Throwback Thursday!

You guessed it.....its Thursday!  SO what have I pulled from the archives this week?

Video Games: 

I am not much of a video game player still to this day.  But there is one game that I would play for hours on end with all my cousins while hanging out at the grandparents house!  That's right its..........

Mario!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

This game could keep any kids busy for hours....days....weeks!  I have tried to find games just like it but nothing compares to the original :-(. I couldn't leave this out of throwback!  

Its about the hair:  

Everyone knows that the 80's/early 90's was all about the hair!  A past time I took kind of serious!  Sad but true....i did help from my dear mother lol.  The first one is my all time favorite.....

The hair scrunchies!  OH the possibilities. And they were so AWESOME!  

Next is a throwback that my family will just love hehe.  I had bangs most of my childhood....meaning.....

You guessed it....HUGE bangs!  I look back and realize that it looked horrible and thankful that I got rid of the bangs in high school.  This is not me but I did have a perm with the big bangs so its a good replica lol.  

Until next time!

*Shanna Marie* 

pinterest pin!

I pinned a post off pinterest on how to tie your running shoes.

Here was the original post: 

How to tie your running shoes to fit your feet better........ 

My shoe holes are a tad bit different but I did the same concept....

And the result!?!?!?! 

Before my feet hurt all over.  I figured it was from being a new runner and pounding the pavement.  But then why would the tops of my feet hurt?  

I retied my shoes this morning and went for a very early morning run!  On a side note Im very proud of my self for that run because I convinced my self to run on a busy road and get over my fear!  Ok back to the results.... Its been about 12 hours since I returned and STILL NO foot pain.  My feet felt more free and the shoes didn't feel as heavy!  

SO I'm chalking this up to a Pinterest SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Until next time!

*Shanna Marie* 

6 week challenge

I need to start getting serious about this 5K!  School is over...final grades are posted so now there is nothing else to concentrate on but the 5K.  Also getting fit.  I gained more weight then I ever wanted to this past year :-(.  But I feel awesome changes are on the way!

What I have to make a good start:  

I figured of course I need some good running gear!

The very basics...running shoes, iphone holder, and a waist pocket thingy (not sure what to all it because it's not a fanny pack but same concept lol).   

I wanted another way to build up my endurance and get another workout on non-running days so I picked up a new bike! 

Nothing fancy but I did have to make a few adjustments.  I took it for a ride and came home in major tushy pain.  Sad day I know.  So I took the old seat off!!! 

This tiny thing was just not going to work :-( And got a more comfortable one

Much nicer for the bum!  So I think I'm better equipped then I was when I started!  Let the challenge begin!  I have 6 weeks until the race and about 14 until school starts again.  That should be plenty of time to meet most of my getting fit goals!  

Ill keep you updated on what Ive done each week!  And see how long it takes to meet my goals!  If you have an awesome workout plan let me know!  I'm always up for new ideas since I get bored pretty easy doing the same thing over and over.  

Until next time 

*Shanna Marie*

Electric Run

I posted a while back about finally breaking down and signing up for a 5K.  I finally did it!  I'm not ready by any means but I have until June!
The Electric run will be my motivation!  You can check out their website and see how awesome it looks like its going to be. electricrun.com

So if you have any advice for a first time runner that would be awesome!  Or just some cheers along the way would be great too!  

SUPER PUMPED!  

*Shanna Orr*

Throwback Thursday!

It has been a while....ok a LONG while since I've done a throwback!  But good news is Finals are now over.  THANK GOODNESS might I add!  I have a whole summer to blog which is the most exciting part about today.
Since it has been finals week, I couldn't resist this first throwback.

Lisa Frank! 

Now I am not afraid to admit that if Lisa Frank made..I owned it!  I kinda had an addiction to stationary, stickers, pencils, folders....blah, blah, blah haha.  I Loved it all.

 An oldie but goody I believe.  

And next will bring a little tear jerker considering still it has been finals week.  I needed a good pick me up, cryer, and just plain good movie.  

Sixteen Candles! 

WELL that's what I got this week!  

*Shanna Marie* 

Iced Coffee Recipe

So I'm one of those millions that cant function in the morning without some sort of caffeine!  So i decided why not try to make my own iced coffee!  After a couple attempts at the exact mixtures I finally got it tasting almost as good as Starbucks!

What you need:

8 Cups of coffee-prepare how you like it in the coffee maker.  

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup of your favorite creamer- I used caramel macchiato

Thats all believe it or not!  You might even have it all in your pantry already!

 So here we have the regular sugar, brown sugar, and coffee creamer.  Just hanging out until the coffee is done brewing.  

Now that the coffee is all done I measured out 8 cups of coffee. It was pretty much the whole 12 cup craft so don't go by the markings on it.  It is HOT so just be careful!  

 You will need to put both sugars and creamer in while the coffee is still hot so that it dissolves nicely.  

Stir and place it into the fridge over night!  You will have some delish iced coffee first thing in the morning.  Another great idea is to freeze left over coffee (probably from another time since this takes all of it) in ice cube trays.  You toss those into a cup, pour the iced coffee over it, and top it with whipped cream.  

It is sure to get you morning going!  

It looks so yummy!  

*Shanna Marie* 

Throwback Thursday!!

Its Thursday once again.  Crazy how time flies!  I only found a couple things this week but they are GOOD ones!

Cabbage Patch kids hold a special place in my heart.  I used to teach to my "kids" when nobody else wanted to play with me!  Little did I know I would actually be going to school to become a teacher.  Funny how things circle around.  I also have a cute little bold headed Cabbage Patch kid that I called "Charlie."  He was my best friend at a young age.  I have asked my mother where he went but sadly nobody knows :-(  There has been several that were passed down to my little sister but not Charlie.  But any ways, Cabbage Patch kids were a great addition to throwback Thursday!

The next is a fantastic invention that I wish I still had lol.

The Tee shirt clip!!!!!  I had several of these and wore them with pride!  I'm not sure what use I would have with them now days but its a good throwback!   Oh the 80's were great weren't they?!?!?!

Well until next time!  If you find a throwback you find worthy....let me know!!

*Shanna Marie*  

Throw Back Thursday--week 2!

So I know that I missed last week :-(.  Its amazing how much you can not get done on spring break.  Oh well I'm well rested and ready to back to it!  What ever it may be lol.
Ok I have found some GOOOOODDDDD stuff for this week of blast from the past!

Lets start off awesome!

The good old slap bracelet!  And from looking around you can buy these fancy things again.  How awesome is that.  I see a slap bracelet frenzy happening in our house real soon!  http://www.orientaltrading.com
You can check out all the cool designs at orientaltrading.  Now Im not endorsing them by any means, just passing on some useful information.  And in my opinion is an awesome place to find about anything!  And in bulk.  Lets be honest with 3 young girls in our house, anything like this would cause a fight if we didn't have lots of them.  Heck i'll be fighting over them too!



Ok, what else did I come across this week?!?!  I'm a little embarrassed to admit how obsessed I was with this TV show.  But it's too late to look away now!

Yep, that's Power Rangers.  We didn't just watch this show, We LIVED for this show lol.  I remember going on vacation to Kansas as a young child and had to make sure we knew what time this aired so that I wouldn't miss anything!  Looking back, It was a little crazy haha.





And last by not least!   Lets get the books out!

I can still find these books at 1/2 priced books and just want to buy them all.  But then I remember that I have read them all at least 10 times each!  It was an awesome series that I really need to get my kids into!

Well until next time, I'll see you when I see you!!!

*Shanna Marie*

Throw Back Thursday!

I decided to start a new "Regular" post.  Whats better then a blast from the past?  Throw Back Thursday is a great way to show all my favorites (and some ridiculous stuff that we thought were awesome).
I thought why not start back....way back...this week!  The 80's where I was proudly born!

Jelly Shoes!  I lived in these for many many years. I also believe that I owed every color possible!  Who wouldn't love these shoes?  They were so comfortable, stylish, and just plan AWESOME!

Simon Says.  I would rack this up to being on of the best games from my childhood.  This thing could keep me busy for hhhoooouuuurrrrrsssss!  And somehow Simon also won :-(.  

I would think this is a good start.  Tune in next Thursday to see what other crazy stuff I can dig up for Throw Back Thursday.  

Or if you have an awesome idea that you loved, let me know and I can add it to the list! 

*Shanna Marie*

Simple and Easy Chili

Who doesn't love Simple and Easy?  I have modified many different recipes trying to find a cheep and Delicious chili.  The kids come home excited to have supper (they don't care for chili) but they love this recipe probably because it's not spicy.
OK...all you need is......
2 cans of light red kidney beans (I picked up the HyVee brand 89 cents each) rinsed
2 cans of dark red kidney beans (also HyVee brand for 89 cents each)  Also rinsed
2 large (29 oz) Hunts sauce ($1.88 a piece)
1 can of diced tomatoes (HyVee brand 89 cents)
1 lb of stew meat (on sale for 4.17 I think!) Browned
1 lb of ground turkey (trust me...it is delicious, my fiance was skeptical until he tried the finished product)(2.68)  browned
1 package of McCormick Chili seasoning (.99 any brand will work)
4 tablespoons of Italian seasoning (I had on hand)

Get out the crock pot and throw it all in.  Cook on high for about 3 to 4 hours and I then turn it to low until we are ready to eat.  It can be put on low for 6 to 8 hours if you want to throw it all together before leaving for work or etc.
So for less then 15 dollars you can have supper tonight plus lots of left overs.  We have a family of 5 on a regular bases (6 if we have the munchkin! but I haven't tried feeding a 2 year this.  The older kids 6 to 10 years old love it).

We put cheese and oyster crackers in ours! Top with your favorite topping!
Enjoy!

*Shanna Marie*

5K

I decided as a New Years Resolution that I was going to run a 5K this year.  I am NOT a runner...no where close :-(.  So I've had to start at the beginning.  I have tons of friends (who are runners by the way) that ran in a 5K called the color run.  The pictures looked like so much fun.  I think that's where the spark got started.

How does it not look like fun?  Then I remembered that I would actually have to run lol.  I'm not even sure if I ran the mile in high school straight through but I'm guessing its a no.  Oh well what a better time then now.  Turning 30 makes you think about all the things that you have missed out on.  

The race takes place in September in the Des Moines area which thanks goodness cuz I'm going to need that much time to prepare!  Being winter time in Iowa its really hard to just get out and run with all these snow storms.  I do own a treadmill but it doesn't compare to the open road (this is what I've been told).  But I figured I would still start using the treadmill just to get used to running.  

So I started slowly....running for 3 mins straights!  I'm now up to 17 mins straight.  Yahoo!  Progress is always good.  Now that is only 1.43 miles :-(.  You had to have known there was going to be a downfall for this non-runner lol.  I only have 1.67 miles left to make it.  I might even get there to start with an early 5K.  Now I'm not pushing it haha but I am challenging myself.  

I will keep everyone updated on how well or terrible I do in my process.  

If any 5K runners out there have any ideas/suggestions/comments I would gladly take them!  

*Shanna Marie*

Little Mommy Melt Down

Every mom is entitled to an emotional break down every once in a while.  Some moms go into the laundry room and scream it out.  Others go out with the girls for a drink or two.  I send the kids to their other parents.  Yeah not every one has that luxury and I wish I didn't but it works for the situation that we have.  This week has been beyond exhausting and taxing.  I have been studying for weeks for 3 exams and a 40 min speech (which all took place within 3 days) then still had to go to work.  Work I believe topped it off this week.  I work with special needs children and bless their little old hearts but they were stir crazy and rebellious this weekend.  We are hitting that dead of winter time where all children want to do is not be trapped in the house.  All I could do after my long shift was take a coma nap and a hot-hot-hot shower.  And thank heavens for my soon to be hubby who went and bought me cinnamon cashews from Bass Pro (my all time favorite).

So how do you vent?  How do you deal with the everyday stresses that always seem to build up and explode when you least expect it?  

*Shanna Marie*

Yarn Eggs Kids Craft for a Snowy Day

Well as you know snow days can be down right terrible if you don't keep the kids busy.  They have only gotten out early and they are all ready bouncing off the walls (what will I do tomorrow is school is canceled lol).  I let them get craft with a yarn egg craft.
What you need:
Yarn of choice-it doesn't require much so you could just buy one if you wont want a variety or spend a ton of money
Elmer's glue:  I just bought two large bottles and one used one for 8 eggs.
A package of balloons-the amount depends how many eggs you want to make.
foil or freezer paper-I didn't realize that I was out of freezer paper so I impervised and used foil.

You dip the yard (about 2-3 feet depending on how big you make your balloons).  And of course you need your little helpers.  I had three but one decided that it felt too gross which is so not her lol.

Here I have my two helpers.  I cant figure out for the life of me why they are sideways.  There are not sideways in my photos but here they are sideways.  We will just go with it!  They have soaked the yarn in glue and will start to wrap the it around the balloon in any pattern that they choose.  You just need to make sure it sticks to the balloon fairly well and that an end crosses another part of the yarn.

Once again Im sorry for the sideways picture :-(.  You can see that some of the kids got glue happy and creative with where they placed the yarn.  There is no right or wrong way to do it so I wouldn't worry too much.  Its more of a fine motor skill practice.
So now you wait for a good 24 hours to dry.  Once it had dried you pop the balloon and clean off all the glue.

You can see from the second picture there was alot of dried glue around the yarn that I scrapped off.  

And tada!  I placed them all into a triffle bowl that we keep on the kitchen table.  it can be stung up to create a garland if wanted.  

Once again I have no idea why my pictures are transfering crazy.  But there you are.  Something to keep the kids busy and they get to get their hands gooey.  

*Shanna Marie* 

Knitting

I finally broke down last October and decided its time to learn how to knit! My grandmother had tried teaching me in elementary school but I was not interested. I have kicked my self ever since.
I signed up for a 3 session(2 hours each) beginners class. It really was for beginners of all ages. The lady was very patient and just awesome! Now since it was just a beginners class we learned two stitches:knit and pearl. Oh and to cast on and off. I got pretty good at each of those thinking I could do a scarf with those two! Well it's not the best looking thing but it still looks like a scarf lol. I guess I take it as a win! I also learned that im probably the slowest knitter too. Now that I have actually gotten the first project done its all uphill from here! I'm pretty hard of my self about crafty things so it might not be as bad as I think it is..at least to the less creative eye lol.
Anyways here is the first finished project! I hope to add more projects because I discovered that its really relaxing and fun.
For the knitters here is the pattern:
Cast on 45 stitches
K1 P1
Just that simple!

Wedding or elope?!?!?!

My boyfriend finally proposed at the end of September '12.  I say finally cuz that's what every girls says lol.  We had only been together about a year at that point.  Now the decision of whether to have a wedding or to just elope.  We both have been married before so do we want to do it again is the question.
I was unlucky and had the wedding that my ex-mother in law wanted.  The only thing that I had a part in was my dress.  It was also put together in less then two months because we had a child together.  He let his ex-wife do all the planning and I really don't think he cared what kind of wedding there was lol.
Every girl dreams of having the huge wedding but we don't have the budget for that.  I had a heck of the time  putting on a baby "Sprinkle" for my cousins 2nd baby.  I'm not sure I could multiply that to a wedding magnitude :-(
We also can't get married until I'm close to being done with school due to financial aid situations.  That does give us plenty of time to save up for a medium sized wedding so money doesn't seem to be the main issue.  Both of us have small and uninvolved families so a fear is nobody will show up.   But if we just elope I feel that some family will be upset and I don't get a wedding that I get to actually have a part in.  Eloping and taking a honeymoon sounds like the easiest because of the kids.  UUUgggg what is a girl to do.
Decisions....Decisions....Decision.
What have you decided to do in such a dilemma?

*Shanna Marie*

Chores

So we have gotten to the point where the kids want money..and lots of it :-(.  Which of course being a thrifty person (or a tight wade take your pick) I decided what a great time to start doing chores.  Each child has different responsibilities to do each day depending on their age.  I haven't mastered the format yet but you can get the idea!

Here is a template that I found by just doing a google search.  It works well for us!

You can tell that they have been used quiet a bit!  They find it fun to get every thing accomplished in the day so I would take this as a WIN. I had to use packaging tape to allow them to reuse their lists from week to week.  I will soon invest in a laminar because those things are so handy and pretty cool!  I also came up with a list of family rules that we follow! It can be adjusted to fit your families lifestyle and problem areas.  We have a couple girls who like to speak each other's name with such anger so we had to have  rule for that.  And girls who fake cry (that usually works on dad) but I had to thrown that one in there lol.    

House Rules

·         No whining, crying, arguing, or complaining.

·         Ask 1^st

·         Say PLEASE and THANK YOU

·         Chew, Swallow, then speak

·         RESPECT others, stuff and sleep

·         NO Excuses,  ONLY reasons

·         Take responsibility for your self

·         NO hitting or pushing

·         NO NO NO shouting

·         Don’t say RUDE words

·         Do not bother someone in the bathroom

·         No jumping on the couch

·         If the answer is NO..it will still be NO later, DON’T ask again

·         NO fake crying

·         Do NOT speak someone’s name with anger.

·         NO talking when mom and dad are talking

·         If you open it, CLOSE it

·         If you don’t know how to operate it, Leave it alone

·         If you make a mess, Clean it up

·         Keep your hands and feet to your self

·         Do are you are told

·         Tell the Truth 

Until next time, this is my crafty tip of the day! 

*Shanna Marie*

One proud mama!

Kids do little things everyday that lets me know that they actually listen. They of course don't wanna be caught doing it cuz it could be considered uncool! My kids seem to amaze me everyday

I've got one lil girl who choses to read all day during a snow storm and I mean all day! She crawled up on the couch, got a comfy blanket, and read like 10 books! We encourage reading but 10 mins a day is all that is required on busy school nights.

Next my son decided he was going to make his soon to be 2 yr old step sister a cake with her fake kitchen! He did this all on his own! He took so much time and care to make sure that he got it just perfect for her (even if it was a pretend cake)! I should have video taped it since it was so darn cute!

Oh that's all! Just wanted to share this proud mama moment!

*shanna marie*

The dreaded period

It's no secret that every woman has a period most every month! I came across this on Pinterest and oh the thoughts that have run through my head in the week before and during! It brought a smile to my face! Hope you found it funny too :-P
*shanna marie*

Volcano

Every mom's worse night mare is having to make a crazy school science project.  Well of course I am a Biology major but still doesn't mean that I know how to make an exploding volcano.  So what better time then now to make one then for my son's 5th grade class.  I didn't get pictures along the way since I had decided just very recently to start a blog.  BUT I do have finished project pictures!  I hope it at least helps someone along the way get the right idea.
First off I don't recommend paper mache.  That was the biggest fail I think I have had to date (I wish I did have pictures to show how bad it actually was).  So after several attempts at that we moved on to clay.  His teacher was very clear that we shouldn't be spending a ton of money.  Which I'm all for!  So we made the clay from scratch!  This is pretty simple.
1 cup salt
1 cup flour
1 cup water
You mix it over low heat until it hardens to the consistancy of playdoh.  You then set it aside to cool.  Make sure it has completely cooled because you wont be able to handle it/ work with it very well.
Next you need to find something that is about the right shape as a volcano and that would fit over a water bottle of 16oz.  I went searching through the kitchen and found a popcorn container!

How perfect considering I picked up like 6 of them months ago for my daughter's bday party for 50 cents each.  Turn it upside down, wrap it in foil, and start molding clay around the surface.  The top should be left open for the opening of the volcano.  Left it to dry.  

It took a good four days to dry. So I would suggest starting the project as soon as possible.  We thought about baking the clay but chose not too.   On the 3rd day we peeled out the popcorn container and turned it on its side to let the inside dry.  

While that was drying I took some spray glue I had laying around from another project and glued the water bottle to a plastic tube that I picked up at the dollar tree for...you guessed it 1 dollar!  

So if you are keeping track I have spend a whole dollar out of pocket on this project so far!  

Now since I have 3 girls and only one boy, brown paint was not something that I keep on hand.  To Walmart I went!  Picked up a container of brown paint and red since my son thought we had to have a specific color.  That totaled $2.68.  It was on to painting the mountain looking thing to actually look like a volcano.  I then used the spray glue again to attach the volcano to the plastic container over the water bottle.  

I would like to throw in that my son did all of this project on his own.  Well most of it lol.  I made the clay since it involved the oven, drove him to the store to by the paint and plastic container, and of course PAID for the supplies.  Other then that it was all him.  As a future teacher, I thought it would be best if he did it on his own!  

AND....drum roll please.............................................................................................................

Mt. Tyler was created.
After many failed attempts his project was complete!  And the running total was just under 4 dollars!  I forgot to mention that the 16 oz water bottle was giving to each student.  It didn't just appear out of nowhere lol.
I hope it helps some frantic mom out there the next time their child comes home and explains that they need a volcano.  Trust me my mouth was on the floor thinking that this teacher has lost her marbles and that I could never get it made.

*Shanna Marie*

Who Knew!

Who knew I would be starting a blog?!?! I'm a typical busy busy busy mother trying to balance full time school, kiddos, a messy house, a part time job, and trying to throw some crafting in along the way.  So if my posts are few and far between you will know why!!