Mullin Snack bag

 So Stacey over at I'm a Lazy Mom put out a new lazy mom job. 

So here's the gist of the job.

Make a snack bin. 

That's so easy!! Right??

When I started thinking about it I realized I have done this before.

I made one for Kris almost 2 years ago to keep in the car.

He drives alot for work and always comes home super hungry bc he just never has (or makes) time to eat.

So I thought SNACK BOX FOR THE CAR!!

I was so proud of myself. I bought a clear container (so car burglars would know it didn't have anything important hiding in there) with a sliding lid so even if it got over turned we wouldn't have a mess.

Then the hard part... finding snacks that could last in a car and not become a melted mushy mess. 

I even filled it with mints, napkins, and spoons.

Anyway I did it... again I was so proud.

Kris was proud too even if he did laugh at me.

And then as snack containers do (& are so intended to do)... it became empty.

I refilled it once and then forgot about it.

Kris never mentioned it so I thought maybe he didn't need anything.

Finally one day I looked in it and instead of snacks.. there were work papers

Anyway, this time is different. How?? 

My kids will keep reminding me that they NEED snacks and not let the bag get empty.

So here is the process of how we made our snack bag.

So we don't have a ton of storage space in our kitchen.

So we went upstairs to the under bed storage boxes that have all of our gift bags, tissue paper, and ribbon. (Yes I keep everything and regift it - seriously why pay for a bag.. anyway I digress)

I would like to say that I picked this bag bc of it's height and width, bc it would fit perfect in the small space we have between the pantry door and shelf.

But that would be lying. I picked it bc I think it is ugly and don't want to give it away to anyone (sorry to whoever gave it too us if you read this, we appreciated the gift, if it makes you feel better Adyson calls it her Nemo snack bag)

 So I let the girls fill the bag up.

 Here's Adyson mixing it around.

 

 Here's Abby getting into the action.

 And here's Abby starting to cry when I said all done.

She was upset she didn't get to eat any of the snacks now that the "game" was over.

I gave her one after the picture I promise.

Here is the final resting place in the pantry.

See how nice it fits and easily assessable to the girls on the floor.

The last 2 months

The last three months have went by so quickly. I blinked and it was April. We have had some really fun times; having the Malloy's over for dinner, Abby and Adyson's birthday party's, Christian & Eli's b-day party, going to the Zoo with the Hieser's, going to the Zoo with the Lemme girls, going to Chicago for the weekend, us and Chanda and Allen going out for Valentine's Day dinner without the girls, Going to a Toby Mac/Skillet concert with the Hiesers, the 30 hour Hunger Strike, having Indian food and a hockey game with the Lemme's, joining a home group, doing a woman's Beth Moore Bible Study, Fear Factor February at MnM, dying Easter eggs, hanging with family, started a money saving blog & how to really coupon shop, and much much more. Abby's hair has decided to curly and it is so cute that way. Adyson has started the why phase of her life.

We did have some real trust in God moments in the last three months. We found out we were pregnant and later lost the baby. It was horrible but we had alot of peace, the kind the passes all understanding which only comes from God. We also had to get really strict with our budget. We spent time in prayer, with me crying alot about not being able to feed our children, but then coming to a conclusion. As long as we put God first everything else will fall into place. His will is not for my children to starve (i would sell everything i have b4 that happened) but to provide for us. I have to say the most important thing I have gotten from Bible study is to pray that my children will love God more than anything, then everything else will fall into place like their decisions, the one they marry, their hearts, as long as they love HIM more than anything it will be all right!

Busy life

This week has been really busy, but good busy.

We had youth on Monday night like always.

Tuesday the girls and I went to church with Aunt Marsha to clean out a room that is used as storage but we need the space. We donated alot of it to Goodwill and threw away alot too. Then that night I have a Beth Moore Bible study called Breaking Free that I go to. It was really good, Beth talked about how we say I love you to God but instead try to say I love you 2.

On Wednesday we went to the Zoo with the Lemme girls. It was such a wonderful day to be out and about, the cold animals were very happy and playing! Then off to home group that night.

On Thursday after I got my crown put on my molar, the girls and I went to church to help finish painting the children's hallway. Finally it is done!! Looks good too if I do say so. Marsha was going to take us home but Kris was at church to meet with Brian our youth pastor and said he would be quick and take us home. We should have let Marsha take us bc Brian and Kris were praying and it was awhile. Then we stopped at Kris's parents so he could help his dad move furniture. It was 8:30 before we got home but they bought pizza for dinner which was great.

Friday we stayed home! I had so many dishes and 4 loads of laundry to catch up on. It was nice to be home but I was in a crummy mood, so the girls took early naps but at different times so I didn't get one. Kris and I prayed that night after we put the girls to bed. I was pretty stressed over our budget and the lack of money on paper. But we serve a God that doesn't always do things that make sense on paper! So we are just putting our trust in him, that we will be ok.

Today we went shopping. I am learning to coupon shop and get things for free. It takes some prep time at home but is well worth it! We have a blog where we put our money saving tips on it. Check it out. www.sharingmoneysavingtips.blogspot.com

My girls

Abby is growing so fast these days. In the last week she has decided to walk behind a baby doll stroller or a walker. She climbs on everything, the couch, her sisters bed, the stairs, or little chairs (and then stands up). She is the child i have to watch every minute or she's gone. She also is trying to talk more, we can't understand it but she will talk to us when we talk to her. She has said momma, dad, papa, hi kitty, all done, and more.
Adyson is definitely turning 3 next month. She is getting an attitude about what she does and does not want to do. We have been working on certain songs lately, like to learn the days of the week but so far she just wants to sing "away in the manager" over and over :-) Kris and I were talking last night about starting letter recognition with her, shapes, colors, and expanding on the sight words that she already knows (Colts, Walmart, and McDonald's). I want to keep learning fun, i am not a flash card kind of Mom.
They keep me busy. We are going to have a picnic dinner tonight, hot dogs, chips, lemonade, potato salad, jello cake, and beans. We got the picnic backpack out and showed Adyson all the stuff and she wants to use Abby's new blanket to sit on and eat. We talked about it last night on our way home from Youth and stopped to get some food. Adyson was so excited, even this morning when she woke up she asked if we could do it then. It will be fun.

just thinking

I laid in bed for an hour tonight just thinking. So I figured i probably should get up and do something. I thought about a couple things like how much i love my husband, Christmas presents, the Christmas store at church tomorrow where i get to help kids shop for presents for their parents, how people treat thier children differently, about how big my little girls are getting, about birthday parties the next few months, things like that.

I think how much i love my husband sticks out most. I have had friends over the years tell me how lucky i am and one friend even told her boyfriend one time that he needed to be more like Kris :-) Kris is wonderful, loving, respectful, and caring but not perfect. Not to discount anything about him but i think a big reason that i have heard too many times "i wish he would be like Kris" or "my husband is not like that" is bc i don't talk bad about my husband and I don't complain about him. There have been times when everyone is complaining and i have things to say but i bite my tongue bc if I don't like something then i need to tell him and not be disrespectful behind his back by talking about him.

I see it like a reality show, bear with me while i explain it. Almost all reality show couples end up breaking up, why? (Hulk Hogan and his wife, Jon and Kate, Jessica and Nick, the only ones I can think of that are together are Ozzy and Sharon) Drama sells right? The TV show picks out the faults of the couples and then focuses on them. There are things that all of us don't shout from the rooftops that our spouse does bc it annoys us slightly. But imagine the whole world is focusing on that trait that didn't bother you before but after it being magnified by the media it all of sudden seems really big and bothers you. Reality shows and talking bad about your spouse to other people are adding fuel to a fire.

I'm not trying to condemn anyone, I'm just reflecting on my marriage, and what people have said to me over the years and trying to figure out why they said those things. I just encourage you to next time before you complain, think about telling him first that it bothers you, he can change it, not your friend. I have told Kris what habits annoy me over the years and he has told me too. I have to say he does a much better job than me on changing the thing he does that annoys me than i do changing the thing that annoys him. I am still working on not "cleaning" things away to get them out of sight but where he can't find them later :-) We will always be a work in progress.

Over the last 7 years I would say i have my associates in Kris 101, now I am working on my bachelors, then my masters, then my doctorate, and so on. You can't stop learning about your spouse bc just like education fields out there they are ever changing.

Make a will

If you have not made out a will, go make a will. It will help your loved ones in a especially hard time.
Heard the oddest news today. My great grandmother is making a will. (not odd, she is getting close to 90) She and her husband (my great grandfather) bought the house that she still lives in back many moons ago. (It is a wonderful love story that I should share another day.) He passed away roughly 40 yrs ago of a sudden heart attack. Anyway I get a call from my aunt about my great grandmothers house, since it is in my great grandfather's name and he passed with no will, the state of Kentucky says it should go to his children and since his son (my grandfather) has passed, it would go to his children, and since my dad has passed it would go to us 3 kids and my dad's last wife (why she would be involved in anything of an inheritance of our family is beyond me, especially since she got everything of my dads and gave nothing to us kids - not upset just stating another fact why you should make a will)
The lawyer is sending us all papers, 11 people in all. We have to sign the papers if we want to give my great grandmother permission to give the house to who she wants to in her will. Ok I understand laws are there to protect us, i will give them that. But my great grandmother should be able to make her will and give her house to whoever she wants (she wants to give it to her 3 remaining children) and not have to ask permission. All the people she has to ask permission from never had the pleasure and honor of knowing her husband.

I just wish this was easier for her, none of us want a claim to what is hers. We just want her to live another lifetime and bless us with her stories, her unending love, give a thousand more of those soft kisses, and to watch her eyes sparkle when she tells us about her dad coming over on the boat from Germany or how she loved one man in her life and sometimes at night still wakes up thinking he is beside her even though he has been gone now longer than they were married. I love my Grannie and I can honestly say that everyone that has ever met her would say "Oh I love Miss Harmon too".

God listens

We had a friend that was moving and gave us a ton of stuff. It was such a blessing to us. We had been talking about what we wanted to get the girls for Christmas and what was important and what were just wants. We left her house with everything we had talked about wanting and more. I'm not talking small things either, things like a car seat for Abby, a kid table and chairs, a wagon we could never afford, play-doh tools, art supplies, art easel, toys, the list goes on and on. I love it when God listens to you in what you feel is the small stuff and shows you his love is abundant.

So we (or i should say i) have been trying to get organized lately. Kris has been shaking his head alot when I tell him how I want to organize but he always helps :-) The kid toys were taking over the dining room. So we split them and put some upstairs in the office. Which makes it easier for me. So when i am upstairs cleaning or putting away laundry (which is too often) they have somewhere to play safely. Instead of going thru the bathroom trash like Abby crawled and knocked over the day. It freed up a closet that has holding alot of toys that I would switch in and out. It's silly but I love when everything has a place.