Liebster Day Surprise!

So it's been pretty hectic around here the past couple of weeks, my father in law has been in and out of the hospital, hubby was out of town for a week, I had an injury that put me back on crutches and then just your general every dayness that goes on. I finally get a chance to log in this morning and have a little message about the Libester blog award. At first i was like, huh? What's a Libester? So after checking in to it I got all excited because I like participating in fun things. In case your wondering what a Liebster is, it's a fun little thing for blogs with LESS than 200 followers. I found this handy dandy little explanation pic on google.

Not my image

Thank you to Krista over at Rollin with the Fruit Punches for the award! If you have a minute click the link above and check it out. They have an adorable little family and Buffalo Chicken Pasta recipe I'm going to have to try out soon! 

So 11 random facts about me, well, let's see:

 1. I have a creative soul. I love to create and just DO stuff. From writing, cooking, carving stamps, making up games or projects for the kids, crafting... oh the crafting! I have a friend who calls me the crafting queen, but I promise I'm not THAT bad. Really I'm not, you believe me right? :)

 2. I'm generally a rerun junkie. My tv watching habits consist of things like Charmed, Full House, House, Monk.. you get the picture. However I/we have been branching out and trying newer shows, still mostly they aren't new and are already well established shows.

 3. I'm obsessive.. When I get hold of a new idea or into something new that i like I get a taaaad bit obsessive. I will research and read everything I can about it and think about it before I pass it over to the normal state of liking things. My mother says I have always analyzed everything to death, even when I was a baby lol.

 4. My favorite season is winter. Now you have to understand that our winters in east Texas are fairly mild. Occasionally we reach the upper teens and if we are really lucky we will get a bit of snow. Generally we hover in the 30's and I kinda like it because you can always put on more clothes and get warm, but their are times in the Summer that no matter how much you take off your still hot and I don't like being hot.

 5. I love to fish. I don't often get the chance to because I'm helping Brudderbear or Dede with their poles but when I have the chance to dip a pole in the water I'm a happy camper. I hope to get the chance to go deep sea fishing someday.

 6. I am an only child and my parents were married 20 years before they had me. It wasn't from lack of trying, it was just how it happened. I'm kind of grateful they didn't have IVF back then because chances are I wouldn't be here now if they did. Oh and no, I wasn't spoiled like people think only children are.

 7. I'm emotional, sensitive, compassionate and frequently get called naive. I'm one of those people who wear my heart on my sleeve and tries to look for the good in people. 

 8. I love the Statte Farm Mayhem commercials. By far my favorite one is the GPS one where he hollers (yep, im east Texan I say hollers) "RECALCULATING!" after the car crash.

9. Speaking of east Texas, I do have a bit of a twangy accent. My ex husband and I lived in Houston which is just a couple hours from where I grew up and also currently live, and was shocked that people weren't twangy there as well. I used to get so embarrassed because people there would tell me my accent was cute lol 

 10. I love to read, when I was a kid my mom would say I'd read anything, including the back of a cereal box, like it was a best selling novel. Ive gotten a bit more picky now, but I still read a wide WIDE variety of different things.

 11. In school even tho my grades didn't always reflect it, English and History were my favorite classes. I still enjoy the reading and writing side of English class and still get a kick out of the story behind the history. Don't ask me dates however, that involves numbers and God forbid we get into my math insecurities!

Wow, that was a little more difficult than I thought. I didnt want to just throw out basic boring facts so I did try and put some thought into it. Ok, so now on to the 11 questions from Krista's blog.

 1. If you could have a superpower for a day, what would it be? I would have to say the ability to freeze time. I would love to be able to have a little extra time in those special moments, the cuddles, hugs, perfect family moments.

 2. What is your guilty pleasure song? Guilty pleasure? Ummm, I can't really think of one. I'm pretty open about what I listen too. I embrace my weirdness in everything including my music and listen to what I like whether others think it's silly, boring etc etc. My main favorite kinds tho are oldies from the 50's to some 80's and country. However I lisen to a bit of almost all kinds of music.

 3. What would your plan of action be if there was a zombie apocalypse? Shoot them in the head and burn them on a pyre, Winchester style! :) (Please forgive the obvious Supernatural reference here lol)

 4. What is your favorite cartoon character? Michigan J. Frog! Also Eeyore. i wish it was as easy to find Michigan stuff as it is Eeyore stuff.

 5. What does your blog name mean? It's a nod to the fact that no matter how crazy and mixed up life can get it's still a pretty sweet deal. Whenever I seem to forget that fact all I have to do is look around at my family and I realize how blessed I am.

 6. What inspired you to start a blog? Basically a way to satisfy the need for another creative outlet.

 7. What is your favorite vacation spot? There is a family oriented resort we go to every year that's actually pretty close to our home. We've been going there since I was a kid and some of my happiest memories are from there. Granted it has changed and grown so much that my children will never experience the freedom and whatnot that I did there but they all really enjoy it and talk about it all year long.

 8. What is the last good book you read? LOL, here we go with me embracing my weirdness again, I have been rereading the Babysitter's Club books with one of my daughters. I forgot how cute they were and I would definitely recommend them. My favorite is Kristy and the Snobs. As far as books a normal adult might enjoy, Id have to say anything in Kim Harrison's The Hollows series.

 9. Mention one of your obsessive compulsive habits. The older I get the more like my dad I get, we call it quirky in our family lol. I guess I'd have to say over organization. I know, I know, most people think there is no such thing as being OVER organized but I promise you there is. I have a tendency to organize to the point that it's impossible to keep up with which in turn causes utter chaos lol.

 10. If you were given a million dollars to donate to a charity, which one would you choose and why? Definitely something for kids. I would really have to research to narrow it down, and then I still might have to choose a couple. I'm thinking Autism research and maybe the Make A Wish people as well.

 11. Who was your childhood idol/hero? You know, I honestly don't remember having one? I mean, I went thru the fad fan stages just like everyone else but an idol or hero? I just called and asked my mom and she said with the way I always had my nose stuck i a book (yep, nerd right here!) that it was probably an author but I honestly just cant think of anyone. 

 Ok, that was fun and probably waaay to chatty lol. Here are the 11 blogs that I choose to nominate, take a minute and check them out if you haven't already.

Alphabet Soup

Teacher Momma

The Resourceful Mama

Crazzi Mum

Life With Four Boys... Coffee Please

The Pursuit of Normal

Step-ville

26 With 4 Kids

Creative Mess

Crazy Little Love Birds

Eating In The Shower

Choosing 11 blogs was the hardest part, there are so many good ones out there! Here are the 11 questions I chose for them:

 1. When do you find the time to blog?

 2. If you could be any animal, what would it be and why?

 3. Describe what you feel when you see your favorite color.

 4. What is your favorite television show?

 5. What one thing would you like your children to take into adulthood?

 6. What does you family think of your blog?

 7. What would your dream vacation be?

 8. What is your favorite midnight snack?

 9. What daily chore do you despise the most?

 10. What advice would you give to a first time blogger?

 11. If you had 3 wishes what would you wish for?

Ok, have fun!

Easter or Frat Party?

Wow, as I'm looking around the house this morning I'm seriously wondering how I let this happen. We are usually pretty good at cleaning up before bed time rolls around, but I guess we were just too into the family fun yesterday and last night. It looks like a frat party (minus the keg and beer bottles)! The house is trashed! It seriously looks like there was a wild party going on here lol. I would share a pic but because of my OCD'ness thats just NOT going to happen! lol

So I guess I know what Im going to be doing after while, besides laundry that is. In all honesty, the flock had a great weekend, Sissy, Mimi, and Dede celebrated here on Saturday and then off they went to their dad's to celebrate there on Sunday. Bubba, Brudderbear and the Princess woke up here to little toys and chocolate for the boys and a big zebra, onesies and suckers for our allergic spoiled princess. Along comes Dede back home in the afternoon and a spirited game of whack 'em with Bubba at grandmas next door. What is whack 'em you ask? You know those giant pool noodles? Not the skinny oes, but the fat ones? Yeah, I think you get the picture. That afforded us a pair of broken glasses and a little girl with a headache from being without said glasses but from what I could see from our back door into grandmas yard, Dede gave as good as she got. I think Bubba forgot that even tho shes small for her age shes quick and cunning.

Guess I better go start cleaning the mess up, anyone have a backhoe and a dumpster I can borrow?

Saturday Centus: Deviled Eggs

Once again Saturday has rolled around, and that means it's time for the Saturday Centus blog challenge from Jenny Matlocks blog. This weeks challenge is a photo prompt and we are to write 100 words in rhyming form using this picture.

If youd like to give this a try (its a LOT of fun) or read more blog entries you can check them out HERE. Now on to my entry.

Little fingers creeping over so slowly,

Across the counter they inch towards the plate.

Blue eyes watching moms face so closely,

If she was caught, who knew her fate.

Almost to the plate, and mom cracks a smile,

Hands her a deviled egg and places a finger to her lips.

As parents we have to play along once in awhile,

Indulging little ones and not always with denial.

A smile and a hug, and away she will run,

All to soon she will be grown, moved, gone.

Relax and love, have some fun,

And cherish every stroke made with crayon.

Saturday Centus: Code Red!

I'm going to try something new, it's called Saturday Centus and its from Jenny Matlock's Blog and if you would like to give it a try or read more for yourself you can do so HERE. Now without further ado..... 
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So living in a houseful of very excitable little lambs, sometimes the most simple thing can turn into an epic moment of what you would think is code red proportions by the over exaggeration that can go on. Little Princess has a simple dirty diaper? Youd think she smeared it all over the house! Dinner time? They havent eaten in months! Hugs? You can bet they will be the tightest, most loved filled hugs youve ever received. Would I change anything? Not on your life, it may be pure chaos at times but I hope to continue to encourage their heartfelt enthusiasm!

The Joy of Homemade Toys

So today I made the flock a Sensory Find It game. We had seen one in a learning store a couple of years ago for almost $40 It was so much cheaper to make it myself. I used a 2 liter Dr Pepper bottle, filled it with rice and a bit of glitter and then wandered around the house picking up miscellaneous items. I found, well rather stepped on, a little yellow lego, (Holy sheep dip that hurt!) various buttons, beads, rubber bands, just the typical junk that collects around a house. After my collecting spree I had a total of 67 objects of varying size, shape and weights (don't forget to include a penny) I then made a printout list of each object and laminated it with clear packing tape so the kids could use an Expo (dry erase) marker to mark out each item as they found it. I then attached the list to the bottle with a piece of ribbon and screwed the lid on. I might go back and GLUE the lid on to make sure it doesnt "accidentally" come off lol. The kids sat and played with this for hours this afternoon  taking turns doing it alone or helping each other, even the older kids had a blast with it. I sat and helped Brother Bear by keeping track of the items as he found them. I was super proud as he managed to find all but 9 items by himself. I was truly amazed at how long this held his attention, I finally had to make him put it up for bed time.  With all of his special quirks there isn't much that holds his attention longer than 10 or 15 minutes but this was a real winner! Here is a pic of our game. If you try making one Id love to hear how you did it, what you used, and how your kids enjoyed it!

I sat for the second night in a row watching the princess attempt to climb into her crib. I think Ive mentioned before that she has already managed to escape from it once. She piled her blanket at the end of the bed and reached out and pulled herself up with the bookshelf and then climbed down the shelves. She hasnt been able to do it again since we moved her bed away from the shelves. Last nights attempt to climb in was done from the end of the bed, tonight's was from the side. I swear she is going to grow a little monkey tail any day now lol