Weekend Picture Challenge ! 4

This week the rules are : Post any picture you want as long as it says Happy Halloween !

Let me know in comments if you play along so others can check out your picture too !

I Love .......

Sleeping Babies !

For more pictures go here and here !

WTH?!!!

I was going to just give you this link , and say here is a perfect example of why young people should be taught it's wrong to drink underage. I think parents should try to teach them if they are going to drink once they are legal age to have a little common sense! Clearly these people did not ! Why the hell would anyone think it is going to be a safe good idea to ride in the trunk of a car ?

and then there is this other story :

Then a little while ago on twitter someone said how this made her sick. So me being me I went to see what she was talking about and it made me feel sick as well ! Being a survivor of rape myself(I say survivor because I don't like to say victim,I don't feel that way ...I feel like I went through a terrible thing but I did survive and I found my big mouth because of it ! I no longer sit and be quiet when I don't agree with something and neither should any of you...if you have a gut feeling about something being wrong there's a pretty good chance you are right ! ) Anyway ..back to what I was saying...

I read this and felt sick not just for that poor girl...knowing full well what she will go through because of it happening to her but it made me sick to hear about the other boys that joined in and to tell you the truth it made me feel just as sick and disgusted to hear that a group of others stood around watching and allowing it to happen and didn't try to help her! I also have two teen girls and now a new baby girl and just can't imagine what her poor parents must be going through !

It makes me sick that so many people do such rotten things to others ! It makes me sick that ,that many people would watch something so awful and not think of their own sisters,cousins,moms,girlfriends or even their own babies(if they have them,cause you know lots of high school boys do ) and how they would feel if it was happening to someone they loved. Just because something bad is not happening to someone you know or love doesn't mean it's not happening to someone that another person loves !

I have to say I would be so truly crushed if I ever heard of one of my children committing a rotten act towards another person and hurting them ...just for the hell of it. I also would be just as hurt by their actions if I learned they stood by and watched someone be hurt and didn't go for help ! Me being me and my children knowing me..they would be hoping the cops caught them first ....cause they would know Momma would be WILD !

The best I can do as a parent is try and teach them right from wrong and hope some of it..if not all of it sinks in!

Try It Tuesday ! MADD Today and Everyday !

When I was asked if I would like to help spread the word about MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) I said yes right away ! I have always donated to MADD (Canada) ever since my girls were little ,they are now almost 17 and 14 . I always had the red ribbon on my car showing my support and was very proud of my oldest daughter when she came home from school the beginning of grade 9 announcing she had joined the SADD(Students Against Drunk Driving ) group at her school and she has continued to be in it ever since !

On October 27th, (That's today !) MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) will be launching The Power of Parents: It's Your Influence . This program has been designed to help provide us as parents with key tips, information, and tools to help us at home reach our teens and communicate the real life danger of underage alcohol use.

I think it's extremely important for parents to talk to their kids about drunk driving and lead by example...if your kids never ever see you drink and drive or get into a car with someone that has been drinking ,they are a lot less likely to do those things themselves !

I was 19 when I had my first baby and that just happens to be the legal drinking age in Canada . While all my friends were having fun and running to bars ,I was at home with my new baby. After hearing a couple people I went to school with had been killed because of drunk driving and being a new mom . I knew I never ever wanted to be the mom that gets that knock on the door and I sure wasn't going to drink and drive myself and leave my baby motherless because of drinking and driving.

So even though I was very young I started supporting MADD and I have ever since and just because I live in the United States now,it isn't going to change that...I'm still a mom and I still have babies that need to grow up in a home that teaches them to do the right thing !

So I'm going to list a few places you can go to read and learn about ways you too can talk to your child about drinking and driving . I truly hope it helps !

MADD - http://www.madd.org/

MADD on Facebook-http://www.facebook.com/pages/MADDs-Power-of-Parents-Its-your-influence/131838435851

MADD Blog- http://maddparents.blogspot.com/

Twitter- http://www.twitter.com/maddparents

Here are a couple other things for you to do :

Safety Quiz: http://www.madd.org/parents/highschool-drinking2.html

Support 21 Survey: http://support.madd.org/support21

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of MADD. A donation was made to MADD in my name to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

I usually do my Try It Tuesday on Tuesdays,but today I'm making this my Try It Tuesday ! I encourage all the moms and dads out there to please talk to your children about the danger of drinking and driving !

Know The Difference !

Know the Difference between a Cold and H1N1 Flu Symptoms

Fever
Fever is rare with a cold.
Fever is usually present with the flu in up to 80% of all flu cases. A temperature of 100°F or higher for 3 to 4 days is associated with the H1N1 flu.

Coughing
A hacking, productive (mucus- producing) cough is often present with a cold.
A non-productive (non-mucus producing) cough is usually present with the H1N1 flu (sometimes referred to as dry cough).

Aches
Slight body aches and pains can be part of a cold.
Severe aches and pains are common with the H1N1 flu.

Stuffy Nose
Stuffy nose is commonly present with a cold and typically resolves spontaneously within a week.
Stuffy nose is not commonly present with the H1N1 flu.

Chills
Chills are uncommon with a cold.
60% of people who have the H1N1 flu experience chills.

Tiredness
Tiredness is fairly mild with a cold.
Tiredness is moderate to severe with the H1N1 flu.

Sneezing
Sneezing is commonly present with a cold.
Sneezing is not common with the H1N1 flu.

Sudden Symptoms
Cold symptoms tend to develop over a few days.
The H1N1 flu has a rapid onset within 3-6 hours. The flu hits hard and includes sudden symptoms like high fever, aches and pains.

Headache
A headache is fairly uncommon with a cold.
A headache is very common with the H1N1 flu, present in 80% of flu cases.

Sore Throat
Sore throat is commonly present with a cold.
Sore throat is not commonly present with the H1N1 flu.

Chest Discomfort
Chest discomfort is mild to moderate with a cold.
Chest discomfort is often severe with the H1N1 flu.

The only way to stop the spread of the epidemic is to spread the awareness.

I got this in an email the other day and thought I'd share it with you. My dh's little sister has it and until it's long gone from their house my babies will not be going there !

Weekend Picture Challenge 3 !

This week the rules are : Go to your Oct/08 folder and post the closest picture you have to today's date ! If your folders aren't set up like that then go to where ever you keep the pictures from last October .

I looked and just happened to have one picture with the 24th on it.

It's hard to believe that Brody wasn't even walking yet ,the way he runs around here now like a wild man ! I also had just gotten pregnant for the Little Miss,but didn't know yet .

If you play along let me know in comments so I can check your picture out and others can too !

Look What I Can Do !

Let the fun begin ! I'll be buying him a toddler bed once we move and he has his new room in a month ,so for now I just really watch him all the time....so far he has not managed to get all the way over he sits scared at the top and goes back in his crib! I'm kinda surprised it took this long, the older three were all in their bed at 16 months ! He hasn't really tried it since that day ...maybe he scared himself enough not to do it !

For more pictures go here , here and here !

Try It Tuesday !

A couple Saturdays ago we decided to get wings from Pizza Hut since we had just seen a commercial for them and they said they had lots of flavors to pick from . I wanted to try a few of them so we just planned on getting small orders of 4-5 kinds.

We got : Spicy BBQ - They weren't bad and we would probably get them again.

Honey BBQ - I liked them best and that will be the kind I get from now on if we are getting them from there.

Garlic Parmesan - I hated them ,the dh thought they were ok but I wouldn't even take them again if they were offering a free order with your meal !

We also got an order of their chocolate finger stick thingies and I love chocolate but I didn't love those and would never get them again !

Then we got a bigger order of the plain ones so we would have something to fall back on for anyone that didn't like the flavored ones and they were fine,not really any different then chicken nuggets . I wanted to try the Cajun ones but of course our store didn't have any...no shock there! Just like every place in this town nobody has anything I ever ask about or want or need for that matter!

Which that's just fine ...let the people here live with stores and restaurants with nothing to offer because we SOLD our house and we are outta here !

Listerine Oral Care Challenge !

I have 5 kids , the oldest two have already had braces and the next one will be getting his soon ! Needless to say ...I'm one of those moms that say to her kids "did you brush your teeth or make sure you brush your teeth " quite a few times every day ! Not just because I have to say it to each kid ,but because after paying for two sets of braces and going to be getting yet another kid a set soon...I paid a lot of money for those kids to have nice teeth and I want them to stay that way !



LISTERINE® AGENT COOL BLUE® is a pre-brush tinting rinse. Used before brushing, it tints teeth blue so kids pay attention when cleaning their teeth; giving kids a sense of accomplishment that they are doing a good job and reinforcing the positive behavior.
Tints teeth blue so children pay more attention to cleaning
Makes brushing fun
Helps your kids develop proper oral care habits
Alcohol-free


LISTERINE® SMART RINSE™ is an anticavity mouthwash for kids ages six and older that helps clean and protect teeth beyond brushing alone. The MAGNETIC CLEANING ACTION™ attracts particles—showing kids what brushing may have missed.
Contains fluoride to help prevent cavities
Kills bad breath germs
And shows proof in the sink of a cleaner mouth!

Now I have to say I had bought a bottle of the green Smart Rinse long before I had ever heard about this blog tour. I figured since my son will be getting his braces soon and he's the one I have to get after the most ,that I would get a bottle of that to try . So he can be better at his brushing since when they have the braces on there is even more room for error and missing spots or it's just plain too hard to get certain places because of them ,but the rinse would be able to get where the brush really can't.

Listerine and Reach created the "October Oral Care Challenge" for kids 6 and older. To complete the challenge, you and your child have to brush, floss and rinse every day, twice a day for two weeks—a key step in building a strong foundation of good oral care habits.

That's not that hard since I already make my kids do that anyway ! I do think it's a great month to have it though since kids are in school again and eating during the day while they aren't home and you really don't know how much candy and things they are eating there ! Plus it's Halloween and you know they will be eating lots and lots of sweet things for the next few weeks !

Even though my kids are older ,they still thought it was neat using the blue tint and then the green rinse afterwards. That way they got to see proof of what they were doing and need to do better without just hearing me yap at them to make sure they are doing a good job. Now that I have two very young children who will be one day soon starting to brush their teeth ,I will be using these products with them right from the start !

If you would like to learn more about their products or get ideas on how to get your kids to brush better you can go check out their site and right now they are offering a $1 off coupon throughout the month of October to help get you started !

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Listerine and Reach and received Listerine and Reach products for the Oral Care Challenge and a gift certificate to GlobalGiving.org to thank me for taking the time to participate and the makers of Listerine and Reach also sent a donation on my behalf to the National Children's Oral Health Foundation , an organization committed to delivering comprehensive oral healthcare to economically disadvantaged children.

So not only did this help reinforce the brushing habits of my kids. I also got to help other kids who may not be able to have good dental care otherwise.

Weekend Picture Challenge 2 !

This week the rules are : Go to your first folder and get the first picture !

This was from Christmas 2004 ,I was still skinny back then !

If you play along let us know in comments ,so others can see your picture too !

Never Thought I'd See This.....

....A man that can multi-task !

Whenever I feed the baby,he always runs over so he can hold the bottle too !

For more pictures go here and here !

Try It Tuesday !

The other day I showed a picture of the breakfast my dh brings me each morning or on the mornings he's actually here is what I should say ! When he brings me my coffee he brings it black and I add my stuff to it once I can actually sit down here and drink it.

I have always used the French Vanilla and I try new kinds all the time . The last time I bought groceries I grabbed a bottle of the Parisian Almond and the Italian Sweet Creme.

The Parisian Almond is good ,but I find it too strong flavored and I have been using a little of that and a little of the Italian Sweet Creme both and it cuts the flavor so it's not so over powering. Once my bottle is gone I won't buy it again.

The Italian Sweet Creme however ...I LOVE ...it doesn't really have a flavor or at least I can't taste one but it's like adding milk and sugar all in one to your coffee but ten times better! I can't really explain it ..all I can say is if you like coffee with sugar in it you won't need any at all if you use this kind of creamer .

Well that's enough of my rambling ...I need to drink my coffee before the baby wakes up !

So tell me ...how do you like your coffee ?

Nothing New !

There hasn't been anything really going on here. We still need to sell this house, the dh is really liking his new job and because it's an hour away and they are working on the roads ...he still leaves at 6:30 am and doesn't get home until 7-8 at night so he's always gone !

He went away a couple weeks ago to Houston and brought me back a little present ,something I have been asking for nor for a couple years . We don't really bother with presents for each other for anything,all our money goes to bills and buying stuff for kids !

So I was very surprised when he brought me home this :




I haven't worn it yet.....but I do love it !

Why oh why is my blog acting nuts with pictures and won't keep them in the middle where I put them ! :(

Weekend Picture Challenge 1 !

I use to always do the random picture challenge with tons of other people on Saturday mornings and then it started getting posted less and less and now it hasn't been done for a long time as far as I know. Since it's an easy fun way to do a post on the weekend and still get to visit other blogs and not really do a lot of reading your weekend is still free to do things with family !

So I thought maybe I'll start doing it myself and when I looked into the linky thing I thought ,I have enough stuff going on in my codes for my blog I don't want to mess with more and screw something up ...so I'm not going to use it.

I'm just going to post my picture and the rules for the week and then if you play along leave your link in comments then everyone else can go look and if you wouldn't mind linking back to me when you post your picture then others can see all the comments too and go look through all of yours !

So we will see how this works and if it does great ....wonderful and if not then I guess I won't bother.

I'm going to start with an easy one !

Find the oldest picture you have of yourself on your computer and post it !



I'm around nine months in this picture...look how old that playpen is ...it has a wood floor and I'm sure it's got lead paint ! haha

12 Today !

My oldest boy turns 12 today ! He has been a really great kid right from the start and now that he's a big brother to two and still the little brother to two ,it hasn't changed him. He's very polite and has always been the first to help me when I ask . He is the first one to jump in the pool and yell it's not that cold while everyone else is freezing and whining they are cold . He plays with Brody and likes to sit and hold the baby. He's the little one in the header picture trying to get away from his fighting sisters ! I'm guessing before too long he will be like his older sisters and always be moody and on the phone with girls...but for now he's still my little (well not so little )boy ! Happy Birthday Tanner ..we love you !

Three Months Today !

She sleeps a whole lot better in the night now,which is great since I'm up in the middle of the night with the stupid dog all the time !

My Breakfast !

Every morning before he leaves for work my dh goes and gets me this , it's very yummy and it's the only thing I'll miss about this place once we move . Where we are moving doesn't have a Casey's where they make this fresh every morning for people like me too lazy to make their own goodies to eat .

*** I guess I'm use to saying it on twitter all the time that the dh has gone to get my coffee and Maple Cinnamon rolls.....since two people asked what they were I thought I'd better say for anyone that doesn't see me say it every morning ! haha ***

If you want to see more pictures go here and here !

Try It Tuesday !

Since the dh no longer works in town,he doesn't come home for lunch . So I just eat some little thing,last time I got groceries I got these to try.

California Pizza Kitchen - I had the BBQ Chicken , Four Cheese and tried the Chicken Bacon Club Flatbread.

I really liked the BBQ Chicken one,the Four cheese was good but really I like toppings on my pizza but I think it would be great for people that like plain cheese pizza . The Chicken Bacon Flatbread had honey mustard sauce on it and not that much so once it was cooked I threw on some ranch dressing and it was so much better that way.

Hot Pockets - I just got the Pepperoni ones and they were good,had lots of filling . I'd eat them if they were there but really if the kids ate them all I wouldn't care.

For anyone new here,these are just things that I buy myself during grocery day and say what I thought about them they are not something someone sent me to review, it's just my thoughts on things that I try.

The last time I did one of these was back in June,you can see what I did that on here . Most of the things I do on Try It Tuesdays are food but sometimes I do it on other things you find around the house.

WTH ? !!!

Here's a new WTH I found thanks to Sarah , she mentioned it on twitter so I had to go read. I just do not get the crazy stunts people pull ! Most of my WTHs end in death and are performed by young people and mostly men but this woman deserves her spot in my list too !

Thank You Lisa !

Since the baby is almost 3 months old I thought I better get her picture up there too ! So I took this one the other day and then my friend Lisa who is so much smarter then I at this kind of thing added her to my header for me ! She even came up with another look for it just in case we ever have one more baby ...however I don't plan on that anytime soon ...if at all !



So now my newest little one is up in her spot in the header and I'm sure before too long she will be whining with the rest of them !

WTH ?!!

As you all know when I read something in the news and it makes me say WTH is wrong with these people or this person ...I like to share it with you . That way I get feed back from others and know it's not just me thinking the way I do ! haha

So here is a new one for you , I just don't get it if you already have one kid that has been taken from you because you are a nutcase and you didn't like dealing with that ...then just don't get pregnant again !

So that's how I feel but I'll let you guys go read and see what you think about these people !

There are lots of families out there who would make excellent parents and just can't seem to have their own baby for whatever reason who would happily adopt a baby or child for that matter and give it a wonderful home and life that every child deserves !

If you look through my blog you can find quite a few WTH 's posted and this last one that was just a week or two ago . It's pretty bad when that isn't even half of what I read and lord only knows how many other stories never get told !

Who Have You Been Spending Your Free Time With ? 5

The last time I did one of these was back in June,since then I have had a baby ..my dh has started a new job in a different state and we have decided to sell our home and move there..so I have been busy !

However in the moments where I can read I have been reading a wonderful and true story about a precious little boy and his fight with cancer . As you all know September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month and then October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month .

Having two months back to back that bring awareness to cancer tells you just how much it's out there and how far we have come in fighting it and how far we still have to go in finding a cure ! So no other mothers have to watch their child suffer while feeling helpless in taking away their pain and making them well again.

I have never gone through it and having 5 kids I feel lucky everyday that I haven't . I do however know moms that have and have seen how scary it is and have also seen the miracle it is to have a little one recover and go on to lead a fun filled childhood .

The rules are : Get the book that is on your nightstand or where ever you happen to do your reading. Open to page 56 find the fifth sentence . Post the next two to five sentences and these instructions on your blog.

Do not go get your favorite book.....it has to be the one you are reading now !

I'm going to break from the rules here a bit and give you the story first and then I'll do the page the rules call for .

The book is called : Hope, Faith and Charlie

*** John & Deirdre Capodanno had been married for five years and were the doting parents of two beautiful, happy and healthy sons, Jay, age two, and Charlie, who was just shy of six-months old. Life was good: they had a strong marriage, solid careers, a comfortable home, and a beautiful little family created out of love. Then the sky fell in. In an instant, their life together was turned upside down with the discovery that Charlie had a massive brain tumor. Further diagnosis would uncover a rare form of brain and spine cancer that would more than likely take his precious life far too soon. ***

Dr.Jody was awesome. She never made the surgery sound like it was any big deal, which made us feel such relief and gave us confidence in the surgical team. I mean, these folks have done and continue to do, dozens of brain surgeries every week. To them,it must be just another day at the office. Or so we convinced ourselves. It was February 28,2000. We'd been at the hospital for six days, but it seemed like a lifetime. Here it was the morning of our son's surgery. Our minds were racing. Our stomachs were turning. Our hearts were bleeding. Slowly our family began to gather.

If you would like to see just what happened the day of his surgery you can buy a copy of the book from their website Hope, Faith and Charlie or you can get it at Amazon.com. 10% of all earnings from this book will be donated to the Floating Hospital for Children’s Cancer Center in Boston.

So if you have been looking for a new book to read then I highly recommend getting this one !
If you play along let me know so I can see what you have been reading and if you do buy this book, come back and let me know what you thought. I'm sure Charlie's mom would love reading your comments !