Good Morning Boys and Girls!
Today We're Going To Play A Little Game
I Like To Call:

Doesn't Everyone?

Feel Free To Jump In At Anytime, But I Must Warn You:
Post Pictures Of Your Dysfunction Or I'll Have To Photoshop Some Pictures On My Own...
And It Won't Be Pretty...

We're A Competitive Family Who Thrives On Winning!
 All Our Childrens' Middle Name Isn't
"Dysfunction" For Nothin'!


Let's Get Started, Shall We?


Doesn't Everyone?
Celebrate WEAR YOUR KITTY TO WORK Day?






Doesn't Everyone?
Secretly Take Pictures Of Their Really Cute Worship Pastor...
While Their Daughter Is Getting Baptized?
AND
Accidentally Get Their Husbands' Hands In The Shot??





Doesn't Everyone?
Let Their Daughter And Her Friends Pretend Like They Are Getting Tattoos
At A Real Tattoo Shop AND Take Pictures To Freak Their Parents Out?





Doesn't Everyone?
Think If They Wear Union Jack Glasses And Watch BBC
All The Time, They Can Actually Become British?





Doesn't Everyone?
Let Their Children Watch Elmo While Playing With Their Bum?
Oops, The BBC Is Wearin' Off On Me....




Doesn't Everyone?
Wonder If He Was Mad Because His Friend Was Feelin' Him Up
Or
He Didn't Get The Boobie Side?





Doesn't Everyone?
Let Their Toddler BOY Put On Makeup Before Church?
Know I Can Still Rock Out



Doesn't Everyone?
Photoshop Their Eyes Really Extremely Way To Blue
But Don't Notice Til It's Too Late Because You're Tired?
Be Mad That Someone ELSE Is Taking The Picture
So You Don't Look Like A Loser Taking A Picture Of
Yourself....???
Doesn't Everyone?
Have To Have Atleast One "Sentimental Look" Picture
In Their Stash Of Pictures Entitiled:
This Is My Not Supposed To Look Like I Took The Picture Myself Even Though I Can't Seem To Learn How To Crop My Arm Out Stash?


Push The Button On Their Camera Because They Don't Know How To Find The Time Release


Mmmm, I Feel Better Now!
Feel Free To Grab The Button Above To Participate In:

TangledEutopia's
Dysfunctional Family Friday!

I haven't run off to join a religious cult that doesn't believe in the internet, I've just been swamped with work because of SNOW SNOW ICE ICE....

While Mama's Been Workin'....
Hootie Found The Snow!






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Welcome to TangledEutopia's Truthful Tuesday!
If you would like to participate in Truthful Tuesday,
Grab the button above and make sure you leave a link to your post!


Tangled In Honesty....

If we're just being seriously truthful here....


I've struggled with fasting once my work week started. The first week was on track, but once I started confusing my body again (by sleeping at night then hardly sleeping at all), it rebelled. 


*****

I really miss my husband. No, he hasn't gone anywhere, we've been in the same house.  But it's hard to be a wife and mom working overnight, trying to fit yourself  into a world where everyone around you lives during the day and sleeps at night. 



*****************************************************

If we're not being serious....But truthful....


It's perfectly normal to feed your kids fast food in the car on the way home from a special service at church then forget to make them brush their teeth because it's already after 9pm. 


*****
 If you stay up to late to finally be alone with your husband, but it makes you wake up later than you should...
It's okay for you to be in a bad mood and yell at your kids who are in a bad mood (from staying up to late also) and push them out the door 10 minutes after they wake up with only a piece of toast shoved in their mouth....
If you cry about what a horrible mom you are then decide to jump in the car with no bra, no shoes on your toddler, and no wallet, so you can rush to the school,  find your kid eating breakfast in the cafeteria, and embarrass him by kissing and apologizing profusely. 
Only then is it okay....

*****

Can I Gush For A Minute....

 
I Love It!

Go See Her!

J Maxwell

2200 N. Germantown Parkway

Suite 4

Cordova, TN 38016

901.384.3909

http://www.salonjmaxwell.com/default.html

Thanks Girl!!!

Can I just say....
 
We're Big Tired Dorks...


Who Need A Break....

To Have A Date Night.  Alone....





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If we're being honest here, I have to say that I didn't start my fast until Monday (instead of Sunday) because if you read my first post about these 21 Days, you'll remember that I had one of my TangledEpiphanies or Ta-Piphany as I like to call it about what I thought God was trying to tell me.

Funny enough, When I heard His voice telling me HOW I should go through this journey,
He disguised Himself as a sweet soft-spoken woman that stands maybe 5" tall and weighs maybe 100lbs.
AND He called Himself Amanda!!! But it didn't matter because I heard it!!

I'm not going to bore you with a rundown of what I've eaten, but I will say this:


It's been much easier to give up tea than I ever thought, although I've had 1 cup of coffee everyday, but in my defense, I've cut the sugar in half with Stevia and replaced my evaporated milk with....okay....I won't write a lie. Only some of the time I've halfed it with yucky powder creamer.



I had such a routine. Such a habit with my coffee. I pride myself in getting my Barista's at my favorite Starbucks trained. I'm very matter-of-fact and now that's all come to an end. I have to start over. WHEN I start going back to Starbucks that is....One of my commitments is not buying any food outside of Whole Foods, Easy-Way, or the Grocery. Sadly, that includes my Love, Starbucks.

.


Let me tell you how hard this has been....Hootie and I were waiting in the University parking lot so my brother could finish his registration for school and out of boredom,

 I decided to clean under my seats. I know. OCD. Just keep going with it....

I found a certificate that Starbucks had mailed me for a free coffee!!!! (They really love me)

Our church has teamed with over 900 other churches for the 21 Day Fast, and it started today.
It's right in line with my 90 day plan. That's not the confession, by the way....

During church I kept wondering how everyone else was fasting. Were they only drinking liquids? Were they only fasting from sun up to sun down? (Being in the Arabic community for so many years, that's what I was used to.) During Ramadan, which is 40 days, they fast from sun up to sun down eating a light meal after they break the fast in the evening.

The theme of today's message was "The Power of One"
One person, One year, One change can all make many huge differences.

John talked about The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree from Luke 13:6-9

6 And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

 The Vinedresser had 3 things that God yearns for us:
1. Vision
2. Patience
3. Commitment

While he was talking and I was absorbing, (which is why church is so important in the first place) God kept speaking to me.  He kept saying to me: "Get back to what I gave you."


The words "fruits and vegetables" kept playing over and over in my head. And my head kept saying: "But that's food."  That wouldn't technically be fasting. Or would it? 


What if, just for a small amount of time, I got back to only what God gave us? 

Now for my big confession:

I've heard of the Daniel Fast, but never looked into it enough to know what it was. Ironically one of the pastors' wives put an update on Facebook giving recipes for those of us starting the fast.  Suddenly it all made sense.  

But crap! 

I thought I was special. 

I thought God was speaking directly to me, giving me some secret message like the radio program gave Ralphie for his secret decoder in The Christmas Story. 

But Daniel and Amanda already had it!

Then I realized God WAS speaking just to me. For Me. But just like I have to break down the big words for Chief sometimes....God had to break it down for me.  He wanted me to find it on my own. I'm sure He didn't care that Facebook was the means, He was just glad I found it. 

So thanks Amanda! Oh yeah, and thanks Daniel...

Go check out The Daniel Fast here.  

I know it's only 21 days....

I've decided that I'm not brave enough to go cold turkey with my coffee and tea. I'm more fearful of my addiction to those two than any food I can think of. 

But I know it's only 21 days....

I've used coffee as a substitute to food for so long. It scares me to confront food again without  Starbucks in my corner! That's it in a nutshell. 

But I know it's only 21 days....

So I'm going to take the next 5 days to wean myself down. I know. I'm a wimp.

I'm going to need your encouragement. 

Your accountability. 

I'm going to need you to make me mad by sending me quick messages asking if I'm on track.  

And I'm going to use restraint when I have to pray before answering you in a sarcastic nice manner by trudging through my withdrawals...


Because even though it's only 21 days....

It's Really The Rest Of My Life

Come on now. You know I have an opinion...Cuz I have an opinion about everything...


MckMama talked about trying to be real and authentic this year. 
Let's just be real for a second.


Want a perfect example?


I'm Sitting At Work With A Bag of Left Over Christmas M&M's....

**I Feel The Hormones Kickin' Into High Gear For This Next Set Of Sentences...You've Been Warned**

To Blog Boldly or Speak Boldly can sometimes be nothing more than YOU making YOU look like a close minded freak.

All I keep saying to myself as I'm writing is "man, I hope I actually have the guts at the end of this, to publish what I'm writing."

I've never actually done that before. My goals have always been private.

Private because I know the weight of accountability that sits on the shoulders of such a huge step I would be taking. But remember that little post I wrote about Tangled Epiphanies?  The one I had on a road trip recently? The epiphany that gave me chills as I drove down the dark interstate when I realized (in my opinion and round about way) that God intended for us to have on-going mental battles until we understand that is the only way to PROVE and BELIEVE in:

I'll find a way to incorporate reaching the goal of GOING PUBLIC into one of the rewards I give myself throughout the year because well....




90 Days
45 lbs.
4 lbs. per week
I'm going to open a new account and deposit $10 for every pound lost so I can use that as my reward and go shopping for new clothes.

1. 
   

   What are you not doing even though you feel you should want it?
   

   
   
2. 
   

   Where do you claim to want something but then let fear stop you?
   

   
   
3. 
   

   What aren’t you tackling because it’s too much work?
   

   
   
4. 
   

   Are you actively engaged or on autopilot?
   

   
   
5. 
   

   How many projects do you have on the go at any one time? How good are you at prioritizing them?
   

   
   
6. 
   

   Where are you choosing safe over happy?
   

   
   

***When I stepped back to look at my life objectively I realized that if I was to prioritize the things I do the order came out:...... And when things aren't going well, it's usually the fault of whatever's on the bottom of the list.

***When you set a “goal”, your subconscious mind tends to place it into the “someday” category, even if it’s a short-term goal you have every intention of completing. And while you may complete it as a short-term goal, the chances of failure actually go up when you label it as a “goal”… despite the fact that it’s good to have goals.

***You had an idea based on your desire, and you successfully executed it at some point in the future. Same as a goal right? The difference is, your mind is used to following through with plans, but may need much more training to follow through with “goals”, despite the fact that they are basically the same thing.

***How to Create Your “Plan”

Let’s do a quick exercise. All you’ll need is a pen, a piece of paper, and your mind.

 Take one of your big long-term goals that you hope to accomplish “someday” and that’ll be the only thing we label a “goal” for this exercise, and write it down on the top of your paper. Now, the sub-goals, or what would be called the short-term goals leading up to your big goal are going to be labeled “plans”.

 Write down your new short term “plans” and decide when they should be executed, and give an estimated time-frame. Put tentative dates, and make sure to plan on executing some of them very soon, in fact, as soon as you can. If it’s honestly a goal you really want, you won’t want to wait anyway.

 Below is a simplistic example plan to illustrate the exercise I just described. It’s for someone who’s always wanted to start their own online business but has previously put it into the “someday” category in their mind.

 Goal: Start an Online Business

 Action Plans:

• 
  

  Find a good resource and gather up the necessary knowledge.
  

  
  

  Date: 11/30/2009 (Today) – Complete by: 12/7/2009
  

  
  
• 
  

  Topic/Market Research
  

  
  

  Date: 12/7/2009 – Complete by: 12/14/2009
  

  
  
• 
  

  Create the website
  

  
  

  Date: 12/15/2009 – Complete by: 12/21/2009
  

  
  
• 
  

  Create the initial content
  

  
  

  Date: 12/22/2009 – Complete by: 2/22/2010
  

  
  
• 
  

  Create a marketing plan
  

  
  

  Date: 2/23/2009 – Complete by: 3/1/2010
  

  
  
• 
  

  And so on…
  

  
  

If you take the above example literally it will obviously have some flaws, but it wasn’t meant to help you start an online business, it’s purpose is to show you how to simply change the “goals” you need to accomplish as soon as possible into plans, so your mind actually queues the actions you need to take, rather than just letting them remain stagnant in the “someday” bin.

 somedaysyndrome.com

 ONLY YOU CAN DO IT!!!

2009 was a roller coaster of a year in our family.

We had 1 cross country road trip,

2 close family members die,

and 3 life changing experiences that brought out the best and worst in us.

2009 was a massive year of growth in our family.

Growth usually comes from (hopefully) hard lessons learned and stumbling along the way.

In order to close 2009 and bring in 2010 with a BANG,

I've been gearing my family by constantly saying the words "January 1st" which insinuates not just new cliche' goals, but true vision, planning, and ofcourse tons of Faith for what God has planned in our lives!

To kick it off right, I've written each family member words that I feel need said before our new endeavor!

As you read, Just Remember:

YOU, as a mom,

 are the most important vehicle to get them moving in 

a more positive direction 

OR 

a more negative direction.

and were told once we got to the window that the car ahead of us had paid for our drinks. I had never heard of that before and became overwhelmed with emotion at the thought of random acts of kindness not only still alive, but actually happening to ME!
Of course, paid for the car behind us, and the barista informed us that the current stint of paying it forward was in its' 4th hour. That made my night as well as made my days brighter for days after.

But that was last year. While I've often thought about that night, I haven't spoken about it this year.

I'm on the tail end of working 12 straight days of a mixed up schedule that has left me beyond tired and tired. I had to write that word twice because I couldn't think of a better word to convey just how much my schedule sucks right now other than jumping through your computer screen and screaming it in your face while choking the sleep out of you......

 Last night I decided to wage war on the demons of all things tired and get the boys dressed to go look at Christmas lights.
Miss Talks-A-Lot was at a slumber party and while I really enjoy spending time with all my babies, I have to admit the level of chaos is so much more DO-ABLE when Runs With Scissors is alone having only to compete with an 18 month old who laughs at every single word he speaks because said 18 month old thinks his older brother hung the moon!

Can I get to the point of my story please???

We're in the drive-thru and Runs With Scissors asks the barista what the total was for the car behind us. It was double the total we had just paid for our own drinks, but I want you to know, that baby pulled $10 out of his little 8 year old pocket, paid the bill, and instructed him to tell them Merry Christmas!
I'm not sure I've ever had a prouder moment as a mom! I had no idea he had any concept of paying it forward or any knowledge about that becoming a trend at Starbucks around the holidays!

Baby, I hope you realize how you might have impacted someone's life. You never know who was sitting in that car behind us. You have no idea what was going on in their life. They could have been contemplating suicide all day and you changed their mind simply by showing that random act of Christmas Spirit.
Jesus acted in that very same manner and I want you to know, while it is so much more important that YOU feel proud of you, I am proud of you.

More than words could ever be written in a blog. (That you have never read....)

I get up around the same time the big kids get home from school and have our normal life of dinner, homework, baths, and cleaning, until leaving the house again at 11pm to work my Saturday shift.


When I get home around 8:30am on Saturday morning, the children are just starting to stir and my sweet husband is trying to catch just 10 more minutes of sleep. (Which he deserves)

I put a load of laundry in, change the baby, start breakfast, straighten the kitchen, (because nobody cleans it like Mama cleans it) feed the baby, and by then....I've caught it. Or should I say, IT'S caught me.

My Second Wind.


I HATE THAT SECOND WIND!!!!

About an hour into the morning, if Chief isn't stirring, I'm starting to wain. My head starts to hurt and all those great ideas I had just an hour before, about going to the park or grocery shopping or massive cleaning...

Well. Those ideas seem pretty unrealistic and far fetched by that time.

Now. One of two things happen at this point...

A. Chief gets up and starts cooking a big breakfast and we chat in the kitchen about what the day holds, while the baby throws his cup across the room from his high chair

Or

B. Chief gets up and comes out of the bedroom fully dressed dressed with his agenda already mapped out in his head. I automatically know his agenda has something to do with being outside. Depending on the weather, it means cutting the grass, working on his truck, cleaning the outside, painting the house, or as I like to call it:


Umm Yeah. Those days suck just as much.

Whatever my Saturday has held, sleep or no sleep, I leave the house again at 11pm to work my Sunday shift. 

 I get home Sunday morning around 8:30 hoping everyone is already awake and on their way to getting breakfast ate and clothes on for church. I have exactly one hour to get myself ready and help Chief get the baby ready before heading to church by 10:15.

I totally forget I'm tired while at church because...well...that's just how Awesome My Church Is.
But I don't even get all the way to the car afterwards, and I start to drag. The whole drive home, which is 7 minutes, all I can do is contemplate about is how I wish the kids could cook themselves or should I give in and just pick something up. Lord Forbid if we've been invited to dinner. As much as I used to enjoy going out to eat after church, I simply can't think like that anymore.

Most of the time I have to spend atleast another hour or two helping Chief get the kids fed and the baby down for a nap, before heading to bed myself, feeling guilty about sleeping in the day AGAIN on the weekend. It's so much worse the weekends we have Sitting Bull. He lives 2 hours away and Chief usually leaves around 4pm to meet half-way. He absolutely Hates taking Hootie on this 3 hour drive because Hootie doesn't ride well and the big kids Hate sitting in the car for 3 hours. But if I keep the kids home with me, I don't get to lie down until around 8pm. I still have to leave by 11pm, so that means roughly 21/2 hours sleep....

That Kills me the weekends I didn't get to sleep on Saturday!!!

Finally my last night rolls around!!


I work my last night, which is technically Monday morning, and arrive back home at 8:30 just in time to take my brother to school. (His scooter, yes I said scooter, died on him and he's been waiting on parts for a couple of weeks now.) Hootie and I travel back home and are left to our own devices for the remainder of the day.

We spend the day cleaning, watching Sesame Street, tying to finish projects until the kids get home at 3:30 and Chief at 4pm. By this time of my week, my brain capacity has all but shut down. I can't remember to take something out for dinner. I forget to ask the kids if they have homework. I cry inside when I say No if they ask me about going Anywhere on that day.

 By 7pm, I'm complete mush. I either make a decision to shut down and give up, or I keep trudging along with the intention of seeing them off to bed before I finally turn in at 9pm.

But that doesn't always happen. Chief and I have just spent the entire weekend not fully engaged in one another. Passing one another while mumbling reminders about who needs to go where, who's had a bath, who hasn't, and who's going to win the on-going arguement about the kids riding to drop Sitting Bull off or the kids staying home with a sleepy mama.

By Monday night, I'm missing my man. Well my brain is anyway. My body wants to miss him but can't seem to remember what pile of laundry, her libido is hiding under.

And that's usually the part where my entire system goes into shut-down mode. I can't go any more.

And I finally sleep.
In my bed.
At night.

Only to wake at 6:30 the next morning...
Get the kids off to school, feed Hootie, feel somewhat refreshed and decide enough is enough. So Tuesday usually turns into:

1. Is it bad to give an 18 month old coffee? I guess we'll find out in about 10 minutes....

2.I walked into the Walmart bathroom yesterday and there was a dude washing his hands. I said to him, "Is it me or you?" (Meaning: who's the dork in the wrong bathroom?) He kinda giggles and says, "This is the mens' bathroom."

Push Pause.

Doesn't this fool know I'm a girl and I've come to this Walmart about 354 more times than him?

Push Play.

I walk back to the door, open it. Close it. Ask if I can see his boobs because if not, then him and his package are in the wrong bathroom....

Just Kidding. I don't think that fast on my feet. Really I just walked to the door to re-iterate, that atleast for today I wasn't crazy.



3. I can't seem to stop thinking I'm always right. I try. Really I do. But my ideas about how to solve something, how to fix something, or the way I think something should be always seem so RIGHT.

Almost...

As much as I always joke about Ol' Redneck Chief,

Today Is The Anniversary of The Day We Met

And I wouldn't be doin' right by him if I didn't yell from the rooftops

(or ahem...blogosphere)

Just How Much I Love This Man!

Happy 5 Years Baby!!!

I'd Love For You To Go Read A Post I Wrote A Long Time Ago
During A Really Dark Time Of Struggling With My Mom's Death

I did something last night that I don't normally do.
Well actually something I forget to do!

I started to explore my Blog Frog Community and was surprised at how many of my Tangled Lovies AKA Support GIRLdles are hangin' out over there!

So if you happen to be lonely, new to blogging, or just a social butterfrog(fly): Go Check Out The Frog:

HQHPBEUPGEZP

~How could I have been so stupid to think I knew what I was doing by getting married so young?~ 

~Why was I so selfish by bringing these beautiful innocent children into the world, who did not deserve to grow up in a broken home because the two most important people in their life didn't know how to communicate?~

I was so extremely sad inside. I had been married to their dad for 6 years, but had spent the previous 7 months being the Star Quarter Back on the losing team.  My immaturity and lack of experience in the Language of Men had begun to morph itself into verbs such as reproach, disparage, and impugn.

All I wanted were change and release from being ignored.  All I wanted were compromise and the butterflies that once resided in my (his) stomach to return. 

I would soon find those days were over. 

One December day, in a moment of clarity, I decided to do something very out of the ordinary and agreed to ride along with girlfriend #1 who was driving to pick up girlfriend #2, who had moved to Destin, and bring her home for the holidays. She had just had a baby and didn't feel comfortable driving the 8 hours back to Memphis alone with a toddler and newborn.  Her husband had moved them to the popular beach city to open a sister site of a popular restaurant he was in partnership with here in town, and simply could not leave work until Christmas Eve.

This was a very fast down and back trip, but for some reason, something magical happens when two friends are given the opportunity to sit and chat uninterrupted by children tugging at every part of your body.

Although God doesn't always answer prayers in the manner we request,

He always answers in the way we need. 

That epiphany changed the legacy of our children who now get to grow up with two parents who understand that although they aren't meant to live in the same house, they were always meant to grow old together and share a healthy bond by raising two beautiful well-adjusted children who have hopefully evaded the negativity of divorce.

Click to Continue To:

I Had A Ta-Piphany Part TWO

Epiphany
e·piph·a·ny (ĭ-pĭf'ə-nē)
n. pl. e·piph·a·nies
1.a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

**Brought To You From:

If you don't think you can handle the serious side of Tangled Nation,

Feel Free To Click The Red X In The Top Right Corner Of Your Screen

God is a much deeper God than we an EVER understand. 

He's not so simple minded as to just have us struggle with sin.

He "downloaded" the ultimate test of faith into humans by completely scrambling our internal dialogue.

Thanksgiving 2009

Downtown Memphis
Blended Family Style

Can't We All Just Get Along? Well...Some Of Us Can...

Chief With ALL His Boys Together First The First Time Since Hootie Was Born!
You Know That Called For Cheesy Matching Shirt Pictures....DUH

Chief's Ex-Wife, Too Short, And His Oldest Son, Eazy G,
Live Far Away From Us In North Carolina, But They Came For Thanksgiving

And Yes They Stayed With Us

And Yes We Get Along

And Yes FO' REAL Get Along, Not Fake Get Along!!

We Had Christmas At Thanksgiving!

Eazy G and Hootie Meeting For The First Time!

I Think I've Just About Run Outta Pseudo Names For All Kidz...

I Am Sooo Happy They Came For Thanksgiving!

Too Short, BFF, and Tangled Mama

Got To Go Shopping On Black Friday

But Took ZERO Pictures So It Was Easier To Conceal The Tons Of

Christmas Contraband That Stuffed Our Trunk!

(That I payed for ALL In Change! Go Read About It!)

*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Girls At Roof With A View!

Wouldn't it be easier AND more appealing if mom bloggers who did giveaways and contests made contest rules simple:

Example Rule: Follow me on every social site I'm on AND leave a creative comment telling me you're following and how bad you want it.

OR

Send me a link to your blog showing me a post you write where you make a total arse of yourself by begging and pleading for my measly $20 Starbucks Gift Card...





I don't really enter many giveaways because I always feel like I have a dog leash around my neck while panting like a dog to his owner by jumping through 20 hoops.....


Ask your readers a question and tell them the answer is hidden in one of your previous 254 posts and to win, they have to visit every page until they find it....And be the first to comment the answer.

 DONE.

You've lured your readers into diving straight where you want them. You want them to read your posts. You want them to know you. You want them to form a relationship with you, and hopefully you want to NOT just use them as a numbers game.

OR

You could just forget everything I said and ask them to pick a number between 1-1000....

Me:  "Well, they were being brats and they wouldn't shut up."

Missy T: "OMG, mom. I was trying to defend you!"


Our church is included in a group of churches planted across the country, that really take a fresh and relevant view on living your life as a Christian in today's world. To find one of these really awesome, forward-thinking churches, check out the

 3. Turn your phone on silent and hide the laptop under the sofa cushion. (If you follow my rules, it won't
     matter that you've put the laptop in a dangerous spot because you won't have time to sit on the couch and
     risk crushing your only means of sanity.)

 6. Start in ONE room and ONE room only. This CANNOT be the living room or the bedroom because
     you run the risk of either sitting on the laptop or accidentally falling on the bed while trying to make it,
     and mysteriously falling asleep. For 4 hours...

 7. To kill 2 birds with one stone, I suggest starting in the kitchen. I've timed myself before. It takes exactly 2
     minutes to unload the dishwasher. Wipe down the counters with Clorox wipes, cut potatoes in half and
     put them on to boil. (You can peel them later, noone will know.) Get your turkey out of the fridge and
     set in sink.

 8. Plug in your vacuum and use attachment to "sweep" okay "suck" entire kitchen floor. Whatever. Don't tell
     me I'm the only one on the planet who does this...Put mop in the bathtub and run hot water to clean
     kitchen floors. (Ummm hello? The turkey is in the sink...) Pour Mr. Clean and proceed to mop.

 9. Move into the bathroom and decide you absolutely ARE NOT cleaning pee off the rim of the toilet
     and decide to clean the sink and tub instead, leaving the toilet for your husband.

10. Move into the living room and start picking up toys before remembering your coffee is getting cold.
11. ~
12. ~
13. ~
14. ~
15. Get back on track by taking the laptop cord and putting it in your car. Don't forget to lock the doors.

16. Clean the rest of the house, throw a load of laundry in before remembering your favorite show is
      about to start.

17. ~
18. ~
19. ~
20. Take a shower and crawl into bed at 8pm. (Something you haven't been able to do in the past ten
      years because it takes 2 hours to get the kids ready for bed and the kitchen straightened before
     you finally throw yourself in the bed sometime after 11pm.)

I'm soooo NOT jealous AND I'm soooo NOT bitter I didn't think of it first....
Why?

Cuz there's no shame in my game of steal THAT MAMA'S IDEA...it just makes for a bigger blogosphere...


So go on over and check out Supahmommy and Mommy's In The Bathroom to see what I'm talking about, then come on back and EMAIL me if you're game!



In the meantime, I'm gonna use my highly intelligent brain to figure out how to Party Line everybody Brady Bunch style...know what I mean??? Two cameras aren't enough for a Tangled Party....We gotta have 6 or 9 Mama's goin' at once!!




If you don't have Skype, you can download it FREE .
Click here to get your unique SkypeIn number

Tangled loves her some Lifehacker! 

And Tanlged is soooo in Holiday Mode!  

I'm constantly thinking about gifts and love around this time of year, so when I came across this article by Kevin, I knew I wanted to pass it on! 

Enjoy! And send me one of those gift cards...

The default gift for the picky, the not-well-known, and the indecisive, gift cards are available for just about every store. Consumer Reports reminds holiday shoppers of many traps, but also some new protections, available to gift card buyers and spenders.
Photo by robinsonsmay.
Seemingly simple gift cards often have a lot of rules and stipulations attached, some of which reduce the value of the card and restrict when and on what the balance can be used. Consumer Reports' Shopping & Money blog points out two catches worth noting this year:

• When buying a gift card from an individual merchant, be sure to ask if the card is valid for online use. While it's not an issue for most retailers, some companies such as CVS, T.J. Maxx, and Marshall's do not allow their gift cards to be used online, Bankrate says.
• The federal Credit CARD Act pertaining to gift cards takes effect on Feb. 22, and the regulations require that the cards remain valid for at least 5 years, unless that information is clearly disclosed on the card. Dormancy, or inactivity, fees will still be allowed after 12 consecutive months of inactivity.

The post also reminds gift card holders to never give up—some stores will take an "expired" card as a gesture of good will toward shoppers.
What gift cards will you absolutely avoid at all costs this year? Which cards aren't all that painful to give or receive? Gather 'round the hearth in the comments.

Send an email to Kevin Purdy, the author of this post, at kevin@lifehacker.com.

Because I Rock Like That

Recipes...It didn't go over so well....

That made Chief laugh and tell me it reminded him about the hilarious post from

TRUTH #3

NOT.

Chief @ Hiding From The Kids
Rita @ Fighting Off Frumpy
Georgina @ Dad's Second Whatever
Whatever Her Name is @ Hillbilly Duhn
Daffy @ BatCrap Crazy
Tena @ Aiming Low
(I have to put in here, Tena is one of many writers on Aiming Low, But She's My Lovey)
Brandee @ Think Tank Momma

I've sent you guys an email with the code for the award!

What an AWESOME night in my church!
I prayed for people I've never thought to pray for before!

And the most amazing thing happened...

As many times as I've prayed for my husband, God has never spoken a direct message/answer to pass on to him until tonight.

As I prayed, without warning, my words changed from requests to answers .
Answers I didn't have.
Answers I didn't know.

But I knew immediately I was supposed to give those words to my husband.

What a powerful event in my life tonight!!! 

Now I pray that he heard me speak to him as loud as I heard God speak to me!

What Was I Thinking?...When I decided NOT to take my almost 17 month old off the bottle because it hurts my heart when he cries for it.

Well that's about it. That's about all I have until I cross the line and you start thinking different of me.  If you enjoyed this and feel compelled, go ahead...Get it out.

Why? Well....

It's NOT because I like Halloween. Sorry.

And It's NOT because I get to dress up like that dude...

It's NOT because I get to spend $100 on costumes for the kids (because I'm so tired with my work schedule to be frugal and MAKE them) so they can wear them for TWO WHOLE HOURS....

It's because I can officially pull out my warm fuzzies!!

It's because I can officially make feel good foods for dinner!!

It's because I can officially start thinking about

 all the fun projects I want to take on during the winter months!!

Most importantly, it's because I can officially start planning the memories I hope to make

for my sweet babies to pass on to their children!

I found this really helpful site from a local Mom Blogger (Love my local girls!) who has really helped me with my Saving Money Endeavor! Go Check Her Out:  My Memphis Mommy 

She posts all the sales ads for top stores in my area, but also other areas as well. I've truly fallen in love!!

One of the most helpful posts she's passed on was how to make your own laundry detergent. I decided to give it a try and I've been really pleased! If you know me, you know I love to try things out and let everyone know about it!

Here's the recipe I used for the Laundry Detergent:

1 cup Borax

1 cup Washing Soap* ( I picked some up at Kroger b/c they don't have it at Walmart or Target)

5 gal. bucket w/ lid (You can get this at Home Depot or Lowe's)

* I used Arm & Hammer Washing Soap

Find a pot large enough to accomadate 3 gallons of water. Grate your bar soap. I used a cheese grater, My Memphis Mommy cut hers in chunks then used a food processor.

Bring water to a boil and add grated soap. Turn heat down to medium and stir occasionally until soap is dissolved. Pour Borax and Washing Soap into 5 gallon bucket. Pour Soap mixture into 5 gallon bucket. Stir together. Let mixture sit for 24 hours. The mixture will form a gel-like substance. Just make sure you stir or shake before each use.

I have a small laundry area so I chose to save one of my old laundry detergent bottles and pour some of the mixture into that. I keep the excess stored and only have to get out my smaller bottle when needed.

I have an HE washer and have been SOOO excited that I still only use the Same Small Amount of detergent as I did before. That's going to make it last that much longer!

My Memphis Mommy says the mixture should last a year. In my house, we do Tons of laundry. I'm guessing it will last me probably 6 months if not a little longer. I'm keeping track, and I'll let you know!!

She's got a post about making your own fabric softener sheets. I haven't done this yet, but can't wait to try it! Bounce and Downy get really expensive! Go check out my post about it here: Homemade Dryer Sheets

You can also check out her recipe here:

Make Your Own Laundry Detergent