Hey, where's Perry?

Too much Phineas and Ferb?  Is it possible?  Let's review the facts.....
On a daily basis somebody is heard to say "Whatcha' doin?".  Hmmmm.....inconclusive.

Picasso got Perry the Platypus pj bottoms for Christmas.  When he opened them the whole family started singing the Perry theme song.   Hmmmmm.....suspicious.

We took Archer to a check up with the podiatrist today.  As we were leaving I was telling the kids about how their dad had his back surgery at that hospital.  About how for a week I parked in that parking garage and carried Picasso, a diaper bag, and a baby swing across the street every day.  Picasso proceeds tell me "Hey!  Nobody tells my backstory but me!".  His backstory went like this - "I was born.  Then I cried, I cried, and I cried some more.  The end."  That's it? we asked him.  "Well.....back in Gimmelschtump in the days of my youth...". 

After reviewing the facts I have come to the conclusion, that no, no it's not possible to watch too much Phineas and Ferb.  It is confirmed that you will begin quoting the show at odd times.  This tends to have the reaction of causing people to laugh.  Or roll their eyes (usually me). 

“Mom!  Phineas and Ferb are going on a LIVE tour!!!”  School‘s out for summer and anything is possible as Phineas and Ferb create their biggest invention yet -- Disney’s Phineas and Ferb: The Best LIVE Tour Ever!  Phineas, Ferb, and the whole tri-state area gang embark on a bold escape jumping out from behind your TV and onto the stage in a live action adventure – right in Denver!  As we are such fans of the show you can imagine how excited we are about this live tour!  It's brought to us by Feld Entertainment, the same people who bring us Disney on Ice.  :)  The tour will be in Denver on February 3rd and 4th.

This show will be held at the Wells Fargo Theater, which is a smaller venue, so I will be unable to give away tickets for this one.  I can give you a discount code though!  You can save $3 per ticket with the code FFAPF on Friday, February 3rd only.  Not valid for the VIP and Stage-side seating.  You can use the code at Ticketmaster.  Tickets for these shows are selling fast!

Ticket prices are: $16, $22, $27, $42 VIP, & $67 VIP Stage-side  *Service charges and handling fees may apply

For the fastest and easiest way to buy tickets, log onto www.ticketmaster.com or www.disneylive.com or call 1-800-745-3000. Wells Fargo Theatre Box Office opens on Wednesday, February 1^st  

Here's a sneak peak of the show:

Best Christmas Present Ever

Technically it was a late Christmas present.  Four days late to be exact.  Twelve years ago today I got the best present ever.  I became a mother!  Today is Archer's 12th birthday.  He amazes me everyday.  He is such a great kid.  Right now he and six of his friends are either having a light cycle race on the Wii or having a Nerf war.  It's so much fun to watch them.  He has made such great choices in his friends.  I am grateful that I was able to receive the gift of motherhood, as I know it's something that not all women are able to have.  Happy birthday Archer!  I can't wait to see what you do next.

Merry Christmas!

I love Christmas.  Not because of the presents, though they are nice, but because of the magic of it all.  I love the beauty - the snow, the lights, the trees.  I love the music - the silly songs, the hymns, the choirs, the orchestras, my kids singing at the top of their lungs.  The Christmas movies; I'm a sucker for those.  I love Santa Claus.  I love the time spent with family.  The joy on my children's face. 

Picasso said his favorite part of our family Christmas party is the nativity.  All the grandkids get pieces of the nativity, baby Jesus being the coveted piece.  Then my step-dad reads from the scriptures of the birth of Christ.  The kids put their pieces on the hearth of the fireplace and their part is read.  It is one of my favorite parts too.  Afterwards we sing Christmas songs until we can't sing anymore. 

Christmas morning was fantastic.  It was spent at home with just us.  The kids were SO excited.  They were literally bouncing up and down.  Princess kept shouting "it's just what I wanted!" as she opened her gifts.  I was even able to surprise Archer, who at almost 12 is getting harder to surprise.  He's looking forward to building his Parallax Boe-Bot with his dad.  After presents we went to church.  The service was beautiful!  I did mention how much I love the Christmas hymns.  :)  My in-laws came for dinner and it was a blast.  My mother-in-law made the kids all amazing quilts!  We played card games and just enjoyed each others company. 

Our new day after Christmas tradition is going to be going to the water park.  We had so much fun today at the pool!  Spending so much time together has been fantastic.  Hubby has to go back to work tomorrow, which will be weird; we'll miss him. 

I hope your Christmas has been wonderful and that you enjoy the above videos from the Piano Guys, Jon Schmidt, and Steven Sharp Nelson.

Snow is Falling All Around

Have I mentioned before how much I love the snow?  I love it a lot.  I mean a LOT!  Snow makes me happy.  It's so beautiful, peaceful, clean, and fun.  I know there are many people who would just rather not have the snow, but I do adore it.  We got around 16" of snow in the past 24 hours.  It is just fabulous!  We are definitely having a white Christmas! 

The kids had a blast playing out in the snow this afternoon.  Then afterwards, hot chocolate and marshmallows.  Yummy!  We made sugar cookies this afternoon too.  Star Wars and Christmas sugar cookies.  What could be better?  We didn't frost them yet, but that will be tomorrow's fun thing for the day.  :) 

It's beginning to look, and feel, a lot like Christmas around our home.  Gingerbread houses, paper snowflakes, sugar cookies, tree decorating.  All those good fun Christmas things.  Now if only Angel and I could shake this dang head cold!  Thankfully Angel hasn't gotten as sick as I have been.  I've had it for a week and it knocked me off my feet.  We've been taking Umcka and Vitamin C, which helps.  Sounds like I need to run upstairs and put some Vicks Vaporub on Angel's feet.  I don't know why that helps, but it really does! 

Shark Teeth

Yesterday 3 of my 4 kiddos lost a tooth.  The 4th child has 4 loose teeth and Princess can't wait to loose her first.  Archer lost his final molar, so he is done with the baby teeth.  Angel lost a tooth and so did Picasso.  With Picasso's tooth something strange was going on.  When his dad checked on the wiggly tooth he noticed the permanent tooth was already growing in BEHIND the baby tooth!  Not good.  The baby tooth was wiggly enough that they were able to yank it.  We were extremely worried about the fact that his tooth came in the wrong spot.  We figured we were looking at braces to pull it forward. 

Not Picasso, but shows the issue.

I did a quick search on the web and found THIS website by Dr. Dean Brandon.  Can you say relief?  Turns out that this is a fairly common occurance and happens to about 1 out of every 10 kids.  It's often referred to as "shark teeth", as that is how sharks grow their teeth.  Since the baby tooth came out the permanent tooth will move forward into place on it's own.  No braces!  We can already see a difference in the placement of that tooth. 
Isn't the body just way cool?!?

Bullying

There's a YouTube video that has recently gone viral about bullying.  It's called what's going on.  In it a boy named Jonah talks about how he's been bullied every day for years, but that he is not giving up.  He tells it better than I can.....

There was, and is, much controversy as to whether this was real.  If it's not, the boy is an amazing actor.  If it is, which I believe it is, then this boy is a very strong young man.  Even if it were a "fake", it still tells an important story.  A story that many children in every school across the world live every day.  Bullying is often a silent torture.  It often isn't seen except by those involved, the bully and the bullied.  Bullying often isn't something big.  Often times it is the small things, the stabbing comments, the jeers, the hard bump every time you pass in the hall.  Things that slowly tear you down. 

Then you run into something like this.  A boy who is ready to stand up to his bullies, to stand up for himself.  It evokes something within us.  Something that makes us feel.  Makes our hearts ache.  Makes us remember that time when we were bullied, how it made us feel.  It makes us want to hug this boy and to hug our own children.  To tell them how amazing they are.  How important they are.  How much they matter.  It doesn't matter what others think of them, but what they think of themselves.  Then you see the response.....

At the end of the day, this response is what matters most.  You are important,  you are an inspiration, you are loved.  May we try every day, no not try, but do every day lift someone up; with a kind word, a smile, a hug, or something bigger.  Bullying is a problem, it will most likely always be a problem.  So today and every day I will work to combat bullying in whatever way I can.  I will do my best to teach my children that they are of infinite worth, that they are the most important thing in the world to me, that they can be a friend to those around them; to help lift them up.

Disney on Ice: Toy Story 3 in Review

Last night we attended the opening night performance of Disney on Ice: Toy Story 3.  I have to say that we had a fantastic time!  I've said before how much I love Disney on Ice shows and this one did not disappoint.  I was pleasantly surprised by the show.  I was expecting Toy Story 3 and I did get that.  I also got parts of Toy Story and Toy Story 2!  I also got Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and best of all - Goofy!  During the first half of the show there were some "flashback" scenes where the toys were nostalgic about their past together and with Andy.  The show was a lot of fun and the time just flew by.  Seeing my kids dancing along was the best part of the night for me.  Show wise the green army men were one of my favorite parts.  I really, really wanted to buy some cotton candy as they had the little green alien hats!  Alas, I did not have the cash for it.  My bad. 

If you have tickets to the show already - I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  If you are trying to decide if you want to go...I recommend it.  All of my kids, from ages 5 - almost 12 enjoyed themselves immensely.  If you haven't purchased tickets yet, you can purchase them at the door or online with code FFA for $4 off. 

Pepsi Center Parking for Disney on Ice

This is just an FYI for those of you who might be wondering about parking for the Disney on Ice event.  There is parking available at the Pepsi Center.  Parking is $10 in all lots except G and $15 in G Lot.  It is cash only, so make sure you have cash on hand.  If you are going to the show this weekend I hope you have a great time!  I'll let you know what I think about the show tomorrow.  :)

Ready for a break

I am SO ready for a break.  Today I went to pick Ranger and Angel up from school.  I didn't see them and thought they had just walked home without seeing me.  I was pretty furious.  I went to pick up Picasso from school and the poor kid had been sitting outside for almost 20 minutes by the time I got there.  With the below freezing temperatures that isn't a good thing.  I got home and got the kids in the house and took care of some stuff.  Older kids still weren't home and I started getting worried.  My husband took the long way home and didn't see them.  At this point I am trying not to freak out.  I headed over to the school for a meeting I had, since that was the only other place the kids could be.  If they weren't there the cops were being called.  I get to the school and there are the kids, singing with the choir.  Holy smokes, can you say relief???  I went from being ready to ground them for a week to just being relieved that they were okay.  The choir has two performances on Thursday, so they had an extra practice.  The kids had forgotten to tell me.  I am just so happy they are okay that they aren't in trouble.  I did explain to them what happened on my end and they felt aweful.  Here's hoping they remember next time!  Their first performance on Thursday is first thing in the morning at a school district principals meeting. 

The second performance they will be missing, as it is that night.  Thursday night is when I get my break!  Disney on Ice here we come!  I am so excited to go to this show.  I really need that this week, so it's coming at a perfect time.  A night to go out with the family, watch the Toy Story 3 story played out on ice, and just have a good time.  I'll let you know how the show is!  If it is anything like the other Disney on Ice shows it will be amazing.

What's in a name....

I've decided that I need to come up with something to call my kids on here.  I'm tired of refering to them as my oldest, youngest, middle, second, etc.  They do have names, names which I love.  Kinda kills some of the anonymity of this if I start throwing their names around.  So I've decided to give them nome de plumes for this sites purposes.

My oldest child will now be known as Ranger.  The reason for this is two fold.  He loves the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flannagan.  Great series!  He also loves archery. 

My second child will now be known as Angel.  She really is our little angel.  She is so sweet, quiet, caring.  Definitely an angel.

My third child will now be known as Picasso.  He is my artist.  Always drawing, always creating.

My youngest child will now be known as Princess.  She is the baby of the family and definitely the little princess. 

Robotics

What a crazy busy week it has been!  I haven't been home almost at all, hence no posts.  Boo!  Most of the week was just full of regular every day stuff - volunteering at the school, running errands, helping out friends.  Yesterday though was a little different.  Yesterday was robotics day! 

My oldest competes on a FLL team (learn more about FLL here).  FLL, or First Lego League, is a program designed to get kids excited about science, technology, and engineering.  The teams are comprised of 4th - 8th graders.  Our team is 5th and 6th graders.  The kids use a Lego Mindstorm NXT for the robotics portion of the competition.  They have spent the last 4 months designing, building, and programming their robot.  Their robot gets points based on the challenges it completes. 

The kids also have to do a research project.  This years theme is Food Factor and their projects had to based on keeping our food safe.  My sons team project focused on oil in our water and how it effects the fish in the ocean.  I was amazed by what their research had shown about how much oil gets in to the ocean every year.  The kids talked about how regular run off of oils into the ocean is equal to, if not greater, than the Exxon Valdez oil spill!  How crazy is that?  Their solution to the problem involves the use of Polymer 403 to catch the oil before it gets into the water supply.  They had 2 newspaper (YourHub) articles written up about them and they presented their project to an environmental scientist and the local water board.

The last portion of FLL is the Core Values.  These values are:

• We are a team.
• We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors.
• We know our coaches and mentors don't have all the answers; we learn together.
• We honor the spirit of friendly competition.
• What we discover is more important than what we win.
• We share our experiences with others.
• We display gracious professionalism and cooperation in everything we do.
• We have fun.

Our team worked really hard.  They nailed the presentation.  They excelled at the Core Values.  They had the fastest teambuilding time.  Their robot on the other hand had issues.  It just wasn't performing like it should have.  Their robot score was 39th out of 46.  Ouch!  Even with the bad score on the robot end they took 3rd place overall!  We are so pumped up.  We'll (meaning they) be competing in the State competition next Saturday.  Our school has two teams and they both made it to the State competition!  It will be fun to compete head on with them (we do different competitions as my son doesn't do Sunday competition). 


If you have a child interested in robotics, engineering, technology, or just science in general I highly suggest you look into this program!

Toy Story 3

If your kids are anything like my kids then they LOVE to color.  What better way to get ready for Disney on Ice: Toy Story 3 then by coloring?  Well maybe there are some better ways.  You could take your kids ice skating.  Watch Toy Story 3 on DVD or Netflix, we've been watching it a LOT.  You could act out the Toy Story 3 story as a play.  There are lots of fun things you can do together!  I can help out on the coloring end, the rest is up to you.  Happy coloring!

Beauty is......

We often hear that "Beauty is only skin deep".  This is obviously not a true statement.  Of course back in the 1600's saying something was skin deep was a way of saying that something is superficial.  The beauty we see on the outside of a person really is superficial, at least to an extent.  To me the true beauty of a person lays on the inside.  It is there that we see the true beauty of a person.  There are those who might not have the outer beauty that so many seek, but who are the most kind, loving, caring people you will meet.  That inner beauty far outshines any outer beauty.  Outer beauty can fade with time, but someone with inner beauty....their beauty only grows with time.  Often the inner beauty can be overlooked for the outer.  When that happens it is extremely sad to me.  How many people of great beauty are overlooked because of what we see at a glance?  So many prejudices are still out there based on what someone looks like; whether that prejudice be because of skin color, hair color, tattoos, piercings, etc.  I am grateful that I was taught to look for the inner beauty and am trying my best to teach my children to do the same.

The beauty of a woman
isn't in the clothes she wears,
The figure that she carries,
or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman
must be seen from in her eyes;
Because that's the doorway to her heart,
the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman
isn't in a facial mole;
But true beauty in a woman,
is reflected by her soul.

It's the caring that she cares to give,
the passion that she shows;
And the beauty of a woman
with passing years only grows.


Authorship is variously attributed to the following authors:
Maya Angelou, Ralph Fenger, Audrey Hepburn & Sam Levenson

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Yesterday was my husbands birthday.  I love that man!  I am very grateful to his parents for having and raising such an amazing man.  He is kind, gentle, loving, funny, smart, and the best husband I could ask for. I love you lots sweetheart!  I hope your birthday was a great one.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!  This is my favorite holiday of the year.  I love spending the day with my family and friends.  Enjoying good food, laughs, fun, and being surrounded by love.  I can't think of a better way to spend a day.  I am thankful this year to have so much of our family in town.  Two of my sisters and their families came out.  My husbands brother and his sister and their families are also in town.  We have been able to spend all week surrounded by family.  My kids love getting to see and play with their out of town cousins. 

I hope this day we can all find something to be thankful for.  There is always something to be thankful for, even on those days when it seems that nothing can or will go right. 

Disney on Ice Ticket Winner Is.......

Thank you to everyone who participated in my ticket giveaway!  For those of you who did not win, you can still purchase tickets.  They are $15 on opening night or save $4 on tickets any other night using code FFA (excludes VIP and Celebrity). 

 

Since you all told me your favorite toy, I thought I'd share mine.  My favorite toy was, and still is, my bunny rabbit.  I got it when I was 2 years old from my aunt.  I still have it and when I am feeling really sick or depressed I will still curl up with him.  Now my kids sleep with my rabbit.  He is very loved!

Not the moment you have all been waiting for!  Drum roll please......

The winner, as picked by random.org, is #9!  Katie and her Astronaut Barbie!  Katie you have 24 hours to contact me to claim your prize. 

Disney on Ice presents Disney*Pixar's Toy Story 3 Ticket Giveaway

Sorry I didn't get this posted this morning, but the contest is on!

Who wants to go see Disney on Ice presents Disney*Pixar's Toy Story 3 for free? That's right, free! I have a four pack of tickets that I am giving away.

To be entered into this contest you need to answer the following question as a comment to this post.

• If you cannot get it to post, please email me and I will post a comment for you.

Question - What was your favorite childhood toy?

Contest Rules:

1. You must be 18 years or older to enter.
2. You must be a resident of the Denver Metro area or able to be in the Denver Metro area on the night of Thursday, December 8, 2011.
3. Contest will run from November 21, 2011 at 6:30 pm - November 22, 2011 at 6:30pm.
4. Contest winner will be chosen using Random.org based off of your comment number.
5. Winner will be announced on my blog November 22, 2011 after 7:00pm.
6. Winner must contact me within 48 hours or they will forfeit the prize.
7. Alternate winner will be selected through Random.org if the winner is unable to attend or fails to claim prize.
8. Prize tickets will be available for pick up at the Will Call window on the night of the show.

Prize Package Includes: Family Four Pack of Tickets to see Disney on Ice presents Disney*Pixar's Toy Story 3 at the Pepsi Center on December 8, 2011 at 7pm.

Feld Entertainment is neither a sponsor nor endorser of this promotion. Feld Entertainment will be providing the prize, however the contest is my own.

Disney On Ice Ticket Giveaway Update

When I originally scheduled my ticket giveaway for next Tuesday I didn't take one big thing into consideration.  I won't be home!  Oopsie....  In my own defense I did set the date a month ago.   So I am just going to bump it UP a day and do it on Monday morning!  Check back in on Monday morning, around 9:30am for the contest details.  I'm super excited to help one lucky family get to take their kids to see Disney on Ice presents Disney Pixar's Toy Story 3!

Discount People!

A couple of my kids want fairly expensive Christmas presents.  I'm hoping to find a used one on ebay or Craigslist that will not be so cost prohibitive.  The thing that gets me is people who sell their used item for as much as a new item.  Hello!  If I wanted to pay that much I would purchase it new.  If you are looking to sell something, price it for it's actual value; not the value you want it to be.  Just one of my big pet peeves.  So for now I'm taking a break from looking.  However if you have an American Girl doll or a Lego Mindstorm robot you are looking to sell.....

Three More Weeks....

until Disney on Ice presents Disney Pixar's Toy Story 3 is here!  My kids are getting really excited, especially my youngest.  She might just go into Toy Story 3 movie watching overload if I'm not careful between now and then. 

Just a heads up - I will be running my contest for 4 tickets to the December 8th show next Tuesday - November 22nd!  Since only one person can win, don't forget that opening night tickets are $15 (except for VIP) and on the other days you can use the code FFA for $4 off your ticket price.

Don't Run on the Ice!

I heard that quite a few times on Saturday.  I told the nice man who works at the Pepsi Center that if he could get my kid to stop running I'd be impressed!  My kids LOVE to run.  Turns out they like to "penguin slide" too.  This past Saturday we had the opportunity to play on the ice at the Pepsi Center before the Avalanche hockey game.  It was so much fun!  They had broom ball sticks and some balls.  They had the nets out (same ones the pros use) on half of the rink.  The other half was open for belly sliding.  Great fun had all around; even by my husband who didn't want to go. 

After the ice time my husband and two middle kids headed home (they got to go to a game a few weeks ago).  My oldest, youngest, and I went to dinner.  It was a frustrating wait (15 minutes turned into 45 minutes).  The food was good though and the company even better.  I love my kids!  They make me smile. 

The hockey game itself was a lot of fun.  My mother in law, two sister in laws, and two brother in laws went with us.  The game was good (lost by one though), but the company was better!  We were surrounded by friends in the stands and even saw my sons teacher.  Can't wait for next years game and ice time!  Such a great tradition.