what is your true color??

i love these little analysis of yourself especially when it is about color. so, i took this test & found it quite interesting! my results:

Your color is black. The color of night. Serene and mysterious, black conjures up images of elegant evening gowns, dashing tuxedos, and gleaming limousines. Traditionally a symbol of success, black also represents power and an uncompromising demand for perfection. Not surprisingly, you tend to set challenging goals for yourself and do whatever it takes to achieve them — your strength of character is second to none. This unfaltering determination, along with your natural elegance, impresses people. But keep in mind that your personality might be intimidating to some. Try to temper your demanding side with a little softness — trust us, it won't kill you. Overall, though, black is the color of professionalism and achievement, which means it's clearly the color for you.

Take the test & then post under comments your true color. i am wanting to read all the other colors. Click here to find out what your true color is.

7 random things about me

OK - so I got "tagged" so here it goes:

* i don't drink ANYTHING besides water. i prefer it room temperature - no ice. If eating out, i MUST have a straw. I love water & easily drink more than my 8 glasses a day!

* i have an internal alarm clock that goes off at 3 am every morning. this started several years ago & i would just lay in bed thinking & stressing about everything i had to do. after 6 months (yes, fast learner huh?) i decided since i was up i should just get my butt out of bed & start working on those things that were stressing me out. i can get 1/2 days work done before my kids start waking up - it has worked for me. so, the question is : when do i go to bed??? i typically go to bed about 10:30.

* i don't carry a purse. i think this started when i had to start carrying a diaper bag years ago & just don't like the hassle. i have a bad habit of sticking cash or a credit card in one of my kids pockets (because i don't have a pocket) & forgetting about it. steve gets so frustrated with me because i "misplace" my credit cards all the time. more times than not, i have "misplaced" at least 1 of the 3 credit cards (sometimes 2 of them but never all 3) - but they always show even if it is months later :)

* i don't like using public bathrooms - when out & about, it is common for me to go 10 hours without using the bathroom just because i rather not use a public one. they just kinda gross me out. i guess i have a pretty strong bladder since i can hold it all day & drink as much water as i do (it is kinda a subconscious thing)

* i coordinate my kids clothes for pictures. i either make sure their outfits match or more common is that i buy outfits that coordinate with certain scrapbook paper. it is not uncommon for me to have swatches of scrapbook papers with me when i go to buy clothes for my kids. call me crazy ... but the great thing about it is steve thinks this is NORMAL & that it is totally OK to buy the kids new clothes just so i can scrapbook using new paper (makes a layout quite expensive)

* i always sleep on the plane. almost every flight (& i have taken many of flights) i am asleep before we leave the runway & typically don't wake up until we land. i don't mind flights as I always can count on a good nap. the only bad thing is when i wake up i usually have a kink in my neck (yes, i have tried those pillows but i still get kinks)

* i am always going, going, going to not go anywhere. let me explain - i got a brand new car almost 2 years ago it had 5 miles on it & today it has less than 3000 miles. the only thing i can figure is that i either never go anywhere, i fly more than i drive or i don't drive anywhere without the kids?

happy new year!

i am just now recovering from our new years eve - what a wild night! NOT - we are old & lame! No really, we usually have a NYE party but this year, I honestly was partied out. We had a mellow evening with the kids then let the kids watch SpongeBob before bed. Thank goodness NICK had a countdown on EASTERN TIME. My kids were SO excited to bring in the New Year & I was so excited I could do so at 10 & then put them to bed :) We had sparkiling cider & dessert with the kids. Then, Steve & I watched CSI. Then, it was firework time, i never realized how loud & long the fireworks go off in our neigborhood because we are usually in the middle of it all.

WOW! i just can't believe it - 2007 has officially ended & we are onto 2008. it is hard for me to accept another year has come & gone. i am really excited about 2008 & know it will be a great year. i love the new year as it gives me the opportunity to reflect, revise & plan for improvement. i love the fresh start the new year brings - i LOVE having a brand new planner that i can start making all of my lists for the year. i have SO many lists going on right now it is ridiculous but it is me & i love it. i hate to say the "g" word - GOAL because as we all know goals are made to be broken... right?! i have been talking to the kids the past couple days about goals & how we will each set some individual goals & then set some goals as a family. the kids were all onboard & excited - it wasn't until today when i actually was ready to do this that i realized that jake thought a goal was a race. i have NO IDEA where he got that from - so funny. so, i am excited for 2008 & know it will be the best! i have ALOT i desire to accomplish & some hefty things i'd like to improve. i can't make any promises that i will succeed in everything i hope for this year but i will sure as hell try!

LIFE IS HERE AND IT IS NOW - I hope I can live each day without regret/guilt from yesterday or without stress of tomorrow but to LIVE each day!

I wish you the best in 2008 that your dreams will become reality & that you too can LIVE for today! Happy New Year - Make it the BEST!

reality

i feel like the past month has been a dream & now i am back in reality. reality is NOT a bad thing... it is just life. i have literally put life on HOLD for a while to enjoy the season with my family & it was memorable! it really is the simple things in life that brings us joy! i so often get caught up in the hustle & bustle of life (especially around christmas it is 10x worse). i am so gulity of overlooking those simple priceless things. i take so many things for granted. the things that i think are "so important" on a daily basis- in the big picture are not so much. BUT those are the "things" that tend to consume my time. it was wonderful to not have any stress & what a different perspective i have had on things & life in general.

but, it is now time to jump back into the grind of things & get things done. i have to pay bills, get MY LIFE organized, place orders for 2008 product & close the books for the year ... & that ALL requires many, many, many hours. i struggle with this time of year because i am so eager to start on new projects & everything for 2008 but I have to close 2007 off first. it is like a battle going on inside of me & i get a little grouchy.

i got really frustrated today as we have had a month off work (kinda) & i have not done anything that i had needed to do. i wanted to ORGANIZE (or REorganize) so many things (photos, cd's, personal files, computer files, address book, my closet, kids clothes, playroom, grand central station (this is our phone center/desk in our kitchen that is the "catch all" - it makes me crazy). i look around & nothing has been done - if anything it is worse. i have taken more pics to organize, the kids have more toys, grand central station is overflowed, etc. i am frustrated that i have so much i needed to do & now i am running out of time. i feel overwhelmed & that i have wasted time ...

but then i have to remember that time was NOT wasted it was spent with my family making memories that are far more important than having all my files organized on my computer.

but now that we have made "those" memories - I better get my butt in gear & get things done!

christmas is over???

i can't believe it - it is over! i hope everyone had the best christmas ever & enjoying the post-holiday activites! this christmas was fabulous - by doing the 12 days of christmas around here we have been in christmas mode for a while (i know i left many of you hanging & i did not report the last days of our 12 days of christmas - SORRY! it was awesome - lots of fun times - i just couldn't keep up with the blog as we were so busy). i thought about trying to go back & post the other "days of christmas" activites (after the fact) but it seems so anti-climatic & i am really just needing to move forward NOT backward (in so many ways). so, maybe next year - i will better a better blogger - hey, i get some slack as i am new to the blog word - HA!

i tried to take christmas eve pics with the kids in their new pj's. A few comments on this traditional photo that we have taken every year: 

1. once kids get a certain size - it is hard to find christmas pj's that coordinate with baby sizes. 

2. toddlers don't do well taking a photo way past their bedtime when all they want is their bottle. 

3. mom doesn't care too much about this photo as she use to.

santa was very good to us - the kids were so excited with their wii (as we knew they would be after all the effort that thing took to get). we all had fun breaking in all the new games - guitar hero is my favorite. i was looking forward to playing it with steve once we put the kids to bed BUT i fell asleep on the couch watching them play before ANY of the kids went to bed (i must of been a little tired :) i knew we'd all enjoy the wii but didn't think brock would be so entertained by it. he LOVES it - when we play he grabs the tv remote & dances the whole time (it doesn't matter if we are playing guitar hero or boxing - he is dancing - so cute & so exhausting for him (which is a bonus in itself).

keegan got her PINK guitar - she wanted it to have crystals on it. So, i got some adhesive clear jewels & put them all around the edges. it is really cute. 

anyways, my house is a mess & i just want to do nothing but hang out with the kids. i should clean up & put all the christmas decorations away but that will just have to wait until i get the motivation to do it. we have had a house full of kids for the last couple days. it has been super fun & pretty loud. below is a pic of jake & a couple of his buddies. 

6th day of christmas

pictures with santa

i can't believe that i have waited until now to get the kids pics with santa  - the lines are going to be insane. south towne mall has the BEST santa. my kids always refer to him as the "real" santa. i woke up this morning & decided we had to go today since it was thursday. tommorrow most kids don't have school or just have 1/2 day then it is the weekend. i do not want to be anywhere close to the mall the weekend before christmas. so, i knew that after 4pm the lines would be really, really bad. so , i decided to take jake out of school early so we could beat the rush. some may think i am a bad mom for taking him out of school for something so not neccesary. however, i think (or know) i would be a worse mom if i had to wait in line with 3 kids for several hours. we got to the mall & the line was nothing. seriously, i thought maybe 15 minutes at the most. well, it turned out to be more like 40 mins. but that was still OK. i talked to the gals working  & they confirmed how bad it has been at night- they said the line at night & Sat. went all the way down to Macy's. Now, for some that may mean nothing but that line would be 6x longer than it was today. so i honestly do not know how would ever wait that long, even to see the REAL Santa. 

we came home & one of our manufacturers came by the house. i was blown away by the tasteful gift they brought us. this picture does NOT do justice but they brought beautiful pewter serving bowl & a 3-tier platter that is goregous AND it was all loaded with: white chocolate- dipped cinnamon sugar apples (my absolute favorite treat), caramels & turtles, pecan logs, marshmellows dipped in caramel & chocloate (that's all i have sampled so far :) it was so unexpected & thoughtful! i love surprises especially when they are loaded with calories :)

7th day of christmas

neighbor, teacher & friend gifts

does anyone else cringe at the thought of what to get neighbors & teachers for christmas? it is something that i honestly love to do but also hate it. i love it because we have the best neighbors ever & am always wanting to give the perfect gift & it is so hard to decide on what to do. and teachers ... they are great & deserve more than they ever get. i always have GREAT intentions but time always seems to interfere. i was really excited about the project i was going to do this year - WAS being the key word. i can't tell because i will try to do it next year. anyways ... here is what we did for the kids class & friends:

i got these holiday suckers at costco with a ribbon bow & a little holiday greeting from the kids &  all their classmates & friends were done. they were yummy to0 - they look like peppermint but the flavors were strawberry, apple, grape & cherry. i just LOVE costco & this is just one of the many reasons.

for neighbor gifts, we did a family night bucket with popcorn, candy, rootbeer & a giftcard to blockbuster. kinda corny maybe but who wouldn't enjoy a movie night at home with the kids? the kids had fun helping write on all the tags, getting all the gifts put together, & most of all delivering them in the snow.