Kid Friendly Tree!

This year we are at my in laws for Christmas and they haven't had a real tree for at least 10 years....what?! So we HAD to pick one up. Our beautiful tree was only $24 from Home Depot and I love it. It was FROZEN when we picked it out and it was funny cause while we were peeling apart the branches the frost was falling on the floor. funny funny. We waited for it to dry then put on the lights and the paper garland. I traced Jacob's hands for the 'snowflakes' on the tree and made little pillow-like ornaments with the sowing machine and some pinking sheers. Me, Heath, and the kids went to Joann's to pick out fabric for the ornaments----matching red and green for mom and dad, blue Thomas the train Christmas for Jacob, and pink hello kitty Christmas for Lexi (not my favorite but its cute). Jacob loves the tree and it definitely makes a house a Christmas home.

Sick just in time for Christmas.

Jacob woke up the other night crying saying that his ear hurt and he wanted a band-aid and kisses. Lol. I was searching for blood or something thinking he scratched it or hit it on the wall...nope. I gave him a band-aid, lots of kisses, and Tylenol cause he was burning up. Then a half hour later he was crying saying that he needs more kisses and band-aids cause his ear still hurts. ahhh. So cute. Poor boy now has to have band-aids around the clock---and meds :) We took him and Lexi both the the Dr. just to check the coughing and noses. Since Jacob has 'cold induced asthma' I'm a very paranoid mother when it comes to my kids health. I try to keep up on the latest info on kids health and I know that cold meds aren't good for my kids soo....just thought I would check in the dr. to make sure everything is A OK! Dr. said he has an ear infection and he's not wheezing. Thank goodness. Lexi...

Here's a pic of my happy little princess. She has a sinus infection but it still smiling! lol. She has snot and drool all over her in this pic. Poor baby. Needless to say---I am one tired mother! I haven't been very happy lately and haven't really been 'all here' as far as being happy go lucky like I usually am. My kiddos are needy this week and I feel so sad that they don't feel good - poor babies. It looks like we're almost done with this round of colds...and once again - mom didn't get sick! Thank you very much. I haven't been sick with a cold for almost a year! I'm so proud of myself. I take airborn at the first sign of colds in our house and that seems to work for me---plus maybe a good immune system? (knock on wood). Heath on the other hand...gets sick EVERY MONTH! I swear...no lie. It stinkin drives me nuts. Top on my list of most annoying things in the world---a sick husband. Anyone agree? Note: mom's don't get sick days...need I say more?

I don't have time to be sick----so I just don't get sick. Headaches...that's another story.

Decorating the tree

why don't I have a pic of Jacob...shoot?!

My little creation.

Close up of our KID FRIENDLY tree. No glass (except for the lights). All edible. lol.

Our Winter Wonderland

Yup---sandals and socks. His shoes were already wet from the rain the day before.

Hmm....I wonder if that's why both my kids are sick this week. Goodness.

Rosy cheeks. So cute.

Here's the main road----blocked!

My Car

Thanks for clearing it off for me Heath :) He sure looks happy. not.

Grandpa's Dragon

Stuck

Today is my BIG CORONA DAY! Yea! I'm going to visit friends and I had to work REALLY hard to get a babysitter for Jacob today and we're STUCK here in Morongo. There was a 10 car pile-up just minutes before I left for Corona. yikes. We were loading the car when it happened and the ambulances came. We can see the entrance to the mountain pass (the only real exit/entrance). 

We decided to play in the snow instead and I took lots of pictures and video. I'll post them when I can. Here's the latest photo issue....my computer won't read SD cards. What's up with that? I'm working on it. Maybe I can upload pics from Cari's computer if I ever get there today.....AHHHHH!!!! I sooo sooo sooo miss my friends and I have gifts to give .. .. hehehe. I'm so excited. 

Also - I had lunch plans yesterday and I was stuck up here cause of the weather. I used to dream about living in the snow and that it might be fun....NEVER MIND!

pj

Organizing Canned Goods for super duper Cheap!

Thanks to a blog I stumbled upon I found this great post about organizing cans 

All Things Frugal 

posted a picture and a great idea using wood she already had to keep her food storage looking beautiful. It's totally a do it yourself project - no man required - love those. 

This is a great idea for the super stockpiler or just the average shopper with 8-10 cans of tomato sauce or chicken soup. Take a look. Also, she has a picture of her home grocery store...wow. 

Thinking of You...

When life to is too hard to stand

kneel

Its Snowing Here!!

Oh my goodness. When we arrived in Morongo Valley (my in-laws) last night there was snow all over! Ahhh. Crazy. Morongo Valley (not by the casino at all) is sorta in the mountains and considered the High Desert. Its crazy cold here in the winter and crazy hot here in the summer. The mountains just behind the Avery's backyard are all white! Their house is just below the "snow line" I guess so their house doesn't have snow. But if you travel up the road 2 MINUTES then the streets are lined with snow. Crazy. I've never technically lived in snow and Jacob has never seen real snow. It was so fun while we were driving to the grocery store today to hear Jacob telling me all about the snow he's seeing. He told me how it was really really cold, that is was slippery, and to drive carefully. Funny. I guess he learned all about snow from his Thomas the Train Christmas DVD. haha. Thanks mom. We didn't play in the snow - sorry - just too cold for that. My kids don't really have the right gear for that kind of fun. It did "stick" so my guess is that it will still be here tomorrow if I'm feeling adventurous and want to take them to play for a bit.

The grocery store was an adventure. I try not to go the the g.store with Jacob if I can avoid it - but I can't avoid it anymore since it gets dark so early and I'm not really comfortable going to the grocery store at night ALONE in a city I'm not familiar with. During the day is do-able, just a little stressful with 3 year old. He can't really sit in the cart cause I need to fill the cart with groceries and he can't sit in the top cause that's where Lexi is (not that he would stay up there anyway). Today Jacob was such a good listener and didn't run away from me once! Miracle. Happy Day. Maybe my boy is growing up? Impossible. Everyone of course made lots of comments about how cute Lexi was so I in turn made lots of comments about what a great helper and big boy Jacob was----preventing jealousy.

We're having a bit of an issue with that lately. Prevention Prevention Prevention - but wait, what if the prevention doesn't work? Currently I'm on a hunt for a good parenting book....

How to teach your child not to hit - Without wanting to hit your child!

I prefer NOT to teach Jacob 'not to hit' --- by hitting him (spanking, slapping, hitting etc.) so I really need to sharpen my parenting tools and get him to stop without having a huge battle. He's 3 and the ONE time I spanked him it was a total disaster and I will NEVER do it again. I think I posted about that experience. Won't be doing that again.

Ah. Amazon? I need a good book. Any ideas?

-pj

i really need to post pictures.

heath just got my computer fixed----now i can upload some pics. hopefully tonight? it will be a major picture fest----be ready.

I Stumbled...

I found 2 new blogs that are great! I added them to my Blog List on my sidebar (for those that check out my blog---just to check the other blogs on my Blog List :) 

Here's the links:

All Things Frugal

My Food Storage Deals

Mostly I use sites like this to get me inspired to get great deals! I love to look at their stockpiles of food and just imagine my pantry that full!! Its killing me that I can't really stockpile while living at my in-laws until Feb/Mar. My husband probably wouldn't appreciate me having 20 more boxes to move. Lol. Hope you like these sites. 

-princessjulie

Gold Wrapping Paper

A forward that I received today. Thanks for sharing JenK. -

I received this from a friend who had a choice to make. It said that I had a choice to make too.
I've chosen. Now it's your turn to choose.
The story goes that some time ago a mother punished her five year old daughter for wasting a roll of expensive gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and she became even more upset when the child used the gold paper to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree.
Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift box to her mother the next morning and then said,'This is for you, Momma.'
The mother was embarrassed by her earlier over reaction, but her anger flared again when she opened the box and found it was empty. She spoke to her daughter in a harsh manner.
'Don't you know, young lady, when you give someone a present there's supposed to be something inside the package?'
She had tears in her eyes and said, 'Oh, Momma, it's not empty! I blew kisses into it until it was full.'
The mother was crushed. She fell on her knees and put her arms around her little girl, and she begged her forgiveness for her thoughtless anger.
An accident took the life of the child only a short time later, and it is told that the mother kept that gold box by her bed for all the years of her life. Whenever she was discouraged or faced difficult problems she would open the box and take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.
In a very real sense, each of us, as human beings, have been given a Golden box filled with unconditional loveand kisses from our children, family, friends and GOD. There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.

Thankful Thursday - late again!

This is my ongoing post dedicated to Blogging My Blessings! My goal for this post is to help me focus on the GREAT things in my life. The things I love and the love I have to give. Not all my posts will be mushy...


22. My Mom. This week I've been hanging out with my mom and I've LOVED it! Its so fun to visit her in AZ and to just run errands, talk, and just be together. I love to watch her interact with my kids and to see the love that has strengthened with her and my children. A grandmother's love is so precious and I feel so lucky that my children have my parents and Heath's parents.

23. Christmas lights. This year Jacob is noticing the Christmas decorations all around ESPECIALLY the lights and decorations outside at night. Its so cute to watch him getting excited about the different houses. He's always looking for a house that has a train on the lawn (or dirt front yard in AZ...haha). He LOVE LOVE LOVED going to see the Mesa LDS Tempe lights last week. He and my mom walked around together having a blast looking at the lights and the different nativity scenes.

24. Baby Proof. My mom's house isn't baby proof (as much as we try...its totally impossible....however, my kids are totally doing great! I cannot believe that the are listening to mommy and grandma and leaving the decorations (mostly) alone. I love to see my mom's house at Christmas and was so worried that my kids would just trash the place. She puts kid friendly decorations like stuffed Christmas animals and nativity blocks within reach, perfect! Its so cute to watch Lexi looking at the Christmas tree. She loves the lights. Some of the lights twinkle and there's absolutely beautiful ornaments on the tree---I would be so heartbroken if one of my kids broke one...and they haven't! Miracle! They've been so obedient and stayed far enough away from that room and in the "play room". Love you mom. Thanks for letting us visit.

Click HERE to view previous Thankful Thursday posts.

My two favorite Christmas songs are playing

Turn it up :)

Everything I blog----I blog it for you. 

Can you still name the tune with the word changes?

Lol. That ones for you Jen. Your email reminded me of this song. Keep on blogging! Do you have a sitemeter? You probably have lots of peeps checking your cute blog!  

My mother-in-law called my room (in her house) THE DUNGEON today. Crack up. So I said, "Are you giving me permission to call my room the dungeon? Cause it sooooo is". She laughed. I love Rose, she's so funny - totally a dry humor. Wait, that's can be a compliment right? I mean it to be. My Princess Lexi's middle name is Rose - after my mother in law. 

My room is an Add on to their house that is down 3 steps from the rest of the house. It has NO WINDOWS but has 3 DOORS. hmmm. One door to the backyard, one to the garage, and one to the rest of the house. The one heading outside has an inside key lock (key taped to the top of the door frame and constantly locked), the garage one has a regular lock and a child lock thing on the door knob, and the other one, Well, has a little lock thing and is hard to shut. I'm a little scared that I'll assume its locked and I'll be changing or something and Jacob will run and swing the door open. Well HELLO JULIE. Yikes. Needless to say, I dress really quickly. Have I mentioned that we have ONE bathroom? I pee in a bucket in my room. Shoot. HAHAHAHAHAHA. I wanted to try and blog that seriously but just couldn't. 

A LITTLE LOVEY NOTE-----My sister Courtney is up at BYU IDAHO. I just saw her for Thanksgiving at my parents house. I'm so proud of her. She's such a great sister, even in her "selfish phase". ((((I used to call my 18-19 yr. old years my selfish phase)))) She's young and fun and making great decisions in her life. I totally admire her and she's growing to be an amazing woman. Don't shoot me...I love to watch her falling in love. Its cute to hear her talk about her current FLAME (permanent? no rumors!!! - just my prediction) Its always so refreshing to see happiness. Love her. 

I'm loving /SLASH/ surviving my adventures here in LIMBO. :) If you love me ... call me ... I'm a little bored out here, hence the boring posts and endless blogging. 

Later man. 

Julie

Note: Sorry for the LACK OF PICS or IMAGES. I'm on my in-laws computer cause mine won't hook to the Internet right now. what the heck. 

Thankful Thursday (late) Oops!

This is my ongoing post dedicated to Blogging My Blessings! My goal for this post is to help me focus on the GREAT things in my life. The things I love and the love I have to give. Not all my posts will be mushy...

19. First of all - let me just say...I'm VERY THANKFUL that time is just zooming by. Its already FRIDAY! OOPS! My little family is currently crashing at Heath's parents home for a few months while we wrap things up here in CA with work. Its always hard not having your own place---I sure hope these next few months FLY by. Heath's poor parents went from being empty nesters - to having 1 big baby, Julie, and 2 little babies. :D

20. GPS. Heath decided to buy our family a GPS for our new moving adventures on Black Friday. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my GPS. Its great to be able to leave the house here in Palm Springs (area) and know exactly where I'm going! I love to have my own personal navigator to help me around a new town when I need to get out of the house. It will also be super helpful when we move to AZ. The freeway system in Phoenix area is stinkin confusing.

21. Sleep. I'm REALLY REALLY hoping that if I start being thankful for the little sleep I'm getting....then I'll be blessed with more sleep!!! I know, I know, this is really complaining - not thanking...I'm so tired. My girl is waking up so much lately. The first night we were here she woke up 6 times. Is that even possible!? The second night she only woke up twice, last night she woke up 4 times. Its killing me. Sleep deprivation is a killer. Anyone that has had a baby would know this all too well. When we were living in Corona she was pretty much sleeping through the night and sometimes waking up. Ahhh, lets get back to that.

Click HERE to view previous Thankful Thursday posts.

Redbox Codes

Here's Redbox codes to use...Sweet! 

Week 1 – 11moms4uS (good Sunday 12/7 only)

Week 2 – 11moms4uA (good Sunday 12/14 only)

Week 3 – 11moms4uN (good Sunday 12/21 only)

Week 4 – 11moms4uT (good Sunday 12/28 only)

Week 5 – 11moms4uA (good Sunday 1/4 only)

Thanks to ElevenMoms. I found these codes on Deal Seeking Mom

GOING TO say HELLo

I love south park, its not actually allowed in my household anymore with my kiddos *plus it IS a raunchy show `is that a real word? 

I sure hope nobody is offended by this post. When its funny- its just funny. 

c. You better be laughing the hardest at this one. 

Thanks for sending this to me Chels.

Sending Love from my temporary home - julie :D