December 27, 2017

{Santa Has Come and Gone | What I Got My 10yr old Techie!}

You could fit what I know about video games in the cartridge of a Nintendo game.

Yeah.

So buying for Owen is not that easy. Much like Gaige, he's interested in things I have no idea about. So when it comes time to buy for him, I pretty much go off of what he asks for a little bit of a youtube research on my own. D also helps me out a little with explaining what he's going to need for certain games, devices, ect.

I think we did pretty good this year though! He ended up with everything on his list.

December 25, 2017

{Santa Claus Is Coming To Town | What We Got our Outdoors-man 15yr Old}

I'm not going to lie folks, I had little do with shopping for Gaige this year. He is so hard to buy for, he kind of always has been. He's really just a different kind of kid. We've always said he has an old soul. Even as a toddler it was like he was a seventy year old in a three year old's body. He liked to be outside and up at the shop with my grandpa. Sure he played with toys and stuff but he would always choose to be outside rather than in, if he was given that choice. Which is fine.

But if you know me at all, you know that I am not an outdoorsy kind of girl lol. I'm what I like to call a city country girl. Sure I like to fish and camp. But I refuse to sleep on the ground or anywhere that I might need to pee outside. If I can't get up in the morning and shower, or shower before bed, I don't want to be there. Gaige is not that way...at all. He spends the majority of his time at the river a few blocks from our house. Between him and three of his friends, he has made little camping areas. Cleared out brush and logs (even hauling a few home to chop here) and has even built little lean-to's.

A couple weeks ago he comes in the living room and says mom do you have a skillet I can take to the river? And he walked away with my mini cast iron skillet (that's probably been used three times...cause who only cooks one egg around here?).

December 19, 2017

November 29, 2017

{Santa Claus is Coming to Town! | What I'm Getting My Teenage Daughter for Christmas?}

Why is it that the older kids get, the harder they are to buy for? Not only does it get harder to buy for them, but it gets so much more expensive. It's insane. I don't know how my grandparents did it to be honest.

But I think I have it narrowed down to some good stuff so far. I'm not even close to done Christmas shopping so I think some of this might change, but for the most part, this is what she's getting both under the tree and in her stocking. So here we go!

November 27, 2017

{Lets Take it from the Top! | Joining Weight Watchers Again}

If you follow me on any kind of social media then you already know this but, I joined weight watchers...yes again. I know what you're thinking, we've heard this before Kristin. What's different this time? Honestly, I couldn't tell you.

But I'll attempt it.

November 6, 2017

{Working It Out}

I have officially been employed for two weeks and I'm going to come right out and say it.

I enjoy having somewhere to be in the morning besides the school drop of line.

I enjoy being able to plan out what to get people for Christmas and not have to ask D for money.

As soon as I get my first actual pay check, I'm sure I'll enjoy the money too. In fact, I've already got places for it.

October 31, 2017

October 30, 2017

{Ramblings of a Tired Mom}

I know it's been a little bit since I blogged last, I haven't really had a moment to sit down and do that until now. Well, I mean, I have but it wasn't a priority. So I thought since I've got the laundry going and Harry Potter playing in the background, I'd jump on and see if I can't fill you all in on the fun that's been happening in my neck of the woods lately.

October 16, 2017

{Baldwin Moisturizing Lotion | Review}

A week or so ago I was contacted by Baldwin For Men and asked to do a review and giveaway! I've never been contacted to do something like that before, so after making sure it was a real company, I said sure. I'd be happy to review their product and host a giveaway!

So they sent me a bottle of their Moisturizing Lotion

October 11, 2017

{I'm a Quiter | Working Retail Sucks!}



I'm not going to lie folks, I was never too excited about going back to working retail. I hated it when I was a teenager, I hated it when I worked at Wal-Mart and K-Mart. I hated working at the gas station I worked at in 20's. I hate it. People are rude, and look at you like you're stupid if you don't know what the hell the register is doing.

October 10, 2017

{Super Mom Tag! | #tagtuesday }

I thought this one looked like a good "get to know me" type of tag. Just in case you're new ;). Feel free to fill it out and come back to let me know you filled it out too so I can read yours!

1. How many kids do you have?
I've got two that I birthed, and two that came with my husband.

2. What are their ages and names?
Dawn -15, Gaige- 14, Owen- 10, and Tristen- 19

October 3, 2017

October 2, 2017

September 25, 2017

{Going Back To Work?}

Since I was a little girl, I have wanted to be a mom. On career day at school, that's what I dressed up as. When anyone asked me what I wanted to be, a mommy was always my answer. I wanted to be home with the babies, doing laundry and making dinners. I wanted to bake cookies and read stories. I wanted to clean and keep a tidy home. I essentially, wanted to be my grandmother.


September 20, 2017

September 18, 2017

{My First Attempt at Doughnuts!}

When I was little I remember my grandma frying up doughnuts for us once in a while. We all thought it was crazy that she could make her own doughnuts and they always tasted good! So the other night when I got a craving for baking and doughnuts, I went in search of a recipe.

Of course I checked Pinterest first (isn't that everyone's first stop nowadays?) and of course I found one I thought I could work with. But upon inspecting my kitchen for the yeast I bought to make Owen some Subway bread (that I never got around to doing), I found that someone had either thrown it out or decided it did not belong in my baking cabinet or on my pantry shelf where I had put it. So I had to forgo that recipe and went in search of one that didn't use yeast.

September 15, 2017

{Well That Would Have Been Easier! | 5 Things I Wish I Had With My Babies}

I have been a mama for almost fifteen years y'all. Fifteen. I have been through more 3am feedings, blow out diapers, ear infections, sleepless nights, and a few miserable hospital stays in those fifteen years. I have filled bottles with my eyes almost closed and spilled formula all over the kitchen table because I was so damn tired I couldn't focus my eyes. I don't know how I made it through those early years with Gaige. Well, yes I do, I had my grandparents to help. And along the way I learned how to make life a hell of a lot easier.

September 6, 2017

August 14, 2017

{We Saw Naked Mole Rats!}

I have been wanting to get to St. Louis to the zoo all summer. Originally my little sister and I were going to take my nephew and Owen, but then she got a new job (woohoo!) and was having trouble carving out the time. So last weekend D said that he would go with me and we would take our three heathens.

August 2, 2017

{Nothing to Blog About? No Problem! | YouTube Tag Questions!}

  1. Are you named after anyone? Yeah. Actually I'm named after my dad, my middle name of course. It's Michelle, the female version of Michael which is my dads name.
  2. When was the last time you cried? Today. Watching The Shack.
  3. Do you have kids? Yep.
  4. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself? I like to think so.
  5. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Uh. Yeah.
  6. What’s the first thing you notice about people? Their hair. I don't know why lol.

July 31, 2017

{Is She Insane?}

Ugh. I really wish that I could make Dawn understand that she is not the exception to everything. That she's not invisible and that even though she doesn't know anyone who has had something bad happen to them, doesn't mean she has nothing to worry about.

I always thought I had done a good job of getting the message to my kids that people online could not be who they say they are. That they should never give out personal information, especially not our address or their full names. I thought that I had expressed to them that the danger is real the days and it's more likely that the person they're talking to is catfishing them than not.

Apparently I was wrong.

July 28, 2017

{Cleaning Up My Act | Eating Cleaner}


With my recent back issues, it has become more and more apparent that I need to lose weight. Not just because I look like a huge tub of lard, but because it's really taking a toll on my body. When I had started losing weight before, my back issues pretty much disappeared. Not only that but I'm noticing that my skin is breaking out quite a bit these days and my face is all greasy. Now, I know that it's summer and I always get a little greasy in the summer, this is just insane. So when I sat down to make my grocery list last night for Friday, I hopped on Pinterest (as usual) and went on a search for how to meal prep and some healthier, cleaner, less processed foods that I can eat. I think I found some good ones and I thought I'd share them with you!

July 21, 2017

July 17, 2017

July 10, 2017

{ #weightwatchers Update | Not Skinny Yet}


I think we all know where this post is going. I'm going to make some apologies for not giving an update, then I'm going to say that I haven't been losing weight anyway so why update about me still being fat. Then I'm going to give you some story about how I have a plan to lose the weight. But it always turns out the same. A week later, despite good intentions, I'm sitting on my ass in front of the TV with a little bag of chips in one hand and giant soda in the other. Lord help me I just can not push myself enough to get my ass back in gear!

But once again, I'm going to try.

July 5, 2017

{4th of July 2017}


So I'm sitting here half ass watching Nerve (thank you Amazon Prime!) and I figured I should go ahead and post about all the shenanigans that went down yesterday. Then I realized that there were no actual shenanigans yesterday. So I'll just tell you about my insanely boring 4th of July.

July 3, 2017

June 28, 2017

{Done With Babies!}


I have been a mom my entire adult life. I had Gaige when I was just 19, met D who had Dawn (and Tristen) when I was 21,  and Owen when I was 25. I hadn't even gotten my feet on the ground before the carpet was ripped out from under me. I love being a mom. I love my kids. But even though I love them. I have no desire to ever be pregnant again.

June 26, 2017

{Parent Is a Verb!}

I have been a parent for fifteen years. On top of the years I spent "parenting" my three younger siblings and babysitting from the age of twelve. And in my years I have noticed something so sad that I just had to write about it.

Parents today don't parent their kids.

It's a sad fact.

They're so caught up in their jobs, tv shows, social media, their own lives that they don't take the time to actually parent their kids.

June 23, 2017

{Backstreet Boys in Vegas!}


I don't think I can even express how excited I was to finally be in the same area as my boys. I really could have cried. What's funny about me though is that, I hate large crowds of people. I hate being touched by strangers. I hate dealing with strangers. I don't like tight spaces either. So it surprises me how much I really love going to concerts. For those that have never been to a concert, those are all things you deal with the entire time you're at the show. It's amazing what I will put myself through to be near those guys.

June 21, 2017

{Vegas Day 2 | Just Chillin' With My BFF Britney}

Waking up the next morning in the hotel was exciting to say the least. Mainly because I knew that my boys were there, and that in just a few hours I'd be standing in front of them. Soaking up the same oxygen. Watching them do what I love to watch them do! But since we had a full day free, we got moving and made our way to the strip after ordering an awesome breakfast from room service.



June 20, 2017

{We Made It To Vegas! | Was She Wearing Underwear?}

It only took us a couple hours to get to Vegas from the Grand Canyon. Thank the lord cause I was beyond over being in that car by that point.

Driving up on the strip was an experience. It's funny how when you see something on TV, it ends up looking nothing like you imagined it. Of course I'd been there once before, when I was fifteen. I'm guessing that everything looks a little more exciting from the eyes of a teenager right?

June 13, 2017

{Greetings from The Grand Canyon! | Road Trip Day 1}

Hey folks! I was going to wait to until we got back to blog about our trip, but I'm sitting here in our hotel room and there's nothing else to do. So I figured why not get a post out?

So far our trip has pretty decent.

We left our house on Sunday afternoon, driving through Iowa and into Nebraska over night. We knew there wouldn't be anything special about those two states and nothing to really look at. Besides, we both prefer to travel long stretches at night when there are mainly just semi's on the road. Less issues and all that jazz.

We drove pretty much all night, stopping a couple times to nap at rest areas. It was worth it. We got to Colorado when the sun was coming up and got to drive through the whole state in the light and see the amazing mountains.

June 7, 2017

{Packing For A Week at Grandmas!}

Oh lordy. We aren't even taking the kids with us and I'm still stressing a little about what to pack for them for their week stay with grandparents. I'm mainly worried about Owen. He hasn't been away from home this long before. So I'm nervous that he will get bored after a couple days (his usual length of time away) and be whining to come home. Being somewhere that has nothing for you to do, is zero fun.

June 5, 2017

{Road Trippin | Harley Adventures | Harley Museum}

I'm not going to claim to know about or be overly interested in Harley's. Just because we currently have one does not mean I now am an expert in them. In fact, I know absolutely zero about them other than most of the members of my family have one, and they're expensive. So walking into the museum with limited knowledge, was kind of cool. I like museums of pretty much any variety though because I'm curious about history (not all of it, but a lot lol). Especially when it comes to history that directly effects me.


May 31, 2017

{Road Trippin | Harley Adventures | Day 1}

I was going to vlog this trip but decided it would be weird to bust out my phone on the bike lol. Especially since I wasn't really familiar with the other couples we were riding with. But I definitely took enough pictures to share the experience with all you lovely readers (there have to be at least a couple of you right?)

Our weekend started off with meeting two other couples at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. After breakfast we hopped on the bikes and we were off on our adventure. What I had originally thought would be a three hour trip, had been made into a five hour trip with D leading our little pack.

May 15, 2017

{I Turned 34!}

I seriously can not believe how spoiled I was this weekend. I am so grateful to have such an awesome husband who wanted to make my birthday special.

Friday was pretty normal. I waited for the kids to get home from school and get their chores done before dropping them at my grandma's house for the weekend. I told her all I wanted for my birthday was to be kid free! I honestly don't think I've had a completely empty house in months. Since the two teenagers are old enough to stay home with Owen now we don't have a need for a sitter too often. But sometimes a mom just needs to feel like herself again, ya know?

May 3, 2017

{5 Weeks Later & She's Still Grounded}

I would like to say I'm surprised we haven't gotten anywhere with this punishment, but I'm not. I knew it wasn't going to be as easy as grounding her. I knew that by taking away everything we would be in for a fight. I knew that when I told her she had to earn her things back week by week she would determine this to be BS and things would get worse before they got better. I was not wrong. We are still in the thick of it.

May 1, 2017

{Prissy Had A Seizure}

The first time Prissy (our pug/chihuahua) had a seizure, it scared the crap out of me. I had no idea what was going on. Of course it happened on a Sunday so the local animal hospital wasn't open (nice right?). I was so afraid that something was wrong with her. I thought for sure that we would find out something was happening and she would end up having to be put down. One of my main fears as a pet parent is that I'm going to have to make the decision to let go of one of my animals. To hold them while someone they don't know or trust takes their life. I know it's coming some day, but she's not old enough for me to be worrying about that with her.

April 26, 2017

{I'm Aware He's Not a Baby}

Trust me people, I am well aware of the fact that Owen is no longer a baby. I'm made more aware of this fact every single day. When he makes his own bowl of cereal, when he gets himself up and packs his own lunch, when he's outside playing with the neighborhood kids.
I see it every single time he tells me he doesn't need me to do something for him, or to help him do something.

April 21, 2017

{So I Guess We're a Harley Family Now}

You guys. *Sigh* For the fifteen years I have known and been in a relationship with my husband, he has never been a Harley Davidson fan. Not once did I ever hear him say oh I'd really like to have a Harley. In fact, it has always been the opposite. He has always said that he doesn't like them and he had no desire to own one. When we first got together, I thought he was kind of nuts. Pretty much every male in my family has owned a Harley at some point in their life. All one of my uncle rides is Harley's. So to have someone telling me that they're junk, was kind of confusing lol. But he converted me. We had a concours and that was what I liked. I got used to it. We went through two of them.

Goldie and the KLR

April 19, 2017

{My Husband Took Me Hiking & I Almost Died!}

You. Guys. Ugh.

When it starts getting nice out, my husband suddenly starts getting these ideas in his head. He wakes up one morning and says today is the day we go on an adventure, and then he drags me along with him...because he hates me (OK...not really but whatever). Friday, my dear friends, was one of those days. One of those days when he looked at me thirty minutes after getting out of bed (me getting out of bed, he woke up at four in the morning because #nightshifter), and says Do you want to take the kids to Starved Rock today? Which of course I say yes to because saying no would mean that I'm the party pooper.

April 17, 2017

{Happy Easter!}

I hope everyone had an amazing Easter! Mine was pretty mellow.

I filled the Easter baskets the night before (obviously) and hid a few eggs through the house for Owen to hunt. I know I already made posts about what each kid got, so I won't go down the list again. But everyone was pretty happy with what they got so it doesn't really matter. I know we added a few things after I made that post to Owen's basket. Of course I forgot to put those things in his basket so I had to play it off like the bunny dropped them in my room.

April 14, 2017

{Today Was a Good Day}

As some might know, a month or so ago, our furnace took a big ol' crap. It hasn't been insanely cold so we've just been heating the main rooms with space heaters. Not good for the long run but it was working in a pinch. We had been planning on getting a new furnace for a while and upgrading ours to include central air. But it seemed like every time we saved up the money or had extra money, something would come up and that would put it on the back burner. Plus, we had all the window units so to be honest, I wasn't too eager to get central air. I mean, it's nice and all, I grew up with it. But it certainly wasn't a priority for me (clearly or we would have had it by now).

But since the furnace finally just pooped out on us, the house sort of decided for us that it was time to take the leap. So that's what we did today. D's grandma has used the same man/company to do her HVAC for years and so we called him up. He gave us an estimate (and the family discount ;) ) and said he could do it the next day (today). His guys were here by 10am and had it all done around 5pm. We got a digital thermostat (which is pretty common at this point right? Lol) and we instantly felt the temperature in the house change when they tested out the air. I think it's going to do the job just fine this summer. There's also a built in dehumidifier so it's going to cut down on allergies quite a bit (mainly for D because he gets them something awful!). So that was exciting today!

While the guys were here doing all that, I took Owen and Dawn to see Boss Baby.


It was a super cute movie. Owen really liked it, which says something because the kid refuses to like anything that doesn't have a ridiculous amount of fighting in it (boys...am I right?). If you're on the fence about seeing it, go. You won't regret it :).

In the evening we went for ice cream at our favorite local place. Well actually, I was taking  a bath and D took Dawn and Owen to get ice cream. When I got out of the tub, I went to get some too and Owen got more lol.

So in all I think today was a pretty good day. Not stressful at all even though there were people in and out of my house all day.

How was your Thursday? I hope you're having  a great week!

-Kristin

April 12, 2017

{What's in My 9 Year Old Son's Easter Basket?}

Oh lordy you guys. If you have a nine year old boy, you know my struggle right now. He is at that age where he doesn't really want toys but he also isn't old enough to just give him cash or a gift card. He still plays with his action figures and TMNT toys but he has so many of them that I don't really want to buy more to just clog up his room with. He is a little gamer in training (thanks for that by the way husband) too so he enjoys things for his PS4 more than anything else.

April 10, 2017

{What's In My Teenage Son's Easter Basket?}

I don't know about any of you, but it's becoming increasingly difficult for me to find things to put in this kids Easter basket. He's not a big candy eater and obviously doesn't play with toys anymore. His main source of entertainment these days is his phone, his friends, and guns. Yeah. So that doesn't leave a whole lot of options for things to fill an Easter basket with.

April 7, 2017

{What's In My Teen Daughters Easter Basket?}


How is it already time for Easter posts? I feel like I was just making posts about stocking stuffers and what we what Santa was bringing. Now we're on to the Easter bunny.

Surprisingly it's a week away and I'm only 1/3 of the way done. I've got Dawn finished. She was easy thanks to Targets dollar spot. I was pretty happy to get her over with too because usually I go way over board. I've always had issues with over buying for her (which isn't surprising, there are so many more cute things for girls than boys it seems). Gaige is going to be pretty easy this year too, all he wants is money. Owen is going to be an issue. He refuses to tell me anything that he might want, so I'm on my own for ideas.

April 5, 2017

{She Is So Entitled!}

A couple days ago I blogged about how Dawn had been caught stealing from me, and how I had found this post talking about how a mom had cured her own daughter of an entitled attitude. When I read this, I figured it was worth a shot. It certainly couldn't hurt right?

Of course I have to deal with school, so she will have access to the people she swears are her friends (though she doesn't talk to anyone out of school so I don't know how good of friends they actually are..). But at home she has access to nothing.

Yesterday (Friday) I did all of her laundry (the laundry she is supposed to do but doesn't) and went through it to choose three pairs of jeans, three shirts, and undergarments. She normally keeps her hygiene products in her room so I brought down her deodorant, hair brush, and one hair tie. That's all she will be allowed to have (other than tooth brush/paste, shampoo/conditioner). Dressing will take place in the bathroom.

Sleeping will be in the living room. Normally when I go this route, she has her nice comfy bed to sleep in, but her room is empty. This time, she has nothing.

She will be allowed to do her homework on the old laptop instead of the new chrome book we purchased for them. Of course, even this will be done sitting next to an adult. Especially after today.

I got a headache and went to take a nap this afternoon, leaving her to do her homework on the laptop. I figured that it wouldn't be an issue. I'd explained to her that how long she was grounded and without her things depended solely on her ability to follow the rules. She understood. She wasn't happy, but she understood. When I got up a couple hours later and went to check her internet history to make sure she was doing what she was supposed to (she is a supervised user and can't delete her history) I found that she had been playing a game, and not only playing a game, but had tried to find a way to get around my having blocked the game she was playing (moviestarplanet...don't let your kids play that shit). Upon doing so had downloaded a virus. A nasty one. So nasty that I had to completely wipe the laptop and start from scratch on it. I was no pleased. So now her homework has to be done with adult sitting next to her so she can be monitored.

This is just day one of the whole process. Each week she can go without getting in trouble at home or school she will earn back one item. Be it the use of her bed, her makeup, the ability to get on the computer without an adult, ect.

She thinks I'm horrible for doing this. I think I'd be even more horrible if I sent her into the world thinking everyone owes her something.

So here we go people. I'm sure I'll be back to let you know how it goes. I'm sure it won't be easy. I know there are going to be tantrums. I know there is going to be fighting because she wants her freedom back. But she needs to learn. And if having to sleep on the couch for the next month or so helps her to learn, then it's worth it.


-Kristin

April 3, 2017

{I Caught My Daughter Stealing}

Dawn has gotten to the point of entitlement where she is now taking things that don't belong to her, just because she wants them. For years she has done things just because she wanted to with no regard for rules. But this is something new. Or at least something I've never noticed her doing before. Not to this scale anyway. Sure she would swipe a DS from the boys when she was grounded from hers, but I've never known her to actually steal from an adult before. Until now.

March 24, 2017

{Welcome Home Husband!}

I don't think I ever realize how much I depend on mine and D's daily routine until he's not around to share it with me. It's a little insane that I'm so lost without him for even just a week. This isn't the first time we have been apart a week. A year or so ago he went on a motorcycle trip to Canada with his dad for a week and he has gone on other trips without me. I'm fine with it. I don't mind that he gets out on his own every now and then. Not with how hard he works day to day. But that doesn't stop be from missing him something awful when he's away. Especially this time around. I honestly don't know how people go weeks on end without seeing their significant other.

March 20, 2017

March 17, 2017

{Standing In My Own Way | Weight Watchers Update}

I don't even want to admit how much I weigh right now because it's nowhere near where I thought I would be at this point. I don't know what's wrong with me...but I just am not sticking to this diet. I'm not sticking to anything. I've tried giving up soda (which I've done a few times before we success) and I fall back into old habits pretty fast. Luckily I'm not taking my huge 64oz jug to the gas station every day and filling it up, but of course I'm not cutting back as much as I should either.

March 15, 2017

{Random Questions}

I've kind of hit a blogging slump. There's nothing really happening around here right now. And I don't want to keep leaving my blog empty and unloved, but I don't know what the hell to write about. So I found these questions and thought I'd just put one of these little surveys I like to do. Feel free to answer them in the comments, or you can do it on facebook and tag my page! :)

March 13, 2017

March 8, 2017

{Yummy Carrot Cake Recipe}

D requested carrot cake this afternoon when I told him I was going to bake cookies. So I hopped to and made him some yummy goodness (which he dug into before I could even get the cooled down to frost them). I found this carrot cake recipe the last time I made him carrot cake and he seemed to really enjoy it, so I thought I'd share it with you! I also posted it on my facebook today!


March 1, 2017

{So That's What I'm Dealing With}

I wasn't sure if I wanted to blog about this because I don't discuss Gaige's sperm donor too much. I've voiced my annoyances about how he just left us and how he refuses to pay child support on a consistent basis. But that's all I think. Probably because that's all there is to say. If you've been following since around 2010, you might remember how he took me to court for visitation but never showed. That's the last time we had any contact at all. He was paying child support for all of 2015 (I think) and until June of 2016 but that stopped too. Probably because I got his income taxes (which happens when you're behind in child support payments). I know that's not a lot of information, but it's a run down of what's been going on the last few years.

{Changing U Magic Foot Peeling Shoes Review}

I don't know about any of you, but I hate rough feet. They gross me out so bad. So when I heard of about the Baby Feet foot peels I wanted to try them out. Then I found out they're like $20 for one package. Sorry Charlie, I can think of about twenty different things I'd rather spend $20 on. So when I saw these while standing in line at Ulta one day (a few months ago..) I thought Hey lets give these a shot. It was only $6, so if it sucks, I'm only out $6, not $20.

February 27, 2017

{Here We Go Again}

If you've been following me for a while, you know that for a long while now, Gaige has been struggling in school. He has this defiant attitude when it comes to his teachers and I'm not sure where it's coming from. But all the meetings and trying to find ways to motivate him to do anything finally came to a head on Thursday.

February 20, 2017

{I Feel So Accomplished!}

Don't you love it when you feel like you actually got something done over the weekend? It has been cold and gross here for so long I've just felt like a bump on a log. I didn't want to do anything, especially clean, because it felt like someone was constantly tracking something in.


But this weekend the high was in the 60's all weekend! So I finally managed to get some things done I've been putting off.

February 15, 2017

{So Thankful I'm Not Single}

This thought is coming on the heels of a dream I had the other night. In this dream, which could also be classified as a nightmare, I was dating a guy who was not my husband. I have zero idea who he actually was but that's not important. I'm not sure if we were meeting his family for the first time or what, but what I do know is that I had a kid with me. I want to say it was Owen, but I'm not positive. What was completely weird was that we were on this island, in the middle of nowhere. I guess that is kind of the definition of an island though right? lol Anyway all of the sudden this guy says he has no interest in dating me, that's right, while we're with his family. Oh but it gets weirder. I'm packing up our stuff to go and the driver he has to take us away, left and got rid of all of our stuff. This is the part of the dream where I break down and start freaking out. I just keep screaming I knew she would do this to me! It was completely...weird. I have no idea where it came from.

February 10, 2017

{ #weightwatchers Update!}

To be completely and totally honest, I haven't been tracking like I should be. And I know that's why I'm not losing quite as fast as I should be.

But I'm happy to report that the last weigh in (Monday), I had actually lost a pound. Which puts me at 213. I haven't been this low in a while so I'm pretty proud of myself.

I have really just been walking on the treadmill and making sure to watch what I eat. I try to stay away from a lot of carbs, but still allow me to have them.

I refuse to deprive myself of everything I love to eat because I want to lose weight. Besides, it's not realistic for me to cut out a whole bunch of foods. I'm just not allowing myself to over indulge in them.

So that's basically the update. Nothing exciting. I just thought I'd go ahead and update anyone who might be wondering how I'm doing.


-Kristin

February 6, 2017

February 3, 2017

{10 DIY Valentines!}

I don't know about you, but there is something so special about making your own valentines. I used to love bringing out the construction paper and making them for my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. These days everything is ready made..so boring! So I thought I'd find some cute valentine DIY's to put you in the creative spirit! If you make any of these be sure to tag me on twitter, instagram, or facebook so I can see!

February 1, 2017

{Working Out In Front of People}

I don't know about anyone else, but I hate working out in front of people. Hate.

Not only do the kids stand around and want to watch me and make stupid comments. But D does too. No one can just let me workout without making some joke. When we had the Kinect I used to do the Biggest Loser workouts (which I loved), but having D stand around and watch on his days off, put me off of it completely.

I mean, I'm already self conscious about my body. I have all kinds of things flopping around that used to not flop, and I don't need someone standing around watching it happen, ya know? If I wanted an audience I would go take a class somewhere.

The only exercise I can get through with someone else in the room is the treadmill. And that's just because I can turn on a movie on my laptop or put in my head phones and listen to music. I can tune them out. But working out to a video is impossible when someone else is around.

Ugh! Please tell me I'm not the only one that feels this way.

I just needed to vent a little bit.


-Kristin

January 30, 2017

January 27, 2017

{Spent All Day in the Hospital}

About five years ago I was woken up in the middle of the night to D crawling across the bedroom door saying babe between gasps for air. I was so scared, I had no idea what to do. I thought maybe I could get him to the hospital on my own but then I realized I'd never even get him to my car. I called his dad who lives just about ten minutes from us in the same town, when he didn't pick up, I called his best friend. Someone I knew would pick up. I barely got D can't breathe and he needs to go to the hospital out of my mouth before he was out the door and pulling up in front of our house. A few hours later, they came home with a scrip for an inhaler (D does have asthma) and the information that it was his gallbladder acting up. This was the beginning.

January 25, 2017

{"I'm Not a Baby Anymore!"}

The words no mother is prepared to hear come out of her youngest child's mouth. Not just your youngest but your last. Owen is my last baby. This is the last time I'll have someone in elementary school. Not only that but this is his last year in the little little kid school. Next year he is switching to the fourth through sixth grade school. I can not stress how not ready I am for this.

January 23, 2017

January 20, 2017

{He's Grieving Too}

Sometimes I think I forget that as much as I am grieving the loss of my grandpa, Gaige is grieving too. I think for the longest time I've been so deep in my own grief and so focused on making it through as best I can, that I've forgotten that there is a kid here in this house that was just as close to my grandpa as me and my three siblings were.

Gaige grew up with my grandpa. I often told people that he was never even meant to be mine. That sure I was chosen to be his mom, but my grandpa was who he was really supposed to be with. And for almost thirteen years, these two were inseparable. Where my grandpa went, Gaige went.

January 18, 2017

{He Bought WHAT?!}

Oh lordy you guys. I don't think my mom brain can handle what I just had to deal with today. I just can't even process how I'm supposed to handle this. Well, I guess I won't handle, I'll let his dad handle it. Cause lord knows no one wants to talk about this with their mother. Especially not when you're a fourteen year old boy.

January 16, 2017

{Homeschooling Again?}

I never thought I would doing this again, or even talking about it. When I signed Gaige back up for public school, I figured he would graduate with the kids he was with in that school and everything would be golden. I was wrong. So wrong.

This year has been nothing but troubles for my oldest son. He hates school. He doesn't like going. He doesn't like the teachers or the kids. He is defiant beyond words at school and it's spilling over into home too. Which of course he gets in trouble for because I don't put up with that shit. I have had meetings with his teachers and they all say the same things, that he just refuses to do most of the work.

January 13, 2017

{50 Questions You've Never Been Asked}

I haven't done one of these in a while. So I thought I would! Since I'm having kind of a writers block tonight. I got this one from Mama Kat. Feel free to post them on your blog and send me the link!

1. What’s your favorite candle scent? I don't do candles because my cats would never leave them alone. But I have the B&BW wall flowers. I love the pumpkin cupcake scent in those!

2. What female celebrity do you wish was your sister? Hmm...Jennifer Lawrence or Amy Schumer.

January 11, 2017

{Week 1 With the Fitbit Alta}

Let me start this off much like the last fitbit post I made, this my opinion. I am basing this off of my experience with the tracking device I purchased. That is all. Since I know there are probably plenty of other moms (or people in general) out there searching for the best fitness tracker for them, I figured it would be good to just throw my opinion into the mix. So here you go!

January 9, 2017

{I'm Going to Complain}

I am seven kinds of annoyed right now and I feel like I need to get it off my chest or I'm going to freak out on someone.

I'm starting the New Year with a rant. I know. Annoying. But I can't help it. I feel like I need to get this off my chest or I'm going to go crazy.

When I first bought the tickets for the Backstreet Boys Vegas show (yay!) I knew who I wanted to go with me. She and I had been to countless concerts, she had taken me to my very first Backstreet Boys concert even. I knew she would have a good time. She had also already been

January 6, 2017

January 4, 2017

{Disney Bound | Animal Kingdom | Disney Springs}

On our last day at Disney World we headed to Animal Kingdom. Now this was sort of our off day. We knew it was a relatively small park and that there weren't a lot of big rides (or even small ones). It feels more like a huge zoo when you get down to it. We had even originally planned on just skipping it, but because we had done Magic Kingdom and gotten everything in that we wanted to, we decided to go ahead and see it. Why not right? Any Disney park is a good Disney park :).