A winner in the CSN giveaway!

Hey ya'll, I know you've been on the edge of your seats waiting to see who wins the CSN giveaway...so with no further ado:

according to random.org (i still can't figure out the screen shot thing, any help?), the winner is number 12!  Kristi!  I've sent an email to the winner.  Thanks for all the support on this...and I really enjoy this giveaway thing...and will be doing another one soon, so stay tuned!

GTKY 8/29

Today it's been 5 years since Katrina.  Rather than relive it, I thought I'd play along with Keely today...you can play too!  Just head to Mann Land and link up!

The Q's.

1. If you accidently knick a car in a parking lot..Do you leave a note or do you get the heck out of there?
Note.  I'm a huge fan of honesty!

2. Love your body or plastic surgery?
Neither...well, may be.  I'd consider plastic surgery to get rid of the excess skin/skin flap that I have around my tummy...when I was sure I wouldn't have more babies.


3. What about your favorite blog(s) continues to drive you back?
Humanity.  Simple and clear cut.  I enjoy getting to know my friends..even if I'll never know them "irl".


4. What percent of your blog is BS just to make your life seem more interesting than it really is?
Oh puh-leaze!  I can't make this stuff up ya'll, I'm not that good!!!


5. If you had to give up one type of meat for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I had to give up pork some years ago...i'm allergic.  If i'm giving up another meat, it'd be fish.  That counts right?


6. How often to you eat out?
About once a week...tho it'll be less than that now that we are all seven eating! LOL


7. Skinny jeans or boot cut jeans?
Boot.   Got too much booty for skinny ones!


8. If you caught your spouse cheating would you forgive, divorce, or plan your kill?
I don't know.  God willing, we'll never know.

Giveaway Scout!

have ya'll seen this website?  Giveaway scout is a place I just found that lists all blog giveaways!  I think this is such a great idea that I'll be adding their giveaway blogroll to my side bar...so go on, check them out!

homemade chili..for Cara!

editing b/c my mom reminded me of what i forgot!

My friend posted a request for a chili recipe...on twitter!  Here is my answer. :)

So, we love chili in my house...meaty, beany chili!  It is one of my favorite fall/winter meals...tho it can be hard to live with this many people after chili!  So here's how i do it...

Beans ( i like red kidney, dry, but you can make any kind!  i've done black, white, and pinto, or a mix!)
whole tomatos, diced tomatos, or tomato sauce
water
beef base (or boullion, or chicken, depending on what you put in it)
ground beef (or ground chicken, or ground turkey, or what ever you feel like)
chili powder
red pepper
black pepper
salt
onion
garlic
bell pepper (if you want and like it, i use red)
cumin
paprika (i prefer smoked)

ok, so i cook the beans until they are almost soft.  Then, in a separate pan, i saute the onion, garlic, and bell pepper, with the meat.  i stir them into the beans, then add a handful of chili powder, a pinch of red pepper, a good sprinkle of black pepper and salt, about 1/2 a handful of paprika, and 1/2 a palm full of cumin, then add the tomatoes.  I cook it down until the beans are soft and taking on all the flavors.

If you start with canned beans, you can easily put this in the crockpot, and it would be great!

CSN stores...and a giveaway!

I recently posted about my opportunity to review and giveaway a gift number from CSN stores!  Well, I finally made my purchase, and now, I want to tell you about it!

I ordered two different bags from CSN.  The first was a beach bag with a cooler style zippered pocket.  The second was a small cooler bag.  I was so excited to receive these b/c we had to leave this weekend, giving me the chance to use them BOTH!

The event we went to had a swimming pool, so the beach bag came in totally handy, even without the zippered cooler compartment!  however, my ice chest was totally full with the cupcakes and cheesecakes that I had to bring, so the zipper compartment came in quite handy.  I filled it with a full bag of grapes, two bags of cheese, a bag of cucumber slices, and a partial bag of pepperoni (turkey of course).  It all fit quite nicely, and I had a bit more room if I'd needed it!

The smaller bag cooler was great as well.  We used it for MM's...ahem...adult beverages.  It easily fit the 6 pack of "good stuff", though I don't think we could have fit any more in there.  It worked perfectly!

Overall, I had an excellent experience ordering from CSN.  Shipping probably would have been fine, except that UPS didn't deliver it b/c the driver didn't let me know she was here.  Long story short, delivery drivers should ALWAYS honk when they drive up!

So, on to the GIVEAWAY!!!  Head over to CSN and check them out...I'll be giving away one $20 gift number to a lucky reader!  Here are the rules:

Mandatory entry:  Head over to CSN and browse...come back and let me know what you'd like for the $20!
Separate entries: (please leave separate comments for each entry)

1 entry= follow me via google
1 entry=friend me on facebook
1 entry=follow me on twitter
1 entry=tweet about this giveaway (leave a different comment for each tweet including where i can find it!)
1 entry=post about this giveaway on facebook (leave a different comment for each post on fb too!)

So, you have a week...let me know what you think!  I'll use random.org to pick the winner for this giveaway on Tuesday, August 31!  Good luck!

New school year!

So today is our first day of school! just like each year before, we took first day of the year pics...you know you wanna see!

 AJ looking all pink and so excited. lol

 AR strikes a pose.

 CM tells mommy "i don't want my picture taken!"

 This was after the crazy pose by CG

Miss V, finishing breakfast while we start school!

The four moms, and the living areas!

It's four moms Thursday again!  I'm taking a break from my marathon baking to show off my living/homeschool area...but b/c of the marathon baking, I didn't clean up to uphold your idea that I'm super mom with a perfect house...b/c i *love* you...really.  it's not lazy...stop laughing mom!

so, without further ado...

 This is the view from our office door.  as you can see, i'm not huge on pickin up before the children leave for the grandparents house!  on the left, you see one of many bookshelves.  it's all children's books...and the baby has decided that she loves pulling books down, hence the mess!  Behind the couch you see dinner trays that we use for school work desks...works really well!  you can see further in where i keep the vacuum!  We vacuum daily...so it just stays there!  Beyond that is our homeschool cabinet which i'll show you later.  In the corner back there are my shelves that MM made for me!

 This is the view from the doorway to the big girl's room/sewing room.  in the forefront, that's mommy's chair.  With the quilt that *MY* mommy made for me...Hi mommy!  You can see my fleur di lis table next to my chair, MM made it for  me...it's amazing!  The couch, which looks like children live here, is in the pic also.  You can see the children's bookshelf in the background too...

 This is the view from the dining room.  you can see in the forefront on the left is mommy's chair and table.  on the right is the edge of the couch.  in the background on the left is daddy's chair!  TV in the middle, loveseat on the right.

 This is also from the dining room, just to the right.  The loveseat in the background, the couch in the foreground.  Between the two is my grandmother's bookshelf, which you'll see up close soon!

 This is the view from daddy's chair.  Daddy sits here to read to the girls, and they sprawl all over everywhere to listen.  Miss V sits with  mommy or daddy normally...or in the walker which isn't shown b/c it's with her at me-maws!

 This is the view from the loveseat.  AR loves to climb behind the loveseat and sit in her "cave" to read!  Here you can see mommy's chair, the shelves and cabinet, and my fireplace...which was a selling point!

 Here is my standard view.  My fleur di lis hanging that MM bought for me...love it!  All the pics that are our rotating art b/c I take so many pics!  you can see here my coffee table that is upside down.  Tonight MM has to fix it...the leg is wobbly and Miss V keeps using it to walk around!

 Here is the close up of my grandmothers bookshelf.  I love this thing!  See the pics on it, and MMs comic book table books...he loves those things!  Love this spot!

 This is my mantle.  lots of pictures, and flowers from our vow renewal.  Candles from our wedding, and from friends!  The plaque there on the left says "Things are bad, send chocolate!"  My mommy gave it to me when Miss V was born!

 These are the shelves that MM made for me.  Shelves for my pictures...and for my stereo that MM bought for me!

This is the homeschool cabinet.  pencils, workbooks, colors, coloring books, my stickers and markers, et al goes in here.  I'll have to remember how i kept it closed when CG was little b/c Miss V is now pulling things out!  On the wall above are baby pictures of each of my babies...love that wall!

So, head over to one of the four moms and link up!

GTKY 8/15

The Q's.

1. What kind of athlete has the hottest body?

 Martial Artist...maybe i'm biased, as my hubby is one!

2. Are you a planner or a procrastinator?

yes. hahaha

3. Diet or regular (soda)?

neither.  i drink water...the joys of weight loss!  if i feel the need for one, or am somewhere that i can't get decent water, i go diet for the calorie count.

4. What's your one "must have" for Fall?

sweater.  think cardigan

5. What's your favorite fast food restaurant?

chik fil a or kfc. lol.  i'm a chicken girl...

6. What do you think is the sexiest profession for a guy?

Well, maybe I'm biased again, but i love me some construction workers..at least *MY* construction worker!

7. Did you wear braces?

nope.

8. Would you rather have a guy that's super sexy or kind?

can't i have both?  oh yeah, i can...i GOT both!  you know you're jealous!

Now, go on and play with us...and link up over at Keely's site!

homemade marinara sauce

As promised, here is the video of my homemade marinara.

The four moms...and the dining room/kitchen!

This week the four moms are blogging about their dining rooms and kitchens!  So I'm joining along...and it's not even that messy!  Lucky ya'll!

 This is the view from our living room.  We do school in the living room and the dining room...and a couple of the girls will work in the office too!

 Here you can see the table, which is covered in a big SCA project.  Normally, I'd have a lovely doily my mil made me in the center, and a pretty tea pot on that...I collect tea pots as you'll see soon!

 See my tea pots up there?  This is the shelf my MM made for me.  I have one over the top of a couple of the bedroom windows too.

 Here are some of my sussies, and the children's computer.

 Here is the other wall of the dining room...with the china hutch and more school stuff.

 The HUGE pantry my MM made me...man he's handy!

 Next to my cabinet, the baby swing and the freezer.  At the top of the freezer is our daily schedule of who cooks when, and what the childrens' jobs are after each meal.

 The play pen and CG helping. :)

 This is the view of my kitchen from my dining room.

 Here is my stove, the bottle rack, and the eggs! 

 The other side of my kitchen sink...my coffee pot (tres important!), and my mixer, which has the blue cover on it.  Next to that is my dehydrator.

 This is the wall, you can see the freezer in the background.  On the cart are two drawers, one of which has all the kitchen towels in it.  The other has the utensils that I don't use often...like my cake decorating tools and my pizza cutter...and cookie cutters galore!

This is the view of my back door from the middle of my kitchen.  The big bin is my cloth diaper pail, the little bin is for dirty kitchen towels.  The stool is because I'm quite short. :)

Thanks for taking this little tour with me...I love my home!  Check in with the four moms for more!

Boudreaux and Thibodeaux....and Butt Paste! (a review)

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Boudreaux's Butt Paste. All opinions are 100% mine.

 So there is this joke that goes 

A long time ago, Boudreaux and Thibodeaux decided to go out west. They were in a covered wagon but somehow got separated from the wagon train. Boudreaux was in the front driving while Thibodeaux was relaxing in the back. All of a sudden, Boudreaux heard a yell from Thibodeaux in the back: "Hey, Boudreaux, there's Indians on horses back here chasing us." Boudreaux said, "Thibodeaux, how big are they?" Holding his finger and thumb about 2 inches apart, Thibodeaux said, "Mais, Boudreaux, they only about this big." "That's okay, Thibodeaux," Boudreaux said. "Tell me when dey get bigger." About ten minutes later, Boudreaux yelled out, "Hey, Thibodeaux, how big are those Indians?" "Mais, Boudreaux, dey are about tree feet tall." Boudreaux yelled back, "That's still okay, Thibodeaux, but tell me when dey get bigger." Ten minutes after that, Boudreaux cried out again, "Thibodeaux, how big are those Indians now." "Mais, Boudreaux, dey as big as you and me!!" "Well, shoot 'em!" screamed Boudreaux, "shoot 'em!" "Mais, Boudreaux, I can't," said Thibodeaux, holding his finger and thumb about 2 inches apart. "I've known 'em since they was dis big!"

via this site

hahaha.  Now, in all seriousness, I want to tell ya'll about this product...Boudreaux's Butt Paste.  Not sure if you've heard of it....but if you have, it's memorable!!! Boudreaux's Butt Paste  has been around for as long as I've had children.  I personally have used Boudreaux's Butt Paste for at least three of my girls! 

I LOVE this product!  When CM was about 8 months old, I switched to cloth diapers full time.  With three children four and under, that seems crazy right?  Well, CM had developed this horrible rash, due to an allergy, from the disposable diapers...and I couldn't get rid of it.  I had the cloth dipes already, so i tried them in conjunction with Boudreaux's Butt Paste.  The Boudreaux's totally took care of this poor baby's bottom!  Ever since then, I've used Boudreaux's Butt Paste without fail!  Now, just in our recent past, I mistakenly gave Miss V undiluted apple juice...bad mommy!  She had the diaper rash of ALL diaper rashes!  You know, complete with the sores!  It was AWFUL!  This thing totally happened over night too!  So, because it was a bug day, I was out of Boudreaux's Butt Paste!  I ran to the store, grabbed the Butt Paste, and ran home.  (OK, you got me, I drove.  Heaven knows the store isn't close enough to get there by running!)  Immediately, I treated Miss V.  That was in the afternoon.  The next morning, her bottom had healed so that it was barely red.  I'm sayin', ya'll, I love this stuff!

Boudreaux's comes in the convenient sizes of 1oz, 2oz, 3oz and 4oz tubes, 16oz jar.  Head over to the website and get yourself a free sample...you won't regret it!  Thought you'd like to know the following:

Boudreaux's Butt Paste® was specifically formulated by a pharmacist with direction from a respected pediatrician to provide effective diaper rash care.

Contains 16% Zinc Oxide(which I think it why it works so quickly!)

This stuff is incredible ya'll...go check it out!  Then, let me know what you think!

some days you're the windshield...

some days you're the bug!

Today is one of the bug days...Miss V has been sick since Saturday...This morning, she woke up with wet dipe, dirty dipe, and it had leaked.  Her little room REEKED!!!  AR woke up with the cough that CM has had since yesterday.  AJ and CG are doing fine...so far.

yea, today I'm feeling buggy...can I be a lady bug?
via

GTKY again...8/8

Linking up again with Keely! check her out...and if you answer, let me know...i'll check your answers out!

 

1. Do you think mustaches are sexy?

not really.  well...no. ha.

2. What's the last concert you've been to?
hm...does the local guy at the coffee house count?
3  What was your favorite 80's sitcom?
Hm...The Cosby show i think.
4. Were you named after anyone?
Yes, some soap opera character
5. When you buy new clothes, do you wash before wearing?
pretty much every time.
6. If you didn't blog, what would you do with your spare time?
hm...prolly more research or jewelry making.
7. What is your favorite department store?
not sure i have one..but i shop at JCPenney a LOT!
8. If  you were to get Laser Hair Removal..where would you get it?
You don't wanna know...but I wouldn't show you when it was done!

This week the "four moms" are covering the yards and entryways of their larger than normal family homes.  So, I thought I'd do the same...because we entered the larger than average here about a year ago or so.

Welcome to our home!

This is taken from the middle of our road!  You can see our green house...and if you look carefully, you can see our "bus" in the carport!

A front shot of the house...


Off in the back, you can see MM's chicken yard!


This pic is of my horseshoe drive...right in the center, MM planted fruit trees!

This is a close up of one of the apple trees!


This is MM's pride and joy...the garden! His tomatoes didn't do so well this year...He enjoys his garden, and I enjoy all the veggies we eat out of it!


this is MM's shop. 'nuff said.


this is AJ's basketball goal.


This is the jungle gym that we're finishing up for the girls...with the trampoline in the back ground. You can see part of the back deck off to the right. It's where we barbeque!

Here you can see the chicken yard from the back yard.

Here is the dog house...yeah one house, three dogs...imagine that! Off to the left is our archery range!


This is a pic of my front porch...it's the entry way for lack of a better one! The door leads straight into our home office!

There you have it...so check out The Four Moms and follow the links. :)

Homemade Pizza!

So, for something totally new and fun ( I hope!), I tried to video myself making dinner. it turned out to be a long video...the next won't be so long...when I figure out the editing software...which I'll work on, I promise!! Be sure to pause the music player before you watch it...or you can't hear me!  So, without further ado, here it is:




Don't be too rough. Hopefully, I'll post the marinara video next, then maybe a medieval recipe or two! Be sure to come back tomorrow for the video of the focaccia pizza dough!  Here are the pics of the finished product:

Be sure to leave some comment love so I know you were here...please!

Blogging around my house!

Hey ya'll. I know you guys see plenty pics of the children, even of MM, but here is a video straight from me to you...about where I blog. It's my first attempt at a vlog, so go easy. if it turns out ok, i'll be vlogging making pizza tonight! Before you start the video, be sure to pause the music right over ---------->there. Or you can't hear me! lol

another award?!?

I love blogging...just the sheer joy of expression...the freeness.  then, i get a blog award...that is coolness to ya'll!  This time, my new friend Nikki sent me an award called:

The way this award works is you must:

a) Thank the person who gave you this award

b) Tell 7 things about yourself

c) nominate 15 newly discovered blogs to share this award!

Hm...7 things?  don't ya'll know me well enough yet? hahahahaha here goes:

1} I've embraced my inner geek.  oh yeah, total geekoid here.  I even play D&D now...oh, stop looking at the screen like that, at least I can admit it now! (Hi Rob and Neill)

2} Ya'll know about my five living daughters, and the daughter that died before she was born, but did you know that I have a "daughter" that is my dear friend...and that i occasionally want to "Gibbs smack"?  Hi Shelly!!!

3} I'm enjoying the cable on my tv not working.  oh yeah, i've also embraced netflix, baby...BIG TIME!

4} A fleur di lis factory has nothing on my living room!  I have so many, they each mean so much...check it out!  They are on the wall, around the fireplace...everywhere.  These are old pics, the room doesn't have this much stuff out of place anymore ya'll! lol

5}MM taught me to draw house plans on the computer eons ago.  Not sure if I still could, but perhaps I should try?
6} Once upon a time, I was quite the singer.  Now, my favorite times to sing are when my girls dance around to the music on the radio!  Their current favorite is "one week" by the Bare Naked Ladies!
7} I'm a FLYbaby!  If you are one, you know what I mean...if not, check out flylady.net (promise she didn't pay me for that!!!  I really enjoy trying, and she's helping my girls too!)

So there it is!  That was harder than it seemed!  now, 15 newly discovered bloggers:

1. Kelly's Lucky You
2. karens world
3. spicy designs
4.adoption of jane
5.country mouse city mouse
6.God made meds
7.Homesick Cajun
8.I can't decide
9.Kimberly's Korner
10.Life's journey
11.lowercase letters
12.Madness, Mayhem, and boundless grace
13.mother bear naturals
14.My life as a married girl
15.My way home