I've messed it up...again!

Why is it that every time I try to change my template to something different I end up deleting everything? I know, I know...I should've saved before I changed. So, thus the temporary blurp on my blog page.
I had a blog all ready for "Man that Works? Monday" and then, of course, I deleted it. Mommy brain strikes again.
I wanted to tell you all about my new-found love, other than Vodka of course...Lemi-Shine dishwasher detergent. We have absolutely horrible-no good-rotten water in Shelby and our house in particular does not have soft water. My glass wear looked horrible with hard water stains. It was caked with white residue after I ran the dishes through the washer. I had tried everything. I read that polishing your glassware with white toothpaste would do the trick...WRONG. Plus, it takes way too much time. I thought I was doomed for chalked-white glasses until my grandma introduced me to Lemi. My glasses (and all other dishes, mind you) look like BRAND NEW! Plus, it doesn't just work in the dishwasher, it works for anything that hard water has got the best of (toilets, sinks, tubs). It makes my heart pitter patter to unload the dishwasher and see such sparkleness. L-O-V-E I-T. Try it.

Me and my Vodka

**Said in a slurred voice***
"I'd lllllike to introduuuce you to my lill' frrriend.

I must say. I felt humiliated, red-in-the-face, not to mention extremely red-necked when I tip-toed up to the counter of the Spirits department of Hy..Vee. Just moments before I had hidden a huge jug of vod.ka underneath the pam.pers in my shopping cart hoping that no one I knew would catch me with straight up alcohol in my cart. I peeked above the bottles and sneaked around corners praying that my pastor wouldn't be in the health food section where he could get a very clear view of me purchasing the biggest bottle of liquor I could find.

What kind of mom am I anyway? I have my almost-four-year-old son holding my hand, walking along side the cart singing "Old McDonald" and my 11 month old little girl with an adorable pink bow in her hair clapping and laughing at her brother as I'm traipsing up to the counter with a bottle, let me rephrase that, jug of, shhh, dare I say it?....vod.ka! Oh, Lord. Please forgive me.

Most of you who know me really well know that this whole scenario is out of the ordinary for me. And, truly, it is. Until now. I read that vod.ka is the BEST cleaning product that you can use that is totally environmentally safe, antibacterial and scent free. And, again, for most of you who know me real well, you know that I am a clean f-r-e-a-k. So, with a lump in my throat, I purchased the cheapest, biggest jug of vod.ka you can buy and after I tried it, I think it's safe to say that I LOVE vod.ka. My potties and sinks haven't ever had such a shine.

Ahhh...the tricks of the trade. The tricks of happiness to me. So, from today forward, I introduce you to "Man that Works? Mondays". All the cleaning "Wows" and "Reallys?" you could ever want. Tune in every Monday to see if I have something that may just work for you too. And, of course, if I see you in the Spirits department of Hy..Vee. I'll simply smile and wave.

Let's Keep it Simple-How 'bout a list?

I think it's pretty safe to say that I've fallen off the bloggy bandwagon (yes, Captain Obvious strikes again). I honestly can say that I feel overwhelmed by all of things that have been going on around here lately. All of these things are very blog-worthy, but I just haven't had the energy to sit down and write about it. So, this evening I told myself that I WOULD definitely write something out after the kids were all tucked in. To keep it simple, I thought I'd make a list. For those of you who know me well, this is very Tiffany-like. My left-brained tendencies can be obsessive most times, but in this case, it's my only hope in getting this blog done. Then, I'm hoping that I can just start over. Clean slate. So, as interesting or uninteresting as it may be here it is, in all of its glory, of course!

1. Luke and I are learning about penguins in preschool. I love getting the Mail-box magazine for preschool teachers (great ideas for my penguin unit). He is also beginning to put small words together and is very proud that he can count to 30.

2. Basketball season has officially begun which means that I will be on my own with the kids a lot more. Why is it that the sport that Bill has the most expertise in lasts longer than any other sport? Sheesh.

3. Halloween was great. We happened to be in Lincoln that day, so we stayed in town for the kids to trick-or-treat. Luke dressed up as Woody from Toy.Story and Katelyn was a ladybug. Luke LOVED the whole experience this year. As we went up to the doors, he'd say, "Mom, stay back...this is a Woody job!"

4. I made Pecan-crusted Salmon for supper tonight. It was great, but now I have heartburn. Exciting information, huh?

5. I turned the big 3-0 yesterday. Bill and my parents threw me a surprise party. I was overwhelmed and completely overjoyed to see so many of my closest friends and family there. What an amazing day.

6. I got new Christmas ornaments for my birthday and I'm totally excited about it. I'm going to have a "funky" tree. Woot!

7. I'm mostly done Christmas shopping. There are just a few things left. I love Christmas shopping because I love giving and finding that perfect gift for a person I love.

8. The kids were sick for about a week a few weeks back. It was tasking to have both of them sick, but I did enjoy playing nurse and taking care of my babes!

9. I'm doing a lot of Premier home shows. November is always so busy. I am definitely thankful for that, but it does mean a lot of trips to Lincoln. Good thing there's free babysitting there!

10. Seriously, I may need a Zantac.

11. The other evening, one of Luke's Cubbies teachers said, "Luke had a REALLY good night tonight!" What does that mean? Is he usually not good or was he just exceptionally good that one night?

12. Luke's great grandmother got him a subscription to "The Big Back-yard" and we LOVE reading it, along with Ran-ger Ri-ck. This month's feature was animals with antlers. So, tomorrow, we're going to make our own antlers for us to wear. We love projects at our house.

13. Katelyn is very close to walking. She walks 4 or 5 steps in between two people and just giggles. She's like my little tail and follows me all around the house. She waves bye-bye and says, "Bye!!!" So, now her words include, hi, bye, uh-oh, mooo and ho, ho, ho, for what Santa says. What a doll.

I'm sure there's more I could share, but I thought this would get me started again. It's about time for me to post some pictures too. Baby steps, people!