Oh my..

Donnie likes to complain that the house is decorated all feminine. So, maybe, just maybe, I should give him his room to decorate. What room is that, you ask? The bathroom, of course! haha! I could let him choose the shower curtains.

What would he choose? Vikings or Camouflage? I am certain it would be one of these if I let him have the control.




Personally I could happily make the switch from pretty to functional like this great curtain with mesh pockets to hold everybody's different shampoos and soaps.

Or, we could go all "homeschooler" and get this English language one. There are also shower curtains with French, German, Spanish, Italian and Chinese on them! Why?
I can see this one in a college dorm, though, the top 500 vocabulary words on the SAT.

Lets just redecorate the whole house!

When we bought our house we also inherited all the window coverings that were in it. That saved me money at the time, but now I am ready to change things up a bit. My neighbors can see in my dining room and living room curtains, so I have been searching for Pleated Curtains. I really like these. I need Burgundy for the dining room and a cream or beige for the living room. I could use a nice set in my bedroom, too. My windows are really narrow in there, so these may be a bit wide for that. I would love to find sage for my bedroom.

As long as I am looking at bedding.....

I found some great sports themed for the boys. I love the jean look of these NBA comforters. They are perfect for the boys.












Donnie, of course, would wonder why we'd need anything but the MN Vikings on their beds. He'd probably even love it if we did our bedroom purple and gold, lol. Not even kidding. I love the curains with this set, too.

Hmmm, maybe this instead!

Maybe instead of an electric blanket, I should just redecorate my bedroom! A third comforter may work just great at keeping me warm.

I found some great Chris Madden Comforters at Shop.com. I need a new look for my room and this set is 64% off right now.

Brrr!

It is sooooo cold here in the Midwest. It took awhile for winter to set in, but it has arrived and the cold temps are relentless!

I really hate being cold. Especially at night. I sleep with two comfortors on my bed, and it is still not warm enough for me. I think an electric blanket is in my future. I'm pretty sure Sam will hate it, he doesn't like being warm. Maybe he would finally move to his own room then!

I found this one in Kohls Bedding through Shop.com. Doesn't it look warm and fuzzy?

Disney on Ice, the most magical show on Earth!

As a Feld Family Activator I was given an opportunity to take my family to see Disney on Ice Presents Princess Classics last night. The winner of my giveaway for the 4 pack of tickets was Cindy, who entered 13 times! I have her kids with me in the pictures.
We turned this opportunity into a birthday party for Trinity, much to the delight of her friends, cousin and herself! I would never have been able to do this without Mom Central of the Feld Family Activator program.
Before the show started we went to a meet and great and got to meet Cinderella. The girls were just beside themselves!

After the picture Anna, the girl in the pink dress, came up to me and said "I have never met Cinderella before!"
Then we went to a nice dinner fit for a princess! The tables were fantastic! Each place had a giant princess coloring book and an Ariel cup for the girls to keep. To say they were thrilled is an understatement. And this was all before the show started! (the food was fantastic, too!)

We had wonderful VIP seats and were just 6 rows back from the ice. (until we moved closer to our friends at the intermission, then we were 4 rows back)
The show was just fantastic! It went way beyond my expectations. Disney went all out and everything was just perfect. The show was so intense and entertaining that we didn't even notice the props changing before our eyes! We'd be distracted with spotlights on the castle or some fancy firework type show and someone would slide a tree or a fireplace onto the ice. Just top notch!

My favorite part of everything was the Aladdin part. When Aboo is an elephant and he came out on the ice. It was just impressive! The legs moved, there were people in the costume, but it was so huge that someone could sit on top and needed a ladder to get down!

The Magic carpet ride was quite amazing, too!

The step sisters and step mother's costumes were just too neat!
The mice were adorable, too!

The girls just went nuts when Sebastian came out and sang Under the Sea. I think Arielle might be their favorite princess, lol.

Every detail of every princess story was just fascinating.

I loved the added touch of Mickey and Minnie narrating, and Goofy's appearance into the show.

Sam loved the show, too! A show fit for a Prince or Several (thousand) Princesses!

Fun times!

Thank you so much Mom Central and Feld Family Activator program for the most amazing opportunity to see Disney on Ice! It is an experience we will repeat in the future for sure!


You haven't missed your opportunity to see this show! For those of you in Minnesota, or close to the Twin Cities, you can still see the show Saturday and Sunday, December 12 and 13! If you go to Ticketmaster.com and use the code MOM in the Mom Central code box you can get a 4 pack of tickets for $44, or $4 off a weekend ticket.

Check to see when Disney on Ice will be in your area. Your little princess will never forget the experience, and neither will you!

Hickory Farms Yuminess!

One of my favorite gifts to give those hard to shop for people is a Hickory Farms gift basket. Who doesn't need to eat? Everyone eats. So even if they don't need anything, they will need to eat eventually. I love that they come in so many sizes and price ranges, too. Yummy, yummy gift packages! My family loves everything about the gift boxes. The meats are just delicious! I have to admit, though, that my secret favorite part are the little strawberry candies that come in them, lol, I don't like to share those.

For every Party Planner Gift box purchased through December 13th $5 will be donated to Share Our Strength, a leading non-profit group, working to end childhood hunger. What a bonus! I am amazed at the price, it is only $40 for all of this:
- 7 oz. Beef Summer Sausage
- 5 oz. Ham Summer Sausage
- 5 oz. Turkey Summer Sausage
- 6 oz. Cheddar Cheese Ball
- 4 oz. Cheddar & Havarti Blend
- 4 oz. Mission Jack Blend
- 4 oz. Creamy Swiss Blend
- 4 oz. Big Barn Cheddar®
- 2 oz. Jalapeño & Cheddar Spread
- 2 oz. Italian Herb & Cheese Spread
- 2.5 oz. Cranberry Mustard
- 2.25 oz. Sweet Hot Mustard.

I have to admit that it brought a tear to my eye to see that Hickory Farms loves our military so much that they have 40 items that you can ship for FREE to a military address! (APO/FPO) This touches my mother's heart as I have a son in the military right now. I am blessed to be able to have him home for Christmas this year, but I will remember this deal when I don't have my son home.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Hickory Farms and received a Hickory Farms gift basket to facilitate my review."

Why Spiderwebbing is bad

I, like most women, can have several conversations at once. We talk and one thought leads to another and to another and so on. Soon one thought will remind you of something and you will blurt it out and men can't follow your train of thought. So that spiderwebbing in conversation has got to be controlled when you talk to a man.
Apparently it is the same with little boys.

Sam had a poopy diaper, and while I was busy Donnie got up and told Sam to come with him. I thought he was changing the diaper. So I soon followed to take over for him but I found him in the bathroom taking the clippers to Sam's head.

After the haircut was done I took Sam and told him we needed to change his poopy. I walked to the changing table and saw that it had accumulated some junk so I needed to clean it off before changing him. I told him to go show Cody while I cleaned it up.

What I meant: We need to change your poopy, but first go show Cody your new haircut.
What I said: We need to change your poopy. (long pause) Go show Cody!
What Sam heard: Go show Cody your poopy!

Not kidding. I followed him to see what Cody thought of his very drastic hair cut. But what I saw was Sam turning his back to Cody, opening his diaper in the back and saying "Look, Cody! Look!"

Why, yes, we WERE rolling on the floor laughing out loud!

God has a sense of humor

I have had a hard time sticking to a Bible study for quite some time. Last year my family got sick and we passed around 103 degree fevers for 6 weeks and I couldn't get to the study. This year I didn't sign up for the morning study because I have to drive Cody and Hope-Anne to a class at the school during the study so I couldn't go. So, I signed up for the evening study. And I couldn't go at first because of sickness. I missed 3 classes, but I was determined to go.
The study is on discerning the voice of God. I am not new to that, so I wasn't really excited about it. I know the God speaks to us and I have heard Him plenty. I wasn't expecting to learn something new. Not that I didn't expect to learn anything or hear from God, just that I already hear from God, so I am not walking in there and coming out awakened, I guess.

Well, I made it to last weeks study and it was good. The next day my mother in law was hospitalized and she is still there, so I have been very pre-occupied with that and the holidays and couldn't do my homework.

I had decided to leave the women's ministry recently but I haven't been able to write the letter of resignation. I wasn't sure why. I have never wanted to be in this position, I haven't enjoyed most of it. It has brought so much conflict, anger, frustration, and doubt into my life. I don't feel like it is effective quite often. Sure, the event was good, but how many people showed up? How many people was I reaching? Just frustrating. So today my pastor asked me if I was going to quit or not because he needs to start searching for a new leader.

I said I just didn't know. I want to leave, but I can't write the letter. But I wasn't sure what the problem was. Did God want me to stay? Did I just not want to give up the title? Did I just not want to give up because of pride? I just couldn't say what my motives were either way, so I was in limbo. My pastor said he would be praying for God to speak to me about it.

Sooooo, I go to my Bible study on learning to hear God's voice tonight. It is a video series, and as we watched the video the speaker said something along the lines of someone out there "is in Women's ministry and wants to quit, is frustrated, doesn't enjoy the job" and so many of the situations I felt. She said that God is teaching dedication to me right now for something in the future. I just knew that God was speaking to me. My friend knew it too as she heard it.

I came home and drug my husband up to the church and we watched the video so he could hear God's answer for himself. We were both in tears! God so clearly spoke right to me and directly answered our very prayer specifically in a video that was recorded how long ago??? God knew I would see that at the very moment I needed to see it.

The irony of God speaking to me in a class on learning to hear God's voice is just so funny!

So, even though I don't want to continue, I am going to keep on working in the women's ministry and I am going to be dedicated to it. Who wants to join the team? lol

Is this what Jesus would want?

Christmas is such a time of confusion for me. We already don't "do" Santa, but I also have other points of confusion about the season. There is a lot of good that comes about with Christmas season reminding people to give to those less fortunate. But there is so much about it that I think makes Jesus cringe.
Forget why it started, but would Jesus want us celebrating his birth like this? Going into debt, buying commercial things for everyone we know, spending, spending, spending? Parties and debt?
I get more and more disgusted each year that we have Christmas. People decorate earlier and earlier. The presents get bigger and more expensive. The real reason we are "celebrating" gets smaller and smaller.
It isn't even something Biblical that we need to celebrate. So why are we doing all this? Tradition? But when should tradition be dropped?

I would love to stop celebrating Christmas. Not the getting together with family and friends or even remembering Jesus coming to Earth and becoming human, but the crazy spending has got to stop.

My family is not doing much in the present department. (as in my parents and siblings) The grandparents are giving to the grandkids, but donating to a needy family for all of us adult children. That is something I like and can totally accept as the spirit of the season.

Do I dare boycott Christmas at my house? What would my in-laws think of their already crazy in-law? lol
I really would love to not decorate a tree and buy presents for everyone. Just getting together to eat and watch some great movies about the spirit of the season. Just being together. Kind of like another thanksgiving.

Christmas is coming!

I tried to fight it, but Christmas is coming fast. My neighbor has at least 3 Christmas trees up in her house already, and everywhere I turn I see lights going up on houses. I don't like Christmas coming before Thanksgiving, but I can't fight it anymore.
The Christmas spirit is working its way into my heart, though. Samuel and I got an opportunity to preview a new Christmas movie Holly and Hal Moose: Our Uplifting Christmas Adventure. It is a one hour movie that will be on ABC Family on Tuesday, November 24 at 7PM ET/PT. It will also be on Saturday, November 28th at 10am.
Hal and Holly Moose are the very first characters to inspire a book from Build-A-Bear characters, and now they have their first movie.
First stop on our special day, Sam and I (along with our friends Jeannie and her grandson Christian, and Sarah and her daughter Maddie) went to the movie theater at the Mall of America to watch the new movie. We got to meet Hal and Holly Moose, brother and sister. Sam and Christian didn't feel comfortable around the giant animals, but Sam did consent to sit on the other side of me for a picture op. The little girl is a stray who got in the pic. We were all given a cute little bag/backpack from Build-A-Bear with coupons and yummy fruit snacks.
Then we went to see the movie. Hal and Holly Moose came in to start off the show and Sam just loved waving and saying "Hi, Hal!"

The movie was really cute. Hal and Holly are siblings and Holly has to stay home from a big party to babysit her brother. Hal dreams of flying with the reindeer on Santa's sleigh one day. The Aurora Borialis sets of dreams of finding the North Pole for Hal, who tricks himself out of his sister's care. They end up finding the North Pole only to find a big storm coming that will keep Santa from being able to deliver the toys for Christmas. Of course they find a way to save Christmas, and their dreams are also realized through the coarse of the movie. It is a great message of believing and never giving up your dreams.

After the movie we went to Build-A-Bear to make Hal and Holly Moose dolls. Sam was just amazed at being able to help fill his Moose with stuffing. He was happy with the flat animal, lol, he didn't know any different, but he sure does love his Hal. In this picture he is holding Hal while stepping on the peddle to fill my Holly for me.

After the animals were stuffed, their little hearts were kissed and put inside of them, and then they were stitched up, we went over to give them a "bath" with air and a brush to fluff them up. Sam was super cute brushing his Hal.

It was a great experience getting to make animals with the kids that will always remind them of the movie. Build-A-Bear is a great experience anyway, but to have an animal that you associate with a movie makes it special.

After we made our Moose we put the kids' Moose in their new backpacks to carry around with them. Here they are standing in front of the store with their moose.

It was a super special day for us! I loved watching Sam enjoy his day without his siblings. I so appreciate the experience that Build-A-Bear provided for us. The movie was just adorable and I can't wait to share it with the rest of the kids on TV. It is also going to be on DVD November 25th. You can check out Holly's Blog, too.

Aren't the kids cute staring up at the super tall (3 stories) Christmas tree?! They were just in awe!

Look for the new Christmas movie Hal and Holly Moose: Our Uplifting Christmas Adventure on ABC Family November 24th! You can also enhance your movie experience by making the characters at Build-A-Bear! Sam is totally in love with his Hal Moose, whose antlers have Christmas lights that really light up.

Thank you Build-A-Bear for the great day with my son and for the wonderful gifts!