The Crazy Bus

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

2009-07-14T11:03:00.004-04:00

The kids had a great week at VBS, the theme this year was SON ROCK KIDS CAMP. It was a lot of fun! here are some pics....

These are from the closing program friday night, they were up front singing the songs they learned. So cute!

And of course I went to the Mom's class, ( which is part Bible study-part cooking class!) here are a couple of pics of some of the food we sampled!!

a yummy pizza

Sorry this one is turned... it is a bread and tomato salad with fresh herbs, and it was delicious! It was a wonderful week!!

Back to Blogging!!

2009-07-08T20:57:00.003-04:00

Ok, I have not blogged in a while, I almost forgot how to sign in to my blog page. Ak! So. I am going to try to post things more frequently( if any of you still check in !). First of all I just want to let you know that we are all enjoying our new little girl! The boys adore her, and of course she is already Daddy's little princess! So for starters, I'll update you with some recent pictures!

That's a few recent ones of Breelagh and the boys- the proud big brothers! I'll try to keep up on recent photos and family un as often as I can! This week is VBS at our church, and the boys are having a great time! I'll have some good stories from that, I'm sure! stay tuned!

Our baby girl is here!!

2009-06-19T00:00:00.003-04:00

Breelagh Joy (pronounced bree-la)

Born on Wednesday, June 17, 2:03 PM

8 lbs, 10.5 oz, 21 inches

Mommy and Baby are doing GREAT!!

Daddy is IN LOVE with this little girl!

I'll let Danielle post the labor story when she gets home, but in the meantime, here's a picture of my sweet Breelagh...

The 36 week pregnant belly...MOVING!!

2009-05-29T21:08:00.003-04:00

Here is a one minute video of the incredible moving belly!

36.5 weeks along, and ready to come out! We're ready for you to come out, baby girl.

The Dr. says Danielle is full term, and the baby's head is down low. She says Baby Girl could come at any time in the next couple of weeks. Check back often!

34 Week Belly Shot!!

2009-05-12T22:11:00.002-04:00

here it is! how's that, Nan? gettin bigger by the day..... so far 27 lbs gained all-together! woohoo! where's my oreos? Jeff just HAD to measure my circumference, and I am 40 inches around-at the widest part. *sigh* Thanks, honey.

Nice Memories

2009-04-28T20:28:00.003-04:00

Well, I was in one of those moods to see what happened last year at this time... and lookie what I found! I had forgotten that we were in Puerto Rico at the end of last April! wow. I wish we were there now! Definately wouldn't fit into that bikini though......

WE LOVED IT THERE!!!!

29 weeks pregnant belly picture!

2009-04-09T20:11:00.001-04:00

Here it is...

Random Picture......

2009-03-23T19:55:00.005-04:00

I haven't put up any pics in a while, and I am working on some recent ones, but since I am soooo tired from an "oh-so-crazy" weekend with our "Oh-so-wild-and-crazy-friends-who-also-have-several-children-making-the-total-number-of-little-friends-here-in-my-house-13", I have decided to open up a folder of pics from March of last year and see what I get. ( looking for the date closest to today's)

This is what I came up with.... they made a tent with my comforter. I don't really remember this, but it sure is cute. It's fun looking at random pictures every now and then! I am loving Sean's chubby cheeks in this pic! Yummy!

Whatever!

2009-03-10T20:10:00.004-04:00

Ok.... I haven't posted in a while and I am certain I am writing this for no one because all of my devoted readers have lost interest. I am working on a post for you about the women's retreat/seminar I went to on Saturday at my church. Sorry it isn't ready yet, Judy! :)

So in the meantime, I was thinking..... since you are all aware that my boys are on a HUGE Star Wars kick, you would probably be interested to know ALL the things with which a light saber can be made from! There's so much more than you would guess! Oh! Do tell, you say!

Alrighty then!

lets see....... and lest you forget, these are made even despite the fact that they all have ACTUAL LIGHT SABERS that spring out, light up, make noise, and who knows what else. ( why did we pay money for these things?)

1. straws. I am going thru a lot of straws lately.

2. sticks. that's an obvious one

3. construction paper. rolled up and taped to stay in place.

4. Lego's. but these are tricky. you know how Lego's are... if you make the saber too long, it will fall apart. very frustrating for the young Jedi knights.

5. here's an interesting one.... my prenatal vitamins. yep. they are pretty long- horse pills! And I hate taking them. Sean insists on "helping me" take them every morning. and as he is giving them to me he holds one in his little chubby hand and says," Mommy! I Darth Vader!"

Oh good. can I have my vitamin now, before it melts in your hand, Darth?

6. here's another good one.. they will actually draw a light saber on white paper, color it, and then cut it out. then they attempt to fight with that thin, floppy, skinny piece of paper. I don't remember seeing in the movie anyone dying of a paper cut, but it might happen here.

7. clay/playdoh this works pretty well, I have to admit.

8. cheese curls. yes, the delicious, yet messy orange snack food. this is the messiest kind of light saber. And it is hard to fight the enemy when you have eaten your weapon.

ok. I'm tired. I think there are more, but this is wearing me out. Remember when I said I thought they would NEVER get out of their CARS phase? Oh have mercy.

a long , long time ago.......

somewhere in the house, probably the kitchen,

A mother was desperately seeking help from

ANYONE who could put an end to the never

ending saga of battles and heroes and star

ships. And princesses that also use guns

and who never have to cook for the Jedi's

or get them a hundred snacks a day or

have to tell them to pick up all their light

sabers and helmets and masks and robes

that they left lying around on the floor of

the star ship. house. And to remember to

flush. And wash their hands. Because you

don't want to have the enemy cut off

your hand if it's dirty.

Will someone, anyone come and rescue this mother

from the evils that surround her every day,

and bring peace and order to the galaxy? or to

even just one spot in this house?

Hellllllllppppp!!!!

Fresh Air...

2009-02-16T13:47:00.004-05:00

Well, Jeff left for Kentucky yesterday. We miss him terribly already, and will have to wait until Saturday to have him back! The kids are finally getting better from the tummy bug that has rampaged our house over the last several weeks. It decided to go through each of us -one -at-a-time, instead of together.

I don't really know which would be worse.

Today and tomorrow the kids have no school. I took them outside to play for a little fresh air today. Hopefully to blow the rest of the germs off them! it was cold and a bit windy, but very sunny. We were out for around a half hour, and we had all had enough.

Some nice hot chocolate did the trick to get us warm. Too bad Kevin spilled his all over himself....

I didn't plan on him warming up that way....

Oh well. Hopefully the rest of the day will go quickly.

I don't have my camera, because Jeff took it on the trip, so I can't give you any pics of them having fun outside. So I decided to pick a random picture from February of last year. I tried to get the folder from approximately the same week. Here's what I ended up with:

We apparently had a nice sunny day last Feb too. This picture could have easily been taken today. Even the snow in the driveway and the neighbor's yard looks the same!

Hopefully tomorrow will be a good day, with no more sickness at all!!

Oh Baby!

2009-02-09T19:58:00.002-05:00

Gotta love baby give-aways! Especially when you are going to have a new baby!
I hope I win this one!

Death and Dismemberment

2009-02-02T20:19:00.002-05:00

Wow. That's a gruesome title. Don't worry, it's nothing serious. It's just that lately with the StarWars kick the boys are on, they have been doing a lot of role playing from the various movies. Of course, since I am the one who's home with them during the day, I am the one who has to repeatedly suffer an untimely death (by way of the light saber of course). I have died several times just today, as a matter of fact. I also had one or sometimes both of my hands cut off. I am terrible at faking that I am dead. I have been told to stop moving and stop opening my eyes many times.
They never let me win.
They also have many of the StarWars action figures that they love to play with. The only problem is that all of them have body parts that are removable. All their tiny heads come off(and the helmets too). As well as the arms and legs, hands, clothing,etc. Some of these poor guys will never be put back together. I am sure I sucked up Anakin Skywalker's hand in the vacuum. But that's ok with them, because in the movie he loses his arm in a fight, so now it's more realistic.
Oh good. Glad to help.
At any given time during the day, I will see a head on the dining room table, or a hand on the kitchen counter. How am I supposed to keep track of all these body parts? Now I am supposed to be looking for some bad guy's light saber that has gone missing. It has to be the blue one-wait the dark blue one. And it has to be the one with the totally silver handle. Not the black and silver handle. ugh
Those light sabers are the size of a pretzel stick. Not even-definitely thinner. Actually I would say more like a toothpick. So this is what I am reduced to on a daily basis. Finding missing body parts and trying to stay alive while three boys with light sabers attack me.
Does anyone else have this problem?
You know, I wouldn't have it any other way, but this little girl can't be born soon enough!

IT'S A...................

2009-01-29T21:46:00.002-05:00

GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everything looked great on the ultrasound! She's perfectly healthy!
Now maybe we will see some pink around here!

Why Do Pregnant Women Cry About Everything!!

2009-01-13T21:04:00.002-05:00

It's pretty pathetic, actually. Here's a prime example. I saw a great movie the other day that you just have to rent. Maybe some of you have seen it. It's an older movie. It has everything.... action, adventure, suspense. Of course Good -v-Evil! And yes, the handsome, young guy does get the girl!
I was on the seat of my pants at every action-packed, danger filled turn!
And then there's the part at the end, where our young hero finds his father whom he has never seen. At this point, our brave soldier is being tortured by his captor and is near death. His father fights off and kills the enemy, saving our young hero from certain doom!
But alas, his father is now weakened from the fight and lies helpless on the floor, dying.
Kneeling down to help him, the two now really see each other for the first time. But they must leave now! They are in a dangerous place, and the shelter around them is about to be destroyed in a matter of moments! They must leave now or they will certainly die!
Our brave young hero attempts to lift his *sniff * dying father, but he says, "No, Son. Go! You must go without me!"
"No Father! I can't leave you now! I must save you!"
But with his last few breaths his father says *sniff * "You already have, son. You already have."
* sniff * *sniff *where's the tissues in this house, anyway?
Um, so then * sniff * he does get out in time, and takes his deceased father's body with him to be burned and buried respectfully.
And at the very end, all people everywhere are rejoicing because the good guys have won the battle, and the forces of evil has been overcome once and for all!
**** sigh. It's such a good movie.
Anyway, I bet you know what movie it is now, don't you? Have I given it away? Yes, I am talking about The Return of the Jedi.
That's right folks. Better get out your tissues for this one. It's a real tear jerker.
I am so pathetic.

"Kevin-isms" Part III

2009-01-09T18:45:00.002-05:00

So we were playing Bible Trivia after dinner last night, and Kevin was trying his best to answer the questions (bless his little heart, I gave him the easiest ones I could find).
For example, Ryan would get a question like this: "How did Gideon's army win the battle against the midianites?" do you know it? here's the answer: They blew trumpets and smashed jars

Then I would ask kevin an easy one like this: "How many days and nights was Jonah in the great fish?" A: Three
That was an easy one.

So the game went on like that for a bit, and then I asked Kevin this one: "How old was Abraham when Sarah gave birth to their son Isaac?" ( I thought he'd get this one for sure. As you may know, the answer is 100)
So he is looking at me, obviously thinking it over intently. I give him a hint.
"Hey Kev, it's a really big number."
He smiles big and answers with great enthusiam " 7"
I tried not to laugh, and gave him another hint: "no, Kev he was really old!"
He smiles knowing he'll get it right this time, and says "8 "
It was very cute. *sigh*
After we played that for a while, we played a few more rounds of Hungry Hippos. No thinking required with that one!

I'm Still Here

2009-01-06T10:07:00.003-05:00

Yep. Still here. Sorry. And wow, I actually got a minute to sit down and do this today, but as I sit here, there are two boys screaming in the other room.. hold on a second. Be right back.....

(insert elevator music here.)

Ok. Anyway, I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! I ate too much. On New Year's eve I was fairly certain my belly was going to explode.

Well, now that my first trimester is past, I have regained some of my energy. Although not all of it. Some things keep being left undone. Don't worry, I am drinking out of a clean glass. But I don't think there are any clean spoons to be found.
My brain has malfunctioned a bit lately too. On two separate occasions, I left a bag of groceries behind at the store. ( both in the same week).

Last night it occurred to me that I can list several things that start with the letter "P" for you!
(relevant to pregnancy of course!)
Here goes!
Pregnant- obvious
Popping out- I will ask Jeff to get a side view shot for you.
Pickles- really into them right now. doesn't matter what kind, either!
Potato chips- you know, with french onion dip! yummy! actually, any kind of chip will do.
Pretzels- the soft Super pretzels in the frozen section. i am loving them right now. Is any body else feeling hungry?
Pink- I have been blessed to have two friends loan me maternity clothes, and there are quite a few pink items. My closet never knew what pink was!
Potty- the story of my life. you know how it goes.
Problems (with my brain)- yesterday I gave the kids their vitamins and then went to put them in the fridge. duh.
Pooped!(as in tired)- by the end of the day, I am wiped out. oooh, that reminds me. I was going to tell you a funny story. Our neighbor has a blow up Santa in her yard. He's really cute and very rotund! Almost egg-like. anyway, she put him up about a week before Christmas and the kids loved it. Then, one morning Kevin noticed that poor Santa was face down flat in the snow.
Across the room I hear "Oh No! Santa's Dead!" It was so funny! I assured him that Santa would be back to himself around dinnertime when it gets dark. Anyway, I thought of that because on some days I feel like that flat,deflated Santa! which is probably why I haven't been posting regularly. Or maybe it's because I'm always standing in front of the fridge.
Speaking of that, it's lunchtime. oooh, I think there's leftover pasta from last night. Gotta go! :)

I'm Back!

2008-12-11T14:10:00.003-05:00

Is it really true? Yes! Here I am! And since I have been MIA for a while, I have some posts brewing for ya! First off, just to let you ladies know, I am feeling much better! The nausea has pretty much passed now and I am not as tired.

I just had an ultra sound on Monday( can't tell the sex yet- not for another 6 weeks!), but it went very well. Everything is checking out ok, and the technician assured me there is only ONE baby in there. I tried to take a picture of the ultrsound photo for you

Can you see the little hand waving at you? hee hee.

Ok, now here is a great little poem (a "revised" Goodnight Moon, shall we say) that I think you will enjoy! I found it in the Dr's office while waiting for my check up!

Goodnight Mom

(with apologies to Margaret Wise brown)

In the messy green family room , there was a telemarketer ringing the telephone. And a crying toddler because his brother just popped his red balloon. And a picture of---

The cow jumping over the moon(which someone colored on with permanent marker)

And there was a missing teddy bear, and a girl with gum in her hair.

And one to be scolded, and laundry to be folded

And a very hungry spouse, and something stinky in the house(that no one else seemed to smell)

And a comb and a brush and a colicky baby who just won't shush. And a frazzled mommy screaming

Goodnight messy room. Good night scribbled on moon. Goodnight cow getting out while she can

Goodnight telemarketers and the popped balloon.

Goodnight long gone teddy bear. Goodnight cereal bar smeared all over the dining room chair.

Goodnight spit up and Goodnight leaky sippy cup.

Goodnight much-too-little house and Goodnight grumpy spouse.

Goodnight comb and Goodnight brush. And Goodnight to a certain 4 year old who just needs to hush right now I mean it.

Goodnight Elmo. Goodnight toys we'll pick up tomorrow, or the next day.

Hello Chardonnay and Tivo--

"me" time

finally.

Pilgrims And Indians!

2008-11-26T21:19:00.005-05:00

Boy, have we been having fun! Thursday was Kevin's Thanksgiving day feast at school. I was told to dress him up as an Indian. ( I went to Walmart and picked up a little tan fabric for 2$ and cut a hole for his head and cut fringe around the bottom. Simple and easy!) Add a little construction paper feather hat and here's what you get:

I took several pictures, but he must have had an itchy nose! In just about all of the shots he has a finger in his nose! Gee wiz!

It was a lot of fun, and all the kids looked very cute.

Then, today we had Ryan's feast! More food and fun! And he was told to dress like a pilgrim. So I put him in brown pants, white dress shirt and a belt. They all made hats in school. I tried to get a good picture of him but that bugger always hides from the camera!

As you can see, there is a big empty spot in the top row. When we were about to snap the pictures Ryan ducked down! Arrg!

Here's a better one......

We had a great time! Tomorrow is the real Thanksgiving feast! I, for one, can't wait! I am so looking forward to all that food! Holidays during pregnancy are the best! (especially when you're done with morning sickness!)

So to all of you, we hope you have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving with your families! Enjoy, and we'll catch up with you when our tummies relax from the shock!

Sweet Things

2008-11-16T20:42:00.003-05:00

Ok- I know I haven't posted in a while. You don't have to tell me. Actually, now would NOT be a good time to bring it up. You can talk to me about it in say, 4 more weeks.

Anyhoo....

Here are two sweet things I have een enjoying this week:

#1 Our Anniversary! We celebrated 11 years this week. It has been a wonderful 11 years, and it just keeps on getting better! I love you, Honey!

and

#2 would be this:

Oh yes. Lots of this. Mmmmmmmmmmmm!

Happy Birthday Baby!!

2008-11-10T22:18:00.001-05:00

It's Jeff here. I've hijacked Danielle's blog to let you all know that today is my beautiful bride's BIRTHDAY!!

I love you honey! I can't believe you're only 28 years old!! ;)

Ick!

2008-11-05T07:35:00.002-05:00

Well, I have been feeling a bit too "icky" to post lately. Mostly I've been trying to catch a few zzz's whenever I can. A few things have been making me feel ill, and I've been craving some things I don't usually eat, like celery and peanut butter. And as much as I LOVE coffee, I can't go near it!
Last night I was really hungry at like 10:00pm. My ever so sweet hubby got up to make me an egg sandwhich! I felt much better.
Thanks honey!

Fall Fun!

2008-10-28T15:10:00.003-04:00

We had a lot of fun playing in the leaves the other day....

We only have one tree in the front yard, so it was a pretty poor excuse of a "leaf pile" but somehow they managed to jump in!

And then today it snowed!

Kevin's Pumpkin Picking

2008-10-26T20:50:00.007-04:00

In all the excitement of our recent news,, I had forgotten to post about Kev's field trip! He went to a different farm than Ryan. Since kev is only half day preschool we had to stay close by. We had a really good time.......

My stupid computer won't flip this picture for me. Dang. Tilt your head to the left to see it. sorry.

Luckily rain that was in the forecast held off til the very end of the outing, so we were thankful for that. And Kevin got his "perfect pumpkin".

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2008-10-23T19:52:00.000-04:00

Pumpkin Picking!

2008-10-17T19:57:00.006-04:00

This week was Ryan's pumpkin picking field trip! It was great! We had beautiful warm weather. His class went up to Heaven Hill farm in Vernon. It is a huge place. They have it all. Animals to feed, hay rides, corn maze, pig races, haunted house and carnival (for the weekends only), and much MUCH more. We were there all day, and I think we still missed some things.

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our day....

Kevin's turn is next Tuesday! Woo hoo!

The Pneumonia Wars

2008-10-13T21:09:00.002-04:00

This particular adventure has gone far enough. The ride stops here. I am getting off!
First Ryan had pneumonia, now both Kevin and Sean have it! I think finally, after going back and forth to the Dr's office a few(too many)times, we have the right medications to take care of this.
I hope.
The boys have been pushing through, bless their little hearts. They are very resilient. More so than myself, probably. And little Kev still makes me laugh. At first when we thought he just had bronchitis, he was telling everyone he had "brown-chitis". I thought that was very cute.
Here's another one from Kev:
Scenario: Mommy sees Kev watching movie intently while sucking on his fingers(just as intently)
Mommy says: "Hey Kevin. Those fingers taste good?"
Kevin takes them out of his mouth. Smiles and says, "Tastes like chicken."
I laughed so hard I nearly fell off my chair.
Where do they get this stuff?
Hopefully everyone will be back up and running by the end of the week! I'll keep you posted on our progress and any other good "Kev-isms"!

Adventures In Mothering!

2008-10-11T20:35:00.005-04:00

Our local MOPS group has officially started here, and boy am I excited! I LOVE Mops. I so look forward to those meetings. Seeing my other mom friends,talking,eating (of course),hearing speakers, making crafts! All this while the little ones are off enjoying their classes and having fun themselves! This year I only have two with me. Ryan graduated from mops now that he is in Kindergarten.

So the MOPS theme this year is " Adventures In Mothering". Whew! What a statement that is! Nan, I know you can attest to that!
Some of the girls and I were talking about what we think of when we hear the word "adventure". First, I think this:

But then Great Adventure is purely fun. Mothering is not always fun. So When I try to think of "adventure" again, I come up with this:

Well, this isn't exactly it either. Too much danger in this one. Although sometimes it does seem as if this is me:

I have a bloggy mom friend who's had a roller coaster of a day. Through it all she has a great sense of humor! You have to read her story.

We all have crazy days at home and even crazier experiences when we are out in public!

I guess that's all part of the "adventure". We will be going over many different aspects of this mothering adventure during this years Mops season. Hopefully we will be uplifted and encouraged, while having fun along the way.

So here we go girls! Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Good Food, Bad Ovens......

2008-10-05T19:34:00.003-04:00

Ok. So I have been making some really delicious food lately. I have done a delicious venison roast last week with a recipe that was fantastic(props to my girlfriend Anna for that one!) I made that with some Basmati rice and also green beans with garlic and oil. Mmmm. Sooo good!

Then another night I made venison meatballs that were out. of. this. world. I think quite possibly THE BEST meatballs I have EVER made. Even better than beef. And I have to say, I really make good meatballs. So we had delicious hoagies and salad that night.

Umm, then I think the next night Jeff made western omelets that were oh so good. And i got the night off. I'm ok with that.

Then yesterday I made a cross rib roast. Ok. I'm going to be honest with you. Roasts intimidate me. There, i said it. Yes, I know they are easy, just put them in the oven and go on your way. But they are also easy to ruin. (For me anyway). I'm always so afraid that they are going to be dried out!
So, I had this Cross Rib Roast that I decided to make. Why not? It's got to be cooked some time, right? Right. So I marinated it in milk overnight on Friday.
Saturday, I took it out and rubbed some flour and salt and pepper on it and seared it in the cast iron skillet with a little lard. ( pork fat rules, you know)
Took the roast out of the skillet, and put it into a larger pan for the oven. Then I used the same skillet to do some garlic and onions that I had chopped up. (and I used like 5 cloves of garlic. man that smelled good).
Once that was sauteed, I added some bouillon in about a cup of broth and scraped the pan real good to get everything off the bottom and into the mix. Then poured it all on top of the roast, covered it with foil and let it cook in the oven on 275 for 3hrs.

With that I also made mashed potatoes. FROM SCRATCH. (which I haven't done in well, ummm, anyway....) and also some steamed broccoli.
This roast came out amazing! I was soooo nervous. I checked it at 3 hrs and it seemed like it needed to come out. I was praying it would be ok. I really didn't feel like having to go out and buy a different dinner! I was so happy it turned out so good!

And let me tell you something. My Hunky Hubby has been one Happy Hubby this past week.
Not all weeks are like this.
Macaroni and cheese is our friend, and chicken nuggets are no strangers either. But this was a great cooking week! Ever have one of those?

While Jeff and I were talking about food the other night it reminded us of how since we've been married we have never had a good stove. I shall share some of the saga...
When we first got married, we were renting and our oven was terrible! it was a small apartment size one and the oven temp was way off. (like we are talking at least a hundred degrees hotter. no joking)I had to keep a thermometer inside all the time! I only found this out after burning the first apple pies I ever attempted to make in my married life. There were many tears that day.

The second place we lived in was also a rental and it had an apartment size stove again. This one worked ok, but at this point we had two children and I would have like to have a bigger stove to cook on. The landlord replaced the oven with a larger one shortly after we moved out. oh well.

Now we have our own home. We were blessed to have been left with a wonderful washer and dryer, dish washer, and refrigerator from the last owner. But the stove. Ah yes. The stove.

The oven works fine. The burners are an enigma to me. I think at this point two don't work at all. The large Burner that I use the most only works intermittently. I could turn on the burner for the teapot and come back in 20 minutes and the coils are still black.
If I am in the process of say, scrambling an egg, it's quite possible the burner could turn off in the middle of cooking. It's very aggravating. I hate this stove.
At least once in my life, I would like to have a really good,large,working stove that doesn't cause me unneeded stress. Do any of you have something like this that you need to replace? Something that always breaks down? Do you have story like this? Do tell!

Signs Of The Terrible Two's

2008-10-02T08:23:00.002-04:00

1. Milk splattered against three out of four walls in the morning.
2. Goldfish strewn down the stairs
3. UFO's (aka full dinner plates) flying though the air with such precision as the Olympic Discus throw.
4. Screams of displeasure which measure at decibels to be heard not only throughout the entire neighborhood but probably also on Jupiter.
5. Stomping and kicking with such force as to believe you are in the midst of a stampede on the African plain
6. The word NO uttered more times than you can count
7. A migraine the size of Texas
8. Heaven's phones ringing off the hook with requests for this to please end swiftly and a little less painfully

Tapped Out of Ideas

2008-09-30T19:05:00.003-04:00

What do you do when you have a sick child cooped up in the house for a week and a half? (and you are sick and feel like death is looming over you as well). Any ideas? (Besides go crazy). All I have heard besides "I don't feel good" is "What's fun I can do?" This is my least favorite phrase. If I never hear it again, I will be a happy camper. Ryan has said it so much, that now the baby is repeating it.

I am all out of projects,stories,paint,glitter,and the like. It was too cold or too rainy to go out. There were no more books to read, there was nothing to be baked,cooked,mixed,fried or even mashed.

Well, I the other day, I told them to get out their crayons and find all the broken ones. Then take all the wrappers off. If we didn't have a lot, then we broke and unwrapped some more. This kept them busy for a bit.

Then, we put them in cupcake papers

You can tell Sean didn't quite get the idea. he was just throwing them into the pan.

I set the oven at 250 and put them in for only a few minutes. They melt really fast!

This is what we got:

Beautiful rainbow crayons! Circle shaped! How exciting.

They look good enough to eat! Which we had to remind Sean not to do.

Anyway, that's all I have left. I am tapped out. I want to go out. I want Ryan to go to school. The Dr says he can't go back until friday.

It's going to be a long week.

We've Got One!

2008-09-27T16:49:00.006-04:00

Well, one out of four ain't bad! We are pretty sure that this one is "Dinky".

It looks as if the other's won't make it. We found out that there is a certain kind of aphid that is on the milkweed. If the aphids get on the caterpillar and are on him when he is inside the chrysalis, then they eat the caterpillar inside. We are just so happy that we had one come out! AND, it happened on Sunday when we had many family members here for Ryan's birthday! We all got to see it happen.

It was really neat watching him "pump up" his wings! It took quite a while. Eventually Jeff got tired of holding him, and placed him on our purple Butterfly Bush. He sat there happily for the rest of the day. When we went to bed we checked on him, and he was still there. I was worried about him. I thought something might come along and get him!

Thankfully, in the morning he was ok! We were out all day, and when we got back he was gone. Once and a while, we see one flying around, and we say "It's Dinky!" We are all so excited about being able to witness the transformation. It was something we'll never forget.

Kevin's Turn!

2008-09-26T07:52:00.005-04:00

Well, Kevin had his turn apple picking and boy did he have fun! He is so excited to be able to do this now. Oh, how he has waited for Pre-k! He is loving every minute of it!

We picked McIntosh apples, and these green ones called Mitsu apples

They were yummy!

Oh, and I never did go apple picking with MOPS this week. Ryan has been coughing for a couple days, so I took him to the Dr on Thursday and it turns out he has Pneumonia! We're kicking off this school year with a bang! So far the others are ok, but we'll see. Sickness tends to spread pretty fast around here, so goodness knows what's ahead!

In the meantime we are doing school work that Ryan's teacher sent home for him.(he was so excited about that!) and doing extra pages in our devotion book, playing go fish, painting and watching movies, movies and more movies.

Today it is yucky and rainy outside, so it is a good day for relaxing and (hopefully) napping. We'll see how it goes!

APPLE PICKIN' TIME!

2008-09-22T20:25:00.003-04:00

That's right! It's that time of year! We love apple picking!! It is so much fun. Today was Ryan's first Kindergarten field trip to one of our favorite orchards. It was great. The weather was perfect, and there were no bees bothering us either! After picking a bag full, we all had a snack of apple cider and donuts. Oooh, those apple cider sugar donuts. I could eat a whole bag of them! *insert drool here.*

Tomorrow Kevin gets his turn for his first Pre-k field trip to the very same orchard for even more apple picking fun, and yes-more cider and donuts!

Then on Thursday we are going apple picking with MOPS to guess where?! The same orchard! For more apples and more donuts!!

Looks like I'll soon be posting a few apple recipes! (Once I am able to get up off the couch from eating all those donuts!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN!!!!

2008-09-17T16:22:00.006-04:00

My Big Ry is 6 today! I can't even believe it! He's having a good day today. we sent cupcakes into school for him. He came home with all kinds of goodies and was so excited. i think tonight I will make macaroni and cheese for him since he likes that a lot.

He was feeling a bit goofy today. Hmm, wonder why?

So this Saturday we are having just a few of his friends over for a little while. He wants a "classic car" theme. Well, I'm not going to have a big theme party for three kids, but I did go here:

Only his favorite place in the whole world, The Chatterbox Restaurant. When kids eat there, their food comes out in a car shaped box. You know, a 57 Thunderbird or a 55 Bel Air. Well, I went and picked up a few for the party to be used for "goodie bags"(boxes). He'll like that. And Jeff is getting some cd's of doo-wop 50's style music (just like we hear at the chatterbox).

Then on Sunday, we'll have some family over after church. Mom is making him a Cars cake. She found a cake pan shaped like Lightning McQueen. It is a bit on the small side, so she'll make two to make sure we have enough. Shh! Don't tell Ryan!

So Here's a Special Happy Birthday to our Big Ryan! We love you very much and we hope you enjoy your Birthday. Here's some special pictures in celebration of Ryan

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BIG GUY!

I Don't Think He's Gonna Make It.....

2008-09-14T20:35:00.002-04:00

Well, today is day 9 of watching our chrysalis's well, just hang there. Bubba was the first one to make his, so he should come out any time now. Really, any time. We are worried that it might happen when we aren't home. What do we do? Do we cover the jar? Do we leave it uncovered and risk coming home to him flying through the house? Do we put the jar outside? What if it rains? What if it's too sunny? Is he going to feel any pain? Will he look for us?
We check Bubba constantly. Staring. Monitoring every.little.change.
Sometimes we think we see a change in the chrysalis, but it's our eyes playing tricks on us.
The suspense is killing me! He could be here any moment now! We don't want to miss it!
This is like having a baby!

And then there's Dopey (aka: Jasper). We think he's not going to make it after all. As you all know, he had been through a bit of a struggle early on.(that being death, and the resurrection thereof, thanks to Jeff). After that, he seemed to be a bit on the shall we say, "slow side'. Or rather to say "just not right"
Well, this morning I saw what looked like a small "drop" near the top of his chrysalis. "Hmm, that's strange. That doesn't look quite right? hmmm."
Well, after we got home from church, we checked on Dopey, and there was a definite oozing of sorts coming from where the original drop was, and at the bottom there was a "drip" that was just hanging at the tip as if ready to fall to the bottom of the jar, but it never does. *ick*
Something has gone terribly wrong.
So, we had to tell the boys that we think he is dead. What happened? Why is he dead?
Well, sometimes these things just happen, you know. Something went wrong. Maybe he was sick and we didn't know it. Maybe he was in the water too long before Daddy got to him.
We may never know.
It's quite sad. But at least we still have three others to watch. We will keep you updated on Bubba's progress. I sure hope we don't miss it. I sure hope I don't wake up in the morning and see him trying to make friends with the kids fridge magnets. Oh, well. I'll let you know!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-09-10T08:49:00.002-04:00

Our First Praise Project!

2008-09-08T21:02:00.004-04:00

The Beautiful Chrysalis of the Monarch Butterfly. A few weeks ago, we collected four monarch caterpillars and placed them in a very wide, tall glass jar, with plenty of milkweed. We have been watching them munch and crunch and get fatter and fatter, all the while placing fresh milkweed leaves inside to keep them going.

This past Friday night, the largest one( which we named "Bubba"), decided it was ready to get started. He hung (from his behind) at the top of the jar all night, and in the morning he made his chrysalis with all eyes watching(while our cereal got mushy).

Once they "do it" they are very quick, and it only lasts a minute. If you are not nearby to catch it, you will miss it.

So, let me see if I have all these names right....we have: Bubba(who is now a pretty green fellow), Jasper (aka "dopey". He's a little slow due to some trauma. this is explained in my hunky hubby's post about the little guys. That hubby of mine saved the day.), then Boomer and Dinky.

Jasper decided to make his chrysalis today! We were very excited to be able to see a second one happen. Ryan was especially excited to be home from school to see it! Grandma Jean got to see it too! This was a real treat!

A teacher Jeff works with said that she has been doing the caterpillar thing with her family for 24 yrs, and they didn't ever see it "happen" until yr 20! We saw two already!

Now, Boomer and Dinky are hanging from the top of the Jar, and will probably be ready to "do it" tomorrow.

All of them stay inside for around 10 days, and then come out as Beautiful Monarch Butterflies!

Of course we are taking every opportunity to marvel at God's creation and the miracle of these precious little things. That's why I'm going to call it a "Praise Project". So that we can watch this metamorphosis and Praise God throughout. It truly is amazing to see.

Of course we talked to the boys about when we have Christ in us, he changes us just like these caterpillars change into something more beautiful. I said-right guys? "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold the new has come." What's the verse? Ryan exclaimed, "2 Corinthians 5:17!" Way to go, Ry!

I wish I could find my camera to show you some of the shots I took, but I'll keep you posted. When they "come out", we'll have lots of pictures for you. I think we are going to make this a "start of school year tradition" and do this every year. The caterpillars are all making their chrysalis' at this time of year, so it's a good way to "kick off" their learning adventures!

Kevin's First Day!

2008-09-04T21:17:00.004-04:00

It went off without a hitch. He was right at home, and was feeling great! When I picked him up he told me about his day and he had such a good time. I'm so glad. He is (what we call him) the big "pre-k-er". We're very proud of him! Good Job, Kevin!

First Day of School for Ryan

2008-09-03T20:34:00.004-04:00

Well, here's my Kindergartner. He had a great first day! I was so proud of him. He turned into such a BIG boy today.

All the kids meet in the gym first, at 8:05. They find where their class is and then each class gets in a line. The principle comes in and says a few words and then prays with them before they are dismissed to their classrooms.

At 2:30 I went to pick him up, but instead of going in to get him, he comes out to me now. When the teacher outside sees my car in line at the curb, she lets the others inside know, and they send him out. This is what the "big kids" do.

Tomorrow, Kevin starts Pre-K. I really can't believe it. I'll be sure to bring the camera again!

Back To School!

2008-09-02T21:19:00.004-04:00

Tomorrow will start Kindergarten for Ryan! He is so excited! Then on Thursday, Kevin will start Pre-K! He is even more excited! I'll bring the camera! Today I took them both to school for a visit to see their teachers and to find their cubbies,etc. That was fun! After that, Grandma took us to lunch and then shoe shopping. All the boys got some really cool new shoes to start school with! ( even little Seanie).

All of their supplies have been bought. The feet have new shoes. The clothes are all washed. The backpacks and clothes are laid out for the morning and the coffee pot is set. I think we are ready! It's back to school time!! Woo hoo!!!!

Now I just have to get myself up, and get all three boys fed, dressed and out the door by 7:30 to drive Ryan to school! Woo hoo.

It's Negative!

2008-08-31T15:30:00.004-04:00

Ryan's Lyme's test came back negative! Praise the Lord! I hate these little bugs. Just a day after hearing good news from the Dr about Ryan, we found a tick on Sean that was so embedded, we could not remove it. We had to take him to the Dr the next morning. Thankfully she was able to remove it(although it was not easy. It took both of us to hold him down. He fought us so hard that when we were done, there were fingernail marks in his legs from my grip. I felt so bad.)

We check the kids every night when they get dressed for bed(or after their bath). When we find one, we kill it the proper way:

First, after plucking the evil bug from the child's skin, squeeze the tweezers as hard as you can. This will begin the suffering. Then place it on a tissue, as to have a clean view of the bug. Then, using the largest and sharpest knife in the house, chop said bug into many teenie tiny pieces. Next, light bug on fire. After the bug has been reduced to ash, take it to the bathroom and flush it down the toilet. (Better flush twice so you know it's gone).

Here's something for you to enjoy. And I know I don't have to tell you this, but... do a tick check ever day!
ps- press the pause button on my playlist first before viewing.

Real Life Thursday-ooops I forgot!

2008-08-29T09:07:00.004-04:00

I forgot to do this yesterday! This week's theme for "It's Real Life" is called "How I Roll".
Here's a picture of my "wheels". A 2000 Honda Odyssey. Pretty sweet.

Here's the best bumper sticker ever-

My front console-

Let's see....we have my purse and diaper bag on the passenger seat, on the tray are some miscellaneous papers that I am sure I don't need anymore, but never make it to the trash. Also a kids cup(with cars on it. What else!) In the other cup holder is a toy garbage truck and my chapstick. Oh, and look- I forgot I had put a bag of baby carrots in the car from earlier today. Thanks Grandma!

In the first row of seats is where we have Sean's chair.

This is a picture of the cookie crumbs by Sean's step stool. Usually there are a few lollipop sticks as well, but I just cleaned a lot out from our trip at the shore.

In the back row-Ryan and Kevin's chairs and a small tub for some toys they like to have in the car.

Here's the back( where the bench folds into,) It's pretty empty this time. On the left is our portable dvd player, still in the car from the shore trip. On the right are a few bags to go to the thrift shop. Lots of crumbs back there. Why back there? What do they do, throw food over their shoulders?

That's Sean wondering why I am taking pictures of the car.

So, that's how I (we) roll!

What A Day....

2008-08-26T20:49:00.006-04:00

Well, I took Ryan to the Dr today. I'm a bit suspicious of him having Lyme's Disease. The Pediatrician doesn't seem to think so, and that is good. I want to make sure, because if something like this is let go, Ryan will be much worse off.( And I probably wouldn't forgive myself for ignoring his complaints).
Soooooo, I had to break the news to him about going to you know, the Dr. And having to you know, give blood.
It wasn't accepted well. But I assured him I would have nothing but "special things" for him afterwards, since he was going to have to be a big boy today. So he agreed.

First, we went to the Pediatrician, who did his check, and then said to go on ahead to you know, the lab.

On the way there, we stopped by a good friend of ours who is a master upholsterer of classic cars.( Have I ever mentioned before how much Ryan loves ( is obsessed with) classic cars?

anyhoo, of course I forgot the camera, but he was working on the inside of one of these...

A 1940 Ford Sedan. Except the one he had was a really awesome shade of dark blue, and the inside was going to be a wonderful tan cloth/brown leather mix. oh, it was amazing!

Then he let Ryan see another he would be working on soon- a Chevy Impala-but I forget the year.....

It looked a lot like this one. Ryan was in his glory!!

Well, after that, it was time to go to the lab. We got there at 11:00, and they informed us that there would be about a 2 hr wait. (torture!)

So I left and took him to Mc Donald's, of course! That was a treat, since we never go there. He even got a Luke Sky walker toy! Then he started asking me a whole bunch of questions about Star Wars. ( which he has never seen). Ok, I've seen enough to answer the basics, but I hardly know enough about Light Sabers and space ships to answer the barrage of questions that were thrown at me! Ugh! So we finished, and went back to the lab

We got there and waited about 40 minutes before we were called, only to find out that she just wanted our paperwork, it wasn't really time for us to go in. (more torture). About another 30 minutes later we were finally called in. Ryan was scared, but he did a good job. ( I thought for sure it was going to take 3 Dr's 4 nurses and me to get this done-or some heavy sedation), but he gave them his arm, and he got through it. He cried , but he was a trooper! I was so proud of him!

So proud in fact, that after they gave him about three rolls of stickers for being so good, I took him straight over to DQ for ice cream.

Whew! Thank goodness that was over! Now, Not only am I exhausted from running around and from my nerves, but now my stomach is about to jump ship. I truly hope and pray that the test comes back negative. Please keep him in your prayers, and I'll let you know what we find out in a few days!

Zucchini Bread!

2008-08-23T20:58:00.003-04:00

Well, it's that time of year again. That time when friends hand you zucchini's from their garden because they have them coming out their ears. Or when you wake up in the morning and find a small pile of zucchinis on your porch that were left there by some little garden fairy. Or you hear a knock at your door, and when you answer it, there is a zucchini on the step in front of you, but no one around.

Has anyone NOT been given some zucchini yet?

Some friends of ours gave us two. Here's what we did with them.(and by we, I mean me and the boys, in what turned out to be a cooking and cleaning demo....don't get me started. *sigh* )

Ok. Remember now. I have three (ravenous)boys. We made these around midday. The first loaf was gone by 5:00. That's right. I'm lucky I even got a taste!

Today-the day after we made them, the second loaf is 3/4 gone at dinnertime.

Yes, it is good. The boys are fully aware that it has zucchini and that zucchini is a vegetable, and that it is good for you, but like I said...It is gooood.

Sean on the other hand, will just eat anything that even slightly resembles cake.

Here's the recipe I used, which was my mom's. Thanks mom! Sorry it won't last long enough for you to get a taste. Next year I'll have to make I dunno, like two dozen loaves. That should get us through a day or two.

3 eggs

2 1/2 c sugar

1 c oil

2 c grated zucchini

3 c flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 c finely chopped walnuts ( optional) -the loaves I made this time did not have any nuts in them.

( I did add a dash of nutmeg and small splash of vanilla as well, which was not in the recipe. I know, I am a rebel)

Mix DRY ingredients together in a bowl-EXCEPT THE SUGAR

in the bowl for your mixer, blend eggs and sugar til creamy.

Add to the egg and sugar mix, the oil and the zucchini

Then slowly add dry ingredients until mixed well. Add nuts last.

Grease and flour two loaf pans

* I used lard to grease them with, and then instead of flour, I shook sugar around the bottom and sides. This makes for a nice sweet outer crust when it's done, and the sugar does not burn)

BAKE @350 for 1 hour

Insert toothpick or tester to make sure it's done- stick should come out clean.

Voila! There you have it. Your kids will devour it and BEG you for more!

The best is when you warm it up a little and spread butter on it. Yummy!

The Rest Of The Story

2008-08-21T19:55:00.005-04:00

So, as promised, here are some of the pictures from Fantasy Island. This was an especially important night, because for the first time ever, the boys went on the rides by themselves!

Much to my delight, I saw more smiles than tears.

This smile is one of Ryan's best ever! He was so happy because he was in the front seat of the green car he wanted to sit in. He had all the controls too. He waited for that one.

Why is it that the smalles child chooses the biggest truck?

Sean's first ride with Kevin.

The boat ride

I'll let Jeff post about the Reptile World Show with Michael Schwedick. He is amazing at showing his collection of snakes,lizards and the like in an interesting and sometimes comedic way. Here's a picture of his snake Banana Peel. He does shows around the world-mostly for schools. Luckily, we get to see him every year at LBI. The kids love it!

At The Shore.....

2008-08-19T20:38:00.007-04:00

Ahhh. There's nothing like it! Feeling the sand between your toes (and in your suit.and ears. and hair. you get the picture). Breathing in that salty air. Getting cleaned up from a long day at the beach using the outside shower! (Love that!) And eating from dusk til dawn. Yum!

Boy did we have a great time! We had wonderful beach weather. And this time the boys were not afraid of the water!

Although I wasn't able to get pictures of everything, I can share with you some pics as well as tell you of some of the exciting things we encountered!

Such as....

On our first day there, we went to the beach and were lucky enough to see Dolphins swimming by! Not only that, but a little while later, we spotted a group of stingrays right in the breakers! (Later finding out that reported sightings of them had made the news!)

Looking upward, we spotted several Pelicans who were hanging around for a bit, but none of them ever swooped down for anything. After I had taken Sean back to the house for a much needed "dwink", the boys came back and told me how excited they were that a man who was fishing on the beach caught a Kingfish! Wooooo! That's one heck of a first day at the beach!

Day two was just as exciting, seeing jellyfish (you know, the little clear ones that don't sting,so you pick them up and jiggle them and then throw them like a frisbee!), as well as many sand crabs and teeny teeny tiny digging clams by the millions! Also we found this little fellow..

And a majestic Egret in our backyard!

The boys really enjoyed seeing this on the sand....

That's pretty cool!

Then we did a little of this...

And fed quite a few of these....

Any of you who frequent LBI know about Fantasy Island, the amusement park there. We also had a great time there and went on the rides. (This was an extra exciting time, but I think I'll save it for tomorrow's post).

It was such a great time. The whole week was just packed full of great stuff. We stayed in our usual house in Beach Haven with my mom and my Aunt and her teenage son. We loved it and most of all, the boys made a lot of fantastic memories.

I Can Smell The Salt Air Already!

2008-08-11T22:09:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow we leave for LBI! We'll be there til Saturday, soakin up the sun and playin in the sand! See ya when we get back-maybe a bit tanner than tonight! (Hopefully).

My Arch Enemy and Worst Nightmare

2008-08-10T20:45:00.006-04:00

The elusive,vile and utterly loathsome.......

Camel Cricket. *gulp*

Given his name for the shape of his humped back, and looooong, lanky legs.

Unlike the teeny little ones that hop lightly around your garden singing their little midnight songs(which usually are endlessly annoying), this cricket does not make any noise. From his size (which can be up to 1 and 1/2 inches long),you would think he would let out a healthy deep bellowing CHHIIRRRRP!

No, my friends. He is stealthy. He is fearless. When you attempt to remove him from his new habitat(your basement), he JUMPS! HIGH! LIKE 3 FEET HIGH AND I AM SO NOT JOKING! YOUR SWINGS WITH THE BROOM ARE OF NO USE! HE JUMPS WILLY NILLY IN ALL DIRECTIONS, MAKING YOU DIZZY!

To our advantage, he does not bite. He only stares at you with his buggy eyes and waves his giant, mile long antennae at you, threatening to jump at any moment, if only you turn your back for a second!

They are not easy to catch or to kill. They are extremely fast! And when they do happen to be flattened by your broom, they play dead! Do you hear me? They fake it! When you think you have beat him and go to check on his poor little lifeless body saying"what have I done?" he springs into action and tries to jump in your hair! You run away screaming in terror!

When the broom is handed off to the stronger, MUCH braver husband to "finish the job", the bad bug is finally crushed into oblivion ( as well as into the carpet). At this point, any unwise attempt of the husband to pick up the deceased creature and "dangle" it in front of the terrified wife who is huddled in a heap on the floor crying hysterically, will be UNFORGIVEN.

When we first moved into our new house two years ago, we had many of these horrid things coming in. The hero of our household(aka: My Hunky Hubby) managed to plug up any and all possible passages and ports of entry. We saw none the second year.

This summer we have had less than a dozen. Although this week, we have had two or three in only a matter of a few days. There must be a weakness in the fortress somewhere.

These hideous creatures must be kept away at ALL costs!. They are soooooo not my friends. The only other bug I truly dislike very much are spiders. Though I might, in this instance even say, "Hey. Mister spider. I'll make you a deal. You eat the camel cricket, and I won't squash you."

But honestly, if a spider tried to eat one of these things he would choke for sure.

I hope none of you ever discover one of these in your homes. It's the stuff nightmares are made of.

Conversations with Kevin Part II

2008-08-08T17:56:00.002-04:00

Kevin ( closely examining Daddy's unshaven face): "Daddy, you have silver pokes and orange pokes and black pokes! You need to shave!"

Daddy: Thank You for pointing that out to me, Kevin. I appreciate that."

*******************************************************************

Kevin (at dinner table): "Daddy, which one is the salt?"
Daddy: " The white one."
Kevin (disappointed) "Oh, I was hoping it was the brown one."
Sean (adding his two cents) "Bwown One!!"

*******************************************************************
In case you forgot Conversations w/Kevin Part 1, you may enjoy it again here

A Great Week at WOL Family Campground!

2008-08-06T17:17:00.005-04:00

We had a blast at WOL! We were very blessed. It was sunny and warm, there were great people, and we made new friends! (big shout out to Lawn-Guy-lund!) hee hee. There were great speakers that helped us really "dig in" to the Word each day, and the kids had lots of fun in their programs, and with us as a family. We are so excited to go back! We even booked it for next year already!! Here are some of the pics from the week....

Here's a big beaver dam we found on the pond.

There was a great playground there for the kids.

The boys are getting ready to go out in a rowboat with Mommy and Daddy. Look how unhappy Sean is with having to wear the vest. Sorry Buddy! (He got over it.)

Here's the beach at Andrew's Pond where they hold the big campfires. See the wood is already stacked up for that night's fire.

Here's the fire!

We had lots of smores and lots of fun, and I don't think we will ever forget this trip! We are so happy we went!

We are working on our "Quiet Time" devotion books we bought there. We do it every day, and the boys know that by the time we are finished with the whole book ( 1 yr), it will be time for camp again! We can't wait!

Still Unpacking......

2008-08-04T21:29:00.002-04:00

Alright, we've been back for two days now, and I still haven't unpacked everything yet. All I have accomplished so far was to wash all the smoke scented clothes! Oh, and give the boys a much needed bath! Since we've been home, we've gone to church( late service this time, but we promised we'd go :), visited family who are here from Minnesota, and today I had two crowns done at the Dentist's. Ugh! Remember my last visit to the Dentist? Wouldn't want things to get too boring around here!

I'm trying to get our pictures uploaded and am having a wee bit of trouble. I promise I'll get them up asap! Right now I need to finish my soup dinner, which even though it has soft noodles, is still causing me to repeatedly bite my cheek.

That's all I got.

What's Happening?

2008-07-25T17:07:00.004-04:00

Here's a look at what's new in my garden! Finally things are really opening. Here's my Black Eyed Susan's

I have two large Rose of Sharon bushes. One is purple......

The other is pink.

I also have a large, dark purple Butterfly Bush that has been receiving guests recently......

Isn't he pretty? I caught a picture of him and the Mrs. dining together....

And then I went inside to see if Sean had fallen asleep for his nap yet....

Position is everything in life!

Oh, and FYI, we are going camping for a week, starting tomorrow! See ya when we get back!

A Busy Weekend!

2008-07-21T13:19:00.005-04:00

We had our cookout on Saturday! Several of our friends from church came with all their children. Right before everyone came we had a torrential downpour! it made being outside very messy. The kids had a great timie outside anyway, and most of the adults had a great time inside with the air conditioning!

Then on Sunday we went to another cookout after church. We were swimming ALL Day, and it was another hot day, so it felt great! It was another really fun time.

We have been having so much fun this summer! It's a shame it's going by so fast!!

(NO, that's not our pool, But it sure is helping me feel a lot cooler!)

A Fun Day.......

2008-07-19T09:03:00.002-04:00

We have a cookout planned at our house today. We are having around 25 people here at 2:00 this afternoon! (About 10 adults and I think around 15 kids). I'll fill you in on the fun probably tomorrow!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-07-16T20:55:00.002-04:00

A little something sweeter........

A Mommy and Ryan project. Half dipped pretzels and Nilla Wafers. Mmmm, Good!

Creeeeepy Crawlies!

2008-07-13T19:38:00.006-04:00

Can I hear everyone shout ICK! I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Life with boys is turning out to be very interesting. I'm just going to leave it at that. Just because I have to live it, doesn't mean I always have to like it! What with the bats, bugs, bees, and whatever else they happen to squish and hand to me on a given day. Ugh.

Example: One day young Ryan was playing outside when he happened upon a gift left for his Grandmother by their loving cat, Patches. Note: The gift had been somewhat, shall we say, "disassembled". He excitedly came inside and said, "Mommy! Look what I found!" I put out my hand, and he gently placed into it what resembled a chipmunk paw. I somehow found enough composure within me to say, "Ok, honey, now go with Pop Pop to wash your hands."

Once they left the room, that was it! I had a momentary freak out, while disinfecting my hands. Meanwhile Grandma was outside scooping up what remained of her "gift".

I've since learned to not put my hand out so quickly. You never know what they are going to give you.

So here are some of their latest discoveries:

A snake in the tall grass. You see, there was a slight weedwacking mishap. Oh, and then the rake. Yeah, I know.

That's Jeff's size 13 workboot next to it. He estimated it to be a good 20 inches long.

The boys were freaked out a bit when it moved even after daddy said it was dead!

Then there was this black, *gulp* icky spider I found in the corner of the deck building a nest. eeeeww!

It decided to crawl up into the nest. oh yuck. * shiver*

And lastly, Kevin and Sean were playing with a new buddy...

A moth. He's not too bad here, you know? But just wait. When it's late at night, and you've had to go out last minute for milk at the store. He attacks you by the porch light on your way in the door! Ahhhhg!

We're On Safari!

2008-07-10T20:50:00.004-04:00

We have been going to Vacation Bible School this week, and having a blast! Our Church is doing Amazon Expedition! The boys are loving it! Some pepole have even been bringing in live animals,reptiles,butterflies and more. We have a visiting missionary who spent nine months in the jungles of Peru! He has great stories and pictures!
I have been attending the "mom" class -we do half the morning in a bible study and the other half in a cooking class. Can't get any better than that!
The last day is tomorrow. The boys are sad, but I can't wait to see the closing program at night! I'll fill you in tomorrow!

Any body else out there doing VBS this summer? if so-- what theme is your church doing?

Wordless Wednesday.......

2008-07-09T07:42:00.001-04:00

Smilin' Seanie

Sweet Seanie

Getting Away....

2008-07-07T20:44:00.005-04:00

We were away for a few days with family members leading up to the Fourth Of July. A place Hubby's family used to visit when he was little. It brought back great memories for him and made many new ones for our boys! The scenery was beautiful, and the company was wonderful. Here are some of my photos. You'll have to check out my Hunky Hubby's blog for the pics of the boys' first catch! The pond was full of hungry sunnies!

Loved this swing!

We are so happy we had a chance to go away for a "retreat" in such a relaxing atmosphere with our family. Thanks to everyone for a memorable week!

It's Real Life Thursday ( Friday)

2008-07-04T20:50:00.009-04:00

I missed this yesterday, we were away for a few days. That's another post! When I saw this week's list from Farm Fresh, I had to do it! This week's "theme" is "Where the Magic Happens". (the bedroom)

ok, here goes....

UNDER THE BED:

Nothing but a little dust and Lightning McQueen.

WHAT'S IN AND ON THE DRESSER

On top, mostly Jeff's things. You know, those "piles" of things that never get put away........

My bottom drawer.....pj's and the like.

ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND:

This clock gets covered every night because it is brighter than the sun. No kidding. I usually just throw a washcloth over it.

PICTURES/DECOR IN THE ROOM

The only thing on our walls right now is our wedding picture. And a mirror. I've got some things in mind for the room, but it's slow going. I'm working on it!

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THE ROOM

I love the wood floors and the yellow paint,white trim. I just bought these white curtains, and I am liking them very much!

WHAT I HATE ABOUT THE ROOM

I hate the broken blinds on the other window with the BITE MARKS that are about,oh, the same height as two little boys' mouths. Errg...

WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUELY ME

I think the colors are what makes it uniquely me. I love that it is very sunny and happy. A bedroom should be that.

and lastly, the *best* part.....

WHAT I SLEEP IN

usually t-shirt and shorts/lightweight pants. (parka in the winter! Ha Ha)

Well, that's it! Hope you liked our Room!

Where the magic Happens!!!

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words....

2008-06-29T20:57:00.003-04:00

Ummm.....

Yeah........

Ok, here's a good one...(bet you didn't see this comin) "Don't you just want to pinch their buns!"

Hee Hee Hee Hee! Ha! Ha! Ha! Woooo! *sigh*

It's Real Life!

2008-06-26T21:42:00.006-04:00

Ok, I've been seeing this on some other mommy blogs, and I have to try it! "Real Life Thursday" I missed the one from last week-sorry-it was a good one. Basically the idea is to take pictures of the "list of things" they give you-THE WAY THEY ARE. (no primping) so as to appreciate it as "Real Life".
Here it is for this week. Enjoy!

1. Curb Appeal

There is supposed to be a picture of our house here, but it is nighttime right now. (oops, should have done this earlier!) So I will put up a picture tomorrow!

2. Junk Drawer

This actually is not too messy. Usually where I keep tape, crazy glue, some ribbon and envelopes. I'm not sure why there is a picture of my husband in 6th grade there, but it's cute!

The yellow box is smoke bombs-my hunky hubby is going to use them to smoke out a ground hog, and then , well, you know the rest.

Moving on.......

3. From Whence I blog

Well, there it is. It's in our spare room, in the basement.

4. Favorite Jewelry

Ok, many of you saw one of my recent posts regarding my jewelry party where I earned free jewelry. I have to say, I did get a lot of really great pieces, but this tops them all! Hasn't lost an ounce of sparkle in 10 years!

5. My Best Feature

Here is what my hubby thinks is one of the best: My jaw line, neck and shoulders area! I wouldn't let him take a picture of anything else.

Anyway, so that's it for this Thursday! I can't wait to see what's on for next week!

If any of you would like to check out Farm Fresh where I found this, she's at: http://farmfreshiowa.blogspot.com. She has her own Real Life Thursday posted and if you scroll down and click on "mr Linky" you can see many others!

STRAWBERRIES!

2008-06-23T20:19:00.011-04:00

It's that time! June is strawberry pickin' time! We always go to a local farm that has huge fields of them! We went on Saturday, and though there were a lot of people there, it wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be.

On the way there, we saw a blimp over head! This was very, very exciting!

Totally cool, huh! Alright, enough staring up at the sun. Time to get pickin!

I just noticed that it looks like Kev is not too happy in this picture. I think he is probably telling Sean not to eat them all!

See what I mean? Check out the chin!

That right there is what it's all about! They had a great time picking some and tasting a lot. It was a great day-good weather and great fun. Now we can't wait to eat the rest of those berries! (maybe a recipe in a future post? I dunno, we'll see.... I haven't posted a recipe on here yet.....)

Here's some berry picking Do's and Don'ts!

1. Do wear sunscreen and hats

2. Do bring a bottle of water with you-in a small backpack along with camera.

3. Do bring baby wipes- for wiping sticky, red dyed hands and faces afterwords!

4. DON'T WEAR FLIP FLOPS! Really, really not smart. I was going to put a picture here of my mud covered foot-in-flip-flop. It wouldn't upload for some reason. It's just as well. You all don't need to see my muddy feet! Just wear sneakers when you go, ok? good.

Two Graduations In One Week?

2008-06-19T20:06:00.003-04:00

Well, Big Ry graduated from Pre-K this week. It was adorable of course! (He has been in Pre-K for two yrs. He is a Sept b-day, so he was the youngest in his class.) His amazing teacher held it together giving out diplomas, until she got to him, and then the tears came, and then the moms caught it. Good grief! Doesn't anybody think to bring tissues to these things?

Anyway, We are all very proud of him! Congratulations Ry! Kindergarten is only a few short months away! Go get em tiger!

And of course, Jeff had his 8th grade graduation- actually it is tonight-his chorus kids are singing at the ceremony. He will miss them!

He has a half day tomorrow and then school's out for the summer baby! Woo hoo! Bring on the Pina Coladas,( er I mean Capri-Sun's) B-B-Q's, Music and fun!

Father's Day

2008-06-15T21:16:00.003-04:00

"An Ode to Dad"

He lets us help him mow the lawn, and help when leaves need rakin'

He always shares his favorite foods, even if it's bacon!

He likes to build and fix things too, because he's very Strong!

He always plays piano, and sings us lots of songs.

Every Day our Dad is fun, we hug and like to play

Every night, we read our books, we hug and kiss and pray.

He is a very special Man, we Thank You, Lord above

for giving us this special Dad who we cherish, respect, and love!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DADDY! WE LOVE YOU!

*THE BOYS*

They Got Into The Closet.......

2008-06-14T20:41:00.002-04:00

The socks add a nice touch

Did you notice all the bug bites?

Nice knees!

Noone fell or broke any body parts

Girls Can Be Fun....

2008-06-09T20:44:00.005-04:00

So.....we went to a girl's birthday party for a friend this weekend. ( oh, the torture for three boys!)We know a great couple who have three girls who are the same ages as our three boys. The oldest was turning 6! After a bit of hemming and hawing over having to go to a "princess party", and a bit of talking regarding not saying anything "not nice" about pink, princessy,or otherwise, we were happily on our way!

Needless to say, everyone(especially the boys) had a fantastic time! Observe.......

Swimming first

Sean gettin friendly with the other 2 yr old........

Then the neighbor's horses decided to pay a visit......

After some cake and presents and play til about 7pm, we were all partied out, and thankful for a great day,great weather, and Great friends!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREA!!

Fun Outside!

2008-06-04T20:24:00.007-04:00

We had a lot of fun yesterday while Sean was napping....

Riding down the hill!

Climbed a big tree.....

Pretty Bouquets

2008-05-31T21:53:00.003-04:00

The kids picked these the other day when they had a few friends over....

Look Jeff! Your Home-made "deer off" mixture worked! The deer never touched them!
*smirk*

Memorial Day!

2008-05-28T08:13:00.007-04:00

Alright, I know, I know! I haven't blogged in a week! A lot has happened! Thursday I had a dear friend come to my house and do a Premier Jewelry party. This is a Christian rooted company, and a family friend is starting her own business selling it. It is beautiful and reasonably priced! After my party was done,I got to pick from $135 in free jewelry!! Woo hoo!

Then Friday we left for a camping weekend, which my Hunky Hubby posted about here. We had a great time! We tried out our camper for the very first time. The boys slept wonderfully in it, despite my fears of waking up before the birds!

We left the campsite Sunday eve, because on Monday, Jeff had to drive down to the shore to his Aunt's house to pick up a couch from them.

The picture doesn't really do it justice, but it is a nice tan leather that matches our new paint color in the living room much better than our old couch. (Which held on for ten years, and was a very hardy couch!) Here's a pic of what the old set looked like. grey plaid. We still have the chair, but eventually we'd like to get a nice recliner for that corner.

While Jeff was traveling, I took the boys to a Memorial Day parade, where we met up with some of their friends. They had a great time!

They liked these tractors. I parked on a side street right next to them. The boys look so small by them!

Here come the fire trucks! The best part was that they throw candy to the kids! Watching the kids scramble around for the candy when it hits the ground is pretty funny.

Here is Sean eating a Tootsie Roll.( One of the longer ones). Notice he is eating it like corn on the cob. I never thought of trying it that way.

Here are all the kids watching the parade, while Sean sits on the bench still working on his precious tootsie roll.

I'd say it was a great weekend for everyone!

Some New Reading Material

2008-05-19T21:25:00.006-04:00

We went to the library and found some great new books! I think we grabbed about 6 or 7 today. One of them was called "I'm Mighty!"

This one is by the same author of the other book we love...."I Stink!" (see my prior post about that cool book here)This one is fun too. We were excited that we found it. The boys said, "It's I stink's friend!"
Two others we picked up were:

These were both very cute also. The boys liked the one where the llama had enough of shopping with his mom and threw a fit by throwing everything out of the shopping cart! Yes, it is very funny on paper. Lucky for them they haven't done that!

Here's a very rare picture of the two older ones reading together. I'll tell ya, when they fight, they fight! But when they are nice to each other it is very sweet. I was lucky to capture this moment.

Then there's Sean, who just kept himself busy trying to escape the camera. I got him, though! And what a smile!

Then they all decided to take off. Oh well, It was nice while it lasted!

Fabulous Feet!

2008-05-15T21:17:00.002-04:00

Silly, aren't we?

Mother's Day

2008-05-12T20:32:00.002-04:00

Having three boys should make pretty much ALL my future Mother's Days interesting (to say the least).
I just hope(and pray) that none of my boys sing this one for me......

That said, here is one that made me cry. It was too adorable.......

Here is what Ryan (5) said at his M-Day party at school when asked:
"What does your Mommy do all day?"
"She washes dishes, she makes dinner, takes us to the zoo, she makes breakfast, she washes the house inside, she makes us lunch, takes a nap, she colors and plays with us."
(I think I have only taken them to the zoo once! Likewise for the nap!)

After all the hard work, there is nothing that fills my heart more than the " I love you, Mom"s. It makes it all worth it.

Going Batty!

2008-05-10T14:02:00.005-04:00

If you read Jeff's blog lately, you know Kevin is into Batman! Lucky me, I get to post about bats too!

You see this black speck? You guessed it! Say hello to our icky friend. Can't see it too well, eh?

How's this....

You can see he is hanging upside down on our door. See the little claws? See the little ears?

how about this.....

I don't really like the side view any better. Needless to say, After I discovered him, I called the boys to come see and I got up close for these shots. When you have all boys, you are forced to muster up some extra bravery when things like this happen. I hope it doesn't happen again!

Later on, Ryan and I were on the other side of the house and the bat came around and started flying all crazy-like! He was dive-bombing us and circling around us. If the neighbors saw it, they would have thought we were nuts! We ended up running down the driveway screaming!

I think I have had enough of bats for a while!

Except for this one.....

This one is much much cuter!!

A Conversation with Kevin........

2008-05-06T20:40:00.002-04:00

Kevin: "Mommy, what are crayons made out of?"
Mom: "Colored wax."
Kevin: "Ear wax?"
Mom: "No, Kevin, like candles."
Kevin: "What are stingrays made of?"
Mom: "What are what made of?"
Kevin: "Stingrays."
Mom: " A Stingray is a kind of a fish."
Kevin: "And they don't have any bones."
Mom: "Uh, I dunno."
Kevin: "Mommy, what are houses made of?"
Mom: "Wood."
Kevin: "What else?"
Mom: "Metal."
Kevin: "What are the chimneys made of?"
Mom: "Bricks."
Kevin: "What are the windows made of?"
Mom: "Glass."
Kevin: "And what are those lines across the windows?"
Mom: "Uh...Window panes."
Kevin: "Because they pain to breathe."
Mom: "No, Kevin. Are you done pooping now? It's time for bed."

Celebremos! Es El Cinco De Mayo!

2008-05-05T20:51:00.003-04:00

I figured since it was Cinco De Mayo, it was a good excuse to "spice up" dinner! And have a little fun!

Our Cinco De Mayo Dinner Included:

Soft and Hard beef tacos w/ all the fixins
Spanish Rice
Tostitos & Salsa
Plantain chips
Coconut Soda
Pineapple Soda
And for Dessert: Chocolate Cupcakes.

Unfortunately we did not have any good music to play with dinner. The only thing I could find in Jeff's collection was Reggae or Luau. Not really gonna do it. That's ok. We had a great dinner!
Anybody want to share how you celebrated?

Turn It Up!

2008-05-02T20:53:00.003-04:00

So I was driving along the other day, minding my own business, listening to my WOW worship cd, when from the back seat I hear...."Mommy, can you play another cd?" "Sure", I said. So I put in some other cd ( obviously it wasn't a good choice), because I heard..."no, Mommy. Put on some fancy music!"
Ah! ok....(what should I put on?)
So I decided to put in Jeff's cd of this...

I looked in the rearview mirror and saw a huge smile, and heard...." Yeah! That's fancy!!!"

Sorry all you SRV fans, he is now "fancy". Who knew?

Then when we got home, I HAD to bring it inside to listen to it some more. Here is what happened....

The dancing pajamas got a little bit crazy, but we had a lot of fun! Thankfully no lamps were knocked over in the process.

PuertoRico AGAIN!!

2008-05-01T20:51:00.004-04:00

Here's some more pictures for ya!

I think this is called an Agava Cactus.

This flower is from the Maga tree.

Oops! That's my strawberry Daiquiri! Moving on......

Some more birds:

This Pelican was diving for fish right in front of us!

The Magnificent Frigate Bird. ( No, I'm mot making that up. It's really the name of it!)

I love the colors of the buildings!

This is the best one of all!

You WILL look at my pictures!

2008-04-29T21:05:00.007-04:00

Yes. You will be subjected to looking at pictures of my trip! Don't worry, it won't be boring! (Hopefully after seeing this, many of you will want to go to Puerto Rico some day! )If that is the case, we'll get you the info on where we stayed!!!
I absolutely LOVED this tree. I thought it was so pretty. It looks even better when the picture is bigger!

Here's some of my favorite shots from the trip...

Gorgeous! Just gorgeous!

I took this picture of a painting that was in our condo. I liked it!

And here are some of the birds we saw..

Ok, that's enough for tonight! Check back tomorrow for a few more... I got some really good shots of the town. Beautifully bright colored buildings and much more!

Puerto rico!

2008-04-27T21:11:00.001-04:00

My hunky hubby was quicker than I to post about our Puerto Rico trip!! D'oh!

Click here to see some of our pictures!!

I'll have my own up soon...

See Ya in a Week!

2008-04-19T16:02:00.003-04:00

Here's where Jeff and I will be for the next 5 days without the boys! We leave tomorrow! *Special thanks to G-ma and P-Pop! Catch ya later!

Why I need to have a girl......

2008-04-17T08:44:00.001-04:00

Boys and Belching. Yep. They absolutely love this. Oh, yeah. What's not to love? And with three boys, It's three times the fun! I am at a loss for words. And I feel rather sick.

The Famous "Crinkle Nose"

2008-04-14T20:29:00.003-04:00

Alright, I bet you can't tell which one is which! For those of you who know my boys better, I challenge you to see if you can figure it out! I think it is soooooo funny that we have all three boys making the same face at almost the same ages. Go for it! I'll clue you all in later......

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

2008-04-12T20:51:00.006-04:00

It is my hunky hubby's birthday today! the BIG 34! It was a great day, perfect sunny warm weather! We had fun outside with the boys all day! After lunch, we came in for some birthday cake!!

I made the cake yesterday, but trying to keep it from little hungry fingers was tough. It is a take off on what Nan made, check it out here. She did a great job!! She used the recipe found here, for "Homemade Devil Dog/Hostess Cake". My version is of course due to lack of time and lack of "privacy". (too many little cooks in the kitchen). I did not have time to make the whole cake from scratch, nor the dark chocolate ganache. But by golly, this is close enough!

I used a box mix for dark chocolate fudge cake, since Jeff prefers DARK chocolate.

After making the two cakes, I made the marshmallow frosting from scratch, and piled it on between the layers. Mmmm, good! At this point, the sound of the mixer going has attracted onlookers.....

Great Googly Moogly! Get those fingers away!

Now, instead of the chocolate ganache, which I totally did not have time for, I just bought the can of DH Dark chocolate icing, and whipped it in the mixer for a few minutes, just to make it go a little farther, and soften it up.

Just look at that white dreamy frosting! It's like a fluffy cloud!!

And here it is with our missing pieces, the marshmallow frosting oooozing out the sides! It was sooo moist and delicious! But best of all, Jeff liked it! I'm so glad! And we are all very glad you enjoyed your birthday! We love you very much!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEFF!

LOOK WHAT I FOUND!!

2008-04-10T21:15:00.005-04:00

What? You never saw a giant pig wearing glasses before? See, this is exactly why you should never leave home without your camera! This was actually at a farm nearby, that I pass frequently. Apparently, the pig was made around Easter time and will be taken down soon, so I am lucky to have discovered it! I took the boys to see it the other day, but I went back today to get some pics! I just had to share him with you!

I just love him! The boys thought he was really cool! He is made entirely out of hay, spray painted pink. How creative! I wonder if they will make any other animals this year?? I think we should buy a second camera just to keep in the car!

Feathered Friends

2008-04-09T20:31:00.004-04:00

Alright, I'm back. I realized I haven't posted in a few days. I guess the MOPS retreat relaxed me too much! I had a great time, and laughed a lot with my friends. We stayed up way too late, and ate way too much junk. I went to bed with a tummy ache from too many cookies and skittles. The place we went to was a very old retreat center, dating back to the 1800's. It was very nice, but old. We were the first group to stay there this year, so we got to help them get all the "bugs" out, so to speak.

Anyway, here is a very "old" picture of what it looked like in it's prime

It was a fun time. Except my poor friends Liz and Christine had the worst room. No cold water. No flushing toilet. Ladybugs everywhere. a lot of them. you can check out her story here.

So now that the weather is warmer, Jeff and I have been out with the boys having fun. Today we were outside playing and saw our neighbor's chickens meandering through the neighborhood. The boys were very good when I told them NOT to chase them. So here is a picture of our feathered friends. I will name them........

"Nuggets" and "Fingers"

We really should have chased them. With a fork and a bottle of ketchup! Alright, alright, I'll stop it. They were very cute, and we enjoyed their company.

Dadsense

2008-04-04T13:34:00.001-04:00

ok. In January, I posted the video from Anita Renfroe about what a mom says in 24 hrs to her kids, sung to the William Tell Overture. Check my January posts to hear it, or go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W95Y8hNQiH8 .That said, I am going on a MOPS(mothers of preschoolers) retreat with about 20 other moms tonite. Just overnite, mind you. I am certain Jeff can handle it. Watch this clip. Maybe I should stay home? Nah!

Banana Bonanza!

2008-04-02T15:12:00.001-04:00

We have banana issues! Sean loves his bananas. He has one first thing when he gets up in the morning. Then, during the day he will have one, maybe two more. Unfortunately, when there is more than one child in the house that requires attention, a dropped banana peel can often get lost in the shuffle, only to be found later, brown, gooey and totally gross! Maybe this banana sharpener would help!

Chick Flicks and the men who Love Them....

2008-03-31T20:40:00.001-04:00

ok ladies, we all have a favorite! My absolute favorite movie OF ALL TIME is Sleepless in Seattle. Of course I Loooooove Tom Hanks, he is my favorite actor.( Doesn't matter what he is in!) My second favorite movie may have to be The Notebook. That is worth at least TWO boxes of tissues.
Anyway, Sleepless is the re-make of the original 1957 An Affair to Remember with Carey Grant. A classic! This is what Rita Wilson is retelling when she breaks down crying. For those of you who haven't seen Sleepless, you MUST go see it at once! You'll laugh. You'll cry. Ah...love stories! Of course beside every woman crying on the couch watching a "chick flick" there is a man who is suffering through it.
Or is he? I know that most men have had to watch more than one chick flick in thier lifetime, so out with it! Any of you men who might be reading this... admit it. You know there is a movie that though it is a chick's movie, you think it's really good.(Just don't tell his buddies he said that!)
So spill the beans! And ladies, please share your favorites as well!
I once worked with a girl who said she wouldn't rent a chick flick because she knew it would make her cry. I say pish posh! Crying is therapeutic! It releases toxins in the body!
Jeff will be out late tonight, so I think I will watch Sleepless. When he comes home and sees me weaping, I'm sure he'll just say" Oh, brother. what are you watching now?" To which I will say, " I *sniff* am in therapy right now!"

I STINK!

2008-03-28T22:42:00.005-04:00

Yes, life with boys can be very stinky. And having a book about stinky stuff is just par for the course. We recently fell in love with a DVD my mother found of different Scholastic books that were made into cartoon videos. One of them was about a garbage truck who really stinks! It is a great book and the kids love it. It is filled with all things stinky! This truck even tells you A-Z different things inside his trashy treasure: A-apple cores, B-banana peels, etc. The boys especially like the P- puppy poo. This book is even better when it is brought to life in video.

Of course, when we were in the library and Ryan found the book, it was a bit embarrassing to hear him shout out "MOMMY! MOMMY! I STINK! I STINK!" Thank goodness for the rows and rows of books I could duck into to hide from the strange glares of onlookers...

I wholeheartedly recommend this book! Especially if you have boys! It is very cute and funny and what more could a boy ask for than trucks and stink?

ask for it at your local library, or find it here! We have been discovering a lot of really great books recently, so keep checking for our next favorite!

You Give Me Fever!

2008-03-26T20:00:00.003-04:00

In the mornin', fever all through the night!

This is what two rambunctious boys look like when they have a 103 fever. For four days. The third also had a fever, yet somehow managed to press on. Must have been the Easter candy.

Just For That........

2008-03-24T20:13:00.004-04:00

This one's for you, baby!

Oh, and one more thing...........

Since you're going out to the garage...........

Thanks a bunch!

P.S. Love Ya! :)

For men only!!

2008-03-23T20:44:00.004-04:00

Men, are you tired of reading your wife's posts? do pictures of yarn and flowers constantly pop up on your monitor?? Do you need a place to go and talk man talk? Click here to go out to Jeff's Garage. Just make sure you come back to check on the family once in a while!

Women! Tell your man about Jeff's Garage! You'll be glad you did!

jeffsgarage.blogspot.com

HE IS RISEN!

2008-03-23T10:06:00.002-04:00

HE IS RISEN INDEED! HALLELUJAH!

Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior.
Waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord.

Up from the grave He arose!
with a mighty triumph o'er His foes!

He arose the victor from the dark domain,
and He lives forever with His saints to reign!

He Arose! He Arose! Hallelujah! Christ Arose!

Easter Egg Hunt

2008-03-22T12:16:00.006-04:00

Today we went to an Easter egg hunt at a farm that belongs to a family from our church. This is a major event, and is done up big. In the food department, that is! Eggs shmeggs, Let me see that food! :)
A fantastic spread is laid out of all kinds of hot casseroles, ham, chili, french toast, eggs, turkey, potatoes, sausage and peppers, etc, etc, etc. you get the picture! Then there is the dessert and fruit table. Forget about it! I can't even tell you what's on it! Too much! We won't have to eat for a week! And it is all homemade. Thank You so much, Janet for all your hard work and being so gracious!
OK, so this is really for the kids, right? oh yeah, the eggs. right. So out in the fields lay an abundance of plastic, treasure filled eggs just waiting to be discovered by about 40 kids.
Three rules apply
1: don't spook the cows
2. watch where you step!
3. big kids: if you see a smaller child with no eggs, please share.
good luck everyone!

The toddlers were sent to a smaller field, while all the others were sent up to the big fields.
Of course we have no pictures of them picking up any eggs. Why, you ask? Because by the time we got to the field it had already been raided by the faster, older kids. Thankfully they remembered the rules and were very happy to share their treasures.

here are some pics from the day

Kevin wasn't feeling too well. It shows on his face. Plus, it was pretty cold out, which added to his displeasure

"Sure, I'll smile for the camera. But when they say go, just get out of my way"!

lots of cows means lots of you know what.

This is Gunnar. I took this picture for Nan! He is a gentle old dog, who Sean just fell in love with!

Sean doesn't know how to say "doggie" so he calls him "oof"!

I don't know what this dog's name is, but boy was he extra fluffy!

So needless to say, we all had a good time and alot of good treats, and we can't wait to do it again next year!

PS - I might add that this farm is where we get our beef from, so chances are we'll be eating one of these cows soon. Yum!

"We needed Good Friday"

2008-03-21T14:24:00.004-04:00

Jeff here...

A while back, I was on a bowhunting website when I came across a link to a blog that I have been reading daily ever since. Tony, the guy who writes the blog, is a Presbyterian minister out in Kansas. We have a ton of things in common, so I've really been enjoying his blog. His writings cover a whole spectrum of topics, including sports, politics, hunting, kids, movies, and humor.

However, the posts that have been the most blessing, encouraging, and convicting for me are his "pastoral" posts. Click this link to read his Good Friday post. Happy Easter everybody!!

http://reepicheep-ajf.blogspot.com/2008/03/we-needed-good-friday.html

"Hard Cooked Does Not Mean Hard to Break"

2008-03-18T20:54:00.004-04:00

So we colored Easter Eggs this past Saturday! That was allot of fun! Of course you realize this was Sean's first time with this. Need I say more? Sean, being only of a 19 month old mind is unaware of the delicate nature of a chicken egg, boiled or otherwise. We did manage to come away with some decent looking eggs, and the boys of course had a blast!

Of course aside from the standard PAAS coloring kit, I just had to pick up this CARS kit as well.

Yes, I realize Kevin is sitting on the table in these pictures, his little arms couldn't reach the cups!

Here they are "resting" in their color baths

Daddy is showing Sean how to make a cross on the egg with crayon!

And now for a little drying time. For the boys this was torture! The eggs had to be completely dry before they could add the final touches! The CARS stickers!! Notice the beautiful shades of The King's Dinoco blue, Chick Hicks green, Mater's rusty orange, and Luigi's bright yellow.

It's a funny thing when you try to tell a 19 month old to be careful or gentle with an egg. Trying to get some of the eggs in or out of the dye cups was interestingly enough, a challenge. Really? Why of course! Seanie who wants to try to do everything ,not to be outdone by his two older brothers, insists on having no help. This can create a small problem when working with eggs.

Nonetheless we managed to work together and Sean's eggs didn't turn out too bad. In fact, I think the crack patterns are beautiful and a work of art. I would even go so far as to say they we intentional! We have an artist for sure!

Not only beautiful, but delicious as well!

Oh, and by the way, We have ultimately decided that our Resurrection eggs need to ALL be opened EVERY day. It was a bit difficult at this stage to try to get the story told one egg at a time and in the right order. So each day, they open all the eggs, and ask me about the different pieces. Inevitably, as I am telling the story about one, it goes into another naturally. They are having fun with it. I just hope I can find all the pieces for next year. Sean has NOT tried to eat the crown of thorns, but he has attempted to eat the dice (die?) from one of the eggs. At least he's not running around poking his brother with the toy sword!

Faith and Begora!

2008-03-17T09:09:00.003-04:00

Well, don't ya know, I was lookin' out me front winda and what do ya think I be seein? Twas a leprechaun, it was! And what do ya think his name be, then? Twas Patty O' Furniture!
Ha! My Dad said this to me every St. Patrick's Day.
My father is an Irishman. My Nana (who went home to be with the Lord a long time ago) came over on a boat from Ireland.
(my other grandmother came over from Italy, and I have to say, I would take pasta over cornedbeef and cabbage any day!)
I used to love watching "Darby O'Gill and the Little People". A great movie for St.Patty's Day, about leprechauns, and the search for the pot o' gold, and the best part: it has the very young and very dashing Sean Connery!! You all should really see it. It's very entertaining!I've seen it about a hundred times.
So here's a question: has anyone out there eaten any green bagels or green donuts? green latte's? Have you eaten anything green today that by nature should not be green?
(and I don't mean moldy!)
leave me a comment and tell me! Anyway, hope you all are enjoying your day. Don't forget what can happen to you if you eat too much cabbage. You know.
So for all you fellow jig-dancin', green wearin' Irish folk; HAPPY SAINT PATTY'S DAY TO YA NOW!

A Visit To The Dentist

2008-03-14T16:49:00.001-04:00

Went to the dentist today. Got more than I bargained for. A quick fix turned into oral surgery,including a bone graft. Thank goodness the Dr. knew how to use the novacaine!Too bad it eventually wears off. Thank goodness for the prescription Tylenol! I think I'll be having a nice dinner later of pudding.Or soup,maybe scrambled eggs! I asked the boys to pleeeeeease cooperate for me today. So far, so good! I'll have a better post for ya when I'm feeling better!

Signs of Spring!

2008-03-13T18:29:00.004-04:00

The weather has been a little warmer this week, and while outside with the boys, I have noticed a few things poking out of the ground!

We are all excited to see what else pops up around the yard! We also had a flock of Red Winged Blackbirds in the front yard! That was neat! Officially the first Day of Spring is next week,the 20th. It's nice to see the signs of the change of season. Of course, the boys can't wait to get rid of thier "puffy"coats!

Me too!