Merry CHRISTmas!

Hey there ladies (and gents I suppose)~

I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas, and let you know that no matter what you bought, how you wrapped it, who got it, etc. The reason for the season is Christ. Don't sweat the small stuff like the prices of your gifts. Just realize how wonderful it is that you have the privilege of having a computer, or basic needs met.

I know what it is like to be stressed and on a budget...but it doesn't matter. what matters is family. I pray all of you spend time with yours this season (blood relation or not).

Looking forward to our New Years Eve party with friends that have been like family (bickering and all) throughout the years...wouldn't give that up for the world.

What are you guys doing for New Years?

Glad Tidings,
~Nyky

983 unread messages...what the heck!?!

...just a quick blurb as I am still in process of de-cluttering. I just notice that my email had 983 unread messages (mostly facebook updates and such). Watch out world...I am sorting things out! I can't wait for 2010 and getting myself organized and ready to be a better child of Christ, Wife, Mother, Worker, Friend, etc!

Feel free to share how you are "de-cluttering" for the new year!

Take care,

~Nyky

decluttering as we speak

I am so happy to report that my husband has been thrilled by my idea of de-cluttering the house! We are in a snowy town right now, so we are spending the day together de-cluttering before a wonderful dinner theater (if it doesn't snow too much). We are hoping to have the house almost done (and more presentable) by tonight!

Clutter bugs

I did not realize how the "Holiday Blues" and just general disorganization have taken over like "clutter-bugs" in my home. You will get to see a few of my many organizational messes. This makes me so uncomfortable to admit to my terribly embarassing faults...my house is cleaned regularly...but I clutter it up so quickly. I am in process for a transformation both internally and externally for 2010...so I figured I would just take the leap, ask for suggestions, and put it out there for everyone to see. Feel free to email me anytime with questions and/or suggestions at thecrazycrabb@yahoo.com

Offer for my guests....

As I have posted before....I sell Tupperware. Right now, there are GREAT sales going on that I would like to share with you! Anyone who spends $50 or more on my tupperware site between now and Dec 25th will get a $5 e-certificate from me for your next purchase. If you spend $100 I will give you $10 and so on..check out Pudget's weight loss blog today for more incentives I am giving! You can also see the healthy recipes you can make with the Quick Chef and Stack Cooker recipes Jessica has made this week!

Goal for the week...de-cluttering the house

Hi there!

This week I am going to de-clutter my home. This is a big step for me, because I have this terrible problem of keeping everything like it's a family heirloom. Until recently, I had the food pick from the hamburger I ate the night my husband and I got engaged. (Don't get too grossed out...it wasn't the burger hehe)

I plan on using some of the tips that I got from orgjunkie and from Martha Stewart's website. The idea of getting on track and being more organized has really helped my anxiety as of late. I can't tell you how many times I would lay in bed at night after being "down" all day, to heart palpitations about things I did not get done that day. It is crazy to think of how much time I have spent in the past stressing about things that can be done.

Weight loss in 2010 is a big deal for me. I really want to be healthier for my kids and for my husband (and myself I suppose). It is going to take support from some of the blogs that I have found (like Pudget1 and 266) I am so glad that I have started this blog so that people can network with each other. Parenting, overeating, anxiety, and other things in my life are so similar to what I have been seeing on other blogs. I can't wait to mesh them in here for everyone to see!

Have a great night!

~Nyky

Check out pudget1 today

Hey guys~

I am giving an incentive for buying the stack cooker set on pudget1 this week! Check it out. Anyone who hosts an online party with $125 in sales or more between now and January 15th will also get a $10 e-certificate to my Tupperware site!

Orders are still good for Christmas delivery in many states until the 18th!

Check out Pudget1 either way, she is very honest in her struggle with losing weight and keeping it off!

Menu Planning Monday~ and another great idea I saw on Orgjunkie

Hello there!

My menu for this week is as follows

Monday - Out to dinner with friends (ww friendly Applebee's)
Tuesday- Turkey Meatloaf, potatoes, veggie
Wednesday- (from the sneaky chef book) power packed bagel pizzas (english muffins)
Thursday- taco salad for me/ spaghetti for the kids and hubby
Friday- chicken cutlets, veggies and potatoes
Saturday- company is coming over~So I will make the sneaky chef's lasagna w/salad&bread
Sunday- grilled cheese night (busy day and the kids love it because I cut out peices of the bread to look like sponge bob and put two choc chips on for eyes. (hey it works)

On orgjunkie I saw an article about keeping a family binder with all the important papers, invites, and phone numbers you frequently use. I have such clutter in my kitchen and living room all the time. I have actually wanted to get rid of our entertainment center so that we would not clutter it up anymore. This is a great idea, and I am going to try it. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

http://orgjunkie.com/2009/12/using-a-family-binder-to-stay-organized.html/comment-page-1#comment-36302

THIS is why I eat...

This is the time of year that I see many of my friends spending time with their brothers and sisters and extended family. Whether it be baking cookies, playing games, having dinner, or whatever...they do it together.

It's a reminder to me that this Christmas it will just be my husband, kids and I for the day. I miss my parents so much. I have a sibling that lives across the country and won't be out here at all for the season, and I have a sibling who is in the process of moving and wants to be at their new house for the Holiday. We also have family that don't want to inconvenience their pets to make the trip over to our house for the day. I don't want my kids to learn about conditional love. I want them to have the security that they are more important than dogs!!!! UGH. We have three small kids that deserve to play with their toys on Christmas morning. I can't drag them all over just because some dog will get lonely without their master. I love my family no matter what, but it is not a good excuse to me to miss out on three wonderful babies. I am trying to fight the urge to just eat everything in sight. What do I do?

a trully CRAZY CRABB week

This week I have been running around like a chicken after it's head was cut off. I hope that I can force myself to slow down a bit and enjoy what is left of this holiday season. Our tree is going up this Sunday!!! I know it's late, but we have had too much clutter to put it up at all, let alone in a safe place for the kids.

I did get my house at least mostly clean yesterday...I swear the "little things" that I found by joining the Coffee Girl group is great! make sure that you click on the link (after you have read this blog of course...hehe)

Have a great day...and take it one step at a time if you are trying to get yourself organized too!

Take care,

~Nyky

New Recruit this morning....cookie exchange tonight...

Hey! Glad you stopped by to look at my blog.
Tonight I have to go to a cookie exchange at my church for ladies that went on a retreat this past fall. I love the ladies, and I can't wait to see them....but the cookie exchange could be really bad for my diet/lifestyle change. I LOVE COOKIES!

I did really well with points today, and I hope to do well tonight. I just really want to keep doing better and making better decisions with my eating. It gets so out of control very easily.

I am planning on joining a "boot camp" the first two weeks in January...hopefully that will go really well for me. I need to shed some weight to get re-motivated I think. Anyone who has a good idea for a workout video to ask "santa" for would be greatly appreciated.

Signing up another recruit today was great! I got to spend some time with a really neat person, and start a friendship too! I am almost at manager level where I will make money off of their sales. YEAH!

Cross your fingers for me tonight

Thanks Colleen for the best lowfat recipe yet!

I made the best chicken salad sandwich today...that did not take me over my target range for ww today. I took chicken breasts and cooked them in the slow cooker yesterday afternoon and then refrigerated them overnight. I took my Quick Chef from Tupperware and actually made "crumbles" in less than 30 seconds with the chicken. I added apples to dice in there and 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of Fat Free yogurt....it did not sound good to me but I used some salt and pepper and put it on a sandwich thin for lunch....YUM>..I made it even better by taking a THIN slice of cranberry sauce on the top. It added that little bit of flavor that I was missing. I can't wait to have it again tomorrow for lunch! (I will save the salisbury steak for another night!)

I enjoyed time with my really good friend at Subway tonight before a Tupperware party. I am really hoping to make this business go....I booked three more parties tonight...and may have found another recruit! I am so excited. Please pray it works out. I could use the extra money from my recruits...and I love what I sell! In that respect, things couldn't get any better...

Take care,
~Nyky

I have to get healthier...for these three beauties if nothing else

Here is my tentative menu for the week. I will have at least a model to go by...and I have all the food I need for what I have planned. I am starting to plan for next week already. I have so many canned goods that I really need to plan around those items first....rather than let them go bad on my shelves.


Lunches
Wed- Rob and I will have Salisbury Steak frozen meals (mine with salad and/or veggies)
The kids will have PB&J
Thurs- We will all have grilled cheese and tomato soup
Friday- Left overs
Saturday- I will be off on a trip with the ladies from my church...rob and the kids will probably go to McDonald's.
Sunday- We will have turkey taco's (again...)

Dinners
Wed- I will make spaghetti for the family
Thurs- Chicken Salad (made with yogurt instead of mayo...and apples)
Friday- Mac and cheese and burgers for the family. I will have a veggie platter of sorts...
Saturday- Rob and the kids will have pizza and I will still be off galavanting with the ladies.
Sunday- I will make meat loaf, potatoes and veggies.


I have to start living healthier period. My husband (who is really amazing 99% of the time)...is such a picky eater that it makes me go crazy! I wish he could get past his "texture" issues and help me eat healthier. We are considering a membership to the gym. It's going to be finances that hold us back if we don't do it. We both feel the need to get more exercise. That is for sure!


I am hoping to get a few more recipes that would be "waist" friendly....check out www.pudget1.blogspot.com if you are looking for a great site for "overeaters"!

Take care,
~Nyky

Just found a great site with a MENU PLAN!

check out orgjunkie.com...it is right up my alley with the menu planning and such!

planning my meals and creating a schedule

OK....now I remember how much i liked planning my days so much. The stress relief of just knowing what (in theory) is coming next in my day was so nice! I thawed the meat, gave the kids their lunch and snacks in a rhythm that, of late, we didn't have. I really need to look at creating a flexible schedule for other things like cleaning and working to help reduce the stress level I currently have....I am hoping to find a blog to help me in that process as well.

I really started losing track of our daily routine when my dad died in April. I had things going pretty smoothly for the most part with just Jax and Jojo for a while. Jay came just shy of two months later...and boy was that throwing feul on the fire where our messed up routine was concerned.

I have found that the more organized I am...the better I handle chaos around me. I don't always have a back-up plan, but I do have some sort of structure to fall back on.

Off to plan meals and snacks for the rest of the week (in baby steps...)

Take care,
~Nyky

So I decided today that I have to do some sort of meal planning to start getting myself under a livable schedule. I made extra pancakes for the kids and my hubby to save me time for the next few mornings. I use the Sneaky Chef cookbook all the time for them, which is where the recipe for the pancakes came from.

I am currently planning out my meals/snacks for us for the next week. It really worked for me in the past in many ways. Trying to lose weight is hard when you are rushed...so the planning ahead for points values is nice...and it gives me some room for the impulsive points later at night when my hunger controls me. and it helps me prepare the night before so that I have the kids eating healthier snacks and meals as well.

Tonight---turkey tacos...we all love them. I can use 1/2 lb of that meat to make a great meatloaf for Wednesday night. This is eliminating waste for me as well. I am so glad that I sell Tupperware! It really does make me feel better about eating left overs.

If anyone who sees this has ideas about meal planning, please let me know!

~Nyky

Today was another crazy one for me. I really need to get some sort of schedule worked out with my family so that I can have more QUALITY time with the kids. I need an outlet for my stress/anxiety, and a way to get past it...which I am hoping this blog will help with. I spend quantity time with the kids right now, and not enough time working on me. I want my kids to look back on me being home and say it was a good thing, and that I can say I got them ready for kindergarten. I have been looking at orgjunkie! a lot this week...i think I am going to learn a lot from that site.

Today I woke up to a cranky 5 month old who, for some reason, won't sleep through the night any longer! I had another vendor show today for my Tupperware. It went really well considering that it snowed and it is so close to Christmas. This time of year is really hard for me. My mom passed away after a long illness just about two years ago. I was pregnant with my now 20 month old daughter. Then, on my daughter's first birthday, we lost my father. I was pregnant with my youngest son. It's been almost 8 months and I still am in shock.

My wonderful husband works from home, and is extremely involved in the everyday life of our family. I thank God for that one. I don't know how I would do anything with those three keeping me so busy everyday. He has been very supportive with my TW business so far. I had four shows this week, and feel like I worked full-time hours honestly. I'm not used to being out and about so much though....it was kind of nice not to have to change the diapers...:0)

I decided to try to do something where I could pick my own hours and schedule, so that I did not feel the guilt of being away so much from the three of them. Our oldest, Jax, is 3. Our 20 month old, Jojo, is our daughter. We have Jay who is 5 months old (alright, close enough to 6 months i guess). We save tons of money on babysitting this way.

I hope to reach people through this blog who have hectic lives as well. I feel like networking is the best tool you can have/use in this process because so many of us are going through the same struggles of organizing and maintaining our lives. Staying on a budget and bringing in some sort of income at this point is necessary for our family. I am also trying to lose weight using Weight Watchers, and would love to hear back from anyone that has tips for me! Feel free to chime in at any time!

Take care,
~Nyky

Hi! My name is Nyky Crabb. I am currently a "Stay-at-home" mom of three young kids. I am also trying to get my own Tupperware business going. Between pre-school, gymnastics, TW parties, and life in general....things get hectic. I plan on writing about life's daily struggles and how to manage/get through it all.