MckLinky Bloghop - Fav Recipe

This is our fav recipe this summer. My kids love meatloaf and during the summer I refuse to start the oven. We decided to try making it in the crock pot and loved it!

CROCK POT MEATLOAF

2 lbs hamburger meat
1 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 cup ketchup
2 eggs

Optional topping:
1 cup graded cheese

Combine all ingredients except topping, mixing well, easiest to mix with hands. When done form loaf in bottom of crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Add graded cheese 5 minutes before serving.
I hope your family enjoys it as much as our's.

Back to school shopping or bust! Back 2 school = bust

This year I will have five kids attending 3 different schools. I will have three in elementary (little man is starting kindergarten!), one in middle school and one in high school. I have figured out that it will remain this way until the baby is in middle school then I will have kids in only two schools, well no THEN I will have the big kids in college which could possibly span across the entire country. Can you imagine? I don't even want to think about it right now, it scares me a bit. Right now having to be at two back to school functions held on the same time, same night at two different schools is plenty for me right now.

I was sitting down working on a budget for school supplies and flipping through ads figuring out the best prices for all of them. Most likely I will end up at Walmart price matching but I must be organized to get the right prices and prove that they are in fact sale items. Much easier than store hopping, although I am certain we may end up at each of the stores any way looking for the backpack w/the biggest coolness factor. @@ Middle schoolers are so funny about that :).

As I was going over the lists I realized that not only have the lists grown from last year but adding another child has about broke the bank. NO, not really since his list consists of about 7 items and three of those are gym shoes, tissues and a backpack. I found sales for the other items bringing his list to a grand total of $2.88 +tax. Not bad really since we already have the backpack and I plan to get all the kids' gym shoes at payless except for my oldest who must have name brand (dang coolness factor again grrr! lol). The rest of the kids outside of backpacks and gym shoes I came up with around $80 depending on the scientific calculators available and if my oldest can find her one from last year, if not that amount could go up at least another $25-50.

I am still trying to figure out when public schools started to require students to provide their own materials for learning. I remember cans of scissors, pencils, markers and a cabinet that contained paper, now we have to stock that cabinet and our kids carry boxes w/pens, markers, crayons and pencils. When I was in high school, my freshman year we had to pay for the books up front like you would in college and then received a partial refund at the end of the year provided the books were in semi-usable condition when returned. My sophomore year they did away with that and you only paid if you lost or destroyed a book, I don't recall having to purchase anything other than gym clothes, notebooks and folders. Of course I was a child and my mom took care of that stuff, so what would I know about it LOL!

I have started the countdown since school starts 8/13 for the older two and the 17th for the younger three. I also have to be ready for the surprise items that are given to us on the orientation night for my high schooler THE NIGHT BEFORE school starts. Don't ask, I have no idea why they would do this to parents.

We then of course have to add in the amount for school clothes, we hit old navy last weekend and didn't even make a dent in what is needed. A person could go broke!

16x20 Rolled Canvas Print Poster Giveaway-Closed!

I know I have posted this before, but it is my very favorite photo that I've taken this summer. The grass combined w/the color of her clothes is great. I wish she was smiling, but that isn't normally something that happens right now. She loves the camera-to play with-when it's pointed at her she gets that lovely deer in the headlights stare. But I am getting away from the point. Get that favorite summer photo, dust it off, scan it, find it on your memory card or hardrive and get ready to enter this great contest! One lucky person will win their own 16x20 rolled canvas print!

About Online Poster Printing
Online Poster Printing specializes in printing high-quality posters using premium materials. We offer a money back guarantee on all our products, such as photo canvas prints, vinyl banners, wall stickers, and rolled or mounted poster prints.

To enter:
Leave a message describing the photo you would like to have printed.


Additional entries:
Click here to create your post (must have a blog) showing your favorite summer photo. (5 additional entries- leave one comment for each additional entries)
Favorite me on Technorati (3 additional entries)
Sign up for my emailed updates (2 additional entries)
Follow me.
Leave a comment on any non-giveaway post.

Contest ends July 29, 2009 12:01am, winner will be drawn via Random.org and notified later that day.

Disclaimers:

Giveaway is open to US/CAN residents. Shipping of prizes is not included and must be paid by winner. Online Poster Printing reserves the right not to print obscene or offensive materials.

All designs submitted in the form of a giveaway may be used by Online Poster Printing for online marketing and promotional uses. The designs will be used solely as examples and will not be printed or commercially distributed.

Friday Photo Flahback - 5

This picture is from 2003. Paige loved to fall asleep with skin to skin contact and would just find the nearest sibling or parent to curl up with whenever she was tired. Kali was usually the sib of choice because she was and still is the cuddler of the family.

For more Friday Phot Flash Back, click on the logo above.

Wordless Wednesday - Sunggle bugs

We had family movie night and like most movie nights the kids crash out before it's over. They usually find their own little spot and curl up on their own but this night Kal snuggled right in w/Paige. Check back on Friday for a flashback when these two were doing much the same when they were little.

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Tree Frog Creations

I had entered into a contest at The Morris Bunch Blog to win a personalized bucket from Tree Frog Creations and won! When we got home from my son's wrestling camp today on my door-step set the box containing the cutest bucket! Kira loved it immediately and started saying 'mine' as soon as I showed it to her. It is very well constructed and I love the color and design of it.

Head over to Tree Frog Creations and check out the other great buckets and wall art they have to offer!

What we've been up to.

It was an overcast day Monday, but not that hot. The kids were going stir crazy so while Kira napped we went to the zoo and walked around for a bit. Kali is trying to catch a butterfly in the butterfly pavilion.When we got back Kira looked like this :(. Her fever was no longer being controlled with either motrin or tylanol. It was too late to be seen by the regular dr so we headed out to the urgent care center. By the time we got there the rash that you see in the pic above was on her scalp, chest, back and diaper area. It started on her face and worked down. They checked her over and due to the rash did a strep test. She had strep and is doing SOOO much better now! The fever is gone and the rash is nearly gone as well after only two full days on antibiotics.
From Mon to Wed Jake had wrestling camp. This was his first year and he really enjoyed it. It was neat to watch him grow over the past few days. He is just around girls too much, it sure didn't take him long to get all rough and tumbly with the rest of these boys though!

Showing off his muscles.

Taking down a boy, about to pin him.

Here is the group of boys (and one girl) ranging in age from Pre-K to entering 8th grade. Jake is bottom center doing moose ears.

MckLinky Blog Hop 3 Things

Hmmm three things that you didn't know about me. I think there are many things, can I think of any right now? Not really lol! Let's see if I can muddle through this. First thing, I have actually had SEVEN children, that's right seven. My second daughter Kierston Skyler passed away right before birth. She would have been 12 in April.

Second thing, my husband and I were together for years (6 to be exact) before getting married.

Third thing, I will FINALLY be a college graduate in December!

Tell 'em how you do it!

As technology progresses, we have learned to rely on it more. It is constantly changing the way we live our lives, contact our friends and families, and how we learn and play.

If you are a Charter customer, phone, internet or cable - Charter wants to know how you live your digital life. Do you now order movies on-demand instead of driving to Blockbuster, do you read news from online sources, do you share photos and videos online with friends and family, do you catch up with old friends on Facebook, or play video games with friends who are five states away? Digital tools have dramatically changed our lives. What have these tools done for you that you couldn't have done before?

Charter wants you to “Tell Us How You Do It,” and for telling them you can win some great prizes. Each week Charter is giving away either a 15” laptop or a 52” HDTV to one lucky customer who submits their story.

At the end of the promotion, Charter will be giving away a package of one 52” HFTV, one 15” Laptop, and a free year of the Charter Bundle with includes Digital Cable with HD and a DVR, Charter High-Speed Internet and Charter Telephone.

All you have to do is visit Charter.com/yourlife/ and submit your story with photos or video that shows us how you use your digital tools. You can also see examples at Charter.com/yourlife/ of how other people are doing it. Add your story today!

Charter has created a buzz around its online contests. And they keep getting better. Last year it gave away laptops and Xbox 360 game systems and one customer drove away a 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid.

Follow Charter on Facebook to learn about other upcomming promotions.

Wean without the whine? Yeah right!

So I actually had a few minutes to myself to sit and read an article in Parenting Magazine. I saw on the the cover an article about a subject that related to something I was currently trying to do, wean. So I flipped right to it. Kira is at the age where we should be breaking away from the bottle and focusing on cups more. Not a delightful time in any parents lives unless you are able to afford a day and night nanny who can deal w/the crying and whining. We are not so fortunate. I have tried to give her milk in a cup only to have to be quick on my feet and be able to duck in time to avoid the cup flying at my head. I can put anything else known to man that is safe to drink and she will at least try and likely drink most if not all of it, except milk.

Now back to the article, their magical advice on weaning the baby off of the bottle easily, offer a cup of milk starting at 6 or 9 months. I did that, well it was expressed milk then later formula. She didn't go for that either. Then their next big tip, refuse to give the bottle after 13 or 15 months. Uh huh, I must have missed the bit about avoiding the whine, so I reread the advice. Nope, that was their magical advice. I tell you a parent could NOT have written this!

My suspicions were confirmed when I read the tips on weaning from the binky/pacifier. Their advice there, and I kid you not they said to have the binky fairy come and take all of them away, cold turkey was best. Then the next sentence was after a few days the child will be used to it. Now that may very well be, and when we broke our other children from the binky we did just that HOWEVER there was MUCH whining, crying, fussing and all out fit throwing. Not for just two days either, I say 7-10 was about right.

After that I rolled my eyes, laughed and picked up Rolling Stones to read. At least I wasn't going to be spoon fed crap on a stick while reading that magazine!

Ickies and sickies.

My poor baby has had a 103+ degree fever (101+ on motrin/tylanol) since Thursday. I took her to the dr yesterday and she doesn't have an ear infection so we are on the sit and wait plan. She has had terrible diapers and has vomited once already of course these happened in the middle of the night in MY bed. Talk about good times lol! She seems like her normal self when the fever comes down w/meds but about the 2.5-3 hour mark since the last dose she gets increasingly fussy and clingy. I hope that this ends tomorrow, if not it's back to the dr on Monday.

Tired of getting left out of the picture?

I know I am! I am often the one behind the camera or the one either setting the timer and running and hoping that I am able to hop into the shot or with my arm stretched out as far as it can go hoping that I got everyone in the frame. With this handy gadget you just set the timer and hold out the camera. It is telescopic so it can fit easily in a camera bag or your pocket when not in use! At only $29.95 I can't wait to get one of these for myself, and there is a 30 day money back guarantee if you decide that it isn't for you!

Above is an example of how it works, any digital camera or video camera will fit on it! So head over to xshot and check it out for yourself!

Friday Photo Flashback - 4

This friday we are only going to go back to 2000, this is Kalysta's 3 month photo. I just love it. I really wish we still had an Olan Mills here, they took the best photos, to get to one I'd have to travel over a 1/2 hour into Omaha. Check outher hair, it always stuck up like that no matter what I did to try and get it to set down, still cracks me up!

For more Friday Phot Flash Back, click on the logo above.

Thousand Words Thursday - 4

Kali was letting me know that she was done taking pictures.
She gets it from her dad.
For more Thousand Words Thursday click on the logo above.

Back to Branson?

A few years back our family took a trip to Branson, MO. We had a great time and are wondering if going back this summer would be in the budget. I came across this link while checking prices Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing. It is full of information about a trip to Branson. When we went, we weren't able to stay at Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel, it was still being constructed, but I would love to stay there this time. The rooms look fabulous and it is right off of Lake Taneycomo, the views must be amazing!

While we were in Branson we visited Silver Dollar City & Pirate's Cove. The kids had a blast at Pirate's Cove, they love to minigolf and it was put together so nicely. Each hole was another adventure. Silver Dollar City was great as well, but I am certain that Haley and I enjoyed it far more than Toby or the littler kids. Toby doesn't really like thrill rides and at the time Loryn and Kali were too scared to go on many, nor were they tall enough to ride on much. Kali and Loryn did ride on most of these rides. I can laugh about it now, but we I convinced Loryn and Kal to go on The Mighty Galleon and it was an absolute scream fest, they screamed and cried the whole time and were terrified. Loryn still doesn't enjoy rides that give that stomach dropping feeling. Jake and Paige were far too little to ride more than 3 or 4 rides such as The Royal Tea Party. Toby did enjoy and ride on all the water rides, all the kids but Jake went on these with him. I stayed back with Jake and we were the only dry at the end of the day. If we go back we will certainly be going back to Silver Dollar City!

We wanted to go to the Hollywood Wax Museum but we just ran out of time, so this will be on the list of places to visit. I remember visiting a wax museum as a child and thought it was the coolest. It felt like I was actually meeting the celebrities, it was a sad day when it was torn down, so I wanted to take my kids there and share the experience with them.

Another place I would like to go is The Track Family Fun Park. They have go-cart rides, bumper cars and kiddie rides. Fun for all ages! I can't wait to challenge Toby to a race, I imagine he'll win (or let me win) but it will be fun to 'try' and beat him.

One place that Toby is excited to visit with Jake is the Payne Stewart Golf Course. He has taken Jake to hit a few balls here and there, and there are some okay courses in Lincoln, but he really wants to show him a 'real' golf course. Payne Stewart is an 18 hole, par 70, championship golf course. The course rating is 68.4 and it has a slope rating of 113 on Bermuda grass. Designed by Perry Duke Maxwell, ASGCA, the Bill & Payne Stewart golf course opened in 1947.

The best part is Branson is only about a six hour drive. Gas prices may be a bit high but airfare on our clan wouldn't be affordable at all right now. Our trip itinary would be:
Thursday- load up car at night.
Friday- leave house by 6am, arrive in Branson by noon. Visit Hollywood Wax Museum after lunch, check into hotel, swim and relax, order in pizza.
Saturday- Silver Dollar City after late breakfast until dinner time, after dinner swim and relax at pool.
Sunday- Toby and Jake go to Payne Stewart early, girls and I splash around in the pool, meet up for lunch then head to The Track until dinner, relax at the pool after packing up all items but clothes to wear home.
Monday- finish packing up items, eat breakfast and head home.

Ok, now I am really starting to get excited!

Wordless Wednesday - Biker Chick

The kids were all around her lighting off fireworks and she didn't care a bit, all she wanted was for dad to take her on another ride.

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