Wow today was crazy busy, yet fun. I had a list mile high of things i wanted to get done before family came over for the holidays and we actually got everything done that i wanted.

All that is left is the wrapping of the gifts. I couldn’t even list all the things we have done today… it’s a lot and it makes me so happy! Now i can just relax tomorrow. I love to wrap so I'm really looking forward to it.

What i am most relieved over is that we got all the homemade gifts made FINALLY!!! Makes me soooo happy! Now i just hope everyone likes their gifts!

Our living room:

 

We made this, i love it! Yes it is a branch with knobs on it. All these stockings i made myself.

Anabel’s stocking:

Abby’s stocking (I made today)

 

I painted this shelf and i made the block ‘joy’ letters.

Just got the wall hanging to the right from our dear friends. I ‘heart’ it :) Thank you!

 

Our dinning room:

Some pics i made.

  

 

Some more decorations we made:

I made both of these.

This is made out of small mirrors

      This one is Bob’s. Very cool, very industrial, hehe

Today 4 years ago my life changed.

When a wonderful man entered it.

He swept me off my feet.

 

Today 4 years ago i was going shopping. Trying pretty much everything in the store on, in hopes to find something nice for my very first date. Talk about nervous! And i couldn’t find anything i liked. I did buy something and wore it but eh, it wasn’t my favorite and years later i found out Bob didn’t really like it either LOL. He told me he still thought i was beautiful though.

Though i was nervous i was still on cloud nine that someone (especially so handsome ^_^ ) actually asked me out! Talk about a major wow!

 

The Christmas season i find myself reminiscing about my first heart throb, my first first date, my first boy friend, my Bobby.

4 years ago today on the weekend of the 17th, I remember it well. Bob and his family had came over to my sisters house were i was living to hang out. We played Pictionary and Jess his sister and Bob were on a team with me. I had previously been warned that Bob would probably ask me out that night, which i was having a hard time believing. We all had a lot of fun, everyone was saying their goodbyes and i was feeling slightly nervous and disappointed because i knew surely he wasn’t going to ask me out, there was no way… see he was leaving.

But then, i noticed Bob hanging back and he let the rest of his family to go the car, him standing there looking nervous. Once his family was out of the house he turned to me and asked me if i would maybe want to go out and do something with him sometime (right in front of my brother and sister)

And that was the beginning

    

Then a few days later (would have been today, 4 years ago) He called me and confirmed a date to take me out which was Friday the 22nd.

Our first date was to see Night At The Museum and to Red Robins. The surprise was that both our shy selves actually talked to each other.

Back at work my co-workers were letting me know that if he asked me out again I was officially his girlfriend which seemed so pleasantly odd (if you were in my head you would understand why that seemed odd to me).

Then he called on Christmas morning just to talk to me and oh how i was pleased. Then he also talked to my brother in-law on the phone, where my brother invited Bob to come along with us to my family’s family Christmas. I was sitting there freaking out, wondering if that was to bold of a question for my brother to ask and wondering if Bob would even want to go. To my relief Bob seemed to really want to come and meet my family. Haaa good memories. I love sitting and replaying them in my mind.

I am so in love with this man :)

12-13-10 

Today has been so weird! Me and hubby woke up before both girls. Bob forgot to set the alarm so we woke up to late to get ready for church, which was a bummer! I don’t like missing.

Then when the girls were up we started working on breakfast. Bob made sausages and fried apples, while i made the eggs. It was good breakfast .

I’m not sure when it happened but some did happen because the day just starting feeling weird, for both me and Bob. Not one certain was going wrong, we both just felt weird… not a good weird. It was hard to do anything productive!

I know the day turn major south when Bob tried to turn on the Bears game and the direct tv wasn’t working. (they are suppose to come and fix it tomorrow) We did manage to get the internet hooked up to our tv and Bob found a website to watch the game on…. but then our internet slowed and it was pointless to try and watch it cause it kept pausing and skipping… boo for that!

Bob did manage to get some wood cut and i traced the outline for the nesting puzzle animals we are making the kids for Christmas. Bob has to cut them out at school cause the have the right kind of saw there.

Then tonight i made dinner and we sat down to watch the other half of Star was III…. we had started it last night but got to tired.

Ooooo Abby just fell asleep next to me, watching me type! YAYS for that…. it’s been very hard getting her to fall asleep…. when all else fails, pull out the laptop LOL

Haaa i better go, still have some ironing to do before i go to bed!

Night y’all!

Making breadsticks tonight… the way the actually tell you to make them. Before i always just rolled it out like pizza then once it was cooked, cut them into sticks. This time I'm following the recipe i found, were you actually shape them into stick. It should be fun!

I keep having dreams about my Anabel were she is like 4 or 5. Both dreams her hair is up in two braided buns, one of each side of her head like pig tails or that girl in Star Wars. The first one we were trying on pretty dresses and shoes. Last night i dreamed she was in the a bright red shirt, blue jeans rolled up into shorts with tall black cow boy boots. We are out on a farm and she has a play shovel and she is trying to dig. It was cute until i found her eating fertilizer and i freaked and ran inside to rinse out her mouth LOL

I know i dreamed that because Anabel loves to eat weird things. o.0

Dirt,  rocks and ladybugs are on the top of her list but yesterday…. See i have a Scentsy  pot and since it hasn’t been on the wax was hard but i found Anabel clawing it with her nail. I stopped her but i didn’t realize she had some in her hands until she shoved it into her mouth. I told ‘eww yucky! spit it out’ and she smiles and goes ‘mmm YUMMY!’ and continues to say that over and over again. I had to move the scentsy because she kept wanting to go back. After i moved the pot i found her literally licking the floor o.0 because there was some wax crumbs. OH MY! That is so weird! LOL She is crazy lol!

The hub for all the our Family Christmas info: Click Here

We had breakfast for dinner tonight. This is a look at Bob’s plate :)

Of course since I'm a picky eater i didn’t do all this. I did have strawberries and whipped cream on my pancakes though. It was yummy!

It looks worse in person! >_>

Finally finished braiding the wire that is holding up the hanging candle holders that we made.

     

This is a crappy picture but this is our tree this year. We cut it down in our Dads field. I call it a ‘wild’ tree!

Here is some pics of our homemade ornaments.

   

On the left is Bob’s, right is one i made when i found out i was preggo with Abby

The rest are ones I made.

  

I still have two more to make this year and Bob has three to make, lol, we are behind.

 

A little bit ago i made some banana nut bread. First time ever! Looks good and taste good. I’m happy!

Anabel has this ‘touch and feel’ book, it has cotton, fur, cardboard stuff like that in it.  This morning i saw Anabel take her dolls hand and she was rubbing it over each of the different things on each page. So adorable!

Talk about a huggie, kissy girl! I get so many hugs, rubs and kisses through out the day from my Bell and so does Abby. I’m so glad she is a cuddle bug! I love it :)

Last night i started getting a sore throat. Went to bed, but Abby didn’t want to sleep.

All night should would not let me lay her in her bed where she normally sleeps with out throw a fit. I was so tired and felt sick, and even more tired because i had to hold her all night. Some time during the night she threw up like I've never seen, seemed like it had to be everything she had in her little stomach but i don’t know. Weird thing is she doesn’t have a fever and doesn’t act sick. I think all of this is because of teething.

She decided to sleep and let me lay her beside me this morning… I thought i was finally going to get sleep but then i heard Anabel fussing on the monitor…. boo for that! LOL That’s being a mom, got to do what you got to do even if you feel like crap. I thank God for giving adequate strength to do the job.

I just hope my day goes good and this sore throat doesn’t turn into something ugly.

Abby is still sleeping and she looks so beautiful!

Another odd thing is usually Abby wants to binky all night, but last night she hardly took it… still probably the teeth thing.

Something i love to hear: 'There you are Mommy!' with a giggle when i step into the room. Or 'hug hug!' with her arms out. I adore being a Mom!

We got quite a bit done today. We were able to able up some Christmas lights outside. On the one side of the porch there is lattice and we used red lights and made a Christmas tree shape with them, on both sides so people driving from both directions can see it. It looks pretty, simple but pretty. My hands are all cut up from weaving the lights in and out of the lattice…. glad that’s over!

We are slowly adding more decorations around the house. I have a mini tree that i think we are going to put in Anabel’s room and it will be her night light ^_^ i think she will like that.

I’ve stocked up on white lights from after Christmas sales so i plan on stringing a lot around the house. Although we need to get the living room painted before i can fully decorate.

I’m excited because on Thanksgiving we will be at the in-laws and we plan on cutting down a tree then and bringing it back home on Friday, so that weekend we will be putting it up. Also we hope to get the paint for the living room that day too, so hopefully we can start getting it painted!

We still have to figure out what this years ornaments are going to be that we make. I think we figured that this year we are going to trace Anabel’s hand and Daddy is going to cut it out of wood, sand it good and stain it, and that will be her decoration for the year. I suggested that Bob wood burns her name on one side and the year on the other.

 

1. Styling my girls hair
2. Baby talk
3. Christmas music
4. My handy Hubby
5. Sweet Ice Tea

Stay-at-home moms are an essential part of the workforce, providing child care, cleaning, catering and organizational services to salaried workers. Job descriptions vary from workplace to workplace, but differ more in their complexity than basic qualifications and responsibilities. Stay-at-home moms are not hired, but enter into a contractual agreement with a wage earner to provide services. According to WebMD, stay-at-home moms are on the rise, as more women forgo the workplace in order to raise their children.

Qualifications

1. An effective stay-at-home mom will have basic reading and math skills, be a skilled baker and cook and be proficient at removing stains. Patience is important as well, as children will test it.
   Physical qualifications ideally include the ability to lift 50 pounds, carry a small child and a load of laundry simultaneously and stay alert during late-night feedings and illnesses. Lots of bending is required, and stamina is a must.

   Responsibilities

2. Stay-at-home moms are responsible for making sure the children are fed, cleaned, clothed and loved. A stay-at-home mom should read to her children to ensure they gain literacy skills. She should monitor children’s media consumption closely. She ensures that children have developmentally appropriate playthings that are safe and stimulating.
   Stay-at-home moms must have exceptional organizational skills, as they are responsible for coordinating children’s sports and extracurricular activities, play dates and doctor’s appointments. They need to be able to plan effectively, as the popularity of the children’s birthday parties will depend on this skill. Money management skills are a must in order to keep the family’s finances in order.
   Stay-at-home moms plan menus, shop economically and prepare healthy meals. Stay-at-home moms need to have the skills to prepare meals from scratch unless the family is wealthy. Baking cookies is not required, but is a step on the career path to “stay-at-home supermom.”
   Stay-at-home moms are usually responsible for the cleanliness of the house and the family’s laundry. They must have the ability to spot and throw away old produce, socks with holes and yogurt that is past its due date. They must be able to maintain clean kitchen and bathroom surfaces while toddlers smear peanut butter on the cabinets. Vacuuming, dusting and scrubbing are other cleaning duties.

   Special Knowledge and Skills

3. Stay-at-home moms must have a variety of skills in order to have clean, obedient children and successfully maintain an orderly home.
   Stay-at-home moms should be able to give children “the eye.” “The eye” prevents a wide variety of misbehavior. Moms who stay at home should also have some psychic abilities, otherwise known as “having eyes in the back of the head.” These abilities can help mothers to determine when a child is eating the soap versus simply using the restroom.
   Stay-at-home moms are often family historians, organizing photos online and sending updates to relatives in addition to maintaining photo scrapbooks. The ability to operate a digital camera and photo-editing software is desirable.
   Stay-at-home moms should also be able to recognize when a child is ill and intuit when a doctor’s visit is necessary.

   Hours

4. Hours are worked during the time the stay-at-home mom’s spouse is at work, although unpaid overtime is frequently required. Weeks exceeding 80 hours are not unusual, especially during times of illness, holidays and family visits.

   Salary and Benefits

5. A mom with one preschooler and one school-aged child earns a median hypothetical salary of $117,850, according to Salary.com. Most moms are not financially compensated for their work, choosing to accept payment in the form of housing, meals, clothing and other amenities. Benefits vary widely in this job sector, with some stay-at-home moms receiving full medical and dental coverage, although many do not. According to many moms, the primary benefit of being a stay-at-home mom is the opportunity to raise their children themselves, according to their own values.

Read more: Stay at Home Mom Job Description | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6671817_stay-home-mom-job-description.html#ixzz15ZCx8lrJ

 

What mothers are really worth

"People might think that stay-at-home moms are sitting around eating bon-bons and watching soaps, when in reality, we're working several jobs at once. And, we're doing it 24/7 with no vacation days, holidays or even sick days," said Jen Singer, creator of www.MommaSaid.net, a Forbes Best of the Web site for at-home mothers. Singer added, "many stay-at-home moms are on the job upwards of 100 hours a week. That would be a whole lot of overtime if we got paid."

Stay-at-home mothers wear many hats. They're the family CEO, the day care provider, accountant, chauffeur, counselor, chef, nurse, laundress, entertainer, personal stylist, and educator. Based on a 100-hour work week, Salary.com has estimated that a fair wage for the typical stay-at-home mom would be $131,471 for executing all of her daily tasks.

"Mothers are responsible for the mental and physical well being of the family - putting a price on that isn't easy," said Lena Bottos, compensation market analyst for Salary.com. "But we looked at it as what you would have to pay other people to do the same work if the mom weren't there."

Even if these mothers were getting paid what they'd be worth on the market, Bottos added that they still wouldn't be adequately compensated. "When you take into account that it represents a 100-hour work-week, and doesn't even begin to factor in that they are on call 24 hours a day, it's not so large. Plus, stay-at-home moms get no benefits in terms of pension or 401(k)."

Hope you enjoy the recipes!

• Butter Chicken
• Cheese Potato Puff
• Corn
• Cloverleaf Rolls

For Dessert:

• Double chocolate chip brownies with caramel sauce

Recipes:

• Butter Chicken:

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup crushed buttery round cracker crumbs

½  teaspoon garlic salt

ground black pepper to taste

(i added salt and parsley.. feel free to make it your own!!!!)

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

½  cup butter, cut into pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place eggs and cracker crumbs in two separate shallow bowls.

2. Mix cracker crumbs with garlic salt and pepper.

3. Dip chicken in the eggs, and then dredge in the crumb mixture to coat.

4. Arrange coated chicken in a 9x13 inch baking dish.

5. Place pieces of butter around the chicken.

6. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear

 

• Cheese Potato Puff:

You make mashed potatoes like you normally do. I use sour cream, butter and garlic in mine.

Then for every 6 potatoes you used in your mashed potatoes add 1 C shredded cheddar cheese and 1 eggs… so for 12 potatoes you would double the cheese and eggs.

Mix together.

Spread in a baking dish. Bake uncovered at 350’ for 25-30 min. Sprinkle some more cheese on top when you pull it out, and serve.

 

• Cloverleaf Rolls

Ingredients

1-1/2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast

1/3 cup and 1 tablespoon warm water (110 degrees F to 115 degrees F)

1 cup and 3 tablespoons warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)

1/3 cup and 1 tablespoon sugar

3/4 egg

3 tablespoons and 1/2 teaspoon shortening

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

4-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Beat in milk, sugar, egg, shortening and salt and 2 cups of flour until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Roll into 90 balls; place three balls each in greased muffin cups. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees F for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

 

• Easy Double Chocolate Chip Brownies

Ingredients

2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels,divided

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, cut into pieces

3 large eggs

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
MELT 1 cup morsels and butter in large, heavy-duty saucepan over low heat; stir until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in eggs. Stir in flour, sugar, vanilla extract and baking soda. Stir in remaining morsels and nuts. Spread into prepared baking pan.
BAKE for 18 to 22 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

What a busy day i have today! I’m trying not to stress. I’m planning on leaving at nap time to go up to my Mom and Dad in-laws. I have a dentist appointment on Thursday in KC but i go up the day before so i don’t have to travel 3.5 hours in the car in the early mornings. And this way the girls get some Grandma and Grandpa time :) But it’s the 2-2.5 hour drive that stresses me out. Hopefully since i’m going at nap time things will go good!

That also means i have to pack a crap load of stuff all by myself, which i don’t like. But i will make it. Soon i will be done with this whole braces thing, yay!

But i’ve got a crap load to do so i need to go :)

Anabel gave her a doll while she was in her bouncer. She also put the straw of her sippy cup in Abby’s mouth, i wonder if Abby got any, LOL

   

Daddy and his girls!