Whirlwind Weekend

So I finished the Christmas shopping this weekend and it took me several days to recover. I think I'm still going to need therapy after dealing with the crazy shoppers. Here's a great gift idea that you can make without hitting the department stores.
Spiced Tea Mix:
2 cups Tang
1 cup instant tea
2 cups sugar
1 envelope (kool-aid) lemonade powder
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cloves

Family Friday

This Christmas start a new tradition with your kids. Make it something that only your immediate family does together. Perhaps you go to a Christmas Tree farm and cut down a tree. Or maybe just go to pick up an already cut tree. Make a day of it. Pick out the tree, bring it home, put on some Christmas music and decorate together. Maybe you have a favorite Christmas movie. Pop some popcorn, turn the lights out and snuggle together on the sofa.
Make cookies together-from a mix or from scratch. Then settle in with some hot chocolate and decorate the cookies.
There are any number of things you can do that can be your tradition. Pick one that you and your children will look forward to every year. I don't remember any traditions I had growing up-except for what days we visited family to exchange presents. I wish that there had been more. So I vow to start them with my own children. Perhaps we can change our thinking about Christmas as the time for presents and more about the time for family and experiences.

All Things New

I declare today the start of Wacky Wednesdays. Every Wednesday I'll have something off the wall to post about. Today it's all about the the frustration when dealing with kids. Do you have those moments when you 're kids say something that just throws you for a loop? You're all good and mad and ready to spit nails then comes their take on the situation.
When my oldest was 3 years old she was in her, "I'll do it myself" stage. So I'm trying to get somewhere and we're late as usual. I finally get her buckled into her seatbelt (after much tugging and pulling-that's me trying to get her out the door) I get in the driver's seat and in complete frustration say "A, Why must you push all my buttons?"
In childlike innocence comes her voice from the backseat. "But mommy how can I push your buttons? I'm back here."
Hope it makes you smile. Check back tomorrow for our new Thirsty Thursday.

Epiphany/Turning Over A New Leaf

I had a humbling experience during this Thanksgiving. We visited my hubby's extended family, which we do about once every five years or so. When getting directions to the home that we would be visiting, I had a hard time listening to the twangy accent of our would-be host. Do I sound like that? I thought to myself.
Now on a side note, I know that my dh makes quite a bit more money than the owners of the home we visited. So when we arrived I was a little taken aback at what a nice home they had. Not hugh, but nice. Once inside I looked around and discovered it was all white interior and white furniture. Granted, they no longer have kids, but they do have three grandkids close to my two middle children. It was very clean. There weren't marks on the floors or clutter in the corner. Everything had a place. The kitchen was technically smaller than mine, but we probably had the same counter space and maybe the same cabinet space. Her counters were clear and her sink was empty.
When the three kids arrived they behaved as normal kids did, but they didn't yell. They never yelled. When it was time to eat, they sat at the table, ate somewhat quietly, cleaned their space and went to play. The almost 2 yr old even drank from a regular cup without spilling it. My almost 4 yr old was ecstatic because she drank out of a 'grown up' cup.
So my epiphany became clearer and clearer. My children should behave this way. My home could look this way. I can have this peace. It's up to me. I am the keeper of my home.
I'm sure that I'll need God's help. I won't be able to retrain my children without some supernatural help. So I will start my day with prayer and end my day with prayer. I'll work out all the stuff in the middle with God's help.

What's Your Happy?

Last night my hubby and I watched The Pursuit of Happyness. For those of you that haven't seen it I highly recommend that you do. If you have ever quit something or thought of quitting then this movie will make you think twice. The man goes through Hell and back to make a better life for him and his son. And not just a 'better' life than what they had but his goal is to become a successful stock broker with Dean Witter.
It left a big impact on me. How many times have I thought "it's just too hard" or "I can't take anymore". How many times have I felt things were hopeless? This man had to spend the night in the subway bathroom because he had no money and no place to live. He had to work twice as hard as the other interns that wanted the one job that was being offered. When life slammed into him, he pushed back. (This movie is based on a true story.)
At the end of the movie he says "This is my happy." So today I was thinking, what is my happy? I have small, daily happies. But I'm not sure what my big happy is. I believe that it would be a happy, healthy family and financial freedom. My goal is to reach financial freedom over the next two years. Over the course of those years I plan on working on making my family healthy and happy.
Today my happy is: my 9 month old laughing hysterically. Something about a baby's laugh that just makes you smile.

What's your happy?

A Turtle Can Move Faster

I got the grocery shopping done today. That's it. I got nothing else done today. Oh wait, I made breakfast and dinner.
Is that insane or what? I'm not sure where the time went, one minute I was jumping in the shower and the next thing I knew it was time to go to the grocery store so that I could be back before my oldest two got out of school. Then I had to race the clock to get through the grocery store-with my 3 yr old and infant in tow. Yeah like that was gonna happen. First it was "Mommy I want to get in the cart" then a few rows later it was "I want down". Meanwhile baby decides he is just not happy in the carrier seat any more and he wants out NOW. I then proceed to beg the preschooler to help me reach items on the bottom shelf as I try to keep the list away from the baby who insists that he has to eat the paper. All the while trying to keep my eye on the clock, double check my coupons, look for the best bargains by doing the math in my head because the 3 year old wants to use the calculator as a cell phone. "Hello, grandma? What do you want us to buy you at the grocery store?"
If it's not a cell phone then it's the babies chew toy. Don't you love the taste of plastic?
Now the rest of the house is quiet except for the laundry monster and crusty dishes calling my name to be washed. Oh and let's not forget baby and his nightly 'snack'.
Gotta go. The chaos wins the day, but I will win the war. Or at least I'll die trying.

All the balls are in the air

So I started this juggling act and I have all my balls in the air at one time. Now what? The problem I'm having is that everything is only half done. The dishes are half done, the laundry is half done, the cleaning is half done. So once again I'm standing around waiting to drop one of the balls.
I have to admit, I'm still moving forward. Probably not as fast as I could/should be. But it is forward motion. Yeah me!
My husband helped me tackle the boys' room last weekend. It is officially the boys' room as we have now moved the baby into the room with his big brother. Whoopee! Now I can actually get to my side of the bed without running into the playyard/bassinet. My hips are saved.
On another note, I decided that my blog was quickly going to become cluttered if I included every facet of my life that I'm trying to fix. So as of today, this blog is for the household stuff. The getting organized and the cleaning progress, or lack there of. Keep an eye out and I will link to my other blogs that will deal with the many other personality issues that I intend to deal with.

getting organized

So after being sick I'm still trying to play catch up with the whole house thing. Plus I'm implementing a new discipline thing. Trying to get things in order. Chaos with four kids becomes insanity. Insanity is not a good thing when you're balancing so much at one time. I am conducting a plan and I am determined to succeed if it kills me. The whole 'what doesn't kill us makes us stronger'. Well I'm going to be able to benchpress like 400 lbs when I pull this organization, cleaning, discipline bing off. But I am going to be a much better mommy and wife. Actually I'll be a much better person when I'm done.

Just When You Thought . . .

So here I thought I had everything figured out and WHAM! God throws me a bone. No, not a curve ball, a bone. Things were going pretty smoothly a few weeks ago. I was finally making sense of the clutter that invades my house, i had a few extra moments to play with the kids, I had dinner figured out before 4PM. Life was good. Then the baby got sick, then i got sick. Then the laundry monster took over my house. Then the dirty dishes began to climb across my kitchen counters(I don't have a dishwasher).
I miracle happens, I have the shortest cold I've ever had. Thank you to my chiropractor. By now I'm feeling pretty crappy about my life again. Then I channel surf right to the preacher who is preaching about learning and stretching and sacrificing and how if you don't quit then you'll win the battle. If you don't give up or give in then you will win.
So now I'm ready to tackle my laundry monster, okay maybe not the whole monster just one of his minions. Perhaps I'll put a stop the march of dirty dishes across the counter top. Who knows, I may even issue a retreat. I do know that I'm evicting the spiders and demolishing their webs first thing in the morning.
I'm also going to spend more time with my preschooler. Guess I'll even watch Barney if I have to. I take that back. I'll do just about anything, but I'm drawing the line at Barney.

Down for the count

My baby (8 months) has been sick for over a week now. Runny nose, fever off and on, just felt miserable. So who else was miserable? Mommy. Not just because i felt sorry for the little guy, but because he hasn't slept for any length of time in these last few weeks, mommy hasn't slept either. Now i woke up this morning with an ear ache, serious sinus pressure, an amazing headache, and feeling like i got run over by a truck. So I've gone from doing pretty well to down and out. I really just want to sleep, but life goes on.
I'm also trying to get my book to the printer by next week. So i imagine that I'll be having some major late nights. I'm really hoping that Gateways will be a book that people can lose themselves in. It's hard to be objective when you've been living with something for so long.

Keeping up with life

If it's not one thing it's another. I go from birthdays to football practice and to football games. Now Halloween has gone and snuck up on me. So I have to come up with four Halloween costumes in the next week, preferably without having to spend $100. Have you seen the price of costumes nowadays? I'm hoping to convince my kids they don't need brand new costumes. We have quite a few dress up things here, so I figure we'll pull something together.
My youngest daughter at 3 years, wants to be a mermaid, Ariel is her favorite. My oldest son wants to be a Power Ranger-which is what he was last year, thinking we can try for using the same costume. Not sure what to dress up my baby as. He's only going to be 8 months. Have to rack my brain. When I figure it out I'll let you know.

Battling Myself

Have you ever heard the phrase "Get out of your own way"? Well that's me. I start out with a great plan and great intentions and then SPLAT, I fall flat on my face. I,m hoping at some point I'll get so fed up that I'll put all excuses out the window and just get to it. So that's my goal. I'm going to get organized, I'm going to lose weight, and I'm going to be nicer to those around me. Yes, because major life changes always bring out the good in people.
More tomorrow.

Deciding to become a publisher

I finished my course with the Institute of Children's Literature in the winter of 2001/2002. It took twice as long as anticipated due to having another baby. After finishing my first manuscript, I spent a great deal of time revising, and submitting my work to one publisher after another. That's what you do right? You keep submitting until someone discovers what a 'genius' your work is. Every publisher liked my work, no one thought it was right for their company. At least, that's what the form letters said.
During this time I began writing other manuscripts, still submitting the first. Then I began submitting the next manuscript. I also began submitting manuscript ideas that I was working on for the future.
Then it happened. Okay, a few things happened. I became pregnant for the third time and realized that my going back to work part time was not going to happen. I also attended a writers' conference and my dream of becoming published was given a harsh dose of reality. Not only was it going to be an uphill battle to get the thing published, after I signed the contract it would take a minimum of 18 months to 2 years before I ever saw the printed version released. Maybe longer! I talked with an author at the conference who had been waiting for the release of his picture book for almost 3 years and still had not guarantee that it would be released on the date as promised. Of course, then there's the promotion of the book. Unless you're Stephen King or Danielle Steel, it's up to you to promote your own book. Yep. You have to take your book into your own hands and promote sales.
So guess what? That's what I'm doing. I'm not going to wait around for some publisher to decide that they have room for me. And I'm not going to wait 2 years to see my work in print. I am using my own printer and I will build my own following.
The book I've written is for young adult, which means it will probably be read by pre-teens and teens. I believe it appeals to adults as well because playing with Ouija Boards is almost a rite of passage for most teen girls. The story, Gateways: The Initiation, involves a close knit group of teen girls who experiment with a Ouija Board and release a demon in which they spend the rest of the story trying to figure out how to 'put him back'. The book springs from true experiences that happened to my friends and I when I was a teenager.
If you like to be scared then open the gateway to things that do more than go bump in the night.
To read an excerpt or pre-order a copy of Gateways, go to www.casteelpublishing.com. Let me know your opinions at feedback@casteelpublishing.com.
It's not the traditional work at home option, but it's the one that's right for me.

This is why . . .

I knew it. This is why I have been putting off the blog thing. I can't seem to make myself sit everyday and write. That explains why my third manuscript isn't finished. Of course my excuse could be because I'm raising 4 children but then who needs sleep. Puhleez. With four kids there is no such thing as sleep. Odds are that one of them is going to have a nightmare, one has to go pee in the middle of the night, and one or two need a glass of water. And right now my youngest id teething, so goodbye sleep and just about anything else for a few days. I love tylenol, but it's not working it's usual magic. OK don't get all upset that I'm medicating my child. It does help the fever and the pain. I'm not trying to just knock him out. OK not totally just trying.
Ever feel like you're running on a treadmill pointed straight up with people trying their best to pull you off? Not only am I going no where fast, I'm constantly being slowed down. Oh screw it. If I didn't get distracted so easily I would get 101 things done everyday. I'm so used to just existing that I forget that it's time to get off my butt, clear the foggy mind and LIVE LIFE!
Most days I'd rather complain than do something about it.
There, that's my new motto: Do Something About It Or SHUT UP About It!
Works for me. Wish I could tell my kids that. Guess that's not a great thing to say huh?
On a side note, I lost 3 lbs. on my personal weightloss program. Would've lost more if I exercised like I was supposed to. Getting my haircut today. It just lays there, can't take it any more. So going off to get layers. Then going to rush around like crazy woman to clean kitchen, fold and put away laundry, update my website and email my weight loss group. Oh and don't forget, make sure the baby is happy, play with my preschooler, drop off book money for my oldest, take everyone to the chiropractor, make dinner, give everyone a bath, and spend time with dh. I think that covers most everything. But hey there's 13 1/2 hrs left in the day, no problem!

Starting off

So here I am. I finally decided to do the blog thing. I fought it and fought it, but I gave in. Not sure why I need one more thing to do. I'm 31 years old, a mom of four kids under the age of 8 years (excuse me almost 9 years-my daughter would kill me if I left it at 8). I started my own business last month. It's a community website that covers five counties of who, what, when, where of the activities for kids. It's got playground information, stuff for free and on sale, organizational advice, parenting advice- you know, same old stuff. I just personalized it for my local area. The site is free to get onto, I'm using advertisers to make money. Okay, I'm wanting to use advertisers for money. No such luck yet. They say a website takes over 2-3 months before it makes any money. So I must be up for a windfall, cuz it's been up almost 2 months. I'm hoping with the holidays coming up that I'll have plenty of advertisers.
Besides that, I'm losing my mind with my kids. But I'll have to write more about that later because my middle two are throwing shoes at each other and they just woke up the baby. Now they're playing refrigerator tug of war, someone save me.