Naptime Blog

After the holidays settle and all the madness of overcrowded stores and last minute shoppers is done, I start to think about all the work that gets involved for making the holidays so special for everyone. For one thing, thank those retail employees for missing time with their loved ones to make sure you get everything you need for yours. I have been known to thank some workers for their hard holiday work and putting up with my “where’s this item??” questions. I also got a taste of what they feel like this past time because I was scheduled to work on black Friday from 3am-3pm and boy was it wild.  On thanksgiving morning, Brent and I ran over to my moms to grab last minute casserole dishes for my sides and decided to stop by my store to see if anyone was camped outside yet and sure enough there was a tent near the entrance and a small line forming,  by the time I went to the store for my shift,  that line had wrapped around the shopping plaza! I also made my Christmas cards pretty late in the month, like the beginning of Christmas week, but everyone received them just before the big day. Then I thought about the USPS workers who worked all those hours to make sure my procrastination still made it to my family. There’s alot that goes into the holidays and even though I have the most fun during them, I’m glad its over. This year though, I’m definitely sending out my cards early!

Some people say that Valentine’s Day is a day that became a “holiday” because of the greeting card companies and restaurants trying to make bigger profits.  I always enjoyed Valentine’s Day because my father made every Valentine’s Day just as special for me and my sister as he did my mother.  We always got a box of chocolates and a teddy bear or some other gift.  His card was always one that had a princess on the cover and he would always sign it himself.  All other cards my parents gave me throughout the year were signed Mommy and Daddy, but this one was simply “Love, Daddy”.  I always enjoyed the feeling of being Daddy’s Princess and one of his three Valentines.

My husband makes Valentine’s Day special for me every year, even though he jokes for weeks before it that “Valentine’s Day is just a made up holiday”.  Flowers, a piece of jewelry, a wonderful dinner, a beautiful card…  Paul always makes me feel like his queen.  When we shared our very first Valentine’s Day together, my daughter (from my first marrige) was three-and-a-half.  I had arranged for my aunts to watch her so that Paul and I could go out for dinner.  When we got home from work and I was getting ready for him to pick me up, he called me and told me that we were taking Juliana with us.  We celebrated Valentine’s Day as a family.  The following year, we were married on February 18th. 

We have celebrated Valentine’s Day as a family every year since then.  We got the kids little chocolate hearts and I will cook dinner for us all.  Maybe tonight, we’ll bake Valentine’s cookies or play the Wii together.  Then, Paul and I can enjoy our Valentine’s Day on Friday when we celebrate our wedding anniversary. My parents are watching the kids so we can go to our favorite restaurant for dinner.

I recently saw a jewelry commercial for Valentine’s Day.  The wife tells the husband “I love US”.  The first time I saw it, I got chills.   Even though our life with four kids may be chaotic, even though we may not get much time alone as a couple, we are very much in love with each other and very much in love with our family.  I LOVE US.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

2011!

So it’s the new year already! I cannot believe how fast 2011 arrived. Did any of you do anything exciting to bring in the new year? I’m so thrilled to say that I graduated school in December and will be looking forward to starting my new career this year. To anyone who thinks you can’t accomplish something while being a full time parent, working part time, and having your spouse go to school full time, I’m here to say it CAN be done. It is alot of work, that’s for sure, but if you want something bad enough and you put your mind to it, you will succeed. There are no doubts about that. It also makes life a ton easier by having a great support system. In my situation, my husband and I share a car and our schooling schedules were quite similar so I had to rely alot on my mom for not only being my taxi driver but also to care for my son during those hours since daycare wasn’t an option for me. Thank goodness she was able to accommodate our needs for as long as we needed it,  as it took away alot of unnecessary stress. I didn’t have to worry about who was with my child and was very comfortable with how it worked out. Now since I am finished with school I am with Shaughn in the mornings again while Brent is at school and can work in the afternoons and evenings at my job which has also been great at scheduling shifts for me making life a little easier to live. What are your goals and aspirations that you would like to succeed at reaching this year?

We scored two trees that were selling for $39.99 before Christmas for $3 each at a local store. We bought two to put on our porch next year. I love buying Christmas decorations after the holidays for upcoming years. We do this with decorations, wrapping paper and gift bags, too. Saves us a lot of money! I’ve gotten cute holiday baskets for 10 cents. Sames goes for wrapping paper.

I know a lot of people do this, but how many do the same for food items? Silly, Shannon, you may say… you can’t keep food for next year. That is a true statement, but you can enjoy it now. Our local store had the seasonal peppermint mocha, pumpkin and caramel cream creamers on sale for 75 cents (regularly $2.99) the other day. Most of it stays good for several months. I love to use these creamers for “fancy” coffee drinks. It’s even good splashed in your kid’s chocolate milk. We have also found things like cream cheese, canned pumpkin, cranberries and turkey on sale. Except for the cream cheese, most of those items keep for a good while. You can make all sorts of yummy dishes with those items.

 What kind of sales did you find after the holidays this year? What was your biggest save?

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. Christmas was a good time and we enjoyed visiting with family and friends. The boys really enjoyed the Christmas tree, presents and carriage ride through our neighborhood. This is a new tradition for us (the carriage ride) and they got very excited at all of the creative yard displays and lights.

 Did your kids get a lot of gifts? Have you thought of putting some of them away? I am not sure if this is possible for older children, but for toddlers and preschoolers it is possible. With so many gifts, it can be overwhelming (not only to the kids but the parents too who trip over them). We usually leave out a few of the items that they initially show a big interest in and put the rest up in the closet and bring one or two out every so often. This way they have new toys and fun gifts throughout the year to enjoy. I also like that there are great sales at Christmas so we can stock up for birthdays too and put those away.

 The boys loved the books, cars and trains that they received and I think they enjoyed opening the boxes, too. What was your favorite part of the holidays?

So the spirit of Christmas should be just wonderful, right?   OK, we have to deal with crowds and lines, parking spot wars, overpriced gifts.  We box and wrap for hours.  We make room to fit everything nicely under the tree.  And we do it with a smile on our faces because we do it for our kids.  And then Christmas morning arrives.  The kids are thrilled beyond belief and Mommy and Daddy are relieved that everyone is happy.  Seeing the smiles on their faces makes everything so worth it, right?  And then the worst part comes: “MOMMY, DADDY, OPEN THIS PLEASE!”

So we take the scissors, a knife, heck, sometimes we might be better off using a hacksaw! The packages need warnings on them “OPEN AT YOUR OWN RISK”.  How many accidents did you have opening the gifts this year?  So, we finally get the box open, on top of the hazards of the tools we use, the heavy plastic is so sharp it can slice your finger right open.  Then we have to deal with the twist ties (that often are twisted so tightly we need to use pliers to untwist them), the thin string that holds doll hair in (often ruining the hair when you take it out) and the plastic latches (that if you don’t move quickly enough a little guy might put them in his mouth).  Then, if you are lucky, you can hand the toy to your child.  But only for a moment.

That’s when you realize that either the batteries in the toy need to be replaced or are not in there.  So to search for a new pack of batteries (and then open THOSE as well, with the same hard plastic the toys have!).  Next step?  Go get some screwdrivers: philips, flat, and the extra long skinny shafted one for those screws deep in the back of the toy to open up the battery compartment.  Actually, that one I do like (even though it is a pain) because that means the kids can’t get them open and try to eat the batteries.  But just another step.

Finally, the toy is ready to play with.  But the kids already moved on to something else!  Oh well!

I think it is time we use the power of moms to tell these toy companies NO MORE!

Are you crafty? Me? Eh, not so much. I do love saving money though and I adore the adorable crafts that my friends manage to whip up.

I have a lot of teachers, therapists and bus drivers that I am eternally grateful for. They are such blessings to our family and to my children. I want to thank them properly but the gifts really put a hit on a tight budget if you aren’t careful. I have been searching online for ideas and have found some fun ideas that I like on other blogs. Several bloggers suggest making something homemade like cookies or candies and putting them in little cellophane bags (or zip bags) and then making a “label” with card stock with a greeting. You then fold that over and staple it to the top of the package. Cute and pretty easy, right? We are going to try to make candies with pretzels, Hersheys’ Hugs and M&M’s. You just put a Hug on top of a small pretzel twist, bake til soft then put an M&M on top. We actually tried this the other day at home and they were tasty but I overcooked the candy.

Another inexpensive idea is hand sanitizer. At the mall, at a famous brand store that sells a lot of lotions and body washes, I bought small bottles of hand sanitizer and they sell these neat little cases for them that you can hang from your purse or wherever. I thought these would be neat for teachers and bus drivers as they come into contact with lots of germs.

What are your ideas?

A week and a half ago, I was so frazzled, I had no idea how I would manage to get everything finished in time for Christmas.  Although I was 90% finished with my shopping before December even began, I didn’t know how I would get that last 10% done.  Plus, none of it was wrapped.  I had so many things I wanted to bake, so many things I wanted to cook, plus I had work and writing to do all while having my four kids needing me, laundry and other housework to do, and a marriage that really needed a little love! 

With one day left, I am happy to say that I am right on schedule now!  I have NO IDEA how I did it, but all the gifts are done and wrapped, all the baking is done, my meatballs are made and my sauce is cooking on the stove as I write this…  I am ready for Christmas!  OK, so I have to be totally honest.  My husband did the majority of the wrapping, a little each night this week while watching television at night.  And my eight year old has been a great help with the baking, helping me mix the ingredients and shaped the cookies.  And after a rough month of terrible twos times two with my twinadoes, I must say that I think they are simmering down a bit.  Luckily, even though the baby has started to get into everything, he can sit in his pack and play and watch me get what I need to get done.

So, as most of us are probably feeling, I am exhausted! But at least I am ready!  Are you?

Merry Christmas everyone!  I hope Santa treats you well!!!

Are you invited to a holiday potluck dinner and don’t have a clue what to bring? This recipe was passed down to me from my late aunt many years ago. I am not sure where she originally got it, but it is easy to make and really tasty and is different than the sugar cookies and fruit cake and other popular holiday desserts you see over and over this time of year.

Four Layer Cake
This recipe is from my late Aunt Thelma Williams

First Layer:
1 cup Flour
1 stick margarine
3/4 cup pecans, chopped

Cream together and put into bottom of 9×11 inch pan. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Second Layer:
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 cup Cool Whip
1 cup powdered sugar

Mix together and spread over crust. Sprinkle with coconut.

Third Layer: Spread 1 can Comstock coconut pie filling over second layer.

Fourth Layer: Spread enough Cool Whip to cover. Sprinkle with pecans and coconut.

I am not quite sure who wrote this, I was sent the poem from a fellow mommy blogger, MyDallasMommy.com.  When I read it, I got tears in my eyes.  With four jobs (I blog, I counsel, I run two websites, all from home) and four kids, I have been finding the last few weeks have become increasingly more difficult to keep up with work, the kids, and preparing for Christmas.  I have been losing my patience much more easily, I have been getting angry with my husband for no reason other than being stressed, I have been feeling extremely overwhelmed.  So when I got this in my inbox today and read it, I realized that I need to take a step back, take a deep breath, and go hug my children.  After all, in the blink of an eye they will be all grown up, and I need to enjoy the magic in their eyes that only a child has at Christmastime. 

After I read it, I shut down my laptop, put down my blackberry, and hugged my four babies.  Then I had them help me decorate some Christmas cookies.  We all enjoyed the precious time together, especially ME!

I hope you enjoy this poem as much as I did, as it holds a very powerful message for moms.  I always strive to be SuperMom.  I do not need to be SuperMom.  I just need to be Juliana, Louis, Anthony and Joseph’s mom… and knowing that they love me even when I’m 500 emails behind at work or still have three more loads of laundry to finish is enough to help me get through another day.
Twas the night before Christmas, when all thru the abode
only one creature was stirring, and she was cleaning the commode.
The children were finally sleeping, all snug in their beds,
while visions of Nintendo 64 and Barbie, flipped through their heads.
The dad was snoring in front of the TV,
with a half-constructed bicycle on his knee.
So only the mom heard the reindeer hooves clatter,
which made her sigh, “Now what’s the matter?”
With toilet bowl brush still clutched in her hand,
she descended the stairs, and saw the old man.
He was covered with ashes and soot, which fell with a shrug.
“Oh great,” muttered the mom, “Now I have to clean the rug.”
“Ho-ho-ho!” cried Santa, “I’m glad you’re awake.”
“Your gift was especially difficult to make.”
“Thanks, Santa, but all I want is some time alone.”
“Exactly!” he chuckled, “I’ve made you a clone.”
“A clone?” she asked, “What good is that?
Run along, Santa, I’ve no time for chit-chat.”
The mother’s twin. Same hair, same eyes,
same double chin. “She’ll cook, she’ll dust,”
she’ll mop every mess. You’ll relax, take it easy,
watch The Young & the Restless.” “Fantastic!” the mom cheered.
“My dream come true! “I’ll shop. I’ll read.,
I’ll sleep a whole night through!”
From the room above, the youngest began to fret.
“Mommy?! I scared… and I ‘m wet.”
The clone replied, “I’m coming, sweetheart.”
“Hey,” the mom smiled, “She knows her part.”
The clone changed the small one, and hummed a tune,
as she bundled the child, in a blanket cocoon.
“You the best mommy ever. ” I really love you.”
The clone smiled and sighed, “I love you, too.”
The mom frowned and said, “Sorry, Santa, no deal.”
That’s my child’s love, she’s trying to steal.”
Smiling wisely Santa said, “To me it is clear,”
Only one loving mother, is needed here.”
The mom kissed her child, and tucked her into bed.
“Thank you, Santa, ” for clearing my head.
I sometimes forget, it won’t be very long,
when they’ll be too old, for my cradle-song.”
The clock on the mantle began to chime.
Santa whispered to the clone, “It works every time.”
With the clone by his side Santa said, “Goodnight.
Merry Christmas, Mom, You’ll be all right.”