Happy Thanksgiving!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

I am not one that enjoys cooking but I have found that when it comes to baking something taste I am all in to try it!!!

And when I saw a recipe for 'Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes' from a blog that I found through another blog I had to try it!!!

Do you enjoy eating the cookie dough as much as the baked cookie (or more)?

Do you Love Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream?

What about the Blizzards or Cookie Dough Milk Shakes?

If you do you are going to LOVE this CUPCAKE!!!

(this picture is from kevinandamanda.com)

(click here for the recipe)

With Thanksgiving coming up I thought I would combine the 'Turkey Cupcake' w/ the 'Cookie Dough' one!!! And got my little Gobblers! Lol!

(click here for how to make Betty Crocker Turkey Cupcakes, they even have a how to video!)

I made mine real easy used a box cake mix and already made cookie dough, just had to make it into small balls and freeze! And because I was going to do turkeys I bought chocolate icing too! Easy, easy, easy

I used 2 baby medicine syringe to make the eyes, one w/ vanilla icing and one for chocolate icing. It is always great to find new ways to use things you already have! Then I used the vanilla icing w/ red food coloring to make red icing and reused the vanilla syringe to make my finishing touches!!!! And might I say they look AWESOME....

And the Kiddies thought they where TASTY!!!!

So I will end this with HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!!!

(yah I know wrong holiday but it seems appropriate since we are all in a food coma and will hopeful sleep well =)

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

~RA~

Fall in NC

This is what Autumn looks where I live....

Beautiful North Carolina!

This is the the path I take to walk weather it is with my kids or just with the dog. I am so LUCKY that I live somewhere so BEAUTIFUL!!!

The weather has been so weird lately, record breaking hot summer, no rain for weeks then down pours that caused flooding, lots of plants died, I never got any tomatoes from my tomato plant, leaves started falling before summer ended.... I was almost worried that we would not get all the pretty colors that we normally would by the time fall was here! But we DID!!!

And it is so nice that this year with all the kids in school I have the time to step out side and enjoy it!!!!

I am not a fall person, it's when it gets cold! I like the sun, warmth, flowers, baby animals, so I would say I am a spring or early summer person. Usually by Thanksgiving it's cold, your dressing in layers, dusting off the old winter coat or going out to buy a new one. But this year autumn has been so warm 60's and even 70's some days we are dipping down at night some night are getting close to freezing but then it is 60 the next day! This is normal in some place but here not so much! So this year I have been enjoying the pretty fall colors in the nice warm sun!!!!

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

~Ra~

;~)

Veterans' Day 2010

We had Great Weather, Great People, and a Great Ceremony!!!!

Boys Scouts and Cub Scouts working together on the Flag Ceremony

Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts (Our Future) shaking hands w/ the Veterans Thanking Them for Their Service!!!

My boys!!!

(the two very handsome brunettes in blue!)

Happy Veterans' Day to all the Men and Women that keep our country safe past present and future!!!

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

~Ra~

Diary of a Whiny Mom!

So in honer of the new 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' book (my boys love) I'm going to do my version "Diary of a Whiny (Complaining) Mom!"

Lol ;~)

It saves my hubby from having to listen to it all again and again if I put it on here instead of pestering him.

And what does a mom of 3 and wife that seems to have it all together have to complain about!!!!....

Well let me just tell you: I AM TIRED, DRAINED, PPOPED, WIPED OUT!!!!

So tired that it hurts to breath as you get up!

So tired that your body aches to lie down!

So tired my brain is like mush, I can't think any more!

So tired that my driving is starting to scare me!

So tired when I have a few moments to lay down my eyes start to water!

I don't know what to do about it!

I get up at 6:30, which is the latest I can get my oldest up (he has to be at school before 7:30) so we rush through our morning. I have traded getting dressed for making all the kids lunches at once and take Jesse to school in my pj's, since I don't get out of the car it works. We are out of the door most day by 7:15 and since it is right up the street he get through the door by 7:22 giving him lots of time before he has to be in his first class and seated at 7:30! And I am back home w/ 30-40 minutes to get dressed drink a cup of coffee before I have to wake up the other 2!!!

I am tired when I wake up and I have a little bit of energy in the morning to clean something like vacuum or clean a bathroom or 2 but after that and picking up my daughter from preschool (on her school days) by lunch I'm starting to getting tired again. By the time I am picking up child #3 I am really dragging my feet!!!! I don't know what to do I am suppose to help the children do their homework then do dinner but all I can think about is "is it bed time yet?". And yet when I finish up getting the kids to be, the dishes put in the dish washer the dog in her bed, getting ready for bed myself..... well I've been trying for a 10:30 bed time but it is usally more around 11 when I crawl into bed and I don't fall asleep till 12:30 or so!

So what to do about it? Well my mother just tells me to take some Advil or Tylenol PM at night, that will help me to fall asleep faster! But worry about the 3 or 5 am bathroom (or wet) get up I do w/ Lila most nights!!! I need to be able to help her in the middle of the night! So can't wait till her little bladder can make it all night every night!!!!!!

Do I go to the doctor, I have done this in the past when I was pregnant or breast feeding and they said I might want to go on some mild anxiety or depression meds after I was down breast feeding. So I guess I should go back since I never did and it's been... well the baby is now 3 so... a couple of years!!!!!!!

I do know that cutting out caffein would help and I've tried really hard to do that and some week I do better then others but I really don't drink that much'ish! A cup of coffee in the morning to keep me regular, but I should mention that the cup I use are kinda big so more like 2 cups! Then I have a cherry coke for dinner! See not as much as some people not to name names JUSTIN!!! My hubby, lol, drinks a coke w/ everything and that is about all he drinks! and he sleeps just fine, well sort'of but that another story!!!!

My be if I get new vitamins, mine have expired, see how well I take them! and take some St. John's Wort.... get that vitamin D from the sun.... make sure that I get lots of iron.... eat well (eat a fruit instead of potato chips!).... exercise better.... had a positive out look....

I wont need to go to the doctor!

I really don't think I'm depressed, unhappy some times (or a lot), but mainly I'm just tired!!!! Anxious, Yes, I do have that problem and I know it!!!! And I always have a lot on my mind! But I do have a social life now, out side of my children, which is making me very happy! Great positive people are great to be around!!!! Now I am working on getting our home more organized and I think that will make a big difference! Plus I have recently reconnected w/ old family members and it is great to share stories with them and getting to know the new them is awesome!!

I keep telling myself it WILL GET BETTER!!!! And I know it will... just have to finish up these last preschool years, by the time she is in kindergarden she will be able to do so much by herself! and Cole will be a 5th grader! and Jesse will be starting high school!!!! (there will be no more kids for us!!!!! I AM DONE!!!!) And I will finally have time to really work on ME!!!!

~Smile~Love~Enjoy~Happiness~

~RA~

how I did on my fist week....

Now that Week 1 is over how did I do on my said "Goals" that I made while I was sick?

Well I started out strong and good!!! Walked the dog, not at the time I wanted b/c hubby decide he would start going to work earlier but I still went w/ Lila later.

Monday I vacuumed did some laundry.

Tuesday I walked the dog after dropping off all the kids at school and I swept, moped, did the cat litter, and made one of the boys take the garbage around!!!

Wednesday I did the bathrooms, all 3, more laundry b/c there is alway laundry, and walked the dog to my sister's new place down the street.

Then by Thursday I started getting really tired, see I don't sleep well when I start walking or do any sort of physical exercise, it really sucks to lay down at say 10:30 very tired but not be able to fall asleep till 12:30. And a couple of weeks ago I was falling asleep around 11:00 or so, so what has changed? The walking! So Thursday I only started cleaning the boys room, did a lot yet got very little done! Their room has so many little pieces in it, legos, cars, cards, magnext, k'nex.... but I got a whole bag of trash out!!!! (before they came home from school, lol) I only walked the dog for about 5 min. b/c it was raining out, cold yucky rain!

And Friday, a friend called and wanted to do play date w/ the girls and having had a bad night sleep b/c Lila woke up more than once I thought any excuse to not clean that day was well welcomed!!!! Friday night though was the worse w/ sleep w/ Cole having night terrors or growing pains or something, I was up till like 2am!

So now it is time for week 2!!!!

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

~RA~

Halloween Songs w/ Lila & Her Classmates

Lila's Class singing Halloween Songs!!! She is the black and pink kitty hiding behind all the princess!!!! I don't know why we alway end up on opposite sides of the room I need to do better next time to get better footage of my Beautiful Baby Girl even if she is not singing, lol!!!!