kay's simple life

new years resolution

2012-01-02T08:58:00.003-05:00

so yesterday, the first day of the new year, pastor mark was teaching at church. i just love him! he always makes me smile! his teaching was about the 5 things he would wish for us in 2012. great idea! to start off he asked us to turn to our neighbor (which was my hubby) and tell them one good thing that happened in 2011. do you know i couldn't think of ONE SINGLE THING??!!! but i could tell you 1,125,250,955 things that were not good. what in the heck is wrong with me!! on the way home i was thinking about it and came up with tons of AWESOME things that happened in 2011. i just am confused as to why none of them could come to me on the spur of the moment. and why only bad things popped into my head. so my resolution this year is to make sure i document all the great/awesome/fantastic things that happen this year, 2012. even if it's only fantastic to me. b/c really it's my blog and i make all the rules right! :)

so already in 2012 prayers are being answered. had some truly special people bless us at church yesterday. and not just with physical things. prayer are being lifted up for my husband and family. and we can tell! so thanks my wonderful friends!

and the first dinner of the new year, AMAZING! black eyed peas, ham and cornbread with some greens on the side. in the crockpot no less. so super easy, delicious dinner was a success! :)

and know what else is fantastic already!??!! i got up and took a walk this morning. yay me!

time for school. but here is something awesome that happened in 2011... a family Christmas picture!! never happened before. i'm blessed!

december via my iphone

2011-12-28T10:58:00.006-05:00

i thought i would steal an idea from my friend brianne and post my phone pix from december. this way i will feel like i covered the high points anyway! :)

the first weekend in december we went to jacksonville to visit auntie jane and uncle bill. sassy joined us and we took a jaunt to the beach!
it was not too cold. for mikey anyway!

we had the whole place to ourselves!!! awesome

we let mikey draw faces on our shadows. i think he was being funny don't you!?

gotta love toes in the sand!!

december 15th we hosted our 2nd annual co-op cookie exchange. everyone brought cookies and munchies. it was such a nice day for the kids to run around and burn off all that sugar!

po is huge. almost as big as mikey. but nice and warm

i love our tree!! and yes it's artificial

mikey being mikey!

pecan pie baker extraordinaire

sassy was here for CHRISTmas and we made the best cookies ever!! instead of oreo truffles, she suggested using nutter butters. OMG!! they were fantastic!!! (note the cute apron she bought)

CHRISTmas eve at Next Level Church!! thank you Jesus for the gift of YOU and for this beautiful sunset!!

looks like Santa was hungry!

Legos from the Beans!

a Banjo from Sassy!

the worst thing about December was the loss of our sweet doggy zoe. she had not been doing well and went fast. it was hard to celebrate the season without her but we know she is in a better place. we love you zoe!

thank goodness we have these two nut jobs to keep our spirits lifted!

HAPPY NEW YEAR FRIENDS!! HOPE IT'S FILLED WITH LOVE AND LAUGHTER!!

it was a pinteresting kind of day...

2011-12-20T10:40:00.009-05:00

so my pinterest addiction is slowing down i'm glad to say. (i'm guessing it's b/c of the CHRISTmas season) but i've still had all these ideas running around in my head. yesterday i took advantage of both of the kids having people over to play with to get some of them done.

this year i decided i was not going to buy any wrapping paper. i mean think about it. wrapping paper is trash. literally. you take it off package and throw it away. i have a bit left but i'll save it for my sister when she gets here. she always steals, uh i mean borrows my paper. i have been getting paper bags at the grocery store for a few months now. yesterday i opened them all up so i would be ready. and i bought a snowflake stamp and some green ink. here is the result not too shaby and i have some fun sharpie colors i'll put names on the presents with.

project #2 have you seen these? this is one of the first things i ever pinned. what a great idea. so i gathered my materials. and got to work. i didn't want a super long bookmark so i cut off the top 3 colors. i used a cute heart punch to make the hole for the string and used the extra colors as contrast hearts. looks pretty! but i didn't have any glue! what? so i had to use a glue stick of all things. but still turned out great! can't wait to give them as gifts.
still feeling crafty, i took out the pringles containers i had been saving. and i covered them with wrapping paper. (i had some scraps from last year) they will be used for the next project

ok here's the yummy stuff. (if you don't like peppermint, you won't be impressed) i made peppermint popcorn! oh man this stuff is so good! for 20+ years i have been making white trash for CHRISTmas. but it's kinda expensive to make and we are on a budget this year. so i found this recipe on pinterest and thought i'd try it. gathered my ingredients... and got to work! i have an air-popper and i put it to good use. made two big batches of corn. no added oil or salt. then i poured in half a bag of CHRISTmas m&m's. (that's my own addition) and i had a box of small candy canes. i processed them in the magic bullet type thing i have and made a fine dust with some bigger pieces left for texture and added color. melted one bag of white chocolate chips (i added 1Tbsp of oil to keep it smooth) in the microwave 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each beep. here's where you have to work fast. i used a spoon and drizzled the chocolate over the popcorn/m&m mixture. then i would toss with two spoons and sprinkle with some candy cane dust. repeat until mixture is gone. i had to stick the chocolate back in the microwave once to melt it down again. toss, toss, and toss some more. then spread it on wax paper to dry. oh my so yummy!! i am going to put the peppermint popcorn into the covered pringles cans and give them as gifts!!

i have another project i did, but i can't post it. someone is getting it for CHRISTmas and she reads my blog!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FRIENDS!!

roasted lentils!

2011-11-21T18:57:00.003-05:00

oh yum! these turned out wayyy better than i had hoped. trying to get some nutritional foods into mikey. i thought something crunchy. and these are! so so so easy! i had some dried lentils in the cabinet so i just cooked them for 20 minutes. i had brown but i'm sure you can use any color you would like.

i drained them and let them sit in the colander for a few hours. (only b/c i was doing something else. you don't have to let them sit this long) but you do want them dry so the oil will stick to them. put them on a cookie sheet and drizzle oil over them and toss. add some kosher salt and garlic powder. these are just the flavors i wanted, i'm sure you could do many other combo's.
i put them in 300 degree oven and tossed them about every 10 to 15 minutes. i think it took about an hour for them to get dark and crunchy. my oven is a tad off so it may not take you this long. i did add a little more salt while they were cooking.

this is what they looked like when they were done. oh so yummy and crunchy! and here what they look like before and after

i took them to co-op so everyone could try them. they were a HUGE hit! even the kids loved them. one mom (thanks chris) suggested using them on a salad instead of croutons!! let me know if you try them!

boo 2011

2011-11-07T16:07:00.007-05:00

ah halloween. that special time of year when my children want to dress up like serial killers. ha like that's gonna happen. so mikey wanted to be pikachu. and he wanted to get one of those cheap plastic costumes. no way jose! so we thought and thought and i came up with the idea of him being a shadow. so off to walmart to get black pants, a black shirt, black hat, black gloves and black face paint. (nice way to get extra clothes for him too).
caleb was a parrot. a friend of his gave him this great hat and he ran with it. he's so clever! :)

the saturday night before halloween we went to a party at the bordeaux's house. all our co-op friends where there and we had a great time! food, fun, dancing! then halloween night we went to the morris' house. the uvegas' were there. hope, tammy and i took the kids trick or treating. even caleb, river and konner went with us.

sorry it's such a bad picture. they all got tons of candy then we came back to tammy's and roasted hot dogs over the camp fire.

here is the decorated house and some pumpkin carving pictures.

this weekend tammy, hope and i took our little kids to the Renaissance festival. i love that place. but boy it's super expensive. the kids got in free (thanks to hope) and i had saved some money so i kinda just spent it all! :) not really but i didn't skimp. and that makes me sooo happy to be able to let mikey get something and then worry about spending the money on it. b/c we are studying the renaissance in co-op there was lots there that they recognized. divinci, and Michelangelo were represented and it was cool to see their eyes light up when they saw or heard about them. they rode some rides, got swords, watched a hypnotist, ate steak on a stake, and saw the jousting. it was a great day!

child of God

2011-10-14T08:32:00.003-04:00

don't you just love when you children do something to make you proud?! when you hear from an adult that caleb just did _____ and it was so kind of him. or mikey worked really hard on this lesson and it shows. i know i just radiate with joy and pride and love for them. because it's a reflection of me! i helped push them to do right or to study hard.

so don't you think God who loves us sooo much more than we can imagine is just as proud when we do something good? when we are kind or show his love to others? i see him beaming on us with pride of his own when we reflect him! he helped show us the way by sacrificing his son, his pride and joy, so we could be his child.

ok. we know God loves us. and we have Faith in this and in the death and resurrection of his son Jesus who came to save us from our sins. because of this we will be live forever in heaven with him. HELLO!! this is HUGE!!!! so why don't i "reflect" this in EVERYTHING i do??? why am not living my life to make my father God proud of me all the time!!??!!! it's easy (for me) to have faith, but to live it out is what is hard for me. it's like i'm hiding it. and i'm sure that doesn't make God proud of me. i'm such a failure in this department. (and many others too)

anyway. my goal for today is to make God proud of EVERYTHING i do. i will be kind while driving. i will choose the words i speak to my family with care. i will allow God's will to lead the way today. believe me. i won't get it all right. but He's gonna love me anyway! :)

inspiration

2011-10-13T18:25:00.002-04:00

i am so inspired by the youth pastor at our church! not because of what he said (even tho he's awesome at that) but because he jumped back on the blogging wagon and blogged 2 days in a row!! so i thought i would try the same thing.

not tons going on. co-op today. which we always love. but the leitch kids were there which made it even better. oh how we miss them since they have moved to charleston.

sunday night at church is the wifi student night of worship. it should be great! and since caleb is playing, i'm going to go and help out where needed. if you pray, please pray for lives to be changed!

since we're on the subject, let's discuss my life changing. it's really not. as a Christian, i need to be growing. growing in knowing God and wanting to spend more time with him in his word and in prayer. but i don't . i'm sure it's b/c i'm lazy. i do feel nudges from him like, oh you should pick up your bible. or you need to pray for this person. and sometimes i act on it and sometimes i don't. why is that? the world is just in the way. like even right now. i could be reading my bible. but i'm blogging. and later i'll get on facebook. i need to just do it!!! any ideas or suggestions would be a great help! but b/c i'm the only one who reads this blog, i bet i don't get any ideas! :)

it's what's for dinner

2011-10-12T16:53:00.002-04:00

one thing i love about fall is big huge pots of soup, chili, or stew. i have been thinking about making this one particular dish my family loves. so i got all the ingredient together and got busy! (of course it's so durn humid here it won't be a cozy meal. poop)

let's call this

Mexican chili with extras

1lb ground beef, very lean or you could use ground turkey or chicken. i've used them all
1 green pepper chopped
2 carrots chopped
1 onion chopped
4 cloves of garlic (we love garlic here) minced
1 jar (medium size) salsa, i got the store brand but use whatever you prefer
1 small can rotel
28oz can diced tomatoes, i used petite
2 cans 16oz (or make your own from dried) black beans
2 cans 16oz hominy
2 cans 16oz re-fried beans (i use fat free)
1 box chicken broth or use your own homemade or bouillon
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
chopped kale (i didn't measure i just grabbed several handfuls and tossed it in)

first i browned the ground beef. i like to take it out of the pan, drain all the grease out, and wipe the pot with a paper towel. then i added some olive oil and put in the peppers, onions, and carrots. let them sweat for about 6 or 7 minutes. then add the garlic for another minute or two. then add the cumin and cinnamon. stir them around so they coat the veggies and start to give off a great smell. about 2 minutes. then add the chicken broth. make sure you stir the good bits off the bottom of the pan. yum!
this is where i start opening cans. i open and drain the black beans and the hominy. then rinse them really well. they can be really salty and i like to control that on my own. add them to the pot. then add the salsa, rotel and tomatoes. stir in the ground beef. mix well. put in the refried beans. make sure you mix them in until they are dissolved. i bought kale to make kale fries for co-op tomorrow but i had too much so i decided to chop it up and put it in too. let it come to a boil, then put the lid on and simmer until you are ready to eat!
this recipe makes A TON so we will eat it all week and possibly freeze some. sometimes i'll add sour cream or shredded cheese. oh and if the kids are not eating it i'll add in pickled jalapenos. makes it nice and spicy!!

hit or miss monday (on a friday)

2011-10-07T09:20:00.006-04:00

i had every intention of doing hit or miss monday this week. then this week got in my way!! i hate that! so with no further delay here they are ...

i know someone i can't WAIT to do this too!!! what super devious mind came up with this fun idea?? love it!!

this just made me laugh out loud!!! b/c i'm the person who would to unroll the gum all the way before i'd EVER take a bite out of it!

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS???!!! first of all, how would you get it on? then why or why would you do this to your poor baby??? have you seen the movie Alien??? just yikes!!

i have no idea what this is. i think there was a show about a big headed chuckie look alike that parents didn't mind their kids watching. or getting totally freaked out about. it disturbed me as an adult. can't imagine the nightmares those kids had!

if you love these fun (and disturbing) ideas and/or images, check out more over at the pinterest project! and they are having a give away..... :)

just keep pinning, just keep pinning....

2011-09-30T10:42:00.003-04:00

do you ♥ Pinterest like i do? oh man i could spend days on here and never find all the cool stuff they have!! but have i actually made any of the things i have pinned? why yes i have thanks for asking! and i'm feeling craftier by the minute! :)

i have cooked some amazing things! and plan on making more. i've curled my hair (yes my stick straight hair) with a sock! did some fun kid stuff and i'm going to buy material to make curtains for my kitchen today! ME!! MAKE CURTAINS!! (i'll post pix when i'm done) i hope to do something neat-o with a t-shirt and a bleach pen this weekend.

if you haven't started pinning, i highly recommend it. with this disclaimer...kaysssimplelife is not responsible for the lack of sleep you will have to survive on once you start this journey.

my heart is broken

2011-08-30T21:28:00.003-04:00

this is such a sad post. my sister has some friends, Leigh and Dayne who i have know pretty much as long as she has. however they live in austin so i don't see them much. they are about the funniest people i have ever met. they should have been a comedy act b/c they play off each other like nothing i have ever seen. for years they have been trying to have a baby. after years of trying and nothing, they decided to try invitro. well leigh's eggs were just not working. so they "borrowed" someone elses. (btw makes me so want to give up my eggs). they got pregnant!!! so excited!!! saw them in march when i was in austin. my sister and i went to have lunch with them. leigh was glowing. really!!! like she had a person carrying a light to shine on her. it was so awesome to see her like that! (forget the grackles) and i was so privileged to be one of the few people who found out the name! DASH!!! HOW AWESOME! in april leigh was delivered of a beautiful, healthy boy!! i found out today, that he died on saturday. ( my heart is wrenching just typing this!!!!!!!) dayne was changing his diaper and he went stiff then limp. leigh ran next door where an OB lives. he could not find a pulse. Dash was gone. how is this possible!!!!????!!! how can a couple who has only wanted to be parents for years, have to go through something like this? im sobbing. my heart hurts so much for them. i don't know what to say or do.

i do know i have a God who loves and has that sweet baby in his arms right now. i can't understand. but i can pray for the peace that passes all understanding. please pray with me for this couple who is going through the worst pain i'm sure a person can go through.

The Pinterest Project Hit or Miss Monday

2011-08-29T22:35:00.003-04:00

so my friend miranda, and her friend jamie, over at http://pinterest-project.blogspot.com/ do a super fun thing called hit or miss monday. they wanted to know what mine were so here they are!

my hit...

and my miss...

i don't even know what to say about this. it's so disturbing on so many levels....

i ♥ my boys!

2011-08-13T11:05:00.002-04:00

so last night the fam watched Diary of a Wimpy Kid Rodrick Rules. mikey and i have already seen it but i thought it was worth watching again. and i was right! Greg is the middle brother and is constantly picked on my his big brother and blamed for everything his little brother does. really my issue is the big brother Rodrick. he really is a jerk. he is mean to Greg in so many ways. and just watching that movie made me realize how blessed i am with my boys. don't get me wrong. they do have their moments. but for the most part, they really love and respect each other. during the movie caleb got into the big blue chair and within 15 minutes mikey was right there next to him. they stayed that way thru the whole movie. just hanging. loved it! i really hope and pray that they will continue to be close their whole lives

which makes me want to say sorry to my sis for constantly beating her up. sorry melissa! i'm glad you were able to get over that and that we can be such great friends.

here's a clip of the movie. it really is great! not just for kids!!

why oh why???

2011-08-12T08:46:00.003-04:00

why oh why do i let other people get me down? i have some "friends" at church. but i guess they aren't really friends. if i only see them once a week and on FB i'm thinking that doesn't actually make them my friend. but i thought they were. tried to make a coffee date with one of them and found out she went and had coffee with another "friend". just makes me so mad. am i not worthy of coffee????? am i too needy???? when am i going to get over my self doubt? when am i EVER going to see my true worth??? why do i CARE what people think of me??? (why do i use more than one ???) i am a great friend. and if they can't see that them screw them. i live with all males. i need some time with females. to just talk about girl stuff. oh not have to hear guitars, loud music, sports, or pokemon. so i'm upset. i unfriended them. and several other "friends".

i guess mikey's "stomach" issues are getting me down. b/c he won't let me leave him, i have had to skip book club, date night and just some me time. i know it will pass but man! separation anxiety at 8? uggh!

i really have very little to complain about. co-op started and i just love going! there are some super fabulous women in there that i just adore and make me want to become a better person. michael is working!! and i got job teaching elementary anatomy and physiology once a week for the whole school year. nice money with it. getting our finances in order. hoping to pay off some bills before the end of the year and my car a year early. and maybe (MAYBE) save enough to hit Disney before mikey turns 10!!

hmmm....

2011-02-21T16:17:00.002-05:00

so what is going on in simple life land? let's see.

i have lost 7.4 lbs on WW in 3 weeks! yay me!! still trying to work the program and it gets easier all the time. and i saw a friend from high school at my meeting. pretty cool.

started going back to the gym. should help with the weight loss. started running again today after being stupid sick for 3 or 4 weeks. blech

caleb has finished his behind the wheel driving and is getting his permit this week. (pray for me) actually i have been letting him drive in the neighborhood and he is doing a great job! very proud of him. he just bought a pedal for his guitar. he is loud. that's all i can say!

mikey is more mikey than ever. just such a wonderful spirit and so easy going. you never really have to worry about him. unless he is walking out over a pool cover to step on the ice. yikes!

life groups started at church and i joined 2! wednesday with miranda confessions of a good Christian girl and thursday with jared and kip about the book of mark. the first group is all women and it's gonna be tough. really makes you think about the things you hide from others. and i have lots hidden. and i don't want to share. so i'm scared. the other one is a huge group which i like b/c there are lots of people in there i don't know. (which is weird since i have been going to NLC for over 4 years) but i'm looking forward to getting to know them all.

charlotte has been experiencing AMAZING weather this week. i'm in shorts right now with the windows open. in february! very exciting! however i'm hoping we do get some more winter before spring hits.

michael has some work and hopefully will be getting more as people get their tax returns. (pray for that)

so life is good. just not super exciting. and i'm ok with that!!

what a day!

2011-01-28T14:59:00.011-05:00

usually when someone says "what a day" it's bad. right? well not today friends!! it's been a great day and it's only 3:00. i girded my loins and made the commitment to get myself healthy. i went to weight watchers and joined up! i have done WW before and even been a life time member. then mikey came along. not that i regret that one little bit! but i never was able to get back to where i wanted to be weight wise. so i'm doin' it now!!!! i have been very inspired by some of my friends who have lots lots of weight. i just have to bite the bullet and do it!

AND to make the day even better... i just found out that some friends of mine, whom i have been praying for for a veryyyy lonnngggg time, are PREGNANT!!!!! not just one set of friends, but TWO!!! i cried and cried. still a little bit shaky about the whole thing. that makes a total of 8 new babies that will be arriving in 2011 at next level church. there may be more i don't know about so i'll keep you updated. starting in march/april running thru aug/sept, the fun is on!!!! if you can't be pregnant yourself, having friends who are is the next best thing!! (not that i want to be pregnant but there is always a little part of me that would love to have had more kids) michael has informed me not to drink the water or the coffee at church. good thing i bring my own!

(well i spoke too soon! i plugged in my phone to get some pix from it and it wiped the whole thing out!! so enjoy these pix b/c i'm in for a long night of re-learning my blackberry!)

so yesterday at co-op our picture we were studying was by pieter bruegel the elder called children's games. our wonderful parent Aims went to a lot of trouble to have many of the games depicted in the picture at co-op for the kids to play with. it was AWESOME!!! she had them all layed out in the gym and just let them play. they had a fantastic time! here is the original.

and here is what she had for us...

she had hoops and sticks...

tug of war...

potato sack races, broom ball, stacking cups, blocks, marbles, dice and more. mikey actually said "thanks so much ms aims! i had a great time and learned to win at dice!" hahaha!

it was a super great day and those kids will never ever forget that picture or artist! :)

i ♥ homeschooling!

t's cheese stick

2011-01-26T17:13:00.006-05:00

i felt very encouraged today by reading my friend teresa's blog over at t's turn. she had something odd but not over the top odd happen to her and she blogged about it. i think my problem with my blog is i feel like i have to have something exciting to write about or it's not worth it. so i'm taking a page from teresa and blogging about not much.

making caleb do school work is like pulling teeth. he's in his room with all his musical instruments and when he is supposed to be writting a paper or something i'll hear the sound of a ukulele coming from behind closed doors. i have kind of let him slide but not anymore! i'm going to be studying his subjects with him so i am sure of what he is getting out of it. i mean i already do it with mikey so i might as well learn more right???

and mikey. that boy. oh i love him so. the things he says make me laugh and laugh. he was playing with his corks (we save everything around here) and he said "this one is my particular favorite. i'm not sure what particular means but it sounds good"!!! and the fact that he plays with corks. come on. imaginative should be his middle name.

we have had some snow. or should i say 2 snows this year. and a birthday. i can't believe caleb is 15! and he had 20 kids at his party. and they were ALL taller than me. it was very very weird.

and here are some random pix of stuff that makes me smile. some of it is from our homeschool co-op which we love!!!

NaNoWriMo loves me!

2010-10-19T12:46:00.002-04:00

it says so right here in this email i got from them

"Well, you did it. You've gone and pledged your November to the pursuit of the month-long novel. Whether this is your first or twelfth NaNoWriMo, we're thrilled to have you writing with us."

uh. wait. did i just agree to write a novel? i'm insane. i can hardly write in my blog and i've decided to write a novel. ok. challenge taken. let's hope i can go thru with it!

anyone have any ideas for a 50,000 word novel? :0

actually i'm excited. i've always wanted to write a book. even tho i'm not nor have i ever been any kind of writer. (or speller for that matter!) so we will see what happens!!

mad mad mad!!!

2010-10-04T19:27:00.003-04:00

some people make me soooo mad!!!!!!!!! i try really hard to follow the rules and when other people don't i could just bite their heads off. we had ladies night out friday night at church. i was really looking forward to it. i was a table leader and we were supposed encourage people to sit with someone they hadn't met. there are lots of women at my church who don't know anyone and this would be a great opportunity for them to meet other women and hopefully form some friendships. i do happen to know the majority of people there b/c i work in kid city so i felt like i wanted to have ladies i wasn't really "friends" with, just knew their names and kids names. anyway. i invited people to sit at my table that i kinda knew. great! there were 2 people there who were guests and so was glad to have them at my table. but did everyone do what i did??? OH FREAKIN' NO!!!!!!!!!!!! one girl (i call her that b/c she is so d*%n immature) had only the "popular" ladies at her table. all of her friends. not one new person or stranger was invited to sit at HER table. oh no. she is way tooo good for that. make sure everyone knows that she is so well liked that only the well know, pretty people sit at her table. i have since, deleted her from my facebook and my phone. i can't wait for her to try to talk to me. i'm so pissed off!!! i actually left the GNO early b/c i was so mad i was crying.

of course that kinda makes me immature too i suppose. but hey this is MY blog and i can write anything i want to right!?!!

stuff

2010-09-08T14:22:00.002-04:00

so summer is over and bring on the cold! well not really b/c it's still hot out. poop. but school is back in full swing for everyone and so far so good. caleb started high school (i can't believe it!) and is really enjoying it. before it started we went to the school a few times so he could walk his class route so he wouldn't get lost. he is very lucky that all of his classes are super close together. and he is making friends. not that i'm surprised but i am happy about it. going into a school that large and only knowing 2 people is tough. and i was really worried about it. i mean i remember what it was like when i started high school and i knew tons of people. i would love to shelter him from all the bad stuff that life brings. *sigh* but i know i can't.

mikey has been going to a homeschool co-op for a month now. they meet once a week and we are there all day. he has science (with ms tammy!) then art, poetry, lunch (his favorite part) picture study (my favorite part) then history. the mom's are amazing and i get to help! but i don't have to do all the work. (which i love the most!) his bff denver is there and another boy named adam who is his age. they have the best time! after the first day i asked mikey how he liked it and he said "mommy i LOVE real school!!" i said honey that is not "real" school! we actually waited until after labor day to start doing other schooling at home. i am having him read out loud to me and boy he is doing great! all summer he has been reading the magic tree house books. i remember how much caleb loved them. but he reads them to himself so i don't know what he is really understanding. amazing! i love that he loves to read! hopefully we can keep that up!

and here's just an adorable picture of my boys in new hampshire.

maybe i'll get around to posting a chicken jam blog!

WHAT????!!!!

2010-08-25T17:34:00.001-04:00

this is so scary i can hardly see straight!! yikes!! i think i'll stay away from whatever movie this is from.

i blog therefore i am?

2010-08-10T16:58:00.003-04:00

who am i? i am a wife. a mom. a sister. a daughter. a friend. but who am I?

i don't work outside the home so i have no "career".

i am not a deep thinker, but i know lots of stuff about lots of stuff.

i don't write or paint or create anything. (except this blog and it doesn't count)

most of my days are free floating and filled with house hold duties, sometimes done, reading, playing, relaxing.

so who am I?

i still have no idea who i am. but i think i'm ok with that.

i like to think i'm a good mom. and i hope i am a good friend. i like to be around other people because they (mostly) make me happy. i love to cook, and read. not the most exciting things. i do love music and hanging out with my loved ones. sometimes i feel like i don't "do" enough. does that make me dull?

just some thoughts on a hotter-than-hades day...

Thankful on a Thursday

2010-08-05T15:28:00.003-04:00

FINALLY!! i'm blogging on a thursday so i get to copy miranda
and do a thankful post!

1. I am thankful that I live in America. I hear people complain all the time about this country and it's politics. but when it comes right down to it, there are people all over the world who don't have it as good as we do!

2. for friends. i have been uber blessed in this department.

3. laughter! it really is the best medicine! how much better do i feel when i laugh? and i'm not really good at joke telling but i can appreciate one like nobody's business!

4. my dishwasher.

5. my kids who empty my dishwasher!

6. Top Chef! love love love this show and every year i can't wait to watch it over and over and over and over

7. winter. just detest the heat. i was born in the wrong state. give me cold anyday!

8. lasix surgery. the best thing i have ever done for myself.

9. ebay.

10. having music in my car. i used to drive a dodge colt that didn't even have a radio! i would sing Madonna all the way to work every day. i ♥ my CD player! now madge and i can sing together! :)

woo-hoo!! i did 10! hopefully i'll be back next thursday!

ms manners

2010-08-02T16:40:00.003-04:00

i ♥ manners. and it makes me feel so good to hear my kids using manners with each other. just now caleb asked monkey if he had a bouncy ball. monkey went to his room, found one and handed it to caleb. caleb said thank you. monkey said you're welcome. it just warmed my heart. cause i know if they are using manners with each other, they are using them out in the world. (at least i can hope!)

i am the kind of person who ALWAYS says please and thank you. if someone lets me in in traffic. i give them my famous thank you wave. if a car stops so i can cross the street, i say it so they can read my lips. i say thank you to my husband. i think the world would be a better place if everyone said please and thank you. so please, say thank you to someone today.

(oh and if for some reason i don't use my manners, call me on it.) thanks!

cha-ching part 2

2010-07-30T15:39:00.002-04:00

so i posted this and then went to my room and got down on my knees. (cause you know that's the best place to be when you just can't take anymore.) i just prayed for lots of work for hubby and for me to not worry and to be thankful in every circumstance. even the bad ones. hubby and big c had gone to pick up some windows for this addition he is (supposed) to working on. he comes home and says, i got some work. i was floored. way to go God! talk about moving quickly!! and it will start when we get home from va-ca so he will have something to do then!

thanks for listening to me gripe. again.

cha-ching

2010-07-30T13:50:00.002-04:00

money. i hate it. or i would if i had any. how is it that an object that i don't have can make me so miserable? i am soooo tired of living like all my possessions could be taken away at any moment. i hate worrying about bills. i want to get them in the mail, pay them and not worry that i can't feed my kids. i love my husband. i really do. but sometimes i wish i had a husband who had a profession that was dependable. and you know most of the time, i don't worry. but today is just one of those days where i can feel this huge weight on me. and i hate it. hate it hate it hate it. i want to cry and scream and throw things. but i won't. (well maybe i'll cry a little)

hopefully my next post will be about something positive!!!!

2 posts in one day!!!!!

2010-07-26T15:02:00.002-04:00

i have to tell you that i just read my entire blog. i started April 16, 2007 and i have almost 300 posts. monkey keeps coming in here asking me what i'm laughing about. usually it's something hysterical he said/did that i blogged about. go back and read your blog from the beginning. you will learn some things about yourself and see how you've grown.

i also found out that i'm really funny and a very good writter. (so much for not tooting my own horn!) so i think i'm going back into the blogosphere! i really liked it there!

Moaning on a Monday

2010-07-26T11:38:00.002-04:00

so my friend B over at The Photog Nazi just shared her monday moan. and since i have been doing laundry all day, i thought i would jump in too. (especially since i have had my blog window open since thursday trying to get my self to do Thankful on a Thursday that my friend miranda over That's What She Said does. why is it easier to moan than be thankful?) anyway. laundry. do you loathe it like i do? listen. i live in a house with me and 3 men. (well 2 boys but you know what i mean) most men/boys don't have lots of clothes. so i thought. for monkey i just folded 9 pairs of shorts and/or long pants (b/c he doesn't like to wear shorts even when it's 99 degrees) and 15, yes 15! shirts with short and long sleeves. for caleb i folded 5 pairs of shorts and 12 shirts. given that he wears his "favorite" jeans 7 days a week makes the fact that he has that many shorts, boggle my mind. oh and for me. 7 pair of undies, 1 pair of shorts and 2 t-shirts. (there is another load in the dryer but since i put it in there i know it doesn't contain tons of my stuff) and just so you know i got up and counted all those clothes so don't think i'm making this up. why oh why could my 7 year old wear 15 shirts in a week? and why oh why do i have to fold them. not even going there with the hubby. and then there this the big thing with my washer which has only gotten worse. so laundry. i hate it. maybe if i had more clothes of my own i would like it better. but i don't think so.

life style change

2010-06-16T10:09:00.002-04:00

so yesterday i started a new way of life. cutting out sugar and foods that convert to sugar. which makes it low carb. but not no carb. i found this book - fat to skinny- which made total sense to me. like it was saying "kay you are killing yourself with all this sugary foods you eat". and i was. so. what i like about this idea is you still can eat stuff you like, just change the product. which means some processed foods which i'm not crazy about but if it works, i'll get over it. not a lot of fruit on this plan but i can have berries and lots and lots of veggies. so a big salad everyday is on the menu. and jello. who doesn't love jello?! plus hubby is doing it with me. that makes it tons easier. there are a few low carby bread products, like wraps that i can use for toast and sandwiches and things. something i don't love giving up. anyway. just wanted to share

oh and caleb leaves for the beach with caden on saturday for a week. i remember last year that was a lonnnngggg week. but hopefully i will be getting mikey into a day camp so he will be happy.

20 things i'll never do

2010-06-11T08:43:00.005-04:00

so my friend miranda posted this on her blog. and i thought, hmmm, that's something i can do. so here goes

1. i will never drive across the country. michael wants to but i won't be able to be in a car that long. i'm too wiggly. i'll fly and meet him there.

2. i'll never like lima beans. blech! i love other beans but lima's - NEVER!

3. i will never be able to decide what i want to do when i grow up. i've been trying to make that decision for years. not happening...

4. i'll never have a spotless house. i like a clean bathroom and all but i think there are too many other things to do than worry if my tv is dusty.

5. i will never be able to stop my addiction to re-reading my favorite books. how many times can you read, little house on the prairie, anne of green gables and sense and sensibility? my mom says it's like visiting old friends. and i agree.

6. i'll never love the smell of tar. (they are fixing pot holes in my road and i can smell it in the house) yuck

7. i will never throw away my kids' notes to Santa. i even have the addressed envelopes. AWESOME!

8. i will never understand why people get so worked up about politics. again, i have way too many other things to enjoy without having people get mad at me about who i voted for. if your candidate didn't win - get over it

9. i will never not have a cat! i love love love my cat! and i still cry when i think about my cat Bart that i had 20 years ago. a house is not a home to me without a cat in it!

10. i will never again sing at the Hollywood Bowl. too much pressure. just won't do it! (yes i have sung there. ask me and i'll tell you the story!)

11. i will never have as many friends as i would like. i've never met a stranger and i want everyone to be my friend.

12. i'll never be a fan of eggs. i try really i do. just not something i like. i guess the only way i could eat them is poached. and what a process that is!

13. i will never think about missing church. truthfully sunday is my favorite day of the week and i have no idea what else i would do anyway! :)

14. i'll never love the bass guitar. yes my hubby and oldest son both play it. that low sound just makes my chest hurt. give me a guitar or keyboards anyday.

15. i will never dye my hair black. it's been every color - blue, green, purple, pink, red, orange, and white. i can't imagine me with black hair. can you? (i think it would clash with my freckles!)

16. i'll never like country music. except devil went down to georgia. but is that really country?

17. i will never be rich. and i'm ok with that. it might be nice but i'm not willing to put forth the effort.

18. i will never go into space. i think the space program is the biggest waste of money ever. i'll take good ole' earth any day thank you.

19. i will never have a better friend than my sister. since we are only 13 months apart, she knows all about me and still loves me. (even tho i used to beat the crap out of her!)

20. i'll never figure out why i am ALWAYS putting my foot in my mouth!!!!! just keep it shut and no one gets hurt!

phew! that was wayyy harder then i thought it would be!

i ♥ weddings!!

2010-05-15T09:00:00.002-04:00

today my pastor todd and his lovely fiance' miranda are getting married! i'm so excited!! they are just adorable and make me smile. i love going to weddings. they make me cry. one thing i can remember about my wedding is that i started laughing. i think the ppl behind me thought i was crying but i guess i was just nervous or totally weirded out that i was marrying anyone!

so congrats todd and miranda!! love you both

2010-05-12T17:15:00.004-04:00

i made dinner totally from stuff i had on hand! i haven't done that in forever! we had some left over rotisserie chicken, so i made some brown rice, i had a small container of sour cream and i mixed that with a can of green chilis, some dried parsley and basil. i added a can of diced tomatoes, a can of pinto beans, (i really wanted black beans but didn't have any) and s&p. we will see what happens! just excited about that!

and i have to confess. we are going to todd and miranda's wedding this weekend. first of all i'm so happy for them. they so "complete" each other. really. it's amazing. anyway. we got invited to the reception. so i'm stoked. but if i don't get to sit with some of the "cool kids" i'm gonna be very upset. why does it bother me so much that i have to be in with the "popular crowd"? even at church? come on. what's wrong with me? i know lots of ppl that will be there and i have already told michael that there are some of them i just won't sit with. not b/c i don't like them but b/c they are not in the "in" crowd. i'm a mess.

bloggin

2010-05-02T18:30:00.004-04:00

so i'm gonna try to start blogging again. i really enjoyed it when i did it, then FB came up and i drifted away. and i hear that lots of ppl are taking that route. but i need to get my creative juices flowing and this is a great way to do that!

i have 4 loads of laundry to be folded. but i won't fold socks. i don't wear them and they boys all have sooo many of them i can't tell them apart. so i'll fold clothes and put them in their rooms. but no socks. does that make me a bad mom/wife? too bad

this summer i'm planning on having the boys do lots of cooking. especially caleb. we have plans for Boeuf Bourguignon, lasagna and some baking. cakes for sure maybe popovers. b/c i love them! and lots of chopping. teaching them some skills.

i ♥ phineas and ferb. it's the funniest cartoon EVER!!

oh and here is jared, the youth pastor at our church. he is probably the most hysterically funny person i have ever met. (with a heart of gold) not really but it sounded good!

hopefully i will be able to come up with some more original stuff tomorrow. maybe. maybe not.

rants

2010-04-08T18:35:00.002-04:00

ok i know i haven't blogged in almost a year. i miss it. i miss checking it to see other ppls comments. i miss reading about lives of ppl i have never and will probably never meet. but i really need to vent and this is the best place to do it b/c no one reads this anymore!

i'm old. 41 now. and very unhappy with my weight. but so not willing to do anything about it. and i try wayyy to hard to make ppl like me. and they surface like me but don't really try to get to know me. know what i mean? i am a great friend. i love to talk but i'm very good at listening too. and i like to get to know people. not in a nosy way just in a way so i can remember to ask them about things that are important in their lives. because i CARE!! but people don't really seem to want to get to know me that way. there are several girls at church that i really like. i mean they are super sweet people and i consider them friends but i just don't get that they want to be involved with me on a deeper level than "hey how you doing"? which hurts my heart b/c i am there when they need something. and i have proof of that. but when i need something from them, nada. and not anything huge, just a play date or something. nothing. i don't think i'm a bad person. maybe i talk too much. maybe i am nosy. maybe i don't make a good friend. i don't know. i'm just sad. and i guess i spend too much time on facebook.

magiquest!!

2009-06-23T16:44:00.006-04:00

there is a new hotel in town. Great Wolf Lodge. now i have that dumb song stuck in my head. anyway. they have a great indoor water park and a Magiquest. i had no idea what it was but saw it on a yahoo group post. checked out their website and thought it might be fun to do with monkey while big c was at the beach with caden. first of all this hotel is HUGE!!! looks like a big lodge. all cabinish and foresty. with lots of animals and wood. you go to the 2nd floor to the magiquest store. you have to pick a wand (the most expensive part, his was $20) but you get to keep it and used it forever. so you pick a wand, and a magi name and then they give you a book and start you on a quest. you have to go to the training area which is a video of a wizard telling you how to play the game. he teaches you how to use your wand and such. then you go to these trees with touch screens in them and do what it tells you. you have to start off finding runes. when you are done with all of those (i think there are 10) you can do adventures. this is all spread out on 3 floors of the hotel and the elevator is soooooo slow you have to use the stairs. we were up and down those things i swear 30 times. b/c in order to get a rune you have to solve the puzzle in the book and that gives you the rune. it's all done electronically with the wand. there are boxes of jewels you have to open and "collect". there are books that talk to you. pictures on the walls that you have to point at and they tell you things.

the walls are painted like forests. they whole place is just AMAZING!!! i think b/c monkey doesn't read very well(and he has short legs) we were not able to finish finding all the runes. but when you purchase an "adventure" it stays open for 4 days. so we are going to go back tomorrow or thursday to finish this quest. then when big c gets back from the beach we will take him and let him start his own adventure. there were kids and adults of all ages, running, laughing, and trying to figure it all out. it was so much fun!!!

updating

2009-06-10T18:12:00.002-04:00

off to florida with the boys tomorrow to see auntie jane and uncle bill. sis will be there which rocks!!

big c's all nighter. amazing!! i'll post when we get back.

schools out for summer!! i hate summer. it's too hot.

another contest WON!!

2009-06-03T12:38:00.003-04:00

so i won again. my friend cathy says i need to start buying lottery tickets. maybe i should! Top Chef (one of my favorite shows) has a new show starting June 10th called Top Chef Masters. they had a contest for 250 viewers to host a party and post about it on the TC blog. they sent me a box of goodies!
6 t-shirts
2 bags pita chips
TC pitcher
TC chip/dip bowl
TC napkins
AND a $25 GIFT CARD!!!
i'm stoked! wanna come to my party?

oh and check out this pix by monkey

he is amazing! he just looked at the box and drew it.

monkeyism

2009-05-30T09:34:00.002-04:00

sandwiches are so old school.

(where would he learn that? and why would he say it about sandwiches of all things!?)

SLACKER!!

2009-05-29T10:15:00.006-04:00

after being repeatedly scolded for not blogging, i'm girding up my loins to do so. i just find that facebooking is so much easier! i don't have to find more than about 25 words to make my point known. but i'll update here for those who don't FB.

so school is almost out for big c. he gets out on the 11th but we are going to florida then so his last day is the 10th. he has done so well this year. it was hard in the beginning but i'm so glad we decided to put him in this school. not only has he had to work for his grades, but he has really enjoyed what he has learned. his teachers are amazing and the principal is a man who is willing to do whatever it takes to keep the kids and their parents happy. and to top it all off he has a girlfriend. they had their 6 month anniversary on tuesday. she is a sweetie and even tho she is very shy around me, i like her lots. and he has kissed her! and he told me!! i love that we have that kind of relationship. i'm hoping it will last thru the whole teenage years! he is still playing in the youth band at church and gets better all the time. and now he is teaching himself to play my guitar. (which i still can't play!) what a great kid. he is going to the beach with a friend for a week then going to panama beach with the youth group for 5 days. and he has a seasons pass for carowinds. i'm hardly gonna see him at all this summer!

just some ouchies from skateboarding

monkey is done with school as well. this year he learned to read and to do math. he likes reading but is lazy and would rather do something else. (unlike his mother!) but math. man he is a whiz at it! he asks to do subtraction! where in the world did that come from? (not from his mother!) but his imagination is what amazes me! he can play with anything and make a whole world out of it. and i'm not talking about toys. we have some sample bottle of hubby's meds and i gave them to him to play with. (b/c he asked. weird kid) and he has put stuff in them, built with them, invented stuff with them etc. he is awesome! i guess not having anyone but me to play with most of the time, he gets creative when he can! he did not get into the school we wanted him to for 1st grade so he will be homeschooled again. but i am going to put him in martial arts and hopefully a lego club and an art class. he loves to draw. and he's pretty good at it too. now i have to find a curriculium for him.

we have been super busy with church. we helped with a homemakeover which was AMAZING!! hubby of course was there the whole weekend but it was also when the Beans were here so it was not easy for me to be there. Rand went with hubby and then later that night we all went to see Dave Matthews Band.
that was awesome!! and angela and i went shopping and had lunch and left all the kids home together.

that was so great for us! but church. hubby is still playing in the band. but now only every other week and the opposite week he works in the parking lot. and i'm loving being with my 2 year olds every week. they are a huge blessing to me! and i love getting to know all the parents that way too. monkey of course can't wait for sunday's b/c he gets to play with kids. he informed me that he has a girlfriend but i haven't met her yet! wednesday's in june we will have nighttime life groups. can't wait for that! todd is going to talk about the words of Jesus. i should earn a lot.

oh and lucy. our kitty. she is so much fun! and she loves to give kisses and sleep on the bed. i love a snugly kitty. however she is the most ungraceful cat ever! she can hardly jump up on chairs. cracks us up. she and the dog get along great. zoe will chase her down the hall and then he comes zoe being chased by the cat. love it!

good grief. that's all i can do for now. my fingers hurt.

2009-02-24T17:27:00.004-05:00

so much for keeping updated here.

kids went to the dentist today. monkey's first time! i know he's almost 6 but when you don't have insurance you don't go to the dentist. fortunately they got my hubby's amazing choppers. the dentist was doing a little dance he was so excited at how great their teeth were. and he thinks neither one of them will ever need braces! very awesome!!

my monkey is so creative. he made himself a campfire because he wanted to roast marshmallows. check these out.
he took stuff from around the house and made the fire. and he even created his own stick with marshmallow. and the marshmallow is brown and on fire!! so adorable!!

look at that face!! i can not believe he is going to be six next month! man time sure flies!

AGGGHHHHAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-02-04T17:48:00.003-05:00

i need to change the title of my blog from kay's simple life to what does kay think she is doing?

hubby lost his job. i got a promotion at work. don't get excited. just counting tills and working at guest services. but still more hours and more money. supposedly. hasn't happened yet. i don't want to work to begin with so i'm not super excited.

house was getting foreclosed on then someone came up with a huge interest free loan for us. people rock.

kids got lice again and big c gave it to a friend who's mom proceeded to loose it and chose never speak to me again because of it. that was hard. but i'm getting over it.

big c turned 13!! had a huge party with lots of kids and lots of fun. and he has a new girl. danni. very sweet.

i got a kitty for Christmas! thank you peggy! her name is lucy and she is adorable. gray just like my old cat Bart. she is my kitty no doubt! she follows me around and sleeps on my head at the top of my pillow. i love her.

i will be 40 this year and my sis is coming to town and having a huge party for me. i have invited all of my facebook friends that live in town and it's gonna be fun!! if you're near charlotte on march 7th, let me know. i'll send you directions.

church rocks. we got our new building and it's great but i miss the little one. it was cozy.

i think that's it in a nutshell. sorry i haven't been around much. i'll post pix of the kitten soon. (i hope!)

2009-01-27T13:09:00.001-05:00

i need to get in here and update this thing! hopefully tomorrow

Giving Love Away

2008-12-16T16:29:00.004-05:00

A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

Proverbs 11:24-25

don't you feel good when you give? i wish i was rich so i could just give and give. but as it is i can't give much money but i can give my time. and our church Next Level is Giving Love Away. we adopted a title one school, which by definition is a school with at least 50% of the students getting free or reduced lunch. the school we adopted is at 91%. they don't have a lot of anything. some of the kids don't have coats. and when they eat at school, that may be the only meal they get during the day. so our fearless leaders put together a plan. we wanted every child in the school (about 550) to get a gift for Christmas. melissa jackson (who rocks!) got bags labeled with either boy or girl and their grade. then we as a congregation were challenged to fill them with gloves, a hat and a 5 dollar toy. then we had a toothbrush, toothpaste and candy for each bag. AND the church is going to provide a uniform shirt for each child. talk about a lot of stuff! of course someone was going to have to go through all these bags and make sure everyone got what they were supposed to. and i was one of the lucky ones to get to do that. we met this morning about 9 and worked until we were done. which was only about 10:30! we were super fast. we had a great time! getting to just talk and goof off and feel good about what we were doing. i didn't know everyone so i got to meet some new people. we had Christmas music and candy to keep us in the mood. it didn't even feel like work. it was just plain fun!

i'm so glad i belong to a church that cares so much about others. THANK YOU NEXT LEVEL!

and as a laugh...monkey and i were talking about the Christmas story. we were talking about how mary must have felt when the angel appeared to her. how she was scared but determined to do what God asked of her. i told him that some people were mad at her because she was going to have a baby and she wasn't married. he said "yeah they were mad like an angry MOM!" (get it, supposed to be mob.) i thought it was funny!~

white trash again

2008-12-15T11:39:00.002-05:00

everyone enjoyed this recipe so much last year, i'm posting it again.

this is one of my favorite holiday snacks. i love to make this to give as gifts to friends, teachers, mailmen (or women!), etc. my family LOVES this stuff and it's super easy to make. i'm going to post this in the style of my friend crystal.

first thing is to gather all of your ingredients together.
5 cups Cheerios (heaping cups!)
5 cups Rice Chex Cereal (heaping cups!)
10oz package mini pretzels
2 12oz packages white chocolate chips
1lb plain M&M’s
2 cups dry roasted peanuts (or cashews) if you like. i leave them out
2 Tbsp oil
(i use store brand whenever possible)
mix your dry ingredients together in a really, really big bowl. i have a 32 cup tupperware bowl that works just right.
pour the white chocolate chips and oil into a bowl. (i like a glass one) put it in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted. be very careful that the bowl and the spoon are dry. any water will cause your chocolate to seize-up and you will have to throw it away.
try to keep the kids from eating all the M&M's.
your chocolate should be shiny and smooth.
pour the chocolate over the dry ingredients and start stirring. this will be hard to do as there is so much stuff in the bowl. just keep on keeping on. you will break some of the pretzels and cereal but they are still good to eat that way! stir and stir and stir until it's all coated. then lay it out on wax paper to dry. (notice i ran out of wax paper and foil works fine too.)
this is what it looks like when it's done. be prepared to share this recipe with everyone you give some to!

White Trash

5 cups Cheerios
5 cups Rice Chex Cereal
10oz package mini pretzels
2 12oz packages white chocolate chips
1lb plain M&M’s
2 cups dry roasted peanuts (or cashews)
2 Tbsp oil

Christmas meme

2008-12-11T10:45:00.002-05:00

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? i use both but prefer wrapping paper
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial - Love the smell of real trees, but artificial is more economical, and less messy.
3. When do you put up the tree? i would put it up right after Thanksgiving but my DH is a bit of a humbug and he would wait until Christmas Eve if i let him! we put it up yesterday
4. When do you take the tree down? after sassy leaves
5. Do you like eggnog? yum. especially with the rye peggy puts in it!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? baby doll crib was my favorite but i also loved my Sunshine Family Van
7. Hardest person to buy for? i think everyone on my list is easy to buy for
8. Easiest person to buy for? me! ha no my kids are easiest i guess
9. Do you have a nativity scene? yes 5 of them. one of just Mary, Joseph and Jesus. i have had that one since we got married. i have one that is mice, one that is small enough for monkey to play with, on that is Party Lite candles and one that is Veggie Tales!
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? i love to do picture cards but usually the time sneaks up on me and i don't get them out. so far this year i haven't. i wanted to get a pix of the boys but monkey got a huge scratch on his face from a friends dog and looks like he has been in a fight. so i'm waiting for that to heal up.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? my hubby tends to buy things he thinks i will like and i usually don't
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? It's a Wonderful Life
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? sometimes in july sometimes in december!
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No but i have been tempted
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? white trash!!
16. Lights on the tree? yes and lots of them!!
17. Favorite Christmas song? Do You Hear What I Hear
18. Travel at Christmas or stay at home? we get up do gifts, go to grandma's, do more gifts, come home, do more gifts
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? we had an angel my sis made but my mom bought a star she didn't like and gave it to us so we use that. it lights up!
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? one on Christmas Eve the rest at 4am
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? my kids seeing commercials and saying "I want that for Christmas!" and the stress of making sure you get it all done
23. What theme or color are you using? HA! theme!
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? i would like to do something besides the normal tradish stuff but i guess i will go with the turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, etc.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? surprises!!

cassidy

2008-12-01T11:41:00.002-05:00

we had to put our kitty cassidy down this morning. we found out last week that she had heart disease and was not going to get better. they gave her some medication over the weekend and said if she didn't get better by monday that we needed to do it. it's so hard. and so sad. especially since she was monkey's kitty. so we are focusing on the funny stuff that she did.

climbing the curtains!!

her favorite toy...the paintbrush!

how high she could jump!

her love of all things pumpkin!

her dog...

her boy...

we will miss you cassidy!

one little indian

2008-11-24T11:54:00.004-05:00

monkey and i did an indian craft today. we made a vest and a headband with feathers. isn't he adorable!! and such a ham! tomorrow we make a pilgrims hat. he really could care less about that! he is all into the indians. when i asked him why he said "because indians have bow and arrows." spoken like a true boy.

The Justice Project

2008-11-22T11:52:00.003-05:00

When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all your undertakings. Deuteronomy 24:19

i just returned home from the Justice Project, an outreach our church has our life groups involved in. each life group was given a family to encourage and to pray for that has specific needs, mostly financial. we spent time talking to our families and finding out what they needed and provided them with a Thanksgiving meal and in our case, clothes for the children and cleaning supplies. i have never been in this part of my town before. and i have lived here for 30 years! the justice project is not just about helping the poor and needy but opening your hearts to them. not just about praying for the poor but doing something about it. about being an ear for someone who needs to talk. about taking them coffee just to say i'm thinking about you. not just dirty knees from praying but dirty hands from helping. this is my first time involved in doing something like this and man it really hit me hard. the lady that sent us out talked to us about what God said about the poor. when He had the priests send up burnt offerings to Him, the meat was used to feed the priests and the poor. so even God remembered them. and when His people harvested their crops He told them to leave the edges for the poor to glean from. in other words, God tithes to the poor. i have never thought about that before. i have no problem giving $$ if i can but never think about doing any more than that. i want to be involved. the justice project was a real eye opener for me. i am so proud to be part of a church community that wants to help others. i was shocked at how many people showed up today!! thank you next level for helping me get to the next level!!

week in review

2008-11-21T10:38:00.008-05:00

apples apples everywhere! and hand turkeys too.

work work and more work.

finally wood for the fireplace!

harrison came to dinner. so funny. yummy mexican lasagna.

southern christmas show. mikey told santa he wanted a massaging car seat. what a hoot! awesome trains and cinnamon pretzels.

shopping for our justice project family. gotta love Aldi's!

big c's thanksgiving/etiquette luncheon. man!! he is handsome. (don't you think he needs a haircut?)

deer in the back yard. in the fence no less.

no rest on saturday then sunday is "Shattered" at church. so excited!!!

hopefully over the thanksgiving holiday i can get a real post in!!

happy weekend

oh and i forgot to mention the LICE!!!!!

the leaf doesn't fall far from the tree

2008-11-13T17:13:00.006-05:00

monkey and i have been working on the letter L. and leaf starts with the letter l. so we went on a leaf hunt and then learned about them. we learned why and how leaves change color. i was impressed; he was not. then we did leaf rubbing's. i was great at it; he was not. then he got to finger paint some leaves on a tree. that he loved! (note the cat) and since sorting is a big deal in kindergarten, we sorted the leaves from largest to smallest. he has that down pat. i also wanted him to know how trees grew. and since i didn't have any seeds, i used beans to show him. we put some cannellini beans (which is all i had) on a wet paper towel, folded them and then put them into plastic baggies. i'll keep you posted on their growth. he was very excited about his "experiment".

today i ordered the ants for his ant farm. not real thrilled about that but both boys are excited about it. we are also going to have a butterfly farm in the late summer and we are going to grow a frog. that makes 4 different animals this year!! (see the fish here)

i can't believe i have to start thinking about buying gifts soon. uggh!! usually i have a list by now. this job is putting a big chink in my schedule! :) but i'm happy to have it believe me!

note to self...

2008-11-09T14:15:00.002-05:00

i am an avid note taker. i love nothing more than to go somewhere (usually church) with my special pen and something to write on and jot down pearls of wisdom from others. i don't know if this is because i'm not very original myself or writing stuff down helps me to remember better. and i just got this great new note book just for taking notes at church. i managed to cover 2 pages today! now if i can just remember to go back and read it all!

pastor todd is teaching on jonah. most of you know the story, prophet not wanting to do God's work, runs away and ends up in being eaten by a big fish. great sunday school fodder. (no pun intended) but i never looked at jonah as someone like me. a prophet! well he must be a great guy who always does what he is told. i constantly hear God telling me to do stuff and i just don't want to do it so i run in the opposite direction. huh. just like jonah. todd asked us this week to give God 100%. not 92% (or in my case 75%). so my note to self is this. GIVE 100% TO GOD THIS WEEK.

2008-11-05T08:06:00.001-05:00

my pastor posted this last night after hearing the news...

Historic Night

We don't do partisan politics at Next Level and, no, I ain't gonna tell you who I voted for!

All that aside, this is a historic night in American history. Senator Barack Obama has just been elected president. The first African-American President. The first bi-racial President. At a perilous and promising moment in the history of this nation. In an instant, this man's life has changed. He is about to become the most powerful person in the history of the world - which is always the description of the American President. The responsibilities he will bear are beyond telling.

His is an extraordinary story, and agree or disagree with his politics it is impossible not to admire his grit and determination in arriving at this night. May he be blessed and may he know God in ways he has never before imagined.

I am writing as a pastor, not a partisan, to make a few points.

Pray for President-elect Obama. Pray that God will bless him with great wisdom, courage, discernment and insight. Pray in particular that he will be wise in his selection of men and women to advise him.

Whether you voted for President-elect Obama or Senator McCain, know this - the world has not ended on the one hand, and the new era of perfection has not begun on the other. God is still in charge of mankind and nations and He is working all things to his eternal purpose. Focus on what is eternal, not what is temporal.

Finally, pray for healing and hope for our nation. These are difficult times. More than ever before, our greatest need is to turn to God who wants to heal and restore and give us hope!

ma-ma mia!

2008-11-01T09:48:00.003-04:00

monkey decided he wanted to go as Mario (as in Super Mario from Nintendo) for Halloween.
fine with me. the only thing i had to get was a $3 mustache and his costume was done. i laughed so hard i wet my pants twice. and what was even funnier was that people walked right up to him and said "MARIO!" they knew exactly who he was. big c, being 12, was sullen about what he wanted to do. it just had to be something dead. so i suggested a zombie. that way all i had to get for him was some white makeup. then he wanted green hair. whatever. but he looked good. he's so cute he even makes a zombie look adorable! don't tell him i said that! he would get mad at me! we went to the church up the street that was having a carnival. they handed out tons of candy and free stuff. they both got stuffed animals (?) and monkey got a whiffle ball and bat. and they had free hot dogs. then we headed over to my mom's neighborhood. she has more houses than we do and she said usually everyone gives out candy. well i think the recession is bitting into the candy giving in my town. we walked many streets but only about 3 out of 10 houses were giving out candy. oh well. my kids got tons!! we headed to the store afterwards to get a pizza and monkey and big c got their second wind. so i dropped them off at the end of the street and went home to put the pizza in the oven. they worked their way up and got home in time to cram candy and pizza in before i made them go to bed.
not a bad night i would say!

AGGGHHHHAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-10-31T14:39:00.003-04:00

....my life right now. nuts-o

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Next Level Gladiators

2008-10-02T08:48:00.002-04:00

last saturday night our church (next level) was holding a youth event. they were going to play american gladiators. remember that show? the gladiators beat the crap out of the contestants. well this was the same. the gladiators were the youth leaders and the contestants were the kids. it was held on a soccer field. and we had just had 3 days of rain right before this. so you can imagine how wet and mushy it was. not to mention i think geese like to flock there and do their thing. so it was disgusting. and of course i volunteered to help. (i mean i wasn't going to waste the gas driving out there and back!) jared (the youth pastor) put me to work scoring on the power ball game. that's the one where you take a ball out of the basket (or in this case trashcan) and try to get it into another basket (trashcan) with out getting slammed to the ground by a gladiator. and it was 1 kid to 3 gladiators. i laughed my butt off. they were sliding all over the place and falling like crazy. even the adults. and i have to say some of the girls really stepped up to the plate. they were great! then their were the ones who didn't want to get dirty. pansy's. so i helped out with this game for a while, then it was time for the ELIMINATOR!! they set out big blue tarps and covered them with vegetable oil. yes vegetable oil. the kids had to put their heads on the top of a umbrella and spin around 10 times. then roll all the way down the tarp (covered in vegetable oil) and then do 10 pushups. there was something else but i couldn't see it from where i was. oh they got hit by pillows that had been covered in flour. and had to slide down a muddy hill to see who won. big c was an absolute mess! but he had a wonderful time. my feet were soooo dirty and my pants legs were soaked.

hot dogs and music followed. and big c had blake and caden spend the night with him. i made them all sit on garbage bags on the way home and immediately strip and get into the shower. (and wash a load of laundry!)

i wanted to take my camera but was afraid it would get gross so i didn't. and i'm glad! if i get some pix i'll post them. you have to see how disgusting it really was.

i love my church!

more gas stuff

2008-09-30T07:40:00.002-04:00

still no gas. and they are telling us it could be 7 to 10 more days!!! i was lucky saturday night and happened by a gas station that had a tanker truck pulling up right as i was driving by. i swerved around and pulled in. still had to wait though. and most places run out in just a few hours b/c people are lined up down the block waiting to get gas. it's unreal. especially since it's just happening here.

gas update

2008-09-26T16:54:00.001-04:00

(see earlier post)

there were some gas stations that were supposed to get a shipment of gas this morning. so people slept in their cars at the gas pumps. yes you read that right. SLEPT IN THEIR CARS ALL NIGHT LONG AT THE GAS PUMPS!!! what in the world are people thinking? it was all over the news this morning and the lines were miles long. thank goodness i still have some left in my car. i hope this is over soon!!

what's happening in your town?

2008-09-25T11:49:00.002-04:00

this is what is going on where i live. can anyone send me some gas.......

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Lines crawled out into the streets leading up to the Exxon gas station on Pineville-Matthews Road on Thursday morning, as it was one of the few stations in Charlotte with fuel.

Exxon actually hired security guards to help with the lines.

"I can’t believe it," said one driver in line, who waited an hour for gas. "But I have to, my car’s on 'E.'"

But that wasn't helping many of the drivers waiting in line in Charlotte on Thursday morning.

"My truck is out of gas," said Diane Manzare. "So I'll also have to get a gas can to get some gas for my truck."

The managers at the Exxon had expected to have enough gas to last the morning, but just before 8 a.m., the station announced that it had run out gas, leaving more than 40 drivers angrily heading off some in search of gas somewhere else.

On Wednesday, finding gas in the Charlotte area was like a treasure hunt for some drivers.

"I passed like six or seven gas stations that were completely out," one driver told NewsChannel 36.

"South Boulevard doesn't have any. Independence doesn't have any.(this is the main road from my house!) No one has gas," said another.

For those who found gas, lines were long.

"I decided to stop because I was about to run out," said one man. "I'm on E. I'm sitting here with the truck turned off just rolling inch by inch as the line slowly moves, and hopefully I can get in and get some gas and not get into the parking lot and have them run out."

There were also reports of tempers flaring at the pumps. NewsChannel 36 reporters saw a fight break out at one station after someone cut in line.

Viewers have also reported many near-accidents because of people trying to get into gas stations.

heard from the other room this morning

2008-09-24T08:12:00.004-04:00

"mittens. they keep your hands warm" - monkey

what? it's september. why is he wearing mittens? cause he's mine that's why. crazy kid! gotta love him!

bad blogger

2008-09-22T15:00:00.005-04:00

i am so bad. i haven't read a single blog or hardly looked at my own in forever!! last week i was sick and i just hung out on the couch all week. (and the computer is not there or i would have checked in on my blog buddies!) and of course i'm supposed to be teaching monkey kindergarten. we got through one week then i got sick so i had to put that on hold. but today i'm back in full force. hope to catch up on all my blogs today and tomorrow. so be on the lookout for some comments!!

the first week of school was a blast for monkey and i. the curriculium i am using is called My Father's World and the first 2 weeks is all about teaching them the creation story. Genesis 1-2. they give you all kinds of cute ideas but i found one that i LOVED on their website. Monkey has been bugging me for a fish forever! he even drew pictures of them and named them. so we decided to use the idea to teach the story of creation by using a fish tank. sooo cool!! here is what we did...

1st day - God created the heaven and the earth
we set up the tank. it is a cheap plastic one (i'm hoping he will get tired of them and i can throw it away!) so there was not a lot of set up. but he was still super excited!

2nd day - God said Let there be a great expanse of air to divide the waters below from the waters above.
we added the water. now he's getting really excited!

3rd day - And God called the dry land “earth”; and the gathering together of the waters He called “seas”:Then God said, “Let the earth produce grass, and herbs, and fruit trees. in goes the gravel and the plant.

4th day - God made two great lights; the sun to rule by day and the moon to rule by night. He also made the stars. this tank doesn't have a light so we put the filter in instead!

5th day - God created great whales and everything that moves in the water, and winged animals. oh man. this was a super fun day! we took the dog with us to pet smart and she was freaking out. in a good way. i was trying to hold on to her and help the boys pick out their fish. it was crazy! monkey got 2 and big c got 1.

6th day - Then God said, “Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.” yep, that's our pirate Adam.

7th day - God rested.

this was a super fun project and he remembers everything about it!! and it seems like the boys are not the only one's who are enjoying our new additions....

weekend at bernie's (or sassy's whichever you prefer!)

2008-09-12T16:34:00.008-04:00

i have been home 5 days and haven't blogged!! sorry! just getting back into the swing of things, like school and work, have left me little time to sit down and post everything. so...

got to austin thursday afternoon. the flights were ok but on the one from charlotte to houston we were on a little plane. 2 rows and 2 rows. not so bad but the lady next to me, by the window, must have thought that she was the only one allowed to use the middle arm rest. so i had to keep my arm in my lap the whole time. it was sore once i got off the plane. oh and they served actual food! and drinks and didn't make us pay for them! on the trip there it was cheese and salami and crackers with m&m's and nuts. and on the way home it was a ham and cheese sandwich with carrots and a kit kat. i was impressed since most airlines make you pay for everything!! even blankets and pillows.
btw i flew Continental.

so thursday afternoon...we stopped on the way home from the airport at our favorite place to stop on the way home from the airport. shady grove. and had yummy hotdogs and french fries. and it's outside and the breeze was blowin'. very nice. we wanted a little snack because we planned on going to 1st thursday down the street from sis's house and we knew we would be eating a late dinner. got to her place and kissed all over her sweet doggy. we went to the mailbox and low and behold i found a $5 bill!! woo-hoo!! love free money. then we headed down congress street to see the sights. you can really tell this is a college town. i remember when i used to be a freak. no wonder people stare at you. there were lots of them around. we just window shopped and looks at all the cool arts and crafts stuff people had out for sale. we saw some really interesting stuff. cool pictures, gourds made into bowls and purses and some girl made these really neat dolls. but they were all ugly or scary looking (without being scary, cute scary i guess) and she used very odd materials to make them. i wanted one but they were super expensive. then we stopped by guaros and listened to some live music and had a margarita. and found another dollar!!! we decided if we found more money we would play the lottery. stopped at magnolia's on the way home and had a super yummy turkey and pineapple taco. and sis had pumpkin pancakes. yummmmmmmm

friday we got up and went to zilker park. this place is huge!! and it's right on the river so it's beautiful as well. we checked out a new section where you go around and around this hill to get to the top and there is a map of texas with how many miles you are from any given city. and what a great view!!
then we walked around the palmer center and admired the wood ceilings and huge fans. walked across the bridge and i got a blister so we headed back home to shower because i was so HOT!! man. that dry heat will get cha! we had plans to go buy a baby shower gift and have lunch and amanda was able to join us!! yipee! i just love her. fun shopping and good lunch with bad bad service. got sis some hot boots and then met brittish girl for a pedicure! i haven't had one since i was prego with monkey. 6 years. loved it and sis fell asleep in the massaging chair. we decided to go to curra's for dinner. and she and john MADE ME WALK!! hadn't i just walked that morning? and didn't i have a blister? heartless i tell you, heartless. and then they lied and said it was only 1/2 mile. baloney. and they didn't tell me it was uphill both ways!!! but the food was great and there was a fireworks show across the street and we got to enjoy that with our chips and salsa. and i had a avocado margarita. yum!!!

saturday was the day of the baby shower. (the whole reason i was there) we took the doggy to the park for a swim and who would be there but the momma-to-be, femme! with her hubby's wild but sweet doggy. so we got to chat with her for a while, which was great because i figured she would be too busy to do much of that at the shower.
then we headed home, cleaned up and went to chez z for the big ta-da. i got to see lots of people that i knew, my boss christa was there, amanda again, ashley, and i got to meet katie, meghan and finally paula!! i had a great time. and look at the cool car we saw in the parking lot. yes folks that is astro turf. and note the daisy's painted on the hubcaps. classic austin. after the shower we went back to her place and rested for a while. and we needed it. soon it was time to head back to the river for our bat tour with l&d. i was excited about getting to see them too. so funny. we got a beer from the hotel and headed out on the boat.
man, it's hot there. (have i already said that?) the tour guide was very droll and cracked us all up. we tooled down the river for a while and headed back to see the bats come out. austin has the largest population of bats in the united states. and we got to see them all and have them poop on us. it was awesome! unfortunately it was dark so we couldn't see them as well as i would have liked too. it was really cool to see all the people standing on the bridge looking down. there must have been 400 people up there! i think next visit we'll do that instead of taking the boat. galaxy for dinner where femme met up with us. good times!

sunday was my day to go home. (boo!) but my plane didn't leave until 3 so we still had time to do some more austiny stuff. do you remember during the olympics they showed a bank of america commercial with this guy standing in front of all this junk? probably not. well that is the cathedral of junk. and sis and i have talked about going so we made sure we could do that this trip. oh. my. gosh. this place is amazing. it's in this guy's back yard and he just builds with trash. his yard is not much bigger than mine and it's full of stuff.
it's amazing. he was there putting together more stuff with concrete. super nice. and it's FREE!! i could have stayed forever just looking at stuff. check out the video. which does not do it justice. after sis got totally eaten up my mosquitoes we decided to head out to lunch. whole foods with john. yummy...we don't have one here so it's a big deal for me. and then off to the airport. i bet you are now as exhausted from reading this as i was when i got home!!

we made a list before i got there of things we wanted to do while i was there. normally we just sit around and relax or go see a movie. this time i wanted to be going. and as you can see we did. here is our list

Go to Mount Bonnell (it was wayy too hot for this)
See the Bats (done)
Eat on the patio at Whole Foods (too hot but we ate inside)
Walk the trails at Zilker Park (check)
Go to the Oasis (too far of a drive)
Go see Christa, Marianne, Amanda, Jenn (check for all but jenn. boo)
Go see a movie at the Drafthouse (had too much other stuff to do!)
cathedral of junk (check)
brunch at magnolia cafe (dinner instead)
get a tattoo (i figure i can get one of those here!)
get a pedicure (check!)

i'm impressed we got so much done in so little time. thanks sis for a super fun visit!! i love you!!

off to Austin!!!!

2008-09-03T18:49:00.003-04:00

i'm heading out in the am to fly to Austin to see my sis!! can't wait!! just me. no kids. 4 days.

what happens in Austin, stays in Austin.......

2008-08-29T10:32:00.004-04:00

i read 2 books yesterday. yes 2 books. i know get a life. i took monkey to monkey joe's and he played for 3 hours and i read. then the guys were watching a football game i didn't care to see so i started another book and finished it.

the first book was this. normally i love her books. this one made me mad. the main character ellen just made me crazy. you may like it. i'd be interested to see if anyone else felt the same way.

then i read this one. my friend supercoolmom that i'm in blogger book club with said she was going to read it with her other book club. so i thought i would check it out. it was GREAT!!! it's told by a 15 year old autistic boy who finds his neighbors dog dead in their front yard. big c went to a school that had inclusion with autistic kids and there were 2 in his class. he was good friends with one of them and i'm good friends with his mom. this book really made me understand what he (and his mom) are going through. and how his mind works. it's funny and sad and amazing how he processes things so much differently than i do. if you know anyone who is autistic get this book. even if you don't read it anyway. thanks supercoolmom for the recommendation!!

it's great to live in the south!

2008-08-28T18:01:00.001-04:00

YIKES!!

rain rain go away.....

2008-08-27T12:19:00.004-04:00

i just can't be happy can i? when it doesn't rain for weeks and we are in a drought all i can think about is rain. now that we have soooo much (thanks to Fay) i can't wait for it to stop. yesterday we got over 6" of rain. and the thunder this morning woke me up. it sounded like a giant walking across the yard. super loud. and it's supposed to do it some more today. *sigh* my yard looks like a swimming pool. now i'm going to have to mow again. i was hoping i was done with that for the year!

this is the last week before school starts for us. and it's been pretty boring. on monday my friend deborah and i took the kids for a ride on our new light rail. it's not close so we haven't done it before. but it takes you downtown right to the new children's library, Imaginon.
i enjoyed it but the older boys said they were bored. of course they were. they're teenagers and need to totally entertained all the time. the little kids really enjoyed themselves. the only problem we had were the high school kids that got on after us and were rude, crude and vulgar. i wanted to turn around and say "do you kiss your momma with that mouth?" but i was afraid of getting hurt. :)

i highlighted my hair last night. i don't know why i didn't go into hairdressing after high school. i'm very good at it! (if i do say so myself)

i rented What Happens in Vegas last night. i have seen it before but it was so funny. and hubby laughed and laughed. and we got Island of Nim. very cute. jodi foster did a great job. very neurotic.

i am hoping to order monkey's school stuff this week. if it would stop raining and my hubby could go to work we would have the money to do that!!!!!!!!

i've been setting up field trips for us to take. we have tickets to see some plays at the Children's Theater. peter pan, a Christmas story and frog and toad. monkey will love them. and we are going apple/pumpkin picking. and another zoo day. we are going to have so much fun!

and have i mentioned that i'm addicted to Facebook? thanks sis. (note the sarcasm) i love flair! if you have a facebook account add me.

VOTE FOR ME!!

2008-08-26T08:53:00.001-04:00

hehe

2008-08-25T12:01:00.001-04:00

Housework was a woman's job, but one evening, Carol arrived home from
work to find the children bathed, one load of laundry in the washer
and another in the dryer. Dinner was on the stove, and the table set.

She was astonished!
It turns out that Ralph had read an article that said,
'Women who work, and had to do their own housework were too tired to
have sex.'

The night went very well.

The next day, she told her office friends
all about it. 'We had a great dinner. Ralph even cleaned up the
kitchen. He helped the kids do their homework, folded all the laundry
and put it away. I really enjoyed the evening.'

'But what about afterward?' asked her friends.

'Oh, that ... Ralph was too tired..'

God is good.

42 ODD Things about me meme!

2008-08-20T10:14:00.002-04:00

1. Do you like blue cheese? yes, the stinkier the cheese the better
2. Have you ever smoked cigarettes? yes , i'm such a rebel!
3. Do you own a gun? no, i'm afraid of them!
4. What flavor Kool Aid was your favorite? red b/c it made a great mustache
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? No since they are never for me, just for my kids
6. What do you think of hot dogs? i think they are best burnt
7. Favorite Christmas movie? National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - "If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet I wouldn't be more surprised than I am now."
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? i prefer scotch but i ususally just have water! ;)
9. Can you do pushups? yes but only the girly kind
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? wedding ring is what i should say b/c i wear it all the time but i have some great earrings and i think i like those best
11. Favorite hobby? reading
12. Do you have A.D.D.? no. hey look! is that a chicken?
13. What's one trait you hate about yourself? since i'm on happy pills i have no bad traits! :)
14. Middle name? Rogers - maiden name. i don't have a real middle name. my folks were so convinced i was a boy they never picked one out
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? austin, camera, trashmen
16. Name 3 drinks you regularly have? water, wine, water
17. Favorite TV show? iron chef and jon and kate plus eight
18. Current hate right now? having to get a job to pay for gas for michael to get to work!
19. Favorite place to be? new hampshire on the party porch. i miss it!
20. How did you ring in the new year? watch the terminator series and played board games with the kids
21. Where would you like to go? Greece
22. Name three people who will complete this? melissa, jennifer, cathy b
23. Do you own slippers? yes but they are completely worn out, will have to get some new ones this year. they are fuzzy and purple!
24. What color shirt are you wearing? orange my favorite!
25. Do you like sleeping on satin? yes b/c it stays super cold all night
26. Can you whistle? yes but not very well. but i whistle great through a blade of grass!
27. Would you be a pirate? sure. travel to faraway places, get a great tan, and get to keep all that great loot!
28. What songs do you sing in the shower? ususally stuff from musicals.
29. Favorite girl's name? Cassidy
30. Favorite boy's name? Michael
31. What is in your pockets right now? not cash that's for sure!
32. Last thing that made you laugh? my kids. they made the video characters head super big on jax and daxter and we laughed our butts off
33 Best bed sheets as a child? what an odd question. i can't remember but any as long as i didn't have to put them on the bed they were the best
34. Worst injury you've ever had? car accident, got hit by a drunk driver. i was fine really but my sis was pretty beat up. and i broke a fingernail once...
35. Do you love where you live? yes!! but the traffic is getting really bad from the new development down the street. i'm thinking of putting nails in the road to make them slow down!
36. How many TVs do you have in your house? 2
37. Who is your loudest friend? jennifer
38. Does someone have a crush on you? everyone that knows me!! :)
39. What is your favorite book(s)? the far pavillions
40. What is your favorite candy? mary janes! yum but you never get them at Halloween anymore. boo
41. Favorite Sports Team? Cincinnati Bengals
42. What song do you want played at your funeral? the Grinch!

job info coming soon.....

bad news

2008-08-18T18:50:00.000-04:00

i got a job. :(

2008-08-13T11:50:00.003-04:00

the weather was sooooo amazing yesterday we had a picnic!!!
who would have thought, in the middle of august, we could have lunch outside!!

note the spidey outfit. monkey said it would help keep the mosquitoes away.

and it's raining today. my grass is super dry. i hope it keeps up all day.

my sweet sis is going to be at the airport tomorrow for a 2 hour layover!! big c is going to be at a friends house but monkey and i are going to hang out with her for a while. i can't wait!

weekend

2008-08-11T12:50:00.003-04:00

what a nice weekend. the weather was sooo great on saturday we turned off the a/c and opened all the windows. awesome!! hubby mowed the front yard and i cleaned for my pampered chef party i had sunday. then we sat on the couch and watched the olympics. now that we have a dvr we just tape and watch what parts we want. love it!! big c spent the night at logan's and my mom came and got monkey and took him to dinner and to see wall-e. so we had a night to ourselves. very nice. got chinese and just chilled with a movie. 21. it was really good.

sunday was church then hanging out with more olympics until the PC party. very successful and fun. yummy food of course!! and i'm up to $60 in free stuff!! i just can't decide what i want!

we are having a dilemma about church. we go to the main campus in matthews which is only about 15 minute drive. not bad at all. but they are putting a satellite church in mint hill up the street from where we live. and i know God wants us to go there. we did the portable church for so long i feel like He prepped us for this and we need to be obedient to what He wants us to do. but I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE!!! i love just going and not having to work. (i don't consider keeping the nursery work!) and if we do what we are supposed to do and go to the new church there will be lots of work. and then there is big c. the middle school program is amazing! and he has been asked to play in the band. and this is the age where kids start falling away from church and i don't want that to happen. at the new church there will not be a middle school band. church for them yes but not their own building like they have now. and he is very upset about it. we keep beating it to death. and just don't know what to do. anyway...

oh and kim THANK YOU FOR INTRODUCING ME TO MIKA!!!! we love him!! how much fun is he!!!

corn dog muffins!

2008-08-08T10:57:00.003-04:00

my kids cooked dinner last night!!!!

i found this great corn dog muffin recipe and they decided they wanted to make it themselves. monkey got to cutting the hotdogs and big c mixed everything else. monkey has a pampered chef safety knife and he uses it whenever he can. he was chopping away and said "look mommy i'm a sous chef!" we watch wayyy too much cooking channel!

they were really amazing! (the muffins i mean!) they tasted just like corndogs but better. i think they next time big c has a sleepover i will let the kids make them.

here is the recipe.

corn dog muffins
makes 18 (large) muffins

* 2 (8.5 ounce) packages cornbread mix
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
* 9 hot dogs, cut in small pieces

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease muffin tins.
2. Stir together the cornbread mix and the brown sugar in a large bowl. Whisk the eggs and milk in a small bowl until smooth. Fold the eggs, cheese and hot dog pieces into the dry mixture until moistened. Spoon mixture into muffin tins until 2/3 full.
3. Bake in a preheated oven 14 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown.

heard from the other room....

2008-08-07T19:06:00.000-04:00

ms. jetson, the doctor will see you now.

WHAT? that monkey. he cracks me up

i am extremely tired of extreme home makeover

2008-08-04T19:38:00.002-04:00

well it's over. and i have to say i truly enjoyed all of it. except today. there must have been 1,000 people there. and they were the rudest, most inconsiderate people on the planet. they stood all over the flowers, left their trash everywhere and even sat in our swing when i went inside to potty!!! i took tons of pictures but this video really shows what it was like. so enjoy.

i got a small glimpse of ty pennington as he ran by the crowd. sorry it didn't turn out better. but i did get to see ed up close.
he is a cutie too. and very sweet.

some lady let her kid pee in the bushes in front of the house!!!
what!!??!! why didn't she just ask to use the one inside. it's not like we weren't sitting right there!!!!! some mom did ask if her son could go and of course we let him. we are not ogres people! and a family brought food from Wendy's and had a picnic in the front yard. no big deal except one of them threw their tomato off of their burger into the yard!! again, WHAT!!!???!!! i found it after they had left or i would have thrown it back at them!!

and people were passing out right and left from the heat. the reveal was supposed to happen at 2:00 but they had to break for lunch (union rules i guess) and they didn't re-start until 3:30. some people had been out there since 9am! and it was HOT!!

the house is beautiful!! i can't wait to see the show to see the inside. when i know the actually date, i will let you know!

i had to go back EHM day 4

2008-08-04T09:45:00.004-04:00

i caved. but i convinced my mom she needed to see it and i knew she would not stay out there very long. so i was only there for about an hour. and really there was not too much to see since most of the work is being done on the inside now.

2:30

notice how this house dwarfs the ones next to it. it's a monster.

one of the crew used the pressure washer hose and misted the crowd. they loved that.

here is the path thru the yard again. it just keeps getting worse.

and here is a group of people that are coming from the shuttle.
they arrive like this every 15 to 30 minutes. lots of new people to talk to! :)

ty was there but i didn't see him.

today is the reveal. i decided i am going to go. my mom told me that i had put in all this time and i needed to be there. so be prepared. you never know what may happen......

i'm so tired of Extreme Home Makeover Day 3

2008-08-03T10:33:00.005-04:00

i think i have seen all i want to see of this house. but here's what i have. these are all from saturday

10am

this is one of the carpenters rib (so called b/c when he was little he liked frogs so much that everyone called him ribbet instead of robert and then it got shortened to rib.) he was so cute and very nice to everyone!

we have a children's inflatable play place here called monkey joe's. and my monkey loves it! they are one of the sponsors of the house and monkey joe showed up today. that was my monkey's favorite thing of this whole week!

noonish

2:00

i found out from one of our neighbors that if you lived in the neighborhood you could take advantage of the food and things they were providing for the workers. i really didn't want any food but they did have free icee's!! so we went and got 2 of those.

about 5:00 i had had all i could take. i was sunburnt, sweaty and oh so tired. so we took some last pix and headed home.

this is the path through the yard i'm sure it's only going to get worse!

these are some of the durn people that made the path through the yard.

this is one of the 2 tents set up for the workers. this one has the icees!!

and here is the house as we left.

i really don't want to go back. but then again i do. i'm like a junkie with his fix. "i can do without it! i don't need it!" anyway ty never showed up yesterday and is supposed to be there today. maybe i'll stop by for an icee......

EHM day 2 part 2

2008-08-02T08:48:00.008-04:00

we went to bonefish grill for dinner. yummy!! then we headed back to the house about 8:00. i was floored!!

they had put up all the wrapping and the shingles on the roof. but the foot traffic was still going strong. it was sooo hot and humid i was hoping that would keep the people away. no such luck.

then it got dark and they turned on the big lights.

9:00pm

midnight

2:00am (yes 2:00am!) and there will still people out there watching. other than me i mean!

7:00am (yes 7:00am!! thanks monkey)
i can't believe what they got done in just 5 hours. painted, the wood stained, landscaping (mostly the back) and no telling what it looks like inside. we will be heading back in a little while. monkey is really getting tired of being there. and i can't figure out why i'm so obsessed with it. i think if it wasn't at my mom-in-laws i wouldn't be so excited.

and this is the yard.
i can't imagine what it's going to look like after monday. thank goodness they will re-seed the whole thing!

EHM day 2

2008-08-01T16:33:00.007-04:00

monkey got me up early this morning. thanks. but i got up and we were at the house by 9:00. this is what it looked like i can't believe how much they got done from yesterday.

i set monkey up on a blanket in the front yard to play with his My Little Sandbox.

i brought some magazines and the laptop so i could check up on everyone's blogs. which i have been super slack on. sorry!!! but so many people kept stopping to chat with me that i had almost no time to check. it was really great though. everyone congratulated me on my location. and wanted me to tell them what had happened yesterday. so i got to talk a lot!! (which always makes me happy!)

i tried to take a picture about every hour or so. here's what i have so far.

we left about 4 to come home and let the dog out. we are going to dinner with my mom then we are headed back to spend the night. because it's a friday i expect tons of people to show up after work and after they have dinner. ann (hubby's sis) had to leave for the airport this morning at 4am. there were people out there watching then!!! so i plan on staying up and observing.

i still have not seen ty pennington. he should be there tonight or tomorrow. but rip, deedee, michael and ed were there. i saw ed and michael doing some silly stuff and getting filmed. i can't wait to see the show and see if what i saw is what they put on there.

and it's HOT! but i'm in the shade thank you very much! hope to get some good pix tonight. so be checking!!

extreme home makeover day 1

2008-07-31T16:37:00.006-04:00

well it's day 1 for me but not for the house. we got there about 9:30 and we were amazed by how much stuff and people were all over the place. luckily we had a parking pass so we just drove right up. this is what it looked like when we got there.

not much to see right? they had dug a basement and done the demo while we were in florida.

i got the great idea to get the portable swing and put it in the drive way. we had the most perfect view. and tons of shade which is good because it was durn hot out there!!
it was perfect. and you can tell from the first pix that there was a fence across the front of the yard. well that is where all the people were walking to get closer to the house. and almost everyone of them said what a great spot we had, perfect view, great idea, or something equally nice. we were sitting there watching and the local news camera crew stopped across the street and taped us! hope we make the 6:00!

the lady who's house they are doing runs a day-care from her home. but it's for single mom's who are trying to get on their feet and not rely on welfare. but it's so hard to work and pay for child care that this lady (alisha king) gives them a great discount. and she loves them all so much. and she runs a clothing swap/giveaway out of her home too. so it gets really crowded. probably about 1100 square feet of space. anyway the kids that she keeps were there today and were interviewed by one of the designers, Michael

do you recognize him? what a super nice guy. guess who was standing right next to the kids he was talking to? ME!! and my hubby and big c. unless they blur me out, i will be on the show!!!! i'll keep you posted as to the date and stuff.

this is what they had done as we were leaving about 2:00. amazing!
i can't wait to go back tomorrow!!

be on the lookout for more pix and hopefully some celebrity sightings!!

HOME

2008-07-31T06:57:00.001-04:00

we're home!! i see no one missed me. except the dog and my hubby. i will post about florida later. now i'm on my way to spend the super hot day trying to catch a glimpse of ty pennington!!! i'll be toting my camera and hopefully will have something to show for my efforts!

2008-07-26T15:35:00.001-04:00

off to florida. be back wednesday. stay cool!

am i crazy?

2008-07-26T00:18:00.003-04:00

do you like these?

i'm getting them!! i don't care if i have anything to go with them or not!!

I LOVE THEM!!!!!!

fa la la la la la la la la

2008-07-25T07:36:00.001-04:00

only 6 months until Christmas!!

do you have your shopping done? :)

enjoy the sounds of the season........

this is soooo cool!!!!

2008-07-24T14:20:00.002-04:00

i'm so excited!! i just found out that Extreme Home Makeover is going to be making over the house across the street from my mom-in-law's house!!! and she is only 15 minutes away. i have to say i watched this show every week for the first 2 years. then i got bored with it. but it's a great concept and i'm thrilled that it's going to be so close that i can actually go see it in progress!! we are leaving for florida sunday so we will miss the first 3 days but after that, i'm spending the night at grandma's!!!!!! be on the lookout for pix and video.....and i'll let you know the air date when i find out!!

grab your tissues!

2008-07-21T17:17:00.003-04:00

Holy Mamma Mia Batman!!

2008-07-21T11:47:00.005-04:00

i was a movie warrior this weekend! friday night i went to see Mamma Mia and sunday i went to see Batman! i don't usually get out that often so it was very nice for me.

friday mom and mom-in-law were going to see MM and asked me if i wanted to go with them. we went out to dinner first then the movie. boy was it crowded!! thank goodness we got there early! this is not the best movie you are ever going to see but it was so cute and soooo funny!! and of course there were Abba songs through the whole thing! go see it with your sister or girlfriends. i really enjoyed it!

sunday after church we decided to drop off monkey at the clouser's house and go see The Dark Night! big c and hubby were super excited! we got there early (of course) and got right in with no problem. but again it got super packed. (not surprised) long long movie. not for small children. or middle aged children. quite violent. the story was good but the Joker was without a doubt the best part of the movie. even if Heath had not died, people would still be talking about his performance in this flick. man he was creepy!! way better job than jack nicholson did. it was dark and not much of a feel good movie but i highly recommend it as a must see movie this summer.

asheville trip

2008-07-16T11:32:00.021-04:00

we are back from vacation. and what a great vacation it was!! i can't believe how much we crammed into 3 short days! if you ever have the opportunity to go to asheville and the biltmore house, GO! it is better than you can imagine.

we left on sunday morning. picked up hubby's mom, peggy, to go with us. i just love her and she is so much fun to be with. i'm glad she came. it took us about 2 hours to get to our first destination. since we couldn't get into the hotel until 3 we thought we would go to the Western North Carolina Nature Center on our way into asheville. it's not a big place, like a zoo, but there were lots of animals and hands on things for the kids to do and see. the weather was overcast so it was not too hot. all of the animals are rescues of one kind or another and are too humanized to be released back into the wild. sunday afternoon was a great day to go. there was hardly anyone there. they had a great underground room with cross sections of the earth so you could see what was in there. kinda gross but the kids liked it. there was a petting zoo and a butterfly house. monkey did not want to pet any animals but the rest of us did. when you enter the butterfly house, they spray your hand with sugar water so the butterflies will land on you. very cool! and we each got one to land on us. one even landed on the flower tattoo on my ankle!

there was a bobcat that was cracking us up! he had a mole (don't know if it was real or not) but he kept picking it up in his mouth and tossing it up in the air and jumping up to catch it. we stayed and watched him for a long time.

we went back to the hotel for some rest and relief from the humidity. i had packed some games for us to play. so big c, hubby and peggy played Quiddler while monkey and i played disney yahtzee and land before time matching game. then we played poker using legos for betting! the boys went swimming then we walked to dinner. ate too much and slept great!

monday was Biltmore House day!! we were all so excited! thank goodness our hotel had a breakfast bar. we ate big breakfasts so we would have lots of energy for all the walking we knew was coming up. we got to the gates of the estate and started driving. man it took us 10 minutes to get to the parking lot! the biltmore house sits on 8,000 acres of land. (which could explain why their driveway is so long!) we parked and started walking. you can take a bus but it was a beautiful day and we wanted to be out in it. as you walk up these are the gates for the road to lead right up to the house. you can go up these stairs and look out at the property.
this is what you see. note the moutains in the back ground.
we were so goofy with excitement people we looking at us. i have lived in NC for almost 30 years and never been to the biltmore. i could hardly contain myself. we started to cross the HUGE lawn to get to the actual house. on your left is the gardens. they were amazing. and in the middle of the yard is a big fountain where monkey saw a tadpole. he was thrilled. that's him with his propeller hat on.

the entrance is amazing. the hugeness of the place overwhelms you. i mean i know the place was big but come on! and people still live there!

i took lots of pictures of the outside but unfortunately you can't take pictures inside at all. except when you are on the first floor balcony. and i'm not talking a balcony like in a hotel. this thing was as long as my house!

and the breeze coming off of it was heavenly. we sat out there and gave monkey a granola bar. and just looked and admired. you have several options when you go tour the house. you can do it on your own, which we did, you can do an audio tour, or you can have a private tour guide, which hubby wants to do next time. they take you places you can't go on your own. you just follow the signs and start on the first floor. then you go up, up, up, then back down, then back up, then all the way to the basement, then back to the first floor. i bet the people that lived and worked there had great butts from climbing all those stairs all day long. we saw tons of bedrooms, some with famous paintings in them and HUGE furniture. we saw round rooms, oval rooms, libraries with 2 floors, the old kitchens, the indoor swimming pool, tower rooms, bathrooms, (which monkey always wanted to use), the servants bedrooms and the halloween room. and tons of other stuff. overwhelming. and that wasn't even the whole thing because they have lots of it blocked off for the family that still lives there.

after we went over the whole house we did some shopping in the gift shops, got a snack and headed over to the winery and the barnyard. the kids didn't enjoy the winery but peggy and i did!! did some wine tasting and buying! then we went to the barnyard. it's set up just like it was back in the old days except in the stalls they had the old farm equipment with pictures and examples of what they were used for. they had lots of thing set up for the kids to do. in the middle of it all was a huge grassy area with lots of old fashioned toys. horseshoes, croquet, wooden bowling, and this game with a hoop and sticks.

monkey and big c really enjoyed the games and toys. then we got ice cream and headed over to see the animals. we walked and monkey rolled down the hills. we got to pet some animals and hold a baby chicken. monkey wanted to sit on the tractor. we had to drive by the house just one more time to see it again. then we headed back to the hotel. we were officially done biltmoreing!

peggy took the boys to dinner that night so hubby and i got to go out by ourselves!! found a great mexican cantina and spent lots of time talking about our day. nice with no kids to interrupt!

tuesday we got up, had breakfast and packed up the car to come home. but we had one last stop to make. i found this place called Grovewood that had art galleries and an antique car muesum that was on our way out of town. and it was free. so we stopped there. the gardens were filled with cool art sculptures and neat things to look at.

(the second one is about Anansi the spider!) hubby really enjoyed the car muesum. i thought it was ok but i could have just walked through and been done. but he wanted to stop and study each and every car.

i did like the firetrucks though. then we went to the art area. there was a shop with the most beautiful things i had ever seen but i was so sure that monkey was going to break something that i took him out into the gardens so hubby and peggy could look to their hearts content.

there were tons of wooden things so hubby was in his element. i could see his wheels spinning in his mind on how to make the stuff he was looking at. it was a great finish to our trip.

ah but we weren't finished! peggy wanted to go into biltmore village to go to a yarn shop she had heard about. fine by me. i like to shop. and next to that store was a toy and book store. so monkey and i went in there and hubby and big c wandered around looking for something to see. i found some cool puzzle games for the boys and a great toy my little sandbox for monkey. hit the mcd's for a potty break and a happy meal and we were on our way home.

it was a wonderful mini-vacation. you should go. come stay with me and i'll go with you!

and just so you know...there were no Wookilars at the Bilmore House. sorry

VACATION!!!!!

2008-07-12T21:29:00.002-04:00

we are heading out tomorrow morning for the Biltmore House!! can't wait!! i'll post pix when i get back....

2008-07-07T12:31:00.006-04:00

it sure is hard to keep up with my blogging during the summer time. if i'm not getting ready for a big party, i'm getting ready for vacation or trying to keep the kids busy.

we had our big 4th party on friday. don't you hate it when people say they are coming and you are prepared for those people to come and they don't show up!! the deal for our party is you bring your own hotdogs/hamburgers, a drink to share and a side and we provide paper products, all the buns, ice, and cups. and water and juice boxes for the kids. so i buy all of these buns. and then the people don't show and i'm stuck with 24 hamburger buns!! big c and monkey will be having hamburger bun sandwiches all week. i was not in the best mood to have a party. not sure why. but it wasn't the best one we have ever had. everyone had fun, just not me. i liked the people that were there and enjoyed them i was just not in the party mood i guess. we ended up having about 40 people. which is about half of what we normally have.

before the party and then during the party

and monkey finally got his big boy bed!! he is 5 and has been sleeping in a toddler bed because we couldn't afford a mattress. i put the whole thing together by myself. and it does look good i should say! he needs a comforter but that can wait. his room is really tiny so we had to change the position of it so he could have more floor space. he keeps falling out of it at night but he loves it!!

big c had a great time at the beach. he is sooo brown!! and he is getting so tall!! man i love that kid. we really missed him while he was gone. it was so hard to keep monkey busy. we went to discovery place, the park, he went swimming with his grandma and then later in the week she took him to see kung fu panda. (again!) it's been nice having big c home so they can play with each other.

sunday we are headed out on a mini-vacation. that's about all i can get my hubby to go on. it's hard being self-employed. he freaks out that we are going to get behind if he misses 2 days of work. i laid the guilt on thick. told him that his kids were growing up and he needed to spend more time with them. so we are going to ashville to go to the biltmore house. i should have some great pictures of that!! and his mom is going with us. (which is great because i love her!) she is going to keep the kids at night so hubby and i can go to dinner and have some alone time.

oh and we have decided that we are going to homeschool monkey for kindergarten. i really wanted to send him to the school where big c went but we just can't afford it. and hubby doesn't want to send him to public school. so he is going to stay home with me! should be fun. he loves to learn and kindergarten is all about playing and having new experiences. we will be going on LOTS of field trips!

happy summer and stay cool!!

WW

2008-07-02T17:15:00.001-04:00

monkey's thought for the day

2008-06-26T17:40:00.001-04:00

i was born in the jungle then they took me to paper world. that's why i like paper so much. !!!

2008-06-25T09:04:00.005-04:00

a week without big c is hard!!!! his being at the beach has made me the person monkey spends all his time with. he has talked my ears off. and it's only WEDNESDAY!!! i have been trying to keep him busy so he won't keep asking me when bubba is coming home.

the big slumber party was this weekend. deborah had tons of snacks so no problem there! and i decided to take a dip. it's sausage, cream cheese and a can of rotel tomatoes. yummmmmmmmmm. i finally crashed about 12:30, 1:00 because i had not slept well the night before. but the other girls stayed up until 5:30!!! i was really glad i didn't stay up that late. i wanted to get up and go to church. of course the kids were up at o'dark thirty and woke me. that's ok. i came home from church and took a 3 hour nap!

monday i worked and monkey played dress-up with a huge bag of clothes deborah gave him. thanks deb! tuesday we went to the library and then grandma came and got him for the afternoon. she took him to mcdonald's and then to the pool. thanks grandma! (i should have been working but i laid on the couch and read the 2nd Fablehaven book! it's better than the first one!) and today we are headed to monkey joe's for a day of jumping and playing. it's probably going to be packed because it's supposed to be 94 here today. then church tonight and tomorrow discovery place! any ideas what we can do on friday? maybe we will go see a movie.

slumber party!!

2008-06-20T15:58:00.003-04:00

saturday night i've been invited to a mom's slumber party!! i'm so excited!! we are all supposed to bring a snack. immediately i thought of doritos and pepsi but that may be a little high-schoolish. any good ideas? oh and i do have the air mattress ready. i'm too old to sleep on the floor!!

WW

2008-06-18T07:30:00.002-04:00

summer fun

2008-06-17T11:39:00.010-04:00

since summer is just starting i hate to hear my kids say they are bored already! so yesterday i put them to work. we had some REALLY OLD bananas and i had them make banana bread. all i did was pull the stuff off of the shelves they couldn't reach and put the bread in the oven. they did the rest all by themselves.

then to be super ambitious i had them make their own butter!! we had some heavy cream left over from father's day dinner. use a glass jar with a tight lid. i like glass because they can see it turning into butter.
pour the cream but leave enough space so it can be shaken and have some room to move around. (if you want to you can add some salt. i didn't but have before)

then start shaking. they shook and shook and shook. big c said they tossed it to each other but i didn't see that. after a good 30 minutes it should start to come together. (it may take longer, depending on how hard they shake it)
drain off any liquid. we usually just keep it in the jar and scrape some of it out when we want some. it's not like regular butter where it spreads smoothly so be warned. but it tastes amazing!! and boy is it good on homemade banana bread!

before and after

2008-06-16T14:56:00.003-04:00

before

and after......

amazing huh? he decided he couldn't take the heat in all of that hair. personally i like it better short.

2008-06-13T09:43:00.002-04:00

it's been so boring around here i couldn't even post about it. kids out of school. but it's been soooo hot and with gas sooo expensive we haven't been able to do anything. we did go to the mall last week just to get some exercise. monkey loved it but big c was bored. and i am working on my contract so they get to veg in front of the tv every afternoon. yuck!! i hate that! so i make them turn it off and play a game or do puzzles or something crafty. big c did start a blog! (thanks julie!) he is enjoying that. and yesterday was nice enough to go out for an hour without turning into burnt toast. we cleaned out our mud room in preparation for our HUGE 4th of July party. last year we had 80 people. please come if you are in the area! :)

today we are headed to see kung fu panda. i'm not thrilled but monkey is. i think big c would rather see the hulk but that's way too much for monkey. last night i rented the other boleyn girl. i read the book last year and loved it. her books are amazing. and since i am an english history nut it was even better. but the movie. i highly recommend it. i think it stuck to the true historical events very well. and it followed the book pretty well too. if you liked the book you will probably like the movie. so get it!

this weekend hubby is not working! woo-hoo!! can't believe it! so we are going to paint the picnic table and put flowers in my hanging baskets and do some painting to the carport. we have been hosting this 4th party for 7 years and every year we put off all the work until the weekend before. not this year. we are getting a head start!

and i am planning to lead a bible study in the fall. i have been in a bible study with the same women for 7 years. and this past study we did beth moore and i led it. it was amazing! and since i'm so comfortable with these women it was easy. but i have volunteered to lead one for mom's that i don't know. should be interesting!

i finally talked my husband into taking a vacation. because he is self-employed, if he doesn't work he doesn't get paid. and we live paycheck to paycheck believe me! but i convinced him that taking 2 days off of work is not going to ruin us. and the kids need to get away with him for a while too. so in july we are going to the biltmore house. i have lived in north carolina almost my whole life and have never been there. i'm excited!!!

big c is going to the beach with his friend caden in a week. i'm a little worried. i know they will look after him well but he is not the best swimmer in the world and that freaks me out some. since i won't be there to control the situation. but i have to let go sometime right? yikes!

Herb Roasted Chicken

2008-06-12T15:03:00.003-04:00

man oh man you have got to try this!!!

6 cups water
1/2 cup kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp rosemary
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp oregano
1 (3-4lb) young chicken, rinsed, giblets and neck removed
2 Tbsp olive oil

1. In a pitcher stir 6 cups water, salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme and oregano. whisk to combine. set aside

2. place chicken in a large zip top back and add liquid mix. place bag in a large bowl and refrigerate 12 to 24 hours.

3. coat cooker with cooking spray. remove chicken from bag and place in slow cooker, discarding liquid.

4. gently lift breast skin and rub with olive oil. place chicken in cooker breast-side down.

5. cover and cook on low for 6 hours. when done let sit in covered slow cooker for 10 minutes before serving. remove skin to serve.

this tastes like a rotisserie chicken without the crunchy skin. (which you don't need to eat anyway!) it's super, duper yummy and my kids gobbled it up. with the temps being so hot here, this is a great way to get a wonderful tasting chicken without having to heat up your house using your oven.

do you like to take polls?

2008-06-09T15:59:00.002-04:00

if so go here and vote for
truly delightful in every way. (that's crazymama to you!) i love that she got nominated!! vote vote vote people!

busy, busy

2008-05-30T07:43:00.008-04:00

sorry i have been neglecting you all!! i know you are sitting on pins and needles wondering what exciting things are happening in my world! :)

with school being out and me trying to finish my contract for the month i have had no time to blog or read blogs. kids everywhere. me trying to keep the kids from killing each other. exhausting.

memorial day hubby decided to get up in the big trees in the front yard and cut down some branches that were blocking the view from kitchen window. holy cow i was scared. that's him way up there. now only 4 more trees to go!

friday we went back to the zoo but took my mother-in-law with us. i just adore her. she is so easy to get along with and the kids love her too. it was a perfect day. and we went a few places we didn't get to see when we were there before. we went to the aviary and saw the flowers and the birds.
amazing!! we could have stayed in there all day.

today we are off to big c's old school. they are having their awards ceremony and he wants to go. we are going to pick up logan, drop monkey off at his house to play with jeremy and head out. afterwards we are going back to logan's to play slip and slide!
it's been so cold here this week that today is the first day it's been warm enough to get into the water. (which is fine with me!)

oh and i had to get a new camera. i just got mine the day after thanksgiving and it's broken. i thought it was the battery and got a new one. nope. just dead. and it would be $80 to fix it and i only paid $84 for the thing!! so i just decided to get a new one. it's a casio. (like my sister's! i copied her.) never again will i buy a kodak. that's 2 camera's in 3 years.

oh and we got digital cable this week! with a DVR. man. my life will never be the same. big c knows how to operate it and i keep finding stuff like the suite life of zack and cody on there. but it's awesome. and hopefully i will be able to get to bed earlier b/c i can zip thru all the commercials!!

have a great weekend!