where is that darn tooth fairy?

we do not have a very responsible tooth fairy around here.

seriously, i don't know how she keeps her job.

teeth hang in the bag on the door for days before she shows up.

(she better get better though-her negligence is blowing her cover!)

if your looking for thing 3...

...this is how you will find her...

(i thought i had the camera on but i had to include this trick!)

this is her watching TV

still watching TV

more TV watching

this is her, first thing in the morning

(this is thing 4 trying to copy thing 3)

she just finished breakfast(could have been any meal though)

"now, that was fun!"

do ya think gymnastics classes are needed?!

television

i am feeling a bit irritated with a few of my favorite shows.

did i ever get it?-i don't think so,

but this season i really don't get it.

to the point of completely annoyed.

nothing is making sense.

they are traveling through time because ben turned some dial but if jack gets everyone together and they return to the island everything will be right!?

WHAT!!!!!????

besides it not making sense, they have started sooooo many tangents and then just dropped them-like they never happened!

it's driving me CRAZY!!! i get mad every time i watch the dumb show-but... i have to watch because what if i miss something...they have a plan right?

(truly, i don't think they do. i think they start over every week)

jack just needs to take a deep breath.

that's all.

i would just feel better if he would breath slow and deep and roll his shoulders a bit-

then he can get back to business!

i could watch the office every night!

it is about the only thing i watch that makes me laugh-

not chuckle, but truly laugh!

but

what happened with angela?

they seem to have just dropped it.

she was engaged to andy and messing with dwight.

she got caught.

they both dropped her

and now it's over.

like it never happened.

there are no uncomfortable interactions.

no comments.

it's just so un-office-like.

more money in my pocket

i do love to save $. in both senses-to spend less and to put it away, but right now, i'm talking about spending less. i think lately we have all been cutting back and making some changes to our spending habits.

back when gas was over $4 a gallon we really felt the crunch. now with gas prices down we've been able to relax a bit but it has changed my thinking. i'm tired of $ flying out the door. i want to pay the utility company as little of my $ as possible.

so, these are some things i've changed here.

*canceled the data service on my cell. it was nice. i loved getting my emails and access to the internet but i don't need it and didn't use it very often. that saved me $600/year!!!

*changed our cable service. i changed to a simpler package. the dad lost his sports channels (he still has the internet ;)) and the kids lost some cartoon channels (not enough though!). we went from $600/year to $180-$240/year!- i did keep the dvr-we can't live w/out that!

*i drive less. i try to combine as many trips as possible rather than running out every day. this also keeps me out of the stores and ya know what happens when your wandering around target, somehow you wind up spending $80+ dollars and have no idea what happened.

*the other day oprah did a show about saving $. one of the ladies on the show talked about unplugging electronics. so we are trying that this month. it will be interesting to see if it makes a difference. and, we are leaving lights off.

*we are trying not to eat out! i enjoy eating out, but i hate when the bill comes. the food was never as good once you see how much you are paying for it(okay, sometimes it was still good!). with our little family we can spend as much on one meal out as we do on one weeks worth of groceries.-my boys like steak-it's in their blood.

*we use the library. i go online and reserve movies and the dad picks them up on his way home. it's free! and when we watch the movie we pop our own popcorn in the air popper. we started doing that way back when we found out about all those chemicals in microwave popcorn. we like it better anyway! and it is so much cheaper.

so these are the things we are trying and doing but i would really love to hear what you have done. i would love to know what works for you -maybe it would work for me too. so please share. i'll post any ideas you give me so the masses can benefit too (all 5 of you).

surprise?

the dad can not keep a secret...ever!

so, valentines day came early for me.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

oh so yummy!

we had this for dinner last night.

creamy mushroom and chicken soup!

it was sooooo good!

you have to like mushrooms because it tastes like mushrooms.

the boys picked out the mushrooms but still ate the soup.

which was fine with me-i just added their unwanted mushrooms to my bowl.

YUM-MY!

i was treated...

to a yummy breakfast in bed.

(created by thing 1 all by himself)

and then joined by some delightful company!

derby days

it's that time of year again!

the boys have been looking forward to it for weeks.

the dad has been looking forward to it... well, probably all year.

they cut

they shaped

they sanded

they painted

they raced!

and the winner is....

thing 1 took 1st

thing 2 took 2nd!

woooohooooo!

way to go boys!

hallelujah

hallelujah
halle-lujah!

he is finally sleeping through the night!!!

we went sledding!

our first run, we hiked to the top of the BIG hill!

thing 3 said "no way"!
she walked back down!

after one run we decided the BIG hill was too big.

so we found the not so big hill!

and had a blast!

*we left thing 4 with some friends!

happy holiday baking!

approved for distribution!

the rec

YIPPEE!

our indoor playgroup is open!

now you know where to find us!

i'm there

yesterday our house was buzzing

as usual.

no sooner than the boys walked in the door the phone started ringing

and didn't seem to stop.

friends were calling.

some wanted to come play and some wanted to come do homework together

-and then play.

before i knew what was happening my house was full.

thing 1 had his group of friends in his room playing their DS'.

thing 2 was in the playroom completing homework assignments and then playing Wii with his friend.

our dearly loved neighbor girl, who we have been missing,

came to play with thing 3 and thing 4.

usually this crowd is in the yard playing pretty much anything they can that may involve a ball. they tried but were quickly back inside seeking warmth.

i don't blame them-i ran to the mailbox and back yesterday. it was just crisp!

so, as my house was filling up with neighborhood kids i caught myself thinking

"this is what it's going to be like as they get older."

but then i quickly realized,

this is what it is like.

they are older.

my house is full.

i do love it. i want them to have their friends here. i want their friends to enjoy being here.

i just have to keep my eyes up and ignore the messes that can happen.

and, i'm going to have to start preparing larger dinners, as they all want to stay. and i'm going to have to keep my cupboards full of snacks, as boys can eat a lot!

so, i'm there.

wope soppopeakop op

do you?

i learned to speak "op" way back in 4th grade i think! it was our "secret" code-my friends and i had. i never thought that i would be using it at 30 something!

now that my boys can spell though, it comes in very handy-and drives them very crazy!

i did give them a clue though, they need to know how to spell!

trick-or-treat

my little yoda

beautiful snow white





the boys pictures are in my friends camera.(my camera is broken)
thing 1 was anakin skywalker and thing 2 was a clone trooper.



the weather was beautiful


the streets were swarming with little ghosts and goblins


and the bags were full

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

*i do love my boys, they are just so busy it's hard to get pictures of them.

**these pictures are courtesy of another friend. Thank You!