Punka!

Punka has been hilarious this week!



Earlier in the week, 2 hours after we had put her to bed, she came into the den and told me she couldn't go to sleep because their was poop in the toilet and it wouldn't let her close her eyes. I thought she had gotten up, gone potty and for some reson couldn't flust the toilet. So, I walked her back to her bed and went into the bathroom. There wasn't anything in the toilet except water. She was dreaming! I told her there wasn't anything in the toilet and she had been dreaming. She just giggled and went back to sleep!

Tonight she did something similar. She came in and told me she had been thinking of all the things that are in her body and falling asleep wasn't working for her. I said, "What?" She repeated herself and then I think she realized she had been dreaming. Hottie walked her back to bed!

At dinner, we were talking about Goldilocks's favorite show Phineas and Ferb. It's Hottie's as well. Punka informed us that she really did not like that show and it would be ok with her if it wasn't on. So, Hottie continued telling us about the episode he and Goldilocks watched today and it was pretty funny. Goldilocks told us about his favorite part. This went on for about 10 minutes. Then Punka piped up. She said, "You wanna know what my favorite show is? Well, that is if I had a favorite." Hottie and I lost it! She got so tickled. Hottie is still laughing about it. That and the Phineas and Ferb episode he saw today!

Well, this is me and my life over the edge! Laughing all the way over the edge!

My Obsevations.

Sooo.
The worm isn't worth all the early birds say.
Night owls have the most fun.
You can't be a night owl and an eary bird.
It is difficult to be a night owl in an early bird's world.
I know this from experience.
You may have thought I flew the coop, but I didn't and that's for chickens anyway.
I think I felt like doing that though.
This morning thing is tough stuff!

It takes me a little while to wake up in the mornings. Usually, I'm functioning at 70% by 7:15. Yes, in the morning. But, my family likes the whole early morning thing. They LOVE to sing. That's good...praising the LORD in the wee hours of the morning. They need to solve the world's problems before 7am. And they want my help. I tell them if the world would stay in bed until 7:30 the problems would be solved. Hottie likes to discuss his Patho class and politics. Great nasty disease. First thing I like waking to in the morning. And my favorite....our morning concert. Yes. The children love to practice the piano. LOUD. I think this explains a little about why my life is a life over the edge.

Goldilocks wants to officially change his name to TANK. Whatever. Could you see that on campaign signs. His opponents would love it. "Tank TANK. Vote Jonhson for President!" I told him no. Then he told me it was a good thing we had water squirters on the car with windshield wipers that wind shield wipe. I asked him why and he replied, "So if a mean kid throws his ice cream on the window, you can clean it." Hummm. Never thought of that. But good to know. I wasn't sure if he was thinking ahead to the campaign trail or if was just the next subject that was important for him to cover. Oh. And he really wants to have a sleep over.

Punka is doing great in school. Super loves her teacher. She says Mrs. W is great because she gives out blue points in which you can earn Jolly Ranchers. A teacher after my child's heart. She received her Kindle yesterday and has already been reading it. I downloaded her school books and a few free ones. She was excited to see Alice and Wonderland and Treasure Island. She is definately my reader. Punka also loves her Littlest Pet Shop collection. She saves up her money to go buy a new one every once and a while. She has quite a few of them. Oh. And she wants to have a sleepover too.

Gigi started in the pre-school program at our church yesterday. She was reluctant to leave me but really wanted to check out her "cool". Her teachers are really great ladies and we look forward to getting to know them more this year. She has had a successful run of potty training. A few accidents, but nothing too bad. She Loves her "mousey" panties. She does not like to get them ewet. That is a good thing. We are no longer using the M&M's as motivation to go to the potty. She has forgotten about that now. It did what it was supposed to do. Oh. And she wants a sleepover too.

I don't know what to do about the whole sleepover thing. If I had all of them at the same time it would definately send me over the edge if I weren't already there. Make sense? No? That's ok. I know what I'm talking about.

Well, I need to go review state abbreviations, Latin verbs, spelling words and how to form the letter G. I'll see you soon.

Over the edge in homework.

School started today!

School started today.
It was a good day after many tears!
I couldn't believe the kids cried.

Punka was nervous, anxious and did not want to go to school. We talked alot about what she was afraid of and how God can take her fears away and turn them into joy and excitement. We prayed alot and this morning she went into class happy to see all of her friends. She has a great teacher at a great school. We are praying that 4th grade is a great year. Here are a few pictures we took yesterday before the halls were filled with students.


















Goldilocks cried for the 3 nights between orientation and school. He found out at orientation that he would not have Mrs. F for school again. It was really sad. He said, "But I love Mrs. F. I don't want to go to Kindergarten." We discussed how each year he gets to have a new teacher so she/he can teach him new things that maybe the other teachers don't know. I told him that God puts different people in our lives to teach us how to be more like Him. He seemed satisfied with that. He obviously didn't let the fact that he had a new teacher bother him. He spoke freely and frequently today resulting in getting moved to yellow on the discipline chart. I think it will be a long year with him. But isn't he cute!

















Hottie had a good first week. He will be studying alot this semester. He told me tonight that he was going to bed early and everyone in his lab today said the same thing. I know he will do well. We just have to hang in there and trust that God knows His plan and will provide for us while His plan is fulfilled.

Gigi can't wait to go to school. She will start at our church preschool in about 2 weeks. It is a great school. Her class will meet 3 days a week for half a day. They play alot, work on letters, colors, shapes and numbers daily along with a new unit study each week. Punka and Goldilocks went to the same preschool and loved it. I know she will too. If we could just get there! And I will probably cry.

Oh, well. Such is life, as my mother says.

I'm signing off. I'm over the edge looking forward to a few free mornings. Night.

When I am the President...

Hottie got home in time to go with us to the kids martial arts class today. Goldilocks has amazing focus during class. He knew the pledge after hearing it only 4 or 5 times. Just crazy for a kid that has to be told 9 times to put his shoes away! So, after class we went to Cracker Barrel (I know, you don't have to say anything) for dinner. This was our night out for the week so we ate extra biscuits.

Anyway, while we were eating, Goldilocks said, "When I am President, I am going to make some new rules."

"Oh, really? Like what?"

"Well, the first one is going to be that kids can slurp."
(Apparently, this is very important for a kid 'cause Punka announced that kids can do that in China.)

"Huh."

"And kids can take their shoes off in resturaunts."

"But your feet would get dirty."

"Not if they cleaned the floor."

No response.

"AND (lots of emphasis here)all the spankers would have to be DESTROYED! There would never be anymore spankers ever. Never, ever. And kids wouldn't have sore bottoms."

And Goldilocks would get his Guaps and Grams vote on that platform alone.

So, folks, I now have introduced to you your future President. Please forward this post to all the children you know under 10. Hopefully they will remember Goldilocks and his "rules to change the world" because these surely will.

Over the edge and loving my Goldilocks!

Hottie is another year older!

Hottie turned 37 yesterday! Happy Birthday, Hottie! I love you! You are a blessing to me and I thank God for you every day. You are the only person that can handle all the things I dish out. And you do it with such a great attitude, too! You make me feel like I am funny by laughing at my jokes that no one else gets. That makes me think - do you get my jokes and think they are funny or are you just laughing so I won't feel goofy? Don't answer that. I just love that you laugh. You are am amazing husband to me and daddy to our youngin's. We love you tons. In case you couldn't tell by the balloons on your truck, you rock! Hope you had a great day. Thanks for going over the edge and rescuing me when I need it. I always knew you were my knight in shining armor!

Oh, Gigi!

Sooo.
Gigi decided to potty train although it is an on again/off again interest.
In more ways than one.
The coolness is that she gets M&M's if she teetees or...you know.
She calls them MNE's.
Tonight she told me she didn't like MNE's. But she ate them anyway.
And asked for more.
Interesting.

She was very sick yesterday.
High fever. Wouldn't take any fluids or fever reducers.
We finally got a fudgecicle in her.
That's all we had.
Hottie had a stash in the back of the freezer.
He's sneaky.
Oh, back to Gigi.
She threw up twice.
Sleep till 8am.
She was definately feeling better this morning.
She ate everything in sight.

When I put her to bed...3 hours ago...she had a diaper on.
Because she insisted on having milk before bed.
I wasn't in the mood to argue.
She didn't want the diaper on.
She wanted to teetee in the potty.
About 10 times.
It only happened twice.
I sent her to bed in a diaper.
Oh, Gigi.

Potty training sometimes makes me want to go over the edge.
Night.

While you were gone...

Just wanted to share a moment of my life with you in moving color pictures. And that is moving as in "action" pictures, not emotional pictures. Well, it is emotional for one of us. Enjoy.

And, just so you know. Under all of the Bare Minerals Warmth was artwork made from black nail polish. Amazingly enough, it all came off with out and elbow grease added to the Tough & Tender from Melaleuca. That company was formed because someone had a Gigi, I'm sure!

Over the edge with Melaleuca. And Gigi, of course!

(Note: The video wouldn't upload after several tries. I'll try again later. Love to all!)

Hottie is home!

Hottie and Goldilocks went to Florida this weekend to help Hottie's uncle work on his property. Grandpa P went too! What a treat! So, it was just us girls at home. Punka's best friend (Abelle) spent the night Friday night and the Punka spent the night at A-belle's on Saturday. I taught this weekend for High Voltage @ church. Gigi has been conjested all weekend. Looking forward to my Monday of errands. Just random places to go. Make a few returns and pick up a few things. I'm on the lookout for so Twinkle Toe's shoes for Punka. She needs new tennis shoes and since she wears them soooo much and needs a new pair, I need a great price. That is my challenge tomorrow. I also need a new phone. Mine is driving me crazy. This is not my typical blogging, is it? I'm tired and I'm rambling. I have work to do. Just thought I'd catch you up.

Over the edge with my to do list!

Photographer for Hire

Well.

I have decided to start a photography business.

I take great shots of life.

I have an eye for a great shot.

I am creative.

I love to capture moments to be relived forever through one simple photograph.

Photographs stir emotions, memories, new ideas, new moments.

Photographs are stories to be told.

Photographs make you laugh and cry.

Photographs are past, present and future.

I want to capture your past, present and future.

I want to help you tell your story.

Please stay posted for more info!

New design?

I need a blog makeover.

This thing needs to get her fancy clothes on.

Hmmm.

Gimme some ideas.

I'm going to start looking around.

We need to get a little more colorful.

I'm taking it over the edge.

Stay tuned.

Helloooo Stranger

Ok.

So it's me that has been a stranger.

Sorry 'bout that.

I've been busy keeping up with all the lil youngins the good Lord has blessed me with. Summer is always so weird for us. We are very routine people. We like things in order and scheduled although we can work with spontaneity. Really. We can.

Monday's are my day to run errands and meet up with Hottie for a date. Sometimes lunch. Sometimes dinner. See. Spontaneity.

Tuesday is library day. We return what we are done with and get new books. Duh. Sometimes we go to the library near the house. Sometimes we go to the new one by the mall. Oh! Spontaneity.

Wednesday. This one is tricky and I know you will fall right out of your seat when I tell you. Free movie at the theater OR (this is spontaneity!) bowling. Can you believe it?

Thursday is the day we do whichever we didn't do on Wednesday or we spend time with friends. Catch it?

Friday is a great day usually. Nothing spontaneous about it either! We go to a friends pool and swim till we start to grow gills and fins. How fun! And it is TOTALLY routine!!!

Weekends are usually up in the air. Hottie is home and everyone has their own idea of what needs to be done. Clean the house? Plant peach seeds from all the peaches we used for the jam? How about read 2 books at the same time while dancing to random children's music? it's a "whatever floats your boat" kind of day.

Sundays we go for a swim. We usually take lunch and hang out for a little while. It is time we have come to look forward to through the week.

So, see there. Summer is tough on us. We like to know how it is all gonna work out. What to expect. What we are gonna wear. Ok. So that is really only one of us. PUNKA. What we will eat and see. It is all very important.

And now I have planned a very special event. Sleep. It was a tough summer. Over and out on the edge!

Hi Valerie!

Just wanted to shout out to you since I know you are looking! I will update late tonight! Love ya!

For Angel and the others:

I have taken on the challenge of couponing.

This week I have saved over $155! I spent less. I also have $62 in rebates coming to me.

Here's what I do:

Sunday I buy a newspaper. I scan through it so I know what crazy things are going on in my community. Then I collect the coupons in 1 stack and the sales fliers in another.

After the kids are in bed and I can take over the floor space in the family room, I do. I go to www.couponmom.com. You have to register to use the site but it is free. I use this site to help me fine tune my shopping list based on what is on sale. You go to "grocery deals by state" and scroll for your state and grocery store. It will take you to a screen that lists all of the sales at that store, the coupons (if any) that match with the item, the price you pay and the % you save. You can click on the little box next to each item you need or want to look at closer. At the bottom is a button that will list all of your selections. It says something but I can't remember what that is right now. I print this page out and begin looking for my coupons, making my meal plan based on that and what I have in the pantry and freezer, and shop to save.

Sometimes there are better deals at the drugstores and Wal-mart. Those store are also listed on the website.

All of the stores in my area take computer printed coupons. The most common sites are :
www.coupons.com
www.redplum.com
www.smartsource.com
You can print the coupons out more than once. The site will automatically block you from that coupon once you reach your limit. Coupon Mom has the links on their site.

You can also go to the manufacturer's website. Most of the time they have offers on their sites.

Here are 2 I found yesterday:
www.muligraincheerios.com for 5 $1 off coupons emailed to you.
www.kashi.com for a free box of cereal or granola bars. Go to events and click on Healthier Year.

I"ll try to let you know about these as I find them. If you find any, please share it with us in my comments and I'll make sure to post it.

I gotta go to bed. Remember, I'm not a morning person. Over the edge and out.

Things we've done this week:

We have all been busy this week, but not. You know what I mean? There's lots to be done but somehow we haven't managed to get it done. What have we done, you ask? Well...

Goldilocks was a matador and I was a bull.
"Mommy, you make a great bull!"
Bet you didn't know that about me!

Punka made an "A" on her Latin test. That was hard!
And long multiplucation makes her sweat.
"Ugh, great! Now I'm sweating."
Seems to have the same effect on me, too!

Gigi loves to sleep in the nude. Yes, you read correctly. We go in to check on her in her bed and she will have striped done to her birthday suit. Occasionally, we are lucky and don't have to change the sheets.
"Mama...eewww...poopoo!"
Repeat 100,000,000.
That is how many times I have heard that phrase from all of the kids this week.
Lovely.

I made crazy good spaghetti and meatballs this week. Super yummy. It was my sister-in-law's family recipe that I tweaked to fit our family i.e. reduce the garlic amounts. I halved her recipe and was left with enough for 3 more meals! I will make lasagna next week.

I also slow cooked a whole chicken and got all the meat off. (Ok, so Hottie did that part 'cause it makes my skin crawl.) I had enough meat for 3 meals: chicken quesadillas, chicken enchiladas and chicken pot pie. Does quesadillas look funny to you? I think it is right, but spell check keeps underlining it. Oh, it just stopped underlining it. What's up with that? Sorry. Back to the chicken. I got several chicken when they were on sale for 68 (where is the cents sign?) cents/lb. I froze them till I'm ready to cook them. I also got split chicken breasts for 99 (cents sign?) cents/lb and boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.79/lb (much easier!). Anyway, not sure where I was going with that. Still trying to find the cents sign and I forgot what I was saying.

Moving on.

I have everything ready to make Breakfast Cookies in the morning. (Bananas, apples, craisins, oatmeal, yum.) Just have to throw it together and bake in the over. Hope I get up early enough. Rephrase that. Hope I wake up early enough. I'm not a morning person. How did I birth 3 children that are? I did not know "early birds" was a dominate gene.

Don't you love how I go from cookies to biology? It's a gift, you know. Not everyone can keep up.

Speaking of keeping up, I haven't done very well on my New Year's resolution. The one about the scrapbooking. Yeah. I have only done 1 page. I can't figure out how to upload it. It's from Christmas.

Moving on.

Hottie has 2 quizzes tomorrow. Pray.
(Full time student and working.)

Punka has 2 new pair of glasses. Pray.
(For those of you that don't know, she broke her glasses twice and lost them before Christmas.)

Goldilocks loves to change clothes 10x a day. Pray.
(I know. He could not wear anything at all.)

Gigi. will. be. 2. in. 1. month. Pray.
(Just please pray. That's all.)

Me. Well, who knows. Pray.
(Sometimes I can't think and that scares me.)

So, I think I will go over the edge now. See ya when I'm back. Pray!

Update on the Kiddaroos!

Punka:
Got a DSi for Christmas and loves it. She is earning money to but another game. She also got another baby doll. Yes, my 8 year old wanted another baby doll and this momma and her Grams made sure she got it! Santa was listening very carefully when we told him she really wanted it and to please save one for her! She also plays with that a lot. Punka got braces during my hiatus from the blog. She looks so cute. And, by the way, braces are cool in the 3rd grade. She has also shot up about a foot between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Great. After we finished buying for the cooler months. Growing girl. Please send clothes!

Goldilocks:
He may get a new name! He has been prancing around the house like a reindeer since Thanksgiving! Not sure what that is all about! He wants to go to school everyday like Punka. He wants to drive is Daddy's truck when he gets older. He asked the other day if we would sell him our house when he got married so his kids could grow up in the house he grew up in. (Honestly, I was hoping we would move before then!) He also made a snowflake this morning at school. He made it up in his head. He does that you know. Thinks of things in his head. That's what he tells us anyway! Goldilocks is funny.

Gigi:
The third and LAST child! She loves to tske her clothes off. She's like Hudini. Last night she took her pjs and diaper off and slept in the nude for several hours before we noticed. She likes to be naked! Gigi just started calling Hottie "Dada". Now I have no excuse in the middle of the night when she calls me. If only I would hear her. She loves to have her hair done, pick out her shoes and jump on the trampoline. Building blocks, playing babies and driving me nuts by leaving a trail of crayons through the house is the typical routine before 9am! Some days nap time doesn't come fast enough!

Hottie:
He's still hot! Classes start tomorrow for him. One more semester closer to being done. I'm proud of all he has accomplished in the last year. I'm sure God has another great year ahead for him. We just got home from a date! We went through the drive through, caught a movie and went bargin hunting for a digital voice recorder for Punka's Latin class. We saw LEAP YEAR. It was cute. We laughed alot. At ourselves, at each other and other people. We had fun. He is the love of my life.

Me:
I am wearing the hat of chef and nutritionist, maid, launderer, chaeffer, personal secretary, accounts payable, nurse, terminator (only when I have to), entertainer, refferee, historian, photographer, teacher and best hugger (so I'm told). I'm sure you have the same hats on your head too. I'm glad I have friends that will trade a hat or two from time to time. Thanks for being there! Luv ya!

Us:
Learning. Growing. Living. Happy. In love. Ready for tomorrow.

Over the edge in love with my family. Hope you are too.

What A Deal!

So, I have decided to take on a couponing challenge. I'm not sure what the challenge officially was, but I've taken on some form of it! I had an amazing day today with some crazy deals! So here's the breakdown:
First stop...CVS...I picked up 2 boxes of Cheerios and 2 things of Dawn dish soap. At the checkout I also had a few coupons. I ended up pay $1.65 in cash for the items! "Wow" you say? Well, the register also shot out $6 in store coupons - like cash - and you can use them on anything! I got paid $4 to get 2 boxes of Cheerios and 2 things od Dawn! What?!
Stop number 2...Walgreens...3 large bottles of Lubriburm, 1 small tube of Aveeno lotion, 2 bottles of Aveeno shampoo, 2 bottles of Aveeno conditioner, 2 bottles of Lysol toilet cleaner, 2 cans Oust sanitizing spray, 2 cans Spot Shot (pet stain remover) and 1 tube Colgate toothpaste Max Whitening. I paid $35 dollars and I have a $10 mail in rebate which brings my total to $25 spent. I saved well over $60!!! Crazy!
Stop 3...Staples...2 boxes envelops, 2 packages mechanical pencils, 2 packages gel pens, 2 dry-erase boards and a stapler "starter kit" for a grand total of $9. Actually I got it for a little less because the coupons wouldn't ring up correctly. What a great deal! I saved $40!
Last stop...Kroger...I am on a mission to cut our grocery bill in half because there is no reason it can't be done. I may be over challenging myself but why not try, right? I normally spend anywhere between $140 and $175 per week for groceries for our family of 5 (and they don't even eat that much)! So, at the store today I spent a wopping $64.14!!!!! YEAH! Ok, I must confess. I did not buy any meats (did that last week), but I did get produce. I bought everything we needed for the week...including 3 half gallons of organic milk and 2 half gallons of almond milk!
So my total savings for the day, as I look at all of the receipts, is more the $150! And I spent around $90!!!
I can't wait for next week!
I'm over the edge with extra money in my pocket!!!

I'M BAAAACK!

I know.

You can't believe your eyes!

Actually, no one is reading this I'm sure since it has been soooo long.

You know it's bad when your husband tells you he is no longer following your blog.

So...I'm back. I have missed you.

Enough of that! Let's get to business. I have lots to say!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Today is the first of January 2010. That is kind of weird to type. Anyway, here we are. And what does one usually do for the new year but make resolutions they more than likely won't stick to? You say not make them at all and I would agree. However, the past few years I have not made resolutions knowing I would only disappoint myself half way through the year and why do that to myself? I HAD NO GOALS! That is not cool. So, I made some resolutions around the beginning of July. That seems to work out really well. By December 31 I was rockin'! I wanted to plan crafts for the kids to do. We did that especially leading up to Christmas. I wanted to cook and bake more. Did that too. (We did eat out more than Hottie would have liked. I'm still working on that.) I wanted to be proactive in my relationships with my mother- and father-in-law. They came and spent a week with us over the Christmas holidays. We had a great time. Learned more about each other and everyone is on the same page. The crazy page! So I think I'll forge on and make another list of bi-annual resolutions. That way I am not obligated to them for the whole year. You know. Give myself so breathing room. Then I'll go at it again. On to my 2010 Resolutions Act 1:

1. To be better about blogging. With family all over the world, I should be more attentive to this task. Please feel free to hold me accountable if you see me slacking.

2. To be better organized. I know. You ask how can one be better organized than myself, but it is true. I need to work on that. I am creating a binder so I will feel organized and together. It might just be drawings and old grocery lists by the end of the year, but, hey, at least they will be organized. Right?

3. To have better time management. This has always been my problem if I don't get out of bed and get showered, dressed (to the shoes) and moving. I do best if I have a plan. I'm planning to stick to the plan if I can get the plan planned. You with me?

4. To be intentional about food. I get tired of eating and cooking, etc. With children and a husband who need to eat, I can't just forget about it. So, I'm working on my diet (as in food intake/likes/dislikes - not as in loosing weight) so i will be passionate about food again.

5. To complete 365 scrapbook pages this year. Don't freak out on me. I have figured out a system that allows me to achieve this goal and you can watch as the year goes by. I will post my pages as I get them completed and uploaded. You can count with me and when I get to 365 we can celebrate together. Well, you'll have to reward yourself cause I just can't throw a big party for everyone. As the end gets closer we will discuss my reward and make a decision. It will be fun!

I know those all sound so "typical" of a New Year's Resolution, but trust me, in my binder I am working on all the specifics.

I'd love to share some new things I am working on when the time comes. Stay tuned to hear about some cool stuff!

Well, I seem to have started out the new year over the edge! So until next time, have a good night.