Sorry

I will get to posting soon.... things are moving at light speed here... more to come soon I promise.

Update

Sorry for the delay in posting. Things seem to be moving at light speed here these days. Christmas is almost upon us, so that makes for some crazy times.

The weather here is so beautiful it's hard for us to stay inside some days. Now that Erika is mobile things have gotten a lot harder though. She likes to take off after her brother and sister. She has no fear, she likes to go where they go... including up into the big play areas. Shesh! Park days just got a lot more complicated. :P

Alexa has been enjoying dressing up in the last few months. In fact she had a hard time for Halloween, before settling on the princess costume. But she has now informed me that she will be dressing up for Christmas and New Years as various Disney princesses. LOL

We have also decided on a theme for the kids birthdays that should satisfy both kids... We are going for a medieval theme of knights and princesses. Kinda smart huh?... This way we stave off having to have two separate parties for at least one more year. LOL

We have also been busy decorating for Christmas. We made snowflakes one day with Tim and Lex... that was fun. Erika loves the tree. She gets so excited. Although we are finding that the ornaments are slowly migrating to the top of the tree. Every time she takes one off we put it up a little higher. LOL Opening presets will be interesting this year for sure.

Well I will leave it at that for now... we are having our homeschool Christmas party tomorrow and making cookies on Saturday, so I should have more to post by Monday. Then I likely will not post again until after the first of the year...

Although I may try and sneak some Christmas shots up... we'll see if I have time.

So for now I hope you enjoy these and make sure to check back early next week.

Things I am Thankful for...

Here is my list of the 10 things I am most thankful for:
1: A God who is merciful and gracious... even when I am not.
2: A husband who loves me, even in my most unlovable moments.
3: Happy children that are growing and learning every day.
4: A supportive and loving extended family who never ceases to amaze me that they have been so accepting all these years.
5:Wonderful friends who are there when you need them. (Even when you don't realize how much you need them.)
6: Being able to stay at home and homeschool my children.
7: Mike's job.
8: Modern medicine (anyone who has read this blog for the last year knows we have been struggling with a LOT of sickness in our house... so this one makes sense. LOL)
9: Modern technology (aka my computer and blackberry). This has allowed me to find and stay in touch with family and friends I would have lost contact with otherwise.
10: A God who is merciful and gracious. (Seems appropriate to begin and end with this one.)

There is much to be thankful for today and everyday. I hope everyone has a blessed and wonderful day of thankfulness, rest and turkey. Happy Thanksgiving!

Sigh

(Sigh) This has been our house this past week... LOL

http://ic2.apps.yahooapis.com/v1/cache/public/zILUxbiyoa5ZOYApysMrZ4iPYpPI0opklhmjVT6EjpZoIh2QqK_D4tNMwO8UmZMAI4o7tP042Pv5hVYUZs_5J.hkkqCXZXs9

Well everyone seems to be feeling better today, so we may still get to celebrate Thanksgiving with extended family after all.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Hope everyone has a wonderful and healthy Thanksgiving. I will be posting more tomorrow so make sure to check back and see the the things I am most thankful for this past year. Should be an interesting list. LOL

Fall

We have been decorating our house for fall. I thought I'd share some of the pics.

We also had our Thanksgiving party with our Homeschool group. It was fun. They had turkey bowling and a game where you had to be the first one to eat the doughnut off the string. Both kids had a really good time.

Being sick stinks...

Ok lemmie just start off by saying being sick stinks!! We have been sick more this last year than in the last 5 years combined. But it REALLY stinks when you have a house-guest from out of the country who comes to stay with you and she gets sick. UGH!!! I felt so bad (and not just because I got sick too). :( Thankfully Mike and Erika have immune systems of steel and have not come down with it. It was in "interesting" week to say the least.
We did manage to get in a few fun things this week. We managed a trip to the zoo as well as some shopping. At the zoo, we got to see the Komodo Dragons for the first time. That was really neat. The are very interesting creatures. We also had a really great time just visiting. She also spoiled the kids. (They are already asking when she will be coming back, or when we can visit her.) We had a good time over all and have all just agreed to edit out the stomach flu part of the week. LOL, Here are some of the pics from when she was here.

Anyway in spite of being sick, we had a good week and the company was great. Maybe one day we will even make it out to Canada for a visit. Stay well and take care.

zoo pics and new additions

Ok we spent some time at the zoo yesterday. We had a great time. The weather was just perfect for us to be out and about.

We also this week added two new additions to our ever growing family. We now have two water turtles... Ming-Ming and Tuck. The kids have had a blast watching them over the last few days... But I think it bothered Alexa when we bought some gold fish to feed to them. Poor thing. She wants a fish a for pet, so we had to tell her we would keep her fish far away from the turtles. :)

Hope everyone has a good week... thanks for stopping by!

Pics

Ok not to much dialogue on this one just the pics. LOL. Some are from the park and the rest are Halloween. Hope you like them!

Erika is one!

Well we did not do a whole lot of Erika's birthday, but we had some fun none-the-less. I still cannot believe she is one. Time flies.

She is now walking a few steps at a time. The main reason for this is she tries to run so her body gets ahead of her feet and she tumbles forward. I am not looking forward to her walking, as she is a speedster at crawling, and I am afraid she is just going to take off at a run once she realizes she can.
She is also becoming quite picky about food. Most of it seems to end up on the floor, but she does seem to have a sweet tooth. (As evidenced by the birthday cake all over her.)

She is talking some. She loves our guinea pig and can be seen quite a bit "chatting" with him. She will then look at you and yell "Lenny!" It is really cute. Most everything is "dada". Although we have discovered variations to that, in that there are different tones for different things... she goes high pitched at the end of the word when "talking" to or about Alexa. Doggie and duckie are higher pitched in the middle and daddy is the excited "dadadadadada!" At least that is what it seems like so far... LOL. (Wow, you know I must be a mom of three, not to many others would be able to understand baby talk so well. LOL Maybe I should write a book.)
Anyway, we are getting ready for fall here. The weather has finally decided to cooperate and cool off... We are decorating pumpkins on Friday with our home-school group, and the kids will also be dressing up for Halloween. So I am sure there will be plenty of pics to follow. November is shaping up to be another busy month, with doctor appointments. play dates and Thanksgiving activities, and I would like to squeeze in a trip to the zoo sometime.
Thanks to everyone for the Birthday wishes for Erika...

Hope everyone has a blessed upcoming Reformation day, and is taking time to enjoy a wonderful fall so far.

Pumpkin patch

These are from our trip to the pumpkin patch with our Home-school group. We had a really great time and found some good pumpkins to decorate for the fall.

Updates

Anyway we have been out and about the last two weeks as the weather did actually cool down some. Here are some photos from our outings.

 These are from our outing to Fountain Hills. The kids had fun playing and watching the fountain. We even had a picnic. Erika is really trying to walk now and got in plenty of practice at the park that day with Daddy's help.

Ok these second set of pics is from our trip to the zoo.
The weather was finally nice enough last week that we managed to get out there. Of course this week are back in the 100's... go figure, but at least last week was very nice and we had a great time at the zoo. :)

Ok so I leave you with a blast from the past. A few old high school friends and I have been reminicing (on Facebook of course) and it has been a lot of fun. We have been digging up old photos from our high school days. Here is one of me and really good friend of mine. It was taken in 1993. Enjoy!

 

 

Thirty One Newsletter

Be the person you want to be! Here at Thirty-One we are all about Celebrating, Encouraging and Rewarding people. I invite you to browse through our exciting site to learn how YOU can create fun and fashion for yourself and your family. Also you will find out how you can earn FREE Thirty-One products and half price products, along with our great monthly specials.
Please let me know if you have any questions or would like more information any of our products.
Celebrate / Encourage / Reward

Shannon Porter
Phone: 623-451-2305
Email: Shann@DreamTheArt.com
Website: www.mythirtyone.com/ShannonPorter



Healthy Lunches are "In the Bag"

With the kids back to school, many Moms are finding themselves packing daily lunches again. Lunches from home can be healthier and less expensive than cafeteria food, and many kids prefer packing to save time at school. Third-grader Jacouri (son of a Thirty-One home office employee) states that while many of his friends buy their lunch, he likes packing because he doesn’t have to wait in line, and he doesn’t like the cafeteria food.
“My mom packs the stuff she knows I like,” Jacouri said. “I like my sandwiches grilled because it tastes so good.”
Choosing foods that kids will eat may require you to think “outside the paper lunch bag” for tasty alternatives to the standard peanut butter and jelly. This may mean including foods that need a little “TLC” in terms of temperature. Keeping cold foods cold and warm foods warm is one way to appeal to even the pickiest eater!
Many times kids resist certain items if they’re not kept at the appropriate temperature. And not only can a warm cheese stick or yogurt be unappetizing, certain foods can be unsafe if not kept cold. According to a USDA Article, harmful bacteria can multiply rapidly when cold foods are not kept cold. In fact, they recommend that food not be kept at room temperature for more than two hours. The best way to ensure safe temperatures is to pack foods in an insulated bag that includes an ice source such as a re-freezable gel pack or ice cubes sealed in a plastic bag.
Likewise, hot foods can be kept in an insulated bag to preserve their temperature. Soups and hot sandwiches can be kept warm for quite a while when packaged correctly.
With the selection of Thermal Totes available from Thirty-One, Jacouri and his mom are sure to find one that will be perfect for those grilled sandwiches! That’s good news for Jacouri – he can have his grilled sandwich along with the other stuff he likes, and his mom can rest assured that he’s eating a healthy sandwich!
As for Jacouri’s other request for lunches, we may not be able to help with those….
“I can be greedy,” he shared. “All I want is the sugary stuff!”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Need a bag that's more than just great looks and style? You'll find it this month with this amazingly functional tote. Use it to carry around everything from crafts to cleaning supplies or picnic items to household tools. It's even great for organizing your grocery store trips!

All customers: This month you can get a Small Organizing Utility Tote for $5.00 ($22 Retail) when you spend at least $31 retail. (Personalization Not Included) Choose from Black Tailored Stripe or Happy Dot. Item #3105. Personalization is an additional $6.
You name it; these durable totes will help you do it. Organization on the go for even the busiest people! Take our totes along with you to holiday parties, sports outings, church functions, or even on year end vacations.

Hostess only: For submitting a $750 party, you can purchase the Large Utility Tote in Black Tailored Stripe for $5, a $29.50 value! (Embroidery is an additional $6 charge.) Order item #3121.

For submitting a $450 party, you can purchase the Medium Utility Tote in Happy Dot for $5, a $26.50 value! (Embroidery is an additional $6 charge.) Order item #4121.