"Puttin up Christmas is Dumb!"

That is a DIRECT quote from my sweet little Sammy!
He was driving me crazy about putting up the lights & Christmas decorations. So, I finally gave in & started putting things up. Well, it wasn't quite as exciting as Mr. Samurai would have liked. Finally when I told him for at least the 14th time that he had to wait for me to finish with the lights before he started throwing the ornaments on. He turned to me, stomped his foot, & said "Mom puttin up Christmas is Dumb!". And, just like that he was gone! If I wasn't so happy to have some peace & quiet I might have been offended! ha ha!! Here is "Santa's Little Helper" after Mommy FINALLY got the "stupid" lights up! He was chomping at the bit to start on "his" ornaments! He did a fantastic job!
Here are the girls too! They weren't very happy that Sammy & I started before they were home from school. Don't worry though, we had plenty of ornaments to go around! I only had to rearrange a few, I mean most of them. Since they could only reach 1/2 way up the tree, they were a little "clustered" to say the least! Cute kids!!
Here is our fabulously random, mostly homemade ornamented, tree! I love having all the decorations up! My favorite is to sit here with just the Christmas Lights on & watch cheesy Christmas Movies! I know I'm a nerd, but it's my favorite!
Tonight I'm toasting my Diet Coke to the start of the Season! Woo Hoo!!

Back Track...

So, we have to backtrack here. I tried the last couple days to put these on here & Blogger wouldn't let me. So, here ya go... Miss Brooke playing while the preparations for Thanksgiving were going on! She had help from her Big Brother with all the toys he piled on her & her hat. Sammy was having fun "keeping her happy" for us.
I forgot to take pictures of the set tables & everyone eating. (I was busy with 2 Turkeys & the last minute fixins.) So this is the "aftermath" with kids playing & adults loosening their belts on the couches.
These are a few of the kids talking on the webcam to Kamis boys in Minnesota. They talked to the boys & their grandparents. Gotta love technology! Cute kids!
This is Grandpa Woody with Allie & Brookie. Grandpa is so stinkin cute, we just love him. He made his famous yams for dinner. Yum. Thanks Grandpa!!
It was a crazy, fun, hectic, hilarious dinner conversation kind of a day. Thanks to Scott for being such a stud in the kitchen. He's fabulous with the turkeys! I only had to kick him out of "MY" kitchen once. ha ha! Thanks to everyone who came & brought great food & helped. It was a fun day!!
I'm off to the gym to try to repair the damage from the whole weekend!!

The Gym & the Big Fat Girl!

Yes, The Big Fat Girl is ME!! I went to the gym tonight. I missed the Abs class I wanted to do, so like a genius I decided that tonight would be a FABULOUS night to try that spin class I've been wanting to do. (just a side note, I'm VERY out of shape) I did complete the class without passing out. It was a close call tho. I could barely stand up when the class was over. I was SO excited to say that I finished that stupid class. Until I got outside & the cold hit & I became SO aware of just how much pain I'm going to be in tomorrow!!! It's no fun to be the Fat Girl, that's my motivation to keep going. But it's even worse to be the Fat Girl at the gym!
I can't stand the girls who are a size zero, that MAYBE weigh 98 lbs & have the fake chin cleavage! (now don't get me wrong, one day when I'm skinny again, I would have NO problem giving the girls a little pick me up) having said that, there are women out there who go a little overboard on the silicone. I hate seeing the tiny all done up girls walk around the gym & NEVER do anything to break a sweat! I'm of course a vision of loveliness, I'm there in my husbands sweats & big t - shirt. I'm not "perspiring, glowing, or even beading up" I'm SWEATING like a PIG!! I'm officially the fat girl! I'm hoping to not be the fat girl for long though! I'm also hoping I can WALK tomorrow!!!
Tonight I'm toasting my Diet Coke to growing some serious Tuff Butt & being able to move tomorrow!

Recipe Blog....again!

I put some new recipes on the recipe blog! I really meant to put them on before Thanksgiving but I'm a loser. Sorry!
I also have some GREAT ones from Crystal that I will be posting also! Yum yum!!
I hope ya'll had a fabulous Holiday! I know my pants are a little more snug today. Sad! I'm having to start a serious diet! I have GOT to lose me some L-B's before I blow up like the float in the Macy's Parade. Scary!!
Bring on the Holidays, Woo Hoo!!

Attitude of Gratitude-Tell All Tuesday

I've been sitting her trying to think of all the things I'm grateful for. It's long & my head is muddled. I apologize...

I am Thankful for my sweet kids. ALL 4 of them! They drive me crazy & I wouldn't trade that spot that is being held for me at the local looney bin for anything! I'm so grateful for my precious little Tender Heart Savannah. She is such a sweetie! I'm grateful for my little Artist Miss Avery Lyn! She is so fun to watch as she "creates"! I'm grateful for my crazy little lunatic Sammy! He's a total "free Spirit". I love how crazy & ALL BOY he is!

I am Thankful for doctors & meds that helped me keep Brooke in until she was "done" & big & healthy enough to come out. With so many things that could have gone wrong, it's a miracle that it all turned out alright! She was big & developed & I'm grateful everyday. All the pain & 11 weeks of bedrest were TOTALLY worth it! I'm so grateful for the sweet little "spot" she has filled in our family!

I am Thankful for my Wonderfully Hardworking Husband. It's not always easy to have him work as much as he does. But, he does it for us & he takes such good care of us! I'm grateful that he has such a great work ethic & that he works so hard for us!

I am Thankful for living close to family. It's so nice to be able to be there for things in my neices & nephews lives! It can be crazy with all the kids we all have, but worth the craziness!

I'm Thankful for Chemotherapy. I'm thankful that my Mom found her lump as early as she did & that so far things have gone as smoothly as possible. I'm grateful that modern medicine has come so far.

I'm Thankful for my house & my car. Because my kids have a place to feel warm & safe & my car can get us to all the places we need to be.

I'm Thankful for the DVD player in my car. I used to think they were unnessary, boy was I WRONG! It's beautiful. I wonder how we used to travel! Such a fabulous invention. Yay to the maker of the car DVD player. Woo Hoo!

I'm Thankful for my DVR! I know, horrible devilish thing, but I LOVE it!! I'm Thankful every night when I get kids to bed & just like a fun little surpirse are ALL my shows. Just waiting for me!

I'm Thankful for Girls Night's Out! It's not too often that I get them, but when I do I wonder how I make it thru the weeks without them! While I'm on the subject of Girls Night Out, I just have to say that I'm grateful for Cold Stone! Woo Hoo!!

I'm Thankful for friends! New Friends & Old Friends. Thanks! Oh, I'm ALSO Thankful for Thanksgiving Dinner! Yum, I can't wait!!

I'm also hoping that after the Holidays I'm Thankful for Weight Watchers, cuz I'm ready to bring on the food baby!!!

Thanksgiving Menus

I still haven't received any Tradition Recipes! I posted on the recipe blogg our Alger Family Thanksgiving Menu! I put a few of my FAVORITE MUST HAVES on there too! Yum!!

What things can you NOT live without for Thanksgiving? Tell tell!

Visit the recipe blogg at
http://easyrecipes-kalger.blogspot.com

3rd Grade Program & Tiger Lilly

Here are ALL the 3rd graders from the school. I don't have a great camera, so it's not a great picture. They all looked so cute! They were dressed up like Pilgrims or Native Americans. They did a few little dances on stage & sang some fun songs. It was such a cute little program!
Way to go Savannah! Too cute, you were a fabulous Tiger Lilly!
Somehow the cute picture I took of Savannah in her sweet little Native American costume didn't save on the camera. There she is waiting to start singing her song. Her costume turned out so cute, if I do say so myself.
Savannah "reminded" me for the 400th time that she needed her costume done. I just didn't realize that the Program was upon us. (I really kept thinking we had another week, I'm a dork!)

So, we had this conversation:

Savannah: "Um, Mom we still need to get me a costume."
Me: "Holy Crap Savannah, I will figure something out tomorrow."
Savannah: (looking at me with a horribly teenage-ified look!)
"Um, YOU'RE going to figure something out?"
Me: "Yes, I'M going to figure something out."
Savannah: (again with that look, she was 2 seconds away from snapping her fingers & shaking her head)
"Um, Mom, YOU can't sew...you better just call Gramma!"

Thanks Savannah, I love you too! Stinky kid, those are the times in life when you're sorry you taught them how to talk.
She was right, however, I can't sew. So, I marched on down to our local DI, (thrift store) & found her a fabulous little suede type skirt with a jade belt attached to it. For the idiot mom who can't sew it was perfect. I just did a little elastic headband & "sewed" a few feathers into the back. (don't worry it looked like Savannah did it, I really stink at it)
Anyhow, it wasn't completely "authentic" but it worked. Now I have shared with everyone just what a loser I am!! But, she did look cute!
My little Tiger Lilly!

Avery & Sam love playing with my camera. So, we had a little photo shoot while we were waiting for the program to start. This is Sammy's camera work, taking a goofy picture Avery.
Avery returned the favor with a picture of the Mommy & the Sammy! Crazy kids. Fun Program Night. Tired Mommy. Tired Kids. Sick Baby... Tonight I'm toasting my Diet Coke to my cute kids, who are stinky, cranky, crazy & so so cute. Except I'm too tired to even walk out to the garage to get a Diet Coke... We'll just pretend, Okay.

HoLy CrOuP!!

We just love being sick so much, we decided to go for round 15! Poor little Brookie spent the better part of last night in our friendly neighborhood E.R. with Croup!
She was just so sad it was breaking my heart. She kept looking at me, like, "can't you fix this?" She is a sick little baby!! So, we're all lots of fun today. We had about 10 minutes sleep last night. I'm a freak & even when she was asleep I wasn't because she made me so nervous! I hate when my kids are sick, but when they are babies I just turn into a nut job! They are just so tiny, they scare me!! Poor chubby Brooke, it looks like she's skipped some meals huh? I love my camera phone, so I could take this picture of my sick sick baby girl!
Tonight I'm toasting my Diet Coke to.....another Diet Coke! Night...

Happy Weekend!!

Awww...Look at my rosey cheeked, chubba Baby Girl!! She's getting some kisses from her Daddy! What a couple of cuties!
Grandpa Norm got to spend Saturday with us. We had a great day with him. He got up & took Avery & Sammy to breakfast. He was putting snow tires on Little Aunt Katies car, & the Littles went with him "to help him". They love going to IHOP, it serves more than cereal, which is all Mommy serves. Fun fun!! They had fun with Grandpa & got Katies tires on. She is now ready for winter.
Later that afternoon we took the kids to see The BEE Movie. It was pretty cute, gotta love Seinfeld! It was a cute movie & the kids loved it. If you're thinking of going, I'd recommend it! Even Brooke sat thru it. Well, most of it.

Here is Sammy with "Stripes" this is the Zebra he got in the Hospital the night we took him in. As you can see, he put his oxygen mask (the dinosaur) on Stripes face. What a cute boy!

We really had a fun filled weekend. Nothing much to report, just a normal "Alger Family Fun Day!"

Hope ya'll had a great weekend too! I made Monster Cookies & I'm putting the recipe up on the Recipe Blogg. Enjoy, we sure did!!

Family Traditions!

Okay Girls, I am going to bother you again about the Recipe Blogg. I want to post all about Family Traditions. Do you have any recipes that have become tradition? Are you willing to share them with us? If you are, would you please email them to me at katealger125@earthlink.net & I'll post them on the recipe blogg! If you would also like to tell us why & how they became traditions that would be fabulous also!
Hope to get all your Holiday Traditions in time for the Holiday Season!! I did already post some great appetizers on there that are great for Holiday get togethers. Enjoy & I hope to hear from all of you!!
The countdown has begun!! The Season is coming up soon, On your Mark, Get Set, GO....

House FULL of Sickies!!

Okay, now we're ALL sick. Well Savannah isn't quite so sick anymore. She just has the lingering cough. It's still yucky but she can function. The rest of us are sickie sickie! Sammy isn't as bad as he was, thank goodness. But, we just can't get passed this. Avery Lyn woke up this morning all raspy this morning & her cough is much worse! Brookie is all boogery & onery too!

The worst part is, I'M sick too! Yet another cruel trick of nature played on us Moms. We aren't ALLOWED to get sick! How am I suppose to take care of 4 sickies when my ear aches, my throat is so sore I can't swallow, & I am sweating thru my clothes & damn near seeing spots due to my fever. Holy Crap! My poor kids have been going thru this for a week now. The poor little guys!! This is horrible!!

So due to my lack of brain function I'm going to try to go to bed early tonight. So tonight I'm going to toast my Diet Coke to kids going to bed early, Vicks VapoRub & NyQuil!

Night...

Prom Queens?

Okay, here is a random question. (Manic touched on it a bit last week, but it's been bothering me)

Why do Moms dress like they are going to the prom when they are dropping their kids off at preschool? I mean seriously! I apologize if you are one of these moms, I'm just trying to figure it out. I personally, do not understand!

When I show up at preschool, I am feeling good if I'm showered & dressed. Yet, 75% of the moms who show up, are on their way somewhere WAY more formal than I am. We're talking heels, no hair out of place, & outfits that cost more than my entire wardrobe! I'm just curious as to why. I mean we're moms. Which at my house means, you're the napkin, burp cloth, & kleenex & that is just your shirt. How do they look like this? & WHY do they look like this?

I have a friend Aubree who has a little girl in Sams class. She shows up to preschool looking like me. We have discussed this issue many times. We are both in the dark. I love her because she will show up in sweats too & we are having a red freaking letter day if our hair is done also! One day we both looked like "normal moms" & we then both announced we were even going to Target looking like that! How funny out in public, not dressed like prom queens.
I told her I wanted to take a picture of what we were wearing that day & she was quite offended that I wanted to use her as a "How NOT to Look Like a Prom Queen". Ha ha ha I am the poster child for that, BTW.

Are these women all on their way to lunch dates? & do they have lunch dates everyday? I can't understand why you would dress up to clean toilets? I tried to snap a few pictures today at Preschool pickup & my husband was horrified. So, I refrained. I just wanted you all to see, maybe it's just here. Maybe I'm just a dirtbag. Maybe...


This is a lunch date we had with Aubree & her kids a while back. She wouldn't let me take her picture. So, you'll have to settle for our cute kids. Jaycee, my neice Emmie, & Avery Lyn.
This is Stockton, Aubrees cute little boy!!

Now excuse me, I'm off to press my prom dress & shine my tiara. I have to drop off at preschool tomorrow...

Late Night Phone Calls & a Night Out!

I have decided that everyone needs a late night phone call buddy! I have one. She is fabulous, I know she is up late, just like me & it's so great! Unfortunately her husband now thinks she has a boyfriend that she is on the phone with until the wee hours of the morning! I'm not too sure how I feel about being "the boyfriend". But, whatever works, right? I tell ya, it can be a life saver sometimes!
So, last night I got a night out!! Woo Hoo! I was in desperate need for a haircut & touch up on the 'ol highlights. I had roots growing down to my ears! So my older kids had a sleepover with Gramma scheduled & my fabulous sis in law Katie kept Brooke for me. So, yay for me I was out by myself. After my lovely hair appointment I went to Walmart. I mean where else can you go to buy crap you don't really need when you're stalling to go home & it's 9:30 at night.
While I was "stalling" at Walmart I placed a phone call to my "buddy" & walked around the store while I gabbed & gabbed! I bought a lot of crap I didn't need & had a ton of fun talking to a great friend while I did it. When we FINALLY hung up, (I won't even tell you how long we talked) I had been laughing so hard, I had mascara running down my face, & seriously my cheeks were cramping. (the cheeks on my face) I'm so glad no one else was awake at my house also, because for a good few minutes I was still laughing & randomly chuckled every time I thought about a few things she had said.
It was a fabulous night out & good conversation!
So, today I am toasting my Diet Coke to my late night phone call friend & a night out to remember that I like my kids. You are the BEST, thanks Cec!