Dirty Laundry

Will you guys do this with me?

I wonder.....how many loads of laundry do we mom's do a week? I decided to keep count and see. I put a post it next to the start button of my washing machine. I am going to write down each load of laundry I do for 7 days and see what I come up with. You guys do it too and we'll see who does the most laundry in a week. I'm also curious...what kind of detergent do you use? Powder or liquid? Do you use fabric softner? What kind? Do you wash all on cold? All on hot? Or a mixture of both? Do you follow the guidelines on your measuring cup and only fill to the 1 line for a small load, to the 2 line for a medium load and to the 3 line for a large load?
Feel free to leave me your answers and at the end of the week, we'll see how we stack up!

Where'd April go?

I can Not believe tomorrow will be May! It feels like just the other day we went from March to April...and now May already? Tomorrow is Grant's last day of school!!! My "summer" is already starting! Augh! I am not ready for all of this! Usually by this point, I have 1) already planned Grant's birthday party (May 13th), 2) planned for Mother's Day, bought cards/gifts (May 11) and 3) made up some sort of schedule for summer so I can get my work done WHILE I have Grant home. I feel like I am so behind! On top of that, I have so many things planned for this month, I don't see how I'm ever gonna get above water.
I have something going on May 1, 4, 7, 9, 11, 13, 17, 19, 20 and we're going out of town the 23rd- 26th.
On top of all that, I am cooking 3, yes I said THREE, gormet (from recipes) meals a day to go with our P90X nutrition plan AND working out a minimum of 1 hour a day EVERY day.
I'm not getting nearly enough sleep lately. It seems like it's at least 11 or later before I finally get into bed and then I have to be up by 5 am to get our work out in. 6 hours may be good for some people...but I am an eight-hour-girl.
Anyway, I totally should NOT be sitting here doing this right now. I have to leave to take the kids to school in 20 minutes and I am still in my jammies and they haven't even had breakfast. Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!
I rented 27 Dresses for tonight and I am Sooooooo looking forward to relaxing on the couch and watching it! hopefully the kids cooperate!

New Blog!

Okay ya'll. Most of you know Matt and I have started doing P90X. I know a lot of you don't even know what that is...so to put it simply..it's a work out and nutrition plan that gets you "Ripped in 90 days". Supposedly when we ae finished with this, around July 28th...we should be lean, mean, muscle machines!
If you're really interested in seeing what we're doing, you can go to their website at www.p90x.com and check it out. Anyway, since that is going to be a big part of my life for the next 90 days, I decided to start a new blog so I can ramble as much as I want to about it and my weight and not have to bore my "regular readers" with all that. However, if you WANT to read about it, you can check out my new blog at http://p90xourjourney.blogspot.com.
Sorry the link thingy isn't working at this time.

One of the best!

This past weekend was one of the best we've had! It was Matt's 32nd birthday Saturday and his mom and her husband came up to celebrate with us. We started it out by grilling out Friday night and enjoying the beautiful weather. I had all the windows open, the house immaculate and the candles lit. After dinner and birthday cake, Matt opened his gifts. I only got him 3 things this year...but one of them was a big one. I got him a Nike real-leather football, the game Balderdash that we've been wanting for a long time and the big one was a hand-made knife. Matt's foreman at work makes these knives by hand and lots of the guys up there have bought one from him. Well, he's mentioned wanting one several times so a few weeks ago I called his boss and asked if he could make one for me to give him as a surprise. He said it was short notice but that he'd try his best to get it done. I asked if he could do it camouflage. Well, he did and it turned out way better than I ever imagined. Matt was TOTALLY surprised and just couldn't get past the fact that I had been secretly talking to his boss about this! ha ha He also got a cool camouflage gun that is a lighter, a camouflage money clip and a Bass Pro gift card from his mom and Duane. My mom and dad got him a cool camouflage outdoor rocking chair from BPS and my grandma gave him a cool toolbox. He also got close to $100 cash from the rest of his family so he made out pretty good! Did you see a trend there with his gifts? Camo EVERYTHING! ha ha



Then after presents, we all sat around the table and played Balderdash. It was even more fun than we had remembered. We finally put it up and went to bed because we knew we had a big day planned for Saturday.
So, Saturday morning we woke up and got packed all up for the lake. We rented a pontoon boat and took it out on the lake all day and fished. It was SO MUCH FUN and we are completely sold on wanting a pontoon boat. Now...if only we could afford it! ha ha STUPIDLY, I forgot sunscreen that morning...so we all ended up blazing red by the end of the day. My part on my scalp is miserably sore! Poor Brooklyn though...with that red hair and fair skin, she was a little lobster! Grant probably took it the best..he just turns tan immediately! (I also forgot my camera!!Bummer!!)

Anyhow, after the boat we came home and got cleaned up for our big night on the town. We had reservations at ShoGun. If you've never been...you should TOTALLY go. It's a little pricey...but SO worth the money. The food is unbeatable but the "show" that goes with it is so much fun! Here are a few pics from that.
Mr. Cool on the way to the restaurant.

Matt's mom, Laura and her husband, Duane.

Me and my handsome hubby! Happy Birthday Baby!

Me stealing a birthday kiss!

Our chef doing some cool tricks.

Matt and Grant with his Camoflage birthday cake! Everyone liked what it said! "Matt You Da Man!"

It turned out that Saturday was prom here so there were tons of teenagers at the restaurant in all their fancy get up. There was even one couple who were dressed in camouflage from head to toe!! She was in a camo prom dress and he was in a camo tux!! Anyway, as we left, we saw all the limo's sitting out in the parking lot so the kids wanted to go over and take a look. The cool driver guy said they could even get in!!! So I, of course, had to snap a pic!

It figures...

just as soon as I posted my big "complaint" post about online ordering...the doorbell rang and there was my P90X. Hooray! Since Matt's b-day is Saturday and we are celebrating by getting reservations at our favorite restrurant...we are going to begin our offical "90 days" on Monday. Wish us luck...and hot bods! :o)

Is it just me?

I don't know if its coincidence or if everybody has this kind of trouble...but I seem to only have bad luck when it comes to ordering things online. I've never been a big fan of online shopping...but when e-bay came out, I tried it a few times. Then I tried selling on e-bay a few times. Those were both negative experiences as the items I ordered weren't exactly what the pictures looked like and when I tried to sell..my stuff sold for so little and I charged so little for shipping, that I actually LOST money on the deal! Then the last thing I ordered on e-bay never did get to me. I had to go through the whole dispute thing and eventually, like a month later, I did get my money refunded...but still..what a pain!
Then came Craig's List. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. For the most part, it has been. But lately, it's been making me crazy. The last 3 things I've sold or tried to sell...have been PAINS in the BUTT! Yesterday I drove all the way to T-town (30 min. drive) to meet some lady in the Wal-Mart parking lot so she could buy my carseat. It's a nice carseat and we only used it occasionally for a 2nd seat in Matt's truck. I know it's worth more...but I'm only asking $20. I posted it 3 days ago and I have had a boat-load of responses. Anyway, this was the first lady who wanted to buy it and meet me somewhere. I had posted 3 pictures of it with lots of details about it and I even have all the original manuals and tags and stuff. So we get to our meeting spot and she looks at it for about 15 minutes and then says she'll call me. WHAT? You mean to tell me I just planned my WHOLE day around this event and I'm not even getting my $20. And to top it off...I totally thought she was buying it so before we met up, I ran in Wal-Mart and bought Brooklyn a Hannah Montana beanbag that she's been wanting for $20...and I ONLY bought it because I knew the $20 was coming for the carseat in a few minutes. ARGH!!
Also, I started ordering a few things online from places like the Gap. It was all good and convenient until I started getting things in the wrong size or not the things that I ordered. Grrr.... Sure, I can easily take them back to the store with no hassle...but it IS a hassle to load up the kids and go to the mall to return something that I didn't even ask for!
And now...my latest ROYAL PAIN IN THE BUTT...is this dang P90X system I ordered off E-bay. I bid on it for about 2 weeks...finally won it for $165 on Apr. 2 and I've been waiting to receive it ever since. I was told by the seller it takes 7-10 days. Of course, I've contacted them several times and apparently they are foreign because they can't even type in complete sentences or with proper english--mixing up present and past tense, wrong use of verbs and pronouns. Anyway, here we are, 22 days later...$165 less in my bank account and still no P90X. AUGH!! I have told them that if I don't receive it by tomorrow (Friday) I will file a dispute. Supposedly they "are shipped the items again". What does that mean? I am going to get 2 of them eventually? (rolling my eyes) I doubt that, although it would be nice for all the trouble. Don't they KNOW that I am getting fatter and fatter by the minute? Every day that the P90X system doesn't come...I am 1 day further away from having my "ripped in 90 days" body. They are totally messing up swimsuit season for me!
Ha ha.
I'll let you know if/when it comes. I actually checked the tracking number on DHL's website a minute ago and it shows estimated delivery date of 4/23. Yesterday. So, surely it will get here today!?!?

Name a famous "Simon"

I can think of 5. How many can you think of?

Talented?

I knew this day would come--when my daughters singing career would officially begin. Yesterday she brought home her first audition form from school. They are having an all-school talent show on the last day of school, May 19th. Auditions are on May 7th. She's 100% positive she wants to do this, which doesn't surprise me although I am proud and admire her boldness and self-confidence--things I SEVERELY lacked as a child.
She has chosen to sing the song "Pure" by Superchick. I was sceptical at first, the song is kind of rappy and has a lot of words sung FAST. But, amazingly enough, I pulled up the lyrics online and had her sing it to me and she knows about 85% of them already! Really, she knows them all...it's just a matter of getting the 3 verses in the correct order. Anyway, I am delighted that she wanted to sing a Christian song. That sounds almost weird to even say because as a child, I wasn't allowed to listen to ANYTHING that wasn't totally Christian...but we aren't nearly that "strict" about what she listens to and I expected her to say she wanted to sing something like Hannah Montana. Actually, her first suggestion was Carrie Underwood's "Before he cheats" but I said "No Way!" to that one! ha ha. Superchick was her 2nd choice. They've been one of her favorite bands for a long time and their message, although more geared to the young-teen crowd, is very honorable, pure and pleasing to God.
So...my role as 'voice instructor' has begun. I'm nervous for her (but I can't let her see it AT ALL because I would be SO mad at myself if she starting acting/feeling that way). She really does have a talent for singing and she can also do something I could never do...which is dance AND sing simeltaneously. I hope to help her coreograph a little routine to go with the song...but we'll see. Maybe my Zumba classes will come in handy now! ha ha
Anyhow, keep her in your prayers. I know this isn't a big deal in reality...in the big picture...but to her and her 7-year-old, first-grade mind...this is MAJOR!
I'll keep ya'll updated on how she's doing and how audtions go!
Here's a link if you wanna take a listen! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfyi0Pky0Vo
Sorry, can't get the link thingy to work...you'll just have to copy and paste.

Do Over

Hey guys! Like I said, when I tried to make-over my blog, I lost a bunch of stuff--including my polls. So, if you already voted on my swimsuit poll...will you please re-vote for me? And if you haven't voted on it yet....get busy! ha ha
Thanks!

No ideas...

Anybody got any cool ideas of places to have a 4 yr. old boy birthday party? (middle of May) I'm trying to keep from spending a fortune. We've already bought all the party stuff (plates, napkins, favors, etc.) so I just need a place. At the moment, its looking like we might do it at a park. Grant's all for it...but that's what we did last year and with our weather around here...we never know if it will be raining or not...and it's ALWAYS windy outside...which means plates and napkins flying everywhere. Anyway, if anyone has any out-of-the-box ideas, please let me know!

I just want to SCREAM!!!!!!

Okay, so almost all of you have done something cute with your blog recently using Pyzam. So I decided to give it a try.
BAD IDEA!!!
I almost lost my entire blog....and when I did finally recover it...I had lost my polls as well as my entire blog roll. Now I have no idea how to find all of your blogs!
I am so bummed. I saved my HTML template to my harddrive before I changed it just in case things didn't work...which they didn't...but I can't figure out how to put it back the old way. If any of you can help me, I would GREATLY appreciate it.
I HATE being so technologically UN-Savvy!

Spring has Sprung!

It got up to 78 degrees here today! Yah-Hoo!! I woke up feeling ready to tackle the day. I had bought paint last night to start painting my bathroom and I was anxious to get it done. I just knew it would be a quick job and I'd be onto something else in no time. "It's just a small bathroom with not many walls, right?" I started at 8 am by getting a bucket of soapy water and washing all the baseboards, trim and light fixtures. They had 2 years worth of dust setting on them and I knew if I was going to do this right...I needed to clean that first. Ick! By 8:30 I was done and was having myself a bowl of cereal--then it was time for the first swipe of the paintbrush. From that moment on, it was like the never-ending project! I painted until 3:30 pm STRAIGHT! Whew!~
As soon as I was finished with that, it was off with the paint-clothes and on with the swimsuit to go out and plant our garden. I bought all the plants Wednesday and they've been sitting in our garage ever since so I knew I better get 'em in the ground while I had time and while the weather was nice. So, until 6 pm I was kneeling in the dirt planting tomato's, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, onions and strawberries. Then at 6, I came in and did my elliptical for 25 minutes on the hardest resistance I could handle and burned 450 calories! Can I get a whoo-whoo! Then it was off to the shower and then over to my mom and dad's for some late supper. I got back home at 8, did the dishes, a load of laundry, cleaned up the living room, gave the kids a bath, put them to bed and now here I sit. Exhausted physically but feeling very peppy mentally. (I have no idea why). Anyhow, thought I'd share a few pics with you all of my before and after bathroom. I am not sure I LOVE the color...but I like it and I think it will grow on me more and more. I'm always so critical of my own work. If it was someone else's house, I'd probably love it. Ha ha!.
Anyway, hope you had a good Ssturday!

Dear Anonymous Readers,
I know you're out there. You've been silently reading my blog, watching my children grow, seeing my struggles with weight and emotions. You've had to keep quiet for the past year or so because I disabled anonymous comments for a period of time. Then, just when I thought it was safe, I enabled anonymous comments again so that some of my friends who don't have blogspots could leave me comments. Much to your delight, I guess, you are now able to leave me comments again. Rude, thoughtless ones.
Rather than be upset about this, I am confused. Why? Why, if you have such poor opinions of me and my life, do you insist on reading my blog? Are you addicted to making others feel bad so you can feel good? Weird. I must wonder what kind of person wastes their life reading people's blogs that they don't like. If that's what your doing, I have some advise for you: GET A LIFE! Seriously. Leave my blog alone. I am not interested in your comments if you are too cowardly to even sign your name to them.
That being said, the next rude anonymous comment I get will force me to disable them again permanently.

Seriously,
J

Second Thoughts

Well, technically, you could call this "Third Thoughts" because this is the 2nd time I've had 2nd thoughts about SADIE. I'm really not "feelin' it"...and neither is Matt or Brooklyn or Grant. She's sweet and cute, no doubt about it...but she is NOT what I had in mind (or my heart) when I pictured us getting another dog. For one thing, she's WAY bigger than we were wanting. I wanted something around 8-12 pounds. SMALL. Something soft and cuddly and lovey-dovey.
At the moment, she is up to 23 pounds (at 6 mo. old) and is growing EVERY day. I took her to the vet on Feb.8th and she weighed 12 pounds. By March 8th, exactly 1 month later, she weighed 22 pounds! By the looks of it, she has even more growing to do! Remember that little outfit I bought her last week? The green and pink one with ruffly trim? Can't even get it on her now! Plus, her hair is getting more wirey and course with every day. And it's all over everything! You can't touch her wihtout getting hair all over you. ICK! On top of that, she is about the LEAST cuddly dog I've ever met. If she is anywhere near a person...she is biting NON stop. She has YET to ever actually lay calmly on my lap and let me cuddle with her. She likes to lay away from everyone else--on the couch or chair by herself or even in her bed. She hasn't made ANY improvement with the potty training despite my consistent efforts. On top of all of that, she barks ALL the TIME! It's irritating as can be. The kids can't even get down in the floor to play or lay down without her scratching and biting them non-stop. Oh and that's another thing, I actually have SCABS running down my legs 24/7 from her toenails. She jumps up on me all day long and lets her razor-sharp toenails slice through my legs from my thigh to my ankle. It's wearing me out. I've taken her several times to get her nails cliipped and/or filed (grinding) and it doesn't help.
I've tried SO HARD to convince myself I love her. and I do care about her and would only want the best for her...but I am sad. I am sad that we paid a lot of money for her and she is nothing like what they told us. We can't do anything about it because the "shelter" we got her from closed down a few days after we got her. They also had just opened a week or two before we got her. I honestly think it was a total scam. Anyway, I just don't know what to do. I still want a dog--it's not that I regret getting one...I just want the kind of dog I've wanted for years...a little, white, soft, cuddly one.
Another reason for wanting another dog was because as sad as it is to even think about...Sam is fixing to have his 9th birthday. That's getting on up there in dog years..and with his obesity..he'll probably not live THAT much longer. If we're lucky...maybe another 5 years. I wanted to get another puppy now that would steal our hearts so that when he does go, it will be a little easier. At this point, the kids constantly holler, "Mom, Get Her Off of ME!!!!" They don't want anything to do with Sadie. Well, Grant does torture her a lot (chasing her and shooting her with his toy rifle) and I'm sure he gets some pleasure from that....but its not the kind I was hoping for.
What do you guys think? Am I being unreasonable? Selfish? Picky? Aghhhh.......
Plus, what would we do with her? Sell her? No one will probably pay anything for her. She doesn't have papers and we don't even know what breed(s) she is. If only it wouldn't be too crazy to think of having 3 dogs. But that IS indeed CRAZY.



So, I go in the living room to take these pictures to put with this post...and there she is...all sprawled out snoozing on the recliner. Now what's not to love about that? She is clearly "at home" here. Oh me, oh my. Will I grow to love her more with time? Will we all? Matt says, "Get rid of her" anytime I mention having these second thoughts. I guess that's men....way less emotionally attached than us women.

Girls-n-Hair!

I woke up to find this note on my desk this morning. I knew Brooklyn had been drawing something last night before we went to bed. Apparently it was a request for straight hair today. She has decided she hates her curly hair (bet you've been there Kate) and she wants straight hair. If only she could recognize now while she's young, how beautiful her curly, red hair is and not want so badly to be a barbie doll like everyone else with straight, blonde hair. Sadly, she may be an adult before she sees that she's got the kind of hair people envy!
Anyhow, I had to share this drawing with you all. It was so cute!
Notice the first girl in the picture has curly, messy hair with a big frown and it says "grose" (she always makes her lowercase g's backwards) and then there is the girl with straight hair and a big smile and it says "Adoribl".
Ha ha!

Welcome Audrey!

Our good friends Rachael & Shawn welcomed their 3rd daughter into the world today. Audrey Kayann weighed 8 pounds and has a head full of dark hair. We were blessed to be there just before Rachael delivered and then were back again just a few minutes after she was born. Here are some pics of everyone waiting...and then our sweet baby girl!

Grant, big-sister Lauren, Brooklyn, big-sister Faith
The 3 girls waiting for #4 to be born!

Here she is! As perfect as can be!

Brooklyn loves her already!

My Little Man

Today at Grant's preschool, they had their annual "Fancy Tea Party" where all the kids get dressed up in their fanciest clothes and they practice their good manners while they have a special snack.
Grandma bought Grant a special tie for the occasion (his first) so I had to get a few pictures of him looking all grown up and "fancy".




Here is one of him with Lauren, his girl-friend. Brooklyn, of course, loves to say she's his "girlfriend" but he won't be havin' it!

Caught in the act!

Yes, folks. I am blogging about this. I know...I probably shouldn't...but I can't help myself. It's too FUNNY and embarrasing not to let you guys get a little laugh out of it too (at my expense, of course!) ha ha.
Anyway, the title of this does actually mean what it says! My DAD walked in on me and Matt last night! You talk about scarred for life...I will never be able to relax again unless I know all the doors are locked and lights are off!!--and that's not to mention what kind of counseling my dad is going to need!! ha ha
I told Matt ahead of time, "You know how my dad is...he just comes walking in any ole time---never knocks." Matt said, "I'm pretty sure all the doors are locked." All I know is all of a sudden I hear "Hellooooooo?? Is anybody home???" We both hightailed it to the bathroom where we are in a fit of laughter and I'm about to cry (while I'm laughing). Meanwhile, my dad's still walking through our house yelling, "Hellooooo??" I got the brilliant idea to turn on the shower to AT LEAST make it sound like someone was in the shower and possibly distract from the obvious. I doubt it worked though...there were peices of clothing strung all over the floor. Ughh..........embarrased just doesn't even explain it. How will I EVER face my father again? Now he knows I'm not a virgin!!
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Ps. BTW, if you're wondering..the kids weren't home.

I have an odd question:

I know this is a strange question...but I am so intrigued by the possible answers to it, that I can't resist asking it. I would love to hear from every one of you...even if you don't know me very well. Feel free to be brutally honest and you can have as many answers as you want. As a matter of fact, the more answers, the better. You can also feel completely free to leave your comment anonymously if you want. So here it is:
If you were me, what would you change about me?

I just think that sometimes seeing ourselves though other peoples eyes can help us to see ourselves more clearly (or at least from a different angle) and then we make adjustments as needed.

God's opinion of me is the most important and that is the standard by which I hold myself...but I'd still like to know what you guys think.

Finish this sentence, "I love Jen...if only she would be more/less_________"

I know this is kinda silly....so don't take it too seriously. Just indulge me. :o)

NKOTB

Please tell me you know what NKOTB stands for?
Thanks to Tammy (again) for letting me in on the big secret that my first-teenage-crush boys are back! Yep, they're makin' music again. But for now...here's a glimpse into your (my) past!
For those of you who gag just thinking about NKOTB, I promise to not leave this song on here for more than a day or two. But...I can't guarantee I won't replace it with another one! ha ha
Who else was in love with one of these guys during your early junior high years?

The Funk

Well, I can't say I'm completely out of "the funk" I've been in here lately...but I can say that I've been quite emotional these past few days (tears) which is at least a little progress over just blank stares at the wall.
My natural instincts want to rant and rave about the Biggest Loser Season Finale I just watched (dvr) but I'm gonna resist. I know a lot of you don't watch it and don't care who won...so I will spare you all the details. I will say, though, that this show has been such an inspiration to me and last nights show really sparked my desire and drive to be the best that I can be (physically). That being said, I am fully aware that the physical aspect of me is only a small part of who I actually am...and it is absolutely second to my spiritual life. Actually, it's more like 4th probably...because God comes first, my hubby second, my kids next, then me (and my body). But I also know that I can do #2 & #3 better when I am taking care of #4. :o)

Anyhow, thank you to all of you for leaving me such encouraging comments! ( and I have to give a special thanks to Tammy & Amy for leaving me hilarious e-mails in my inbox that totally cheered me up). Tammy sent me a YouTube video that I guarantee you 100% that you will smile at. It's humanly impossible not to. http://youtube.com/watch?v=I_mBLWpdwnI
And my friend Amy sent me a copy of an old picture of her and I and some of our friends from when we were in 6th grade. I had the 3 inch high bangs then! It was hilarious!

You know, people who don't use the computer much don't understand the kinds of relationships that can develop online. I've found friendships here that are everybit as meaningful to me as my real-life friendships. And..I've been able to maintain friendships with some of my real-life friends in a way that would have never been possible without the internet. I am so blessed to be surrounded (all over the U.S.) with people who love and care about me. Thank you to every one of you! I seriously think we need to all meet somewhere in the middle sometime! :o)

A season to be somber?

Hey there.

First of all...a special thanks to my friends Amos, Logzie and MissGotWings, for checking in on me. I guess it has been a bit since I've blogged (for me anyway).

Somber (adj.):

1: so shaded as to be dark and gloomy

2 a: of a serious mien :b: of a dismal or depressing character : melancholy c: conveying gloomy suggestions or ideas

3: of a dull or heavy cast or shade

Can you see in my eyes in this picture? I can. Why is it there though? I don't know. Sure, I can muster up a few measly reasons (like the fact that my husband didn't even hardly notice I was wearing my wedding dress the other night) ...but not a big, significant one. Anyway, this probably explains why I haven't posted much in the past several days. I am in one of those moods where I've done a lot of sitting and staring at a blank wall. Brooklyn's asked me several times, "Mom, what are you looking at?"

I can't seem to find much of a laugh or lightheardness anywhere within me. What's frustrating about this is the fact that I have NOTHING to be unhappy about. You all know what a wonderful life I have...but even if I had NOTHING and I was the poorest, most ugly, unfortunate person in the world...I would still have PLENTY to be thankful for in that my heavenly Father sent His only Son to this earth to die for me so I could live eternally in Heaven with Him. That alone should be (and is) enough to put a smile on my face for the rest of my days. Of course, I have millions of reasons to be happy and thankful and non-gloomy, non-somber. So what's up with this?

There have been a lot of changes going on lately in my close friends lives...and I ask myself if maybe we're next...?? Maybe it's time for us to make some changes too? Didn't God say He would rather us be hot or cold--anything but lukewarm? (Rev. 3: 14-16) I feel pretty lukewarm these days. Stagnant. Going nowhere fast. Especially spiritually speaking. Praise God that at least I can recognize it. I do feel like we are on the brink of something. I haven't a CLUE as to what it is...but I know that God has been speaking to both Matt and me through various different things we've read or heard lately about the importance of fulfilling your calling. Neither of us is doing that right now. (although I do firmly believe that a young woman's and mother's first and most important ministry is to take good care of her husband and children and home)...I still feel as though I have more to offer. A peice of the puzzle is missing and I'm fairly certain it's the one where Matt and I work together to do something for God. What is it though, Lord?

Hey, I wonder if God reads my blog??? ha ha ha...okay...that thought put a big smile on my face! :o)

So, that's where I've "been" lately.

For something less serious, here are a few pics from Saturday. The first one is of our neighbor who graciously came over with his big tractor and tilled up our soon-to-be garden. Now it's just time to go buy the plants and get them in the ground! Hooray! (Logzie, have you started your's yet? It's TIME!)

This second one is of a bone Grant found out in the field beside our house! That's one heck of a bone, I'd say!! Matt said it's probably from a cow! At first I was totally grossed out...but hey...the dogs love chewing on it and it was free...so whatever! ha ha

This next picture is of a book I am reading that is Amazing! It's by a wonderful Christian author, Dr. Keven Leman--you may have heard of him..?? Anyway, the title is Sheet Music and I promise you...it has nothing to do with playing an instrument---unless you consider your body an instrument! ha ha. Anyway, thanks to CS who mentioned this book on her blog and I was so intrigued by the title, I went and checked it out from the library for myself. If you are looking to put some spice in your marriage...or even if you just need a refresher course on some of the how-to's or what-to's....this is the book to read. It's straightforward and brilliantly blunt but coming from a Christian author, it's not embarrasing or disgusting. Check it out... I promise you won't be sorry...and your hubby will love it too. This is one book he'll actually read with you!

Lastly, here is the pic of me that I promised you all. I am wearing my wedding dress--10 years later. I had to pour myself into it...but hey, I got it on and didn't rip a seam so I consider that an accomplishment. I am not loving this picture at ALL...but I am NOT putting this dress on again...maybe ever...but definitely not for a while...so I figured I better post it now. I probably should have waited for a happier moment and when I was actually "made up" to put it on...then maybe I would have liked the pic better. Oh well.....

To be a kid again...

Remember when you were a kid and playing in the rain was so fun? You could stick your tongue out and let the raindrops hit it. You would run and jump and splash as hard as you could into the biggest puddle you could find. For fun, you could pick up a stick and poke at all the worms that had magically appeared and if you were lucky, you might see a tadpole. Those were the days....
Tonight, since it is raining here AGAIN.....we decided to let the kids put on their rain gear and go at it. They were having SO much fun! Of course, now they are back in and soaked and cold. But good ole' mommy..had to get a picture before the fun was over and get in here and post it for you all to see.

My husband, the mighty hunter man

Matt went turkey hunting the past few days and he got one!!! Hooray! I kept confessing "the favor of God" over him because this was a guided turkey hunt ($$$) and I really hoped he'd come home with one. Plus, who wants to spend all that time hunting and not get anything? Anyway...here are some picks of my bread---no, make that meat winner and the "bird he busted." (so nice how they put it)

This is the "beard" (above) and these are his tail feathers. (below)

Oh be careful little mouth what you drink!

You all know...I am a SUCKER for coupons. Today, Matt was craving a Cherry Limeade so off to Sonic we went. Since we were there and I was getting hungry, I decided to "treat" myself to an order of Cheddar Peppers. Ever since I checked the nutrition facts on them and found out that a full order (4 of them) is only 280 calories...I decided this could be an occasional treat. This is actually only the 2nd time I've ordered them since then. Anyhow, while we were sitting there waiting for our order to come out, I remembered that I had some new Sonic coupons in my purse. I quickly dug them out and scanned them to see if anything we had ordered had a coupon. Nope. Darn. Then my eye caught something....hmmm...the new Java Chiller's ---a small one for only .99 cents! That sounded good and I could use a little pick-me-up so I had Matt add it to our order. I knew it was going to have somewhat of a coffee taste..but I figured for only .99 cents...I'd try it and if I didn't like it...no big loss..I'd just toss it. Well, I ordered the Mocha one and it was SO GOOD! I loved it. I actually drank every bit and savored the whole thing. THEN came the bad news. I got home and looked up the nutrition info on it. Turns out the small little evil thing had 540 calories in it!! AUGH!!! That means that with my Cheddar Peppers, I consumed 820 calories in about 10 minutes! That is AWFUL! Thank GOODNESS I did the elliptical this morning and burned 400 calories! Still...what a bummer.
I just posted this because for those of you who are watching your weight....don't forget that it's not just EATING you have to be concious of.....drinks are sometimes the WORST!

Mini-Me's?

So, I know this is a little "ironic" coming from me...the person who had a major discipline breakdown yesterday...but I believe God showed me something very simple yet oh-so-important today. As I drove home from the gym I flipped on the Christian radio station. I usually am just in time to catch Kate McVeigh's message..but today as I was running a little later, I got in on Willie George's message instead. It was so timely and appropriate for me that I had to smile and just know that it was no coincidence that I was running behind or that I tuned into his radio broadcast...this moment was ordained by God Himself! Anyway, he said a ton of wonderful stuff on the subject of kids and parents having a backbone--but a few particular comments really struck a chord with me.
"The parent who is passive and lets things just "roll off" is the one who is hurting their child." "The parent who snatches their child up and takes them to the restroom to get set straight is the one who really loves and cares for their child and who is preparing them for life." It is complete selfishness---the parent who doesn't have the "time or willpower" to discipline their child. (That was me yesterday---gulp!)
Also he said "Nothing will be gained by yelling. All yelling will do is teach your kids to scream and yell and huff and puff when things don't go their way." Hmmm.....maybe that's why my daughter exhibits that kind of behavior on a regular basis....she see's me do it. (gulp, gulp!)
He said we (parents) need to realize that love isn't giving our kids what they want and doing fun things with them/for them all the time...love is preparing them for the future.
He used this example: Which drill seargent in the Army is the one who really loves and cares about their soilders? The one who lets them slide by without learning the proper techniques and has fun goofing off with them and then watches them get their head blown off by a bomb? Or the one who is stern and serious and won't accept mistakes while they are learning proper techniques and who proudly stands by and watches as they leave the battlefield unwounded?
If we love our children, we will properly equip them....and if we don't properly equip them...we are selfish and have proven that we love ourselves more than our children! OUCH!
I know that my kids behaved that way yesterday at Wal-Mart BECAUSE I didn't do what I should have. A (consistently) disobedient child is just a clear relfection of a parent who doesn't care enough. I say "enough" because of course we all care about and love our children...but there is a point where you (I) have to realize that what we're doing isn't enough. If my kids, after all they've been taught, still acted that way yesterday...then that should be a sign to me that something isn't being done correctly. Of course...all kids will be kids...and all kids (even properly disciplined ones) will act up at times...so that is not what I am saying...but I KNOW in my case...I am handing out "empty threats" a lot of the time. I don't mean to....and they aren't given as "empty"...but the next thing I know...I've forgotten all about that spankin I owed them and so have they and sometimes its a day or two later before I remember...if ever. All that is teaching them is that I don't mean what I say.
Anyhow, I feel like I could go on and and on...but it boils down to this--for me. If I am a refelction of Jesus (and the fruits of the Spirit)...they will reflect that also. The more kindness, gentleness, self-control and temperance I exhibit....the more they will learn to react that way as well. I can't exactly expect them to behave that way...if I don't even do it myself. Just because I am an adult doesn't mean I don't have to hold myself to the same standards. I find myself saying, "Mommy can say that word...but you can't" or "Mommy's an adult so I can watch this movie...but you can't". What does that teach them?
Anyway, thank you SO MUCH to all of you who offered me such sweet, true and encouraging words yestserday after my post. I realize now that I am the one who messed up in that situation---not them. Praise God for showing me this and for me having an open mind toward it---because yesterday if someone had told me all this, I probably would have decked them in between the eyes!
ha ha
Anyway...love you all!
BTW, the "Spanking" poll has closed and I have some thoughts on the subject...so expect a post about it soon! I can't wait to hear your comments....

Thank God for Bedtime!!!

I feel like a zombie right now. My eyelids are heavy and I think I am numb to the world.
It all started with this bright idea I had to take the kids minature golfing this afternoon. Actually, it was Grant's idea. He found a golfball outside in our yard today and it sparked his desire to go golfing. I thought it sounded like a fun thing to do, so him and I left the house at 3 to pick Brooklyn up from school and then we headed off to the mini-golf place 30 minutes away. As soon as we got started, I could see Brooklyn was going to need an "attitude adjustment". She hit the ball about 10 times and still hadn't knocked it into the hole and on her last swing, she hit the ball right into a nearby bush. I started giggling and instead of laughing with me...she THREW her golf club onto the green, did a big, loud GRRRRHHHH!!! noise and then stomped off. It pretty much continued that way through the whole 18 holes. If she did good, I would give her a woohoo! and she'd be all smiles. But if Grant did good and I gave him a compliment...she'd make some rude comment like "He doesn't even know what he's doing" or "He can't even do it right" or whatever. I eventually had a talk with her and got the attitude adjusted. Then we headed off to Pizza Hut to use 2 of her Book-It awards and get the kids each a free personal pan pizza. I ordered myself a supreme personal pan pizza with a salad bar. I ate 2 plates of salad with fat-free ranch dressing and 3 peices of my personal pan pizza so I hope I didn't do too bad. (there)
Anyhow, after that, we went to Braums to share a brownie fudge sundae!!! AUGH! (somebody slap my hand wouldja?) Actually, I pretty much let the kids have the whole thing with the execption of the nuts they put on top because neither of them like nuts and I LOVE nuts. After that we ran by our neighborhood Wal-Mart to get them a movie from RedBox with my free code and then get a few groceries. This is where all H-E-double-hockey-sticks broke loose! It was like all of a sudden, the kids had flipped on their naughty switch! It was going to be a quick trip...like 5 simple food items is all I needed. How hard could that be? Oh boy did I UNDERESTIMATE that! From the minute we walked in they were running around, giggling and being loud and running into people and completely ignoring me. On top of it all...it was about 5:30 pm and the place was packed with women in their heels and skirts and men in suits all probably on their way home from nice, quiet, adult-filled jobs. Instead of getting a SINGLE look of sympathy, I felt like EVERY single one of them was looking at me with pure disgust in their eyes. As if I WANTED my kids to be acting that way!!??!! And don't think I was just ingoring them. I was passing out threats left and right and even a few tight-squeezes to the shoulder to let them know I meant business. Still...I felt like my eyes were crossing and I couldn't even think or see straight. I put Grant in the seat of the cart right away but he would NOT quit kicking me (hard!) while I pushed it and if I got close enough, he would reach up and grab my necklace and yank as hard as he could! I honestly thought I was going to start crying. My face was red, I was sweating bullets and the check-out lines were a minimum of 5 people with Full baskets long. We finally made it out to the car where I practically screamed at them that I would NEVER! EVER! EVER! take them out for a fun afternoon again since this is how they chose to thank me.
I know that wasn't the right thing to say...so please don't tell me that. I know what I "should have done" is stopped my shopping and taken them to the bathroom and wooped their little hiney's...but I didn't. I guess some could/would say it's my fault since I didn't do anything about it. Whatever...all I know is that right now all I can do is THANK GOD that it's almost bedtime and I can have some ME time. I don't want to hear any more fighting and back-talking and smart-mouthing and name-calling.
I seriously wonder sometimes how God decided I was worthy of this job.....

I guess it runs in the family

Brooklyn decided (all on her own...I must add) that she wanted to start her own blog! I was suprised...and delighted! What a great way for her to practice her spelling, her creative thinking and also hopefully give her some beginning-typing skills. Anyway, check out her blog at http://brooklynismyname.blogspot.com/ and leave her a comment so she'll know she's got some fans!

So far, I've been typing for her as she dictates...since she always decides she wants to do a post while I am already sitting here doing something...but in the future, I promise...she'll be typing her own...and you'll have much more "fun" figuring out what it says! ha ha

Anyway, in other news, I got an elliptical machine yesterday! I was SO EXCITED! I have been wanting one for a while...but they are so dang expensive! Anyhow, yesterday while I was at Sam's, I saw on on their "clearance" isle. I went over and looked at it and it is a brand new Reebok elliptical that sells for $698.00....but since this was the last one and it was the display...they had it marked down to $200! I called Matt right up and asked him if I could PUL-LEEEEEZE get it and he said, "you sure are spoiled...but okay!" Yippee!!! It has a fan built in, a port where you can plug in an MP3 player and all kinds of digital controls. It even has volume controls and resistance controls in the ends of the handle bars! But....here's the major downer. Once we got it home and got it set up and I hopped on...we realized that whoever put it together, did a crummy job and it's unlevel and wobbly and apparently a bolt is missing making it go ba-bump every time the right foot goes up. Grrr..... So...until we get it fixed, I can't really use it. I am so bummed because I am totally motivated to get on there EVERY day and get my butt in shape...and I don't want that "excitement" to die out before I even get to use it!!

Also, to add to my spoiling...I bought myself a new night stand yesterday. I had actually already bought it before I found the elliptical...otherwise I probalby wouldn't have gotten it. But...I found it in the As-Is room at Mathis Brothers. It was originally $509.00 but because it has a little scuff on the front right bottom, they had it marked down to $99.00!!!! I've been wanting one for YEARS on my side of the bed. I had a little teeny table over there that is about 12" in diameter and I could barely fit my lamp and a book on there without one of them falling off. Now I've got PLENTY of room and 3 drawers too!! The top drawer is velvet-lined so I used it to store all my jewlery!

Lastly, (I know..I spent a fortune yesterday--luckily we had some extra) I also got a rug I've been eyeing at Pottery Barn Kids for a long time. Again, it had been a display. Originally it was $129.99...then marked down to $89.99 and then yesterday it was marked $69.99!! I had a $25 off coupon...so that made it $45!! Hooray! It's nice and big and cushy and EXACTLY what I've been wanting for our upstairs play room to put over the hardwood floor so the kids have something soft and cushy to sit on. Hooray! (sorry, I didn't get a picture of it for you all...I know you must be SO disappointed! ha ha...but it's red and dark brown and khaki stripes)

Dum-da-dum-dum-DUMB!

Last night my mom and I got to make a quick run to Wal-Mart by ourselves (no kids). While we were over by the pet isle, we saw some big square pillow pet beds and mom said, "why don't you just buy one of those to use for the kids to sit on upstairs?" (I have been looking for some bean bags to get them for the playroom for a w(hile and this looked like a gigantic bean bag!) I grabbed one up and threw it down on the floor and spread it all out. "humm...it is pretty big and comfy looking," I say. Then, like a TOTAL IDIOT, I jump up in the air and let my self free-fall butt-first onto the big pillow thing--you know---to check out the cushiness of it. Well, apparently they put that kind of filling in it that just LOOKS cushy but actually amounts to pretty much nothing when it is condensed. My tailbone hit the hard concrete Wal-Mart floor at full speed. I knew I'd messed something up right away when I suddenly had a pounding headache and my tailbone felt like it had a catch in it. Ugh... sometimes I have to wonder where my brains are! Thank Heavens no one saw me!!! (I hope!)

babies....

First of all....here is a baby we've been waiting a loooooong time to see! Our foal was finally born (well, technically my mom and dad's...but they're right out behind our house). We don't know if its a boy or girl yet...but isn't "it" cute?

Here is Sadie in her new outfit! She has already outgrown the fancy-schmancy collar I paid a fortune for at the specialty pet store so I went to Wally World tonight and got her this cute hot pink and white polka dot one. Then I found this cute pink and green ruffly outfit there too and I just couldn't resist. It says "Dogalicious" on it! She looks SOOO cute and that makes all the biting and potty messess easier to deal with! hee hee


Lastly, here is my "actual" baby throwing a big-time fit. I thought he was making such a spectacle of himself...I would get a picture to prove it to him later on in life when he thinks he was a perfect child! ha ha

P90X

Anybody know about these? I am bidding on a set on e-bay. If we get it, we are going to do it together--me and hubby--and get ourselves "ripped in 90 days"! Just in time for swimsuit season! It'll be tough to stick to it (the exercie regimen AND the nutrition plan) for 90 straight days...but I know it'll be worth it! I just wondered if any of you might have tried it or know someone who has...???