Misc.

I never knew my brother, Craig, disliked flying. Last October, when we needed to get down to my dad's immediately, I told Craig we needed to hop on a plane. That is when he informed me he didn't fly. So, we drove. And drove. And drove. Now I don't particularly love to fly, but I do it. Last weekend, Craig & I were discussing flying again. Here's what he said:

"Oh I don't mind flying, I just don't like the height." LOL!

:)

Welcome! To my FREE blog!

Did you know I was so frugal? :)

Good glory, building this blog was like pulling teeth. How many people in the world use Blogger? Sheesh! I'm not kidding you - I literally spent 2 full days trying to find a site that wasn't already taken. Adding 'bliss' was all I could come up with without changing my entire blog name. That said, though, I love, love, love the word 'bliss'. The dictionary definition reads: "1. complete happiness 2. heaven or paradise". How awesome is that? My life is an amazing journey, full of bliss! So I guess it's just perfect. <-- Uh, obviously that site name didn't work for me (amazingjourneybliss). :) Question to all you blogspot bloggers - do you resize your photos? When using Typepad, I always resized them to a 4 X 6 & changed the DPI to 72. The above photo has been resized, but I don't think I'm going to from here on out. What do you do?

Ok, time to prioritize. I'm a prioritizer. :)

1.) Time to decorate the trees & house for Christmas. My children are becoming impatient. :)

2.) Get my Typepad blog saved & printed. Fortunately, husband can do this at work. Once it is printed, I've decided that once a day I will add a post/photos. No hurry I suppose. The only odd thing is that all of my posts will be out of whack until I get the transferring completed. Ah well. I won't sweat the small stuff. :)

3.) Get this blog's banner & background customized. It's time for me to update my banner anyhow. That's one thing I love about Blogger - you can have your own personal banner (& background) with no size restrictions & it's free of charge. :)

Somewhere in between all that I will be mourning the end of DWTS. No more until next year. How will I get by? I know Kat is feeling my pain. lol! :) Don't fret, I have another DWTS post & then I should be finished. I know you all want just one more dancing video. :)

Here is a photo of my wee ones. Yes, they are still here. I know everyone was questioning their existence since DWTS temporarily invaded my blog. :) Christmas came early. A few weeks ago we bought a trampoline & my cuties just love it. We still need add the safety net - all in due time. Christmas decorations first! :)

Off to get busy! Happy Wednesday! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

My Typepad is up for renewal. Again. In January. I pay $90 yearly for this blog. And I hate that. So here I sit again. I want to switch to Blogger. It's free. Basically, give or take a little, it functions like Typepad. Did I mention it's free? It's free. And I can have my own personal banner. And it's free. Ü

What to do? I tried to make this switch last year, but couldn't get everything transferred in time from this blog to my new blog. So I renewed Typepad. Instead of trying to transfer all my posts, maybe I should just start fresh with Blogger...? I'll 'lose' 2 years worth of posts & photos. I guess I could print out my Typepad blog.

Happy Thanksgiving! We are headed to the Hilton. They cook much better than I do. Count your blessings today! You'll be amazed at how many blessings you come up with. God is so good to us. :)

I Swiffered.

And they're sick. All three of my miniatures. Sick. All have stuffy & runny noses.
Coincidence? I don't know.

* Bentley was at the pediatrician this a.m. & he is now on breathing treatments for the first time ever. She seems to think that his cold has been brought on by allergies. Audi is pretty much fine & Jaguar has a cold too, but not as bad as Bents. Due to Bent's allergies (she also gave him 3 prescriptions to try to help his allergies! No one has ever done that before) I will not Swiffer anymore. Honestly, with his severe allergies, I can't believe I didn't remove all chemicals years ago. I'll wash my floors with vinegar & water until I find something organic that I prefer. The kids can just walk around with dirty looking socks, if that continues to happen. Their socks may look dirty, but their lungs will be cleaner. I hope. Ü

Goin' Green update.

This is mostly for my benefit so I can keep everything straight! I'm still experimenting with certain items & I don't want to get confused.

Glass/Mirrors - vinegar or diluted vinegar. Can't tell a difference - both work great.

Toilet bowls - Arm & Hammer or Bon Ami and/or vinegar. I'm going to try Borax next.

Exterior toilet - Clorox Anywhere. Soak all parts - let sit- wipe with paper towels, including surrounding floor.

Laundry - perfume/dye-free detergent & Borax (at the same time). Love, love, love this. I probably will never use anything else.

Floors - I'm disappointed in this area & very frustrated. Initially on my hardwoods/marble/ceramic tile I used hot water & a tad of dish soap. Floors looked beautiful, but I think the dish soap attracted dirt. I noticed the bottom of my children's socks were "dirty" & no way will I do that. No way. Never will my children run around with dirt on the bottom of their socks. (That's my OCD factor.) So next I tried vinegar & water (but not on the marble as vinegar is too harsh for marble). Same outcome. I finally broke down & bought some more Swiffers. Voila! Clean floors & no dirty socks. UGH! I don't want to use perfumed Swiffers. But for now, I will until I find another solution. I need to try to find something different though for my ceramic tile floors as those are way more hearty.

Bathroom counters - Arm & Hammer, but I may switch back to my Bon Ami since it's a tad more abrasive. Still no chlorine, perfume or dye.

Shower - finally! - Bon Ami. Works like a charm & rinses quickly. April tipped me off to Mr. Clean Magic Erasers - which I think worked great! However, my shower is so large, it would take me about 15 erasers each cleaning. So I tried Bon Ami & loved it. The minor issue I have with using Arm & Hammer on the shower tile is that the product "gunks up" on the cloth/sponge & it's difficult to spread. Maybe I'm doing it wrong...? Bon Ami was super simple to scrub with & rinsed effort-free.

All purpose cleaner - still using Clorox Anywhere. Love it. Typically I only use it in the kitchen & on the toilets.

TV/TV screens/Computer/Computer screens - diluted vinegar & paper towels. Works great.

Dusting - right now using Scotchbrite's Microfiber Cloths - this area still a work in progress.
And just so you all know - NO ONE has been sick at all since I switched my cleaning products. No one. Has been sick. At all. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

* I think, for now, I'm going to stop using Arm & Hammer & begin using Bon Ami. Bon Ami is a tad more abrasive & comes in a shaker can which is easier to use. Arm & Hammer is "Sodium Bicarbonate", Bon Ami is "Calcium Carbonate". Not sure what the difference is. Hubby stated the obvious - Arm & Hammer is sodium based, Bon Ami is calcium based. Makes sense, but not sure if it's accurate. Bon Ami also states it is biodegradable detergent & contains no phosphorus. :)

Just a mom.

Maybe it's just me. Maybe you agree.

I've been a play-at-home mom now for almost 7 years. To me, I have the most important 'job' in the world. I am shaping, forming & building our future - my children. I get paid nothing for this venture, other than 3 beautiful smiles as my reward. And those smiles are good enough. Witnessing my children grow into honest, responsible, hard working, happy, intelligent, determined children confirms to me I am doing my job. I'm doing it darn well & I don't take this task lightly. It is extremely difficult & challenging.

Many of you know hubby is in the advertising industry. His company has a new logo, & personally, I dislike it. It's no big deal, I just don't like it. Hubby happened to share my thoughts with his brother, who works for the same company. My brother-in-law responded with "let the advertising people handle the advertising, let the mom take care of the children". Originally I laughed it off. Then I became disturbed. It's disturbing to me that because of my status, I may be viewed as possibly not being worthy of opinions. This particular brother-in-law I just love, love, love. Never would he do anything to hurt my feelings. That was never his intent. However, his comment got me thinking.

Isn't that just like society, to belittle the mom, because after all, she's 'just a mom'? No, I don't wear heels every day anymore. I don't apply my makeup daily. My hair is not perfect. I don't have all the fancy dancy clothes anymore & I don't bring home a hefty or contributing paycheck. But I'll tell you one thing, I still have a mind of my own. Being a mom is what I do - it does not define me & who I am. I think the same, I have opinions & I have feelings - for crying out loud, I'm still a person. So my daily duties have changed. This makes me no less smarter than society, & it certainly makes me no less of an individual. When I quit my job years ago & made the decision to be a play-at-home mom, let me tell you what happened. I got a promotion! Raising my children is way more important than any advertising business. Jobs come & go - but I'll have my employment forever. Seems I'm the winner. :)

It infuriates me that moms typically get a bad rap. I am a firm believer that society puts us last, & society stereotypes us. That's a shame. I am a mom, but I am also a woman. I need love, I need affection, I need attention, I need passion, I need romance, & I need the spotlight, too. I deserve the spotlight. I am the very same individual I was when I went to work every day. I have the exact same needs, wants, desires, hopes & dreams. Just because I work inside the home now, doesn't mean I will settle for less than I deserve. And never in my life will I accept or tolerate belittling or degrading for a position God has designed me to do.

A year or so ago statistics showed that play-at-home moms made approximately $182,000.00 yearly. Wow! I'll take that - I earned it! Fortunately though, I don't get paid in funds. I get paid with three small children who respond respectfully with "yes ma'am", three children who have nothing less than gracious hearts, three children who have huge, beautiful smiles & eyes that sparkle, three children who well up with pride when they have given it their all, & three children who love my high fives & "you did a great job!". That's how I get paid. I'll take my payment, over society's payment or a monetary payment, anyday.

So maybe next time I don't like your logo, take it for what it's worth. Realize I'm someone not in the advertising industry & value my opinion. You don't have to agree, but don't stereotype me as ignorant or dumb just because I work inside my home every day. Treat me with respect. I deserve nothing less. Keep in mind, too, that your job is much easier than mine. You're building advertising, I'm building character.

Will You Dance With Me.

Beautiful song by Julianne Hough. Because I love dancing so much, I thought I'd post the video. :)