Halloween 2008

I know it's a little late, but I wanted to post more pictures of baby in her snail outfit. I wish I'd gotten better shots, but you will see this costume again; all of our children will be a snail on their first Halloween. Unfortunately, her antennae are a little floppy. :( Still super cute though! Hubby and I had a little disagreement when it came to decorating our truck for trunk-or-treat. I told him to just grab the straw bail and pumpkins/gourds from the front porch. He said that was stupid....I told him he had to let all of the other people, (3 vehicles) that showed up to the church with straw bales and pumpkins, know that their decor was stupid!

Pumpkin Carving

Wow, I just realized that looks like it's going right into her hand. No worries: No babies were harmed in the carving of the pumpkin!

Both very focused.



Thanks for convincing us to carve, Tracy. We both enjoyed it.

My brother-in-law was so nice in showing us around Louisiana as it was my parents first time to really visit there. Unfortunately my sis-in-law had to work, so my BIL had to tackle (sometimes literally) both of the boys! This night we went to dinner and T kept trying to keep little one out of his drink and then C would require his attention for one reason or another. K knew when he had the chance to dunk his fish stick into T's drink!! By the end of dinner, T gave up! He didn't really want his tea any longer, I guess! And FYI, that's cocktail sauce all over little one's face! I think it will be a little while before T tries to tackle taking the boys out to dinner alone.

This time around to Louisiana

We went to a gorgeous plantation in Louisiana. The oak trees are over 100 years old. The inside of the plantation home was pretty neat, but they didn't want any pictures taken of the inside.

The beautiful walkway leading up to the front door.

Eating dirt! (A little tribute to Small Fry) We are trying to be more organic, you know.


Trying to be artistic...



And again!

Being adorable, what she does best!

Being naughty in Mimi's lap.

Contemplating being naughty in Botz' lap.

Every time I would go to take a picture of A alone, cousin would pop in and say, "Take my picture, CHEEEESE!!" Too funny!

The best picture I got of the three cousins together. They are all looking in the same general direction...good enough!

Too much light on this picture, but this is my grandpa in the middle with my daddy on the right. We haven't seen grandpa in a few years and got to catch up with him for some coffee and cobbler! Yum!

I'm trying my hand at photography, so feel free to leave me a comment on which pictures you like or what you don't like about some....not many, but some. :)

Catching Up

Baby and I went to the Pumpkin Patch in Louisiana with her cousins. It was a fun time. I was kinda saddened by the fact that the soil in this part of LA won't grow orange pumpkins. They truck all of them in and sprinkle them into their patches! I was wondering why none of them were actually attached to any stems and also why they already had stickers on them.

"It's sooo heavy!"

I didn't actually get a picture of her trying to eat the stem. She's definitely not picky!

Wordless Wednesday

UPDATE: This is A playing piano with one of our local christian radio hosts in the assisted living center at which one of my friends works.

Not Me! Monday

Every day we try to hide behind this charade that we've got it down. Hiding from silly mistakes that we make. I have joined MckMama in confessing these (mostly) tiny mistakes and reading about others. It's very therapeutic! Won't you join me?

I have not stepped over the same pile of dirty clothes that belong to my daughter several times after going in/out of her room. I'm always on top of the laundry...these "clothes/laundry monsters" you speak of: I know nothing about!

It was not me that posted several times on my very own blog that I would post pictures that are still on my camera and then still not get it done. I get everything done that I set out to do at the beginning of my week.

I am not sitting in a mess as I type this post. I have gotten all of my duties done for the day and I love the smell of freshly vacuumed carpet that fills the air right now!

Speaking of smells....I was not the one that went on a cleaning strike last week. I most certainly did not find a small piece of rotting meat in the bottom of my sink that was smelling up my entire house!! Utterly disgusting!! Not in this house! I was pleasantly surprised by the smell that filled my house when I came home after having cleaned...the smell of clean!

And on a sad note...my precious little girl decided she doesn't want to nurse any more. This has been a pretty rough week. I did not open the mail box and pull out a container of formula! What a cruel joke that would have been. I never would have had my husband mix of a little bit of it for the baby last night before I put her to bed. She wouldn't like formula, why would I even think of such a thing! I am an all natural mama and do my best to feed my child as such!

What did you not do this week? Stop in a leave a comment and let me know! You'll be shocked at how much better it will make you feel!

Not Me! Monday

I'm sure I've mentioned MckMama who started this fun carnival. You can click here to see her story and also see what plenty of other mom's are not doing!

I just got off the phone with my husband. I did not put him on a guilt trip when he mentioned camping out another night! I love for him to be away and it is worth it for him to put meat in our freezer.

I did not wipe my child's nose with my fingers in the store today and wipe it on the inside of my pocket...with someone watching me! I would never do anything like that...how gross! And I would NEVER do that with anyone looking at me!

I got so much done at home today. I completed my to do list: shampooing carpets, doing dishes, tackling the clothes monster, just to name a few. It wasn't me that you saw having coffee this morning with a friend and then meeting another friend out for coffee. Nope, not me!

And I'm not the one currently adding to the ratings of the Anti.ques Road.show. You have to be at least 60 to be interested in that show...and that really is not me! :)

New Orleans

The little one and I went to New Orleans last weekend to meet up with my parents as they left out for a cruise. We also got to hang out with my husband's family as well.

We thought we'd try and get a picture of all the kids with their costumes on. This is the only one we got with all of them fully dressed. Our little triceratops didn't want to keep his "head" on! (As you can see, it's on its way off.) We carved pumpkins the night before we left. This was our pumpkin. She's pretty excited!

All of the kiddos at my bro-in-laws.

This is just a start. It's about 30 degrees outside right now and that's where my camera happens to be. I don't feel like retrieving it at this moment in time. I will post the pictures from my camera soon...just wanted to give you something for right now, since every one is bugging me to post. OK, that's a lie, but I'm sure you just haven't had time to mention it! ;)

Not Me! Monday

I'm not the one who hasn't posted for two weeks!! Not me, I post at least twice daily. Much like MckMama. You should click over and check out her real life miracle that was born on my birthday! :)

I was not the one to pull up to the alterations place with the pants ON that I wanted to have altered. I did not just assume that a friend of mine that works on that side of town could pick them up if I needed to leave them over night for her to finish. Don't worry, I didn't have pants to wear home, so I didn't even entertain the idea!

I did not go to S.O.N.I.C for dinner tonight in my slippers with my sickly child. I stayed home and nursed her back to health. (In my defense, my hubby wasn't home, and I didn't buy meat at the grocery store believing that we would have deer meat in our freezer by now!)

And finally, it was NOT me that popped a mint candy bar in my mouth just as a friend knocked on my door the other morning. Brushing my teeth is the very first thing I do in the morning....along with showering. Which reminds me to let you know that it was not me who was finally able to take a shower this morning since Friday after noon. It's really easy to take a shower with a sick baby in the house and plenty of time on my hands!

What did you not do this week?

Not Me! Monday

It's that time again!

Last week, it was not me that didn't play by the rules. I know I told you all about MckMama and her precious baby that is going to be born a miracle! (Head over to her blog to find the rest of his story.) And how this is all her idea and not mine and that if you would like to join in the carnival you are more than welcome to do so.

I did not have a friend over to tell me how to better organize my house two weeks ago and then accept her invitation to come over and help me actually get it done simply for the fact that I haven't done anything. Not me, I have worked through the wee hours of the night getting our home perfectly organized in the way that she suggested!

It was not me that refused to lift a finger around the house all day yesterday...that must have been my husband!

I certainly did not allow people in my house on Friday without having vacuumed floors or scrubbing bathrooms. I would never do such a thing. My house is always immaculate for company.

I did not concern myself with silly things like having my front porch properly decorated for fall before 12 men came over to my house. What sense would that make?

I did not buy 3 alarms clocks in one week and return two of them already. I'm definitely not going to return the 3rd one as soon as I can. I'm not that concerned with our morning alarm situation. That would make me a tad anal retentive and that as you can see is not me!

I did not take my pumpkin cup-cake back from the little boy that won it fair and square at the cake walk just so I could show it to every one. That would be vain and prideful! (Don't worry, I gave it back to him.)

And finally, I did not allow my child to continue sitting under her high chair cleaning up from lunch (from this day and maybe even the day before) because she was quiet and content while I was getting dinner prepared. I would never let her do that because there is no telling what she would be eating under that high chair. Very unsanitary! Instead, I'm sure I remember that I picked her up and was able to prepare a gourmet meal with one hand while riding on a unicycle and balancing plates on my head! Do not look at the pictures below to confirm what really happened!

Already sharing at such a young age! And those ARE raisens....not bugs, thankfully!

I look forward to seeing what the rest of you didn't do this week!

Fall Festival

I ran around the house like a crazy woman looking for my camera to bring along to the fall festival. Could not find it. Of course, I walk back into the house and there it is...right on top of the book case where I never leave it! Oh well...I got this one shot with my phone of the pumpkin cupcake that I made for the cake walk. I think I have a pride issue. It didn't last very long on the table, and I asked the lady that got it if I could show a couple of people. I thought it turned out pretty cute. I'm not sure if people didn't understand that you should bring cake for a cake-walk; there sure were a lot of (store bought) cookies there! :) A. wore her shirt from Gramma Kathy...super cute, didn't have the camera, remember. She'll wear it again before the season is over; I'll be sure to snap a picture or two.

Tagged!

I don't want my Not Me! Monday posts to be the only posts on here. I read Kim's blog and she said, "consider yourself tagged." So here goes:

1. Where was I 10 years ago?
In October of 1998 I was in 8th grade in Colorado Springs. This was the month we found out my grandmother had cancer, not the best time of my life. A time full of laughter, tears, hope, heartache, surgeries, healing. I also desperately wanted a relationship with someone my parents told me to stay away from. Looking back, mom really is always right!

2. What was on my to-do list today?
~stay out of the rain: check
~make chocolate chip cookies: check
~clean house: is there such thing as a half of a check?
~laundry: still looking for the half check mark
~make grocery list for tomorrow: check
~attend women's bible study: check
~calm child after falling over and smacking her nose on the coffee table: check wait....not sure that was actually on the list for the day...
~stay in PJs until 30 minutes before bible study: check, that really wasn't planned, I promise!

3. What would I do if I were a billionaire?
Buy that full tank of gas I've been wanting for a long time!

4. Five places I have lived...
~Colorado Springs, CO
~Anchorage, AK
~Bad Windsheim, Germany
~Enterprise, AL
~Wichita, KS (hey...three weeks counts!)

5. Bad habits...
~procrastination
~nagging
~checking my email/blog too much
~not sticking to our budget

In the words of Kim, consider yourself tagged!

Not Me! Monday

I did not eat almost an entire frozen pizza just to remove the temptation of it sitting in my freezer. That would totally defeat the purpose. I saved it to share with my husband as a treat! ha!

I did not look like I had an accident in my pants at the pumpkin patch and then turn around and go out to dinner with the same pants on. No way, not me.

I did not have to sit in the back seat with my child to keep her from eating the inside of her car seat. What?! My child, no way!

I did not have someone else come over and help me figure out how to organize my house. My house is already perfectly organized and never messy. I don't need any help, not me!

I did not talk my husband into getting rid of a ton of his clothes that he never wears. I am meak, quiet and always submissive and my husband can keep or throw away his clothes whenever he gets the urge to do so.

And finally, I did not fall back asleep after my child woke me up from my/her nap this afternoon in hopes that she would do the same. Nope, not me...that would be irresponsible and just plain rude. No, you can look for my name on the list of nominations for Mother of the Year! :) (BTW, it didn't last long because she wasn't going along with it.)

Pumpkin Patch at 85 degrees (?)

We decided it would be fun to head to the pumpkin patch today with some friends of ours. I had planned to put my baby girl in a little brown out fit to snap some pictures with the beautiful orange pumpkins. She would have melted! I thought I would! We were all sweating. I thought it was supposed to be at most 50 degrees when you go to the pumpkin patch. We had to settle for a sleeveless brown shirt and denim shorts and no shoes. It was so fun, though. They had a zebra, bison, camel and so many other fun animals and some stinky ones! (A 400lb pig icky!) A. went on her first pony ride! S. thought that he was taking a video, but he hadn't pushed the record button. So sad! We did get a couple of pictures, though. She really liked the ride. When the ride got a little bumpy she started to clap. Too cute. We also went on a hay ride. It wasn't all that exciting...I'm not sure what a hay ride is all about, maybe I just don't like them or this one just wasn't spectacular. I walked away looking like I had messed my pants. The hay I sat on was a little wet. :) I'll have to go back when it's colder to take some pictures of her in true pumpkin patch attire!

Our Precious Family

on the hay ride

Red Cheeks (not because it was cold, may I remind you)

Not feelin' my shadow in the bottom corner, but I don't know how to get rid of it.

Story Time

S. reads to the baby every night (he's home) before she goes to sleep. Just thought I would capture the "every day" at our house. This night she was really ready for sleep. She usually will sit and "read" the book back to daddy when he is done.

Closet makeover

I had a friend come over this week and give me ideas on how to better organize my house. Who would think something as simple as adding some shelves to a closet would make such a difference. This is just the beginning. I'm working on other areas of the house, but I like to get something accomplished right away.

Before:
After:

Awaken

I had an awesome time with the Lord while listening to the words of this song.

Sometimes I feel like I'm just existing
I'm not really living
I'm only watching the time slip away
I've forgotten who I am in you
I'm not who I'm meant to be
I'm drifting farther away from my destiny

Awaken my heart, awaken my soul
Awaken Your power and take control
Awaken the passion to live for you, Lord
Awaken me

My soul is longing, my heart is searching
I'm desperate for you to move
Give me a hunger, pull me closer
I'm crying out to You

Open my eyes so I can see your presence dwelling inside
Wake me up, 'cause I can't live another minute
If I'm not shining Your Light

Awaken my heart, awaken my soul
Awaken the passion in me

Lord, Awaken me to live my destiny
Lord, awaken me and shine your light through me


I pray this over all who read this post. I have so many blessings that I've yet to claim. I'm sure all of you do as well. What are we waiting for? Start letting His light shine. With the way things are right now in this great country, this is the time when we NEED to be bringing the Good News of our Father to those who don't know Him! Lord, Awaken me!

Not Me! Monday

It's that time again!



I did not take my child into a thrift store in only her diaper. That would be very redneck of me and I would never do such a thing! My child always has on a super adorable outfit with a matching bow in her hair and shoes on her feet. If I had done something like that it would only be for the fact that she was burning up after having been 40 degrees outside this morning and turned to 80 later in the day. Who cares why because I would never!

I did not get Ben and Jerry's banana split ice cream thanks to the coaxing from my husband to get the sugar-free fat-free frozen yogurt I ended up buying. Thanks, sweetums! You always know how to keep me on the right track! Ben and Jerry's would be very fat-full and sugar-full and....and....super stinking delicious.

I so did not eat more than my husband when we went out to dinner. That would also be fat-full of me! Especially since he is 200+ pounds and 6+ feet tall! I could never out eat him. If I did it would only be for fact that I'm still nursing and I need 12,000 more calories in a day than a normal human being. But don't worry about it...because I didn't. Nope, not me!

I did not send my 8 month old out into the church service last night with a friend, while I sat in the nursery. Having her around a bunch booger-y children only boosts her immune system, I'm sure. That would just be overprotective and weird of me. And that is so not me!

And finally...I did not squeal uncontrollably as my child crunched on a nasty black bug. All the while trying to get it out of her mouth while she sit laughing at me with a mouth full of (extremely crunchy) bug! Blech!! That would be immature and not very motherly of me. Nope, that's totally not me.

MckMama is right, this is very therapeutic! What did you not do this week?!

Silly Dogs

We're not sure what to do with the dogs now. Sure Scout has lost weight, but now he has so much energy he doesn't know what to do with it! Two days in a row I have come home to bloody dogs. I guess he gets to feelin' froggy with Tanker and he puts him in his place. Neither one of them could go up or down the stairs easily today. I talked to a man that knows about behavior in animals and he said that it could take several months to get Scout's thyroid regulated. He also said that I should separate the two until we can get it regulated. BAHH!! I am looking for any kind of advice. HELP!

Things that make you go....hmmm?

Now that my beautiful girl is popping up teeth left and right I'm reminded of what someone said to me when she first started to smile. I said, in response to her big smile, "Isn't that the most gorgeous toothless smile you've ever seen?!" And following that rhetorical question I heard, "Just wait until she gets teeth!".....huh??

Not Me! Monday

I have been keeping up with MckMama on her blog and decided that I don't do enough with my blog. I thought it would be fun to start participating in:







I did not contemplate simply drying my child's bloomers after her diaper leaked just so she could keep wearing the cute dress that she had on for my company that afternoon!



I did not break out into applause all by myself in front of my husband's entire BN after the chaplain said something about his wife wanting him to stop kissing her neck and unload the dishwasher for a change. Had I done that I'm sure my husband would have backed about 5 feet away from me and asked the men around him if I was Dan's wife. But there's no way I would have done something like that! Nope, not me!



I did not show up to a friend's house with orange fingers and an empty bag of Doritos that I had planned to share with my friend and her kids. Nu-uh, not me!

I did not go into the store to buy my husband a sugar free, somewhat good-for-him drink and buy myself a drink with plenty of high fructose corn syrup (bleck!) and peanut M&Ms. I would never!

I did not take my child to someone's house while helping my husband fix the car and leave her without any diapers. Nor did the woman that I left her with put a newborn size diaper on my child and call to tell me to bring diapers because she had on a thong! That would just be unorganized, which I most certainly am not!

And, finally, I so did not keep a running list of "Not Me" items in my planner this week, so I could write them down no matter where I was. What a nerd would that make me?! No way, not me!

What a cutie!

21 pounds!

S. took Scout into the vet today and he's lost 21 pounds in the last few weeks. Wahoo! He really does have a thyroid problem! He looks like a totally different dog. He's much happier; he leaps and bounds up the stairs. He still has a little more to lose. He is currently at 88lbs and Tanker weighs in at 76. I'm not sure if I can handle two dogs with the same amount of energy. It's a lot easier to handle him fat and lethargic! Now I've got to worry about TWO dogs running into traffic!