As I go through old pictures at home and on my facebook it is amazing home somethings change and quickly. Yet some things remain the same. And life does often repeat itself in a weird kind of way.

Life changes are apart of who we are and who we become. In the last year, my oldest daughter has left home, a story which all of you know to well, so there is no point in telling anymore of that story. Cheer which was a big part of my life along with the friends I made is now gone. And some of my personal friends have disappeared.  Some of the friends that my girls had who lived at our house so often I thought they were mine, are even now gone. Which now brings me to my point.

As children in school, we often spend so much of our time and effort trying to find that one true friend that will be the one that stays with us forever. Yet, alot of times we never find it. Me on the other hand I have been very lucky. I found one friend that has stayed with me. She has shared all of my ups and downs and held my hand through most of the trying times in my life, especially over the course of the last year. She is the one that I would jump in front of a train for. And I know she would do the same for me. The wonderful thing is that in the last 20+ years we have created a great many memories. Some good and some very bad. But they have made us better people and much better friends.

Bobbie and I have spent a great many years trying to figure out our places in this world not only as individuals, but as friends and it has been a roller coaster ride of pain and laughter. But never in our wildest dreams would we have imagined that years later our daughters would help us to remember how much our friendship means to the pair of us.

You see last night we spent the evening getting our daughters ready for their first high school homecoming dance. Our daughter do not go to the same school like we did, but as friends my daughter  went with her daughter to her homecoming dance.

As we prepared the girls a flood of memories came rushing back to Bobbie and my first homecoming dance almost 24 years ago. The idea that we got dressed and ready together and all the pictures that our mothers took. The fact that at the dance my dress tore and my mother had to come to the school and sew it. And all the while Bobbie held my hand as I cried. Plus all the memories that we have shared through out the years of our friendship. Here is a picture of us in school making memories on a day that we had to wear formal dresses.


But also now our girls are making new memories for us to share with each other. From the funny things said to the faces made as we got them ready. Here are some new memories made last night.

Change is an important part of life and unfortunately something we can not avoid. It has to be done, no matter how painful or exciting it is. But yet there will always be somethings that remain the same and for those right now I am absolutely grateful. It is amazing though how life can often repeat itself just in a different way.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Here are a few more Give Away's that I found for you to try:

Expires 9/28/12:

Our Kids Mom - Isabella's Cookie Company Seasonal Assortment - this might take a bit has alot of entries
http://www.ourkidsmom.com/2012/09/win-isabellas-cookie-company-seasonal-assortment-giveaway-ends-928/

Mom's Review 4 You - Take Flight With Disney/Pixar Cars Prize Pack
http://www.momsreview4you.com/2012/09/Disney-Pixar-TakeFlight-CarsGiveaway.html

A Mom's Take- $50 IHOP Gift Card & K'Nex
http://www.amomstake.com/2012/09/ihop-simple-fit-menu-review-gift-card-giveaway/

http://www.amomstake.com/2012/09/knex-review-giveaway-3/

Africa's Blog - Mystery Box & Hidden Treasure Candle
http://africasblog.com/2012/09/25/mystery-box-flash-giveaway/

Oh My Gosh Beck - $100 Minted Gift Card
http://www.ohmygoshbeck.com/2012/09/100-minted-com-gift-code-giveaway/

Sweep Tight - Perplexus Puzzle Game Ball
http://sweeptight.com/2012/09/perplexus-puzzle-game.html

4. Forgive Release all the unforgiveness in your life. This is not a option, it is a commandment.

I wouldn't say I am the most avid exerciser, but I enjoy comfortable clothing and having great clothes to wear to the gym or to wear when I drop my daughter off at school in the mornings instead of a ratty t-shirt and some old cotton shorts. ActivewearUSA sells more than 110 women's activewear clothing and shoe brands. ActivewearUSA was founded by Avi Woolman, wife, mom, fitness enthusiast, and entrepreneur. Its mission is to offer the largest selection of quality, high-performance, stylish women's activewear, footwear, and accessories.
Read Kara's full review here .
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Well it is that time of year again where everyone is trying to win give away's so that maybe they can earn some of their Christmas gifts. So today I am going to list some of the great give away's I have tried out.


Expiring 9/27

Kids Things - Hallmark Scooby- Doo Story Book Buddy- this one is simple has only eight entries
http://kidthings.net/2012/09/national-family-pack-walk-and-scooby-doo-giveaway/

Vixen Made - Just Sugar Coat It $30 Credit- this is only has four entries that you have to complete
http://www.vixenmade.com/2012/09/its-giveaway.html

Baby Loving Mama -  Ultimate Cake Pop - this takes a little more time with 11 entries but great for any holiday baking you might want to do
http://www.babylovingmama.com/2012/09/cake-pops-by-bakerella-ultimate-cake-pop-set-review-and-giveaway.html

Mommy's Memorandum - $40 Frecklebox Gift Card - this one is so easy took me less than a minute
http://mommysmemorandum.com/40-frecklebox-gc-giveaway/

The Busy Woman's Guide to Surviving Motherhood: this one has two really give away's really great for that little girl in your life
Moxie Girlz World Of Sports Doll
http://www.outnumberedmama.com/2012/09/blogoversary-giveaway-moxie-girlz-world.html

Novi Stars Doll
http://www.outnumberedmama.com/2012/09/blogoversary-giveaway-novi-stars-doll.html

Coupon Queen of Texas - $50 Pay Pal Cash - this one already has alot of entries but still well worth the try
http://www.couponqueenoftexas.com/2012/09/girlfriends-giveaway.html

Check these out for now and I will update the list a little later in the day for you.

Today Share the Memories has a great freebie for you!!  Masks!

What little kid doesn't like to dress up and pretend. These masks are perfect for Halloween or even just a day of play...The possibilities are endless!



In addition, they will also be holding a drawing for a free 12x12 photobook .   How it works...Each week one lucky person who purchases MyMemories software during that week will be chosen to receive a free photobook.  These great promotions have already started and will continue until December 22nd. To go and purchase your software now and be entered into this wonderful drawing just hit the SMS code listed to the right hand side of our blog.

Product Information: Ultra-soft and comfortable, Stompeez pop to life with every step you take, and are sure to bring lots of smiles and laughs to you and your children. They come in a variety of colorful characters, including Growlin’ Dragon, Sir One Eyed Monster, Perky Puppy, Unusual Unicorn, Playful Puppy, and Bee Bop Bunny. There is a slipper for every personality! These make a perfect, exciting gift for any child or teen who loves to laugh and stand out. Who knew that just walking around the house could be so much fun?

As I flipped through the channels last night I honestly became sickened at some of the programs on T.V.

Even when I was kid in the 90's teen pregnancy was still taboo. Now we have Teen Mom's where young woman are paid to be totally disrespectable to their parents and abusive to their boyfriends/girlfriends. Or how about TLC new Here Comes Honey Boo Boo where they not only promote a 17 year old's pregnancy but the lack of discipline for potty mouthed teenagers and a seven year old child that spells out her curse words. And what about Bravo's "Real Housewives" where already wealthy woman act like total buffoons. The list goes on and on.

What are we saying to our children with a program like Teen Mom's. I get they are trying to convey a message that teen pregnancy is a hard life, but they are also telling every young girl in America that "Hey if I get pregnant, I can become the next big star of this show." At least that is my opinion. And "Real Housewives" well come on now they have enough to money to pay someone to cook, clean, and nanny their children.  When are we going to see a "Real Housewife", the one that is cook, maid, chauffer, nurse, etc...  I will tell you when "NEVER".

It is hard to believe that as a society we consider this acceptable behavior and we allow these things on our own T.V. sets at night so that not only we can watch it but so can our children.  I just find it so hard to believe that these people are paid to act this way. It is disheartening to know that as a society a good bit of us have lost our morals and ethics and now it is just anything to make a dollar. But I ask at what cost are we giving away these things. All I can say is as for me and mine, I LOVE parental locks.

Well I guess for the teen mom that got locked up it paid her bail and for the Honey Boo Boo family we do know that it doesn't pay for the soap that needs to be used in those kids mouths.

My birthday is the day before Halloween and as a kid my mother always planned a big costume party for me every year. As an adult I still throw these costume parties for my family. Each year though I spend days trying to find new games to play. Well this year I don't have to do a lot of searching, I am just going to us Python Printables Halloween Party Game Pack
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Parents it is again that time of the year when school begins. And that of course means lots of memories will be created. So how best to preserve those memories than none other than a  Shutterfly Yearbook .  Shutterfly has the best online photo yearbooks that you will find.

 It doesn't make a difference if your child is in elementary, middle, high school these yearbooks are easily created . You can even create these yearbooks for a whole classroom or an entire school . Shutterfly offers specially designed page templates for school activities, subjects, classrooms, and even faculty pictures. With their  new Custom Path you can make it just the way you want it, so that you can chronicle the first day of the school year to the last. Shutterfly offers you tips and   checklists to help better assist you in putting together your very own yearbook.


Once these yearbooks completed they are professionally bound and printed in color. That and you will never have to worry about losing your yearbook again, because these are saved forever. So you will be able to re-order at any time.
When contacting Shutterfly for a quote these yearbooks could start at as little as $5 and you could get as much as 75% off if you are purchasing for an entire school.

I personally ordered my first yearbook last year. It was a matter of picking the yearbook I wanted, adding in my pictures, and then ordering. It was that simple. And the finished product was absolutely wonderful .


These yearbooks are a much better and beautiful way to capture the memories of your child's school year than  my manila envelope storage this is a much better way to keep my child's memories. So head over to Shutterfly and check out their yearbooks.

You can also follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, Shutterfly Blog or Instagram: Shutterfly. .

The goal is to get the highest score possible in the amount of allotted turns per game. Then at the end of the week your scores are totaled up so that you can see if you beat your friends.







Words are score just like they are in a Scrabble game, by adding up the letter value of each word you form per turn. This game also has a mystery bonus square that it could be your friends out to help you, your friends out to get you, or just a random reward.



It also allows that if you get stuck you have a"Helpers" tab where you will find many ways to get help.  Most items in the "Helpers" tab does cost credits though.



First game play gives you 5,000 credits and then you can collect more by inviting your friends and going back and playing daily.

I started my first game yesterday and I was totally addicted. Personally I love that I can play by myself and not worry with someone else taking a turn that and I can take my time taking my turn.  For all of you avid Scrabble players go to facebook and type in Rompus Words , so that you can get started playing.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

I will not share any  information, but I have a few friends plus myself that are truly in need of prayers. So I am asking all of you reading to say a prayer. Asking the Father to bless each of one of us with whatever it is we may need. And maybe even share this so that your friends might say a prayer for us to.

Matthew 18:19-20

This is absolutely not a program for the weak or smokers for that matter.

Well Monday we began the Insanity program and I am absolutely so sore that I can barely move.
Day 1 you do their fit test, which is 40 minutes long and consists of some crazy exercises. The first round you start out slow but then they began to repeat each of the exercises and you are supposed to pick up the pace. I can say that overall I might have done about 20 minutes of the whole workout. It is amazing how out of shape you are and you do not realize it. And with me being a smoker I was so out of breathe I could not see straight.
Day 2
The soreness had already set in and I could hardly move. But yet again I trudged on with the next workout the Plyometric Cardio. All I can say is OMGosh!  By the end I could not even make my legs work to finish the routine. Hubby decided that night he was going to quit smoking the next day.
Day 3
We decide that since we were going to hubby's parents so that we could celebrate his and little bits birthday which was 9/11 we were gonna take the night off, but yesterday morning I decided that i would like to go ahead and take a brisk walk before dinner. Well that brisk walk turned into an uphill climb. I know this sounds crazy but my body hurt so badly that I had horrible nightmares all night long.
Also hubby did exactly what he said he was gonna do and quit smoking "Cold Turkey".  Me on the other hand I have decided that I am going to wean myself down. We both can not do cold turkey, it really wouldn't be fair to the kids. That and we will either have each other killed or the kids would end up killing the pair of us.
Today is Day 4 and again we are gonna workout tonight. If you do not see me post within the next couple of days you will know that I couldn't even move my fingers enough to type a new post. So stay tuned.

Also I want all of you to know that Little Bit has started Shawn T's Hip Hop Abs program.  They claim that you will lose 3 inches in 6 days so she is putting that to the test. Stay tuned to see if it is true or not.

WARNING! What you are about read you may not like and/or agree with, but this blog is about the thoughts of a mother, a wife, and a daughter and life's experiences.  And I am all three of these. Also there is some profanity contained in this post.
So last September I began to tell all of you the struggles Hubby and I were going through with our oldest daughter. And I have continued to post updates throughout the course of this last year.
So here is my last and final post on this matter:
On September 06, 2012 our daughter turned 18 and she celebrated with what she and the people that she now lives with call her "new family" because the one she was born into wasn't and isn't good enough anymore.
Over the course of the last couple of weeks I have continued to find out lies that have cut deep to the heart. Such as the second facebook acct. that I asked about that she insisted did not exist, but yet I found it. LIES, LIES, AND MORE LIES! Trust me when I say that I get it I was a kid once and I know I lied, but as an adult I also know that when you build your house of lies it eventually will come crumbling down around you.
Now though I haven't talked to her in over a month a decision I made for myself after being hollered at for things others have said and months of emotional abuse. But most of all for a letter that was inboxed to a friend of mine after she decided that she needed to say something about what was going on. Here is the piece of the letter that finally helped me to realize that this was the right decision for me:

this is E , you already know me & my family . don't even start with S because she is apart of our family now .. so if your done with her then so be it , she has people who care about her & back her up more than anyone . you're not hurting her feelings , she is doing her own thing now , so just stop with the bullshit and leave her the fuck alone . thank you .

I have left there names out in enough respect for them, even though that is very little.
So leaving her alone is exactly what I and the rest of her immediate family have done. So now all of what once her family has been blocked from her facebook and only after of course she sent out a message to her father and then posted something on her wall to me. Some big balls we have there. Oh Well I suppose! It is what it is.
She of course now is totally responsible for herself mentally, emotionally, financially, and physically. Well her and her new family. I have now been relieved of that duty.

So right now you are asking yourself "Do I love my Child?" and "How can a mother do this to her own daughter?" So in answer to your questions "Yes" I love my child, but that person is not my child. Biologically yes she belongs to me, but that is not the child I raised. I do not know the young woman who rejected her family for another. I do not know the young woman that is selfish and hurts others with a total lack of remorse. I just do not know her. And this can be spun anyway she wants to spin it. She can spend the rest of her life blaming me and her father, but at some point life  is gonna slap you in the face and you will have to accept your responiblilty in all the bridges that YOU burned. These are bridges that there is absolutely NO rebuilding. And as for her new family I say remember that karma is truly a Bitch and it will at some point bite you. Our daughters are of course the most precious things to us and when they hurt us it is a pain that is indescribable.

I have prayed many nights to God wondering what the right answers were and for the ability to forgive. Maybe this post isn't it, but damn it sure does make me feel better and of course what the consequences are for posting this well they are mine to contend with. At least if she calls and is hollering at me for saying what I have said, it will be me that actually said it this time.

Nevertheless, I am trying to find some forgiveness in my heart for her and her alone. And at some point I know that I will find it. As for right now though the healing can begin for me and the family that was almost destroyed by all of this. As a family we have decided that we won't let her actions or decisions destroy what it is we have. We will just keep moving on. And to the devil who has beaten me, battered me, and thinks he has DEFEATED me!  Well all I can say to him is "You may have won the battle but you have not won the war." I will wage on and some day all of this will be forgotten from my mind.

So as of today I will complete the last step in the emancipation that she so wholeheartedly wanted. I will no longer post anything concerning her or her life. She is now completely and utterly free of the family she no longer wanted. Rejection is a bitter pill to swallow and I have swallowed it, but am now coming out on the other side. I am going to do the best I can not to post anymore depressing stuff. I am going to find my joy in all areas of my life. I realize the longer I lay here and take out what the devil dishes out the longer I am going to suffer. So as of today I say "NO MORE will I suffer. I am going to make the best of my life and I am going to enjoy it.

With that being said lets move on to other updates I want to share with you.
First so you know we have yet to start the Insanity program. We are hoping to get started this Sunday and I must say "Oh Boy it sure does look like fun. NOT!"  So as soon as we get started I will let you know.

Also with permission, hubby has said I may reveal to you what his starting weight was and where he is right now.
Hubby, who stands 6ft tall started this diet weighing in at 200lbs now after a month he weighs  177lbs. All of that by just changing the way and what we are eating. Even Little Bit who put on some weight over the summer has lost 3lbs.
Now though he has bought a gym and set up it downstairs. He works out about 3 to 4 times a week. With working out with weights he understands that muscle weighs more than fat so he may put some of that weight back on, just in a different way.
I am so proud of him and even though he has more than enough reasons to get in shape I am glad that he is doing it most for me and our two girls.
Me on the other hand, well it has been hard getting used to eating lots of chicken and fish and sometimes even a vegetarian meal, but I have made the transition well. And will be starting the program with him. I am not as sure as he is about what my progress will be. But I will do the best I can.  So please stay tuned.

Get ready for the easiest entry in the world! All you have to do is click a button and share! Meaning hundreds of entries for you in just two clicks!

***7000+ Fan Sweepstakes!*** $200 in Amazon cash is up for grabs here! Remember to share! If your friends enter then you get even more entries. 50 friends, equal 50 extra entries! Good Luck!!https://www.facebook.com/DishinWithRebelle/app_485141551498722

Eighteen years ago today I gave birth to one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen in my life.
Even though I know she won't read this because we are now separated mind, body, soul, and most of all heart I say Happy 18th Birthday! in honor of her, what we once shared, and to help my heart not hurt so much today.