Weekends are typically my days to clean the house. With the three little one’s running around it isn’t always easy as pie to get the house clean. The youngest tends to run around after me and mess up what I just cleaned. So one way I try to get the kids involved in cleaning is to turn on music. They love listening to music and it gets them along with me in a good mood so we all dance and sing and clean together. 

Today I am listening to a little bit of Muse 

and a little bit of One Republic

Those two songs are my favorites by those bands. An added bonus to having the kids listen to music is they get an appreciate for all types of music out there. We listen to a very eclectic variety. I always tease my husband that on his play lists he goes from Megadeath to the Beatles and then to Ozzy. 

We also play music in the kids room when they go to sleep. My oldest favorite song is Dazed and Confused by Led Zepplin. Now if that isn’t just awesome for a seven year old to even know who they are but to also already have an appreciation for their music then I don’t know what is. For me music is a form of art and I am trying to incorporate all different forms of Art in my childrens life. Whether it be music, plays, paintings, or simply drawing with them. I don’t want my children to grow up sheltered and not have known about culture. So for me this is just one of my ways of sharing that with them. 

I couldn’t pick just one picture for this weeks Wordless Wednesday, well technically I could I just didn’t want to. We had one of the most gorgeous sunsets I’ve seen in a long time last week and really it would just be cruel if I only shared one picture. It’s like talking about this amazing dinner I ate without sharing the whole recipe.

So here you go, the whole enchilada.

I know it’s not always the easiest thing to do. Especially if you are one of those people who are constantly on the run. And having a fast food establishment at every corner doesn’t make it any easier. I get the temptation. And being a person who loves carbs and sweets it can be difficult at times for me to put aside the temptation and reach for a healthier option. But here’s the thing about me. I LOVE salads. Seriously love everything about them. For me making them is half the fun. I eat salads pretty regularly and an added bonus, my children enjoy them also. So what is my point of this post. Well I just wanted to share a quick and easy salad recipe with you all. This is my go to salad. 

What you will need:

Package of iceberg salad mix

Fresh spinach

Romaine lettuce

Red bell pepper

Orange bell pepper

Onion

Green onion

Green olives

Tomatoes 

Mushrooms

Pre-cooked chicken (cubed)

Salad dressing of your choice

Toss in some of the iceberg lettuce mix. Remember you will be adding more lettuce & spinach and other ingredients so don’t put in too much. 

Some people eat spinach as is but I prefer to chop it up a little bit. So chop if you’d like or just throw it in whole. 

Slice up some romaine lettuce and add it to your bowl.

Now that you have all of your lettuce’s it’s time to chop your remaining veggies. I completely forgot I had some green olives and tomatoes in the fridge so they aren’t pictured here but I also slice those up. I like having the food be able to fit in my mouth and not have to cut it when I am eating so I slice and/or chop everything.

Throw all the veggies into the bowl. Now it’s time for the chicken. I cook with chicken breasts and lightly season them with onion salt, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. No oil or pam in the pan. Let the chicken cool for a few minutes so any remaining juices stay in the chicken and keep it moist. Dice it up to bite sized pieces and toss that in as well.

When you’re finished you will end up with some sort of deliciousness like this

For my husbands salad I used blue cheese dressing. One of my favorites is Annies Shiitake & Sesame  dressing. I found it once and can’t find it again so I am going through withdrawals but it is seriously the best dressing I have ever tried.

And there you have it. A quick and easy salad sure to fill you up and something you don’t feel guilty about eating.

The weather was gorgeous yesterday. You couldn’t have asked for better weather or better timing. With all this “cold” (all you east coasters don’t smack me haha) we have been having the past couple of days to have a nice warm day was just what the Doctor ordered. So seeing as I just couldn’t sit around and do nothing on such a nice day I loaded the kids up and made a spur of the moment decision to have a picnic at the park.

Loaded with a blanket and water bottles we went over to Subway, grabbed some nice healthy sandwiches and made ourselves a little picnic.

His expression really says it all. Mom I am eating don’t take my picture LOL I couldn’t help it. It’s a rare opportunity because he is actually sitting still long enough for me to capture a shot of him.

After lunch we walked over to the playground side of the park and let the kids play for about an hour. Baby girl fell and hit her head about 30 minutes in so we sat and watched the boys play for the rest of the time spent there.

When the kids faces were bright red from running around we packed up and left. Seeing as my mom lives about one minute from the park we went to, we stopped by there. As most of our visits go we stayed for the rest of the day just playing and having a good time.

This picture, though blurry, cracks me up not only because little man is such a cute little guy but also if you look closely you can see both my sister and I in each of the glasses lenses. Well actually you can see our arms and our cameras LOL We are both photography lovers.

Just had to throw in this picture of my gorgeous sister.

And my Dad picked up a tricycle for little man the other day. I’m thinking he had a blast playing on it since he rode it for about an hour.

And I couldn’t pass up taking this shot because, well because I couldn’t.

That was our day in a nutshell. Food, park and fun. It’s making me look forward to summer even more!

There are two types of people in this world. Cat lovers or dog lovers. I am a dog lover. I’ve never had a cat and with my husband and daughter allergic even if I for some odd reason wanted a cat I couldn’t get one. But that’s okay because I would rather snuggle with a rolly polly big dog any day. 

Now that being said I still cannot deny the beauty in cats eyes. They are so captivating when you actually get a good look at them you can’t really help but be in awe. I caught one of those rare shots of a cats eyes at my parents last week and had to share for this weeks WW. 

Announcing: Gypsy

This will be my first time entering the challenge. I always go through and browse everyone pictures but how could I pass up a winter wonderland challenge when we got snow this year. Living in California snow is a rare occurrence here so naturally my kids LOVED it.

If you would like to participate in the challenge simply click the button below to go to their website, and hurry because entry deadline is today 9pm CST. 

My Winter Wonderland submission

Jr doing the army crawl through the snow

Jessica from It’s my life challenge us to do a 100 things about you post. I’ve never done one on my blog before but it was fun! Here are my 100 things.

1. I was born in California

2. I still live in California

3. Actually we will be moving to Oklahoma soon

4. I have never actually been to Oklahoma

5. I was born a pisces and remain a pisces no matter what the new zodiac chart says

6. I have one tattoo, well it’s three orchids but one piece

7. I plan on getting another one for my birthday

8. I actually have about four more picked out that I would eventually like to get

9. I have my tongue pierced

10. I have my navel pierced

11. I have 9 piercings in my ear

12. I would love more piercings but my husband finds them unattractive 

13. I didn’t graduate from my high school

14. But I did graduate from independent study 

15. I have a major sweet tooth

16. I love Italian food

17. Okay I love all food

18. Salads are one meal I really enjoy making, so many different ways to do them

19. I used to grab my moms umbrella and jump off of things pretending to be Mary Poppins

20. I love photography

21. I am not artistic 

22. I am actually quite shy in person

23. I have three kids

24. I had my last at home, best birthing experience ever

25. I get sad something thinking I will never have another child

26. I have never lived on my own

27. I moved out of my parents house & in with my boyfriend (now husband) right when I turned 18

28. I drank at my wedding and I wasn’t 21

29. I used to enjoy the process of moving

30. But after 11 moves in 9 years I’m over it & don’t like the process anymore LOL

31. I enjoy reading

32. I really enjoy vampire novels

33. I think they’re sexy 

34. I am emotional

35. I do not like to exercise 

36. But I really need to start it and get in shape

37. I love taking naps

38. My kids are not nappers & I wish they were so I could nap sometimes 

39. I only weigh 10 pounds more then I did prior to my first pregnancy

40. Which could be looked at as good except I am two pants size bigger from all the skin

41. But I am thankful I am not at the weight I used to be back in 2004

42. I was 215 pounds in 2004

43. I do not like looking at pictures of myself from back then

44. So I am glad there aren’t many too look at 

45. I love the smell of the ocean

46. But I am terrified of sharks so I do not go in the water

47. I have been stuck in so many rip tides when I was younger which only perpetuated my fear of the ocean

48. I even freak out going in lakes & having a fish touch me

49. I should really get over my fears 

50. Growing up I wanted to be a veterinarian 

51. I still love all animals 

52. I would really love to open an animal rescue shelter 

53. I have no rhythym

54. But I love to dance with my kids

55. It was comical watching my husband and I dance at our wedding, well at least to us it was

56. One of my favorite pictures of my husband and I is from our wedding night while dancing

57. I met my husband when I was 15

58. We got married when I was 20

59. We have now been together almost 14 years 

60. Wow that makes me feel old 

61. We have three children together

62. I miss my oldest while he is at school

63. Not looking forward to my younger one’s starting school

64. I will cry (I told you I was emotional)

65. I do not retell jokes very well

66. I totally laugh on the inside while people look at me confused when I am retelling a joke

67. I have a great sense of humor 

68. I love my husbands weird sense of humor, not many people get him but I do

69. I love my husbands laugh, it’s very contagious 

70. I don’t believe in decaff coffee, what’s the point? 

71. I enjoy a fresh cup of coffee every morning

72. Growing up I couldn’t stand the smell of coffee

73. My first cup of coffee was in 2000 while working at my dads office

74. I used to tease him about his coffee “addiction”

75. I cannot stand the house we live in now

76. To me I feel this place has a lot of bad ju-ju

77. I do not have a relationship with my birth father, or as I call him sperm donor

78. I have two sisters and two brothers

79. I do not have a great relationship with my brothers 

80. I do not like drama

81. I have never had a girls night out

82. I have never been to a bar

83. I have also never been to a club

84. One of these days I plan on going to one or the other, or heck both

85. I loving changing my hair color

86. I am in need of a hair cut

87. I get my hair cut about once every few years

88. I procrastinate

89. I can’t stand the smell of rosemary

90. Or the taste

91. I will not cook with it

92. I only use ground spices 

93. I have a think about “leaves” in my food

94. I am notorious for not folding laundry and letting it pile up

95. I am clumsy

96. I am a good listener

97. I am loyal

98. I will always support my friends and fmaily

99. My shoulder is always open for a person in need of it

100. I love my family and my life

If you would like to take part in this challenge don’t forget to link up with Jessica.

Most of us have had the luck to be part of a special group, the OMG my child got into the lotion,Vaseline, glue, paste, play-doh, etc. group. And boy what fun it is to be in it right.

My son (2.5) has gotten into this routine of not going to bed when it’s bed time. I have no idea what triggered this but it started about two weeks ago. No big deal, I deal with it, put him back in bed on average six times a night and eventually he falls asleep. Well the other night was a particularly bad night. I had already put him back in bed over ten times and he just wasn’t staying in bed. Finally around 10 pm I didn’t hear any noises so I assumed he finally fell asleep. Oh boy was I WRONG! I heard a noise in the hallway so I went to go check it out. And what did I find??? Well a little boy playing in the toilet. Oh yes the toilet (GROSS). While going to pick him up I recognized a smell and knew immediately it was my daughters lotion. Not seeing any in the kids bathroom I ran to my room and found this: 

and this

To say I was upset would be an understatement. I cried, I yelled at my husband and finally came the laughter. Even though he completely emptied my daughters twenty dollar lotion for her skin which of course is not covered by insurance, when I saw this

I just couldn’t help but laugh because gosh darn, if little lotion foot prints aren’t adorable then I don’t know what is!

I hear all the time how my kids all look so similar and that there is no denying that they’re related. For me I see in mainly in their eyes. They all have the exact same eyes. They got Daddy’s big eyes and Mommy’s coloring (brown). 

I look at pictures of the kids all at the same ages and I don’t see it at all. I look at them now and I see the resemblance but to me they each looked completely different when they were younger. So I am asking you, what do you think?

I tried to get pictures all around the same age to make it easier to compare. So spill, what do you think?