My head is spinning.

I had my 2nd Girl Scout meeting today. I am not sure if I can do this or not!!! I love those little girls already, they are all so sweet. But, there is A LOT to do being a Troop Leader. Keeping up with paper work on every girl, making sure to inform the parents on news & happenings, planning craft ideas, planning meetings, buying supplies, managing troop bank account, and of course holding the meetings and trying to keep 7 busy girls in line and keeping them occupied for 2 hours. I love the concept of it, but I am feeling very overwhelmed with all the paperwork. No matter how organized I think I am being, no matter how much planning I do for the meeting, it never goes the way I had it in my head. I have been told by other troop leaders to hang in there, it gets easier. I sure hope they are right because I am not giving up regardless. I am trying really hard not to let this stress me out, easier said than done. And to think I have to be in charge of all the cookie sales too, oh boy! I need some tylenol just thinking about it!

At today's meeting we made birds out of a craft book I checked out from the library. You use paper plates, pipe cleaners, google eyes and glitter/watercolors/crayons/markers to decorate the bodies. They turned out really cute but the girls made a mess with the glitter glue. I hope no parents are ill over that, hehe. Now, I have to plan a fun & cleaver craft for our next meeting which will be Valentine's themed. We already plan to decorate Valentine's cupcakes to earn the Cupcake Decorating fun patch. It's a lot of fun so I am hoping the fun will soon out weigh the stress of it all. Any ideas on a Valentine's craft for 5-8 year olds???

Count Your Blessings, Everyday!

I hear people say too often how bad they "hate" their life, how stressed they are, how they want more money. Money can buy a lot of things but it can not buy your happiness or your health. If you are HEALTHY then you have more than a lot of people do. And for that you should be grateful. Your own happiness is up to you and no one else. Your only as happy as you make up your mind you want to be!

That being said, I am so very blessed in more ways than I could ever sit at this computer and list. I am healthy, I am happy, I am loved, I am warm when it's cold and I am cool when it's hot. I have all the things I need and on occasion I get some things I want. We are able to give our kids a good childhood and make sure their needs are met as well, they are and always will be #1.

So, the next time your feeling down on yourself or cussing God that your life is 'bad' just take the time to count your blessings and stop your complaining. God is good to everyone, some people are just too naive to see it. Stop being blind to your blessings. If you are healthy, Thank God for that and just remember that it could be taken away from you at any given time. I thank God for each day I wake up, because if I live to see another day, I have been blessed! I think God everyday for my children and their health as well. I never take anything for granted. For I know life is too short and too full of blessings to miss out on a single one.

Artsy Fartsy

Another new hobby......

I need warmth!!!

All of this snow has got me dreaming of Summer! I'd even settle for Spring at this point. I used to miss the fluffy white flakes of Winter but, not anymore. I have had my fair share! Oh, warm weather... How I miss you so!!!! The cookouts, the pool days, tanning, walking at the park, going to yard sales, the smell of fresh cut grass, playing on the Slip n' Slide with the kiddos..........

Sadly, this Summer, I won't look this good :( But, I will enjoy the warmth anyways!!!

Yesterday, I found another way to get myself & my son out of the house, while the girls were at school. Since I have something for the girls to do, I thought it was only fair to find something for Caleb to be involved in also. So, we attended Story Hour at the local library!!! They do it every week on Tuesday's for children ages 2-5, and it's FREE!! Caleb was actually very well behaved & seemed to enjoy it. He sit in my lap on the carpet while the librarian read books about snow. The kids sang songs & did the motions to go along with the words. Then we made snowmen out of marshmallows, candy & cookies. They were too cute. Caleb was trying to eat his the whole time so I didn't get a good picture of the finished product. I think we will make this a weekly tradition!

*Please ignore my baby pouch in the background!*

Change is a good thing!!!

I have for way too long lacked in that area. I have sunken into such a routine that I forgot how to try new things and switch it up a bit. One of my goals for 2011 was to be more involved in things & find ways to get out of the house. I hated feeling like I was a prisoner in my own home. Let's face it.. When mama's not happy, aint nobody happy!!!! This mama was just so unhappy! Not with my family or with life in general, but with myself. As Mommy's I think we lose ourselves. I know I have forgotten how to do things I enjoy or how to put myself first every now & then. I am always focused on the kids, schoolwork, cooking, cleaning, laundry... never any time for Ashley! I don't mean I want time away from my kids by no means. I actually would like the opposite.. finding ways of getting out of the house with the kids & spending more quality time with them. Enough moping around & talking about it. I had to take action. In order to get different results you have to try new things.

My biggest endeavor so far has been Girl Scouts!!! Today, after school, was my first meeting. I LOVED IT!!! It felt good being around other kids, talking to other parents, and using my brain. At home my brain is usually set to autopilot and I just go where it takes me, naturally. I had 7 girls to attend today. From Kindergarten through 2nd grade. They were all so sweet and were full of energy. We made bookmarks with the Girl Scout Promise on them. The girls even made me one that they all signed. Put together puzzles, played duck duck goose, and Simon says. Then we discussed what badges they would like to earn. They were all so girly in their choices. The top 2 were cupcake decorating & make overs! I am so excited for my next meeting & look forward to making life long friendships. I am far too creative to never put my talent to use! Finally a hobby that I can be creative with!

And the verdict is...

I went yesterday for my Ultrasound. I was so relieved to hear that everything with the baby looked good. That was most important for me. I've been really anxious & paranoid the whole pregnancy, so it put my mind at rest to hear the good news. The baby was estimated at 10 ounces, which is right where it should be.

AND.... We also found out It's a BOY!!!!!!!!!

30 fingers & 30 toes

Last night my Husband & I were looking through our kids baby pictures. We remembered how little & sweet they all were, & shared memories with each other. We are both very excited about meeting baby #4.

Catherine Ann

October 3, 2003

3:41pm

7lbs. 13 oz. / 20 inches long

Kayley Beth

May 31, 2006

6:20pm

7lbs. 3 ½ oz. / 19 ¾ inches long

Caleb Ryan

November 21, 2008

1:21pm

7lbs 13 ¼ oz. / 19 ¾ inches long

What's on my mind

I am insanely bored today. It's another snow day for the girls but they are next door playing with the neighbor's kids. Caleb is staying rather content with his Spongebob DVD collection. Overall, the house is rather quiet. Weird! I have googled tons of craft ideas I want to try but of course I have nothing here to start any of them. I think a trip to Hobby Lobby is in order very soon!!! I used to be a very crafty gal but I've lost all that somewhere in between changing diapers, and laundry! One of my hopes for this year is to take more time to do the things I enjoy, which doesn't include cleaning the house.

My pregnant belly is starting to make an appearance *tear*. I have been trying really hard to watch what I eat so I don't gain a whole lot of unnecessary weight. I would really much enjoy being able to wear my size 6 jeans again, shortly after birth, preferably.

All this snow is really getting on my nerves. Too many snow days & not enough patience or nerves to handle them. School was out yesterday, why?.. I am not sure, the roads were clear. That really annoys me. I'd like to be able to enjoy the sunshine with my kids this summer but they will probably be in school for most of it.

My ears are still bothering me. Have been for going on 2 months now. The doctor prescribed me a bottle of nasal spray that cost $139.99 (thank goodness for insurance)!!!!! And it doesn't seem to be working, figures. The nasal spray really makes me gag, goes along great with all my morning sickness.

I set a goal for myself for this year. Every week I set a small, reasonable goal that I know I am able to accomplish. Last week's was to organize the closets, check! This week's is to cook a new recipe every night (well M-F, weekends are too unpredictable). Last night's meal was awesome! I will post recipes at the end of the week so you can try them too. Cooking is one of my all time favorite things to do other than EAT!!!

I will start my Girl Scout's Leader training next week. Kinda nervous about that, but excited too. This is what I know so far, I will have Brownies & Daisies (K-3rd grade) And I can hopefully get my troop going before cookie sales end in March. Yay, who doesn't love Girl Scout Cookies?!?! I do have to find & appoint my co-leader & find a babysitter to watch Terrorist while I'm at the meetings.

I have babbled enough for now... I really should find something productive to do or at least a Lifetime Movie!!

Here's The Buzz

I got so much accomplished last week & over the weekend. That says a lot for me, I usually struggle just to stay on top of the daily cleaning! Not sure where my energy & motivation boost came from but I was thankful for it! I got all the closets cleaned out & organized, and my bedroom rearranged. I know it's a no-no but we put a tv in our room so Caleb could watch Spongebob from his own bed & hopefully fall asleep in it. It's worked, so far! I love the little booger but I do not need another sleeping partner, I have my husband already. Between him snoring and talking in his sleep, I can do without the milk breath in my face, and the kicking me in he back all night from Caleb. We also agreed on a baby name (for now) but didn't go with either of the names from the poll or the letter K. Go figure. Then, yesterday I went to the grocery & stocked my cabinets in case of snow. Just in case your wondering, I did buy milk, bread & eggs but only because we were out. Who ever said they are necessities for getting you through a snow storm never spent a day in my house!

I also found the time to temporarily lose my sanity. It seems I can always find time for that, somehow. As if we don't already have enough to take care of around here, I talked my husband into letting the kids get a pet. The guilt of depriving them of a childhood pet set in! So, I worked my persuasive charm, and we agreed on birds, of all things! I did have to compromise and wait until either Valentine's Day or Easter before we get them, bummer! But hey, I won!!

Secondly, I decided once again to take a feet first leap into volunteering. I say feet first because I obviously wasn't using my head when I made the decision. Back at the beginning of this school year I checked into becoming the Girl Scout Troop Leader for my children's school. I had already been appointed and had started my training. Shortly after, my Grandpa passed away & my dad's illness pretty much took over my family. So I had to back out & postpone until later. Well, it's later and things have settled down.. I will be starting my training again in the coming weeks. I decided to do this mainly because my oldest was dying to be a Scout & the school had no leader.. Mommy guilt got me again!!! I believe hope & pray that it will be a good thing. It will certainly get me out of the house, yippee! It will also give me a chance to spend time with my girls, no boys allowed!! Stay tuned to see how all that pans out!

Naming Baby

I believe this has been mine & my husband's greatest debate so far, in all the 10 years we've been together! We agreed on our other 3 kids names right off the bat. This time, not so much. We kind of have a theme going. Catherine (Catie), Kayley, & Caleb. All start with the "Kay" sound. This was not done intentionally, ironic.. I know. My thoughts are, we need to keep the trend going so baby #4 won't feel singled out from the others. My husband thinks we need to go with a different letter since we often confuse the kids names, now. I think we have finally decided to stick with a K. But, we are stuck between a few different names for a boy. I've posted a poll to the left of my blog, Please Vote!! Or feel free to offer suggestions!

Creepy Enough

A friend of mine told me about this video. I will have to admit it is rather creepy.....

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

It mentions at the end of the video many believe it has Biblical meaning. I'm not sure if a bunch of fish & birds dropping dead in 2 cities of 1 state has that much meaning, just in my opinion. I mean it is creepy, and I'm glad I don't live there. But, I believe the world ending will consist of catastrophic events. Not sure that this classifies as that. It would have to start happening all over the world before I believe it has significants. I don't believe any one will be able to predict when the world will end. That is up to God and as believers we never know what He's up to. Either way, the movie 2012 still creeped me out. And as far as the Mayan calendar, they could have just got tired of predicting & calendar-ing that they figure December 25, 2012 was a good stopping point. What are your thoughts?

Identity Crisis

I am having a conflict with myself.. I always thought of myself as a clean freak but after doing some cleaning around the house today, I think I may be an undercover pack rat!

Why have I been hanging onto 56 (not a type-o) socks with no matches? I've been collecting them in the laundry room cabinet like they are some kind of treasure. I went through them and only found matches for 3! Which brings me to my next question- Where did the other 53 mates go? If only I was creative enough to find a crafty way to reuse them. But, then again, What mother would want their child to play with a sock monkey made from used socks?! I decided to toss them, anyways!

I cleaned out my purse too. Here were the contents:

-a bulging wallet, not bulging of money but grocery receipts! I don't think I will be returning any of those.

-4 bottles of Germ-x. Okay, maybe that fits in the 'clean freak' category

-3 bottles of lotion

-3 diapers & baby wipes case

-a pair of my sons socks, (clean, both matches)

-a pocket calender I never use

-an envelope full of misc. papers I don't know the purpose of

-a camera

-pack of melted gummie snacks

-gum

-a grocery list from about 3 weeks ago

-an empty medicine bottle

-a makeup bag stuffed with tampons-- I'm pregnant, why am I carrying these around?

-an empty cd case

-and about 6 ink pens!

No wonder my purse is the size of a duffel bag! I have always dreamed of owning a small cutesy purse. Maybe now I can!!!

I also cleaned out mine & the kids closets but became depressed when I realized I owned so many clothes that I can't wear now :( At least I have a goal for after I have the baby! Oh, and I even found time to go buy a baby swing! And it's only 4pm! What ever will I do with the rest of my day??!!

First Post of the New Year

I have started every day so far with a big breath of fresh air. Mainly because I've been sick with a terrible cold and I'm gasping for air when I wake up since I can't breath out of my nose & my throat is sore from holding my mouth open all night. Nonetheless, I believe I will keep this trend going throughout the coming days.

So far, the new year hasn't felt very new to me. On January 1st about 3:30am we were having a storm with strong winds, which blew our trampoline about 2oo yards into he neighbors cattle field. My Dad was in the hospital up until yesterday, his surgery went good, thank God for that. I've been down sick which caused my husband to miss a day of work, my girls went back to school today. I already feel lonely. Here goes another big breath of air before starting my day....

2011, Please be good to me!

p.s. Thanks for your comments & suggestions on my last post. I have decided to take my son to the doctor just to be on the safe side. If there is one lesson I've learned through my years of being a Mommy, it's to trust your Mommy instincts!