What could be a better gift than swimsuit models for Valentines Day. I know my husband sure would love to receive the February 14th release of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. I am not sure I know a man who would not love to see beautiful young women scantily dressed in provocative poses. I, for one, have never been against men’s magazines, especially if they are done tastefully, like Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition where all the women are wearing what they would be at the beach.

As if the magazine is not enough, you can also download cell phone wallpapers of Sports Illustrated swimsuit models available at SI Mobile, www.simobileswimsuit.com. The images from SI Mobile Swimsuit are only $1.99 each, come straight from photo shoots featured in SI magazine, and are available for all major wireless carriers. With over 50 different super models on the website, such as Heidi Klum, Maria Sharapova, or even classic SI cover girls like Elle Macpherson, or my husband’s favorite, Kathy Ireland, it would not be hard to find wallpaper he would enjoy. Make sure you also check out the video clips, screen savers, and more.

So if you are contemplating Valentines Day gifts for him that he will appreciate more than a new tie, look no farther than Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and www.simobileswimsuit.com.

*This is s sponsored post.

I was just watching a commercial about Valentines Day and how every woman needs diamonds and you should get her these earrings for $4999. I am the only one who would beat my husband senseless if he spent $5,000 on something I would be too scared of putting in my ears? In fact I am not impressed with this “holiday” at all. Last year we went down the street to the new gun store to browse, and that was just fine by me because we spent the entire day together and that is what matters to me.

I have never wanted more than time together on February 14th; don’t bother with flowers, I don’t need candy, save the money on jewelry, I don’t even need a card. Besides, then I won’t feel guilty about not doing anything special on March 14th (<–WARNING: not child friendly).

Well, I did not lose my mind, the children’s game was never delivered.  So sorry mom, I won’t be joining you in your journey of memory loss.

So a couple days ago I got an email from Best Buy that says they have received my return and refunded the price.  I was pissed!  I called them up and they first tried to tell me that the post office said the address was unknown, which was bullshit..especially because I get stuff from Best Buy weekly, from Reward Zone offers, to our Best Buy credit card statements.  Then he told me it was “lost in the mail”, which I am not sure it right either.  So I had it re-sent and hopefully this time we won’t have a blizzard slowing our mail down.  Because of the holiday, it probably won’t be picked up by UPS until Tuesday or Wednesday, but this time I will know where it is and stay on top of it…

I have scoured my blog to give you a brief “year in review”, which is basically my favorite posts/events of 2006.

January- Matthew turns 10 months old, and proves that bathtub pictures are the best ever!

February- Bobby starts working for his old security job.

March- Matthew turns One, My boys surprise me on My Birthday, and Austin falls asleep Waiting for Daddy.

April- Matthew starts Walking, the boys make a cute mistake in language, and Matthew proves to be a monkey- just like his brothers.

May- Austin turns 10, I have a great Mother’s Day, Austin & Christopher get creative with Pottery & Storytelling, Matthew learns a New Trick, Bobby gets all dolled up for his job interview with his current company (but did not get the job).

June- We have a great Day Trip in Denver, we say goodbye to a beloved pet (re-home, not death), BM asks me to adopt Austin- but I don’t want to announce it on my blog, and Bobby replaces the person hired for the job he interviewed for and gets offered his present job.

July- The children and I fly to Spokane to visit friends and family and meet Terri in person, feel frustrated when I get home, and get a new laptop.

August- Austin’s birth-mom signs the adoption papers, School starts again, Austin encounters a bully, I get my background checks back, Austin gets hurt at school, and I have fun with paintshop.

September- Matthew has his 18 month check-up, Bobby and I make a Zombie Emergency Plan after playing too much Dead Rising, Christopher sees the Neurologist, and I get some Cute Pictures of the Boys.

October- I set up my camcorder to record a naughty cat, Matthew signs Bird, I explore a connection between Girls and Toys that Poop, my best friend Becomes a Foster Mommy, I start working at home with PayPerPost, “We have Rats“, Austin and Christopher become Orange Belts, I blog about Step-Parenting, I talk about my dog Chloe, and Christopher Turns Nine.

November- I talk about how mischievous sons are, I talk about a Strong Marine Widow, confess my love of Sesame Street, talk about a Post Thanksgiving Hang-Over, Christopher mortifies us, Matthew gets a New Car, and I Become a Mom Again!!!

December- I announce the birth of my secondary blog where I confess my Mistakes in Motherhood, Christopher proves he is funny even when he is sick, my baby springs a leak, my Orange Belt’s become Yellow Belts, Bobby turns 30, and FINALLY to wrap up the year– we get a new puppy!

I hope you all have a wonderful new year, and may all your lives be blessed!

Each New Years we have a tradition, it’s called the Junk-Fest-Feast. I am pretty anti-junk for my kids. They rarely get sugar, caffeine, greasy snacks or any kind of junk. We eat fast food more than I would like (1x every 1-2 weeks) and any goodies are home made. Well, on Dec 31st, that all goes out the window… today we went to Safeway and got brownies, ice cream, wings, lil smokies, chips, crackers, sports drinks, potato skins, etc. Tonight we will make a big smorgasbord and allow the kids to snack all night and we will either play family games or watch family movies until the new year. It is a fun night, something the kids look forward to all year long. In fact, they start planning what they want to get on Jan 1st. It is funny, we will be in the store and they will see goodies they want and say “New Years, I plan on getting THAT”; of course New Years Eve shopping comes, and that treat is long forgotten, but still!

I mentioned how our tree broke this year, which was OK beccause it was our last year we planned on having the tree. Bobby was able to make it work by using duct tape and super glue. Well, on Christmas morning when we were opening our gifts, the tree revolted and decided enough was enough. After the paper was cleaned up and the toys were all put away, the tree came down and will go to it’s new home (the dump) on collection day.

I found the tree I wanted on the 23rd, but I knew if I waited until the day after Christmas they would lower the price even more. So today on our way to Best Buy, I ran into K-Mart and got a 7 1/2 ft pre-lit tree, much like this one (except that tree is not pre-lit). It was 50% off and the last 7.5ft tree. I would have prefered a taller tree, but a fuller tree was a bigger priority.

I planned on just running in to see if they had any, and I did not expect they would since it was already 2pm, so I did not grab a cart. Big mistake, that box was not only super heavy, but also very bulky. Luckily Austin found me an abandon cart about 5 isles away. I am sure it was funny to see me struggling.

Or leaning tree of Colorado?

My Christmas tree, that I have had for something like 7 years, died the day before yesterday. The stand broke and I was not about to buy a new one for 3 days, so Bobby fixed it with duct tape until the day(s) after Christmas when we can get a new tree at a huge discount for next year. I will have to get a photo and post it to see if you can see how it leans. Below is a picture in which I used Paint Shop to show the angle of the tree’s axis in comparison of the angles of the background lines so you can see how much the tree leans.

My mom was famous for hiding things from my father and I and then losing it.  Like most things my parents did, I swore  I would NEVER do that.  Well darn it, it is confession time… I lost probably one of the best Christmas gifts I got the kids.  Austin and Christopher LOVE Zelda, and I got them the new Zelda game.  Now I cannot find it; I am not even sure if I got it.  Either I wrapped it already and put it under the tree, hid it from the kids and cannot find it, or never received it at all.  I went to the tracking website, which is something called UPS-WI which partners up with USPS, so neither UPS or USPS could help me because the tracking number is unknown to them both.  UPS-WI just shows the package transfered to USPS on Dec 16th in Illinois… so where is it now??  HAVE I LOST MY MIND?  MY SANITY?  MY MEMORY??

I lost a string of Christmas lights this year, and after pushing through the crowds of Target and Walmart, I left empty handed (they either had outdoor, or clear only). I was complaining to my friend Julia, who suggested that she always had luck at Walgreen’s. Matthew and I headed to the drug store, and sure enough, they had small indoor/outdoor colored bulbs. Now to put them up…more about that on my other blog.

There, I admitted it.  I also need to confess that my tree is up, but undecorated.  My house for the most part looks the same (other than boxes of Christmas decorations in the front room, the stockings by the front door and the angel on my mantle which I took away from Matthew).  I guess it is mostly laziness and procrastination on my part, but I keep justifying it by saying “when we bought this house, in July, they still had their Christmas decorations UP, so I am not the biggest procrastinator this home has seen!”  Of course, it also had silk flowers planted in the front yard, and a tampon wrapper by the back deck, so this may not be helping my case.  In my defense, last year the tree did not go up until the week before Christmas (maybe even a few days before), and I got new lights tonight to replace the ones that died from last year.  I would love to be one of those moms who has the yard all lit up and the tree up the day after Thanksgiving, but the kids need to be thrilled that I decorate at all I do not decorate any other holiday, so THERE!