Creative Triplet Mom: September 2007

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Photo Contest Update

There is 1 more day in the photo contest so please continue to vote daily.
Right now we are in 1st place. Doing the Happy Dance.

Thank you for all your help.

Here's the voting link again
http://www.competic o.com/come- vote-for- me/24481cc5fc67b f2abdcfe9f7f9749 39b

September Round Up

Credits

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?

Read! I did pick up a book from my friend's yardsale this month. Angela's Ashes. I sat down one night in bed before going to sleep and read get this! 5 pages!

I do spend a lot of time reading blogs though. No magazines this month either.

I do read children's books almost every night before the kids go to sleep.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?

I watched Bionic Woman new tv series. My husband actually watched it with me and we have it as a season pass so tivo will tape it for us. We also watched Journey Man and ER. Of course, I am still watching Days of Our Lives but have fell a bit behind this week. I'm actually 5 episodes behind. I never fall that behind. Haven't missed an episode in over 3 years. I love tivo because I can tape it and fast forward the commercials and watch when I have time.

What special days did I celebrate and how?

The children went to preschool for the first time. They are going 2 half days a week. While they are going to school I returned to work. I am working when they are in school doing accounting which I enjoy. I did accounting before they were born so it's nice to get back into it and be with adults again.

Another special day is when the girls went to dance for the first time. They are taking ballet and tap while Justin plays in the play area. I did not cry when they went to preschool but I did shed some tears when I put them in their little dancing cloths. Why? Well, images of them wearing their wedding dresses came to mind and I just started to cry. They are no longer babies and now are getting so fast. The first 3 years have gone by so quickly.

Another first is attending MOPS (mother's of preschoolers). We went last year but this time we are going to a different one. This year the topic is your home. Of course, after the last meeting which was how to organize your home and a California Closets came to visit. I so want to get some organizing done in our home.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?

We had a lot of parties to go to. The kids were invited to their first preschool party and Ryan's Birthday. We just gave them games and cash.

The kids got 3 presents from MOMs club members who couldn't attend their birthday party in August. A whole bunch of play doh, coloring books, crayons, paint and a game Cariboo. It's a great game as we all can play together and there's little fighting. Thanks Jen, Stacy and Cindy.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

Luckily I didn't have any issues except for some allergies and some headaches. From time to time I get bad reaction to my cats. Rocky sat on me and licked my hand and unfortunately I forgot to wash my hands and guess what? I paid for it later. My right eye swelled up so badly. The swelling lasted for 2 days. I'm better now.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?

We went to Veterans Park 2 times this month. Once was a playdate with MOMs club where no one showed up but the kids had a blast and we had a picnic lunch together. The 2nd trip was the Sept Fest. The kids loved petting the animals and eating different ice cream other than their regular vanilla. The only problem we had was we had to park way outside and walk. By the end of the day it was tiring for the kids to walk back.

We went raspberry picking with MOPs at Terhune Orchards.

Recipe Swap at Stacy's (MOMs club). We all brought some type of after school snack. The kids got to play and eat.

Festival of the Harvest Sukkot was at Mindi's house (MOMs Club). Stacy, Mindi and I plus the children decorated and hung fruit and veggies on the sukkah. In honor of the holiday's historical significance, we are commanded to dwell in temporary shelters, as our ancestors did in the wilderness. The temporary shelter is referred to as a sukkah (which is the singular form of the plural word "sukkot").

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?

We tried a new Chinese Food place that Karin from the MOMs club suggested. I went and picked it up and brought it back. It's a small restaurant that maybe we will actually go and eat at one day.

I have a difficult time with cooking and planning meals. I hate it. When it's 4 pm I am frantically trying to figure out what we are going to eat by 5 pm. So this month I tried to plan a little. I did manage to do a couple new recipes from menus for moms. What I liked about it was that they gave me 5 meals. Then the shopping list for the 5 meals which also included some desserts. I didn't cook the meals in the order that they suggested but did grab the menus at least 3 or 4 days in the week. I did alternate some of the recipes to fit my families needs. It has been a great help this month. I will probably continue using the menus from there in the future.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

I purchased a hangaway. Actually got 2 of them. My sister highly recommended I get these. So far I have used it a little bit. I really need to have her help me organize more. Right now I have it in my kitchen as I'm doing laundry today. My laundry room is so cluttered. I so need to tackle that space. I am so hinting to my husband we need a california closet makeover.

I also purchase a Hullabaloo game for the kids. It's a fun game that they all can play together. Little mats are placed on the floor and the machine tells them to stand on a blue, dance to a green, hop to a musical instrument, etc. It's really cute learning game for the kids.

The kids also got a LeapFrog Leapster as a delated birthday gift from their daddy. This little game system is amazing. They carry it all over the house. Of course, now we have to invest in AA batteries. Right now they are using the games that it came with it. For Hanukkah they will get other games to go with it. Oh, and this game is very durable. Why do I say that? Well, my kids tend to drop it all the time. They even dropped it from the 2nd floor to the first floor and it is still working. Knock on wood.

What were this month's disappointments?

I had only one day that I was actually free from the kids and that day I spent shopping. Food shopping actually. The 2nd day that I was free I worked doing kitchen duty at the preschool. So never did I actually have a free day. Mom hasn't been here in a while and I have fallen behind on everything.

I did my first Stampin' Up workshop. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out as I would have hoped though. There were 5 adults and 5 children. I had 3 projects planned and we only did one because everyone had to leave early. Then I got no sales. It was very disappointing to both me and the hostess. I did get 2 orders later plus the hostess order but that still needed add up to enough to get hostess benefits.

What were my accomplishments this month?

My accomplishments would be that I did manage to plan a Stampin' Up workshop. See above entry.

I managed to play a couple of board games with the triplets. They are learning so much and want to play games all the time. They really enjoy it.

Anything else noteworthy to record?

My goal for October is to try to get more organized. I so need to work on my meal planning and decluttering my laundry room and family room. Want to get rid of some things that has been bothering me for a long time.

October seems to be jam packed with things to do. We have something to do the entire month. Halloween will be a lot of fun too.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

SNL30

Here's 2 kits I made for SNL. I wasn't sure I was going to make the Sept 30 deadline but I did manage to complete 2 kits 4 days before the deadline. This month has been very chaotic. The kids started preschool and I went back to work. I hope next month it slows down a bit. Anyway, here's the previews of the kits that I made. I so love how the dress alpha turned out. It is so cute for my little girls.

Freebie Quick Page

I made this quick page from Creamsicle Mudslide by Burkhart Scrapzone Designs. You can find this kit here. Click on image to download freebie. Please leave a comment if you download. Thanks.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Wacky Wednesday Sale

One day Wacky Wednesday Sale at Karla's Kaleidoscope Designs.
The whole store will be on sale at 75% off. Karla has some amazing kits. You can get the above kit in her store. Happy Shopping.

Friday, September 21, 2007

COOKING - UGGGGGG MISSING INGREDIENT

Fri 9/21 Blog Prompt: Have you ever been in the middle of cooking when you realized you were missing a key ingredient and couldn't make a dash to the store? What did you do?

Hey are you watching me? This happens to me almost every night! No joke! I am so struggling to meal plan but I am such a failure at it. I will go with a shopping list to the supermarket but I always manage to forget something on the list or can't find the item in the store. Why? Oh, Why? Do recipes use ingredients that you can't find? This drives me bonkers. I watch the food network from time to time and the one cook who I can never find the ingredients for her recipes is Rachel Ray. She always uses spices that I just cannot find. I now have to shop at night or deal with fighting three year olds. I try to avoid shopping with them as it is just a nightmare. I also have a husband who will eat the ingredient before I have time to cook with it. Like the other day I needed sour cream and guess what it was gone. He used it to make dip for his chips.

Sorry to go off topic. If I am missing an ingredient I have been known to substitute with something else or I will grab a box of pasta and just cook that up. It's like my last resort along with those chicken nuggets in the freezer. It's a food I fall back upon if the meal comes out bad. It's always a 50/50 chance it will in my house as I tend to use lots of new recipes as I can't find ones that we really like to use.

Running in for one item is not possible in my household. It's not worth the effort of unstrapping all 3 children and strapping them back up again with the fighting and hand touching and grabbing items off the shelf. It's super stressful when you only need one item like MILK. Why can't they make a drive through for stuff like MILK, BREAD, and EGGS. I would be the first person on line in the car if they had such a place.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Charity Drive

We are having a Charity drive to raise funds for the not so fortunate pets who have been neglected or deserted and end up in a refuge. Helen, aka, Retro Designs has created three wonderful QPs for you to choose from, at only $1.99 each. All funds raised will go to the refuge.
Purchase QPs here:http://www.deco-pages.com/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=15&sort=add_date&sort_direction=1&page=1
If you post your page in the gallery at deco-pages you will be rewarded with a choice of one kit from the participating designers as a Thank you for donating to such a worthy cause.
Read all about it here:http://board.deco-pages.com/forums/showthread.php?p=28676#post28676
Thanks for looking.

Favorite Quote

"You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it." Charles Bruxton

While searching the internet I came across this quote. It is so true. Everyone asks me how I can complete over 400 layouts. Well, my answer is always I schedule it in my daily routine. I try to do at least one page a night. It does not take very long now that I'm digital. 15-20 minutes if I am doing a fast layout. Flylady always says you can do anything in 15 minutes. She has helped me out in so many ways. I still struggle with meal planning but I'm starting to work on that as well. I do still need to declutter. I try to do it almost every day. Baby Steps. Baby Steps.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

What Romance?

I did this layout for a journaling challenge at Snap and Scrap.

Credits

Saturday, September 15, 2007

TAGGED!

I've been tagged again. This time by Derek. I now have to list six thing about me that you didn't know.

1. My first boyfriend was killed in a car accident at age 17.

2. I know how to quilt. It used to be my hobby until I learned how to scrapbook and then my sewing machine has now is collecting dust in my closet.

3. I have an entire room devoted to my hobby scrapbooking. I have wall to wall papers, punches, stickers, etc. That too is collecting dust now that I learned how to digital scrapbook.

4. I sell Stampin' Up. Yes, I'm a consultant. I'm actually a hobbiest though. I'm actually doing my first workshop tomorrow night for a friend. I have held some mystery hostess workshops at my house but this is going to be my very first workshop at someone else's house. I spent 2 hours last night preparing my projects.

5. At 9 pm every night I call it quits. No not on the computer quits but no more housework. No matter what has to be done I call it quits. I just can't do it all. Yes, I have tons of laundry to still do. Toys need to be decluttered and I have tons of cloths in my garage that need to be sorted through and washed that I have gotten from friends for the triplets. After 9 pm is when I have time for me! That's when I do my digital scrapbooking.

6. My bedtime is normally at 2 am. I say every night that I'm going to go to bed early but it always winds up being about 2 am when I head to bed.

7. I like to keep busy. I'm always on the go. Hate being home. That's why when you would look at my calendar I have something planned almost every day. But this can get stressful so there are times when I skip what is planned and just stay home. I guess I get burned out would be the saying.

Oops I got carried away and gave you 7 things.

Now I am suppose to tag 6 people. Man this is getting hard. I already tagged 5 people in my last post. I don't know any other people who would do this. Sorry.

MeMe about Mom2triplets04

have been tagged by loonyhiker. I have to list seven things about me you probably don't know.

1. Who was your first prom date? My prom date was my husband. Yes, I have been with him since senior year.

2. Who was your first roommate?
Well, I never had a roommate as I never went to college. So I guess my first roommate would be my husband since before that I lived at home with my parents.

3. Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane?
Man, it's been so long since I went on an airplane. I really can't remember where I went. I'm assuming it had to be to Florida as I went there pretty often.

4. When you snuck out of your house for the first time, who was it with?
I don't remember sneaking out of my house.

5. Whose wedding were you in the first time?
I was the first one to get married as I'm the oldest of all my cousins. I was in my cousins wedding and my Sister-in-laws. I can't remember who got married first though.

6. What was the first concert you ever went to?
Cool and the Gang at Great Adventure.

7. First tattoo or piercing?
Only my ears

And I'm supposed to tag 7 other people but here is the best I can do:
Bonnie
Nicole
Michaele
Karla

Sunday, September 09, 2007

CT - Autumn Fun by Michaele Burkhart

Here is Michaele's kit Autumn Fun. You can purchase it here.

Here are 2 layouts I did using her kit.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Spring Flower

Credits

Monday, September 03, 2007

How New Jersey Are You?

Well, I took this quiz to see how New Jersey was I. I have only been living here for 9 years so I guess my New York is still with me.

You Are 32% New Jersey!

You are not New Jersey, based on this score. You're probably not from this great state. And if that is true, then you are missing out, my friend!

How New Jersey Are You?
Make Your Own Quiz