I don't know what I'm doing

Original Photo



Altered Photo

I've wanted photoshop for years. YEARS. I finally got it when Chris and I ordered new laptops with our tax return money. Did I NEED a laptop? Not really, but it sure is nice to be able to sit upstairs in the room with the kids and check my e-mail and blogs. Anyway, with my laptop we also ordered Photoshop Elements 9. It's awesome, so I hear, but I have NO IDEA what I'm doing. I sat and played with it for nearly 2 hours last night and this is what I produced. 1 altered photo. All I managed to do was to turn the brownish/greenish grass gray and that's pretty much it. Sigh. I think I need to read the book Chris bought me.


<3 Sabrina

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Our Lucky 4-Leaf Clover


We enjoyed some family time after school on Thursday. The kids really enjoy playing and being together, so we took some photos, ate some green cookies, and talked about leprachauns.



Clover diaper=awesome!

Charlie: A Leprachaun came into his classroom and left ice cream.


The park was really exciting for James


Ruthie: A Leprechaun came into her classroom and turned over chairs and made a big mess of the toys they had just cleaned up.She was ticked off they had to re-clean the room.



Big smiles from our little Irishman!


After preschool I took the girls to the park for a Mcdonald's picnic and some running around and screaming fun! We saw several kids from her pre-k there, so I wasn't the only Mom with that idea. It was a good time!



Lily on the roller slide




Ruthie on the roller slide!



Lily the cowgirl!




Ruthie and Ozzie. This little guy is in her Pre-K and he followed her everywhere, he even carried her sweatshirt for her...he worships her.She was pretty excited to see him there too!



<3 Sabrina

Waiting

We're waiting for our tax return, have you received yours? At first, The IRS site said we would have it by March 8,Turbo Tax said March 4th. My Mom and step Dad filed the day after me, they've already gotten their refund. My Aunt filed on Feb 28th and had gotten her refund. I've gotten the State of Illinois refund already, but not the federal. It's probably because it's a lot of money and they don't want to cough it up, I get that, but it's ours, we donated a ton of our stuff this year, paid to charities and way overpaid for having 4 dependents (Next year, 5! Woot!). We just want our money so we can pay off the furnace! Today the IRS site says March 15th due to a delay in processing. Seriously!? So while the government is profiting from using OUR money another week or 2 I get to just sit here and wait. Thanks a lot Uncle Sam, thanks a lot!!

Why I hate FOX, and Help Nathan!

Once upon a time where was a television show called Firefly. It was about a group of underdogs, rebel space cowboys if you will. It had everything, drugs, sex, guns, danger, and outer space. It was a very unique mixture with a very talented cast.


Recently Nathan Fillion was interviewed by Entertainment Weekly and said that he would do Firefly again.

If Castle had its series finale tomorrow and Fox said to you and Joss: “We screwed up, let’s try doing Firefly again.” Would you do it?
Yes. Yes. I would examine very closely Fox’s reasoning — I’m a little gun-shy. If I got $300 million from the California Lottery, the first thing I would do is buy the rights to Firefly, make it on my own, and distribute it on the Internet.

In my book, that makes Nathan Fillion hot for 2 reasons, 1. He's hot. Sorry, but I just think he is, have you ever seen the episode where he was left behind by Saffron naked!? -Yum! and 2. He's a fan of firefly.


Anyway, after that interview the internet and twitter blew up talking about it! Writers and actors alike have already said they'd come back and do it, how many shows can say that this many years after cancellation? Because of their cancellation of Firefly, I refuse to watch Fox, Fox news, and any affiliate of Fox. The fact that they new they had a huge fan base, so big, in fact that they were forced into making Serenity the movie, and still refuse to revive the show makes them a terrible network. Also, I don't want to get sucked into another good series only to have it cancelled and torn out from under me. Fox, you fucked up, you may not know it yet, but cancelling Firefly was a mistake, the fan-base is farther reaching than you can even imagine. Just relinquish the rights and let the fans have their show! I will list the characters in order of my personal preference. I loved the show and all of the main characters. We, of course, have all of the episodes and movie, but the worst part of watching the series is that you always know it ends, abruptly, and that Fox has held tightly onto the rights since it was cancelled in 2003.



The ship is called Serenity, it is a Firefly class transport ship. According to the blueprints, Serenity was laid down in August 2459. The ship is 269 feet (82 m) long, 170 feet (52 m) at its widest point, and stands 79 feet (24 m) high when landed.[9] Serenity weighs 282,500 pounds (128,100 kg), is capable of carrying 164,900 pounds (74,800 kg) of cargo and 18 passengers, can achieve an acceleration of 4.2 g, and has a maximum range of 440 astronomical units when carrying minimal cargo. (thank you Wikipedia!) Also, my daughter is named after this ship, Lilyanne SERENITY and I wouldn't have it any other way!



Nathan Fillion was captain Malcom Reynolds. He was all kinds of charismatic, and tough. He was an amazing captain of Serenity while maintaining a gruff outer disposition.
Favorite Quote: "And I'm thinkin' you weren't burdened with an overabundance of schooling. So why don't we just ignore each other until we go away?"



Adam Baldwin plays Jayne Cobb,a trigger happy badass that is not only hilarious, but a great shot as well!
Favorite Quote(s): "Dear Diary: Today I was pompous and my sister was crazy. [flips page] Today we were kidnapped by hill folk, never to be seen again. It was the best day ever."and "Is [s]pine okay?" and "Response! Hell, I don't know. If I wanted schooling, I'd-a gone to school."



Alan tudyk played Hoban Washburne, aka:Wash, what can I say? He's my 2nd favorite character, the pilot of Serenity, and they killed him in the movie, Serenity. I'd like to see him come back if they make more episodes.
Favorite Quote(s):"I'm a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar"and "It's ok, I'm a leaf on the wind"



Morena Baccarin played Inara Serra, a "companion" or, in our terms, prostitute. She was witty, and in love with Mal, whether or not he realised it.
Favorite Quote: "I only fell is all"



Jewel Staite played Kaylee Frye the ship's mechanic. She was all kinds of awesome!
Favorite Quote:"Sure. Yeah. I think so. 'Sides, if I mess up, not like you'll be able to yell at me."



Sean Maher played Dr. Simon Tam that rescued his little sister, River, from being experimented on by the Alliance (Government).
Favorite Quote:"This must be what going mad feels like."



Summer Glau played River Tam, the highly disturbed, but powerful little sister of Simon Tam.
Favorite Quote:"Bible's broken. Contradictions, false logistics... doesn't make sense."



The final main character (Besides Book who I never really cared for anyway, but was killed in the movie too) is Zoe Washburne. Wife of Hoburn (Wash) and tough gun-slinging ex military friend of Mal. I loved that she was so strong, but was disappointed when they showed her as vulnerable and weak which is why she is last here.
Favorite Quote:"If they take the ship, they'll rape us to death, eat our flesh and sew our skins into their clothing. And if we're very very lucky, they'll do it in that order."

So, why did I post this!? Well, because of what Nathan Fillion said in his interview. Please join me, and other fans at http://helpnathanbuyfirefly.com/ and pledge to contribute to help Nathan buy Firefly.Follow them on Facebook and Twitter too! Even if we don't get to make another single episode (Because we can't do it without Joss Whedon anyway), at least we would own the rights, the Browncoats would own the rights to their show!

Thanks,
Sabrina

WHY?

I love blogs, I really, really love them. I enjoy following along with the lives of others, and in some cases I pick up some other websites or tricks along the way that can help me with my children's education. This is why I especially love fourtimesthefun.blogspot.com - I have picked up so many good tricks and websites that have helped with the at-home portion of my kids education. It's been great!

However, what I do not understand are blogs that refer to their children by something other than their names. "K" or "C" or goofy things such as parts of the McDonald's menu (When you have already announced their "real" names publicly. I just don't get it. There are blogs that call them by the dwarfs names, spices, candies, you name it, it's out there, and it annoys me to bits. Do I need to know your kid's name? No, but don't you think someday said child MIGHT read said blog and wonder why in the world you called them "Crunch Bar"? It's weird.

My kids are Charles, Ruth, Lilyanne, and James, period. Thank you, that is all.

Sabrina

There's no fun like snow fun!

The 3 older kids went out with Daddy and had a blast in our amazing amount of leftover blizzard snow! They built a snowman, threw snowballs, and dug out an ice tunnel. They also threw snowballs at me when they caught me taking photos from inside! Enjoy!



Lily is ready to go out!



Cinderella Ruth, the snow queen



Daddy does all the work on the snowman...



Snowman



Snooooowball!



Missed Me, Missed Me, Now You Gotta Kiss Me!



This photo captures the bond between them nicely. They are so close!



"Charlie fell down and broke his crown, and Ruthie came tumbling after"hahaha (They were fine...)



All the kids have loved this car in the snow, I wonder why!?



Almost got me...



James and I hung out in the house, you know, where it was warm and dry

Tag, You're it

I was tagged in this thing on facebook, and decided to put it here instead because I don't know 20 people that would fill it out.



1. I met my husband March 31, 1999 on AOL. I talked to him for 45 minutes before giving him directions to my parents house to meet me. during the hour it took him to arrive, I was hoping and praying he wasn't a psycho who was going to kill my parents and I.



2. I married this man 1 year to the day after we met. It was love at first sight for me.



3. I am terrified of spiders!



4. I like snakes, they fascinate me.



5. My daughter is named after a space ship. Not the "Lilyanne", the "Serenity" Google it if you don't believe me...google "Firefly Serenity"...the Serenity painted on the ship at the end of the movie is what I will have a tattoo of someday.



6. I LOVED Twilight the book series, not so much the 2nd and 3rd movies.



7.I hate going to church, and even the idea of it causes me to want to go back to bed.



8. I had my 4th baby at home.



9. I only have 1 ovary.



10. I have always wanted at least 4 kids.



11. I want to be a homebirth midwife someday, you know, when I "grow up".



12. I used to be a firefighter.



13. I used to be a first responder, then EMT, then paramedic.



14. I miss my grandma every day.



15. I sew cloth diaper inserts.


16. I cloth diaper and am not afraid to stick my hand into a toilet if I have to.



17. I avoid companies with poor customer service. If you don't value the money I put out for your product, I don't want your product.



18. I LOVE Thirsties cloth diapers and their covers - AWESOME!



19. Breastfeeding is hard work!


20. I own a Medela Symphony breastpump.



21. I sell used cloth diapers on diaperswappers.com



22. I will secretly take the batteries out of annoying toys.



23. I absolutely hate doing laundry, not so much the washing and drying, but the carrying up 2 flights, folding, and putting away.



24. I don't hand wash dishes ever.



25. I refuse to give my baby a pacifier.