Mommy award

I received an award from NeedSleepy for being a good mommy. Can I just say that you really brightened my day! so here is the deal. The rules for this award are, as follows:

1) Admit that ONE thing you feel awful about involving being a mom. Get it off your shoulders. Once you've written it down, you are NO LONGER allowed to feel bad. It's over with, it's in the past. Remember, you're a good mom!

2)To remind yourself that you ARE a good mom, list SEVEN things you love about your kids, you love doing with your kids, or that your kids love about you. These are the things to remind yourself of EVERY DAY that you rock!

3)Send this to FIVE other Moms of the Year that deserve forgiveness and a reminder that they, too, are the best moms they can be!!! Remember to send them a note to let them know you've selected them, and add a link to the person who nominated you!"

My embarrassing awful thing would be my weight. I know that may sound weird as a mommy embarrasment. Here is the thing. Nearly everyone we know is overweight. So my kids think that the cooler you are the bigger your belly. (Papa's are both pretty big guys and they are the girls faves) They are all the time sticking out their little tummys and saying "look how big my tummy is!" So I feel it is my job as a mom to show them what a healthy woman's body is supposed to look like. And I have not been doing so well at that job.

1) I love to hear my kids playing together and loving each other. They are best friends. They don't like being apart and I think there is nothing sweeter in this whole world then seeing them snuggled up in one of their beds, where they were playing and fell asleep. When they say I love you to each other it warms my heart.

2) I love to cuddle with my girls. Nearly every morning they wake up and come crawl into our bed and just want to be held for a little bit. I can lay there and hug and kiss them as much as I want. It is an amazing way to start your day!

3) I love seeing them learn new things. They soak so much in. I always loved to learn and watching my girls get excited about going to a museum or the zoo makes me so happy. We decided to send Valerie to preschool at three because she had been saying for awhile that she wanted to learn to read. Nothing makes Momma more proud than having smart babies!

4) I have two girls. I love that! I won't lie. It is so much fun to put them in beautiful dresses and hairbows, or take them to dance class in little tutus. I think it is cute when they play princess and sing and twirl around the room. I love that they like to go shopping and get new clothes and shoes. I love that we can sit and giggle together just because we are the ladies of the house.

5) I love sitting down with my kids for family dinner. I love how they joke with Daddy and tell him all about their day. I love that they make silly faces at me to get out of those last couple bites. I love that when Steven can't make it they are super disapointed because being together as a family is important to them too.

6) I love to take my kids outside. Whether it is our backyard, the zoo, or the lake. They love being outside. They like to watch the animals. They like to swing and blow bubbles. They love sitting around a campfire. They are such good little campers! We always have a blast when we are outside.

7)I love when my girls laugh. I think this is on every mom's list. There is truly nothing in this world than listening to your happy child laugh out loud. You can not help but laugh along! Valerie has gotten out of more trouble than you could ever imagine because once that giggle starts mommy is done!

I send this award to all moms out there! Fill this out and know that you are an awesome mommy with some amazing kiddos!

My Wish List

Things that I want. No budget just wants that you think about, dream about or lust over. They can be plausible or extrordinary. Whatever. My list of wants are semi realistic. Probably just not in the near future. I want to see yours too! Go ahead. Dream big and blog it out.








1) A "real" wedding ring. When Steven and I got married we were just kids. I bought him a $60 gold band and I had my $100 promise ring. For our first ann. I upgraded his to a real ring. Well, a few years ago my ring was lost and I was devestated. Ever since I have been wearing the gold band he originally wore at our wedding. Now, obviously that is low on the priority list when you have a family. Someday though, my dream of diamonds will be fulfilled.





2) An SUV again. Two years ago my Durango was hit by a drunk driver and totaled. My husband talked me into replacing it with his truck. Ugh. I dream all the time of more space for people and somewhere to put groceries where they won't get rained on and I don't have to tie them down.





3) Lasik or PRK. I am legally blind without corrective eyewear. My eyes are becoming increasingly intolorant of my contacts. I want to wake up and not feel like Velma.





4) I want a HUGE house. I am talking in the neighborhood of 4000 square feet. I want a master suite with seperate walk in closets and a jacuzzi bath. I want an enormous kitchen and dining room for holiday dinners. I want a spare bedroom or two for visiting relatives. I want to have a house that you get excited to go to. There is nothing like going home for the holidays and being four deep on the living room floor.





5) A professional grade camera. Any of the Nikon D-SLR. They take the most beautiful pictures. My sister in law has the d40x, my sisters friend has the d200. They are amazing and I want one.





6) I want several more dogs. I am a huge sucker for a puppy. They are the cutest and I wouldn't mind having more. I want a puggle and maybe a boston terrier. The american eskimos are super cute too!





7) I want land. Not much, maybe just a couple of acres but enough that our neighbors are not right on top of us. Enough that our animals had room to run. Space all our own.





8) I want to own a motorcycle someday. Steven and I joke all the time about when the kids move out getting his and hers bikes and hitting the road. I also want a camper. I love being outside.



9) I want one of those roombas. The robot vacuum/mop. I want something that I can just turn on and it does the work for me. Hallelujah!!!

10)I want a Kindle 2. How awesome and super sci-fi are those things. My inner nerd is drooling over the idea of having all your books, textbooks, mags, etc on a little electronic pad.


11) I want to travel EVERYWHERE! I want to travel the US. I want to travel all over Europe. I want to see somewhere tropical before I die. I want to see the world.





12) I want to be able to give our daughters a financially secure future with money for college and money for weddings and money left over for us. I want to have the life and give them the opportunities our parents were not able to always give us.

Say What?

So my daughters new obsession has been Barbie movies. God help us all! They watch them over and over. Mostly it is a lot of singing and dancing with a little story thrown in. Either way, so one of the movies the girls got for X-Mas is Diamond Castle....ooh aah. In this movie they sing a song about feeling connected. "I feeeeel cooonneeeceted!!" My girls have been running around with their little arms widespread, spinning around and belting this from the top of their lungs. Now for the funny part. My two year old still hasn't mastered diction. So when she sings it it comes out sounding a little more like " I feel Nekked!" Oh yeah! My darling Nessa feels free and nekked. Strangely enough she most often sings it while unclothed. Teenage years are going to be a bitch.......

Playing Catch Up.....

So I haven't been keeping up with my blogging. I owe my lovely friends 10 facts about myself and a meaningful quote. So, that is my goal for today. Next week I am going to post my daily hot guys. I just need to compile my sexy list. I am kind of playing catch up. Soon I will conquer laziness and procrastination.....soon.

So ten facts about me.

1) I don't do well in large crowds. They overwhelm me and make me anxious. All the commotion and people talking over each other is a lot for me to handle. I also don't like when lots of people are talking at once. Same reason. My husband makes fun of me. I punch him. Then I feel more calm.

2) I love to spend time with my family. They are the most important thing in my life. All of them: my husband, my children, Mom, Dad, Mom and Dad in law, brothers and sisters, cousins, nieces, nephews, grandparents. I love that my kids get to see both our families all the time and family are going to be their best friends. They are the best and it is fun to be together.

3) I have no idea what I want to do in life. Still. I have wanted to be a dancer since I was 3. When that slipped by I was left lost. I still am kind of wandering around without direction as far as a degree and career is concerned. I have toyed with about 100 ideas and still haven't settled on any one thing. I keep just hoping I can lose 60 pounds and dance anyway I guess. hahahaha

4) I love to dance. I can not even explain the feeling. I am considerably heavier than before so I am unable to do some of the things that came so naturally before. It is VERY hard for me but I am just blessed that I am still able to dance at all. I live and breathe to dance.

5) I love UFC. It rocks my world. I would give my left buttcheek to go to a fight! I know it isn't very girly but I love it all the same.

6) I love shoes. Heels really. I think they are super sexy and they always fit. I never wore a pair of shoes that made me feel too fat.

7) I don't like soda. Or really any carbonated beverage. I think it is kinda gross. I haven't really drank soda in almost 5 years. Every once in awhile I try it and remember why I stopped. Yuck!

8)I love singing. Eveywhere, in the car and in the shower, around the house with my kids. Just not in front of people. I loved singing in small groups or choirs but solos make me feel like throwing up.

9) I love food. All food. I think it is fun to try new things. I love to cook and bake. I love to experiment and discover new tastes and ideas. Plus, there is nothing that brings a family together like a good meal. My family sits down almost every night for a family supper. We talk about our days and just eat together.

10) I used to think that I didn't have any friends and that I would never know what it meant to have a "real" best friend. Now, I havbe some of the very best friends in the whole world. So many good people that I can really count on. I love you with all my heart and I don't know what I would do without you!

Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom. -Thomas Jefferson

Now, I do not have five friends on here who haven't already done this but I will tag Shauna, Kathleen and Tiffany. Love yoU!

Stop and Hear the Music

I am sorry. I found this just so absolutely facinating and I just had to share. Some of you may know that I am a news junkie. I read it all from finances to entertainment but this one was really good. I don't know why it caught my attention but I felt it was worth sharing.




A Violinist in the Metro
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

I can't believe I did that!!

So I thought it would be fun to try this. My silly little sister suggested setting up a "truth box" on MySpace and having people anonymously sending in their most embarrassing stories. So feel free to do one of two things. Pop on over to my page and give it a go...OR, if you are not shy, go ahead and email them to me. I am going to post them every time a get a few. I will probably add some of my own. God only knows I have plenty! Hahahahahaha...Get your friends involved. Have them turn in stories or just do it for them. My page address is myspace.com/ambersmilz. Have fun reminiscing!