This, that and the other...

hmmm....what can I write about? I am in the mood to blog, actually have a free minute and can't think of a thing to say. It figures! Any other time I am making lists of things I want to blog about!

Anyway, let's see...So many things have been going on around here lately. Here's one that's on the top of my "pet peeve" list. My son will NOT stop pooping his pants. It's about to make me crazy! He suffers from the same "issue" that I do...he only goes about once a week too. His thing is..for 2-3 days before THE day..he does little pebble-poopers in his underwear. Everytime I take him to the potty to pee, we pull his underwear down and sure enough...there will be a mess. I promise you...every single pair of the underwear the kid owns--and he has LOTS (probably 20+ pair) have stains in the butt of them. I have tried everything I can think of to fix this...such as putting him on the pot and making him sit there until he goes (which never happens---we just end up wasting an hour sitting in the bathroom). I've tried giving him children's laxitives, stool softners, feeding him grapes, raisens, prune juice. I've also tried spanking him for when he does it and also threatening to make him start wearing diapers again. Nothing has worked. Maybe it's just a phase he is going through...!?! I just hope it ends soon. I have to wash about 5 pairs of underwear a day with the way things are going!

Okay, enough of that crap (ha ha)..let's talk about something less gross. How about Christmas shopping!?! I've been trying to think of a way to buy everyone a gift this year and NOT go into more debt. It's a problem just about everyone has probably. I thought about trying something different this year. From here on out, everytime Matt or I gets paid (which is every Friday) I will take $10-$20 and buy a gift card. By the time Christmas gets here, we will have had 12 paydays...which could mean anywhere from $120-$240 to spend on gifts. The only problem I see with this...is deciding WHERE to buy the gift cards to. I know, you are probably thinking to just put the cash in an envelope and save it up...but that never works for me. I try that almost every year and every year, I ended up "needing" that cash for something else and then I go in debt buying gifts come December. If I did the gift card thing..it would be a LOT harder for me to spend it. I'll let you know if I actually do this and how it works.

Speaking of Christmas, can you guys believe it's only 86 days---12 weeks away! It'll be here before we know it! It seems like summer was just yesterday and now Christmas is practically tomorrow! Weird how time flies when your an adult but when your a kid...things seem to take forever!

So...here's something else that has been going through my mind today...horses. Tonight we went to a little rodeo/chuck-wagon dinner thing that was hosted by Grant's preschool. They had a calf-roping event and a barrel racing event. While we were there, several of us were talking about how we'd love to put our kids in riding lessons but how they are SO expensive and there really isn't anywhere close by either. This got me (and my dad) to thinking. Why don't I take some "formal" ridig lessons, and "formally" break our horse and ME start giving some lessons!?! I could make a little extra money on the side AND be able to do something here on our land--and with the horses! Now, if I can just think of a way to tie ministry into it---it would be a total package! Can ya'll see me as a cowgirl? Look, I'm already dressed for it! ha ha

Well, if you are still reading...you must really love me because I know I am rambling on about a whole lot of nothing. When my kids do this...I call it "diarrhea of the mouth". Isn't that nice? okay...well...here comes some more:

In our Sunday School class at church, we are studying a book about vision and finding out what the vision God has called you to. It's by Miles Monroe and it is a fabulous book---especially for someone who isn't quite sure where they fit in in the world/in the ministry/in life. It's kind of funny because Matt and I are SO opposite when it comes to vision. He has no real idea about what he wants to be doing or any real strong passion for any one particular thing. Me on the other hand...I have a million things I want/like to do and am passionate about pretty much every single one of them. It's so hard for me to find my right place...because I want to be everywhere all at once. I love kids. I love decorating. I love singing/worship. I love exercise. I love hard work. I love helping people. I love dance. I love writing/reading. I mean...I could go on and on. I almost think finding my "calling" is going to be harder for me than it will be for Matt because when Matt discovers what it is...he'll KNOW. There won't be a hundred other "contenders". Me on the other hand...I am like a kid in a candy store with 20 different options...all of them sounding equally good and having no idea which way to turn. The one thing I AM sure about is this: I KNOW God wants to use me (and my husband) and that that when we begin to walk in that calling/vison...our lives will be much more complete and fulfilled. How exciting!

Okay, well...I guess I should get up from here and go do dishes and laundry and look over a weeks worth of homework papers...you know....the FUN stuff we mom's get to do. :o)

Love you all! Thanks for reading!

Ps. Man, I really need a pedicure & a massage! Anyone want to donate either of those? he he :o)

A random question:

If you had an opportunity to make double your current salary...but would have to be away from your family a minimum of 5 days (and nights) a week to do it...would you?

Welcome to our tent...

Tonight Matt and one of his hunting buddies were going to go set up deer stands out in the woods...so it was going to just be me and the kids. Since our houseguest is gone now...(he left today)...I wanted to do something fun with them to help get their minds off the fact that their Beloved Peepaw was gone...so I decided to do something I LOVED from my childhood. Pitch a tent in the living room! When Brooklyn heard "my plan" she was SO excited. She wrapped her arms around me and said she didn't think she could ever let go!

Anyway, we started pulling barstools and sheets into the living room, lots of blankets and pillows for the floor and then made a pizza and salad for dinner. I also rented a cute movie called Buddy from the library for us to watch. Grant ended up only hanging with us for about 10 minutes and then he started feeling icky and went to Grandma's for the evening...so it ended up being just me and my Brookie! We had so much fun "camping" out in our tent eating pizza off paper plates in the floor and watching a movie-just us girls. Mom called about half-way thru the movie and said that Grant had a temp of 102 and he was totally zonked out on the couch. Poor little guy! I gave him some Motrin and put him to bed...so hopefully he'll be feeling better in the morning. There is a nasty stomach bug that is going "around" in our town...but I am believing for it to go right on around us! I hate it when the kids are sick...but plus...we can't afford for any of us to get sick for the rest of this year. We have used up all our insurance benefits for the year and now everything from here on out is out-of-pocket expense. Ick! We've already laid hands on him and prayed for him so I know he will be just fine.

Anyhow, here are a few pics I took. Brooklyn is wearing her new halloween costume that I just got in the mail today off of e-bay. She's going to be an angel this year...so we will be busy in the next few weeks making her some big feathered wings and a halo. Grant also found a costume in one of my parenting magazines that he wants me to make for him. It is a train costume and you make it out of an empty box and some empty oatmeal cartons. We'll see about that...?!? I don't know if I have that much time or creative energy to put something like that together...but I'll give it a try I guess.

What are ya'lls kids gonna be this year?

It's a Bug's Life

One thing about living in the country...you never run out of interesting creatures to find! This is what we found just now right outside our front door on the brick. Pretty cool huh? I'm thinking maybe I should go clean out another jar and send this new bug to school with Brooklyn tomorrow! ha ha

The BEST day of her life....

Yesterday Brooklyn took a jar to school with a bug in it that we had found out on our porch. Thesebugs are the nastiest bugs you've EVER seen. They are probably about 2 inches long and are so big and thick that they look like they have flesh. They look like a GIANT ant/cricket/grasshopper/frog or something. Anyway, we caught the thing and put it in this jar where it died. She decided to take it to school and show everyone.
When I picked her up from school yesterday I asked her how her day was. She said, "This was probably the best day of my whole life!" I said, "Really? Why?" And she said, "Mom it was So cool! Everyone was crowded around me and pushing to see the bug and everyone wanted to hold it and look at it and even Mrs. Jenkins got excited when she saw it!"
Ha ha ha....
Funny how being "popular" means so much...even in 1st grade. Kinda sad actually. Anyway, I hope she has more "Best" days that top the "bringing a gross bug to school" day.
(I wish I had thought to take a picture of it...but I didn't. I will take one of the next one we find though because I KNOW you all are JUST dying to see it! ;o)

Rihanna ft. Ne-Yo - Hate That I Love You

Heard this song yesterday and it reminded me of how I feel about my hubby. What do ya'll think? like it?

The "itch"

This past weekend, I got a wild hair and decided to dig through our VHS tapes and find some old family videos. I found one and stuck it in, not knowing what was going to be on it. It started out with some cute videos of Brooklyn singing and dancing when she was about 2. Then it switched over to me laying in a hospital bed about to give birth to Grant. I was overcome with gladness...as I had completely thought that I had erased that video! For the past 2 or so years...I have not allowed myself to watch any home videos because I was just SICK that I had recorded over the tape that had his birth on it. (or so I had thought). I just couldn't bring myself to watch the tapes and finalize it---that it was gone--so I had just stayed away from it all. I haven't even video TAPED anything in the past 2 years either! Anyway, so, we are sitting there watching the tape and I am getting all teary eyed with all of this. How precious and sweet my little curly-haired red-headed girl was! Always singing and dancing and making up songs that include the words "I love my mommy so much" in them! Then, along comes Grant. This BEAUTIFUL baby boy who stole my heart the SECOND he arrived. I've been IN LOVE with him ever since. Suddenly I find myself wanting another baby and wanting one NOW and BAD! This led me to the computer to search for a puppy. You see the correlation right? I mean, I obviously can't have another baby and I sure can't have one RIGHT THIS MINUTE...so the next best thing is a puppy. So, I find one, call about it, go see it and they give it to me right then. (which was last night). We stop at Wal-Mart and spend $50 on a bed, toys, a collar and some food and bring the little guy home. The kids are in love and so excited! Then he potties in the floor. Oh well...you have to expect that with a puppy right? Anyway...long story short...he pottied in the floor 6 more times by morning and Matt and I started thinking about what all this puppy was going to require. We realized that we REALLY hadn't thought this whole idea through and we'd made a mistake. Besides the potty training issue...another dog means more $$ for food, vet bills, groomer, etc. Also more poop to scoop and LOTS more responsibility. Since he's a puppy...he chews on EVERYTHING in sight and that was going to be impossible to keep everything picked up all the time...plus, we'd have to find a way to feed him and Sam seperately since Sam is on a special diet. It just wasn't going to work. So, this morning before we left for school, I made the kids say their "Final" good-byes to our little Brody. They were very sad...but I told them that it was for the best and that he'd find another home where the people will take good care of him. Then I took him back this morning and it about BROKE my heart. He is SO cute and SWEET! I've been so extra-emotional lately anyway...but then this...ugh! whah!!!

So, here's what our puppy-for-a-day looked like. He's back up for adoption if any of you are interested!

Wednesday Weigh-In

I was half-tempted to not even do this post today seeing as how what I have to say is COMPLETELY DEPRESSING...but I am commited to this and I know this is just what happens sometimes...so I am going to tell the truth. This morning when I got on the scale...it said I had GAINED a pound! ERGH! Talk about discouraging! So...this is the breakdown...started dieting and lost 5 pounds in the first week. Lost nothing/gained nothing in the 2nd week. Gained a pound in the 3rd week. So...I am at 149 right now. My only "hope" is that maybe the weight loss just hasn't "caught up" with me yet. You know how sometimes you think to yourself, "man I've been eating a lot lately and I don't even feel any fatter" and then all of a sudden a few days later it's like it all "catches up" with you and suddenly you feel like an elephant? Well, sometimes it takes a little while for all your hard work to catch up with you too...and I am hoping and praying that is what is going on with me. I have been working out HARD and a LOT lately...and counting my calories...so I know I am doing the right stuff. If you watched The Biggest Loser last night, you saw that they are also not dropping pounds very fast either. Most of them only lost 3 pounds this past week (compared with 10 pounds average on other weeks/episodes).
Anyway, I am not giving up. If I continue to have little or no weight loss..I guess I'll just have to get even stricter with my diet. I've been aiming for 1200 cal. a day for these past 3 weeks...but I've been kind of "sloppy" with it, not being exact when it comes to dishes I am making for dinner--just doing guesstimations...
Okay, so that's it for now...will update you all again next Wednesday! How are you guys all doing?

Miracle Grow

Man, that stuff really works! We planted this tree on Saturday, added some Miracle Grow and now look at it!!!

No, ha ha...just kidding. Actually, the first picture is of a tree we planted about 2 years ago...and the 2nd picture is of a new tree we planted Saturday. This just shows how much they will grow in 2 years! Not bad! Eventually this line of trees we are planting will act as a "fence" between us and our neighbors. There is a barb-wire fence there...but we'd like to have some more privacy, which why we are planting the trees.

Boys just wanna have fun!

So..the other day Brooklyn and I are having a little "salon" time together. I did my toenails and then I did her fingernails and her toenails. I noticed that Grant had been being SUCH a good boy---keeping busy in the other room playing while we did our girly stuff. But, once I got done doing our nails..I remembered that he needed his nails clipped too, so I went and found him playing (washing his hands over and over) in the sink. Okay..whatever..he's not supposed to do that...but no biggie. So I get him out of the water and get set to clip his nails and I'm like, "Grant?!? what is all over your hands?" They are this weird bluish, purplish color. Huh? He just says "I dunno". Then I get to his middle finger and there is big glob of purple and it dawns on me! Fingernail polish!!!! Sure enough, he'd been in Brooklyn's room, in her floor painting his fingernails purple!!! The bottle was laying in her carpet with the lid half on/half off! I ran over and grabbed it and THANK GOD there was only just a teeny tiny drip! Anyway, I asked him about it and he just kept mumbling "I dunno" and looking down at his feet. He was big-time GUILTY! Anyway, I told him he wasn't in trouble this time because he didn't know...but from now on...he has to ask mommy if he wants his nails painted! ha ha

Ooooowwwwwwwuuuuchhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Okay, so...how many of you recognize this weapon I have pictured here? Yes, that's right...it's an eyelash curler. Weapon? you ask. Well, let me just TELL you! Thursday I hosted a Pampered Chef party and while I was running around like a chicken-with-my-head-cut-off trying to get everything ready and cleaned, I also had to try to get MySelf ready....so, here I am...in the bathroom standing in front of the sink--Matt's in the shower behind me and I am furiously putting my make up on so I can be at least presentable when my consultant arrives. I grab my eyelash curler As Always....
As a matter of fact...let me just stray from this first story for a second and tell you all that I actually had my eyelash curler out just the day before that so I could take a picture of it and put it on my blog and tell you all about how much I LOVE that thing and how that EVERYONE should have one and use it DAILY because it really makes a HUGE difference in the way your lashes look. Boy...if I'd only known then what I know now about WHAT a difference it can make!
Okay..so back to the first story...I grab my curler, put it on my left eyelashes, squeeze together and count to five. I release...and ta-dah! perfect! long, thick-looking curled lashes. Now, for the right eye. I put in on there, squeeze and then WHAT THE HECK??? My bleeping fingers twisted and t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-ch ALL MY EYELASHES JUST RIPPED RIGHT OUT!!!! I look down at the curler and there are all of my long, thick-looking eyelashes laying there on the little rubber thingy! I look in the mirror and start sobbing. I look like a FREAK! Okay..I know that is bad to say...but really, that's what I thought. So...Matt's still there in the shower and I tell him what happened through my tears and he starts CRACKING UP! Hardy-har-har! That of course makes me cry even harder. So, I eventually quit crying, re-apply my make up and attempt to draw on some fake eyelashes onto my eyelid. Finally, I just fixed my hair so that it would lay aross my face and cover my eye so you couldn't see it. Then I just PRAYED to GOD that eyelashes grow...!?!?!
So...for your viewing entertainment...here is a picture of the "new" me.

At Laaaaaaaaaaast!

At laaaaast....the time has come....(hear the song in your head?)I have been wanting to blog for oh...about a week now but just haven't been able to find the time. I actually have a note pad on my desk with a list of things I want to remember to blog about when I find time! (pretty pathetic) but as busy as my life has been this past week...if I didn't write them down..I never would have been able to remember.So, first of all I'll tell you a funny little story:The other day while in the car, I was trying to work with Brooklyn on her counting. They've been learning how to count by 10's and 5's at school. This prompted me to tell her about counting by 2's and then about even and odd numbers. She didn't understand, so I used several examples like if I had 5 M&M's and I had to divide them up equally between her and Grant...that would be impossible because that is an ODD number...but if I had 4 M&M's that would be easy because that is an EVEN number. Anyway, after about 15 minutes of this she said, "I still don't get it." To which Grant said, "I get it!!" To which Brooklyn responded, "You don't get it...you just wanna make a fool out of me!"Ha Ha Ha...Matt and I cracked up. She didn't see what was so funny...but we sure got a good laugh.

Secondly, now, I'll tell you a more serious story:Saturday, the ---- hit the fan, so to speak, at our house where our houseguest is concerned. It's a long story and probably not one that I should go into a lot of detail about because it's "our family business" as my husband would say. And he's right. I'm just such a blabber mouth that it's my tendency to want to just blabber on and give you every little detail. Anyway, long story short----some bad stuff happened, feelings got hurt, words were said, possesions got ruined, time got wasted, money got wasted---but in the end, the truth was told. My husband has gained my utmost respect for the way he has handled himself throughout this. He is the most tenderhearted Macho guy you'll ever meet. He has the tough-man exterior and it goes pretty deep---but somewhere in there, in his innermost being...he is a sweet little marshmallow. I look up to him in a whole new way after this whole experience (during the last 3 months). Anyway, it will be bitter-sweet to see PeePaw go. The kids have grown SO close to him since having him live here with us. The first thing they say when they walk into the house or when they wake up is "Where's Peepaw?" I will also miss him. He's been my friend throughout the days when it's just me and the kids here...he's been an always willing babysitter ANYtime I needed him..and he's also been my yard guy for most of the summer! It just feels like a "party" all the time when you have someone else around---to play games with, to cook for, to watch movies with... Matt, of course, has enjoyed having his dad so close. They've gone fishing a few times and have had lots of time to reminice. (sp?) In all...it's been a great time having him here with us...other than the times we let ourselves get frustrated that we were having to support and take care of a full grown adult. Nevertheless, we wouln't trade this time together for anything. The kids (especially Grant) hardly knew him before this..and now they are buddies for life. Brooklyn has always been his biggest fan...and she still is. Of course though...there comes a time when things have to change...and people have to move on. After the whole episode that happened this weekend, we all realized that this isn't going to work anymore. So...we will miss him dearly and hope he comes to visit OFTEN...but Peepaw is leaving this weekend.

Okay and now, thirdly (if that is even a word??)...here is a LOVE story for you all:

I received this text message on my phone yesterday morning:
Hey Babe. I love you and miss you. You're such a blessing to me. I'm a lucky man. I thank God for you.

I wrote back:
It means so much to me that you feel that way. Isn't it amazing how God put us together---such an unlikely pair and yet a perfect match! I love you and I respect you more than ever. You have handeled this situation so honorbly. I am so proud to be your wife.

And he wrote back:
And what a woman and good mother you have become. Thanks for always taking care of us.

And I wrote back:
It's all I have ever wanted. God has given me the desires of my heart!

Now that folks...is the sign of a good marriage. It didn't come easy...but like anything, with hard work and dedication, lots of love and forgiveness and most importantly with GOD....marriage can be AWESOME!

Okay, so there...that's 3 things checked off the list. The rest of these "stories" have pictures to go along with them...so I will post them seperately.

check it out...

If you haven't already, please go over to amos's blog and check out the YouTube video. It has truely touched my heart.

Friday night, Brooklyn went to her friend, Faith's birthday party which was at this really cool place. It was like a little castle with lots of different rooms and "castles". There was a "salon" area where the girls got to sit in cute barstools and get their hair and make up and nails done. Then there was the "dressing room" where they got to change into 1 of about 200 dress up costumes. After that, they had a fashion show and did a group dance on the stage. They also had a microphone for them to sing along with the Hannah Montana cd that was playing. It was a really fun time and the girls had a blast!

Here Brooklyn is dressed up as the princess of "Cotton Candy Castle". Cute!

Wednesday Weigh-In

Okay...just like I thought....the scale still says 148. Bummer! I was hoping for at least a pound or two. Actually, I got on the scale 4 times this morning and the 2nd time...it said 147...but then the next two times it said 148 again...so I guess that is probably right. That's okay though. I expected it. Anytime you lose a lot in the first week (5 pounds last week) the next week is usually small. Did ya'll watch Biggest Loser last night? Boy, they sure found that to be true too! They had significantly lower weight loss percentages this week...but that doesn't mean what they're doing isn't working. Watch and see...next week their (and my) numbers will be back up!
Anyway, I took a picture of this Odwalla Bar! so I would remember to tell you all about it. It's a great on-the-go breakfast (or snack). It's found in the food section at Wal-Mart by the "diet" foods. (ie..weight watchers and slimfast bars). It has 240 calories but it also has 4 g. of Protien and a good amount of fiber and calcium. It is made with real fruit and whole grains and tastes EXACTLY like a banana nut muffin. They are $1.14 a peice.
Okay....tune in again next Wednesday for my next update! How are you all doing with your goals?

A Sunday of First's

It's 7:14 am Sunday morning and things are going perfectly. (wow---that's a first!) I've already been up, showered, done my make-up & hair and am completely ready. As soon as I finish typing this..I am going to get the kids up, bathe and dress them and then we're off to EARLY service!! (wow---that's (almost) a first!) If we make it there on time...that'll be a first too!
After church, we are going to Souper Salad because I have some BOGO coupons and plus...eating there is actually OK for my diet. (which is going great by the way---I am already feeling thinner!) Then it's back home for an hour or two before I head to the gym for a couple of classes. (wow---that's a first too!!! going to the gym on Sunday!)
I am feeling optimistic about my day...I hope it holds up to my expectations!
Will write again soon!
Must go wake up kids...:o)

Ninety Six!!!!!!!!!!!

Ninety Six--96---that is the number of shirts in my 3-year-old son's closet at this moment. Is that INSANE or what? Plus....that's not even counting however many there are in the dirty clothes basket right now or the fact that I just sold a huge rack of the kids' clothes in the JBF sale this week!!!!
For the past half hour, I have been putting away laundry in the kids rooms and I just can't believe how many clothes they have. Of course...I am counting summer and winter clothes...but still, that seems a bit on the ridiculous side...that he has 96+ shirts.
What's even more crazy...is that he has 1 or 2 that are his FAVORITE and those are the only ones he will willingly wear. Ha!
Okay..back to work.....

You know you're a hick when you...

go to "town" for more paint with no make up on, hair in pig tails, wearing a shirt with about 10 holes in it, shorts that have bleach splattered all over them and nasty, old tennis shoes w/o socks. Matt was worried about going into the store the way he looked (old t-shirt & shorts) until he looked over at me. seriously!

Anyway, let me just pass on a tip I learned tonight to you all. When you get ready to paint something---Always buy your paint at Wal-Mart! (unless your super-rich and then it doesn't really matter). For some nutty reason, I thought I had to go to Benjamin Moore for my paint since they are the ones who make the Pottery Barn colors. $105 later (for 3 gallons) I remembered that Wal-Mart can reproduce any color you want. So...instead of buying my Santorini Blue and Branchport Brown from Benjamin Moore...I went by Wal-Mart and sure enough. All they had to do was type into their computer those paint names and it came up "Benjamin Moore Classic Color Santorini Blue" with the exact codes that were on the paint sample card thingy. Then they just select what kind of paint (eggshell, satin, gloss, flat) and then interior or exterior and ka-boom---it formulates the mixture. After the guy got them all mixed up, I dipped my finger in the paint and smeared it on the little paint card from Benjamin Moore and when it dried...it had completley disappeared...meaning they were able to match it up EXACTLY. And the best part...Wal-Mart's paint is only $12/gallon compared to $35/gallon at B.M. Wow! Sure wish I'd remembered that a couple of days ago though. Oh well. Anyway, as you can tell, I've been painting like crazy for the past several days. I am just about finished with the gold color and now I am going to begin with my blue and brown (in the master bedroom and bath). I will post pics when it's all done.

Next up is Brooklyn's room. She's had the same bedding/decor for the past almost 4 years....light pink & green.....and she's ready to move onto some bolder more "big-girl" colors. There is a rug that Pottery Barn sells that I love. I can't afford to buy it seeing as how it is like $500 bucks...BUT...I think I am going to try to duplicate the colors/pattern onto one of her walls. I'll post a pic of it so you can see what I mean. We are going to do kind of a retro, funky girly look in her room. Lots of swirls and paisleys and bold color. Brown, Dark Pink, Orange, Cream, Dark Purple, Turquiose, Lime Green...that sort of thing. I am on the hunt for the perfect comfortor/quilt for her room now...so if anyone sees anything---let me know!

Oh by the way, I got some cute shoes for B. at Dillards yesterday. They had them marked down to 75% off...so they were a steal!

okay, so after I took the picture of the shoes...I was laying in Brooklyn's floor with the camera in my hand....so....I decided to show you all just how goofy I really look! In my "right mind" I probably wouldn't share such a gross picture...but since it is 12:43 am and I've been sniffing paint for 3 hours straight-Plus-I am beyond tired, past exhausted and entering into delirous....I will post it anyway!

Okay..goodnight! I have a BIG day of painting ahead of me tomorrow! Better get a couple of hours of sleep!

Oh ya, one more thing. This is the rug I was talking about. (The brown one).

Hola! Buenos Dias!

So, last night was my first Spanish class at church. (the first of 12). The teacher told us that by the end of week 12, we will be able to attend a social gathering (which will be held at our church) and ONLY speak Spanish at it the whole time! Wow! Last night we started with the alphabet. It's pretty different. Did you know that in the Spanish language, the "H" sound is Always silent....you Never pronounce the "huh" sound. Here are a few key phrases we learned last night:
Buenos Dias = Good Morning or Good Day because "dias" actually means day.
Buenas Tardes = Good Afternoon
Buenas Noches = Good Evening or Good Night because "noches" actually means night
Also manana (mon-yawn-ah) means tomorrow. I always thought it meant Monday!
This will certainly be an interesting class. I just hope I have the want-to enough to follow through with it. The main reason I am taking the class is so that I can communicate with my next-door neighbor who only speaks Spanish (and a teeny bit of broken English). Her daughter, who likes to come over and play with my kids, ONLY speaks Spanish so I can't ever communicate with her at all. Plus, I think it will be a helpful tool in many areas of life.
Anyhow, just curious...how many of you know Spanish?

2 things I did today on line:

Just wanted to pass these things along to you all that I found online this morning:
1. You can go to www.kraftfoods.com/kids and down load cute jokes to put in your kids lunch box. (while you're there...sign up to receive their free recipe magazine! It's GREAT!)
2. You can go to www.kashi.com and get a free snack. They are trying to help people choose better, healthier snacks...so go claim yours!

Wednesday Weigh-In

I am cringing as I type this because I know you are all rolling your eyes at the fact that I am once AGAIN talking about my weight. It's just an ongoing thing for me...always has been and always will be. Maybe you guys aren't as tired of hearing about it as I think...??? but the people who've been with me forever (my husband and my childhood friends) think that I obsess about this. Regardless...this is my blog...and I want to (as minimally as possible) chronical on here how my progress is going.
As I mentioned before, last Tuesday I weighed 153 and I was stunned. It'd been a while since I'd been on a scale and the last time I had weighed, I was in the 145 range....so I never expected to see that the numbers had risen so much. I made a vow to myself (and my hubby) when I first lost all my weight that I would NEVER let the scale get above 150 again in my LIFE. So, when I saw this...I knew it was time to take serious action. Since that very day...I have been counting my calories (1200/day) and exercising more and I have given up ALL soda drinking---meaning even DIET soda. Even though it doesen't have any calories...the studies are saying now that drinking diet pop can make you gain weight...so I figured it's worth a try. Also, since my fav. TV show The Biggest Loser started last night...I am going to pretend in my mind in the little world that I live in that I am doing it "with" them. When I want to quit exercising..I'll just think of those people and how hard they are working and that will be motivation to keep going.
SO.....drumroll please.....
After 1 solid week of doing everything right....I am down to 148! Hooray! 5 pounds! Off to a good start. Of course, I know from previous experience, that usually the first week is "big" and then the subsequent weeks--the numbers don't change so much. But usually by the 3rd or 4th week, I will be seeing some good results again. Anyway, I am only going to weigh once a week (Wednesday's) and I will post my results for you all to see. I would LOVE to encourage any/all of you to join me on this! It's really just as simple as limiting your calories (write EVERYTHING down) and doing some sort of exercise EVERY day.
My goal is to be at or below 130 by Christmas---which is completely attainable if I stick to this.
So, that's it for this week!
How many of you are going to join me???

9-11

We haven't forgotten!

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chron. 7:14)

BEFORE picture

This is the "Before" picture of what our walls looked like before I began painting them. Saturday after our work out at the gym, we just randomly stopped by the paint store and picked out a paint color for the house. Then I came home and started painting and painted until midnight that night. I had to do the kitchen, dining room, living room and entry way because the walls all just run together. Tell me what ya'll think about it.

So, here is a finished picture of what the color turned out looking like. It's a teensy bit more yellow than I was going for. I wanted more of a golden brownish color...but I paid a fortune for this Benjamin Moore paint...so this color will do. Maybe, if I get to feeling really ambitous, I'll put a dark brown glaze over it to give it some dimension...but for now...this'll have to do. I still think it really warms up the room a lot. Matt likes it so that is a huge plus. He wasn't too sure about my color ideas at first but he usually just trusts my choices when it comes to decorating or painting. (Thank you honey!!)

This is the new quilt I bought for our bed. I loved it at-first-sight but then the more I got to looking at it, I liked it even more because I realized I could keep our same curtains and most of our same throw pillows that we already have. I did start painting the walls in our bedroom that same gold color but decided to quit and paint it a soothing shade of steele-blue instead. It's a Pottery Barn color called Santorini Blue. There isn't any blue in this quilt...but I think they'll go nicely together and give a little contrast. (hopefully anyway!) I will post pics when it's all done.

Old Sam-Bone

While I am doing all this painting, I moved Sam's little bed out from the corner it is usually nestled in...over in front of this table. He looked so cute and comfy sleeping there tonight...I took a picture of him. He has been doing really good losing weight over the past few months. I haven't weighed him but you can really tell it just by looking at him. Last time we had him at the vet...they said he was about 30 pounds overweight...so we are working on getting him back to a healthy weight. Guess even dogs aren't exempt from counting calories! ha ha

Words

Why is it that a word you hear all the time sounds fine when anyone says it EXCEPT when you hear your 3 year old say it?
Lately, Grant has taken a liking to the movie The Little Rascals. We bought that movie back when Brooklyn was littler (4 ish) and she just loved it. She watched it over and over. Now Grant has decided he likes it and has watched it several times recently. However, our DVD player downstairs isn't working...so when he watches...he watches it upstairs. (out of our hearing distance) Well, lately he's been calling everyone around here (in our house) "jerk" and "freak". Well, naturally, I was apalled at this kind of language. I mean, the work "jerk" isn't that big of a deal normally...but when my little 3-year-old walks over and calls me it....then it becomes a big deal---and sounds awful! Eventually (30 "jerks" and "freaks" later), Matt and I realized that they say those words on that movie. The problem is....he LOVES to say these words. Mostly to his sister because it makes her SO MAD when he calles her that and what could be better than making your big sister STEAMING MAD? (insert big sigh here with a roll of the eyes) I have spanked, threatened and given time outs for him saying these words but it just seems like it's worth it to him to take the punishment for the satisfaction he gets from making his sister that upset. What a crooked thing....to get that much joy out of someone else's anguish. And they are both that way. I've gotten to where I'll watch Brooklyn's face out of the corner of my eye when Grant is getting in trouble and she is as HAPPY and GIDDY as can be that he's being disciplined. Maybe that is what "sibling rivalry" is all about....!?! I never had a brother or sister around when I was growing up. (my 4 siblings were 10+ years older than me). I grew up pretty much surrounded by respectful adults...and would have NEVER even thought of talking like my kids do.
Anyway, one more gripe in the way of words......I noticed the other day that Nickolodian has a commercial out right now about parents talking to their kids about sex. It says the word "sex" about 5 times. Now Brooklyn LOVES to say "sex". I asked her what she thinks that word means and she said "when you kiss with your clothes off". Hmmm....not too far from the truth...but really....do I have to be having this talk with her ALREADY? She's only SIX for crying out loud. I just don't understand why kids channels want to put such OBVIOUS commercials out there. I've heard her say her barbies were having "sex" now and also when we were watching a tv show the other day and the wife walked out of the bedroom buttoning up her shirt...Brooklyn said "They were probably in there having sex". Now that REALLY sounds weird coming out a 6 year olds mouth.
Am I over reacting or is this crazy? How do I teach them that certain words are inappropriate to say even though they aren't curse words???

Muscles (and snacks)

Matt has been working out diligently for about 2 months now building up his muscle mass. I think he's looking pretty good and he's been getting compliments from some of my friends...so I know his hard work is paying off. Of course, I couldn't let him get all the attention...I had to show you my gun too! ha ha

Also, we've been eating a little healthier around here lately and today the kids snacks just looked so yummy---I took a picture!

Our Little Vacation

First of all...here is my new hair cut...though you can't really see it because this pic is dark....but I tried. :o)

So....we left town on Friday afternoon after a good 2 hour work out at the gym for me and hubby. Things were going great until we got hung up in traffic for about an hour going at a maximum speed of 5 mph. (AUGH!) Matt said he was "about ready to chew his arm off." It was just long and grueling and the kids wanted out of the car BAD. In all though, we made it there just fine and only an hour later than schedule. For our first night, we just grilled burgers with Matt's mom and new husband, Duane and hung out around their new house. The weather was perfect and it was just so relaxing. While we were playing outside in their back yard, we heard the ice cream truck coming down the block. It's been forever since Brooklyn has gotten to do that and NEVER for Grant...so we ran out and stopped the guy and Nana treated them to an ice cream of their choice. Then Matt and I took advantage of being in a neighborhood and took out their bicycles for a ride. Wow! It had probably been a good 15 years since I've been on a bike so I was a tad bit nervous stopping and rounding corners...but like they say...you never forget how to ride a bike and before long Matt and I were racing---going as fast as our legs/feet could pedal. We were both totally sweaty and exhausted after that. We enjoyed it so much and mentioned how fun it would be to do that together more often....but we have no where to ride unless we pack up and drive 15 minutes to a trail.

Saturday: We woke up to Duane fixing eggs, bacon and toast out on the grill. Yum! How nice to have breakfast cooked for ME for a change! After eating, we went for a walk and came upon a garage sale. We didn't buy anything (not even the Victoria Secret nighty that Brooklyn BEGGED me to buy for her! ha ha) but the kids had fun looking through the stuff. They especially got excited about finding pennies on the ground all throughout the walk! We actually found 14 cents, which they thought was awesome! ha ha

Next I got cleaned up and had lunch with my good friend Joy. We went shopping at a few of my old favorite places and I picked up a new apron to add to my collection. They have SO many cute ones but this one just stood out to me right away and I had to have it. I am really becoming addicted to aprons these days. I wear one EVERY day and sometimes, I actually keep it on most of the day. They are so cute though...and they hide your tummy....and they keep your clothes clean. Perfect!

So after lunch, we changed into our swim suits and took the kids to the sprinkler park there. Our nephew, Jaxon, came too and they kids had SO much FUN playing together. Usually when we go visit, we are just at peoples houses and they never really get to run around and go wild...so this was a special treat.

Saturday night we had dinner at Matt's Mamaw's house. She is so sweet and dear to us. There has been some family "drama" going on lately that has made her feel aileniated from the family so it was good to spend some special time with her. Man, I just despise how the enemy can come in and cause division in a family!

Sunday, we had another special treat: We got to go out the lake where my friend (and fellow blogger) Kandy was camping with her family! It was so fun to see one another in person (instead of just e-mailing). The kids finally got to meet one another and play together. It wasn't nearly enough time though. Someday we need to go camping WITH them for a couple of days so we can really hang out!

Sunday evening we had dinner with Matt's other grandma, Nane. She is the coolest grandma ever. She dressess totally chic and cute and has GREAT taste in decor and everything really. She's so much fun. There we got to visit with Matt's little brother and his wife (Cale & Lindsay) and also with his aunt Jenna and uncle Bob. The kids got to play together again so they loved that.

On Monday morning, we headed off to White Water for a day of fun in the sun and water. It turned out that Grant was too little to go down most of the slides and Brooklyn was too scared. There was one that we could all ride together, The Big Kahuna, and that was a lot of fun. Then another one we each rode down individually on a raft. It was pretty big and loopy and at times it felt like you were gonna go over the side. Brooklyn was really nervous about going down it and didn't want to at all but I just knew if I could get her to try it...she'd love it. Well...I was wrong. She cried and cried afterwards and said she hated it. Oh well....who knew!?! Then there was a slide called The Cannonball. Grant wanted to try it so I told him I'd take him on it. I saw a sign that said you must be 42" to ride...but at that point, we hadn't measured him so I didn't know if he was tall enough or not. There wasn't a measuring pole anywhere so we just got in the line and waited our turn. When we finally got to the top, I was going to send him down first. So I got him sat down at the top of the slide and was just about ready to give him a push when the attendant said, "whoa...wait a minute. We need to measure him" Well, it turns out he's only about 38" tall...so he didn't get to ride. I wasn't going to walk back down though after having waited that long so I just left him there with the guy while Matt came up and got him and I went on down the slide. AND OH MY GOSH! What was I THINKING???? In all the excitement, I hadn't even payed any attention to what the slide was going to be like. I flew off that thing like a speeding bullet and hit the water so hard my bottoms went right into my crack, my top flew up and my hand shot off my nose...thus sending gallons of water up my nostrils. When I finally came up, I was gagging and coughing and spewing water everywhere! Man, I guess I am getting old! ha ha Anyway, needless to say, my enthusiam for trying new, adventursome slides dwindled a bit after that. I had actually totally planned on going down "The Big Wedgie" where it is STRAIGHT down...until I had that experience and then I wimped out.

Also to note about our WhiteWater Adventure is that Grant POOPED HIS PANTS while going down a water slide! Ugh! I went over to get him after he'd come down on his own little raft and when I walked over there, I thought, "man something stinks"....then I pulled open his swimming trunks in the back and was agast at what I saw! The kid had had major diarrhea and it was running down his legs!!! Of course, we were at the slides farthest away from the bathrooms so I had to carry him for like half a mile like this....of course....the "stuff" was running down my legs by the time we got to the bathroom. I had to have Matt go out to the van to get another pair of swimming trunks for him to change into. Thank GOD the place has showers and soap!!! So, we get all cleaned up and head back for the slides. We walk the 30 flights of stairs(carrying huge tubes) to the very top and finally get to the front of the line when Grant looks at me and says, "Mommy, I have to go poo poo again." Oh man...I was STEAMING! I carried him all the way back down the 30 flights of stairs and to the bathroom again where I discovered that he had gone again in his pants. Poor little guy. I was so mad--and it wasn't his fault. He'd been having stomach aches all day and he probably couldn't help it...but this was just NOT what I'd envisioned doing half the day at the water park! We ended up deciding to just leave then and go to the hotel.

So, we got to our hotel and got cleaned up (while Grant took a nap) and then we headed over to the riverwalk for dinner. We ate at Toby Keith's restrurant (which cost a fortune) and then took a canal ride through the riverwalk on a little boat. We all enjoyed it. Then we went back to the room and zonked out. The next morning, we woke up whenever we felt like it which happened to be around 8:30 am, ate the free breakfast and then went swimming in the hotel pool for a bit before we got cleaned up and headed out for our day. We had lunch at a cool place called City Bites. The bathrooms there are made of 2-way glass (or at least thats what I think its called) but you can see out and see all the people sitting around eating....but they can't see you. It makes it a little hard to pee when you can see everyone in the restruant around you...but it was fun for the kids.

After that we went to the Omniplex Science Museum for lots of fun brain stimulation. They had all kinds of brain teasers and little experiements you could do and it was all educational. Then, finally, we headed home! Whew! That was a lot of typing. I hope you guys didn't get too bored reading it all!

Man, I must be full of crap...

cuz according to the scale at the Omniplex Science Museum yesterday, I have gained 10 pounds since I last weighed!!!!! AUGH!!!!! All I can figure is that I am severely constipated and that if my body worked right....I would poop often enough to keep this from happening. Seriously guys....and I know this is gross and disgusting and WAYYY too much info....but how many of you suffer from the once-a-week-dump issue? Cuz I sure do and LOTS of people I know do too. All women. What's up with that? My husband and most men I've ever met (and discussed this with) all poop AT LEAST daily....if not more like 2-3 times a day! Jeepers! If I went that much...I'd be who-knows-how-many pounds thinner! Think about it...it's basic math right? 3 meals in a day x 7 days equals (a minimum of) 21 meals a week. Now if you pooped 2-3 times day...that would even out just fine...but if you only poop ONCE....that is way off balance cuz there is no way you can poop out 21 meals worth of "garbage" in one sitting.
Now I have tried to fix this problem....I have taken pills, eaten more raisens and stuff like that. I've tried drinking more water, jumping up and down and even just making myself sit on the dang pot even if I don't have to go to try to "train my body" (according to my dad...that's the key). Nothing helps. At one point, I was eating an oatmeal raisen cookie every morning and sure enough..I'd go every day about an hour later...but that only worked for about a month and then I quit going and just started gaining weight from all the cookies! ha ha
Anyhow....this revelation of my weight gain is just disgusting and I am not going to just sit back and let more creep on. I figure since this is beginning of a new season of Biggest Loser on NBC...then I might as well just get on the weight-loss bandwagon with them and see what I can do when I put my mind to it. Now I have more like 30 pounds to lose instead of the 20 that I've been talking about for the past year. BUMMER!
Anyway, sorry for such a nasty post...but that's what's been on my mind this morning.
Of course, I have LOTS of pictures and stories to tell you about our little mini-vacation but I'll have to save that for later when I have more time!