Gabbla

My baby girl is 8. 8 years old. Where has the time gone? I wish time would SLOW DOWN!!! So, Gabby turned 8 today. We had a spaghetti dinner (her favorite), and both sets of grandparents came to help celebrate. We had so much fun. Having them here sure helped make her day special! She's getting baptised on Valentines Day. Yeah, I know. "What!??!" is the reaction I had. She's totally excited, though. And that will make it easy to remember the day! Tomorrow she has her first activity days. She is just not old enough for this. Or, maybe I'm not old enough for this. At any rate, it's happening. Gabby is such a fun girl. She has soooo much energy, and loves to talk. She has lots of friends, and makes friends easily. She is a little scatterbrained, but when she remembers to focus, she is a big help. We are so glad you are a part of our family, Gab....We love you!!!! Hope you had a fabulous day!

Merry Christmas to you...

Did you all have a wonderful Christmas? I hope so. It was great here. Nice not to have to drive anywhere, and just stay home and enjoy the family. I will share pics later. Until then....I have added a new blog to my bloglist. I can't even remember how I found it. But I do remember the blog name caught my attention , and I just had to visit. My name is Brayden and my Dad's a Mexican. How could anyone pass that up? Turns out, it's a blog written by a third grade teacher, and this is where she shares all the funny that happens. If you are a teacher, a Mom, or human, you will laugh out loud. Check it out. It will provide laughs to help pull you through the post-Christmas blues!

Merry Christmas Adam!

Do you know my sister? She is the self proclaimed funniest person in the world. I agree. Tonight, she told me "Merry Christmas Adam!". I was like ????. She said "Adam came before Eve, so Merry Christmas Adam!" What a funny girl. Makes me smile.

And, just so I have this written down.....I vow that next year I will have my Christmas shopping completely done by December 10th. I will not shop 2 days before Christmas. I won't! Traffic today STUNK. Next year at this time, I will be relaxing and enjoying my family, not driving on ice covered roads and stuck in horrible holiday traffic. You are all my witnesses. Don't let me forget this!

Baby, it's cold outside!!!!

You know why they call these magic gloves? Because one of them will inevitably dissapear (just like socks). At our house, we have about 15 lonely little magic gloves withour a buddy. Lucky for me, my kids aren't too picky about having gloves that match, cause when the tempurature is in the single digits day after day after day, you just want something to cover your hands. Fashion goes right out the window at this point.
It has been snowing everyday since Friday. The first couple of days it was fun. Even for a snow-disliker like me, the anticipation of the first "real" snow is exciting and fun. Now, I'm ready for April. Seriously. I am not a fan of driving on icy roads. I guess most people don't that, but I am so over having my heart pounding out of my chest while I drive 20 miles an hour down the road. If my husband is home, I make him drive me everywhere. Call me a wimp if you must.
Now that I'm done complaining (thanks for staying tuned) I will share our FHE from last Monday. I got the idea from The McIllece Spot. Well, I didn't have a can, so I just used a gift bag, and did "FHE in a bag". It was a hit! The kids loved it. I did mine a little differently. I took a little tree (perfect size for a table centerpiece), and as I talked about each symbol, the kids took turns putting ornaments (that represented the symbol) on the tree. We are keeping it on our table so the kids can look at it, and hopefully remember the lesson and the true meaning of Christmas.





There were more pictures, but most of them had me in them, and I did NOT look fabulous. So, you'll just have to trust me when I say, It was a successful FHE. And at our house, that is great.

BTW, it's snowing...again. Stupid weather.com said it would be a clear day today. Not so much.

Christmas Tag and New blog

My sil, Melanie, tagged me for a Chritmas tag. So, here goes.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial
3. When do you put up the tree? As soon as I can get away with it
4. When do you take the tree down? January (once Febuary)
5. Do you like eggnog? Not so much a fan
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Legos
8. Easiest person to buy for? females
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Several- I collect them
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Neither. My intentions are always good, but I never get them sent!
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? really can't remember
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? A Christmas Story-"Deck the halls with boughs of horry, fa-ra-ra-ra-ra, ra-ra-ra-ra" lol!
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Day after Thanksgiving
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? everything
16. Lights on the tree? Yes, it's pre-lit
17. Favorite Christmas song? Mary's Lullaby
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Home
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? yes- even Donder!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We open pajamas on Christmas Eve and everything else on Christmas morning.
22. Favorite Christmas Tradition? Cory cooks the dinner!
23. Favorite ornament, theme or color? All of my nativity ornaments
24. Favorite Christmas dinner? Rib eye roast, cooked by Cory
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? (big surpise) For our house in Twin to sell.

So, there you have it! I tag Wendy and Marci and Ashlee and Montay and Lynn and Bonnie and anyone else who wants to play.

Now, if you want to get your craft on, check out this new blog. My sil, Melanie (same one that tagged me) started it. It's a place to keep track of all those great ideas we find everywhere on the net, and some of our own crafty ideas, too. So, head on over and check it out! If you have an idea you are dying to share, leave her a comment with your e-mail, and she'll add you as a contributor.

If I had a Million Dollars....

Do you remember that song? I love that song. And if I actually had a million dollars, I think I might spend most of it at the KEEN website. I love these shoes. Cory got me a pair on clearence when we lived in Twin. They are the most comfortable shoes I have ever, ever worn. And I've had my pair for probably 3 or 4 years. They are still in great condition (other than being dirty). They are spendy, though. I just found their website. They have shoes for everybody, and bags, and socks.

I want these for Gabby and Madi...



...and these for Jake and Alex...



...and these for Jaxson.



And for me? I want these...



...and these...



...and these...



...and these...



...and this...



...and this...



I could go on and on. I love these shoes. But, alas, I don't have a million dollars. So, now, I'll have to settle for playing the coupon game. I don't know if I have the patience for it. But if I'm ever gonna save up enough for all that stuff, I guess I better at least try. So my friend Ali J is loving it. Click on her name, and it will take you to her blog post about the grocery game. There are some great links to other blogs who have links to other sites that help win the grocery game. Ali's favorite place is CVS. I wish we had a CVS here. Sounds like I could be getting lots of stuff for just pennies. Dangit. Oh well. I'll just have to study those other sites, and come up with some other places to save. If you join the game with me, good luck.

I hate Walmart

Someday, I'm going to figure out how to juggle everything. There's just so much to do in life these days, that it overwhelms me. So I don't do any of it! Hence the Messy house and lack of Christmas presents under the tree! And then there's always the stress of the empty house in Twin this is STILL on the market. If that isn't enough of burden to cause stress, I don't know what is! (Ashlee, I feel for ya. I didn't realize your house had been on the market for 18 mos!!!)

I called Cory the other day and asked him to stop by the store and pick me up some motivation. He couldn't find any. Dangit.

I have a feeling this is going to turn into a mighty random post. I've been meaning to post every day, then I don't. Too much to catch up on. So much for keeping a journal for posterity, huh?

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving. We spent it with the Blad side of the family at the cabin. I love it there. It's so relaxing. The kids love playing with there cousins, and pretty much have fun doing whatever. But of course, we had to continue the Blad tradition of Black Friday Madness, so we came home Thursday night. Madi's old enough to babysit, so we left her in charge, and Cory and I ventured out into the cold bright(actually dark) and early at 3:45am. Headed to Walmart. I hate Walmart. I had a feeling it wouldn't be all that great when I saw the two Sherrif's cars parked at either entrance. We went to the Walmart closest to our house, since it was closest to all the other stores, too. Just had to get those $4 jammies, and a few other gems. Just let me clarify something here. The other shoppers were great. (Well, the ones I encountered were. Apperently there was a brawl over the cricuts.) The thing that bugged me the most was the employees. First, as you walk in, you are welcomed by the happy ol' greeter, and handed a map of where the doorbusters will be. The map is never right, and this year was no exception. Cory went off to get the things on his list. I stayed in the area of the $4 jammies and track suits. This Walmart did not have anything gaurded or wrapped up. It was all open with the understanding that you don't take it until 5am. Okay. I'll play along. Afterall, that's the fun of black friday, right? So, there were some rulebreakers who grabbed what they wanted, then moved on to the next thing. Those of us playing by the rules would pick up and look, then put back. Everytime that would happen one the the pajama nazi's (aka-Walmart employees) would scold us like little children and yell at us not to touch anything until 5am. I finally said "Look. There are people coming up, picking out the pj's they want, and walking off. Those are the people you should be yelling at, not us!", or something to that effect. At one point, a customer came over with some of the doorbuster track suits and said, they told me I could go ahead and take what I wanted. So one of the pajama buyers had us save her place in line and went to pick out what she wanted. Once again she was told "You can't touch anything until 5am!! You have to put them back!" She retorted, "I have been watching people come and go with these. There aren't that many left, now. I'm not putting ANY back!!" So that's how it went with Walmart. None of the employees were on the same page. Some were saying go ahead and take it. Others were yelling to put it back. I know Walmart has alot of employees, but they could have sent out a memo or something as to what the employees were supposed to do! At the very least, if they didn't want people touching stuff, they should have had it covered. Walmart ruined my Black Friday fun this year. Unfortunatly, with finances the way they are, Walmart was necessary.

What else have we done??? Oh yeah.

On Wednesday, my sil had some free tickets to the Nutcracker. I've wanted to take my girls to this forever! But the tickets are always so expensive. So when we were offered free tickets, we jumped! Now, let me just say...we had a blast. It was fun and entertaining, and the girls enjoyed it and loved being with cousins. But, this was not your everyday Nutcracker performance. I can only guess that it was a dance recital with a Nuctcracker theme. It was the weirdest thing I've ever seen. I kept expecting to see a few professional ballerinas. Not so much. The older girls who danced en pointe were pretty good. But there were no professionals in the place. And Clara didn't do much but walk around on her tippy toes at the beginning, then sat on a bench at the back of the stage, with who I assume was the nutcracker, and watch everyone else dance. I think that when the cloggers came out and performed is when I realized this was not your traditional Nutcracker Ballet. All that being said, the dancers did a great job. The cutest was the little tiny girls. They were the princesses, I think. Must have been 3 years old. They were ADORABLE! They were supposed to run across the stage and jump over a wand in the middle of the floor. There was this one curly headed cutie who tip toed her way across, with her arms out to her sides, and her nose up in the air...so very dainty like. It was so stinking cute. And, there were some portly ballerina's, older like 14, 15, 16, who were really good! Much more flexible than you would think! And then, another little girl's class, probably 4 years old, danced. There was a little girl who was quite heavy. She sooooo did not want to be there. She just kept looking around at the other little girls, then she would flap her arms a little, then do a little kick, all the while with a look that said "Why did my parents make me do this?" It was funny and sad at the same time. Thanks to the Bawdens for the tickets. We had fun!

Can't think of all the other fabulous and interesting stuff I was going to share. One of these days I'll post a pic of my Christmas tree. And I have some links to some fun Christmas sights, and some money saving sights I want to share. Until then, have a fabulous day!!

tag tag bo-bag...

Before I do the tag-I have another internet favorite...Craigslist. So fun. It's like an online garage sale. Just like a regular garage sale, some things are overpriced...some things are great deals...and you have to do some searching to find what you want. But when you find a treasure...woohoo! And it's soooo easy to list on there. And it's free. Last Thurs night I listed Jaxson's Bumbo seat for $20, since we never use it anymore. Friday morning, it sold. I'm now looking EVERYWHERE for stuff to sale. Craigslist rocks!

And now-the tag. My friend, Marci (Well, actually she's my sisters friend. But I've met her a few times, and she's awesome and so nice. So, she's gonna be my friend, too), tagged me to do the "8 things" tag. And I'm always up for a tag, so here goes!

8 favorite TV shows: (we don't have cable at the moment, so I don't have much to choose from. So I'll tell ya my fave shows past AND present.)

1-Little House on the Prarie (when I was a little tyke, I called this one "Little House on the Primary)
2-Lost
3-Dancing With The Stars
4-Biggest Loser
5-Any CSI
6-Eli Stone
7-Pushing Up Daisies
8-Anything on TLC

8 things I did yesterday:

1-woke up
2-cleaned the basement
3-finished the 2nd Pendragon book
4-bought groceries
5-turned into a slave driver to get the kids to clean their rooms
6-made 20 bucks off a bumbo seat
7-fed my facebook addiction
8-cleaned the kitchen

8 things I'm looking forward to:

1-Christmas
2-having our house sell, so we can buy this one
3-getting the basement finished
4-Thanksgiving at the cabin
5-decorating for Christmas
6-getting new carpet in the Twin Falls house, so it will sell
7-the weekend
8-Twilight-the movie

8 things on my wish list

1-wish the Twin Falls house would sell
2-wish that someone would buy our house
3-wish our house would sell so we could get out of debt
4-wish I could lose 40lbs without exercise, diet, or illness
5-wish I had a fireplace
6-wish Crazy Mommy would put up a new post
7-wish our house would sell
8-wish our house would sell

I tag...Ashlee, Wendy, Lynn, Amber, Melanie, Felicia, Montay, and anyone else who wants to play along!

Good grief....

So, now what's my excuse? I wish I could say I was unbelievably busy. That would sound better than "I've been neglecting laundry, housework, and exercise to waste time on the computer." So, if I've been on the computer, why haven't I been blogging about my fabulously exciting life? Because, I have a new addiction.



It is so fun to reconnect with old friends. And, it's like the ultimate digital pet type toy. You can send newly planted seeds to your friends, and they will grow after a few days. You can send Christmas gifts to your friends, and the ones sent to you go under your tree. You can send smiles. You can have a pet. There are games to play. You can join groups, like "I'm a fan of President Hinkley". (There is really a fan club for Him...so cool.) And now, I've discovered you can kidnap your friends. That's a fun game to play. In order to escape, they have to answer a question about the city where you have hidden them. Seriously, I have spent WAY too much time on it.

Also, I've been reading this blog. I'm a little addicted to it, too. It says on the sidebar that it's fiction. But even though it says that, it's so easy to get sucked into the writing. It's like a blog soap opera. And another way I've been wasting time.

I'm blaming it all on the weather. The change in weather has made it really hard to get motivated to do anything but snuggle under a blanket and put off everything else. Anyway, I'm vowing to do better. I do have alot to blog about.

I had my 36th birthday on Monday. I've never really had a problem with getting older before. This birthday was hard. I really don't know why. I think I just really like the 30's, and am enjoying my kids, and don't really want it to change, ya know?
I told Cory that all I wanted for my birthday was for him to get the kids up and take them to school so I could sleep in. He totally did it. He called in to work and told them He'd be in late, and then took care of it all. When I tried to help Gabby with her hair, she became offended and said, "I already did it!! Dad said you were supposed to sleep in, so I did it myself." It was so hard to let her go to school with her hair looking like it was done by a 7 year old. But I did. It was a good day...up until I forgot to pick my kids up from school. Yep. I really did. They had an early release day that I totally forgot. They got out at 1:40. At 2:00, the school called. I thought,"I hope nobody got hurt, or is sick. Here is the conversation:

Secretary- Mrs. Blad?
Me- This is she.
Sec- I've got Alex and Gabby here in the office.
Me- (That's wierd..I wonder why they are both there. What did they do?) Okay?
Sec- They are waiting for a ride home.
Me- (...???...) Oh crap! I totally forgot it was early release today! I'll be right there!

And for the rest of the day, felt like loser Mom.
We went out to eat at Bajio, and Cory's sister and family came with us. It was yummmmm. Afterwards, Cory took me to Deseret Book and bought me this...



And part of this...



And then we went home and ate this...



Chocolate Tuxedo Mousse Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. Actually, we got it at Sam's Club. It was soooooo yummy!

And I guess 36 isn't so bad.

Tagged...

I was tagged by my SIL, Melanie tagged me. So here you go...

A-Attached or Single?--Happily attached and married
B-Best Friend?--Cory
C-Cake or Pie?--chocolate...what? that should totally be an option!
D-Day of Choice?--Friday...got the whole weekend ahead.
E-Essential Item?--books...we don't have a dvr OR cable. I read alot.
F-Favorite Color?--happy sunshine yellow
G-Gummy Bears or Worms?--bears-I don't know why.
H-Hometown?--Burley
I-Indulgences?--sleeping in-aahhh.
J-January or July?--July...summer vacation, fireworks, warm weather...
K-Kids?--6 of 'em.
L-Life Is Incomplete Without?--My family (good answer, Mel)
M-Marriage Date?--August 19, 1993
N-Number of Siblings?--1 brother, 1 sister (and lots of in-laws)
O-Oranges or Apples?--chocolate...just kidding-ummm apples
P-Phobias or Fears?--fear-failing my children, and our house never getting sold.
Q-Quotes?--"Because I said so!"-all mom's everywhere
R-Reason to Smile?--I have great kids
S-Season?--Spring
T-Tag 5 People?--Wendy(because you need to post again!!), and anybody else who wants to play.
U-Unknown Fact?--I was on the women's clogging team at Ricks College
V-Very Favorite Store?--my new favorite store is Porters...so fun!
W-Worst Habit?--procrastinating
X-X-Ray or Ultrasound?--Ultrasound-it's usually for a good reason. (but I'm done)
Y-Your Favorite Food?--Depends on my mood. I pretty much like it all!
Z-Zodiac?--scorpio