Swine Flu is Real!

UPDATE...

Thank the Lord...I don't have the swine flu! LOL! I went to the doctor yesterday and it turns out that I have a horrible case of bronchitis! So, he loaded me up with about 5 prescriptions that will hopefully make me better soon!

A special thank you to my loving, wonderful husband that took care of me and our very spirited children this weekend while I was ill! And, that also waited in the waiting room of the ER with them for a whole 3 1/2 hours while the doctors were tryin' to figure out what was wrong with me.
~Love you babe!

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ORIGINAL...

I am about sick and tired of this whole swine flu thing! Not only have two people just died of the swine flu in El Paso (Where I live!!!), but one of them was my age! I'm not gonna lie...I'm freaked out! Bella started coughing and had a fever the day before yesterday. She seems a little better. No fever anymore but she still has that darn cough, which kinda seems worse. And Lucky me, I woke up with the worst sore throat I have ever had in my entire life, and its still burnin' strong!

It sucks because the swine flu symptoms are really just like any other flu. Even if you test negative for influenza at your doc's office, you may still have it. The only way to know for sure if you have it, is to have labs taken at your doctors office and have them sent to the state agencies, and they aren't offering these tests to everyone...only those who have severe symptoms or are in the groups for high risk, because of the enormous amount of tests being sent in. I think Bella might be in a high risk category but I'm not sure. They have been mainly saying children under two.

This is ridiculous! I should just be thinking, "No big deal! We're kinda sick, but it will pass. If not we will go to the doctor and get antibiotics." Not, "Crap this could be the Swine flu and we could die." RIDICULOUS!!!

As if the freakin' Swine Flu is not bad enough, a little kid is battling rabies because she was bitten by a bat that had rabies(the 5th bat that tested positive for rabies here this year)! Less than 1% of people survive from rabies, so basically NONE!

Swine Flu and Bats with Rabies! Great!

No more watching the news for me!

Growing!

Bella: "Mommy, I'm growing!"

Mommy: "Yes you are!"

Bella: "And when I'm a grown up, I'm gonna make dinner!"

Mommy: "You are? What else are you going to do when you are a grown up?"

Bella: "Ummm, bake pancakes for Easter! Oh...and be a firefighter!"

Sold Out!

If any of you have been traveling to My Etsy Shop via

my Rose Hairpin Tutorial post and were disappointed that they were nowhere to be found, don't fret! ;o)

I SOLD OUT!

As soon as my supply shipments come in I will get more in there!

Circus!

This last Saturday, we headed out of the house and went to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus! For Robby, Bella, and Lilly, this was their first circus ever. I hadn't been to one since I was probably as old as Bella. We had so much fun!

Bells with a couple of the performers. They didn't do much though. I think one of these girls juggled some scarfs for like a minute. I could do that! Did they just wake up one day and say, "Hmmm. I think I'll join the circus?" I should have asked I guess.

Lilly was happy as could be ridin' with her Daddy in her new carrier.

Well I tried to get a good pic of me and my Bella before my camera died, but she just wasn't havin' it! Too excited for the circus to take a pic with her mom i guess!

Bella eatin' a clown fro snow cone! Scary!(Not Bella...The clown!)

Bella in her spiffy new hat that came with her cotton candy! It was a little big! LOL!

Lilly loved the cotton candy!

Sweet Lilly baby all tuckered out! Every time the circus band played music she would shake her head back and forth, and dance, and laugh! Silly girl! She had a blast!

The Finale!

My camera kept dying so this was the only picture I took of the actual circus!

"Robots" Interactive Exhibit!

A few weekends ago, we went to The Interactive Robots Exhibit at the Lynx Exhibits Museum. The exhibit was based one of Bella's favorite movies, "Robots."

They had a ton of activites for all of the kids! Bella had a blast!

Daddy and Bella using robot arms to pick up toys and put them in a box. It was tougher than it looked! ;o)

Daddy and Bella playing with some real robots!

Bella and I in the cross-town express from the robots movie! There was a screen in front of it that played this part of the movie, and the seat moved with the movie so it was like you were really riding the cross-town express!

Bella playing with more robot arms to move blocks!

Bella takin a quick pic before building her own robot.

Daddy and Bella playing and learning about dominos just like Bigweld, and Lilly...as always...happy as clam!

Daddy and Bella as Fender's head!

We had so much fun!

Italian Night!

So tonight is Italian night! What does that mean??? Well it means that the theme for our dinner is Robby's favorite...Italian!

I made lasagna, caesar salad, warm Italian bread, and l'olio saporiti e l'aceto for dipping!

What is l'olio saporiti e l'aceto??? Well...it means tasty oil and vinegar in Italian. For short we call it "the speal." Its my little take on the classic oil and vinegar that you dip your bread in as an appetizer, and boy is it ever tasty! Don't believe me? Try it for yourself! Here's how to make it!

What you will need:

A small plate

Balsamic Vinegar

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Minced Garlic

100% Grated Parmesan Cheese

First you will need a teaspoon to a tablespoon of minced garlic, depending on how much garlic you like.

Then spread the minced garlic evenly around the plate, as shown above.

Next, cover the plate & garlic with your grated parmesan cheese (about 3/4 cup).

I then make a sort of spiral of balsamic vinegar over the cheese.

Lastly, I zig-zag the extra-virgin olive oil over the top.

Slice some Italian or French bread for dipping and enjoy!

Its a big favorite at my house! Let me know how ya like it!

Not Me Monday!

The "Not Me!" Monday blog carnival was created by MckMama at My Charming Kids. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing.

As for me...

This week I was not a work-a-holic. I did not run around my house like a pregnant nesting mother or if you prefer, a chicken with her head cut off cleaning and disinfecting and organizing...and disinfecting.

I did not find myself covered in mod podge and super glue due to the fact that I was making creations for My Etsy Shop.

I absolutely did not feel the need to organize every nook and cranny of my home and spray everything with disinfectant while wearing zebra print rubber gloves. Then, ten minutes later when all my surfaces were surely disinfected I did not spray them again to disinfect for another ten minutes...Not me!

My OCD was most certainly not so intense that I kept running after my children picking up and organizing every small item that was out of place!

On Saturday, while taking a break from my madness to make some dinner for my fam, I did not accidentally create the most yummy casserole dish ever! I may or may not post the easy recipe later!

I have to also mention that while I was quite possibly the evil cleaning queen of my domicile, my evil ways did not rub off on my oldest daughter causing her to make her bedroom spic-n- span. She also didn't feel a need to then clean her own bathroom. That would just be insanity...a twilight zone if you will!

Of course, I didn't take before and after pics of my cleaning lunacy to blog about it later. That would make me a crazy person, which I am not!

Sweet Tooth!

I as of late have had a major hankering for everything sweet! More specifically anything chocolate covered. Chocolate covered raisins and pretzels being my favorites, but did you know that sugar has many different uses other than making your tooth ache and your tummy jiggle?

Here are 5 summer worthy uses that have nothing to do with your sweet tooth:

#1 A Hand Cleanser- I'm sure you have heard of sugar scrubs. I love them. Sugar works as a natural exfoliant, so if you have very greasy and/or dirty hands, rub them with sugar and rinse to cleanse them.

#2 Soothe A Burn On Your Tongue- I can name about a hundred times that I have sipped my coffee or hot chocolate or took a bite of food way too soon and burnt my tongue. Next time this happens to you, sprinkle a little sugar on it and the pain will be temporarily relieved.

#3 Bug Trap/Killer- If you have a fly or wasp problem boil some water and sugar together, sometimes adding pepper helps. Then pour it into an open container like a cup or jar. They will be attracted by the sugar, and will get stuck in the liquid.
-If you have a cockroach problem, mix together some sugar and baking powder. They will be attracted to the sugar, but the baking powder will kill them.

#4 Keep Food Fresh- I actually use this method to help keep cookies fresh, but it would work for biscuits, muffins, etc. Simply put some sugar cubes in the bottom of the jar, box, container etc. that you are storing your baked goods. The cubes will absorb the moisture and keep your food fresh for much longer.

#5 Get A Fire Going- Who needs kindling when you've got sugar. If you are having a tough time getting a fire going, throw some sugar on it, about a handful. The sweet stuff will light up and help to get your fire blazing.

A Simple Giraffe Taggie!

This is the first taggie animal that I have attempted. Bella suggested that I make a giraffe and he should be running.

So here he is...running! LOL!

Once he was all finished, Bella lovingly named him Stripes!

HaHa!

Rose Hairpin Tutorial!

This is such a FUN and FAST Craft!

I think it probably took me less than 15 seconds to make one.

Seriously!

What you will need:

A bobby pin with an 8mm pad

A rose cabochon 18mm or larger

super glue gel

You can find everything you need on Etsy, but I found cheaper rose cabochons on ebay.

First, place a dab of super glue gel on the pad of the bobby pin.

Next place the bobby pin glue side down onto the flat side of the rose.

Press firmly, Let dry, and...

BAM!

You have an adorable, EASY, hair pin!

If you dont feel like making them but want some. Go to My Etsy Shop! I'll be putting a ton of them in my boutique today!