Early Easter, Dirt and TMI

Hubby's work once again did the Easter Egg hunt for the kids! We did the 4:30 hunt, but due to how many employees they have, they also did a 5:30 hunt as well.

G'man went nuts and came away with more candy than I think any other kid got - his bucket was FULL.

Prissy was just happy that she got to take a photo with the Disney Princesses!

Both kids have enough candy to make them sick for at least a week! Easter isn't even here and already I'm wishing the candy far far away!

My sister ended up in the E.R today and will be going in for surgery to remove her gallbladder soon.

Prayers for her health, safety and finances are greatly appreciated! 

My kitchen garden dirt (half topsoil/half compost) arrived and needs to be shoveled into the bed area.

We are hoping its enough dirt - if not we may need to buy more.

I think between the pile and the rest of our own compost pile we will have enough. Hubby is slightly worried.

He is such a perfectionist - I don't know how in the world he's managed to be married to me for so long and stay... somewhat sane?

My grasp on sanity slipped years back - if I ever had a hold at all.

I am still working out daily and still losing. Its slow but I'm seeing progress! 

Also in a weird, what the hey, TMI moment I got a new tiny cute torture device called an Epilator. This is a mechanical tweezer machine that rips the hair out of your body. The first minute or so is quite painful - it fades and you are left with incredibly smooth arm pits and legs.

Seriously my body hasn't been this smooth since I was 12.

If you want to have smooth skin for swimsuit season and can handle a little pain, you should look into one!

Toys, Boxes and Sisters

My sister sent the kids and I a box of love!

One of the many ways we try to stay in each others lives even when the miles separate us.

Now I have to find something stunningly fabulous and unexpected to send back!

I am sending a box out to my sister in law and niece now to focus on my Big Sis!

Mid sis - I love you not sure when I can get a box to you!

Family, Snow and Power....

Late last night at 10:25 pm my middle sis and her two kids arrived at our local train station. I had braved wet slushy snow and a slick freeway to rescue them and take them to my home. When we woke up the next morning this is what we were greeted with.

Eight inches of snow!

To make life even more interesting at 3:10 last night we lost power! Yay!

Not.

Power was finally restored at noon and we were very relieved as it had started to get rather cold in here.

Not to cold mind you, I was rather proud of how my home had retained the heat.

I am also very relieved and happy that the water pipe was fixed two days ago as now it would be put off until spring.

I made it by two days!

More pictures to follow, we are safe, happy and together!

Update on weightloss

 

lhttp://fineartamerica.com/featured/mystic-night-dragonfly-dawn-marie-black.html

First off this is not my art work, its my Sisters. Second this is not why I am posting I am just in love with it.

The first link it to buy, the second link is to follow her art blog - she posts at least one piece of art a week. 

Second I am finally down to 198!!! Oh yeah! Down 13 pds in three months! So I am the turtle in the weight race my hubby has lost 65 pds, my sister a ton, even my best friend has me beat. However, I am still losing - this alone is enough to make me happy.

I am under 200 pds! Yeah! For making my first goal. I am still going down, Yeah! For making my second goal and I really am feeling better about myself.

It's raining right now or I would be giving you an update on my tiny garden as it is right now we are still trying to fix the front and finish planting the flowers. My tomato is still living and growing, my strawberries go from looking amazing to wilty not sure if they are going to make it or they are just moody like I am. My sugar snap peas and onions are taking over. While my mint seeds are taking their sweet time to get started.

Mint is not easy to start from seed, it really does need lots and lots of TLC, once they get going though almost nothing in this world can kill it.

I love mint, I put it in salad, with fruit, on meat and of course in tea!

Zoo Day

Our last day together we went to the zoo and of course we took our neighbors daughter since our kids just can not live with out spending at least one day a week together.
Saturday morning Mid sis went back home and this morning (Sunday) Big sis went home :( boo hoo.
We had a great time but I am exhausted so today is going to be very quite - nap & then shopping for a plant.
Wil is also buying me the Twilight series Big and Mid sis are both fans and after watching the movies I am very confused hence the books.
I feel bad that I am joining the crazy people craze - but since I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan why not another kid series?
Now all I need to do is finish shopping (kids presents) and then we will be ready for Christmas.
Hubby and I are mostly taken care of minus my Christmas Eve Chinese dinner :) and a ton of Christmas present wrapping.

See you tomorrow

Soup Night

Big Sis
Mid sis and hubby (in back ground)
the kids
Dad and my step mom
Big sis's hubby and my little girl

Dad and Gideon having fun reading a book. Today was fun we woke up hit our favorite store got some things, and then watched "New Moon" - I have not read the books however both older sis's are fan's.
So now I am watching twilight for first time trying to make sense of this weird world.
However this is just not going to become my favorite but I will give it a try.


TJ - I will post and email the recipe sunday or monday when the family is out of town but I won't forget you.

Family!!

Big Sis!


Hubby of Big Sis



The dastardly duo having a crazy day Big Sis and Mid Sis all came over today for family time! Sorry I forgot to get pictures of Mid Sis and kids will do that Friday when we all get together for soup night.
Tomorrow I will try to post late night pictures and menu for our Thanksgiving day meal.
Happy Thanksgiving every one!

Ready for my Big Sis

Our guest bathroom is all ready


Gideon's room all ready for Big sis and hubby


What can I say? Its a small room - I have a small house as well


My girls room is clean as well :)

What a cutie putie!!


So every one here is excited about the family getting together. Mid sis came in on Sunday but I will see her tomorrow - she is staying with her grandma. Did I mention that mid sis is adopted and has two families?
Big sis comes in early tomorrow morning -- when I mean early I mean in about 3 hours from now :).
Yeah!!! Then our holidays begin! Hubby is still whisper perfect and is barely able to eat soft breads.

Wassil or Russian Tea

Ok this is a long story but when I was growing up my Mama was given a Wassil mix from our neighbor as a Christmas gift. We loved it so much that Mama asked for the recipe our neighbor then explained she had bought it from a co-worker who had since then quit. After that both mama and our neighbor started trying out different recipes for this fabulous drink.
Several years and many recipes later they both fell in love with this recipe.
Which is made using easy to get American ingredients (nice for me since this is very popular in Sweden, Russia ect) the first couple of recipes they tried had harder to get ingrediants.



When its almost done but not mixed it looks like this!


Helpers are a must!


My math when I make more then my normal recipe :) I try to make enough to last me one full year or enough for me to gift away to others for Christmas along with the recipe of course.


When its all mixed up it looks like this!

Then add around 2 tbls to a large cup of hot water.


Stir and enjoy!
Yummmmm

Wassil or Russian Tea Recipe

Mix together in a large container
2 cups Tang
1 1/2 cups Sugar
3/4 cups Instant Tea
1 pkg Jello (any flavor) I prefer the new tropical fusion however orange or lemon work well too)
3 Tbls Lemonade drink mix
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Allspice
1 tsp Cloves

The hubby is doing well after his surgery, while his pain is increasing and he still can't talk above a whisper he is very happy its over and that he is home; and I am very happy that I have some time with my hubby and family for the holidays.
Just a couple more days and Mid sis will be in then a couple days after that Big sis comes in!!
My home is almost all put together and clean - decorations are up and now the Wassil is ready!!

Another Surgery

The picture is my husband yesterday helping our neighbors set up their new laptop posing with their cutie putie baby Samuel. At this moment he is back over there hooking up their internet to a wifi router.

Today was his Dr appointment and if you read the title of this blog what comes next won't surprise you - next Thursday Wil goes back under the knife. They are removing his tonsils and shaving down his Uvula, besides the fact that he has tonsillitis, and sleep apnea they also said that his tonsils, Uvula and something else I can't spell or say are abnormally large!
Great right? Yep married less then 8 years and going on surgery number 3! Don't get me wrong he's most definitely is the most perfect man in the whole world for me I just wish he didn't come in a broken body.
But I guess such perfection had to have a down side so failing body is what I get and trust me out of all the options out their I would take it over some of the other horror husband stories I have been told in the last several years.
They say he should be able to eat turkey by Thanksgiving his plate just might look like I was feeding a one year old (all tiny and cut up for those non parents out there).

The cleaning and the organizing took a down turn today when my very bored daughter decided to throw flour on her bedroom floor - again she lost her toys and this time I will have to go through her boxes and decide what to throw away. Which quite frankly is not hard she just loves to hold onto McDonald's toys, toys that are missing cloths and have had their hair pulled out this just gives me a legit reason to throw out the junk I wanted to anyway to clean up her closet.
Have I mentioned that I am having my sisters come in for Thanksgiving and that I am trying to clean my home?
AHHHHHHH!!!

Yes, that might also be why I am losing my mind however at least my husband should not lose his job for taking so much time off this year because of strep. Which I have been worried about.
He is also going on 4 days of losing his voice and still not being able to find it again - he really should work on that you know.

Movies, Cleaning and Organizing

So we cleaned all our VHS off our shelves, sorted and separated. Several hours later we have the shelves cleaned off and most of the VHS sorted into piles.


This is where I am going to put up our Christmas stocking's and decor for the holidays (stay turned will update with in a day or to with pictures)


This is the pile of VHS we are going to keep for now, the we can't live with out these movies and kids movies that we don't want to buy again.


These are the boxes of VHS that we gave to our next door neighbors I really hope they like them but we also told them if they don't like them that they could give them to a library, the DI or a hospital.
My feet hurt, I am dusty and very tired. Wil and I have also started cataloging our videos so we will know what movies we have, what they are rated ect.
I am still trying to clean up the home and decorate for Thanksgiving and my Sis's coming in.
Right now I am unwinding watching SG1 and waiting for my feet to stop hurting enough to take a shower however I may just give up and decide to take a bath instead a good soak sounds nice.
Not quite sure what we are going to clean tomorrow but I am sure something will be cleaned and hopefully I will get some of my Christmas items put up - I still need to buy a silver snowflake stocking holder for Gideon's Christmas sock however I think we can pick that up tomorrow while we are out taking Wil to the Dr.

:)

House Cleaning & Weight Loss

So my sisters are coming in 9 days (at least Big sis is I am unsure of mid sis's arrival date). I however am having a hard time cleaning and getting ready.
I am getting very excited to see my sisters again this will be the first time the three of us have been together in 2 1/2 years (since our family Disney get together) this is going to be a thanksgiving to remember.
Mid sis just moved and was released from the hospital (blood clots in her lungs) and big sis has lost over 20 pds in the last couple of months.
So we are all excited to get together and talk - the hard part is going to be who talks first!

I want to finish cleaning enough to do some Christmas decorating however unless I get started that won't happen.
What is not helping are my little monsters!!
Autumn three days ago decided to mix lotion and water and then paint her walls, bed and floor with the mix so instead of cleaning my home for visitors I am washing walls, sheets and scrubbing floors ... autumn lost all of her toys and learned how to clean carpet all in the same day!
She is now slowly earning her toys back and will learn how to clean her bathroom with me tomorrow.
My problem is how many more "issues" are the dastardly duo going to throw in my path over the next 9 days, not to mention that my husband is having tonsil issues and may have to have his tonsils removed.
How and when we don't know he has an appointment Wednesday with a ear, nose and throat specialist. Ironically he could have throat surgery right before Thanksgiving - Yeah!!

As for my weight loss I started at a 22 then dropped to an 18 (my last weight loss blog) I am now a size 14 besides eating less and healthier my neighbor and I are walking 5 days a week and have been for several months now.
I have more energy and feel better then I have in several years.
So I am more than half way to my goal weight and am getting very cold walking in the morning now, soon I won't be able to walk outside with my neighbor and I will have to stick to the treadmill by myself - which will be harder to do every day by myself.
However now that I have a pattern and I have alot more energy and drive I pray I will be able to continue working out on my own.
And that by next summer I will be at my goal of a size 6-8 with the energy and healthy life to maintain.