I LOVE YOU A GOOGLE....

Evaluating and Examining

2011-06-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

"There is always room for improvement... you know, Its the biggest room in the house." So after reading this I decided to take stock in what I could begin improving in my own life and my surroundings. When you actually sit and take stock in everything you realize while you think you have it really good.. there is SO much room for improvement. Makes me wonder just how good life could be when lessons learned are actually applied. I decided to do a "Life Hack". Hack into my life and make improvements. I actually found website called http://www.lifehack.org/ and one of their post was 60 small ways to improve your life in the next 100 days. One of the things on the list was to write down 5-10 things your are grateful for, every day.

Developing an attitude of gratitude can only bring happiness. Learning to see the good, instead of the negative around you will only make you smile. One of my favorite books, that I often go to when I need a reminder of how good my life really is, is Something More by Sarah Ban Breathnach, in the book she states:

"Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend...when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives, but are grateful for the abundance that is present... love, health, family, friends, the joy of personal pursuits...the wasteland of illusion falls way and we experience Heaven on Earth. "

Today I am going to accept where I am at, and celebrate the positives and the gifts. I am going to be grateful for my amazing family, my wonderful true friends, the health of my loved ones, the ordinary things that mean I have one more day here with my family, the joys of being a mom. I am going to sit back take it all in and enjoy this ordinary Friday and know that I am truly blessed. So much good exists in my life, in every part of my being that today I am going to offer the gift of a grateful heart.

"Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart."

Learning to thrive....

2011-05-19T05:32:00.000-07:00

"No more do I want to just survive, but I want to thrive. A flower that survives is prone to whither and never reach full bloom. I want to thrive and blossom in the splendor God has created me to be. " A friend posted that on Facebook, and I loved it! How often do we forget it is OUR choice how we handle life's challenges, changes and adversities. We can learn to just COPE, or learn to THRIVE.

This year has been one of those years for me. Many challenges have been faced, many changes have came and all brought their share of adversity. I have learned that I am not a fan of change. But who really is? I know God has said he will never give you more than you can handle...but at times I have wanted to say "okay God, thats enough". I feel like I have just been "surviving", I want to learn to thrive, to really feel alive and appreciate all the beautiful things around me every second.

Learning to trust yourself, and believing that you are your own worst enemy, but you are also your best asset. Learning to thrive and become the "beautiful splendor God has created you to be". What an awesome thought. Learning to let go of WHO you think you are and becoming what GOD planned you to be. I want to become that person. I once read a blog that brought up a good point. Standing in front of the mirror we see the imperfections, wrinkles, extra weight, etc... but if you look deeper you see YOU, the person that loves, and gives, and is courageous but has fears and doubts. It stated we are "Beautifully imperfect and perfectly beautiful, you are all possibilities happening at the same time."

Day to day I struggle between my own humanness and the person buried deep inside me that wants so much more, wants to express much more and wants to do and be much more. I want to become that person. I want to live a life fully knowing I am at least trying to follow God's plan, rather than ignoring or running. I want not only for myself to thrive but I want my family to thrive. I want to be closer, do more and be more. I want to love more, express more love and I want to always be an example my children can be proud to call MOM. I have failed that many times, and let myself down, but more than that I have let my kids down.

I'm going to quit avoiding change and uncertainty because it might be uncomfortable, it might be a tough adjustment, but I am going to lean into the change and learn to thrive in it. Learn to trust that God has equipped me, and I am capable of handling whatever is in front of me. KNOW that I have what I need and learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable. This will be a new journey for me, but it will be the journey that saves myself and my family. I hope we become a change that others see.

On my mind....

2011-05-16T10:51:00.000-07:00

Lately I have thought a lot about responsible parenting, teaching discipline and building good character in our kids. I know that nobody ever said being a parent would be easy. Kids DO NOT come with instruction manuals, they do not come with a 1-800 number for tech support, and they certainly do not come with a BIG RED EASY button.. or even a pause and rewind (Ive looked for those). What they do come with is a basic set of NEEDS, both physical and emotional. These needs MUST be met by the PARENT, and if they are not met, all of them there could be lasting negative effects.

We must provide a SAFE ENVIRONMENT for our kids. Safe from harm, safe from dangers in the home and protect them as much as you can from dangers outside the home. Keep them out of harms way by interviewing caregivers, safety precautions in the home (smoke alarms, doors locked, etc). Make your home a safe place for your children. My son has one friend that will not spend the night ANYWHERE, never has... until this year. He will come spend the night at our house. After the first night here, I said "Yay, P... you stayed all night!" His response, "I don't know, I just feel safe here." As a parent, that meant I was doing something right.

Provide your child with BASIC NEEDS. Water, food, shelter are easy. Provide them with proper medical care, warm bed, appropriate clothing for weather. These are needs that your child must be given.

You must help your child with their SELF ESTEEM building. Accept their uniqueness, encourage them to participate in sports, clubs or activities. Acknowledge your child"s accomplishments and achievements. Encourage your child. Set expectations that are realistic for your child"s age and ability. Teach, do not criticize or ridicule, your child. In saying all that, do NOT build your child's self esteem up so much that they are obnoxious, and think they are the best at everything they do. That is a way to set your child up for huge failure.

Be involved in your child's EDUCATION. Communicate with their teachers, make sure they are doing their homework and assignments. Talk to your child about school. Ask about their day, their friends, and recognize their academic achievements.

Most importantly GET TO KNOW YOUR CHILD. Spend time with your kids, be approachable, ask questions. Communication is key.

Those are the obvious, and easy ones for most parents. The two I have thought a lot about lately are teaching your child morals and values, and providing discipline. I try to do my best when raising my kids. I try to remember that everything I do is a reflection of my kids as well. I can talk to my kids all day about our values and our morals but until they seem them in action it means nothing. Showing our values in our actions is a responsibility as parents. DO as I DO, not just DO as I SAY. Lead your children by example.

It is also your job as a parent to provide DISCIPLINE to your children. Be consistent in your discipline, provide a structured discipline. Have a discipline system that is predictable. If your child acts out a certain way THEY KNOW they will be disciplined because you have set that precedence. I try to hold my children accountable for their actions. I do not automatically assume it is the other kid when there has been wrong doing found. I hold my children to a certain level of behavior. I expect them to respect adults, and I expect to work hard at all they do. Im amazed daily at the level of disrespect I see from a lot of kids... but there again.. I look at the parent and realize the child has not been taught to respect.

I am sure for most of us, having children was a choice. We wanted to bring these beautiful beings into this world and be responsible for ALL their needs. I remember being so afraid of being "a mom" and having all the answers. Guess what.. You don't need all the answers. You just need to be there, and be a parent. Provide the basic needs, emotional and physical. Be a shining example for your kids. Follow your instincts. I pray daily that I learn to become all this for my kids and more.

Responsible Parenting... PASS IT ON! (as I step off my soap box.). :)

Wow..... what have I been doing.

2011-05-11T11:23:00.000-07:00

I have told myself for months that I would start back blogging. I would get back into writing and posting about the mundane daily events that happen here at the Cash house. Seems LIFE has prevented me from doing so. Rather it was soccer, basketball, baseball, modeling (yes, Scarlett has done some of that since my last post), or just every day living... I have not blogged in over a year.

I've missed blogging so I have vowed to myself to get started back. In the beginning of 2010 my brother and I had a bet about who would keep up with their blog.. I think we both lost in 2010.. but he is off to a great start in 2011.

So if your still there and still reading.. Im gonna try this again. :) Happy Blogging everybody!

How much for that doggie in the window???

2010-02-06T10:40:00.000-08:00

Love Day 6

Since I am covering my family. Day 6th would have to be how much I love my little Gizmo. I have NEVER been a dog person, never had inside dogs, never even been around many dogs. Did pet many dogs, never let dogs sleep in bed with me and DEFINITELY never, ever let a dog kiss me in the face. Well guess who is allowed all those things and then some. Santa Clause brought Gizmo to the kids on Christmas morning 2009 and it has been such a welcome addition to our family. He is the perfect Cash family dog.

He is active, playful and so very loving! I just love this spoiled dog! Who knew I would be one of those people that send out Christmas cards with my dog in our family picture. ha! But, he is definitely part of our family.

As you can see he enjoys nap time almost as much as I do! ha! He waits for me to go to bed every night, and then stays in bed with me on days that I sleep because I have worked all night. He is so excited to see us when we come home. Such a beautiful thing to have the unconditional love of a puppy!

My Baby Love, My Baby Love...

2010-02-05T09:44:00.000-08:00

Love Day 5

What would life be without a little drama? Sugar and Spice and everything nice! Oh how I LOVE this little girl of mine. She is a perfect mix of sassy and sweet!

I love how sweet she is. One day while walking into a ballgame she saw a man with an amputated leg on crunches. She looked at me and said, "Mom, I see he is hurt, and I love him and said a prayer in my heart." She has understood me and listened to me when we meet people that are different. She doesn't see something wrong with them, the simply sees that they are different and sees the world different than she does.

BUT...

She can be a total diva, too! For example, yesterday.. big ugly snow day, she comes into my bathroom horribly sad. I ask what is wrong and she turns on the water works. Little tears are just flowing. She looks up at me and tells me...."I'm a bad dresser!". Of course I laughed at her.. which when a six year old is crying over the very real thought that they are a bad dresser... do not laugh at them! That just made the tears WORSE! I asked her "what in the world" made her think she was a bad dresser?? She told me it was because she was wearing something that didn't match!!! REALLY??? Six???

I love her creativity. She wants to be a rock country superstar! She has a whole different persona name Stella. She came up with all this on her own and on days she is feeling like a star, then she is Stella. I have called her my little Gwen. Because her style reminds me of Gwen Stefani. This girl can put an outfit together that would look horrible on most of us... but she pulls it off well.

I love how much she loves her mommy! I remember wanting a little girl so badly. The day the ultrasound tech told me I was having a little girl I cried and cried. My husband likes to remind of that moment on days when I am ready to pull my hair out from dealing with a six year old Diva. ! She thinks her mom hung the moon! Poor child will one day be very disappointed but for now, she thinks I am IT! She will not even say her daddy cooks eggs better than me.. which in our house is a long standing joke because my eggs are horrible!

I love her strong will, fiery personality, and so much more! I am so lucky to be her mommy. She has big dreams and I know with her determination nothing is impossible.

First Time Ever I Saw Your Face...

2010-02-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

LOVE Day 4

It goes without saying that I totally LOVE my family. So, like Leigh Ann my first few days of this month it is very easy to think of things I love.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this little boy! He has brought endless amounts of sunshine to my life.

I love his big cheesy smile just like his mom's. I love his curly red hair. I love his easy going laid back personality. I love that he gets so fired up about his sports and takes playing by the rules very seriously.

I love that he says thank you for the little things I do for him. I love that he ends his prayers with "Thank you Baby Jesus". I love his sweet spirit.

I love his outgoing personality. He rarely meets a stranger. Young or old if you are willing to listen to him he is going to sit and talk to you. He is respectful and kind to others.

I love that he still gets up in the morning and the first thing he does is give me a hug and kiss. I love that he takes nothing for granted. I love that he is not afraid to show love.

I love everything about this little boy! I was blessed beyond what I imagined on September 18, 2001. In an instant my whole world was changed with one small little boy.

I love you, I love you, I do...

2010-02-03T12:26:00.000-08:00

I love my husband! That's an easy one right? But I love him so much more today than I did in 2000 when we said I do. I love him for all different reasons. I love him for being an amazing father to our two beautiful children. For being so involved in their lives and being truly invested in our family. I love him for supporting me in everything I do. I know that sometimes it is hard to support me and occasionally my mouth gets me in trouble, but he always stands behind me. I love him for providing for our family, for being a hard working man. I love him for his consistency, and strength. I love him for the silly things, like taking me to concert after concert just because I really like the band, or watching chick flicks with me on a Saturday night. I love him for giving me my space when I need it, for knowing that I need that time alone. I love him for backyard bonfires with the kids, creating new family traditions that we all enjoy.

I love him for being goofy with me! I know it is really hard for him to be goofy, but he does it, he is willing to go there with me. Which brings up the Santa hat picture.. Matthew, this is just for you! Jack was given such a hard time about this picture.. but you see.. he was just doing it to humor me, just doing it because I enjoy being a little silly. Because he loves me, he did it! But people like Matthew and several others in my family have given him a hard time about the Santa hat. I say wear it proud! I love you Jack Cash for loving me ENOUGH!

Love is in the air...

2010-02-03T11:41:00.000-08:00

February, the month of LOVE! What a great idea I saw on a couple of blogs.. in honor of LOVE taking the whole month of February to post daily about things you love! What great inspiration! Today is February 3rd, so I have a couple of days to catch up on. My February 1st post was all about the SNOW! So, I love SNOW! BUT.. just for a couple of days! I remember being so excited as a kid to wake up and see the ground covered with snow. I had that same excitement Saturday morning! How fabulous it was to get outside and sled and play! So, I LOVE SNOW!

February 2nd would have been an easy post.. I had it planned out.. I just never got around to posting. OOPS! So, had I of posted yesterday it would have been about my brother, Matthew. Yesterday was his birthday, so appropriately Matthew would have been the thing I love. I know, ewww, mush mush..but I do love him and am very proud of him. He was ten years younger than me, so while most people my age would have been gone from home and not around much, I was there. Being that I didn't get married until I was 28, I was there all through high school with him. I remember him being the pesky 6 and 7 year old that bugged Abby, Michelle and I while we practiced for cheerleading tryouts. I remember taking him to and from practices for baseball. I was there cheering him on at football and baseball. Took him to his first Garth Brooks show for his 16th birthday. I tease him about being the Golden child, but I am very proud of him. So, for February 2nd my post would have been that I love my brother Matthew, and I know I promised you THE picture.. so, that leads me to February 3rd and what I love. :) More to follow...

It's a Snow Day! It's a Fun Day!

2010-02-01T14:09:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we had Arkansas' version of winter weather. Definitely not a lot of snow, more ice and sleet but just as much fun to play in outside! Jack was off work so we were so excited to get out with the kids and get the sled going. Ethan kept saying "This isn't a snow day, its a fun day!". So, it officially became known as a Cash Family Fun Day!
We sled over hills, through ditches, down piles of rocks, and even on the flat street. Scarlett would run and dive on the sled and go flying down the road. We tried pushing them a few times, but after Jack fell twice we thought we might be pushing OUR luck. I even got on the sled a couple of times. Hubby was not allowed to take pictures of that. I forgot just how much fun sledding was! We told the kids story of our glory days of late night sledding.. which only made them think we were going back out into the snow after dark. They were disappointed to hear that it was not happening.

When we finally walked back home Gizmo was waiting patiently in the window. He was so mad that we did not take him with us, but we were afraid it would get way too cold for him. Not like he is a dog or anything! ha! Once Jack got back in his recliner Gizmo quickly got in his spot to settle down for a winter nap. Giz is so funny! He waits at the foot of the recliner until Jack props up his feet and then he jumps right up there and lays down. Nightly this is his routine. Such a spoiled dog! Saturday was filled with more of the same. We headed back out after lunch to do a little more sledding, made a few snow angels, and I even introduced the kids to snow ice cream! I remember my mom making this for me when I was little, we loved it! My kids did too!
Such a perfect weekend! I am so blessed with a wonderfully fun family! Ethan told us Saturday night that "it was his best weekend ever"... as parents I don't think there is anything we enjoy hearing more!

What's this? A post? Oh My! Inspiration has finally hit me! :)

2010-01-28T14:45:00.000-08:00

I have been inspired to start my blog back. My "little" brother, Matthew, started blogging and his New Year's resolution was to blog more. What a great idea! So, I decided to clean up the ole blog and get started again. Hopefully this time I will be a little more faithful to the blog.

Matt and Dana announced at Christmas that they were expecting their first child. How exciting! I was so excited for them. That means I get to be an aunt again! New little baby to hold and love! Wonderful. I just read Matt's blog post about his "Three Expectations of Being a Dad" and he was looking for some feedback so I thought I would share some advice and words of wisdom.

1. Throw out any and all expectations you have of yourself or your wife. I remember reading books and thinking of all the things I would not do. Definitely having a child would not change my life, nothing would be different. WRONG! There were days I would sit in the chair all day and just hold Ethan. Several times a day I would find myself crying as I held him still amazed that this beautiful child was mine. So, don't expect to understand any of it until you are holding the baby and then everything changes in an instant.

2. Enjoy these nine months. Be there for the doctors appointments. Do the little things Dana wants. Lean on each other, talk about all the changes. Having your first child is such a precious time in a marriage. These nine months are going to be filled with excitement, fear, worry, ... just about every emotion you can think of. Enjoy it all! Be there for it all! Share your thoughts with each other. This will strengthen your marriage as the time passes.

3. Definitely be totally involved. There is nothing that makes a wife love their husband more than seeing them hold their child. Watching your husband love and nurture this child you created is an amazing blessing. So, you are right, don't be afraid to invest time, love and all emotion on your child. You will not regret it. But yes, there are still times that saying "Go ask your mother" will be accepted. Some things we just do better. :)

4. You can never, ever show too much emotion. The "I love you's", the kisses and hugs all come pretty freely but there will never be too much of them. Ethan still gets up every morning and comes right to me for a kiss and a hug. I love it! There is nothing better than having the love of a child.

5. Being parents is a huge responsibility. It is a little scary at first. There is no manual, no rulebook to follow. Trust your instincts, trust your knowledge and always do what you feel is best for your child and your family. Even if it is not the norm.

I am so happy for Dana and you! I know you will both be wonderful parents! Jack and I are always here if you have any questions or need anything. We don't always get things right, but I feel like we are doing a pretty good job with the gifts of children we were given. I am so excited and love you both!

Oh My GOOODNESS.....

2009-04-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

I can not believe it has been over two months since I posted... oops! I am not sure when and where I forgot about the blog, but I will go back and post all the fun stuff we have been doing. Mostly for me, but any of you out there that still check in, we have been doing great and doing LOTS of fun things. :)During this two month hiatus Ethan has become a total love of all things "Titanic". He read about it, watches shows about it and just all around want to learn more about it. We built our very own Titanic out of boxes. The kids had so much fun painting and decorating the box. Hans Solo, Storm Troopers and many army men were kind enough to join us on our journey aboard the ship. :)Last night we decided we would host our very own Titanic dinner in honor of the anniversary. The kids made a sign and decorated it to welcome all the guest aboard the Titanic.
They dressed up, and entered the "ship" (which was decorated by them) and sat down to their menus. They enjoyed mom and her very fake accent. I even had the glasses "tinged" at me a few times so they could change their order, or add to it. :) A few times I think it was even just for the fun of it.

The kids had a great meal. They chose their own meat and dessert and enjoyed their appetizers. This was such a fun night for all of us. I think we will have to make this something we do every year. :) I am sure by next year the kids will be into something else and we will have to plan a dinner around that theme.
We got the "good dishes" out and fancy glasses. They sat at the table by themselves and were so sweet. We even had a question and answer time for the Titanic guest. Although at this point, I think Ethan knows more about the Titanic than any of the rest of us.
They enjoyed the meal and laughed profusely at Chef Daddy. He had already caught Scarlett's eye in this picture. He just put his chef hat on and she found that very funny.

Not sure Chef Daddy was thrilled about the hat. But I can tell you that he got another big laugh this morning when I uploaded the picture. :)
all those pictures and that was just last night! !! I am going to have a hard time catching up on two months worth of things. I have missed my blogging and missed reading everybodies blogs. It is time for me get caught up on all of you!!! If your still around and checking in.. I"M BAAAACK! :)

Going backwards...what we did in February...

2009-02-28T07:39:00.000-08:00

I thought I would try to sum up the past two months in a few backwards/backdated post. The month of February was a lot of fun. We were busy.. but busy just like any other month of the year.

We played basketball.. lots of basketball... and I am so sad I didn't update more during the season. Ethan did very well and loved playing!! Scarlett enjoyed her cheerleading, but was glad when the season was over. Basketball took us straight into soccer, and soccer has taken us straight into baseball. I think this will be our perpetual calendar for many years to come. I just WISH we could find a sport Ethan enjoyed playing!!! ha!

In between our sports activities we planned a few field trips. We went to the State Capital during the Inauguration week and had a wonderful tour. They really enjoyed learning the history behind the capital. That of course led us to the Old State House, or "the old capital", as the kids call it. On our only cold and wintery day of the year we made the cutest "redneck" birdfeeder. The kids feared the birds would be too cold and have nothing to eat, so we searched the cabinets and found things that we thought they could eat. We toasted bread, crushed wheat crackers, and made our very own bird feeder. Daddy helped hang it up outside once we were done. Nothing like a milk jug bird feeder hanging in your back yard! :)On one of the semi warmer days in February we went to Pinnacle Mountain and walked the trails. The kids loved getting outdoors again. These two are in no way meant to be kept inside for long periods of time. They enjoy being outside too much!
I am pretty sure you are not supposed to be hanging on the branches in a state park, but the pictures turned out cute.. we got them off of them quickly.. or should I say their daddy corrected my mistake quickly.

and of course we had our Valentine's Day party. We got lucky and it was such a nice day! The kids were able to play outside, we made cards and cookies. Even some of the mom's got in on the action.
That just about sums of February...sure seems we were busier than that!

Just because I need a good laugh today...

2009-02-02T09:40:00.000-08:00

Today is Monday and I needed a good laugh and a reason to post my other five blogs to update what we have been up to. I have had the winter blues this past week and am happily coming out of it! This chubby man in the unitard definitely has helped me on my quest to laugh! Hope you get a good laugh, too! :)

WOW, a year sure does fly by when you are having fun...

2009-01-20T23:50:00.000-08:00

I have been watching and waiting all weekend for updates from Kelly regarding Harper. I have done little else. I am so glad to hear that she is doing better. The power of prayer is amazing! I will continue to pray for Kelly, Scott and baby Harper. What an amazing story that little girl will have; God will surely work through her as she grows.

I noticed today that it has been a year since I started blogging! Wow, what a year it has been. This has been the most fun I have had in a while. It has become so much more to me than just a blog. I have made new friends, I have learned new things about old friends. I have created memories for my family, I have been so blessed through this blog.

I started looking back over the last year and several post made me laugh. It was so great to see what amazing fun as a family we had during 2008. Here are a few of my favorite memories, you can click on the links to read the original post:

The Great Mudbowl 2008 : How much fun was that day! Ethan and Jacob are the best of friends. They are not able to see each other near as often as we would love, but when they are together it is so wonderful to watch them play. This day was no exception! I have NEVER, NEVER, NEVER seen two little boys so dirty!!! That was such a great day.

The great hair debate of '08 : Some were memories I could have never had to relive again, like Scarlett chopping off her hair the night before Easter. I guess that is what you get when you have a very head strong determined four year old for a child ( a four year old that knows where scissors are).

My princess turned five years old in 2008 : Sweet Scarlett is growing up right before my eyes. It makes me so sad to see her getting so big. After reading this post I thought about how quickly six years was approaching. That made me really sad...

My sweet aunt Myrtle passed away on Christmas Eve. She was 95 and she was ready to go and be with Jesus. I am so glad we shared her final birthday here on Earth with her. She never had children of her own, but oh how she loved kids!

There were so many memories packed into this blog. I could keep going on and on about my favorite post. Ethan turned seven, we moved into a new house, there were Razorback games, baseball, soccer, cheerleading and so much more.

I feel so blessed to have the amazing family I have. I am such a lucky mom! I have two of the most amazing kids.

Here it is 2am, and as usual I am wide awake.. one of the unfortunate side effects of 15 years of night shift. Scarlett will soon be six years old but she will always be my baby. She just woke up crying because she was in bed by herself. I still race to her side, tell her everything is okay and of course pick her up and put her in bed with her daddy and I. I have come to realize I don't really want some things to change...Time for bed, I have a five year old that needs me...

Oh, and I almost forgot.. the tent.. well that didn't work out so well. Seems that I am a bit challenged in the ways of tent making. I drug our big ol'camping tent into the house, opened it up and TRIED to put it together. Oh how I wish I had pictures! That was a riot!!! After a few attempts I gave up and put the thing back in the package and promised them we would built the tent outside as soon as it warmed up!!! We have settled for a few of the classic chair and blanket tents, but it seems playing the Wii is more important and the tent just got in the way. So for now, we are back to our beds and waiting for a nice spring day.

Me and my big mouth...

2009-01-12T13:56:00.000-08:00

One thing that I am definitely guilty of A LOT is speaking before I really think things through. I managed to do it again today. We were doing our school work and during our history lessons we talked about Nomads. The kids loved the fact that they were wanderers and lived in tents or caves. We headed outside on a journey to build our own nomad like dwelling. Fast forward forty minutes and we realize it would take FOREVER to build a dwelling place for us to play in so we setttle for a smaller version just for stuffed animals. It all worked out great because during science we talked about habitats, so the kids were able to tie it all in together. It is so much fun watching them grasp new concepts and learn new things.

Yes, I did try to get a picture of Scarlett beside the "fort" but the sun was bright which made her very unhappy and she refused to sit there and smile until the sun was gone! Guess who or rather what won that battle!

Back to the backyard and my big mouth...I tell them we can build our tent in the backyard and sleep in it and then they could really see how the Nomads lived. Major excitement breaks out! "Yes, Yes, let's do it NOW, let's build it today!". Luckily I have to work tonight, but I have promised we would build the tent tomorrow. Pray for me that we don't actually have to sleep in the tent! I know it would not be very Nomad like if I built it in the carport so that we can use our portable heater, but that may just be what we do. We did got and get our tent and the kids have looked at it and begged all afternoon. I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut!!! Stay tuned for the rest of the Nomad journey.

What a wonderful world...

2009-01-12T00:37:00.000-08:00

This weekend has been Heaven! It has been so long since we have taken a weekend to ourselves and done absolutely NOTHING!! I can't remember the last time I had a whole weekend off with nothing to do. It was great!

Friday after school work was finished my granny and my uncle came by the house and visited. Ethan talked Uncle James into playing a few games of basketball and they had a great time! After winning a game he decided he would leave on a high note! We ran to Sonic for my last Diet Coke with Lemon. I am going on a hiatus. I still go to Sonic, but last year discovered a big Route 44 ice water with lemon was almost as good. (Yes, I will keep telling myself that). :) I finally finished getting the last of my Christmas items down and in the attic. I felt very accomplished!

Saturday morning the kids had their first Upwards games. The kids looked so cute in their uniforms. Ethan was up bright and early on is own and had on all his accessories. He even had on white sweat bands. He likes to accessorize his uniforms! A boy after his mothers heart.

Ethan had the dreaded 9am game! Early for a family that likes to stay up late and sleep in. Ethan played really hard and was great on defense. He is usually a very passive player so we were happy to see him hustle and stay after his opponent. He didn't score any points.. but the guy he defended didn't score any points either. :) Next we were off to Scarlett's game. She was so excited to be able to get out there and cheer. She was able to watch the other cheerleaders at Ethan's game so I think that helped her get ready for her game.

Scarlett and Ethan both did so well. I was so proud of them. Scarlett and I had a long talk before the game about "what if she messed up"... I made sure she knew that just trying her best was all that mattered. After each game the kids are given awards for their particpation. Ethan received the Best Effort Star to put on his jersey and Scarlett was given the Most Spirit star for her megaphone. They were proud of themselves!

After the games we went to lunch with some of our friends and had a great visit. The kids were happy to see their friend. Saturday afternoon I did something I had not been able to do in months... I took a NAP! It felt so good to curl up in bed and sleep a few hours (okay, maybe it did end up being several hours). I woke up at 7pm!!! Luckily I had already fixed some soup for dinner it just needed to be warmed.

Sunday was definitely a day of rest. I took another nap Sunday afternoon!!! I was spoiled this weekend. Nothing to do, no one to see and I took full advantage of my "free" time!

Of course all this sleeping is having a negative effect on me at this particular moment. It is 2:55 am and I am WIDE AWAKE!!! I have folded ALL my laundry, cleaned the bathtub, taken a bath and still do not feel sleepy! I guess I need to quit sleeping so much! ha!

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Back online...

2009-01-08T23:54:00.000-08:00

My new DSL modem arrived today! Yeah!!! I can rejoin the world of the internet. I have been so lost this past month without my computer. I did have dial up, but let me tell you, once you are used to DSL and then you try to use dial it, it just will not cut it. I would get so frustrated that after five minutes of trying to upload pictures, post a blog, I would just shut down the computer.

I am so thankful to be back and hopefully I can now find some interesting things to blog about.

We are working on getting our sweet little puppy housetrained. UGHH! That is not going so well. It has only been two weeks so maybe we are expecting too much, but it has made dear hubby a little frustrated. If anybody has any ideas or things that worked for them please feel free to share them with me. I am open for trying anything.

Scarlett and Ethan both have their first games this weekend. They are very excited about their games. I have been practicing Scarlett's cheers with her and she is doing so good. I am very proud of her. Ethan is a natural athlete (okay, yes I am a little biased) but.. he is doing really well at basketball practice so I hope that translate to good things on the court. After the game we are going to lunch with some of our favorite people! The kids are so excited to see Hayden. It has been a long time and according to them they thought they were "never going to see him again"!

Hope you all have a fabulous Friday!!!!

New Year and New Thoughts...

2009-01-06T11:47:00.000-08:00

I read this article in a local magazine here and it was so appropriate for a new year and some new thoughts. I thought I would paraphrase and add some thoughts and some revelations for 2009. Yes, I am a little late on the whole New Years Resolutions.. I have a few, but if I NEVER verbalize them I seem to do a little better. This article talked about kicking a bad man "to the curb"; but it went much further than that. It talked about things in our life that need to be "kicked to the curb". Wow, do I have plenty of those things. Rather it is pettiness, worry, gossip, fear, anything that wastes my time and does not bring joy or fulfillment to my life. This year I am going to visualize my self kicking each one of my bad habits to the curb. How fun it will be to watch all those bad things go out with the trash. Bad habits are no way to treat YOURSELF! No way to treat a woman. You would kick a bad man to the curb if he didn't treat you right, so why would you treat yourself bad, too? While others will be proud of your changes, and proud of your new found joy, it will be YOU that takes charge of your own life and the things you do. January being the month of resolutions and revelations, I have found I need to TAKE OUT THE TRASH! Meet me on the curb in 2009! :)

the week after...

2009-01-01T17:51:00.000-08:00

Christmas came and went and we were still having a good time. On Sunday night the 28th, we celebrated Christmas at my in-laws since Autie Lolo, Uncle T, Jacob, Lillie and Lauren came to Arkansas to see us! The kids were so happy to get to play with their cousins again so soon. Lauren fell in LOVE with Gizmo! I am almost positive she NEVER put him down unless she was absolutely forced. :) It was very sweet. I definitely see a puppy in her future.
On Monday, I turned 36!! Yikes! I sometimes wonder when I got so old when I still feel so young! I had a great birthday, and I am STILL waiting for my mint chocolate chip ice cream cake! UH HUM.. MOM!!!! I did make the only cake I know how to make. I can't bake at all except a coconut cake, and I make a very good coconut cake.The kids played for two days straight and had the best time. Lots of football was played in our front yard and Gizmo received lots of love!

Scarlett told me on Wednesday afternoon that she wished she lived in Tennessee so she could see her friends (cousins) everyday! I know she time is coming when the week long visits in the summer will need to start, but how do you let go??? I am going to have to prepare for the first time Ethan asked to go stay at Jacob's without us. I know the day will come.

New Years Eve we stayed home and partied! ha! We spread out the food all over the bar and munched and watched TV. Did you see that motorcycle jump across the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas??? WOW! That guy is amazing.. but definitely crazy! We watched Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve and played several games of bowling on the Wii. Our neighbors shot off a ton of fireworks at midnight, so we had a great display right out our back window.

2008 was a wonderful year filled with new friends, new experiences, and so many blessings. I am so thankful for such a wonderful year! I look forward to 2009 with my wonderful family! Happy New Year Everybody!!!

Christmas Day 2008

2008-12-25T11:45:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning arrived and I was up early! I lit the fire, made coffee, and even cleaned a few things. I did anything to keep busy and to keep myself from waking up the kids. You have to understand the kid in me is still bright eyed and wide awake at 6am on Christmas morning. My kids, however, have not gotten that gene. They have to be woke up on Christmas morning!! It takes Scarlett a few minutes to accept the fact that she was woke up. She was not a happy camper when first being woke up, but she quickly remembered that Santa came during the night and was all smiles.
Every year we film the kids coming down the hallway to the tree. Do you know how hard it is to keep two excited children at the end of the hallway when all they wanted to do is RUN!
They were so excited with all their gifts and were having so much fun.. and then there was a knock on the door. Uncle Matt, Aunt Dana, Nana and Papa came to visit, but they found a gift Santa had dropped at the door. You should have seen the kids faces when they opened this present!! Scarlett was SO EXCITED! She took off running with the dog. I think this poor little puppy has barely put down since arrived on our doorstep December 25th.
Needless to say, "Gizmo" , as he has been named, has been a welcome addition to our family . He is SO CUTE!!! It is hard to get mad at him when he looks up at you with those big brown eyes, and cute little face.

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T10:12:00.000-08:00

Finally Christmas Eve had arrived and the kids were so excited! They were a little worried that we didn't go visit Santa this year, but I assured them that "Flellie" could report to Santa what they wanted and it would be okay.

We had a great Christmas meal and family time at Nana and Papa's house. It gets a little crazy around there with all the kids. We were a little sad this year that Matt and Dana would not be back in town in time to celebrate with us, but we would see them Christmas morning. Ethan got a new basketball that he loved and Scarlett got some money, which mad her VERY happy! She did the "money, money, money" dance! Definitely a girl after he mother's heart. Our Christmas Eve service is at 10pm, which is a little wait when you have two little kids that need to get in bed, but we wouldn't miss it for anything. It is the nicest time to hear the story, sing the songs and celebrate the birth of our savior.

After we got home from church we had to make our reindeer food, which is oats and LOTS of "magic dust" AKA glitter of all colors; and sprinkle it in the backyard for the reindeer to get a reboost when they stop at our house. We put out our cookies and milk and left notes for Santa and then daddy read "The Night Before Christmas" to the kids while they were snugged in their bed. All the perfect traditions for our family Christmas Eve.
All that was left was a visit from Santa. Scarlett slept with her little pink bible so that Santa would see that she knew the real meaning of Christmas. They are both so sweet and have so much understanding that it makes me so proud to be their mom.

Catching up week to week December 14-20

2008-12-23T23:57:00.000-08:00

This week was busy as usual. :) We finished moving most of our things and I got the house in order. We left for Tennessee on Thursday morning, and then on Friday went to my sister in laws house and had the best time. The trip this year was shorter than our usual trip due to all we had going on , but we still had the best time. The kids LOVE seeing their cousins. Jacob and Ethan are two kids from the same sports mold! Here they are both sporting and supporting their Tennessee Titans and of course showing off their Heisman poses.

We had ICE BOWL 2008 at Leslie and Todd's house. It was so cold, but the boys got out there and played flag football even though it was FREEZING!!!! While the boys played outside the girls played inside. Lillie and Scarlett are only one month apart in age and they have so much fun together. Little Lauren is three years old, and she tags along and tries to play with them, occasionall they were not all that nice to her but she stayed right there with them. We had our Tennessee Christmas, which is always a lot of fun. We all look forward to Nannie D's dressing all year long! It is THE BEST! YUM!!! After our time at "Auntie Lolo's house" we went back to Nannie D's and we had our Fantasy Football winter meetings. This is where I was given the trophy for winning the season. :) This is my third time to win! It is nice to look on the trophy and see River City Riveters (my team name) more than any of the boys! :) There is a lot of teasing that goes on in my house. We placed the trophy in Ethan's football room, which looks great, but I had to remind him that it was MINE! ha! :)

On our way home from Tennessee on the 23rd, we made our usual stops. "Shoney's" in Memphis for dinner and then off to Graceland to look at the lights. We were a little disappointed this year that it was not as decorated as it normally is but the kids still love getting out and walking around. This year they signed the big wall! :) The both took their turn getting up there and marking their name on Graceland's wall. We just happened to have a red sharpie pen in our car and it worked perfectly.

Once we arrived home it was time to get ready for Santa and celebrate the real meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus.

My Christmas Faves...

2008-12-12T01:09:00.000-08:00

I saw this on Megan and Leigh Ann's blog and thought it was cute so I decided to list my Christmas "meme", too. :)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I am a horrible wrapper. I love the look of wrapped Christmas gifts, I love ripping paper off of gifts, but I must admit I use gift bags because they are easier. If every place would wrap my presents for me, them all my gifts would be wrapped.

2. Real tree or Artificial? This was the first year I had even thought of getting a real tree and I really wanted a real tree.. but the answer to the next question is the reason we always have an artificial tree...

3. When do you put up the tree? The week before or the week of Thanksgiving. I love having my house decorated for Christmas.

4. When do you take the tree down? Usually the weekend after New Years. Must have the tree still up for New Years Eve, makes me feel more festive! ha!

5. Do you like eggnog? Never tried it, but the name and the thought of it makes me a little queezy so I don't think I will try it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I think I had the most fun with my Merlin. Do you remember those? I thought that was the coolest handheld game. My how electronics have changed!

7. Hardest person to buy for? I don't like buying for adults. Most of them have everything they need and want so it is hard for me to come up with a good gift.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Ethan and Scarlett are easy, I hear everyday what they want.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, we have one on our fireplace mantle and we also have a Little People nativity scene. I love it!

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, definitely.. speaking of.. I better get busy!

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I actually can not remember anything that just made me laugh out loud.. oh wait.. yeah, I can.. but like Megan, I am not going to call that person out. :) Hubby and I had a great laugh over it!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Hands down, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? If I find "the gift" and I can afford it I get it no matter what time of the year it is.. but if not I definitely start shopping the day after Thanksgiving.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I have regifted duplicates, or things that were good for a laugh playing Dirty Santa. :)

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? What is not to like??? I love appetizer type foods.

16. Lights on the tree? Of course! This year we have blue lights on our tree.

17. Favorite Christmas song?I love The First Noel, and Silent Night.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay at home? Travel, but always home for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixon, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? I have a Santa Claus this year, usually nothing.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? Christmas Eve at my mom's (which is SO WRONG!), Christmas morning we open gifts, then we spend the day running to all the other places. We have a very busy few days.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The stress that is so unneccesary, when the important thing is remembering the true reason and being with family and loved ones.

23. What theme or color are you using? Blue and Lime Green with Silver

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? anything.

25.What do you want for Christmas this year? Just to spend another year with my family.

TGIF and other fun things!

2008-12-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

Have you gotten out your Christmas music yet?? I get made fun of every year by hubby about my favorite Christmas CD. I listen to this CD from the beginning to end every year all through December. Traditional? Definitely not. It is the Mariah Carey Merry Christmas CD. I LOVE IT!

I am normally not a big Mariah fan, but I fell in love with this CD many years ago. I have had to buy many copies, as they have been lost or broken, or just simply quit playing. Now with ITUNES it was so easy to just put the CD on my IPOD and I am set for many years to come. :) Another one of my favorite Christmas songs is "Last Christmas" by Wham. Something about that song when it comes on the radio, I can't change the station! I sing it out loud! and yes I am more than made fun of for that song. I also like some traditional songs. I love to hear "O Holy Night" being sung. That song is amazing and you can get lost in the song. I just love Christmas music! I have a whole new playlist on my IPOD just for Christmas tunes. What about you? What are you favorite Christmas songs, or CD's?

Now about the real life every day sort of things....

Ethan had his first basketball practice last night and he had a great time! He is so looking forward to adding one more sport to his list of things to do. The coach seemed really laid back and "chill" as Ethan put it, so I think that will be good. We had five boys at practice and they all listened and practiced really hard.

After practice we ran by Kroger to pick up something for dinner and we ran in to Santa Claus! Yes, Santa and his elf were wandering around Kroger passing out candy canes and talking to all the kids. My first thought was "EWW!" but the kids really believed it was Santa! They were so excited. Leaving Kroger they had me drive all around the store to see if we could see his sleigh. I finally had to convince them that it was on the rooftop. After we left Kroger we went to the house and Scarlett helped me peel off that old blue painters tape! YUCK! We were quickly relieved of our duties when hubby came in and told us HE Planned on doing that and WE were not doing it right. Okay, fine with me! I didn't like peeling the ol'yucky tape off anyway! Scarlett on the other hand was upset that she didn't get to "help". Let me tell you I have PLENTY of things to do at the old house that will need her help. So, today, I am putting these kids to work.

Hope you all have a great weekend! We will be busy moving! Yeah! We are hoping to move the big things in on Monday/Tuesday. I can't wait!

Moving forward and Upward...

2008-12-04T08:33:00.000-08:00

The kids started their Upward Basketball and Cheerleading this week. Scarlett was SO excited! Of course once we walked in the doors that was a whole other story. She cried or just a minute but once she realized I was going to be sitting right there and watching her the whole time she relaxed and practiced with the girls. They were so cute and Scarlett actually had quite a loud voice! Imagine that.. my child with a loud voice, hmm, I don't know where she gets it. Ethan has his first basketball practice tonight and he is excited. At least I have had a whole month off from Taxi duty. I am so glad my kids are able to and want to play sports but occasionally it gets a little crazy around here.
Last night Scarlett got out of the bathtub and came into the kitchen like this:
You think maybe she has seen her mommy does this just a few times! We curled up on the couch in our warm comfy robes and watched Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. What fun on a cold night! There is so much fun stuff to do here in December. I was just flipping through the family magazine trying to figure out what we had time to do or at least what I could squeeze in between everything else going on.

You know I mentioned we are getting the kids a puppy for Christmas. On Thanksgiving day when the Dog Show came on TV, I find Scarlett in her daddy's arms crying that she just wants a puppy so bad! I, of course, tell her to ask Santa for a puppy and that seemed to pacify her at that time. Yesterday she came to me and was again almost in tears. She told me that if she just told Santa she wanted a puppy he wouldn't bring it and I asked "Why" she thought that. She told me she knew Santa couldn't make a puppy since it wasn't a toy so she knew he wouldn't bring it to her! I had to do some quick thinking and come up with a way that Santa could bring her a puppy!

"Flellie" our elf is doing good. He landed in the bathroom yesterday and Ethan came to me and said that "he was sorry to tell me.. but the elf was going to have to watch me pee!". Ha! I guess I should have thought that one through better! But "Flellie" is doing a great job at watching over our kids. Scarlett even made up a song called "No whining, Its Christmas". It goes on and on about how she has to be thankful and can't whine about not getting something. Great song! Hopefully I can use it in January, February, March...

That is it for our exciting week! We are off to Home Depot for one of the last times this year! YEAH!!! Not that 2009 won't be filled with many more trips, but I will be done for this year.

Have a great day!

Just another Manic Monday...

2008-12-01T13:25:00.000-08:00

...I wish it was Sunday, that' s my fun day, my "I don't have to run day"... Okay, so maybe The Bangles said it first, but I feel like I am living it! I looked up the definition of manic. and it said in a state of MANIA! Ha! Like the State Farm commercial says, "That is SOOO where I am."

Our floors are almost finished! Yeah, I am so excited! So, do you think I can get moved, finish Christmas shopping, work way too much the next two weeks, attend Christmas parties, go to Nashville, AND do all the other day to day activities between now and December 25th????? Not to mention get a house decorated for Christmas and all the boxes unpacked??? Sounds easy, huh? Now I understand why I am in a state of mania!!! I do not like being stressed, I do not like feeling anxious or in a state of panic constantly and that is definitely where I am at. What to you do to unwind? What do you do to help you relax? I will try anything, so far nothing is working and I literally feel like I am on the verge of a panic attack every second lately. It is a very bad feeling, and a new one to me! I don't generally feel stress, so this is getting to me.

On a good note, our floors are looking great. Going from the very dark house we purchased to the nice vibrant house it is becoming, I am excited. Here is the first post I did about the "Angry Old House" and here are a few pictures from our currently "happy, newly facelifted, almost there" house.

This is where we started and sometimes when I feel down about how much more we want to do I just take a look around at all that we have done and feel really good. :) I need to go take another picture from this angle. The room looks totally different with those cabinets down and that wall removed; not to mention all the painting that was done.

This is our entry way, and a new light fixture and new door at on our list of things to get in the near future as soon as we "the rest of the things" in place. Yes, that is a basketball goal hanging from the front door. The kids had to have something to entertain themselves while we have been there working. While hubby and I have been busy working, Ethan and Scarlett have been the real troopers. They have been up there for countless hours, with nothing much to do and NEVER complained! They deserve an extra special treat.

This is looking down the hallway to the bedrooms. The blue tape will be removed. :) Everything was taped off to paint the trim. We were buying KILZ in the 5 gallon buckets! and we bought a lot of the 5 gallons buckets!

I feel like the Mastercard commerical:

Over 60 gallons of paint: $1000

New floors: $5000

Being in your "new" house for Christmas: PRICELESS!!!

SO, the next couple of weeks will be busy, busy for us, but we are working as a team and I am sure we can get it all done if we work REALLY hard! I just hope in the meantime my stress level, or panic level lowers. I wish I had a EASY button right now! or a big red panic button! :)

Hope you all have a great week! Wishing you a wonderful holiday season!

Weekend Wrap-Up

2008-11-30T11:32:00.000-08:00

Ever feel like you are so busy, but yet you have nothing to show for it??? We did a whole lot of nothing this weekend. Eating, shopping and visiting with family. That is my idea of a good time! Scarlett and Ethan made their hand print Christmas tree shirts with my mom. These turned out SO CUTE! They love doing any kind of arts and crafts that gets their hands dirty!

Scarlett couldn't wait to try hers on and model it for all of us to see.

We had a lot of fun on Thanksgiving day. It is always so much fun just to spend the day sitting around with family. Scarlett and Carson colored all afternoon on the floor at my Granny's house. They used styrofoam plates to made puppets. Too cute! Carson is only 2 1/2 years old, but he thinks he is as big as they are! Ethan, Scarlett and Carson have a lot of fun playing together.

Mitchell came home and spent the night with us. I went to bed at eleven pm and when I got up at 3:30 am they were STILL up playing video games! I was informed they were having a tournament! Did you see the story about the kid that collapsed after playing video games for 20 hours??? That would be my husband. I am so glad Mitchell feels welcome at our house, and our house is a fun place for him to be and I am glad that hubby feels like a kid when he gets to hang out and play video games all night! ha!

The rest of the weekend was spent doing pretty much more of the same. Shopping, Eating, and hanging out.

Sounds exciting, huh?? That is my idea of a holiday! Now I start to hit the panic button, trying to get everything done over the next few weeks. Better get busy...

Wishing you all a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T06:07:00.000-08:00

WOW, it is Thanksgiving all ready! When Thanksgiving rolls around I realize how fast this year has gone by, I realize how quickly everything is passing these days. Is it true that time moves faster the older we get???

I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Thanksgiving. I remember growing up and being at my grandmother's house early Thanksgiving morning so my mom could help her in the kitchen and my brother and I would watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. What fun! Now, I sit back and get excited as I watch my kids watch the parade and get excited over which huge air filled balloon will roll down the streets. Just once I would LOVE to be in NYC for the parade. That would be a thrill. I love going to my granny's house on Thanksgiving, not because the food is the best but because I have such a big family on that side. Her house is crowded, it is hot, but we have the best time. My granny had four kids and each of them have two or three kids and now each of use have two or three (or even four like my brother) kids of their own. Imagine what a loud house that is on Thanksgiving day! We sit and talk and laugh and of course the Dallas game is playing in the living room while the men pretend to watch with their eyes closed! ha! My cousin, Kristy and I , scope out the ads, and see just where we needed to be in the morning and divise a plan of who gets what for the other. I have much to be thankful for!

Now that I am older and married I have a new family. Hubby's family is wonderful! Thanksgiving lunch at their house has become our tradition. Hubby's Aunt and him fry the turkeys every year on Wednesday night. That is their bonding, their time together. We eat BIG at his house! It has become a joke that the food at my families house is not nearly as good.. so we fill up BIG TIME at his family during lunch. :)

As I sat and watched my children and husband sleep this morning I thought about how lucky I am. Even when things don't seem to be "right" they are still far greater than most. I have so much to be thankful for on this day and every day of the year.

I am a child of God, which is probably the single most important thing I should be thankful for. I have a wonderful family! I have parents that define unconditional love, I have two brothers that have great families and I love them all dearly. I have an amazingly good husband and two children that have blessed me beyond what I thought possible. We have our health, our jobs; we have plenty. I hope we are teaching our kids to be thankful. To be greatful in all that they have been given. The list could go on for days! I have great in laws that accepted me with open arms. I definitely can not forget my friends! I have some of the best friends any girl could ask for! I think long and lasting friendships are rare and I feel so blessed to have found a bond with such a great group of friends.

2008 has been such a great year for my family! We are blessed with so much. New friends, new house, new traditions. We are creating a wonderful life!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! Take the time to tell those around you how blessed you are they are in your life! Wishing you all the best this holiday season!

Almost Home....

2008-11-21T13:18:00.000-08:00

We are almost there! Our home is almost ready for us to move in and I am so excited! I don't think we realized how much of a project this was going to be and I also realize that we are no where near finished. We have done all the major work, but it will be a while yet before we finish everything. We plan to replace all the light fixtures/ceiling fans and all the interior and exterior doors. One thing at a time I try to keep telling myself, but I am the type that wants it all done yesterday! ha!

The big projects are all finished. My dad finished up our bar area and it looks great! Our kitchen looks completely different. I have to order cabinet handles and knobs and then we will be done. We bought a new dining room table and chairs and have it in the house just waiting for us to be there and use it for family dinners.

Here is a before and after picture of our kitchen.

These cabinets were taken out to make room for a light fixture so that we could use this area as a breakfast bar or eating are for the kids. I think we will probably use this A LOT. They can do all their projects, make their cookies and everything from this area.
The light fixture is a brushed nickel, so I am trying to find cabinet knobs and handles with the brushed nickel finish. I know what I want just have to find it at a price I can handle buying 60 of them! We have SO MANY cabinets and drawers in this kitchen.
Yes, this ugly ceiling fan is the next thing to go! We are trying to find a light fixture to go over our dining room table now. Hopefully I will find it this weekend and this fan can find its way to the dumpster. :)

I am starting to get excited at the thought of moving. I just hope and pray we are in the new house before Christmas.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Lunch with Hubby and "Flellie" comes to stay

2008-11-20T15:54:00.000-08:00

Today we went to hubby's work and had lunch with him and his co-workers for their annual Thanksgiving lunch. We are so lucky that we are always invited to their parties.

We took a few pictures before leaving the house. The kids just love being the photographer. This morning we never did get a good picture of Scarlett and I. :( Lunch was yummo! I made the mashed potatoes.. well I sorta made the mashed potatoes. I used the new Steam and mash bags from Ore Ida. You talk about easy and good. One thing I do not like about mashed potatoes is the peeling, so these were perfect! Steam the potatoes, and mix the way you want with all the seasons and butter you desire.

Here is Ethan just before leaving. I wish I had a picture of him by the time we got home. He had shoes in hand and his sweater vest was long gone! We had been home ten minutes when I found him in his room playing basketball in his undies.

Our "elf" came to live with us today. The kids had to name him in order to "adopt" him. Naming this elf proved to be difficult. These two didn't agree on anything! I finally told each of them to pick one name they liked. Scarlett liked Ellie and Ethan like Flappy. So, the elf's name is "Flappy Ellie" or "Flellie" for short.

A rather uneventful day, just the way I like it. Hope you all are excited about this holiday season!

Where does she get these things???

2008-11-19T12:16:00.000-08:00

We were getting dressed to run to Hobby Lobby today and Scarlett decided she wanted to dress herself. She went in her room and about ten minutes later came out like this:

She told me she was "fashion and fire" and this was how all the cool girls were doing it this year! Wow! Is there something you can give these kids to make them SLOW DOWN!!!

Fun time with Friends

2008-11-18T05:47:00.000-08:00

This past Friday the kids and I went to Branson with Ms. Nancie and Hayden. What fun we had! This was the first time the three of us had gone somewhere and left daddy at home. Scarlett was not to happy about leaving her daddy home. It was so sweet that Friday morning before we left. She kissed him goodbye as he was leaving for work, and then she sat down and looked so sad. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "I just miss my daddy!". So sweet! We headed outside to give daddy one more kiss and hug before leaving. That seemed to make her feel better.

We took the kids to play at the Grand Country Inn and their indoor water park. What a great idea! They had so much fun! Nancie and I even decided it looked like fun and we hung out in the hot tub the whole afternoon. It is so much fun to just get away from things and have some fun with friends. Nancie and I only had mild ticks as we pass the outlet malls without stopping! ha! We decided it would be a great place to come back with the husbands and leave them at the water park with the kiddos while the two of us shop! Now that's my idea of a good time! :)

The temperature dropped while we there and we even saw a few flurries as we were leaving on Saturday. I hope this means we might have a white Christmas! I just hope it waits until we are back home from Nashville, TN to bring us a white Christmas.

That small break was just what I needed for a "new" attitude. I am getting excited about Christmas! I have started making my list and even been able to check off a few things for other people. I can't wait to put up my tree and decorate for the holidays. I can't wait to get picture of the kids in their Christmas outfits, make our Christmas cards, and finish our projects for gifts.

I think we are going to start a "new" tradition here in our house. What better time than moving into a new house to add a new Christmas tradition. Have you seen the book or heard about the "Elf on the Shelf"? The little elf reports back to the North Pole daily and then reappears on the shelf the next morning for the kids to find. I though this would be so much for the kids during the month of December. I can't wait to start his new tradition with them.

and on a final note, here is our little puppy. You can't tell much right now, but he is the brown one in the middle. He won't be ready until December 16th which is just right in time for Christmas. I am so excited to see the kids faces when they open that box Christmas morning. I think that will be the best Christmas gift I could give myself to see them as excited as I know they will be!

Hope you all are getting the holiday spirit! Have a wonderful Tuesday!!

The Little Things

2008-11-13T00:22:00.000-08:00

Learning to appreciate the little things in life is a "life lesson" I need to learn. I let things get me down and stress me and really stay with me way more than they should. This week has been one of those weeks. I am so ready to move into our "new house" and yet the house is not ready for us. The floors have been there waiting to be layed, and they will be layed but not until the week of Thanksgiving. Not a big deal compared to the bigger picture. We could have no house, we could not have this opportunity. In the grand scheme of things, waiting another week or two to move in is really a small thing.

I sat at work tonight and thought about all the little things in my life that will not change no matter when I move into our house. I need to learn appreciation for all the small things that surround me daily.

After my "mini-melt down" I had today. Poor Abby, I think she must just know WHEN to call me! It seems that anytime I am ready for mini melt downs she calls me at just the right time. Just when I need someone to hear me out and agree with my side, Abby is there! Thanks, girl! :) I am ready to move on and appreciate all the small things! Don't sweat the small stuff, right???

I decided these things: th e mindset that something great (or even something planned) has to happen before we can be happy is a myth. If you believe that winning a prize or buying yourself that great item that you've been wanting so long is going to make you happy, you're absolutely right. It will make you happy...for about two hours. Then you'll be looking for something else to bring on that shot of joy. Take pleasure out of the little things in life that happen more frequently and you'll find the long term solution to true happiness.

I wanted to include a poem by Mother Theresa that sums it all up. Life is beautiful. Appreciate it!

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is beauty, admire it.Life is bliss, taste it.Life is a dream, realize it.Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a duty, complete it.Life is a game, play it.Life is costly, care for it.Life is wealth, keep it. Life is love, enjoy it. Life is mystery, know it. Life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is sorrow, overcome it.Life is a song, sing it. Life is a struggle, accept it.Life is tragedy, confront it.Life is an adventure, dare it.Life is luck, make it.Life is too precious, do not destroy it. Life is life, fight for it.

Way Back Wednesday Random Pics...

2008-11-12T07:07:00.001-08:00

Have you ever just looked through the pictures on your computer? I was surprised when I did a search for jpeg images that I had over 25,000 pictures on my computer! I guess that means I need to do some major back up one weekend. Here are just some random pictures that made me smile for a Way Back Wednesday moment...

Ethan got some brand new Superman pajamas and he LOVED them! He used our bed and would jump and "fly" like Superman. I just happened to catch him right as he "took off" on his flight!
This was after the "Dr. Suess Birthday Party" at our local library. Back when Ethan was three years old.
Playing at the park back in 2005.
I wish you could see her little apron. It said "Diva in Training". Too cute! She used to play in her toy kitchen for hours!
Scarlett used to use her own clothes to play dress up. She would put on a fashion show almost every night. Occasionally, like this time, she might have on two or three dresses, some pants, a hat and accessories. She was never at a loss of creativity.
and my last, but one of my favorite pictures of Scarlett from "way back". This was before she became a pro at applying lipstick. She used to ask me all the time "you got "wipstick"?" It was a must have in her book!

Ten Things Tuesday

2008-11-11T02:58:00.001-08:00

It is quiet here in the ICU, my patients are having a good night and I have decided to blog. I thought since it was Tuesday I would play the "Ten Things on Tuesday" and make of list of ten things I am looking forward to this holiday season. I hope some of you will play along and list some of you favorite things about this time of year.

1. First and foremost, I am looking forward to celebrating Jesus' birth. Teaching my children the "REAL" meaning of Christmas is so important to me. Yesterday while shopping at Hobby Lobby, I had a proud mom moment. We were looking through all the trees and Christmas decorations and Ethan turned to me and said, "...you know it's not all about the trees, or Rudolph, or the presents..." and Scarlett said "Yeah, it's about baby Jesus and his birthday". Wow, what a great thing to hear as a mom! I purchased Lisa Whelchel's book "The ADVENTure of Christmas" last year and it is WONDERFUL! It has projects and stories for each of the 24 days leading up to Christmas. I look forward to working through this book with the kids this year. I highly recommend it for anyone that wants to help their kids "find Jesus" in the season.

2. I look forward to finding the perfect gift. I just love finding something I know is just right for that special person.

3. I look forward to getting dressed up and going out on New Year's Eve. Yes, hubby, I said it. It has been years since the two of us have gone out on New Year's Eve and I have decided this year is just for us. I want to get dressed up and go to a big party.

4. I can't wait to get my Christmas tree and Christmas decoration up. I look forward to being in a new house and spending Christmas morning around the fire. This will be the first time hubby and I have had a fireplace. I can't wait to read "The Night before Christmas" around the fireplace, with a cup of hot cocoa.

5. Visiting friends and family in Tennessee. I stress right up until we are in the car leaving, but it always turns out just fine and I manage to get everything done for Christmas. I think I operate best under stress.

6. This one is a big secret we are keeping from my kids, but since they dont' read my blog I can talk about it here. It is definitely something I am excited about and just another reason I love my hubby so much. Even though he is slightly opposed to this idea he has agreed. He knows how much the kids and I want a puppy. So, "Santa Claus" is bringing the kids a puppy! I think we have narrowed it down and possibly decided on a Shorkie, which is a Shihtzu and yorkie mix. TOO CUTE! I think I am the most excited about seeing my kids face when they open the box from Santa and there is a real puppy with a big red bow! They will be the most excited two kids you have ever seen!

7. I am looking forward to my birthday. Not neccesarily getting older, but a day just for me. Being that I have a December birthday it has not always felt special, but hubby does make sure it is a day just for me, and if all else fails, I celebrate it myself. Last year did not go as planned on my birthday and I had a big party just for me. I bought so much snack food! I spread out the holiday tablecloth and all the food and the four of us had a great time. :) It made me feel a lot better.

8. Did I mention shopping on Black Friday? LOVE IT! I search through the ads and find the MUST haves vs. "if I have time". I love the stores that open at 4am! I am there! I get so excited, it is like Christmas for me a month early! :)

9. Spending time with my family. Christmas at my house has always been a HUGE deal. Ask hubby, when he would stay at my house on Christmas Eve while we were dating he did not believe me when I told him that we were up at 5am to open presents (yes, I was well into my twenties). Some of my best memories are Christmas Eve after my mom and dad AKA Mr. and Mrs. Claus went to bed and my two brothers and I would sneak into the living room and grab our stockings. We would all pile on one bed and dump them out. Oh what fun! We had the BEST stockings. Still do. My mom makes stockings for all twelve of us in the family.

10. One of my patients has his TV on the music channel and they are playing instrumental Christmas music. It is making me so happy. I think overall I am just looking forward to BEING this Holiday season. Another year has passed, another year filled with so many blessings. There is so much to be thankful for this holiday and I plan to spend my time living in the moment every day.

Okay, so that was a long list! It is now 6am and I get to go home in just a little while. Wow! I passed the time well. Hubby is off work today so I am looking forward to spending the day with my family.

What are some of the things you are looking forward to most this holiday season?

Stay Gold

2008-11-09T15:36:00.000-08:00

Today was a perfect fall day. The weather was cool, there were leaves on the ground and I was feeling so blessed. I have my children with me, my husband is working on the house and I am shopping with my mom! How much better does it get???

I found a really nice comforter set for our bedroom at the new house. Our room is going to be chocolate brown and blue so I wanted something nice but not to feminine. That was my husband's only requirement. I found just the thing today and being that I was shopping with my mom, and it is close to my birthday she bought it a little early. I love shopping with my mom! The only bad part is that they only had one curtain set to match and I needed two.
After shopping I returned home with kids and I am not trying to get motivated to fix dinner. I went grocery shopping this morning and it is amazing how well I do without kids in tow! I used ALL my coupons, got several things free, and ended up saving 46% total! Over $80 at the grocery store was saved using my coupons! WOO HOO! That always makes me feel happy when I can save money like that.. just means more money to spend on something fun.

I guess I have procrastinated long enough and my oven is definitley preheated. Scarlett has banned me from the living room since she is "fixing" me a present. So far she has came through and got a pink gift sack, some blue tissue paper and the tape gun! I hear her singing and wrapping. The pull of the tape gun has been heard ten times already. A packing tape gun, so my present is going to wrapped really tight. She told me that "I will love it", and I am sure I will. How could you not love something your kids do for you out of kindness. Even if it is wrapping up your perfume you have owned for a year... and I do love that perfume!

Every year this exact season brings to mind one of my favorite poems. I absolutely love poetry and I hope I instill a love of poetry and literature in my children. Robert Frost's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" has been my favorite poem since I was 11 years old. I think it helps that it was featured in one of my favorite movies "The Outsiders".

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
so dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay."

When I was younger the poem was so appropriate for the changing of the seasons. Fall being my favorite time of the year, I always thought of this poem as the leaves changed.

Once I got married I thought about how it could apply for love. Young and new love is so exciting, that fades into what I now call "real love". But I also think there is not reason for it to "sink to grief" and not "stay gold".. so this poem always reminds to keep the excitement fresh in our marriage even on those days when I feel anything but excitement.

Once I had kids I noticed how aptly the poem applied to the life cycle. Cherish those times in your life that you think it just can't get any better! Cherish your children being small, it passes quickly. Cherish your husband, your mother, your father, cherish your family.

I just really love that poem and it seems no matter the stage in my life it applies and reminds me of something. I think I may have to get out my DVD of "The Outsiders" its been a while since I watched the movie. :)

Hope you all had a great weekend and are having a great night! I HAVE to go fix dinner.. Hubby will be home soon and I haven't even started cooking.

UPDATE: I realize now why they are in the living room making me presents. While I was in the kitchen cooking they came in singing Happy Birthday to me! HA! They heard my mom say Happy Birthday when she bought the bedding for me and so they thought it was my birthday. How sweet are my kids! They came home and got right to work on something just for me. I feel special.

Having a Flashback Friday just for me

2008-11-07T11:29:00.000-08:00

My pictures will not mean much to anybody except me. You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words, these definitely are to me. When I found these pictures while cleaning out some storage areas they made me smile. They reminded me of a few things.

They reminded me of a spoiled twenty seven year old. They reminded me of a boy who decided he could take on that spoiled twenty seven year old. They reminded me of a boy who took on the biggest task of his life! :) They also reminded me of the thirty five year old that is a better person because of that boy.
In case you haven't guess that twenty seven year old is me, and of course that "boy" is hubby. These pictures were taken during January of 2000. Almost a month after he had proposed to me and decided that he was ready for the challenge of being my husband. These pictures were taken while he walked to my house on that cold January day, all because I was at home and I was bored, and I was pouting that I couldn't drive, couldn't get out and I couldn't see him. I convinced him to WALK TO MY HOUSE!

You have to understand that it doesn't snow very often here in Arkansas, so when we get 4-6" on the ground the whole city shuts down. We were all at a stand still and I was horribly bored with myself. He took off through the woods and it was almost sunset but I needed to see him, I wanted him to come watch movies with me (sounds important, doesn't it?). I was seriously very full of myself, and more importantly I was bored. My mom and brother, Matt, laughed and thought "Yeah, right.. he is going to WALK to see you". I knew he would, I knew that I had convinced him it was that important.

I wish I had a picture of him as he crested the hill that led down the road to my house. The sun is setting behind him and there he is with a pack of dogs following, stick in hand and bundled up looking like the abominable snowman! Matt and I were waiting and watching by the mailbox and laughed when we saw him. I knew at that very moment that he was the right guy for me. I knew that over our lifetime he would do anything he could within his means to keep me happy.

These pictures also remind me of how much I have grown because of him and my kids. I am no longer that selfish, self concerned person (yes, I still have my moments, but don't we all?). October of that year we got married and three months later found out we were having a little baby. Four weeks prior to our first anniversary little Ethan came into or lives. You talk about a change! After having a child you learn how small and unimportant your needs become. You grow so concerned with your child and their well being. You learn to sacrifice everything just to give them the very best of yourself.

Thinking back to that January 2000 and how much life has changed for me and "that boy". I think we are both glad we made the choices we made. I wouldn't change a thing!

Just a reminder I received....

2008-11-06T10:15:00.000-08:00

I received this in a email today and thought it was a wonderful reminder to us all for now and every day.

Gratitude is the memory of the heart." – Jean Baptiste Massieu

What do you have to be thankful for as a parent? Have you stopped to think about it recently? Amazingly, you’ve done nothing special to deserve God’s goodness and love, but He chooses to bless you anyway. Uniquely packaged, these divine blessings come through special acts of kindness by a friend, an encouraging love note from a child or family member, an unexpected, homemade gift crafted by little hands, a beautiful sunrise or sunset made “just for you,” a soft sofa after a long day of teaching, or your child’s “Thanks, that was great!” after eating the evening meal.

Unfortunately, so many of these simple blessings we receive each day from God’s hand go unnoticed, unacknowledged, and unappreciated. Lost under piles of housework and “to dos,” we can only see the bigger problems and things we don’t have. Not until tragedy strikes and our world falls apart do we slow down, reflect, and realize how wonderful life’s everyday blessings can be. So, why is it that we continually fall from an attitude of gratitude to one of ungratefulness or complaining?

Perhaps it’s because we’re much like the people of Israel in the Old Testament. When the grapes were on the vine and the goats were fat in the fields, they forgot the Lord who saved them from Egypt’s bondage and slavery. Developing a self-sufficient mentality, they repeatedly forgot God until a humbling chain of events brought them back to their knees in grateful worship saying, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:2).

What about your soul? Do you find it difficult to gratefully remember God’s blessings amidst all the busyness of work, parenting and homemaking? Don’t let this Thanksgiving just be about turkey, pumpkin pies, and holiday activities. Although gratitude is the most fragile of virtues, you can strengthen it by opening your eyes each day to the bounty of God’s blessings to truly “give thanks.” “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation” (Psalm 68:19).

Father God,

When I begin to count all the blessings in my life, I’m overwhelmed at Your love. Change my attitude today and help me express my gratefulness for my family, my home, and every good and perfect gift You’ve given me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Praying for our Nation

2008-11-05T09:56:00.000-08:00

For the TV and time to be consumed with the Presidential election over the past year and a half it was over in a flash. The new president elect made his acceptance speech, and the other gracefully stepped down. I think as a nation it is time now to be Americans, as Christians it is time now to pray for our nation, rather you are Republican or Democrat, we are all American's and our great nation needs healing.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (New Living Translation)

14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

As we watched the election results come across our television last night it was a great time to talk with our kids about democracy and how blessed they are to be Americans. They felt defeated that who "we" had voted for did not win, but I assured them how great it was to even be able to vote. Many did not have the right to choose, many countries had no voice.

When I went in to vote yesterday morning the people working at the site were so great with the kids. They explained it all to them from how to fill out the form, how to place it in the machine and even gave them stickers for helping their mom vote. It was a very slow time during the day so I was able to take my time and explain the whole process to them. We decided that since they couldn't vote we would make our own voting booth at home and give them the chance to vote.

We made a little booth and I printed out a voting sheet. They were able to choose who they wanted for President, and I also included some questions from what we had learned that day. They had a lot of fun and even played all night in the booth. Pretending to vote, or to help others (which were their stuffed animals) come in and vote.

Hubby and Ethan went to bed early which left Scarlett and I up to talk. It is so funny how mature she seems when it is just her and I talking. As we got up to go to bed she said, "..thanks mommy, that was good conversation." I just love my kids!

Sixth Picture Story

2008-11-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

6th Picture

When I saw this on Leigh Ann and Megan's blog, I thought this was a very cute idea. Here is what you are supposed to do:

1. Open your picture folder.

2. Go to the sixth folder.

3. Open the sixth picture.

4. Import into your blog and tell the story.

Here is my sixth picture...

Okay, so my pictures are not really in folders, so I just took the sixth picture in my "picture" folder. Here is the story behind this photo...

This is at Riverfest 2006 and my pouty faced little girl is MAD! She has already rung the bell on the trolley, painted, played drums and ate ice cream. We have now came across the water fountain and all the little kids are playing. Many of them without their shirts on, of course "many" of them are boys, and the other half is the riff raff that Riverfest tends to bring out. Scarlett is not wanting to take NO for an answer and the fact that so many have their shirts off is not helping my case. I received this look many times over the next few minutes while we waited and watched Ethan play in the water. She never joined in the fun. She stayed mad about having to keep herself clothed. It is so hard to be mad when she looks so cute pouting! :)

Another great award...

2008-11-03T13:42:00.000-08:00

Tonda, over at Reflections of an Everyday Life, left me this great award! I was so surprised and so happy to see my name as a "Kreative Blogger". I don't think of myself as a creative person so I really appreciate this award. So, now I get to pass this award on to other creative bloggers I know.
The rules are simple. You simply list six things that make you happy and pass the award on to six other creative bloggers.

1. My family makes me so very happy. I know it goes without saying, but when I think of happy I think of my family. I just love spending time with and being with my family. I feel very blessed to have such a great family.

2. New lipstick! I love, love love buying new lipstick. I like trying new shades, although rarely do I venture away from my faves.

3. Scrapbooking. I love being able to sit down and spend time with my friends or by myself catching up on my scrapbooks. I have not been able to do very much of it lately but it really makes me happy.

4. A fresh made bed. I love having crisp clean sheets, a freshly fluffed down featherbed, and pillows piled high on my bed. I love it. To me, there is nothing like going to bed on a crispy clean bed that has been fluffed to the max.

5. Water makes me very happy. I don't care if I am swimming, at the lake in a boat, or laying beside the ocean. I love being around water! Luckily for me, my kids got the same water gene.

6. Surprises. I love surprises! Even the smallest surprise usually comes at just the right time. I love getting the small happy things that make my day! I also love being the one to surprise others. I think it is great to share something with another person that makes them happy.

Now, to pass this on. I know many of you have probably received this, or have received another award from me but I am limited on who I can share these things with. There are several blogs I read daily and several really inspire me to be more creative, or to blog more and better. Here are a few of my favorites. Some are friends and some are just people that I read daily that I have never met. Some are people I hope to meet one day, like Megan. All of them are great reads and they all have beautiful families.

1. Leigh Ann
2. Katy
3. Megan H
4. Naomi
5. Nancie
6. Kelly

Thank you again, Tonda for this great award! I really, really appreciate it! Sorry it took me so long to get this posted. :) I still haven't figured out how to get my awards on the side bar. :(

How about them HOGS!!!!

2008-11-02T10:43:00.000-08:00

We left early Saturday morning for the drive to Razorback Stadium. Ethan was PUMPED!! He loves his Razorback football! We took Mitchell and Andrew with us to the game and they were just as excited. We left the house at 7:30 am so we could get there in plenty of time to tailgate. I was surprised that all four of the kids woke up on their own and woke up in great moods! Yeah for ME!

As we drove on the interstate here is a picture of the prettiest and brightest rainbow I have ever seen! How great is it to be reminded of God's promises with something so awesome! Of course, we took it as a sign that it was going to be a great day for the Hogs! :)
We got a great spot in the parking lot and set up our little tailgating feast. The kids had so much fun! They played football, passed out candy and ate a lot of food! We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, had salsa and cheese dip and Halloween cookies for dessert. This was such a great idea, even if I had to laugh at hubby and his tailgate list! :)
After we ate, it was time to head to the stadium. I took one last picture of our tailgating crew, ready to head to the game. We told my 8 year old nephew, Andrew, we didn't have tickets that we only drove up there to tailgate. I think he thought we were crazy! Once I told him the truth and that we had tickets and even had a ticket for him, he was very excited. One of Ethan's favorite sights is Razorback Stadium. He gets so excited when it is finally on the horizon as we walk across the campus. I know I have said it before but this kid is a football star at heart! I think there is nothing he would love better than to be a Razorback football player. At the game I sat in the stands and as the crowd cheered on their Hogs, I thought about how it would be thirteen years from now and my child is on the field, his name being called and me, his mom, in the stand with a jersey on and the name CASH on the back. How awesome that would be for him and his mom... and definitely don't leave out the proud dad! We had some great seats, right on the 50 yard line! The crowd was fired up but by halftime my little cheerleader was over it. She was ready to get up and walk around. So the entire second half for Scarlett and I was spent in the food court, in Hog Heaven and walking around the stadium. She cheered more and louder while sitting in the food court. She put on quite a show for the final touchdown that gave us the winning lead. Razorbacks 30-Tulsa 23! That was a perfect ending to a great day!
By the time we returned to the car and headed on our way back home to Little Rock the kids were exhausted! My two, are night owls, so they didn't fall asleep.. but when Andrew did they got quite the laugh! They stared at him as if they had never seen a kid go to sleep in the car! Scarlett finally gave in and went to sleep but Ethan watched movies the whole way home. It was such a fun time and I am glad that Mitchell and Andrew were able to go with us. The kids love spending time with their cousins.

Today is Sunday and we are truly using it as a day of rest! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-01T01:00:00.000-07:00

I am such a bad mom! We arrived in Benton ready to trick or treat and guess who's camera did not have a her media card in her camera??? Yep, you guess it, so I am waiting on pictures from everyone else to show you some cute pics of my kids trick or treating. Let's just say I had the cutest Batgirl and Batman on the block. :)

After trick or treating, two of my nephews came home with us to spend the night. Mitchell, my 14 year old nephew was Michael Myers for Halloween. He was rather scary! We decided it would be fun to scare people and of course being that he is 14 he thought that sounded cool. Hubby and I are not in the habit of trying to get my nephews hurt or maimed while they are in our care, but tonight was HILARIOUS!!! We had Mitchell stand out by the road with our jack-o-lantern and watch the cars driving by. You should have seen the brake lights on the cars that drove by our house!! :) Tell me if you drove by and saw this... would you be scared????

A house nearby was having a Halloween party, complete with a very loud karaoke machine.. so we pulled down the drive and dared him to get out and run around the bonfire and scare the people. I think they had been partaking rather heavily in the libations because they didn't even seem to notice him there. It was a big laugh for all of us left in the car just watching! :)
By 1:00 am ( we had put the little kids to be a long time before this) we had had our fun with Mitchell and we had a very long day ahead of us, so we all went to bed. Definitely not your typical Halloween night but I don't think hubby and I have enjoyed Halloween that much in quite a few years.

Hope you all had a very Happy Halloween!!!

Cutest Pumpkins in the Patch

2008-10-30T12:21:00.000-07:00

We finally made it out to the pumpkin patch for our pictures. My nephews were able to go with us, too. We had a great time. Scarlett is the only girl, so with five boys she is a little out numbered. She really clings to cousin Mitchell. I am so glad that he doesn't mind and he puts up with her hanging on him. At fourteen I am sure there are other things he would rather be doing, but he never lets on that she is bothering him. She just loves HER Mitchell.The kids had a great time. We rode the hayride out to the patch and they all picked out the biggest pumpkin they possibly could and then yelled for someone to come carry it! :)
This is a annual event for us. I have scrapbook pages dating back to 2002 when Ethan was just a little over a year old. I just love looking back at my cute little pumpkins! My mom usually makes Scarlett the cutest outfits to wear to the Pumpkin Patch, but this year we never got around to making it. But I still have lots of cute pictures from our day at the patch and that is what is important to me. :) A lady at the pumpkin patch with her child took a big group picture of all of us. We look like a motley crew! ha!
How is this for a scary crew of kids! :) ha! I just love all these silly monster face pictures. They crack me up with the things they come up with. Scarlett may be the only girl, but she fits right in with the boys.
Here is our group shot, what a fun day we had! We stayed out there so long that we had to race home and get changed to make it to Ethan's end of the season soccer party. We love Larry's Pizza. They have the best pizza buffet. YUMMO! I tried the BLT pizza, let's just say HEAVEN! If you have a Larry's close by, GO TRY THAT PIZZA! It is so good. Ethan had a great coach this year, we are excited about Spring soccer. The team stays together, so I am sure they will be even better next year. Our week has been busy, as usual. The kids are so excited that tomorrow is Halloween! They can't wait to go trick or treating. We always have so much fun and get way too much candy. Saturday morning we are getting up early to drive to Fayetteville to go to the Razorback game, so Ethan is in heaven. Candy, Halloween and the Razorbacks.. does life get any better????

Have a great day!

Happy Anniversary, Hubby!

2008-10-28T08:19:00.001-07:00

October 28, 2000 was a busy day! Who knew at that time just how much life would change in 8 shorts years. I remember thinking on that day that it couldn't get any better. Boy, was I wrong! How blessed are we that God always knows so much better than we do, and always has better things waiting around the corner. After 8 years of marriage and two kids, it just keeps getting better.

Hubby proposed to me on December 3, 1999 after dating for over five years! I was a little past ready to get my ring, and he had been given a small word of advice regarding the new millenium, and a wedding! ha! :) Not a threat, just some advice! The night he proposed was just perfect, I remember waking up and looking at my hand that night after I went to bed, just to make sure it was real and that I FINALLY had a ring on my finger and I was going to be getting married.

After almost 11 months of planning the big day arrived and it was nothing short of everything I wanted! I was so happy, and so excited to start my life with hubby. Here is a picture of our wedding party. We were so lucky that everybody was able to be here to share with us. :) If you look to the bottom left you will notice LAH. :) I think she was the first person I talked to after getting my ring! I couldn't wait to ask SOMEBODY to be MY bridesmaid!

From that night on life has just kept getting better. Sure we have our ups and downs, but it is the valleys that make the peaks so much more amazing! We went to Montreal for our honeymoon, and I laughed at the end of the week when it was time to go home and I didn't want to leave. That was THE FIRST time I had ever gone away from home and not called home crying. My poor parents have been called at all hours of the day by all kinds of people because I would be crying so bad to just go home. But not this time, it was so appropriate that I was okay. It was a huge sign to me that I found my new home and my new home was wherever hubby was. It all seemed just right!

So, to you hubby, I celebrate 8 great years! I know I harrass you about your list making habits, the "annoying" little things you do, but that makes YOU who YOU are! That makes you who I feel in love with. You are an amazing daddy; and just think you thought you didnt know anything about kids. :)

Thanks for being a great husband and even better daddy. Thank you for always putting the kids first and supporting me always. I love you! I cant wait to see what the next 8 years have in store for us.

All things SPOOKY!!!

2008-10-27T23:50:00.000-07:00

Monday was the the day we finally were able to fit in BOO AT THE ZOO. This is an annual event for us. The kids just love it! Any excuse to get dressed up in their costumes is a good thing to them. This year with all the craziness going on I didn't get their costumes ordered in time, so neither one of the kids are what they originally planned to be. We compromised and it turned out really cute. Scarlett was Batgirl and Ethan was Batman.. but Scarlett refused to call him that, if she was "girl" then he was going to be Batboy!
Boo at the Zoo is always so much fun, but this year Hayden came to join the kids so that made it even better! They had a buddy to run around with and act crazy! Poor Hayden wanted to go in the Haunted House... or rather he THOUGHT he wanted to go in.. so I went in with him.. let's just say we didn't last very long in the house! I am not a fan of things jumping out at me and scaring me, but he definitely wasnt'. But he was the bravest of the three, he at least made it IN the door!

The kids get a bucket FULL of candy! It was funny, we noticed at one point that Scarlett had almost double what the boys had. It must have been her good looks! :)

They rode the train, and the merry go round and went to all the Trick or Treat booths twice. They had a great time!
After we were all done at Boo At the Zoo we looked at more Halloween lights and then had to race home for some Monday Night Football! Ethan had it recorded on the DVR, his Titans were playing he had his match ups all set. Two years ago this set of mini football helmets was ALL Ethan asked for for Christmas. What four year old asks for that??? He took every helmet this week and put them all beside who they were going up against and the buy week teams lined the side of the case. He was so funny! He did it all by himself. He gets the Sunday sports section and uses the match ups to place his helmets in the right order. He may love baseball and soccer, but he is a QB in the making at heart! :)
Lastly I thought I would share with you my front door decoration. With us hoping to be moving soon, I did not get our Halloween decorations out this year, much to my children's dismay. Scarlett being so unhappy with that, she made me a ghost for the front door. :) She was so proud of herself . She made me a ghost or a zombie. We choose to put the ghost on front door! :) Happy Halloween everybody!!!

Coming out on top

2008-10-26T23:50:00.000-07:00

Saturday and Sunday were spent taxing Ethan back and forth from soccer to baseball and back to soccer. On Saturday we left our house at 8:15 and did not get back home until 4:30 that afternoon! I was doing the quick change with Ethan in the car between games to have him ready to play by the time we arrived at the next game.

His team was playing in the Lakewood Fallfest Soccer Tournament, but to Ethan that was HIS National Championship. He is such a serious soccer player. I finally figured out that he was holding his breath a lot of the times when he would run down the field. He had me really worried at one point thinking something could be wrong! I was ready to call in the doctors, start testing... and then I noticed he was holding his breath. This weekend I had him chew gum and guess what.. no problems! He didn't look short of breath one time and he was faster out on the field.

Miss Nancie and Hayden came out to watch his "championship" game and that made Ethan's day! He was so glad they were able to come see him play. I think it made him try a little harder, which is a good thing. He learned the sliding kick this weekend, or rather, he finally got it down, and once he knew he could do it, he was trying constantly to slide and kick the ball off the field. I never caught him on camera doing that.. but it was very cute!
Ethan was so excited that they won the U7 division of the tournament! He proclaimed they were the "National Champs of Arkansas".. okay, so not exactly true.. but Hey! When you are seven and you just won big, you can think anything you want, and I most definitely was not going to ruin his moment. They were all presented with medals and the team trophy. The boys were so excited! Congratulations ASC BURN! You had a great season!

The day after our night in the woods...Part 2

2008-10-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

I guess I should start with the night IN the teepee. IT WAS COLD!!! The geese flying overhead were at 5am were miserable and the "cots" were uncomfortable! Other than that it was wonderful. Ethan got in his sleeping bag, and bundled up with blankets and slept like a rock. We had to wake him up the next morning. Scarlett got right in the middle of hubby and I and slept really well. I, on the other hand, decided that Indians must have had holes in the tops of the teepee to shoot the birds as they fly overhead squawking. We woke up, got dressed (yes, none of us showered) and went to eat breakfast and warm up at the lodge. This was a great decision!We had a big country boy breakfast, as Ethan calls it, and needed to work off some calories so we headed down the Cedar Falls Trail. We were a little unsure if Scarlett would be able to keep up, but she led the way, singing the whole time. She is a natural hiker! They both found walking sticks they used during our hike. They were so funny the closer we got to the falls. They were getting so excited when they heard the water flowing. Ethan kept saying, "I hear it.. it's right around this corner...".
At the end of our hike we were rewarded with some of the natural beauty of Arkansas. It was so pretty and peaceful there at the bottom of the hill. Great photo opportunity! We made the kids pose everywhere on the those rocks at the bottom. Thankfully we thought ahead and brought plenty of water to drink.
Ethan, our photographer, snapping a picture of hubby and I. We were both so tired! But this was so worth it for the kids.
It was still really chilly there by the waterfall. After a 30 minute hiatus, we started our trip back. We were ready to head home. We still had a lot to do and needed our energy that we had left. We had a great time and this was just another way that homeschooling has been such a blessing for me. It is so wonderful to be able to be with my kids and watch them experience new things everyday. Even if some of it is a little unconventional.

While this was a blast, hubby and I did decide that next time... we will just stay at the lodge! ha!

Our Night in the Woods...Part 1

2008-10-24T13:53:00.000-07:00

Warning: This will be a long post with LOTS of pictures. :)

Finally I have been able to sit down and look at our pictures from our night in the woods and get back to blogging. We have been super busy this past weekend. Thursday night was our big camp out and we had the BEST time! The kids LOVED it! You would not believe how packed down our car was for just one night of camping. There is also a pumped up Ethan, smiling away in the back seat. We arrived at Petit Jean Mountain and went to the overlook first. We explained the story of how Petit Jean got its name and when we were done, Scarlett wanted to dig her up!! Leave that to Scarlett. The views from the top of Petit Jean were amazing! We stayed up there almost an hour taking pictures from all sides.
A happy Ethan in his "KING OF THE WORLD!" pose.
After checking out the top of the mountain we got our keys to the teepee. YIPPY! We were pleasantly surprised and Ethan even said it was better than his dream. The views were great from our teepee. We were right by the lake with a great back "porch" and picnic area. This was going to be FUN!We had a "mini" school lesson and talked about Native American Indian and made our head dresses. They turned out really cute and the kids did a great job. Scarlett would now like to meet a real native Indian so if anybody knows where I can get in touch with one for her to speak with just let me know.After that it was time to start the camp fire. YIPPEE! It was starting to cool off and it was going to be a great night around the fire with the family. We had so much fun. Ethan built a mini fire just for he and Scarlett. He built it just like his daddy's. It didn't burn very long, but long enough for them to roast their own hot dogs. We roasted hot dogs, popped jiffy popcorn, made hot cocoa and smores all around the campfire. How much fun was that! I knew there was no way they were near as hungry as it sounded; but they wanted to "make" all those things since it was so much fun to watch the fire and be cooking over the open flame. Ethan proclaimed at one point that "MAN MAKE FIRE!".If you look closely you can see our Halloween lights wrapped around our deck at the teepee. We had to be a little festive. :)
After all the cooking it was time for bed.. that was where the real adventure began! :) Stay tuned for the morning after...

Thanks for reading if you made it this far...

Fallin' into Fall...

2008-10-23T06:27:00.000-07:00

This week has been spent catching up on some of our favorite fall things to do. We carved pumpkins, made caramel apples and toasted our pumpkin seeds. This weekend we will finally make it out to the Pumpkin Patch (this is a mom thing so I can have pictures to scrapbook!) and tonight we go for our campout! The kids are so excited! They have never been camping, but the thought of sitting around a warm fire, roasting marshmallows and eating smores sounds like a wonderful plan to them. We haven't explained the part about there being no bathroom, the fact that it is going to be COLD outside and sleeping pretty close to the ground without a nice comfy mattress. ha! Mean parents that we are, we figured we would let them be excited for a bit!

We spent Monday playing at Pinnacle Mountain State Park with our friends. The actual mountain entrance was closed so we found a nice little area with a trail and had a picnic and then walked on the trail. We came up with a "mini" scavenger hunt and the kids quickly found all the things on their list. It was such a nice day! I just love October!!! Hayden and Ethan would play ball all day long everyday if we let them. We had Kirispy Kreme Jack O'Donuts for dessert! YUMMO!!! Have you tried their Pumpkin Spice donuts??? Let's just say that a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks and one of those would make an excellent lunch! and a ton of calories!

Wednesday afternoon we carved pumpkins. Oh what fun it is! You would think the inside of the pumpkin was the most disgusting thing ever to hear my children whine about "touching that stuff". Scarlett was so funny while I carved her pumpkin. "Wow, Mommy! You are so strong" "Wow, Mommy! How did you do that?" "You are a super mommy". Who knew that carving a pumpkin could make me so special!

After carving we toasted the pumpkin seeds and made caramel apples. We had the perfect fall evening! Top it off with a bowl of warm taco soup (We had left over soup in the fridge, so that's not really what we had for dinner.. but it would have been nice) and we were set for bed.

This morning we are packing up for our camping trip. We did learn we have electricity at the teepee. The kids have placed so much stuff by the front door that they want to take. They pack like their mother. We should have lots of fun! Hubby is off today and tomorrow and we have a date night planned tomorrow night. YIPPEE! It is our monthly GNO (girls night out) and we have decided the guys could come this month ONLY! What could be better a night out with my girls and hubby! That sounds like the best of both worlds.

Party like a Rock Star!

2008-10-19T18:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday and Sunday have both been filled with lots of fun! Apparently I was feeling a bit hubby deprived and a little sleep deprived on Saturday. Hubby and I stayed up until 3am doing what we love to do, just watching music videos and talking. I miss getting to just sit around and talk to hubby and music is definitely a huge bond between us. This whole week had left me exhausted and Sunday I played catch up on my sleep. I woke up at 1:30 this afternoon!!! Looking VERY scary but feeling oh so rested hubby just laughed when I walked into the living room and said "I guess I was tired!". UH DUHH!!
After Ethan's baseball game Scarlett and I headed out for girls day (Friday night was our usually scheduled girls night with Nana..it didn't count). We had lunch at a place called ZaZa, all I can say is YUMMO! It is a brick oven pizzeria with great salads! We met up with Ms. Michelle and Avery and had a great lunch. Michelle is one of my oldest and closest friends. At ZaZa they had a corner with the guitar hero video game out for the girls to play. They started their rock star date off right. Rocking out to "SLOW RIDE" . ha! From ZaZa we headed off to Alltel Arena and The Cheetah Girls concert. These too were so cute! They both looked rocked out in their cool "fashion". You should have seen Avery dancing around and singing. Who knew that $10 glow stick would bring so much joy to two rocker girls! The glow stick quickly became a microphone with every Cheetah Girls song they knew. Even the ones they ad libbed majority of the words. The funnel cake was a big hit! They both loved it and apparently the rock star live style can leave a five year old very hungry! Scarlett was so funny. This was her first concert and I wasn't sure if she understood just what a "concert" was, she said she did but I had my doubts. We arrived at Alltel and found our seats. There were video screens up playing music and Scarlett thought that was the show! She thought she was going to sit and watch music videos. When the real band came out, she looked at me and asked, "..are those real people?". From there I think we found another music lover! If she is anything like her daddy and I she will love live music of any kind! WOO HOO! I have a new person to go to concerts. I see another Keith Urban show in my future very soon! Introduce her to mommy's favorite! :) Or maybe that could just be a good excuse to go to another Keith show and sit right beside him, and touch him and get awesome pictures... AHH the memories. :) That was before I was blogging or you would have gotten an earful! Trust me!

On Sunday night Ethan sang during the worship service at church. He had told me he didn't think he was supposed to, but at 5:20 we get a call from his choir director, Ms. Jennifer, telling me Ethan was supposed to be there at 5:00! OOPS! Off we race to get him showered and cleaned. We make it there just in time. I sat in the pew camera ready and was going to get lots o pictures.. but you see what happens when your child is the smallest one on stage...you catch him walking in an walking out, but someone is always in front of them on stage! :) Ethan sang really good and he knew all the hand motions. I was so proud of him! He has missed a lot of choir with all our activities so I was happy that he has learned so fast.
Hope you all had a great weekend! We are ready for a busy week. Ethan has a soccer tournament next Saturday. He has decided it is the "National Championship" of soccer and has spent a lot of time practicing in the backyard with his soccer goal his daddy built him. He is taking this tournament very seriously! :) So, between Monday and Friday we expect nothing less than busy! :) Have a great week!

Laughter...

2008-10-18T07:20:00.000-07:00

Doesn't laughter just make your heart feel good? I love to hear my kids laugh! When I hear them giggling and laughing it makes me smile even if I have no clue what they are laughing about. They learned the joys of spinning in a swing this week. Did you do this as a kid? Spin the swing around as much as you can and then just let go and you take off spinning? I remember doing this as a kid and just LOVED it. Apparently my kids love it, too. Scarlett looks like a little torpedo spinning around and around. Our neighbors probably think we are nuts. Between me on the trampoline playing "Red Light Green Light" and the yelling my kids do in the backyard. I bet they are ready for us to MOVE!

We did a lot of playing outside this week and once the kids were inside they were bored! I do not like hearing that word! I think with all the toys, games and other things they have around them they can come up with something. I tell them all the time to use their imagination. One after noon they asked if they could use some of my scrapbook tools. Of course they could, but just what were they going to make. Imagine my surprise when this is what I found...a homemade checkers game! I laughed and then I felt a little bad as if my kids were deprived of something. I supposed I could buy them a real checkers game! But then again that would have taken away a whole afternoon of fun they had with my circle punch. I love when they are creative and come up with things on their own. They had a good time playing checkers even though the paper checkers don't last a whole game! ha! They kept coming back in the room to get more circles to finish the game. Too funny!

Today is Saturday and we are off to Ethan's baseball game in a little bit. Scarlett is going to her first concert tonight. Her little friend Avery and her are going to the Cheetah Girls. What fun! We went shopping last night with Nana and she talked her into buying her some "fashion" so she would look "cool" tonight! OH MY!

I will definitely have to take lots of pictures. She is so excited!

Have a great day!

AWW! Thank you! I got an award...

2008-10-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

I got an award for being a blogging BFF! AWW! Thanks! I think this is the first award that I have figured out how to post on my blog and how to actually accept and respond, too. I am so excited! Thank you, Shortone! I love reading your blog and I am SURE we will soon meet since we seem to be at ALL the same events!

I love this award. It has been amazing to me how the blogging world has developed into friendships. We see so much into others lives that it is hard not to really began to love the fellow bloggers that you follow. The rules of this award are to pass it along to five other bloggers. Four of the recipients should be dedicated followers of your blog and one should be a "newbie" if at all possible.

I am sure that some of you have received this award and if you have.. OH WELL! You are still getting it from me as you are one of my blogging BFF's and you may even be a real life BFF.

1. Megan- I love reading about your life at home and at work. You little boy is too cute! I am partial to curly red hair.. but still he would be adorable even if I wasn't a little partial. I am sure that when I am in the 'boro in December we will just HAVE to meet!

2. Nancie- While you are a new BFF in real life it is great to learn more about you and your family through your blog. I knew when I met you that we would get along. Why else would we both have such great kids! :)

3. Leigh Ann- Yes, I know you have received this award.. but how could I have a list of my blogging BFF's and not put you on the list??? There is really nothing more I need to say. Love ya!

4. Rachel- Love the blog.. when you update! I figure if I give you an award that will motivate the need for a new post. Miss you here on our GNO! We need a visit from our Roachel.. or maybe we should plan a trip to see you!! :)

5. Michele- I love reading your blog and after I read back from the beginning I learned just how aptly titled it is. Yesterday's Wordless Wednesday post needed no comments.. that was wonderful. :) Loved it! Thanks for the reminder.

Thank you again, Shortone. That was a lot of fun!!! :)

Walking after dark...

2008-10-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

Ethan had a soccer game at Burns Park at 5:45 and from there we went to the grave yard, literally. Tuesday night was the annual "Tales of the Crypt" event at Mount Holly Cemetery. The kids enjoy going to this even every year. It is so fascinating to learn small tidbits and facts about people in Arkansas. It is so funny how these two have such great memories. They remembered the characters from last year and even some of the stories that were told. I really thought they understood that these were "actors" until the very last story and the character mentioned that he "..died from a massive heart attack..." and Ethan turned to me and said, ".. if he died, how is he still here..". So, maybe we don't quite understand what is going on! ha!

Scarlett looks really colorful in this picture, but this is what happens when a five year old decides she knows what "fashion" is and wants to dress herself in her cool fashions. I figure there are bigger battles to fight than worrying about her having on socks with her pink crocs! ha!

We went to eat at our favorite Mexican place, Senior Tequila and from there off to look at Halloween lights. Yes, not quite as many as Christmas but we managed to find some really cool lights. There was one super cool house that had up a fence, carriage and all of the trimmings, the kids LOVE this house. We pulled up close and I took a picture.. with the flash on.. so if it is anybodies house that reads this.. I am sorry, but we really love your decorations! :)

From there we went home. I love spending time with my family. A good night out on the town with my three favorite people is always on the top of my list! :)

Ten on Tuesday

2008-10-14T12:43:00.000-07:00

I read Nancie's blog and she mentioned the ten things she loved about this past weekend, so decided to play along and do my own list of Ten on Tuesday.

I decided that in this season of giving, what better way to go into the holidays than with a attitude of gratitude. I often forget to count my blessings. I forget that I have more than plenty. One of my favorite books is Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach. It encourages each of us to have a gratitude journal. It is amazing how your thoughts and life can be transformed by just being thankful everyday for the things in your life. In the gratitude journal you list five things each day that you give thanks for.

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow."
-Melody Beattie

My top ten on Tuesday is my top ten things that I should be grateful for:
1. My kids are happy and healthy and loved beyond measure.
2. I have an amazing husband that loves me unconditionally.
3. I will soon be celebrating my 8th wedding anniversary.
4. I am secure in the knowledge of Jesus Christ as my savior! AMEN!!!
5. I am able to be home with my kids and be their teacher, their mother, their caregiver and so much more.
6. We have a home, food on our table, and gas in our car.
7. I have great parents that have always loved me unconditionally.
8. Husband and I both have jobs, and we have jobs that allow our family to be number one priority.
9. Something as simple as a Krispy Kreme donut can make me the "best mom in the world!".
10. I am thankful that I have FRIENDS.

I could go on and on with my list of things. I encourage each of you to end each day with a time of gratitude.

Thanks for reading! I am being called to the playhouse where Scarlett just found an egg.. remember our egg drop challenge.... and cracked it in her playset kitchen pretending to cook. YUCK!!! Apparently it stinks really bad... yeah, as if you couldn't figure that one out (2 weeks, hot sun, egg.. not a good combination)...they came running as fast as they could out of the playhouse and into the house! ha! I guess they expect mom to clean it up! I think I will just throw away the little pretend waffle maker if I can convince Scarlett that is the best thing to do.

Just another little extra: Today during our usually scheduled trip to Sonic for our Happy Hour drinks we order, get our drinks and began to leave. I have forgotten about the camel and did not notice that it was he that brought us our drinks. I simply paid and said Thank you and was ready to leave. Scarlett on the other hand remembers everything and as we back away simply says "Whew! I am glad he didn't smell like a camel this time!".

Is it Friday already????

2008-10-10T14:34:00.000-07:00

Wow, this week has gone by too fast!! It is time for me to go back to work. I don't want to go. I was just sitting here thinking how nice it would be to be canceled! That will never happen, but if it did, I would do a happy dance!

We actually were quite productive this week. I got all my kitchen cabinets finished and put back up. Yeah for me! Our floors are in and hopefully they will be able to start laying them within the next week. I am excited at the thought of moving and beginning the "next phase".

We had a great week of school, but Thursday was just too nice to stay inside. The weather was perfect and there was a great breeze; it was beckoning me to come play! So, play we did! We picked up Scarlett's friend, Karley and off to the zoo we went. What fun! Have you ever just sat and listened to the conversations between kids that age. It is too funny!! I think I heard "well actually..." no less than twenty times during their conversation.

We sat and had a picnic outside the zoo. Hubby works really close to the zoo, so he was able to walk over and join us. The zoo is always so much fun, the kids have been so many times, but they are always excited to go back.

How funny are these kids! We went to see the Grizzly bear and they all posed for me as if the grizzly was about to get them! OH MY!

After spending all afternoon at the zoo, we run home and get ready for a soccer game, and from there my friend picks me up at the game and I head out for some girl time. I get to go have dinner with my BFF from high school. We don't get to sit down and catch up very often since she is so busy but Thursday night we had dinner at Caio Baci and caught up on some much needed girl talk.

Today is Friday (not really.. but this post was started on Friday) and it is time for me to work. :( BOO HISS!!!! I feel good that we have had such a fun week! I hope the weekend goes by fast! ha! That is so not a normal thing to say, but when you work weekends, you look forward to Monday.

I leave with a couple more pics from our zoo afternoon.

Ethan took a picture of Scarlett, Karley and I. He may just have the gift of photography! Of course, that lead to all the kids wanting to take a picture.

Scarlett and I giving Ethan some bunny ears, with Karley taking the picture.

2008-10-07T22:24:00.000-07:00

It is almost Wednesday, Hump Day, and my week off is almost over. I hate it when my time is up and it is time for me to work again. Makes me sad! But the good thing for me is that my Monday is also usually my Friday! ha! Can't get too bad when you only work one day and then off again. I was spoiled this week I have had seven uninterrupted nights at home with my family. What fun! A week of home cooked, slaved over meals, freshly laundered clothes all neatly folded and put away, a totally spotless house and kids nestled in their bed by nine pm each night... Wait, a minute.. that's not my life! Okay, so I have cooked; not my finest but the family has had a prepared meal each night, and the laundry is finished; its just not folded and put away. I still have three days off, so there is hope (Don't start jumping up and down just yet, my sweet husband.)

Today was going to be the day of a nice home cooked meal (I have promised the family chicken and dumplings for about three weeks), except we spent too much time at the park. OOPS! We really only intended to do our Science lesson at the park, but the kids were so good and worked so hard we had to play just a little bit. They each had a hypothesis they wanted to test. They wanted to see how different leaves and tree trunks were based on the kind of tree. They were so cute tracing and collecting leaves and tree bark. Until Scarlett was almost attacked by the ducks! She left her French fries laying around just a little too long. They were working so hard and the next thing we know we are surrounded by about 8 hungry ducks!

We learned about living things in our science lesson today and what they needed to grow and change (It was funny that just as we were talking about living things needing food, here came the ducks!) . How appropriate! Guess that is why the kids opted to give them all their left over fries. I couldn't really argue, that would have ruined our lesson.

We stop by the playground and play for a while and then once we get back to our car this nice old man is flying a kite. He entertains the kids a while with his kite and even has some neat tricks. He let's Ethan and Scarlett draw faces on balloons and he send them up on his kite string until they are with the kite. They really enjoyed that. He pulled his kite back in and gave them their balloons. They thought he was a really cool old man! :) Here is Ethan's smiley face balloon coming back on the kite. You notice we are minus a balloon. I was real proud Scarlett held her melt down for me once we got in the car. The doors close and the car starts and as we back out of the parking space she starts wailing! She doesn't have a balloon!!! OOOHHH NOOO! We are in a major melt down crisis! About that time my mother calls and she is on her to Kroger. Thank goodness for Nana's that can not stand to hear their "babies" cry! She promised to bring Scarlett a balloon. Melt down averted. Thank you!!!

Next we are off to the "new" house to meet daddy and work on a few things. Daddy arrives and we get to work, but only after a quick game of Basketball. Ethan got a new "big boy" Basketball goal for his birthday. He LOVES it! They played a quick game, that I believe Ethan won; Or at least that is the story I was told.

This is thrown in as a bonus. :) Ethan bought a guitar with his birthday money (I will have to to take pictures of Star Wars underwear wearing, guitar playing bandito) and yesterday to get him to write sentences, I told him to write me a song. Worked great! A six sentence song with punctuation and capitalization correct all about loving to play BALL (any kind of ball) being strummed on the guitar and sung by a seven year old can not be beat! :) Coincidentally, the guitar he picked out looks like this one;
and he picked it out because it reminded him of the Tennessee Titans; his favorite NFL team.

What fun we are having in my house with this new guitar. I have sang a few ditty's for hubby as well! He loves to hear me play and sing my guitar. Right, dear????

That is about it for our week so far! Hope you are having a great one, too.

Having a WOOO PIG SOOOOIE Birthday Party

2008-10-06T10:06:00.000-07:00

While sorting through all our stuff and making keep/don't keep piles I found this picture of Ethan just before his first birthday! How fitting is that. Who know what kind of monster we were creating at the time. Like father, like son. Ethan and his daddy share a deep love for Razorback football. Actually his daddy's whole family shares this love, and Ethan is no exception.

I just thought this picture was too cute not to share and it made me a little sad to see how little he was at one time. :(

I think if we have not covered anything, we have covered that my Ethan LOVES football! and he loves Razorback football even more! He decided back in May of this year he wanted to have a football game for his birthday party. As the time grew close we learned that they do have parties at War Memorial Stadium (which is where the hogs play in Little Rock) and after hearing that Ethan would accept nothing else. So, red and white game at War Memorial is what we had.

This was so beyond perfect for Ethan! He was in HOG HEAVEN!!! His cake turned out really cute, it was a picture of him with the Razorback mascot at the homecoming game last season in Fayetteville.

I made a run through, just like back in my high school days. That was totally a "mom had to do it" idea. I just thought it would be a great photo op of the boys running through the paper and it was a great photo op if nothing else. Ethan had seven little cheerleaders at his party, but they spent most of the time in the locer room. They decided it was too hot.

They played really hard and it was really hot! I had bought those little gatorades for the players. That worked out great. They were so thirsty each time they took a break, they drank a whole bottle. The Red/White game last an hour and I think the white team won. :( Ethan was on the red team, but he managed to score a touchdown with a lot of flair. Check out Nancie's blog for Ethan's touchdown dive and his touchdown dance. :) He dove in the Arkansas end zone just like a real football player. I missed that picture, but Nancie got a great one. You will have to check out her blog to see the picture, it is too cute!. The dad's took this as seriously as the boys. They coached the teams and all the mom's cheered on the sidelines.

This was such a great day! Definitely better late than never for Ethan. He got so many nice presents and some great Razorback gear. He even got enough money to finish getting the things for his Razorback room. He is all set once we get moved in. I will have to post lots of pictures of his room once we get it finished. He told us on the way home that it was "probably the best day of his life, he had all his best things!". That makes you wanna ask if he wants to do it again next weekend! :)
Ethan had the best time and is such a lucky little boy! He has great friends and so many people that love him! I hope you had a wonderful 7th birthday party, even if it was a little late. :) We love you so much, "Eenie".

Weekend Wrap-Up

2008-10-04T23:50:00.000-07:00

It seems my Friday-Monday is always super busy and this weekend was no exception. We spent all day Friday gathering the rest of the things for Ethan's birthday party on Sunday. Off to meet daddy at the batting cages at 5:00 and then to a birthday party in Conway for their cousin, Cameron. They LOVE Playworld. It is a smaller version of Chuck E. Cheese. Definitely a non adult place, but fun none the less.

Saturday was going to be a busy day running between soccer and baseball, but the soccer game was canceled and then on Saturday morning just as we were getting ready to leave the rain started and canceled our baseball games, too. What were we going to do with a WHOLE SATURDAY all to ourselves. Hubby quickly decided he could make it to his dad's in time to watch Florida beat the Hogs and Scarlett and I headed out for shopping and a haircut.

Saturday afternoon, Nancie and Hayden asked us to go to the Children's Theatre to see "Treasure Island". How Fun! My kids just LOVE the Children's Theatre.

Scarlett has decided she wants to take acting lessons there but they do not start until she is eight years old, so hopefully we will find somewhere now that will work with our little drama queen. Here is a recent pout face photo. :) She does have other faces. I will have to post a blog about her drama lesson faces. We play a game at home where she shows me all the faces she would have to do if she was a Disney Star. Anything from happy-sad, from angry-scared and even cold and hot. It is too cute! But of course pouting comes up the most in our everyday life. :)

Saturday ended with another late night for mom getting everything ready for the party. I finished the T-Shirts (Jersey's) and the Run Through and by 2am.. I was in bed. :) Tomorrow is the party, finally.. only a few weeks after the "real" birthday! The "Red-White" Birthday Bash Football Game! YEAH!!!

What does Sonic and Camel have in common???

2008-10-02T14:21:00.000-07:00

I guess we have all established that I am a Sonic Happy Hour Frequent customer. ;) I love my Diet Coke with Lemon and taking after my mom, it just taste better in a styrofoam cup. Don't ask.. it is an obsession of hers. Of course, the "go green" person in me realizes that styrofoam is oh so bad for the Earth; until I read this. It made me feel a lot better about my need for a good Sonic drink. :)

Anyway, while visiting Sonic today, we placed our order and then rolled our window back up and waited. Our order was delivered in about four minutes and when I rolled the window down the smell was ATROCIOUS! I am not sure what happened in those four minutes but whatever that smell was somebody needs to be changed.. if you know what I mean. I didn't say anything, I just took my drinks and rolled my window back up and started to leave. About the time I am pulling out of the drive a voice from the back seat says, " I hope that Camel wasn't near MY drink! That smelled like a Camel! UGHH! That was awful! I think somebody pooped in their pants!!!". I guess you can't get anything by a seven year old! By the time we were home it was all forgotten and our drinks were so good! :)

Definitely not a PC post, but it was a "funny ha-ha" had to be there moment. I agree with Ethan
and I hope that camel is no where near my drink the next time! ha! :)

Now as promised I am off to play Red Light Green Light on the trampoline. We have added additional lights such as BLUE is a Sitsi (land on your bottom and back up again), ORANGE is a spinning sitsi, PURPLE is a stage dive. I hope none of you are driving by about the time it is my turn to take a dive! I am sure it is quite entertaining to watch.

I am excited...

2008-10-01T01:39:00.001-07:00

Why you ask? Because it is October! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE October! There are so many things to do in October and I get so excited as the first leaves start to change color. October is filled with so many family activities and things that are quickly becoming "tradition" to us here in the Cash household.

One thing we do every year is October is the "Tales of the Crypt" event at Mount Holly Cemetary. Yes, I know it sounds a bit morbid, but trust me it is not. It is put on by a local high school and if you live in LR area I HIGHLY recommend this FREE activity. Students dress in period clothes and act out highly researched speeches about a cemetery resident, letting visitors experience a piece of the person's life and some history. It's very interesting and it takes place on October 14th this year.

We also have our "bonfire/camp out" night in our back yard. I think we all look forward to the cooler nights and we celebrate them by having a hot dog, s'more making bonfire right in our back yard! The kids LOVE IT!

October is also my wedding anniversary, so that always means a date night for hubby and I. We don't often take the time to do things just him and I so this is one day out of year that is just for us. I look forward to this every year.

Today the kids and I are going to start our lesson plans on American Indians. I think they will really enjoy this unit study. I am also excited about THIS:

How great of a way is that to end our study on American Indians. We get to go sleep in a teepee! I am so excited for the kids! Not my idea of four star luxury, but they are pumped! Petit Jean Mountain State Park has two teepee campsites they rent out from March-November and they are usually completely booked, but not today! I was able to book us the teepee for the end of October. Now I just pray it doesn't rain that day! :(

"There's only ONE October!" Isn't that MLB's slogan for the World Series? Another one of my favorite things to watch. Okay, so maybe I got used to my Braves being in the playoffs for the last decade and since they are no where near the playoffs this year, it will be different. I will be sitting there watching the playoffs just like I am every year, only this year I will be wishing it was 1995 again, with my Javy Lopez jersey draped over my TV for good luck, watching the Braves FINALLY win their World Series Championship!

With all those activities how could we forget Halloween! I am trying to talk hubby into dressing up like Dog the Bounty Hunter and Beth! How funny would that be!!! We attend so many Halloween activities. Boo At The Zoo, Pumpkin Patches and The Corn Maze! How fun is that! I think this year we will try it with just flashlights at night. That sounds like fun! :)

This post jumped around a lot, I know. I am just so excited at the thought of all the FUN things we get to do in October! As you can see we are gearing up for a super fun filled October! This is just a few of the reasons that I am so happy it is October! What do you like to do in October?

I've been tagged! :)

2008-09-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

I love playing along and I love being tagged. I was tagged by Shortone and was so excited! I have seen many variations on this and I have had to think really hard to come up with 6 random things about myself. So, here it goes...

1. I was involved in a little bit of everything growing up. I took piano lessons until age 19, twirled baton until almost 19, took ballet, gymnastics, and then started playing softball at 14. Of all the activities I really LOVED being a cheerleader. That was what I had always wanted to do and I enjoyed it so much. I wonder where Ethan gets his involvement from??? Guess I shouldn't really wonder.

2. I would have LOVED to be a child of the 60's. I think I am a little bit of a hippy at heart.

3. I love concerts! There is nothing like live music! I have sat through many concerts that I cared nothing about but still had a good time. I have seen everyone from Garth Brooks, Prince, U2, Kiss and so many more. I have been to all genres and actually enjoyed every show I have seen. I even saw Milli Vanilli back in the day, and I have sat through White Zombie.. that should tell you how much I LOVE music. My favorite shows by far have been Garth Brooks, who just can't be beat live, and Keith Urban.. for obvious, previously stated reason.. and my random fact number 4...

4. Laughing at Shortone's desire to be the next Ms. Jovi, I thought about my dream and my wish that I was Nicole Kidman.. AKA Mrs. Keith Urban. Hubby has been warned that IF he ever followed me home.. I would have to let him in! Until then a "Good Day, Mate!" every now and then from hubby will have to suffice.

5. I am such a kid at heart. If there is a noise to be made, a mess to be in, I am the one that will let my kids be right in the middle of all of it! I think there is so much to be said for hands on learning! :) It used to drive my husband crazy that I let the kids bang on pots and pans, paint in the floor, and wait until you see our sugar cookie baking day! :) That is A LOT OF FUN!!!

6. Lastly, this is a random fact about my husband, but will explain why I call him "hubby" all the time on the blog. I guess it is a random fact about me at the end of the story. I call "hubby" Jack.. but that is not his name.. that is no where in his name. His name is Kerry. I knew him as Jack for a while before I was told by a friend of his from Tennessee that JACK was not his name! Imagine my surprise! So, I can switch from Kerry to Jack and back again depending on who I am with . I call him Kerry around his family, and Jack around my family and friends. I have mastered the art of the quick switch. So, out of respect for his family I try not to do anything official or send anything out and call him Jack since I know that is not his given name.

So, now to tag six people to list six random things about themselves. I loved the way that Naomi listed her six people, she played a game and they had to guess. I thought I would give it a try. So I tag the following people...

YOU have the cutest kids, you don't blog near enough, and I know how creative your "funny bone" is, so you really should show us all your talent. I figure if I call you out maybe you will post something. :)

YOU also have two of the cutest kids, great hair, your little princess makes me laugh. :)

YOU have been so much fun getting to know. I just love your little boy and I am so glad HE is friends with my guy. You guys were just what hubby and I needed. :)

YOU are missed here at GNO! We need your spunk and your fire.. so I would suggest a trip down the interstate for the next GNO! :) We need sum Roachel time! :)

YOU have already been tagged.. but I am trying to get my six.. so you get tagged again. What can I say, my life at the mall, at school, and definitely GNO would be so different had I not met you WAY back in the 70's. :)

YOU are family. Family is so important to us and I am SO thankful that we have such a close family and such a BIG family! I love your kids and wish we got to see them more. :)

So, if you were tagged try to play along and tell us six random things about yourself.

and with that I am done blogging for the day! I am all caught up and it only took me eight hours to get it all down.

Apple Pickin', Soccer Playing, Museum visiting kind of weekend...

2008-09-29T11:27:00.000-07:00

Now, I will get back to my usually scheduled post. :)

We visited the Apple Orchard on Friday and had the best time. The kids took a hayride through the orchard, we talked about Johnny Appleseed, and read "Ten Apples Up on Top". I just love Dr. Suess books! I think they confuse Ethan when he is trying to read them, so I may have to hold off on them for a little while longer. I don't need anything to mess up or progress right now.

Anyway, back to the orchard. The kids picked four apples a piece, and then we had a picnic lunch. We are going to bake our apple pie tomorrow during school time. It is amazing how many things you can learn from a simple apple pie bake!

Here are some pictures from our trip. Ethan could not wait to climb up in the little trees to get the "big" apples! :)

Scarlett and her friend, Karlee, before gathering their apples.

Ethan and Scarlett with their sack of apples.

Saturday morning we had a early soccer game. I do not like anything before 10am! But this week, I was not so lucky we had to be at the soccer fields by 8:45. UGH!! Off we go to wet grassy fields. Yippee! Ethan is so funny about his sports. He may not always play the best but he is going to look extremely serious. He just had to have this headband and wristbands. He looked like such a soccer player! It cracks me up. I enjoy watching him play soccer, baseball, anything.. it is so much fun to watch your children to something they love and even more fun watching them really "get it". Ethan's soccer team is 4-0, so they are having a great year.

Getting ready to throw the ball in. The little boy to the far right was so cute! He would yell at his team and tell them "Come on guys, don't let them get "weady"!" everytime his team was throwing the ball in. He was a very serious soccer player.

Ethan heading towards the goal...

After the soccer game we went to the Museum. The day did not go as planned but I think it was better than planned. We had the neatest guide at the Arkansas Historic Museum that had "Toys of Yesteryear" and she was so great with the kids. I have never seen these three sit so still and listen so well to anybody! She showed them about 25 toys, let them play with each one and even shared her lunch with Scarlett before the boys noticed and wanted in on the action, too. :)

Here the guide is teaching them the game Mancala. They were very into her stories, it was fun and educational. You gotta love that!

I think when we first approached the museum, and the guide was in character the kids were a little taken back at first but they quickly caught on and laughed right along with her and had the best time.

They walked on stilts, stick pony races, potato sack races and so many more games! The kids were exhausted.. or atleast they should have been! But it was so much fun.
after the museum the boys had a baseball game. They played against each other AGAIN! I think they are getting used to it, it did not seem to phase either one of them. One time Ethan had a hit and while running the bases he was stopped third, which is where Hayden was playing. They were talking and laughing! Thank goodness they are still too young to care who's team they are on, or what the score is, it only matter that at the end of the game they are still friends.
That was a quick update, but some of the pictures were too cute not to share. :) Thanks Ms. Nancie and Hayden for spending the day with us. Tell Mr. Harold we are sorry we kept Hayden out before the ball game. :(

Playing Catch Up

2008-09-27T06:24:00.000-07:00

I always feel like I am playing catch up! Usually I am catching up with my very own mind. My mind is always racing ahead of my body! Today, I only have my blog to catch up on. I am hoping to get lots of fun things posted but I decided to start here; My awesome time at GNO on Friday night! Nothing can bring you back in control and make things right like a good laugh and a good time with your girlfriends.

I have been so blessed with so many friends. I have made new friends over the years but I have always had my "besties". Thinking about old and new freinds brought to mind a little "ditty" LAH and I were taught in Brownies (It's okay to laugh at all that now, LAH) "...Make new friends, but keep the old ones; One is silver and the other gold". Kind of made me realize that these girls are GOLDEN!

I have not been able to attend our monthly GNO the last couple of months and I have really missed it! We had so much fun Friday night, even though the movie (I think I suggested) was a real snoozer (right, Toni?). I wanted it to be really funny with lots of things to laugh about. The reviews were good, but it did say that was a "mature" "Sex and The City". I think we decided that maybe we were just not mature enough to find the humor. :(

I just love laughter! It is so contagious! We always laugh A LOT when we are together. Rather it is funny things that happen to us, or venting about husbands and kids, we find the humor in everything! A lot of things are not nearly as funny when you tell someone else (Unfortunately, hubby didn't quite think the shower cap story was funny, LAH).

All that has led me to what I found this weekend. I am trying to start getting a few things packed up and I was going through old pictures and I found some real treasures. Hope you enjoy the walk down memory lane. :)

This picture is from WAY back in the late 80's. Wow! Just look at those bangs. Back then we had nothing to worry about but our hair and make up. Don't you miss those days! It is so funny to see how we all have such perfectly teased and sprayed bangs. Do you remember the techniqued used to get that look????

I know this picture has some of the outsiders a little confused. This was our moment of glory. Our shining moment. We were OGHS Puttin' on the Hits Winners 1990! We worked so hard on "Summer Lovin". LAH, Tina and I were pretty cool T-Birds, and Kim was the perfect Sandy.

Here we are the class of 1991. Ready to take on the world and thought we had it all figured out. We are missing a few of you. Where were the two Abby's???

and here we are ten years later in 2001 at my baby shower for Ethan. Yes, I am the really large chick in the middle with the bows on my head. Thanks guys for making me look so gorgeous! ha! That day was so much fun. We had all waited for so long for LAH to get pregnant and we told everybody that she was at my shower. Of course, I don't have a very good "vault" so I had already told Abby, who was not supposed to tell, but she told LAH that she knew, and they both decided not to tell me that they all knew. Did you keep up with that?? Anyway, we were so excited and came up with a great way to tell the group that she was going to have a baby, FINALLY!!! We all had fortune cookies, and they could read their fortune or share a piece of advice, and LAH went last. When it was here turn she read her "fortune" and it said "A Bundle of Joy will arrive for you, in March 2002". It was great to see the look on some of the faces as they finally realized what she was saying.

We have always had so much fun together. I could bring pictures out for days but I have so many other things to blog about so I will stop here.

Here's to the best group of "besties" around! May we always be able to share a good laugh, a good time and GNO! Love you guys!

And the winner is...

2008-09-26T05:45:00.000-07:00

Well, the egg drop challenge was a success! The kids both designed and built their egg cradle and dropped it from their playset. It took three trys, but we finally managed to successfully land an egg without breaking it. We talked about Gravity, Inertia, Mass, and shock absorbers. They decided that straws were not enough of a "shock absorber" once the egg hit the hard ground. :) The kids did so well. We compared an elephant and a mouse and which one would have more inertia. Scarlett summed it up pretty well "the elephant has more 'nertia because it is fat."

Here is Scarlett working hard to put her egg cradle together. They learned really quick how important a parachute was and how it could slow down the fall of the egg.

Our first unsuccessfull attempt to drop an egg. It was pretty messy. Of course Scarlett was right in the middle of the mess.

and finally a successfull egg drop. Yippee!

Then we talked out objects traveling at the same rate of speed. It was so neat to watch them hypothesis that the big ball would land before the egg. Once the test was over they concluded it was a tie. That objects dropped from the same height WILL hit the ground at the same time.

Ethan wrote in his journal once school was over and I asked him to draw picture of what he had learned today. He learned that your MASS stayed the same even in space, hence the drawing of the person on the moon. :) and gravity is what brings things down, the person with a parachute falling to the ground.

They are both up early and ready to go on their first field trip! They are so excited. We are headed to the apple orchard. Today is Johnny Appleseeds Birthday, how appropriate it that! :)

Last time, we picked 40 pounds of apples!! We had apple pie, apple sauce, apple juice, caramel apples.. you name it we made it! Hopefully this time we will not pick quite so many apples.

Have a great day! I will post more pics later. :)

Just another day at home...

2008-09-24T23:50:00.000-07:00

Today the kids had another great day of school and I must say Scarlett is doing FABULOUS! I am so proud of her! She does have to take very frequent breaks but that is fine, I totally understand. I am most happy that she is starting to ease up on herself. Today she did her math work and even did a few of the problems all by herself! I was so proud of her. She was proud of herself, too. She hung her math work on the refridgerator for her daddy to see when he got home from work.
Once school work is done we do a WHOLE lot of THIS...

and then some of this...

Today the kids did this...they tried to rub two sticks together and get fire; and no they did not ever get a fire started. I was sure enjoying watching them try. The moved all over the yard as if that had anything to do with why the fire was not starting. :)
After all this we went to the library, after a quick stop to Sonic for my Route 44 Diet Coke with Lemon during happy hour! :) It was so funny, I was pulling into my stall and the kids are yelling, "NO! NO! Daddy said NO! That we have to stop going to Sonic!". Let me tell you, I told them real fast I would like to see their Daddy tell me not to get my drink at Sonic. :) ha! Ethan told me he needed to see my phone so he could call his daddy. He could not wait to tell on me!!! I saved him the trouble , I called his daddy for him and told him I was getting a drink, he talked to Ethan and told him he could have one as well. We really do not deprive our kids, I promise!

Next we met Daddy to do some things for the house. We are finally picking out our flooring and we have been getting estimates on laying the flooring. I am so excited to feel like we are ALMOST finished! We looked at light fixtures for our bar, and fireplace and hopefully this weekend we will finish that project. Lastly we had dinner at Sam's Club. Where else can you feed a family of four on TEN DOLLARS! YIPPEE!!

Wish me luck tomorrow. We are doing a "science project". We love making or doing things from Mad Science. Have you ever bought things from them? We love it. We have made dinosaurs, been a dinosaur curator and now we will do the EGG DROP CHALLENGE. Sounds like fun, huh? This is definitely a outside project. I bought a extra dozen of eggs just to be safe. They have already decided that they wanted to do the Bubble Experiment Lab next. That sounds almost as messy as this egg drop. I am sure I will have lots of pics of this disaster. :)

Hope everyone had a great hump day!

"How to Bake and Apple Pie and See the World"

2008-09-22T12:22:00.000-07:00

Today is the FIRST DAY OF FALL!!! Yeah! I am so excited! We have started talking about Apple trees and are planning our trip to the Apple Orchard. This time of year always has me so excited. Today we talked about apples. They go from bud, to blossom and from blossom to fruit. We painted apple stencil pictures. What a mess!!!! Tomorrow we will do more apple lessons and hopefully Wednesday make our trip to the Apple Orchard.

Every year we read the book "How to Bake and Apple Pie and See the World" when we get ready to go to to the apple orchard. It is such a neat book. It ties in so much geography during the book that it ends up being several lessons all rolled into one great book!

Much to my surprise out of all the ingredients in an apple pie only one originates here in the US. You got it.. THE APPLES! The book talks about going to Italy for Semolina wheat. You have to go to France to get a chicken to lay the egg. Then of course you must visit Sri Lanka to find the best cinnamon from the bark of the kurundu tree. Pick up a cow in England for fresh milk. Grab some salty seawater on your way to Jamaica for sugar. Finally, go to Vermont for the best apples. Can you believe all the different countries involved in making good old American apple pie? I look forward to this book every year with the kids.

Here are a couple of pictures of our apple pictures we made today. Apple stencils don't work near as well as potatoes but they lasted long enough for the kids to stamp a few apples on their trees. :)

Long Weekend Wrap Up...

2008-09-22T12:02:00.001-07:00

This has been a long weekend at my house! We started the weekend off on Thursday since it was Ethan's birthday and we played ALL day at the park with some friends. I found a Razorback cupcake cake and it was just perfect for my football loving birthday boy. The kids played so hard all afternoon at the park! I know I already mentioned the park but I now have pics to share.

Can you tell how tired all these kids look! They have been played non stop for over three hours at this point. They are tired and FILTHY!!!

I don't know if Ethan was ignoring Hayden or really didn't notice what was going on! ha! :)

Friday night we went to the Polish Karnawal. The kids had a blast! They look forward to the carnival every year. The games are easy enough and they always win lots of prices. They even have a flea market there and Ethan found these football pads that he just HAD to have! :) He then won a football my tossing it in the hole on the quarterback challenge. I am telling you this child is destined to be a football star in some capacity! :) Here is my sweet child in his Heisman pose with his pads and football! :) Isn't that funny!! Scarlett played all the games and won lots of prices. I think when all was said and done we had "spent" $40 but walked out with a cake, 2 pounds of deli meat, 2 liter Sprite, footballs and tons of other prices. Definitely worth the happiness of the kids. Between the kids taking pictures and the in and out of the camera my settings were changed so I really do not have any good pics from Friday night. But here is Scarlett playing golf. She just wanted some "face time" on my blog, too. :)

Saturday Ethan had his second fall baseball game and I had to work at Duck Duck Goose. Out of 123 items I sold everything but 8 items! I did really well! Definitely worth all my hard work for those few days.

All in all we had a very busy weekend! We are geared up for the week to start and do it all over again. :) I am already looking forward to GNO this Friday!!! Yeah!! I finally am going to be able to attend! I can't WAIT!

I am the mother of a SEVEN year old.. OH MY!

2008-09-18T19:45:00.001-07:00

Today is the day I have dreaded all month. I have become the mother of a seven year old! Yikes! That hurts my heart. At 3:38pm on September 18, 2001 my world changed forever! Oh, what a wonderful change it was! I have been so lucky and so blessed to be graced by God to be this wonderful child's mother. It is bittersweet watching your children grow. Today was a day filled with WHATEVER Ethan wanted and along the way we had lots of stories and lots of questions about the day he was born and "what he was like..." when he was a baby. Only a few times did I get teared up while telling a "my little baby" story. :)

My favorite book to read (aka cry while trying to read) to Ethan when he was a baby was "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch. In the book the mom is growing old with her son and at each stage she quietly rocks him in her lap and sings "I'll love you forever, I"ll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be". At the end of the book, the son is a grown man the mom is very old and he sneaks in her room and rocks her and sings the song to her! You talk about a book that I NEVER made it through without crying and as I am typing this my terribly emotional self is crying. This book always hit so close to home. It made you think of the reality that they would grow up, but it also made you realize the fact that they will ALWAYS, ALWAYS be your baby! I recommend to any mother, read that book! It is not a bedtime story read, just a "every mom should read" sort of book. :)

Ethan's fun started last night. After his baseball game (which, I should say he had a great hit.. but I have no pictures.. no camera...AGAIN) we went to eat dinner at our favorite Mexican place, Senor Tequila. We told the water it was his birthday and he was SO RED in the face when they sang to him. He had the biggest smile! It was one of those smiles and one of those moments you always remember. I love the fact that something so simple can thrill this child beyond
understanding. :) Here are a couple of pictures of Ethan and Hayden during the singing and Ice Cream dessert. :) Scarlett was there, but at that very moment she has walked away for a short pout that "it is not her birthday and she didn't get any ice cream!)

Today we spent all day at the park! We had pizza, cupcakes, candles that would not light, drinks, balls and games. The kids had a BLAST! They all looked so tired! I did charge my camera batter and did take my camera to the park, I just forgot one thing... my card! Thankfully Ms. Nancie had her camera and I will upload pics as soon as I get them. :) I found a Razorback cupcake cake and Ethan LOVED IT! Had to have it!

This afternoon we had the make the stops for all the free birthday stuff! Toys R Us, Simon Gidgits Club, dinner and soccer practice. I am exhausted!!!

This is just a small list of things I love about Ethan at seven years old:

I love that he takes life in leaps! He is passionate about so many things. If he loves something, or if he even likes something he puts his whole heart into that one thing. He is a very dedicated child. I just love the faith of a child. I love that he is so artistic. Rather it is painting, coloring, or cooking. He loves to get in there and make a mess! He loves to create and use his imagination. Remember the pirate ship??? He will do things like that all day! He can create a whole world within his mind. It is such a wonderful thing.
Most of all I love that fact that he loves his mommy!!! The first thing he does every morning is get up and find me and give me a big hug! He is so thankful for having hubby and I as parents! Some days it is hard to believe that he truly thinks he got the "great deal"! He has said so many times that "he had the best gift by having us as parents"! WOW! Talk about a "you can have whatever you want" moment! He loves his Daddy the same! He is such a loving child. He doesn't hesitate to show it! I just love that about him. Ethan is a hugger. He is the affectionate one. If I ever meet you and I tell my kids to tell you "HELLO".. watch out, Ethan will be hugging you with that hello! :) and lastly, Ethan LOVES, LOVES, LOVES his baby sister! Sure he can get mad at her, but he is also the one that always gives in to her. He always gives up whatever he has so she can have it. He tries to help her learn new things. He is so patient with her and at times I know it is hard.

Sweet Ethan, I hope today was a lot of fun! Sorry your party is going to be late, but I hope you had a great birthday! I love you so much more than I can express! I am so lucky to be your mommy!!! Happy 7th Birthday, "Eenie"! :)

Thank you Ms. Nancie and Hayden for spending your day with us. We had a great time!!!

A "i have no pictures" kind of post...

2008-09-15T13:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been a slacker and not charged my camera! UGHH! Remember me telling you it went dead last weekend.. yes that is right I have gone a whole week without charging it. So in that I missed a lot of things.

Everything is so busy right now and I am so overscheduled a lot of days that it is getting hard for me to keep my calendar straight! Here is an example of how bad it has gotten. Friday night I was dreading going to work, drug myself into work at 6:30pm and didn't have a work load. OK, maybe I have the ER, go ask for the pager.. I don't have the ER.. I am not on the SCHEDULE! I didn't have to work, but on my calendar it said I WORK so I got ready and went off to work, only to be clocked in for six minutes! ha! I was happy driving home.

Ethan plays for the Arkansas Soccer Club. This is his fifth season to play, and he loves it! He had his first soccer game on Tuesday night and another on Saturday morning. We moved him up to the next age level so we could fit baseball into our schedule and I was concerned that he might be in over his head but after he scored five goals in his game I felt a little better. :) He will be fine, he has a real "eye for the ball" according to his coach. He finally has a real team with a name. He is part of the Arkansas Burn! :) Go Burn!!

I have been ironing, hanging and tagging clothes for our consignment sale here. I have to take them and drop them off tomorrow morning. I think I must have overbought for my two children! My house is covered with winter clothes. While I didn't have 30 pairs of shoes for Scarlett last winter like summer, I did have about 20! My goal this year is to skim it down a bit.

I was looking through my pictures on my phone and found this:

I think Ethan is afraid I may forget his birthday! Not a chance! Although I do wish he would just slow down a bit!!!

With all that, there is still a house to be finished, packing to be done and the regular duties of cooking and cleaning! UGH!!! Thankfully Scarlett likes to get in the kitchen and help me. :) Photographer Ethan took a picture of us making spaghetti sauce the other day.

A day to be remembered...

2008-09-11T11:03:00.000-07:00

Today should just be another day on the calendar. It should just be a Thursday like any other day. Today should be September 11, 2008 but it will never JUST be September 11th again. Not after 9/11/01 that changed everything. I remember so vividly that day. I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with Ethan and was already placed on bed rest so I was confined to my house. I was still in bed when the phone rang and I remember my husband on the other line saying ".. you might want to get up and look at the news, a small plane just hit the World Trade Center...". I got up and by that time they knew it was no small plane, they also knew that something was very, very wrong with another plane. I watched in horror as the second building was hit. I remember my dad calling to check on me, Angie my sister in law came to sit with me knowing I couldn't go anywhere. We watched as t he building collapsed and our world was changed forever. We were so shocked and horrified and at the time felt helpless and defeated.

I remember thinking at that time how could I be bringing a child into this world? How could I be excited when these horrible things were going on right outside my door. Everything was filled with such horrible images but in that we saw the true spirit of America. We came together like never before. There was such pride and such love being shown every where. I think we realized that even though we are truly the greatest nation we are vulnerable. You saw American flags being flown, you saw selfless heroes immerge, you saw a new pride in our nation.

We are so blessed as American's. We live in a country that is free. We can speak our thoughts, vote on our nation's leader, we can truly live in peace. I am reminded daily of how wonderful we have it here in America. On 9/18/01, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. The TV was still filled with the horrible images from 9/11, life outside was still turned upside down, there was still great sadness but I knew we as American's would be okay. Feeling defeated and the thoughts of "why would I bring a child into this world" was exactly what the enemy wanted! They wanted us to feel hopeless and like we should " give up" but guess what they didn't get what they wanted! I was so very happy and filled with such pride. My son would know about 9/11, he would be lucky enough to avoid the horrible images but what he would know is the wonderful dedication of our servicemen and women, the "real life" heroes we saw that day, the pride in a great nation. That was not what the enemy wanted but that was what my son would know. He would grow up in a land that was free! He would be so very blessed to be an American!

"Our God is an awesome God! He reigns from Heaven above! With wisdom power and love, our God is an awesome GOD!" What a wonderful song that is and so very true! God is awesome and he watches over our great nation! May he continue to watch over our service men and women that are risking it all daily. May God watch over us as a nation.

WOOO PIG SOOIE for TWO with a piece of GNO

2008-09-08T00:21:00.000-07:00

Well, Saturday came and went and the Razorbacks are 2-0! Yippee!! I am not sure the rest of the season will be as exciting. None the less hubby says there is plenty of talent and lots to build on so he will be okay this year if it is not a winning season. But who knows, I have seen it done before. They had the best time at the game. Ethan made a friend and shared popcorn, funnel cakes and lots of football talk with the nice guy that sat beside him. My kids will talk to anybody and if you act like you are listening you might as well get comfortable because they can go on for quite a while. They tailgated before the game. I think Ethan enjoyed that part as much as anything. They packed up hot dogs, chips, dip and cokes. I sent them with a football platter and Razorback cups. They were all fixed for the excitement. Here is a picture of them before they left. Ethan enjoyed the tailgating but was excited to get to the field. When he got home he told me that Fayetteville was fun and the field was nice, but Little Rock was LOUD and likes LOUD! Of course, the game he went to in Fayetteville, we were winning 56-10 and the crowd was dwindling. Leave it to me to forget to charge the camera battery and it went dead on them before they ever made it into the field! I hate that! But that left Scarlett and me alone from 12-11pm! We had a day! Have you ever let a five year old guide the activities? My advice is DON'T! You will be worn out! First we had business to take care of, we had to return soccer cleats and buy different ones. CHECK! and then it was left to Ms. Scarlett to do whatever she wanted so here is how our day went:

1. Lunch because she was "eaty".. which for some reason is what she has always called being hungry. We laughed and had "girl" talk during lunch. She had lots to talk about!
2. Chuck E Cheese to play games. Fifty tokens, 100 tickets, and a plastic headphone set later, we are off to do something else.
3. To the stores to look at "fashion". She wanted to check out the "girly" stuff. So we went off to a few different stores. I did not quite have THIS in mind, but of course this is the sort of thing that got her attention. We tried on every single mask Target had to offer. :)
4. She wants to "make something". We head off to Hobby Lobby and get a kit to make you own garden stones. Looks messy! YEAH! She wanted to make her own BLING shirt but I talked her out of that for now.
5. Guess what.. she is "eaty" again! So we grab some nuggets at Wendy's and that makes her happy.
6. Target and rummage the dollar shop. She finds a cool microphone to go with her headphones. She is ready to go home and make her "stuff".
7. We make the garden stone. Turns out really cute, and now that I have a picture added you can see it, too. :)
8. We spent the last hour making a video. Actually we made several videos. She had her microphone and her headset (she tossed it) and she went to town. She was a SUPERSTAR!

A while back I told her I was going to send her to Hollywood! She had so much drama and sass that she would be just perfect. She was happy with that and wanted to be a Star.. until we got home. Mean little Ethan got the map out and showed her where we live and where Hollywood is and that was the end of that. Don't even mention sending her to Hollywood! She gets very upset! ha! Hope you enjoy her videos. We have an hours worth of singing, acting and even her bear, Kia, got in on the action. Scarlett made a movie starring Kia. Apparently at some point she had my phone and was taking lots of pictures. I just found about twenty shots of Scarlett making faces on my phone.

***Just in case you are wondering, the first song is "Burning Up" from the Jonas Brothers, witha few ad libs from Scarlett. Such as "I could look cool, or I could sit in JAIL!" definitely not what they say, I looked it up to be sure! ha! and the second song is "This is Me" from Demi Lovato. :)

Weekend Randomness

2008-09-06T08:02:00.000-07:00

I should be up getting my winter clothes ironed and tagged for the consignment sale coming up, I should be at the "new" house painting, I should be getting the house clean.. lots of "SHOULD BE's" but for now I am wasting time on the internet! One of my favorite past times. I started looking for the kids Halloween costumes. Our catalog came yesterday so that got me to thinking about this year and what the kids would be for Halloween. Ethan seems to pick a theme and stay with it for a while. He was a Power Ranger for two years, and apparently this will be the third year he is a character from Star Wars. We have been a Storm Trooper and Darth Vader, and this year he has decided on Jango Fett. Scarlett on the other hand has always let me pick her costume out. Of course I knew just what she wanted to be. She has been JoJo the Clown (which is still one of my favorite costumes), Minnie Mouse and a witch. I just loved the little witch last year. I dressed up, too and had the best time. It was the first time I had dressed up since I was little. This year I am trying to decide what I can be for Halloween, too. Scarlett decided she wants to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. I think she just wants to carry a basket with a stuffed puppy.

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love Friday night football games, cool morning soccer games, and all the beautiful color. I just LOVE fall. I love decorating for fall! I love taking the kids to the pumpkin patch and taking pictures. My mom always makes Scarlett he cutest outfits to wear to the Pumpkin Patch. I just LOVE them! Here is an older picture of my mom and Scarlett. She loves her Nana SO MUCH! If I don't give her the right answer, AKA the Scarlett answer, then she wants to go to her Nana's house!
So, with all that said I am SO excited to start gearing up for fall! Ethan had his first soccer practice this morning. I raced out at 8am to buy him new soccer cleats since we discovered last night his from the Spring were too small and I got home and found out I was no longer "with it". He didn't like the cleats I picked out so I have to back to the sports store and return them. I think I may have reached the age that my taste is no longer cool to a ALMOST seven year old little boy! :) Ethan always looks so cute to me with his big soccer back pack on and his mis match clothes. I was told it was okay for soccer players to have on socks that don't match their shorts. Go figure. After practice hubby and Ethan are off to the Razorback game. Ethan is so excited! He just LOVES his Razorbacks. They bought a new tailgate grill and everything. They are going to do the "boys things" all day! Scarlett and I will be left home alone. What on Earth will we do??? I am sure we will come up with something fun for a girl's night.

How's that for some weekend randomness? We have a busy schedule ahead of us so I am sure there will be lots to post. Baseball starts Monday night, first soccer game Tuesday, OH BOY! Our NFL kick off party at our house is Monday night. Fall is truly arriving! :) I am so excited!!!

Have a great weekend! GO Razorbacks!!!!

TGIF!!!

2008-09-05T06:22:00.000-07:00

This has been a VERY long week for me. I am so tired. I have worked far more than I normally do, plus I started "half" days for school this week to get Scarlett geared up, and working on the house.. which I managed to do nothing on all week! I really would have but I had no time! Next week starts soccer and baseball for Ethan so five days a week will be spent at either practice or a game. Gotta love being a mom! :) Now if I can just get Scarlett interested in something my schedule would be full.

We started Wednesday with a scaled back day of school. I wanted to ease Scarlett in to the routine. She has done SO WELL! I am so proud of her. She has really shown excitement which is just wonderful. I went to work one night and they did extra pages in their books! I am just thrilled that so far it is going well. I know it is only two "scaled back" days but I was even worried about that. Monday morning will be the big breakfast and pictures with our sign that says "Welcome to Kindergarten!". I did take a few pictures of her hard at work. Can't you see the concentration!

Ethan is doing good, too. He is actually asking to read. Which is something I Have prayed would happen. Some days that is the one area I really question my ability to motivate or teach.

I decided that Scarlett was definitely going to need lots of positive reinforcement from me. So I took a little idea from Nanny 911. :) Yes I occasionally have stumbled upon that show. She told the mom to give away "hearts" with something good written on them for each of her children at the dinner table. I thought that was such a great idea. Kids need to hear everyday what they do that is great, what they do that you really noticed and appreciated. I was so afraid in being their "teacher" they would only hear correction, see disappointment or feel frustration and think that those feelings carried over as "mom", too. I started writing a little note on a star and giving it to them at the end of the day. Scarlett was so proud of that star! She wore it all night.

It really was a great motivator for her. Positive reinforcement is going to go a long way to encourage this girl.

We are off to do more fun things today. I can't wait to see what this year holds for us. :) Have a great weekend!

Train up a child in the way they should go...

2008-09-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

While I am positive that is not meant for football! Ethan is being trained very well on the ways of being a True, RED, Razorback FAN! He and his daddy are true blue fans! I live in a household with two people that can not get enough of football! Ethan and his daddy live and breath football from August to January. Ethan is so funny, we took him to his first Razorback game last year and we are winning 56-10 but that boy stayed in his "stance" the whole game and clapped for the last play just like he did the first. He just LOVES football so much! His daddy took him to a pre-game walk through last year and afterwards I got a phone call from Ethan and he was so excited he had met and had his football signed by Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis. He was beyond cloud nine! Before Ethan could walk or talk he was carrying a football and he knew how to call those hogs! Here is a picture of his with his daddy just before his first Razorback basketball game.
Ethan and hubby are going to the football game Saturday in Little Rock. Ethan is SO EXCITED but he informed me that he needed a new Razorback shirt!

I have learned to expect my Saturdays to be filled with football. I planned a wedding around football and I have planned seven birthday parties! It is a way of life in my house. You learn to deal and sometimes you even learn to play along! That is exactly what got me started playing Fantasy Football with my husband and his friends in Tennessee. I LOVE it! I take it very seriously and I am a very bad loser! Lucky for me, I have won the championship TWICE! I won it the very first year I played. The money and trophy was nice.. but the glory was even better! Sunday night we had our draft and I got some really great players. I am excited about football this year. My team is called the River City Riveters and my logo is of course Rosie the Riveter

I am excited about the NFL kick off on Thursday night and a double header on Monday! GO RIVETERS! ha! I laughed during the draft the smack talk had began. I think I enjoy that as much as anything. My favorite is singing at the NFL kick off! That is right KEITH URBAN! Does it get any better??? I don't think so! I am excited!!!

The Bucket List

2008-08-31T15:07:00.000-07:00

My Parents are so funny to me! They celebrated their 38th anniversary this summer and after seeing the movie The Bucket List they created their own "bucket list".. or rather let me rephrase that... MY MOTHER created a bucket list and told my dad they were going to do these things. You will find a theme in my parents wonderful marriage. MOM SAYS AND DAD DOES! Maybe that is the key! Hmmm... I need to get hubby to work on that one! :)

The first on the list was the Grand Canyon, which they did this summer. They enjoyed it so much! My parents love to travel and go different places. Next on the list was a Alaskan Cruise, but not only the cruise my mother wanted to ride the zip line. My dad is super scared of heights and if I know him he tried to get out of it but none of that ! So off they went! They actually enjoyed. I think my dad was probably shaking the whole time.

Parasailing was another "to do", which they accomplished that this summer. They joked about it on the boat and how they were crossing things off. I don't know exactly how many things are on their list but they seem determined to get them all done. Travel Europe is on the list, along with several other things. It is so cool to me that they are adventurous enough to get out and go and try new things. I hope after 38 years of marriage hubby and are so willing to get up and do. Of course when my mom was my age, she had a sixteen year old, ME! and I on the other hand got started late and have a five and six year old.

My parents have been such an awesome example of marriage. I am glad that I had some decent training to prepare me for marriage. It takes work! but it also takes lots of FUN! I'll have to talk to hubby and find out what exactly would be on his bucket list. First on mine is Disney World.. can you believe I have never been!!!! Now that E and S are old enough, I think it is time.. or maybe a cruise with my hubby.. there are plenty of things I can think of that I want to do. I need to go get started on my list! Hope you had a great weekend!!!

I actually have to get ready for my Fantasy Football draft....

Just got me to thinking...

2008-08-29T00:07:00.000-07:00

My cousin, Katy, had a post about a book that sounded like a definite MUST READ for any mother. The book was titled "Let Me Hold You Longer". It talks about how as a mother we celebrate all the first but seldom do we remember the last. It got me to thinking about how many things in life I take for granted and everyday could be my last. My last hug, my last kiss, my last goodbye. Everything. Sure this book was talking about being a mother and never knowing when will be that last time they need you to tuck them in, the last time they can sit in your lap and listen to a story; but as adults how often do we miss out on the moments with friends and family. We should all learn to cherish the first, but don't become lax in thinking there will be plenty more. I loved the first, and I will be sad to see the last, but I want to live in the NOW! Live to the fullest, live everyday letting my family and friends know how much joy they have brought to me.

It is funny because at bedtime we had the usual meltdown from Miss Scarlett. "Can I please sleep in your bed" "Just one more time" and I refused to give in, and told her she needed to sleep in her bed. Tucked her in and she went to sleep, two hours later she was up crying that she wanted to be in my bed "just one more time". I gave in. I tucked her tightly in bed next to her daddy and I got up on the computer and started reading blogs. Katy's post made me sad. :( This may really be the last time she ask to sleep all curled up next to me, I doubt it.. but it could. She may decided tomorrow she no longer needs that comfort, I doubt it.. but it could happen. It is often sweet to watch her sleep and feel her little feet all cuddled up next to me. I know this too shall pass.

Being that I work in health care, unfortunately I see it everyday. I see people miss their chance for the "last". They miss out on the "I love you" "I am glad your my friend" things are missed everyday. I don't want to miss those things. I want to tell my family I love them, I want to be there when they need my lap to sit on, my hand to hold. I don' t want to miss out on anything. It reminds me of that email that circulated a while back that said "I'm not saving anything!". Each new day is a gift, every day should be a special occasion.

I think I must be hormonal. Everything is making me terribly emotional and making me think way more than I want. It is funny how something as simple as a blog can teach you so much. I have learned so much reading others blogs. That amazing faith of several, the great journey of mothers fighting against illness, the great love of families every where, even people I have never met inspire me. To all my blog friends, I so enjoy reading! To my friends that I thought I knew everything about; I am learning new things every day about you (and convinces me even more why we have been friends for so long), and new friends I am learning more everyday and I see why we "clicked". To my cousin, Katy, I love your blog. You are such a great mom! Kensley, Klay and the new baby are so blessed to have you. Thanks for reminding me to cherish it ALL!

Getting in my baby time..

2008-08-28T22:16:00.000-07:00

My friend, "Old Kelly", (I will explain that in a minute), had a cute little baby girl in March. Her name is Emma Grace. How sweet she is! Today we swam and played at the pool and I got to hold her and feed her a bottle and just spend time cuddled up with a sweet little baby. Miss Scarlett was plenty jealous. She wanted a "lovey" like EG had, she wanted everything EG had that mommy was "ooing and ahhing" over. She even wanted a baby to come live at her house, so she could hold her and feed her. Little Emma loved the pool. She floated around in her little tube and just smiled and laughed at the kids splashing all around her. Then when she was done, she napped. How sweet are little babies.
While Miss Emma napped the kids ate pizza and then went right back to the pool. What happened to the 30 minute rest time after you eat??? "Old Kelly's" little boy was a hoot! He thought he was as big as Ethan and Scarlett. He is such a good big brother.

Scarlett nicknamed Kelly when I became friends with another Kelly. Old Kelly and I had been friends for a few years already so she had been around the kids and been to the house several times and so forth. Then New Kelly showed up and from that on when Scarlett needed to differentiate between the two of them, they became Old and New Kelly. Today on the way to the pool she wanted to know if was Old or New Kelly. She loves them both and better yet she loves playing with both Old and New Kelly's children.

Please don't think the "Old" implies anything, Kelly! You will always be younger than me! ha!

Miss Manners here we come..

2008-08-27T12:55:00.000-07:00

This may offend some and it definitely may be TMI.. but it was amusing and disturbing at the same time. You see, I don't guess I am a "true southerner" I do not like fried chicken. Never have! I don't like chicken on the bone and I do not like anything but white meat.. which means I like boneless skinless chicken breast. That's it. That is what you will find at my house. Even better are the new trimmed and ready chicken breast. Last night while my children were at my parents house they had fried chicken. Scarlett LOVES fried chicken! She is a girl after her papa's heart. Her nana sent her a piece of chicken home and once home she went to the kitchen table to eat her chicken. She cleaned that piece of chicken! To the point that hubby and I both said "GROSS!" "Stop, put that down!". She looked at us and said, "What, this is what my papa does!" "It's good". That was definitely a habit of my dad's that I was hoping she would not pick up on! Growing up I remember my dad clearing off some meat! I am so bad that chicken wings are a total waste on me! I don't get anywhere near the bone. It is more economical for me to just not eat them. Can you imagine her at TWENTY FIVE and starting to date and she cleans a bone that well! UGHH!!! We laughed, but I really think we just wished she would not enjoy her chicken quiet so much! Her hands were greasy, her face was greasy and she was loving every minute of it! I think we will have to find a etiquette class for our fried chicken loving girl!

The Diary of an Angry House

2008-08-25T11:55:00.000-07:00

Here is hubby hard at work getting my laundry room ready to paint. I really did do some work this weekend. I promise I did not go around with the camera watching every body else.
I started on my cabinets last night. They are going to be a very light color once we get done. There was so much wood in the house and when we are finished.. there will probably be nothing brown at all! We had paneled walls everywhere! No more! We have a fairy tale pink room and a Razorback Red room! Just what the kids ordered.

I got to thinking this weekend about "if walls could talk". I am sure this old house we bought would have plenty to say to us. I am sure it is ANGRY! It has had a nice calm existence for the last forty years and then here we come! We have come in knocking down walls, tearing up cabinets and painting every square inch we can find. You see the house was nice, it was just "old" nice. It was a wonderful elderly couple that had lived there and they had enjoyed the space. Nice and quiet just the two of them. Enter the Cash Family! We are LOUD! We like COLOR! We are upsetting this little houses being. I figured the walls would have plenty to tell us about the last forty years and how wonderful it was and WHY did we have to mess it up? I imagined them pretty much cussing us out for ripping down safety and comfort among the old walls. But I like to imagine were giving it a face lift. We plan to bring it into the new millenium, and take this little house places it has not been in a very long time! I hope the angry old house will forgive us and learn to like it's new updated existence!
This is where we started. I think this picture was taken not long after we bought the house and we had started on the "easy" rooms first. This room will probably be a continued work in progress for a while longer. This is a before and after picture once we torn down the wall. It blocked so much of the view and I love the new openness of the room. My living rooms looks a little pink, I think we are going to have to repaint it. It was supposed to be a caramel pink, or a salmon color but with the lighting it looks pink. Hubby wants it repainted. I like it with the brick wall fireplace.. but then again I am a girl! Of course I like PINK! ha! We were trying to find something to match the brick, but I did not want GRAY. So any suggestions???
My dad is hard at work in all the pictures. At one point he told me if I wanted to keep my camera I needed to stop taking pictures! :)

This was my original color I had picked out, which is Ralph Lauren's Caramel Pink but hubby thought it was too dark, so now we have tried to go lighter but it looks a little pink!

Here is the cabinets that we are demolishing over the the bar. I don't really think my dad had planned on starting those last night.. but my mom wanted to start. Guess who won? I laughed and asked my dad yesterday "at what point, after he married my mom, did he realize he was in over his head?" ha! Of course my mom said he only realized he was in over his head after they had me. Either way my dad is great when it comes to helping me out and doing all my projects. :) Here is my mom with her tools. You notice my dad standing with is hands on his hips.. I think he was shaking his head, too. She was on a mission. I was just standing back and watching with a quiet snicker every now and then. :)

As you can tell there is still much to be done. We are hoping to rip out the old floors this week and get them ready for the new floors. Once that is done, we should be ready to MOVE! Ethan's birthday party is September 27th, I have been told we WILL be in the house by then, but I am not holding my breath.

Next I will start asking for decorating tips, I get to start picking out the curtains and all the small details. That's the fun part!

Hope you had a fun weekend with less work!

Having fun and Working Hard

2008-08-24T23:46:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon we got together with Hayden's family. The kids have the best time. Nancie and I have fun with "girl talk", the guys have whatever it is they talk about and the kids just have loads of fun! What more could you ask for? Me to take pictures? Ha! Don't I wish. You will have to read Nancie's blog to see pictures. I am a little co-dependent I think! I sit back and let her take all the pictures. She is always ready, camera in hand, so she never misses out on anything. We did have a lot of fun and plan to do it again very soon!

I'll update that rest of the weekend on it's own post! :) It was a hard working weekend.

Where has the time gone???

2008-08-18T16:40:00.000-07:00

Today was easier for me than most moms. I did not put my five year old on a bus, or drive them to school and drop them off. I simply have to come to the realization that "my baby" is going to Kindergarten, or rather she is "in" Kindergarten. Since, we home school it is not as traumatic as dropping her off but the finality of the fact that I know longer have a toddler, or even a preschooler is harsh! I don't like it one bit! I miss my babies, I miss the sleepless nights, I miss the rocking, the crying, the diaper changing and realizing that those days are gone and over sometimes really hurts me. That fact that I now have a first grader and a kindergartner at home is wonderful that my children have grown to be such amazing kids, but sad that the time is passing me so quickly. My mind starts racing ahead and I fear the inevitable. The first date, the driving, college, and the list goes on! When I realize how fast these last seven years have gone by I fear how quickly the next seven year will be. I remember when I had Ethan and Scarlett, I thought it couldn't get any better. I thought that my heart couldn't hold the love I felt for them. But you know what, it has grown exponentially with each year. In this picture Scarlett had just turned one years old and it seems like yesterday! These two have become my best friends. They are my constant companions. I miss them terribly when I am gone. Can you tell I am a little upset that my babies are getting so big and that my "baby baby" is going to school!

I do home school, so I will still be with them each and every day but homeschooling brings on a whole new list of fears. Last year when Ethan started kindergarten I had this same fear. What if I ruin my children? What if I hinder their learning? Worse yet, what if I lessen their desire to learn? So many fears are running constant. Am I doing the right thing? Is it what is best for them? So may "what ifs". I want so bad to be what they need me to be. I pray each and every morning that I will be a example of God's love to my children. I pray for patience and understanding. I pray that my actions and thoughts each day are Godly and that my children are secure in knowing how much I love them and how much I want the best for them. So many thoughts and fears going into homeschooling two children. Having the responsibility of teaching two very different kids with very different learning styles. Please keep me in your prayers as we begin this journey. Pray that it is a wonderful journey for our family and that God continues to bless our home.

"For I am confident of this very thing that he who began a good work
in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6

Every good and perfect gift comes from above and I thank the Lord everyday for my precious children. The Lord gave me the gift of being their mother and I have been so blessed.

We actually will not start until after Labor Day. The first day of school has me in a tizzy of nerves! I am sad and fearful all in one.

To all the mothers that took their children for their first day of school today. To all the moms that dropped off their kindergartners for the very first time, I hope it was a blessed day! I hope your children had a wonderful first day of this new journey.

and to my beautiful Scarlett, I hope this is an amazing journey for us both! I pray that I will have the patience and the understanding to be the kind of teacher and mother you need me to be. I love you, my little kindergarten baby!

Imagination Station...

2008-08-17T00:22:00.000-07:00

Scarlett has the best imagination and I just love it! For a five year old she is very creative. I have always told the kids to turn the TV, the games and anything electronic off and "use their imagination". Usually that has involved the Little People. They will set up the whole Little People world and play for hours. Some days it is building a pirate ship and pretending to be pirates. The one that has personally been my favorite is Scarlett's Crime Scene Investigation Kit. She came up with this all on her own. She took Ethan's old toy tool box and started filling it with items she would need for an investigation.

She has tweezers, brushes, small bags for the "ebidence", flashlight and we made her very own "fingerprint spray" with Agent S. Cash labeled on the side. She is so funny on the trail of a crime. She will put on her little latex gloves and grab her tweezers and start filling her bags with all the evidence she can find. She will spray for fingerprints, lift and mix her "chemicals" and brush for anything left behind.
I was really proud of her for coming up with this idea. She has watched C.S.I. Miami and just LOVES Dr. Alex on the show and tells me she wants to be "like her". I am all for a doctor in the family! She thinks Callie is pretty, but likes the doctors job better. Smart girl!
Her she is with her crime scene box and happy that another case has been solved.

Another new blogging buddy...

2008-08-11T15:04:00.000-07:00

We got another one! :) Nancie, my friend and photographer extraordinaire has decided to start blogging with us. She has a adorable seven year old that my children just love. Hayden is into sports so Ethan and him hit it off quickly. You have probably read in previous post about Hayden, Nancie and Harold. We have so enjoyed getting to know this family and just love being around them. If you get a chance check out her blog, http://hangingwithhayden.blogspot.com/ and welcome Nancie into the blogging world.

Overdue Part Deux

2008-08-10T12:12:00.001-07:00

Just another picture of me and the kids...
One of the many pictures of our nightly crab hunting excursions. The kids loved hunting crabs, although anytime they came close to catching them they ran away screaming! It was so funny!

One of the crabs we did actually catch. Hubby did most of the catching. We all carried flashlights and buckets and looked really good out there on the beach, but did little of the work. We always looked at them and showed them off to the kids and them scattered as we turned the bucket over to let the crabs go back to their home in the ocean.

Hubby with is two favorite people...

Ethan and Scarlett looking all cute and sweet on the first night of trying to get beach pictures..
Just a small glimpse of dinner time at the beach house. Ever try to get 15 people still and fed??? I am sure it is not easy. My mother did most all the work. Thank goodness for moms! :) I appreciate mine more and more everyday!

Just another picture of Ethan and Scarlett on night #2 of pictures.. I couldn't figure out which outfits I liked the best.. so I did some pictures with both sets! :)
All the kids running crazy on the beach. They had been feeding cheetos to the seagulls. Probably not something we were supposed to be doing.. I am not sure.

As you can tell we had a wonderful week with lots of things going on and a lot of things to do. I can't wait for next year! We got back home last Saturday night and we are off to work on our house today. So, back to reality. :( YUCK!

Overdue update...

2008-08-10T11:46:00.000-07:00

Since I was so bad and did not update all week, even after I figured out I did have computer access I figured I would put it all under a couple of LONG post. Most of it will be pictures so bear with me.
Tuesday: We went on a dolphin cruise. This was one of my favorite things last year but this year was a little slow. The dolphins did not play along as well and we saw just a few while out on the boat. But being on a boat in the ocean is still a wonderful thing. Here is a group picture before we left. :) The kids did so well with most of the pictures. I know towards the end of the week they were all tired of having their picture taken ever time they turned around. Here is another picture of one of the dolphins that actually did a few tricks for us. He jumped about 6 feet over the water and did a big flip. The kids loved that!

WEDNESDAY: That was the day for parasailing. The day I just knew I would meet my doom! I was so nervous and scared of what I am not sure, I just knew it did not sound like something that guaranteed my safety. My 13 year old nephew agreed to be my partner and we suited up and were geard for take off. You can tell the panic on my face. I am taking extra deep breaths and trying to calm myself down....

Once I did calm down and were up in the air, it was amazing! I just LOVED it. It felt like we were just floating in the clouds. My nephew spotted a shark down below up and just for a minute I had a couple of panic moments thinking about what would happen if we came crashing down! ha!
Thursday: I spent all morning and most of the afternoon at the outlet mall shopping! I had the day to myself. I wandered in and out of stores and found some great deals. We tried to take some pictures on the beach once I arrived home and we had planned Thursday night to be our bonfire on the beach... the weather had other plans. Just as we were taking pictures a big storm rolled in and ruined our bonfire idea. So we had grilled hotdogs and oven toasted smores in the house instead. :)

Three of my four newphew and my two kids hanging out on our pier.

Ethan looking way more grown up than I am ready for...

Scarlett with one of her many poses... She loved having her pictures taken...

Me and two of my favorite people in the world. I was one lucky mommy to be on the beach with my family for a week. We had the best time! :)

One more update post.. I promise! :)

Update from the Gulf...

2008-08-05T12:38:00.000-07:00

Hubby and I have decided this week, we are the ONLY people left without a laptop computer and therefore that will be a new purchase as soon as we get home. I finally borrowed my brothers computer and thought I would give a quick update of what we have been doing.
Last Thursday we drove all day and finally arrived in Pensacola at 10pm. We were exhausted. We did stop on the way and take a quick tour through Vicksburg. Ethan LOVED it. He is so in interested in world history and the Civil War. My nephew, Mitchell, went with us so he could get to the beach a couple of days early. I think he likes to "roll" with his auntie! ha! Friday we managed to find a beach in Pensacola and go swimming for a little while and then we went to eat dinner at one of the best seafood restaurants I have ever tried. It came highly recommended so we gave it a go and we LOVED it! :) It was Hall's Seafood near Pensacola Beach. If you ever go there I highly recommend their food. Next we went out on the Pier at Pensacola Beach. That was really nice. Such a beautiful view and the weather was perfect for a leisurely walk. We decided then to head back to the hotel and on our way the kids noticed the HOT NOW light on in a familiar favorite. Can you guess what we had next??? Krispy Kreme Donuts! YUM!!! We were all exhausted and returned to our hotel with a full stomach and ready for some sleep. We got up early Saturday morning and went to the National Museum of Naval Aviation. The kids were in awe to be around that many planes and helicopters. They had the best time. We ate lunch at the Cubi Cafe which was a replica type Cafe they had built at the museum. My dad was in the Navy and lived aboard the aircraft carriers when I was a baby, so we checked out his carrier, the U.S.S. Forrestal, and explained to the kids the history and that their Papa had been on that big ship. :) It was finally time to go to the beach house. We my grandmother, my parents and both of my brothers and their families at the house. So far we are having the BEST TIME. We have been ot the see the dolphins, went crab hunting and just layed around the beach all day! Ethan was stung by a jelly fish on our first day here! OOPS! I am going parasailing tomorrow! I can't wait I have always wanted to but have been chicken. Mitchell agreed to go with me so we are going to try it out. Wish me luck! I will post another upate tomorrow night.

Just a quick update...

2008-07-29T19:32:00.000-07:00

This past two weeks have been so busy and so crazy! I do have lots of pictures and if you are actually still reading my blog check back because I will add them in the morning. We have been swimming A LOT! I know that is a surprise. We have had play dates and family from Tennessee. We are always so happy to see Leslie (my sister in law) and family. Ethan and Jacob have a ball and the girls love playing together. I was not around much because I had to work! :( So unfair!

We have been working hard on our house and our estimated move date is going to be Labor Day weekend. My husband thinks it will be the weekend before but I am optimistically saying Labor Day. It is really coming along . We have painted almost the whole house and are almost ready to put down the new floors.

Lastly, we are getting ready for vacation! I can not wait. We are leaving Thursday morning early and driving to Pensacola for a few days and then going to Gulf Shores to meet my entire family! Entire family means all fifteen of us in one house for a week. We did this last year and it was a blast. The kids have the best time and we as adults get a week of R&R that is always appreciated.

I will add the pictures ASAP. I am at work tonight, and do not have way to add pictures. :(

Hope you all are having a great week and I will try to keep this blog thing a little better.

Monday, Monday and a Happy Birthday, too

2008-07-14T14:44:00.001-07:00

Today was my great aunt Myrtle's 93 or 94 birthday, not sure how old she was turning. My granny says 93 and my mom said 94.. and these days you really don't know who to believe! ha! So, she has lived a very long and blessed life. That much was for sure. My Aunt Myrtle has never had kids of her own so she loves it when the we all come visit. I remember growing up and she lived in Ohio, we drove up there to see her. She always enjoyed having us around. My kids just love going to see her. Today they made her home made cards and took her some flowers they had picked in our yard, along with some other things. They were so sweet. She has been in a nursing home now for a little less than a year. At one point today, I thought about how we had four generations of daughters in the room; my granny, my mom, myself and Scarlett. How lucky am I! We had a great visit. My mom helped Aunt Myrtle eat lunch while my granny did this...
You would have to know my granny. She is just crazy like that! I am a lot more like my granny than my mom. My mom likes to color inside the lines at all times.. and granny and I we believe the lines are just an option at times! ha! She sometimes has her very own thought process. We joke around at my house and call them "granny-isms". I am trying to start writing them down. Those will be the things that years after she is gone will always bring a smile to our face. Just be around her for fifteen minutes and you will hear a few "granny-isms" yourself.

Hope you all are having a great Monday! :) I am off to play softball in a little bit. It is too hot! I am so glad I only have two games left. They will not be over with fast enough this season.

It was a LONG weekend...

2008-07-13T14:33:00.000-07:00

Miss Scarlett working on her scrapbook

Our weekend started off great. I had a friend over on Friday night and we scrapbooked half the night. I am SO behind on my scrapbooking. I got the new cricut machine for my birthday, which was seven months again, and was just now getting a change to use it. I LOVE it! My pages look so much better by having the letters cut out for me. I had the Sizzix machine and if you scrapbook you know that was wonderful.. but the cricut takes it to a whole other level! ha! Scarlett likes to be involved with the girls so she sat in there and Kelly working hard on her Easter pages.. she is behind, too.

cropped with us the entire time. I can not wait until we get moved into our new house, I am going to have my own craft room! My scrapbook stuff can stay out full time and I am sure that will help me get caught up and I am likely to work on my books more often.
Our messy table

My page using my new machine.. LOVE it! :)

After Friday night there is not much to tell about our weekend. We worked on the house the rest of the weekend. All day Saturday and Sunday! I feel like we are getting a lot done, but I know there is still a major amount to be done! We saw a snake in the front yard, which freaked me out! The bushes all along the front of the house have to go.. they will be cut out soon! I saw the snake sneak back in those bushes, so that was enough for me to be convinved we did not need bushes at all!

Other than work and more work that was my weekend! Doesn't sound like much fun, huh? Hope you all had a more exciting weekend.