I♥Faces...JOY

Here I am again with another I♥Faces entry! I just love this picture, he is just pure JOY when he has any kind of ball in his hands! I love that there is a site out there promoting the faces that all of our little guys and girls have...such sweeties all of them.

If you have not checked out I♥Faces then please do so!!!

Good luck to all who enter!

Back off ladies....this one is MINE...;)

One of my lovely bloggin buddies Kameron is doing a fantabulous give away...A SPA GIFT CARD!!! So, I am entering for the winnings and in order to receive an additional entry, I am posting about her give away...

Now, for the rules of how I am going to win this lovely little thing....

#1 - You will read the post...

#2 - Your brain will be immediately zapped (like men in black) and you will forget to go to Kameron's adorable blog and register...

#3 - Of course all of this is done with the utmost love and respect for my fellow blog sistas...so, if you love me and want me to be relaxed you will BACK OFF!!! LOL.

Good luck to anyone who enters...and become a follower of Kameron if you are not already..She is fantastic!!!

Love ya Kam! **Subliminal Message- PICK ME, PICK ME, PICK ME, PICK ME**

Wordless Wednesday - Hat Distraction

So much for Wordless...but honestly, I was so distracted that AT THAT MOMENT...Words failed me.

Tip Jar Tuesday

I hope that I am getting re addicted reacquainted with all of you this week while my hubby is traveling!!

I thought I would share a weight loss tip, since I am on a motivation bandwagon!!

Here are a couple of things that are helping me get through the hungry times:

1. Take a multi-vitamin in the morning..might not notice at first but after 2 or 3 days it really does help curb cravings for things that you should not eat....

2. Guzzle down the water..by a really cool water bottle I♥ my Camelbak so you might want to check them out. They make drinking water easy and cool looking =)

3. Stop eating after 9pm. If you go to bed about 9pm stop eating at 7pm. Go to bed hungry. If I am famished, I will make myself some DETOX tea at night. You can pick that up at target for $6 and again, you may not notice for a day or 2 but by day 3 it is really helping!!!

If you want to join in the Tip Jar Tuesday...please visit BlogMommas!

I♥Faces...

I am joining in on the fun that everyone else is I♥Faces is a great blog that you can submit your adorable photos to and they will select winners every week. This weeks theme is "Anything Goes" so here is my photo:

Check it out...Really fun and easy to link up to! Happy Shooting!!

Not Me Monday...

MONDAY MONDAY MONDAY...NOT ME MONDAY...

TO PLAY ALONG, PLEASE VISIT MCKMAMA AND LINK UP!

1. It was NOT ME who fed my children cupcakes at 10:00 in the morning because I could not handle the whining. I am way stronger than that and can totally handle my children on my own.

2. It was NOT ME who decided to help my 7yr old with his hockey gear and totally took the biggest digger while trying to chase my 4yr old with an enormous bag of hockey crap. I did NOT have the largest wet snow spot on the butt of my jeans and many parents did not come up to me and say..."Where you the girl that fell in the parking lot?" Did no one think to ask me if I need help? I mean I am chasing a 4yr old in a parking lot with 90 cars!

3. When I write this NOT ME..it is not the intent to offend anyone. However, this story is just too hysterical to not share...So, here we go. Rewind back to a Friday Christmas evening at the mall. Waiting forever with children is just not fun so Erik was taking the boys to the pet store right across the way. They had gone in several times until Erik said...It's your turn. I said, OK so he held the spot in line and I trucked in with the kids again to look at the adorable puppies in the store. Again, not intent to offend anyone this is the stuff that Sitcoms are made of. Jaxon goes running off to a particular puppy and Mason is staring at this man holding a little puppy.

A man asks him "Do you want to hold this puppy?"

Mason: "NO", You have a big head and a little body.

WHAT? WHAT? Panic mode. I am sweaty...really sweaty. What do I do...I text my husband and say...Mason-Dwarf-911. My husband comes running in and we both apologize. The man was soo nice about it. We told him that we teach our children that God makes everyone in different shapes, sizes but to have a child that just GOES THERE...I MEAN HE REALLY GOES THERE!

So, my NOT ME is that It was NOT ME that gave birth to this child. NO WAY, NO HOW!!!

4. It was NOT ME who is missing my husband more than I thought I would. I now understand what he feels like when I go away on a scrap weekend. He deserves it but I am sad!

Inauguration Events

I am blogging today because I will be a single parent for the next 5 days (kudos to all the ladies and gentleman who may do this on a regular basis) and this is new to me. My husband has not traveled for work in over 5 years so lets just say that I am used to having him around!

My hubby is currently in Cleveland, Ohio having an adult male (scary) sized road trip on the way to Washington DC. Yes, somehow through no luck of his own he has scored tickets to the Inauguration and all its festivities..OK, well maybe his best friend had a little something to do with it!!! =)

Let me just say this, I know that we all have spanning political views. I am not blogging about this to create another up rise in the Presidential selection. I am merely ecstatic for my husband and his best friend to be at a Presidential Inauguration. I think that it is something that every adult should get to see at least once in your lifetime and for him, he will be able to cross it off the list.

I have also given him a couple of things to pass along for the "rest" of us...

1. Make sure that you tell him he is THE most prayed for man in the world.

2. Please tell him about "MY" economic stimulus plan...I am not an economist..I am a level headed thinker with a couple of "doozies" as my hubby calls them.

3. Get a signed picture of Ashton Kutcher if possible.

If any of the above things happen, I will let you know. Until then, lets just all pray for our country. In general we need it...and lets not forget...."IN GOD WE TRUST."

Bearded Bandits...

So, As I was upstairs changing sheets, making beds, putting clothes away for what must have been about an hour and a half...I come downstairs to these lovely boys whose father has painted a "Playoff" beard on the boys...Let's just say that one was routing for Philly and one for the Giants...you can tell by the colors (LOL).

Thank goodness, these were not sharpies...=)

Happy Birthday Babe..and Dad!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIK!!!!

So today my lovely Husband is turning the BIG 41!!! Yes, if you are wondering, he is slightly older than myself (ha ha). Anyhow, I want this post to be a homage of all the things that we love about him. So, we have a top 5 from each family member...lets get ready..these are interesting!

Tarah's Top 5:

1. I love that even though I am a tough person to deal with some days (OK MOST), he still loves me. He knows how to calm me down when I am bent out of shape, how to hug me and make it all seem better. Thanks for doing the "Hubby" thing, even if sometimes you just want to put the keys in the ignition and peel out!


2. He has a pretty dry, funny sense of humor that after being married for 10+ years, I really understand and find quite amusing.


3. I love the way he plays with the kids and shows them EVERYTHING they need to know about sports (something I am clueless on). The boys LOVE that he will hockey fight with them, dunk and pitch, and even box if asked.



4. I love that when I stressed out the first words out of his mouth always are: "What can I do to help you?"


5. He makes ALL the beds at home. I am grateful to his mom and dad for that boarding school education because when I make the bed...they just don't look that nice =).

Jaxon's Top 5 About Dad

1. He takes me to games and coaches me on my hockey team.

2. He practices spelling words with me.

3. He snuggles to watch TV in my room.

4. He pushes me to be better at stuff. (Yes, "stuff" is the most general term alive."

5. He is a good Dad

Mason's Top 5 About Dad:

1. He gets me ice cream
2. He doesn't yell at me anymore (Ha, this one made me laugh a lot)..

3. He gives me medicine when I need it.

4. At my birthday party he played baseball.

5. I like when he picks me up from school.




This would be the cake that I would bake for you, except for the fact that we are trying to be eating healthy so this one is out of the question....The picture looks nice!

Hope your Birthday is Fantastic!!! We love you!

New Year...

We raced of the state of Minnesota to the warm state of Illinois for a little Holiday Cheer and to ring in the new year! Visiting our long time friends Jeff and Jeannine (Jillian and Jeffrey too)!

We arrived after a 7 hour drive thanks to many stops on I-94 we all arrived in 1 piece! We attended a wonderful New Years Eve party at our other friends who we met through Jeff and Jeannine. The kids played ALL NIGHT and YES, this was the 1st year that we were all awake to ring in the new year!!! Happy 2009 everyone!

Here is a couple of pictures from the trip. Of course, I have to say as much as I love to take photographs it becomes cumbersome to take the camera out all the time so, no New Year pics for us...maybe next year...

Hope that all of you are doing well and the new year find you happy, healthy and harmonious!!

Erik's only picture of the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field...Kid in a Candy Store.

Jeff, Jeannine, Jillian and Jeffrey

Buddies on the Ice Rink!

Jaxon bringing "SKATING" back!


Just chillin on the bench!
Masons cheeks must be cold...on this 30 something degree day!

Hes's totally up and skating...this kid falls more than anyone I have seen and NOT once did he say, I want to go. He has insane determination...which I am sure he gets from his dad...my feet get numb after 30 minutes and it is off to the warming house for me!

Visiting them makes me happy and sad all at the same time...Jillian is now 11 years old and is such a sweet girl...this is my favorite picture of the weekend...Makes me sort of want Erik to experience having a daughter...Just a little bit!!