Fun with my KitchenAid

I should be posting this on my cooking blog but it's mostly bragging about how much I love my KitchenAid stand mixer.

My mom found this Mixer Attachment pack at a garage sale then never used it. I sent her my I want it vibes and when she was packing up to move she gave it to me. It was pretty dirty and had mouse droppings in it from being stored so long. I brought it home and put it in the garage so that I could get around to it later. I didn't want to bring it in until I was ready to clean it up. DH mistook it for something that needed to go to the attic. My electric cheese grater broke a couple months ago and I am so sick of grating cheese by hand. Tonight I asked DH to go find the box that had the attachments in it.

I got it out and cleaned it up. It's only missing that little brown thing called the stomper that pushes the food down into the mill. And if I get the plates (around $30) I could make pasta with it. My mom used to make homemade pasta when we were kids and I loved it.

The whole pack is worth $130 on Amazon. It's just too bad I didn't have it when my babies needed everything mashed. It would have been handy for that. I guess I'll use it for my grandbabies someday.

GorillaPod

I saw this on the Selfish Mom blog. It's called a gorillapod. And now I think I need it.

Emergency Preparedness Giveaway

I just found this website that has tons of info on emergency preparedness and has a give-away each month.

In our little town of Keizer there is this woman who runs up and down the main road. She has an 80's look to her and she runs daily and and she has a jogging stroller for her child that never seems to get any older. A couple years back they put a picture of her on the cover of the Keizer Business Directory. She is an icon of Keizer.

I like to walk and I have a double stroller and mostly I use it for my little girls to ride in while I walk with Cory and Mya to School and back. It's about 1 1/2 mile round trip to the school and back and the idea is that I would do that twice a day. When the weather is nice I do that 3 to 4 days a week. It's cold enough right now I don't want to go outside unless I really have to. Actually I haven't wanted to exercise, I guess I am in a slump. I decided I needed some motivation. I decided that since I love my husband and I want him to have something nice to look at and not my flabby body. That sounds silly but that was motivation enough.

I also had car problems with my van. It would sometimes start and sometimes not. I could always get it to start on the 2nd or 3rd try but I was worried my luck would run out and eventually I would be stuck somewhere. The best time of day to take my van in would be when I only have the two girls but I didn't want to bother anyone with helping me get to the auto shop and back home. So I decided to walk. Yesterday when I went to drop the van off I kept track of the distance and it was a little over 3 miles. It was no problem and I made sure DH left me the Ipod touch so Em and Ballerina would have something to do otherwise they end up fighting a lot when they are in the stroller a long time. Walking home from the shop was no problem. Today I had to walk the kids to school then walk back to the shop to pick up the van. In all I think I walked 4 1/2 miles. This time was more up hill so I got a pretty good work out. I was joking with my sister that I could be the next Keizer icon.

I would like to have a nicer looking tummy and it seems like a worthwhile goal since my baby is 3 1/2 and I don't plan on having any more. Now I need to come up with some kind of plan for how I am going to get these abs of steel. I think I might do some research today. I know quite a few ab exercises from all the videos I have done so I could probably come up with something on my own. I am also trying to watch what I eat now that the holidays are over. I have 4 more pounds to lose to be at my ideal weight and I know that isn't much but it's really stubborn and won't leave easily. Being in shape and healthy is way more important than how much I weigh at this point. Having rockin' abs would definitely be a bonus.

Even when I have been in shape my legs are not the sexiest which is fine with me. My arms do look nice when they are more tone. My second motivation is our trip to Fiji this summer and I am hoping to spend a significant amount of time laying around on the beautiful beaches so I want to look as fab as possible. I don't have unrealistic expectations of looking like a movie star or super model but I know what potential my body has. And I do have the benefit of having a husband who likes me just the way I am. I know that helps my self image a lot.

Some friends at church keep encouraging me to attend their exercise group they have at the church building. I did that all last year and my little girls were such a pain, hanging on me all the time. This year they have worked out a babysitting system but I still haven't felt like going and I don't know why because I think it would be a lot more fun to exercise with others. I guess I feel like that will take up a good portion of my day and end up being more stressful than beneficial. Plus up to this point I haven't had Ballerina fully potty trained and I didn't want to deal with her and have the whole thing be a waste of my time. I have been pretty protective of my time lately. I don't know how effective it's been. I don't get a rush from being busy and going lots of places all the time and dealing with crying and the fights so I try not to go anywhere unless the benefit out weighs the trouble it takes to get there. I assume anyone with little kids knows what I am talking about.

I'd rather be naked than wear those clothes

I thought I was being a nice mom instead I created a monster. At our last Enrichment meeting we had what we call the give away table where everyone brings their unwanted items to share with others. Anything left over is taken to Deseret Industries (DI) which is similar to Goodwill (GW). I got quite of few good things this time. One was a white Tinkerbell t-shirt for Ballerina. She was so excited about it and put it on right away.

She refuses to take the shirt off day and night. So every two days I have to peel it off of her and wash it. This afternoon I had an appointment so I told her she had to take the shirt off so I could wash it and get dressed in some clean clothes so we could go. She started crying and threw herself on the floor. I got two outfits out that she could pick from. This made her more angry and then she started taking the Tinkerbell shirt off saying she was never going to wear it again. Then she said she wanted to be naked jay bird (that's what we call it when someone is naked).

"I no wear those clothes. I be naked jay bird."

Basically she is saying she would rather go through life naked if she can't wear her favorite shirt. It's funny now but at the time I was pretty irritated because she made us late for my appointment and she cries and throws fits at least a hundred fifty times a day.

But she is now pooping every three days instead of once a week. That has made life a lot less stressful. She is also obsessed with playing Webkinz and even when Em begged her to come play she was more concerned about playing on the computer. She is a fun kid but she gets very focused on what she wants and it's impossible to change her mind. She gets that from her dad.

Addicted to Webkinz

You need to buy a webkinz for your kids right now. The faster they get their webkinz the faster they can start having fun and learning. You and your kids can sit down and spend time together when you are showing them everything that they can do with their new pet. Your kids will love you forever. You definitely want to see your kids happy and to see them getting more education. What is better than them getting the education of responsibility that will help them throughout their whole life? There are more webkinz then you will ever be able to buy for your kids but letting them get one will make you and them happy. So go get one today.

This is a quote from the WebkinzHub website. I especially love the part, "Your kids will love you forever." Or until they want another webkinz.

DH and I have started playing the games for Em and Ballerina on the webkinz site to help them earn Kinzcash. Without Kinzcash Ballerina can't buy clothes or even food for her pet. Ballerina is 3 1/2 and most the games are too complex for her. Em stands next to her while she is playing and tells her what to buy. I don't think it is teaching either of them to be responsible. But they know it's just for fun and they only get a set amount of time each day to play. It's funny to watch Em on the computer she clicks around and does things on that website super fast without being able to read. She even memorized her login information.

Some of the games are really fun and challenging. Sometimes I like to play the mindless games just to feel good about myself. Cor is always low on cash and Mya has plenty to spare because she is careful with it. In real life and in Webkinz World. I love playing it so much that I find all other computer games a dissappointment because I am not earning Kinzcash. DH is just as hooked.

It's good having the computer in a central location where I can keep an eye on what they are doing. I don't let them play on it when I am in the shower or busy in another room. I constantly worry about how much time they spend on the computer, TV and other mindless entertainment. Cor thinks that's the only thing to do in the world. We really focused on getting him things for Christmas that might give him something else to do. I did teach him how to use the knifty knitter and he is knitting a hat. He is doing well and almost done.