Friday Pictures...I ain't got much...

I didn't take too many pictures this week. So this is all I have for you...

She can drink with the best of them....(she really does like Diet Coke, not a good thing)
High School Musical dancing with Hayden
Audrey looks drugged, but still. Attempting to get three kids to all smile at the same time is hard.
Tootles needs some love.
I was attempting to take some creative pictures of Ashley playing in her room. And this is the only good shot I have, and it isn't even of her.

The picture of the week...this is what she wore to school today. She picked it out herself. The leggings? Polka-dotted. The skirt is really from her "church" clothes. And of course the High School Musical shirt. She changed into this outfit when we got home yesterday, and then decided she wanted to wear it again this morning. The only change with this morning is I made her put a long sleeved shirt on under the t-shirt.

Get Away

I think I need a vacation or even just a little weekend getaway. Winter, work, school seems to be dragging me down.

And Ray just threw his computer out the window. I know he hates hearing me say that (or reading it), knowing we have a week vacation planned in September. That and we don't know if coming next month we will be paying two mortgages or one. So I understand to a point.

And I don't like being cold. And I really don't like winter. Even the mild one we have had here in North Carolina.

And even more of my problem is not getting enough sleep. I have been staying up too late and getting up with Audrey in the night, sometimes once, sometimes multiple times. We are currently working on getting her to go to sleep at night without us laying down on her floor (really bad thing we were doine, we know). We have been at it all week, and I think it's working. Unfortunately for us, though, it's not a quick fix. Monday night I spent 2 hours walking her back to her room after she would leave it. If we shut the door to the point she can't open it, she cries and cries to the point she throws up. And I am afraid a gate at her door would just lead to another broken arm. So for now, I am getting my exercise walking up and down the hall. The positive is that at least I can watch tv in my room, unlike when we were spending time in her room with her trying to get her to go to sleep. Last night was the quickest, she was asleep by 9:15pm with only a few times of her leaving her room. But she decided at around 3:30 am to wake up and want to go downstairs. I finally got back in bed at 5:00am.

And I don't like things being undecided or unfinished. We will find out on March 14th if Ashley gets into the magnet school we applied for. On top of that, we don't know if she doesn't get in there, what track she is on for her elementary school. So her start date could be anywhere in July or the end of August. So much for planning anything in the summer.

Is it Friday yet?

I really, really want to win this bedding for Audrey's room...

Isn't this the cutest?? And you can win it here..

And I so want this bedding for Audrey's room, how cute is this?

500 posts in less than 2 years...

Wow, 500 posts. No idea how I did that. Seriously. I am guessing it helped I participated in that posting everyday thing in November twice and I pretty much post 5 days a week. I guess it adds up.

So for my 500th, I thought I would help out a few of my very first blogging friends, Michele and Denise.

Michele walked last weekend in the Walk Now for Autism in Tampa, Florida. Go here to check out other walks in other parts of the US. Her son has autism, and she walks in honor of him. She is brave and kind and I have read her for almost two years now.

The same with Denise, I have read her for almost two years now as well. She will be walking on April 26th in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Light The Night Walk to raise funds to help fight cancer. Her husband is a survivor of leukemia and has been in remission since October 1999. Her mother in law had lymphoma. She will be walking in honor of them as well as the many others who are battling these diseases.

For every comment left on this post, I will donate $1 to their causes. If you would like to donate as well, email me and I can send you their information.

And here's to 500 more posts to come....

The Lunch Menu at the Hospital I work at...I know you guys are really, really jealous...

For today? Please note the Grilled Liver and Onions. I am counting down the minutes until I can go grab me a huge bowl of those!

And further down the list...my personal favorite - Clux Dippers. Glorified chicken nuggets. They even package them in a box to look like Chick-Fil-A.

And we have no clue who the guest chef is today...guess we will find out soon...

Really, really random stuff...

I love influencing people to start blogs...an old coworker back in Virginia has started one. And if you have any wordpress tips, she is having trouble with wordpress (and I am of no help). Go visit Trublonde.

And Happy Anniversary Edie and Dave!

I am 2 posts away from 500 posts...you may want to come back for that one...

And for being a Monday yesterday, it was pretty good. About a year ago, our local newspaper, the News and Observer, ran an article about bloggers. I emailed the staff writer about the article (and honestly, I don't even remember what I wrote her about, I think I was complaining about something that was in the article). Well, that staff writer contacted me. The News and Observer is starting a site for Moms in the Raleigh area, and I was picked as one of the bloggers to be a contributor! Wahoo! They will even run a piece in the paper about the site for Mother's Day weekend in May, so I have to get my picture taken and stuff. I think I need to get a haircut...

I also received an email this morning...one of Audrey's teachers at daycare was diagnosed with Lymphoma last week...turns out the pathology report was wrong, and she does not have cancer. What a relief...but really? Can you imagine having a cancer diagnosis and then having that changed?

Breakfast Breaks

I received a few samples of Breakfast Breaks to review. You can check out the review on Lookit here by SJ....

First off, Ashley loves cereal and breakfast bars. And juice boxes. So to say this is a good breakfast for her is an understatement.

Per Breakfast Breaks site: "Included in every Breakfast BREAKS box is a General Mills® cereal Bowl Pack™, nutritious snack, and Minute Maid® 100% Fruit Juice. The kit also includes a spoon, napkin and moist wipe for convenience and quick and easy clean-up."

Very convenient, very easy, nutritious. Mark it down as win-win for me. I loved these for the kids. This is something we can easily throw in the backpack for a trip or when Ashley gets up late for school and only has 10 minutes to get breakfast.

And I like that they were started to ensure children were receiving the USDA requirement of at least 25% of the recommended key nutrients they need each day, including low fat milk.

I have seen these in grocery stores and my local Walmart. A definite on our shopping list.

Thanks to Mom Central for this review...

Ashley

It seems that one may look at my blog postings over the past few days and think I just have one daughter, Audrey. It didn't help that I spent a whole weekend with just her a few weekends ago, while Ray took Ashley to Virginia for a visit.

So what is Ashley up to?

High School Musical. She's obsessed. She sings the songs, wants to watch the movies, wants High School Musical clothes.

Ask her what she wants to be when she grows up? A character on High School Musical.

When she wakes up in the morning, she normally calls out for me so that I can say she can get up (I know! How lucky I am! But you forget I have another child who has decided sleeping is an option...a post on that later in the week, don't worry).

This morning she decided singing High School Musical songs was more important than getting out of bed.

And yes, I think the movie is a little old for her. She got into it because all of the kids in her Pre-K class are into it, and the teachers let the kids bring in CDs to listen to in the afternoon, and High School Musical is a frequent on the play list. And her best friend Hayden is into as well.

But she likes the singing, and the dancing. As long as she doesn't want to go around kissing boys, I am okay with it.

Friday Pictures - Home Alone with Mommy

Last Sunday when it was just me and Audrey, I decided to clean out some of my kitchen cabinets. In doing so, I found this paper Little Mermaid table cloth. I laid it out on the floor and first Audrey wanted to lay on it, then we colored on it, and then, well, you can see in the pictures. It was one of those spontaneous things that kept her entertained for over an hour.

Pam's Random Recipes

I had a baby shower at work for a coworker today, and I was going to make an apple crisp thing my friend Amy (Hi Amy!!) emailed me earlier in the week, and then I forgot to get apples and watching Lost was more important than going to the store and well, I had these ingredients.

Here is my breakfast post for Pam's Random Recipes...

OATMEAL RASPBERRY BAR COOKIES

Ingredients
1/2 c. butter, soft
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1 c. flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 c. rolled oats
3/4 c. fruit only seedless raspberry jam (I accidentally used Strawberry, oops)(still yummy though)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 inch square pan; line it with aluminum foil and then butter the foil. Mix all the ingredients together, except the jam (I used a pastry knife to blend it and make it crumbly). Press 2 cups of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the jam to within 1/4 inch of the edge. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the top and lightly press it into the jam. Bake 35 to 40 minutes and allow to cool on a wire rack before cutting.


Makes 2 dozen.

Consistent

If my kids are one thing, it's consistent.

Audrey has consistently woken up between 5:00 and 6:00am for the past two (maybe three? I've lost count...) weeks. To say I am looking forward to the time change in a few weeks is an understatement.

Why does she get up so early? I have no idea. She comes running down the hall to our room and tells us "Go downstairs". Which we plead and beg with her to just lay in bed with us. Sometimes she goes back to sleep, most of the time she doesn't. She wants to watch tv or play with the dog. How she is functioning on so little sleep is beyond me.

Ashley, on the other hand, is sleeping great. I think she is so tired from school all day, she crashes at night. I am hopeful Audrey will get like that as well some day. Sooner than later would be perfect.

7 Things Meme

I have no idea how I have escaped this meme for as long as it's been around the internet. Or maybe I was tagged prior, and just forgot or didn't know. Who knows.

Lori tagged me yesterday for the 7 things meme...here ya go...

1. I have two tatoos.
2. I bite my fingernails. Always have, always will. You can't stop me.
3. I also bite the inside of my mouth. A really, really bad habit.
4. I want to teach more than anything in the world (other than hanging out with my family), but I am scared shitless that I will not do a good job at it.
5. I have stretch marks from my pregnancies. And one goes right through a tatoo.
6. I am a text book Libra - I want everyone around me to be happy, and I have a hard time saying no.
7. I love ghost stories, and I tivo Ghost Hunters on the SciFi channel, and the Haunting on the Discovery channel. I do believe in ghosts, and my grandparents old farm house was haunted.

And there you have it, 7 really lame things you did not know about me before. And since I don't know who has done this and who hasn't, if you want to play along, feel free. Happy Hump Day.

Pictures

We always take the kids to Portrait Innovations to get their pictures done. They are relatively inexpensive, have some good backgrounds, and some cute props. So Saturday, I had an appointment at 4:00pm to get Audrey's pictures done for turning two (I waited until she got her cast off, I had enough pictures of her in that).

So I show up and the place is NUTS. There was a group of about 20 people getting a group shot with outfit changes, so that had backed things up a bit. And in the other room, there was a Mom getting her daughter's pictures taken, and she had about 14 different outfits for this kid. Seriously.

Finally, at 5:00pm, we get called back. If you know me outside of the little internet world, I am someone who just likes to get things done. Like my shopping trips, I like to get a lot done in a little bit of time. I know what I want, plus I take the girls' to get their pictures done at their birthdays and Christmas. So I have done this before. I had one clothing change for Audrey (a dress I bought at the Gymboree outlet for a STEAL I tell ya) and we had all pictures taken in less than 15 minutes. Audrey did great, the photographer and his helper did great, and we were done.

And then I had to chose the pictures. He took about 70, and they bring up 3 pictures at a time for you to narrow it down. I flew through them. I think that part is easy. I may be weird, I don't know. I either really like a picture, or I don't. Another Mom was standing near where I was looking at my pictures, and she commented about how easy I made it look. I had a two year old who had been there for over an hour and was getting hungry, plus like I said, I either liked the pictures or I didn't.

I narrowed it down to a few poses, chose the pictures sizes, and was out of there. And here are a few...oh, and yes, she has tattoos on her hands. I tried to take them off, and well, it didn't work.

Go give SJ some support, her son is having surgery tomorrow....

Single parenting is easier with one child

Saturday morning, Ray and Ashley left after Ashley's drama class for Virginia. The goal for him was to go to our nephew's birthday party, meet up with friends to talk about becoming a real estate agent in Virginia, and meet up with our renter and check out our house. Since he didn't get to meet up with her until late yesterday, he is driving back while I type this as he is meeting a client at noon in Raleigh.

So I just had Audrey this weekend, and not that Ashley is that difficult, it's just Audrey can't really tell me no when I tell her we are going to dinner at Panera, or we are going shopping. (Ashley has begun to have an opinion on where we eat now, although she does like Panera). Audrey and I hit the outlet mall with a friend, did some shopping, had her pictures taken, ate some dinner. Sunday we went to church as I had signed up to volunteer in Audrey's room, and then we went back home and took a nap. Yes, I actually took a nap with Audrey. Which proved to be an issue later when it was midnight and I could.not.fall.asleep. After our naps, we headed out grocery shopping and took our time.

But I miss Ashley and Ray, and so does Audrey. She keeps asking where "sister" is, and wanted to know where Daddy was when she came into my room this morning. I think she will be very happy to see them this afternoon...

Johnson & Johnson

When Ashley was an infant, she was a horrible sleeper (funny, Audrey slept fine as an infant, but is now a horrible sleeper, somewhere Ray and I really pissed off the sleeping Gods...I blame that volcanic rock I took from Hawaii). One of her teachers at daycare suggested we try infant massage to get her soothed prior to bed.

It may or may not of made her sleep better, I really don't know, but I liked that time spent with her in the evenings, right after a bath, making her smell good and keeping her skin soft. I do the same with Audrey, mainly because of her eczema, but still. She will hold up her leg for me and when I am done with it, she holds up her other leg. She loves it even as a two year old.

So when Johnson & Johnson asked me to share with you their new short videos about infant massage, I of course said yes.

Johnson & Johnson is working with new mom and Emmy award-winning actress Mariska Hargitay (I love her...) on four adorable cartoon shorts with leading animation studio, Animation Collective. The cartoons emphasize the importance of bonding with your baby and the benefits of a mother's loving touch (baby massage, etc.). Mariska, who is a new mom herself, stars as the voice of the baby in the Webisodes. The first cartoon, titled "Baby Massage Class" debuted on Wednesday and you can view it today here or below. Oh, and Mariska is the voice of the baby, it's cute.

Friday Pictures - The Day Full of Calories and the Color Red

First, I want to express my thoughts and prayers to those who are affected by the tragedy at Northern Illinois University. I can't believe that almost a year later, another tragedy has hit a college that is so much like Virginia Tech. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about what happened at Virginia Tech, and now we have another college campus tragedy with fatalities. I'm at a loss for words...


Anyway, here are some pictures from yesterday...

The balloons (I realize my windows need some treatments...I have a pattern, Edie and I need to make it to the fabric store...)
The Krispy Kreme donuts (we put them in here to keep them fresher overnight)
The cards for the teachers (they have microwave popcorn attached...see illustration here) and treats Ray bought them.
Breakfast of champions...Krispy Kreme donuts and chocolate covered marshmellows.
Audrey is obviously ready for school.

I think I did it...

I think I successfully made this holiday a good one for Ashley (and Audrey!).

• A new Valentine's Day shirt arrived in the mail yesterday, and she loves it
• Hearts sprinkled on her bedroom floor for when she woke up
• Balloons, including the Princess one she begged for in the Dollar Store
• Heart shaped donuts from Krispy Kreme (and omigod, are they yummy...)

• New pjs to wear tonight

I was going to attempt to make heart shaped pizzas for dinner tonight, but I think it will just be pizza. I was up until 11:30pm trying to convince Audrey to go to sleep and doing all the Valentine's day stuff. And then Audrey was up a few times after that. She obviously is unaware that Ray and I need some sleep.

And Ray got me a yummy box of chocolates that I had to restrain myself from devouring the whole box. He has been slammed with working so much this past week (the real estate market here is good), and because he is such a good husband, he has been trying to at least eat dinner with us and work around some scheduling conflicts I have. I couldn't ask for a better husband.

Check tomorrow for pictures of the festivities!

The House in Virginia...

So, we have this house in Virginia. It used to be our dream house. It was on the golf course, had great views, a big basement. When Ray first became a real estate agent, he stumbled across this house, and took me to see it. Not only was it a great house, but it was in the same neighborhood as our good friends.

We sold the house we owned at the time in a matter of minutes, and got this one.

It turns out it wasn't our dream home, it wasn't in our dream location. Soon after living there, we realized living in Virginia wasn't where we wanted to raise kids. So we up and moved to North Carolina.

But we decided this a little too late. The real estate market had already taken a turn for the worse. We had our house on the market, and I think we had all of three people look at it in three months. It got down to the wire, so we listed it for rent, and had a renter in it in no time.

And that's where it has been for almost two years. A renter who took good care of the place, paid rent on time, and even installed a hot tub on our old patio.

And now that her lease is up in April, she's moving out.

Ray is going up there this weekend to look at the house and check things out. Obviously we are going to list it for sale and rent, and take the best thing that comes across. I just hope and pray we don't have to make two mortgage payments for too long...

Eating History

While scrapbooking this weekend, I came across Audrey's stats from her 18 month appointment. She weighted 24 pounds. The same weight she was at her two year appointment a few weeks ago with a cast on her arm. (Ray seems to think they weigher her incorrectly at that 18 months appointment, I don't remember...).

I looked back at Ashley's stats and she was 24 pounds at one year. To say these two are completely different is an understatement.

Ashley will devour pretty much anything you put in front of her, but she especially loves fruit. Any fruit, blueberries, peaches, pineapples. Meat? Loves it. Pork (what kid loves pork?), chicken, beef.

Audrey? French fries and cookies (or cook-cooks as she calls them).

After her 2 year appointment, I was a little concerned (as in I was freaking out and stressing out that she was starving to death, when in reality she is fine). I took the girls to Virginia, and that first night at my parents house, she did not eat one bite of dinner. Not one.stinking.bite.

The next day? Ate just fine. Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

And I stopped stressing out.

Sometimes she eats, sometimes she doesn't. We fill her plate at dinner with everything we are eating, and most of the time she choses at least one of the items to eat. And if I am really concerned, I give her a drinkable yogurt. At least I know she is getting calcium and getting filled up.

She may be little, but stay away from her in the morning, at least until she has had her morning cup of milk...

Senseo Coffee Maker

I am an avid coffee drinker. Every morning, either Ray or I make coffee and I take a mug of it with me for my drive to work. On the weekends, we still drink it as our kids still get up at the crack of dawn.

I was excited when I received the Senseo® Coffee Machine to try out. It is a single cup coffee maker, and for me would be great for my office. It is very easy to use, and the coffee was good. I am spoiled with Starbucks, but the coffeepods that were sent with it were pretty tasty. And they come in different types of roast, so if you like the dark roasts versus the light, you can get what you want.

What you guys can do it take a quick survey. Selected participants will then receive a Senseo® Coffee Machine, bag of coffeepods & storage canister, as well as five $20-off a machine purchase cards to pass along to others. The kit contents retail for over $70 and participants are only required to pay the $15 shipping & handling fee.

Is this good or bad??

TV Reviews

Mission Accomplished

I had some specific goals for this weekend to get done as far as scrapbooking, and I did them. For those of you who do scrapbook, I do an album for each girl for each year, I do an album for every big vacation (like Disney), I keep a Christmas album where I do a couple of spreads for each year, and I do an album for each of the girls' birthdays. I know, I have high expectations.

This weekend I wanted to get my Disney album done from our vacation in October and start on Audrey's album for age 1 to age 2 (January 2007 - January 2008). And I got it done. Wahoo!

So yes, the weekend was great. The resort was nice, and we had a huge room to scrapbook in. There were 12 of us (I think...) and some new people, and meeting new people is always nice. I had my first Cookout Milkshake (I have no idea if Cookout is just a North Carolina thing or not...I know they weren't in VA). I had filet mignon for dinner on Friday night and got uninterrupted sleep every night.

The only downside was that our organizer, Sabrina, got sick and ended up having to call her husband to come get her (she had gotten a ride with someone else there). And another woman was fighting off a cold as well.

On Friday, Edie and I went and registered the girls for kindergarten at our base school. As we were sitting in the office, filing out the forms, a little boy walks in holding a trash can with vomit dripping off his face. Obviously he had gotten sick and was coming to the nurse's office. I am hopeful that since Ashley has been in daycare since she was three months old that she will bypass some of these sicknesses in elementary school. But man, that was gross...

Friday Pictures...I used to think they looked alike...

I failed to download the hundreds of pictures I have on my camera last night. I had priorities - watch Lost and pack for my weekend away scrapbooking. Yes, I am leaving today around lunch time, picking Edie up, registering the girls for kindergarten, and off we are to Pinehurst to a beautiful resort where we will scrapbook our little hearts away. I might even take some pictures while I am there, you never know.

So anyways, the pictures for today are some old ones I have on my laptop. I used to think the girls looked alot alike, but what do you think?

Ashley when she was 16 months old...she was huge compared to Audrey!!

Ashley again about the same age...
Ashley one year old
Audrey about 18 months
Audrey at 15 months

I will not be checking email, blogging, or any other computer related activity this weekend. Just me and my scrapbooking tools. Have a great weekend!!

My Drive Home (from last week)

Maybe I will make this more than a yearly event...I think I did this about a year ago. These are pictures I took on my drive home one day last week. What possessed me to do it was the first picture...

This guy should not get paid for this. He wasn't even holding up the sign for people to read it. And see his hat thing up against the pole? He didn't even look like Ms. Liberty (he was advertising Liberty Tax Services).
Miles and miles of grass, courtesy of the Turf Management division of NC State.
Am I the only one who thinks she looks nothing like her voice?
Proof of the drought here. This pond last year was filled up to the brim, now its just a muddy mess.
Obviously star glasses make the quick drive home much better (that and finding the goody bags I had hidden for emergency purposes from Chuck E. Cheese helps...).

Wednesday Wrap-up

I feel like I have left you guys hanging on a few things...just thought I would wrap them up for you in a nice little post.

Audrey has not bitten in over a week at school. Although I am sure I am jinxing myself, I think we have turned a corner in the biting arena. What did it? Peter Pan. Seriously. Both of the girls are infatuated with that movie. Audrey is reminded when she is dropped off at school that if she bites, no Peter Pan on the drive home (which is only a ten minute drive, if that, it takes over a week to watch the whole thing).

I lovedlovedloved all of your ideas for Valentine's Day for Ashley. I will definitely take pictures.

My week has gotten better. I tend to stress over little stuff from time to time. I got my paper done on Monday night, and I probably got a 100% in that class anyways. I only have a few months of classes to go.

Bunko is still on at my house tonight. Thankfully the cleaning lady came yesterday, and it seems there will probably be only 12 women instead of 16 coming. There is a pretty big basketball game in these parts tonight, and it seems most of the husbands are going to it (UNC - Duke).

And you know what else has made this week better? Warm weather. It was 75 yesterday, and I think it's supposed to be the same today. I pray for those families hit by all of the tornadoes yesterday though...I couldn't imagine living through something like that.

It's been a while...

I hadn't been tagged with a meme in so long, I was beginning to think no one loved me.

Steph tagged me, and here you go...

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN BLOGGIN? I started almost two years ago, when we relocated to North Carolina.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START A BLOG AND WHO ARE YOUR MENTORS? I wanted my extended family to have a place to go where they could check up on the girls since we left them high and dry back in Virginia.

ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE MONEY ON-LINE OR JUST DOING IT FOR FUN? I am definitely not trying to make money, although some of the free stuff I have received has been pretty cool.

WHAT THREE (3) THINGS DO YOU LOVE ABOUT BEING ONLINE?
I love meeting new people, I love getting great advice and great ideas, and I love connecting with friends I had many, many years ago.

WHAT THREE THINGS DO YOU STRUGGLE WITH ON-LINE?
I struggle with writing some stuff only because I don't want my family to think all I do is whine, and all their grandkids (or cousins, or nieces) do is bad stuff. But I get so much help when things are going bad here in my household.

TAG 3 PEOPLE - You, you and you. Get busy.

Intuition

I finally watched the Oprah episode from last week about the book, The Gift of Fear. I had been wanting to watch the episode every since reading about it on Edie's blog.

And I completely agree that we all have some sort of intuitive thing in us that warns us before something is going to happen. Even if it is just a slight feeling, something being off.

Like choosing a daycare or nanny or preschool for your kids. If it doesn't feel right, it won't be right when your kid goes there.

I know someone who is going to send her kid to a daycare because the price is right, even though she did not have a good feeling when she walked into the place. And it's killing me that she is making that decision.

A few weeks ago, Ray took Ashley to the gym with him so she could play with her friend there. Plus, she really enjoys the child center at our gym. He said he was on the cross trainer, and he just had a bad feeling that something was going to happen. And sure enough, he heard his name over the loud speaker a few minutes later to come to the child center. It wasn't bad, just Ashley had a bathroom accident (as in she didn't make it to the bathroom and peed all over herself...she does that when she gets totally engrossed in playing every few months...) and he had to come get her to take her home.

But he had had that feeling that something just wasn't right. It's amazing what our minds and bodies can tell us without us knowing it.

We should all follow that feeling.

This post is going to be a jumbled mess...

I am so pissed right now, my blood is boiling. Let's just say this...I really, really do not like my job. At all. The end.

And I am tired. Audrey decided to have her monthly "I'm going to cry so hard and throw up everywhere" things last night. And then she ended up in bed with us, which included her waking up at 4:30am saying "Go downstairs" about a million times over and over again. Because she obviously thought it was time to get up after only a few hours of sleep.

And I have a huge paper due today for my class. And I haven't even started it.

At least the Giants won, wahoo!! I did get to watch the last 40 seconds to see it. I like pulling for the underdog. I do not like the same team winning year after year, gets kind of boring.

And I am hosting Bunko at my house this Wednesday, which means 16 of my neighbors come over and play. Ray is pissed (and rightfully so) because he doesn't think that he will be able to get the kids asleep and he wanted to go to Ash Wednesday service at church. I am stressed just having to host it.

And I have to register Ashley for kindergarten this week.

I am getting to get a little break this coming weekend. I am going on a scrapbooking retreat in Pinehurst with some really good friends. I think I need this break.

I officially do not like Mondays. I told you this post would be everywhere.

Friday Pictures - Audrey gets her cast off...

These four weeks Audrey had her cast on went by REALLY fast. And we are glad. She was beginning to use it more as a weapon to hit her sister. And I was anxious to see what her skin was like under there as she has stuck a paint brush down her cast last week.

These pictures aren't the best quality, but here you go.

She was fine when they sawed the cast off, never cried or flinched. It was when she had to have x-rays that she was pissed. I guess keeping her arm bent at a 90 degree angle for a month and then a nurse making you straighten out your arm, you would be pissed too. She is refusing to move her arm, and keeps telling me, "I hold it". The x-rays showed the break had healed and new bone had formed, so she's good to go.

Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken
Source: Slow Cooker Recipes

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup melted butter or margarine
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 packets dry Ranch or Italian Dressing mix
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 ounces cream cheese, cut into cubes
1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 chopped onion

Brush chicken with butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in a CrockPot and sprinkle 1 packet dry mix over all. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours. About 45 minutes before done, brown onion in 1/4 cup of juices from CrockPot.

Add soup, second packet of dry dressing mix, cream cheese and chicken broth. Cook until smooth. Pour over the chicken and cover and cook another 45 minutes.

Serve with sauce. Goes great with rice or pasta. I have made this a few times, and it was well liked by all!

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