Hey! I See What You're Saying!

I've been having a hard time getting these videos to post/play. I hope this works for ya'll!

Notice how you can hear my husband in the background saying, "Those are nice lights though!" Ha! He cracks me up!

To see more "I See What You're Saying" Vlogs click HERE!

Done With Christmas

Well, the Klahold family survived Christmas! Whew! Ok, well Mama survived Christmas, the others just came along for the ride! Was Christmas this stressful on my Mom? I should ask her about that.


*Private moment* Hey Mom, was Christmas stressful for you when Wendy and I were little? Did Dad help with the gifts, stockings, planning, etc? How did you manage to do it without loosing patches of your hair? *Ok, moment over.*


So, here we are, the day after Christmas and I'm over Christmas. Doesn't that sound horrible? I love Christmas. Our tree was up BEFORE Thanksgiving this year! I love listening to Christmas music, decorating, and reading Christmas cards. However, as soon as Christmas is over....I'm done! The tree is annoying me, the new toys are driving me nuts, and I've already ripped all of our cards off the wall. I just want everything to "calm" down and return "normal". I need the red and green to leave and allow hues of blue and white to enter. Bye-bye Christmas and hello calm, peaceful winter.


Well, before I totally close the book on Christmas, let me share with you a Christmas ha-ha.



On Christmas Eve the kids were getting a bit too Santa happy. So we started to discuss the real meaning of Christmas, which led Hayden and I to have this conversation:


Hayden: I thought Jesus was God's son
Me: He was
Hayden: Well I thought Jesus was God on earth
Me: He was, just like you are a piece of me, Jesus was a piece of God
Hayden: No, you are a piece of me
Me: No, you are a piece of me
Hayden: No, you are a piece of ME
Me: No, I'm your Mama, therefore you are a piece of ME
Hayden: No, you are a piece of ME! READ GENESIS!


There was a bunch of yelling at this point. He was sent to his room. I believe I called him a sexist. Yeah, I KNOW I called him a sexist. Then he spent 5 minutes in his room rolling around on his bed LAUGHING thinking he was the smartest thing EVER (he is). So, of course I had to bring an end to this. How dare Mr. Smarty pants think he would get the last word! So I entered his room and had this little conversation:


Me: Hayden, have you ever heard of an inventor creating a second model when the first model was perfect?
Hayden: No.
Me: Exactly

Linus, Helping The Klahold Kids Remember The True Meaning Of Christmas

Have A VERY Merry Christmas!

AHHHH!

The previously written post titled "Random" was only one word in the title of a really well written (if I may say so myself) post. It was titled "Random thoughts that have been swirling around in my head." Now it is all GONE! I can't find it anywhere! Random was the only word that posted! Go figure! I'm a bit peeved that my post disappeared, but it is FUNNY to just see "Random". I suppose that does explain it all!

Random

A CRAZY Friday Morning

Well, yesterday was my final day of in-class bus training. Now I just need my physical, drug test and permit paperwork. Then I can take my computer test and start my in-bus training. I truly am excited! I was able to drive a bus around a parking lot on Thursday. It honestly wasn't all that bad. It's obviously very L-O-N-G, but not nearly as bulky as you would expect. It steers easily too! So, what does all of this have to do with a crazy Friday morning? Well, as I previously stated Friday was my last day of classes. Along with getting the boys ready and to school by 9am, I also had to have myself ready, and James awake and ready to watch Ella (he worked late evenings this week so I could go to class). I know, this doesn't sound like much, but add the fact that I overslept, and a friend stopped by to drop off some paperwork, and you have a recipe for one scattered and hectic morning! So as our very last minutes were ticking by, and the clock was steadily working it's way toward 9 I yelled for the boys to get their shoes, jackets and backpacks on. I came flying out of the bathroom with my socks in my hand, stuffed the socks in my bag, threw on my jacket, grabbed my books, grabbed my coffee (prepared by James, thank you!) and RAN out the door. The boys were dropped off at the school at 9:58! Whew! 2 minutes to spare. I then headed across town to my class which began at 9:30. I pulled in the parking lot, grabbed my bag, grabbed my books, closed my van door and looked down. This is what I found.










Now the flip-flops were no surprise. I hate wearing shoes, so flip-flops, even in the winter, are my preferred footwear. However, flip-flops aren't exactly the choice attire for walking around buses and diesel garages. Not only was I wearing flip-flops (look closely) they were two different colors! I laughed like a crazy woman in the parking lot as I walked into class. Surprisingly on 3 people noticed! Apparently my plan to grab sock AND shoes to put on after dropping off the boys had failed when I forgot to grab my SHOES! Yep, yep pretty sure that qualifies as a CRAZY Friday morning!

Scanning Issues

So, might someone know how to solve this little problem? We recently received a printer from my Aunt. She had purchased it a few years ago and never used it. Today we set it up and realized the software provided isn't Vista compatible. I visited hp's website and found that there are no "downloads or drivers" available for the printer. It did, however, give a list of easy to follow directions on how to print, scan, and copy without installing the software. All seems to be working well....except for the white page that comes along with the scanned photo. Is there anyway to crop that off? I'd truly appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

Amazing Giveaway!

Ravings of a Mad Housewife is having an amazing giveaway! She's giving away 4 place settings of FIESTAWARE! I know! How amazing is that! I can't breathe I'm so excited. So, if you LOVE Fiestaware as much as I do, head on over there and leave a comment complete with your color choices. She will be choosing a winner Christmas Eve. Ah, what a wonderful Christmas gift! Oh, if for some reason you're not familiar with Fiestaware, check it out here. It is just so colorful, retro, beautiful, simple and DURABLE! If you choose to enter, good luck!

My New Job

I got myself a JOB! I know, who knew! I love being a SAHM, however, now that Ella is getting older I want to be able to be outside the house more. Plus, with freight being slow an extra paycheck would help supplement James' decreasing pay. (Please spend money, my hubby needs freight to haul! I KNOW money? What's that!) Anyhow, I'm not willing to go out and get just any 9-5 job. Being a mom is very important to me. I want to be available for my kids when they need me. Normally I wouldn't think twice about being a working mom; however, with James' job we never know where he'll be or when he'll be around. So, I need a job that will allow the kids to come along. I had worked in childcare for 11 years. This allowed the kids to come along everyday for a reduced rate. Then, after Ella was born I became tired of watching other people care for my children, while I cared for other children! So, for the past 2+ years I've been a happy SAHM. Then this job opportunity came along and I can take all 3 children along! Would you like to see my new office? Wouldya? Well here it is!




















So, whaddya think?! I KNOW crazy right? Well, I still have a ways to go before I'm actually behind the wheel. Today was my first day of 4 days of classes. Then I still need: to apply for my permit, take a general knowledge test, take a passenger test, take an air breaks test and take a bus driving knowledge test. Then, I need a physical, drug test and FBI fingerprinting. I also need 6 hours of driving with a trainer before I can take the driving test and be cleared to drive a bus route. Oh, I also need to wait for my child abuse clearance/ record check to clear. SO......there are still plenty of hurdles to cross, but if I want the job it's mine! And....I do! The pay is decent, the kids can come along and most of the work is only in the AM and afternoon. I would still have the middle of the day for Dr. appts, sick kids or whatever. There are the occasional evening sports trips and daytime field trips, but as long as the kids can come, I'm game! :) Well, call me crazy and wish me luck. Stay tuned for updates too!

Pinetrees As Seen Through Ella's Eyes

"Look Mama! There are carrots growin in the trees! "

Look What I Learned Today!

I love taking little mini videos with my camera. The videos are never anything fabulous, but they do capture the kids voices and mannerisms in a way that photos obviously can't. Well, in August we got a new laptop. I was so excited to be able to download our photos and camera videos. Everything easily downloaded, however, the videos wouldn't play. Well, today I finally figured it out....I think! Thanks to a easy Quicktime download for Vista I was able to play my videos on our computer. Now I'm trying to post a video.

And.....I think I did it! Well, if you happen to watch the video, please know I realize this isn't the greatest flick to hit bloggyland. However, it is a great video of the kids. I love how Hayden is the only person playing in the ocean on a freezing cold day! I love how Reid enters with his "potty time" news break and I love how Ella flirtatiously jumps in the water only to trot away like the girly-girl she is! As their mother, I can see each of their personalities shine in this otherwise windy, loud and dreary clip.

Oh! I also learned read about how to do that! Well I guess I read AND learned, but I needed a word to practice my new skill!

The Kettle

Today the kids and I made a trip to Walmart. Usually I try to avoid Walmart at all costs, especially during the height of Christmas shopping. However, today we had a list that included groceries and "stuff". So with wintry weather in the forecast I decided to make a quick run to Walmart and get everything we needed in one trip. As we approached the store we were greeted by one of my favorite sounds of Christmas, the Salvation Army's bell! I love seeing the bell ringers, the kettles and hearing the ringing bell. I love giving the kids money to put in the kettle, I love hearing the money drop into the kettle and "chink" against other coins. It's a reminder that people still care and people still give. Even if it's just a few pennies, dimes and quarters they add up! So, today the kids and I cleaned the loose change out of the van, divided it up so each child had some and headed to the front of Walmart. The kids excitedly placed their coins in the kettle and I enjoyed that big grin on their faces. A grin synonymous with having done something really good!

Wow! What an unbelievably crazy week +. For those who may be wondering, our Thanksgiving went well. James boiled our turkey...yes boiled. My family had our Thanksgiving dinner Saturday after Thanksgiving. So, Thanksgiving day James had the idea to make Turkey Potpie with our 20lb. turkey. James makes fantastic potpie, so I was excited. A day curled up on the couch watching Macy's Parade with the kids and potpie! Yum! However, James quickly found that boiling a turkey IS NOT the same as boiling a normal chicken! Can you believe we don't own a pot large enough to BOIL a TURKEY?! I know! How could I not have a pot large enough to boil a 20lb. bird. I mean doesn't EVERYONE have a bathtub sized soup pot for their stove! James was so taken aback by this fact. He even called my mom to see if she had one...nope! Then he wanted me to call my girlfriend (who happened to be making a full thanksgiving dinner for her extended family) to see if she might have one. There was NO WAY I was calling her! So, James decided to hack the turkey to pieces and shove it in my largest pot. Oh, how I wish I would have taken a picture of my kitchen. Our kitchen table held a large metal bowl containing two large turkey legs. On the stove was my large soup pot with half a turkey protruding from it. Yes, half a turkey! Half the bird was submerged in boiling water and the other half was sticking straight out of the pot. Amazingly it was actually cooking! The bottom half cooked in the boiling water while the top part cooked as a result of the rising steam! I so should have taken pictures! The end result was some very yummy potpie and a salmonella free day! Who could ask for more!



Then the next 4 days looked something like this

then we finished decorating this

and the kids spent a lot of time doing this








Honestly NOT a bad extended holiday weekend. The kids returned to school on Monday and Mama hit the computer. A bunch of GREAT deals and free shipping later, I have 75% of my Christmas shopping finished! Hooray!