CHRISTMAS CARDS!!!

This is my door of Christmas cards. I'm not going to lie, I actually try to keep Christmas cards from previous years before Casey throws them all away! This way I have lots of Christmas cards to look at! Some of them I have stashed and then I believe someone else goes behind my back and throws them away but nevertheless, I have awesome, cheerful messages to look at every day! I love to see how much the kids have grown or what people write in their letters. Christmas letters make me giddy too!

Here are some of my favorite examples of how kids grow:

What a happy little boy! He was 1 last year and now he is 2! He is getting so big!

Above are my nieces and nephews! They grow so quickly and in each card they get bigger and bigger..it's adorable!

And one last little man that will take your breathe away:

LOOK AT HIM!!! HE is soooo stinking CUTE!!

Thank you to all of you out there that brighten others day with Christmas Cards! They are wonderful!

Domestic DUD.

I am not sure what happened here. My grandmother- great cook, My mother- great cook... Me- TERRIBLE.
The last week I have tried a tiny bit harder to cook a few things and clean a few things. I have realized in the last week that I really AM terrible at this domestic godess thing. I used to think that it was a lack of desire and effort.. not anymore.

These things REALLY happened.

1. I decided to give Ava some apple slices (I have been avoiding it bc of her loose tooth). I literally walked around the kitchen for 20 minutes trying to figure out how to peel an apple. I also called my mother and sister to ask this question. Finally, I sliced the apple into chunks and then tried to put the knife under the skin of the apple to get it off. After doing that, I realized a potato peeler would work. DUH.

2. I tried to make homemade cookies. Everything was going great until it came to slowly stirring in the flour mix. I have a kitchen aide mixer, that is a life saver. Everything went well the first try. If anyone else has the kitchen aide you know the right side handle locks it into place and the left is the speed to stir. 1st time GREAT... I got it down lock with the right sllllloooowww stir with the left. 2nd time... I mixed up the hands. Pulled the left side hard and all the way to the end which sent flour FLYING all over me, the counters, the 5 measuring cups I hadn't used yet, the oven mitt and the floor.

3. Tonight, I took out hamburger meat to thaw and put it in cold water to speed up the process. So, after a few hours I squeezed it and it seemed soft, so I cut the plastic and without touching any of the meat I plopped it into the wok. First of all, I used a wok...first mistake. Apparently a wok does not double as a skillet when all of your skillets are dirty. Second, the meat was still frozen on the bottom. So, crafty as I am, I scrapped off the meat that was thawed and then put the frozen part in the microwave to defrost. I guess there is some sort of defrost button?

This is why I should NOT ever cook. EVER.
I am equally bad at cleaning.

Errands....

I have an 18th month old baby. That should be enough to tell you that running errands is seriously crazy! I mean really there are some things that I can't even explain. It all starts with the car seat. The DREADED car seat. As we are walking to the car I am actually thinking of the different things I can bribe her with to get her to sit in her seat. My child has NEVER liked the car or the car seat. So we get into the car I put her sitting in her seat and she immediately places the death grip on the sides of the seat and flips over. CRAP! So, I have to be the evil one to pry her little fingers off the sides and try, as she is fighting to get both arms through the straps. Then the screaming begins and its not just little whines it is full on SCREAMS!! So, finally with a little force I get her buckled and then when I tried to calm her down with a drink she threw the sippy cup at me! Of course it hit me right in the forehead. I get out close the door and stand there for a few seconds before driving all the way to the grocery store listening to her screaming. When we get to the grocery store I am thanking god for the cart with the little car on the front... it was a lifesaver. She still starting crying at the end of the trip because she was bored of it but for a little while I could actually shop. Which is rare. After groceries back to the car... where we do the screaming, crying, tantrum dance again. Next stop, the pet shop. She was doing great until...  I took her out of the cart to see a hamster running around and she was entertained for a while and then she would NOT get back in the cart. So I have to carry her with one arm and push the 50 lbs of dog food with the other arm, all the way to the counter. Then, back to the car and the dance of the car seat. And crying all the way back home. Once we are finally home I have to bring the groceries in and she is happy to help. So, I give her the bag of marshmallows and she starts to bring it inside, as I grab 15 more bags and walk inside she is running outside the other way with the bag!!!!! So I drop everything on the floor in the house and run after her, which in turn, she runs faster.. I finally  caught her and then she is screaming at the top of her lungs for the whole neighborhood to hear! I brought her in and set her down in front of sesame street. I am exhausted. Is this just my kid or does everyone go through this daily?

5 Dollar HOLLA

Do you ever wonder why you cannot get $5 out of an ATM??? I seriously don't understand. With all of the technology in this day and age you would think they could come up with an ATM that dispenses exact change or something. Wouldn't it be awesome if you could type in $12.67 and receive that exact amount. My guess would be that people are not going to want change from the ATM but $25 $75 or even $30 I would like. I think the world would be a better place with an ATM that dispenses five dollar bills. ;)


I also think that they should create some kind of claw to go on the front of your car so when you are driving in traffic and people piss you off you can just pick them up with the claw and move them! ;)