Hooray for Poppy Peddles Books

Yay Jenny! You fixed it! Maybe I was just in the edit HTML thingy. Anyhow, I have just opened a book store on Amazon.com under the name " Poppy Peddles Books". If you can access my store (not sure how yet) from Amazon, I have around 70 books for sale right now. If you want to buy one, just email or give me a call and I will pull it from the shelf and you can get the book without paying shipping. That is...if you are on the Island or close by. I am considering starting a blog in which I can sell my items. Who knows, maybe after all this I can actually generate an okay income until Shane is working again. I am so excited for tomorrow. I really need the spiritual upliftment. Rylan is running around naked, Mae has decided to skip naps altogether for the last two days (cutting 4 teeth at once), Nathan and Myron are arguing and Brennan is complaining because I "never do what I say I am going to do" ie...let them watch a movie.
So...here is my mock shot of vodka..as I say "cheers to all of you". Really the stuff smells and tastes so disgusting I dont know how anyone drinks it, but just watching the face people on movies make after drinking it, makes you want it! They look so relaxed and calm, like that shot just took all the stress away. :) Take care for now- K

Having issues with blogging PLEASE HELP!

As I stated in a previous post, my blogging is all messed up. I must have messed around with the settings and now I am in a pickle. If I try to separate my sentences or make a list (see 25 random things posting) it just meshes it all together.
I also cannot see the photos that I upload, until it is published, which means I cannot rearrange them into an order of my choosing. All I see is the code.
Does anyone know enough about blogging to help me out here?
I'd like to start doing mini film and book reviews on my blog and I cant if it keeps up like this.
Thanks to everyone for any advice!

Brennan cooks!

There are some benefits to Shane being out of work. Some. One of which is the fact that Shane taught Brennan how to make eggs. Not scrambled, over easy. This was Monday morning. Since then, I have awoken every morning to breakfast in bed with a special note, yogurt and a glass of milk. Since Monday, we have gone through two dozen eggs as well. His brothers figured out how to use Brennans new found love of cooking to their advantage. Tonight, I asked him if he wanted to bake cookies by himself. Of course he was over the moon excited. As they are baking right now, the smells are lovely and I can't wait to take a bite of a delicious sugar cookie that I didn't have to bake myself. :)
On another note, ...Mae's cute moment for today was just a little bit ago when she wandered into the kitchen with permanent pens in each hand as she "applied" her eye makeup. That's what I get for not noticing the quiet.

25 random things about me

This new "random" thing is blowing up on the internet. Here are 25 random things about me.

1- I rarely fall asleep before 2 am
2- I followed the Grateful dead
3- I lived in Rock Canyon above the Provo temple for 5 months in a tent
4- My passion is writing poetry
5- My best job was writing independent film reviews for an alternative newspaper
6- I was one of the 5 finalists for Miss Washington Preteen
7- I am terrified of mice
8- I love techno music and raves
9- I collect very old childrens books
10- I LOVE Depeche Mode and specifically, "Violator"
11- I used to be a Goth, Skater Chick, Hippie and Gangsta
12- I am very superstitious and throw salt over my left shoulder everytime I cook, whether I have spilled it or not.
13- When I was a teenager, my favorite things to do were watch SNL and jump in a ditch when cars would drive by at night. Why? Who knows.
14- My favorite thing to do with my kids is read
15- I love pets but not enough to hold them
16- I am too insane about fashion.
17- My favorite shows are Project Runway and Top Chef
18- I want to be a chef, lawyer, designer, film critic, actress, writer, not necessarily in that order.
19- I hate flannel sheets
20- I love cold sheets
21- Nothing is finer than red baby cheeks for kissing
22- I dream vividly, mostly of Grandma Hardys house on the farm
23- I am way to sensitive
24- I rarely say no
25- As long as I can remember, I have always wanted to be a mommy

Okay, tag, you're it!

Myrons music concert and other acts of mischief

Today was a somewhat mild day. No major messes or accidents. Myron had a wonderful music performance at his school and we went as a family. Of course, Nathan had to sit with his friends and Brennan followed suit. Mae couldn't stand to be away from any of her brothers, and so as soon as she'd see one, she'd put her hands up to be held. Myron was usually her target because he was closest. It was really sweet.
Myron played the wooden xylophone thingy very well and with the cutest little smile.
It was nice to see friends that I hadn't seen in a while and show off Mae in her adorable little suit. This was my most expensive Lollipops purchase ever and I am still paying/working it off. Wouldn't you know it, I had barely uttered the words "Mae was pretty tame today" and I hear a scream from the bathtub. She had jumped in with Rylan, pajamas and all. She had just had her own bath 15 minutes before hand.
I remember my little sister Tara doing the same thing. Mae thinks she is the boss, she likes to go around yelling at the boys "Right now"! Thanks to me she says "damnit" at all the right moments to. ANyhow, it's finally bedtime and I am going to get this little girl/boss to bed.

Lost videos from Christmas

I found some great videos today that I had forgotten about.
The kids had such a great time sledding in front of Grandpas house. The kids in the hot tub at Gpas, Grandpas ridiculously cool motorhome, and a brief couple of tours of where we were staying.

Oh yes........she did.

Lest you think my last post was over exaggerated!

Photos from Christmas past

I am so excited to finally be able to upload MY photos from Christmas, instead of my sister's.
I am including all I have. Some are from the hot springs/alligator farm we went to,
a couple are of Brennan with my dad as they prepare to go "jeeping" for the day with all the guys, some are great photos I took of the beautiful snow and some more of Mae's first time playing in the snow. No matter how frozen her little fingers were, she would not go back in the house. She adored the snow.
Enjoy!

Oh.....Mae

Mae is
-a impersonator
-sassy
-an avid climber
-escape artist
-master mess maker
-copycat
-a child Taz would be proud of
She wakes up running and resists falling asleep at night. As she is getting older 18 months to be exact, I am really starting to get worried about the terrible 2's. Is this something my fragile sanity can handle? Here is a typical day in the life of Mae.
Yesterday for example. She managed to climb onto the top bunk in the boys room, throw a roll of tp in the toilet, purposely spill two cups of milk just to see our reaction, take off every diaper she wears, dump all contents out of my purse,
climb on top of her kitchen set, computer monitor etc, manage to unwind my crocheted blanket, terrorize the cat, draw with crayon on our hardwood floors, rip out a book page out of my vintage 1900 dictionary....you get the drift.
Everytime she is out of my sight, I am scared at the end result.
Here are a few photos so you can get the "picture". She does all this with the cutest little smile that lets you know that she knows exactly what she's doing.
Her favorite phrase is "for no reason". She says some jumble and then finishes "for no reason". Her brother Rylan says this all the time about getting picked on by his brothers. " Brennan hit me for no reason", very animated. So now she says this all the time if she gets picked on. I'll write more later about the rest of the kids which are so easy in comparison. All is well, life is good. Ciao for now.

Where have I been?

Shane is not working, so I have been trying to work as much as possible or at least work on what I can do to make money. Anyone need a carpenter? I am gearing up to do the next craft show in March. If I do it right, I could actually sell some of my stuff and make some money. I am in the process of registering for school at the Art Institute of Seattle. I'd like to start in June of this year in their Culinary section. Cooking is a true passion of mine and someday, I'd love to have my own restaurant. There are several things that are going on with the kiddos. Myron and Nathan visited a new school Odyssey today. Nathan will be transferring to this new school in a couple of weeks and Myron will start at the beginning of next year.
This smaller school will be a better fit for my kids. I don't like the idea of so many classes and kids at their age. Woodward fits the previous statement.
Mae is insane. She has figured out how to climb to the top bunk in the boys room.
None of us have caught her in the process yet, but have been there to witness the end result. She jumped into the bathtub with me in all of her clothes today, decided that toilet water is fun to play with if you have a cup, and throw stuff in for that matter. She is the first child that I have ever had to child proof stuff with.
Rylan is sweet as ever and has been loving to play games with his mom. We tie dyed clothes last night for our FHE activity and I snapped some cute shots of him.
As soon as I can upload photos again, I will. For now, take care to everyone and remember to always stay positive! I am. :)