Ramblings of an Aspiring Domestic Goddess

Fall 2009

2009-11-14T09:35:00.002-05:00

We were blessed with some fabulous weather on our Autumn vacation to ODW. Perfect weather for Puddle Jumpin!

We had a great time finding the plethera of fungi

This tree was gorgeous when we arrived. It was bare when we left- I'm so glad I got pictures in time. You can see this tree out of our Living Room window.

Halloween at ODW

2009-11-14T09:23:00.003-05:00

Pumpkin carving is always one of our favorite activites at ODW! Katherine's is the one on the left and Brianna's is the one on the right. I think they did an awesome job!

A helping hand from Daddy

I would say this is the cutest cow ever BUT- this cow suit has been worn by Christopher and Katherine too. Brianna missed out on the cow tradition because of an adorable Butterfly costume that I got at Toys R Us for 75% off. At the time I was thrilled- now it makes me a little sad- I wish I had pictures of all 4 of them in it...

The zombie prom queen. Katherine had a great time working at Scream Street Asylum (ODW's Haunted House). Apparently she would rather be the scarer than the scaree. She still gets jumpy at Howl O Scream and holds onto the back of my shirt when we walk through the Scare Zones!

A pretty princess- AGAIN! Next year I'm going to make her be something else... But just look at that smile :0)

Brianna's Campground Birthday

2009-11-14T09:18:00.002-05:00

We spent Brianna's 5th Birthday at ODW. We invited all the kids at the campground to help us celebrate- she had quite a showing!

Brianna's Birthday- Preschool

2009-11-14T09:14:00.002-05:00

Howl O Scream 2009

2009-11-14T09:10:00.003-05:00

Bella

2009-11-14T08:52:00.002-05:00

Meet the newest addition to our family! This is Bella a year & a half old Chesapeake Bay Retriever. She's really entergetic and thinks she's part Quarter horse! Her favorite thing to do in Virginia is to charge you and turn at the last possible split second! Usually she's pretty accurate- there was one instance however when Brianna was also charging Bella and Ithink it threw off her depth perception! I wish I had videotaped it because I surely would have been $10,000 richer! Words can never describe the scene but lets just say it involves Brianna laying sideways on the back of a very surprised Bella!

A boy and his dog. The twins love mud puddles!

Enjoying a nature hike

The twins sharing the last few drops of my Hazelnut Cappucino

She's a sweetheart and a good fit for our family. ;0)

My gorgeous kids

2009-09-03T10:08:00.000-04:00

My handsome boys

2009-09-03T10:05:00.002-04:00

More BG pics

2009-07-24T21:32:00.002-04:00

Darling in the Daisy's!

On the train

Shawn loved his cherry slushy! He was pink polka dotted the rest of the day.

My girls love the tea cups AKA The Turksih Delight.

Shawn's 1st & only ride @ Busch Gardens!

2009-07-24T21:22:00.002-04:00

Shawn's first ride at Busch Gardens was the Little Clydes- he was really digging it and obviously so proud of himself. The wonder of it quickly passed and he decided to try trick riding. The ride operator was obviously less than impressed with Evil Knievel's stunts- he was kicked off the ride! Some people just freak out at 14 month olds standing in the saddle of moving horses. Wimps!

Stunna Shades!

2009-07-24T21:17:00.003-04:00

Awesome Clearance sale @ Rue 21- got the girls shades for $1! They got 2 pair each. We are sunglasses & flip flop kind of girls! Shawny's shades are from The Children's Place circa 2008.

Cabin Improvements

2009-07-24T20:52:00.003-04:00

Finally got the new floors down in the cabin and I LOVE LOVE LOVE them! Probably wouldn't appreciate them 1/2 as much if I didn't have to live with horribly ugly stained plywood floors since last Nov/Dec. This is such a relief to finally have this done...

Did the bathroom floor too. Please note the super organization on the shelves. It was my mission last time we were there.

Love the new flower pot & the Portulaca.

Thought the patio furniture made the porch look a little a little more homey. Big improvement over the mismatched canvas camping chairs.

Not home improvement- just the biggest slugs I have ever seen! Left big old oozey trails on the window.

Another BFF visit.

2009-07-24T20:42:00.003-04:00

Fun in the baby pool! I'm so glad that Jess lives pretty close to Williamsburg. I miss that girl! Hunter and Shawn have a great time playing with each other. They'll be great friends forever (we've already decided this for them) It's a good thing one of them isn't a girl- we might would arrange their marriage! ;0)

Jess and I decided that when Hunter gets a little more hair we're going to get their hair cut into real mohawks! Right now I'm enjoying Shawny's little Dutchboy curls.

Every family has its skeletons

2009-07-24T20:24:00.002-04:00

Yup! Thats my husband feeling up my dad at the Womanless Beauty Pagent at the Campground July 4th weekend. I'm thinking of using this picture for next years Christmas Card. It will be a refreshing change from kids in front of the tree. ;0)

I call this one "I hate you so much right now!" I guilted him into doing this for the girls & he's making me ride Apollo's Chariot at Busch Garden's. This may be my last post...

Dad had WAY too much fun! His stage name was Lola & he loved every minute of it. Would have given anything to have had the video camera this night!

This is one of my favorites. The look on his face is PRICELESS! Doesn't he look like he's blushing? Poor baby he was so mortified. "Trixie" didn't shake her booty much when she was introduced and paraded out at the dance. ;0(

Our favorite place to be!

2009-07-24T00:54:00.001-04:00

Updated look- maybe it will be inspiring...

2009-07-24T00:41:00.002-04:00

I have been so slack with my blog lately. Not that I haven't had things to blog about- as a matter of fact life has been especially interesting the past few months. Lots of good- lots of bad, but who wants to blog about bad things? Who wants to blog about leaky roofs, delinquent kids, going through 2 microwaves in less than a month? That one ended well- got a gorgeous new stainless microwave now if only the toaster oven would go out! Just kidding! Would rather decide to replace it then have to replace it. I can live without a toaster oven- but the microwave is pretty essential at least in my household. My New Years Eve resolutions are pretty much null & void, but I am going to make a serious effort to be better about keeping up with the blog...

Fun in the LG pool!

2009-07-16T09:37:00.002-04:00

Lake Gaston Pictures

2009-07-16T09:32:00.001-04:00

Chris was totally in his element!

2009-07-16T08:52:00.004-04:00

The paparazzi was spotted- notice the flying fish parts he was using as a deterrent! UGH!

Cleaning his catch

A modern day Viking

Chris's favorite pasttime!

Chris and Cheddar- Gone Fishin'!

Come on in- the water's fine...

2009-07-16T08:39:00.003-04:00

7/11th's of our kid crew on the dock...

Shawn did get in the lake, but had the most fun eating sand!

Buffy was totally geeked about being able to jump off the dock into the water- she would kill me if she knew I posted this on here!

The McLawhorn's had a 10 person float- it was AWESOME!

Obviously the sun was a little bright... Katherine was having no part of the murky lake that was infested with fish and snakes until the 10 person float was brought out- her safety has its price apparently! ;0)

Lake Gaston Pictures

2009-07-16T08:22:00.003-04:00

Our humble abode....

Canoeing

Face Painting

Sunset over the Lake Gaston- Gorgeous!

Nature Walk

2009-05-27T00:11:00.002-04:00

Katie spotted a skink

There was a fungus among us!

This is actually the view from our living room- so gorgeous now that the leaves have all come out!

Memorial Day Weekend Pics

2009-05-26T23:57:00.003-04:00

Before we even had the van unpacked Elton was chopping down tree branches trying to regain a Satellite signal. The trees leafing out also put a huge damper on my wireless internet signal :0(
It was all for naught- Direct TV must be summoned...

Chris had to get in on the action. It was manly & "illegal". The tree trimming only escelated when my dad got there. I'm surprised we weren't exiled from ODW!

Shawny in the Baby Pool.

Sweet Katherine

Beautiful Brianna with a Buttercup

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-26T23:23:00.002-04:00

We spent 4 days in Virginia celebrating Memorial Day and the "official start of camping season". There were lots of activites and all in all I'd say we had a great time. There were some "sour moments" to our extended weekend. We lost a kid 3 times! Sat night at the dance Brianna tells Elton that she & some little girl (6 or 7?) that we've never seen before are going to look for frogs. Elton, showing SERIOUS lack of judgement/parenting skills grants permission & fails to inform me. I don't know how long she was gone. She runs between the pavillion, the arcade, and the members lounge as she pleases. These are her perimeters and she usually obeys them. I love our campground because its private and gated, but still it was a super busy weekend and there were lots of people there we didn't know. t was also after 10 at night all the lights in the park, basketball courts, and mini golf area had gone off- it was very dark! I ended up looking for her for 10 minutes, find her and flip out on her, and reduce her to hysterical tears- THEN he sheepishly remembers she had told him where she was going! Sometimes I think I have 5 children! Then of course I had to yell at him- no hysterical tears... GRRRRR!

Chris mistakenly chooses that evening to go MIA. He pretty much does his own thing at the campground, but he knows he has to check in at 11 (the official start of "quiet time" at the campground), and then if he wants to go to a campfire or something- we generally just find out where he'll be and give him a curfew. I had gotten a couple glimpses of him during the evening, but he hadn't officially "checked in" since 4. Considering the fact that I hadn't laid eyes on him in 6 hours and he missed his 11 oclock meeting, I think he actually got off pretty easy when he finally sauntered home at 12:30! Teenagers suck!

The 3rd "lost child episode" happened Sunday at Water Country. We were at Rock and Roll Island and Brianna got tired of riding the Little Bopper and wanted to go to the Critter Corral. We said ok, let us tell K. Who never gets tired of crossing the floating guitars- to just meet us over there when she was finished. Apparently we were not quick enough for Miss Independent. Who I found 20 minutes later gleefully playing in the Critter Corral, totally unaware that she was lost (in all honesty- she probably didn't care...)

We also had issues with our water heater in the cabin. This was a totally unwelcome surprise- especially since we have had a few weeks of issues with the one at home and recently had to replace- after SEVERAL failed fix it attempts... So half the weekend we were either w/out water or w/out hot water. Elton did manage to get it fixed- he had to replace the pressure valve.

I guess I have complained enough- there was good stuff too. We spent time every day at the pool- which Shawn LOVES! Guess I have another water baby ;0) They had dances Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, I found some great stuff at the flea market, I managed to get a nap Saturday (ever since Shawn cut out his afternoon nap my naps have become practically non existant...) I crossed a few things off my Cabin "To-Do" List, and left it *S*P*A*R*K*L*I*N*G* clean complete with freshly laundered bedding and towels! :0)

You've come a long way baby!

2009-05-14T00:05:00.004-04:00

Then and Now... It's amazing how much he has changed. He's gone from a frail little black haired baby to a rough and tumble roly poly blonde haired toddler! He has 5 teeth, and two more trying to pop through; He's almost walking, he'll take a couple of steps- realize he's not holding onto anything and plop down on his butt. Sometimes I think he must have skipped the 1's entirely and jumped into the terrible 2's! He's inherited Brianna's love of dragging everything out, and making as big of a mess as possible. He's also rather fond of the toilet and generally anything else that is a No-No!

Shawn's 1st Birthday

2009-05-13T23:48:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday Dear Shawny Happy Birthday to you!

Hmmmm. What am I supposed to do with this???

He got the hang of it rather quickly! He did a couple face plants in the cake which unfortunatly I was unable to capture...

The sugar high/ feeding frenzy kicked in & tomorrow I'll be cleaning the carpet & chiseling dried icing off the china cabinet! Remember Animal from the muppets playing the drums? That was Shawn with his cake!

The aftermath- glad we had our own cake!

Shawny's Birthday Party

2009-05-13T23:37:00.002-04:00

Shawny's Elmo Party!

The aftermath...

Chris trying to lick the frosting off. Who needs a dog?

Me & my babies!

Elton & the kids

Shawn's 1st Birthday!

2009-05-13T23:27:00.002-04:00

Bedhead Baby having his birthday breakfast of bananas

Look at that smile! 5 teeth, and two more ready to pop through...

Just doesn't get any cuter than this!

Shawn's favorite part of the day.

Brianna's big cheesey smile!

Signs of Spring

2009-05-05T18:48:00.002-04:00

The Legacy in Elm City

2009-05-05T10:49:00.002-04:00

I've always wanted to eat at the Legacy in Elm City. It didn't disappoint. Very old and charming, the food was good. Linen tablecloths and napkins, china plates.

Bridesmaids Brunch

2009-05-05T10:31:00.003-04:00

Chicken and Bacon Quiche Crepes. Grits w/ cheese, & fruit. They also brought out plates with zucchini bread, carrot muffins, biscuits, and coffee cake.

Katherine at the Bridesmaid's Brunch. This was not the dress we had intended for her to wear. I bought her the cutest dress at Ross for $6.50, but the zipper got stuck, I worked on it for about 10 minutes, and gave up. We were already kind of pressed for time.

Missy and Nikkie

Jordan and Tinesha

Jen

David & Jennifer's Reception

2009-05-05T10:08:00.004-04:00

David & Jennifer's Reception

2009-05-05T09:59:00.002-04:00

The Hennes Wedding- Beautiful Jr. Bridesmaid!

2009-05-05T09:51:00.001-04:00

Update...

2009-04-24T09:03:00.002-04:00

What a sad turn of events that the most interesting thing I have to blog about is sewer lines! Wednesday morning Elton broke the sewer line and spent the next few hours bailing out all the water so the city could run a camera through the lines. This is one of the moments that I am so thankful to be a woman! and 2 1/2 hours away! LOL. They spent the rest of the day running an auger through the lines tearing out tree roots. It didn't have anything to do with the work they were doing on the next street over (or so they say- the timing is freakishly cooincidental...) However since the tree roots aren't on our property and we can't very well go tearing up the yard of the people who live behind us, the city has decided to replace our lines themselves. Thank God! This is supposed to be happening sometime today. What a relief! We have been having an extremely laid back time in VA I have spent pretty much the entire time working on my school work. My Collection Development Policy is due Monday at noon, and then all I will have to do is write a reflection, post it to my portfolio (which I feared was lost somewhere in cyberspace, I had to write frantic emails to various staff members at ECU- but it paid off- apparently they had just moved them... Whatever.) But after that- I am done! Free for the summer! :0)

running away from my problems

2009-04-22T09:30:00.002-04:00

A slow drain didn't seem like such a big deal... Not compared to all of the problems we've been having the past few months- major roof repairs, major electrical problems, motherboard going out on the desktop, my microwave mysteriously dying, the element burning out on my hot water heater. Do you have any idea how long it takes a sealed hot water heater to drain? FOREVER! Do you know how big a mess you have on your hands when you get impatient and pull the element out? Not pleasant!

I wasn't too concerned about the slow drain until it started backing up into other drains... The City of Wilson has been redoing the sewer lines on the road behind up, we just assumed they had stirred up a bunch of dirt or something. We had a plumber come out to the house yesterday. They attempted to use some kind of water jet to blast out our sewer lines which are apparently completely blocked. They were there several hours and finally decided that the city must have blocked it off while doing their work. They informed us that under our house was completely flooded and it was actually seeping out from under the foundation. Can you say disgusting??? The plumbers were there all day, we ended up with 20 some city workers in the backyard trying to find the lines in the backyard. When they started talking about bringing in backhoes I started packing. The kids and I are in VA until next week sometime. HOPEFULLY all issues will be resolved by then. I cannot deal with one more problem.

Family photos

2009-04-21T07:51:00.002-04:00

Reminds me of George in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. "I'm gonna hold him and love him and squeeze him." LOL

Squishy baby. He thrives on the abuse though...

Oh my God! A smile an actual for real smile- directed at me! Will wonders never cease. Too bad he has one of his shirts draped over his head, but at this point I will take whatever I can get. LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! BTW- I found those sunglasses at Busch Gardens- I thought Katherine would probably like them but Chris stole them from her.

Daddy and BriBri

Mommy and Brianna. I actually halfway like this one!

Virginia Beach

2009-04-20T23:26:00.003-04:00

The ride home from Virginia Beach

2009-04-20T23:18:00.004-04:00

Poor baby! Too much fun in the sun!

Naked & exhausted w/ sand in every imaginable orfice!

Aquarium

2009-04-20T23:01:00.005-04:00

Three crazy girls!

How the boys kept themselves entertained... Check out the flying mullet & mohawk! ;0) I'm surprised we weren't asked to leave!

Science lesson. Daddy showing off his Biology degree! Katherine was a wimp & wouldn't touch it.

Dolphin Game

No Katherine- wrong kind of amphibian... You're supposed to kiss a FROG!

Busch Gardens

2009-04-20T22:53:00.001-04:00

2009-04-20T22:42:00.002-04:00

The new Sesame Place at Busch Gardens was very cool! The girls loved it. Shawn was a little less impressed. Give him another year though- I imagine we'll be spending A LOT of time there!

Brianna with Burt & Ernie

All smiles in the stroller. Trying to get a good picture of tooth #5- oh well...

Prince Elmo's Spire- Brianna's favorite ride by far, Katherine had a ball too. Can't decide if Brianna M. is trying to look cool or trying not to throw up!

We waited in line for at least 45 minutes for this 1 minute ride...

Easter Basket cupcakes for B's Preschool party

2009-04-20T22:33:00.003-04:00

Letting her true colors shine through!

Brianna and I made these for her Preschool Easter party. I thought they turned out precious. It's hard to determine which looks sweeter- the cupcake or Brianna... She's becoming such a good kitchen helper and is always asking for a "job" to do! Sorry to say I doubt that will last long!

Easter

2009-04-20T22:18:00.003-04:00

The masterpieces!

The artist!

Hard at work

Checking out her loot. She gave all her Robin's eggs to mommy- what a good girl!

Found one!

Old snowday pics

2009-03-24T21:26:00.002-04:00

Since I'm kind of catching up. It's been a month since I've blogged! Decided to add some cute snow day pics from a few weeks ago...

Best Friends Visit

2009-03-24T21:00:00.003-04:00

Jessica and Hunter - Photograph by Brianna Whitley

Angelica and the babies! ;0)

Not in good humor! They had a great time Friday, but I'm afraid Shawny was a party pooper the rest of the weekend. Thankfully Hunter was already on antibiotics, and seems to have fought off whatever bug Shawn had.

Two cute boys!

Last weekend Jessica and Hunter came down and spent the weekend with us. It was SO good to see them even though the weather was miserable- cold and rainy, and Shawn was sick all weekend. Poor baby. This was the babies 3rd meeting, and the size gap is definately closing- Shawn is taller, I think I should have weighed them. That would have required a lot of effort though, I'm lucky I remembered to take pictures at all... Supermom is on hiatus.

First Day at Busch Gardens 2009!

2009-03-24T20:45:00.002-04:00

Doesn't get any cuter than this!

Bemused w/ Baby boogers. Please note the super cute binky- it WAS one of my favorites. We lost it somewhere in Italy. Please don't ask why the binky wasn't on a string. I don't know. Maybe because that would require planning and forethought? Frantic search of my carefully packed diaper bag revealed no spare... He would pick today of all days to care about his binky, usually its just a bedtime thing...

She got her table manners from her Daddy! ;o)

Chocolate ice cream, chocolate syrup, w/ brownies in a wafflecone- thats MY girl!

Hormones

2009-02-24T21:08:00.000-05:00

The Hormone Hostage knows that there are days in the month when all a man has to do is open his mouth and he takes his very life into his own hands! This is a handy guide that should be as common as a driver's license in the wallet of every husband, boyfriend, or significant other!!

DANGEROUS: What's for dinner?
SAFER: Can I help you with dinner?
SAFEST: Where would you like to go for dinner?
ULTRASAFE: Here, have some chocolate.

DANGEROUS: Are you wearing that?
SAFER: Gee, you look good in brown.
SAFEST: WOW! Look at you!
ULTRASAFE: Here, have some chocolate

DANGEROUS: What are you so worked up about?
SAFER: What did I do wrong?
SAFEST: Here's fifty dollars.
ULTRASAFE: Here, have some chocolate.

DANGEROUS: Should you be eating that?
SAFER: You know, there are a lot of apples left.
SAFEST: Can I get you a glass of wine with that?
ULTRASAFE: Here, have some chocolate.

DANGEROUS: What did you do all day?
SAFER: I hope you didn't overdo it today.
SAFEST: I've always loved you in that robe!
ULTRASAFE: Here, have some more chocolate.

Game Night

2009-02-22T19:56:00.002-05:00

Saturday night David and Cathy came over for Game Night. We had so much fun! We spent most of the evening playing Catch Phrase ( I LOVE that that game!) We did play a little Trivial Pursuit but its just not as exciting. Cathy and I couldn't talk the guys into playing Scattergories- it must be a girl game. We'll definatly have to make it a point to do Game Night more often- its been quite a while since we did it. We did the whole fingerfood thing- thought it would be more convienent than a sit down dinner. Elton cooked shrimp on the grill with McCormicks Garlic, White Wine, and Herb marinade (which is SOOO good- on chicken anyway- I hate shrimp.), I made Chili's Southwestern Eggrolls (which honestly looked more like burritos, but oh well...), chicken wraps, crab stuffed mushrooms, and cheesecake brownies. Just to fill up the table I set out some grapes, black olives, and green olives stuffed with feta (I could eat the whole jar of those myself! YUM!) We stayed up way too late, and I am definatly paying for it today- it's 8:05 and I'm headed for bed!

UGH!... Another year older

2009-02-17T21:26:00.002-05:00

I spent my birthday cleaning house and trying to sort through the chaos created by Chris... He talked my Dad into buying him a weight bench- which meant he no longer wants his bed- moved it down to Brianna's room (which of course meant removing her bed and all the questionable clutter that has accumulated underneath - Ewww gross!) He has decided to sleep on his futon- a move I question since he had thee most comfortable bed in the house- seriously my bed is super comfy, but his is like a cloud! Of course Katherine claimed his mattress, so we had to move it into her room, and bring hers down for Bri. Brianna was HYSTERICAL totally inconsoleable "I don't want a boy bed, I want a princess bed." I told her we would buy her a new bed in the bag, but it didn't do any good. The weight set had about 50 million pieces, some are still cluttering up my living room. I hauled Brianna's bed frame out to the street (I don't feel guilty doing that- someone always picks up everything long before the trash people haul it off) Her mattress went upstairs under K's bed it will be useful for sleepovers etc. Brianna finally got excited about her new bed when she saw how much bigger it was going to be... What is it with my kids- they HATE change??? All this bed moving led to tons of laundry- joy joy. The downstairs is straightened out now- but Chris and Katherine are on their own with the upstairs- the weekend is coming- they'll get it knocked out- too scared that it will interfere with their social lives! Went to dinner at Dad and Janets, Janet made omelettes- yum and instead of birthday cake- turtle brownies. I was all set to pass on cake, but turtle brownies??? I did good there, but then she wrapped some up and sent them home with me "for the kids"- who were spending the night at their house! Normally Wednesday night is their usual night to sleepover, but D&J are going to Florida to see my sister and her family. I had totally forgotten- that means were on Rocky duty until Sunday. UGH. I'm so tired of it being cold! Our heat had been acting crazy again, had the HVAC guy come back out again today- he said he fixed it but now the heat doesn't work at all! Grrrrr! Seriously- isn't this your JOB?!?!?!?!

Katherine's birthday money was burning a hole in her pocket and she talked me into going to Target Monday night. She got a new game for her Nintendo DS- and I in a prebirthday funk, bought some new eyeshadow (green and purple) and lipstick. I broke out of the sheer pomegranite box I've been in for the past few years and went with Perennial Plum- LOVE IT- its my new color- not too different, but less pink, and the gloss side is clear, not kind of sparkly like the pomegranite... I'm not really into sparkly...Totally digging it. Went to Ross and bought a new pair of jeans- I was down to only 1 pair that fit- (If I don't throw these brownies away I'll be back in them!)

Park Day

2009-02-16T09:16:00.001-05:00

Snowman

2009-02-16T09:14:00.003-05:00

Obviously I've been a little slack about posting pictures- this was still on my memory stick!

Katherine's 11th Birthday

2009-02-16T08:59:00.004-05:00

Friday Katherine had her birthday sleepover, she had 12 girls over and had a great time- lots of good friends, lots of good food, and lots of cool presents!

Valentine's Party/ Date night

2009-02-11T23:30:00.003-05:00

Today was WAHE's Valentine's Day party. We had a great time, I got to spend a couple hours visiting with my friends, and the kids got to run amok! This is probably one of the top 3 social events of the year, rivaled only by the Fall Kick-off, and Wet and Wild Field Day. I was productive and got several things off my "To-Do" list that have been looming over my head. Washed and vaccumed Elton's car, took some stuff to the Goodwill, took back the battery thats been riding around in my van for a month. (You have to take the old car battery in to get your $10 core charge back). After the party, we went to Wal-Mart to order K's cake and pick up the rest of the stuff for her party. That was a big mistake, what was I thinking taking 3 kids to Wal-Mart who were all hopped up on sugar??? I came home and slept for an hour and a half! Naps are definatly in my top 10 now... The big 3 are spending the night at Dad and Janets, and Elton is home tonight so we went to Chili's, Shawn slept through the whole dinner so we got to actually be people- not parents- which is nice every once in awhile!

I hate days like today!

2009-02-09T21:39:00.002-05:00

We had a very busy, hectic, fun, sleep deprived weekend. I figured that I would go to bed really early Sunday night and catch up on some lost zzzzzz's. It didn't happen.. When I finally went to sleep about midnight, I slept for about an hour and was awakened by a feverish vomiting baby- who was inconsolable- for hours. By the time the Tylenol kicked in and I got him back to sleep I was feeling pretty inconsolable myself! Chris came in my room at 7:55 (a full 10 minutes after we needed to leave for school) He was quite indignant! "Mom I already came in here and woke you up!" Apparently not! I remember him coming in and talking to me but all I heard was "wonk wonk wonk wonk" like the teacher in the Peanuts cartoon. Just b/c I'm looking at you does NOT mean I am comprehending what it is you're saying! Elton (bless his heart- he's been #1 husband today) took Chris to school, I got Brianna ready and he took her to Preschool while I showered, and gave S. a bath. We went to the Dr. Spent 2 hours there, half of that time I was on the phone w/ our insurance company- trying to get them to change his birthdate. How hard is it to change a 2 to a 5??? Meanwhile Elton came and picked up Katherine from the Dr's office and took her to the Y for YouthFit, and gone to pick up Brianna from PreSchool. I go to pick K up, secretly kind of mad about missing it- thats 45 minutes/hour twice a day that I love. Several of my good friends have kids there so we sit around and have a big old gabfest. Then we go to Target to get his prescription filled. He is completely beside himself- its after 1 and he has had no morning nap. We came home and Elton had cooked steak and some kind of garlic chicken on the grill (God I love that man!) It was super good- very low carb. He went to work and I layed down with Shawny and tried to take a nap. The roofers were still here and even though they were hammering and dropping 80 lb. bundles of shingles directly over my head, I still got some sleep! We have something going on everyday this week- I have a to-do list about a mile long, and all I want to do is go outside and sit in the sunshine! Beautiful weather this week- sunny and up to the 70's.

The birthday season is in full force! Chris's birthday was Sunday. Happy 16th Birthday- I love you! Katherine's is Saturday (11). Friday night she's having her annual birthday sleepover. UGH! I'm so not with it! I didn't even buy invitations! I told her she had better just pick up the phone and call everyone... We did however buy plates and napkins at Target today= pretty colors, flowers and stripes. My little girl is growing up! No more character themed birthday parties. At least she wants a birthday party. Chris really wanted nothing- I made a Better than sex cake that he requested, and took it over to Bobby and Tracy's Sat. night. I figured it would kill 2 birds with one stone since Tracy's birthday was Friday. I bought candles and everything. Chris must have sensed the looming mortification b/c he went ahead and cut the cake with dinner, unbeknownst to me, and by the time I realized it, it was almost gone... Oh well I guess, but you don't turn 16 everyday!

I'll try to be better about blogging- I've been a little slack and try and get some pictures up here soon!

The Dash Poem

2009-02-07T00:31:00.001-05:00

The Dashcopyright 1996 Linda EllisI read of a man who stood to speakat the funeral of a friend.He referred to the dates on her tombstonefrom the beginning...to the end.He noted that first came the date of her birthand spoke of the following date with tears,but he said what mattered most of allwas the dash between those years.For that dash represents all the timethat she spent alive on earth...and now only those who loved herknow what that little line is worth.For it matters not, how much we own;the cars....the house...the cash.What matters is how we live and loveand how we spend our dash.So think about this long and hard...are there things you'd like to change?For you never know how much time is leftthat can still be rearranged.If we could just slow down enoughto consider what's true and real,and always try to understandthe way other people feel.And be less quick to anger,and show appreciation moreand love the people in our liveslike we've never loved before.If we treat each other with respect,and more often wear a smile...remembering that this special dashmight only last a little while.So, when your eulogy is being readwith your life's actions to rehash...would you be proud of the things theysay about how you spend your dash?

A very worthy cause...

2009-02-05T19:18:00.002-05:00

My friend Jessica is raising money for MS. Please help her meet her goal, you can make an online donation of as little as $5.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/WASWalkEvents?px=1957770&pg=personal&fr_id=11043

blah.. brrrrrr!

2009-02-04T17:41:00.003-05:00

Nothing exciting to post about. Realized yesterday morning when we woke up that it was freezing cold- heater broke. Of course last night it snowed. Not before the HVAC guy came out announced the burner was gone and they would have to order a part. It should be here tomorrow, it's only supposed to be 20 degrees tonight... Thankfully we have gas logs in the living room- too far away to make any difference in the back of the house, and 3 spaceheaters. I've barely been out of bed all day. Declared it a snowday and anything resembling work is illegal. I am SO ready for summer!

Overabundance of reading materials!

2009-02-01T09:38:00.001-05:00

I've traveled the world twice over, Met the famous; saints and sinners, Poets and

artists, kings and queens, Old stars and hopeful beginners, I've been where

no-one's been before, Learned secrets from writers and cooks All with one

library ticket To the wonderful world of books.

~ Anonymous ~

It seems like I never have anything good to read- I honestly don't even look for (pleasure) books at the library- I'm too busy. Reading is generally reserved for VA. My friend Theresa sent me all 4 Twilight books (YEAH!- she is so awesome!) I have been dying to read them... The library finally had Into the Wild by Christopher McCandless- I have looked for it everytime I've gone since last summer. I promised David that I would read You Can't Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe- he swears its the best book in the world... He's really smart, but we don't see eye to eye on anything. When I said I would read it I had no idea that it was 743 pages long! I thought about him a nasty text message from the library- seriously he couldn't recommend a paperback! LOL It is considered one of the great American novels so I'll give it a shot...

Old Friends/ The wonders of the internet!

2009-01-30T09:58:00.002-05:00

Lately I have reconnected with several of my old friends.. How nice to talk to them- brings to mind the old cliche about how the more things change the more they stay the same... My sleep deficit is definatly increasing because of this. We have spent hours on Yahoo messenger, hours on the phone (Theresa you always have been able to make me laugh until I almost pee my pants!) and sent countless emails and MySpace messages. They say that people come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. I'm so glad that some of them have gone from seasonal to lifelong!

Random Things About Me...

2009-01-30T09:48:00.002-05:00

My friend Paul (AKA Lord Grim) tagged me for this on FaceBook (I'm not a big fan of F.B. I think MySpace is much cooler) but anyway I thought it was really fun and I would include it here.

Random Things About Me:

I think Spanish Moss is one of the coolest things ever.

I can eat my weight in chocolate.

Even though I already have 4 kids who consume every waking moment (and then some) and frequently drive me to the brink of insanity it makes me incredibly sad to think that I probably wont have anymore.

I still on occasion- bite my nails- hence the fake ones.

80’s music rocks

Reading is one of my guilty pleasures (too time consuming)

I hate folding up socks- unless a pair is obvious I throw them in a laundry basket and fold them up when the basket is full…

The smell of wet peanut butter makes me want to throw up.

I have never broken a bone, never had stitches (unless you count a couple of episiotomies!)

Very few people REALLY know me (oh you privileged few! If you talk I’ll kill you!)

Even as tall as I am (5’8) it looks like I’m destined to be the short one in my family- my husband is 6’4, Chris is 6’5, Katherine is supposed to be 1/2 an inch taller than me, Brianna is supposed to be 6 foot! (Chris was supposed to be 6’2- so the accuracy of these predictions is obviously NOT foolproof.) It’s too early to tell about Shawn (you’re supposed to double their height when they are 2) but I’m willing to bet money that I’ll be looking up at him before I know it!

I have extraordinary caffeine tolerance. I <3 Mtn.Dew!

Summer is my favorite season- laying out by a pool or at the beach all day is one of my favorite things.

I have never acquired a taste for coffee or beer.

I could eat Mexican or Italian food everyday for the rest of my life.

I had a pig named Squealer in 9th grade- he got too fat to go to fair! (yes we were farm kids- you haven’t lived until you’ve had a cow pie fight.)

I grew up in a town with no stoplights- still doesn’t have any. Real progressive place- but it will always be home.

99.99% of the time I am totally and completely in love with my husband. There is that .01% where I feel like taking clues from Lorena Bobbitt; however I would be smart enough to turn on the garbage disposal…

I have been known to eat (chocolate) frosting out of the container and cookie dough right out of the tube.

If I hear one more thing about going green I’m going to start burning tires in my backyard (J/K!)

Coloring my hair ALWAYS makes me feel better (What is my natural color anyway???)

I stay in the shower until the hot water runs out. If I can talk my husband into a tank less hot water heater, our water bill is going through the roof.

My toenails are always painted.The color usually reflects my mood… Right now they are turquoise! ;0)

I am the worlds worst procrastinator (although I try to make myself feel better by saying I work better under pressure!) Right now I’m supposed to be writing a 7 page paper on Community Analysis (thrilling- I know!)

Midlife crisis or spring fever???

2009-01-28T11:19:00.003-05:00

I have been in such a mood for the past couple of weeks! I'm so restless! I went Saturday and got my nails done- instead of white tips, I got black. They turned out pretty cool AFTER I went home and repainted them! I went to the same place I always go, but had a different girl- she did the tips with a straight line- instead of curved- honestly I was so desperate to get out of there (what possessed me to take my kids!?!?!?) I was just like Oh well- maybe I'll learn to like it! Needless to say I didn't... All's well that ends well I guess. They look pretty good now I was surprsingly competent with the little french manicure tip stickers.

Well that satisfied me for a couple of days. Yesterday I got some L'oreal Color Rays. Ya know the real funky colored highlights? (Told ya I was in a mood) Anyway- I got red- thought it would look pretty cool with my dark hair. I did the bottom 3 inches or so of all my hair (Ozzy Ozborne-esque) and some regular highlights. The box said it was for previously colored dark hair- which describes mine. I didn't get anything close to red- it more of a burgandy- a pretty subtle burgandy- until the light hits it that is...

Elton was hanging out with me while I was coloring my hair and said "So what are you going to do this time- get your eyebrow pierced?" He was referring to my last "episode" like this about 8 years ago, when I had my tongue pierced. The tongue ring is long gone now, but I was rather fond of it. I'll probably pass on the eyebrow ring- don't get me wrong, I think they are pretty cool. It just doesn't say "Responsible mother of 4"... I have several good friends with their eyebrows pierced, but um- none of them have kids!

Oh yeah! The coolest part of my midlife crisis is- I finally decided to suck it up and go on a diet- I have lost 15 pounds in a week and a half! YEAH! Atkins rocks!

Shawn's First SNOW!

2009-01-20T16:20:00.002-05:00

Poor baby- still sick from the flu shot...

He's thrilled because he managed to knock his hat off- no clue how he did it- he was too bundled up to move his arms!

2009-01-20T16:11:00.002-05:00

On the back deck

My gardenia bushes that normally over 6 feet tall- completely flopped over!

More snow pictures

2009-01-20T16:05:00.000-05:00

C,K,&B sledding w/ Grandpa

2009-01-20T15:35:00.001-05:00

Let it snow!

2009-01-20T14:35:00.003-05:00

It has been snowing ALL day long! The kids are loving it! It's been a couple years since we,ve had any snow- but it wasn't half as pretty as this! As per tradition the kids and I walked over to Dad and Janet's- like most self respecting Southerners I don't drive in the snow. I drove home from Greenville after an ice storm in 96 (I think) that pretty much cured me of wanting to venture out in inclimate weather! I had signed up to take my exams at ECU- of course rather than cancel the 8 am exam they decided to "wait and see what happens"... Rather than forfeit $200 I got a hotel in Greenville, woke up the next morning realized that my car was covered in 6 inches of solid ice and I had left my coat in the car which of course I couldn't open. The hotel clerk took pity on me and helped me pour hot water over the windshield and door. Yes I realize that wasn't brilliant- but I was desperate! Of course they had postponed the test, but I only found that out after driving to ECU, parking, and walking to Brewster. I walk back to my car only to realize that the water I had poured over the car had frozen inside the door locks and I couldn't get my key in. It took a campus police officer over 2 hours to get me in my car! I don't remember his name, but he was definatly my hero that day! He took me out to breakfast and even called to make sure I made it home o.k. The 45 minute drive took over 3 hours- needless to say it was NOT one of my better days! But on the brighter side I was helped out by 2 complete strangers who really went out of their way to assist me. Kind of restores your faith in human kind...

After watching the Inaugeration today- I am dwelling on the need to feel hopeful... I hope that God heard the prayers of our nation and filled them. I have serious doubts though. I (who honestly tries to stay as cut off from the real world as much as possible) am very concerned for America. Even I (usually blissfully ignorant) see the severity of our economic status and it is scary! Stores are closing left and right here- plants are closing down, unemployment is through the roof. My husbands company is having a hiring freeze- I imagine many more are. It's rather depressing... I'm changing the subject.

Sometimes I think that when my husband dies he should be cannonized. God knew I needed a patient man, and sometimes he borders on Sainthood. I got really mad at him when he said he was going to work! He had a list on the desk of about a dozen people who had called into him. There probably aren't enough people there to run the core! I told him "You're on salary- you get paid whether you are there or not. Don't be stupid- Stay home!" So he said "My boss is from Chicago- this is nothing to him. I need to at least try and go to work." Being the loving supportive wife that I am I said "well I'm only packing you and sandwich for lunch- in case you get stuck in a ditch on your way to work- and you better not call me, because I'm not coming to get you!" LOL! Poor man. Thankfully he's usually amused by my rantings. It's not so much the going to work I'm concerned about its the coming home from work in the middle of the night... I don't care if his boss IS from Chicago- When in Rome do as the Romans do! Which in this case would mean. If the weatherman even hints at snow head to the nearest grocery store- stock up on every concievable item. Fill up your cart as if you will be snowbound for a month. Fill up your car with gas- even though you will not be going anywhere until it all melts. This may be your last opportunity to be out for a while so make the most of it. A fact that I HATED when I worked at Belk's! I guess we did our part as good self respecting southerners yesterday- Elton went to Wal-mart- along with 95% of Wilson County. At the time, we didn't know it was supposed to snow, but we quickly figured it out. People here fret more over the threat of snow than they do an impending hurricane. I filled up my van with gas- I only had a quarter tank, and everyone else was doing it... I went shopping. I went to Goody's- bought 2 shirts, went to Ross for Less bought 2 more shirts and 2 bras. So excited to have something that is not a nursing bra! I have other bras- but they are rather delapitated. After surveying our closet I have decided that I am in desperate need of clothing. When I was working I took up more than 2/3 of our closet space. I now take up 1/4 of our closet space. My husband actually has more clothes than I do! LOTS more- something is definately wrong with this picture! I love shopping- jut not necessarily for me... The fact that I needed to quickly move it up to the top of my priority list became glaringly apparent Sat. when I was walking into Wal-mart. The back seam on the right shoe had split about 1/2 way down (just enough to make it flop up and down!) and I realized that Iwas kind of dragging my right foot to compensate! I've had this pair of 9-West shoes for probably about 6 years, and LOVED them. If it's too cold for flip-flops 95% of the time I have on these shoes. They went from broke in and comfortable to seriously delapitated! They were definatly an embaressment. I had looked (casually) for other shoes, but had found nothing. I had to make it a mission. I did find some at one of the shoe stores in the mall. Thinking about going and getting another pair in brown.

Sick Baby!

2009-01-19T21:35:00.001-05:00

That stupid flu shot has made Shawny sick. On and off fever since Friday- incredibly fussy, super runny nose, tons of eye boogers. Very disgusting- poor baby. We're supposed to go back in a month for a booster to the flu shot- I'm thinking- NOT! He's pititful, and how ironic that this is the first time he's ever been really sick- all b/c of a shot that is supposed to prevent illness...

On a happier note- we have been almost guaranteed 3-5 inches of snow tomorrow. Looks like BriBri's going to need that snowsuit after all! ;0)

Hoping for some great pics tomorrow.

Shawny's shots

2009-01-16T21:55:00.002-05:00

Shawn had his 6 month shots today (YES I know that I am seriously behind schedule- we'll just pretend that it wasn't from me being slack- that it was me being a concerned parent and trying to space out his immunizations- THAT makes me hip and trendy- instead of a procrastinator! ;0) ) I just can't seem to get on board with the whole non-vaccinating thing. I don't know whether vaccinations cause autism. I just know that I would rather have a child with autism than a child who spends their entire life in an iron lung. They had a huge display about that in the Children's Science Museum at the Imperial Centre. I knew such things existed, but really didn't know any of the details- and the photographs were just heartwrenching. My point to all of this is to tell you that Shawn weighs a whopping 20 pounds! That puts him in the 85th percentile. I'm surprised its not higher- he's a little butterball! He was such a brave little boy- he got 4 shots 2 in each leg. He cried for about 30 seconds and then was fast asleep! We have to go back in a month for his flu shot booster.

Chris and Brianna M. are spending the night tonight. Shawn and my Brianna are fast asleep, Katherine and Brianna M. are plotting revenge against the Chris's. The Chris's are watching TV and probably plotting something evil. Life is never boring. Chris pierced Cheddars ears tonight. with an earring and no ice... The girls found the marker and decided the earring placement. All of this went on upstairs- I was oblivious- sitting on the couch reading a cookbook I got from the library today. Sorry Buffy... I just don't understand why boys want both their ears pierced. Chris pierced his right one a couple weeks ago. Oh well its only an ear I guess. He desperately wants gauges- not in MY lifetime! ICK! WHY would you purposely want to look like something out of National Geographic???

Katherine's First Presentation Day

2009-01-16T14:53:00.000-05:00

My sweet little scientists!

Brianna (AKA World's Best Assistant) doing her thing!

I've been saying for the last year or so that we were going to start attending IHOW's monthly presentation day. We FINALLY did it- and it went great! Katherine decided to do one of the experiments in her Science books that demonstrates the difference between suspensions and solutions. Bascially she had 4 jars filled with water. She added either salt, food coloring, oil or sand to each jar. Brianna (being such a enthusiastic assistant) shook each jar, and Katherine discussed how when allowed to settle suspensions (oil and sand) would seperate from the water, but solutions (salt and food coloring) would stay intermixed. Katherine did a bang up job and I was so proud of her! We are definatly going to make it a monthly commitment. It's such good practice for her speaking in front of a crowd- or in Katherine's case- just speaking at all! ;0) Some of the other presentations were on; snowflakes (very interesting) legos (actually used the overhead projector! We're going to have to do something in PowerPoint!) Going Green, and Mars.

We did a practice run Wednesday night and ever since then Brianna has been dumping everything she can get her hands on into a glass of water. When I get mad at her she says "Momma I'm doing SCIENCE!" LOL

Good Movie

2009-01-15T20:30:00.003-05:00

This was a really good movie. Can't wait to read the book- its always checked out at the library...

I want a simpler life,,,

2009-01-15T20:04:00.002-05:00

During my 6 hours of yard raking- I actually had time to think. Like long uninterrupted rambling makes no sense and having no relevence thoughts (like that last sentence... UGH! Oh well its MY blog! ;0)) It was quite enjoyable- I think I will make it a point to do it more often. I was thinking about how January is already 1/2 over (Yeah! It's my least favorite month...) Spring will be here before you know it, and then summer. Wonderful summer! I don't mind the heat- hate the humidity, but I LOVE the long days and having nothing to do! I'm so tired of living my life by the clock. Up by 7:30 at the absolute latest. Leave the house at 7:45 to take Chris to school. Get Brianna to school by 9, pick her up by 12, pick up Chris at 3:15. Not to mention all of Katherine's activities! ICK! I feel like I spend half my life driving my kids to and from places. It made me think of something Elton's cousin Steve said to me one time. He was inviting us to his house for dinner or something and I asked what time should we be there and he said "Oh... Edge of dark." I heard him- but I made him repeat it anyway... At first I thought it was really funny. Very antiquated and very country, but then I was struck by the casualness of it. Me, being the control freak that I am would have said 7 oclock or whatever. Because I would want to know what time to expect people. Mostly because I stress about stuff like that. I've decided that I would like to worry less about time and take a more casual attitude about life in general. Stop stressing about all the basically meaningless things. I want to be like Les Stroud (better known as "Survivorman" on TV) we watched a documentary where he and his family (wife and 2 kids) purchased some property in the wilderness in Canada, and built a home all outfitted with solar and wind energy, they were going to live off of the land etc... HOW COOL! I think my husband would get onboard, not so sure about the kids- we could probably get them psyched up about it. I would LOVE it. As long as I could still have high speed internet!

No more leaves!

2009-01-15T19:17:00.002-05:00

Although I absolutely love having an 8 foot privacy fence around our backyard there is one drawback. I can let the leaves pile up and do nothing about it! I'll rake all the leaves and blow off the driveway and front yard and call it a day! Out of sight out of mind... Well I see it- but I usually choose to ignore it. It was getting out of hand. 2 pecan trees, a magnolia, and a birch (these are the worst shedding trees of all!) plus a few others. I decided that I had better get on the ball and get all these leaves up to the street. The city comes by with the huge trucks and sucks up all the leaves you put by the street Nov- sometime in January. I DID NOT WANT TO GET STUCK WITH ALL OF THESE LEAVES! It would take me months to get rid of them all otherwise. I don't think my neighbors would appreciate me burning them off either. 6 hours later- My yard is finally "deleafed" and all the old garden vines and stems and stuff are gone. I'll probably be hating life tomorrow!

A little friendly competition!

2009-01-14T21:36:00.000-05:00

There is a new blogger in town!

http://katherineskreations.blogspot.com/

Making carpet angels

2009-01-14T21:02:00.002-05:00

I found some awesome deals at the Goodwill the other day. Sometimes you hit and sometimes you miss. It was definatly a good bargain day- Including this super cute brandspankin new snowsuit that perfectly matches the snowboots I bought on a previous trip! Now if we'd only get some snow!

Beautiful Bridesmaid!

2009-01-14T20:57:00.002-05:00

Katherine is going to be a Jr. Bridesmaid in my friend Jennifer's wedding May 2nd. She is so excited and had a fabulous time trying on dresses at David's Bridal.

PLEASE DO YOUR PART...

2009-01-13T17:59:00.002-05:00

Please do your part to ensure the safety of our troops...

In April of 2003, members of the Indiana National Guard were protecting KBR employees at a power plant in Southern Iraq. After their service, some of these troops exhibited signs of cancer, tumors and rashes, and new reports indicate that these injuries may be the result of exposure to toxins present at the site.
Incredibly, CBS News has uncovered evidence that KBR may have known about the risks months before it took any action to inform those soldiers.
Please take a minute to join over 5,000 other people who have already signed the petition, and tell KBR to come clean.

The petition reads:
To: William Utt, CEO of KBR
It's time for you to cooperate with the military and with Congress to find out exactly what is happening to those members of the military who may have been exposed to hexavalent chromium, and who are now showing dangerous symptoms.
Our troops deserve the best possible effort to ensure that their health and well being is protected. There is too much at risk to not move as quickly as possible to take action on this issue.
I stand with IAVA in calling on you to come clean.

It will only take a minute. All you have to do is put in your name, email address, and zip code.

Here's the link:

http://www2.iava.org/o/436/t/8492/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1797&t=&limit=75

I am making some progress (NY's Resolutions)

2009-01-13T17:06:00.003-05:00

I have played with Photoshop (and my new pen mouse) exactly once. It is incredibly frustrating and annoying. I am more of an instant gratification girl. I got the entire background removed from a picture (which sounds like it should be easy right??? Well its NOT!) Then the storm knocked out the power and it all disappeared. Oh well- now that classes have resumed I won't have much time to play with it anyway. It will be a slow process...

I have finally began work on my recipe collection! This has been on my "To-Do" list forever... I bought the binder, the page protectors, the computer paper, and my black ink cartridge is full. I've printed out a few and have been taking all the recipes that I have online (Food network and some other recipe sites) and putting them all in a Word file. Once I get all that done I can begin the arduous task of typing up all my handwritten recipes (UGH!)

I decluttered and organized the cabinets in the laundry room, the shelves in my bathroom, and the bottom shelf in the linen closet. Unfortunately my "to-do" list is much longer than my completed list but I am making progress. Baby Steps!

Happy 8 month B-day Shawny!

2009-01-13T16:26:00.002-05:00

I can't believe its been 8 months already! Time flies. The changes in him are just amazing. BTW Tooth #3 made its appearance yesterday Top front left. Top front right should be here any day now! He is making good use of his 3 teeth and is always ready for a snack. I love his meal time too- perfect opportunity to clean up the kitchen or whatever else. He's already exerting his independence and wants to feed himself. Which is definatly O.K. with me! He loves his Puffies (the baby cereal that basically melts when it hits saliva), his Fruities (the dehydrated fruits that are chopped up really small for babies). Brianna is a big fan of all these "treats" too. Except the dehydrated strawberries- they're "skusting" LOL

Other Brianna terminology and translations"

Oh I scott = Oh I forgot
Doo Dah = Hot dog
skusting = disgusting

I would post a picture of Shawn on this monumental day but as luck would have it- I have lost the adapter that my memory stick plugs into... Hopefully it will show up soon. I've looked in all the logical places for it- in the camera case, in the printer, on the desk, in the top middle drawer, and on the floor.

This seems to be just typical of how life seems to be going lately. Elton spent several hours trying to figure out what was wrong with the electricity running out to the barn. Bobby brought over a dolly and Chris and Elton moved the freezer in the house. They plugged it up- nothing... They got some kind of tool to see how far the electrical current was moving through it, apparently the motor was burned out in it. PERFECT! Especially since I already had tons of stuff to go in there... We looked at Lowes, Home Depot and Sears. We ended up getting a used one from a local appliance store- it was less than half the price- the man who runs the store said it was his dads and he would guarantee it... They delivered it about an hour later, so now its full and super cold.

Last night we were having "Family Movie Night" and I decided it was cold and went to turn the gas logs on. You have to turn one dial (the gas) and push a button (the ignition) well the button usually pops when it strikes- you could push the button all the way in with no resistance and no noise... I went in the kitchen to tell Elton about it, and he said something like I must not have pushed it right or something! Talk about infuriating! #1- I'm the one who turns on the fireplace 99% of the time. #2 It's a BUTTON- just how many ways are there to push it???? GRRRR!

I am a Hoarder!

2009-01-10T11:06:00.003-05:00

Some of my cleaning stuff- all organized and easy to get to...

Had to use the cabinets in the laundry room!

The pantry. I am Old Mother Hubbard no longer! ;0)

I like having lots of stuff. I hate running out of things and either having to change my dinner menu or run to the store. I try to buy things like paper towels and toilet paper in bulk b/c you just can’t run out of stuff like that. I buy cleaning supplies in mass quantities. I bought 10 bottles of Antibacterial Windex at one time. I love that stuff- I use it everyday, and Harris Teeter had it buy one get one free and I had $1 coupons that I printed online. I have it stashed everywhere- under all 3 bathroom sinks, the kitchen sink, and in the linen closet. One of the home organization books I read suggested using a over the door shoe holder for your cleaning supplies- I put one up several years ago and I LOVE it! No digging around looking for what you need. I’m all for anything that makes my life easier. I don’t understand women who get offended when their husbands buy them practical gifts. Some of my practical gifts have included a carpet cleaner (which I love and couldn’t live without) a new dishwasher (which obviously comes in EXTREMELY handy!) a blender ( I use it occasionally- he bought it for me for Mothers Day years ago, but I much would have rather had that than flowers that would die or jewelry that would sit in my jewelry box…) Trying to improve my quality of life- now THAT shows love!
We have been going to Williamsburg so often the past 3 months, I have gotten very confused about what I have where…. I might end up with 3 cartons of eggs in Virginia- but none at home. It’s been driving me crazy! “Well we were going to have this for dinner- but we didn’t have _________.” UGH! There are certain things that you know use often and keep on hand. My supplies have seriously dwindled. That became glaringly apparent this past week when I actually prepared dinner every single night (like a real dinner with side dishes and all.)
I told Elton Friday we are going shopping and we are spending an obscene amount of money on groceries. I checked all of the local grocery stores sales flyers online, made lists of all the stuff I wanted. Checked online for coupons- printed them out. I was out of computer paper and had to use lined notebook paper- but more about that later… Chris, Katherine, and Brianna were spending the night at Dad and Janet’s- so we only had to deal with Shawn and he can easily be bribed with Puffies.
We went to Aldi’s and bought paper towels, toilet paper, canned goods, milk , butter and eggs (cheaper than anywhere else). I really need to start shopping there more often. You can save quite a bit of money- but you kind of have to plan ahead. For instance- you have to make sure you have a quarter- I chunk all of our loose change in a jar, but the quarters are used for car washing & vacuuming, and the laundromat at the campground. You get the quarter back when you return the cart- but there is the annoyance factor- especially when you have small children and have to either drag them all up to the store, and get the cart, or leave them in the car, go get the cart and then go get them. When you write it all down, it sounds minor- but even minor irritations can be monumental when shopping with small children.
Then we went to Harris Teeter. Generally they are overpriced- but they have AWESOME sales! I’m a huge fan of buy one get one free (esp. when you can find a coupon online) I’m an even bigger fan of buy 2 get 3 free, but my favorite is buy 1 get 2 free. We ended up saving much more than we spent and the cashier actually had to call a manger over to approve our transaction b/c the computer flagged it! ;0) They also do double and triple coupons- YEAH!
Then we were off to Food Lion- they had Diet Mountain Dew 3 12 packs for $9+ you got 2 free 2 liters! So we bought 9 cases- that should keep my caffeine addiction satisfied for awhile! They had Tide on sale and I had downloaded a coupon. Then we went home to unload. We only put away all of the things that needed to be refrigerated or frozen. We decided to go out to dinner since we are seldom alone and there was no way in the world I was going to cook. We went to Anthony’s a new Italian restaurant. It sucked. It was really pretty- but my food was awful- the salad was o.k., the bread was edible. I ordered the Chicken Marsala- which I love at Olive Garden- but this was 2 chicken breasts that looked like they had been boiled and plopped in a plate of wine with a can of mushrooms dumped over the top- I am not a super picky eater- but I had one bite of that- it was gross. It also came with a side of spaghetti- which was pretty bad- the stuff you buy in a can is better. I ate it anyway. They didn’t end up charging me for my meal- which was good. So I basically had spaghetti, salad and bread for free. Who serves chicken marsala with a side of spaghetti- Olive Garden has garlic mashed potatoes which are awesome! Elton had Shrimp Scampi- he said the shrimp were overcooked and rubbery. It was still nice though- I had good company, Shawn slept through the entire meal, and I decided that I’m going to paint my living room the color of the restaurant. It was a really pretty sagey grayish green. No time soon- I have enough projects right now. But I am tired of the burgundy walls and ready for a change. Elton offered to go to Lowes so we could look at paint samples. He’s so cute- I think he felt worse about my dinner being horrible than I did. I really didn’t care. So we went to Lowes and picked up a couple different paint samples. It is so hard to match paint colors! We had some Lowes gift cards and bought tons of florescent bulbs. We are making the switch. My dad swears by them- I think they are ugly- defiantly NOT cheap. Since the 60 watt bulbs only burn 13 watts of power and they last 10,000 hours- we decided it would be a good investment. We are so tired of $500 light bills! Of course lights are only a part of that- Elton went out to the barn today came in and said “YOUR kids left the upstairs bathroom window open.” (We don’t claim them when they are bad!) WHY would the bathroom window even be open??? It’s freezing outside! Sometimes they are retarded!
After Lowes we went to Wal-mart to finish up our shopping marathon. We ended up buying all kinds of stuff- shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, cleaning stuff, diapers, formula. We finally bought a booster seat for Brianna- honestly Shawn probably should have been out of his infant car seat months ago, but I have been reluctant to give it up- its so much easier just to grab the whole car seat and plop it in a cart than to take him in and out every time we go anywhere. It was almost 11 when we were checking out and we were tired and ready to get home- dreading putting away all this stuff. We go through the checkout line and the cashier calls someone to see if she can accept the coupons that I printed out on notebook paper. They took them at Harris Teeter! The woman says no, they’re on notebook paper not on “computerized” paper. She’s an idiot and that made me mad. She called a manager- they said no. It was only about $3 worth of coupons- but it was the principal now! I told her I wanted to talk to the manager, so she called him over and I explained it to him- that you can still scan the coupons- Harris Teeter took them, and what did it matter what kind of paper I printed them off on?!?!?! BTW- I was buying more computer paper. He called someone and they O.K.ed it, but I was SO mad! I told them ”I’m buying $300 worth of stuff and you won’t let me use $3 worth of coupons because you don’t like the paper I printed them off on?” I was getting ready to leave both the carts sitting there. I would have ended up going back today and buying it all again. It was just the point of it. It was absurd.
This morning I cleaned out the pantry, got everything put away in there all nice and organized, had to put stuff in the laundry room cabinets. Elton is fixing the electricity that runs out to the barn so we can restock our freezer. (Apparently Chris and I cut the power line that runs from the deck to the barn when we were planting tomatoes. Oops) I’ll spend the afternoon putting all the meat we bought into portion sized freezer bags. We ended up with tons of meat- a ham, steaks, ribs, hamburger, chicken, shrimp, pork. Both of the refridgerators are full- the deep freeze is getting ready to be. All is well with the world!

Privacy Please! I couldn't resist!

2009-01-09T10:49:00.002-05:00

Bathtime

2009-01-09T10:40:00.001-05:00

Playpen Posing

2009-01-09T08:28:00.002-05:00

Look at those big blue eyes!

Gimme that camera!

My favorite

How precious!

Happy Homecoming

2009-01-09T08:19:00.004-05:00

When you come home to a sight like this it puts a smile on your face and its easy to ignore the drooly fingerprinty smears on the window! 1/3 of my welcoming committee was still in bed fast asleep.

While you were sleeping...

2009-01-09T07:09:00.003-05:00

I reminded myself to treasure every second of your fleeting "babyness". It's hard to believe you haven't been here a full 8 months yet and so quickly you have become such a boy. You are constantly in motion: crawling, scooting, climbing, standing, falling, bumping, and banging. You already gravitate to every concievable "no-no" So I will cherish every cuddle, rejoice in every milestone (even if secretly it makes my heart ache) and soak in every moment.

We're going on a Road Trip...by Candlelight

2009-01-07T18:32:00.003-05:00

Not really (would be nice though!) That's just the game we played tonight while the lights were out. The wind is howling, I guess it must have blown over a power line. The lights were only out about 30 minutes. Katherine and I decided to take an apple, a banana, chicken, donuts, eggs, a frosty, goose (?) ham, ice cream, jam, kangaroo, lemonade, minutemaid, nabs, octopus, and punch. She was quick to abandon the game when the lights came back on. Chris rocks at this game, but he refused to play and decided to listen to music on his headphones. Brianna opted to try and confuse us by yelling out random food names. Shawn ate his Puffies, and Elton announced that he was going on a road trip and the only things he was taking were a bed and a sound-proof box!

Sign of Spring???

2009-01-07T05:21:00.002-05:00

Yesterday on my way home from picking Brianna up from Preschool I saw some Forsythia. Hopefully a sign of an early spring. I hate cold weather, and can't wait for the days to get warm and L O N G E R!

Jumparoo

2009-01-07T05:13:00.001-05:00

Snugglebunnies

2009-01-07T05:10:00.000-05:00

Snacktime!

2009-01-06T17:04:00.001-05:00

Chris finally loses it!

2009-01-06T15:41:00.004-05:00

Last night (much to Shawn's delight) Chris announced that he was a Kangaroo. He proceeded to stuff Shawny in his shorts and bounce around the house yelling "Hippity Hop!" Sounds more like the Easter Bunny to me than a kangaroo- but it was precious (and bizarre) all the same! I did get some video too! Blackmail material!

What a treasure!

2009-01-06T15:16:00.003-05:00

Apparently there was a contest for the best poster for the Toys for Tots. I got first place. Doesn't quite seem fair, since I was the only one who did my poster in advance. Mine was supposed to be an example and "inspire people to put some effort into them." Matt seemed very pleased with it and actually brought this "award" out to the car when I went to pick up Katherine (she had Scrapbooking club). I tried to talk Elton into taking the TV down from the fireplace so I could use the place of honor. That didn't work. I tried to talk my dad into putting it in his office- No Go. I guess it will just have to fall victim to Decluttering 2009. Oh well- its the thought that counts!

2009-01-06T06:56:00.002-05:00

If I had to wash our clothes by hand or hang them up to dry we would be in trouble! We got home and I did 7 (yes S E V E N) loads of laundry. I started at 3 oclock Sunday when we got home and finished up at around 4 yesterday. My sense of satisfaction was quickly dashed when Elton called me on his way home and said "Do you have any more laundry to do?" The little warning bell went off in my head because he has probably never given a moments thought to laundry except for the month I was on the West Coast in 2007, and he was forced to do his own clothes. He came home with a labcoat and a pair of teal scrubs that I was afraid to put in the washer with anything else (doubt if they have ever been laundered before). So 2 more mini loads that had to be washed and dried before 4 am. Nothing makes me madder than "I have to have this now laundry". On several occasions Chris has brought me his gym shorts at 9 oclock on a Sunday night needing them Monday morning! Grrrr.

Below are a couple pictures of my "Dream Laundry Room". The only thing better??? Someone to do it for me!

Keeping my fingers crossed!

2009-01-02T16:42:00.002-05:00

We've had 2 couples come look at our trailer the past couple days. The couple who came this afternoon had their house burn down a couple days before Christmas. They are looking for something to live in while their house is being rebuilt. I cannot imagine! I feel so sorry for them... Keep your fingers crossed- I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to get this trailer SOLD!

The girls new friends.

2009-01-02T12:35:00.002-05:00

Shawn, Kasey, and Brianna

Brianna and Kasey riding in the 'Stang with the assistance of Kassie and Katherine.

How perfect that 2 of our neighbors granddaughters are the same age as Katie and Bri! I guess in retrospect that doesn't seem so odd. Bobbi has 9 children, 22 grandchildren, and 3 great grandkids. Someone is bound to be their age! ;0) Their older sister Keely is about the same age as the Chris's, they've been spending most of their spare time hanging out with their teenage girl entourage...

Elton and I ended up going to the New Years party at the Members Lounge. The Chris's were running around, Katherine babysat- both Shawn and Brianna were sleeping soundly in our bed. She was perfectly content to kickback and spend some time watching TV and playing on the computer and make a few bucks. Dad and Janet came to the party after they were kicked out of the hot tub (the pool closes at 10). It was nice, I certainly wouldn't call it the social event of the year. Kim made some awesome Crab Dip, she told me the recipe, but I'll have to get her to write it down. I knew the boys were in the Game Room and went in there to see what they were doing. Chris was sitting in there with some girl on his lap, so I just turned around and walked out before they noticed me. Then I was mad b/c I hadn't gotten a look at the girls face, it was turned away from me- so I asked Laura to go in there and tell me who it was. I'm thinking that either we SERIOUSLY need to work on subtlety, or she had more of whatever was in her Sierra Mist bottle than I thought! (She was on duty) She walked in, and the kids were all standing up getting ready to leave and she hollers out "who was just sitting in his lap???" pointing at Chris LOL. Oops. He had no idea that I was involved until Elton ratted me out later... Next time I'll get Carol involved in my espionage! It was a really cute little blonde girl named Harley. Who he doens't like as well as he likes Jennifer. He had the whole "What happens in Williamsburg, stays in Williamsburg" attitude. I hate to burst his bubble, but since both of these girls have come up here with Sierra, chances are like a million to one that they know each other, and girls talk! He'll just have to figure that out on his own...

Catching Up

2009-01-02T11:58:00.002-05:00

An ugly cold rainy day. It was actually sleeting some this morning. Poor Elton had to go to work this morning. 4 oclock came early UGH! I hate the fact that our vacation is quickly coming to a close. I absolutely love it here, and dread the idea of getting back to our hectic chaotic lives...

Bread Pudding that I made this morning. Doesn't look all that appealing, but tastes really good. Quite pleased with the results and the fact that I tried a new recipe. This cold rainy day definatly called for some comfort food. The frugality of it is also quite appealing, taking something that is past its prime and reusing it in a different way instead of just throwing it away. Probably something that I ought to try more often... I made it with mini croissants that I picked up after Christmas on Clearance.

The "After" picture. The glass globes I picked up at Lowes (my favorite store!) They were pretty reasonably priced, but once you considered the fact that I had to buy 6... Oh well. Elton took them all down yesterday and I spray painted them with Hammered Pewter Rustoleum. I'm very pleased with the results. I HATED that super shiny gold.

The "Before" picture. Note the incredibly tacky shades and garrish gold finish. Worth every penny!

Our woodpile.

What are you doiiiiiiiiing New Years Eve?

2008-12-31T18:39:00.003-05:00

It is quarter til 7. Elton is sleeping. Brianna just went to lay down. Katherine is watching TV. Shawn is eating a Ritz cracker. Chris and Cheddar are out terrorizing the campground. Dad and Janet came back today and are at Wal-Mart. I am bored... We'll probably end up going to the Dance/Karaoke party at the Members Lounge tonight. It is really cold outside and the wind has been howling all day- yuck. I cleaned up the cabin today and Elton and I watched TV most of the afternoon. Katherine and Brianna hung out with Cassie and Casey all day. I'm so happy that they found some new friends (who are also sisters) whose grandmother lives only one street up. Perfect! Wal-mart again... Had to stock up b/c Chris and Cheddar were coming up this evening. Those boys feed like locusts!

Cannot believe that I have been here over a week and have yet to go the The Children's Place!

I forgot...

2008-12-30T23:50:00.002-05:00

I also plan on learning how to post videos on You-Tube and subsequently on here. I also need to get on the ball and learn how to personalize my blog page. Surely none of these are too difficult but they do require time, something I have very little to spare... I guess that will go back to Time Management...

New Years Resolutions

2008-12-30T22:29:00.003-05:00

Of course I have the usual New Years Resolutions- lose weight, implement various healthier lifestyle changes blah blah blah... Same crap I've resolved to for the past decade or so. Some additional things I've decided to inclue this year are:

- Learn better time management practices

-Continue decluttering and "improving my Chi"

- Learn Photoshop- not everything there is to it, but become proficient in the features that I would use regularly

- Read more ( I miss it)

- Actually complete my recipebook (not my own personal recipes, but a collection of the recipes I actually use- all in one book, typed, and in plastic sheet protectors, and catagorized.) right now they are all crumpled, stained and crammed into an accordian style folder.

- Learn something interesting- to be decided later, possibilities include: cake decorating, knitting.

-Find the time to find and try new recipes- I haven't watched Foodnetwork in MONTHS. I think that I should change my blog title from Ramblings of an Aspiring Domestic Goddess, to something like "I should be doing laundry" or "Frozen pizza for dinner again???"

-Improve my gardening skills.

Boring blatherings

2008-12-30T08:24:00.004-05:00

Well, I think I am pretty much recovered thank God! I am NOT a good sick person. We went out yesterday. Our first stop was Suburban Propane to sign our contract and give them a $350 check - UGH! However, if we want to continue to have heat, hot water, and use our stove I guess we'll just have to chalk it up to a necessity. They came out Wed. or Thurs. last week and filled up our tanks, we have 2 huge tanks (50 gallons apiece I think) which of course were almost empty... We've been trying to have it done every since we closed on the cabin- we've spent quite a bit of time here the past few months and thankfully haven't run out of gas. The whole operation seems rather incompentent. I'm glad it seems to be straightened out.

We stopped at Rite Aid looking for the elusive blue icicle lights ( I always get my way!) ended up buying a 6 foot white tree to have up here it was only $5, and will take up so much less room than my 7 foot tree that is extremely full and only breaks down into 3 large pieces... Storage is a major consideration here- to say the least! Of course I didn't realize until after the fact that it isn't prelit like the white trees the girls got, and lights on white wires are almost impossible to find. Oh well, I have a year... The Christmas Mouse had some: $10 for 100 lights- yeah right!. I'm thinking the Christmas shop at the Pottery might have them (everything is 50% off) we went yesterday but they were closed for inventory! Bummer- maybe I'll try again today.

I also need to do laundry, I can't believe that I haven't washed a load of clothes in over a week- that is unbelievable to me. At home I do laundry everyday- I think I'm getting ready to pay the price for my slackness though! Although- this place is pretty much deserted, there are 4 machines in the laundry room, maybe I'll get lucky and can use all 4 at one time!

Hoping the weather will be nice today- I would LOVE to get my sconces spraypainted.