Wonderful Weekend

Well, what a lot of stuff I have to tell you about!

Let's see...first of all, Matt's little brother and his wife and their son came to visit us on Thursday night. It's always fun having them around...and the kids LOVE having their cousin, Jax to play with!

Friday we got up and went to the lake. The kids had a blast on the tube (including the adult-aged kids) and we all got plenty of sun.

After that we came home and grilled out dinner and the kids swam some more in the pool.

Saturday we (the girls and kids) slept till 10:00 am!!!! When I woke up, Matt had pretty much decided we needed to sell the boat. We've had our share of troubles with it and since Matt is the one who has to deal with it, plus he hates pulling that LONG trailer--I figured he should get to make the choices about it. I wasn't happy about it...but we listed it on Craig's list and we sold it almost immediately!

Saturday afternoon we headed to Incredible Pizza for some games and food. Right after we ate, they announced that they were having a Hula-hoop contest and that there would be prizes! I grabbed Brooklyn's hand and drug her over there. She ended up being too scared to do it, so I asked the guy with the microphone to ask if any other adults wanted to challenge me!! Sure enough, I got another mom and a dad to go up against me. Neither of them could hold a candle to my hot hula-hoopin hips though. :o) For some reason, hula-hooping has always come VERY natural to me and I think I could probably do it for hours on end without losing my rhythm. I ended up winning $10 in game cards!

Then a couple of hours later, they announced they were having a dance-off. This time, Brooklyn thought she would do it, so back over there we went. Both of the kids wanted to do it...but were too scared, so I got out there with them and danced too! I can't believe how un-self-conscious I was but I'm glad. We had so much fun!

After that, it was time for our company to go home. We bid them goodbye and then we headed to a store where Matt needed to exchange a pair of jeans. While there, I saw a dress I thought was cute on the clearance rack. I grabbed it and went to the dressing room to try it on. I got it on and half-way zipped up and then I couldn't get it the rest of the way zipped so I called Matt on his cell phone and asked him to come across the store from the mens section over to the womens. He "snuck" into the dressing room with me and tried to zip it up...but it wouldn't budge. Then he tried to unzip it and the zipper came apart (you know how the zipped up part splits?) I ended up having to have him go get a saleslady. She came into the dressing room and tried to either zip it up or unzip it...but no luck. By this time, the whole zipper had split and now you could see my bra strap on the top...and my thong on the bottom. Just GREAT! Long story short and after much sweating and trying....the salesgirl finally had to get scissors and CUT me out of the dress! Darn too because I was going to buy it!!!! Ha ha! Isn't that crazy? She did find another store that had one and offered to ship it it to me free.

Anyhow, now today...Sunday...nothing much to say. Sad that the weekend is already over. It's gonna be a busy week. I am doing the crafts for our VBS at church...so I'll be gone all week working on that. It'll be fun even though I'm not looking forward to trying to fit in my work and VBS and work outs and cooking and cleaning and all the other stuff....but it's just one week. Surely I can handle that?!!?!

Hope you all have a good week!

I am LOVED!!!

WOW! I had SO MANY phone calls and e-mails yesterday wishing me Happy Birthday! I really do have the BEST family and friends EVER! Thank you to every one of you who were so sweet with your kind words of encouragement about the age 30 and beyond!!

So, you've asked...what'd I do CRAZY and WILD for my birthday?
I went out and spent $37 on a box of Crest WhiteStrips (the 5 mintue kind) and I am whitening my teeth!! Ris-kay huh? HA HA
I am also doing my "special" pictures on Thur. Aug. 7th...so that'll be pretty WiLd too!!

This is it....saying Goodbye

(This is one of my favorite pictures! It's our old dog Sam and baby Grant! I'm pretending they are looking out the door watching my 20's float away--like a helium filled balloon--no chance of getting it back.)

Goodbye to my 20's. Today is my last day to be 20-anything. It's 3:28 pm and I am feeling the pressure BIG TIME to go do something STUPID as my one last childish and dumb rendezvous. I thought about going and getting some crazy (temporary) hair color and doing something wild with my hair tonight!!??

Anyway, knowing me...I'll end up being so busy that I won't have time for anything--but it's fun to think about anyway.

Maybe I'll just get out some of my "special" Carmen Electra "exercise" videos, get dressed "up" and "work out" for my hubby tonight. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.............

Kissin' it Goodbye!

Time keeps on slippin'....

into the future......

Hey ya'll. I don't have anything in particular to say at this moment...nor do I have but about 3 minutes...but I just wanted to say that

1. We are STILL sick around here. (getting REALLY tired of THAT!) I will break down and go to the dr. tomorrow if there isn't a significant change by then.

2. I MISS YOU GUYS!!!

3. I miss blogging!!!

4. I promise to catch up on all of your blogs a.s.a.p. I read Logzie's blog this morning (during breakfast) and I couldn't believe how much I have missed! Made me realize I feel like I don't know what any of you has been up to lately.

5. Thanks for all your comforting words about the big THREE OH. It's coming whether I like it or not...and now I only have 2 days left in my 20's. AUGHHHHHH!!!!!

Life's a Dance...you learn as you go

Whew, what a week. Don't know where it went actually...seeing as most of it was spent in bed. Ick. Being sick just doesn't work into my schedule. :o)

Seems like it's been SO long since I've really blogged, that I don't even know where to begin. There are a TON of things I haven't had time to tell ya'll -- but none of them are very big or important.

First of all, Matt FINALLY got his deer back! Yay! It looks so good in our living room as the "center peice" of the big wall. Matt says he can hang out there UNTIL he brings the REALLY big one home this fall! :o)

Okay, now I am skipping all the way to today because right now, at 11:51 pm...I honestly cannot think of anything else that happened last week!

So, today, after a whole week of being sick and in bed....we finally started on some antibiotics, got to feeling better...and headed off to the lake. Last night we went to BPS and got a new, big 2-man tube. Then today (after sleeping till 1 pm!!) we got up, packed up the boat and the truck, packed up the cooler and headed off to the lake. Since we took the boat in last week and had a few things fixed and everything tuned up (for a whopping $500) we were sure everything was good to go, other than fillin' er up with gas ($60). We finally got to the lake around 3 pm and found that the loading dock was WAY underwater. Nevertheless, we followed after the other boaters and just unloaded where the water met the grass. I had to back the truck into the water so deep that water was flooding into the floor of the truck!!! Finally we were in deep enough to get the boat off the trailer. Matt jumped in the boat to start it....but no luck. After trying and trying, we finally asked another boat to give us a jump. Still--nothing. It wouldn't even turn over. Talk about being frustrated. It's bad enough as it is...but to have just spent that much money on it to get it tuned up AND we had put 2 hours into getting everything ready and packed up...Ugh! But--thankfully Matt's dad stopped at the store and got us a new battery and brought it out and wha-lah...it worked!! It was nearly 5 pm before we finally got going in the water...but once we did...we had a great time!! Here are a few pics from our day:

Ohhhh.....is this REALLY the face of a THIRTY year old??? I can't believe my big, dreadful day is going to be here in only 5 days. Looking at this picture of me without a lick of make up on my face, hair air-dried makes me realize...I am not 18 anymore. I'm not even 28 anymore. I'm getting old. Darn!

And lastly-today while I was out on the tube with Grant, Brooklyn grabbed the camera and took a few self-portraits. I thought they were so cute, I just had to post them.

Me and my cutie-patootie-girl!

just a little note...

to say that I know it's been a while since I've read ya'll's blogs and commented on them.....but I promise, I'm workin' on it. Life has just been super busy and on top of that....Matt and I are both not feeling up to par. So much so, that I am actually IN bed and going to sleep right now...and it's only 9:20. That is VERY early for me.....but I know I need it.
Anyway, I do miss hearing (reading) about what you all have been up to and just as soon as I get a chance, I plan to play catch up on your blogs. In the meantime, I hope you are all having a great summer!

Good Grief!

(what an oxymoron that is.....who ever heard of "Good" grief???)
Anyway, why does blogger have to be so dang complicated? I was trying to change our family picture on the top of my blog...but every one I pic either doesn't work...or it blows it up gigantic. It's sad...but the most recent family picture I have (of all 4 of us) is from over a year ago. This one, at the top now, is from 2 years ago! I do have one from like last October that I tried to put...but it cuts our heads off. Grrrr.....
Anyway, I think I am going to put that on my "to do" list...get someone to take some current family pics of us. For now...I hope you all will put up with this HUGE picture at the top. I promise to not leave it for very long!

Rain, Rain GO AWAY!

I am so tired of the rain spoiling our plans....
Yesterday Matt took off work so we could go to the water park...but when we woke up, it was dark skies and rain. It did eventually clear up to "partly cloudy" and we did go at 4 pm. Unforunately, the park closed at 6 instead of 8 like we had thought....so we paid $18 for 2 hours of swimming. Bummer!
Now today we had planned on going to the big Blue Bell Creamery Tour Day today here in our town and then going to our town's Patriotic Celebration tonight....but....it hasn't stopped raining since we woke up and it's already almost 2 pm.
I would love to go to the mall (and use some coupons) or else maybe do some scrapbooking...but the family would not appreciate either of those...so instead I am left sitting here at my computer searching for "things to do" that all of us would enjoy.
I wish there was some website that told everything there was going on within like a 30 mile radius of your town. That would be so helpful!
Anyway, that's what's up with me today...
So far I've cooked a yummy breakfast, cleaned up the dishes, done some laundry, did 1 day's worth of work for my dr. office, took a shower and got all "Ready", painted my toenails, Brooklyn's toenails and fingernails and Grant's toenails and fingernails. Yes, I know....he's a boy...that is why he only got clear...although he was BEGGING for blue! ha ha ha
I should have done my work out before I took a shower...but I was anxious to get cleaned up...so I didn't.
Okay....well, I guess I'll get off here and go talk to my hubby and see what he wants to do. Hope you all are doing something fun on this dark & dreary Saturday!

The decision is.....

no decision for now.
Ya, folks, I've pretty much made up my mind to not decide about this whole tattoo thing (yet). The truth of the matter is...my big day is coming faster than I would like and I just think it's TOO fast to make such a HUGE decision as getting a permanent tattoo. I think that my brother did a fabulous job with the sketch and if I ever do decide to get a tattoo...I can think of nothing I would want more, but for now, I am going to "sow my wild oats" one last time by doing racy pics for the hubby. After I had thought of this idea, I checked with the local place around here and wouldn't ya know it? They're having a summer special--on July 12th--just 2 days after my b-day. For $100 you get 2 outfit changes and a mini album with 10 poses. I think that's about perfect. Included in the price is also free airbrushing of any areas you're not happy with. OH YA BABY!! I wonder if she can brush off those last 10 pounds? hee hee
I was REALLY hoping I could get a group of 4 other girls to do this with me because if so, she was going to let me have a special little "girls night" and open the shop just for us and let us all have the special...BUT...I can't find anyone brave enough to do it with me. And just FYI for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about...I am NOT talking about nude photos by ANY means. I am talking about VERY tasteful yet very sexy pics. Think Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Calander or something.....
I actually get 2 free "computer images" with my special too...meaning 2 pics on a disc that I could upload to a website such as this blog if I wanted to. I can't see that happening...but maybe if I have a couple that are really, really, really modest....I'll share them with ya'll. Don't worry though, I wouldn't put any of you through the torture of seeing "too much" of me! ha ha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyfY98PZkSQ

My good buddy over at http://www.simmonsgirlz.blogspot.com/ suggested this video for my blog for this "season" of my life. Ha ha...good one Rach!

Updated Sketch

I love it!

Of course...the tattoo artist would perfect it even more...but this is really cool. Can you see Grant's name on the left and Brooklyn's on the right? The numbers you are looking for are 10:10....as in John 10:10. Can you find them?

Butterfly--New Creation

John 10:10 "For the thief comes to kill, steal and destroy, but I have come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly."

Grant & Brooklyn--My 2 babies I will love permanently.

First round of sketches....

I told ya'll my brother is somewhat of an artist....and that's why I called him to sketch me a tattoo design...but geepers! This butterfly is gorgeous! Here are the first round of sketches. He didn't put the kids names in the wings yet..he's still working on that...but this is the butterfly he drew up and if you look closely...there is something unique about it...that makes it about ME. Most of you won't know what to look for...but some of you will. It's 2 numbers...I'll tell you that much. What do ya'll think?

Inked!!!???

Okay guys, as most of you know, my big THREE-OH birthday is fast approaching. For the past YEAR I have been saying I want to do something wild and crazy before I turn 30. It's crunch-time now...since from today, I only have 17 days left of being in my 20's!!!
The most obvious thing and the thing that most people suggest is a tattoo. And until the past month, I would have never even seriously considered it. I think tattoo's are cool for other people--but not for me. I like my skin. The smoother, cleaner skin is...the more beautiful (IMO). Besides all of the "cool" places for girls to have tattoos---are my stretch-mark places and who wants a tattoo there where it will draw more attention to those nasty irridescent lines? No thanks. However---a while back I dreamt of a tattoo. It was a very unusual butterfly and each wing had one of my children's names mixed in with the design. It was gorgeous! Ever since that dream, I cannot get that out of my head. I've been mulling it over for quite a while...and then yesterday, on a whim, I decided to call my brother, who is somewhat of an artist, and have him sketch me out a design. Not like I am committing to it or anything...but just to get an idea of what it might actually look like in real life (outside of my dream). I think I've decided if I DID get it...I would put it on my left front hip bone. It would be small---no more than 3" wide--and completely inconspicuous unless I was in a bikini.
So, I am anxious to hear ya'll's opinions on it. I know some of you will LOVE the idea and some of you will HATE it. Some of you probably think tattoo's are wrong for Christians. Some of you may think they're ugly. I wanna know what you think. Don't "pretty" your comments up to protect my feelings..I want to know what you REALLY think. okay?
And if a tattoo is not the way to go---then what could I do?
I don't want to change my hair. I can't afford a boob job (I wish!!) I don't think a belly-button ring would be too attractive on my strech-marked tummy...but that's not completely been ruled out. I want something more big and permanent than a pedicure. Maybe a brazillian? HA HA...
Laser hair removal on my legs and underarms would be AWESOME but again...too pricey. I thought about maybe pictures...you know...ones for Matt....tasteful of course--something to commemorate all the hard work I've been putting towards my body.
Gosh, I hope this isn't too "personal" to be telling the world....??
Anyway, July 10th will be here before I know it so let me know what you all suggest!

Money doesn't buy happiness????

WhatEVER! For anyone who says that...they can give me their money and I'll let you know...

Today, I GUARANTEE you that money could have brought me MUCH happiness. I had a horrible time mowing today (I told the whole story on my P90X blog) but while I was struggling with the 3rd mower of the day...I hollered "MAN I WISH I WAS RICH!!!!!"

I was expecting Brooklyn to ask me why being rich would help with the mower...but instead she said, "If you were rich, you'd have brown hair and a brown beard and be a man!" ha ha ha ha ha

That was just what I needed to hear. She was talking about our friend, Rich Selleck. At the moment though, I was SO FRUSTRATED that her silly humor sent me into a fit of giggles.

(here's a pic of the RICH Selleck family from last 4th of July)

Really though, we really do need a new mower. We are using everything short of duct tape to hold both of our mowers together. They both have all these little quirks that you have to do...push this wire over here...hold this button tight, squeeze this handle right here...in order to get them to run. It's so easy to overlook it during the winter....but now that we are mowing at LEAST once a week, it would sure be NICE!

Anyway, for now...we have a shop building to rebuild, a boat that has an oil leak to fix (Ugh!), a pool that needs chemicals, a deer head to pay for, yada, yada, yada....

***My God Shall Supply All My Needs According to His Riches In Glory!***

Th-hair it goes!

Brooklyn's been asking to get a hair cut for a couple of months now, ever since our neighbor's grand-daughter (one of her best friends) did it. I've been hesitant because I LOVE her long, curly locks. However, I woke up on the impulsive side today and that coupled with the fact that it takes a ton of shampoo and conditioner to wash her hair AND it's a nightmare to brush out....made me ready to take the plunge. I called my hairdresser (whose always booked up over a month) and said "I know this is crazy to even ask, but is there ANY way you could cut Brooklyn's hair today?" And she said "Actually yes!! I just had a lady cancel and I am just sitting here doing nothing for an hour." I thought it must have been fate!

I cringed and almost cried when I saw her make the first cut since the very bottom layer is only about 2 inches long---but as she completed the cut, I could see it was going to be VERY cute and summery and WAY less work!!

Here are the before and after pics:

Happy Father's Day!!

Here's a pic of my special guys on Father's Day. Bummer that I didn't get my dad in the pic too. I thought it was so "cute" that all 3 of them were in yellow today--coincidently.

This is Matt, Grant & PeePaw (Matt's dad)--3 generations of Jones Boys!

For the record: I got up and made (light, of course) French Toast, scrambled egg(whites) and turkey bacon for breakfast. Then we went to church and then went out to eat at a brand new restraurant called Up The Creek (yummy fresh fish) and then we came home, opened presents, napped and then watched a little TV. Nothing super-fun and fantastic...but to Matt---relaxing and chilling on a Sunday is his favorite thing to do--and its not something I usually do with him (I'm always too busy) so it was great to just be together today.

For gifts he got:

A lineman T-shirt from me, a DVD from Brooklyn and a book from Grant.

The kids also made him this cute little thingy during our craft time last week. It's actually kind of dorky...but they had SO much fun painting their rocks that they found outside and decorating them all up.

Red Neck Yacht Club

(that's the song I have as my ringtone on my phone now! ha ha)

Anyway, we spent the day at the lake yesterday. It was just me, Matt, Grant and Matt's Dad. Brooklyn decided to stay "home" (actually at our next door neighbor's house whose grandkids were there visiting) all day.

We finally hooked the tube up to the boat and it was so much fun--although now we are definitely putting a 2-man tube on our wish list! It was tough hanging on with Grant on our laps on this small tube.

Here is one of me being the guiney pig and trying the tube out for the very first time ever.

Here's one of Matt & Grant about to go on their first ride.

After all afternoon of tubing, we decided to stop over in a little cove and do some fishing. I was the only one to catch a fish---AND---this is the first fish I can remember ever catching (though my dad says I caught lots when I was a little kid)

--okay ignore the strech-mark laden abs--at least there is a little hint of a 6-pack in there!

And here is one Grant took of me and hubby "making out" as he called it! (I think he heard that phrase from his sister...which I'll have to do some checking into because she is only SEVEN and should NOT have any idea what that means!!!!!)

Oh. My. Gosh!

I walked into my living room this morning and bent over to pick up what I thought was a bead. The kids love to make necklaces and bracelets and I figured this was one of their beads that had gotten left in the carpet. So, I pick it up. Turn it over and over. Squeeze it and think to myself, "Man, this is awfully squishy for a bead!" Then I realized what I was holding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was a PUFFER TICK!! A tick swollen about 200 times its normal size from sucking the blood of one of my doggies probably. AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

And if that wasn't bad enough, just a foot away was ANOTHER ONE!!!!!!

DEEES GUSSSS TINGGGG!!!

I don't know how we are getting these NASTY things because both of my dogs are on the mega-pricey Frontline for ticks and fleas. At $34 a month, that stuff BETTER be working. I guess it's not though since I found these 2 little (BIG) critters.

I took a pic for you all before I flushd them because I just KNEW you'd want to see! Especially those of you who don't get this priveledge very often! ha ha...

I put a penny beside them so you could get an idea of how big they were. They were so fat they couldn't even walk!! (sadly, I've been there before!)

My random thoughts this morning...

Aren't we all in the same fight? Aren't we all in the same race? Don't all of us mothers/wives/women really want the same thing in the end? Why all the strife? Why all the dissention? Can we not find common ground and put aside our measly differences? Why are we so stubborn sometimes that it takes something like a tragedy for us to pull together? Life is too short to get hung up on the small, petty things. Life is precious, it is a gift. Relationships are priceless and we thrive on them.
I can't think of a single person who has ever done anything to me or said anything about me that was unforgivable. Besides, who am I to not forgive? If our Father can forgive us of anything, then surely we can forgive each other. Besides, He commands us to forgive. And FORGET. What good is forgiveness if it's rehashed at every corner? That's not forgiveness, that's manipulation.
I realize that I'm different from a lot of people in this area. Forgivenes is not hard for me. Actually, it's much harder and way more work to stay mad at someone and hold a grudge than it is for me to just put it behind me. In order for me to be mad (and stay mad) at someone, I have to be thinking about it--and quite frankly, I don't have time for that--and I have better things to do. Everyone has their "problems" or "issues". Some like it loud, some like it quiet. Some like it fast, some like it slow. Some like the phone, some like the internet. Some like Spongebob, some don't. Some like to be busy, some like to be relaxed. Some like to spank, some use time out. Some believe one way, some believe another.
But tell me this:
Is there ONE of us who doesn't want the best for her children?
Is there ONE of us who doesn't want to be a good wife and mother?
Is there ONE of us who doesn't want to be pleasing to our Heavenly Father?

Sure, we go about achieving these things in different ways, but we're all hoping to end up at the same place.
I urge you to consider the relationships in your life. Are your differences really that big?
I remember this girl I knew a few years ago. She was my age, had 2 small children and had been married for just a bit longer than me. She came to me and told me she was getting a divorce. Nothing horrible had happened, but she and her husband had decided they weren't in love anymore and they wanted to split.
I was stunned. I mean, I know people get divorced all the time...but this really hit home with me because she was basically living the same "life" I was. How can you, after 8 years of being with someone 24/7, just walk away? How do you say goodbye to the man who held your hand while you gave birth to your child? How do you just leave a man who has seen you at your worst? who knows all your quirks? who has loved you and been beside you through all your ups and downs?
How do you forget all of that? And how do you handle it when you see him with another woman? When you hear your child call her "mom"?
Beats me.
Maybe I am way more emotionally attached to my relationships than most. I don't know. But I don't understand how people who have shared some of lifes most intimate moments with someone can just turn and walk away because of a few petty differences. Sure, they may not feel petty at the moment...but in the big scheme of things--they are.

Anyway, I didn't write this to anyone or about anyone...so if you're sitting there thinking that I'm talking to you..I'm not. I'm actually just thinking, about many different situations--some in the lives of my friends, some in the lives of my family and some in my own life.
I just wanted to get these thoughts down on "paper" and maybe, somehow, they'll help us all take a closer, clearer look at what we might be walking away from...

Gettin' Spanked

This post is for those of you who DO choose to spank your kids. I have a question (or 3):
Do you spank in public in front of other people?
Do you spank while you're mad?
Do you use your hand?

For those of you who DO NOT choose to spank your kids. I have a question:
When your child is running through the store and yelling "You can't catch me!" and running into things and people and you're chasing after them, sweating like a hog, swiping your hand through the air everytime you think you are close enough to catch them only to see them take off down the isle again, just what EXACTLY do you do to them when you finally DO catch them?

This -n- That

TV: What shows are ya'll watching these days? Anybody watching The Bachelorette? What about American Gladiators?

Movies: Anybody seen a good movie lately? (either at the cinema or rental)

Winning: As some of you know, our health insuance company has contests all the time and I seem to win almost every time I enter one. (remember when I won $200 worth of free stuff from Adidas?, and $25 gift card to Sports Authority and a $25 gift card to Nike.com and $20 to a health food store, etc?) Well, this past week they had a "Sneaky Recipe" contest. I wasn't going to bother to enter at first, but when I looked and saw that they only had about 5 entries and none of them were very good or very "sneaky" I decided to enter a recipe that Amos gave me for smoothies. The point of the contest was to submit recipes where you could sneak extra nutritents (veggies) in and the people eating it couldn't tell. Well, Amos enlightened me a year or so ago that you can add frozen caulifower to almost any smoothie and you can't taste it. I had to try it to believe it...but now I am a total believer. My kids drink down a whole serving of veggies in their strawberry/banana smoothie and have NO idea that they're drinking something good for them!! Anyway...I said all that to say I WON the contest! -which means I won a $50 gift card to Whole Foods Market! Yippee! $50 to go spend on (way overpriced) health food!

Grant: Grant's dr. called me Tuesday to let me know that the results of the ECG came back and although it does show that he has a leaky valve in the right ventricle of his heart...it is absolutely NOTHING to be concerned about. She said he has no restrictions and can do anything he wants. Praise the Lord! Thank you for all your prayers.
On a different note: When he woke up this morning and came and got in my lap, I noticed that there was something oozing out of his ear. Also, yesterday twice he shrieked when I touched the outside of his ear. At first I was afraid maybe his eardrum had ruptured or something but I took him into the dr. this morning and she said it was just an outer ear infection...swimmers ear. It looks AWFUL...but I guess until the infectoin gets all out, it's gonna keep oozing. They put him on an antibiotic, eardrops and Claritin. The worst part of all is that he can't swim for a whole week!!!! That's gonna be TOUGH !!! Thank God we at least have a slip-n-slide! So much for going to the waterpark Friday though.

Money: I got my mortgage check back in the mail today. Turns out I wrote the check for $6.00 insted of $600.00. Guess they weren't interested in my measly little $6.00. Ha ha!!

Clothes: Nothing fits anymore. For those of you not reading my P90X blog (and I don't blame you--it's boring reading)--Matt has lost 16 pounds so far, and I've lost 9. Our clothes are hanging on us now (especially Matt's jeans). It's a problem I'd take ANYDAY over having my clothes too tight...but it does kind of stink when you can't even show off how small you are because your clothes look like feed sacks. I really don't want to go buy any new clothes yet either because we still have 47 or so more days to go in this program and I am still hoping to lose another 10 pounds. I don't think Matt really wants to lose anymore weight...but he does still have a way to go (muscle-wise) before he's satisfied with his body. I think he's in a size 31 or 32 pants now and I'm in a 6. (man, that feels good to say!!) Kandy if you want to sell any of your old fat pants, I can probably fit them now!! ha ha

Work: I haven't officially begun yet, but I am looking into and probably going to become a BeachBody Coach. BeachBody is the company that sells P90X, along with several other fitness programs. As a coach, I would make a comission off of products that I can sell...but more imporantly, I get to be an encourager and motivator to the people who I can get to sign up through me...or who just want me to be their online coach. Fitness and health are something I am pretty passionate about..and becoming more and more passionate about. If I can make a little money doing something like this that I LOVE...then I'm all for it. I'll let you all know what becomes of this though as I find out more about it.

Father's Day: What are ya'll getting your hubby's for father's day? What are you doing to celebrate?

Okay, well that pretty much sums up everything that's on my mind at the moment. I'll blog more again soon! Love ya'll!

2 only children

I am the mother of 2 "only children." I swear....both of my kids were meant to be the "only child". They fight incessantly. Today has been especially trying.
Grant is at this age. Numerically speaking, it's FOUR. Emotionally, mentally he is at the age where he transforms from baby to child. Of course, he hasn't been a "baby" for quite a while, but he is now becoming more independent (wiping his own butt, learning to dress himself, think for himself, etc.) He is also testing the waters of discipline. He's proving (or disproving) us.
It's wearing me out.
I remember Brooklyn at four. It was the same thing then. I think four must be "that" age. Have you guys noticed that four is particularly difficult?
What's crazy is, if my kids are alone (meaning not together) they are both SO MUCH MORE enjoyable. EVERY single time we split them up and Matt takes one for the day and I take one for the day, we end up saying how GOOD our kid was. We almost argue about which kid was better! Then we get them together and all you-know-what breaks loose. I know some of you probably think I'm exaggerating, but I assure you...I can't emphasize enough how CONSTANT their bickering really is. Some of you have witnessed it, so you know. Literally, I would say they get along 10% of the time. The other 90% is spent either sleeping, crying or fighting with one another.
I keep thinking that they're gonna get a little bit older and become friends...but I'm beginning to wonder.
We joke sometimes that we ought to move one of them in with my mom and just take turns having each kid. We could get them together for play dates every once in a while. ha ha
On a different note...similar subject: We are raising some terribly ungrateful children, I'm sad to say.
This is just one example: Tonight Matt and I took them to a movie (Nim's Island) and then out to eat at the resturant of their choice, which happened to be the Elephant Bar. They got to order whatever they wanted and lucky for them, their meals came with a hot fudge sundae AND a soft drink---2 things we don't typically buy when we eat out. While we were eating they spotted Toys-R-Us across the street..and from that moment on it was "Can we go to Toys-R-Us?" over and over and over. When we had answered them 15 times each and were starting to get REALLY mad, they started saying how mean we are.
Boy, I wish someone would be so mean to me! ha ha
The other night I took them out to fly a kite-something we very rarely do. Afterwards, I was really ready to go in, but they were begging to play basketball so I said okay. Brooklyn took her shot, then Grant shot, then it was supposed to be my turn...but no---Grant didn't want to let me have the ball so he picked up a rock from our driveway and threw it at me. It hit my ankle bone which hurt like HECK. I got upset and said we were going in--no basketball. Oh boy...for the next half hour I had to hear (from Grant) how I was so mean, how he doesn't like me, how I am not nice, how it's no fair, blah, blah, blah. I know he doesn't understand..but I just wanted to scream at him: I did kites with you! I tried to play basketball with you! I didn't get to even take one shot with the ball and you threw a rock at me! I'm sitting here in pain and YOU'RE the one crying! AUGH!!!!
Anyway, I know that it's gonna be all okay and before long we'll be onto the next speed-bump in life..but for right now...I REALLY want a vacation from short people. 24 hours---I think that'd do. hmmm......

Party Pooper: What's with people?

(I know...I'm on a Blogging ROLL today!)

So, most of you probably remember a while back when I told you that I was allowing Brooklyn to have an End of the School Year Swim Party for her WHOLE class?!?! This idea actually started back in January when she was having her birthday party. She wanted to invite her whole class but I just couldn't afford that big of a party right after Christmas so I promised her then that we'd do this swim party in the summer. We made up invitations and sent them home with each kid along with a little bag of summertime goodies (snacks, chalk, bubbles) on the last day of school. I requested that the parents R.S.V.P. by Wed. June 4th so that I could know how much food to buy, as I was planning to feed all the kids dinner too. I also mentioned that parents didn't have to stay (which I thought would be a big plus for the parents).
Well, I said all of that to say...today was supposed to be the party. Except NO ONE CAME. Which we knew was going to happen because NO ONE R.S.V.P'd! Can you believe that? The one little girl from Brooklyn's class whose mom said she was going to come, e-mailed me earlier this week to say she couldn't come after all...which meant we had not one single party guest to expect! After all that planning and preparing and high-hopes (for Brooklyn). It about broke my heart because she's been counting down the days for weeks. Anyhow, I just don't get it. Do people really have so much to do that they can't allow their kids to come to a 3 hour party? And I'm not just talking about this party. 3 birthday parties that we were invited to recently from Brooklyn's class where the whole class was invited...and only 2-3 kids showed up at any of them. And they were big, cool parties too. One was at a hotel water park, one at the ice skating rink and one was a pool party. Even for Brooklyn's birthday party, I let her invite 6 friends from school and only 2 showed up. Maybe I'm the weird one here...I take my kids to every birthday party invitation they get. Every. One. I don't know if we've ever missed one actually. Why wouldn't I? Its something fun for the kids to do, free for me (other than a gift) and they usually get fed--Plus they get a reason to see their friends.
What could be the possible reason that 19 different people couldn't bring their kids to this party? I mean, I never expected EVERYone to come...but I had at LEAST hoped that like maybe 5 would come. Anyway, I hope this doesn't sound like a pity party. It's not that at all...its just that I don't understand people these days. Are we THAT busy?
Do you guys take your kids to parties?

What we've been up to this week:

Since Daddy's (my hubby) been gone working all week, here are a few pics of what we've been doing:

Monday: Painted pottery. Here are the finished products:

Brooklyn made the "Jones" platter and obviously, Grant made his plate. I helped them with them a little bit but really for the most part, they did this all themselves. I painted some of the black part on Grant's plate..but he did the red and green. Brooklyn used a stencil for the letters on her plate, which is why they look so good. They turned out really cute although the lady at the place said they needed to "fire them in the kiln" one more time to get the colors to really pop and shine...but I didn't want to have to drive back to the place (30 minutes away) so I just took them the way they were. I may take them back and have them done again next time I go there though.

Wednesday: Nailed steps onto one of our big trees out front so the kids could climb it. Grant's been wanting us to do this for a long time and I finally got around to doing it. They are having so much fun climbing in this tree! I just hope they don't slip because it's a pretty big fall!

Thursday: I KILLED A SNAKE!!!!!!! We were out flying kites when I looked down for some reason and I was standing about 6 inches from this snake! Thankfully I had my cell phone in my pocket so I called Matt and he said "cut its head off". I said "Ya Right!" and we hung up. After a few minutes of thinking about it, I decided that I am a TOUGH girl and I am NO sissy and if ANY girl could EVER cut the head of a snake off---its ME! (ha ha) So, I did it! I don't think I've ever shook so much in my life...I could hardly stand up my knees were knocking so bad, but I did it and I was super proud of myself. When I called Matt and told him I did it, he didn't believe me. I had to send him a picture of the thing to prove it! :o) I'm tellin ya...the older I get...the braver I become (or stupider---depending on your perception! he he)

Before: No idea what kind of snake this is....not a rattler though. Pretty big, probably 5'.

After: (see how the part I cut off (his head) is upside down so its the lighter part)

Friday: We made pipe-cleaner art! The kids really didn't enjoy this as much as I did---as they had a fairly hard time shaping the pipe-cleaners into letters...but I think they turned out really cute!

And here is a bonus picture: One of the three new baby horses we have!!

Pretty cute huh?

The Calm before the Storm

Last night, after doing an hour and a half of yoga, which helps stretch and calm me, my mind was clear and I was finally read for bed. It was 12 o'clock midnight and I was SO ready to drop into bed. However, as I walked into the bedroom where Matt was sleeping (and the tv was on) I heard the weather man say, "People in the town of _____(our town)____ need to take cover immediately. You are now under a tornado watch."

I casually woke Matt up and mentioned that to him, but we could hear the wind REALLY picking up so we looked outside our window and that's when we knew this was SERIOUS! We obviously couldn't see very well since it was dark out, but the lightning was nearly constant so we good a good enough picture of this to know we needed to go get the kids out of bed and take cover.

This is Matt's metal shop building that houses our 4-wheeler, riding mower, boat and a million other smaller things like his air compressor, tools and so forth. Here is a picture of what his shop looked like "before." (You can see it back there behind the pool)

We cleared out our "safe room" which is actually just a closet in the middle of the house and got the kids out of bed and into that closet. Then we gathered up a radio, cell phone, flash light and pillows and hung out there for a bit. After it seemed like things had setteled down, Matt decided to go outside and look better. That's when he saw our neighbor (who lives directly behind us) out on top of his roof. Apparently the roof of Matt's shop flew up and hit his house, busting a large hole in his roof. He was up there nailing a tarp over the hole. (btw, it was POURING rain during all this) Meanwhile, Brooklyn woke up and started freaking out, as you can imagine. She was VERY concerned what was "going to happen to us and our house." Thankfully by that time we were able to tune into the weather on tv again and see that the worst of the storm had passed us.

We don't know if this was actually a tornado or just high winds...but obviously it was something pretty strong to do this kind of damage. Here's another pic. This is my chaise lounge (that I lay out on). It flew all the way off our back patio across our large yard and into the trampoline where it we found it this morning. As you can imagine, we have stuff strung out ALL OVER the place now. The dog house is also completely across the entire yard.

If you guys have an extra minute, say a little prayer for my hubby, who is feeling extremely discouraged this morning. Not only has he worked 80+ hours in the past 5 days and now because of this storm, will be likely working ALL weekend long but this shop building was something he had worked looooong and hard on. It is completely ruined and will have to be torn down and he'll have to start all over. (which of course costs money...but also time).

Okay, well, I have lots to do today so I better get off here. I will try to post again soon and let you know how we're doing!

Retired

Re-Tired...that's what I am right now. Tired again, even after a good 8 hours sleep--still nodding off here at my desk while I try to work. I feel like I would give ANYTHING at this moment to go crawl back in bed........
but no can do, the 2 little people in my life would never go for it...plus, they have their first summer gymnastics lesson in about 45 minutes.
Somebody splash me with cold water...I HAVE to wake up!!

Hairapy

Do ya'll ever get Hair-apy? Its like therapy but you get it at the beauty shop. It's described as 2-3 hours of kid-less time spent sitting while someone plays with my hair. Ahhhh.......

Today was my hair appointment with my beautician who, I think, does the best work EVER. She's not the fastest in the world, but when I'm relaxing in a quiet room, reading a magazine and having my tresses touched....I'm in no rush. Lately things have been so hectic around here. Despite implementing my new "Summer Schedule", I have been getting in bed later and later. Its like once I get the kids asleep, I all of a sudden think of a hundred things I MUST do and before I know it, it's 1 a.m. when I finally crawl into bed. (Like right now, I should probably be going to sleep---but instead..I'm blogging---a total "Must"! ha ha)

Anyway, as for my hair....I nixed the red and light brown highlights from now on and am just sticking with 2 colors for a while. Each additional color I do adds $5 to my bill...so with 4 colors, I was spending $80 every 6-8 weeks on my hair!! AUGH! Today my bill was $70, which is still a lot...but really, for the kind of work this girl does...it's CHEAP. Most places would charge over a hundred dollars to do what I get from her. Of course, there are some of you who probably don't color your hair at all and think that spending anything over $15 at the beauty shop is crazy...which I completely understand and agree...but you obviously don't have half a head full of gray hair! Anyway, with as much gray (gulp!) as I have...and with the fact that me and hubby both DO not like my hair all one color...this is my destiny--shelling out the big bucks month after month.

Anyway, I've decided to start growing my hair out (as some of you have noticed). It's in that "getting there" stage. Not short--not long. Kind of hits at a weird spot on my shoulders but I think I'm gonna like having long(er) hair again for the first time in about 4 years. {could have something to do with the fact my big three-oh b-day is coming and I REFUSE to get old!}

Here's a pic of me when I left the beauty shop today. Nothing special...but I did have her add a few extra blonde highlights since its Summer and I wanna have that sun-kissed looked. (ha!)

Don't know what that werid smirk is on my face. I've got a dimple on one side...and a wounded eye on the other....blah!

On Schedule

First of all....here is a picture of the breakfast I made for me and my hubby this morning! Cute, huh? It's the Triple Berry Pancakes recipe I posted on my P90X blog. YUM!!!

Today was our first day of being on our "Summer Schedule"--something I made to hopefully give us some direction and focus to the endless summer days ahead.

As you can see, there is a weekly schedule (mostly for me) so that I won't be cleaning house constantly and a daily schedule (mostly for the kids) so they will know what is expected of them each day (and every evening). Since we already have plans for Friday of this week (Brooklyn's class swimming party @ our house), we decided to swap our Friday and Monday for this week. Meaning, we went on our field trip today...and I will clean house on Friday. Today we met our friends at The Purple Glaze studio and painted some pottery. Grant did a plate and Brooklyn did a platter. I helped them a bit to straighten up their edges, but for the most part, they did all their own painting. We had to leave the peices there until Thursday when I can pick them up. I can't wait to see what they end up looking like after they're fired and glazed.

Our "school" time went WONDERFULLY today. The kids (who were completely dreading it) ended up LOVING it. They got mommy's undivided attention for a whole hour...a luxury they're rarely afforded (sadly). I bought them some really cool workbooks from Target and they each completed several pages. Then we did "craft time" and we made "tickets". It's a system the schools around here use....each child gets 3 tickets (or chances) to behave. If all 3 tickets get pulled, the child then receives a punishment (either a spanking or a time out or they'll lose a priveledge). I let them use my scrapbook papers and make their ticket holders however they wanted. They had fun with that. Then we did scripture memory time. I am going to teach them 1 scripture from Psalm 91 each week of the summer. This weeks scripture is "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the almighty." Pslam 91:1

I had an interstingly fun time explaining that to them...but I think I got the point across and I think that will really help them remember it. (We acted it out sort of. I was the "Most High" and Brooklyn was "he". I had her hide in my secret place and then I stood in front of her and my shadow covered her. I explained how if evil comes and we are hiding in the shadow of the Almighty...we will be safe. It's kinda hard to describe on here...but when we acted it out, they both seemed to comprehend it--at least a little.)

We will practice the verse every day for a week and then at the end of the week, if they can recite it, they will get to get a prize out of a special treasure box.

Well, I guess I should get off here. Matt is working round the clock since we've been having such crazy thunderstorms and so I had to grill our marinated chicken on the grill tonight! (my first time using a charcoal grill!) It turned out pretty good...but the kitchen is a MESS and I still have to do my P90X work out tonight AND follow the schedule with the kids. Looks like I better get busy!

We own a Bagel

So, I took the pups to the groomer today: Doggie Day Spa & Resort. The owner says she is positive of Sadie's breed---finally! She says she is offcially a Bagel---1/2 beagle, 1/2 bassett.
That's kind of what we were thinking too. Brooklyn says we should spread some cream cheese on her! (my little comic!) ha ha

Also...we took Grant for his pediatric echocardiogram today. It was painless although lengthy. He had to lay on a bed with little electrodes stuck all over his chest and tummy. Then the ultrasound tech smeared him all up with what looked like KY jelly and began the ECG. It took about an hour and he was bored but he did very good and was very still. I laid on the bed beside him to comfort him and that was all good and fine for about the first 5 minutes. Apparently I had just barely gotten on the bed...so I was holding on with every ounce of strength I had to not fall off the bed! ha ha It would have been really bad if I had fallen too since the bed was about 4 feet up in the air! By the time it was over...I was exhausted from tensing up all my muscles to try to keep myself still and hanging on! (why I didn't just get down, I have no idea--I figured he wanted me there beside him, I guess)
Anyway, we won't find anything out for a few days. She said that first it will be read by the pediatric cardiologist and then that report will be sent to Grant's doctor who will then look it over and give us a call. I'm absolutely not worried one tiny bit and I appreciate all the kind words of encouragement you all have sent my way. Okay...off to grill some salmon for dinner (or at least hand it to Matt to grill! he he) Lator Gators!

Boaters Beware!

The Joneses are On The Water!!!

Monday we took our boat out for the 1st time. As we pull up to the (PACKED!!!) loading dock, Matt says to me, "Do you want to be the one to drive the boat or the one to back the truck/trailer into the water and let the boat off and then go park?" I look at him with my eyebrows both raised as high as my face would let them go and say, "WHAT?" I don't know how to drive a boat and SURE as heck don't know how to park/drive a truck with a 30 foot trailer on the back!! AUGH! So, at first we both get in the boat and he tries to tell me how to start it and how to give it gas and steer and he says I'll have to be able to pull up beside the dock to pick him and the kids up in the boat after he parks the truck. Both of decided that was WAY too dangerous of an idea...so that left me being the one in the truck. It was a good thing too because he had trouble starting the boat and if I'd been the one out there trying to start it (and it wasn't starting) I would have Fuh-REEK-ed out! Anyway, everything actually went off without a hitch and even though when I finally got parked, the trailer was completely jack-knifed behind the truck--taking up half of the feild (ha ha), we made it out onto the water and everything was going great. Almost immediately, Grant laid down and went to sleep! He got up once and moved to a different spot and then went right back to sleep!! The little guy slept for probably a good hour and a half to 2 hours! After a little bit we anchored off at a calm place and Matt lit the grill and we grilled ourselves some turkey dogs. I had brought a bowl full of fresh veggies (carrots, broccoli and cucumber) and we had that with our dogs. Eventually Brooklyn got the itch to try out her new pink fishing pole (Thanks Nana & Duane) so she fished for a bit while I sun-bathed. Then my parents called and said they were coming out so that was even more fun! The kids got brave and decided to start jumping off the boat into the (COLD) water and had a BLAST! They were bummed that we hadn't brought the big tube for us to pull them with...but we wanted to try the boat out first before we did that. Some friends of ours blessed us with a whole slew of NICE life jackets in ALL sizes...so we were all set to go in that area! They also sold us their almost brand new tube for $25 bucks...so we can't wait to try that out!

We plan to be back on the water this weekend...probably all day Saturday! Matt and Brooklyn got REALLY sunburned on Monday...so hopefully we'll do better with the sunscreen next time. I only have 2 sunscreens...one is 50 SPF and one is 4 SPF! ha ha....kind of extreme both ways! I need some 15 or 30 SPF I think. Anyhow, sorry I haven't been reading/commenting on your blogs much in the past week...but I promise...as soon as I get my housework caught up...I'll be back reading and commenting! (Hopefully later on today!)

Too close to home

You know, we see headlines and hear reports all the time of horrible things happening. Children being shot in schools, killed in fires, earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, beaten to death...etc. If a person doesn't put up some sort of wall mentally to this stuff...it can really mess you up. But every now and then, something seeps through that wall and I can't get it out of my mind. I remember a year or two back when a grandfather was taking his 5 yr. old grandson fishing and nearby, across the field some police were shooting at something (I can't remember what --but it was an animal I think) and the bullet hit the little boy right in the head and killed him instantly. That story loomed in my mind for days, maybe even weeks, imagining what that grandfather must have went through at that horrendous moment. Obviously he was a loving, caring grandpa to be taking his grandson fishing in the first place. They probably had a close bond with one another. Then to suddenly see him laying on the ground, blood pouring from his head and his life instantly gone. How does anyone deal with something like that? They don't--unless they have God in their life.
Well, as I'm sure most of you know, Steven Curtis Chapman's young daughter was killed last week as her older brother unknowingly ran over her in their own driveway. I have tried and tried to put that story out of my head...but time and time again...I find myself thinking through what each person in that scenario must be experiencing right now. It's sickening. Literally, I get sick to my stomach if I allow myself to "go there" for more than just a second. Tears spring up instantly in my eyes and I can feel the lump in my throat forming. How does a parent handle losing a child? --especially tragically.
Early this morning as I sat in my office working I was nodding off. I decided it's been a long weekend so I "allowed" myself the luxury of going back to bed for a quick 15-20 minute nap. However, I was awakened before my time was up with one of the most horrible, heart-constricting feelings I have ever experienced. I was having a dream...but it felt SO REAL. I had been standing in a parking lot with Matt, his dad, the kids and some friends. (It was the K-Mart parking lot in my home town and I can see it clear as day). We were talking and about to get in the car to leave when Brooklyn and one of her friends spotted someone across the parking lot they knew. They took off running across the parking lot and I looked up and hollered at them "Hey! You don't run across the parking lot without looking and asking first!!!" Then as soon as I got those words out, I saw Grant out of the corner of my eye take off after them. Except this time, in my peripheral vision, I could see a car coming fast from the other way. I screamed at Matt (who was closer to him than I was) "GET HIM!!!!!" but it was too late. The car had already hit him. The front bumper knocked him down and as his little body hit the ground--ba-bump..the car rolled over him. I took off running toward him but suddenly all strength left my body and I fell to the ground screaming "OH MY GOD! MY BABY!"
That's when I woke up.
Now, 3 hours later, I am still totally tore up about this. I know it was just a dream, but yet, it's a reality that SCC's family is facing right now. I have prayed and I have listened. I have done some soul searching this morning because I just don't understand how things like this happen to Christian people. I pray protection over my children and my family every morning and I know Matt does too...and it is in that...that I have 100% complete confidence---no doubt whatsoever---that nothing like that could or would EVER happen to my children. Anything to make me think that there is a "snag" in that type of thinking sends me into a tizzy.
I want to pretend that those stories and dreams like that don't affect me...but they do...and sometimes (like now) I just can't seem to shake it. Is God trying to tell me something? Show me something? Warn me of something? Am I being lazy in how carefully I watch over my children? Yesterday at the lake, Grant was jumping off the side of the boat and even though I was loving seeing him have SO much fun and just being a little boy...I found myself thinking things like: what if he hits his head on the side of the boat when he jumps? or what if he goes too far under and gets stuck underneath the boat? Or what if he swims too far out and a seadoo hits him? I know those kinds of thoughts are from the devil...but sometimes I wonder if we shouldn't allow ourselves to think of the "what if's" so we can be smart and keep anything like that from happening....??? One thing I know...a mother's heart is a delicate thing concerning her children. Where the "line" is of being cautious and careful versus over-protective and obsessive is a difficult one to find sometimes--when you're the mom.
How do you guys deal with this kind of stuff? I'd love to know...