They were working at and helping run their fall festival. A lot of people were there selling things. Arnold ended up taking my cash to get a little loaf of strawberry bread with icing..... ooook. My niece ended up getting some of my money too... but its all good ;) Afterwards Arnold helped them pack up and load everything into their van. My mother-in-law ended up giving me a lot of Christmas decorations!! I was thrilled! You'd think after 9 years of being married I'd have a big collection of stuff but I never have really bought a lot of new stuff. A lot of our stuff is old and I was happy to get some new stuff! I came home and put all of it up! Now all we are missing is our tree, which we will have up soon! And later that evening for dinner we had the chilli!!! It turned out really good! Even the kids liked it, and that is saying a lot!!! I was proud of Arnold and myself and now I think we are ready to try even more new recipes!!  (yes Mom and Erika-- you can stop laughing now! ;)


Sunday morning we all got ready and went to church. No worker in 1st service so Arnold helped me out. We had a good bunch of kids this week. There was a little boy though that was determined to make my morning rough.. I changed not one, but TWO dirty diapers of his before the hour was up!!!!! Thank goodness Arnold was there to take the trash out ;) There was a little baby girl in there this week that was just PRECIOUS! She even let Arnold hold her some. I gave her her bottle and rocked her to sleep... I could have sat there forever! I love getting my baby fix every week. Babies like her make me wish I had 10 more! ;) We had full coverage in 2nd service so Arnold took the kids to their first time in big church! He said they did pretty well! I stayed and helped the girls work with the kids that came for the 2nd service.

After church we went out to lunch at O'Charleys! It had been awhile since we went with the whole family to sit down and eat a nice meal together out somewhere, and we had a coupon, so it was the perfect excuse ;) Then since we were out anyway and needed a few things, we went by Target. Seems like I can't get away from that place lately! ;) Plus, Brooke had been dying to see the new Starbucks that just opened. Why she cares I don't know????? She doesn't drink coffee. She does like their cake pops though ;) After we got our stuff I told the kids I'd get them icees at the cafe. Before we were even out of the building, Caleb spilled his all over the place, right in front of the doors. I was so embarrassed! I took the girls to the van and made Arnold clean it up! ;) Then we got to the van and he spilled the REST of it all over my seat! Ohhhh I was pretty mad! Seems like Caleb was not having a very good day!


Anyway, that evening we had some tacos and rice for dinner. I worked on some homework. We broke out the Christmas books and read some of them to the kids before bedtime! A new one we have this year is "Pet the Cat Saves Christmas" and it is really cute! We love all the Pete the Cat books!  Hope everyone has a great week!! :)

Whipping up some chili on Saturday :) 

Brooke and Bekah hanging out at the Fall Festival.

Sitting on the church steps waiting on Daddy to get done loading stuff up!

Arnold helping me out Sunday morning! This little cutie didn't seem to mind! ;)

My icecream I ate all by my lonesome on Friday :( LOL! I promise I'm not mad Erika! ;)

Random Catch Up!!!

I was talking to my friend Shana the other night and realized that I have been just too busy to write in my blog lately! Ahhhh! So much has been going on. So, sorry for the complete randomness, but here is what has been going on with us so far this month!

I had my first night at Target this past Monday evening. I worked from 5 til 10pm. Arnold had to rush home for me to get there in time! It went pretty well though. I did some training with a really nice girl. She was training another girl at the same time (brand new girl) and she and I hit it off right away. We are the same age and both have kids, so we had a lot to talk about. A lot of people from last year remembered me and came up to me to say hey. That made me feel special ;) Things started coming back to me pretty quickly and I got to hop on a register and check a lot of people out. One of the things I don't like working at closing time, is about the last hour or so on a weeknight it gets really dead in there and you are just standing around, ready to go home. When I got home that night I had homework to do still, so I was up so late that night!!! But I somehow got it all done!!! 

This is the latest book I have been reading. I have gotten back into the swing of reading again, even though I still don't get to do it as much as I'd like anymore! This book is really good so far! It is a mystery. I picked it up because I already read "The Husband's Secret" by this author, and it was great! If I find an author I really like, I tend to start reading all the books they've written. 

My latest Christmas buy was this CD!!!!!! These guys are awesome, they have some serious talent going on! Their voices are amazing! I listened to some samples on amazon and was hooked. The cd is supposed to get here this week, and I can't wait to turn it up loud in my van!! :)

Childcare is still going great!!! I absolutely LOVE my job. The kids I watch are starting to recognize me and come and give me hugs, which always makes me feel so happy :) I LOVE getting to work with some of the greatest ladies around. It doesn't even feel like work when I'm spending time with some of my best friends! I'll admit it gets a little hectic sometimes and dirty diapers are never that fun, but the rest of it is wonderful and so rewarding! Wed night at lifegroup we all sat around a campfire and made smores! It reminded me of my girl scout days! Sitting out there on a beautiful night with friends was a lot of fun :)

I saw this the other day and it is SOOOO me! I know we shouldn't speed up time and wish it away, and that is not what I'm trying to do. I still love November, and Thanksgiving, and I am very, very thankful for what is going on in my life right now. But I am a Christmas junkie!!! 100% I get excited, can't stand the wait, turn into a kid again kind of person!! 

The other day I went to have lunch with the girls and my niece at school! It was my very first time going this school year! I FINALLY found a break in my week where I was able to go! Caleb was on a field trip so I didn't see him, but I will go again soon. I love getting to see the kids and they are still excited for me to come see them. I don't look forward to the days when I will probably embarrass them!!

Our christmas cards came in the mail the other day! Didn't they turn out great?! I had thought about getting some new family pictures done to use on the front but who am I kidding? When will I have time for that?! So I used one of my favorite pictures from this year.. of the kids at the beach!! I think it turned out beautiful! I can't wait to hand them out! I wish I could give EVERYONE one! 

~Both Brooke AND Caleb lost a tooth this month, so they were excited. AND little miss Rachel has her very first loose tooth! I told her I can't believe she is getting ready to lose a tooth! Seriously? When did my kids grow up?!?!

~I have been rocking it with the tests lately! I had to take a test on Chapters 1-20 in my computer class the other day, and I made a 97!!!! I was so thrilled because that was higher than the first test we took in there. I guess I am getting better at memorizing my keyboard ;)

~Speaking of school, I can't believe I am 3/4 of the way done already with the semester!! It has flown by! I am so happy I chose to go back, because it has already been so rewarding. I have come out of my shell a lot and become more confident. I have loved all my teachers this time around. We are even planning on doing something special for our English teacher on Dec 13th, for her birthday. I am going to miss her, she is hilarious! Her class has been a lot of fun! And it doesn't hurt that she has given me good grades so far ;)

~I am gearing up for a VERY busy week ahead, and I hope I can keep my head on my shoulders! I had to do homework on a SUNDAY so I could keep up with everything. I have school and work at Target tomorrow. I am hoping if all goes well though, Arnold and I are headed on a DATE NIGHT this weekend! Hooray! We need it so, so badly! Hope everyone has an awesome week! :)

Halloween Weekend!!

Thankfully all 3 kids were able to go to school on Friday. Brooke had a stomach bug on Thursday that we aren't sure where it came from. Poor thing threw up like 4 times and kept getting sick on her stomach. But she was fine the next day and no one else got it! Thank goodness! The kids were excited to go to school Friday because they had Halloween parties and after school they had a Halloween dance. It was Rachel's first time going to a school dance, and she said she loved it. They came home with tons and tons of candy from school. Brooke told me they did the "macaroni dance" and it was a lot of fun.. which I later found out meant the Macarena ;) That is cool that they brought that back for our kids lol ;) Like with every holiday I gave them all a little treat-- the Halloween Lalaloopsy mini for Rachel, a Monster High mini for Brooke, and a Ninja Turtles cup for Caleb. I forgot to get a picture of them though!!

Friday evening after Arnold got home from work we took the kids out to trick or treat. It was pretty cold when we went out!! We usually go to the town where my inlaws live, and there are lots of big neighborhoods right around there. We drive along the road in the van and the kids go door to door. I love that they are getting old enough to do that, and it is sweet watching them. At one house a lady was dressed up standing in the yard, as a witch, handing out candy. Poor Rachel was too scared to go to that house, so she just sat in the van, haha. After just a little while it started raining, but it wasn't too bad, so we went to a few more houses. Then it started pouring, and everyone was getting miserable. It actually started storming, too! On Halloween, really?!?! There had been a haunted basement at someone's house though, and Brooke and Caleb BEGGED for Arnold to take them in, so Rachel and I sat in the van. When they got back, Caleb was crying. Poor guy had been terrified! Someone had told us that the kids would be ok to go in but Arnold said it had been pretty spooky. He said Caleb's heart was beating hard the entire time and he kept begging to get out of there. Poor fella! I felt so bad for him.. I am the same way and HATE scary stuff! Anyway, after that we tried to go to Ihop to get the kids the scary face pancakes but there was a HUGE line, so we ended up eating Papa John's pizza in the car. Fun stuff right??? ;)

Saturday we went over to Mom and Dad's for lunch. Mom usually makes the kids a special Halloween dinner every year but this year we were all busy so she did lunch the day after. She made soup, sandwiches in Halloween shapes, and made a cake for the kids to help decorate. They loved doing that, and ended up making a big mess but had fun. The cake was a blue velvet.. like red velvet.. and it was so yummy! 

Saturday evening I met my friend Erika at the movies. We went to see "The Best of Me." We go see every Nicholas Sparks movie together ;) We had gotten an awesome deal, they had buy one get one free tickets for that movie, so we both got in for really cheap. I bought the tickets and Erika brought her popcorn bucket for us :) I also snuck in a few of the kids' candies from their Halloween bags, sshhhh ;) I always tell myself I will not cry during those movies but he gets me every.single.time. WOW! I was just losing it there several times. Thank goodness Erika had tissues with her! I don't know what kind of hold that man has on women but he knows how to get to us, for sure! Oh and James Marsden is a total hottie, so the movie was quite enjoyable! I'd recommend all my girl friends go see it ;)

Sunday morning we got up and went to church bright and early. It is normal routine to be there every week now for me to work! They were short some volunteers so I got to learn to do sign-in on the computer. It went pretty well, and I learned a lot of people's last names in the process! ;) Then I worked in the baby room like usual.. thank goodness Arnold was there to help me, since we were short a worker. We had 8 kids and everything went pretty well. Arnold even did the lesson with them, but said he lost their interest halfway through the story ;) Oh well, good try! 2nd service we had full coverage everywhere (which doesn't happen often!) so I went to hang out in Arnold's class he works in. I helped them do communion at the end of the hour.. and we all ended up eating the rest of the bread loaf. To be fair, It was the Hawaaiian bread, and it was GOOD! ;)

After church we went to lunch at Wendy's. Arnold's parents gave the kids some coupons for free jr. frosties, so it was a good excuse to go ;) When we got home we did some cleaning around the house.. and just lounged around. I love Sundays ;) That evening like usual Arnold and I watched "Resurrection" after the kids went to bed, and ate way too much candy from their Halloween bags. We need to hide that bag or something.. it seriously keeps calling my name!!!!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!!!! :)

The kids dressed up, ready to trick or treat!

The kids with Mom on Saturday. They wore their Halloween outfits a day late ;)

Getting ready to help decorate the cake!

The finished product! Can you tell several people helped?? LOL.I even made an "owl" on one part of it with candies. Can you spot it??? And several gummy works got stolen off the cake and eaten ;)

Don't know why this is sideways! Mom cut the sandwiches into cute halloween shapes! Caleb ate all the pumpkins because they had balogna and cheese in them!

We took a few random pictures before we left :)

Erika and I waiting for the movie to start on Saturday evening!!!