Blog Challenge.. Day 5

12 days of Christmas Blog Challenge

Day 1: Christmas/Holiday traditionsDay 2: Black Friday/General Shopping Tips & TricksDay 3: Most meaningful gift/best gift you've receivedDay 4: Tips/Tricks to a Budget Friendly holiday seasonDay 5: Favorite Holiday Movie/TV Show SpecialDay 6: Gift ideas (what do YOU want? We all have family/friends reading our blogs...so let them know!)Day 7: Holiday Craft/DIY (If you don't make anything, what do you WISH you could make?)Day 8: Least favorite thing about the HolidaysDay 9: Favorite Holiday recipeDay 10: Favorite Christmas Songs/CarolesDay 11: New Year ResolutionsDay 12: Show us your decorations (indoor/outside)Day 13: Favorite Cookie RecipeDay 14: Oprah's Favorite Things: What item(s) would you want if you were in the audience

Hands down my favorite all time Christmas movie is: Bad Santa. 

What is there not to love.. it's hilarious and I like it because it's also something Ian and I can watch together, when Mack is in bed of course. 

My Favorite Lines:

Watching Boy: [stares at Willie] I saw you at another mall. 
Willie: Well, I'm happy for you. 
Watching Boy: If you really are Santa, you could do magic. 
Willie: [whispers] Wanna see some magic? OK, let's watch you disappear! 
[shoves him away] 

Willie: You can't drink worth shit. 
Marcus: I weigh 92 pounds, you dick! 

Kid: Your beard's not real. 
Willie: No Shit!It was real, but I got sick and all the hair fell out. 
Kid: How come? 
Willie: I loved a woman who wasn't clean. 
Kid: Mrs. Santa? 
Willie: No it was her sister. 

Kid: Good night, Santa. Good night, Mrs. Santa's sister. 

Ok, so this is not a kids movie by any means. I love it that it's adult humor and it's funny. It's one of those movies that doesn't get old for me. 

Other Favorite Christmas Movies

1. Santa Clause --> "Stung by a bee Scott?" "It was a big bee."

2. How the Grinch stole Christmas. (The one with Jim Carrey)

3. Frosty the snow man

4. Four Christmas's

5. Elf

6. Christmas with the Kranks

What are your favorite movies around the holiday's?

Mackenna Monthly Update

Mackenna is two years and 4 months old this month.

* Count to almost 20 (with help after 10)

* Sing the entire ABC's

* Sleeping 8pm - 6:15amish (what time we wake up for school)

* Brushes own teeth

New Words:

* Tomorrow

* Come on

* Good Morning

* Night Mommy 

* She is getting really good with names

Really into:

* Toy Story

* Tinker Bell

* Walle

* UP

* Cooking in her kitchen. She is starting to make things for us to eat

* Trains 

  

12 Days of Christmas Blog Challenge - Day 4

Blog Challenge... Oops I started on day 4

Day 1: Christmas/Holiday traditionsDay 2: Black Friday/General Shopping Tips & TricksDay 3: Most meaningful gift/best gift you've receivedDay 4: Tips/Tricks to a Budget Friendly holiday seasonDay 5: Favorite Holiday Movie/TV Show SpecialDay 6: Gift ideas (what do YOU want? We all have family/friends reading our blogs...so let them know!)Day 7: Holiday Craft/DIY (If you don't make anything, what do you WISH you could make?)Day 8: Least favorite thing about the HolidaysDay 9: Favorite Holiday recipeDay 10: Favorite Christmas Songs/CarolesDay 11: New Year ResolutionsDay 12: Show us your decorations (indoor/outside)Day 13: Favorite Cookie RecipeDay 14: Oprah's Favorite Things: What item(s) would you want if you were in the audience
** Ok, This is something that I really have a hard time with. Budget... not just Christmas. I have troubles keeping a budget when I go to the grocery store or the amount of times I should be going to Starbucks. Here is my attempt to give the best advice that I can give. **
Craft or Photo's: This year I have decided that we are going to get family photos done at Lake Tahoe this weekend and they will be the family gifts this year. The last few years we have gotten everyone in the family their gift and in the end Ian and I never exchanged gifts really for each other. This year I really want to make it about are little family of three this year and give a little something to each family member. Like the framed family photo and something to put into their stocking. 
If you want to give everyone in the family a gift then. What is your total budget amount of xmas shopping? Then pick an amount that you will spend on everyone. And... Stick with that amount. Remember Christmas is about spending time as a family and not the presents you give or receive. Like my grandma says every year to me, just donate food or toys or clothing to a food bank as a gift to me. That is what Christmas is all about. 

Wordless Wednesday

The Drive to work

My Front Yard

Another shot of the front yard

Temp this morning.

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Transition to the Toddler Bed

My child loves her crib. I mean loves it. She would love to play in there with bert and ernie and monkey. She would actually get upset if you took her out of crib too soon. She liked to lay there for additional 15 minutes after she had woken up from her nap and in the morning. If you grabbed her out too early she would be so cranky.

I've been thinking about when the right time would be to take the front piece off her crib and let her be able to get in and out of bed on her own. I was scared she would freak and refuse to sleep in her bed with it being "The Crib". I thought it would be easier for potty training, and after 4 months of her second birthday I knew is was time for me and I hoped that she would follow. She never tried to crawl out of her crib, she just loved being in there. So, I never pushed her to go to the toddler bed.

She fell out of bed once or twice the first night, and then we had no issues. She now will open her door in the mornings come in are room and tell us to "wake up mommy and daddy." If not that she will knock on her door in the morning and say help me please. Or, she will call us.

She love's being able to get in and out of bed. It's such a relief. Now since she is able to be mobile in her room at night and in the morning. I wanted to really make sure that she couldn't get into anything. One morning, I woke up and she had pulled out every single one of the wipes out of the container. 

When did you decide to make the transition to the toddler bed. 

Crib with front Piece off

Mackenna showing off Bert.

She really wants you to meet bert

Another view.

Another View

Her room again.

Closet. Removed the doors. 

Showing off in her toddler bed. 

sorry for the crummy photos, I couldn't find my camera, I had to use my phone. : )

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Sounds of Morning

The sounds of my morning. I love the fact that I no longer wake up before anyone in the house is even thinking of waking up. I used to leave the house with Ian still snoring as I'm getting dressed and slip out the front door. I no longer wake up to the most annoying sound ever... the alarm clock. 

Now I wake up to the shower curtain scraping across the shower rod. (I don't care how ghetto it is I'm going to replace my decorative metal shower hooks with ghetto plastic rings.) I can't stand that horrid in the morning. I usually look at the clock now and see either 5am or 5:15am, when ever Ian finally decides to get out of bed. 

I hear everything in the morning he does. Sometimes I sit and think in bed, dear god I was never that loud in the morning, what is his issue. I hear the sink go on in the morning and not just turned on a little bit, the sink is turned on full blast. I can either hear him shaving, trimming his face, or hear him banging the damn sonic care toothbrush on the edge of the sink. Then the door flies open and the lights get flicked on in the room. Then there is the banging of the dresser drawers. The flop on the bed to for him to put his socks on. 

I know its coming then... he will wake me up in a minute. I either get my feet tickled or I know you will get mad, but it's time to wake up. Then I either raise up or not move and then I get a kiss. I hear him storm out bang around in the kitchen and the front door closes.

Some morning's he is really gone right away, other's he comes back in and asks... have you seen this? or he forgot something, or his lunch is sitting on the counter. 

This is when I usually go and take my shower... and then I hear my little mini me in her room. She now knocks on her own door, won't open it, but knocks for you to let her out. It's so funny to me.

I'm getting used to this 8-5 thing....

What do you hear in the morning?

How was your weekend?

Baking... Tis the Season

Since it was snowing out I thought making sugar cookies would be fun to make. They were so good and Mackenna had a lot of fun frosting and the sprinkles.... were a hit with her. I think this evening I will make the christmas cupcakes. I can't help it. Im already in the christmas spirit.

We got another foot of snow last night and its still snowing outside. I think today im going to break out the paints and sneak out on Mack's nap and head down the hill to go see Harry Porter. I hope the movie is awesome because I will be driving in a storm to see it. : )

What are you doing this sunday?

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Playing in the Snow

We played in the snow for an hour this morning. Mackenna loves snow. I was starting to get cold but Mackenna wanted to still play outside. I took her for a sled ride down the street. I think she ate about 4 cups of snow. What a great start to a Saturday. We going to spend the rest of the day cleaning up the house, baking sugar cookies and painting. 

Eat your heart out

I woke up this morning....

Mt backyard this morning.

My Front yard this morning...

And.. for kicks I had egg nog coffee this morning..

So far 9 inches of snow of the expected 3 feet of snow till Sunday. I will update later with some more 

photos of the snow. I'm so excited that we might take the snowmobile down the street. haha! enjoy

and no drooling on my blog. 

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McFatty Friday: Snow Dance, Snow Dance

Weekly McFatty Friday post is coming at ya. I've been going to the gym for 17 days now. (not the weekends). Although, I'm giving up my hour lunch everyday, I'm so happy that I'm going everyday, and I'm not taking any time away from my family in the evenings. So, its like win, win for me. 

Everyday before and after my workout I walk by the scale. It's right in front the frackn bathroom. I always look at it, but never get on the damn devilish thing. Is that weird...

Here is why... first of all I'm just stoked for myself that I've been going to the gym every week day for the last 3 weeks. I don't want to get discouraged that I haven't lost any poundage. I'm going to the gym to get in shape, be healthier and loose some pounds. However, I'm not going to be down on myself because the scale isn't moving. 

Sooooo... I will not go near that damn digital butt face. :)

I feel better with more energy. I'm not as sluggish in the morning and I feel like I can go forever and that is my goal for going to the gym to have a healthier lifestyle that I've lost track of the last 2 years. Kids do that I guess. ; )

On another note... we are expected to get a huge storm today. 3-4 feet in the sierra mountains and greater Lake Tahoe Basin. I'm jumping and typing at the same time. Snow brings a smile to my face. I love to run outside with Mackenna and stand in the dumping snow. I like to be inside working on a craft project or coloring with her or even reading and watching the snow fall outside the windows. It's just a happy content feeling. Also, with the snow we at least have one day together, just me and Mack, while the hubs goes out and snowmobiles. These are also some of my favorite weekend days when it's just us girls. 

See the purple spot by reno. I'm right at the point. We are in purple zone baby.
12" + tonight! Winter Storm warning in effect from Today-Sunday 4pm PST

I mean I love Ian, but sometimes we just need some time for just the girls right!!?! Did I mention that I would rather him go on Sunday's so I don't have to watch football. ha!

Hope everyone has a safe and fun weekend. I will upload some photos of the dump progress this weekend, if we still have power!!!

Thankful Thursday - Relatives meet USA

My Aunt Dayna and Uncle Jeremy

This christmas is going to be the best one yet of my existence. Ok, as far as I can remember them back. My Aunt (dayna) and Uncle (Jeremy) and Cousin (Jade) are coming to the United States for the first time ever from New Zealand. 

This is me in New Zealand 2005 in Queenstown. Price William was
there at the same time as me. 

Lil Background or reference my previous post Parents from Different Countries. Anyway for the purposes of this post I will tell you all again. My dad is American and My Mom is Kiwi (from New Zealand). So, I have family on each half of the world basically. 

Anyway, my mom's sister, my aunt. (are you confused yet... sorry!) They are coming to America for the first time ever this Christmas. Plus, they get to come to the most beautiful part of this country in my opinion Lake Tahoe, California and see snow in masses of amounts for the first time.

Scratching your head... Yes, New Zealand has snow in the South Island. I have snowboarded at every single of their 3 resorts. : ) However, this might sound silly, but it is more costly to fly to the South Island then to fly to Australia, which is like 4.5 hours away. Weird huh! Plus I'm sure you have all seen snow in the movies Lord Of The Rings... Ahh ha! I got the image in your head now. The entire movies were filmed in New Zealand and majority of it in the South Island. 

Sorry I went off on a tangent for a moment. My Aunt and Uncle live in the North Island on North Shore. 40 Minutes from Auckland, New Zealand. They have a lovely home right next to the beach in a highly nice area... (bitches!) Sorry. 

This is me and my mom is New Zealand, where my great grandma lived and
I visited as a little girl. (Please excuse the pajama pants, yes they have sheep on them.)

They will be coming to visit December for around 2 weeks, a week with us and a week in So Cal. You know the DisneyLand thing. My cousin Jadey will love it. This is so funny to me, but I will make fun of them just a little bit. They wanted to rent a car and drive the California coast. First of all, ya its a nice drive and its pretty but HELLO they live in New Zealand, where the entire country is boarded by Ocean. Why in the Hell would they want to drive the coast of California, go see something you haven't seen, because they have seen oceanthere entire life. (sorry aunty and uncle I'm just sayin).

I'm beyond excited to get on the piss (get drunk) on rum and egg nog with the family and watch my aunty get on a snowmobile for the first time and scream her head off. (It will be fun aunty don't be a baby.)

I am way more than Thankful that they are coming to visit my neck the world. I will post photos of their visit in December sometime. :)

Del Monte Fresh Giveaway Winners!

The winner's the Del Monte Fresh $25 

Gift certificates are....

#3 Lilmissrysmama

and 

#18 Mandy W.

Congrats to the winners. I will be sending out an

email to you. You have 48 hours to respond, or a new

winner will be chosen. Thanks to all for entering. 

Del Monte Fresh Giveaway- $25 Dollar Gift Certificates

DEL MONTE FRESH SUPPORTS TEACHERS WITH CASH & FRESH FRUIT IN
"TEACHER MONDAY: CASH FOR CLASSROOMS"

Del Monte Fresh Produce, North America, Inc. announced today that it is launching a program to help support kindergarten thru 12th grade public school teachers across North and Central America with cash to purchase school supplies and fresh fruit in the “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms” campaign. One hundred prizes totaling $1,000 each will be awarded to teachers who get the most votes in the “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms” online contest at www.fruits.com.

“Monday’s can be difficult for all of us, but public school teachers face even bigger challenges these days with the largest budget cuts in 30 years expected this academic year,” said Dennis Christou, Vice President, Marketing, North America for Del Monte Fresh Produce. “Larger classrooms and far less supplies are putting enormous pressure on our teachers. The “Teacher Monday” program was designed to take some of the burden off teachers, many who pay for school supplies out of their own pockets. It will also provide teachers with tools and incentives to incorporate healthy eating messages into their curriculums, giving us an opportunity to help school children eat and live healthier,” Christou added.

To be eligible to win, teachers must register for the “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms” online contest at www.fruits.com. After teachers register their name and school, they can get all their fans -- from parents to students, to friends and family -- to vote for them. Ten winners will be selected each Monday for five consecutive weeks in October/November, 2010, for a total of 50 winning teachers North American teachers. Winners are based solely on the number of votes they receive. Winning teachers will receive $750 in cash to purchase school supplies and $250 in Del Monte fresh fruit coupons for classroom snacks and to use in fruit educational activities.

In an effort to support schools in less developed countries where many Del Monte products are grown, and where classrooms are also experiencing economic disadvantages, the “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms” program will link winning U.S. classrooms with a school in Guatemala or Costa Rica. The 50 selected Central American schools will also receive $1,000 each for school supplies.

“By linking U.S. and Central American schools, we want to help further the education of students by introducing them to another culture. Our hope is that sister schools will communicate with each other about fun physical activities and their favorite fruit dishes,” said Christou.

Beginning early Fall, consumers can expect to see “Teacher Monday: Cash for Classrooms” stickers on Del Monte Fresh Produce such as pineapples, bananas, melons, grapes, tomatoes and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, as well as colorful posters and other materials in produce departments.

Finally, each week of promotion, Del Monte will distribute $25 gift certificate booklets for Del Monte Fresh Produce to consumers in major markets across the U.S. and Canada. Consumers will be notified about the giveaways via Twitter, Facebook, and radio promotions.

Along side with the Cash for Teacher's contest, they were nice enough to send me two gift certificates with a value of $25 a piece to my readers. The Giveaway is two $25 dollar gift certificates for Del Monte Fresh Fruits and Veggies. It's a manufacturers gift certificate, so you can use it at any grocery store. The two winner's will be announced Tuesday November 16th. So get your entries in fast. 




**** Make sure you leave a comment for each entry, otherwise it won't be counted : ) ****


** Mandatory Entry ** : You Must Follow me Via Google Connect ( On my right side bar) 

** Other Entries ** 
1. " Like " Del Monte Fruits and veggies on Facebook. (feel free to leave them a message and say Mountain Mum sent you. +1 Entry

2. Follow me Del Monte Fresh on Twitter +1 Entry

3. Follow Mountain Mum on Twitter +2 Entries

4. " Like " Me on Facebook +1 Entry

5. Enter the cash for teacher's contest for your local school. Del Monte Fresh - Cash for Teacher's Contest +3 Entries

6. Tweet this Daily - + 1 Entry Each
Del Monte Fresh Giveaway. 2 $25 dollar gift certificates, and two winners. www.mountainmum.com @Mountain_Mum #giveaway

** I wasn't paid or given any kind of money to form my opinion on the product. I was given gift certificates to give to my bloggers to spread the awareness of Support your Teacher's with Cash, Fruit and Veggies. ** 

Thankful Thursday - I clean too much

A while back I proposed an hour a day cleaning schedule for myself. Well I've failed miserably. It always turned into more than an hour, no matter what. Maybe because I'm compulsive cleaning disorder would come out and I wouldn't stop myself, is the real reason. I've been finding that I clean as soon as I get home, I mean literally as soon as I get home from work. I would go, go, go and squeeze dinner in, or make the hubs do it. I would clean like mad until I realized that it was time for Mack's bedtime.

I missed out an entire evening with her. Granted I get to spend the whole morning with her now, but this is just not going to work for me. 

Here is my idea. 

1. Pick one Major Cleaning item a night... (laundry, bathroom, living room, marital room, Mack's room, guest room/office) and stick with just one item. 

2. Clean kitchen and do dished every night after dinner. 

3. Vacuum 1 room a night. 

4. Do 1 load of laundry a night and fold it after Mack goes to bed while watching the usual TV shows and hubs and I watch after Mack goes to bed. 

5. 1 sweep of the living room before bed of items that are out of place. 

Then in between I might have more time with the hubs and Mack. So, where does the Thankful part tie into all of this. I guess I'm just thankful that I know when enough is enough and I need to make a change that will help me more available to my family. Whether it's work, me cleaning too much.. etc. These are the years of our children's lives where we don't want to miss out for any reason, and I'm not going to let my compulsive cleaning take time away from Mack. 

78. My first Red Cup of the 2010 Holiday Season

79. Egg Nog

80. Mack's face with our first snow

81. Snow 

82. My Family

83. Still Cruising the gym

84. Yoga classes

85. Cold Nights (19 degrees) I like to wear fuzzy socks


365 Days in Pictures

Wordless Wednesday - Snow!

There were taken this morning before we headed off to preschool. Mack was so happy that there was snow.

Also... Happy Birthday to my Dad today. Happy Birthday Dad! 

365 Days in Pictures