The end of an era- Unfortunatly...

Well it wasn't my intention, but Shawn is no longer a breastfed baby. I've always read that you should be very cautious introducing bottles, because some babies will refuse the breast. I never had a problem with my first 3, they would switch easily back and forth. After 4 months (its been the same age with all 4) I get tired of nursing every 3 hours- I like the freedom that giving the occasional bottle provides. It's really hard scheduling your entire life around feedings. Shawn decided to take the easy way out, apparently he prefers the instant gratification of the bottle and now refuses to nurse at all. I had planned to continue nursing (morning, evening, and night) for his first year. I hate the fact that cold and flu season is coming, and who knows what kind of germs BriBri will bring home from the other snotnosed Preschoolers. I miss the comforting feeling knowing that he's recieving antibodies from me. I hate dragging myself out of bed to fix him a bottle, life was so much easier before. I miss our Mommy/Shawny time, it was our time- to just chill out, set everything else aside, and I could just focus on him. Cuddle him, smell him and remind myself to treasure every moment because this all passes so quickly. Formula has just accelerated all of this. In the 3 weeks or so since he's gradually been nursing less and less and nursing more he has really started packing on the pounds!

My sentiments exactly!

I stole this blog from "Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom." These blogs can get rather addictive and I have my favorites that I check on a regular basis, I just happened to stumble across this one yesterday. I will definatly be checking back in! I thought this was wonderful, and how unusual for someone to practically read your mind!

Until about a week ago, I would have nothing to say on the topic. Mainly, because I know nothing. Politics just doesn't interest me. Not one bit. Heck, I've never even watched a debate before. But, when I heard a mother of five kids could possibly be Vice President, I just had to find out about her. So, I watched her speech...and she blew me away. She inspired me as a woman and as a mother. She made me proud. Proud of a fellow mother. Proud of a fellow American.Proud of a fellow Christian. As I watched this woman speak on possibly becoming the second most powerful position in this country, and then walk over to her family proudly embracing her five children, I was brought to tears. One of these children, being a baby which some Americans wouldn't have even valued as worthy to be born, only months ago, and another, a teen who will probably be looked down upon, and deemed foolish by some, because she sinned. But her children, nonetheless. From the few moments I heard this woman speak, I knew. I knew that we shared the same values. I knew that she believed in the same God as I. I knew that she valued human life. And I knew that she believed in forgiveness. Her family isn't perfect. She isn't perfect. But as Palin walked over to her children and kissed each of their heads, she painted a picture for me, of the kind of country I want my children to grow up in. people that believes in God. people that values human life, even when others don't. people that needs and gives forgiveness.Come election day, I know where my vote is going. That is, as long as I can figure out those poll machines. (Just pull the lever, right?)

I want a Park Model!

Outdoor World is selling some of their Park Models. They are VERY reasonably priced, the only stipulation is- you have to pay onsite fees for 3 years. No biggie- we'd be doing that anyway. We love Williamsburg. I would move their in a heartbeat. We went and looked at some today and I really want one with a loft. Now we've just got to figure out how to get our trailer sold, and buy one. Keep your fingers crossed. What a move up! I'd be so excited. We will have run the gamut of camping- tent, pop up, trailer and now Park Model. I'm already planning the decor! I think I will go with the whole hunting lodge/cabin theme. Moose, bears and plaid- I can't wait!

The things my kids say:

I was giving Breezy a shower tonight and she started talking about God (her Preschool is at a church) and I was trying to explain about sin and forgiveness to her. I said something like "When you do bad things- thats a sin, and when you sin you should tell God you are sorry and ask for forgiveness and (she interrupts) "and he gives you a sticker?" LOL! ;0)

Katherine has to know everything we're doing each day and when we're going to do it, and why etc. On the way home from picking up all of the 4H fair stuff and collecting her ribbons and prize money, I told her that we were going over to Grandpa's tonight to show him pictures of the Park Models and do some laundry for him. Janet's out of town for 2 1/2 weeks and she asked me to do a load for him- he doesn't have enough socks and underwear to last that long! ;0) K. asked are you going to wash there or take it home, and I said- I'll just wash it there. "Do you know how to use their washing machine?" "Sure, it's just a washing machine." "Yeah, it's not like its a DVD player or something..." What a rotten smartmouthed kid! ;0) She reminds me of her Daddy.

Howl O Scream (Shawn's 1st!)

Well we just spent the past 4 nights in Virginia. We had to be there for opening weekend of Busch Gardens Howl O Scream. It was awesome- as usual. All our old favorites: Jack is Back- we saw the show 5 times! Katherine and Brianna were Dancing Queens- it was B's first time doing that, and she was precious shaking her booty! They had a new show "Monster Stomp Revamped" and it rocked! It's my new favorite show at Busch Gardens. Shawny did great at his first Howl O Scream. We can't wait to go back. Of course I took a ridiculous number of pictures- here are a few of the best.

My Favorite Things About Autumn:

It's starting to feel like Fall is making her appearance. Sitting on the front porch tonight it was actually kind of chilly. The last couple of days have been in the 70's and felt wonderful! I love fall, I think its my favorite season (I say that about summer and spring too! - NEVER about winter though- I hate cold dark days) I've decided to list my favorite things about the season:

Halloween (costumes, trick or treating w/ the kids, pumpkin carving & CANDY ;0) )

Howl O Scream at Busch Gardens

Thanksgiving (I love everything about this holiday- family, food, & traditions)

Autumn smells: Apple Cinnamon, Pumpkin Pie

Chilly mornings and evenings

Snuggly sweaters

Beautiful leaves

Sleeping with the windows open

Baked Butternut Squash

Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Bread

Apple Cider

If only we could have all of that without having to rake leaves and the days getting shorter...

Katherine Won First Prize at the County Fair!

Well it's official- Katherine makes the best candy in Wilson County. Her Peanut Butter Balls won First Place! We're so excited. She's already thinking about what catagories she's going to enter next year. I think the prize money is a great incentive! ;0) We don't have a picture of Katherine with the actual Peanut Butter Balls (slack mom) They were auctioned off Monday night and the proceeds went to benefit the Hope Station. But they took a picture of them to display at the Fair. Brianna was a little jealous that I wouldn't let her in the picture. I had to take a picture of her alone with them as well ("Not her too" she said! LOL) I guess thats only fair- she did help stir...

The 4-H display kind of sucked, although we did win 3rd place. In fact I think it was pretty tacky. Next year I'm pulling the obnoxious overinvolved mom routine and organizing the fair display! We really could have done so much more with it. But you can't take everything over your first week!

My Brilliant Boy, and my Brave Boy.

Chris got his Progress Reports today. A's in P.E. and Computers, A B in Science, and an F in Math (only b/c Chris lost his homework stamp sheet, so has gotten no credit for homework- HOPEFULLY he'll be able to find it...) I am SOOOOOOOO relieved (and proud of him) I did not want a repeat of last year.

Shawn had his 4 month shots today. 3 of them. Poor baby- he's such a trooper. He only cried for a minute, he's been mostly sleeping since then- doped up on Tylenol ;0) He weighs 12 pounds 12 ounces. He's still tiny, but he's really been chunking it on the past couple of weeks- he eats constantly!

Elton unofficially has a new job. He talked to Hospira today and they said that they are offering him the job contingent on his background check that hasn't come back yet. As soon as they get it, they will give him an official offer. We had an unofficial new job celebration- brownies and ice cream! ;0)

I'm so proud of my three boys!

Domestic Goddess Day

I was so productive today! I got up at 7, took Chris to school, went to Lowes to pick up a few bundles of shingles. I can't believe how heavy those things are! I was getting my shingles and of course there were about 3 bags that were completly torn open- I didn't want those, and of course I had to move them to get any more out. I was putting them in the cart when this very old, very small man (Lowes employee) offered to help. I thought "you've got to be kidding me, I bet Katherine could beat him up! I would feel awful having him haul these stupid shingles". So I said "I'm fine thanks, I've only got to get one more." and he actually said "Good, I think you're doing a better job than I could do anyway!" Why on earth would they have this feeble looking old man working in the roofing department? Put him in lighting or something. I thought I was getting wimpy or something until I learned that a bundle of shingles weighs 80 pounds. I feel a little better now! Next time I'll know- go to Lowes and buy shingles BEFORE taking Chris to school! ;0) Then I took B. to school, went home helped K. with her schoolwork. Picked B. up went to Harris Teeter and did some serious bargain shopping. I really got some great deals. Windex was buy one get one free, I went online and printed off 2 $1.oo coupons, so I got 4 bottles of Antibacterial windex for $6. I LOVE that stuff, I use it everywhere everyday. May even go back and get some more. Jet Dry and Electrasol were 1/2 price and I had coupons (which they tripled) so I got 3 of each. I would never do all my shopping at Harris Teeter, but with their specials and triple coupons you can really rack up- not to mention the $20 off $50 purchase. If you bought 10 items with Box Tops for Education on them you saved another $4 off your bill. My bill was $138, I ended up paying $46! I get minimal complaints from the girls at H.T. because they have free cookies when you walk in and free balloons when you leave.

I made Taco bundles ( a variation of the Pampered Chef's Taco Ring- my invention- very cute and much easier- Look out Martha Stewart!) Macaroni and Cheese- the real stuff, not out of the box. That was dinner, along with some 3 bean salad (Paula's recipe) I also made a Bacon Cheeseburger meatloaf because I ended up with quite a lot of mashed potatos left that I made with Chicken Bryan last weekend. It is super easy to throw together, I had all the ingredients onhand and I need something to feed David while he's working on our roof...

I got my whole house clean, laundry done, dishwasher emptied etc.

Cleaned out Chris's bookbag- definatly a good thing I did, he had some work that he needed to do, papers I needed to sign etc. All this stuff has to be turned in tomorrow b/c thats when Progress Reports come out. His computer teacher had printed out a list of things he was missing, and apparently gave him the work to complete, and he couldn't even come home and do it! That pissed me off to no end and of course we had to have a huge blow out. He had 3 assignments to complete- they were already mostly done, I think it look him about 45 minutes to complete them, and 3 things for me to sign- his syllabus, an internet use agreement, and some video thing. They didn't require anything on his part- only hand them to me to sign! Of course they were handed out 6 weeks ago when class started... This all was worth 25% of his grade! This will take him from an F to at least a B and he couldn't be bothered with it! Sometimes I could just beat him bloody! GRRRRR! I wonder what his other grades will be. He has computers, P.E. (so not worried about that one) math (we'll see) and Earth Science ( dreading that one!) He had a test in his bag (that I never saw him study for) and there were 4 true/false questions that he didn't even bother to answer! Of course I just flipped out again... I mean come on! They are True/False- you have a 50/50 chance of guessing the right answer and you can't even bother to put anything down?!?!?!?!

I think I need to start researching strict military schools- or heavy doses of medication- for him or for me!

Chelsey's 14th B-day Party

Saturday was Chelsey's 14th Birthday party. It was a lot of fun. You've got to hand it to the Capp's they sure know how to throw a party. Bobby and Tracy filled up HUNDREDS of water balloons, made a huge spongebob cake, and this totally awesome redneck slip and slide. The kids played on it for hours! Poor Chris has scratches and bruises all over his stomach, the boys all liked to run into each other and knock each other off the slip and slide, into the dog pen etc. I'm just thankful that he still likes to have fun and isn't obsessed with being "cool" like some boys his age.

My Adorable Family

Happy 1/3 Birthday Shawn! We love you very much.

The obvious choice...

2008 Presidential Candidate Comparison
ISSUE
JOHN McCAIN
BARAK OBAMA
Favors new drilling offshore US
Yes
No
Will appoint judges who interpret the law not make it
Yes
No
Served in the US Armed Forces
Yes
No
Amount of time served in the US Senate
22 YEARS
173 DAYS
Will institute a socialized national health care plan
No
Yes
Supports abortion throughout the pregnancy
No
Yes
Would pull troops out of Iraq immediately
No
Yes
Supports gun ownership rights
Yes
No
Supports homosexual marriage
No
Yes
Proposed programs will mean a huge tax increase
No
Yes
Voted against making English the official language
No
Yes
Voted to give Social Security benefits to illegals
No
Yes
CAPITAL GAINS TAX
MCCAIN
0% on home sales up to $500,000 per home (couples). McCain does not propose any change in existing home sales income tax.
OBAMA
28% on profit from ALL home sales. (How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.)
DIVIDEND TAX
MCCAIN
15% (no change)
OBAMA
39.6% - (How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama becomes president. The experts predict that 'Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market, yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.')
INCOME TAX
MCCAIN
(no changes)
Single making 30K - tax $4,500Single making 50K - tax $12,500Single making 75K - tax $18,750Married making 60K- tax $9,000Married making 75K - tax $18,750Married making 125K - tax $31,250
OBAMA (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)
Single making 30K - tax $8,400Single making 50K - tax $14,000Single making 75K - tax $23,250Married making 60K - tax $16,800Married making 75K - tax $21,000Married making 125K - tax $38,750Under Obama, your taxes could almost double!
INHERITANCE TAX
MCCAIN
- 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)
OBAMA
Restore the inheritance tax
Many families have lost businesses, farms, ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will only lose them to these taxes.
NEW TAXES PROPOSED BY OBAMA
New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet. New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren't high enough already) New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity) New taxes on retirement accounts, and last but not least....New taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of medical care as other third-world countries!!!

Nap Time With Daddy

My Precious Baby!

Cool new stuff from Vista Print...

Since Shawn is here it only makes sense for me to update my Mommy cards. Besides I was kind of tired of the old ones, the frog was cute, but it was time for something a little more "sophisticated" ;0) Elton's cell phone number had changed, and I had wished on several occasions that I had included our address on them. Vista Print was having a special 250 cards for $3.99 (I did have to pay a little extra to make them glossy). They are not as cute as some of the Mommy cards that I have seen online but they want ridiculous prices for them...

I have been dying to get the family address labels ever since I saw Christy Bullocks. I think they are too cute! I NEVER mail anything except Christmas cards and didn't want to order them last year b/c I was pregnant and would end up with all these useless labels...

I got 25% off my entire order and searched for a coupon code online. I don't even know what the coupon code was for but I typed it in and saved $5 and some change :0) I can't wait for them to arrive!

Too busy to blog...

Things are just so crazy around here. Typical school year- can't wait for summer! This was my day today. I didn't include all of the diaper changes, feedings and cuddles...

Get up
C to school
Get B ready, take to school
Go to Farm Fresh, pick up pictures, and grab a few groceries
Go to Red Cross and get info for K’s presentation on Hurricane Prepardness next week
Go home
Get K started on her school work
Put pics in albums
C calls forgot gym clothes (again?!?!?!) take to school
Pick B up
Fix Lunch: Corn dogs and grapes
Work on school work
Pick C up
School work
Fix Dinner: Taco’s and bananas LOL!
Clean up kitchen
Take K to 4H
Home at 8:30
Check email and generally procrastinate… (like doing this instead of schoolwork!)

B. is doing great in Preschool. This was our conversation when I picked her up today:

Did you have fun @ school? What did you do today?

We didn't paint.

Oh... Did you color? Play Outside? Learn about the letter A?

(All recieved affirmative nods)

Who's birthday was it?

(they sent a note home saying not to bring a snack today- so I guessed it was a birthday pary)

Sarah's

Did you have cupcakes?

Yes

What kind of cupcakes?

Beautiful ;0)

Preschool rules! They really wear her out, poor thing is too tired to give more than one word responses! She's grouchy and mean for the first hour or so after getting home. Once she's had lunch and been able to chill a while she's o.k. And she's asleep by 8:30 at the latest (Yeah!)

4-H

I finally got Katherine signed up with a local 4-H group. I have high hopes for this group. The last group we were involved with did NOTHING! I honestly don't know what possessed me to sign her up all the way in Nash County (well, yes I do- they had a lot of homeschooled kids from one of our groups...) I'm glad that we are giving it another shot. (That was in 2006- my year of being super homeschool mom- activities everyday of the week and dragging my kids all over Eastern North Carolina- I'm so over that!) It is a great program for kids. We went to her first meeting last night to discuss their booth for the fair. The theme this year is "75 years of fun" Katherine's job (who am I kidding- our job) is to decorate the table. One half of the table is to look like its from 1933 and one side is to look like it from 2008. In the middle will be a "cake" Happy Birthday to the fair I guess??? that the kids will decorate. They will also be painting pumpkins and making scarecrows. Should be interesting... I wish Bri was old enough to join... Chris has no interest whatsoever- too bad he would enjoy it- but I guess its not very "cool" whatever! Speaking of cool, I'm trying to get him signed up with the Civil Air Patrol. Looks like its an awesome program. He needs something like that to teach him responsibilty and instill in him a sense of pride and duty. I'm not even going to mention it to him, I'll let Elton talk to him about it- if I bring it up I can tell you what the answer will be!

Bri's 1st day of Preschool!

Well Brianna's first day of Preschool was Tuesday September 2nd. Monday I decided to wake her up early so she would go to bed early. Apparently I got a little carried away because she was sound asleep by 7 (with no bath- just one more thing to do in the morning...) The outfit I had bought specifically for the first day was unusable (super cute white cargo capri's and a turq, and white halter top from The Children's Place in Williamsburg- my fav. store!) Thankfully I found out before school that B is unable to button and unbutton her pants by herself- NOT cool on your first day of school to pee on yourself! She really loves it, they play with toys, Play-Doh, color, paint, play at the playground etc. I hope she continues to love it... I cannot believe she will be 4 next month! My baby girl is growing up so fast!

Sling Envy

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5366490

I love my Poppy Pouch but Shawn is getting older and quite a bit nosier. I am positively drooling over this sling!

Picture project!

I take tons of pictures, but I NEVER actually print any off. Such a Slacker! I made up my mind to catch up and actually have tangible photos, so I went through all of my photos on Kodak EasyShare Gallery, put them all in my cart and waited for them to put the 4x6 prints on sale again. I ended up ordering over 400 from Kodak (not to mention the 100 I got from Shutterfly recently) I bought a couple photo albums and filled up the silver baby one April gave me when Shawn was born. It took a ridiculously long time to complete but I'm so happy its done. Now if I could just get my recipe collection book knocked out...

Polka Dots Make Me Sneeze!

Thursday was Brianna's Open House at her new Preschool. I think we are really going to love it. The facilities are awesome, and her teachers are really nice. They gave Bri a really cute balloon with polka dots on it (obviously they know the way to a 3 year olds heart!) I decided to extend the Mommy/Bri outing (they are rare) so we went to Target to get her new book bag and some stuff that was on their classroom "wishlist" (hand sanitizer, lysol wipes etc). Brianna picked out a really cute Tinkerbelle bag and we bought some snacks for her to take to school. She's the first kid I've ever had to pack Preschool snacks for but whatever... When we got back in the van to go home she asked if she could pop her balloon. I asked why she would want to do that and she replied "because polka dots make me sneeze!" and proceeded to produce the fakest "ah ah ah choo" in the history of the world. It was so precious!