New look and update!

Ok I don’t have much time yet to post much, but just wanted to let you know that I will be announcing the winner of my giveaway – the $20 in Mary Kay products within the next day or so…there are only 2 entries so it’s great odds for you both!!!

I also have my new “look” which I absolutely love and just speaks me in so many ways!!! I hope you like it and I would love your feedback…actually I love comments anytime!

So I am still working on getting caught back up on housework and such after being gone so I promise to get on here in the next day or so and let you know what all is going on.

We also have a 4th baby right now so that’s keeping me pretty busy also. She is such a sweetie. So our kid count right now is Carter (4), Little Boy (1), Baby Girl #1 (6 mo.) and Baby Girl #2 (10 mo.).

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My Poor Poor Husband

I am leaving him with all the kids for two days. Not only that, but we are getting a 3rd foster baby – 10 month old little girl- that will be coming the day I leave!!! Ok, so I really don’t feel that bad for him since I have someone coming to help him 90% of the time and most of the time I will be gone he will be at work. So why would I add such stress and discomfort to his life and dare infringe on his fantasy football obsession time????

Well, my little sister is moving to Minneapolis and her boyfriend cannot go with her to go apartment hunting. In my opinion….sorry Katie…she is way to young to go looking for places by herself…not that I don’t think she can find a place and all…I just don’t like the idea of her going alone from a safety point of view. So being the devoted, loving, most beautiful sister that I am…Katie if you’re reading this just go along *wink wink*…I am going to give up 2 days with my kids to go with her.

Ok so really I’m going…Katie don’t read this part… because we are going to go to Mall of America and I have never been there before and frankly who’s going to turn down a shopping trip to the largest mall in america???? Not I!!!! I’m really excited to just get away for a couple days too. Away from the craziness and just get some time to relax and have fun with my little sister especially before she moves.

Ugh, now I have to do some laundry though!!!

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I seriously need a vacation…

or just a Calgon bath that will take me away. I told my husband that we were going to be cleaning the house while one of our kids was on a visit this evening, but I’m now sick as a dog between having a sore throat, fever, etc. along with my back that has been acting up… I know, I know…you’re think I need to stop whining, but hey, it’s my blog and my husband is not here so I have to whine to someone. I don’t think my messy house is helping things at all because I tend to get very anxious when it gets messy, but what’s a girl to do.

Thanks to the two of you who have participated in my contest so far. I see a lot of people stopping by, but not a lot of people participating yet. I’m hoping you all are just trying to come up with something clever. Seriously though help a sick sister blogger out and give me some linky/comment luv!!! I just know that it was have magical curing effects!!

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First Passionate Chaos Giveaway!!!

WIN GREAT PARENTING BOOK OR $20 IN MARY KAY PRODUCTS!!!!

READ ON FOR MORE DETAILS…

Well, I’m already not really digging my new design so I’m going to call in the professionals and have some design a custom header/banner for me. How does that relate to a giveaway, you ask??? Well, I’ll tell you (or maybe I won’t and you will just have to guess…I’ll give you a hint…it involves a pickle, a yellow sock, and a casserole of your choosing…ok just kidding). Anyways, in trying to come up with some sort of idea for what I want as a new design, I decided that I really want one of those catchy slogans that people can laugh at when they come to visit. Because I am quite possibly the least creative person in the universe, I feel the need to attract suggestions. So for the love of all that is holy…please comment for crying out loud and if you do I will make it worth your while.

Here’s how it will work…

All entries should be submitted by commenting on this entry. Be sure to include your email address so I can get ahold of you if you are one of the winners.

The first prize will go to the person who’s “slogan” I choose. *Remember that it should be short, sweet, and reflect my style/blog. First Prize is this book which is chock full of great advice and tips:

The purpose of the second contest is to make sure as many people as possible know about the contest because I want to have a lot of “slogans” to choose from. So here are the rules for this one…

First, post a link on your blog to let your readers know about my contest. Next, leave a comment here with a link to your blog post so I can check it out. Sound simple enough?? I thought so. As I said, I just want people to know about this so I can get a ton of entries. The prize for this one is a $20 gift certificate to my Mary Kay store to be used on whatever you choose (shipping is always free so you get $20 of free merchandise!)!!! The winner of this prize will be chosen by random drawing!

Thanks for all your help!!!

Oh, and I suppose you might want to know when this will end…well let’s say we will end it next Friday evening (July 25th) around 10pm. I say around, because I don’t want to be too much of a stickler. That will give you all a little time to come up with something really creative!

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Yes!! I am a shlumpadinka!!!!!

Do you run errands in your pajamas? Are your husband’s sweats a staple in your wardrobe? If the answer is yes, you may be a shlumpadinka. -Oprah.Com

So unfortunately my answer is a resounding yes! I suppose it’s a good thing that I’m willing to admit it, even if I am doing so while sitting in a pair of my husband’s shorts and sweatshirt with no makeup and my hair going crazy from going to bed with wet hair last night.

Definition : Shlumpadinka – a woman who dresses like she has completely given up…and it shows.

I don’t always watch Oprah especially the ones about fashion, because well, (obviously since I’m in the above described outfit – if you can call it an outfit) I’m not one who’s really tuned into the fashion world. Yesterday’s episode intrigued me and as I sat down to watch, I found it slightly amusing (yet shocking and appalling at the same time) that one of the “shlumpdinkas” was wearing the same pajamas out that I myself have ventured out in public wearing-same EXACT thing!!!

So I’m going to make a pledge to start taking some extra time in the a.m. to actually make myself presentable because I not only look like a shlumpadinka, but I feel like one too! While watching the show, I carefully took notes on those “key” clothing pieces that should be in my closet and I’m going to make a pledge to only buy/wear clothing that makes me feel fabulous. I think I’m even going to work on getting some pretty jammies so God forbid, I do need to go out in them…maybe I won’t look so snarky.

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Virtual Bubblewrap!!

OK, I came across this site and just had to share. I don’t know about you, but I think most of you will be in the same boat as I when I say that popping bubble wrap was a childhood therapeutic pleasure. So wouldn’t you know (isn’t the internet great) that I would come across a site that allows hours and hours of virtual bubblewrap popping!?!?! So here it is…

Click Here To Pop

I realize that it’s not quite the same, but heck close your eyes and use your imagination and you’ll be transported back to your childhood bubble popping days!!

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My Little Artist

Titled : “A Coconut Tree”

The Artist

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Housecleaning Blues

I’ve been a little down in the dumps for the last week or two and I KNOW that it’s because my house is a wreck. If it gets the slightest bit messy, I get overwhelmed and then don’t feel like doing anything. I used to be able to have my sister come over (she gave me 1 housecleaning a month for christmas) and she would just help me get a jumpstart on things, but now that she’s moved away, that’s not an option. So today, I’m trying to get a handle on things. I can’t let things get too crazy anymore because we constantly have people in and out of our house for our foster kids so I HAVE to get moving. I did find a really cool website that I have had a chance to browse, but I am going to be studying it this week!!! I don’t have time to post a link right this minute, but I will this afternoon. I have a few other things that I want to do here this afternoon too. I’m thinking of starting a blog carnival, but I need to make sure my idea isn’t already being used in the mom blogosphere. Anyways, now that I’ve managed to get completely off track…I have managed to get a little done so far today. So far, I have the living room and playroom picked up and dusted. I just need to vacuum so I’ll do that first and then I’m going to do the laundry room and powder room and I will stop by again when I’ve gotten that done. See you in a bit…hopefully!

Update!!!! OK so it’s been about an hour and so far here’s what I’ve done today…

Living Room-Picked Up Toys, Cleared Tables, Dusted, Vacuumed

Playroom-Picked Up Toys, Cleared Desk, Dusted, Vacuumed

Laundry Room-Wiped Off Washer & Dryer, Vacuumed, Mopped, Cleaned Cat Box

Powder Room-Cleaned Toilet and Sink, Vacuumed, Mopped

Kitchen/Dining Room-Put Groceries Away, Put Away Clothes, Began Clearing Counters

Update #2!!!!!!! OK so, I was taking some time off of cleaning to rest my back (it’s really been hurting me) and to play with the kids a bit. Mike ended up getting done early sooooo I took advantage and took an hour nap while he watched the kids and I asked him to finish up the kitchen too (which he did, like the good boy he is). So the kitchen is done now although the floors need to be mopped, but that’s no big deal. So all that is left to do downstairs is to wipe off the dining room table, get the rest of the clothes out of the dining room (it’s where I fold clothes-no, we don’t get dressed in there…ok, well maybe we do sometimes, but that’s besides the point…anyways) then the floor needs mopped in the kitchen/dining room. So I may or may not get that done tonight and then tomorrow I’ll tackle the upstairs, which will not take more than an hour in the morning.

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Went to a new church last night.

So a couple months ago we were in Rockford, IL (about 20-25 min away…it’s the nearest large city by us where we go sometimes to shop, go to the children’s museum etc.). Anyways, we drove past a church and their “slogan” intrigued me and it’s been in the back of my mind since we saw it – “A Different Way To Do Church”. Well it happened to come to the front of my mind this last week and I thought we would go and see what it was like.

We already have a church that we are members of and my faily was actually one of the families that started the church (I think like 15 years ago or something like that.). My parents and my grandpa still go there too. My aunt and uncle left a couple years ago. Well, I really enjoy our church and I love the pastor. He’s very easy to listen too and he’s very down to earth. My issue with our church is that there is really not anything geared towards us and our family. First of all, there aren’t a whole lot of extra ways to get involved anyways. There is a women’s bible study, but most of the women are quite a bit older than me and some of them are a lot older than me, which is ok, but it would be great to go to a bible study specifically for moms with young kids. Plus, there really isn’t anything at all for Mike and there’s not really anything at all for us as a whole family. They have small groups, but again, there isn’t one that I would feel comfortable going to with all of our kids and actually be able to relax and not worry about the kids being perfectly behaved or destroying someones house. If I had the time/energy, I would consider starting something myself, but I don’t…

Anyways, back to the new church…It turns out that my aunt and uncle have been going there for sometime so that was kind of nice. They were able to show us around a little. My grandpa went with last night too. He really enjoys it so I’m hoping that will help with my parents…I don’t think they will be mad or anything like that, but I don’t think they will be super happy either, but at this point, we have to look at what works for our family and where God is calling us to be and the church we are at now just doesn’t feel like “home”.

So the new church is HUGE!!!!! (They have a total combined attendance of 7,000;our church has about 200.) The church is in an old mall!!!!! It’s insane…there is a restaurant, a couple different coffee houses, a Christian bookstore, a resale shop similar to Goodwill, plus a ton more!!!! They actually have 2 churches in Rockford…we went to the larger of the two. They have 7 services to choose from between Saturday night and Sunday morning which is really nice. All of the services are exactly the same so we don’t miss anything by going at one time vs. another. Whoever is speaking does so at 4 of the services and then they record it for use at the other 3. They switch it around too so there for instance the 6pm Saturday night service might have a live speaker 3 times a month and a video of the message for the 4th week.

Last night was a recorded message which I thought would bother me, but it didn’t. The preacher was very funny and engaging and the time went very quickly. The music was really good. They had lighting affects and it was just like going to a concert. Everyone there was super nice and helpful. We got there before my aunt and uncle did so we went to the information desk to find out where we need to take the kids and they were so helpful and gave us a mini-tour. We went to the desk to check in our kids and one of the ladies offered to hold Baby Girl while I filled out all the paperwork for them and we took them to their classes.

After the service we went to pick the kids up. Carter cried when I came to get him because he didn’t want to leave. He just kept saying that he had so much fun and didn’t want to go home. We the picked up Little Boy and he did amazing!!!! Usually he screams for almost the entire time, but he went right in and was all smiles when we came to pick him up. Baby Girl did good, but she always does! They just ate her up.

Needless to say…our first impression was a great one. We are going to go a few more times before we decide if we are going to make the switch, but I’m really excited to go back. I told Mike that I think that is the biggest thing for me right now…at our current church, I’m not really upset if we miss going, but with this new church…I don’t want to miss a thing!!!

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Dog Tired Is My Name – In Bed By 8:00pm Is My Game

So I wasn’t able to fall asleep nor was I able to take a nap so needless to say…I’m exhausted. Thankfully, it is 8:00pm and all the kids are in bed…not quite sleeping, but in bed nonetheless.

**Note : No this is not one of our dogs, just an overused photo I found using Google Image search and it seemed to scream appropriate!**

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