Family Updates

The time has finally come where our family isn't able to survive on my income alone anymore; our savings that we had put aside for my maternity leave are depleted. Craig was offered a job, a good job, in an industry that he loves, and he has accepted. He starts next Monday.

Good thing is the hours are 4pm to 1am for the first 6 weeks (training), so that means only 1-2 hours that we'll need a babysitter. Even better is that since it's such a short time-frame, Kaitlyn will be the baby-sitter. She is looking forward to the experience and earning money and we are both relieved that we will not need to put Camille in a daycare setting just yet. I know that daycare is not the worst thing in the world; it's just not mommy or daddy. Or in this case, sister.

Wish us luck. To say that next week will be an adjustment for us, is an understatement.

And just because I love sharing photos:

A'hoy Matey!

I needed a break from the tediousness of THE blanket, and wanted something that would give me instant gratification. This was the perfect project. Super cute, super quick little Pirate Pal from the Lion Brand website. I worked on this during my pump breaks at work, and it took only two days to complete. Will be a gift for Kaitlyn, since she is in love with anything pirates.

My Girly's a Daisy!

Celeste joined Girl Scouts and is now officially a Daisy! She is soo excited about this! She had her second meeting last night and they had their Investiture Ceremony, where the girls are formally welcomed into the world of Girl Scouts. They learned the Girl Scout promise and then had an ice cream party! It was so much fun to watch her participate and make new friends.

My blog is worth what!?

I always wonder where they come up with these type of things? And how they figure the calculations? What makes a blog worth more? But according to this site, my measley little blog is worth a measly little $1129.08.

I entered the URL of some of my favorite blogs and there's some money-makers out there! Don't know where to cash in on these, but I sure could use an extra $1000.

My blog is worth $1,129.08.
How much is your blog worth?

How much is your blog worth?

Menu Plan Monday

Can you believe that November is almost over? We are in the last week of November! Where did this year go?

Pretty easy week here for our menu plan, still recouping from last week!

Monday: Lemon Pepper Chicken with steamed rice and broccoli.

Tuesday: Vege tacos with refried beans and all the trimmings. Fruit on the side.

Wednesday: Oven-BBQ chicken legs with baked potatoes and corn on the cob.

Thursday: Cheesy Baked Ziti with a big salad and crusty garlic bread. So, so very yummy and makes a BIG pan, so there's enough to freeze for left-overs.

Friday: BFD! Either french toast or pancakes, eggs, and fruit.

Saturday: Free Night!

Sunday: Grilled Cheese sandwiches with Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup.

Head over to Laura's site to see more meal plans.

Also - Check out the contest that Green Style Mom is hosting for some cool baking gear! I absolutely love baking at this time of year and how cool would some star shaped breads be?!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Not a lot to say, just wanted to share some photos. I hope everyone had a wonderful day, full of family and food. I made dinner this year, and it was soo yummy. And the best part is, I get all the left-overs!


My mom ate dinner with us, here we all are sitting down to eat. Like the girls' turkey wreath hanging in the backround?

Even Camille had some Thanksgiving day dinner. She loved feeding herself the green beans! She also gnawed on a carrot (but didn't eat any of it) and had some mashed sweet potatoes.

After dinner, some of Craig's famile came over to visit. Here's our family, with my mom, his mom, her boyfriend, his two sons and Craig's sister. I love having family together at holidays.

Thankful

Melissa at Banana Migraine has tagged everyone to share what they are thankful for this Thanksgiving, and everyday. We all have soo very much to be thankful for.

I am thankful for Camille. Before I got pregnant with her, I was going through some serious depression, and when I found out that I was pregnant I wasn't exactly happy. I didn't think I would be able to handle another child emotionally, and had finally come to accept that we were going to have two and only two children. The moment I held her for the first time, and every day since, I can't imagine my life without her. Our family wouldn't be complete without her.

I am thankful for Kaitlyn. She is such a cool, wonderful, beautiful girl. She is a great help in the house, and especially with her younger sisters.

I am thankful for Celeste. My princess. She is such a fun kid. I love seeing her learn everyday.

I am thankful for my best friend, my husband, Craig. Without him in my life, I would be an emotional basketcase. To quote a Blue October song - he "gives me a quiet mind."

I am thankful for our home, my job, our continues good health and our many friends and family that we love soo much.

There are soo many more things that I am grateful for in life, much to much to list in one blog post. I tag any and everyone who feels blessed in life to share what they are thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Crochet Updates

I've been slacking in the updates department, sorry. I have been getting stuff worked on, just not updating. I've updated my Christmas list a bit. I'm not going to stress myself, I will get done what I can get done. It's not like anyone is expecting homemade gifts. For now though, here's what I've been working on.

1. Milly's Round Ripple Baby Balnket

I'm actually a bit more finished since taking this picture. I've started the pink rounds, so just about 8 more rounds to go until I am done. I keep seeing blogs/posts where people talk about what a quick project this is. I must be the slowest crocheter in the world, because this feels like it is takign for-evah. But I still love the way it looks and the yarn is super soft. It's going to be soo cozy and warm and gorgeous when it's finally done. I really want this to the blanket that Camille drags along with her everywhere as a child, takes with her when she leaves for college and someday passes it on to her own kids.

2. In the meantime, I whipped up these fingerless gloves for my oldest. She asked me to make her two things for Christmas: fingerless gloves and socks. I think I can oblige. I made these using a heavily modified version of this pattern from Inner Child Crochet. Obvioulsy, I didn't include the tops to the mittens/thumbs and they are bigger. I used the same cheapy yarn that I had left over from her hat, so at least they will match!

3. I am still stuck on these damned cute birdies. All I need to do is add the beaks and eyes. All I've needed to do for the last 3 weeks is add the beaks and eyes, I just can't motivate myself to do it. Maybe tpying out my laziness will be the motivation I need to get these done. They really are cute!

4. And last, but certainly not least, the Soft as a Cloud dress for Camille from the book Simple Crochet for Cherished Babies. The pattern calls for a fingering weight yarn. I started this with a worsted weight yarn. Yes, I really can be that dumb sometimes. Of course, it's already way to big, the picture is just one of the sleeves, so I am shelving this for now and will start it again when I get the right yarn. I might also continue with this yarn and she'll have it for when she's an older toddler. lol

I'm also just starting a new project. This shrug/bolero for my 5 year old. In a beautiful deep red Borroco Touche yarn. No prictures yet, so far just the 1st row done. I am attempting to modify the pattern since it's written for an adult, hopefully I don't screw it up too badly. If the finished product looks half as good as the pattern photos, she will love it.

Blue October in Concert

As I posted in this blog post, a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to get to see Blue October in concert not once, but twice.

Thursday night's show was in St. Pete at Jannus Landing, which is a fabulous little outdoor venue. It was nice and cool outside, so there was minimal sweatiness. lol The show itself was great! I missed the first opening band, Love Drug, but was able to catch Shiny Toy Guns set. They are great! Should have bought their CD at the show, but I will definitely be getting soon. Met up with one of my good friends after their set and we stayed together for the rest of the show. Up next was Yellowcard. Not really my bag, but they were ok. Very energetic, good musicians and performers, I just didn't kow the music well enough to enjoy them. There were a lot of people there specifically for them, though, which was good for me because once their set was over a lot of people cleared out. Leaving us plenty of room to get up closer.

Kate, one of our local DJs from 97x (the reason the Tampa area even knows about Blue), came up on stage to introduce Blue October. It was wonderful seeing her up there, Kate has been stationed in Iraq for the last 6 months or so and just got back a couple of weeks ago.

Once Blue took the stage I was lost in the show. They are a phenomenal band and never, ever fail to awe and amaze me. Justin was full of smiles and was interacting with the crowd throughout the show. Ryan was just on fire, he is such a talented musician.

All of my pictures are from a crappy disposable camera, so they kind of suck, but here are the best of the bunch:

Will post a review of the Orlando show later. :)

Menu Plan Monday

Thanksgiving is this week, and I absolutely can't wait. I will be hosting this year and am really looking forward to it. I love playing hostess and cooking/baking. It will just be us and my mom, unless my hubby's mom decides to show up. But even if she does, Craig doesn't think she will be eating with us.

Here's our plan for the week:

Monday: Oven BBQ chicken drumsticks, fried taters, and corn on the cob.

Tuesday: Chicken Parm with angel hair pasta, broccoli and garlic bread.

Wednesday: Grilled Cheese sandwiches with chicken noodle soup for the girls.

Thursday: Turkey Day! We'll be having all the traditional sides with our turkey: mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato cassarole, green beans, corn, cranberries, corn-bread stuffing, and fresh baked bread. For dessert, I will be making pumpkin and apple pies and Celeste wants me to make rice krispie treats.

Friday: Mom and I will probably go shopping, and then we'll just stuff ourselves on left-overs for lunch and dinner.

Saturday: Free Night for me. Whatever Craig plans on making for dinner tonight is what will be served

Sunday: Chinese take-out and popcorn with a movie.

Hope everyone has a FABULOUS week and holiday! Click the link above for more menu plans.

AHA Heart Walk

Today was the day for our local Heart Walk. It was a beautiful day, perfect for being outside. The morning started out a bit cold, but by mid-walk, we were peeling off our sweaters and enjoying the sunshine.

They started off with a pep-rally (basically) and a warm-up. We then we walked through Safety Town, or as Celeste called it Little Town, a miniature-size city that is designed to help teach kids about safety. Celeste loved this part and we quickly ended up at the back of the pack because she wanted to stop and look at each little building.

The track & fielder in Craig started coming out at that point, and he urged (read "come on, come on!") us on to walk a bit faster, so that we weren't dead last to finish.

Camille slept through most of the walk, but when she woke up, she wanted out of the sling so that she could play!

After the walk, they had lunch provided for the walkers from Subway and lots of fresh fruits to snack on. Jarod (the Subway guy) was even there, he did the walk and then some meet-and-greet type stuff afterwards. They also had a bounce house for the kids to play in - Celeste had fun with that!

We also got to say hi to the horseys (and their mounted officers) from the Pasco County Sherriff's Office. But, of course, the batteries on the camera died before we could take a pic. It was a wonderful morning, we all had lots of fun, and it was all for a great cause. This will definitely be an annual thing for us.

Blogging Slump

I've been in a bit of a slump lately when it comes to blogging, just realized that it's been over a week since my last post. Been very busy though. Lots of crocheting going on, and of course, having three kids, I don't have much free time as is.

Most of my posting usually occurs at work, and we've been very busy lately. One of my close co-workers, and friend, just gave her two weeks notice. I know that this is an excellent opportunity for her, and as a friend, I am happy for her. On the other hand though, this means that until we hire a replacement, I will be taking on much more work. And then, I will have to train and get to know a new person, all over again. We've been working with the same tight group for 3+ years, it will be a tough adjustment.

Camille is getting soo big, almost 7 months already! We started solids a few weeks ago. Our first attempt was a hilarious failure - she absolutely wanted nothing to do with it and looked at us like "WTF are you putting in my mouth!" lol We backed off, but she was still very interested in everything we ate and was reaching for foods, so we tried again. I guess she just needed that extra week or so, because now she loves it! She has tried banana, avacado and applesauce. She doesn't eat much, just a dozen or so bites before she turns away, but it's a fun adventure for her.

And now for your viewing pleasure, some pictures. First, Camille's first thoughts on foods:

Now, she eagerly awaits each bite and tried to feed herself:

And just because these are cute pictures, Camille and the giant Care Bears (they're not really giant, but they sure do look like it next to her!)

And, Celeste always loves to listen to Kaitlyn practice her trumpet. The other day, Kaitlyn let Celeste play it. She was actually able to get a few notes out!

Will have more to post later - crochet updates and tomorrow is our Heart Walk.

Heart Walk

This year, the family and I will be participating in our local American Heart Association Heart Walk. We will be walking for and raising money in our dear friend's daughter's name. Miss M is the sweetest, silliest, cutest little 4 year old I have met. She was born with VSD and underwent open-heart surgery in June to correct.

If you'd like to donate, please see my page:

Menu Plan Monday

We had such a lovely weekend! We rented Surf's Up, Transformers and Spider Man 3. And that's about all we did all weekend. The big Sunday dinner we had was a hit, the girls and hubby all loved the roasted chicken I made. And there's plenty of chicken left-over for dinner tonight! I wish I had thought ahead and kept the bones to make chicken stock for a soup. Oh well, next time.

Monday: Shredded Chicken (left-overs) with Black Beans and Rice. Big salad and crusty bread on the side.

Tuesday: Cheesy Baked Ziti. Again, big salad and galric bread on the side.

Wednesday: Oven-fried chicken drumsticks, mashed potatoes and corn on the cob.

Thursday: Hubby is on his own with the kids tonight. I am going to see Blue October! Will definitely post more about that.

Friday: Make Your Own Pizza Night. This recipe was soo easy, and the girls LOVED being able to help soo much and getting to play in the flour!

Saturday: Hubby is on his own with the kids again. I am going to see Blue October, again! Yes, you read that right, twice in one week. Thursday is St. Pete, Saturday is in Orlando. They are soooo worth the drive.

Sunday: Kid Kabobs with buttered egg noodles and green beans. This is subject to (and most likely will) change. Everyone loved the big Sunday dinner idea and my mom is coming over for dinner, so I'll have to come up with something great. If this does get shelved, it will definitely be on next week's menu, the kids will love this.

Happy Halloween!

Ahh, it's finally over! And there WAY too much candy left-over. The last two years in a row, we've ran out of candy, and had to start giving out some of the girls' candy. This year we have gobs of it left. Time to take some of it to work, and get it out of the house!

This year was a bit weird for me. For the first time, Kaitlyn went trick-or-treating with friends, instead of with us. Camille fell asleep before the festivities began, so it was just Celeste and I. We had fun, she tried to be brave, but there were afew house that I was instructed to excort her all the way to the door, not just the walkway. lol

Here are the girls in costume. Celeste is still on a Disney princess love-fest, so she was TinkerBell this year. Kaitlyn is dressed up as Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Great movie, btw.

As I mentioned earlier, Camille fell asleep before Trick-or-Treating began. I asked Craig to put her in her costume if she woke up, so that I could get some pictures. Unfortunately, she wanted nothing to do with her costume when she woke up, so I got no pictures of her from last night.

Fortunately, I did happen to get this one a few weeks ago, when we bough the costume. my little love bug, she's soo snuggly!