Living the Midwest Life....

Almost a month in ....

2012-01-24T08:51:00.000-08:00

Wow...hard to believe that we are almost a month into 2012 already. Since my last post I hosted Christmas for my family, hosted a New Yr's Eve celebration with some dear friends, celebrated my son's 9th birthday, went to the Bahamas for 5 days days sans children, celebrater my duaghter's 6th birthday, and to complete our whirlwind Janaury celebrated my husband's 34th birthday. WHEW! Who is worn down...THIS GIRL!
I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world but by the end of January I can hardly function!

So this week I've pulled out the old crockpot to help me with dinner. We are in the midst of swimming/diving season, dance, and basketball. By the time I get home from work some nights we barely have an hour before we have to walk right back out of the door. So I've decided to try and use my crock pot at least 2-3 times a week. Tonight's dinner is "Chicken in a Pot"

6 chicken breasts
1 envelope Italian dressing
6 oz. cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
4 oz. mushroom pieces

Cook chiekn sprinkled in dressing packet in crock pot for 6-8 hours on low. Do not add water. When done cooking, stir in rest of the ingredients, turn crock pot to high and heat through (about 30 minutes.) Serve of rice of noodles.

We will be eating ours over noodles since my husband and son don't eat rice.

11 Days and counting....

2011-12-14T06:10:00.000-08:00

Each morning my daughter wakes up so excited to take one more link off of her Christmas Bell....and every morning I get a little bit more panic in my system. Why is it that every year I feel like I'm ahead of the game until about 3 weeks before. My panic for today is a gift for my daughter's dance teachers (which up until last night I was thinking she only had one.) And what do you buy them? I'm thinking just a simple box of mixed chocolates. Then tonight after dance we start working on teacher gifts for Friday's party. Tomorrow night is making Christmas Whoopie Pies for my daughter's class and finishing up the rest of the teacher's gifts and getting things packed up and ready to go for Friday morning. Which I've decided to take them to school b/c I'm afraid the gifts nor the Whoopie Pies will look like they should by the time they get there. Did I mention that Friday is the kids last day of school for 2 whole weeks. That means my children will be hanging with me at work for the next two weeks. Not sure if that's good or bad.

I love this time of yr but it's approaching to quickly! I need about another month. Please?

I have failed tremendously.....

2011-11-16T10:58:00.001-08:00

I always have good intentions of blogging...but really the time just flies by these days. If I don't update my blog at work I never get it done. Yes I'm aware I shouldn't be doing it at work, but it happens. Oh come on...I'm sure you've done it at least once or twice. I can't be the only bad person..admit it. That's the first step.

So I supposed since I haven't caught with what I'm thankful I need to just make a list...I'll work on that and get back to you.

Grrrrr.....

2011-11-10T11:32:00.000-08:00

Dear Snow,

I did not...I repeat DID NOT need to see you already today. Yes I realize that the upcoming holiday season will be here before we know it, but I'm still not quite ready. The wind cut through us last night walking from Awana to the car. I hate that feeling. So please stay away a while longer...I'm ok with you in December/January/and early February, but that is all.

Signed,

An upset person.

One of these days....

2011-11-09T06:17:00.000-08:00

Day 7- I'm thankful for my extended family...My siblings, my nieces & nephews, etc etc. I have been through so much in my lifetime that I seriously would not have survived it without them. They have all been my rocks.

Day 8- Since I mentioned my extended family in the previous thanks..I'm going to talk about them separately...So the first person I'd like to say a special thanks is my sister, Robin. Robin is my best friend. When I was born she was 16 so we weren't close in age by any means so we didn't play dolls together or play dress up together. But through the yrs we have still been super duper close! And the older we get the closer we get. I thank God she is in my life. I wouldn't know what to do without my sister. She is always there for me. We talked almost everyday and some days more then once a day. Love her.

Day 9- My brother, Rod. I'm so thankful for him. Since I was born we've been really close. He is one that I can always go to for a chat. My mom always told me he would cancel his plans to babysit me. What a guy...not many brothers would do that. Most brothers are "too cool" to do that. Love him so much!

I'm AWFUL.

2011-11-07T06:06:00.000-08:00

I was away at a wedding this past weekend so here are a few days in a row!

Day 4- Halloween Candy- Yup I said it....a few days last week I couldn't have gotten through the day without. Now of course I'm ready for it to be gone.

Day 5- My friend, Jenn. She lives in Australia and is home for her sister's wedding. We can go weeks without talking but we reconnect like we haven't missed a day the second she gets home. Love that girl.

Day 6- My friend, Lyndi. Love that girl. Been best friends forever...our parents took the hospital tours together when our moms were pregnant with us. That girl knows more about me then anyone. She is the one person who can bring me instantly out of a bad mood. Love her!

Day 2 & Day 3

2011-11-03T07:04:00.001-07:00

Again....I'm behind so I'm posting two things I'm thankful in this post!

2.) God....In the past yr we have finally found a church where we feel like we fit in and the people there are just awesome. We have grown in our faith so much in the last yr I think. And the kids are part of a wonderful children's group.

3.) My parents....I lost my Mom about 4.5 yrs ago and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss her terribly. She was an amazing mother...I'm so thankful I got to spend almost 30yrs yrs with her. She passed away a week shy of my 30th birthday. My Dad is such an amazing father....he has helped me so much through the yrs and couldn't have been a better dad. I love him so so much!

30 Days of Thanks.....

2011-11-02T06:35:00.000-07:00

So yes I'm aware I'm a day late, so today I'll pose twice! I had not even thought about this but saw it on a friend's facebook page and thought it would be a great idea!

Day 1.) I'm thankful for my life...like being alive. It's a great thing. ;)

2011-09-30T11:51:00.001-07:00

Mother Nature is NOT happy!

Our New "Pet"

2011-09-14T07:30:00.000-07:00

Meet Chewbacca

My son starts 4-H this coming year and we already knew we were taking hogs, but he has decided he would like to take a steer. Makes this Momma a little nervous knowing that when he shows his steer he will weigh over 1200 MORE pounds then my little guy. I'll probably be shaking in my shoes the day of cattle show.

I enjoyed the fair this yr b/c I knew next year my days of running into the fair to grab a bite to eat and then going straight back home are OVER. I'll be spending my week at the fair for the next 10 yrs.

Let the journey begin......

Meal Planning...

2011-09-14T07:16:00.000-07:00

So I've still been meal planning but dummy me forgot to post about it. Sorry. It's been a crazy last two weeks.

This week we've had...

Monday- Ham Steak, Mashed Potatoes, green beans seasoned with Tastefully Simple's Seasoned Salt, rolls

Tuesday- Cubed Steak, Mashed Potatoes with gravy, corn, rolls

Wednesday- Dance Night Which means it's more of a throw together night due to not being home at supper time.

Thursday- Tator Toy Casserole, corn, applesauce

Friday- Grilling Night...Hopefully having some friends out to swim. Burgers/dogs on the grill, chips,

What's your routine?

2011-09-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

Do you have one? I know with school starting and schedules becoming more consistent that if I have a routine there is less yelling, arguing, and last minute running around to get things done before the kids rush off to the bus.

This yr it's been different for us because now both of my little ones are off to school. I'll admit it's running more smooth then I ever imagined. My daughter is the type that you NEVER know how she'll wake up. Great mood or horrible...you just never know.

What are some of the things you do to make your mornings run better?

Here are just a few things I try to do to make our mornings better.

1.) Bags are ALWAYS packed the night before so in the morning they are ready to go. Makes the last minute panic of forgetting something just disappear.

2.) Either have clothes laid out and ready to go or have the options laid out for the kids to pick. My son is pretty consistent on what he wears. He would actually wear the same five outfits each week if I'd let him. My daughter likes the idea of getting to choose. It makes it more of a game for her. If she gets a choice she is also gaining a little bit more responsibility.

3.) Keep breakfast simple. This yr a friend suggested making muffins in advance and tossing them in the freezer. I used to make a big production of breakfast and try to make it to fancy. Now we ask the night before what is for breakfast and have it ready when I wake them up. My daughter isn't much of a breakfast eater and we are trying to change that but for now a muffin and milk does the trick for her and I know that belly of hers is full when she gets on the bus.

Happy September!

2011-09-01T06:33:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe it is Septemeber already! This yr has really flown by....seems like yesterday we were just celebrating New Yr's. Am I ready for the holiday season...NOPE.I've got so much going on right now with life I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. I need to take time to breathe.

So far this week I've done great with the meal planning...Monday night changed a bit since I ended up going out of town with a friend to use some Old Navy coupons...but I just switched some things around for the rest of the week. Yeah me! :)

Here it goes.....Meal Planning Week 1

2011-08-29T06:12:00.001-07:00

Meal planning. It's something that I have good intentions doing and I have all the food for it I just can't seem to get in it in order and get it done. So today I'll start and see how long it lasts.

Monday- Steaks, sweet potatoes fries, corn, and rolls.

Tuesday- Spaghetti & Garlic bread

Wednesday- Crock pot Cubed Steak, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans, rolls.

Thursday- Tacos

Friday- Homemade pizza & breadsticks

What is on your menu for the week?

It's just around the corner....

2011-08-05T10:49:00.000-07:00

School starts in 6 days. EEK! I bought school supplies today...really....almost $100. WHAT?! What happened to the days where you brought crayons, glues, and scissors? Now it's a mixture of things. My kindergartner has to take highlighters...yup you read that right...HIGHLIGHTERS. WHY?! I understand that times have changed and things are advanced but I still don't understand highlighters for a kindergartner.

Happy August....

2011-08-02T07:41:00.000-07:00

Where did summer go? My kids both start school in 9 days. I'm quite saddened this yr...With one in 3rd grade and one just starting kindergarten I feel a little uneasy. There will be no more preschool programs, no more play dates or trips to Pizza Hut after preschool for lunch, no more cute art projects, or sweet Christmas gifts made out of fingerprints.

Where does the time go? With summer ending I look back and realize there was alot I had planned and just never got to it. Makes me sad...could I have balanced my time better and made it happen or was there just not enough hours in the day?

I sit with my date book in front of me and start planning our late summer and fall already. Before you know it you'll start seeing the Christmas countdowns. UGH.

I'm struggling....

2011-07-07T07:40:00.000-07:00

I was doing great in my weight loss and of course my weigh in following the 4th of July wasn't pretty and now I'm backtracking. :( UGH. You mind plays some pretty mean tricks on you.

So starting tomorrow I've decided even though my body feels like it needs a coke every morning to get me going that starting tomorrow there is no more. I'll start the day with a power booster smoothie and go from there. I'm drinking half my body weight in water which in turn will help keep me "full."

It will come off...It will come off.

Almost 10 years.....

2011-06-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

So I'm 43 days away from my 10 yr wedding anniversary....it's hard to believe that so much has happened in 10 yrs. We've seen it all. We had children, arguments, birthday parties, loss of loved ones, depression, family vacations, seperations, gained a few pounds, surgeries..... The list could go on and on. We've survived everything but still have our ups and downs.

As a women one of the biggest things that bother me when looking back at the hundreds of pictures taken since then is how different I look since the day I was married. I've put on a few pounds...I gained some while pregnant, lost some...then lost the rest when my mother passed away. Apparently being in shock and not eating will do that to you. Then after having my gall bladder out I've gained that plus some back on.

So I have 43 days til my ten yr anniversary....can you guess what my gift to myself will be?! Losing the weight I've gained and hoping to be back to my wedding day size.

I'm down one pound which isn't much but is a start.

Innocent and Overstepping.

2011-06-21T07:46:00.000-07:00

There are people out there in the world that no matter what never wanna see you happy. There are people out there that are always the victim. There are people out there that play everyone around them. Play the innocent one. There are people out there that no matter what never wanna seem like a bad person. There are people out there that are two faced. Sadly they are everywhere.

Are you supposed to be a doormat and let everyone walk all over you. Apparently.

Respect....where is it anymore?

People AMAZE me.

It's been awhile...

2011-06-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

Where does time go?! It's been since April since I last posted. I was going to start this blog post with how much fun I had on vacation, but then I realized that my last post was about vacation. See in March I took a trip to see my sister for her birthday. Alone with no husband or children. And the beginning of June I went on just a vacation with the husband and the children. So now all it looks like I do is vacation. :) Trust me it isn't....I wish...but it isn't.

Life has been busy...The kids got out of the school the last week of May, baseball started up mid-May, we finished dance with a recital at the beginning of May, and now the pool is open. Can we add another?!

My garden is yet to be planted. The weeds in my flowerbeds have yet to be pulled. And we have rain about every other day. UGH.

Planting season for our farm was a nightmare. It went well into June. But now everything is in the ground and now we wait for harvest season.

Picture blog is next......

Ugh.

2011-04-05T07:06:00.000-07:00

Coming back from vacation has been rough. Feels like I've been gone for yrs. I hate that feeling. And knowing that I have so much stuff ahead of me in the next few weeks/months makes it even worse.

Have you ever just wanted to make things STOP for just a few minutes in order to catch your breath? That is how I'm feeling these days. Ever wanna go back in time and start fresh. I know we learn from everything we do and it supposedly makes us a better stronger person, but sometimes I just want to start over from day 1.

Still recovering...but better.

2011-04-02T16:14:00.000-07:00

So today is the first day since coming back from vacation that I haven't felt like a zombie. Could be because I slept til 10:15...yup I was a slacker today. But as my mom always said, "Well if you slept that late then you needed it." So I'm going with that today.

So as I spent most of the day lounging I finally got up and decided to do something...what crazy thing you ask? Cleaning. WHY?! I've been sweeping, laundry, and picking up. Why does my house always look like 50 people live here instead of 4?

My kids are on vacation this week, and you don't even wanna know how many times I've been told that things are boring around here. They have no idea and it's only day 2 of spring break. Lord help us all.

Why do you always feel like you need a vacation from your vacation?

2011-04-01T10:44:00.001-07:00

I arrived home from Las Vegas two days ago and I still feel like I've been hit by a truck. I had a ton of fun and love depending time with me family so that all makes up for it but I'm ready for the jet lag and the sickness to go away. I picked up a cold while out there and I'm over that as well. Ugh.

So today starts a new month..has anyone had any April Fool's jokes played on them today?

How is 2011 treating you so far?!

2011-01-06T10:15:00.000-08:00

We are 6 days into 2011 and I already feel like I'm "better" then I was in 2010. I'm more involved in my church, I'm working out, I'm drinking way less soda, I'm getting more sleep, and I could go on and on. That's how my 2011 is going.

This weekend is my oldest's birthday. So hard to believe that he is going to be 8. Makes me sad b/c within a few yrs I won't be "cool" anymore and he'll choose to do things other then hanging with Mom. I won't be the cool one to hang with anymore..he'll have friends to do that with. I've cherished all this time with him so much and I can already see him growing into a young man.

Where does time go?

2011-01-05T06:23:00.000-08:00

So my plan was to blog everyday and so far I've struggled. My life doesn't go back to normal til February I find myself struggling to get Christmas stuff away just in time to plan 3 birthday parties in January...so instead of getting completely back to normal this week I've spent my week putting Christmas away and preparing my home for 4 boys that will be staying with us Friday night to celebrate Grant's birthday. Then for our family party on Sunday. Only to tell everyone as they leave that we will see them in a few weeks for my daughter's party as well as my husband's. I'm ready for a long break come February 1st! I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world but really where does time go?

Happy 2011

2011-01-01T09:54:00.000-08:00

But really...how many people in this world came into 2011 with happiness? Last night drinks were passed and kisses were shared but then after the five minutes of screaming Happy New Yr most people went back into that same mode they were before the left to go to their New Yr's Eve party. Life isn't always happy.

As I embark on the new yr I'm trying my best to look at it in a new light. Each yr I set my resolutions and then something upsets me and I throw them out. So this yr I have goals and ideas in mind that quietly I'm going to work on. Why broadcast your choices only to have someone point out later that you failed. Besides if only you know then you can only disappoint yourself, right?

So I welcome you to the new yr and hope that all your goals are quietly made so you can be proud of yourself down the road for accomplishing them .

God has blessed me with so much this past yr. Many things need to be worked on and in time it will.

Welcome to 2011.

I feel the earth move under my feet......

2010-12-30T06:27:00.000-08:00

We had an earthquake this morning. The epi-center was 25 miles south of where we live. Looks like the earth is ready to kick off the new yr as well.

Have you ever really been lost on the net?

2010-12-29T06:52:00.000-08:00

About a month ago my computer crashed at work...I've felt a little "net" lost ever since. I lost all my blogs that I follow, all my email addresses, the list could go on and on. I've stumbled across some of the ones I had saved but for the most part I've lost them. Ugh! It was like 5 yrs worth of blogs, websites, etc. SO apparently I need to make a list offline to stop this from happening again. Do you use a system for saving all of this stuff either online somewhere or just a list offline in general. If so let me know what it is. I'd love to know!

Whew!

2010-12-28T08:16:00.000-08:00

Wow...what a weekend. I'm in the midst of recovering from a long Christmas weekend. What a great weekend it was....but I ask...Why in the world do all toys have to be securely fastened to the boxes they come in by 1400 little twistie ties, clamps, etc etc. I mean really....I know they are worried about people stealing stuff out of the boxes but come on....the excitement is gone by the time the toy actually gets out of the box. Not to mention how many times I'm going to have to stop sweeping in order to pluck yet another clear twistie tie out of my sweeper. Maybe they will all be picked up by I don't know....next Christmas. They lurk in corners until you put your sweeper away and then BAM! I find more or should I say my sweeper finds more.

Now the thoughts linger on when I'm taking the Christmas stuff down...I'm sad about doing so. Once everything is packed away things go back to normal. Which isn't bad of course, but the "excitement" of the holidays is gone.

So now it's time to focus on the new yr and all the many resolutions that we will all break by the 2nd of January. Remember last week I said I'm just making goals...no resolutions. My list is already piling up with ideas. Getting into better shape, cooking healthier meals, having more patience with my kids, taking more time for myself....oh the list goes on and on. What's on your list for next yr?

4 days.

2010-12-20T12:34:00.000-08:00

WOW....Are you finished shopping? Do you have everything wrapped? Gifts sent to places they need to be? What about your holiday cooking and baking? I'm not sure about everyone else but time for me is getting away from me. I need about 10 more hours in the day. Tonight is chex mix and icing Christmas cookies and hopefully finishing Christmas cards and wrapping a few more things that I just "happened" to find. Breathe Rhonda, you must breathe. And really I'm not sure why I feel so scattered b/c this yr I'm actually ahead of the game...last yr I started wrapping on Christmas Eve and was up til 2. When I was little I can remember my parents wrapping until the wee hours it seemed. But this yr I've done better...but I really need to finish it up. I cringe when I go into my bedroom b/c I really have stuff everywhere. I'm not kidding it really looks like a tornado went through my bedroom. Laundry needs done and put away...oh I could list a million things "to do" but as we learned in church this past Sunday we need let it go. All those things we feel that MUST BE DONE can wait. You need to sit back and think about the real reason for the season.

Happy wrapping. :)

Are you done shopping?!

2010-12-14T07:44:00.001-08:00

So how many more days til Christmas? I always start out awesome in my gift buying, but every yr I hit rock bottom with hurrying around at Christmas for last minute stuff. I have enough gifts for my daughter to cover her next 4 christmas' and birthdays. My son not so much. As much as I think I'm ahead of the game with him I'm not. My house is a total train wreck right now trying to get things around to send to family out west, trying to get things wrapped around here. And trying to get my kids energy levels controlled b/c though they still have school til Friday they have already checked out for Christmas break. Not to mention fitting in speech, dance, and working around my husband's coaching job which makes him gone 5 nights a week and some saturdays. Did I mention it's all volunteer. I love that he enjoys it but it'd be nice to get something in return when he puts that much time and effort into it.

Each yr I swear I'll do better next yr. I'll be more with it. But then Thanksgiving hits and it is all down hill from there. So what are your tips? How do you get organized every yr for the holiday season?

It's Christmas Time

2010-12-10T10:56:00.000-08:00

Again where has time gone. It seems as though I just wrote the blog on harvest season! I honestly can't tell you when I've had an hour to myself with nothing to do. It seems about the time I think my schedule is going to slow down it just piles right back on.

I've already started my New Yr's Resolutions...is that bad? That I can already think of things that I was bad at this yr and want to do better next yr.

And again one promise I've made my self is to be a better blogger...hmmmmmm can that actually happen. I always say I'm going to write then nothing. EEK! Let's just see......

Harvest is here!

2010-09-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

Wow...harvest season is upon us...normally by now I've caught the kids in a picture riding with their Dad in some form of farm equipment. Usually the combine...for my 7 yr old it's becoming the only thing exciting to him anymore. Now my daughter will go in ANYTHING with wheels...heck if we had horses hooked to something she would ride. She wouldn't care one bit. I think it's her age. So anyways...a pic is to come. One of these nights I'll get one. Promise.

Right now we are mid-season in soccer...Boy it's been a change for Gracie this season. She spent spring soccer on my lap and crying this fall season she LOVES it. . Grant is all over it. He is a pretty awesome soccer player...maybe the next David Beckham?! If his Dad has anything to do with it he'll be playing for the Cubs one day. Here are the kids last weekend during picture day...How cute are they?!

Besides soccer we do dance as well for Gracie....And boy oh boy is she into it this yr. Last yr we were hesitant...this year..WATCH OUT. She is all over it.

What's exciting in my life....I've been canning my little heart away this summer/fall with pasta sauce, salsa, pears, and hopefully sometime soon apples. No pictures of that...maybe one of my shelves once I get everything put away. I know I know...the excitement for me is crazy. :)

Summer's Over.

2010-08-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

Whew! Hard to believe summer is over already. Our summer was spent at the ball diamond. Our son was asked to play on the All Star team so we spent all of July traveling on the weekends. Boy was I glad to see that season wrap up!

Now they have been in school almost 3 weeks already. I've been busy canning, we are getting in the fields shortly for harvest, and soccer season is upon us. Oh did I mention dance. YIKES!

Trying to get organized...yeah I still feel like I live in a three ring circus.

2010-06-29T11:45:00.001-07:00

Can you guess where I'm going tonight?! We leave in just a few hours for a girls night! Can.Not.Wait

The Month of May....

2010-05-05T10:37:00.000-07:00

I hate it but kinda sorta have love for it. There are reasons to celebrate but also it was a time of sadness for me as well. On May 13th, 2007...Mother's Day that year...I lost my Mom. So I have a HUGE reason to hate the month of May. But on May 22, 1977 I was born so there is reason to celebrate. I try to find a happy medium in the month of May. But some days it's hard. My children keep me busy right now that I don't have much downtime which is nice. Mother's day isn't something I celebrate these days. I realize I'm a mother and that my children need to celebrate that with me but I quickly go back three years ago and remember waking up to my husband telling me I needed to call my Dad. It was like a light switch...I knew what had happened if I needed to call my Dad on Mother's Day. I can remember that day like it was yesterday. A little over a week later it was my birthday...I could have skipped it that yr but my sister planned something for me b/c she knew my mom would have and she wasn't about to let me miss out.

So this May I'm hoping it's different. I'm letting my kids have control of my Mother's Day. I might be eating peanut butter and jelly...or doing puzzles all day but in my house we are going to celebrate Kid's Day. I'll never look at Mother's Day the same...I was supposed to be celebrating my mother but instead was grieving the loss of.

So happy May. And to all you mothers out there....well enjoy your day the best way you know how. And if your with your mother this Mother's Day give her an extra hug and kiss. You just never know when she won't be there to give that hug or kiss to.

Do you ever wish....

2010-04-30T18:56:00.000-07:00

You could cram just a few more hours in the day or sign up for a personal assistant.

That really is how I've felt these last few weeks. For months now I've done Zumba 3 times a week for me. Then springtime hit us and with that comes sports, planting season, and always wanting to be outdoors. We are finishing up dance and starting up baseball for one soccer for another. We are still planting crops and then hubby has his love of golf. So busy is all we are right now.

I've got loads of pictures to put on here but when will I get that done..ummm not for awhile. Stories to tell..ya not happening either. Maybe someday soon.

I'm still hoping for a date with my husband that doesn't involve a banquet of any type. Just a nice night out for dinner and a movie.

28 hours in a day isn't bad isn't it?!

Vote for Luke!

2010-04-14T09:30:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! I'm a huge Luke Bryan fan so follow this link, watch the video, and vote!! He's an amazing artist!

http://www.lukebryan.com/index.php?page=vfhome&id=be2d2f4d2530019207fcf66934202bf2

Spring is upon us.

2010-04-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here looking at my office window admiring how gorgeous it looks and how I can't wait to get home to get outside. I'm hoping the cold spells are past us and spring will stick around. Last week I thought possibly we skipped spring and went straight to summer...but b.c the mid-west had such crazy weather it was freezing a few days later.

My son reminded me he only has 33 more days of school. YIKES! Really that is it til summer vacation...what am I going to do with them all summer long. :( Daycare, Y summer program, decisions decisions.

Welcome spring!

Surgery.

2010-02-22T08:09:00.000-08:00

Not me this time...but my son. We have to be at the hospital tomorrow morning @ 7 so he can get his tonsils and adnoids out. Fun. My son isn't the greatest patient EVER...even with a minor cold you would think one of his limbs were missing. It's horrible. So think of us while I deal with a sickie for the next week and a half. That boy will get whatever he wants I'm telling ya. If Grant stays happy then mommy stays happy.

7 inches of snow.

2010-01-08T08:47:00.000-08:00

is what we got yesterday. Making me totally forget to post. I'm sorry..so I'll make it up..I'll post yet another today.

They called school out early due to the snow fall. It snowed well into last night. Roads were pretty decent this morning. craziness. I'm ready for spring...but sadly I get the feeling it's going ot be a long hard winter. :( Boo!!

Robert Pattinson Fan....

2010-01-06T09:48:00.000-08:00

Ok I know right now get all the teasing out of your system. I get alot of grief for thinking he is such a cutie. Really I could blame my niece for all of it. She got me started on this crazy Twilight Saga craze.

Vanity Fair recently did a photo shoot with him for their Dec '09 issue and I just had to share these. They truly show what a cutie he is. All of these slides are directly from the Vanity Fair website.

www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2009/12/robert-pattinson-outtakes-A-200912#slide=1"

www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2009/12/robert-pattinson-outtakes-C-200912#slide=1

www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2009/12/robert-pattinson-outtakes-D-200912#slide=1

www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2009/12/robert-pattinson-outtakes-E-200912#slide=1

I've tried setting these up as links but it won't let me...sorry. You'll have to cut and paste.

Look through these and come on admit it...there is a little bit of you that think he's a cutie.

The Bachelor-Jake

2010-01-05T12:03:00.000-08:00

So how many of you watched it? I dvr'd it b/c I decided that cleaning my laundry room was more important at the time. But don't get me wrong...once 10 o'clock rolled around I was right there watching and folding laundry.

What were your opinions? Did you have any favorites? At first I liked Rozlyn but I'm not 100% sure she'll play fair. SO far I think my favorite is Tenley. By the looks of it there are plenty of surprises this season. One thing I was relieved about last night is that Jake didn't seem as "cheesy and goody goody."

One thing I'd like to request....the girls need to stop referring to themselves as his co-pilot. Drives.Me.Crazy.

Ugh.

2010-01-05T10:57:00.000-08:00

Why is it when you think something sounds so good b/c you haven't had it in awhile you go ahead get it and then feel sick the minute you eat it. Today as I was driving through town Long John Silvers sounded good. So I stopped got a piece of fish, brought it back to work, ate, and now I feel totally gross. So I was debating the gym tonight but really it's a must now. That one piece makes me feel about 300 pounds heavier. Well at least I got the temptation out of my system that no longer sounds good. EVER.

So far I'm doing great on my meal planning...I did end up switching things around a bit...I fixed the Meatloaf last night instead of reheating the leftovers. I ended up being home so I wanted to actually fix something instead of doing leftover. Tonight we'll finish up the leftovers for the last two nights.

Monday Meal Planning...

2010-01-04T10:03:00.000-08:00

So with the new year of course our schedule doesn't slow down. So these days I'm trying to make it to where I can reheat the leftovers. And when it's winter time I always try to have things ready for my husband to eat for lunch. He works outside at times in the winter so I'd hate for him to have cold meat sandwiches for lunch.

Monday-Leftover Roast and potatoes from Sunday's dinner...recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook I received for Christmas. Only difference is I put the roast and veggies in the crock pot instead of the own. I did make one change in the recipe...I added my potatoes instead of making mashed. Is there anything I'd do different next time...cut back to just one onion. It was two "onion-y" for my families tastes.

Tuesday- Meat Loaf and Mashed Potatoes

Wednesday- Macaroni and Cheese with hot dogs, PearSauce

Thursday- Sloopy Joes & French Fries

Friday-Pizza!! My son's 7th birthday is today so we'll be heading out with him and one of his friends!

I'm trying to eat more healthy in the new year so most nights I'll be eating a salad for dinner. :)

The first week of the year....

2010-01-03T08:00:00.001-08:00

So today starts the first full week of the new year. Today for me is the day when I start getting things organized for the new year. It's almost like today starts the new year for me. Last year I did really well for awhile with my weekly meal plans so I've decided to try it again this year. Tonight I'll work on my meal plans and post later tonight for the week. I've already got a roast in the crock pot now! Meal planning is just one way to help me be more organized.

My son starts back to school tomorrow...so we'll get organized tonight about what is in store for the week. He swears he isn't ready to go back but I'm guessing once he gets settled in tomorrow he'll be excited for the new year. I know I'm not looking forward to getting up at 6:30. :( It's been nice sleeping in til 7:30.

Another goal of mine for the new year is simply trying to slow down. It seems like I'm always so scattered. I'm going to try and cut on things and try to enjoy like a little more. Spend more time doing nothing but hanging with my kids. That's really important...and also trying to get just "ME" time. Last year I did a few things for myself but honestly it just wasn't enough. I wanna get back to doing the things I love.

Gotta get back to putting Christmas stuff away. UGH!

A long day....

2010-01-02T11:50:00.001-08:00

So I kept my promise to myself and went to the gym this morning. And man did it feel GREAT! It was crowded as ever though. Even had to skip the treadmill and use the wave machine b/c I the wait for the treadmills were crazy and I couldn't wait. SO hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to hit them.

Did any of you set resolutions? If so what were they?

Today is a day of packing of Christmas, meal planning, cleaning up toys, and organizing.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T05:57:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone!!! And Welcome 2010!

So hard to believe that 2009 is here and gone but I'm looking forward to 2010. I've already got a few things planned that I never thought I'd be doing. But I'm excited about the outcome. Details to follow....

I wish all of you a wonderful New Year. I'm spending by first day of 2010 cleaning. Fun stuff huh?!

I was on Twitter last night and caught Brad Paisley's last Tweet of 2009. It was amazing I'd like to share.

"Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 book, write a good one." So today my friends start writing your book and make it a good one!

A new Me...kinda

2009-12-07T09:04:00.000-08:00

So I started my workout program this past weekend. Is it just age that makes you feel gross or do you really just let yourself go over time. I'm beginning to feel as though I'll be sporting "mom jeans" if I don't do something. But all I know is that it's frustrating. 5 weeks ago tomorrow I had my gall bladder removed so during you recovery time you just sit and do nothing...or if you do something it's very little. Besides what can you really do when your limited to lifting nothing over 10 pounds. So last week I was released and I've decided to step up and take care of myself. I'm still restricted from eating high fat/fried foods. Do I crave them..um not really. Once in a while I'll smell something driving by a restaurant that you know is something fried and it smells heavenly, but the desire to rush into the restaurant and demand it quickly passes for me. So for me being restricted this long is AWESOME.

I'm set up on a 3 day a week program...even after one day I find myself trying to find an extra hour to sneak back in and work out. Tonight is an off night for me. Tomorrow night I'm attempting Zumba. I love to dance but some reason the thought of Zumba scares me. Then Wednesday is strength training...I'm thinking about making this a really early workout hoping I don't run into anybody I know. Don't wanna be embarrassed when I can only lift 5 pounds with my arms. HA!! I'm kidding. I think.

SO it's a 6 week program....hopefully by then I'll notice a bit of difference in me. Besides I have a pile of jeans in my room waiting to be worn again....and a mind that is determined to not throw them out b/c they don't fit. It'll happen in time. I will fit back into those jeans. :)

Recovery

2009-11-12T10:34:00.000-08:00

I had surgery. Nothing emergency....my gall bladder had to come out. I've had a odd rock like feeling under my right rib cage for awhile now so I finally broke down and went to the doctor.

I wonder if it is age that sends you to the doctor more as you get older. I constantly worry about getting sick with something. But this one worried me. Why in the world would I feel like I have a rock stuck under my ribcage. So I headed to the doctor. After explaining some of my problems I was having my doctor looked at me and said, "I bet it's your gall bladder." I sat dumbfounded really b/c I would have never thought of that. I seriously thought much worse then that. So I went in and had an ultrasound done and it showed no stones but tenderness in the area so I went in for a scan that measures how fast a certain high fat fluid that is injected through an i.v. into your system travels through your organs. Results were in...my gall bladder was only functioning at 29.5%. The cut off is between 30-35. So I sat right there on the fence. The surgeon my doctor sent me to had me take antacids for 30 days to see if it was more of a stomach issue that was maybe triggering the gall bladder to act up. I'll admit I didn't take the antacids right away but my dad asked me every other day or so if I had taken any yet...so after a week or so I broke down and started taking them. Did they work? NO. I at the end of the 30 days I went into my doctors office to meet with the surgeon and we had a date. A surgery date that is. November 3rd. The same day that my mom would have been 69 years old. I had mixed feelings about having surgery on that day. It made me sad sorta. But it also made me think that no matter what my Mom would never let anything bad happen to me on her birthday. SO we went ahead....

It's now been a little over a week since surgery. I'm feeling better then I was a week ago I can tell ya that. My biggest challenge in all of this is that I'm wiped out tired all the time. I'm a busy person and not being able to go about my normal routine is driving me nuts.

So I've had to reorganize my life a little bit. maybe that was what I needed to do anyways.

A Proud Moment...

2009-10-14T09:02:00.001-07:00

So I'm totally patting myself on the back today. I know some of you have probably been doing this for MONTHS maybe even years. But I finally made it a point to do it. I went to Wal-Mart with my family last night and used my own grocery sacks!! :) I had got 2 pink ones from a breast cancer walk this weekend and then my best friend, Holly, gave me two more different pink ones about supporting breast cancer research. So I pack my four bags up and off we went to the store. My husband informed me he needs different ones that weren't pink. Oh well...he'll get past that. HA!!

life is hard.....

2009-08-19T07:15:00.000-07:00

So I sit here trying to decide what to write about in today's blog. I've had such great times with my sister who is home visiting but do I share my stories or no?. SO I write about life in general. Plain and simple....it's rough. Somedays it's just not fun being an adult.

There is alot of drama in my life right now. Some of you who that know me personally know that a few years back I had some people in my life that I just decided didn't need to be a part of my life. They carried to much drama with them. It's been about 18 months since we've been "friends" and it's been nice. Not having to worry about either one of them saying this or that. It's been real nice. Well now drama has came up from some other areas. So I'll just say this. People amaze me. Friends or family, blood related or not...the knife still inserts and turns to dig deeper. No matter if it sacrafices a family connection to do so.

Life is hard. People Amaze me.

A great weekend!

2009-08-17T09:48:00.000-07:00

My sister and her husband came last Thursday for a visit. My brother in law flew home yesterday but my sister is here til FRIDAY! We had a nice relaxing weekend. I canned veggies most of the day saturday and froze corn yesterday but got to spend a majority of the day in the pool. I'm glad I did. Today it's rained most of the day. I look out my office window and what do I see? RAIN...POURING DOWN RAIN.

I'm a bad blogger I know....

2009-08-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

WOW. It's been forever. And what is so sad is that I've done SO MUCH that I could have been blogging this whole time. But I have not. So sorry. I'll do better this time I promise. I have tons of pictures downloaded to my computer so I'll be better. And I've got quite the system now with my new camera. So I promise I'll be better.

My biggest news is that my sister and brother in law are coming for a visit tomorrow. Am I excited?....I am BEYOND excited!! I just saw my sister and her family in February when hubby and I were blessed through is work with a trip out west and we were able to take the kids. So this will be the second time I've seen her this year. AND I'll be seeing her again in October! How cool is that. I can't really say when the last time I've seen my sister 3 times in one year. Probably like junior high maybe. And that was a long.time.ago.

Tomorrow is the 1st day of school. WOW. Where did summer go. Grant has continued to amaze me all summer long. He's been my office buddy all summer long and even though we had are fights I'm going to miss not having him in my office!

So anyways....I'll post tomorrow and fill you in on what is to come. It's exciting.

Good night.

Garage Sale days.....

2009-06-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

So this weekend my husband's extended family and I decided to do a garage sale....I love garage sales...my husband yeah not so much. He hates that he has to be the one who drags everything down from the upper part of the barn. I love him for that b/c I for one couldn't do that.

So I spent the week pricing and digging clothes out of my kid's closets. DONE! So last night starting right after work I started setting up. By the end of the night my sil, niece, nephew, nephew's girlfriend, husband, another cousin, and kids (well they supervise) had all helped set up and get things finished for our 8 a.m. opening today.

Now mind you the cousin who was putting her stuff at our house also has a little girl a size bigger then Gracie. PERFECT! I ended up pulling $40.00 in her stuff out...now hubby doesn't get it b/c he thinks then having a garage sale was pointless b/c all the money I made I give to her...BUT he doesn't get (is it b/c he's male?) that really I just saved us a ton more b/c if I would have bought all that stuff at a store then it would have cost us a fortune more. DUH! Not to mention I have a little girl so won't let go of a certain set of glitter slippers. He week has been made! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

A little pick me up....

2009-06-04T11:42:00.000-07:00

I've been just working away and a client that was in my father's office came through on the way out and told me what a wonderful job I do. He also told me that I light up my office when I smile! Awww...how nice was that. It's little things that make the day go by better. There needs to be more people like that in the world.

Enjoy life....take time.

A new leaf.....

2009-06-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

So I'm always trying to find one more simple task to be more organized. So I think now I'll start my weekly meal planning back up. Lately it seems I've fixed enough spaghetti, sloppy joes, or hamburgers more then anything. Summertime is hard b/c we stay outside until late but then my kids don't eat til late. We focus more on swimming and the garden then dinner. But maybe if I'd be more organized for dinner then I could just come hope pop in the the oven or on the stove and then we could eat early and get back outside.

Wish me luck...starting Monday I'll post my weekly meal menu. :) If anyone has any tips please post them. I'm always up for suggestions!

Long time to post...I was reminded! ;)

2009-04-23T07:16:00.000-07:00

So I went to Indianapolis last weekend for the Susan Komen Race for the Cure. I spent Friday afternoon with my friend, Pam, whom lives in the area. This is us....

It was such a nice afternoon...a warm, sunny day. We don't get those very often yet, so we cruised downtown to pick up my team packets for the Race for the Cure. Then headed back up towards her house. Once her son got off the bus we chatted a bit more then loaded the kiddies up in the van and headed to a fabulous restaurant, Ram, to meet her husband for dinner. And thank you both again for dinner! It was so yummy!! And Pam in case you didn't know there is one right downtown by Circle Center. I found it walking to Houlihan's for lunch on Saturday. :)

After dinner we went are separate ways...they had small group and I had to meet my co-captain for our team. It was a great evening and as we promised we will be getting back together soon!

I'll be posting soon about our Race for the Cure walk. It was an amazing time and I'm looking forward to building my team and raising more money next year!! :)

Leaving on a jet plane....

2009-02-13T14:02:00.000-08:00

Yes my friends...I actually logged on to post that I'll be taking a vacation....so that means no blogging once again. I apologize...I mean well but life has just been busy. But when I get back I'll be able to post some pics from the trip. I'm traveling to see family. Did I mention I'm not a fan of flying. I'm nervous nelly until we are in the air. Think of me...I've been sick all week so I'm flying while under the weather...which is kinda funny since I'll be flying in the weather as well. hehe

Anyways....have a great week.

I just love....

2009-01-07T07:34:00.001-08:00

the fact that my daughter woke up this morning and wanted to watch the "Walt Disney Christmas Day Parade." She knows we have saved on the DVR. I love the fact she shrieks in excitement when she watches all the characters come down the street. How she screams "Arella" (this is her name for Cinderella) when she can see her on the float. And she also tells me that is it her. How sweet is that?

The love for Disney runs deep in our family. My husband refers to my sister and I as Disney freaks. We both become giddy with excitement the minute we hit the front gates. But who doesn't really? If your all "tough guy" when you hit the gates then you really aren't letting your inner child run free. That isn't healthy. ;) My brother has a Disney room in his house, I've had a Disney bathroom as well as my sister. Now my basement is on it's way to becoming a Disney basement.

But really...it almost brings tears to my eyes to see my daughter watch the parade. I can't wait to take her back to the Magic Kingdom. Hopefully within a year or so. :) Growing up my parents took all of us to Disney many times. Though I'll admit my first pic with Mickey I'm SCREAMING trying to get away from him. But since then I've been back many times. Each time even more excited and giddy to walk through the gate.

I promised Gracie we'd finish watching the parade once we got home tonight as she was crying when we left b/c she wanted to take the parade with her.

**pictures of the holidays and new yr's coming soon. I've had some issues with getting my pictures off my camera but finally conquered it so they are soon to come!

I fell off the blogging wagon.

2009-01-02T15:14:00.000-08:00

So I fell off. But I'm back now AND with a super sweet new digital camera. So tonight once I settle in for the night I plan on updating my readers. All 5 of them (maybe) with my life in the last three weeks.

I hope everyone had a great new year. I'll post some pics of our evening in with some of my siblings.

The baby is here!!

2008-12-11T06:53:00.001-08:00

My niece finally had her baby last night via c-section. Caden was born last night weighing in at a VERY healthy 10lbs. 50z. & 20.5 inches long. I've gotten a pic of him but it's through my phone but he is adorable. Thank goodness when I buy baby clothes I buy them a size bigger or so then needed. He won't fit into small sizes for very long. I always teased my sister for birthing the biggest baby that I've known. My niece was 9lbs 15.5 ozs. And now my niece has beaten my sister. Showing off to out do her mom...ha!!

Props to my niece!! Congrats Miss Megan...I love you very much!! You will be a FABULOUS mother!!

Whooohhhoooo!!

2008-12-09T20:08:00.000-08:00

A baby is finally on it's way. My niece is at the hospital while we speak being induced!! Looks like I will FINALLY get to "meet" the baby...via the internet of course. But at least this pregnancy is almost over. My niece has had a rough last few weeks. Little stinker doesn't want to come out...at 41 weeks my niece is READY to deliver!

So everyone say a little pray for her this evening for a quick, natural, safe, and wonderful delivery! I'll post about my new niece or nephew is soon I here!

Presents under the tree and children DO NOT MIX!

2008-12-08T20:20:00.000-08:00

So I've trying to be good and wrap a little bit each night just so I have a handle on what all I need, what is still missing etc. Well my great niece's present has no been re-wrapped twice and it's waiting to be wrapped again but b/c I'm sick of wrapping it it's gonna sit there until the weekend...lol

Grant jumped over the back of the couch onto my coffee table...Ok first off note that he shouldn't have been jumping over the back of the couch to begin with, secondly not directly on my coffee table. Making him step on the present and break the wrapping. Then he tears it a little more to make sure it's nothing for him.

Then Miss G helps herself to it the next night all b/c it's wrapped in Winnie the Pooh paper so she just assumes it's hers. The same night we wrapped gifts for their dad. Well tonight as I'm coming out of the laundry room Miss G is standing there looking at me all innocent. SHe mumbles something, grabs my hand and leads me to the living room. To show me......

THE PRESENT FOR HER DAD THAT SHE HAD UNWRAPPED!!! And then she picks it up and twirls around with it. What the heck! SO now that present has now been chucked into the closet until a later time.

Next year I'm wrapping empty boxes for under the tree. I HATE not having gifts under the tree.

Oh yeah and there still isn't a baby. I think that baby has decided it doesn't want Christmas gifts this year...hehe

An attempt at Christmas cards...

2008-12-08T10:55:00.001-08:00

Here is a sneak peek at some of the shots I took for our Christmas cards. None of the shots taken here are even close to the one I used, so the real one is still a surprise. But I had to share these b/c they are just to darn funny. Gracie was a nut during these pics. My camera flash goes off two times taking the actual picture during the second flash. Well after the first one went off Gracie would scream "I wanna see, I wanna see" So that is way in every single picture she looks like a total goofball. She was so excited she couldn't stand it. :) Poor Grant was getting so mad b/c he was so sick of taking pictures. And he was doing excellent on his smiling so that frustrated him even more...ha!! Enjoy.

I loved this one in front of the fireplace, but after taking the picture I realized I never put there shoes on them, so we nixed that shot.

Hugs and squeezes for bubby. If only they loved each other that much all the time. ;)

Winter Weather Advisory.

2008-12-06T15:12:00.000-08:00

YUCK! Today we had my husband's huge christmas with the entire side. WOW....talk about a madhouse. There are now 17 great grandchildren. All under the age of 11. EEK! Neeless to say when I got home I enjoyed the loudness of just my TWO children. :)

The trip home was interesting...even with our four wheel drive it scared me somewhat. No big drifts or anything, but just slick roads. It's been snowing all day and it's now starting to get super nasty. I'm thankfull we have no place to go tomorrow as I really dont' feel the need to venture out. :( I would have loved to done a little Christmas shopping as I really need to get the stuff for my family outwest in the mail but it'll wait til mid week now. Though they are saying it could get down with the wind chill to the NEGATIVES. What the heck...I'm not ready for this cold of weather yet. January or February maybe but not the first of december. Though I'd love a Christmas with LOTS of snow! :) Can I possibly have lots of snow and 80 degree weather?! Is that to much to ask?

So if you anywhere but the midwest enjoy your warmer weather. I took some pics over the last few days so I'll be downloading those tonight and I'll post a picture entry later.

Go grab a cup of hot chocolate and settle in by the fire. It's going to be a cold one tonight. bbrrrr!

OMGoodness....

2008-12-05T19:41:00.000-08:00

Ok so first off...still no baby. Apparently it just wants us to sit and wait impatiently...and make it's mommy miserable. :( Another appt next week but hopefully it's here by then. My brother-in-law said my niece could wait and just have it on his birthday....yeah that's the 12th. My niece wasn't real thrilled with that I don't think....hehe

So I decided to night that I really need to sit down and get started on my wrapping....yeah....so I'm the type that shops year round. None of this starting in October...yeah I start Christmas shopping the day after Christmas. I see something I know someone would like by the next year I buy it. Plain and simple. I'm all about finding a $25.00 item for $5. and I'm not afraid to share my bargain prices either.

SO this might have been the year where I shopped a little TOO early and played the mother card and forgotten about ALOT of stuff. OOPS! i'm finding sacks that I forgot I even bought! So wish me luck as I try and sort out what I have and what I'm still needing!

A baby maybe....

2008-12-03T20:05:00.000-08:00

So I'm a patient person to a point. But right now I'm being not so patient...hehe. My niece is expecting a baby and I'd really really like to "meet" it. Via the net of course since they don't live near. But still....the poor thing is now overdue and I know how miserable she is. I was overdue with Miss G. I never thought that kid was coming out!!

So tonight when I go to bed I'll say yet another prayer to her get that kid out. Did I mention we have no idea what it is. Which makes me crazy. Either way I have stuff to take back. lol When i see something I like b/c there is always that "what if it's not there when I come back to get it."

Well have a fantastic rest of the night. I'm home again tomorrow.

A peek in November, Part 1

2008-12-02T18:21:00.001-08:00

Ok so I've got way to many photos to share for the month of November! Hmmmm maybe if I'd post more I wouldn't have to blog in "parts" eh?!

Look closely in this pic...Grant lost his 1st tooth! The tooth fairy left him $5.00. Daddy says the tooth fairy leaves wwaayyy to much money!

This pic is for my sister! She should recognize this hat! I wore it when I was the flower girl in her wedding. Wait...did that just show your age or mine?! hehe ....Gracie insisted on wearing it and fighting people with a light saber! She's one tough cookie I tell ya!!

This is Grant showing off his Turkey, as a school assignment each student had to hide a turkey. And well it was just a simple thought that we needed to make him "camo." Now I should really say Mommy made him camo. Grant did about a 1/4 of it while I did the other. I even added boots, a bright orange sockhat, and binoculars. I apparently have way to much time on my hands...HA!

Both of the pics above and below go with this....These were on November 3rd. Which would have been my mother's 68th birthday. We do a balloon release and send her balloons in heaven. Now my sister knows this story and maybe my brother but Grant released the one that looked "boyish",Gracie didn't want to let her balloon go so I went ahead and released the pink heart. THinking she would want the really cute cupcake shaped balloon. Well i was wrong. She cried out of control b/c I sent the pink one to heaven and she wanted that one. Long story short.....we still have the cupcake shaped balloon in out house. Had I taken it from her and not let her keep I'm pretty sure my mother would have told God to strike me with lightening. HA!!

So there is a peek into our November, well part 1.

A new thing...

2008-12-02T13:30:00.000-08:00

So about mid-November I had decided that I was going to take the blogging world by storm and blog every single day in the month of December. Complete with pics and all. Today I realized it was already the 2nd of December. I missed a day already! My excuse...my daughter not feeling well. I was home sick with her yesterday and she is fighting what I think is a horrible sinus infection complete with gunky eyes and crackling cough. So I was a littl busy tending to her and kicking butt in the housecleaning dept. With only one kid around yesterday I got mucho cleaning done. Areas that I kept avoiding are now clean! :) yeah for me.

So ....tonight you will be blessed with yet another blog entry from me and maybe I'll throw in some pictures. Makes up for my day missed yesterday.

Til then....

Who loves giveaways?!

2008-11-24T08:03:00.001-08:00

I found this today from my friend, Kim. She had this link posted on her blog so I thought "Tip Junkie" just sounded way to cute! Who doesn't love "tips." I need one right now on how I can get my house clean for company coming tomorrow in just one short night of cleaning. Did I mention my kids follow behind me and mess up what I just cleaned? Anywho. They are having a 12 days of Junkie giveaway. Today I think is the actual last day. So sorry! Trust me I wish I could have gotten in on this a little sooner myself. They have given away a TON of cute stuff! So check it out @ www.tipjunkie.blogspot.com

But go ahead and enter today! Follow the instructions for entry. Come on if I can follow it so can you! :)

Then once you've entered click on some of the links on Tip Junkie...fair warning...have some time to do so. You'll find yourself being pulled in and wanting to read more!!

Good Luck!

Click on the button above to go straight to Tip Junkie where there is a SLEW of shops to by hand made items this year!

A little past due....Halloween Pics!

2008-11-06T19:24:00.000-08:00

So I'm a week late...so sorry. I've set down each night with a goal of typing a blog entry but then I get sidetracked. I had a big craft day with MOPS that I was in complete charge of so I was a little stressed this week. Did I mention is was a Spa Day "craft." So as I should have been relaxed and stress free over the whole thing I was the complete opposite. But now it's over and done with and now I have a chance to blog. So here it is.....

Halloween was GORGEOUS this year. Which I was thrilled with...since Grant's been a baby we've dealt with wearing our winter coats, wearing a rain coat, getting blown away from high winds, and whatever else weather can possibly do. But this year it was different. It was in the high 6o's,sunny, and no wind. We did our normal stops as usual. Course our trick-or-treating is a little different we travel to three different towns during our night. By the time I get home hauling to kids around I AM POOPED. We started at the in-laws, then we ran to my brother's house so we could see my great-niece in her costume, then to my dad's, then we stop at a family friends house, and then this year met up with The Cole's who we see ever year while we are out and about trick-or-treating. They are like family to me so it's always a must to see the boys! Then a few more friend's houses and Grant's bus driver's house and that is it.

Grant went as Batman and Gracie a kitty cat. But for those Batman fans like my nephew's I referred to her as "Catwoman." She is sassy enough to be Catwoman, trust me!

Here are a few pics from our night!

Batman & Catwoman ready to go!

Batman

Kitty Cat a.k.a Catwoman

Mommy and the kids before heading out!

Since we are in the middle of harvest Daddy couldn't come along but he did come up to the house to see his two little gobblins! Oh yeah and there is Chloe, she's a little needy for attention.

This is Grant and one of his closest friends, Clayton. We ran into them in town and I had to get a pictures of both the Batmans!

Here is Trae as the cereal killer, and Kameron the scarecrow with Grant and Gracie. Notice Gracie isn't any to thrilled to set on the bench with them. Little bit scared.

Cousin Bayli took this with her camera phone. I just LOVE this pic of Gracie. She was just so proud to be a kitty!!

Here is the gang at my brother and sister-in-law's house! Notice the little skunk! How cute is she?! That's my great-niece, Brinlei.

So that was our night. It was even an early night in. We were home by 8:30! I was so tired by the time I got the kids in bed that I went to bed shortly after. Way to much fun for mommy I guess! :) Until next year!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T07:37:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to pop on here and wish everyone a Happy Halloween! I'll be starting the trick or treat drive at 5 this year. When you live in the country you drive to trick or treat no matter what. But with us we only go to a selected few places...and they all seem to be about 15 minutes a part! So we hit the road at 5 and don't get home until around 8.

Be safe!

An awesome blog-Check it out!

2008-10-26T06:26:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine has an amazing blog!We "met" almost 6 years ago when we were both expecting on a great online forum. We've been through alot and now 6 years and 3 more kids later we are still in touch. I almost had her living within 30 mintes of me when her husband almost took a job here but they decide to stay in the west. So now I visit her daily on her blog...ha! :)

http://prairie-mama.blogspot.com

Or she is in my drop down....Kim's Blog. Original huh?!

She is an awesome blogger and she has an adorable family. She sews, knits some AMAZING things, she cans, she bakes, she does it all. And she has an Etsy shop ladies. Not to mention right now she is doing a give-away! This time it's a give-away from another site which is also another friend of ours through the same forum we met. Shabby Miss Jenn.

So hop on over to Prairie-Mama. You won't be disappointed. :)

Have a great rest of the weekend. I'll be back to post some pics and update. :)

Go to the Bottom of my Blog....

2008-10-18T08:18:00.000-07:00

Just a quick little plug for the button I posted at the bottom of my blog. Dierks Bentley's new song is available on ITUNES now so go check it out and purchase it. The new cd doesn't drop until February so you know you have to have this song before then.

Go visit www.dierks.com for more information on Dierks and his upcoming album.

Have a great weekend! I promise to post more pics and updates of whats been going on with us. We've been a tad busy with harvest season!

A Sad day for Grant.

2008-10-08T19:16:00.000-07:00

Ok so I've been on quite a few fieldtrips with Grant os far this year and I volunteer every week at his school. If you asked Grant if he has a girlfriend he screams NO STOP IT. lol SO I'm guessing there is some crushing going on somewhere. He has Abby, but when kindergarten started there was yet another that comes out of the woodwork and practically falls over herself when she sees him. IT IS ADORABLE!

Well the sad part was we found out that the little girl is getting ready to go back and live with her Mom. SHe has been in a training school in the Navy so being a single Mom she couldn't be with her. So she has been staying with her Grandma. Well whenever the little girk sees me she comes a running. I love working with her. During the last two field trips she has even asked to sit with Grant and I on the bus. They tickle each other and giggle til they are blue in the face...lol Yesterday the little girl was pretending to be hiding from grant under jacket and leaning against me she got cozy enough to fall asleep! Bless her little heart.

SO tomorrow is this little girls last day. Grant start making all these pictures for her and told me it was her last day. He brought tears to my eyes when he said he was going to miss her so much. Now I'm thinking GGEESSSHHH ALREADY!! My kindergarten brought me to tears about a little friend of his moving. So i got on the phone and called her grandma with whom she lives with and was able to get her new address and promised that I would send some pictures to her soon! That cheered Grant up already and he already has a stack of plans to send to her. Pictures, stickers, you name it he wants to send it to her. He even said that when she comes back to see her grandma he wants to see her. I know in a few years they might not even keep in touch but for now they are both so excited to become "pen pals" I'm excited for Grant and he learns about this new adventure. Here is a picture of the two on one of our last fieldtrips. As you can tell she's a little smitten by him. :)

A beautiful day for a soccer game

2008-10-05T07:00:00.001-07:00

Grant had yet another soccer game today. He really truly enjoys himself. We have our moments where he asks to be taken out because he's tired or he's hot but all in all he really does an awesome job. Here are a few pictures from our game yesterday. And of course one of Miss Monster face. I swear this seems to be her only pose as of late. How sweet eh?!

A Must Read.

2008-10-02T09:30:00.001-07:00

So I've been updating my blog and trying to be better at updating. It's b/c of one person and her name is Stephanie Nielson. I came across a button directing me to her blog from another friend's blog. Her blog is AMAZING! Little did I know she was known across the country for her blog. Most recently though for a very sad reason. Her and her husband, Mr Nielson (as she often refers to him as), were in a private plane crash back in August and they are both in the hospital recovering from the burns. Mr. Nielson was burnt over 30% of his body while Stephanie was burnt on 80% of her body. They have an amazing family who are currently taking turns raising the Nielson's 4 children. Stephanie's sister has an amazing blog as well. She is keeping all of us updated with updates on them both. Which honestly completes my day. It's wierd how someone you've never met can make such an impact on your daily lives.

If you get a chance click on the link above for Stephanie's blog or on my side bar for both Stephanie's and her sister's blog. I suggest grabbing a cup of coffee or cocoa and snuggling in a blanket b/c seriously neither one of these blogs are the kind you can just read and bit and then come back later. You'll be glued to both of the blogs. I started from the very beginnings of Stephanie's and read the entire thing within a few days. I just could not help myself! You'll read these and then do what I do..each morning and night a go into both and check for updates on the Nielson's recovery.

Please your prayers and send your well wishes to the Nielson's whenever you get a chance. They truly are a magical couple. The connection these two have is just one of a kind.

The Sign of Fall

2008-10-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

This time of year just really brings a smile to my face. I LOVE the sound of the dryer. Not the hair dryer, the clothes dryer, but the CORN dryer. When I get up out of bed and walk out to my kitchen I can hear the hum of the dryer and I know it's harvest season. Well this past week they started testing the fields to see what was ready to be harvested and they did there first set of end rows of corn and some beans. Last night was the first night of full blown harvest season. Hubby came home after work to announce he was going to be in the grain cart. Well that was all he needed to say. Grant wanted to go and b/c Gracie is completely obsessed in what her bg brother does she wanted to tag along as well. So I got the kids around and ran them down to the tractor where he was waiting for them in the field. This first shot is one of my favorites from harvest seasons. The smiles on their faces shows their excitement! Gracie still wasn't sure at this point if she should love the tractor or be afraid of it.

Getting settled in the tractor!

Waiting in the field for the combine to come around.

Here are the trucks waiting to be filled with beans!

Here comes the combine. Look at that dust..yep...that's the dust that will give my allergies a run for the money this harvest season. OH JOY! :)

And last but not least...this is the few from my side yard. The dryer sits nestled in between on the bins. Look at the clouds....we've got some fierce fall weather heading are way. Today the high is only 56! BBURRR!!! Oh as Miss Gracie says.... "bbbuurrr I cold"

It's Tough to be Two!

2008-09-28T06:27:00.000-07:00

WOW! Bring 2 years old is completely tiring apparently....hehe This was Gracie a few weeks back during dinner. Bless her heart. She just wasn't acting right at the table and I knew she was sleepy but I never knew she was this sleepy! I walked out of the room came back in and this is how I found her!

Our boy started kindergarten! wwhhahhhhh!!! :(

2008-08-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

I had to add the dramatic crying in there b/c it was a very emotional weekend for his mommy. Grant started kindergarten on Tuesday and boy oh boy was he ready! he's been ready since the day after pre-school stopped. He decided to ride the bus the first day instead of me taking him so here are some pics I took of him before his big day. We took a really cute pic of Grant and I that morning but because you can totally see the tears in my eyes so that pic won't be shown. A little bit of my sadness I'm sure is knowing that if my mom was still here she would have been over here bright and early taking pics of her boy starting school. I can remember many mornings where she would go to my brothers house to catch my niece and nephew getting on the bus. That's one of the little things I hate my kids will miss from my mom.

So far I've learned that in kindergarten you have 2 recess', play bingo, and the first day they broke a pinata and they were able to eat lunch in their room. LOL Makes me feel good I'm paying the school for all the fun stuff! :)

The only real problem we've had since Grant has started school is Gracie SCREAMING when he gets on the bus b/c she would like to go to school too and ride the "bbuuu" . Yesterday she was kicking and screaming to ride the bus. Yelling "Me Bu Me Bu" ...she can't say her "S' sound yet but by golly she was going to be heard she wanted to ride it...ha! How cute is that? I'll have to catch a picture to add to her baby book of her screaming while Grant gets on the bus. That will be a nice reminder when she gets older.

Typical Grant shot! Rolling his eyes!!
Watching for the bus.
Getting on the bus!

***If the pics are to small for you click on the pic and it'll show a bigger pic!
I

A month in review...

2008-08-14T08:30:00.000-07:00

So since I haven't written in so long I figured I'd squeeze all o July into one post. A few highlights from our July.....We got a new John Deere Gator which the kids fight over to ride in. Gracie is a nutto over it. Whenever she sees the garage door opening she completely flips and starts yelling, ME ME ME. We got a new lab pup. His name is Moss and will be going with Greg this fall when he duck hunts. He's a sweetie but right now in full puppy stage. Kinda crazy a times. We had a mellow 4th of July but of course had to beat ourselves to death with work over the weekend. Built a beautiful pond in our backyard and we LOVE. Greg and I went to see Jake Owen at the Warsaw county fair. He put on a good show. I actually got to meet him. And towards the end of July a friend of mine from high school, Charity, came to visit us with her two children, Preston & Caroline. All of the kids got along great and were Caroline was sooo excited to "meet" baby pigs and hold them. That girl had no fear. Other then that it was a normal July. Spent lots of time in the pool when we could. We spent alot of time working in our flower beds trying to make it more our home little by little. Here are some pics!

Me and Jake Own at the concert.
Meet Moss...our new duck dog
Our 4th of July project
Caroline so excited about the piggies! Isn't she cute! Her little brother Preston is in the background.
And Miss Gracie finally holding a piggy! We were down there a few days prior and she'd have nothing to do with holding them. This day was a completely different story!!

WOW!! I'm so sorry..Where does the time go?

2008-08-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

So I've been promising for weeks now to get things updated on here. (yes Teresa-I still really late I know! :) ) but now I'm ready to update. My first blog will be about vacation. Now mind you it took place in June but b/c we really did absolutely nothing I can remember it quite well. We traveled to Myrtle Beach, SC for a week. And let me just tell you it was the best. SO relaxing!! We didn't really have a thing planned except play on the beach, play in the pool, and just plain hang out. We did manage to play a game of putt-putt golf which made us realize that Gracie is just pure evil at one of those places...HA!! She never wanted to golf she just wanted to torment the people around us and her brother. Not to mention she used her club as a weapon. Now don't get wrong she was also incredibly sweet at times too. But I think the rotten"ness" outbid the sweetness at times. The highlight of our trip was an emergency room trip for Greg. The first night we decided to hit one of the local spots for a dinner out. Well we picked this place called "The Beach House" of something like that. It had an outside eating area right on the main drag of Myrtle so we wanted to go there. The kids and I got the usual chicken fingers, I got a salad and Greg got his usual Mahi-Mahi. He also gets fish when we are out and bout like that. It was all great tasting food. We then headed back to the hotel. When we got back I started talking about possibly going down to the beach. But Greg laid down to try and catch a minute of the Cubs game. He then started feeling his chect b/c he said his heart was racing. The he said he was getting really hot. I first think the flu and oh great we are all gonna be trapped in a hotel room together with the flu. Well then his face gets beat red and he lifts his shirt and WOW! Covered in red blotches. I first said he was having an allergic reaction to something. He's not allergic to fish that he knew of but I made him call his mom anyways. Which of course made him mad b/c he swore he'd be ok. After talking to her we decide it's time to head off to the urgent care. Which honestly why do Urgent care places have either normal business hours or close early evening. The one we got to was already closed so we headed off to a mini hospital. Looked like one but they only took care of minor things.
After an hour of waiting in the waiting room with two little kids who didn't want to sit down and seeing all sorts of people come in with all different types of problems. (Now I see why health insurance is so expensive-people use it for every minor thing) Greg strolled through the door looking as normal as he can. He was diagnosed with Scromboid poisoning. It's a poisioning you can get from no other then MAHI-MAHI, along with a few other types of fish. It is when the meat isn't properly refridgerated and bacteria grows on it and then turns into something else. So after some high potent benadryl he was sent home. We spent the next few days doing nothing but relaxing. My cousin Kacy ended up being down there so we saw her for a day. Even got the chance to eat dinner with her.

On Thursday of that week we sadly packed up our things and headed to Columbia, SC to spend a few days with Greg's Uncle Bruce and Aunt LeeAnn. We stopped there on our way back from Florida a few years back and just had a blast hanging with them. This time they took us to the Zoo in Columbia and the kids had a blast.

SO here are some pics from our trip. I'd go back in a second. It was just way to beautiful. Maybe one day when I strike it rich I'll have a beach front home somewhere.

Gracie being sweet sitting at the beach. She never did quite understand the part on don't throw sand b/c it blows all over people.
Grant getting ready to be buried in the sand!
This is one of my favorites picsof me and my girl from vacation. She is just so excited in the pic!!
Me and m boy late one night at the beach. Once we got down there we realized how creepy it kinda was so we headed back...lol
Greg and I doing a self portrait on the beach!

a few other highlights from our trip was seeing a guy catch a shark FROM OUR BEACH. Now granted it was only about 3 feet long but still. And one of the last nights down there we walked down to the pier and there was fisherman catching sharks and Grant and Gracie both had a chance to hold and pet a baby shark. How cool is that?!!

Anyways...so there is our hightlights from vacation. I wanna go back. TOmorrow works for me but my bank account and husband says NO!

Springtime fun...

2008-05-13T12:13:00.000-07:00

So like I said in my previous post...we were able to be outside and for some crazy reason the kids thought it's be cute to play in the water that dripped from the hose. BUT b/c of that I was able to get some really cute video of the kids having way to much fun in the water. Did I mention it wasn't all the warm out. In the 60s maybe....and breezy.

A year today

2008-05-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

One year ago today my mother passed away. WOW! It is so hard to believe it's been a year already. Things have went so quickly. Last year after mom passed away we made a garden at our house and named it "Mama's Garden." In the past few weeks we have been working on it getting it ready for this spring. And since I knew it was going to rain on Mother's day we worked outside on Saturday trying to get things planted. So Here are a few pictures from this past saturday. The kids enjoyed it and apparently so did the cat. I didn't realize until I downloaded the pics off my camera that our cat was laying in the flower bed under the bench. Which kinda has it's own humor. My mom hated my cats...my cats hated mom. Greg always told her it was b/c cats sense evil...ha! They were so rotten to each other. Anyways...here are the kids planting flowers in Mama's garden.

NKOTB

2008-05-05T11:27:00.001-07:00

Ok so I have to share....my brother just posted this link to People magazine...you can check out the New Kids new song....loving it already!!

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20197878,00.html

Soccer Saturday 1st Game

2008-05-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few pics of Grant's first soccer game. I didn't take a whole lot of action shots as I was busy videotaping the game. Grant enjoyed it and ever scored a goal! He was so excited!! I got that on video and it's an awesome thing to see!! :)

Here he is waiting for his turn to go back in.
Showing off his jersey and soccer attire after the game.
There he is chatting with his coach awaiting the ball to be tossed back inbounds.

My newest craft!

2008-05-05T10:40:00.001-07:00

So I'm now considering myself "someone who sews" I'm am SO PROUD of myself. (Patting myself on the back) :)

With everyone and everything around us "going green" I wanted to do my part. A friend of mine (thanks betsy) posted this on a craft forum and I fell IN LOVE with them. She swore I could do these even though I hadn't sewed a whole lot. I know my basics and that's about it. So I decided a few weeks back to buy the material. It sat on my counter for a few weeks then it made its way to my "sewing" room. Then this past weekend my sister said she was going to try to make one. So I decided it was time. That way we could compare notes and I'd have her help if I needed. Well when I called her all ready to go she had just got her sewing machine set up. So I attempted things on my own but warned my sister I'd be calling back with help along the way. I might add that some of the things I called about even confused my sister and she has sewn for years. After about 6 phones calls (sorry sis-ha) I FINISHED a project. I made my very own CLOTH Grocery bag to cut back on my usuage of plastic bags. :) My husband AND brother-in-law think it'd be easier to spend a dollar and buy the wal-mart ones but I think these are WWAAYYYY cooler! :) I'd like to set shop up and actually sell these at some point. But for now I'll take orders and hopefully by the fall have a craft booth lined up somewhere.

Here's a shot of the inside and what it can hold. I still had room left! And even though the stuff was heavier stuff it didn't make your arm hurt like the plastic ones do!

FYI

2008-04-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

I just realized looking at that picture I looked a little out of it. I swear I was completely sober in that pic....HA! Must be that closing your eyes syndrome like my sister has. ;)

Before you even start reading...get some tissues.

2008-04-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

As the month of May is just a few days away I go back to where I was a year ago. At this point last year I was looking forward to Mother's Day, getting ready to go on my birthday trip, celebrating my nephew graduating from high school at NHS then shortly after that heading to Vegas to see my niece graduate from Vo-tech. Then tragedy struck with my mother's passing ON Mother's day. Fast forward a year to today and now I'm dreading the month of May. This last year has been a year of "1st's" Celebrating my birthday without my mom, first holidays with her, and within a few weeks celebrating mother's day without my mom. How wrong is that. My sister and I have agreed to no sappy mother's cards, nothing sentimental. We just aren't into the whole Mother's day thing. And sadly neither was our mother b.c she to had lost her mother on mother's day. Oddly enough the exact same day. Will I sleep much the night before mother's day, probably not. Will I have a great mother's day, probably not. I'll enjoy the day with my kids just as any other normal day. Getting the hallmark stuff in the mail this year about how wonderful mothers are just kinda sucks this year. Isn't it a tad unfair that people can't enjoy mother's day WITH their moms.

So anyways....here's a little poem I found about remembering. It's a sad one...but I thought it was a nice one. And for those who still have there mom here...hold them tight this year. Give them an extra hug or two..after all you never know when they might not be here. Even though I always told my mom I loved her and gave her a hug and a kiss when I left. ALWAYS. I still wish she was here so I could give her just one more. And Robin if your reading this...sorry...LOL I warned you to get a tissue.

AS I LOOK BACK

As I look back on my life
I find myself wondering ...

Did I remember to thank you
for all that you have done for me?
For all of the times you were by my side
to help me celebrate my successes
and accept my defeats?
Or for teaching me the value of hard work,
good judgement, courage, and honesty?
I wonder if I've ever thanked you for the simple things;
The laughter, smiles, and quiet times we've shared?

If I have forgotten to express my gratitude
For any of these things,
I am thanking you now
And I am hoping that you've known all along,
how very much you are loved and appreciated.

Soccer Season is here!

2008-04-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

Well I'm officially a soccer mom...though not the kind that drive a mini-van. :) Grant had his first soccer practice last night and man was he excited. He could have easily went yesterday morning at 6 a. instead of 5 p.m. last night he was that excited. And he had fun...I'm so glad we decided to him in it. Here are a few pictures of his soccer adventures. It was so cute at practice last night b.c I'm taking the pictures alot of time Grant would just walk over and start talking to Gracie and I totally ignoring the fact that his coach was trying to teach them things....ha! I'd have to turn him around to head back to the practice. All the kids were like that...if they were thirsty they'd just walk off the field to their parents. It's funny how their attention spans are only a few seconds these days.

Practicing a few soccers drills....throwing the ball in bounds.

One that shows how fast he could drift off into another world. Apparently he is worried about the grass around him.
And finally...he survived the first practice! Getting ready to head home!!

Enjoying Spring

2008-04-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

FINALLY! We had a weekend of beautiful weather!! We worked and played outside just until the sun went down both days. Saturday you couldn't have asked for a better day. Then you had sunday where the temps were up there BUT the wind was just enough to make it chilly.

Here are just a few pics of our weekend....Gracie and Grant couldn't get enough of riding in their gator, playing baseball, playing with the puppies, and we got to go fishing as well. Gracie was AMAZED at the fish which surprised me. I figured she'd be terrified! She wanted to hold it once it was caught. TOO CUTE! And Grant well...he was Grant....ha! After about 10 minutes of not catching anything he gave his Cars fishing pole to me and off he went to play in the big dirt pile. Now mind you when I caught a striper bass he totally claimed it to be his fish...ha! Bayli spent the night with us Friday so she hung out with all day saturday until Rod came and picked her up and practically had to drag her away!

Getting ready for Movie night! We watched "Enchanted"

Grant sitting on the edge of the pond waiting (impatiently) for his fish.

Holding Cousin Bayli's fish!
Grant excited to claim the fish "he" caught! :)
I LOVE this picture...I think it really shows her excitement in being outside and running around. While I was trying to take pictures today all she wanted to do was run in circles...CUTE!

My dirty rugrats after a hard day of play!

Grant showing off his Gatorade "mustache!"

Sharing her excitement about holding a puppy! She is the Queen of puppy hugs and kisses!!

Two out of the 9 just hanging and and catching some zzzzzz'ssss.

2008-04-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

Here's a meme - my first - courtesy of Serendity and Rain (my cousin Lori's blog.) This was so much fun!
If you would like to do this meme on your blog, just do the following:

1. Go to http://www.photobucket.com/.
2. Type in your answer to the questions below in the "search"box.
3. Use only the first page.
4. Insert the picture into your blog.

1. What is your relationship status?
WONDERFUL!

2. What is your current mood?

3. Who is favorite musical artist?

Dierks Bentley

4. What is your favorite movie?

A time to kill. (not the movie poster I was looking for....HA!!)

5. What kinda of pet do you have?

a yellow lab

a black cat

6. Where do you live?

Indiana- OMG this one is hilarious!!!

7. Where do you work?

the office

8. What do you look like?

brown hair and brown eyes - ok so on this one an actual person's pic came up on this and well I don't feel like putting someone else's face on my blog so I went with the first non-self potrait.

9. What do you drive?

durango

10. What did you do last night?

Gettin' Close with Lee and Tiffany- I know...don't say it...lol

11. What is your favorite tv show?

Grey's

12. Describe yourself

Happy go lucky

13. What are you doing today?

working

14. What is your name?

Rhonda- Once again this brought up someone else's pic so I used the first non-portrait

15. What is your favorite candy?

Smarties-Ok this answer is funny....the picture that popped up is our the Smartie candies that I LOVED from when we went overseas but I really like the Smarties you find in the US.

Ok this was fun...some of these pictures are priceless!! Enjoy and if you have your own blog do this and send me the link.

Some more pics...

2008-03-06T12:13:00.001-08:00

Gracie has been a total HAM as of late!! So I thought I'd share a few pics from the last few days. I've tried each time to take some of Grant but he is on his schedule for picture taking these days.I know my sister will totally comment on these though she has seen most of them. She swears I have m family trained. What can I say my kids love their picture being taken. Gracie right now is just in a total "me" stage. When she sees the camera she goes running, sits down and screams, ME ME ME. So I HAVE to take her picture!! It's a must. :)

Showing off her new shoes!
TOTAL HAM!!

Another cheesy grin!
A little more serious....wanting to show off her new outfit from Papa and Jan.

A few pics....

2008-03-06T11:17:00.000-08:00

I've been taking alot of pictures as of late. Yesterday we got some Valentine's day stuff from Uncle Boo...and the pics show how much the kids loved their stuff. Greg and I loved our stuff as well but it's a little harder for us adults to show excitement in pics without looking totally goofy. So I just took a picture of the gifts wrapped... :)

This was our gift from Boo. Candy, picture frames, photo album, craft goodies, and the wreath on top is actually made of ribbons from my mom's funeral arrangements.
Here are both kids getting ready to open...can you notice Gracie isn't to concerned she just want to open it...silly girl.
Grant showing off his new hat and gloves.
Grant showing off the bear and penguin they both got. Gracie was being stubborn about pictures so Grant took her bear and posed with it.
And this was a little bit later. Gracie getting even with Grant for taking her bear. She stole his sock hat that he hid in a "secret" place. Apparently not to safe though b.c she had the hat on her head a good 30 minutes before he realized it was missing....ha!!

We loved everything! Grant I don't think has put down the hat and gloves. He even slept with them last night....how sweet!

My dear Aunt Connie.....

2008-03-03T12:02:00.000-08:00

We received word yesterday morning that my mom's sister, Connie, passed away. What a blow to the Eads family once again. My Mom just passed away on Mother's Day 07 and then to lose yet another member so soon after. My Aunt was younger then my mom at just 65 years young. She was a hoot. Anyone that knows the Eads side will know they are a bunch of comics. There is NEVER a dull moment when we get together. I have a ton of memories that involve my Aunt Connie and I wanted to share a few with you.

I'll never forget the time that she called down to our house and it was when my brother, Ran, still lived at home so that was forever ago. But my Aunt Connie called and said "hello Ran, It's your Aunt Connie". Ran simply replied, "I don't have an Aunt Connie". Well for anyone who knew my aunt the littlest thing got her all stressed out. Their conversation went on forever..my Aunt Connie swore to Ran that he DID have an Aunt Connie. I think he kept her going for 15 minutes before he finally gave in and handed the phone to my mom. Poor Aunt Connie!

Second I'll never forget when my mom came home from having surgery after discovering she had breast cancer. Aunt Connie called and said she was coming down to visit b/c she had something for my mom and she wanted to help with whatever needed done. Well my Aunt Connie showed up with roasting pans ( I believe 3-4) FULL of cookies. We bagged them up and had cookies to eat for months!! She called them her "worry cookies." From that day on whenever I saw her or mom was talking to her on the phone I always asked her if she wanted to "worry" about me she could. What a sweetheart.

And last but not least I have to brag on how wonderful she was to my children. She adored the kids. Everytime she came down she always brought them a coloring book or something. She always told my mom that Gracie reminded her of a porcelin doll. I spoke with my Aunt Vickie this morning and she said they found an envelope from my mother to Aunt Connie thanking her for some stuff and then tucked inside that letter were two pictures of Gracie. It brought tears to my eyes knowing that both my mom and Aunt Connie are in heaven together looking and watching down over my children and the rest of the family.

Aunt Connie will be greatly missed!! We love you Aunt Connie.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T13:25:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone! Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy V-Day! We don't have a whole lot of plans as Greg isn't feeling very well today. SO he actually stayed home from work...WOW! For anyone that knows Greg you know that just doesn't happen...lol So anyways...here are pics of the kids I took this morning in their Valentine outfits. Grant really isn't an in outfit..but he is in red. What can I say...I'm one of those goofy moms who have to do color matching etc. for holidays...lol

Gracie being her usual self in front of the camera. Poor thing hasn't felt good all week so I'm impressed she even wanted to do it!
Grant being a stinker about getting his pic taken!

Grant's Valentine Gifts for his teacers.

2008-02-04T11:15:00.000-08:00

a half dozen roses for his teachers and he's mentioned "the girl he's going to marry"

Ok so honestly...I'm starting to scare myself with all these projects I'm doing...ha! I found these online at the Family Fun website so I decided to do them. We try and do things for the teachers each yr that they will remember and honestly these are the cutest things he has given out I think. So easy to make you just have to find the peace and quiet to do them. No kids around is MUCH easier!!

How cute! Fun in the Snow!

2008-02-04T11:08:00.001-08:00

A little fascinated with her built in face mask!
Pulling the kiddos around didn't last long. We started pulling them behind the four wheeler.
All bundled up and ready to go out!!

Well here's some pics from over this past weekend. We FINALLY got enough snow for the kids to play in and it was warm enough to spend more then a few minutes out there. What I love most about this is that Gracie is wearing my snow suit from when I was a little girl! We found it in a box of stuff that was mine that my mom had kept all these years. So I just happen to have it handy and told Greg I was going to see if it fit. It is a tad big in some places but she stayed nice and warm. She LOVED the snow but we had some issues with her eating it. Which wouldn't make me terribly nervous except for the fact we have an outside dog. ha! So we kept an eye out for yellow snow.

TaaaDaaaa It's finished!

2008-02-04T11:05:00.001-08:00

Well my sister will be proud! I just finished my first knitting project. The scarf I've been working on is done and I love it! It was really easy to make. Here's the pic!