Catching up

Woo! There is always something going on! But that's a good thing. I guess? LOL
Yesterday did a lot of running around grocery shopping, taking care of business concerning the purchase of our home (we are almost there, but there were some stipulations, that I am not happy about and I need to work them out), I did a little Christmas shopping, and also took the boys shoveling yesterday. They have their own business and they are very serious about it. Their company is called My Brother and Me, Inc. I know it should be My brother and I, but they liked me better....LOL Basically they take care of all your seasonal needs such as shoveling, raking leaves, cutting grass, taking care of pools, edging, landscaping, garden care, they started 3 years ago and they make good money. Infact, Jariel did 2 houses yesterday and came home with 35 dollars and Bee did 3 and came home with 45 dollars. They only charge 10 dollars, but they get the most awesome tips and they are put that in the pot, to buy their supplies like salt, lawn bags, and for every dollar they put into their business, my husband and I put 4 dollars and my parent put 4 dollars so if they put in 2 dollars they recieve 8 from both my parents and my husband and I so that is 18 dollars they have towards their needs. I am so proud of them! They have business cards and everything. Too stinkin cute! It was too cold yeasterday and they didn't have on the right gear. NO thermal socks, thermal underwear, snow pants and Jariel got a litle bit too wet so I decided to take them home.

Jariel was less than thrilled with me. LOL Alot of his customers are regulars and they give them a call or email them if they need anything taken care of .....
I have to say this was my husband and my boys brainstorm. They came up with the idea. I just have a knack for keeping it up and running and never allowing them to get discouraged. Their are going to be rude and nasty people, they are going to be people who slam the door in your face, their are going to be people who FLAT OUT TELL YOU NO! But, you have to keep looking for that person, who will tell you YES! One lady, got really nasty with Jariel yesterday and he handled hisself with class! It took everything in me, not to get out of my van and go choke slam this woman, but I restrained myself, called Jariel over to the car and we had a long conversation about never giving up. No matter what is thrown your way, never allow anyone to steal your dreams away. He went right next door and got a new customer!!! Not only that, but she was an elderly lady, who wants him back everytime it snows and get this she gave him $20 bucks. She was so impressed that he put salt down after shoveling and she said she is going to tell all of her neighbors what a good job Jariel did and asked for a few of his cards. I tell them to go that extra mile. Always smile... and always be courteous!

Yesterday, I cooked a huge pot of chili. The boys had been out shoveling allll day and they needed something that would stick to their bones! LOL Then I played Halo 2 with the boys and they were so excited. They killed me about 100 times but they were excited....LOL Then we played Fusion Frenzy, my favorite game and I kicked all of their butts....LOL I went to my room to straighten out a few things and laid down to watch a movie and I don't think I saw the credits roll. I went straight to sleep.....LOL

Woke up early, cleaned, did some laundry and checked emails and blogs...

Today I am taking the children sledding at my moms, hopefully theirs some snow on the hill..

I also have a wedding to go to at 5.

Then I am going to pick the kids up from my mom's, maybe not, because I'm sure they will pull a fast one and end up staying all night and going to church with my parents. She will probably take them out to eat and to the movies. Then bring them home Sunday evening. I know my mom like a book! She is the world's greatest GRANDMOTHER and MOTHER you know...LOL

I have been in a better mindset! Feeling much better about the direction my life is goin in. We are about to make some hugeee sacrifices, we are coming into a new house(more money, more bills), I just got a car (another car note and insurance), and I am trying to get my business up and running (more time, dedication, and money). We are used to splurging (shopping, movies, going out to dinner), and we are going to have to make some sacrifices. In order to live comfortably. I am happy and scared all at the same time! I have to just throw myself outthere and make the best of it. I am just going to pray on it and I know God will make a way for us.

Todays challenge was about Movies, which movies are you looking forward to seeing?
I am going to talk about Holiday movies. I can't wait to see "A Christmas Story", which is my favorite Holiday movie, "Rudolph, the rednose Reindeer (old clay version), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase tooooooo funny, Home Alone 1 and 2, Jingle All the way, The Grinch with Jim CArey, Miracle on 34th St. with Natalie Wood, It's a Wonderful Life, and the Gremlins. We watch all these movies every single Christmas. My children finally sat down and watched "a Charlie Brown Christmas", Jaree loved it! However, the boys thought it was LAME. Wanted to kill them. Nobody talks about the Peanuts baby! LOL Wawa womp womp....LOL


I love Christmas! Can't wait! The kids are going to be so excited as they all got what they wanted and more. I love to see how my children wake up Christmas morning, they frantically run down stairs and then they just stop and look ........soaking it all up! Then, they rip through their presents....Jaree kisses me, after each gift. Jariel screams .... and Bee laughs...and says "hey, hey". It's over so quick, but the anticipation of it all is the best!

If you have children what are their Christmas tactics? LOL
If you don't have children, how were your Christmas tactics?

Did you wake up early in the wee hours of the morning or were you a late bloomer?
Did you wait for mom and dad or did you just rip through your gifts and play with them?
Once you opened your gifts, did you go back to sleep or did you play all morning and into the night?
Was it hard for you to go sleep on Christmas Eve?

For me, it was so hard to go to sleep. I remember being awake at 1am and so scared, because I thought Santa would skip over my house. LOL I had to wake my parents up to see all my toys. My mom never wrapped our toys, she had them ready to play with, batteries and all installed. Dolls house built....Swimming pools had water in them, her display was awesome! I always woke up around 4am, think about my mom and dad ...I woke them up every morning around 4 am, they probably had just gone to sleep....LOL
I played all day, I never went back to sleep. My mom would make me go to sleep around 11pm on Christmas, and I would wake up early the day after and resume playing with all my goodies.
I can honestly say there was NEVER a Christmas that I didn't get EVERYTHING I wanted! Even got more than I asked for. However, I wasn't a child that wanted every single thing. There were about 4 or 5 things that I just had to have and then I usually ended up with like 10 0r 20 things. My mom is just like me. She lives for her Children's happiness! Jaree wants EVERYTHING. Jariel is my cheapest child. He never asks or wants much, but all he asks for he gets, because he is such a sweet child. Bee usually wants one or two things but they are sooooo expensive, you go in debt just to get them. He wants a camcorder that is 5oo dollars, he said he doesn't want the stereo now, because he decided to wait for that but he wants a more expensive camcorder. I asked him, if he planned to be a videographer, because frankly my camcorder was $299 open box.....LOL This kid of my mine, better get a good job, because he definitely likes the finer things in life.....at OUR EXPENSE.....LOL

Until next time

Dana