snow in arizona????

isn't it like 125 degress there, well yes in the summer, in some parts of this big state, your shoes have been known to melt to the asphalt. but not in the north, its snows and we have been enjoying it. our homeschool group has been taking advatage of all that snow and heading up to the sledding area(which is just about 1/2 hr from my house). my little dills love it.

we also just stayed up at a cousins cabin in eastern arizona and had a great time, the kids and my husband skied and i watched with the baby who was trying to roll down the hill and form into a snow ball, while i was trying to take pictures of her siblings, fun fun fun!!!the cabin was definatly used as a summer cabin, because we were FREEZING and when we tryed to start a fire, well needless to say, all of our clothes that we packed smelled of smoke, like felt like we has a camp fire right in the living room, well it was fun.... now on to all the laundry i have to do...yuck

7 things about me or 8 or 9

i really enjoy reading theunusauallyunusualfarmchick@blogspot.com and she just posted 7 things about her so im going to be a copy cat.....lets see

1. one of my good friends says that my family growing up(mom dad and brother) were so normal, we are abnormal. my parents are still together after meeting when they were 15yo and then had me and my brother and there was no dysfunction whatsoever, so she thinks we are weird because we were so normal...she would say nobody is that normal!!!

2. im really into recycling and reuseing things and trying to use things that i would normally throw out, like have my kids make bird house out of milk jugs, my purses out of plastic grocery bags,(see earlier post), sometimes when my kids are bored, im like go get something out of the garbage and lets try to make something out of it. i love this idea... i just saw in mother earth news(feb-mar08)... take your toilet paper rolls and cut in half and then make several cuts on one end about an 1 in up and fold it in to make a bottom, then use it as a peat pot for your seeds that your starting for your gardenand they can just be planted in the ground when ready.

3.i really want to live in a yurt.

4. i really want to build a strawbale home and grow grapes and have a big garden and have chickens and goats, learn how to make cheese, brew beer, make really good sour dough bread.

5. my dream car is a volkswagen van but my husband says, " you are not putting our 4 children in to a car that im going to have to come pick you up on the side of the road all the time", plus in arizona it gets a little hot with no a/c.

6.my favorite music right now is jack johnson, colby caillat, and jewel, but you can also catch me listening to gypsy kings, or celtic music.

7.im not a good house cleaner, i love to make the messes but do NOT like to clean them up. i love to start a big project(sewing, baking, painting some furniture or whatever,) then when the excitement is over, i just want to go on to something else. my husband says "ive never seen anyone dirty every dish and make a huge mess while cooking a simple meal. also noone can just do the stop by at my house they have to give me plenty of notice so i can clean before they get there, and then even im like a lunatic....i say to my kids...OK KIDS... LETS GO WE HAVE GOT TO GET THIS MESS CLEANED UP GO GO GO!!!!(like a drill seargent) some times i even pretend that someone is coming over, so i will really get it cleaned up, then i usually get mad at myself for letting it get so bad.

8. i do not like to clean out my car...4 kids... it just gets so messy!

9. im going to steal this one from my friend in wa. but i totally agree... i think its crazy when people don't think that concidences are cool!

i have got to figure this blogging thing out

well i have been blogging for a little while and i still do not know how to do some things, i cant figure out how to highlight words to link somewhere else. it must be easy because so many other bloggers do it all the time.

i also want to learn how to get music on here and how to get more traffic to my blog.... this blogging thing amazes my and how many people do it.

i really do need to limit myself though, there are so many good ones that i could be on the computer all day... but i guess i can't lock my kids up in the bedroom and slide food under the door, just so i can look at blogs...but its tempting!!!

well if anyone has any advise let me know...

wow, that holiday season went by fast!!

well its all over and i did not craft as much as i wanted to, there really is not enough hours in the day.
although i did make some really cute corn bags in the shape of a heart(to heat up like hot pillows) and i also made a lavender neck pillow that you can heat up. my mom loved it.

my 3 yr old lily wanted this little stuffed dog that is eating a pie, that is called a softie and i made it out of felt. then i made some fleece scarves for 8 yr old patrick, and 6 yr old mason and my dad and bro. and i made a fleece hat for 6 yo. my 8 yr old wanted a dallas cowboys beanie and i was not about to pay 20 bucks for a hat just because it said cowboys, so i bought a dallas cowboys star and sewed it on a $1.99 beanie, it turned out great.

well maybe i did make more gifts than i thought, well i want to still make more for next year so i guess i better start now....ya right i wish i had taken some pics of it all but maybe next year.

going green for christmas!

well, now that Thanksgiving is over... the race is on... at least for most people! i think that im going to try something different this year......SLOW DOWN..... i mean try to remember the real meaning of Christmas and teach my kiddies to do the same. we all need to sit back make some cookies and make some simple homemade gifts for our friends and family. i have been reading Little House on the Prairie to my kids and we just read how they would make gifts or buy very simple ones(except for mothers stove), but you get the point. wouldn't that be nice to teach your kids new crafts and sit around and eat yummy treats and make gifts or ornaments. well there are lots of other ways to go green besides making gifts instead of buying them
there is recycling your wrapping paper or using some nice material to wrap your gift in, or something i do is use my old atlas to wrap presents or let my kids draw or paint on old paper bags, it gives it a personal touch, and my children feel proud of themselves.
something else i love to do is find the perfect item at a thrift or yard sale. that special gift that would show someone you really were thinking of them(like something they collect or have been looking for).
there are so many things you can do to try and be a little greener this year and every year. i also just read about the big tree controversy....a real tree or a plastic fakey. both articles i read said... get the real thing, the real tree is grown especially for Christmas and the tree farmers plant trees to replace the ones they cut down and you can recycle your tree after Christmas verses the plastic ones that will be used for a couple of years after they are all shabby, then thrown in the landfill to stay there for, who know how many hundreds of years. besides who can resist that great pine smell of a fresh tree, that really gets you in the spirit of Christmas!!! SO GO GREEN THIS YEAR

parties are such fun...

i love going to parties. we just went to a surprise GI JOE 40th birthday party. my kids of course loved it, and i just love,,, the food!!! well and the friends too, lol! since we are homeschoolers, i always think its great to get the social thing in there(although we are never to short on that, but its a good excuse).

and then there is the whole, getting dressed up for the party. tonight it was all in camo and gi joe gear, and thats always fun. my daughter loves getting her party clothes on.(which could be anything from shorts with rainboots to a princess dress with sneakers... shes 3).

its just a good time, to get together with good friends , good food and laughter.

the poor 4th child...

well what i mean to say ... i have 4 children, and the poor thing... she just gets all the used up stuff...my friend was here, tonight and looks at the baby, she is 10 months but will always be "the baby", she was eating in here high chair and noticed its does not even have a cushion on it... i mean nothing, just the hard plastic chair. the poor thing, oh well,she will be a tough cookie, that's for sure.

she also gets all the hand me downs, which really, i love, i have not had to buy her a thing. she will always get the old bikes, the old toys, strollers, clothes... and the high chair minus the cushion.

well, the 4th child does get alot of good stuff too! lots of fun with all her brothers and sister, always entertained, and never a dull moments in her sweet little life. so... guess one does not need a cushion on their high chair to be happy.