BIG FAMILY MAMA

SELF HELP SKILLS

2010-12-02T22:02:00.000-08:00

Carter decided he wanted to make himself lunch today!

MMMMM! Good!

We also made RUDOLPH THE RED NOSE REINDEER!!!

MISSION OF THE MONTH

2010-12-02T00:49:00.000-08:00

Ive decided to join Mama Jenn in her Mission of the Month! Its Us Mama's making goals each month and trying to get through them! If your a mama and you have goals...link up on Mama Jens page!

Here is my list for December:

1-Get all ebay sales out on time this month!
2-Get kids pictures done for Christmas presents
3-Get kids clothes out of my office and to the consignment shop
4-Get the toy room organized and cleaned up
5-Get all of Dahlias clothes sorted and put away and organized!

Here is my list...I hope I can keep up with all the holiday stuff going on too!

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN!

2010-12-01T21:17:00.001-08:00

The kids were very proud of their work!!! Ecspecially Rylan!

ONE MONTH OLD!

2010-12-01T21:08:00.000-08:00

Looove this picture of Dahlia! Still focusing and a lil dribble along the way! :)

Shootin grins at Mama!!!

Making a Cherry Pie!

2010-11-29T18:52:00.000-08:00

Rylan had loads of fun making a cherry Pie today! He was an expert at rolling playdough into little tiny balls and sticking them to the spots on the pie!

THEN HE TRIED THE PAINT DABBING!

TA-DA!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

2010-11-27T21:38:00.000-08:00

ITS THOUGHTFUL $25 AMAZON GIFT CERTIFICATE PROMO!!!!

2010-11-20T01:16:00.000-08:00

Get a free $25 Amazon Gift Certificate when you refer 15 friends to It's Thoughtful Christmas Contest!

When you sign up and share the its Thoughtful Christmas Gift Contest and get 15 of your friends to also enter before Dec. 15 you’ll earn a $25 Amazon gift card.! If you do sign up, please use my referral link!

Here's how it works!
1. Create a free account at itsThoughtful.com - make sure you confirm it by checking your email!
2. Share at least one gift idea! This is an easy thing to do - just what you are planning or would like to give to someone this year!
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Click here to sign up!
When you click, you can go to the "Spread the Word" tab for more info on this promotion!

LAST CHANCE LEAPFROG PRIZE PACKAGE GIVEAWAY!!! END TONITE!

2010-11-19T17:21:00.000-08:00

HURRY UP and catch achance into this awesome giveaway! It ends TONITE at 11:59 EST time!!!! Lucky winner will receive Leapfrog Leapster Explorer, Toy Story 3 Learning Game, Camera and Video Recorder and a set of 2 Leaplet Download Codes! What an AWESOME CHRISTMAS PRESENT!

Head on over to Penny Pinchin MOM'S and enter NOW!

OUR EASY YUMMY THANKSGIVING DINNER!

2010-11-19T02:24:00.000-08:00

Its the biggest meal of the year.
THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!
We look forward to this meal every year as soon as Halloween passes! We look forward to all the family time but mainly the FOOD! I love stuffing my belly full of turkey, stuffing, squash and cranberry sauce. Oh gosh and the dessert....mmmmm...I also love crawling into bed at night with a full belly and sleeping in the next day! NO BLACK FRIDAY FOR ME! While everyone else is out going nuts shopping, I'm at home resting peacefully in my bed!
Our Thanksgiving tradition is stopping at two different family members on Thanksgiving. We make an appearance at my moms house to visit my dad and her and my brothers and sister. My mother makes a meal as well but we don't stay to eat. We leave and go to my Mother in laws and have dinner with hubby's family!
Ma makes everything herself! She makes a lot of food but sticks to easy foods. Foods that we all can enjoy and don't take much effort to make! Gramma always makes the desserts and hubby and I help prepare!
Here is our Thanksgiving dinner menu:

TURKEY
MASHED POTATOES and GRAVY
SWEET YAMS
STUFFING
GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE
CRANBERRY SAUCE
DINNER ROLLS
PUMPKIN PIE

EASY AND YUMMY! Whats your THANKSGIVING MENU?????

LAST YEARS TURKEY!!!!

2010-11-19T02:11:00.000-08:00

I miss those days! They go by sooooo quick!

PLAYDOUGH MEGA FUN FACTORY GIVEAWAY

2010-11-14T00:33:00.000-08:00

Boy would my kids love to have this! My boys love playdough! They would sit at the table all day and play if I allowed them! We have tons and tons of playdough accessories and lots of playdough! The newest playdough toy in stores is the Mega Fun Factory! It looks like loads of fun! And its on my kids wishlist to Santa this year!
Right now, over at 2 boys, one girl and a Crazy Mom's blog you can enter a giveaway to win your very own Playdough Mega Fun Factory! Giveaway ends on November 26th!

FREE CAREFREE PANTILINER SAMPLE

2010-11-12T20:20:00.000-08:00

Walmart is giving away a free sample of Carefree Pantiliners. get yours here

PLANS FOR A FRUGAL CHRISTMAS

2010-11-12T05:23:00.000-08:00

With the arrival of our 5th baby I may or may not go back to work. We are planning to have a very frugal Christmas this year! Here are our Ideas

-Homemade gifts for the family such as gifts in a jar, gift baskets put together with my stockpile and maby a decoration or 2 made by the kids

-SWAGBUCKS..I didnt start swagging until a few months ago so I dont have many swagbucks but enough to turn in for an amazon giftcard or paypal to use towrds Christmas

-Selling on Ebay..I have a bunch of clothes listed on ebay and what I sell I plan to use towards Christmas.

-Enter the awesome online giveaways and hope I win! Ive entered loads of giveaways and will be entering them all month long! I only emter the ones I think I can use for gifts!

-Consignment shop gifts. I have a few things I have bought from our new local consignment shop. The shop seems to carry great things! Everything in there is in great shape! I got a few toys, a few puzzles and a few dvds. About $100 worth of stuff for 30!

-There have been a few deals online I have grabbed already including free photobooks and free didgital prints...with theese I plan on giving the photobooks away as gifts and with the pictures I had developed for free Ill be putting into an album and giving to my Mother in Law for Christmas!

There are a few ways we will put towards frugal gifts for our family!

SHARING MY HOUSEHOLD NOTEBOOK

2010-11-11T15:00:00.001-08:00

Every mom has one of these now right? Im not the only one? If you have a busy or large family the this is a must! This little trusty notebook of mine helps me get through each day and helps me stay on the ball as a mother and a wife! It helps me keep things together and get it all done...the cooking, the cleaning, the holidays...I wouldnt really know what to do if I didnt have a notebook to grab each morning as I get up!!

I thought today I would share with you my notebook. Everyones is different im sure depending on your family life and daily doings. Here is mine and what I include:

In the very beginning...I keep a calendar for myself! Well its actually a family calendar but it is mainly for me! I jot down everything here...birthdays, appts, holidays, meetings ect. This is a must for me! I get up first thing each morning and look at this calendar to see if we have anything planned today or not!

The first section is my cleaning section...I keep checklists galore here! It holds things such as weekly cleaning checklists, daily cleaning checklists, monthly lists, seasonal cleaning lists, etc.

Second is a small homeshool section! I have another whole binder for my planning! This section I included things that I can jot down during the day at random times such as book requests or books we need, yearly goals, a monthly theme planner etc. I also have a calendar for hubby in here...which I fill out at the beginning of the month. It is a small calender in which I jot down an activity for him to do with the kids each day! Hubby works long hours overnight and sleeps mostly during the day...so I jot down things he can squeeze in during each day...something to help them with their schooling....so they feel like he is a part of it and helping them accomplish more! The children really like to see everyday what their dad will be doing with them when he wakes up! LOL!

Next is the kitchen section...this has menus ideas, our monthly menu planned our from breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks! It also has recipes that I switch out month to month to follow our menu plan, a few price tracker worksheets and then a spot where I can jot down a menu idea or recipe that I might find while browsing the internet! I also keep a shopping list with weekly couponing section as well!

There is my garden section right after the kitchen section which holds a list of all the seeds I have stored, a garden plan for next yr plus the garden plans for the following year, a list of things I may need in the spring, seeds I want to order etc

I decided last yr to insert a family fun section as well. Which contains our packing list for camping, places to camp, places in the area to go to for day trips, field trips or just taking the kids for fun! I also included a list of family traditions and a spot for ones I would like to start or inclue in our family

Then there is the Christmas section which holds quite a bit of info. I keep this section in my reach all year long incase I jot down things such as gift ideas, tradition ideas etc. In this section I keep worksheets for my holiday Budget, a list of gift ideas for everyone...a list of gifts I actually get everyone, Christmas card list, a list of any charities or donations I want to do, recipes I need, a blank December calander so I can start filling it in with good stuff as soon as I can! And then at the end of the section I keep a worksheet that allows me to record everything special we did that year...so I can hold it for future reference or use it for our scrapbooks!

The last section I just have random things in such as our family and friends birthdays, ways to make extra $$, a list of trades and sales etc Ive made online so I dont lose track, our monthly budget, a list of rebates and a place to store my reciepts, a list of things I am expecting in the mail, simple ways to keep frugal, everyones clothing inventory..what we have and what we need and more!

There you have it, my household binder! I hope every mommy that reads this will get some ideas or inspiration for their binder!

SHOUT COLOR CATCHER FREE SAMPLE

2010-11-11T04:26:00.001-08:00

Today, ALL YOU MAGAZINE is giving away a free sample of Shout Color Catcher Stain Remover! Get yours here!

GO GREEN POCKET DIAPER GIVEAWAY!

2010-11-11T00:14:00.000-08:00

Check out this great giveaway! Daffodil Mama is hosting a giveaway of a Go Green Pocket Diaper of your choice! If I win Im getting the Sunshine color...so pretty! What color will you get? This is great if u are looking to expand or add to your stash! Giveaway ends November 24th!

2 FREE QUEST BARS

2010-11-10T11:03:00.000-08:00

Right now you can get 2 Free Quest bars in the mail! Go Here and scroll down and click on "GET MY 2 FREE BARS"

Baby Scare!

2010-11-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

Ah...little Dahlia quit breathing on me last night! I woke to her moving around in her bassinette. I rolled out of bed becuase I simply thought she was waking for her nightly feeding. I turned on the lamp and reached for her. I turned her body towards mine and her arms were moving all over and she was gasping for air! Her skin was very purple in color. I started frantically crying..shaking her and patting her begging for her to breathe! It was sooo scary! She finally caught her breath and turned back to light pink in color. Needless to say I have not put her down since this happened!

I did take her to the Drs this morning and he said he cant determine what caused it but he recommended a vaporizer...so we went out and got one! She is doing great now. Im just sooooo thankful I woke...I wonder what would of happened if I hadn't..Im sooo sooo thankful!

FREE TRUE LEMON SAMPLE

2010-11-06T10:14:00.001-07:00

All You magazine is givng a free sample of true lemon. Get yours here!

BETTER HOMES AND GARDEN..ONLY .50 A ISSUE!!!

2010-11-06T01:53:00.000-07:00

Right now Amazon has Better Homes & Garden Magazine for only $5.99 a yr, thats only .50 an issue!!!!! Go here and grab yours!!!

HASBRO RUMBLE CHUCK GIVEAWAY

2010-11-05T14:09:00.000-07:00

Check out this awesome giveaway! Rumblin Chuck by Hasbro! I think this would be a great Christmas present! If I won this it would go right to my one year old! He loves trucks and things that go! This giveaway is being held at TGA and ends on November 19th! So get over there and enter now!

FREE POST ITS SAMPLE

2010-11-05T13:17:00.000-07:00

FREE SAMPLE of post its from 3M. Get yours before its to late!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-11-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

I know its been a long long while! But I had a load of pregnancy complications and a load of after delivery complications! UGH! But all in all here is our perfect little addition!
Dahlia Renee

We love her lots! So much different having a lil girl in the family! Ecspecially a BABY girl! A big change for mommy and daddy! The boys took right to her...they are so gentle and sweet with her!

I should be back to posting very very soon! And although it is very hectic and crazy here all at once...Ill make time for blogging!

But for now...Ill leave you with some pictures of how we spent our Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

AMIEGG GIVEAWAY!

2010-11-05T10:33:00.000-07:00

Check out this geveaway! You can win either a cat or a dog amiegg over at Hannahs Blog Bouffe e Bambini. Theese are SUPER CUTE! A great stocking stuffer!

THOMAS THE TRAIN GIVEAWAY

2010-11-05T08:09:00.001-07:00

I would ABSOLUTLEY loooooove to win this! My 2 and 5 yr old are totally obsessed with THOMAS THE TRAIN! Right now you can enter the giveaway over at Mommy Katies!She is giveing away a Thomas the Train Trackmaster Zip Zoom and Logging Adventure!

This giveaways ends on November 30th!!!!