I woke up this morning to my necklace I bought off etsy! It’s so cute, and having the kids names on it and birth stones totally makes this necklace my new fave! Under the birthstones it says MOM and has a little heart engraved below it! How adorable is that? Not only is it really shiny, and really well made it gets peoples attention. I love it! Everyone I’ve shown it to loves it too! I wrote the lady who owns the shop and asked her if I could do a giveaway - I’ll find something on her site, and I’m going to get it and in the near future do a giveaway. I’m really impressed with my sweet little necklace I want to do a giveaway with one of her other pieces! And who doesn’t love free stuff? I know I do!! If anyone else has any suggestions for giveaways, or has anything to contribute for a giveaway here on AMR please let me know! I can/will also do a review as well if desired. You can contact me here.

The weather is beautiful today! It’s starting today and suppose to go until Sunday being beautiful! We took the 3 little ones to the park (Jordan was in school!) and Jayden giggled, laughed and kicked his legs while in the swing - and the girls played on the climbers for a bit then spent the majority of the time rolling down the hill at the park.. I took some video of them rolling to share!

Too cute! Expect lots of videos and pictures this spring and summer. I’m such a huge photo freak and the odd time when I remember I’ll be able to get good videos too! One day I’m going to get around to putting all my videos onto a DVD and make extras for the kids and their keepsake boxes. I think they’d love them, and to show their families when they all grow up and get to see how silly and cute they were as kids!

Well, if you are at all interested in the post below this one there is an *adult* giveaway. Check it out! C’mon spice up your life a little - or get it for someone else as a gag, or even to spice up their life! HAHA. I know, I’m still in a little bit of shock I posted it too ;)

Warning: This is a giveaway of an adult toy!

(more…)

I’m so beyond irritated right now.

So, Nancy won my 1st top commenter contest. I waited until I got a winner to order the prize (dumb, I know!) well I tried to order it the day she won but my paypal kept timing out. Ok, no biggie I’d keep trying again. So I did, and finally on Monday it worked. Well, turns out it didn’t go through so tonight I did it again and somehow while ordering/paying the order got so mixed up that it is going to the address Nancy request I send it to her at but IN MY NAME! … WHAT? I think it’s her work address too. ugh…

So..

Just when I thought that was bad enough.. Oh no, it gets worse… I’m on hold with the Lush number for 48 minutes and 32 seconds when all of a sudden.. IT HUNG UP ON ME. Oh yes, I believe someone was finally going to answer my call and instead of answering - they hung up! SUPER!

So, I called back and left a message. I paused, read my kids 2 stories, tucked them into bed and I’m again on hold waiting for my call to be answered.

NEVER.AGAIN. I will never order off lush.ca again. I’ve ordered off plenty of websites sending the purchase to someone as a gift, and I’ve never had this issue. I’ve never had to be on hold for this long unless it was to deal with a cell phone - but lush Canada? - really?… NOT IMPRESSED.

I better be able to get this fixed. Her prize isn’t much but its worth $20.98 with shipping so I’d like it to get to her. :/

When I think of how many children, teens and even adults go missing yearly it freaks me out. I couldn’t ever imagine going through such a tragedy of having someone close to me go missing, especially a child.

The fear of not knowing who took them, who they are with, what they are doing… Would destroy me. I watch too many tv shows that deal with these types of things: Criminal Minds the other day was on this very topic.

A little girl watch snatched right beside her mother, while her mother was watching another mother scream for her “lost child” … turns out she didn’t have a lost, child… she didn’t have a child at all. This was a ploy to get mothers to look away from their child for someone to grab the children.

How scary that in just one second of looking away; your kid could be gone.

People often question parents who use “leashes” on their children - but other than your children running off, or wandering off the fact someone could just grab your child is another good reason to use them. My daughter has a backpack that is a poodle, a pink poodle to be exact, and its got a little harness attached, and a “leash” with it if you will. We used it when we went downtown shopping in Toronto. I wasn’t letting my 3 year-old just hold my hand. It’s quite scary.

A week or so ago I was trying to find ANY website in Canada, or even Ontario that allowed me to find out what sexual predators, or pedophiles were living in and around my area. I couldn’t find any. The one I found - you had to be in law enforcement to login. What kind of help is that to us “non” law enforcement folks who have children.

I know our local police department alerts the public of REALLY high risk offenders when they are being released. But unless people go to the police website daily, how are we to know? I really got frustrated with this type of thing.

I get really bothered by the fact these types of people are able to live where so many children are… Children living, and schools…. It’s incredible to me. I think this information should be available to the public - especially parents. I don’t care if its a “security” risk for these offenders - maybe they shouldn’t offend? I just think it should be made public where these people live, and what they have done.

The US have many websites I came across, even detailed ones with maps showing where these creatures live.. If anyone knows of any site in Canda like this please contact me and let me know.

Thoughts?

Well I’m very proud to say we did Earth Hour with no problems! I had the candles lit by 20 after 8, and lights were all off by 8:25p… Jordan stayed awake. He laid on the floor and watched “Alvin & The Chipmunks” on daddy’s iPod touch! The girls were in bed but decided to wake up and join the party half way through the hour. We were painting the living room when we had to pause for the hour. We hadn’t eaten our dinner so of course what else was there to do besides eat our dinner in the dark? (the kids ate their dinner earlier but we painted through it so they wouldn’t be in the way or get into the paint then we stopped until they went to bed)… Jordan was so excited and proud to be doing Earth Hour! So, I took lots of pictures for him and he can share his story at school today while they share their Earth Hour stories!

Here are some photos from our earth hour…

830p on the button!

Me in the dark!

We were the only house on the street doing Earth Hour!

Jordan watching “Alvin & the chipmunks!”

The Girls joined us in the dark!

Last night we had my Mother in law over for dinner. I made Cola Pork Chops, veggies and a side dish. I also tried for the first time making Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Loaf Cakes. They were TO.DIE.FOR. I mean incredible. I posted the recipe in my recipe section here on the site. They were delicious. I served slices with French Vanilla ice cream. YUM. I am becoming a really good chef if I do say so myself. I’ve always been able to cook basic meals, and I’ve tried being creative but nothing compares to going outside your comfort zone while cooking/baking, and succeeding. I love cooking and baking for my family. I always make healthy good meals but finding these great recipes for sweets is awesome too. Treats are great every now and then!

Like I said my mother in law came over yesterday for dinner. She stopped in around noon and picked Jordan up, he went over to her house for a couple of hours before they came over for dinner. She didn’t stay too long which was great because considering I didn’t speak to her for close to 2 months, anything could have started up a little tiff again. Short, sweet visits are great for the kids and my hubby.

Nothing much going on today. I have laundry to put away, and I would like to vacuum the bedrooms. It seems laundry is never ending in my house.. I dread putting it away more than the washing, and folding.. I’m just glad I don’t have any protective clothing to wash and deal with. What a dreadful job that would be.. Although they are great pieces of clothing, and very useful in jobs that require them.. I wouldn’t want to deal with them! Although, I’m sure most of which are just made to use and toss. :/

Don’t forget the comment giveaway is still going on and will be for the next few months. I am enjoying all the positive feedback, and all the great comments you all are leaving! Keep them coming.. you could win simply by just saying hello!

I hope everyone has a great Monday. It’s rainy and chilly here.. Perfect for laundry, cleaning and just hanging out with my beautiful babies! :)

I’ve had my fair share of issues with cell phones. My current cell phone the LG Eve is by far an amazing phone. It took a little bit to get used to going from a Blackberry O/S to the Android but I think I’ve done pretty well! I can’t live without a cell phone.. So if you are anything like me getting the right one for YOU is a must! Check out the cellular phones section at the source, and see what you think!

Yesterday Jordan asked if we were going to turn off our lights for Earth Hour. To be honest I completely forgot about it being today! So I thought why not? Of course we have lots of candles, the kids will be in bed by that time so I don’t have to worry about them! So of course we are going to be turning off our lights for Earth Hour! It’s a great cause, and I’ve done it in the past why this year would be different is beyond me! Are you going to turn off your lights for Earth Hour? 830p-930p tonight? I will post pictures tomorrow of my hour!

ABOUT EARTH HOUR….

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off for one hour to make their stand against climate change. Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the, Sydney Harbour Bridge, The CN Tower in Toronto, The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome’s Colosseum, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour.

In March 2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour. Over 4000 cities in 88 countries officially switched off to pledge their support for the planet, making Earth Hour 2009 the world’s largest global climate change initiative.

Earth Hour 2010 takes place on Saturday 27 March at 8.30pm (local time) and is a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community throughout the world. It is a call to stand up, to take responsibility, to get involved and lead the way towards a sustainable future. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Europe to Asia to the Americas will stand in darkness. People across the world from all walks of life will turn off their lights and join together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common – our planet.

Earth Hour by WWF

Earth Hour is organized by WWF. With almost 5 million supporters and a global network in over 100 countries, it’s one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth’s natural environment and build a future where people live in harmony with nature.

DO YOUR PART! TURN OFF YOUR LIGHTS!

So I wanted to do a contest to get more people coming here and commenting…. This first one I did really quick and I decided instead of using random.org and giving the people who have been frequently commenting only one chance to win I’d write their names down and put them in a hat to draw them from! Well, I used the “Top Commentator” widget which you can view in my sidebar to see how many times the top commenters have been leaving comments… However many times it said is how many times I put that persons name on a piece of paper and put it in the hat. Nancy got 26, Amanda got 13, Cinda got 13, Emmysuh got 11 and Erica got 10. I got Kyla to pull the name out of the hat because I had to hold the camera… excuse my yucky voice! :) This is what happened…..

and the winner is…………





Congratulations Nancy! It pays to comment everyone! I will be doing another draw 2 weeks from today so get commenting.. they all count! :) The new one starts now. I can’t start fresh with your stats for commenting but I know how much the top 5 commenter’s had so I’ll just subtract those numbers and start over with whatever the numbers end up at. So please note: next time will be a little different. I wont be able to use “top commentators” photograph at the top to show the names. If you are confused e-mail me and we’ll figure it out! Congrats and Good luck!

Yesterday I decided I’d had enough tv and would make a new rule! The kids have their shows on all day long in the background of whatever we are doing. Crafts, coloring, playing with toys, reading… Whatever it is the tv is always heard in the background! So yesterday I said no more and made a rule no tv after 4pm for the girls during the week, and all kids on the weekends. Jordan is a little different during the week as he’s at school all day so he can watch tv an hour a night on weekdays. He has his own tv in his room so for that hour he can go watch 2 of his own shows after homework and reading is done! He’s usually outside after he is finished his homework after school until dinner, then he goes back out for a little bit so he will have a choice to go back outside after dinner until bath or watch some tv until bath..

Why am I doing that you ask? Why not? Why do we ALWAYS have to watch tv? Why can’t we read a book, make crafts, dance to music? Something other than ALWAYS watching tv. My girls rarely sit and watch a show (with the acception of Wiggles - Ava will stop whatever shes doing to watch!) but I still want to get them doing other things than always worrying about having their shows on in the background. WHO CARES WHAT BLUES CLUES IS DOING? DOES IT REALLY MATTER WHAT COLOR SHIRT BARBIE IS WEARING? no. So we’ll do other things. Thankfully the weather should be getting warmer soon so I can take them for walks after dinner, and to the park for more than 10 minutes before everyone is frozen!

I turned the tv right off last night and wouldn’t even let my hubby put it on until the kids went to bed. The kids didn’t even seem bothered by it. They asked me to put songs on the computer for them to dance to, and we read two books! There’s crap on tv for them lately anyways. Very few really good educational shows… so I’m going to really crack down on what they watch! My kids are so good though, I don’t think this will be a problem with them at all. Like I said its usually just on for background noise.. but it’s good for us to do!

One more room to paint - with a hallway! The living room and hallway from the entry to kitchen! We are going to start that today and hopefully finish it up this weekend. You have to kinda do a bit at a time when you have 4 kids so that’s what we are doing. We’ll more than likely do the majority of it when they are in bed. My hubby put a test strip on the wall and its MUCH darker than I thought :/ oh well. Easier with kids having it darker, I just didn’t realize it was going to be that dark! Photos to follow for sure. We just have to get it done first.. A lot of furniture to move and kids to deal with while doing so… Not fun but the results will be worth it. I can’t wait!

I’ve been losing a lot of weight! I know I blogged about that before, I think this gallbladder issue of mine is a blessing in disguise. I had to go out the other day and buy new jeans. SMALLER jeans! Totally made my month having to do that! Even these small jeans I still have wear a belt and with the belt they want to fall down a bit.. I’m loving it! I still won’t be where I want to be by summer I’m sure but I’m getting there… People are still noticing too which makes anyone feel great! I want to look into fitness equipment for our basement at some point… I’m lazy, but this is such a motivation! The weather too - nice for walks and jogs! I’m loving it!

Don’t forget to get commenting.. So far we have a few people who have been commenting a lot and could possibly both be winners! :)

Are you in the market for some spa covers? If so, I’m jealous! Where we live we aren’t allowed to do or have anything! I’d kill to have a little spa in my backyard! I guess the people who lived next door before we moved here asked the corporation who run the neighborhood if they could get a hot tub in their beautifully re-done backyard and were told no so they moved! I don’t blame them. The rules in here are ridiculous! I want a spa!