Late Night Confessions of a Crazy Mommy Road Tripping with the Punkies

I know it's hard to believe cause she's young, blonde, and pop starish but I've always been pretty verbal about not caring for Taylor Swift.
I don't know if its cause she way to thin or if its the squeaky clean reputation she has when she goes through men like most of us change undies..... I mean come on John Mayer and I'm suppose to believe she's a virgin?! I don't know why I care people but I do!;-) I would much rather her own up to being slutty and then I would probably love her!
ANYWAY.... I've been locked in a minivan for hours(shut up I have 4 kids and a dog of course I drive a minivan) on end for the past 2 days and while they watch movie after stupid movie starring Dora( and we all know how she freaks me out) I put in a earbud and listen to Pandora which for some reason on my Maroon 5 station have been playing a TON of Taylor Swift and I got to tell you I kinda love her! The girl knows how to pen a song!!! I know what your thinking but seriously I guess when you break up with enough celebrity boy toys you can get to the heart of things!
Now here's my confession..... I really want her to date Adam Levine because I think the songs we'll get out of the two of them after breaking up will be AWESOME!!!! AND I think he'll kiss and tell!
AWESOME!!!!!!
Yeah this is what I think about when I can't sleep!

Let the Holiday Shopping Begin!!!!

If you are looking for something to buy me.....

Hey Everyone!!! Holiday shopping has already begun and my pals over at my favorite Etsy shop 

Every Day Baubles http://www.etsy.com/shop/EveryDayBaubles?section_id180470      

has generously offered all my blog readers a 15% off their orders! Just mention Punkies when you are checking out!!!! Hurry and get your orders in so they have time to make the perfect size for you all!!!

The tiny violets ring

The Winter Solstice ring

The Victoria ring

The Bluette ring

So remember to mention "PUNKIES" at check out and get your discount!!! I have so many people in mind that I will buy from them this Christmas and The Princess has picked out many stones that she wants made into rings and necklaces!!!!!

Chores for kids?

We always had chores as kids.  From early on I can remember helping Mommy do stuff around the house.  So when I became a parent it was something I did from the start.....giving the kids chores.  Not like Cinderella(although that is what Bu will tell you, he's Cinderella) but little things.  Now that all of them are older they all 4 have a small list of things that they have to do each day.

The Bigs are certain that I am abusing them with child labor so I got to thinking, are they to young? I mean it's simple things like 1. Make their beds 2. Wipe down the table after meals 3. Take out the recycling.  That's it really.... Zo takes up the dirty clothes and picks up the food from under the table.

Even the Littles have their list.  1. Help make your bed  2. Clear your dishes  3. Take your clothes to the laundry room.

So it not anything big, they also pick up after themselves when they are playing but again I don't think its a biggie.  The Bigs fight me with this all the way, everyday.  Crying, throwing fits that they have to help...... Is that normal?

Do you assign chores? At what age?  I've had Mom's tell me that it's to much, that as Mommy's we should be doing it, after all that is why we stay home to take care of our family.  But I feel like it is giving them a sense of responsibility. That it's part of being a family. Right?

Love for you all to weigh in on this one!

Wiping off the table

picking up the toys after playing

Pee..... Lots of it.....All the time

So one of The Bigs favorite forms of punishment for me is pee. They like to pee all over their rooms, all over their clothes, all over my van..... The fun really never stops.
We go through cycles and right now we're in the middle of a doosy! I've gotten to the point where they both wear diapers all day because even though they say they are using the toilet there is still pee everywhere all day......
So here's my question for you all..... What the heck have you used to clean pee that has worked for you?!?!? I feel like I have tried everything in the world and I can still smell it! Everywhere!

I've thrown away countless sheets and blankets and we're on their 6-7 th mattress and frankly it's expensive to replace that stuff over and over! I got smart and left the plastic on their mattresses this time along with a mattress protector( they will remove the protector to pee) bit still I can't get the smell out of sheets and blankets and I wash them at least every two days!
How about carpets?! I bought a shampooer and do the carpets in their rooms weekly but the smell is so strong. I'm not sure if they are actually peeing on the carpet because I don't find actual spots but again the smell is awful!!!

Then there's the van..... Zo is hell bent on peeing in it almost every time we go anywhere..... I don't even know where to begin in the van. I was his booster with the dog pee cleaner and spray down the seats and the floor but it always smells.

Any suggestions?!?! Comments?! Help?! LOL moments you would like to share about pee?!

Adam for President

Do I really need to say anything else?! Thanks for the pic Dawny!

The start of Halloween Decorating......

It's that time a year again where we start a bunch of craft and baking projects!!! Halloween kicks it off for us, we pull out the stuff we bought from years before and then do few projects a week until the holiday gets here.  Then we start all over for Thanksgiving/fall. Then again Christmas. Oh then there's Valentines Day, and then we round it out with the Punkies birthdays.  I get from August until October off.

So today we pulled out the Halloween box and started our crafts.  Today we made scarecrow masks and ghosts for our tree!!!!

I have a few more crafts and some baking planned for over the next week!  We will keep you posted!

Front Door with the gaudiest wreath you've ever seen in your life.

Pumpkin Heads

Giant spider that scares the shit out of all 4 of the Punkies but insist I put it up!

More fake jacks! They love these stupid things!

Can you believe these cardboard stick things lasted two years now in the NorthWest rain?!

Ghost that we made and put in the tree in front of the house!

Little  ghosts we made.

Making of the ghosts! Sis and Tater helped wrap them and tie on the orange bows

Then we decided they we needed googlie eyes.

Pretty cute!

Boo!!!!!

Scarecrow faces!

Vannie's is of course all pink!

Vashon Island......

We are an outing kind of family.  Always finding places to explore and things to do!  We take the ferry to the Islands around Seattle a lot.  Vashon is one of our favorites!

Oh Debbie......No you didn't!!!

In the cast of character's of my life Debbie, my Mommy, is a huge important part.  The Sibs and I give her a hard time but we adore her! She has made us strong, compassionate, caring, crazy, OCD, and unable to be in a healthy relationship with anyone.  But all that said she has taught us to laugh and stick together through thick and thin.  Needless to say the Punkies think she walks on water!

So imagine my surprise yesterday when I realized that she is if fact the Devil!!! Well I don't really believe that.....but she truly evil.........

The Punkies all have their.....let's call them "quirks".  Some of them individual and some of their ....."quirks" they share as a group.  Bu and Tater easily become obsessed or fixated on things and pull Zo and the Princess in............

Yesterday while we were eating dinner, I opened the mail and look what was inside........

Simple enough right?! A little frightening but it is a Halloween card.................

awwwwe cute and witty!   Gammie and Gampie are sooo sweet for thinking of the Punkies and sending out a card!!!!! And I would like to take a minute because I know what some of you are thinking......He's a Loli Pop(young male pop star) who looks like a teeny tiny baby butch so of course I secretly love him and dance to him all day long when the Punkies are listening to him.....but there's only so much I take..........

Cause this is what the card does............

Wait!!!!!! Did you get that?! It goes..................

Yea.........Like this.............

Oh just in case it is not in your head yet.........

Damn you Debbie!!!!! Damn you!!!!!!!!!

So all of you should know that after 12 hours we are still listening to Baby Baby Baby Ooohhhh. And all 4 of them stop sing and dance every time!!!! I hope everyone makes it through the day!

Little Baubles

OK I told you all that I am obssssesssssssed with Every Day Baubles and now they totally have me hooked with their new Little Baubles!!!!!! I want Mommy-Princess rings really badly, we just have to decide on the stones!

They can make any custom size.  And think about this!!! The rings can be hung from a chain when your Little outgrows it! How cute would it be for your teenager or college gal to wear her first ring as a necklace? I'm loving that they use really great quality that can hold up to my Princesses playing and her shiny things standards!!!!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/EveryDayBaubles?section_id180470

My niece will love this blue!

I think your Princess will want one of each too!

I think I want this for Erin and Ella for Christmas! Don't tell them!

Ok so even if you went and looked at the site from the last post, go again!!! They have some great new stuff up!!!!! 

I love the necklaces!!!!I want a bunch so I can layer them!!! And the blackened rings are amazing!!!!!

I'll try some on for you all while I'm visiting at the end of the month so you can see how AMAZING they are!!! Christmas is coming Ya'All! Better get your gifts ordered!!!! Right?!  

http://www.etsy.com/shop/EveryDayBaubles?section_id180470

Go! Now! Look!!!!! Drool!!!! Order your Littles a Bauble!!!!!

I have a new job.............

I spent many years selling and teaching at Good Vibrations.  I loved almost every second of it.  I liked to challenge my co-workers and outsell the stores! It was a fun fun job.  Lately I have been thinking I would like to bring in a little extra cash. I have this cousin, well I think we maybe twin sisters that were seperated at birth and I came a few years later and she got all the good looks......anyway I have a cousin who makes me look flat out lazy.

When you read this woman's postings on FB she is ALWAYS doing something! Baking, canning, picking, transporting kids, decorating 5 cakes, selling at a farmer's market, in one of her kids classes helping the teacher, at a volleyball or soccer game, taking her daughter to a ceramics/pottery class, bathing the dog.....it goes on and on....Needless to say, she pushes me to step it up and she is a constant cheerleader and is not afraid to tell me how it is!  I love that about her.  So when she told me about this new face cream that she was selling it perked my interest.  You all know that I am frugal, ok cheap when it comes to myself so when she said it was worth the $80 a month I had my doubts.

So she sent me a bottle and I started using and after 5 days I was hooked!!! I've now been using it for about a month and I never have to wear make up!!! ok I throw on mascara and lip gloss but that''s it! My skin tone has totally evened out and it just looks healthy.

So now I am selling the stuff too!  Go to the website and read about it and order a bottle!  You can get your money if you don't love it and seriously it is so worth it!!!

My website is http://nicoleclark.nerium.com.  Text, email or message with any questions.  I have a few friends giving a text drive so I will have updates for you on how it worked out for them.  But I'm telling you I can not believe what a difference it has made for me.

It's totally easy too! Not a lot of extra to your day.  You put a thin layer on your face and neck(and rough elbows) after you wash your face at night(put it on a wet face) and that's it.  You wash it off in the shower the next morning! The stuff really works! It's amazing....Did I already say that? Well it is!

Http://nicoleclark.nerium.com  Go, order it, try it!

The Roadtrip to Yellowstone

So every once in awhile( and it seems like it has been a lot lately) KK will say, "Hey let's throw the Punkies in the car and drive for days at a time!!!!! Cause it will be fun!" and I ALWAYS say "HELL YEAH!!!" and the craziness begins!!!!!

KK is a excellent planner of trips.  Before we get on the road she has hotels, fun activities in every stop, where we are going to eat and has bought all sorts of things for the van to make the trip easier.  I pack, well over pack, bake, shop, do hair, get everyone ready, pack the car and I usually drive so KK can navigate cause well I might be a bit directionally challenged.

So our trip this month was to Yellowstone National Park.  I am going to tell you that it was probably the most beautiful place I have ever seen!!!! We took our time and took 3 days to get there.  We drove about 5 hours a day then stopped and did something fun for the kids.

The first day we stopped in Idaho and did a little bowling,golfing and raced some buggies!!!! Tater kicked all of our butts in bowling, Vannie got in her flow and became a expert golfer and Kim dragged another Mama and kicked some race car booty!!!!

As usual Princess loves all we try!

Tater also loves bowling! Can you see the excitement?

Tater kicked ass.....It's sad cause you know we used to be on a league!

Princess got her groove!

I didn't think it was ever going to end...it is called "MINI"golf right?

Tater just ran around the green getting every one's balls out of the hole!

Mama and Princess felt the need for speed! Watch out Ricky Bobby!

Giant pirate ship in the middle of all of this fun!

So the next day we were off to Montana!  And there was a carousel that Mama found and of course we had to go ride it! There was also an incident with a Giant Killer Bee or just a plain old bee.....whichever.... anyway it landed on KK and she completely lost it because it was trying to sting her so she flipped it at me and the Punkies(umm....yeah I know I'm allergic and we don't know if the kids are) but luckily it went out my window....Oh I forgot to mention I had pulled over for her to get out of the van and shake it off but instead she flung it at me......luckily it flew out my window and no one was stung but needless to tell all of you I laughed for DAYS afterwards at her  freak out and needless to say the Punkies were freaked out by bugs the whole rest of the trip!

Ummmm I ate junk the entire time and oh the fries were good!!!

Me and Ta on the carousel

There was also a kids museum that wasn't open but we played outside

Nemo

Nemo again

So interested!

So we went from there to Cody WY! But first we drove through Yellowstone to get there.  I was in awe.  Luckily for me Kim drove that day and I got to just sit and be in AWE!!!! The Punkies were not impressed and barely looked up from their Ipads but it was worth every minute of fussing and whining!!!! It is truly one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen!!!

AND while we were in Cody I got to see a childhood that I haven't see in a very long time....too long. It's funny cause we both have lived in a lot of the same places over the years but just missing each other by months to a year in a lot of places!  I have to tell you I thought it might be weird or uncomfortable but Mary Etta will be a forever friend and no matter how long it is in between we will forever be connected and it will be like it was yesterday.  Her Crazies were Uphoff's through and through and it made my heart sing to see all the kids playing together!!!! We will definitely be making a yearly visit to see them and we have new pen pals!!!!

There's a heard of Elk in the background

It's smelly at the hot springs

Ta and Mama waiting for Old Faithful

Yeah they weren't happy........

And they were!!!

Old Faithful

Old Faithful

Old Faithful

Lake Yellowstone

The drive to Cody

In Awe......

I love you Wyoming!!!

The Crazies with the Punkies!!!!

After our wonderful visit with the McCorkle's we spent the next day learning about Buffalo Bill Cody and the little town of Cody.  He was a trip!  We enjoyed a tour and there was a little museum.  I did laundry and prepared for our long drive home. The first day home was a great long drive through the rest of Yellowstone.  We saw a bunch of animals....and here I'm going to insert my PSA..........

People the WILD animals do not care that you are on vacation and that everything is suppose to be peachy keen!  DO NOT....Let me say it again DO NOT get out of your car and approach grizzly bears( yeah we saw it and there are signs all up and down the highway saying this, I'm not kidding), Giant Elk, Buffalo ( they are bigger than you) or any other WILD animal!!!!  It is crazy what we saw, Huge Buffalo Bulls just walked in the street and we sat on the road for quiet awhile while two young buffalo bucks played in the middle of the road and didn't let the cars go by!=)  It was amazing and hilarious and I will never forget it!

Just Hanging out by the side of the road

And another

There were two herds not far apart

The bigger one had to have at least 200 buffalo

They were just playin'

Then we just headed home.  Stopped in the same places we stopped on the way. Ran into some more fun things........

At a gas station

Tolee wanted to ride too!

And after 3 days we finally made it home!!! 

Me kissing the wall when we got home!!!!

We are planning another trip next month to visit Aunt Dani!!!! But KK made the executive choice to fly!!! It was going to be another road trip but we are going to take TATER and the rest of the Punkies but TATER on a airplane!!!! Wish me luck and start praying now!!!!!!