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Currently...

I stole this from my friend, Stefanie, over at Lexie Loo, Lily Boo, & Dylan Too! Thanks for the idea! :)

I'm watching...House Hunters and House Hunters International. I'm addicted! I love seeing the houses and cost in other areas. Really interesting to see what is important to other people. And, of course, Glee! I'm a major Glee-k!



I'm reading...Fever by Maya Banks. Very 50 Shades-ish. I had planned to read The Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare (the author of The Mortal Instruments series) but I got sidetracked after re-reading the 50 Shades trilogy. I'll me on to Clockwork in the next day or so though.

 
I'm listening to...Justin Timberlake, Maroon 5 and Of Monsters and Men for the most part. Or what ever is on the Pop/Alternative station.

 
I'm thinking about...what I need to do to get on a better schedule for myself and the boys. I waste a lot of time instead of being productive and it shows at home.


I need to...make a daily schedule, cleaning schedule and get the house in order before we go to Hawaii for my sister's wedding. Summer vacation starts right after and I need the house organized by then!


I'm creating...some cake designs. I have my first client in August and I want it to be perfect. I also have Noah's birthday in June.


I'm cooking...not much. It's very difficult to cook now that I'm back to working in the evenings. And I get so out of practice with cooking that on the two nights that I am home, I don't want to. I have been making more crockpot meals for the sitter's nights so they aren't eating frozen junk all the time.


I'm shopping for...nothing but groceries this week! We had to buy a car this week since Jason's is too expensive to fix at the moment and the car he had been borrowing started having problems too. Pretty soon I need to start buying everything we need for our trip next month.


I'm organizing...not enough!! I NEED to organize the entire house. It's getting out of control. The first place is partially done and that's the loft play room. My pantries are next with extra shelves. (My baking stuff takes a full pantry!!)


I'm proud of...my husband! He's doing so well at the job he started in the Fall! He's moving really quickly in the company!

I'm looking forward to...summer vacation! I'll be so glad to not have to get up so early and get 4 kids ready and out the door by 7:45!


I'm loving...having some extra days off in the next few months at work! I miss my family!!


I'm very grateful for...God's provisions! We've had a tough few years and we're finally getting back on track! It's nice not having to struggle so much!


Our plans for this week...I work this weekend but we'll spend some time outside during the day with the kids. Next week is actually pretty quiet too. Now that Nix doesn't have his Doc-band anymore, we don't have to drive down to Pasadena!! So exciting! :) Just gymnastics on Monday and taking care of my fix-it ticket. :)

Liebster Blog Award AKA Spilling My Guts

 

My lovely friend, Elizabeth, over at Must Love Mommyhood was nominated for a Liebster Blog award and had to answer some questions. I decided I'd answer them too! I love Elizabeth's blog and envy her ease at knowing what to blog about. I'd love to have her following! I'd recommend checking out her blog on homeschooling, RVing, autism, TEXAS (hehe) and her crazy, amazing, Z-pack!

 

Here's my answers. I'd love to know what other questions you all have about me and my family. Feel free to ask and I'll answer!

What are your plans for 10 years down the road?

Oh wow. Elizabeth listed the ages her kiddos will be and it shocked me! So here it goes!

My hubby will be 52. I will be 38. (Insane!). I will have a 17 year old, 15 year old, 12 year old and 10 year old. (Even more insane!) Hopefully there won't be any younger kiddos then that! God willing... I'll be working as an RN in a NICU or possibly even have my Nurse Practitioner license or be a NICU Certified Nursing Specialist. I'm also considering becoming a Certified Midwife instead. I honestly wish I had a homebirth with Nix. I was very close to having one anyway! Performing homebirths would be pretty amazing. I have a big decision to make when I go back to school once Nix is a bit older.

I'm not sure where we'll be living. I'm hoping Jason will become a regional manager and that will guide where we live. I do know that we plan to buy land for our next and hopefully final home and build exactly what we want from the ground up.

I'll be guiding my girls into college choices and encouraging them to go wherever they feel God is guiding them. And guiding my boys to make good decisions and hopefully not breaking any bones at those ages!

Why did you start blogging?

I had friends who blogged. I've been an Internet nerd since I was about 12 so it was pretty natural for me. I tend to fall off the blog train easily though. Using the Internet on my phone instead of a PC really stopped my blogging too. I'm trying to get back on it though!

Are you planning on changing things up on your blog or have you already?

Very much so. I want to start to blog daily. One of the things I'm planning at home is a daily schedule. I don't manage my time well. I'd like to plan a bit of blog time too.

Do you have any favorite “secret” obsessions?

Oh so many. My reading list isn't PG. Books are my biggest obsession!

What is something you’d like to learn more about or learn to do?

I love learning more about cake baking/decorating. I'd love to branch out and sell my cakes. I also want to get back to cooking more from scratch and even growing and canning some produce.

What is something you’ve learned that empowers you when you’re stuck in a rut?

Honestly, I'm kind of in a rut right now. I haven't really learned how to get past being overwhelmed and stay motivated. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

If you had the chance to meet someone (past or present) and ask them any question, who would it be and what would you ask them?

This is such a great question and I really don't know! I can't think of one specific question I would want to know. I think it'd be lovely to meet Laura Ingalls Wilder because I LOVED her books as a kid (and still do). I would just love to talk to her and see what she was like but nothing specific I would need answer.

I would love to see my Nana again and ask her if she things I'm doing a good job with my kids though.

If money were no concern, what would you do differently in your life? Splurge? Travel? Hire a nanny? Save the world?

First off, I would for sure have a housekeeper. I am AWFUL at housecleaning. I get so overwhelmed and just don't know where to start. An organizer would be great too. I would like to travel but I would also love to have an Equestrian Rehabilitation facility. So I could help Special Needs children and adults learn to ride and give them some joy and freedom. (I still hope to do this some day!)

What’s your favorite thing to shop for?

Stuff for the kids, house stuff and BOOKS! Books are normally the only thing I buy for myself. Very rarely do I buy clothes for myself.

What is your favorite thing about yourself? What thing bothers you most about yourself?

My creativity is my favorite trait. I love doing fun things for the kids. The fun lunches, holiday tables, birthday cakes and Elf on a Shelf tricks are so fun for me and the kids love it. I'm hoping these are the things that they will remember and remind them that they had a fun childhood.

I actually have two things that really bother me about myself: my temper and my laziness. I have always had a bad temper. I was the kid that stomped up the stairs, screamed "I hate you!" and slammed my door shut (which has always been a big joke in my family...). I was able to really work on my anger a few years ago and didn't find myself yelling etc as much. I find myself slipping a lot more now. I hate that I raise my voice with the kids and come off in a bad mood. I don't want the remembering that. I think working full time and taking care of 4 kids and a house on very little sleep is really getting to me.

I've always been lazy. My room was a disaster growing up. Even when I first moved out on my own, my house was awful. I learned and got better at cleaning up but I can't seem to stay motivated lately. I'm not an outdoorsy person either and my kids have suffered because of it. They don't go outside as often as they should. It's something I'm working on.

If you had the chance to be your total opposite for a week, what do you think you’d learn?

If it came to not being lazy and getting this house in shape, I'd love it! I SO wish I was a neat freak sometimes. :) I'm hoping to turn into one. I do know that the house being messy irritates me a lot more then it used to.

Happy Half Birthday!

Today my baby boy is 6 months old! It is definitely a bittersweet feeling watching your last baby grow. Time seems to go by so much faster and it seems so odd sometimes that I will never have a newborn again! Though it's also nice to know that I might actually get some sleep soon. :)

Here's a look back at Phoenix's first 6 months!

After being a stubborn boy, you decided to make your appearance 3 days after your due date! But Mr. Nix, when you decided it was time, you REALLY decided it was TIME! You arrived on 9/11/13 at 10:00am only 10 short minutes after Mommy got to the hospital. It happened so fast that Daddy missed your birth and Mommy didn't even know if you were a boy or a girl until a few minutes after you were born. You were born in the caul with the amniotic sac completely intact. The nurses said that makes you a lucky baby! You were much smaller than we expected at exactly 8oz and 20.5 inches. Newborn clothes fit you perfectly!

At 1 month old you were sleeping about 3-4 hours at a time before waking up to nurse. You were such a good baby and rarely cried. You didn't react much to noise most likely because your siblings were always so loud! You loved to sleep in your swing. Your big sisters and brother adored you! All they wanted to do was hold you. Noah would get so upset if we took you from him. You had already moved on to 0-3 month clothes! You grew very quickly! You smiled for the first time this month!

At 2 months you were still waking Mommy up at night. :) You started being awake more and watching everything going on around you. You were exclusively breast fed and kept on growing! You moved on to 3-6 months clothes by 2.5 months. At your 2 month well child visit, Mommy pointed out the flat spot on the back left of your head to your doctor. He diagnosed you with Plagiocephaly and order Physical Therapy for neck exercises and positioning. We went for about 4 visits before you got sick. It worked to loosen your muscles.

At 3 months you developed quite the personality. This was a rare smile. You are always so serious! Right before Christmas you got sick. On Christmas Day, Mommy and Daddy were really worried about your breathing and Nana and Mommy took you to the hospital. You ended up having RSV and staying in the hospital for 4 days. Mommy never left your side. Afterwards you were so much better. It was very scary to see the difference and realize how sick you had been. 3 months later and you still have a cough. It looks like you will be following in your big sister's footsteps with asthma.

At your 4 months well child visit, the doctor decided that the PT had resolved the neck tightness but the plagio hadn't resolved itself. So we went to Cranial Tech to be evaluated for a Doc-band. They determined that you had moderate Plagiocephaly (flattening) and moderate-severe Brachiocephaly (widening). You were fitted for a your band at 4.5 months. At this point you could roll over to your side. Your sister, Avery, swears she saw you roll all the way over but Mommy thinks she helped you a bit. You were almost 19lbs at 4 months and had moved on to 6-9 month clothes!

At 5 month you had a lot of changes! You started really teething and didn't sleep as well. You woke up 2-3 times a night to eat (which was hard on Momma!!). You could roll over at this point but even at 6 months you still rarely do. Sometime Momma thinks your band gets in the way. You started wearing your Doc-band just after you turned 5 months old. You wear it 23 hours a day and it's already showing a lot of improvement. You don't seem to mind it too much except when you're really tired. Momma started giving you some first foods (both homemade and store bought) and you do ok. You liked everything except carrots. You got the flu and didn't want to eat anything so you haven't had many kinds yet. Not that you need it! You're a big boy at over 20lbs already! You're wearing a mix of 6-9 month and 12 month clothes.

Happy 6 Month Birthday, Nix! We are so thankful and blessed to have you in our lives. Momma and Daddy love you, Always and Forever. :)

Menu Plan Monday-ish~ 3/5/13

Ok so it's Menu Plan Tuesday...My days kind of run together around here. :) But technically the menu was done on Friday so I'm ahead of the game right?

I decided to revamp our eating this week. I've fallen off the WW wagon, the kids are eating the same things (crappy junk too!) over and over when I'm working and our 2 year old eats nothing but carbs. So I made a list of breakfast, lunches and snacks to go with the dinner plan and am really focusing on getting everyone eating healthier. I also picked some new things for Crockpot meals on the nights our babysitter is here. Go figure the boys are sick today so I'm not working but the Crockpot meal will really help make it easier with sickos!

Most of our grocery trips lately have consisted of a TON of processed, prepackaged junk lately. This week I spent a huge portion on produce. I'm eating salads again, Noah's actually eating some fruit and veggies for once (Not letting him snack on carbs all day makes him hungrier at meals and more willing to try. Who would've thought? Duh.) and I've even been making green smoothies for the kids with spinach in them! Those were a HUGE hit with all 3 big kids. They want them every morning for breakfast with different fruits each time.

Breakfasts: Smoothies, cereal (I'm making this less frequent...), whole wheat bagels with cream cheese, scrambled eggs with turkey sausage, oatmeal, egg white burritos (for me)

Lunches: "Lunchables" (Turkey, Crackers and String Cheese), PB & J, Leftovers, Mini burgers (Smart Ones...I'm ok will Noah having half of once since it's the only meat I've gotten him to eat this week!), Turkey or Tuna Sandwiches, English Muffin Pizzas (All with fruit and veggies.)

Snacks: Crackers/Cheese, Fruit, Carrots/Dip, Raisins, "Squeezie" baby food pouches for Noah (These are so expensive but at least I know he is getting some fruit/veg every day!), rice cakes

Dinners:

Sunday 3/3: Salmon, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli (First time making salmon at home. I was at work but Jason made it and the girls LOVED it! I'm going to start picking different kinds of fish for the weekends instead of Tilapia all the time.)

Monday 3/4- Turkey Tacos, Salad

Tuesday 3/5: Sitter Night (Until kids got sick!): Homemade Spaghetti and Turkey Meatballs, Salad (This is one of my favorite changes we've made over the past year or so. It is SO easy to use crushed tomatoes/tomato sauce and add all the spices instead of buying Prego. It tastes way better too. I'm hoping to buy a tomato plant and can my own. Scratch made meatballs taste so much better too!)

Wednesday 3/5: Laughing Cow Chicken Cordon Bleu, Rice, Green Beans

Thursday 3/6: Sitter Night: Breakfast for Dinner: Egg, Waffles, Turkey Sausage

Friday 3/7: Sitter Night: Crockpot BBQ Chicken, Rice, Corn

I'm looking for more kid-friendly, healthy, Crockpot meals for the nights I work. Feel free to post your faves in the comments!

Head over to OrgJunkie for more menu plans!

Menu Plan Monday~ 2/4/13 (Giveaway!)

It's February?!?! How did that happen?? The end of the year flew by so fast in a wave of holidays and sick kids (and parents!) I feel like I missed December and January! But everyone is FINALLY healthy and we're starting to get into a routine now that I've been back to work for almost 2 months.

I really miss cooking. Menu planning/grocery shopping actually kind of bums me out because I know I won't be home for 5 out of the 7 dinners (I work the evening shift...). Plus I try to make the 3 meals that my babysitter needs to make pretty simple and something I know the kids will eat. That gets pretty repetitive! But I just can't NOT menu plan. Even though I don't always post it, I can't remember the last time I didn't make a menu for the week.

Through into the mix that I'm back on track with Weight Watchers and it makes for a longer grocery list. I tend to focus on my lunches since I usually take a frozen meal in to work for dinner. I found a pretty tasty option to throw into the mix (hence the giveaway after my menu)!

Sunday 2/3- Turkey Club/BLTs, Chips/Veggies/Dip


Monday 2/4- Chicken Ranch Pasta

Tuesday 2/5- Spaghetti, Garlic Bread

Wednesday 2/6- Country Club Chicken, Rice, Green Beans

Thursday 2/7- Popcorn Chicken, Tater Tots, Corn

Friday 2/8- Hotdogs, Mac and Cheese

Saturday 2/9- Our Valentine's Celebration with the Kiddos! Breakfast: Pancakes

D: Heart Pizza, Heart Breadsticks, Strawberry Milk, Mini Cheese Cakes

Head over to OrgJunkie for more menus!

And onto the giveaway!

I was really excited to try the ProgressOh! Light soups. Soup is quick and pretty mess-free which is super helpful for this mom of 4! Plus my husband has been using this awesome personal size travel Crockpot at work and soups fit perfectly. We received two type to try:

I tried the Chicken Pot Pie and it was actually pretty good and filling. The fact that it said Chicken Pot Pie made me crave the buttery crust though. It's so low in Weight Watchers points that I could definitely have a biscuit or something to feed that craving. :) A lot of cream style soups are watery but this one was pretty thick. I would buy it to have again!

My husband has the Creamy Potato at work today. It's not lunch time yet but I'm pretty sure he'll be happy. How can you not like something with bacon and cheese in it? Personally I would probably add extra cheese because I LOVE cheese. :)

And now for the giveaway! MyBlogSpark and ProgressOh! are providing a gift pack for one of my readers!
Your ProgressOh! Gift pack will contain:
• 2 cans of Progresso® soup

◊ Light Creamy Potato with Bacon & Cheese
◊ Light Chicken Pot Pie Style

• Cosmetic Bag
• Compact Mirror and Brush

The cosmetic bag is actually really cute and I needed a new one! Mine was from when Avery was a baby!

To enter just leave a comment telling me what your favorite, quick, family friendly meal is! (I'm always looking for new ideas!!) The giveaway ends Sunday, 2/24/13 at 11:59pm. Please include an e-mail so I can contact the winner!

"Disclosure: The information, products and ProgressOh! gift packs were provided by Progresso through MyBlogSpark."