Post Thanksgiving Fog

We had a very nice Thanksgiving. It was low key and nice to be home instead of out of town. The best part was I had an entire pumpkin pie leftover to enjoy over the weekend. Yum!!

It's really hard getting back into the swing of things though. I got out all the Christmas decorations today and it's starting to look more festive around here. We'll go cut down our tree this weekend. Then let the fun begin.

We're all healthy again too! Sam and I are still finishing up our medication, but we're feeling well. Since this is Sam's first time taking antibiotics I'm on the lookout for an allergic reaction. Ella is allergic to amoxicillin and broke out in hives just before she finished her first prescription. Sam only has a day left and I think I might see some spots on his belly starting to form. We'll see in the morning.

I've finished most all my Christmas shopping but I still have many things that I need to finish up before the holidays, so I'm going to try to get them crossed off my list as quickly as I can.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving!!

Shutterfly's Holiday Card Promotion

If you know me well you know that I plan my holiday cards very far in advance. Pretty much once I've done one year I start thinking of what I'm going to do next year. Sometimes I come up with a great idea and other years it's more traditional.

Last year we went with Shutterfly cards. I've used other card sites before, but they were either really expensive or the quality was crappy. I was really impressed with the cards I got from Shutterfly last year and I'm planning on using them again.

Here's what our card was last year...

I love the brown cards. There's just something about them. I've already been looking through their great selection and know that I'm going to have a hard time deciding on which one I'm going to use.

I love this card...



Then you have to decide if you have enough photos to fill the card.

This card has similar colors with only one photo...



I have a couple ideas floating around in my head for this year's card. They look great in my head and Shutterfly definitely has a card to go. Too many to choose from in fact.

Another favorite gift I usually make for family members is a calendar with photos of the family. Shutterfly has a great selection of different types of calendars for everyone on your list.

Shutterfly has a great offer for bloggers. You can receive 50 free cards. Go here to fill out the promotion forms.

What Goes Around...

...comes around....again.

Yesterday morning I woke up with the very slightest "tinge" in my throat. By last night it was super painful. Very reminiscent of my bout with strep earlier in the month. As a matter of fact, it was exactly like that.

I got absolutely no sleep Saturday night because it just hurt so bad and the pain relievers just weren't cutting it. Sunday morning I headed (read...slid) my way over to Target. (We had freezing rain during the night and the roads were just ice.)

Turns out I had strep...again! During the night while I was awake I figured that there were probably one or two culprits running around my house reinfecting me. After I got back from Target with my new medication I dragged my entire family back there to be checked. Sure enough both kids had strep. Neither showed any real symptoms of being sick. Other than me getting sick within a week of finishing my last medication.

Zan got medication for a sinus infection that would also help him if he had strep. So everyone in our household is on medication. Except the dog, but I think he has an ear infection.... : |

The good news is that everyone will be healthy for Thanksgiving and I shouldn't get sick from the same thing again.

I baked turkey sugar cookies for Zan's work tomorrow. Their having a potluck tomorrow which I made buffalo wings for, but since it's his birthday I thought I'd send him with cookies too. Don't worry I was very careful to keep all germs away! :) At least I'm not coughing or sneezing. I actually feel fine other than a sore throat.

Homemade Deodorant

I mentioned a while back that I made and had/have been using homemade deodorant. I have been meaning to link up to where I found it, but have forgotten. Sorry!

I've been using it since summer time and still love it!! It works better than store bought, it's inexpensive and much better for you.

There are many different "recipe's" out there, but this is the one that I used.

I'd be interested to know if anyone tries it and what they think. I'm loving mine!!

Let it Snow

It's pretty crazy when one week you have temperatures near 70 degrees and the next week you get almost a foot of snow. But it is November so I shouldn't be surprised. On Saturday we got nearly a foot of wet, heavy snow. Perfect snow for making a snowman. The kids didn't actually make a snowman, but they had fun playing in the snow anyways.

Saturday evening we went to see the Monster Jam at the Metrodome. The kids had a great time. Sam loves watching the trucks. He loves it even more when the trucks tip over and the bulldozers have to come and flip them back over. That's his favorite part.

The snow is slowly melting and it's supposed to be around 40 degrees on Friday, so I'm hoping it melts. I don't really mind the snow but I really don't like the cold. Ella keeps telling me how she likes summer better, but she likes Christmas because of the presents. :)

I'm all done Christmas shopping too and very excited about it. I guess I do have a couple small things left to get, but the kids are all done. Yay!!!!

Little Drummer Boy

Happy Halloween!!

What???

You say I'm late????

Tough!!

I had a very rough week! Monday afternoon I thought I had a cold coming on. By Tuesday morning I realized I had the flu! I haven't had the flu in so long and it totally sucked! I had such bad muscle aches, fever, chills, sore throat, vomiting, etc. The only thing that I didn't have was any coughing or respiratory issues, which was good.

Zan was a dear and stayed home from work Tuesday and Wednesday. I just laid in bed and suffered. It was fun listening to all the goings on from my bed. Zan trying to run a household = fun! He even washed diapers!

As of Friday I was doing pretty well. My energy was back and I was able to eat real food again. The only thing was my throat was still swollen and sore. My ear was also hurting a little too. So this morning I went over to the Target clinic to make sure my ear was okay and just get a quick check-up. Turns out I have/had strep throat too!!! I haven't had that in about 20 years! So now I have antibiotics and should be feeling much better by tomorrow.

See.....rough week! That's my excuse for not getting my Halloween pictures up.

We did have a great Halloween! The weather was perfect and the kids had a blast. We went through the whole neighborhood and have tons of candy. Ella was dressed as a butterfly and Sam was a shark.

We carved our pumpkins on Saturday. Sam didn't want to get his hand into the pumpkin and get it dirty so he wasn't much help. Ella got in there a little, but in the end it was Zan and I to finish up. I carved four pumpkins and he did one. They turned out great!