Snips,Snails and Piggytails

I Do

2011-12-19T08:19:00.001-06:00

This is us at our wedding luncheon. Dec. 20th, 1997

14 years ago we said "I do". Now here we are 6 kids, 2 houses, a few arguments, many joys and several gray hairs later (you can still count mine, it's debatable which color hair to count for Tyson) :). Happy Anniversary to the greatest man I have ever known. Love you Tyson!

One Month

2011-12-02T17:53:00.001-06:00

Many people say that Ansley looks just like Laney, and I would agree even though there are a few slight differences, so I wanted to do a little comparison of the two. So here they are...first pic of Ansley at 2 weeks and the second of Laney at a month old.

Laney at a week old!

My MIL said, as she was talking to Ansley, "Why did you wait to come 2 and a half years after your twin?" I think that is a fair question to ask and I have the answer...I would go CRAZY if I ever had twins! :)

A few things about Ansley at a month old:

*Ansley smiled her first real smile today at both me and Bria. It was adorable!

*She sings and makes noises as she nurses, just like Laney did.

*She tries to hold her head up a lot.

*She is 10 pounds and has grown about an3/4 of an inch in the past few weeks.

*Is now wearing 3 month clothes.

*Eats like clock work every couple of hours, but there is a glimmer of hope for more time between as she sometimes goes about 3 hours. Hopefully it will soon be the new feeding schedule. *fingers are crossed*

Ansley at one month old!

We sure do love our little Ansley-belle! She makes us all smile.

So far we are surviving. The house isn't as clean as we would like, the dog is feeling a bit neglected, the guinea pig cage goes a bit longer in between changes, the laundry is continuing to stock pile with no real possibility of ever getting completely done and sometimes I feel like I am going to go insane due to the fact that I just can't do it all, but despite it all we are a happy family. Family is really what life is all about and I am grateful that I have been blessed to be a mother. I just have to keep telling myself this over and over again when a kid spills milk all over the floor as my nursing babe is fussing for meal time and the other kids are fighting over the computer. :) This is just a season of my life. One day when the house is quiet I will miss these moments of being a complete family under one roof. I LOVE family!

Our Little Mama is 11!

2011-12-01T16:30:00.001-06:00

Today Alyssa is 11!

This year Alyssa has really blossomed into her own little person. She is enjoying homeschool and the freedom to learn in an environment where she can explore ideas and subjects that she is interested in as well as going on field trips. She really loves History and Science. We have been doing a lot of hands on Physics experiments that get her excited for the next one and in History we are learning about the Medieval Ages where they designed their own castles, inside and out (she LOVED that).

Here are 5 things that stand out to Alyssa about her 2011 (in her own words):

1. Saw my new baby sister being born. It was AWESOME!
2. We started homeschool with ALL the kids this year! I LOVE having them home with me.
3. I have been learning to crochet and have a few sewing projects that I would like to do. I also made my own pillowcase with my Grandma.
4. I went and saw the last Harry Potter movie with a friend and my parents.
5. Went out with my grandparents to an Indian restaurant and spent the night with them for my birthday! I LOVE Indian food!

Happy Birthday to our little mama!

I LOVE Family

2011-11-20T16:31:00.001-06:00

We did it! Yesterday we took 7 of the 8 of us to Old Navy. AND we survived! The store was packed! Apparently they were having a few big hit sale promotions going on, but we all endured and made it out alive...and still smiling. This is what it was like in our car on the way to and from the store and possibly the main reason we left still smiling.

We were doing a Space Odyssey with each kid in command of something. We had a Weapons Officer (Bria), New Weapons Specialist (Heath) and a Navigation Officer (Alyssa). Dad was Commander at the wheel. Laney and Ansley were special cargo. All yellow cars were the enemy. Old Navy was the enemy's headquarters. Our Navigation Officer made sure we knew the enemy's plans from her network of spies. Apparently her spies were able to wire her the map and info. before never being heard from again. They sacrificed their lives for a greater cause...getting clothing for our kids. :)

I LOVE my family!

Here are a few other videos I recommend viewing too.

Video 1

Video 2

Baby Ansley

2011-11-11T23:49:00.000-06:00

Ansley Lynn was born on November 4th. Weighing a whopping 9 lbs. 5 oz. making her, by far, the biggest baby I have had. I had heard from a few birdies that it was announced at church that she was 28 inches long. Ha! Wouldn't that be a sight to see? :) She really was only 20 1/2 inches long. So all who may have thought she just might be a freak of nature, from what they heard over the pulpit, rest assured she is normal. :) I think I will be getting a good chuckle out of that for awhile yet.

She had a hard time breathing a little, so she was a bit purple and had to have a little oxygen.

It was a long and hard labor. 10 hours. It was a longer labor than my previous 3 kid's labors. I was 3 cm. when I went in for my check up that Monday and when I went in on Friday, to be induced, I was 4 cm. dilated and having contractions that were sporadic in their times. So my body was trying to go into labor on its own, but her being sunny side up made it difficult. Sunny side up is pretty painful. I felt it all in my back! I am so glad she decided to eventually turn.

We didn't realize that she was in there kind of funny until I got stuck at 7 cm. for 3 1/2 hrs. I was having contractions that felt like transition, but I wasn't dilating at all. It was hard to stay focused and get through it all. I was determined NOT to get an epidural and NOT to get a C-section unless I absolutely had to, but I wanted to continue the fight.

I have to admit that those contractions were beating me and I was having a hard time hanging on. So I did get some Nubain to help me relax more and we did numb around the uterus...those shots were NOT fun either, but helped when it was time to push. By that point I was so ready to be done.
The doctor said that it'll be a turn and burn when she would finally decide to cooperate. He was right because, after a LOT of squatting and other laboring positions and much help from my friend/doula, Wendy, and my husband we were able to get her to turn somehow and she was out in about 15 minutes. If only she could have done that earlier, like before noon. :) We all thought (us, nurses and doctor) that she would be out by noon no problem. Teach me to ever have an idea of what things might be and bank on the "more kids you have the earlier and faster the labors" mentality (though true for a lot of OTHER people).

My sister-in-law Christy was able to be there as well as Alyssa and Bria. Towards the end it was hard for Bria to see me in pain so she went out with Aunt Christy, but Alyssa stayed and loved every minute. She was so intrigued and as soon as Ansley was coming out she said "Woah! Mom you are doing GREAT!" After it was all done Lys teary eyed and by my bedside said that she felt the spirit and how special having babies was and was grateful to have been able to watch Ansley being born.

I was sad that Christy had to go out, but am grateful that she loves my kids so much and was sensitive to what Bria needed since I was sort of out of commission at that moment.
Later, after Bria came back in the room all calm, she said "I guess all that pain was worth it because you have such a beautiful baby now." She also got teary eyed when telling me that it was hard to see me hurting because I am her mom and she really loves me, but that she is glad I did have Ansley and knows it is worth it.

Needless to say they are smitten with her. All the kids adore her. Even little Laney-bug, but she isn't happy with me. I can't give her all the attention I used to and she is testing the waters quite a bit with me. Hopefully it won't last too long, but at least she is okay with the baby. That is really what matters in the end.

Now little Ansley is one week old and such a sweet baby. She is most definitely a keeper!

Even Misha thinks so too!

Being A Mother

2011-11-03T19:49:00.001-05:00

A mother holds her children's hands for a while...their hearts forever.
-- Author Unknown

The house is cleaned. Our bags are packed. The schedule is already planned. Tomorrow we will have another little one to hold, love and cherish forever.

Laney came up to my tummy and said "leanly, come out! I want to hold oo and kiss oo and hug oo!" All the kids have been waiting for their new little sister and we are all feeling blessed.

Happy Friday to everyone!

Halloween Fun

2011-10-29T00:05:00.002-05:00

The kids have been waiting for this day a long time. It is one of their favorite holidays.

Finally we put out the Halloween decor! The kids love to decorate for the holidays and I have to say it is nice that they are old enough to do most of it without me. Of course it helps that daddy has fun helping them set it up too.

This year I just sat back and let them put things where they wanted to and I think that it looks mighty SPOOKY! :) We even have strobe lights to put out this year, which makes them all even more excited for Monday nights fun.

We also went to our Church's Trunk or Treat, which ended up inside due to the cold, drizzly weather. The kids all had a blast and came home with way too much candy!

Usually we all like to dress up together and use the same theme. Some years we don't, but this year most of the family did again. They all wanted to be SUPER HEROES! Chad didn't want to dress up so he said he was the "bad guy" for the super heroes to defeat. Believe me they LOVED taking turns beating him...sibling rivalry at its best. :)

I was the only one that didn't have a costume. I was going to get a tee that said "I grow people. What's your super power?" I just didn't order it in time. So, I had fun watching them all have the fun...and taking their pictures.

I am grateful she still fits in little girl's clothing because those teen costumes were pretty skimpy! I would have had to make her something...wasn't going to happen this year. We are all about staying modest over here and constantly remind our kids that you don't have to sell your body to have fun, get attention or be accepted.

Heath originally wanted to be "Black Spider-man", but they didn't have that costume. Then he wanted to be "Wolverine" same thing, no can do. So he settled for "Iron-man". I think he does a pretty good job playing that role. :) Iron Man in sneakers...comfy!

Bria was the one that suggested the "Super Hero" theme this year. She saw this pink Super Woman costume and was in LOVE. She just HAD to have it and since it went on sale we were on board as well. :)

Even Tyson joined ranks and went along with the theme. He says that it took $50 to get muscles, but at least he had them for a night. :)

Iron man whooping the pre-teen thug!

I think Wonder Woman looks like she is having too much fun whooping a boy! :)

When we were picking out Laney's costume she was all over the place and wanted to be everyone. Luckily she was pretty happy with being Wonder Woman with Alyssa. I had thought of doing bat girl, but think this fit her personality much better.

Little Wonder Woman had no clue what she was supposed to do, so she just went along for the ride until the other kids showed her what her role was.

Once she got the hang of it she enjoyed hurting the local thug.

I think this is where he yelled "Mommy"! Little Wonder Woman was just too much for him.

And I have to say that I think my hubby really is "Mr. Incredible"! He was the one that got most everyone together that night and was willing to take all the kiddos while I stay home and soak in the tub, but I decided to go too since I might not be home for all the Halloween fun, if the baby comes by then that is.

Hope everyone has a GREAT & safe Halloween on Monday night!

Snippets~A Photo Shoot

2011-10-22T22:55:00.000-05:00

One goal that I have had for a few weeks now is to take pictures of each kid, for their 2011-2012 school year, no easy task when you have five. I had to do Laney on one day, the older girls on another and then the boys. I would like to get pictures of all of them together, but Laney is NOT cooperative with pics these days and Heath just wants to ham it up. So I will do what this pregnant body can do for now because my ever changing hormones can't handle it! :)

I can't believe that in about a week I will have added another child to my already crazy bunch of kids. They sure are a lot of work, but so worth every minute of it.

Now be prepared for a lot of pictures! I had too much fun! :)

First I wanted to start with these. I LOVE how it turned out! I don't get pictures like this with Chad often (he isn't big on PDA...boys!) and this is just one of my faves now. I can't decide which I like best. In color or B&W?

They were having fun together and I wanted more cooperation on poses, but had to just go with it. In the end I think its cute and fun to see their personalities not only shining through, but that they enjoy each other (for the most part).

Heath loves to try and get people to laugh. He LOVES life so much and I wish I could be more like him. Life about does me in and then I am done with it, but he isn't usually down for very long. :)

Heath lost his first tooth and he is the youngest one in our family to have lost a tooth! Most of my kids were at least 7 going on 8 when they lost their first.

Chad has been hitting some of that teen 'tude, but overall is a good kid. One day when we were visiting my sister, Laney hit Chad and kept on messing with him. My sister told him to stop her, but he simply said, "She's too cute to scold!" Now if she has him wrapped around her pinky, I am wondering what our newest little one could get away with on his watch. :)

He has even babysat a couple of times for another family and has done really well. Their kids want him over a lot! We are pretty proud of our boy who won't be boy for much longer! I can't believe we have about 6 more years with him before he ventures out into the world on his own.

It was hard to get Laney to be in some of these pictures, but the girls loved posing for the camera. Unfortunately for some reason, Alyssa isn't happy with her teeth and doesn't smile much, but I still was able to get some good pictures of her.

Ring around the rosies and other games were the only things that worked for Laney-bug. At least they had fun together.

Alyssa is still the little mama. She really is such a big help to me especially when I have been sick with this pregnancy.

She also LOVES to sew and go to fabric stores. I think that is going to be a weakness of hers cause she LOVES fabric! :)

I admire her giving heart too. She truly has a love for people. Another trait a child of mine has that I wish I had too. I sometimes allow myself to get annoyed more than I should.

Bria has also lost several teeth as of late. She and Chad have both lost 3-4 at a time. I wouldn't be too surprised if the tooth fairy goes bankrupt anytime soon with these two. :)

Bria has been doing really well with her piano. She can play left and right hand by ear so long as she practices, but after a few tries or so and then she pretty much has the song down. She loves it too. So that really helps. Now she wants to play flute, but I think with her good ears she should do strings, but I will be a good mom and let her try things out before she makes a final decision. :)

What can I say about bug-bug? She needs NAPS! She is now in a big girl bed and it is hard to get her to nap, but because she isn't getting them she isn't the same child. She spits, hits and gets into EVERYTHING much, much more than she used to. Of course it could be the fact that she is 2!!! :) I can NOT keep up. So we are trying to make her take naps. I am hoping that we can get into a groove soon. I am so tempted to just put her back in the crib for nap time until the baby is old enough to be out of the bassinet.

Other than that she is very snuggly and lovable when she wants to be. :)

She also loves to learn phonics with Heath, so I have been doing alphabet flash cards with her and we let her think she is doing what Heath is. I think I may have an early reader on my hands though. She sure gets it quickly.

And Laney STILL loves her bellybutton! :)

The B Family

2011-09-13T23:27:00.000-05:00

This happens to be one of my favorite families! They are dear friends and I had a ton of fun seeing them interact with each other while trying to get kids to look at the camera and smile.:) Melissa is my awesome and talented friend that is usually my partner in crime when it comes to projects and here is her cute family.

Lil' man had other things on his mind. Like exploring and playing peek-a-boo! He is adorable and is very much adored by his big sisters!

Here Lil' man is wanting to explore again! We all thought he was cute and I think he knew it. Sounds like a certain two year old I have here at home.

With the help of mom's teasing we were able to get this one to give a real smile and a pretty one at that. :)

Back to School-Homeschool Style

2011-09-07T16:15:00.001-05:00

This year we decided to not only homeschool all the kids, but to start early. We are in our seventh week. We started in July since it was so hot and since we had a two week trip planned while everyone else would just be starting their school year.

The first couple of weeks were a little rough trying to get the boys acclimated to our already established school routine, but they are starting to get the hang of it. Heath LOVES getting his phonics out and having me work with him, but is still known to give me a run for my money at times. Some days are fun and others I want to pull my hair out. Of course that is the case in everyday life anyways so nothing too new to me. Laney either plays alone upstairs or comes down to color, play with her kitchen or watch "Dora". She has also enjoyed trying her hand at Phonics too. We are mostly working on letter recognition for her, but she is like a little parrot and repeats the lessons we recite. Maybe she'll be our early reader! *fingers crossed*

We start the morning with breakfast, reading scriptures together, family prayer and personal scripture reading. Then move onto Lang. Arts, Math, 15 min. break, History and Science. We then have lunch. The younger two are done while the older two work on computer skills. Then every Friday we have quizzes to see that they have retained most of the info. we have learned and have either an Art or Religious History lesson. We are usually done by noon and earlier on Fridays, but can be flexible if need be. Sometimes I just HAVE to start that laundry right then or else I will go insane or our break needs to be a little bit longer. :)

In History we learned about the Roman Empire, its fall and the rise of the Byzantine Empire, the India, Chinese, and Japanese Empires and are now studying about Australia in the middle ages. Its great for me because I am always learning new things right along with them.

We even had the kids write their own laws for their "Empires". Heath said to "Obey mommy ALL the time and daddy sometimes." :) Have I ever said how much I LOVE that kid? :) Don't wory I did tell him that isn't really how things should go, we need to listen to daddy too, but I relished in it while I could. Cause we all know mommy isn't listened to and feared as much as daddy. At least not in this house. My kids, for some reason, assume I am always teasing or joking with them. I think I need to rethink my parenting style.

Then we made a typical Roman Soldier dinner. We put cubed potatoes, sliced carrots and onions in over a small patty of ground beef inside some foil. Then added salt and butter. We weren't supposed to add the butter because that isn't something they would have had on them during their travels as soldiers, but I can't live without butter on my veggies. :) You put it in the oven on 350 for about 20-30 minutes then, voila, you have a meal that wasn't too much fuss and it was really good! Kind of like foil camping dinners. We also had to eat with our hands...Chad and I lasted about 2 minutes, if that.

So far the year is going fairly well with a few bumps in the road here and there, but it is nice to be together during the days. I am fully aware of what they are learning and know where they need the most help. That has been nice. I can also cater their learning towards their strengths while trying to improve upon their weaker subjects. It is also nice to plan field trips just to have a change of scenery. I consider having that kind of control and insight into their education a blessing and am grateful my heart was softened towards this alternative of schooling for them. It has been a learning experience for all of us. One that is too precious for us not to have tried. Of course I hope to remember this when my patience is worn thin and I am ready to lock myself in my bedroom with a half gallon of ice cream, but even then this will still ring true. I just may not want to admit it at that point. :)

A Winner and a Ponytail

2011-09-04T23:31:00.000-05:00

It looks like A-N-S-L-E-Y was the winner for spelling new baby's name. Its my fave way to spell it too. Thanks for all those who voted and commented. It makes it all the more fun!

The winner of our giveaway was commenter #12, which would have been me, so I decided to nix me and go for who would have been that number had I not commented. Drum roll please...Sara! You get to choose either a $10 gift card to Hobby Lobby, to Target or something from etsy that is no more than $10 (they don't do gift cards yet for the entire site)! Just let me know which one you want and I will drop it by at your house. Congrats!

I had posted on my facebook recently :

"Day two of Laney allowing me to do her hair...and it is in a CUTE ponytail! LOVE it! Now if the older two would let me do theirs once in awhile, without a fight that is. :)"

My sister really wanted a pic, so here they are.

One catch for doing Laney's hair is that I can NOT use a brush. She freaks when I get it out. We won't name the girls responsible for this kind of action due to their examples. So I use my fingers. Who knew that would be okay? And I think it helped having all the kids vocalize the fact that she is adorable because when it would fall out, at all, she would freak! Kinda funny if you ask me. I am thinking that I will have to have the kids do this when we start potty training. Its coming soon. *freak out* She brings her diapers and wipes to me and likes sitting on her potty chair even though she doesn't do anything in it yet. I am NOT ready.

So here she is. Miss Sassy in a ponytail! One day I am hoping to do some pigtails, but for now I will take what I can get.

I LOVE her cute curly little puff ball!

9 weeks and a name

2011-08-28T21:59:00.000-05:00

This is me at thirty-one weeks along. I can hardly believe that I only have about nine more weeks! It. Is. Most. Welcomed. :)

All of the kids are excited to see little miss. Each one talks to her daily, Chad feels more weird about it so not quite as much, and Laney wants to constantly kiss, touch, talk to baby or pretend she herself has a baby in her tummy. There was even one day when she came to me, pulled my shirt up to see baby and pulled a brush out to brush baby. Cute? Yes, but I have had to remind her that shirt stays over baby in public or with company over. I think she is finally getting the hint.

Since we were so convinced in the beginning that we were having a boy, we had a name. It was Emmett Teusher (middle name after my hubby's dad's middle name). We always have the boy's names picked well before conception. So it has never really been a problem for us, but a girl's name? UGH! Hard and frustrating at times. Then when baby finally let us see that she was a she, we had to start the name hunting. I originally thought of one, but Tyson really didn't like it. Eventually all the kids were sold on it and frequently told their dad he had no choice in the matter seeing that there was five against one. So it was just recently, and after searching a couple hundred names, that he finally consented. The name?

Ansley Lynn.

So now we have Chad, Alyssa, Brianne, Heath, Elayna and Ansley. Signing Christmas cards will be fun! :)

So, what do you think? You like Ansley spelled A-N-S-L-E-Y or another way? Go vote in the poll in the upper right hand corner to tell which spelling of the name you like. Those who comment and vote will be put in a drawing for a surprise give away (you will get to choose from 3 different things)! Just let me know you voted in the comments section.

Snippets-This summer...

2011-07-26T23:33:00.000-05:00

I know that I have totally neglected my blog. It has been a loooong time, for me, since I last posted. To be brutally honest I have not only been busy, but not motivated to blog. I haven't felt that I have had much to say and I might even bore you all with this post anyways, but my sister has said she misses my updates. She is awesome! Thanks for the motivation sissy!

We have been busy. I have been busy. So what have we been up to you ask? Hmmmm....This summer:

I drank my very first Sarsaparilla, or as Doris Day says in "Calamity Jane", "Sasprilly"! I LOVE the sound of that. :) If you haven't seen that movie (musical) then you should cause you are MISSING out!

Bria was finally baptized and was so happy about that!

My in-laws had an exchange student, Clara, from Germany stay with them this past school year and we had a fun farewell for her. The kids all went outside to create some nice art work for her on the driveway and sidewalk. I think some of them had more fun getting it all over their shirts, hands and faces...Laney! :)

Since I was here for the 4th of July this year (I am normally with my fam in Southern Georgia), we threw a party at our house for our local family members, complete with a craft and fireworks later that evening at Brandt and Jenny's. We had fun splurging on fireworks this year, but their neighbor's put ours to shame. :) They had way more to watch and much bigger ones. BUT ours were still fun too, especially when a bottle rocket dive bombed my hubby and he had to hit the deck! Ha ha ha! *tear* Don't worry I am sure that he is laughing with me. ;)

My girls decorated an awesome flag cake in honor of our founding fathers. The night before we talked about why we celebrate the 4th of July. This is one of my favorite holidays, second to Christmas, and is very dear to my heart, so its important for me to always keep the celebrations fun and memorable.

Silly siblings and cousins! Can you tell we do a lot of silly face pics? Cause little miss D in the blue shirt with the power puff girls on it has been holding the same face the entire time. :)

We planted a small garden and so far we have had a few HUGE zucchini, tomatoes (heirloom), cucumbers, bell peppers and jalapenos make it to our table. YUM! Nothing like fresh food from the garden. We even had a zucchini that was about 2 feet long, thanks to all the rain we had. These pics are a little on hte older side. The garden is MUCH bigger than this now, but it needs to be weeded so no updated pics til then or else you might wonder how on earth we know we have something edible growing in there. :)

Phew! That was our summer! With a few play dates thrown in here and there. Not glamorous, but fun for us because we were together as family and it has been nice to have the peace and quiet from the hustle and bustle of life. BUT I am ready for a girls retreat now and theeeen maybe a little more hustle and bustle. Hmmm, running kids around more, errands, deadlines...then again maybe not. :)

Let Freedom Ring!

2011-07-03T10:34:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th of July!

We are going to have FUN with family! This year we splurged and bought the BIG awesome fireworks. Can't wait to let our family pyros have at it. Hope you all are safe and enjoy this awesome day to celebrate what our founding father's fought for....FREEDOM!

Paul Harvey ain't got NOTHIN' on this kid!

2011-06-27T14:33:00.001-05:00

Photo taken of Heath by A Greenfield Photography

You remember when this little guy called 9-1-1? While I was in the bathtub? And I was lucky my hubby was home for that one? If not, or if you want to refresh your memory, you can go here. It's worth the read.

Recently we were all gathered around the table eating dinner. Chad and Heath were having a little conversation and I decided to listen in cause it sounded interesting.

Heath: "Well what is Brandon's number?"
Chad: "I don't know, but it isn't 9-1-1!"
Heath: "I know that now! But his house number says 9-1-1."
Chad: "No it isn't! Its 1-1-9!"

Then we all laughed, really hard actually, then explained that house numbers aren't phone numbers. Though it is a good idea...in a way. :)

In the infamous words of Paul Harvey, "and that is the REST of the story!"

2011 Family Pictures

2011-06-08T09:15:00.002-05:00

Once again my friend, Kim, at A Greenfield Photography did our family pictures. I entered a contest that she had done in December and won! The best part is that it was on my birthday!

Yesterday was a busy day and Laney was only able to get a 30-45 minute nap in that day. Normally she sleeps for at least 2 hrs. if not a little longer. We had our ultrasound in the afternoon and family pictures shortly after. Poor Laney-bug couldn't handle it. She was great through the first part of our session, but soon had her lovely meltdown for all the world to see. We also had a time restraint with some things my hubby had to go and do, but Kim was a good sport about it all and was still able to get many awesome shots! Thanks Kim! You can go here to see the pics. Enjoy!

Of course it never fails that when we get family pictures, they have to be updated soon after due to another baby. I guess I am like my mom. My dad has always said that she was pregnant for every family picture. :)

It's A BOY, It's A GIRL, It's A...

2011-06-07T21:58:00.002-05:00

Today we went into our ultrasound FULLY confident that this is a BOY!

BUT this little one was modest! Squeezing the legs together as tight as a clam. So, I was sent to get a drink and see the doc in hopes baby would move positions. Then I went back in with a different nurse, the nurse who has told me all of my other kid's genders. She is the Master Ultrasound lady. She worked and she worked until she found this!

This is the first time I have been wrong! But am really happy it is a GIRL!!! There was a triumphant noise from the gals and...you could say there was weeping and wailing with the boys, okay maybe not THAT dramatic, but there sure were some attitudes! It was kinda funny, but only kinda cause it was also embarrassing. :) Of course now it is a lot more on the funny side and I wish I would have recorded it! :) Heath even stubbornly sat on the floor refusing to talk to anyone or even get up. After we were in the car he apologized saying, "I was just so surprised! Sorry mom that I was so upset. I sure am going to LOVE this girl!" So sweet! Then he added, "when are we going to have my boy?" He has been asking for that since he was 3.

Chad was grumpy a bit longer, but I expected that seeing as this is how he has reacted with every girl we have had. Ha ha! Poor Chad. So outnumbered. :) The doctor saw their disappointment and said "Well maybe the next one will be a boy!" Then laughed as he walked out of the room. He is such an awesome doctor.

Now the problem is finding a name cause we soooo had a boy's name picked out. I guess we still have a few months to figure it out.Of course that won't do for me...I am determined to find it NOW! :) I am patient like that.

Be sure to check out my last post on Sweet Mary and her Family! I have known her since she was about 9!

Sweet Mary's Family

2011-06-07T21:10:00.003-05:00

Its hard to believe that I used to be a leader for Mary at church when she was 12. I have known her since she was about 9 or 10 years old. Now here she is on baby number 2! She is such a fun and cute gal. I have always enjoyed being around her.

Her kids are sure adorable. I enjoyed being able to take their pics and get even more practice with the camera. :)

Look for a post later tonight on the results of our ultrasound! :)

Summertime is OFFICIAL

2011-06-05T18:01:00.000-05:00

It has been HOT! And I even think that is an understatement. Seriously. Let's just say I hope I can get through those pearly gates cause I don't want to know how hot it is in the other place. :)

My husband came home after work, found me asleep and then took the kids out for a fun evening of cooling off in the sprinkler. This is what I woke up to...

Little Miss enjoyed it for a minute then she was ready to explore.

I hope my pregnant self can survive this summer. I wish we had a pool. Perhaps I will get a nice kiddie pool. :)

One more day to vote on what gender you think our baby will be. Just go to the top right sidebar on the blog to cast your vote. We find out Tuesday! :)

Blogging Awards---Thanks Friends!

2011-06-01T22:43:00.000-05:00

All Grown Up

2011-05-31T21:43:00.001-05:00

Last week my youngest sister-in-law graduated from High School and we planned a girls night. We started with picking her clothes out the night before, then the next day a make-over (which I LOVE doing), a photo shoot at Mooresville, eating dinner at Macaroni Grill and shopping til we dropped at Kohl's. It was a fun night.

Its hard to believe that time has gone by so quickly! She was five when Tyson and I were married. Crazy! She will leave us at the end of summer and the kids aren't too happy about that, but I think she is going to love her new found freedom.

The Cait we all know and love so well.

So pretty!

Someone just wouldn't leave us alone until...

He got his favorite spot back.

Yes, she is gonna LOVE that new found freedom! :)

There is till time to vote in the poll at the upper right hand corner of the blog on what gender you think our baby will be. We find out in exactly a week! My girls are routing for a GIRL *surprise, surprise* and the boys? I think you can guess. We are a house divided. :)

While You Were Sleeping...

2011-05-22T21:55:00.000-05:00

"Hey! I thought the parent was supposed to read the kids to sleep!"

"Purple is SO his color!"

"Foiled, again!"

That is some pretty pik gloss Miss Bria has and Lys was only able to get one nail, but she covered most of it! :)

Snippets-The last two weeks

2011-05-16T23:50:00.001-05:00

Ever since the record breaking storms that blew through our state, we have been super busy and well, I have been sick for about two weeks. I had a pretty bad case of Bronchitis. The doctor thought it might be strep, but that was an over the phone diagnosis. I on the other hand figured out pretty quickly when my breathing began to go down hill and felt like I was about to cough a lung up. I was laid out with this one. I have had bouts with bronchitis since I was a little girl, but this was by far the worst sick I have been with it. But now I am doing much better and know that it was a good choice to go by myself with all the kids to see my Dad in Southern Georgia during the power outages because that is when the sickies hit me.I ended up having to go home early cause of school starting up for the boys, but drove with a fever. My Tylenol wore off and I couldn't find the stash I usually keep in my purse. It wasn't too bad of a drive if you don't count a little boys fingers getting slammed in the car door, a baby girl who had some bad diapers and the down pouring during bumper to bumper traffic in a BIG city. :) I survived and more importantly the kids did too.

photo courtesy of Alyss. She is quite proud of herself. :)

I am now 16 weeks along in my pregnancy. Little bit has been fluttering around in there and I look forward to when my hubby and kids can feel it too. We find out the sex of little man/lady next time I go in. If you'd like to get your two cents in on whether or not you think it is a boy or girl, feel free to place a vote in the poll at the top right of the blog. :)

I am mostly over the morning sickness, which truly has been a blessing for us since my husband has been working so much and so late, even on many Saturdays. I am usually sick as a dog, laid out in bed during my pregnancies. The last one I was for 22 weeks. So, yes it is most definitely a blessing that I can function (aside from the 2 week, laid out with Flu and Bronchitis stint). And a big THANKS goes out to my in-laws for a little clean up help on my much-loved-by-kids-cleaned home, dinner and my friend, Karen, for the awesome meal during our time of need. It was very much needed and appreciated.

The day after our electricity came back on we had these lovelies delivered and set up. I am in LOVE with them especially the sexy legs. :) The only problem is that it barely fits in the breakfast nook. Something that will hopefully be remedied soon with either a move or a house addition? Either way I look forward to progress.

LOVE the texture and color of the cloth chairs, however, I want to cover them with clear vinyl so they will last awhile with little ones and I am not so confident in my abilities seeing as this was a pretty penny. :) So I am thinking of finding someone who will do it for me, that is experienced, for pay? Any ideas from my local friends here on who to ask for that?

I have been looking for a table that was big enough to fit a family of our size and then some. They are usually VERY expensive and too ornate for my liking. FINALLY after a month of searching I found these at Dillard's.com. The shipping and taxes (more the taxes) are what made the price go up even more, but in the end they were still cheaper than most dining sets this size and the bonus is that we have one more leaf to put on to sit up to 10 (we only have 8 chairs for it so far)! :) Dinner party anyone?

And this little cutie has been getting into trouble. Don't let that abundance of cuteness fool ya! She is T-R-O-U-B-L-E!!! ;)

I ask her to sit down "NO!"
I tell her to eat "NO!"
I tell her I LOVE her "NO!"--Get the picture. :) AND can't you see the 'tude in her eyes? OH and she has been known to run, the opposite direction as you. Can't you see me at 9 months along trying to waddle after her. I can cause I did it with her oldest brother and I am sure it was NOT a pretty sight.

I found some nail polish in the office and Laney's nails painted. She LOVES to have them painted. The girls said they didn't do it. I asked Laney if she did her own nails cause I know I didn't and she said "NO!" meaning she did. The more you have the more ~~trouble they get into~~ independent they are at a younger age. :)

I finally tricked little miss to let me brush her hair and ended up pulling it back. She is such a little girl now! *tear* Of course after she figured out what I was doing she screamed and I won't name any names of who might have started her on this path with their own example. *cough* Bria *cough*

Look at her pretty little curls. I am hoping, most likely in vain, that she will keep them.

I love her little toes. She also LOVES shoes. She tries everyone's on including Heath's, which seems to be a fave of hers lately.

Laney is ~~obsessed~~ loving Dora and Sponge-Bob. Can you guess who started her on the latter? She loves to color and goes between both hands when doing so. She bosses Misha (the BIG dog) around all the time, but he still loves her cause he knows where most of his table scraps come from. She is sooooo attached to MOM, but LOVES to go to the older kids most of the time. She has actually pushed me away to be with Chad, Lys or Bria. Don't worry, I am not too sad. It can be a welcomed break.

She loves to talk on the phone to daddy and especially Aunt Chel. She loves to read and have me rock her to sleep while singing a few of her favorite songs. They are "The Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Rock-a-bye Baby" and "Popcorn Popping".

The last thing to keep me busy... Teacher Appreciation Week. We were supposed to do it earlier in the month, but it was postponed after the storms. Luckily I had everything put together minus the tags, about a week before we were supposed to have had it. Here are the goodies I had put together. My friend, Lisa, did the tags and they turned out cute with the little people on them.

I added cute little swirly paper clips to each tag, then placed them in the bags with some more colorful and swirly clips.

These have Swedish Fish in them.

I don't have two things pictured that we will be handing out during the week. They are:

Twix candy bars saying "Twix you and me, you're the best!"
Lifesavers candies "You are a life saver!"

The last day I will hand these highlighters out. The tags say "Thanks for making our school year bright!" I just added the butterfly punches and twine and voila! We have a gift. :)

Hope everyone enjoys the last couple weeks before summer break and the heat sets in!

Photostory Friday: The Day the Lights Went Out

2011-05-05T18:57:00.001-05:00

On Wedensday, April 27th, a long line of storms blew through the South bringing with them 312 tornadoes. Totally leaving the Super storms of 1974 in the dust, 148 hit at that time. About 71 of those 312 tornadoes that hit on Wednesday hit the State of Alabama alone. To see more stats you can go here. It was a day that will never be forgotten.

I woke up with morning sickness as usual to the skies pictured above and stayed in my jammies for about half the day, and in our closet under the stairs. Luckily I was able to get a nice warm shower in before the electricity went out.

My two boys went to school even though a tornado siren went off shortly after their bus loaded up. The schools were determined to not have to make up another day and one of my kids can't miss any more days since he has been out a lot with his asthma, so I felt I had to send him. They ended up releasing the kids in between storms that were coming through. The worst hit shortly after they got home.

This is the first line of serious storms to blow through over us. I was two houses down talking to my neighbor when I snapped this pic, then went straight home. As soon as I got to the door I turned and saw this wall cloud below.

The debris was already falling around us and I grabbed the girls and we made a mad dash to the closet under the stairs. It was surreal how fast it blew in and how much stuff was blowing around in it.

After this blew through we had a slight breather until the next several rounds blasted their way through our area.

This is the calm before the next storm. Its amazing how bright it got and that the clouds were still rotating a little and forming together very low to the earth.

Just before the next round blew in I looked out the window and there was a shingle that blew in over our house, then another and another. It wasn't ours. We think it may have been from a city over since it stayed pretty bright and calm outside for a little while longer and they fell from high up in the sky.

Then the darkness returned. This is a wall cloud we saw over Harvest area where an EF4 hit leveling some neighborhoods and the next two are the pics of two different funnels forming, one in between our home and the other homes you see pictured and one a little further out of our neighborhood. I snapped these just before I had to tell the kids to hit the deck as soon as the wind picked up around us.

In our little city, Madison, our side of it was hit the hardest, but even we were truly blessed and came out with scratches compared to the surrounding cities and counties. Here are some pics of the damage we witnessed as we ventured out to check on loved ones since many were without any phone lines including cell phones. We were fortunate and had cell coverage for the most part.

We saw many trampolines blown all over. Some were even so mangled the further we went into Harvest, that you couldn't recognize what it was if it didn't have the blue padding with it. This one was tangled, in the back, around a pine tree.

It was amazing to see these massive trees all over too.

This was right outside of our neighborhood. There were several powerlines snapped in two. We even saw some power line cords wrapped in fences.

Here is a friend of ours home that sustained damage when the funne went over their home. It turned into a tornado when it touched down just down the streeet leaving a house there with shattered windows and trees strewn all over the place.

The morning after the storms we woke up to the kids already dressed and begging to go through out the neighborhood to help clean up. It didn't take long before tons of kids were all out doing the same thing.

We were without power for five days, which was shorter than I thought it would be, but apparently they are rerouting our power from another source such as the dam not too far away. It will be a little while longer before TVA is up and fully running. Apparently they were hit pretty hard as well, shutting down a nuclear plant.

I decided the kids and I would do a little vacation visit to see my dad and sister. It was an eight hour drive, but worth it to have hot water and power since I came down pretty sick, but I ended up driving home sick since we had school starting up and the kids needed to be there. It all worked out and my dear hubby had pity on me and unpacked the car and took lead of the kids while I rested.

I have been in several tornadoes in my life since I grew up in Texas. I even had three funnels that went over our mobile home. We were truly blessed that all we experienced with them was hail the size of softballs damaging all our cars, power outage, house shaking and the sound of a freight train rushing over us. They touched down a mile down the road devastating a few neighborhoods. Today I also feel very blessed and humbled that we are alive and well. It puts life in perspective a bit more than before and I hope that my heart can always be turned to others the way it is now.

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Bria Dressed in White

2011-05-04T15:26:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, April 30th, this little gal was supposed to get baptized. But it was three days after the tragic day of tornadoes that hit the Southeast. Our entire county and a couple of others around us were left without power for about five days, so we canceled and will reschedule at a later time.

As for now, here is our beautiful little girl in her white dress. The same one that her sister wore for her baptism, that I made from extra material left over from my wedding dress. Its amazing to see that it fits her just as perfect as it did her older sister.

Bria was very upset that the storms caused her baptism to be postponed. She frequently let us know that this was the worst thing that has EVER happened to her. I am so grateful that being baptized is so important to her and reminded her that we can always do it another day and we should be grateful we didn't really witness the worst day in our lives. We have been very blessed.

Fingernails with chipped polish, a princess dress, vintage barrettes and cute little toes...these are some of my favorite things.

Curiosity...what dreams lie beyond the keyhole?

My good friend, Shari came along for the ride and practiced more of her photo skills and took a candid mother and daughter pic. Bria is such a little mama's girl and I love it! :)

As soon as I saw this little Mexican joint in our Madison downtown, I knew I had to get some pics here and of course NO photo session with one of my kids would be complete without some silliness, especially with this little one. :)

This happens to be one of my favorites because she is smiling. This is one that Shari took as well as the next two.

Laney is 2!?!

2011-04-21T20:27:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that two years have come and gone. I was always told that the older you get, the faster time seems to go by and I am now well aware of the truthfulness of that fact. It's sad when it becomes a personal well known fact. One day my kids will be grown and I will miss the naughty giggles, toys strewn all over the house, the fridge littered in art work and knowing that I have them all tucked safely in bed at night when I lay my head down to rest.

I ~~hoped~~ thought that we might be done after Heath (our #4), but am so glad that I really thought it through and decided that we needed to bring down another precious spirit into our home. It isn't easy to have a big family and it isn't easy to be busy or to learn to do without because your kids come first, but there is nothing in this world that means more to me, than my precious children. Nothing can fill me up the way family does and I am forever grateful that God knows what makes me happiest and that I can rely on Him answering prayers and guiding me through life's choices. Without His guidance I wouldn't be as filled and happy. It'd just be nice to be smitten with a few riches once in awhile. :)

Laney-bug is such a happy girl. She loves her siblings, gets super excited when the door opens between 5:30 and 6 pm revealing her daddy and is a BIG momma's girl! We adore her cute little curls, kissable lips and ticklish toes.

And though she has spilled almost an entire bottle of water on our front area rug, thrown a bag of croutons across the living room, pegged a few too many siblings with hard toys and not only painted her own fingernails, without us knowing, but painted our tile floor as well, she is still the most ADORABLE little gal around. :)

LOVE you Laney-bug! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Bria is 8!!!

2011-04-15T08:46:00.000-05:00

Bria is the third child. It was a beautiful sunny day on tax day, 8 years ago when I had her. She was the easiest labor and delivery for me (if there is really such a thing). Weighing in at 6 pounds 13 ounces. When she cried she sounded like a kitten. She had a perfectly round head with tons of hair and was so cuddly. I was smitten!

She was a calm baby, active toddler and she has been a precocious little gal with a big heart! Here is a little about Bria in her own words.

I am.
I am . . .a child of God
I think…my mom is a good mom
I want . . .a camera
I have . . .a dog
I miss . . .my toy giraffe
I fear . . .the dark
I feel . . .happy
I hear . . .Laney growling at daddy
I smell . . .lemon
I crave . . .mac-n-cheese (she could live off the stuff with PB&J sandwiches)
I cry…when I get hurt
I search . . .the truth
I wonder . . .what I am going to get for my birthday
I regret . . .hitting Heath with a plastic glow stick and leaving a mark
I wish . . .I had my own dog
I love . . .Misha (our HUGE dog)
I care . . .about my mom
I always . . .go outside
I worry . . .about my siblings getting hurt (believe me, she does! She has refused to camp near water for fear that Laney will get hurt)
I am not . . .baby
I remember . . .going to Jesup to see my family
I believe . . .that the Scriptures are true
I know . . .my family loves me
I sing . . .really well (No modesty...gets it from my hubby's side of the family :))
I don’t always . . .like to be left out
I argue . . .with Heath
I write . . .songs for the piano
I lose . . .my toys (cause she takes them everywhere-she says she doesn't...riiiiight)
I listen . . .to the pitter patter of the rain
I can . . .almost do a cartwheel
I need . . .to improve my drawing
I forget . . .where I need to go when my mom sends me somewhere (like to go do chores)
I am happy . . .when I snuggle with my mom

We all LOVE this girl! She is sugar and spice and if you couldn't tell, a mommy's girl! Life is a brighter place with her here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRIA-BOO!

Snippets-Our Spring so Far & a Recipe

2011-04-13T14:23:00.001-05:00

WARNING: Lots of pictures! :)

Since both my girls have donated their hair, one of them twice and the other now growing her hair out to do it again, I decided that I should follow their good example of love and donate my hair. My hair grew fast. It was to the point where all I felt I could with it was to pull it in a bun or ponytail. I knew it was time to chop it. I was going to do the Pantene Beautiful Lengths that we always do, but the hair dresser was able to get a full 10 inches off! That was way more than I thought we would get. So it will be going to Locks of Love this time. :)

I went with an edgier cut this time, a layered angled bob. It is way easier to do, cutting my hair prep time in half. Nice! Gotta love making life easier.

Grandma came over to teach the girls how to roll out bread loaves that were freshly made with whole wheat. They loved it and it was a nice break for me. :)

Laney loves food and was in Heaven. :)

My brother and his two kids came to visit us last week. It was nice to hang out and get to know my awesome niece and nephew more. Doug's, my brother, son saw us standing next to eachother one morning when we were making breakfast and said "You two look alike, you brother and sister?" We got such a kick out of it and had fun with the teasing. :) His son was going to a Regional Gymnastics Competition and that is why they were able to stop by for a few day visit. He placed 31 out of 77 kids and he is a Level 6. You have to be a Level 8 to go to Nationals. We just might have a future Olympian. :)

We went to the Space and Rocket Center, which I personally didn't feel was worth my money. It is $20 an adult and $15 a child. Five and under is free. I think the Space Camp is worth it, but I didn't enjoy the exhibit, partly because a lot of it was closed since we had gotten there around 2 p.m. (it closes at 5 pm.). The last time I went it had more space stuff and the kids thought it was more interesting. But the kids enjoyed the rides, at least most of the kids. Poor Heath wasn't able to go on any because he was too small and the one he could go on was broken. He was pretty heartbroken by the end.

Heath at least was able to enjoy some of the simulators. My brother had to show them all how its really done.

Alyssa and her cousin were brave and went on the Spaceshot, over and over and over again! Eventually the boys manned up and joined in on the fun. ;)

A friend and I put together some goody baskets for some ladies we visit at church. We put in a card, apples and some apple dip. It is the BEST apple dip EVER! So, I thought that I would share the recipe. Enjoy!

Chocolate and Caramel Apple Dip

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (I use 1 tsp. french vanilla)
3 Heath bars or bag of crushed Heath bar
1 bottle caramel syrup

Stir together the cream cheese, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until the sugar has dissolved, and the mixture is smooth.
Spread cream cheese mixture in tray or other container.
Drizzle a layer of caramel over cream cheese mixture.
Sprinkle crushed Heath bar over top and then serve with apple slices of your choice of apple (I prefer either Braeburn or Gala with this dip).

Photostory Friday: The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword

2011-03-25T12:00:00.002-05:00

For two weeks our home has seemed to unwillingly embrace chaos, but unfortunately, embrace it we did. No matter how much we parents tried to change it, it seemed to get worse. My morning sickness and husbands long hours at work did not help, I am sure. Then, much to our dismay, an open rebellion began. Even Miss Laney-bug joined ranks. Stinker! :) We used to think we were outnumbered with three? Boy, were we sooo wrong. :)

Talking back, breaking regular everyday rules and fighting amongst each other over space and possessions (hmmm, sound politically and internationally familiar? Amazing how much much we evolve from childhood :)) was becoming an everyday occurrence here at our home. What were we going to do? We took privileges away and even sent kids to bed early (nice for me :)), but it wasn't solving the problem, it was masking it by allowing them to endure the consequences and not take full ownership on their own actions because we were being reactive instead of proactive. Kind of like when a road clearly needs work and all the city keeps doing is patchwork, which in the end does no one any good because if it had been done right the first time it would have been less stress on all involved and made for a more pleasant journey from the beginning.

We needed to nip this rebellion in the bud and fast! Over time we have allowed ourselves to be more lax in somethings that we should not have. Our discipline needed a make-over. So, we assigned more chores to do rather than taking every privilege under the sun away and assigned an essay on "Obeying and Honoring Our Parents". The boys still need to finish theirs, but the girls did and I have to say, in a completely unbiased way *wink, wink*, they did a pretty darn good job! :)

Here is Bria's (7 yr. old):

There is a prophet named Moses. He brought the Ten Commandments to us. One of the commandments is to honor and obey our parents. We children in the world have a hard time doing that so here are some definitions:

Obedians (her spelling)-means you listen to them and do as they say.
Honor- It means you don't be mean to them.

Here is Alyssa's (10 yr. old):

Long ago an Isrilite gave us ten commandments, one was to honor and obey our parents. Us kids struggle with that. That is a real problem and maybe its because we don't know the meaning of honor and obedience. So here are the definitions:

Obedience- Doing what you are told.

Honor- Great respect, a person or thing that brings credit.

Referencing the Scriptures, Alyssa continued.

Here is what happens when you obey or disobey:

                 Obey:                                                                              Disobey:
   * healed                                                                             *wounded
           *protected                                                                        *poisoned
           *blessed                                                                           *die
           *given an easy life                                                       *infected
           *innocent                                                                           *guilty
           *raised from the dead

After reading through the essays and talking with each kid individually I realized that this is what our family has needed. Unfortunately it took a rebellion to get there, but it is what it is and we used two of the greatest weapons God has given us, love and the pen because we all know that when used with love the pen is mightier than the sword.

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Little Tornado

2011-03-21T22:44:00.001-05:00

Six years ago today, there was a storm. It was a day full of tornado watches, but it was also the day I was in labor with Heath.

I was close to transition when the nurses said "The weather is getting worse. If there is a tornado warning honey, you're going to have to deliver in the hall."

I grabbed my hubby's hand rather tightly and said through gritted teeth for all to hear, "I am NOT pushing my baby out in the hall! I'd rather deliver in that bathroom." And believe me when I say that I would have fought them tooth and nail too despite the pain, but fortunately for all involved, it cleared up outside and all was well with the world.

Then our cute little Heath-y was born weighing 8lbs. 5 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. Little did we know that that day was a true tornado warning...Heath was that tornado. :) As soon as he started walking this kid was FULL of energy. He left a wake of disaster with all that lay in his path. A 102 degree fever can't even keep this kid down. He LOVES life! Every morning he wakes up ready to face the world and is one of the most loving kids I have ever known.

Six reasons this kid has stolen my heart:

1. He loves people so much.
2. He is always saying that I am beautiful! How can you NOT love that!?! :)
3. He doesn't meet a stranger. I wish I were more like this.
4. He is usually one of the happiest people I know.
5. Deep down he is such a softy and adores his siblings!
6. This goes with the last picture...He isn't afraid to be different and have fun!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Heath-boy!

Photostory Friday: Gone Fishing

2011-03-10T22:10:00.004-06:00

You may be wondering why I would have a picture of fish on here for this post. Especially since we didn't really go fishing for these ourselves. Unless you want to count waiting at the Seafood counter and pointing to the ones we wanted, as fishing. If you're city folk...then it counts.

The other day my son, Chad and I were talking about homeschooling. He has been wanting to do this since he was a Kindergartner and it was only after our second child began to really struggle at school, the past couple of years (in Math), that we seriously considered it and actually made it a reality.

Lately he has been having mixed feelings about it. He is about to be in Middle School and he fears that we won't offer much at home that he could have in public school. He is also concerned with keeping up with the public school's learning curve. What learning curve? I thought to myself... :)

Then he surprised me with one I hadn't really thought a lot about. Dissecting animals. He has apparently been looking forward to this part of Science for a very long time.

So, I told him about Science kits that are offered in this area. Then after pondering it a bit more I said "Ya know, we can just go catch a fish and its basically free! Then I will teach you how to clean it. You can look at all the innards, study it out and then we'll cook it for dinner (like we did with the fish in the pic above, minus the cleaning part)."

I only got the smile and "Moooooom!" I guess he doesn't think I am serious. I should probably also inform him that there are a TON of bull frogs by my dad's in Georgia and we can even catch one of them if he wants something a little more juicy. I mean he is, after all, the son of a Southern gal.

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Photostory Friday: Sisters

2011-03-03T23:26:00.003-06:00

There are two quotes that I really like about sisters because they remind me of my relationship with my sister and what I see with my own daughters.

1. "If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child." ~Linda Sunshine

2. "Sisters is probably the most competitive relationship within the family, but once the sisters are grown, it becomes the strongest relationship." ~Margaret Mead

Ever since my two oldest girls were little, they have played well together, fought like cats and dogs and battled for the better position in the family. As they have become older, I see that they are in the competition spirit a bit more. In some ways that worried me for homeschooling them both together, but for the most part it has gone really well and hasn't been that big of a deal.

Recently though, they were fighting over table territory and who was going to finish their assignments the quickest (Shoot me now! They aren't EVEN teenagers yet). :) I talked to them about their little problem and it seemed, put BIG emphasis on "seemed", to be resolved better than I thought it would. Then after they went off for a break I found this note to Bria:

Apparently, Alyssa had to get the last word in and she didn't want me to hear it (or didn't want to hear me again)!

Then later that day they were back to joyfully playing together with their dolls. Sisters! AND I have to admit, I completely understand it. :)

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Joy of LOVE (Day 28)-The Future

2011-02-28T22:38:00.000-06:00

This is the last day of the Joy of LOVE classes. Its sad that it is coming to an end already. I can't believe that I have another month behind me. Where is the time going? That is what I wanna know. :)

The topic for this last one is "The Future". Where do we see ourselves and our loved one(s). Well, I had a GREAT, AWESOME and AMAZING vision in my head for what I was going to do with the kids for our picture. You'd think that after having five kids I would remember that not all things we plan, go as we plan. Here is how my hair brain idea actually played out when I put the kids and props together...

"Okay, y'all ready?" crouch down ready to snap picture. "Ummmm, guys! Stay still! Laney go back by Sissy!"

"Okay, bette... Hey! Its all blurry!" think to myself, Let me just readjust a few things on here. "Okay, here we go again. Everyone hold your signs up, look over here. Laney, look at mommy." Snap! Blurry again! Blast!

"No, no! Go back to the kids, Laney." *frustrating sigh* as I go chase her down.

All that chasing and regrouping of children just to show you this little message about our future. :) And what was it that Laney was supposed to show you that went with the message?

And after this pic, I thought about how crazy I truly am to be having another baby, but I LOVE my family! Craziness and all. :)

Another Horrocks baby due 10.22.11

Joy of LOVE-Catching Up (Days 15-27)

2011-02-27T21:50:00.002-06:00

We have had quite the past two weeks with sicknesses and all, but we are hopefully on the mends now. So, I am using my free night, kids in bed and hubby out of town, to get all caught up on my photography assignments. Wish me LUCK! :)

Kisses...

Together (self portrait)

Staying In...

First round of sickness. Chad and Laney had the stomach flu.

Going Out...

This was my wish seeing as we have been stuck IN the house for a couple of weeks with sickness.

When They're Gone...

Need I say anything?

When They're Home...

Need I say anything more? Okay, I guess I do. At least they are CLEAN.

Hands...

Sometimes I am not sure what I think about owning a PS3. Life seemed a bit more peaceful without all this technology though.

Face (A Portrait)...

I swear he is saying something to me.

Facebook...

This was my very first Facebook profile picture. This was about four years ago when I made matching Easter dresses for the girls and one out of the same fabric for myself.

Where (you first fell in love with them)...

This was the same for all of my kids. Laney just happens to be the kid with her newborn pictures on the computer. :)

When You Love Them Most...

I love them most for other reasons too, but right now this is what I am LOVING! :)

The Bro-mance...

They have been best buds since first grade.

What They Say...

Bria made this for me. My fridge is usually, lovingly, cluttered with artwork from my children. They put them up themselves, knowing that I will do just the same once they show them to me.

I LOVE my family!

Joy of LOVE (Day 11, 12, 13 & 14)

2011-02-14T23:07:00.000-06:00

Joy of LOVE (it isn't too late to join up on all the fun!)

Day 11: Dreams

Day 12: Eyes

This is one of my favorite pictures of Heath's eyes. He is the only true blue that we have. It was taken over the summer and since I couldn't get the kids to cooperate this weekend when it came to pictures, I decided to use one that I already had taken and loved. :) Though I do have a post I did awhile back on eyes. You can check it out here.

Day 13: Routine

Laney LOVES baths, but unlike Heath she tells you when she is ready to get out (or not). :)

Day 14: Wedding Bands/Jewelry

My husband and I were pretty poor when we got engaged, so we settled for some of the cheapest rings you could get and I think they had a special on top of the already low price. Tyson told me that one day he would get the ring I really wanted.

On our fifth anniversary my husband took me to the Temple (where we are married, for Time and all Eternity, in my religion) and asked me to marry him again and replaced my first rings with the new silver one. I was surprised! He actually had picked the one that we had seen a long while back that I was so excited about and he even had them engraved like our original bands, with "I love you more" on the inside.

I had to take this second shot since it is Valentine's Day to tell a story about a man who plays Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata many a night to please the woman who's very soul is touched each time this piece reaches her ears. It will forever be a favorite and I love that my husband can play it for me. He must be in love! I am so grateful for my Eternal companion and Valentine!

Joy of LOVE (Day 10) & Photostory Friday

2011-02-10T21:35:00.003-06:00

Today's topic for Joy of LOVE is: "Your loved ones favorite space". This was a tough one considering that there are a lot of places my family likes to be and that there were several pictures I took today that could count for this post, Laney's bath time, kids playing video games, but my house is kinda messy with the kids home from school AGAIN from the snow *frustrating sigh* and I had to write on this one.

Misha, our 126 pound dog, loves our couch. This is a bad habit that we have tried for a long time to break. For the most part he is good at steering clear of it, but when he feels deprived of attention he thinks he has to lay on the couch. Psychologists say that negative attention is still attention. Even if you are a dog. :)

He is such a guy! No qualms about modesty so long as he is comfy! :)

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Joy of LOVE (Day 9)

2011-02-09T19:34:00.001-06:00

Today the Joy of LOVE assignment theme is to document your loved one's passions or hobbies. All of my kids have two main passions/hobbies in common, music and art, but today I am going to focus on the birthday boy's newest passion/hobby that used to just be a dream.

I LOVE surprises to the point that I get very mad if someone spoils the ending of a movie, book or tells me something that was supposed to be a surprise. I like having something to look forward to and finding things out for myself. Chad on the other hand wants to guess at everything and wants to see it now! He gets that from his dad. I say that not only truthfully, but lovingly. :) It can be cute in its own way, so long as they remember to keep surprises for me quiet. :)

The time arrived for us to pick out that birthday gift and we were off to meet daddy at the office. Chad was at a loss as to what he could be getting and it left me with a smile cause usually that boy is good at guessing! An hour and a half later this is what he came home with...

I had mentioned it before on here, but this kid has wanted to play a violin since he was 2! He is in LOVE and says that is the most perfect birthday gift EVER! I enjoy the moments where you can help dreams become a reality, especially for your children.Now we have to work on Miss Bria being happy for him cause she has wanted to play it for a long time too! :)

Happy 12th Birthday, dearest Chad!

Joy of LOVE (Day 7 & 8)

2011-02-08T21:23:00.002-06:00

Today at Joy of Love, the assignment is LOVE from the heart. Yesterday's was generations and since today's fit with yesterday's assignment, I decided to kill two birds with one stone by having this count for both, even if one is a day late. :) I didn't think that I could arrange a get together with the in-laws, my husband and oldest child to get a good picture of three generations of first born sons, but today's subject totally inspired me to do something different and something I think is worthy of a post.

I thought long and hard about what it is that was given to me or done for me as "love from the heart". After going through several ideas of the material things that have been given, I decided that since they didn't go as well with adding value to the heart I would find something that would. I went with something that happend recently melting my heart and bringingt a tear to my eye.

For those who may not know, my mother died when I was 5 years old. The same age as my youngest son is right now. It was 27 years ago. That is a long time to be without a mother and to be so young and not knowing her the same way my older siblings did sometimes fills my heart with sadness, but the other day the kids were watching a cartoon that had a character playing an accordian. My husband later on, hearing them talking about the musical instrument, said "Did you know your Grandma played that when she was in high school?"

It took me a minute to realize that he was talking about my mother and for some reason it just pierced my heart with gratitude and love for my dear husband who has taken the time over the many years of us being married, to know who my mother is through others eyes and pictures. He cares enough about me and my family to know those details that may be insignificant to others, but make her more real to all of us so that my children will know her as best as they can in this life on earth. For that gift I am forever grateful. I think there couldn't be a better token of love for Valentine's then this love that he has shown for me. Thank you dearest! I am sure my mother is grateful to have her memory live on just as I am.

Joy of LOVE (Day 6)Who They ~

2011-02-06T21:43:00.002-06:00

My oldest is turning 12 this week. It seems like it was yesterday that he was coming home for the first time, taking his first steps, saying his first words and flying his first love around the house. He was never a toy person. More like play guns, missiles and airplanes. Those were the only things that he would usually touch in his room or friends homes. Of course video games has crept into his list of loves too, but flying would trump it all. He hopes to one day be a pilot. If he can't get into the Airforce to fly an F-22 Raptor, he will go to the Navy then to the Army until he can be a pilot.

There are a few things that he has said he'd like to do in his life since he was about 2 years old. He has always wanted to be in the military, play the piano, violin and get married. We have the piano, soon to be violin for his birthday and we will leave the military and married life to him. :) I love this kid and his big dreams. I hope that one day he can make those dreams come true.

Joy of LOVE (Day 5)

2011-02-05T21:24:00.001-06:00

To practice my photo skills more, I decided to join a blog group, JOY of LOVE, where daily assignments are emailed to you for the entire month of February. Obviously I am a few days late, but at least I am starting somewhere. I really want to have something to do in my days other than kids, kids and well kids. :)

But who am I kidding!?! I have 5!!! So that is my life. :) As a matter of fact that is most likely going to be the main subjects of all my photos, right? Right. So I guess this is just a way that my mothering can evolve as well as journaling?

They're cute and I LOVE them so, I'll take it.

The theme for today is "what you LOVE to HATE" and although those words don't normally go well together, for this post they will.

I absolutely LOVE this cute little thing! Laney is the apple of our family's eye, but she has a mind of her own. For weeks, no months, we have had the problem of her standing up whenever we eat. Yelling and forcing her to sit is not working. Bribery with food is obviously not working either. Of course I know Cheerios aren't much of a bribe, but this was during breakfast and nutty bars aren't on the menu that early. :)

Her constant standing up scares me half to death for many reasons, one in particular is that this toddler is into jumping. It doesn't matter where she is. It can be at the top of the stairs or on the couch, but she loves to, in her own words or rather Dora's words, "Salta!" Yes, my almost 2 year old is speaking Spanish from a TV show. It is quite impressive.

I am not sure that there is a quick remedy to this. I have not had a girl that loved to do this so much, but I am sure that it is a phase. At least that is the lie I have to keep telling myself so that I can go on functioning. Or maybe I should look at it in a new light. Maybe, just maybe, she will be our future Trampoline Olympian. Ahhhh, that sounds much better and makes it possibly more tolerable.

Photostory Friday: High School

2011-02-04T10:24:00.004-06:00

When I say High School, I am sure that many cringe at the very idea! "NEVER again" is what I hear frequently.

It was an awkward time of life for most of us, but I think we would all agree that there are definitely some great memories to be found amongst all the acne, locker decorations, grades, studying and drama! I was pretty lucky in that I graduated from the same High School, and I mean SAME building and everything, as my dad, Uncles and most cousins. It is a little weird, but it is also awesome because I LOVE that connection with my family and my kids think its cool! When my kids think its cool then I KNOW it is cool! :)

This is from a senior scrapbook I had bought, so I was NOT in love with a Kevin. :)

I had moved to Georgia from Minnesota. I was raised in TEXAS! My heart still swells with that pride and gratitude for my State that I grew up in, when I say the name! :) It was a hard transition to move North. It was nice to move back to the South that I knew, at least thought I knew. You see Texas is its own flavor of the South and though I grew up with a southern culture and going to Georgia frequently, I still didn't fully know that part of the South.

Upon moving down to Georgia I was hanging out with some cousins when a girl walked by and one of the cousins said "That giiiirl is RURNT!" Puzzled and a bit confused I asked "Did you just say Vern?" Laughter broke out and it wouldn't be the last time nor the last misunderstanding.

Smiling she said, "No....ruuuuuurnt!"

After a few more measly attempts at trying to understand, and laughter at my expense, she said "You Yanks would say RUINED!"

The light bulb went off, "Ahhh! I get it! HEY! That is SO not what you said!" :) After I told this story to my husband he didn't believe me. It had to of been just my cousin taht said weird things like that. I was so offended! :) Then when we were in a small southern town in the beginning of our marriage, a long, long time ago, he heard it! He had to apologize and I am forever smiling over his face when he told me HIS story of that word! :)
Back to my past...

One day, after running inside, breathless from the long driveway where the bus dropped me off, I went straight for the fridge. Right there in front of my face was a large and I mean LARGE pickling jar full of pigs feet! They still had SKIN! After my face turned green there was more laughter and my cousin grabbed one for a snack. *gag* Probably on purpose....family!

Though there are some things that are a bit different in the deep South (cause Texas is a bit different and the NORTH is its own place :)). It is my heritage and I LOVE that I am able to have many a fond memory there. I have been going to and from Georgia since I was a baby, for Family Reunions and other family fun. It is my home away from home. It is where I enjoyed my last year of High School!

The South really is where I prefer to be, but one of my closest friends, David, always loved to call me "Yankee" cause the North was not only where I had come there from, but it had corrupted my accent. I have to mention that the joke about small town Georgia is that anything North of Atlanta is yank-ville! :)

There was a time that I was mad at a friend and she bought some powder donuts and chocolate milk as a peace offering cause she knew ~~about my addiction~~ that I loved them. It worked! We went out the next weekend.

All through High School I was in LOVE with Tom Cruise. He won me over at a young age in "Risky Business" then "Top Gun" and "Far and Away". I am embarressed to say how much I watched the last movie. *blush* My sophomore year I had tons of magazine cut outs on my wall of him, Jonathan Brandis, Joey Lawrence...the list could go on. Ahhhh, to be young again. :)

Some of these are not quite so true about me anymore. I am not 18 years young anymore. *tear* Nor am I 115 pounds as my little Bria pointed out to me when reading this. She said, "You are SO not that weight anymore, mom!" She knows how to make you feel good about yourself. :) My other daughter told me that I was immodest. Leave it to your kids to tell you how it truly is. :)

Oh and my eyes really are Hazel. Don't ask why I put down brown. I guess its cause that is what they put on my driver's license.

Senior Prom was a blast! We went out with 10 other couples.

I still remember this day. Getting ready with the help of a friend, talking to my Aunt and when David first walked in as I walked down the stairs...in heels for the first time! I was so happy I didn't trip. That would not have been pretty. I still remember the feel of the dress rubbing against the pantyhose...it reminded me of why I hate wearing them.

This is our 10 year class reunion. We are hitting our 15 years soon! It makes me feel OLD!

There I am in my orange sparkly shirt! It was great to see a few of the friends I had then. I ended up winning the "Most Kids" award! :) I hadn't had my 5th yet and I wonder what looks I would have received when that number would have been said...the looks and gasps I received for the 4, was quite comical.

We still go a few times a year with the kids to visit my home away from home. They have seen my old stomping grounds and know SOME of the stories about mommy's school days. I am grateful for the good memories that prevail despite the not so good things that happen in life and that I was able to get an up close and personal experience of the DEEP South. Where you may know everyone's business, see deer heads hanging proudly on the walls in homes and where family and friends are near and dear. There is no other place on earth I'd rather be from (aside from TEXAS)!

If I had to do it all over again, and not so sure that I would, I would ask that I know then what I know now! :) If only!

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Photo Story Friday: Snow Days

2011-01-27T21:38:00.001-06:00

It has been a LONG time since I last participated in a Photo Story Friday. The last year or so has had its many ups and downs, but a friend of mine told me that she missed me doing them so here I am, recommitted. :) Consider it a New Year's resolution for 2011.

Snow in Alabama is something that is usually unheard of. Snow that actually sticks to the ground for more than a few hours is even more rare, but to have 8 inches that stick and that keeps the kids all out of school for an entire week is HUGE! My kids loved it.

Can you tell they aren't used to getting snow?

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Letters of Love

2011-01-21T13:10:00.003-06:00

Today I was in a bit of a nostalgic mood since my cousin tagged me in some High School pictures on facebook, so I went through my box of goodies from the past that are tucked neatly away in a special box in my closet. It was bitter-sweet because those are days that I can never relive again. However I am grateful for those precious memories and the many dear friends I had at the time (and those I am still able to keep in contact with), that I am able to have forever in my heart.

During my memory reliving moment I stumbled upon these letters of love that my husband had my friends write me and give to me on my 23rd birthday. I had barely come home from the store to people waiting for me in the driveway or pulling in to either stay and hang out for my birthday or hand a letter off to me because they had already had previous engagements.

There were so many kind words in those letters that filled my heart as I re-read them today. I needed that. Sometimes life can just be so hard. Especially when you are feeling lonely, see who you really are, what you would like to become and that the two don't quite match up the way you would like or see all the undone in things in your life or home, that need tending to.

Though many at the time may not have known it, those were some dark days for me. I was going through depression. Battling my past and current situation at that time. I had come from a broken home and some hard knocks from life. I was painfully shy and felt that I had no talents, that I wasn't good enough or pretty.

I remember that night when I opened the letters and read, I felt humbled. I didn't know that people had thought I was kind, sweet, beautiful, loving, very giving and other qualities I had hoped to one day attain because I knew that there was so much more that I could do and I felt as if I was falling short. I also wasn't used to people expressing those things to me. I myself have a hard time letting others know how I truly feel about them.

These letters helped put a little more light into my darkness. They helped me begin on a journey of self discovery/acceptance and I am forever grateful to those who wrote these letters to me almost 10 years ago and for all that have sent me sweet messages, periodically since. I think in our day and age it is easy to ask people for things, send small texts of questions or concerns, but we forget the art of taking the time to craft a letter by hand letting people know we love and appreciate them.

So today I send out a challenge to all those who may read this blog (and it may be few, but that is okay. :)). My challenge is to take the time to write at least one little note to someone (or more someones) that you admire, love or need to let know that you are there during their time of challenge. It really does make a world of a difference when you go out to your mailbox, find a letter to you knowing that someone took time out of their life to show you love. Life is too short and too hard to go on without letters of love.

On A Cold and Rainy Day We...

2011-01-19T23:20:00.001-06:00

...sent a certain little girl to Grandma's to make a pillowcase. She did the sewing and Grandma did the pressing and cutting.

She returned a happy girl, til I told her she had to finish her report on her chosen mammal. :)

...finished 6 loads of laundry. Now I can stop hearing "I have no pants!" At least we know they aren't hurting for undies.

...tried to get the piggies to come out, but Oreo was too cozy in his house. He and I used to have a good rapport.

Scamper, usually the shy one, did come out when he saw me coming over to him. When he hears my voice he starts squeaking for me. It makes me happy! Until I realize he's only in it for the food. ;) Okay he just might love me a little.

...get our little sister up from her nap. She is always pretty happy to see a beloved sibling. It melts my heart.

...enjoy watching Laney play while we sit back, relax after our long eventful day and take pictures.

Apparently it is supposed to snow again this week, Thursday night. I hope for just another cold and rainy day. :)

Bitter Sweet

2011-01-14T07:50:00.000-06:00

Recently I took Alyssa to the mall to get her ears pierced. I was on cloud nine when Lys asked if she could get hers done. Visions of swapping cute earrings and jewelry shopping trips danced through my head. This was going to be bliss! :)

So, Alyssa and I were off to the mall. The lady prepped her and then the piercing gadget came out. The lady kind of tricked Lys into thinking she was just finishing up a mark on her ear when "POP!" Earring #1 in!

Alyssa was beside herself in tears and I started feeling sick to my stomach over my little gals sadness and pain. It took an entire HOUR to talk her into the other one getting done. I didn't want to have to hold her down for it either because this was her choice. Not mommy making her do it. I tried to talk her through it. Then, FINALLY, after a few nice strangers tried calming her and a few more words of encouragement from me, she let the other one get pierced. PHEW!!! I was ready for a nap and she had to sit with her head between her knees until the throw up feeling subsided. She has been known to get a little worked up at times. After we were leaving the mall I asked her if she regretted getting her ears pierced and she said "Nah. beauty is pain after all!" :)

Later that evening Bria, seeing how cute the earrings were, asked if she could get her ears done and I quickly said, "NO! I am still too traumatized by Lys's experience. Ask me in a year!" lol

I remember being 9 when I wanted to get my ears pierced. My dad was not happy about the idea. He kept saying "You only want it done cause that is what everyone else is doing, right?" I said "Nooooo!" Though in all actuality that was a part of the reason as to why I wanted them. The other part, which is what I told him, was that I wanted to be pretty. Then my dad's eyes teared up a little as he squeezed me a little tighter than usual saying, "My baby is growing up!"

The next day my ears were pierced! It sure is nice being the baby of the family. *wink,wink*

Now that I am on that side of the coin, I understand what my dad was feeling and why he was so reluctant to let me get my ears done. I find that as a parent its hard to let go of that little child. Its like looking at them as they are, but still seeing that little boy in his cowboy hat, diaper and holster complete with pistols or the little girl in pigtails dragging her favorite dolly around everywhere she goes. Its bitter sweet.

Huh? What'd you say?

2011-01-12T21:52:00.001-06:00

I recently underwent an ear surgery that has a nifty long name that I can not pronounce nor spell, but they cut behind your ear from the top of the ear down almost to the ear lobe. Take some tissue from inside that area and graft it into the ear drum.

You see a little over a year ago I had a really, really BAD inner and outer ear infection. I went into the Urgent Care since I did not have a family doctor, at the time, and they fixed me up with a good dose of anitbiotics, pain killers and ear drops. This was all around Christmas. Well my ear drum had burst and the doc asked me if I was planning on going on a plane anytime soon and after saying "No" he said "GOOD! Cause that ear is awful!" So nice to know thanks for telling me what I can FEEL for myself! I am grumpy when I am in pain, but I didn't say it, just thought it.

Fast forward about 6 months and I noticed that my ear was feeling like it was stuffed and I couldn't hear real well out of it. It was quite frustrating really. Feeling stuffed, but having no remedy for it. I was starting to understand to a small degree the sadness people feel when they are fine their entire lives and then something happens and they lose use of a part of their body they were privileged to have for so long. I thought it would go away on its own, but it didn't. It began to get worse.

After we found a family doctor and after a few months of going there they noticed that that particular ear looked kind of funny on the inside. I was sick and the ear was hurting. Either my ear drum had a hole in it or my canal was crooked. So I was told I should go to an ENT. I went and sure enough after some tests it was all confirmed that my hearing in that ear was going. I had a hard time hearing high pitch noises and it was harder for me to sing well. The doc said that I would need surgery to repair it and restore my hearing and when an ear drum is ruptured it shouldn't get wet and apparently I had gotten it wet. Well after really thinking about it I had had the ear drops that were put into my ear and it was kind of painful, but I thought it was helping not hindering the process. I didn't know not to get it wet and you would think that the Urgent Care doc would know that. So, note to self "avoid Urgent Care at ALL costs! Only go to the docs that know you well and you trust."

Well I had the surgery last Thursday, almost a week ago. It was much more invasive and painful than I thought it would be and the doctor didn't really say too much on the subject, so I played it off as if it was no big deal. Now I know. :)

I sure LOVED those painkillers! One night I was talking to a friend over the Facebook instant messaging and said "Man, these pain killers are the BEST! They make me happy!" She said "Ummmm, yea they are." I am sure she got a kick out of me that night! :)

This morning I started to freak because I thought I would hear much better by now. I can barely hear out of it. I was getting pretty worried thinking that I would never be able to hear again! Just as a side note I can assume the worst sometimes. *insert warning to hubby not to say a WORD!!!*

Well after looking up my surgery, remember I didn't know what it was called, well I do now, though I am sure if you asked me in person I still wouldn't know it nor how to spell it. Tympanoplasty. So, I googled it and found out that hearing can seem worse for about 2-3 months DUE TO ALL THE PACKING they put in! Ahhhhh, why didn't I think of that? I am sure the doc told me after the surgery, but in my defense I was still pretty drugged. Morphine to be exact. Drugs and I don't mix too well either. They hit me faster than the average person and I get really sick after surgery. So I had a TON of drugs in me to keep me from tossing my cookies. The nurse even gave a bit extra because I was so pasty white for so long after wards. I still wonder how anyone really voluntarily goes under the knife. So NOT an experience I want to have again.

Today has been a better day. I am still on Ibuprofen, but I was able to get some cleaning done (mommy approved) and homeschooling. Then I was pretty pooped. I am hoping that tomorrow I can keep it up. I go in on Friday to get the stitches out. Not looking forward to that part at all. It makes me nervous.

After all is said and done there is one thing that I have learned and that is "It's easy to take our senses for granted". I am indeed VERY grateful for my hearing, touch, smell, taste and sight. I am truly a blessed person and am an ungrateful creature. I need to enjoy these blessings more because it can all be taken in a second and they provide beautiful things that I would greatly miss if I did not have them. God has great creations and I am grateful that He has seen fit for me to have these that work relatively well. I am also grateful to a dear hubby that takes care of me through all the not so fun stuff and loves me stitches and all. Also for a sister that took time out of her life to spend an entire week with the kids and me. She even homeschooled the kids two days in a row! Such an AWESOME sister! My kids for all their prayers and help around the house when daddy had to go back to work. Then last, but not least to all my friends who have called, texted or emailed me to make sure that I was okay and taken care of. Thank you!

Family Away From Family

2011-01-11T10:53:00.003-06:00

I have now known this family for a little over 12 years! I was pregnant with my first when Kaye, the mother of this wonderful family, was pregnant with her last. Those boys we had are still best buds.

They have helped our growing family in so many ways and have shown great love and support to us throughout the years.

I was a leader at church for one of their daughter's, Hannah, when she was 12. Now she is married to a military man and moved away to El Paso. *Tear* We bought Girl Scout Cookies from her. I am SO OLD!!!

Whenever I would ask my kids who they wanted to babysit them the answer was ALWAYS one of the members of this family.

There are so many great memories that we have had with them. One day I was strapping 1 yr. old, Bria, into her carseat and she said "Bye Grama Kaye!" That is what she has been known by our children ever since.

I was thrilled when they asked if I would take pics of them. It was nice to have the practice, but to have more memories with them as well. The only downside to the pics was that it was FREEEEEEEZING and Kendra who was a week from her due date wasn't feeling too great near the end! They were troopers though.

Did I mention that we had fun? :)

This is going to be one WELL LOVED baby!

Snow in Alabama...and some lightning too!

2011-01-10T13:45:00.001-06:00

My husband and I woke up in the wee hours of the morning to witness the fresh snow before a single soul stepped foot on it. It was beautiful!

Last night when it started snowing it was lightening too, then thunder. That was a little strange, but interesting. Not something I would have ever thought went together with snow, but life has a funny way of showing you that nothing is impossible.We ended up having 8-10 inches of snow. 10 inches mostly in the drifts, like around my planter in the top picture.

Since we hardly ever see a speck of snow here in Bama, we don't have the proper winter gear so we Southerners improvise. Goulashes, double layers of clothes, mittens, hats and scarves are all wrapped and tucked into clothing to keep the cold out.

When I was a kid in Texas, we even put ziploc bags over our feet to keep the wetness from soaking in.

Misha was a little jealous that the snow was getting more attention then him. He has issues.

It got pretty deep out there.

Misha didn't like the snow between his toes. He mostly stayed close to the house.

The prettiest little snow angel!

Happy SNoW dAy!

Snippets-Playing Catch Up

2011-01-09T15:46:00.002-06:00

Since homeschooling, my blogging world and project world has been a bit on the slow side. Now that things are starting to come together, schedule wise, I am hoping that I can be more consistent in at least the blogging world and eventually throw in the projects again.

For now I am going to try and catch up. :)

Since Alyssa has started homeschooling, we have really been enjoying our time together. Laney is also loving the fact that she has a friend to play with.

We enjoyed the beginning of awesome Fall weather. Cool enough to wear cardigans, but not so cold that your speech slurs from a numb mouth and nose. Wish I could say that is how it still is, but that was October/November and it is now January.

We have also enjoyed taking pictures and more pictures!

We celebrated Laney's first birthday...a bit on the later side, but we did celebrate as a family on her actual birthday. We just didn't do an official one with the extended family until recently. FINALLY! We had too many schedule conflicts, MBA graduation and sicknesses that got in the way. Here's to the sweet little Laney-bug!

The lady-bugs I painted and put together for decoration. Several of the cousins wanted to keep some because they thought they were so cute! After giving some away we still had a TON left. I guess I will eventually find a use for them later. :)

They are wooden balls that I picked up at Hobby Lobby, some flat on one side. I painted them, drew little swirls down their backs and put dots all over. Then painted smaller wood buttons for the faces, gluing them and the wire antennas to the body. Then voila! We had cute little lady-bugs that we places all over the table.

She wanted nothing to do with that cake until she had a fork and didn't want to sit down at all. I sure do love all her chub-a-love!

I used some of the decorations that I had used for Bria's garden party last Spring. Such as the hanging flowers and butterfly and cake stand. I also used the Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cookie Dough centers recipe, which turned out to be a big hit with everyone. I even threw in some of the frozen cookie dough into her cake.

She sure is growing up way too fast for my tastes! :) But we LOVE our bug-bug!

For Unto Us...

2010-12-24T20:11:00.000-06:00

...a child is born and He shall reign forever and ever.

This is the time of year I always look forward to. Family, baking, decorating, and gift giving, but the most important thing I look forward to is celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus, born in a lowly stable and yet he was King of Kings.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to ALL!

Why Homeschool?--Part 1

2010-12-07T07:43:00.003-06:00

In my last post on our homeschooling journey, I stated that I would do another post as to WHY we are ~~crazy~~ homeschooling. :)

So, why am I homeschooling? There are a few reasons here, but in this post I will cover the first one.

1. My daughter had been struggling in math since second grade.
2. We realized there were other elements we wanted in our children's education.
3. I felt that mine and my children's time could be utilized more efficiently.

First, I would like to start this post by saying that I have never been anti-homeschooling nor have I EVER in a million years thought that I personally, would choose to homeschool my own children. I have always believed that that choice is up to the parents. Who am I to say how someone else should raise their child?

I look up to all those that can do homeschool and have done it successfully, especially when they ventured alone when it was looked down upon by so many. These brave homeschooling families were the awesome pioneers on a new movement across our country! Because of them I am able to have curriculum, informational books, homeschool groups, law info and many, many more helpful things out there, at my fingertips, to help me grow as a mother/educator. I am grateful for the many options that I have out there to raise my children in the ways, I believe to be right.

It is estimated that around 3 million children are homeschooled.There are many reasons as to why a person chooses this form of schooling for their child(ren), you can find some ideas here and here, but I am not here to cover that so much as I am here to talk about why I chose to homeschool (cause after all, we know the world revolves around me). :) So, in this post I am going to cover the main reason I chose to homeschool and will cover the other reasons in two future posts.

1. When Alyssa was in second grade she struggled greatly with Math. This was something we were expecting since our eldest child, Chad, had struggled himself in that area in that very same grade. But what we were NOT expecting is how much our little gal would struggle.

When I stated my concern over Chad struggling in second grade, I was told that "all the kids struggle with the "Everyday Math" program, but they pick it back up later." Then another teacher told me that "None of the second grade teachers liked it, but it is what we have and we make the most of it". It is curriculum mandated by the school board. Basically, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

So, being all knew to this grade level and not thoroughly understanding what choices I had or what help might be offered (especially since I had never had a child struggle academically), and not really knowing what questions to ask, I went along with it. In third grade, Chad hit a few bumps in the road of Math, but eventually his grades improved. Of course having an awesome third grade teacher that was organized helped.

Alyssa didn't fare so well. We tried to work with her, but she would often tell us, "That isn't how my teacher said it needed to be done" or "You're confusing me!" Then she would shut down and we'd have to take a break. After we about died having to drag our second grader to the finish line, we were in third grade.

We were surprised when after our daughter had not great, but decent, grades in the first quarter (83), that a not-so-good report card came home at the end of the first semester that said she was failing (55)! I was shocked because I had not received any communication whatsoever saying that her grades had drastically dropped. I emailed the teacher and stated my concern and made a conference appointment as well. During the conference she said that Alyssa wasn't failing "on average". As if that is supposed to make you feel all warm and cozy inside, knowing the big red fat F wasn't THAT big of a deal. That she would still be passed onto the next grade.

That is when I first started having thoughts about homeschooling, to which I quickly dismissed, because despite some of the not so good teachers we have come across, there are still some great ones out there. I also wasn't willing to give up that time I had to do what I wanted and needed to do. So, the idea was shoved to the back of my mind, for the time being.

Well after that and still not knowing what I should do, my husband and I decided to have him tutor her (since he was a math major) while I did flash cards with her every night. Her grades still weren't improving much. We met again when the teacher frantically emailed me stating that our little girl isn't doing well and now she is concerned that she might not pass the third grade if she isnt rescued. Ummmm, weren't we just stating that we should be concerned, but you said, "Nah, not a big deal?"

So, we met yet again. This time the teacher outlined what could be done on the school's side of things. (My husband's impression was that she was receiving pressure from the school to make an individualized plan for failing students, otherwise no such appointment might have been made.) So I listened and we put the plan into action. Welllllll, her grades improved, but not as much as we had hoped and then the year ended. By this point not only was I mentally exhausted, but my daughter HATED math and said she was the worst kid at school because she had such bad grades. It was hard to see her self esteem plummet.

All summer I stewed over it. The thoughts to homeschool her kept coming to my mind, but I would supress them as I had before. We still sent her to fourth grade where she continued to struggle. Concerned for her again and wanting to get a head start on a plan with the teacher, I scheduled a conference with her. Both my husband and I went together. She seemed like a decent teacher, but once again we got the "Oh, all the kids are behind since the summer break. Its normal. She'll catch up." But can you really ever catch up when you have missed something in math? I think that perhaps you can, but not without great struggle as evidence with my daughter. We tried to see if she would catch up in the first couple months, but we didn't see a lot of progress.

Two weeks after the last conference, making a pros and cons list, and after much prayer, my husband and I decided that this was the best route for our daughter. So far it has gone fairly well. The one thing that I have to say that helps me to know that I am doing what is best for my daughter, is that her self esteem has come back and she is happier. It's great that my child can get a great education AND feel good about herself. I love my little girl! :)

Never a Dull Moment

2010-12-05T22:02:00.001-06:00

One of my friends recently wrote in my comments for a post about our poor Guinea pig's broken leg saying, "I always feel like there's never a dull moment at your house."

I have to say that she would be right! :)

Today was a typical Sunday for us. After I took a little nap I decided to soak in the tub while Tyson and some of the kids made some homemade toffee. Tyson came into tell me something when Chad ran to our door, looking concerned and saying that someone was at our house. Tyson left and I continued in my soaking bliss wondering who was at the front door.

After a few minutes Tyson came back with a little blond boy whose head was down in shame. I sat up intrigued by the current situation. "Who was that at the door?" I asked. Tyson was struggling to keep a straight face and stern voice as he replied, "The Police."

Apparently, our little genius of a son decided to dial 9-1-1. Within 5 minutes there were 3 officers and 2 cop cars outside our house. They had tried calling us back after the call, but it went straight to our voice mail. I tried not to laugh, but also felt bad for the poor officers who had to interrupt their time for nothing of great concern. In the end they ended up loving our dog and talking for a few minutes stating they understood.

I joked with Tyson that Heath now has 9-1-1 to add to his current record holdings for time outs at school, rowdiness at church, several calls to poison control and other boyish mischief!!! :) Of course Tyson said smiling, "Well, I am surprised that with 3 older kids this hasn't happened before now." So true, but Heath is a different duck. ha ha! Heath now knows when we are to call 9-1-1 and that it was naughty of him to do that tonight.

About an hour after this incident, Misha started barking and looking out the window. Chad joined ranks saying, "Hey! Someone is here."

Heath scrambled to the door yelling, "I swear I didn't call 9-1-1 again!"

It turned out to be our good friends, the Moore's, delivering us some awesome Christmas goodies. Ha!

Today our little guy was bold and bore his testimony at church in front of a lot of people. He tried a month ago, but was too shy to do it. He has been talking about it since and was determined to do it this time.

When he first got up I was afraid that he wouldn't do it or might say something not so reverent, but within a few seconds he began talking about knowing the church is true, that Jesus sacrificed for us, that he loves the scriptures and a few other sweet remarks about the Gospel and of Jesus Christ. It sure filled me with gratitude for such a loving kid. Spunk and all! We LOVE him! :)

Ten is a GREAT number

2010-12-01T14:50:00.001-06:00

Today is Alyssa's 10th birthday! I can't believe that I have another child in the double digits! It is crazy aaaand I am OLD!

Photo taken by A Greenfield Photography

Things I will always remember about my little Lys:

She loves Ramen noodles.
I was 9 1/2 cm. for 3 hrs. when I was in labor with her (that is one of the few reasons I never get the epidural anymore). :)
She has her daddy wrapped around her little pinky. She can do no wrong in his eyes.
She has a HUGE sweet tooth, salty tooth, meat tooth...she just LOVES food!
Loves cats more than dogs, but insists that she still has a soft spot for the K-9 pets.
Is very independent and loves to mother all of us.
Gives many of her things to others if they are sad or feel left out in anyway, shape or form.
At the age of 2 she cried and cried watching fiery meteors shoot from the sky in the movie "Dinosaur"-we didn't watch that again for years. ;)
Loves to sit back in her chair at the table to eat her food and chillax, but is always reminded that we use our manners at the table whether at home or in public (I have resigned myself to the fact that I will forever be a broken record that is never heard).

Happy Birthday to my newest 10 yr. old! We love you, Sissy!

Humpty Dumpty...

2010-11-30T10:57:00.010-06:00

...had a GREAT fall!

Recently, this little guy was dropped, accidentally by a kid. She was hesitantly taking him to his cage, afraid he might nibble on her, and then he slipped from her fingers. Lets just say that Guinea Pigs definitely don't land on their feet with the same flexible dexterity that cats have. More like a brick.

His leg wouldn't move! We all sort of FREAKED! Especially, when Tyson tried to look at the foot and you heard a pop!

We had them out to play with them. All had gone really well up to that point. The piggies had even warmed up a bit more to Misha (we had to make him lay down and stay or else all heck would have broken loose).

After many heartbroken tears we were all finally able to console our daughter. The kids went to bed about an hour and a half after they usually do because it took that long just to get her to know we still loved her and that we would take him to the vet first thing in the morning. It broke my heart to watch, but in the end we all said a prayer and we all hugged each other a little tighter.

The next morning we went to the vet and sure enough, Oreo, has a break around his hip and has to be confined to a small area for about 4-6 weeks.

We are still not quite sure that all the Kings horses and all the Kings men were able to put Humpty back together again.Only time will tell.

And just because I am sort of a let-me-know-why-things-are-the-way-they-are nerd, I am putting an interesting link to a site here that explains more about the Humpty Dumpty poem and its possible origins.

The Gift of Love

2010-11-28T22:53:00.002-06:00

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”--Kahlil Gibran

Bria has, for the second time, donated her beautiful brunette locks to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program. I am very proud of this little one for growing her hair out again. It sure grows really fast! Alyssa is still working on getting hers long enough to donate again.

After all the tearful mornings of hair brushing, I am glad to be done with long hair. At least for a little while, but I have to say that when she told me that she wanted to do this again, I was shocked. I thought, "No way! You scream even when I put the BACK of the brush to your head (major drama round these parts)!"

Despite it all I am proud of my little gal. Her new do is tres chic thanks to our hairstylist, Bernadette! Whom I am sad to say will shortly be moving, so if there are any recommendations for a new awesome stylist from the locals here in Huntsville, please let me know :)

These are a few of my FAVORITE things!

2010-11-16T12:43:00.002-06:00

All things FALL! Especially the great colors, textures and decor.

Boots!

Eternal Families (click if you wanna know more)!

A dog that shares his things, even when he doesn't really have a choice. :)

Baby curls! Just wish they lasted! :)

Baby bums....Oh, and did I mention boots?

Halloween -A Little Late-

2010-11-02T21:23:00.006-05:00

It seems that as the years go by and the kids get older, we get busier and busier (hence the blog post dry spells as of late *sigh*). So, for Halloween I was glad that when my kids came up with their ideas for costumes, they were pretty easy. I was even more grateful when a friend of mine gave me a costume their child had outgrown. It meant I didn't have to think about at least one of the kids Halloween garb.

Yes! Score! Shhh, you didn't hear that. :)

I did have fun getting their costumes together, but most things were bought this year. :) Well, everything minus the tutu were bought. ;)

We celebrated Halloween with a Trunk or Treat at church and a Saturday night Trick or Treat festivity with a group of about 25 people. Since Halloween fell on a Sunday, we put it together so we could continue keeping Sunday the day of worship and rest. It was a fun night! Chad didn't want to go this year though. He opted to hang out with a neighbor instead. :( SO sad, he is growing up!

Heath wouldn't let me take any pictures of him...or rather he was too busy being all OVER the place for me to get a decent picture of him. Gotta love that kid!

First he was a Clone Trooper. He was pretty happy about it. Then he decided that for the other Halloween activity he would be Spider Man. He really likes to dress up and doesn't like commitment. ;)

Below are our little hoodlums all decked out and the daughter who comes to visit when her mommy is out of town, Tristen.

Alyssa really wanted to be a Black Cat! I think she pulls it of very "tres chic"!

Chad as a Ranger from the book "Ranger's Apprentice". This is the cloak that he made with his Grandma.

Then Tristen as a VERY cute and stylish witch that happened to stamp her nose and forehead right before pictures. Nice! Glad it wasn't my walls. :)

These are the beautiful girls in my life.

Laney was Tinkerbell, an adorable one too! Bria wanted to be a Peacock this year. The idea stemmed from a Barbie movie called "Island Princess". It was fun putting it together! :)

She wasn't very happy wearing this costume, but after a minute or two of fussing and yanking at the fabric, she was finally ok with it.

Misha as the horse for the "Headless Horseman". He We had some fun with his costume! It was an X-Large costume and was a little tight around his manly chest.

She is such a Sass-a-frass! Definitely "sugar and spice".

This year, Tyson, went as a "Bloody Rock Climber". Simple. Inexpensive since we had all the gear already and awesome cause it freaked the girls out seeing fake blood.

I love my kids. Really, I do. :)

So, what was I this year, you ask!?! Well, that was so thoughtful, for you to think about me. I was the mom that got everyone clothed, fed, dressed and out the door so everyone could enjoy themselves. :) Yeah, real fun, real creative. :) But next year I am dressing up and it is going to be BIG! Epic, BIG! That is all I am going to say. ha ha!

Go Out &...

2010-11-02T15:46:00.000-05:00

...VOTE! If you haven't already, you still have time!

Let's give the White House a change they will NEVER forget! :)

First "Official" Day

2010-10-24T21:01:00.001-05:00

Today was Laney's first "official" day of Nursery at church (an 18 month-3 years old class). She was a stinker most of the morning at home and in the first hour of church, but I was told that she did great in Nursery!

One day I will brave taking her in myself. Usually when I take her anywhere and dare to leave her, she hangs onto my arm for dear life and screams. Then after I have been gone for a couple of minutes she is fine, but for now I will leave the taking her to Nursery to my dear hubby. :)

A few things about Laney-bug:

*She says words really, really well and copies most everything you say.
*She climbs everything and has no fear.
*Is the chunkiest monkey baby I have ever had. I say monkey because one of my brother's always says to the kids when he calls "Hey, this is a monkey's Uncle calling." It sort of sticks now. The kids even say they are monkeys because of it.
*Says "thank you" way more than the older kids. Hmmmm... :)
*Cleans up better than some of the other kids. Well at least without complaining, but we all know that will only last so long.
*Loves most foods.
*Prefers her Aunt Jenny to me at times. Not sure what I think about that one. :)
*Loves playing outside.
*Kisses me and tells me that she loves me. Melts my heart!
*LOVES shoes! She has been known to steal the shoes off your feet just so that she can try them on. Stinker! :)

She sure is loved in our home and I am sure she will be a SPOILED child (if truth be told, she already is), but she is the apple of our eye!

If she would have been more cooperative I would have taken a picture from behind cause maaan its one CAAA-UTE booty in that dress!

Trick or Treat on Saturday

2010-10-23T09:00:00.002-05:00

This year Halloween falls on a Sunday. In years past when this has happened our little community has come together and the Mayor has announced that we will celebrate on another day to continue keeping Sundays a day of worship, but this year that is not the case. So, a small group of us are banding together and compiling a list of names and addresses of people who want to participate in trick or treating on Saturday evening starting at 5:30 p.m. If you are interested and live in the Madison area, then please call, email or leave me a comment to let me know you want to be added to that list. Please let me know by Tuesday the 26th so that I can make the list and have it ready to be sent out to everyone involved by Thursday.

Help us add to the list by making a flyer for your neighborhoods or emailing all that you think would be interested. Just make sure that I get the names and addresses to add to the list that will be handed or emailed out on Thursday the 28th. :)

You don't have to have children to participate. If you just want to hand out candy so that you can see all the little cuties all dressed up, you can still be added to the list! ;) Looking forward to Halloween fun and still keeping Sunday a day of worship and spreading the word!

Chocolate Chip Cupcake with Cookie Dough Centers

2010-10-20T21:50:00.001-05:00

Every Sunday, at church, I teach the 16 year olds. They are some of my favorite people EVER! Well, I have been either sick or out of town lately and ended up missing a few birthdays. It was pretty sad. Especially since they will soon be moving up to a new teacher in January. I know I will get more awesome kids too, but I am sure going to miss these particular ones that will always hold a special place in my heart. *tear* Ok let me pull myself together here...moving on. *tear*

I have been wanting to do something special for them for their birthdays, but unfortunately I have been out of town or sick for a little while and have missed a few of their birthdays. So, I decided to go ahead and make some awesome cupcakes for all and just say it is to celebrate EVERYONE'S birthday for the year. Genius (if I do say so myself)!

I searched my recipes and found these yummy-licious chocolate goodies, from scratch, and HAD to share them since so many of the awesome teens I teach LOVED them! I also found that this is a new trend in baking because I did a search online to see if there were more recipes like this out there and found it, in full and all from scratch, here at Kevin and Amanda {dot} com! I didn't have the time for a recipe from scratch, so I decided to make it easier. Here is the recipe in all its easy splendor.

1 cake mix (I used devil's cake-I am just THAT kinda gal) ;-)
1 pkg. Nestle Toll House refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
Duncan Heinz creamy vanilla icing
Mini chocolate chips
cupcake liners

1. Roll dough into about 1 inch balls. Make about 24. Then freeze them (I did for a couple of hours, but all night would be fine too, just make sure they are completely frozen).

2. Then mix your cake mix by the directions on the box.

3. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

4. Pour cake mix into each liner cup about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way. Then place the dough ball in middle on top of cake mixture.

5. Cook at 350 for about 15-20 min and VOILA! Your cookie dough will sink to the bottom and be invisible! So easy! Then ice the top any way you would like. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and you can even place a small chocolate cookie for an even cuter look! Good luck in your baking endeavoers and ENJOY!

Home Schooled

2010-10-14T15:48:00.000-05:00

Tuesday was our first "official" day of home schooling (for Alyssa right now). It was a very busy day due to some things that I had scheduled awhile back, when I was unsure of whether or not we would actually be schooling at home. I went into it excited, hopeful and ready to conquer the WORLD! Bwa-hahahahaha! *menacingly rubbing hands together*

Then (head hung low) left with my tail between my legs.

Seriously! I felt like I had ruined my child on the very FIRST day! There were so many things that I wanted to plan and do differently, but I am still trying to get the curriculum together. I also was only able to get some Language Arts, Science and Reading. No Math or History! *gasp* (We did get to those subjects the next day-just so you know.)

Of course it wasn't until all was quiet that I felt like I was beaten-kids in bed, house straightened and my head on the pillow. Then the fear of failure set in. I hate the darkness that enters the mind when it is literally all dark around you, but before I drag you down to the depths of despair with me, let me bring back some light & happiness...the next day was a new day. I felt motivated again. Things were a bit smoother and I felt a little more on top of things. That night I slept really well knowing that tomorrow is always a new day.

Today was busy again trying to get grocery shopping, homeschooling, and cleaning done. I am tired, but I know that getting into a new routine is tiring. I go through this every summer break and every beginning of a new school year. Not to mention when I have had a new baby or when I finished a 2 year Interior Design Program in a year and my husband finished his EMBA in 18 months. We are still trying to get into an evening routine together! :) Somehow we all survived and have come out better because of it (at least that is my glass-half-full mentality trying to come out) and I know that through this new journey we will survive and I HOPE we come out better because of it. :)

So, far my daughter really likes it. She said to me last night (our 2nd night of homeschool), "Mom, I LOVE homeschooling cause you don't tell me what I need to do. I get to figure some things out for myself."

Stay Tuned...to read a post as to WHY I chose to homeschool! :)

Happy Despite the Hardship

2010-10-05T17:26:00.001-05:00

This little girl just keeps getting cuter and CUTER! I love her to pieces! This past week I was gone to Houston with my family and I sure missed her hugs and kisses (as well as my other cute kiddos)!

While I was gone she was outside playing in the back yard with her 5 year old brother. Daddy was in the garage putting something away when Heath ran to him saying that Laney was covered in FIRE ANTS! Poor girl! She ended up having roughly 125 ant bites on her hands and feet collectively.Thank goodness for a little boy that acts fast during a D.I.D (damsel in distress) moment. My little hero in the making.

The day after the bites. She didn't like us putting medicine on them because they were sore areas. Made me sad to see her in pain.

What they look like today. We took her into the doctor's office to make sure that they weren't infected since they are redder and more swollen. Luckily they are not infected. We just have to keep an eye on them for now and let them heal on their own.

Bria and our little neighbor girl, Megan, made her get well cards. So cute and thoughtful. I love these girls of mine (even though I didn't give birth to Megan)!

Despite her hardships, Laney is one happy girl! Smiling through it all!

Just a little FYI: You shouldn't pop the ant bites (actually they sting you) because when they are open they have more of a chance getting infected. It is better to leave them because when healed properly the puss bumps will go away on their own.

Brayden-5 months

2010-09-16T16:28:00.005-05:00

Last April I was supposed to have an awesome baby shower for one of my dearest friends. She was happily due the very last day of May. Then much to everyone's surprise little man, Brayden, decided to make his grand entrance 8 weeks early! He was healthy and happy despite his early entrance. I guess he was too excited and just HAD to come down right then, but not right there, there was still time to get to the hospital. I am sure Melissa was glad of that! ;)

We ended up having the shower at the tail end of June. It turned out great thanks to many of her awesome friends that helped pull it together. :)

I always joke with Melissa, who has her kids early (each one has gotten earlier for her), that she can give me her earliness and I can give her some of my due date lateness. The world would be a much happier place, for all involved, if we could do such a thing. *sigh*

I recently was able to practice my photo skills on such a cute little guy and I have to say that they turned out great. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I was also glad to take a picture of the blanket I had made cause I had forgotten to before handing it over. It is one WARM blanket and I want one of my own now. ;) It is the brown crocheted blanket. Melissa and I got some good laughs out of the process as well as the many faces that Brayden would give, but this little guy is not only adorable, but such a happy, smiley baby. Well at least whenever I see him he is. ;-)

And of course I had to throw in the one of big sister sweetly asleep! So cute!

Tyson + Sharon sittin' in a tree...

2010-09-13T18:01:00.001-05:00

...k-i-s-s-i-n-g! *blush* I am not normally a PDA (public display of affection) kinda person, but Tyson and I just had our pictures taken last week by our friend Kim, at A Greenfield Photography, for our soon to be 13 year anniversary in December. I was barely 19 yrs. old (try 5 days into it) when we were married. It is hard to believe that we have been together that long, but at the same time it feels rather short.

Want me to explain?

Ok, here goes. It feels long because the memories of our dating, engagement, and wedding days are still so fresh in my mind and I really still mentally feel I am young.

To self in mirror: I am young! Repeat after me, "I AM YOUNG!" or, wait, "YOU ARE YOUNG!", or ... better yet, just say my name then "is young." :) I feel better already. Moving on...

Then it feels so short because all at the same time I feel that we have known each other forever because we know each other so well. We can even finish each others sentences, tell how the other will handle a situation and many other interesting things that two people can do when they are in tune with one another.

We could stop the story there. It sounds perfect, blissful, peaceful and like it is our "Happily Ever After", but...

It hasn't always been an easy road. It hasn't always been fun and games. Some days I loved him sooo much that I wanted to hug him tightly. Other days I just wanted to squeeze his scrawny little neck. ;)

There were several times that I wanted to call it quits (and to tell you the truth, almost did), but when I calmed down and prayed about the problems that we were facing, I was able to think more clearly. I was also able to understand that relationships aren't easy and if I thought he was hard to live with at times then I am sure he had a hard time with me too. We spent many a day and late night talking through personal struggles, frustrations with one another and having to take what the other one said and mull it over in our minds - even if it made us mad. In order for the marriage thing to work out we each had to be honest with ourselves and with each other. When we were honest with ourselves we could see why the other person struggled with something we had done or said. It helped us to see the "beam" or "mote" in our own eye (so to speak) before pointing out our partner's weakness. We also had to be honest with the other so that whatever needs we had that we felt weren't being met could be met. Otherwise the problems would fester and become so huge that they couldn't be resolved because we were too angry and hurt to try.

So there you have it. We aren't perfect. We don't have a perfect marriage, but we do have love and respect. Love and respect are what help us to jump life's hurdles. They help us to stay humble enough to work through things and never use the "D" word (divorce). Why? Because we have what is worth fighting for, like Samwise Gamgee and Frodo towards the end of The Two Towers.

Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?
Sam: That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for.

We do have something good, like most married couples do, but the key is fighting for it.

Jilted

2010-09-11T20:39:00.006-05:00

Meet Tristen. She is the daughter of one of my dearest friends and stays with us periodically when her parents are out of town. We absolutley love this little gal and she fits right in with the rest of the kids. Basically she is our 6th child. Right now her parents are in France enjoying time without kids.

Oh, did that sound a little bitter? Let me try again. Right now her parents are in France enjoying time with out kids and we are SO happy for them. Next it is our turn! :)

But we won't be going to France.

Actually we won't even be going out of the state of Alabama, but hey, its without kids! :)

Lately Heath has been saying that they are going to marry. Of course he isn't the only one planning here. Shhh, don't tell, but we parents, hers too, think that they would make the perfect match and at least we would know who the in-laws are and we actually like each other. So its a big score for all involved...and they are both adorable! :)

Well Tristen said to Heath, like I did to Tyson, when Heath asked her to marry him, "I guess I will". See already a match made in Heaven. Then during what was supposed to be out afternoon quiet time today, there was a lot of banging upstairs with bitter words thrown around with some tears. Apparently, Heath wouldn't do what Tristen wanted and she said, "Fine! Then I am NOT marrying you!" Heath blubbered like a baby! His heart is just so set on this little gal! Tyson had to intervene a restore peace in the home once again.

Then after our evening family prayer Heath talked again about marrying Tristen. She said she didn't want to marry him and he said in a very stern and somewhat desperate voice, "Once you say something you can't go back on it! And you already said yes".

Oh, little boy if you only knew about women.

Then they talked it through and Heath came to terms that she just might end up with another boy, but then he would end up with another girl. All was ok with the world in the end. Tyson and I did make sure that they both knew there would be no wedding bells until after his mission (in case they decide to try it all again). That way he is at least 21! :)

So, there you have it. Heath was jilted before he is even of age. At least they are still friends!

Meet the Boys!

2010-09-09T21:28:00.002-05:00

Never in a million years would I have thought that this would be something I would allow myself to do. I MUST be crazy!!! I never imagined this would be my fate. I had done this once in my life, but it was short lived. Not that it wasn't fun and great, but it just didn't work out.

What am I talking about? Can't you read my mind? *Sheesh*

Ok I will tell you...I caved that's what I did. I let my kids, that saved hard earned money (by themselves), buy guinea pigs. Yes, I know, And let me tell ya...They. Are. CAAA-UUUUTE!!!

First a little braggin' on the kids. The girls and Heath actually. They made bookmarks and sold them door to door (only to the neighbors we know and I didn't know they did this), then they made car wash signs and apparently washed some cars for my awesome neighbors.

If we are run out of town you will now know what did it

Then they hit us up by asking to take the dog on the walk which ended up being that the dog walked them (he is 126 lbs.). They still got some moolah for trying. :)

The first thing they bought was a book on how to take care of their Guinea Pigs. After a few weeks of studying they felt ready to take on the piggies!

Everyone is totally in love with them and their names are even more adorable (also something from the kids).

Meet Oreo. He is a little scared of us, but lets us pet him more now. I even rub his backside just right and he purrs. No joke! I am some kind of Guinea Pig tamer or something. Who'd have thought?

Now meet Scamper. He is the more nervous and shy boy that really needs to loosen up a bit. I can sometimes get him purring too, but he isn't a fan of hands going into his cage. Let's just say that the saying "when the poop hits the fan" goes well in this house now cause when they are scared everything goes flying.

Eventually we are hoping that both will want to be picked up by us, but for now we are working on taming them.

How do you tame a guinea pig, you ask? Well let me tell ya.

First you have to let them settle in their cage for the first couple of days. Not pick them up and hug them and squish them.

Then you bring them treats and you don't let them have it unless they come to you so they can get used to you. They looked so scared and I was always taught that a way to a man's heart was through his stomach. We just shoved them in their faces while talking baby talk to them. We got some weird looks and Lys almost changed Scampers name to Bugsy cause his eyes got all big. We now talk civilized to them.

And lastly you never move their house to get them. Of course that one wasn't my fault! Really it wasn't. Scamper freaked so I FREAKED! Ok jumped was more like it, sending the house to one side of the cage while the guinea pigs jumped to the other. The kids weren't too happy with me.

I think they are over it now. The guinea pigs...maybe the kids too.

Now that we have learned our lessons we are good little kids and are heeding the advice that we were given and are hoping that both piggies will love us all so much that they are waiting at the entrance of their cage, to be held, when we walk into the room.

No laughing.

Oh and we have the best cage cleaner around...daddy! Just thought I would add that so it is public that he does know where he stands in the family. ;)

13 Years Ago on Labor Day

2010-09-09T07:33:00.001-05:00

If you really want to know the history behind labor day click here. It surprised me cause I had no idea what it was really all about and how it started. It is kind of sad not only because of the circumstances that led up to the holiday and the fact that our own military was involved, but because many of us aren't taught about it to remember the lives that were lost during the "Pullman Strike".

Now onto happier "Labor Day" thoughts...

This is in the wee hours of the morning. So excuse the way we look. :)

13 Years ago on Labor Day.

Well actually the 1st of Sept, but that was Labor Day then, but this was on Labor Day.

My brother, sister and I were at a friends house all day enjoying some awesomely b-b-qued meats and side dishes. After dark we returned home and I slipped into my jammies ready for bed when my brother comes in telling me that I needed to get dressed in something nice cause we were going out. "But its late!" I protested (it really was only 9:00, but I was gran-ified when I started my job), but my big brother is ~~6' burly big and could snap me in two with his thumb and forefinger...I was scared~~ very persuasive.

After getting all dolled up he blind folded me. "Hey, this wasn't part of the deal and you're gonna smear my mascara! Are you listening? What are you up to?" As I sat blindfolded waiting for my brother to escort me to the car I thought that maybe Tyson was up to something, but only maybe (we had only been dating for 2 months) and called my brother in for help, but he was supposed to be too busy to see me that day. It was going to be the first day of our dating life we hadn't seen each other. *whimper* Later he told me that it was a last minute decision after his own Labor Day celebrations with his family.

Then after what seemed FOREVER, my brother walked me down the apartment stairs, told me I wasn't to speak AT ALL and placed me in the car. The door to the driver's seat opened, he got in and then we were off. Do you think I obeyed? Ha!

After taking off I thought "This is soooo not the way Doug drives! He is a bit smoother on the road and with turns." Then we hit a few bumps and took some sharp turns a little too fast, "This really ISN'T my brother! It has to be Tyson!" He still drives like that too. :)

After a few more twists and turns, which I found out later was his way of throwing me off the trail to where we were going (as if blind folding me wasn't enough in my new somewhat unfamiliar town), we finally stopped. Then my blind fold was taken off to see a beautiful bouquet of pink roses (love 'em) and Tyson right behind them. He escorted me to an island on Lady Anne Lake and we sat under a weeping willow as the stars twinkled above.

Then he sat next to me slightly leaning forward to look me in the eye and asked me to marry him. I sat and thought. And thought some more.

I had always grown up dreaming of that white dress and the whole proposal thing thinking I would say something groundbreaking, earth shattering, but instead said, "Yea, I guess I will." NICE! I know it was lame. *hand slap to the forehead* Definitely wouldn't make the cut in a movie script, but he still took me! And here we are 13 years and 5 kids later.

Well on Labor Day, we decided to drive the kids to "Lady Anne Lake" to see this little Island with a bench under the dreamy willow tree, but was sad to find out that it isn't so dreamy anymore cause the willow tree is gone.

I am thinking that someone really needs to plant a new one in our honor. Hmmmm...

One step forward, Two steps back & P90

2010-08-30T23:20:00.000-05:00

This is me right before a HOT date I had recently with my main squeeze (and look at my heels *eeek* I love them). By this point (3 weeks of exercise) I had lost an entire dress size by doing the P90 workouts and was sporting my smaller sized jeans.

During this day I somehow did something that caused my back to go out. Back track just a little, my back has been having some problems on and off for about a year, but this time (and I think it was a yoga stretch, some vacuuming and mopping that did it) it was the straw that broke the camels back (Hi, my name is Sharon and I am married to a pun-a-holic).

It was a long weekend of pain, in my lower back, where I ended up being laid out with pain meds and a patch that went over the sore area. It felt like fire and ice. It was hard to get used to.

I was so sad after going to the Chiropractor that I had to give up my week of P90 (which turned out to be two weeks). Have you ever had something happen that messed up goals that you were trying to attain?

It. Is. Frustrating! Its like taking one step forward and two steps back.

Now that I am on the mends I can do my videos again which is great, but it is always harder to get back on track once you have gotten off the beaten path.

For those who don't know what P90 is, can go here. Basically it is a series of workout videos designed so that you go at your own pace and level. Turning up the notch when you are ready. It is also designed so that you never plateau in your weight loss efforts. There are a few more from the same company like P90X that is a step up (I am pretty sure there are more too).

Everywhere I turned to about info on these DVD's someone was telling me that you about die in the first five minutes. Well I did the Fat Burner bonus DVD and LOVED it! Even my kids jumped in and gave it a try. Chad thought the guy, Tony, was goofy and weird. While Heath was just plain NOT interested, but the girls and I thought Tony was funny. The girls loved it so much that they would be all giggles during a few intense moves.I was quite entertained.

Then I did the actual Fat Burning and Sculpting vids. I WANTED TO DIIIE! Man, are they hard, but if you take your time and pace yourself you won't want to die like I did.

So, I am going to be posting here to record my "Last 15 pounds" Journey and give a final review of these videos.

Just as a side note, I will not be doing the supplements. I am just changing some eating habits and exercising.

I am also a little camera shy due to the baby love that I received 5 times over. It has settled around the middle, sides, thighs and bummage areas. So, I will post pics when I am braver of the befores and afters (in modest attire). Til then you only get the measurements...UGH! Even that is painful!

Month 1 (August 24th, 2010) Measurements:

Actual Measurements: Goal Measurements:

Bust: 36 inches Bust: 34 inches

Waist: 31 inches Waist: 26 inches

Hips: 36 inches Hips: 34 inches

So, wish me luck!

Laney-bug

2010-08-26T07:25:00.099-05:00

Look who has HAIR!!! Ok she has always "technically" had hair, but LOOK it has a clip and it stayed in for more than a few seconds!

Is it right for a mom to be THIS giddy over some hair follicle improvement? I really need to get out more.

Then she decided that it needed to go.
Plop! Right on the ground.
Then she stepped on it. :)

If you give a Laney-bug a hat

If you give a Laney-bug a hat, she will parade around the house. Then she'll see a chair and want to rest in it.

If you give a Laney-bug a chair she will remember the TV buttons that are on her level and want to push them to put a movie on.

After messing with all the buttons on her level she will notice the child proofed doors and decide that she wants to open some drawers that aren't child-proofed.

After digging everything out of her dresser drawers in about 10 seconds flat, she will see you yawning and it will remind her that she is very, very tired!

She will lay down leaving a HUGE path of destruction behind her and start to nod off until... :)

She sees her hat. Then she will want to put it on again.

Miss Lys

2010-08-24T13:55:00.004-05:00

Today I am home sick after nursing a couple of the kids back to health over the weekend. "Welcome back to a new school year!" Can you hear the enthusiasm? Laney-bug is at a really good friend of mines home while I sit here trying to suppress the never ending to do list that keeps shouting out to me that if I don't get to it then it will never get done, but my energy is zapped and I just want to crawl back into bed (which I will do very soon).

So here I am and here is my post for the day.

Alyssa has been a little moody lately. She is 9, almost 10. Dare I say hor-mo-nal? *breathe through teeth*

So, it was nice to get some cute pics of her with a smile.

She is now in fourth grade. So far she likes her teacher, but on occasion she comes home grumpy saying that her teacher yells and expects a lot from them. I told her that she just needs a little more time to get used to her teacher. We shall see what time brings. Wish us luck.

Currently she is writing about a boy named Chad who deals with ogres and mischief. She breaks her story down into chapters and has been working on it since the end of last school year. Maybe one day she will let me share it on here. Aside from writing, she loves to sing. Between her, Bria and Heath (and on occassion me) it is always a musical here in our home. Phantom of the opera, Oklahoma, Singin' in the Rain, newsies...you name it and it is found mingled somewhere amongst their own made up lyrics and melody.

She also has been having fun putting her clothing together for school. So far there are no outrageous outfits to report. Sad I know. It means she is growing up way too fast.

Soon she and I will work on one of my favorite things about decorating, color! I decided that I will start teaching my kids what I have learned through the classes I have taken in Interior Design and my own trial and errors. This way they can start experimenting with things and hopefully one day I will have at least one that will like to shop and decorate with me.*fingers crossed*

About halfway through our little photo session, she grew impatient and grumpy with me (in other words I said something, yet again, that she didn't like), but I pulled out some silly faces and jokes and all was well with the world.

At least for a little while.

Ranger's Apprentice-BIGGEST Fan

2010-08-20T15:37:00.001-05:00

If you are thinking that I was Cah-ray-zee for taking that shot so close to an arrow drawn back ready to meet its victim...you'd be right, but it was fun and neat to see my kid with his new hobby! :) And it helps that I trust him.

Now lets get to the point! Get it? Point! Baha ha haha!

K, I'm done. For now. :)

Chad has been reading a book series called "Ranger's Apprentice". Written by John Flanagan, who grew up in Sydney, Australia. I am a bad mom and haven't read it yet before I let my child, but it is on the list. Maybe after the long awaited and much anticipated "Mockingjay" comes out? *Squeal*

My son who is ~~obsessed~~ passionate, about the things he is interested in, pretty much eats, sleeps and breathes these books. He even bugged me for a long time about making him a cloak and since I didn't rise to the occasion as quickly as he would have liked, he went to his Grandma. Along with his cousin, Brenna, they made their coveted cloaks. I lost my mom-of-the-year award to Grandma in the process, but I am ok with that. :)

Photos of cloak will be coming soon since he won't let me forget.

Chad saved for a good part of the summer and paid for his own bow, arrows, arm guard and target. Heath calls them ow and barrows! ha! Not sure that I EVER want Heath to grow out of things being said not-quite-right. It always makes me smile, but he will be an adult one day and it might not be that cute anymore. So, I, being the good mommy that I am, correct him.

This is the second big thing that he has saved for this summer. The first was a skateboard with safety gear. He amazes me with his saving skills and determination. Now if he can get some mad cleaning and organizing skills we'd be good to go! :)

Next on his list...an X-box 360 Elite. I dared to call it "Extreme" instead of "Elite" and my son who was on the phone with a friend just laughed and laughed.

I was not amused.

He explained to his friend and he joined in on the laughter too.

Still not amused. Well, maybe a little tiny speck of me was.

Glad I could be a great subject of amusement for them. I am sure that it won't be the last time either. In my defense I said, "Hey! At least it started with an "E"!" *hands on hips*

Then they laughed some more and went on to a new subject. Boys! :)

Curiosity

2010-08-19T20:39:00.001-05:00

One of the many reasons I enjoy my job as mom!

Date Night

2010-08-15T17:50:00.002-05:00

Photo...and peek into my love life, courtesy: Chad...eldest child and peeping Tom! ha ha!

My hubby and I went on a HOT date last Thursday. It was a much needed date night seeing as my hubby ~~is a slave to his job~~ has been working major overtime for the past four weeks. He clocked in 140 hrs. in a two week period. He would either go to work from 8 am to midnight or 8 am to about 6 pm then go back in around 8 pm returning around 2 or 3 the next morning. I am happy to say that he is back to "normal" work hours at least for awhile and that I enjoyed my late nights with "Merlin". I am ready and now waiting for Season 3. Can you tell that I ~~really need to get a life~~ love this series? Once again hats off to single parents! I don't know how you do what you do and not go insane in the process.

For our date we enjoyed sushi and a movie. Well we enjoyed SOME of the sushi. We decided to be "adventurous" or plain crazy, I'll let you be the judge of that one, and tried some raw squid on rice. It was iiiiinteresting...ok if the truth be told and putting all diplomacy aside, it was GROSS! DISGUSTING! Just plain NASTY! Let's just say that it was HARD to swallow and Tyson got a good kick out of the face I made with every bite that seemed to take an eternity! No joke! I thought we were never gonna be leaving that restaurant because I wasn't going to finish the meat that *boinged*. Not sure if that is a term I can use to describe it, or if that is a description that is appetizing or even really a word, but that is the only word (made up or not) I think that can do the yuckiness of it all justice. I can't leave any word that can describe my disdain for this particular sushi that I had, unturned, or better yet unused. So, no I do NOT recommend it.

On to the more fun and less adventurous part of our awesome date night...we enjoyed watching "Inception" with Leonardo DiCaprio. I have to say that I am not normally a huge fan of his, but was really impressed with his and his fellow actors/actresses skills. They really did a great job. This movie kept me thinking the rest of the evening and you know its a good story when you wake up the next morning still thinking about it. :) So, if you haven't already seen it, then you are missing out and really should go see it! I give it two thumbs up and totally recommend it (if you couldn't already tell)!

Survival of the Fittest

2010-08-09T22:20:00.003-05:00

We survived our first day of school!

I did clean, but I also indulged in some "Merlin" watching. Ahhh, it was nice to have some peace and quiet! :) Every year that school starts up I like to think of something clever to write about their first day back in school, but ever since the one I did when Bria went to Kindergarten, I just don't feel that same push to be so creative. I just don't think that I can beat it. It totally sums up our first day of school. You can find it here.

Heath didn't get a time out! YAY! it is a new record because he got timeouts left and right in preschool and both years he attended he had at least one on the first day. We have been pretty worried with how Mr. Energy would do, but so far so good. Let's hope this keeps getting better from here. He was so hungry that he ate 4 big helpings of dinner tonight and as soon as he hit his pillow he was out!

The rest of the kids were happy and are looking forward to tomorrow!

The only real glitch we had today was that Miss 15 mo. old, Laney, decided to nose dive out of her crib. She started talking, I finished up what I was doing so I could go get her and then...

THUD!!! it was HUGE! I still feel a little queasy thinking about it. Obviously I wasn't moving fast enough for her so she decided to take things into her own hands.My heart fell to the floor and I ran to her flinging the door open only to find her walking to me with a slight smile as she fussed a little. She looked a little dazed, but after doing a thorough once over from her pretty little red, slightly scratched head to her adorable chubby toes, I was satisfied that she was fine.

My "Free" Time

2010-08-08T22:16:00.002-05:00

All the backpacks are packed and ready to go. All the kids are in bed with their clothing laid out and all are eager and ready for morning to come.

As for me? Well I am ready to PAAAARTAAAY! So what am I going to do with all my "FREE" time?

Yep a REAL party here people! *dripping with SARCASM*

So FUN! *sigh*

Ooooops! How did THAT get in there!?!?! :)

I am not usually a fan of television shows, period, but I have to say that so far I LOVE "The Adventures of Merlin"! It is an entertaining, updated version of the Arthurian Tales, with good acting. I also love the characters.

Now if only I could somehow manage to learn the magical abilities that Merlin has to get all my chores and projects done. ;-)

Ahhhh , to be young again

2010-08-05T22:52:00.004-05:00

Tonight I had a party at my house. A party with several 16 year olds. I am their teacher at church and I have to say that I LOVE them. They are great kids in so many ways. All of them.

After my kids spent the first ten mintues or so showing off to the "cool teens", we moved into the living room where we talked and laughed. We joked, laughed and watched a movie. Then we told stories, laughed and played a game. Then to top it all off we ate ice cream and laughed some more.

I wish that I would have taken pictures, but I was having too much fun to even think about it. We watched the "Samuel the Lamanite" Liken the Scriptures DVD...so good! They even liked them too. Then we played a review game of all the things that we have learned so far in our Sunday School class from the Old Testament. I had played this game once before with my kids in a Family Home Evening to review the subject that we had been learning that month. It was a success and my kids amazed us with their ability to remember everything that we had taught them because the subject matter was pretty heavy for their ages. More on that another time.

I took index cards and wrote bowl, spoon and topping on them. Though I omitted the topping one from tonight's game so that it went a little faster. Instead they automatically got a topping.

Then made enough index cards labeled "Bowl" and "spoon" for each person playing so that each had a chance to earn those things by answering the question correctly. All of them had to answer one together to earn their ice cream. They got a couple of lifelines (a friend and a scriptures one) and were timed when using those (gave them 2 min.). In the end only one went without a spoon, but after him being such a good sport, I let him have one. :) We even played a game called "Signs". This one takes longer to explain so if you want to know the rules let me know and I will do a post on it.

We somehow got on the subject of year books and they wanted to see mine because I told them that I have one with some very embarressing and incriminating stuff in it. Such as "I love Danny" or I wrote to myself as if he had written me and plagiarized his name. Now THAT is embarrassing! :) I was in the fifth grade. So no judging people! ;)

Me in 5th grade. I am top left.

Hmmmm, can you guess which one is Danny? lol I first met him in second grade. We were boyfriend/ girlfriend for awhile or rather on and off through those years (so much male/female drama at such a young age), but somewhere along the line in fifth grade he met another girl named, Brandy. It was so sad.

Oh, and the kid circled on his left was my boyfirend, Shane, in 6th grade. Ha ha! I think I had more boyfriends in Elementary and Middle School than in High School. Now that is sad! :)

I have a yearbook for every year since that grade. It was neat to take a walk down memory lane and see myself as a kid and my friends at the time. They had fun looking at that one and my senior one. I don't usually have an excuse to go back down memory lane like that, but it was fun and I am sure now I will have to do a little more of that with my kids getting older.

Here is me my Senior Year. Top row, second from right.

We all agreed that we should definitely do another party because it was a hit! It is weird to think that I am almost double their age...I am OLD!!! Ahhhh, to be young again! :)

Your Help is Needed

2010-08-04T15:27:00.000-05:00

I received an email recently, from the dance place that my girls attend, asking for help in donations for a little girl Aaylah. She is 4 years old and has such bad allergic reactions to many foods, especially peanuts, that she can not live a normal carefree childhood. She can not go to school, church or other things where there are a lot of people. The dance teachers even have to thoroughly wash their hands before giving her lessons. Peanuts are the worst for her. If she encounters them, their residue or breathes in air that has peanut in it (such as using peanut oil while cooking), it can prove to be fatal.

Her family is trying to get a service dog that will help reduce the risk of running into these problems. The dog will be able to detect the things that she is allergic to (amazing that they can train for that and I am grateful for the people that devote their time and talents to do so) as well as carry her epipens and be able to push a pre-programmed button that will call 911 in an emergency. They have already matched her to an Australian Labradoodle that is specifically bred so that 99.9% of allergy sufferers have no reactions to them. If you are willing to help in any way possible then please Click here to go to her website. You can also forward this to others that you think would be willing to help out. Or better yet, pass it along on your blog by posting it. Let us use it for the good of others.

There is also a duck race that is being put together in hopes to raise more money for the family. You can find it here. Thank you for your help and support!

What Summer Means to Me

2010-08-02T23:42:00.004-05:00

Today I have been busy cleaning and preparing for another school year to begin. I have organized cabinets, done some needed shopping and made lists for the last few things I need to buy for school and more projects that need to take priority. It is so never ending and I am FINALLY resigning myself to that fact. *sigh*

As I do these things I hear the music of my three oldest children as they each take their turn with their new piano teacher. Nanny McPhee plays in the background with no audience. Heath is laughing as his transformers battle upstairs and Laney is taking her last nap of the day.

This is my life. I. Love. it. This is our summer. I have enjoyed it.

I have mixed emotions about school starting soon. I will have 4 kids in elementary school (Ya' shoulda' seen the shopping cart of supplies and the receipt that followed after. YIKES!). And no, I didn't go on the tax free weekend. Don't ask why, otherwise it'll be some HUGE loooong spiel about hormonal mommies fighting over the last cabbage patch doll on the shelves just before Christmas. Ok, not really. I have complexes, I know. I just don't like crowds. :) Instead we will be spending our last Saturday before school with the kids at "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at the VBC Playhouse! This will be much better than pushing through crowds just to save a few bucks.

It has been a successful summer in many ways. And now we have school in 6 more days. In some ways I look forward to having more time to do other things that I need to without much interruption, but I am not looking forward to early mornings, after school activities and homework. Who says when you become an adult you never have homework again? Wish I would have taken math more seriously. This year just might kill me! How sad is that!?! But as I reflect on the summer that we have had, I ask myself, "What does summer mean to me?"

And here it is. This is what summer means to me...

Kids playing barefoot in the sun, drying off from their long days swim with cousins.

Enjoying what comes from the garden and working while reminiscing on childhood memories and funny stories. It is just a shame that we don't have a front porch to do it on.

Celebrating the birth of our country with yummy southern food and fireworks!

Lazy days on my dad's front porch watching nature do its thing. Dreaming of my future macro lens and all the possibilities! *hint, hint dearest*

Figuring out how many licks to the tootsie roll! :)

Blueberry Picking with friends and freezing enough to last us the winter.Too bad we missed the strawberries again this year.

Time together playing, laughing and making memories! I am so going to miss them. The memories we have made, our blissful lazy days and the joys of my kids at home. 6 am is waaay too early.

What do you do...

2010-07-28T17:07:00.001-05:00

When you see THIS?

You take a picture of course! :) We found this in one of the ponds I dared to swim in as a youth (we thought we were cool). It is close to a small creek where gators can be plentiful. This one of course died of "natural" causes. ;-)

On another note, I made it into the top 5 finalists in the photo contest I entered. If you like my picture then please leave a comment under Finalist #1! Thank you! Make sure and check out Karen's other posts that showcase her awesome pictures: http://blog.karenbagley.com/

Right Now...

2010-07-27T20:25:00.002-05:00

...I am missing some soul food.

...I LOVE that Laney has found her belly button.

...watching Laney give kisses and hugs to her favorite toys. It is too cute!

...we love to play dress up and watch Laney enjoy it as well.

...I am enjoying this little guys infectious laughter and constant cheesiness before he goes off to full time Kindergarten. I am so going to miss him just like I have missed all the others when they move on to the next stage of growing up.

silly pics are almost all I get from him these days, but I will take what I can. :)

...I am enjoying the last week I have left of summer with the kids. They sure make me happy!

Just as a little reminder...today is the last day to vote in the photo contest at Karen Bagley Photography. Mine is entry #1, so if you like it then please vote for mine by leaving a comment underneath it. Thanks!

Blueberry Pickin'

2010-07-26T23:25:00.003-05:00

Recently we made a fun trip to a local farm to pick blueberries with some dear neighbors/friends of ours. They decided to follow us to said farm, but we ended up following them since they had a GPS after we made a wrong turn and ended up in Tennessee. Good thing the state line is close, that we weren't too far off the beaten path (say abt. 5 min. or so) and that the farm didn't close til 8 pm. ;)

It was a fun trip with fun friends and the scenery was beautiful!

It was a pretty HOT and muggy day. Good thing we waited til the evening to go. Laney endured, but was a bit fussy at times. She is cute, fussiness and all! :)

Good thing these guys were in clumps so we could easily avoid 'em when reaching into the bushes. During my senior year of High School one of my chores was to pick the figs while standing on a ladder. There were tons of these uglies all over the place and I was pelted by their dive bombing maneuvers several times right in the face! Not so fun when you are how high off the ground?

On our way up in the van the kids kept talking about how many blueberries they would have in their buckets...let's just say that there were a few buckets that lay empty in the end. :)

These two are only a couple months apart in age and have enjoyed being friends for a LONG time now. I love watching them grow up.

Chad and Thomas were lots of fun to talk to while we worked. They sure are growing up fast.

Heath and Katie seemed to enjoy playing towards the end of our time there. Heath says that she is his "best friend" and she is about as girly as you can get while he is about as true blue boy as you can get. So cute! :)

This was the only picture that I could get of the two older girls. Most of the time they were off picking together away from the boys and us parents. :)

Her poor hair was starting to get plastered upside her sweaty head and she hates grass. So all this made her a little unhappy until she found out that the bucket could be pretty entertaining.

Tyson was a determined picker and his bucket was the one that I had to pick the stems and not too ripe blueberries from the least. Way to go babe! ;) I always knew you'd come in handy one day.

We ended up leaving with 14 lbs. of blueberries for about $21 and made blueberry cobbler for a fun BBQ we had the next night with one of my dearest friends. It was a great cobbler and a great night! I will definitely be posting the recipe since all my kids loved it...even picky Bria.;)

Summer, Chores and Changing Bad Habits

2010-07-21T11:39:00.003-05:00

Summertime in the south means that if you are not getting wet during the day, you are ~~melting, sweating, basically dying~~ usually in the house because its too hot to do anything else. This also means that the house is harder to keep clean and in order. Which in turn drives me nuts and makes year round school look a bit more inviting. Ok not seriously that inviting, but you get the jest. So, I had to think about what it was that we would do to make summer fun for all involved.

Think, think, think. My kids love computer. I love when they do their chores. I crossbred the two ideas and VOILA the light bulb went off! They have to earn their computer time by doing chores. Every morning they are to make their beds, clean their rooms and get dressed. This in turn earns them 15 min. on the computer. Then there is a list of chores and things to do to earn more time, for the computer, taped on the fridge for all to see. They can load/unload the dishwasher (10 min), clean loft (10 min), 25 push-ups and 25 sit-ups (15 min), clean dog poop (25 min.~the amount of time still doesn't win them over to this chore) and there are a few more to choose from and do. This has worked out beautifully! Now the kids will do many of these on their own without me having to ask them. The house is in better shape and I am in a better mood. So we all end up winning in the end. ;)

Another problem that I needed to solve was getting the kids to flush the toilets because "someone" isn't. The reason I say "someone" is because no one will ever own up to who did it. Can be a bit frustrating. I didn't want to have the kids home from school all day long with that remaining a problem. It's bad enough I have to wipe the toilets down as much as I have to. So, once again I had another problem to solve so that we could all be a happy family.

After a few weeks, I finally had the idea that when I found an un-flushed (not sure that is technically a word, but it is now) toilet, that all were to drop and give me twenty! Twenty push-ups that is. Now I hardly ever find a toilet that isn't flushed, but man my kids not only have awesome forearms, but good form now. :) Even Bria has perfected her straight back, nose to the ground push up. It sure has made the days a little brighter when I walk into the bathrooms. Oh, the simple joys we parents can have. What have you done to make summer a little brighter at your house this summer?

Opinionated

2010-07-16T17:19:00.002-05:00

Not too long ago we were informed that around these parts of town we will have to dial an area code for even our local numbers. Not a HUGE deal, but can be a little annoying since we aren't used to it and it takes another few seconds of my blessed time *sheesh*. I mean aren't we supposed to be in a time where technology is going to save us TIME? :)

One afternoon Miss Bria told Heath the news in a disappointed, but matter of fact voice. Here was their dialogue...

Bria, "Heath, you HAVE to dial 256 first."

Heath with his rebellious squinty eyes, clearly not really believing her authority on the matter, "Why!?! Who said that? It's stupid!"

Rolling her eyes with hand on her hips she replied with a sigh, "Obama did it! He's always doing dumb stuff like that!"

So now you know...I am opinionated. It has clearly left its mark. But hey, I did explain that it really wasn't Obama on this one. It was a bureaucrat.

If you still haven't voted in the photography contest, you still can here! I am entry #1! It is of my kids right after swimming in my family's pond.