Starting a new Job and some doughnuts

For the last 6 years I've been a Full time Mommy. Picking up a few odd's and end jobs here or there, but nothing where I had to be there everyday.

Yesterday I was offered a job working pretty much full time...until the 1st of September. It could go on longer than that, but more than likely not. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. I've had to get the kids up and ready to go, and be places before, but never everyday.

For all you Cloth Diaper mama's out there, I've got a question for you! If your babe goes to daycare, and the sitter does cloth, how does it work out? What's your wash routien like? Thankfully the sitter is going to be doing cloth, so it will help cut some of the cost of having all 3 kids in daycare!

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A few weeks ago Dahrran asked if we could go to the local gas station for doughnuts. With a tight budget, I told him not today, but maybe someday we could make some doughnuts. Everyday for the next week, he asked Every.Morning. if we could make doughnuts. I finally caved one weekend and decided we would make them. Knowing they would take time I decided we would eat breakfast as normal, and then eat them for lunch!

I'd say he was satisfied!

Our 4th Celebrations

We didn't really have plans for the 4th, but ended up having a great day. My sisters and I went with my dad and his girlfriend to a Flea Market in the morning. We were able to make it home with plenty of time to rest and head to dad's house for a BBQ & some fireworks.

It was quite windy when we first started some of the smaller kids fireworks, and so I was having a hard time getting the snakes to light.

Kaitlynn enjoyed doing sparklers. I think it was her favorite part of the fireworks.

They were watching Grandpa set off rockets, look at Kaitlynn's face! Poor little girl got scared to death from the ones that shot up in the air.

That is unless she was sitting on my lap. Not Joel's lap, my lap. If I'd leave her and a firework would go off she would just cry. While she was on my lap she was fine!

Thanks to my sister, who said "Dahrran and MacKenzie get over there!"

This is on the 5th. Look at the difference in tempatures! It was cloudy and rainy on the 4th, but sunny and downright hot on the 5th. Here the kids are watching a few fireworks we set off.

Everyone was bathed, and in their pj's. Well techinaly they weren't Kaitlynn's PJ's. Thanks to one nasty diaper rash, Kaitlynn was running around sans diaper after her shower. She decided to poop on the carpet and had it all over herself, so back in the shower it went for her, and these are the clothes she picked out!

The last two sparklers, and so Dahrran and Kaitlynn had to share! Kaitlynn loved it up just as the night before!

Desperate Call for Help

I'm in desprate need of help. Okay so that sounds bad, and I know a lot of you who know me are saying, "Thank goodness she is finally asking for it!" But really. I need help, help with a bike rally! And ideas for it.

You see it's our little town's celebration...this weekend (July 10,11,12) and I'm in charge of the Kids' Bike Rally! I'm not good at this. I'm telling you. I'm okay when I've got help, but to do it myself I'm not quite sure where to start. You see I wasn't supposed to be in charge, I was supposed to have help. But the lady that is normally in charge is going through a rough time, and has decided she is going back to school (KUDOS TO HER!!!!!) and so has been focusing on that. Which leaves me in charge.

Just to give you an idea of what happens, read this post. I'll wait. Finished already? Wow you're fast! Any who I'm not quite sure what I want to do this year! If I want to go ahead with the same idea as last year or spice it up and do something different!! And the prizes? What should they be? (last year we did water baloons, noodles, and bubbles) We can't go too extravagant because I'm payin for this myself, and we're already on a tight budget!

I need your ideas...well and FAST! Remember I'm DESPERATE!!! Thanks in advance! :)

Wordful Wednesday - Cousin's Wedding

Joel's cousin got married a few weeks ago and I'm finally getting the pictures uploaded and such. Just wanted to share, but didn't want to say much so I was going to make it a wordless Wednesday post. Of course though it's kind of hard to with this many pictures!


Notice Kaitlynn's dress in these first few pictures...you won't be seeing it again!







I was off walking/talking to DH's family when all of a sudden he comes up to me and tells me we have to go home. I ask why, and he proceeds to show me his shirt, Kaitlynn's dress, and his undershirt. Poop. Kaitlynn has been cutting her back molars and along with that comes the mess. We were wearing a Cloth Diaper of course, and for some reason it didn't hold it. I'm thinking it's because she'd been that way for a little bit, and all the ups, downs and squeezes didn't help. After a quick trip to the Dollar General we were back in motion, and danced the night away....well some of it anyways.



I even convinced him to take a picture...this was the best we got.



Kaitlynn danced with her cousin Kendol.



MacKenzie danced with the Bride, cousin Sara, and then proclaimed she was ready to go home. She'd danced with Sara, and it was time to go home.



As we were getting ready to walk out the door, Grandma Cast was back from church, and got a quick dance in with the kids!

Baseball season is Over!

Dahrran had a great season playing baseball. He didn't always get to play, but he did have a great time, was a great team player and always supported his team. He had one great hit that won the game,(sadly I missed it) and even got a "game ball". Dahrran learned a lot, and has come a long ways from the beginning of the summer.

Dahrran's team was ranked 4th in the league when it came time to league tournaments. They played hard, and even came up against the #1 team. They even almost won that game but fell short by one point, which is pretty incredible considering this team had beaten everyone else by at least 10 points. They ended up playing the #2 team in the end of tournaments for 3/4th place, and came out to win 3rd place.

Overall they had a great team, and a great summer. But I can't say I'm sad to have our Monday and Wednesday nights back! Maybe I can get some actual blogging done!

Smarti Pants - WINNER

Thank you all for entering the Smarti Pants giveaway. This is going to be a quick post because I really need to get a shower taken...after helping Joel I'm pretty burnt and full of grass! :(

The WINNER of Smarti Pants diaper is.....drum roll please........

Comment number 33 :

danielle said...

zealandsmom and zealandsmom1 follow you on twitter

June 22, 2009 7:41 PM

Danielle please contact me in the next 48 hours with your info and what color you choose!!!

A little fun for the weekend!

I found this around the blogosphere, and thought it looked fun! I don't usually do these type of things, but hey why not!

8 Things I am looking forward to:
1. Summer slowing down so I can enjoy it!
2. Selling our House
3. Abi - Physical Therapist comming to see Kaitlynn (she hasn't been here in a few months!)
4. Sweet Corn...YUM!
5. BETH COMES!!!!! (in less than 2 weeks!!!!)
6. Shampooing carpets (I know, but they're in bad shape)
7. Spending the weekend with Joel...even though he's not home! :(
8. Our 5 year wedding anniversary!

8 Things I did yesterday:
1. Went to the Bank
2. Went to wally mart
3. Ate a McDonalds Club Chicken sandwich yummm
4. Worked in the afternoon
5. Ate cereal for supper!
6. Went to work with Joel
7. Held a baby pig
8. Tucked my kids in bed!

8 Things I wish I could do:

1. (right now?) Take a nap!
2. Go visit my mom
3. Snap my fingers and things would go into their places!
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

8 Shows I watch:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Desprate Housewives
3. CSI Miami -used to watch regular until Greys' and CSI were at the same time..on dif. networks!
4. Brothers & Sisters
5. Ice Road Truckers...although the kids & Joel watch it more than me.
6.
7.
8.

8 People I'm Tagging:
Everyone!!!!!! Come on have some fun, and let me know you played along!!!

Your Questions Answered!

First thank you to all of you participated in the "Ask us Anything" post! There wasn't much response from it as I'd hoped, but that's okay too! It just means I'm not going to be sitting here typing all night...like I'd feared!

*Husker* asked :"what month and day were you and your husband married"
We were married December 18, 2004. (5 years this year!!!!!)
We had set a wedding date for May 7, 2005 and then found out we were unexpectedly expecting on April 29, 2005. I wouldn't change that December day for anything though, it turned out to be a beautiful, warm day!!

Rhonda asked: "How many tv's & phones do you have in your house?"
We have 2 TV's & 3 Cordless phones, 2 cell phones.

Seeryus Mama asked: "What is your favorite book or author?"
I love to read, but don't have a favorite book or author...is that bad? My current obsession is the House of Night series by PC & Kristen Cast.

amanda asked: "What is your unique talent?"
um....talent, you mean I'm supposed to have one? I'm not sure I do, so I'll tell you something not many people know about me! I'm anal when it comes to sweeping the floors. Not so much that they have to be swept all the time, but when they do get swept I have to have EVERY last speck! (It's so bad that sometimes after Joel sweeps, I go back and do it again, only because I see one thing he missed! I promise that I don't do it unless we have company coming over, but I hate to admit it!)

Gayle asked:
You said you want to move to "the country". Isn't a 200 person town country?
LOL, yeah kind of, but not really!?! We live in a rural area, heck who am I kidding Nebraska is pretty much all rural, unless you live around the Lincoln/Omaha area. Our closest "big" town is about 20 miles away, and the most shopping there is there is a big fat Walmart, and the DINKIEST Walgreens ever! To actually have decent shopping you need to go about an hour away. (which we rarely do! :()

How many cattle do you have?
We have 4 cows, 4 calves, and 1 bull.

Do you slaughter or send them out or keep them?
Well we mainly keep them, unless geneticly they don't stack up. It just depends on what they look like come fall. If they look like they'll be a nice cow & have the genetics we want then we'll keep them, if not they go to the sale barn(where they'll probably end up as feeder calves). The bulls we try to sell at private auction if they've got good genetics...it's all in the genes! :)

Do you have a cattle farming website?
Darn, I've been caught. We have a blog that is supposed to be dedicated to our cows. Unfortunately, I haven't updated it in a coons age! I'm slacking, and Joel lets me know. But you see I'm not good with genetics, and so I would like for Joel to sit down with me to blog. Makes it hard to get it done when we're both tired at night! Maybe soon we'll get it together!

So there you go, hopefully you learned something about us!! Still want to get in on the action? Go ahead ask away, and we'll answer them up!

Tiny Prints - Giveaway

When I first got asked to do this review, I wasn't quite sure about it. I mean we don't have anything big going on that we need prints for, and frankly I usually do them myself. All I had to do was take a look at their website to change my mind! They are more than just invitations, and birth announcements. They have Mommy Cards, Stationary, Address Labels, and so much more!

Tiny prints is an online retailer and are growing in leaps and bounds! As a result, tiny prints has created four new Facebook pages, each concentrating on a specific product area. Go on, check them out...I'll wait!

Eco-Friendly Cards

Business Stationery

Holiday Cards

Wedding Invitations

Now do you understand what I'm talking about! Their stuff is GORGEOUS! No matter what the occasion, there is something for everyone at tiny prints.

Here is just one of my MANY favorite things on their website. And no I'm not hinting at anything, I just really like this design!

THE GIVEAWAY!!

tiny prints is generously offering a $50.00 gift certificate to one lucky reader.

How to Enter:

Become a fan of one or more of their Facebook pages (as listed above). Post a comment on the wall linking to your favourite tiny prints product or Wedding Paper Divas product.
Come back here and comment, telling me which page you are a fan of.

OR

If you are not on Facebook, you can enter by visiting tiny prints, and choosing your favourite tiny prints card. Save it in your account on their site.

Return here and tell me in a comment that you have completed this step.

Mandatory entry must be complete in order to qualify for additional entries.

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES:

*Follow my Blog.
*Blog about this contest -(must link back, leave blog link)
*Follow me on twitter (leave twitter name)
*Tweet this contest (must include @amongthemess)

Contest will run through Friday July 10, 2009. Please leave your email address to be notified.

Smarti Pants - Giveaway - CLOSED

Cloth Diapers are great not only great for the environment, but they are great on your pocketbook as well, which is why made the switch! Another reason we love cloth diapers?? They're WAY too cute to just pass up! But I know what you're thinking, yucky poopy diapers, and washing them, just not for me.

I was the same way. I loved my diapers but really didn't like the whole washing process. You see we use mainly One Size Pocket Diapers at our house, and taking the inserts out sometimes is a chore. A rather yucky chore if you ask me or maybe you should ask Jessica, the brain behind Smarti Pants. Not only is she smart, but she's sweet as well!

Smarti Pants diapers are the first diapers with a Pantented "Smart Sleeve." What makes this so special verusus other diaper you may ask? Well remember my least favorite task when it comes to cloth diapering, (taking out those inserts)? The pantented "Smart Sleve" makes that chore no more! All you do after taking the diaper off your baby is throw it in your wet bag and walk away, the insert comes out in the wash!

So you've thought about cloth diapering but can't take the big leap because of financial reasons, LOOK INTO THIS DIAPER!!!! This is the cheapest One Size diaper on the market! Right now they are currently selling on the Smarti Pants website for $14.95 with two inserts, or for an even sweeter deal go for the 3 pack with 3 inserts for $36.95! Awesome! I'm sure you're thinking well if they're that cheap then they're cheaply made. Not the case! These diapers are just as durable as many of my more expensive diapers, and have the same high quality features I love! Give them a try hands down, you won't waste your money.

Smarti Pants diapers are GREAT on Kaitlynn because of the adjustable snaps. You can't really tell it in this picture, but they also overlap on one side in case your little one is teeny tiny like Kaitlynn. We've had issues with snap diapers not fitting right because you can't overlap the snaps, but I'm loving the snaps on this diaper for the overlap feature. Overall I'm giving this diaper a 10! We love it and go to it as soon as it's clean!

****GIVEAWAY****
Smarti Pants was generous enough to offer
One lucky baby a new Smarti Pants Diaper!

All you have to do is, go to Smarti Pants' website, come back here and tell me what color you would choose to put on your little Smarti, and what you love about this diaper!

Want Extra Entries:
*Follow my Blog.
*Blog about this contest -(must link back, leave blog link)
*Follow me on twitter (leave twitter name)
*Tweet this contest (must include @amongthemess)
*Comment every day with your cloth diaper tip (1/day)

You must come back here and comment every time you do one of these, or they will not count. Contest will run through June 28th, 6:00PM Central Standard Time.