Today Was a Good Day

     Well the title says it all! It started with me having the day off. I enjoy my job but having the day off is nice too. I took Matthew to school and on the way home learned my cousin had her baby today. Right on his due day like Matthew. He was born at 9:30 and his name is Aiden Lee. Also born today Ava Grace. She is the beautiful daughter of friends from church. Two healthy blessings born on this day!
     I had the day ALL TO MYSELF!!! That is a rare occurrence that was enjoyed very much! I ran a few errands, cleaned up in the house and....... watched a little TV uninterrupted.
     I then had a parent/teacher/student conference at Aspen's school. She had to lead it. I had a mix of emotions seeing her lead the conference. She was to dress professional and make a professional appearance. I wanted to make silly faces at her. I was proud of her she did great. A part of me is like yeah!!! Another part is like BOOO your growing up to fast!
     Then I picked up Matthew and he got 100% on his spelling test! He also told me other kids wanted to trade lunch with him. He had leftovers for lunch! Yeah me I made a cool yummy looking dinner! Hahahahaha Then Shane was the one he read to tonight. It was nice seeing the way they interact while Matthew does his daily reading. Matthew was laying on his stomach with his feet swinging and Shane was sitting on the floor next to him.
     So today was filled with a lot of little things that made me happy. After the day I had last Thursday I know I will be paying attention to the blessings in my life. Both the big and small ones.

Puppy Chow

This post is for Gigi:) Here is a recipe for Puppy Chow. I have never made it myself even though my whole family loves it. It seems to be at many gatherings and on cookie platters given to us as gifts. I also bought at Costco a bag of Muddy Buddies. It is almost the same thing. Homemade is better.

CHEX MIX PUPPY CHOW

9 cup Chex

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Put cereal in large bowl. Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Pour over Chex cereal, put into a large plastic bag with powdered sugar and shake well to coat.
Spread mixture evenly on wax paper and allow to cool.


This recipe is directly copied from Cooks.com. I use that site often!

Football and Friends

     Tonight we were invited to a friends house to watch the Steeler/Jets game. It was good company and good food. I brought a veggie platter. Since I am working on losing weight I had to bring something healthy! Also on the menu: chicken bog, veggie pizza, meatballs, spinach dip with chips, more veggies, cake, cupcakes, puppy chow and a brownie cookie cake. It was hard! But I think I did.....terrible! Finger foods are so hard to ignore! I will have to work extra hard tomorrow.
     Now notice the large font size. I knew I couldn't think of much to say on the topic but I am trying to blog more often:) Is the larger font deceiving?
    

New Car

Well after the poor costumer service at Chevy with trying to diagnose the electrical problem with the car, we decided to car shop! We have been loyal to the Chevrolet brand until now. We now own a KIA Soul. It has a fun shape to it and just seems to match my quirky personality. So I've been told by many:) We wanted to stay under $20,000. That was a little hard to do! I was surprised at how much car prices have gone up since our last new car in 2002. I test drove another sedan and it was okay. Since I have always ha a sedan it was just okay. Than I drove the Soul and it was fun! It's just a cute and fun car! The payment difference is only $20. It feels good to know I again have a reliable car. I keep looking out the window at it!

The funny part is when I tell people about it and they don't recognise the car I say the hamster commercial. Then they know exactly what car it is! I heard two of my friends tell their husbands over the phone,"She got the hamster car."

Truth is Stranger Than Fiction

     Shane and I had a not so good day. Our car has been acting up. There is something electrical wrong with it. Things such as the power stearing and the car locking when you put it in gear have stopped working. Then my signal lights stop working sometimes. Now the whole car stops working! The alternator has been replaced and the battery is fine. So we had it in the shop to be diagnosed. They could not find anything wrong with it. So they recharged the battery and checked it again in the morning. Everything is fine Mr. Boyd. So we go in to pick it up this evening and it wont start! So we go back in and simply say.... it wont start.
     WELL, they call in the evening shop manager and he is the most condescending man I have ever met! He immediately told us we refused to have our car fix and what do you want me to do about it. He argued with us about it and then said well you do realize it could take a few minutes or half the day to figure out what the problem is. And your running into labor costs then. Tell me again why we brought the car in? We told him we have the car here to find out what is wrong and we want you to find out what is wrong. Then we leave. On the way home we are fuming with how rude the man is. So we decide to go get the car and take it someplace else. So we jump start it to bring home then figure out where else to take it. On the way home it dies.
     We pulled over into a turn lane, thats as far as we could get it. We decide to call AAA to just have it towed home instead of jumping it again. I was in the truck behind Shane and waiting for him to call AAA. Then I hear a horn honk and see a man fly into the air! I can not get the image of seeing a man get hit by a car out of my mind. It was the scariest thing I have ever seen. I called 911 to report the accident and while on the phone I see the man get up, pick up his shoe and walk to the sidewalk! Then out of nowhere 2 other people came over and the three of them start yelling at the lady. The were saying he was in the crosswalk (he wasn't) and she ran a red light (she didn't). The whole time we can't leave because A) we are witnesses and B) our car is dead.
     I didn't realize but Shane saw the guy motion to him and before he could say I'm okay the guy ran into the road! So the guy got hit by a car trying to see if he could help. The lady who hit him was either on her way home from class or going in. She is going to school for nursing, we think based on her attire. She was a wreck! So Shane gave his statement, they just needed my name and number if they needed to ask me questions at a later time. After we went home Shane felt really bad so I told him to go look for the man. Shane found him across the street from the accident digging through a garbage can at a car wash. He is a homeless guy. The man was obviously drunk. Shane thanked him for trying to help and asked if he could buy him dinner or something. The man wanted a beer! Shane gave him $20 and told him to get something to eat. We learned he is homeless and sleeps on someones porch. He also cleans out the garbage can at the carwash for $10 a week. Shane gave him his number and told him to call if he needs anything. He also offered a ride to church as well.
     I walked in the door and didn't mean to but just bawled! It was/is so overwhelming!  Aspen came up and gave me a big hug. She is at the age where those don't come easy! I can't help but feel agh then think what are you whining about think about the poor lady who hit the man and the man who got hit! What right do I have to feel AAGGGHHH I just witnessed it.

A lost tooth

     Matthew lost his second tooth tonight! He was sitting in the blue chair feeling blah from his fever. While he was sitting he was wiggling it with his tongue and popped it out! He came into the kitchen with a bloody tooth in hand and bloody grin on his face! I was surprised to see blood considering he didn't pull it out. I rinsed it off and put it on the counter. We then continued preparing supper. After supper he looked for his tooth and it was no where to be found! He was very upset! The counter it was on Aspen never wipes. I always have to tell her to go back and wipe that counter(she has to wipe the counters after supper). Well tonight of all nights, she decides to listen and wipe that counter too. So Matthews tooth was lost for real.
     He wrote a note to the tooth fairy.    I lost my tooth! The my sister lost it for real (he put a sad face with tears after this sentence). Will you still come?    He then drew a toothy smile with a blank spot where he lost his tooth.
     After tonight's tooth loss I sewed him a felt tooth pillow. It is blue with a pocket for is tooth. I will post pictures tomorrow it is under his pillow now:) This way the next time he loses a tooth, it goes straight into the tooth pillow and under his pillow. We never thought of this for Aspen because she lost her first tooth in the after school program. She then got a plastic tooth case to put it in. She saved that for her lost teeth.
     The tooth fairy was suppose to give two dollars but she figured since he lost it while he was sick with the flu, then he was upset about losing it for real she would give him five! And wouldn't you know after he went to bed and the tooth fairy already came I found his tooth! The cat knocked over the garbage can and out fell Matthew's tooth. We searched all over too! Now I don't know what to do with it. Shane wouldn't let me wake him up. Oh well I put it on the counter and he can give it to her tomorrow. I guess she will have to leave a note saying I already paid you but thanks for the tooth.

The Flu

     The flu season has snuck up on us. I didn't even have time to think about flu shots and it is January already! We are well into flu season and Matthew has it. It started Thursday morning with a headache and his "rib" hurting. He wasn't running a fever or throwing up so I sent him to school. I did give him Tylenol for his headache and with in five minutes his rib felt better. So I assumed he wasn't sick. I let his school know as I dropped him off in case he really was ill. I got no phone call. When I picked him up he told me about his day and chatted the whole car ride home. As soon as we walked through the door he told me he had a fever. I took his temperature and he had 101.5. I would have never guessed he was sick! So that started the Tylenol/ Motrin cycle.
     Friday he laid around and had to have medicine to keep the temp down. Then Saturday he had a high fever with a horrible rash! So I brought him in to the pediatricians office and they tested for the flu and strep. He tested positive for the B strain of the flu. He is now on Tami flu and when he gets well still needs to get the flu shot to avoid the other two strains. Today he had a pretty good day till around dinner time, that is when he started running a fever again. He is doing pretty well over all and even made a book today while Aspen and I were at church! I don't like it when the kids are sick but he is so cuddly! I cherish mommy hugs making him feel better!

I'm A Quitter

     There I admit it I am a quitter! I quit smoking 7 years ago today. Shane and I went from a pack a day to none! It was a lot easier with Shane quiting with me. I was pregnant with Matthew when I quit smoking. So for obvious reasons I wanted to quit. I tried many many times before that but couldn't. Shane quit by using the patch. He didn't go through the whole program. I think they recommended using 3 boxes and he did with one box. He just needed something in the beginning. I couldn't use anything but telling myself over and over, think of the baby. At times I still crave one. I have family members who still smoke. Sometimes when I visit the smell of a cigarette burning smells good and makes my mouth water. Other times the smell is so gross!
     My goal this year is to lose some weight. I gained 60 pounds when I was pregnant and almost seven years later I have lost none! Well right after he was born I dropped 20 pounds but gained all but five of it back over the last few years. I am breaking it down into manageable numbers. My first goal is to be 150 on my birthday. So I have about 12 pounds to lose in seven weeks. I plan on eating healthier and walking in the evenings.
     I need to do this because my blood pressure  is high. So the first step is to try to control it with diet and exercise. I have made it my goal to lose weight for many years. But like quiting smoking now it is a necessity. Did you know 3 out of 4 woman know they have high blood pressure but less than one in three try to work on it? http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/hbp/issues/issues.htm  I am a young mom and will be that one who does.