Tuesday, April 30, 2013

I joined a blog link up. It's over there ---->

So I'm committed to 3 posts per week. This is beneficial to me personally, because I don't want to forget stuff! And I have many a good idea.

Remember how I've been back and forth about who I want to target as my audience? And what I want my blog to be about? I'm decidedly going with... whatever I want. It's official.

Because I've started this new journey to homeschooling, I'm probably gonna post about that.

I also sometimes pretend to be crafty. So I post about that.

SOMETIMES I cook. (that's rare).

Sometimes I rant. Okay, a lot.

And sometimes I talk about my kids/husband/chickens

And then there's... oh man. It really is a buffet of goodness over here on this blog.

I made a Facebook page for myself. I'm really self conscious about it. I don't regret it though. I hope you "like" it. Get it?

I need someone from my blog linkup thing to help me with my blog design. It's bad.

Until later, farewell! 

Monday, April 22, 2013

You know that recipe that's going around that looks soooooo super good? The one of the baked chimichangas?



WELL! I made them. I made them my way. lol.

It's a cell phone pic. Stop judging

The Facebook Baked Chicken Chimichangas

8oz pkg. cream cheese
8oz. Pepperjack cheese, shredded
1 1/2 Tbsp. taco seasoning (homemade! I got my recipe from here)
lb. cooked chicken, shredded (I boiled mine in a veggie happiness broth. And I used farm raised chicken.)
4 flour tortillas (large ones)
cooking spray
shredded sharp cheese
green onions, for garnish

sour cream
tomatoes
lettuce
 
Stir together cream cheese, Pepperjack cheese, taco seasoning and chicken. Mash that stuff up! Mmmm...

Divide among flour tortillas.
Tuck in sides, and roll up each tortilla, like you see them do at Chipotle. Stuff those babies.
Lay seam side down in a sprayed 9x13" baking dish.
Spray tops of tortillas with cooking spray.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.
Turn chimi's over, and bake an additional 15 minutes.

Serve with cheddar cheese, green onions, sour cream, tomato and lettuce. Only add salsa if you want to take away from the deliciousness that is these chimichangas.

Wah-Lah! Do it tonight. (As in, cook these. And do "IT"if you want to. wink wink)


Sunday, April 21, 2013

Except not on white paper. It doesn't show up real good. I bought individual Sharpies at Staples. I'm talking, not-in-a-pack, kind. What's up. I'm fancy I guess. I have blue and gold and silver. They happen to be David's school colors. And it happens to be around the time that he is graduating. Hmmmmm......

Here's the sitch. I'm not 18 but I like to abbreviate like I am.

So I'm totes gonna brag.

Or just post random things about my kids so in 10 years I can be like, remember when.... all emo style.

So the other day I was outside with Jackson and Sadie and Nevie. I had Nevie literally tied into the swing with a pair of suspenders (parent of the year award?).  It works because it's one of those Little Tyke swings but the straps have broken on it. It's in good condition otherwise. hahaha.

Ok so, Sadie's on the other swing, on her belly, just going back and forth until I hear a big thud. Yup. She somehow managed to land square on her face. In the dirt. She was bleeding a lot. I rushed her inside and left Jackson to tend (who says that anymore?) to Nevie. He was all getting impatient wanting to go to the neighbors house. I was panicking myself cause I wasn't sure if Sadie had broken her nose or what. It was not cool. It reminded me of that time when David was in China and I broke my foot. Like, what am I supposed to do now?

Anyway, she's okay for now. Minus the scabs on her nose and upper lip and chin, and cheek and... well, you get the picture.

literally here's a picture. This was right after it happened.

It makes me so sad. Poor girl.

Anyway, in other news, we're completely broke again. Which means we don't have trash bags or paper towels (which aren't a necessity I know!). We were out of diapers until a magic little angel bought us some. I'm thankful.

I wonder what it will be like to have a normal amount of money. To have a regular paycheck. I keep wondering if I will miss these days. I'm sure I will.

Speaking of these days...I'm totally nervous for the future. I'm excited too, but I'm scared! It's weird. I've just been so comfortable these last few years. I don't know what's next and that makes me feel anxious. I know it will be good though. And have I already written about that? Sorry if I have.


I never get enough pictures of Jackson. It's probably because he is always on the move. Just like in the picture above. That was sock day. lol. They had fun. I did too. I always feel like a successful parent when my kids/husband have socks. It's been awhile.

Anyway, on the crafty side of things, I thought I'd show off these blocks we just finished the other day. They were part of a Super Saturday that happened in October of last year but eh, I just got around to them. I wish I had your pictures Brigitte to show what you first did, and then what you secondly did. Anyway, they were originally going to be brown and cream and orange for Thanksgiving time, but I was like, hey, I wanna do these a different color. I asked that same Brigitte if she thought that would be done and it's stuck in my head what she said and that was, "Do you only give thanks at Thanksgiving?" Point taken. :-) I let my kids help. It was fun. For them. ;-)

 
I don't know if I'll leave them there, or move them to a different spot. But there you go! Thanks Candice for the vinyl and the idea. I can in no way take credit for that. I wish she had a site or something so I could direct you to her. She's good. Here's her Pinterest site if you can see it. You can stalk her there. Or contact her if you want vinyl lettering. She does it as a business.

I've got a business. Wink wink. lol.

Someday I do want to own my own business. It's gonna be hard to decide which one I want to do. Hmm...

It's officially early in the morning. Or really late at night. Depends on how you look at it. Is the glass half empty or half full? What have you been up to lately? Spring cleaning?  I wish you would actually comment back. I want to feel popular. lol.

Friday, April 19, 2013

I was sitting in Kindergarten one day with my laces untied because I didn't know how to tie them. I remember my teacher, Mrs. Evans, asking Alicia to tie them for me because I couldn't. I was embarrassed.

I remember peeing my pants and being embarrassed.

We were sitting around the table cutting stuff out with the scissors that weren't made for left-handed kids (I'm telling you, this is why I cut right-handed), and this one kid goes, "I heard your dad smokes."

I cried. Because I was so embarrassed.

It's not just these things that make me hate the school systems. It's the freakin' rules. The laws. The mandates. The crap. 

Remember how David was gone for like, the whole summer? Remember how Jackson started Kindergarten without his dad?


So after he got back, we took a trip. WE took that awesome trip to Utah. I told his teacher we would be doing so and she was fine with it. I thought I had my bases covered. Nope. There's a system. a bureaucratic system to all things I guess.

I got a neat letter in the mail stating I needed to meet with the director of the school because Jackson had over 15 absences and if we were to meet with the director we may be granted a Gift of Time. What the hell is that? Well I found out. It's where you get another chance at Kindergarten. Or something. I don't actually know. But based on the research I found, that's my understanding.

So fast forward oh, 8 months and here we are. Instead of responding to their constant letters I gave them something instead. A notice of withdrawal. Well okay, they gave it to me to sign. And then I gave it back and then they gave me a copy. lol.


At first I was really sad. And I still am. Only because I love his teacher Mrs. Shaul. She has been a blessing and a gift to us.  I hope we will keep in touch. Because she is the kind of teacher that makes a difference. I am thankful.

So we celebrated. We celebrated with cupcakes. I got Jackson his own giant Cars themed cupcake to celebrate homeschooling. My friend sent me some links to resources. Resources such as women who have done this before. I'm not the first mom to feel remorse for withdrawing their child. I'm not the first mom who has wondered "What's next?". In fact, it's those women who have come up with their own lesson plans and created these beautiful things for people like me to use.

At least Jackson was student of the month.  He'll always be student of the month in my school.

I haven't decided on whether or not I will head the direction of unschooling or whether I will have a plan in place. Only time will tell.

So now I have more to blog about. I still have things to share with you. Did you know I created my own "free printable"? I know right??? Crafty lady I am. I guess you'll have to stay tuned for that.

I just hope if you are thinking about unschooling/homeschooling let this post be the push you need. You can do it! Luckily there are also support groups for this. lol. I don't think they'd like to be labeled as such but when I find myself questioning this decision, I turn to them. Here are a few Facebook pages that I've found I love so far. I feel like I'm giving up my secret recipe so I hope you feel honored lol.


I'm sure there'll be more on the way. But these are the ones that gave me the kick start I needed to withdraw. What a negative word. I wish it was not that. How about, I am choosing to move forward. I think I'm gonna create my own page.

Also, I will link the pages my friend shared with you so you can know where to go for some good resources.

Happy Day to us!


Eat a doughnut I guess.

Okay so fine. He didn't call me fat. But he goes, "I can help you get there." In reference to weight loss. The thing is, I didn't even offer or suggest that I wanted to. Eh.

I guess the steps to take would be to: 1) not care OR 2) care enough to do something about it 3) just whine and gripe.

There will be a combination of all 3 involved.

I think I am going deaf in my right ear. It's been ringing all day and right now it feels numb.

I read the most beautiful book the other day. When I read books like this, I'm always afraid I won't find anything that meets the greatness of it.

It's a historical fiction about the Holocaust. But it's much more than that. Head over to Goodreads and you'll get a lot more better information than I can give you here (this is also my hint that we should be "friends" via this amazing site). But just know that I cried in the middle of this book. That's saying something. I've only ever cried at the end of a few other books, one of which is another Jodi Picoult. And another of them was Harry Potter. So it's a kind of a big deal.

I read it in two days. Which meant my kids went hungry. Just kidding. You forget that I'm a speed reader. So what I should say is, I read it in two nights.

This day started off super crappy. And it still is crappy. But it's better because I have good people in my life who make it thus when I can't do it for myself.

Do you have Voxer yet? Get on it if not.

Also, if your brother in law calls you fat, you should probably watch Anna Kendrick's new video for "Cups" (When I'm Gone). It's super cute. And makes you feel good. I love feel good stuff. It's a video I wouldn't be ashamed to have my nieces or nephews watch. In fact, I'm gonna show them. Because I play this game. And I'm the master at it. We do it where you sit in a circle and pass the cup. If you mess up, you're out. Try it. Try it with your mom or dad or your kids. So fun. If you have a hard time remembering the beat it also goes to "knick knack patty whack, give a dog a bone, this old man came running home." 



Anyway, that's kind of all for now. I hope you enjoyed all the free advertising I gave you. 

Thursday, April 11, 2013


This is what I was really excited about. I want you to get excited too. ICON Youth Leadership Corps is an up-and-coming youth program aimed at kids ages 5-18 who want to become better people and better leaders! It's different from other youth groups in that you get to focus on what YOU want to be better at. Not at what "they" think you should be good at.

We are going to launch in January of next year and we need your help. Kids will advance through 3 stages based on age. At the beginning, there is a broad range of Milestones that they will participate in. As they move through each stage, their focus shifts into a few more specific milestones and they will complete projects and research in those chosen fields

The 3 age groups are as follows

5-9: Dreamers
10-13: Manifesters.
14-18: Visionaries

We have selected over 300 milestones kids can choose from and we need help creating the curriculum for the milestones. If I know you have a talent, I've probably already written your name down. So you should shoot me an email so I can send you the template to fill out. Right now there are 5 main categories of Milestones. They are physical, emotional, global, spiritual, and mental. Each category contains the specific areas of fun! 

Examples of Physical milestones would be such things as archery, kayaking, golf, football, snow sports, weight lifting, rock climbing, running etc.

Examples of Emotional Milestones are authenticity, body image, choice, coping skills, perserverance, preparing for the future, self esteem, family life, etc.

Examples of Global Milestones are world religions, ancient cultures, sustainability, ecology, convervation, disability awareness, etc.

Example of Mental Milestones are architecture, car maintenance, disaster management, first aid, nutrition, banking, journalism, internet, etc... (there's a really long list here!)

Examples of Spiritual Milestones are activism, manifestation, myths and mythology, service to humanity, etc.

Those are just a very few of the ones we have. If you'd be willing to help us, let us know. We also need help in other areas. Are you good at web maintenance? Are you really good at finances and grant writing? Do you know the law? Please check out this webpage  and fill out the little form and we will get back to you.

I hope you'll jump on this wagon with us. It's rolling forward and it's not stopping. Please join us!

If you don't feel comfortable filling out the form, you can email me directly. or text me. While you're here, please check out our Facebook page and like us. Cause we like you. :-)

Oh, also. We really need your dolla bills. For reals. We have a goal of earning $5000 by the first of May which will pay for our 501 (c) 3 status as a non-profit. Seriously. Please donate $5. Please. And share with your friends! Go HERE please.  Please? 


Monday, April 8, 2013

The Order of these pictures is backwards. It's kind of funny to watch. We go from being happy to being tired/sad. lol. These are ALL from today. Her birthday. Sweet girl. Sorry for the many pictures. And they aren't the quality/style I would normally like to show off. They're all from my phone. I just know that looking back, I will never be sad I posted them. :-)

 

 
 














 
All I am is happy. And a little sad. She is an angel. My mom asked me today if she thought Genevieve would ever be NOT an angel. And I don't think so. I'm lucky. I'm gonna go ahead and say that yesterday was her first real moving day. She does this amazing awesome scoot. It's so cute. It's like a cheer sit. She scoots in a cheer sit. She is talking like crazy. Says mama and dada and thank you and does the word "more" in sign. We are still nursing but she is becoming more and more interested in food. She got a sippy cup yesterday which I'm not super in favor of but she loves it and gets the fluids I think she's been missing (her diapers have been really dry). I think I have to officially baby proof now. I'm sad about that. Sadie and Jackson are the best siblings to have.

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