Black Friday Madness

1.  So, did you get sucked into the excitement and drama of Black Friday? If so, what deals did you snag?? And for our international gal, has our shopping madness spread to your area?

2.  Four day weekends are nice but the transition back to work can be challenging! How are you doing with the transition?

My name is Amanda, and I am addicted to Black Friday shopping.  Ever since my husband and I went on our first day-after-Thanksgiving bargain hunt nine years ago, I've been hooked.  We've landed some amazing deals over the years, and we could never pull of the kind of Christmas we have at our house without those bargains. 

This year was much more challenging in some ways, because stores were opening all night long instead of just early Friday morning.  I left my house at 8:00 p.m. Thursday and didn't get home until 7:00 a.m. the next day.  Yes, it was my first ever all-night shopping trip!  I slept for a couple of hours before I left home, and (I'm not kidding) I slept in our truck for about an hour and a half while I waited for JC Penney's to open.

As always, we got some great deals on gifts for our kids, like two video game rockers, normally $65-70, for $32 each, and tons of DVD's, video games and toys.  This year I also scored some awesome deals for our home, like a soft, fuzzy king-size blanket for $24 (which came in handy while I was napping outside Penney's); a set of 600-thread-count sheets for $20 (we won't go into the fact that I was almost trampled for those sheets at Walmart...) and two Scentsy-style wax warmers for $9 each. 

Finally, I got a few things for myself - a cashmere blend pea coat (originally $200) for $50; a pair of boots for $30; five seasons of our all-time favorite TV show, 24, for $10 each (a joint gift for my hubby and me); and (you may do a double take on this one) ammo for my gun for 1/2 price.  (Yes, I have a gun...not a rifle, but a pistol...going to the gun range is one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon.  My husband and I both shoot, and we'll take his .22 rifle and let the kids shoot, too.  It's a fun family hobby for us!)

I'm sure I like having stores opening on Thanksgiving night, but I love the deals on Black Friday, and it would take a lot to keep me away from it.  It's become a challenge to us to find the best bargains. My hubby and I team shop (although he just hit the first couple of stores with me this year) and plan it like a military operation.  I love it!

Are You Busy?

Join the party, write about one of the topics below and link up!

1. What invitation would you love to receive?

2. Does your life feel too busy or not busy enough?

I love Hobby Lobby.  I could myself into soooo much trouble in that store!  By the time I leave, I find myself wanting to resume my old scrapbooking and drawing hobbies and learn to knit, make jewelry, decorate aprons, and design my own flip flops.  The running joke among my family and friends is that I can do all that...in my spare time.  They all know that I don't even know what spare time is anymore.

Right now, I am completely, totally, and entirely too busy.  To be honest, I'm running on fumes right now, just trying to keep my head above water and survive from week to week.  A demanding college program and a demanding job equal one exhausted mom. 

Three days a week, I am away from home for 13 hours.  I leave my house at 7:00 a.m. for two to six hours of college classes, depending on what day it is.  Once class is done, I head to work, where I wear every hat from equipment tech to custodian, from office manager to trainer, from cheerleader to counselor.  After getting off work at 7:30 p.m., I arrive home at 8:00 to eat dinner, then hit the books to study until I collapse into bed around 11:00.  Thankfully this summer class only lasts three and a half more weeks, but then I only get a few days to recover before the fall semester starts with basically the same demanding, fast-paced schedule.

I'm trying to prioritize my days.  Thankfully, I have my amazing husband - he's helping with the kids and cleaning house so I can focus on school.  I'm trying to make sure I carve out time for quiet time each morning and working out several evenings a week - those are my sanity savers!  I eat dinner with my family around the table most nights, and I spend my weekends at home.  I wish I could take some things off my list, but it's just not possible right now.  I'm definitely way too busy, and I often question my sanity for deciding to go into the dental hygiene program, but I'm reminding myself that all the "busyness" will pay off when I'm done.

Creatures of Habit

#1. How important to you, as a working mom, is a schedule/routine for your kids?

#2. Given the opportunity, which would you accept - a bigger salary and less benefits OR a smaller salary and top-notch benefits?

I am such a creature of habit.  In fact, my entire family is like that!  We love vacations, but we're always so happy to get home and get back into our family routine.  Since we are also a homeschooling family, and because as of Monday, I will be a full-time college student, we need routine even more to keep everyone on track and to keep things running smoothly.

We don't have to be as strict with routines as we did when they were litte - at 9 and 6, my boys are way past nap time - and because of my husband's job, they can be pretty flexible.  He is more laid back with their schedule during the day, but I look forward to our routine each night when I get home from work.  We definitely stick to a pattern.

If I get home early enough, we eat dinner together as a family.  Even on the nights I get home late, after everyone has eaten, sometimes my boys will come sit with me at the table and we'll talk.  We sit down together before bedtime, too, to read the Bible and a kids devotional together, and to write in our family gratitude journal.  I pray with each of them and sing our special song as I tuck them in.  It's nothing fancy, but each of them has their own special song that I made up for them when they were babies, and they still love for me to sing it to them.  Our evenings together are the highlight of my day, especially on my three "long days" each week, when I'm away from home for 13 hours.

The Fab 5

#1. My go-to ______ is .... (pick any 5 things... go-to movie, go-to snack, go-to book, go-to song, go-to vacation spot... ANY 5 things!!)

#2. Your "life" interview in 5 sentences. (If someone asked WHO are you... tell YOU in five sentences.)

Drumroll, please...here it is, my "fab 5" go-to's...

1. Any book by Ted Dekker - if I only have time on a vacation to read one book, it's one of his.  I've been reading him for years, and he still keeps me on the edge of my seat, still surprises me with the twists and turns, and has me totally addicted!
2. Starbucks skinny caramel macchiato - it's as good as the real thing, with only 140 calories in a grande (160 in the venti...you know, for those really tough days when you need an IV drip of caffine...)
3. Sabrina, my all-time favorite movie - it always makes me smile
4. Blogging - when I'm stressed, when I'm worried, when I'm bored, whenever, I love blogging!  I love reading them and writing my own.
5. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, especially the mini's...there are very few things in life that coffee and chocolate (especially chocolate wrapped around peanut butter) can't make better.



Summer Goals

My summer looks a little different than most, because mine ends when my college classes start on July 11.  (By the way, my summer is Orofacial Anatomy, Histology, and Embryology...also known as the OMG class.  Rumber has it if you survive this, you'll graduate.  Fun, huh?)  I actually started on my list a few weeks ago, with a post called 9 Weeks to Get It All Together. 

1.Master the art of couponing - okay, I may not master it, but I'd like to figure it out enough to cut my grocery bill in half every week. All that extra money can help me pay for books and supplies.

• I am on my way to becoming a coupon queen!  This is the goal that I'm doing the best on.  I'm building my stockpile, and I think I'm about to see my grocery bills drop.  Best of all, the whole family is getting involved - my husband and boys are shopping with me, helping me look for coupons, and finding deals in the papers and on the shelves.

2.Work through Sarah Mae's "31 Days to Clean" ebook - we're going to have to be super-organized to manage this, and I want my house ready.

• This one's still a work in progress...a slow work in progress...with a lot of setbacks...but we're getting there.  I think.  Maybe.  Ummmm...check back at the end of the month.

3.Finish the Bible in 90 Days challenge - I am woefully behind, but I know I can still catch up and finish on time.

• This one needs a sound effect...the sound of Taps playing softly.  This goal is dead.  I love the idea, and want to do this in the future, but I just have too much going on right now to give this the 45 minutes to an hour of daily reading time needed to accomplish it.

4.Read Ted Dekker's new book, The Priest's Graveyard, because he's my favorite author and it will be the last book (other than textbooks) that I'll be able to read for a long time.

• Okay, this is the goal I'm doing best at.  Done. :)  It was awesome.  Nothing like a great novel about a priest/serial killer to make a girl happy.  (I'm so not your typical pastor's wife!)

5.Have a yard sale. It won't be very big, but again, any extra money will help. My supplies are going to cost double what I expected.

• Not even close to being ready...not even sure I have enough stuff...we'll see.  I might settle for selling a few things on eBay.

The Never-Ending To-Do List

I am a listmaker.  Okay, I'm an obsessive list maker...so much so that if I do something that's not on my to-do list, I'll write it in just so I can mark it off.  Yeah, I'm that bad.  Needless to say, I always have a to-do list, and there are several recurring items on my list...

1. Laundry - Need I say more?  I hate laundry, because, unlike other chores, you can't ever say it's done.  It's never ending. 
2. Quiet time - I absolutely have to have my quiet time every morning, or the day just doesn't feel right.  This little bit of time when the house is quiet is where I draw my strength through my Bible study and prayer.  It's also a chance to go over the day's plans and get myself mentally ready for the day ahead.
3. Studying for something - Even though I'm out of school this semester, I still find myself always studying for something, whether it's work, a Bible study, or children's ministry.  Once college starts back in July, I'll have my nose buried in textbooks all the time.
4. Cleaning - I'm so busy that cleaning often gets pushed to the back burner.  There's always, always cleaning to do.
5. Exercise - It doesn't necessarily happen every day, but I try to work out five days a week or more.

A Huge Blessing

I love the upbeat prompts for this week's Working Mommy Wednesday...

#1. This week, I've been blessed by...



#2. My best physical feature is...

The past couple of weeks have been a roller coaster.  On April 1, we received work that my husband's 88 year old grandfather would probably not live more than two days.  On April 2, I received my long awaited acceptance letter to dental hygiene school, and on April 3, Robby's grandfather went home.  I missed an entire week of work as we made the 13 hour drive to Missouri and back for the funeral.

When I got back to work on Saturday, this is what I found...

The members, and my coworkers, at my gym are truly amazing.  They have been my cheerleaders as I struggled with the decision of whether or not to back to school, dealt with the reality of going back to school at age 30, and the four month wait between turning in my application and getting my acceptance letter.  Now, they are celebrating with me.  I already have people volunteering to be my patients when I start clinicals, and I have the promises of many (much needed) prayers while I attempt to balance everything.  These women are awesome, and they are all a huge blessing to me!

Family Funnies

How do you deal with objections to your ideas? (whether work or parenting related)

Make us laugh- one of your funniest memories to date.

Okay, I can't resist sharing a really funny story about my family...there are a lot of funny stories about my family, because they're all insane, but this is one of my favorites.

The first time my family came to visit after we moved to coastal Texas, we decided to show off the area.  We planned a trip to the beach and a fabulous seafood restaurant.  So we packed up and took a day trip to Galveston.  It was great, even though it was January.  The weather was perfect.  The day was beautiful.  We saw dolphins swimming on the ferry ride over.  We had a great time shopping along The Strand.  Then we got to Willie G's...that's when things got ugly.

The eight of us (my hubby, kiddos and me, my parents, and my dad's parents) were seated at table overlooking the water as the sun set.  The lights were low, the atmosphere was perfect...then our waiter brough the wine list.  My family doesn't drink.  Did my grandma just order a Sprite?  Of course not.  She started loudly explaining to the waiter that we don't drink, none of drink, we've never been drinkers, we don't need the wine list at all.  Sigh.

She complains about the price of the food the whole time they're looking at the menu, even though we'd told them months in advance that we would all go Dutch at the restaurant, and she and my grandpa split a plate.  At this point, I wanted to crawl under the table...I mean, that fish was in the ocean this morning and on her plate that night - how much better can it get?

Then came the kicker - as she looked around at the dim lighting, she loudly complained, "As much as we're paying for food here, can't they afford to turn some lights on?"  I had to step out.  My mom and I went to the ladies room and laughed until we were hurting.  What else could you do?

Let's just say that on all visits afterward, seafood has not been on the menu...fine dining and my grandparents do not make a good combination.

Back to Work

Your best advice for a new, returning to work Mom

I was really excited to see this as a prompt for this week's Working Mom Wednesday!  Next month, I have a guest post on this very topic that will be featured at Our Mommyhood - I'm so excited!  So today I'm choosing the one tip that I think will help new working moms the most:  Go easy on yourself.

Being a working mom is hard.  Being a new working mom is even harder.  Your first few weeks on the job are going to be a big adjustment, so go easy on yourself.  If you pick up a drive-thru dinner instead of cooking, that's okay.  If you fall asleep on the couch after dinner, that's fine - you need your rest.  If the house isn't as clean as you'd like it to be, don't worry.  This is an adjustment period, and it will get better.

Every working mom I've ever talked to agrees that the first few weeks are the hardest - you're exhausted, stressed, and probably fighting guilt, too.  But you're doing what's right for you and your family, so hold your head high and remind yourself of that.  You'll find yourself soon moving into a new routine, and you'll find that it all gets easier.  One day, your kids are going to look back and say, "Wow, Mom worked so when we were younger - I'm proud of her."

Okay, now I hope you don't mind me putting in a shameless plug here for my new blog feature...beginning this week, each Monday I will post on Working with Delight.  This new feature is for Christian working moms.  There is so much support out there for SAHM's, as there should be, but too many Christian websites are geared exclusively to SAHM's, while Christian working moms get left out in the cold.  You can check out Monday's post here.  I hope you enjoy it!

Working Mom Wednesday: How do you stay current?

Before I get into my post today - I'm very excited to be guest posting today at a great blog, Savvy Spaces!  I hope you'll stop by and check it out! 


One of the great things about my job as manager of a gym is that I can really identify with the women I work with.  We're all striving to reach the same goals - feel better, be healthier, and for a lot of us, lose some weight.  I'm constantly on the lookout for new ideas.

I love to read, so of course, I read a lot about fitness and health.  I'm always on the lookout for healthy fast food options, lower calorie versions of my favorite coffee, great snacks that you can stash in your purse, or fun new ways to squeeze in some extra workouts.  I like to try new things out so I can tell our gym members if they work.  Nothing speaks as loud as experience!  I also listen tips from others.  I've found some awesome ideas just by talking to members and hearing what has worked for them.

I have never been to the national convention that our fitness chain hosts every year, but this year may be different.  My boss is going to try to take all of us.  It should be a lot of fun...especially if we end up going to the one in Vega!

A little redecorating...

Welcome to Working Mom Wednesday!  One of today's prompts is about sharing your life in pictures.  I've been snapping lots of random pictures lately, because we've been doing some decorating in our house.  Our house flooded in the storm surge of Hurrican Ike in 2008, and we had to pretty much start from scratch.  Remodeling took months, and redecorating has been an ongoing process that we're finally wrapping up.

Our big project has been finishing out the kitchen and dining area, and we've done some work in the living room too.  Here's what we've been doing...

The perfect red chair for the living room!  We searched for that chair for months.

The sign we found at Hobby Lobby - it's perfect for our bistro/coffee house look.

One wall of our dining area - Hobby Lobby was sold out of "love," so I have to go back for it and we'll put it at the bottom.  (We got really silly putting this up, saying our hopes are too high, we're living too low...everything is funny when you're stuck at home because of winter weather!)

The other wall of our dining room, and our table...both the picture and the flowers are more great Hobby Lobby finds.

As awful as the flood was, we have really enjoyed getting to remodel our house.  This is the first time in our married lives that we've gotten to redo everything and make it totally our own. 

Now, I can't resist posting the pic of us bringing that picture above home...we found it on sale for half-price at Hobby Lobby, and we thought it would fit in the trunk...it didn't.  So my kids had to ride back home - a 30 minute drive - with the picture in the back seat.  Let's just say they weren't happy campers...

The Good and the Bad

#1- I'm really good at....

#2- I'm really bad at....

These were both such great ideas, I couldn't resist doing both.

I'm really good at:
1. Cooking
2. Planning
3. Procrastinating
4. Working with kids
5. Balancing everything

I'm really bad at...
1. Housekeeping (see Monday's post)
2. Actually doing what I planned
3. Dancing (I love Zumba...but I'm sure it's not a pretty sight!  lol)
4. Playing sports (I love working out...but you wouldn't want me on your softball team.)
5. Balancing everything (Some days it works...other days it flops!)

What Blogging Has Done

I love the prompts this week for Working Mommy Wednesday!  I chose #2:

Do you feel starting a blog has improved your life or added one too many things on your plate?

When I read Julia's post this morning, I thought, "Oh my word, I could have written that - that's exactly how I feel!  I've been blogging for almost a year and a half now, and I have been all over the blogging roller coaster.  Some days it's the best thing in the world, and other days I feel like quitting.  Some days I envy the "big bloggers" and other days I'm glad my blog is still a pretty simple one.

I went through a stage where I was definitely overloaded with blogging - or I should say, I overloaded myself.  I put way too much pressure on myself to post every day, sometimes twice a day.  Now I've settled into a better routine, and if the thought of quitting crosses my mind, I talk myself out of it pretty quickly. 

I love the connections I've made through blogging.  I love it when people leave comments or tweet me about something I said that inspired them.  I love the amazing blogs I've found and the inspiration I've receieved from them, especially when it comes to my faith and being a working mom.  I love finding blogs that encourage me, challenge me, and push me.  I also love finding other working moms who are dealing with the same issues I deal with - sometimes just knowing you're not alone is enough to make things better.

So overall, yes, blogging has definitely improved my life.  It's become my outlet, my stress relief, and my encouragement.  It's pushed me to do things I never would have done before I became a blogger.  It's grounded me even more in my faith and I truly believe it's made me a better wife, mom, and woman.  I'm so glad I decided to give it a try.

Take It Slow

Okay, so this wasn't a Wednesday post (I posted it yesterday) and it doesn't fit with any of the Working Mom Wednesday prompts, but I thought it was appropriate...

There are a million things I need to be doing...dishes, laundry, cleaning.  But priorities shift, if only for a few minutes, when my youngest wakes up and wants to cuddle on the couch.  I treasure it, knowing that, at five years old, he's not going to want to do this much longer.  Later, than night, I find myself sitting on that same couch, exhausted and discouraged after a long day, fighting back tears.  I've accomplished nothing, I've yelled at the kids, I've been too demanding...I need to slow down.

It's so hard.  Even with this semester off from college, I find myself feeling like I need to rush, to do more and be more and finish more, when what I really need is to slow down.  I need to focus, to be quiet, to pray, to sit in peace and solitude, to breathe, to rest.  Why is that so hard?

In a journal entry almost three years ago, as a newbie working mom, I wrote... "What I want to be is a Supermom. I want to be able to work and take care of my family. I want to be a loving mom, creative homeschool teacher and children’s church leader, great assistant manager, good housekeeper and good cook, and caring and available pastor’s wife. What I can’t figure out is how on earth to do it all. What I am is tired and defeated."
I think realizing that we can't do it all is one of the hardest parts of being a working mom.  As much as we all want to be Supermom, she doesn't exist.  So we have to learn to balance, juggling family, home, work, and more.  We learn that balance isn't the same for everyone, that it looks different day by day.  We learn to slow down, to appreciate the little things in life, to breathe and rest and relax.  We have to slow down so life doesn't slip by us while we chase an impossible dream.  We have to learn to love our life, no matter how crazy and complex it is.  And that can be one of the hardest lessons to learn.

10 Things I Believe About Life as a Mom

Welcome to Working Mom Wednesday!

Today's writing promts are...

#1. 10 things I believe in

#2. I trusted my gut when...

10 Things I Believe About Moms

1. Motherhood is the hardest job in the world.
2. Nothing can prepare you for being a mom.
3. Sleep deprivation is a way of life.
4. Dryers really do eat socks.
5. Miracle Grow must be an additive in children's food.  (My oldest once grew through three shoe sizes in six months!)
6. Cloning should be perfected and offered to every mom, because we all need several of us to get through the day sometimes.
7. Being a mom teaches you more about God's love than you ever knew before having kids.
8. We may not actually have "eyes in the back of our head," but we come awfully close.
9. Moms are the closest thing on earth to real life superheroes.
10. Being a mom is one of the best, most amazing and incredible things that has ever happened in my life.



All the Dirt...at Work

1. Do you (or is it appropriate to) talk about your kids/marriage/dirty laundry at work?


2. A favorite recipe

One of the things I love about my job is that it's very relationship-oriented.  Really, that's one thing that sets our gym apart from others - it's personal.  Our members form close friendships with the staff and each other.  Their time at the gym is for working out, but it's also for destressing, "girl talk," and getting things off their chest.  We often joke that it's not just a workout, but a therapy sesson, too, and for some members, our gym is the only place they get that time to talk with other women.

Because we are so close, we talk about our lives...a lot.  What it boils down to is that we're all in each other's business!  My boss and I were laughing just this week about how much we all know about each other.  With that kind of platform, I do share a lot about my life.  The members, and my coworkers, have been my cheerleaders through the ups and downs of returning to college.  A few ladies that I'm very close to have also been sounding boards and prayer partners for the situation with my parents that I'm dealing with.

That said, although we are very open, there are some things that are off limits.  I don't get too personal when it comes to my marriage - for instance, I don't walk in and tell them if I had a fight with my husband that morning.  I'm also closed when it comes to discussing church or work issues in any way.  I don't share a lot about that, just very, very general information.  As a rule, I try to stick with life in general, college, and my kids...trust me, they provide many entertaining stories that keep the women at work almost rolling on the floor with laughter.

I think it really depends on where you work...in an atmosphere like the one I work in, you're almost expected to share all your dirt.  In other places, it's totally inappropriate.  I'm really glad that work can be a sounding board for me.



Facing The Challenges

#1. A Christmas memory... from this year or years past.

#2. Biggest challenge you face this year

I'm really excited about this year, but it will definitely have it's challenges....

One of the biggest challenges for me will be balance and priorities.  If I'm accepted into dental hygiene school this year, I'll be juggling school (just shy of full time) and work (just shy of full time), so it's going to be pretty crazy.  Keeping my priorities in line will be hard.  Making sure my family gets the time and attention they need, keeping the gym I manage running smoothly, taking care of myself with daily workouts and quiet time with God, keeping my grades up, and managing our home will be almost impossible.  It will be a daily juggling act, and I'm sure I will make a lot of mistakes, but I'll just have to keep trying until I figure it out.

Another major challenge is the one that I face with my parents.  I shared recently about my parents marriage problems and my mom's addictions.  It's one of the most challenging things I've ever faced, and I've really been struggling with it.  It seems that every time I start to wrap my mind and emotions around one thing that's happened, something new surfaces, and it throws me for a loop all over again.  I don't know what to believe anymore.  It's a daily battle for me, and it's something that I'm having to put into God's hands, little by little, day by day.  I never thought I would find myself or my family in a situation like this.  The words of the new Superchick song, Still Here, sum it up for me -

Still here, staggering on, through the impossible

We remain, I can breathe one more day,

Still here, still fighting on, all we have is today,

Find my way to the beauty of one more day,

Still here....

One thing I've learned throughout my life, though, is that God will be with me through it all.  Despite the challenges I know I'll face, I'm looking forward to 2011.  I know that I'll grow through the hard times, and I'll come out of it better.

My Dreams For 2011

I recently posted this, and it fits so perfectly with the theme of this week's writing assignments, I had to link to it...

I'm so excited to be linking up with Walk With Him Wednesday for the first time!  The theme this week goes hand in hand with the theme for Working Mom Wednesday, so I'm linking up to both...

This year has been challenging, to say the least.  I returned to college in January, ten years after quitting.  Juggling work, college, family, home and church events has been pretty tough.  We've had major changes at work - great, much needed changes, but even good changes can bring stress.  In addition to that, I've been dealing with a pretty terrible situation with my parents.  I haven't shared a lot about it until now, because it's just so personal and so difficult.  Their marriage has been on the rocks for quite some time, but this year it hit rock bottom...it hit below rock bottom, if that's possible.  I found out that my mother had been lying to me for months, and I found out that she had become addicted to some of her prescription medications.  There are other details, too, that are just too personal to share.  It all came to light just before Thanksgiving, and needless to say, it has put a huge strain on our relationship.  Our family is still recovering from the shock of what happened, and my parents are struggling to begin picking up the pieces of their lives and marriage, hoping they can still salvage it.

Despite it's challenges, 2010 has been a good year.  I cannot express how blessed I truly am.  So what do I want in 2011?  What are my goals, my words, my themes for the year ahead?

Peace
If I'm accepted into dental hygiene school, I'll start in July, and life is really going to get interesting.  I'll be just shy of a full-time student, working just shy of full-time, and heading up our church's children's ministry, as I've done for almost four years now.  I will need God's peace!  Our family also desperately needs his peace right now.

Healing
Healing for my parents' marriage and for my relationship with my mom...we've taken the first steps, I think.  We talked, really talked, on Christmas Eve for the first time since all this blew up.  It's going to be a long, slow process, though, and it will take a lot of time to build up the trust that was lost.

Nothing surprises God.
Nothing.  He knows every detail I'll face, and He'll be there to help me.

God is faithful.
If there is one thing I've learned throughout my life, it's that God is faithful.  He's never let me go, and He's never let my family go.  He's brought us through so much already, and I know He will bring us through whatever challenges and joys lie ahead in the new year.

This weekend, I'm going to blog more about my more specific goals for the new year, and I'll do a recap of my goals for this year and how well I did in reaching them.

The Many Alter Egos of a Wannabe Supermom - My Life in Pictures

My life is crazy, but so much fun...here are some of the highlights....

Our family with our alter egos

(Everyone says my husband looks like Mr. Incredible...I guess that automatically makes me a superhero, too?)

Helping my husband at a recent baby dedication



This is from our Easter egg hunt, our biggest event each year.

And some random fun and silliness...which happens often around our house...

What I love about Christmas

1.  Putting up our Christmas trees

2.  Seeing Christmas decorations in all the stores

3.  Starbucks Christmas coffees (Come on, you know coffee had to be here somewhere, right?)

4.  Seeing my the excitement on my boys' faces when we pull our 5 feet tall singing, dancing Santa down from the attic

5.  Using my snowman dishes

6.  My kids enjoying the same Christmas movies I grew up watching on TV

7.  Driving around town after dark to look at Christmas light

8.  Spending time with my husband and kids - no work, no college, just time with my three favorite guys

9.  Our church's candlelight communion the Wednesday before Christmas

10.  Rememering what Christmas is really about - celebrating God's amazing gift to us 2,000 years ago