Saturday Saturday Saturday

We just never stop it seems. Today we are cleaning out more clutter- listing items on cheapcycle (if you haven't joined up there's a link here on my blog) I have some ebay auctions finishing up.
We're cleaning out the garage and hoping to go swimming later this evening. I think we've finally convinced Connor to let go of the Rescue Heros. He's going to get to keep the money though. There is a spiderman toy he's wanted for a while that costs $20 so if they sell he will get the toy and the remainder of the money will go to buy him some summer clothes that he needs so badly. There is a LOT of stuff, the action figures, vehicles, towers, aircraft carrier so if you know someone who would be interested let me know.

Matthew Pictures

And here are the aforementioned pictures. :) I don't kow if he's teething or what, but he's been a drool machine recently. And really found his fists last night. :)
Connor and Sadie both broke teeth at 6 months, Grace was 3 months. So who knows. Its anybodies guess at this point

Video

Ok, here is the aforementioned video. I think its absolutely adorable, especially when he begins talking to the camera, but others might be incrdibly bored with it. :)

Its Friday!

Good Friday morning! I am so ready for the weekend although I know it will be a busy one.
Tonight we are having friends over for dinner, tomorrow we are cleaning out the garage and doing some yard work, Sunday after church is a social and then after that we have to go grocery shopping. If we have the gas $ Sunday night we're going to a bluegrass concert. Then it will be back into the work week. *whew* But its a broken up work week, two days on, one day off, two days on.

I got two new photography magazines in the mail last week, and in one of them is a step by step artical on how to shoot fireworks. So I am VERY anxious to try that out to say the least. I think we're even going to go to the city display on the 3rd. Its supposed to be the biggest one they've ever done.

Took some new snapshots of Matthew last night, plus a video that I think it extremely cute. :) It might be totally boring though. LOL I'm hoping to get those uploaded at some point in the day.

My goals for the day are to finish conquering Mount Washmore- (aka laundry)
Clean my kitchen and bedroom.
Set the class room up with our small tv and dvd player for the kiddos to use tonight while the adults are visiting.

Oh, I had an Eddie Bauer backpack carrier that we had bought thinking we would use it a lot, but I just don't see us using it at all. With Aaron's shoulder and my back, we're more stroller people. Anywho, I listed it in Bargains Galore and had a call before 8am on it, and the guy sounded very excited about it- apparently his brother has been looking for one for a while and is leaving for disney world tomorrow :) So hopefully they will follow through, and thats more clutter flung from my house. I've been posting things on Ebay/Cheapcycle/Bargains galore like crazy. Things that I was saving for "one day" are going...going...GONE! I'm tired of the clutter.
FlyLady would be proud *grin*

I was reading our Charm magazine (a local womens mag put out by the newspaper) and noticed a couple people I know in there *grin* but also they are having a Girls Night out in July, and will be doing a makeover. You can nominate yourself or someone you know. I've wanted a makeover for a LONG time. I dress for comfort, and when I'm shopping I see so many cute things, but I have no idea how to put them all together. Plus with the kids, I rarely wear makeup and my hair is usually in a ponytail or bun. Aaron told me the other day that while he thinks I'm attractive no matter what- he misses the days when I would meet him at the door all dressed up with hair and makeup done. So anywho, I nominated myself. lol If you want to nominate yourself or someone else (hint: me lol- just kidding) Visit www.mycharmonline.com
And click on the makeover button. Its just a simple form but you do have to submit a photo of the person you are nominating.

So now I'm going to go forth and be productive. Have a great Friday- look for pics and video later!

PS: I lost two pounds this week. :) Yeah! I'm sure its all the painting/reorganizing. but I'm so hoping I keep it up. Mom and dad also joined spark people so hopefully we'll be able to support each other.

The Queen of Romance

A friend and I are reading this book together. Romancing Your Husband. We've decided to meet weekly for Bible study and discussion. This past Tuesday was our first meeting, where we read the first chapter, and I tell ya, it grabbed us both. Her and I have discussed before how it seems a man needs physical intimacy to achieve emotional intimacy, but for a woman it is the other way around. We always lament- I want my husband to romance me, to pursue me. Yet he rarely does. The first chapter in this book covered this topic so well. She put the golden Rule on a Romantic level. If you want your husband to romance you...Romance HIM!

So our homework for this week is to do something romantic for our husbands. I haven't decided what to do yet, but I have already made small changes in my attitude and the way I treat Aaron. And, believe it or not, He's changed a tad as well. Its hopeful for me...but we have trouble with consistency in our household, so we'll see how long it lasts.

So...I'm cheating a bit. *grin* Anyone have any cheap (read:practically free) romantic ideas for me? I've done the hidden love notes, candle lit dinners, I want something different , and something that will just shock him! :) Leave me a comment!

I leave you with this:

Matthew 7:12 : So in EVERYTHING , do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
(emphasis mine)

Go forth and be "The Queen of Romance"

Its Thursday!

What are you all up to today? My plans are pretty much the same as every other day of the week. :) Laundry, and housecleaning. Etc Etc Etc.
My Mother-in-Law is coming over today, so I really want to get all this stuff done in the morning so I can be free to visit.

The school room is a mess, and I need to straighten the kitchen and get caught up on laundry.
Anywho- my day is about to start- Hope you all have an awesome one!

Looky What I made!

I'm so proud of myself. I didn't use a pattern, just did it myself. :) I've wanted a really girly half apron for some time- I won't be able to afford one of the really nice ones from etsy for a while So I pooled my resources here at home and whalla! :) Not the best picture of me, but I couldn't wait to show it off

Three Months Old

Here is my little man today. :) Happy Three Month-day to Matthew. Also- Aaron started his own blog finally :) Check it out at www.ajhowetx.blogspot.com

Sheepish Grin

78%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Mingle² - Online Dating

Another New Blog

I created another blog- it will be political/news related so if you aren't interested in that stuff. Feel free to pass. :) I know its a sensetive subject for a lot of people which is why I am not posting my opinions here. :)

http://newsworthytome.blogspot.com/

Sisters

Locks of Love

Sadie decided a while back that she wanted to cut her hair for locks of love. After I cut Grace's hair today, she decided she was ready. We cut 11 inches off her hair. Eeek! It looks really cute though. :)

Involuntary Haircut

So Grace got gum in her hair. I mean, really really stuck in there. Sooooo....I had to cut her gorgeous blonde hair. I have to say- it does look cute, but her hair was getting so long. However it looks so much better . Her hair is so thin it was looking stringy.

So Much to Do...

I have been so busy since Friday. And this week is a super busy week too and I'm not even going anywhere. :)

Monday I watched my siblings, and Connor went to Jaime's for a playdate- Tuesday I had a friend over for Bible Study and lunch, and she ended up staying until Aaron got home. Today I have my siblings again, and Sadie is at VBS, tomorrow my mother in law is coming and Friday we have some friends coming over. *whew* So busy. Its good because it helps me pass the time, and not go stir crazy sitting at home all the time.

Matthew is three months old today!! Can you believe it? Time is flying. Just a little over a month and we'll be in Rotan. :) I can't wait. We are leaving the first Friday in August and driving back the first Monday....it won't nearly be long enough, but its all we can take for right now. And I'll take what I can get. :) I can't wait to tell Sadie- she's going to be over the top excited! Lisa told K yesterday and they will get to making the video soon. I'll be sure to post reaction photos when we do tell her. :)

Guess What I did

Mr Parker had told us a while back that we could paint if we wanted, but we weren't sure what was going to happen if we were going to move or whatever, so we held off. Well Sunday I was getting some touch up paint for our cabinets from mom and she had leftover paint from her living room. So I took it and Caroline was here yesterday and helped me reach the tops (I never realize how tall my ceilings were lol) I'm really happy with it. :) Now I can't wait to paint the rest of the house.

*sigh*

Do you ever get tired of being responsible? We struggle financially and while we always choose to do the "right" thing it seems we never get ahead. We don't eat out instead of paying our bills or anything like that. However, we still never seem to get ends to meet.

I sold my maternity clothes- when I did so that money was supposed to go towards clothes for me. Instead it went to put gas in the car. We're out of groceries- literally my fridge has 1/4 gallon of milk, a bag of parmasan cheese and sour cream. Thats it. We have no money for food until Sunday.

I got paid for a photo shoot on Saturday- that money put some gas in the car, and bought the parmasan cheese and sour cream for the tuna cassarole I'm making tonight. Also a few necessities such as toilet paper etc. Now its gone-and we have no more money. I'm selling some things on cheapcycle, but all that money is going right into the gas tank.

I'm tired. I'm worried. I'm stressed. So just excuse my big long whine.

Amazing!!!

Isnt that something? Bottom is what the handles have looked like ever since we moved in here.
I thought they were brown- I had NO idea they were copper. lol Barkeepers Friend is amazing.
I also touched up the cabinets with paint, and the look is just something else. It looks so great! I hope to be able to finish it up tomorrow.

Has Anyone Used?

Barkeepers Friend??? Its awesome! Its turned my nearly black cabinet hardware- back to its original gorgeous copper! I'm so excited. I'll have to post a pic. :)

Busy Busy Day

So I left early this morning , stopped by the Missionary Garage sale to pick up my purchases. :)
I got 4 books, 2 cd's (Mercy Me and Toby Mac), A pyrex 9x13 with lid, a pyrex casarole with two lids, two jewelery sets, a 40gig external hard drive for all my pictures, and two chairs for the school room. :) Yeah! They still have a table I want badly for the school room for sale, but I just don't have the $20. But its exactly what I'm looking for. Don't you hate that?

After I stopped by there I drove to a friends house, she wanted me to take pics of her daughter. So we drove to Maude Cobb and did pics. :) You can check some of them out here. I took 92 pictures and about 50 of them came out awesome! I had a blast too- the little one is just precious!

I came home, started the editing process, then went out and grabbed lunch, which was a pain in the rear. Came home, ate lunch, did some more editing. At 5 some friends of ours dropped their kids off here, so they could go on a date, and I had to run to the store and blockbuster. Got back, cooked supper and watched 6 kids. Finished editing today's pics.
Kids got picked up about 10, and I sat and tried to organize all my pictures onto my new external hard drive.

Sadie went to bed with one of her headaches, and I actually have a migraine myself, so I think we're going to stay home from church tomorrow- which I hate to do, but I have got to have a home day. If I go back into my week without any family downtime, it just starts the week on a bad note. And next Sunday will be really busy as we have a social after church, and we're going to try and make it to a bluegrass festival in the evening.

I actually have no plans on Monday- except to maybe finish moving around furniture and getting some organization done. Tuesday however, Connor is going over to Jaime's to have some time away from his sisters. :) And Nicole is coming over so we can start a new book together.
Its one I got at the garage sale called Romancing your husband. We're actually going to read and discuss it together. Every tuesday. :) I'm looking forward to it.
Wednesday Sadie goes to VBS, Thursday and Friday are good ole boring days. We're going to try and re-do our garage sale next Saturday if its not raining.
Before we know it we will be packing up to drive to Rotan! WOOT! I'm so excited. Just about a month to go. :D I can't wait to see the look on Sadie's face when we tell her.

Awww :*)

Sadie is spening the night at a friends house tonight. Its her first overnight at a friends. :)
Its actually her first "just because" overnight. She was very excited...but it was bittersweet for me to leave her. :) I'm sure she'll have a blast though. The girls had a long list of stuff they wanted to do. :) And they "had" to staty up all night. But somehow I think they are probably already asleep by now. Always have the grand ideas of seeing the sun rise before they close their eyes, but it never really happens like that. lol

We'll see if we have "the" phone call, though I don't think we will. She called about 11 or so to tell us goodnight. So I bet she'll be fine.

Future Mr & Mrs.

We were informed that Grace and Randall are going to marry each other when "they ares olders" :0) Jaime and I are going to hold them to it. We know for sure we'd love the in-laws.

Fun Picture

Sadie and Maddy were born 23 days apart. They are both approaching their 7th birthday. :)
Megan and Matthew are 4 weeks apart :)

Tie Dye Party

All the kiddos.

Digital Scrapbooking

I've been hearing a lot about digital scrapbooking lately. And decided to download a few freebies to see what it is all about. Can we say UH OH! I think I'm in trouble ;) I don't know that I'll use them to print out or make albums out of. I still like traditional scrapbooks for that. But what a fun way to share pictures from an even online! :) Here are a couple I made today- be nice they were first tries lol

Meeting arranged by God

In the process of converting our back room into a school room, we've had to downsize some furniture. I recently started a cheapcycle group (like freecycle only money is involved) We sold our extra couch, and I had listed our big chair and footstool. It was just to big to fit into the small front room, and just so bulky. Well as God would have it- the person who was interested in the chair was a mom who had homeschooled for 16 years. She had boxes (and I mean boxes!) of first readers, workbooks etc. She also had a Saxon 1st grade math book and a language arts curriculum. When her and her daughter came to look at the chair, she left the boxes of books for me to sort through. I picked out what I wanted/needed and the total came to $36. Now granted, I got a lot for that, but that is still a lot of money to us.

Now let me back up by saying, I have been praying about the homeschooling for a while- and have a peace, however I was concerned with the cost and how we would afford materials. I decided to give it to God, and knew he would just provide in his time.

Back to the present, I lay in bed that night, thinking about the books, and prayed about it. I had other things listed on cheapcycle, and in the paper to sell. The next day I emailed the lady, told her what my total was, and asked if I could split the cost into two payments. She emailed back and said her daughter had decided she wanted the chair (she is setting up an apartment with a room mate- going to college) and said we would work something out with the books when she got here. They showed up, and she had a HUGE bag full of more books, these were more textbook type books, art books, science, bible readers. Blank spiral notebooks and index cards. She said she knew I'd need the supplies at some point, and just wanted to give them to me. And then asked if it was ok that we did an even trade chair for books. :) It really is awesome, and we got the better end of the deal. We were only asking $25 for the chair, as it was showing some wear and tear. But her daughter and friend were so thrilled to be getting it, they loved it so much. And we are equally thrilled about the books. It gives us such a good start on books, and strengthens my resolve that we are doing the right thing by keeping the kids home.

Thank you GOD! :)

I've had enough!!!

Rain that is. *sigh* I was sitting last night in the big room, and heard a distant drip-drip-drip.
Thats right folks! Our roof has sprung a leak. I called the landlord and he is sending someone out to look at it today hopefully. And acording to good ole Mark Scirto we're supposed to get more rain this afternoon! WAAH!

My Sweet Lil'Lady/VBS Week 2

I forgot to update on Sadie's eye appt the other day. I had called and made the appt back in January because she was getting bad headaches after school. Anyway, her eyes are perfect- 20/20 vision. He feels that she has either chronic sinusitis (sp?) or migraines. Both Aaron and I get migraines, and he told me that if one parent gets them then 50% of their children will too. However if both parents get them then 75% of their children will get them. :(So he is writting a letter to Dr C to recommend either a CT scan or MRI to check her sinuses, and for "anything bad" as he put it. I'll be taking her and Connor for their yearly check ups after we get back from Rotan.

Today was her second day of VBS (they do it once a week) She really seems to be enjoying it. Jaime says it takes her a while to warm up, but I'm sure once she gets to know some of the other girls she'll be just as social as they are. :)

She's such a sweet child if I do say so myself. We were looking through pictures about a month ago, and she saw some of me with long hair and was asking about my haircut- I explained about locks of love- what it is and what they do- she immidiately asked if she could do that too. So she is growing her hair out for locks of love. :) She has such a generous and giving heart. I would like her to grow it out a few more inches so that it can be cut to about her shoulders. I'll be sure to post before and afters when she has it done. :)

Um Son?

I'm just speechless----I mean, what do you SAY? ROFL! What a boy I have.

I feel...

As if I could just fall back asleep. I have toothpicks here holding my eyelids open. *yawn*
Caroline ended up staying the night last night- so we plan on doing some more home organization today. We did a lot yesterday- got the entertainment center moved, couch moved, book case moved, everything dusted, and vacuumed. Today we want to clean out the kitchen cabinets and reorganize them, and catch up on laundry. :)
Right now I want to climb back in bed.

As I sat last night and watch television, I was happy that we moved the living room into our front room. Its smaller, yes, but its so cozy. Carly and I curled up on the couch with throws and hot cocoa and watched Supernanny. ;) It was really quite comfortable.

I am trying to decide on curriculum for this fall. I don't know if I mentioned we've decided to homeschool the kids for at least this fall. We have several reasons- one we've decided to stay here in this house for the time being. And since I was so sick at the end of my pregnancy I was unable to get the transfer application to put them back into the school they were in last year. We will not put them in our district elementary school. So home it is.
Two- Them being in public school was a strain-financially, emotionally, and a strain on our calendar. It was one thing after another fund raisers, field trips etc. And where we just have the van, and they aren't bus riders- having to make sure someone else would be able to pick them up from school- it was a hassle.

So curriculum- I know that I want to use Saxon math. Its expensive, but I am familiar with it and feel most comfortable teaching it. I have an idea for Social Studies that doesn't use a formal curriculum, but I think it will be good. So I have to pick a language arts study, science, and I think we will wing handwriting. I can probably print some stuff off the Internet for them.

I plan on joining a homeschool group- I really want to network with some other homeschooling moms- especially some long time homeschooling moms. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions.
We're going to allow the girls to dance, and are looking for a sport or something for Connor to be involved in. I'm excited, yet scared at the same time about undertaking all this.

I think one of my biggest challenges will be juggling house and homeschooling, dinner and all that stuff. That is one of my goals for the summer is to get into a good routine as far as housework goes, so that it will be easier in the fall. So if anyone out there in blogland has hints for getting started be sure to leave me a comment. :)

Advertising Myself

I now have an etsy store! :) Go me! I know I rock. :P
I will be selling custom headers for blogs, banners for other etsy stores, korkers, custom and otherwise- and anything else my crafty little hands might make. :)
I will be using the proceeds to fund Sadie's birthday trip- and to help buy homeschool supplies for the coming year. :)
Come check me out!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5082499

Praying for the Wrong Thing?

Aaron and I got into a discussion yesterday. We are beginning to wonder if we aren't praying for the wrong thing, regarding the housing situation. We keep saying we HAVE to move to Marshall, but yet nothing is coming available, and we really don't have the money for a move right now. After church yesterday we were discussing this and began to wonder if maybe we weren't finding anything because we aren't supposed to move. If we move out of Longview, we wouldn't be able to stay involved in our church as much as we want to be- and we have no desire to change churches.

So we've decided to be content about our current situation- and pray for guidance as far as a move goes.

So not cool?

Sadie and I were back in the exam room today at the eye dr. She was trying to watch the movie they had on , but since her eyes were dialated it was fuzzy. She's watching and it starts over mid movie. She exclaims "what happened? That was the middle and it just started over----thats SO not cool!"

Oh to be so relaxed

Tummy Time Video

Super Discouraged

Excuse me for a minute while I whine. I got out of bed when Aaron left for work this morning, and started cleaning right away. I look around and feel as if I have accomplished nothing. Of course we are getting ready for a yard sale tomorrow, and that always seems to make a huge mess in the process. However. I have refereed about a million fights between Grace and Connor. I don't know what it is with those two...they fight constantly. When they are seperate from each other, they are both great- but combine them and its world war three. What gives? Any ideas? Please? From you super moms out there? Help?

Ok, lets see- in reality I have
*Scrubbed the kitchen table
*Swept the dining room
*Cleaned the Front Room
*Removed all the pictures from the wall in the backroom
*Hung pictures in the front room
*Fed the kids lunch
*Closed my eyes for 30 minutes while feeding Matthew during quiet time
*Posted some things on cheapcycle
*Had someone stop by to pick up something I offered on Freecycle

That doesn't seem like a lot does it? Its twenty till 4 and I'm so discouraged. I had grand plans for today and they are quickly swirling the drain. *sigh*

P.S. Its raining again. :P~~~~

Its Raining Its Pouring....

Good gravy have we ever had rain lately. It started this past Friday, its stormed pretty much every afternoon- but today it was pretty rough. It sprinkled on me a little bit this afternoon while I was finishing up shopping. But it got really rough after I picked Aaron up from work. It almost seemed as if the storm followed us from Marshall, to Hallsville then Longview. We had to pull over before we left Marshall because it was raining so hard I couldn't see- and the streets were flooding. I stayed at moms for a while after dropping Caroline off because it started coming down super hard again.
I'd say rain rain go away, but its really a blessing in disguise. Usually by this time of year we're already in a drought.

VBS Week 1

Sadie is attending VBS at our church. Instead of one long week, its once a week on Wednesdays. She rides with Jaime The theme is Missions. :) This week they talked about Mexico. She came home with a necklace and told me she won it for answering a question. :) I have fond memories of VBS growing up- so I hope she enjoys herself. She's been before- two years ago she attended VBS with the Glidewells in Marshall. She had a blast then, so I'm sure she'll love it now.

Cool mama or insane mama?

Its temporary- but I figure what the hey- its summer- and its only hair right?

Eye Update

So we made it to the pediatric obstetricion (lol joke from my dad) -opthomologist. It was a long morning. We filled out papers, waited, went back with the nurse, went over more paperwork, dialated Matthew's eyes , went back to the waiting room and...waited. The Dr finally called us back and dad got an ego boost. (neither the Dr or his asst could believe that Dad was my Dad, and Matthew's grandpa lol) So here's the meat

*He is slightly farsighted, which is ok at this age
* It looks like his left pupil is dialted more than the right- which happens a lot with neck injuries during birth-forceps etc. It could be from his malpositioning.
*His left eye does turn out some. Which for a baby this age could be normal- or could be something more significant.

The plan is this- Sadie has an eye appt with this Dr next week. He wants me to bring Matthew so he can see his eyes non-dialated. Also he wants me to bring some pictures of him so he can compare them that way. Then he goes back in December- if his eye still turns out we'll start discussing surgery.

And We're Off

I'm preparing to leave for Tyler. My daddy actually is able to come with me so that was answer to prayer #1 :) I expect to see many more before the day is out.
I just thought I'd post this quick reminder to keep us in your prayers. I'll update when I get home

Filling a Request

It was requested that I post a picture of my two little ones in their matching outfits. :) This wasn't taken yesterday, but a few weeks ago. I struck gold with these outfits I tell ya- I got them at a consignment shop- what are the odds that I would find matching brother/sister outfits in the right sizes at a consignment shop! LOL I just had to get them. :) Matthew has almost outgrown his already though :( He's growing so fast. I'm afraid his 6-9 months stuff will be to small on him this fall! ACK! And I thought I was ahead of the game ;)

Dr Appt

We had Matthew's 2 month and Grace's 3 year check ups today. Miss Grace got three shots- and weighed in at 25lbs and 35 1/2 inches. So petite!

Matthew on the other hand weighed 13.2lbs and was 23inches long. :) He's a porker. That baby fat is so cute though!

However- we are concerned that there might be something wrong with his vision. He doesn't fix and stare like a baby his age should. So Dr C referred us to a pediatric opthomologist. I have to drive to Tyler to see him. His appt is Monday at 8:30 so keep us in your prayers!

Just another day in paradise...

So I wake up this morning wrapped in my husbands arms. I stretch and enjoy the feeling of fresh clean sheets. Then I realize I didnt wake to the sound of an alarm or a baby crying. I actually feel refreshed. I swing my legs over the side of the bed expecting to be met with a random body part or two of a child that made their was into our room in the wee hours of the morning, instead my feet feel carpet-CLEAN carpet! My eyes are met with a spotless bedroom and the scent of fresh coffee finds my nose. My home is spotless- and the children are still snug as bugs in their individual beds.
Then I really wake up- Matthew is screaming, Aaron has already gone to work, Connor is climbing into my bed soaking wet from having an accident, Sadie is sprawled on the floor- laundry is everywhere-dirty and clean, last nights dishes are still in the sink and kids are fighting already! Sigh- it was a good dream :)

Please Pray

I just got word that one of my fellow March 2002 mommies has been diagnosed with breast cancer. :*(

Please keep Lois and her family in your prayers.

YEAH!

Its Tuesday! or Random Randomness

And I'm sitting here completely bored. About to go re-heat leftovers for supper. :)
I had a friend and her kids over for lunch today- it was such a nice break in routine for us.
Connor has since come down with a fever and a headache. I hope its nothing, I don't want anymore sickies. :)

Oh, if you are in the area go check out:

http://missionarysale.googlepages.com/home

Its a family from our church who are preparing to leave for the mission field and have to sell pretty much everything. Money goes to help them with their moves etc. I got some good deals off of there- so go check it out! :)

Aaron put in for another promotion at work. xxxfingers crossedxxx

Still looking for a place to live.

I think thats about it.

Oh, Matthew started smiling today, hopefully I'll catch one on camera soon and have a cute baby grin to post. :)

Tie Dye!

Ok, I tried this last summer and didn't have a huge turn out for different reasons- but I want to try it again. :) Lets have a tie dye party! Lets gather June 22nd at my house- bring shirts, socks, towels whatever you can think of. I'll supply the water, and rubber bands. You bring the color dye you want, and any extra buckets you have lying around. We'll do lunch, tie dye and have a blast. :) Email me!

I'm in love

With bloglines! LD told me about it the other day, and instructed me to go now and sign up. So I did. Boy was she right!! Its awesome! I have so many blogs that I love to check, friends blogs, photography blogs etc. Its great to have them all in the same place and I can just sign in to bloglines, and it alerts me if there is a new post anywhere. No more time wasted going to a million different sites. :) So if you are an avid blog reader- you must go...right now....and sign up for bloglines. Now-- go!

P.S- Once you do sign up for bloglines- don't forget to add me! :)

Matthew 2months

Here's my cutie pie. :) He's nearly 10 weeks old! He's such a chunky little thing. :)

Clumsy Me...

A few weeks ago I fell while holding Matthew- right in front of the AT&T tech.
Then last night, I was getting out of the bath- and fell right back into it. *sigh*
I've gotten so clumsy lately. I'm really hurting more this time though than last- my whole right leg just kills me. :(

I"m hoping to get to the chiro on Friday, there's no way I can make it before- hopefully the clumsy's will leave me alone soon.

Fun with Aunt C.

I went and picked up my sis today, we walked a mile and a half on the trails, and then she came by the house took a shower and we went and did pictures. After she decided to hang out with the kiddos for a bit- here they are reading silly nursery rhymes. :0)

Baby Cocoon

Sadie wrapped Matthew up in the couch blanket yesterday and proceeded to tell him how he will grow into a beautiful butterfly. :0) She's such a great big sisiter. Matthew seemed to take the "torture" well enough. Although the look on his face makes me very curious as to what he was thinking. lol

Weight Loss Etc

I've been working hard for a couple weeks, working on getting healthy for my family- and for myself.
Its been going really well! I'm pleased to say that so far I've lost 6lbs and 5 1/2 total inches. :0)

I've been using Sparkpeople.com Its an awesome site that helps track nutrition and fitness, has message boards for support and some really yummy recipes.

If you are looking to work towards a healthier lifestyle- I'd check it out. Its totally free- and if you sign up use me as your reference- lonestarmomof4

Now back to your reguarly scheduled programming.....

Aaron is working with me, we actually have a competition going between us-whoever loses the most weight by labor day gets $100. Right now we're neck & neck.

One of my biggest challenges, is actually surprising me- its not about the food- its about finding time to work out! I'm so busy during the day, and like I said in a previous post- by the time the kids go to bed I'm to wore out from dealing with them to do anything else. So thats my big challenge right now. Any advice is welcome :)

Summer Project #1

So I've decided I am going to keep the kids busy this summer. I am hoping that maybe once a week I can do something with them to keep them occupied. We tie dyed last summer and it was a blast. I think we will certainly do that again.

Anyway- today we made butter. Thanks to Lisa for the awesome idea. We put on the Crazy Frog CD that Dad made and shook for quite some time. Then the kids drank the buttermilk- bluch. lol

The Flies Have it

Wanna know something gross? My kids love flies. Yeah- those annoying litle fruit flies! They catch them, and name them. *sigh* Most of the time its either Dora or Josh.
Sadie doesn't enjoy them nearly as much as Connor and Grace, and I know that I am certainly hoping that now its summer, and I won't have my windows open, the appearance of these critters will diminish significantly.

Why Is it?

Why is it that bed-time is always a battle? I'm amazed that I have trouble sleeping at night- after one thousand, two hundred and fifty three "one more sips", twenty-five "I forgot to go to the bathroom" , three hundred "mommy!!!!!!", and fourty three "I think I might need some medicine" The kids finally go to sleep. Quiet. I'm exhausted.

Of course, I'm sitting here right now, and Connor is still awake. Its ten o'clock! But in his defense, he was sick this morning, and slept until about 1pm. So he's probably not really tired.

Please tell me that my kids aren't the only ones that do this though- bedtime wears me out!