Pantry Envy

I must confess I have seen many neat and organized pantrys and have been green with envy. Until we moved to this house I did not even have a pantry.

LOL I caught the panty typo. Boy did it read funny that way :)

So I got a pantry but no neat and no organized.

Determined to keep up with the Martha's and June Cleavers, I plotted a pantry makeover that was budget friendly.

First I added canisters to my Christmas list.
Thanks to an early Christmas at Thanksgiving with Jesse's family I raked in the loot.
I am now in love with Lock and Lock. Container envy has taken hold.

Next I picked out paint... Green. The color of pantry envy of course.

After that a send help I am depressed in my messy house with children who need a bit of discipline reinforcement call with my Mom sent her arriving the next day. I did not intend this but it worked so you might try it yourself.

Now I inciting Mother envy... I feel almost evil.

Both my Mom and Dad said the color was a no go. They are my parents so I did the typical kid thing and ignored their advice. They were right about it making the room darker... parents are usually right. But I was willing to accept that and used it anyway.

Last I pick out the paper for my shelves.

Here are the results.







Cost:
Canisters..........free
Paint....... .......13.00
Shelf paper.......3.00
Contact paper......free (had already)
Stick up lights because parents were right 15.00

Total............31.00

So if you are now suffering from pantry envy I have a bunch of leftover paint.

Dear Mr. Obama,

Please do not send you daughters to a public school, that you have said yourself were failing, to make a political statement.

Be a parent before a politician.

Your beautiful girls are going to have a rough time ahead of them. Give them the best education you choose for them. We won't begrudge you because that is what we strive to do for our kids.

Now some parents really do not have a choice because of the circumstances they are in but their lack of choice does not take away you right to choose. And if by some chance you are able to give those parents choices during your term of office you have my support.

Putting your family before policy and politics makes its own statement.

No tricks, Just a treat

So none of my pictures turned out great.
You can tell that the face paint is wearing off.
Kid could not stand still for pictures, Jesse was in the other room going though their haul for safety.

3 cat and a hunter.
Cat costumes were 3.00 a piece.
Hunter 8.00 for the clothes. 5.00 for the weapon. All items are still being used.
Face paint 1.00.

Total: 23.00 for a night on the town.

Next year I will take pictures before we go out.

Also note that Becka's son was also a hunter. Funny how we did the same thing without knowing it. Her daughter was her webkinz puppy and Devonae was her webkinz cat. Must be that sister connection.

Obama Fear

So a lot of moms on a site I frequent want an answer to the question:

Why does Obama scare/terrify you?

A very legitimate question that I feel deserves a response.

My answer is… I am not scared of Obama.
He is a man.
I do not know him but I truly believe that like the majority of people his motives are not evil.
He will be wrong, make mistakes, and have opposing views to mine but I would be willing to say that all people would fall into that category.

So why did I oppose Obama?

While socialism and communism is admirable in theory it cannot work on a large scale.
So while I personally find some of the ideals of socialism to be sought after I do NOT believe that the government should play ANY role in it.

It is an individuals right to act upon their compassion for mankind.

But my primary reason for opposing Obama is life.

I am pro-life.
I understand this stance is in conflict with the majority of Obama supporters.

I believe life begins at conception and abortion is wrong.
Evidence shows that Obama does not align with my beliefs.
I believe denying medical care to a living baby that survives an abortion is wrong.
I believe allowing babies to die because they might not have the “quality of life” WE think they should have or it might impede on OUR “quality of life” is wrong.

I see a trend that goes…
It is O.K. to kill…
Unborn babies
Born babies that we should have killed on the first try
Disabled/premature babies that might not live up to someone’s standards for “quality of life” be it hospitals, governments, parents etc.

“Quality of life” can move farther…
Elderly, sick, disabled etc…

The slope is a slippery moral issue that frightens and saddens me.

Obama is just a man.
One of many that must act in accordance to take us down this slope or get us off it.
The president is a man.
People are mistaken about his power.

I am not afraid of Obama.

I do distrust government and want less of it not more.

I have been praying for Obama and his family.
I am scared FOR him.
There are crazy, hateful people out there.
I am scared for his daughters and pray they do not have to hear their father being cut to pieces by the hatred that Bush’s daughters endured.

Obama will be my president.
I will respect him as a person created by God.
I will respect the office he holds.
I will oppose the ISSUES I disagree with.

They voted

So my oldest 2 have now seen the voting process in action.

They were not impressed.

Getting up at 6:15 so we could be there when the polls opened at 6:30 was not their cup of tea.

Arriving at 6:40 and seeing a long line out the door had us all waiting in the cold.

Wrapped in blankets they were very patient. For kids that is.

Karist voted to go to the potty. We found it. No lines.

We finished voting with Devonae as her Daddy's partner and Danny as mine.

8:30 was too late for our plans to eat breakfast at Bob Evans so we drove through McDonalds and picked up breakfast for the kids to eat at home.

I think the kids vote that we don't so this again anytime soon.

The spice of life

So simplifying and studying food storage has led me to this pondering.
If I only has 10 spices and seasonings what would they be.
Salt and pepper excluded of course.

So what would you have in your cabinet?

I will ponder and list mine in a bit.

1. Durkee grill creation steak seasoning
2. Durkee grill creation smokey mesquite
3. Ranch seasoning
3. Oregano
4. Garlic
5. Cumin
6. Cinnamon
7. Pumpkin pie spice
8. Chile powder
9. Sage

10.


Ok. if you don't sare a full list at least tell me what I should put as #10

Money is disappearing

Out of our Roth IRA that is.

So I have been trying to think of some creative ways to make some.
After all a penny saved is a penny earned.

Here is my wacky Christmas gift idea.

Problem: need gifts for Christmas.
Problem: need grage cleaned out for van.

Solution: The Christmas gift game.

Open a random box once a week.
Somehow make or use the contents of the box into a giftable item.
Resew clothes into a cape for kids, make accesories for lost dolls or animals, and if all else fails paint the box itself to create a work of art.

Are you getting excited yet?
lol.

This is crazy enough I may just try it for kicks.

Midnight Ramblings

So it is almost 2 in the morning and I can't sleep.
I had caffeine today and well you can see the results.

If you hate politics you should probably not read any farther.

I am angry about the passing of the bailout bill.
And yes I did contact both my senators and my congressperson.
Lot of good that did they all voted to give away my money, my kid's money and your money to socialize the free markets.

So now I am stuck with 2 Senator presidential candidates who voted for the load of crap with a side of pork.
My districts Representative is up for reelection next month and voted for the foul thing too.

Arrrg.

There is no way I want to vote for any of these people when I walk into the voting booth in November.

So I went and looked for some other options.

The Dem. who is running against Congressman Boehner is not anyone I can get thrilled about voting for.
He is young 29.
Very Democrat.
Pro socialism for health care and income equality. For the poor though not the rich.
Is inexperienced.
In reality there really is very little information about him and his stance on issues.

I think he has my vote.
No he is not my first choice or an ideal candidate but hey he hasn't messed up yet and perhaps he would listen to his constituents.
He has a heart for the poor and uninsured and that is a good thing too.


The Presidential thing is a bit more of a mess.

So much pressure to vote for Mccain in our battleground state or Obama will be president. This is a common belief here. Just because it is a belief does not mean it is truth. But is likely is not wrong either.

TO clarify the following comparison I am NOT comparing the candidates to these specific historical persons just how I feel the choice sucks from MY perspective.

I feel like I am having to vote for Stalin to vote against Hitler.
Both choices suck.
One may suck worse than the other... but they both suck.

If you find my comparison offensive please carefully reread my disclaimer.

What if I refuse to play the game I don't want to play.
Suck is Suck.

Is there someone out there on the presidential ballot who doesn't serve up crap and pork?

I looked and was surprised Bob Barr the Libertarian candidate actually had some common sense solutions to the economic problems our country is facing.
And get this.... HE voted AGAINST the bailout.

So what to do?
No matter what someone who I think sucks is going to be our President.
[this opinion is based upon the bailout vote]
[yes I know there is a bigger picture]
[hard to see though the red though]:)
Am I going to be just another sucker voting for them?

I know this Bailout was not good for America.
I know that I don't think either Obama or McCain are great choice to lead our country.
I know that the 2 party system will eventually lead to the fall of our republic if it is not changed.
I know there is no way that a third party has a chance in the near future.

Change has been the theme of these elections and I am becoming more changed personally than I ever imagined.
My choices are not clear this time.
I may have to travel a path that is new, fresh, and unpaved.
But I am thinking clearly.
I am investigating options. They ARE there.
I am refusing to play the game that there is no win.

I will make the rules this time.
I will vote the way I decide.

When I walk away from the ballots this year I intend to know that I voted for what would be best for America. Not necessarily for the short term but for the future. For my children.


Hurry and read this post it likely will self destruct in the morning after I get some sleep.

Ike hits Ohio

Sunday was a bit breezy.
We were not prepared.
After several power surges interrupted our afternoon of helping our friend Mike complete some quests in WoW we decided that we should check the weather forecast.
We were under a high wind warning... things were going to get worse until about 6:00.
3:30 they got worse...we lost power.

So we lose phone service without power so we hunt down the cellphone...not charged.
Laptops for movies with the kids...not charged.
Ice for the perishables...not stocked up.
Food for the hungry...not that did not need an oven, microwave or grill.
Grill not an option...too windy.
Flashlight...batteries dead...wait we just bought some where are they?
Several hours later find the batteries in the dark garage...flashlight still does not work...bad bulb...fortunately we had a spare bulb handy so finally we have one working flashlight.
Candles have lots...no matches.
No radio to listen to so we are really and truly in the dark about what is going on.

About 4:30 we lost most of a tree in our back yard.
It fell less than a foot from Daniel.
***I am not a bad mommy disclaimer***
I told all the kids that it was dangerous to be outside and banned them all from the outdoors.
15 minutes later Daddy trumps my ban and tells the kids to get their shoes on they are going out.
Daddy is the kids hero.
Mommy is not thrilled and tells Daddy it is not a good idea.
Kids have fun.

Gives kids the following safety rule:
If you hear cracking run.

Dad talks to neighbor.

Tree cracks and falls practically on Danny and he stands there no running.
Mommy quickly gathers all her children indoors and Daddy continues to talk to neighbor.



No the branch did not fall on the pool.
The pool blew across the backyard and over a fence and we caught up with it 2 houses down in a neighbors front yard.
Branches were handy so Jesse threw one over the pool to keep it in the yard.

About 8:30 we gave up on the power returning and went out to seek food.
All our local restaurants were closed.
Everything by the mall closed.
Found an open dominoes and brought home pizza.
The CVS next door to Dominoes was sold out of flashlights and most food and batteries but they did have a book of matches they gave me.

Power came back on for us about 20 minutes before Jesse came home from work on Monday.
Many in the area still are without power and some have no water.

We feel blessed to have power and our son safe with us.

I am depressed and I heard sunshine helps

So I have been a bit down lately... has a bit to do with my missing drivers license.
Last I saw it Elli had it commenting on how pretty momma was wearing makeup.
I have to admit for an ID pic it was pretty good.

Now it looks like I am going to have to take a driving test to get a new license hence the stress and depression.

They say sun helps so I made some.

No more "blue office"
Now it is "sunshine" yellow. The paint can says custard but I say sunshine.

Also check out the new Ikea desks.





I actually do feel better typing this up in my sunshine office at my new desk.

And yes I am a bit crazy...
but a happier crazy

The Man Chair

If you have been following my blog over the past year you know that the house we bought was not my first choice but the house that my Man wanted.

Since I have lived in it I must admit that my Man has good taste and I really do like my house.

But during all the moving, house hunting, and debating the purchase of the house that I did not love I managed to get a $2,000.00 decorating budget.
Between my first trip to Ikea and the family room makeover I used up 400.00 of it.

We went to Ikea again...

900.00 of my budget flew away.

300.00 of that was spent on this...


The Man Chair...

So you might be wondering why I agreed to spend such a huge portion of my budget on a black leather chair that really does not fit my decor.

My Man has been really wanting a recliner for years... The kids tore up his.

My Man likes leather...It is kid friendly so that swayed me a bit.

My Man likes black leather not brown, or cream... sigh well I did make the black in the family room more tolerable so I figured I could work with the chair.

My man has horrible recliner taste... all comfort no style. I had been recliner shopping with him and there is no way I wanted to let his expensive, over sized, stay puff marshmallow man chair in my house.

So I went for the win... He got the chair and ottoman he really likes and I no longer have nightmares about the recliner he was destined to bring home.

I spent the day with the kids doing some art...
Here is theirs.


Here is mine.


Notice the incorporation of black to blend his chair in with the living room decor.
And yes it really is just an Ikea box hanging on the wall but it was free.

Perhaps more people should put cardboard on their walls.

Oh and in case you missed it... I love my Man.

I Serious Issues....

with people having affairs.
Especially men.
Especially men in powerful or seeking powerful positions.

What follows is a rant and is not necessarily logical but it is certainly something I have issues with.

I hate that men cheat on the women who have stood by them and helped them obtain their powerful positions. What woman wants to be used then tossed aside for a younger prettier version.

John Edwards...give me a break. How could any man in his right mind do this to his family.

Bill Clinton...an grossly obvious example of a man using his position as a tool to be unfaithful to his spouse.

Just to be fair and prove that I really have issues and am not politically biased...

John McCain...Seeks to be President but has also been in adulterous relationships.

I really don't want Obama to be our next President for many reasons but I really don't think I can bring myself to vote for one of those cheating politicians.

I think I am voting for Huckabee.

You might consider me as throwing away my vote but I want to vote for the man I think would be best not the one who has the best chance of winning.

If a man has proved that his sexual drive can override his better judgement and break his marriage vows, how can I expect him not to be easily swayed against his better judgement not to hold true to the U.S. Constitution and the interests of our Nation.

Like I said my reasoning is probably full of broken logic but I seriously have problems with this.

How powerful can these men be if they are controlled by self fulfillment.

Vote illogically...Vote for any faithful politician you can find.

End rant.

My Man

Jesse is a collector.
If something is worth having... more would be better.
Kids...have 4.
Books...needs to introduce himself to the local library.
Games...if an expansion shows up he has to have it even if he has not played the game in 5 years.
Food...new flavor shows up have to try it...this has been scary sometimes
Computers...3 desktops, 3 laptops and now a new laptop on the way.

His current collective passion has been directed to World of Warcraft which is much more checkbook friendly than say "computers, Mageknight" and such.
He collect recipes, gold, gear and stuff which only cost time and a lot of it is spent with me.

I have been soooo glad he has not decided to collect in-game mounts or pets because he would sooo feel the need to go to BlizzCon in Anaheim,Ca to get the exclusive ones they hand out in the swag bags.

Not that I would not enjoy a vacation with him at the convention but now is not really the best time for that.

So we went today and spent some of the money my Hubby saved by not collecting pet murlocs and polar bear mounts and signed the kids up for gymnastics.

I think in a few months the checkbook and I will be wishing for the BlizzCon trip instead. :)

But his kid collection is happy.

Flower Girls

So we went to my parent's house for a cousins wedding.
After the wedding I was enjoying the nice weather outdoors while the kids ran around watering Marme's flowers and picking a few.
Made some daisy chain crowns for Karist and Elli and they looked so adorable I had to get the camera for a pic.


Was gone for a second and this is what I came back too.

Crowns had been cast aside and muddied.

This is what my flower girls were doing.

Everyone gets in on the action.


Wouldn't you know it the lovely weather did not hold out.
Storms quickly moved in but fortunately PaPa did not get struck by lightning while he cooked our dinner.

Life through rose colored glasses

If life starts looking rosy... it might be time to buy new glasses and makeup too.

After a bit of paint and elbow grease...

My Mom thinks I am crazy for tackling the home projects that I do in the time constraints that I have, with the 4 kids that I have.
But I ask you, who is more crazy? Me or the Mom that gets conned into participating in the said crazy ideas.


Taking a hint from modern advertising theory... The room looks much better with a semi clothed female in it.

Finished... still looks good without the semi nudity.
Advertisers please note that things can look better if you clean things up.


What you can't see are the matching curtains in the dining area that somehow missed the shot.
All told I think the makeover took us 2 days and about 150.00 in materials.
I think the best thing about the makeover is that the rooms still look the same after 2 weeks.
And no, I did not send the kids to Grandma's.

Before our house was invaded

The kitchen looked like this.


Please note the His and Hers bathrooms :)


I was sooo looking forward to leaving my bathrooms in Rome that were Blue and Mustard before we updated them to sell the house and move a month later.
Now this...sigh


This is my new family room.
It needs a lot of help.
Fortunately there is a magic wand to fix ugly brick fireplaces...it's called a paintbrush.

Our Poor House

If houses could talk this one would be screaming in horror.
How do I know?
I myself am shrieking in horror.

So we bought this poor house...

So yesterday Karist dumps a full glass of grape juice on the carpet in the office.
Try as hard as I can the stain is still there.
Yes the kids are banned from drinks anywhere but on the tile in the kitchen/dining area. That was why her siblings left the glass on the counter to go play... I can't win.

Many of you may have heard of the Midwest flooding... our poor house has fallen victim to this regional disaster.

Yesterday Jesse arrives home to find water flowing from the garage. He moves thing out of the water and its path to the driveway.

A few hours later while searching for a missing Wii remote in Devonae's room located above the garage he finds the carpet sopping wet.

Evidently Karist and Ellie have been watching too much news and wanted to be up close and personal with the flood experience. They dumped many cups of water from the bathroom sink onto Devonae's carpeted floor. Devonae says she stopped them but forgot to tell me. This all probably happened while I was downstairs trying to clean up the grape juice stain.

a basket of towels later still wet....
wet vac bucket (2/3 full) later still wet...
overnight dehumidifier still wet...

Poor house.
Poor me.

Picture challange

Just asked myself what was the unifying theme of my picture folders?... besides they are all older pics.
I can't help it that the movers packed the camera.
Sure I found it last week unpacking but I have no idea where I put it, if I think about it too long I will start panicking and think I may have accidentally tosses it with all the packing paper.

So will all my folders have one of the following:
Pics of the T.V.
Naked kids...no naked ones of me though because I put considerable effort in keeping my unclothed form away from cameras.
Legos


Can you believe it I found 1 folder that did not have Lego's or T.V. pictures.

I did happen to find these pics that I love and meant to get printed for myself and the grandparents.

I'm Back

After months of unemployment... Jesse is back to work. We should know if he is doing well at his new job in about 10 years... If the U.S. gets hit by some overseas long range energy weapon that they were not informed about than he isn't doing so well.

After weeks of homelessness... We are moved into our new house. We as in people not our stuff.... most of that is in the garage. I have not quite figured out how when I unpack a box of our possesions how the packing paper fills the entire emptied box.

After days of chaos... I am gifted with a few moments of peace. Otherwise there would be no blog posting. We have Karist napping to thank for these precious moments.

After many late nights raiding in World of Warcraft... My guild kills Illidan the one night of the week I am not there. I am very happy for their success but I can't help but feeling like I completed the requirements to graduate but I missed the graduation ceremoies.


After several posts with no pictures... I have posted a completely unrealated pic with this post to break the trend. I also happen to love the picture it makes me smile to remember the Massacre of the Fish. You really had to be there to enjoy it.

The glass of D.P is empty cause I keep drinking it

So I am alive.
Jesse still does not have his start date for work.
The movers will be here to start packing on Monday.
So I am a bit stressed.
The Half empty glass of Dr. Pepper was just sitting there so I gulped it all down.
It helped.
But now I am out of D.P. and crying in an empty glass.

Did I mention that we still have no house.
It seems that when we find a house that would work it goes under contract before we get a chance to look at it.
I have started looking for neigborhoods rather than house to increase our odds.
It's not like anyone is gonna buy up a neighborhood.

The can of Dr. Pepper is half empty

So I went on the second worst trip of my life… Vomit Vacation still holds first place.
It all started with listing our house 2 days before we leave to head down to Ohio for Jesse’s job interview.
What were we thinking.
The house is not ready to be shown… I still have four kids you know…so off to a mad cleaning spree.
I get to pack too, what fun.
The kids are still making a mess while I clean…

Jesse sleeps in and ruins my plan of hitting the road early in the morning so the kids will sleep for the first couple of hours and make the trip go smoother.
I even had the kids sleep in their travel clothes to speed up the departure.
I am up very early and end up working on the house for the hours I am waiting on Jesse.
He finally gets up when I wake him up again saying that I want to leave the house because I can’t stop working, the kids are up and I don’t think I am making progress anymore, and my plans are ruined.
We leave 20 minutes later…3 hours later than I hoped.

The travel part is horrid….
Kids must pee every 20 minutes…The trip is 9and a half hours with no stops…I feel my darker insane madwoman side breaking through.
One stop I took Devonae in to pee, get back and Karist is crying that I left her and Ellie wants to go potty.
I go back into Burger King smile once more at the counter people and go back to the bathroom again.
Get back to the van and Danny decides he has to go because Daddy told him we were not stopping for a while so back inside I go. It is cold out side, I am not enjoying this. I grin sheepishly as I pass the counter for the third time with different kids on my way to the bathroom. My disposition is not improving .

Get a call from Becka, my sister, and she has already made it to the motel and is checking in …No internet…what should we do?
I am even more unhappy…
She is there and I am suffering in the car with my 4 fussy, frequent urinating kids.
I REALLY need internet I am house hunting on this trip…all my info, realtor info etc is in my email.
I am on the road, no internet to make room changes so I say go ahead check in will will figure it out when we get there.

Call: No water in rooms
Front desk says they know that they are working on the hot water heater, should be on in 3 hrs.?!?!?

Call: Water back on.

We finally make it there after several wishes for God to put me out of my misery…Like I said, my not so good side was coming out. The kids were not having steller moments either.


TO BE CONT....

Before and After Once More

The pictures are hopefully worth than words... we are looking for money.

This is the master bath
Blue version of the main bath...now lightened, brightened and neutralized.
Evidently they liked the wall paper so much that it was a must have for both bathrooms.
The unbelievable part is someone actually picked up the blue potty before the trash guys ever got to it.
The world has some weird people in it.

Before and After...again

To many who have seen the state of our bathroom before we did any updating the consensus seems to be "that is the ugliest bathroom I have ever seen".

Looking at these pictures refreshes my memory and I am wondering what we saw that made us say, "we will take it".

Doesn't the staging scream, "buy me".

After......


pain...


sweat...


tears...


paint...


potty...


and the bathroom sink....

So now hopefully someone besides crazy people like us will look at this bathroom and think, " We will take it".