Four to One

Warning...

2011-01-23T22:24:00.002-06:00

Do Not Ever Buy This Brownie Mix!

It is a scam. Of course it is delicious. It is decadent as promised. But the box is deceiving. There it sat in the store. Calling my name. Perched next to the other full size boxes. But as I mixed it up I discovered the dirty little secret....

GASP!

It only makes a 9x9 pan!

What kind of craziness is that? Who only wants a 9x9 pan of brownies? Not this family.

The newest craze

2011-01-22T22:16:00.000-06:00

That jump rope is going non-stop these days. Between learning new moves and making up chants, they are consumed with the jump rope. I actually have to hide it in the mornings so they won't be distracted while getting ready for school. Taylor is working on the "flamingo," Payton is perfecting crossing her arms, and Hayden just likes to jump any way she can. Her best move is "jumping in" while her sisters are turning the rope. Thanks to Riley for teaching Taylor some skills. Now we know the correct way to jump and the correct way to hold your arms. The only problem with all of this is that we only have one "good" jump rope. And you know what that means. An argument.

Ohhh, Panera.

2011-01-21T21:58:00.000-06:00

Today was my orientation for my Sequence Field Experience for school. I prepared myself by making a pit stop by Panera for a souffle. YUM. Thank you, Lynne, for introducing this to me. My life will never be the same. And thank you Lisanka for joining me for breakfast. We need to do it again sometime. Oh wait, we are. Next Friday...same time...same place. Does anyone else want to come with us?

After orientation and before going to the school to do the "store" in Hayden's class, I ran to Publix. Just a quick trip. I know that sounds weird considering it is 30 minutes away. But I was on a strict time schedule and I had a list of exactly what I was going after. With my list and my coupons, I scored $165 worth of food for about $50.
My best buys were the Kraft Homestyle macaroni and cheese and the Yoplus Yogurt. They were both free. For my friends that are coupon novices:

Mac & Cheese: Reg price: $2.69 -on sale Buy one get one Free (At Publix that means 1/2 price)
Sale price: $1.35
Coupons used: $1.00 of coupon in last week's paper
$1.00/2 coupon in Walgreen's January coupon book
Total cost: neg $0.15

Yogurt: Reg price: $2.00 - on sale Buy One Get One
Sale price: $1.00
Coupons used: $1.00 of one printable coupon

Some items aren't a huge sale. But if it is something I normally buy, than it is worth it. Like the capri-suns. I don't buy these every week. But I like to have them on hand for when we are too rushed to fill up water bottles in the morning. They were on sale for $2.00 (which is the Wal-mart price) but I was able to use a Walgreens coupon. They are never $2.00 a box at Walgreens and I can't use that coupon at Walmart so this is the best scenario for me to buy these.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program....

Best mail of the week.

2011-01-20T21:49:00.000-06:00

I usually throw away my junk mail, but I had a few extra minutes in carpool today so I decided to read it. I found two awesome offers. The first is from Comcast. They want me back. But Comcast, I broke up with you. I dumped you. I have moved on to bigger and better things. AT&T U-verse fulfills all of our needs in a way you never could. No matter what you offer, I am not coming back.

The other unbelieveable offer is from the Navy. They want ME!!!! They are offering me up to $169,700. They will pay for my school, give me a job, and pay all my bills. My possibilities are endless. I could even assume command aboard one of their multi-billion dollar vessels. Where do I sign up? Do you think they have room on that vessel for my husband and kids? I don't think I would make it 30 minutes in boot camp. Will they still take me? They said the world needs my talent. I think I am exactly what they are looking for.

The 100th day of school...

2011-01-19T21:41:00.000-06:00

...and the first day of a new semester. A new semester means I get to look forward to many more visits to this place. Hooray for me.
It is also the one hundredth day of school which is usually accompanied by a whole lot of celebrating at school. However, the girls getting older means less celebrating at school. The first thing Payton and Hayden told me when they got in the car is that there was no "100 Days" parade. This is something the Kindergarteners have always done at our school. Hayden told me they didn't do anything in her class but make headbands and watch an "8 minute and 14 second video about the life cycle of a butterfly." She was very disappointed, to say the least. I had to remedy the situation quickly. So I stopped by Walmart on the way home and bought a big bag of M&Ms. They each got to count out 100 and eat them for a snack.

Amazingly, everything is made better by M&Ms. That is true about alot of things in life. Just try it.

Fortunately they did have the parade the next day but only the upstairs grades got to watch. So sad for the older kids.

Very serious surgery!

2011-01-18T21:36:00.000-06:00

Monster High dolls have become all the rage at our house. So it was a quite a tragedy when one of the boy dolls suffered a seemingly fatal injury. That is, until superdad came to the rescue. The loss of a limb can't keep this doll down. Bryan performed barbie surgery and the doll is as good as new. Actually, better than new. They aren't made very well.

17

2011-01-17T18:05:00.000-06:00

Hooray! The girls had the day off from school. We celebrated by taking report cards to Krispy Kreme and having a doughnut party! They all got straight A's, which means 6 doughnuts a piece. It is a good thing there are so many choices because they each have different tastes. Taylor got all glazed. Payton, as usual, got one of each filled kind. Hayden got a variety of sprinkled, chocolate crullers, plain crullers, and glazed. Getting doughnuts for A's has become such a fun tradition for us. We recently found out about all the other perks for good grades. We will be visiting Baskin Robbins, Chick-fil-A, and Chuck E. Cheese soon enough.

Since one of our favorite missionaries is back in Mobile, we had them over for dinner tonight. Just your standard dinner appointment until we whipped out our gum stash. We ended dinner with a gum tasting party and a jump rope-a-thon. I will have to post the videos very soon. We sure know how to have a good time.

16

2011-01-16T14:23:00.001-06:00

Guess who's back?

15

2011-01-16T14:17:00.004-06:00

What do you do when you have some left over chocolate and a sick child?

By the way, she immediately felt better.

14

2011-01-16T13:51:00.004-06:00

The fourth graders took a field trip to Montgomery on Friday. Well, not all of the fourth graders. Payton decided that she would rather have a girls day out than go on the field trip. Her friend Cecily decided the same thing so the girls and the moms had a fun day together. Payton and Cecily spent the day playing together, going to Pump it Up, having lunch at Texas Roadhouse, and having a mini-paint party.

You can tell from their smiles that they had tons of fun!

13

2011-01-16T13:47:00.002-06:00

Back in the "couponing" saddle again. Not my biggest haul by any means but I did get $200 worth of groceries for $75.

12

2011-01-12T20:07:00.002-06:00

Reasons we waited so long to take the tree down:
1) The girls didn't want me to.
2) It is too big and too beautiful to only enjoy for two weeks.
3) It is a reminder of a wonderfully unforgettable Christmas.
4) I love the way it smells.

We decided to finally take the tree down today. I knew I needed to do it now before I start school next week or it would still be in my living room in May. So we had a "tree un-decorating party." We sang Christmas carols, found a few toys in the tree, found a nerf dart on the mantle behind the garland, talked about our favorite ornaments, broke a couple of said ornaments, and fondly remembered Christmas.

To complete the party, Bryan built a fire and we roasted marshmallows.

Did you know that if you put dried Christmas tree branches in the fireplace it sounds like fireworks?

11

2011-01-12T19:59:00.002-06:00

Since the kids have gone back to school, I have spent most of my time mainly doing one thing. Trying to stay WARM. I know it was this cold last year too, but I just can not get used to it. I hate being hot and always say that I would rather be cold than hot. So I guess I am not complaining about the cold. Really, I am just trying to manage it. It isn't even warm in the afternoons when the kids get home from school. I figured I could make the cold more bareable for the girls by doing this:

I set up a hot chocolate bar similar to one I had seen on another blog. We love our hot chocolate around here so this was the perfect after school snack. I used stuff I had left over from holiday baking. Sprinkles, crushed up candy canes, marshmallows, peanut butter chips, mini chocolate chips, and whipped cream.

They are already wondering when we can do this again. I am sure it will be very soon.

10

2011-01-10T10:24:00.003-06:00

FREEZING!!! That is all I can say to describe the weather. Some of the counties north of us cancelled school and in Northern Alabama they issued a state of emergency in anticipation of the winter storm moving through. I was keeping my fingers crossed for the weather to move a little south and for school to be cancelled for us. No such luck. It was business as usual around here this morning. Except there was a little more whining about the cold from Hayden. So, I bribed her not to whine with hot chocolate. Works everytime. I brought a blanket in the car on the way to school because we southern folk aren't adapted to this kind of crazy weather.

If we have to put up with cold, we should at least get some snow out of it.

9

2011-01-10T10:13:00.002-06:00

Bryan and I always talk about how we don't see our grandparents enough. With Grandma Jeanne being gone now, that is my biggest regret. She lived so close and we didn't go visit her near as often as we should have. With that in mind, we decided to spend the afternoon with Granny and Paw Paw. The girls usually enjoy riding bikes and visiting the neighbor's horses when we go over there. But, it was FREEZING and raining so we let them bring their DSi s to keep themselves entertained. They spent most of the time taking pictures of everyone and morphing them. Paw Paw really got a laugh out of the one of Granny with a moustache.
After dinner and cake to celebrate Bryan's birthday we sat around and chatted. Granny and Paw Paw always have the best stories to share. They remember names, dates, and details of so much from their lifetime. Note to self: Bring something to record them with next time.

8

2011-01-10T09:51:00.003-06:00

I have now exceeded my total number of blog posts for 2010. Wahoo.

I LOVE Saturdays. Especially during the school year. The girls usually sleep in until 6:30 and play quietly/watch TV until 6:31 when they start asking for breakfast. The best part about a Saturday is that we aren't having to rush out the door by 6:50. And we usually do something fun as a family. Since today is Bryan's birthday, we celebrated by going to this cute little guy's birthday party.

My girls love Collin as if he were in our family. The girls ask me almost every Sunday if we can bring him home from church with us. He is so fun to have around and is always the center of attention. That is, unless one of his cousins is around (especially the babies). Then Payton's attention is usually diverted.

At the party, she stayed occupied with the sweet baby girls. She is going to be a great baby sitter in a couple of years.

Hayden spent most of her time riding her bike around the park with Grant. Those kids have so much fun together. I hope they will remain friends for a long time.

Flashback Friday

2011-01-07T17:55:00.004-06:00

If I am supposed to blog everyday this year, I am going to have a very hard time coming up with things to write about. So I have decided to do "Flashback Friday." I will post a picture of something I should have blogged about a long time ago.

Date of picture: 7/3/10

This day was so much fun. The opportunity for everyone to go to Stadium of Fire kind of just happened. I was lucky enough to hang out with these kids outside the stadium before the show started. We passed the time by eating a picnic lunch/dinner, rolling down the hill, arguing over a snuggie, and taking silly pictures. Things only got better once we got into the stadium and the show started. I may have to one day write every detail of that night. But for now - just a list of my favorite parts: The F-15 (or16) flyover, honoring the military, all things patriotic, being part of the worlds largest Eagle Scout Court of Honor, bursting with pride for my awesome nephew Trent, the Carrie Underwood concert, watching an interpreter do sign language to all of Carrie's songs, an amazing fireworks display, and sharing it all with some of my favorite people in the world!

On a totally different subject-Bryan's birthday is tomorrow so I took him out to lunch today. Me taking him out to lunch means that I drive out to his office, pick him up, and pay with his debit card. We did our birthday date today so we could take advantage of the free babysitting we had access to. (School) The non-fast food options for lunch in Saraland are slim. So we had about 4 places to choose from. Bet you can't tell where we went.

Day 6

2011-01-06T17:11:00.002-06:00

I love the few minutes that Taylor and I have alone together in the afternoons before we pick up the other girls. When she runs to the car in the afternoons, she always has a big smile on her face. She loves her school, friends, teacher, etc. When she gets in the car we talk about her day. The highlights always involve what she did in PE and who she sat with at lunch. There is also usually talk about a certain boy. Sometimes I get to hear about a science lab, the book she is reading, or something neat she learned. Other times she shares details about her day that may seem mundane, but I love hearing about them. Today she told me about how she reorganized her desk and textbooks. She told me who she sat with at lunch. She told me her hands were red after PE from playing tetherball the whole time. She asked me what some words mean in the book she is reading. She showed me the new mechanical pencil she bought so she could do her homework in the car. She told me she is learning how to use a protactor. She reminded me how many more basketball games are left in the season and that she would really like to go to one. While we sat in the carpool line the other school, she quickly did her homework so she could play when she got home. I love this sweet girl!

On a totally different note: How did I ever live without this thing? Bryan has given me some pretty awesome Christmas presents through the years and this one is close to the top of the list. (The engagement ring 13 years ago is at the top.) I am so lucky to have the best husband in the world!

Wednesday, Wednesday

2011-01-06T16:58:00.003-06:00

What started out as a horribly, yucky, rainy day ended well with a great bunch of Young Women. For our YW activity Andrea set up a fun scripture scavenger hunt around the church. Each clue was a scripture that the girls had to look up and it led them to the next clue. We ended in the RS room with the final treasure. Andrea talked about how the scriptures are a treasure and can be used to answer questions in our daily lives. Sometimes the answers are easy to find and sometimes they take more searching, like the clues for our scavenger hunt. Then each girl shared something they treasured. None of the items that the girls brought were expensive and they all represented something that was priceless, like a relationship with a family member or a spiritual experience. It wasn't planned this way but it was wonderful to see what the girls really value. I feel so blessed that my calling is serving with this awesome group of girls. It is wierd that Taylor will be joining them in October but I am so looking forward to it.
I love the girls in this picture, but I often think about the girls that I would like to see in this picture. The ones we miss seeing on a weekly basis and the one that has moved away. :(

Tuesday routine

2011-01-04T19:03:00.003-06:00

Tuesday is one of our busiest days. Last semester it meant school for me, school for the girls, Mobile's Singing Children, and soccer. This semester will probably be just as busy. After picking the girls up from school we head over to two hours of MSC rehearsal. Being responsible for the monitors means I get to fill in the slots that no parents have signed up for. The advantage is that I get to hear them rehearse and sometimes sit in theory with them. This is a picture of Hayden working on a music theory review "test" that they had today. Taylor and Hayden love being part of MSC. They both say that going to theory is one of their favorite parts.

When Hayden auditioned this year, I suggested to Payton that she might want to. She wasn't interested. However, she still has to tag along with me when I monitor. Since soccer hasn't started back up yet, she has to sit with me the 2+ hours during rehearsal. After finishing her homework, this is usually how she spends her time. She is currently reading "The Red Pyramid" by Rick Riordan. She loved the Percy Jackson series and "The Lost Hero." And so far, she is loving this book.

The crockpot has become my best friend on Tuesdays. Guess what the crockpot held tonight?

Pulled pork with the best BBQ sauce in town. Yummy!

Back to life...back to reality

2011-01-03T20:38:00.001-06:00

School starts back tomorrow so we are trying to get back in the swing of things. It is also the beginning of the month and you know what that means...Sams! The girls are so helpful ;) They are all willing to push the cart and will even argue with each other for the opportunity. They also make lots of suggestions about things I should buy. And to ensure that I get a good workout, they ride on the cart. So nice. I really do love having them home. We ran into one of their PE teachers while shopping and she asked if we were ready for school to start back. We all answered "no," of course. This morning, I jokingly suggested to the girls that I should home school them. They all agreed that I should which is not at all the answer that I expected. I guess they all love being at home just as much as I love having them there. Hayden's reason was predictable though. She thinks it would be great to stay in her pajamas all day.

While out running errands today, we had to make an exchange at Justice. I guess Taylor is getting to the point where I can't buy clothes for her without her trying them on. While we were there I heard this:

I thought it was a pretty cool version of a song that I love. When we got home, my to-do list took a backseat to my trying learn how to play this on the guitar. My finger tips still hurt. I need Dave to come back with his nylon string guitar. Actually, I need Lynne to come back too so we can learn this song together and work out some pretty cool harmonies. (You know - less Peter, Paul, and Mary....more Boys 2 Men.) There is always next visit.

Our personal rockstar

2011-01-02T17:40:00.003-06:00

The Benhams and Dave left today and it goes without saying that we are VERY sad. You would think that it would get easier to say goodbye at some point, but it doesn't. So instead of being sad, I am going to be happy about the fun times we had.

It was awesome to have Dave here. My kids love him so much and he is incredibly kind and patient with them. Having him as a brother is a real blessing. We can have an intellectual conversation one minute and be laughing about something really ridiculous the next. He is definately an important part of our family. His laugh is infectious and his music warms my heart. I could sit and listen to him sing and play the guitar all day. As the car was being packed, he took time to sit with Payton one last time and play the guitar with her. He played the chords while she strummed. It is these moments that I will miss the most. Love you Dave!!!

The promise I plan to keep

2011-01-02T17:18:00.003-06:00

Lynne and I have made many promises to each other over the years. We are not typically very good at keeping these promises. We have made weight loss promises, promises to keep the other from acting crazy in our old age, and promises to blog. We even made a promise not to cry when she left to go back home this trip. As usual, we did not keep that promise. We did however make a promise that I intend to keep. A picture a day for 2011. Nothing elaborate or involved. Just take a picture a day from our everyday lives and post it on the ol' blog. So my first picture is from 1/1/11.

Starting out a new year is always kind of refreshing and exciting. But it is especially awesome when we get to share it with the Benhams and Dave. The first day of the new year involved a trip to the grocery store, lunch for the masses, watching the football game, playing some Phase 10, another quick trip to the grocery store, and a chocolate fountain party for all the kids. The kids played all day and most of them never changed out of their jammies.

Here is just a glimpse of what a typical Benhemmertson cousin playtime looks like.

Of course Brant and Trent were involved doing something less girlie. Probably watching football or playing X-Box. Taylor, Payton, Hayden, Riley, Lance and Gavin were playing something that involved Power rangers, a big horse, dinosaurs, Monster-High dolls, a jungle, and a giant stuffed bear. I can't wait until next time they visit and I can take another picture like this. The kids may be a little bigger and the toys may be different but the smiles and snuggles will be the same.

MPCSS Honor Choir 2010 Hallelujah Chorus

2010-05-06T16:44:00.000-05:00

MCPSS Honor Choir 2010 You Raise Me Up

2010-05-06T16:43:00.000-05:00

These are a few of my favorite things...

2010-04-05T08:52:00.003-05:00

During our Christmas vacation, Mimi made breakfast for dinner one night. That included the best homemade biscuits I'd had in a long time. She made in her crockery bowl with her hands, just like Nanny used to. So I figured I could try making some myself when I got home. I found the recipe that mom had e-mailed me several years ago. (I know that you can make biscuits from Bisquick but I think those taste gross.) Three ingredients seemed like an easy thing to me. I was pleasantly surprise when my biscuits turned out. I guess you can't screw up flour, crisco and buttermilk. I may be the last person on the planet to figure out how to make homemade biscuits but I was pretty darn proud of myself. Now I need to master some good ol' gravy for those biscuits. I have even figured out how to add a few ingredients to make those Red Lobster biscuits. In case you are interested, here is my recipe:

Buttermilk Biscuits

¼ c. shortening

2 c. self-rising flour

¾ c. (approx.) buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In large bowl cut shortening into flour. Add milk to form a soft dough. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead about 10-12 times. Roll out to ½ inch thick. Use biscuit cutter or floured glass to cut biscuits. Don’t turn and twist the cutter. Just down and up. Place carefully on the ungreased cookie sheet and bake until nice and brown. Immediately brush with butter.

Red lobster biscuits: Add 1 c. shredded cheddar, ¼ tsp. garlic powder, to the flour mixture. You may need to add little more buttermilk. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and cook for 8-10 min. Add ¼ tsp dried parsley to melted butter before brushing on.

Try these and you will not be disappointed. I taught the Young Women how to make these a couple of weeks ago. They did a great job and the biscuits were yummy. Here is my disclaimer: I have found that Wal-mart brand flour doesn't work as well as White Lily or Pillsbury. It may be all in my head, but I threw out half a bag of flour after several mediocre recipes of biscuits and muffins.

Easter 2010

2010-04-05T01:24:00.004-05:00

What a great way to start the morning! I think I would like to wake up every morning to a little basket filled with candy just for me. Too bad I am not 6. My girls were lucky enough to wake up this morning and find this waiting for them. In there typical fashion they were up at 5:45 am. I could hear them in the baby monitor whispering to each other. So I knew my formal wake-up from them was coming soon.

What the picture tells you:

We like candy; especially if it says Reese's on it.
We left strawberries out for the Easter Bunny.
My kids were thrilled to get The Chipmunks movie and the sing-along DVD with it. Every family with girls needs this. I mean who wouldn't want their daughters going around singing "Single Ladies" all the time?
Yes, the Easter Bunny left money and a lengthy note.

What the picture doesn't tell you:

All of the girls slept in the same room last night. You would have thought it was Christmas Eve. Actually they were calling it Easter Eve all day. Whatever. Back to why they were all in the same room... Taylor and Payton are now sharing a room because they have been having a little difficulty getting along. I don't know if having them share a room is the best solution to this problem but I figured it was worth a try. So we now have a "guest" room. Fancy, huh? Hayden didn't want to sleep in her room because she was afraid the Easter Bunny was going to get her. Again, whatever. So she hauled her portable mattress, also known as Beary, to T&P's room and slept on the floor. When they woke up and came down stairs, they were very sure to let me know that none of them woke any of the others up. (They get in trouble for that.)
We left strawberries out for the Easter Bunny because we didn't have any carrots or celery in the fridge. I didn't even think about it. The kids reminded me that we needed something as they were going to bed. Thankfully I had just been to Wal-mart and spent a small fortune to buy groceries for my ravenous family this month. By the way, don't go to the Tillman's Corner Wal-mart. There is nothing left now.
The Easter Bunny left money because he is NICE. Right before bed, Hayden and Payton decided to write EB a letter requesting specific things. Hayden asked for a basketball and Payton asked for the next book in the "My Sister the Vampire" series. I tried to explain to them that EB is not like Santa Claus. But they thought he knew how bad they wanted those things so he would bring them. Taylor just opted to draw a picture and leave it for him. The Easter Bunny's note said he didn't have those things in his basket so he left them some money to go buy them later.
The picture is taken at an akward angle so you can't see the dishes in the sink.

We dyed eggs this afternoon. The kids don't like hard-boiled eggs, egg salad, or deviled eggs. Yet, we still dye eggs every year just for fun. I didn't want to waste a bunch of eggs so I boiled just enough for us to have the experience. I am glad we did it.
We did have to remind Payton that if you stick your fingers in they dye, they will get stained. What the picture doesn't tell you: I let Payton fix her hair all by herself. I was pretty impressed with her and I fought the urge to redo it and add some hairspray and a bow.

You can't see Hayden's jeans, but she has them on. If they are clean, she is wearing them. She loves jeans. I knew we would be taking a few pictures today and I tried helping her pick out a cute outfit. She wanted her jeans though and tried wearing her old soccer jersey. I vetoed that so we agreed on this shirt. I figure since she has to wear a uniform every day to school, it is not worth it for me to be uptight about her clothes all the time.

I am glad that Taylor is still excited about all the Easter fun. I worry that I am going to wake up one day and my little girl will be gone and young woman will have taken her place. I am not ready for that.

Over the past week, several people have asked me if we had any plans for Easter. My answer was usually "Nothing special" or "It is just going to be us." Then I remembered that my family is something special and they are worth my time and effort to make it a memorable Easter. We don't have to have people over for me to make it nice. So, I asked the girls if they wanted Easter dinner or brunch. They all voted for brunch. The menu included: fruit salad, cream puffs, pigs in a blanket, a sausage skillet thing, and breakfast punch. Bryan had chocolate milk, by request and we even had whipped cream for the fruit salad. I busted out my 3-tiered plate stand (a $1 yard sale find) and my newest kitchen accessory. Do you see it....the beverage dispenser? After visiting Lynne at Christmas and seeing hers, I knew I had to have one. Sam's put these out a couple of months ago and I have been eyeing them ever since. This one joined our family yesterday and it will be invited to all parties from now on. Maybe I should name it.

I am considering changing my blog name.

2010-04-05T01:09:00.003-05:00

I know this is not earth shattering news or something that anyone cares about. However, I have a good reason. First of all it is 1:09 in the morning and I can't sleep because I have a million things that I need to do circling in my head. One of those things is that I need to post my Easter pics for the family to see. That reminds me that it has been months since I updated my blog. Then I remind myself that I don't update my blog very often because I am a CRAPPY photographer. So the pictures I take never quite measure up to the memory that goes along with them and alot of our life is mundane and may seem even boring at times. But it is a life that I love (most of the time) and want to remember. That brings me to another reason I am changing my blog. I have a terrible memory, to say the least. Pictures don't always tell the whole story. So, my goal is to tell the whole story about our life. The good, the bad, and the stuff I don't have pictures of.

Although our family is still "Four to One," I want our story to be what the pictures aren't showing. A picture isn't always worth a thousand words.

Saturday...

2010-04-03T02:19:00.000-05:00

I love Saturdays when we get to spend them together as a family. This was one of those days.

On Friday night, Taylor asked Bryan if she could go with him on the paper route. She was anxious to go when he woke her up. When they got back, she ran into my room to ask me if we could go out to breakfast as a family. I said sure and in my half-asleep state, I agreed to go here:

I have to remember that just because I have permenant veto power, doesn't mean that I always need to use it if I don't like something. So despite my disdain for buffets, we went. It helped that we had coupons. And really, in the world of buffets, Golden Corral is not too bad for breakfast. The girls loved all the choices and the best part to them is getting to have ice cream for breakfast dessert. As we are sitting there eating, we start to remember that Hayden as thrown up at the ol' corral a few times. She decided that she is going to start refering to it as "That Place Where I Throw Up." Thankfully, we made it through with breakfast in tact... or in tummy.

After our fine dining experience, we headed out for some more culture at Wal-mart. Once in a while, we do the once a month grocery haul as a family. I am not sure why. This time it was a matter of convenience. We stuck to the list and made it out with all our kids and no extra Easter candy. That is an accomplishment.

We rushed home to unload the cold stuff and go right back out to this event:

The Downtown Mobile Alliance along with the Exploreum hosted this event. The weather was great and we had alot of fun. The dino egg hunt was held in Beinville Square. After that, everyone paraded down Dauphin Street to Cathedral Square where they had live music, crafts, face painting, storytime, etc. We stayed until it got too hot. It was well worth the drive downtown. As a bonus, we got to hang out with the Kirby-ton clan. As usual, no visit downtown is complete without a stop at the peanut store.

After a quick stop at Best Buy, to window shop, we headed home to recharge. Then it was back out to Sam's for a rousing rendition of "Who Has To Go To The Bathroom Even Though We Just Left The House?" And a quick game of "Let's See How Many Times We Can Act Like Wild Animals Before We Get In Trouble." After that we ran by Target so the girls could get in a round of "Ignore Mom and Dad Calling Us While We Play The Display Wii Even Though We Have one At Home." I will loan my kids out if anyone is interested in learning these games.

St. Patrick's Day, Bake Sale, and few random pics

2010-03-18T02:56:00.004-05:00

(This post was actually written on 4/5/10)

Taylor had a field trip on St. Patty's day. I guess it wasn't a real field trip, but we will call it that. The Mobile Singing Children were putting on a performance called "Bach to the Future" so she missed school to participate in that. It was at the Davidson High School Auditorium and a bunch of school groups came to see it for their field trip. It was a little education into the history of music and composers but done on an elementary school level with some really neat arrangements. There is only one other child from her school in MSC and she was not returning to school so I was easily talked into letting Taylor take the rest of the day off.

I decided to take her out to Remco so we could have lunch with Bryan. I let her pick the place. She picked daddy's favorite, Ming's Chinese Buffet. Since that is very close to the top of the list of places I don't want to eat, I stayed behind at the office and worked on a school project. I am glad I did, because I think they enjoyed their little date. After lunch we went to Wal-mart to get Bake Sale supplies and green dinner stuff. We had a really fun time looking for green food and figuring out what we should have. Here is what we decided on:
We had green alfredo, grapes, cucumbers, and green Hawaiian Punch. For dessert, we had green cotton candy and I made green chex mix. When Bryan came home and saw the green alfredo he said the girls weren't going to eat it. But, I guess if it is a holiday, they are up for anything. (Hayden was so excited about green dinner that it was the first thing she told her teacher about the next morning.) Payton made all of us leprechaun place tags. I bought the green paper plates and already had the muffin liners because...

Apparently I make decent looking muffins. I make muffins about once a week for breakfast. If there are leftovers the girls take them for snack. About a month ago, I was in Hayden's class and a little boy asked me if I would make muffins for him on his birthday. I agreed so he put his order in for some blueberry muffins. He was so sweet about it so I definitely was more than happy to. His birthday is March 17th so I picked up St. Patty's Day muffin liners. I sent Hayden off that morning with a batch of blueberry and a batch of cinnamon streusal muffins. They must have been good, because I was in her class again on Friday, and he asked me if I would make him some more muffins.

But there is no rest for the baking weary. The student council hosted a Bake Sale on March 18th and 19th for Shriner's Hospital. All the kids on student council were asked to contribute something. Two kids on student council means double the baked goods. I went with heart shaped and egg shaped brownies (some with white chocolate chips and some with sprinkles) and egg shaped rice krispy treat pops. I am sure there is a better name for those but I can't think of one. At the last minute I whipped up another batch of rice krispy treats because I was worried they wouldn't have enough. Well, the bake sale was a success. They ran out of stuff both days. Even after limiting kids to one item each, they still had to turn kids away. Since Taylor is the historian, she is responsible for taking pictures. When I looked at the pictures, I couldn't believe the line. I think they might do another one before the end of the year. There have already been some requests put in for more rice krispy treat pops.

Now for the random pictures:

We took this picture because Hayden wanted to see her uvula.

And this picture is of Hayden wearing Bryan's pajama bottoms and sweatshirt. It is at a weird angle because her pants had just fallen down and she was hurrying to get them pulled up. You can see Taylor in the background pointing and laughing.

Because of Hayden's historically poor choices in clothing, she has a few guidelines she is supposed to stick to if we are going anywhere:

It has to fit
It has to belong to her
It has to match
It has to be the right season

We were just hanging out after school, so the rules go out the window. I guess she figures one out of four isn't bad. That night when she got ready for bed, she put her own pajamas on. And put those pajama bottoms on Beary. He is still wearing them.

A few reasons why we are excited for our trip to Utah...

2009-11-23T17:12:00.007-06:00

Getting these kids together again for an awesome time:

Baking all kinds of yummy things for them:
Being part of this handsome guy's major accomplishment:

Spending an afternoon with these two kids all by themselves:

Being part of a Utah winter:

Witnessing this, in person:

Nights like these:

Snuggling up with this sassy thing:

Hearing these girls giggle together:

Finally, getting to share it all with this guy!

I laugh everytime I watch this!

2009-10-22T23:39:00.001-05:00

I know this is old, but since the Alabama vs. Tennessee game is this weekend, I had to post this. This isn't an actor and there is no script. This is just heartfelt hatred for the Vols.

Camera dump

2009-10-22T21:04:00.010-05:00

I am finally getting around to downloading some pictures from my camera. So, I figured I could update the family on what we have been up to.

Most afternoons are spent like this:

Payton is such a good student and usually gets started on her homework right away. She is loving that our school has started the Accelerated Reader program this year and always has her nose in a book. One of her favorite authors right now is Andrew Clements. Her teacher read "Frindle" to the class and Payton was hooked.

When we get home from school, Hayden immediately strips out of her uniform and takes her rubber bands out. Most days she immediately puts her pajamas on. She will sometimes try to hide them behind the couch cushions so she can get right to them when she gets home. On this particular day she actually opted for clothes. Matching her clothes is not a priority for her. Her homework method of choice is to do her entire homework packet for the week on Monday. That way she only has her reading to do on all the other nights. Her reading has just blossomed this year. She did fine last year, but never wanted to read out loud to me. That has all changed. She wants to start reading her book to me as soon as she gets in the car sometimes. I love to hear her read.

Fourth grade has been an adjustment for Taylor. She is having to work harder for her good grades this year. It is not unusual for her to spend 45 minutes on homework each night. On parent night at the beginning of the year, her teacher said the state guidelines suggest that a fourth grader should be spending 45-50 minutes on homework every night. Now that she knows what and how she needs to study and how everything is supposed to be done, the frustrating moments are becoming fewer. They do still happen, though. (as recently as today) She loves her teacher and seems to be just soaking everything up. I love for her to come home and be excited about the inertia experiment they did or want to tell me everything she learned about the role Alabama has played in the space program. She has even been excited to share with me her new way of doing 2 digit multiplication. This is going to be a great school year.

Apparently she got ahold of my camera one day. These made me smile when I discovered them.
Obviously our Saturdays always involve watching the Alabama game. I love this family tradition. I love remembering those Saturdays when Bryan and I were first dating that we would spend at Bryant-Denny Stadium. I love seeing Bryan totally in his element yelling at the TV and losing his voice cheering when the Crimson Tide scores. I love seeing the girls in their Alabama t-shirts and knowing that it is kick-off time because I can hear them yelling ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLL TIDE!!!!!!!! I love that when I run errands on Saturday everyone is wearing there crimson and white and also trying to get back home in time for "the game." I love that you can say "the game" to anyone and they know what you are talking about. I love singing the fight song after every touchdown. I love chanting "Rammer Jammer" after a big win and I love remembering chanting it in a stadium full of 90,000+ other fans yelling the same thing after the Iron Bowl. This is Alabama Football!

Our time has also been spent doing a lot of extra-curricular activities at school. Both Taylor and Payton sing in the school choir and are on the Student Council. The SC is only open to 3rd-5th grade. In 3rd grade you can run for class representative and in 4th and 5th grade you can run for an officer position. Taylor was excited to have that opportunity this year so she decided to run for Historian. She chose this office because she "likes to scrapbook and take pictures." When I found out that 10 other kids were running for that office I was a little worried for her. I wanted her to try, but I sure didn't want her to fail. We made her posters as a family and put them up Monday morning. By Monday afternoon, this is what the stairwell looked like:

Taylor was so excited to be part of it all. She kept saying she was OK if she didn't win, she just liked running for office, making posters, and asking people to vote for her. Here she is on Friday with one of her posters. I was surprised the balloons stayed inflated all week.

This was right after she made her speech and you can tell she has the biggest smile. The speech couldn't have gone any better. The speeches were given at an assembly of all the 2nd-5th graders, teachers, and parents. I figured there were at least 600 people there. Taylor had her speech memorized and she delivered it perfectly. Everyone else must have thought so to, because SHE WON!!! They didn't make the announcement until the following Monday morning. I think that was the longest weekend of Taylor's life. I have to admit, I was pretty anxious about it to. We had even talked about what she would do if she didn't hear her name called or if she felt like she might get upset. But, none of that was necessary. The following week, the classes held elections for their representatives. Payton was excited to be able to run for that since she is in 3rd grade. She was even more excited that she also won a position on the Student Council. They have already had their first meeting and their first event. The Student Council made signs and held them up along the route on National Walk to School Day. Payton stood on one of the routes holding her sign and Taylor walked all over taking pictures.

The girls are also running with the cross country team. Here they are after their first 5K of the school year.
The cross country team is not affiliated with the school this year so they don't practice there anymore. The practices have been a little difficult for us to make as often as we would like, but the girls totally love it when they can go.

Between all of these things, Taylor singing with Mobile Singing Children, PTA, PTA, PTA, church callings, Activity Days, etc. we still try to find time to spend time as a family. The girls enjoy playing games together. There recent favorites are Mancala and Farkle.

Last month Payton was selected as the Terrific Tiger for her class. This used to be called All-Star but was renamed Terrific Tiger to coincide with a character education program the counselors are implementing this year. Whatever they call it, this little girl deserves it. She is such a sweet girl to her classmates, is always willing to help out the teacher, and always does her best.

(You know what the out of uniform shirt means----Perfect attendance for the month including no tardies. Yay, me!)

This is a camera dump so here is some more misc. information. I am loving my Silhouette. It is perfect for YW handouts, Student Council posters etc. I especially love it now that I have some vinyl. Thanks, Lynne. You are the best. And thanks, Mom for the gingersnap recipe. You're the best. They were so good but I don't know if I can make them again before you come visit. I don't know if Payton can handle it. The smell of them baking reminded her too much of you. I guess you will know if I made them, because I am sure she will want to call you again.

Maybe I should write a book about that. If you make some gingersnaps, your house will start to smell like Mimi's. If your house smells like Mimi's, it will make Payton sad. ... You get the idea.

While I am on the subject of thanking Lynne. Thank you for the pumpkin bread recipe. I made that Saturday. Thank you for showing me how to make rolls. I made those Sunday. Thank you for teaching me how to make cinnamon rolls. I made those Monday. I'll have to give you a recipe for the crumb cake I made Tuesday. Thank you for telling me about chocolate covered popcorn. I made that Wednesday. Thanks for the chocolate covered cinnamon bears that came in the mail today. I am sure those won't last long. Thanks for showing me how to make these brownies. I will probably make them tomorrow. Now I just need one more thing from you....

.... A New Pair of Pants!

Pumpkin bread and gingersnaps only mean one thing. We had Fall this week. I hope everyone enjoyed it because that is about how long it lasts in Mobile. When we had Fall this week, the girls loved being outside. My driveway has the art gallery to prove it.

Baking isn't the only thing I use to distract myself from the never-ending pile of laundry. I sometimes sew to block out those pesky thoughts. The sound of the sewing machine is louder than the voice in my head telling me to unload the dishwasher or mop the floor. I am still a beginner but I am learning. I love quick, easy projects that are idiot proof. After Lynne taught me how to make aprons this summer, I have tried to branch out. Shawna showed me how to make rag quilts and I have made a couple of those. I made my kids some mini-quilts to make sure I had it down before I tried for a regular sized one. I think I have it figured out, because the two I made for baby gifts seemed to be appreciated. Here is Hayden with her dinosaur quilt. When I decided to make quilts for the girls I took them to Joanne's and let them pick out the fabric. Hayden saw this fabric and knew she had to have it. This picture was taken right before bed a couple of months ago when she had Bronchitis. With her allergies and "touch of asthma" as the doctor called it, she has become quite the pro at using the breathing machine. She doesn't have to use it all the time just for a week or so here and there. In this picture, you can also see right below her eye where she busted her face on kitchen table. This happened the week after she got her boot off from her broken ankle. Nothing a trip to the Immediate Care and some Dermabond can't fix.

Back to the sewing. I have a friend who has a sweet hook up on cute kid fabric remnants. She got me a bag full of pink chenille dot fabric remnants. I have had it for a couple of weeks trying to figure out what I wanted to do with it. Well I used part of it tonight and made Hayden this little outfit.

I have never made pants before but I had read a tutorial online and I just went off what I could remember. They aren't perfect so don't look to close, but she was super excited about them. She said they were the softest thing she had ever felt. You know how she likes her soft things. Always has. We had this cute little t-shirt so I decided to applique a matching "H" on it.

On another random note: At the end of August, the Activity Day girls had a father/daughter luau that Bryan took Taylor and Payton to. That left me and Hayden alone for our own date. We decided the best way to spend it was at the library then getting smoothies. We spent our time picking out dinosaur books and we looked through some of Graeme Base's books. We had to bring some of those home to share, too. Then we headed over to Smoothie King to drink smoothies and read dinosaur books. It was a great way to spend time with my baby who is getting bigger every time I blink. Somebody make it stop.

Some of the things I have not taken pictures because I never remember to charge my camera are:

Taylor's field trip to the Mobile Museum of Art

Hayden's field trip to Seward Farms and the corn field maze

1st grade Honor's Day when Hayden got her A-honor Roll certificate.

A visit from Daylyn, Jilly, Addy, and Ezra

All of the other day to day activites that fill our lives.

Even when I don't have a camera around to document , I always remember I am the luckiest mom in the world!

NOW YOU SEE IT......

2009-08-19T14:36:00.002-05:00

NOW YOU DON'T!!!!!!!

Hayden finally got her boot off on Monday. She has been hobbling around with that thing for six weeks and was not sad to see it go. The doctor said she healed like she should and she can return to normal activity now and sports in two weeks. I am not exactly sure what that means for a six year old. Her normal play is like a football game with no ball. She is always running around, jumping on stuff, tackling something, etc. The doctor said she should only be limited by her pain. Meaning, if her ankle starts to hurt, she should take a rest. Somehow I think cleaning her room or doing other chores might really make her ankle hurt.

Between her broken arm a couple of years ago and her broken ankle, we have been to the orthopedic doctor more times than I would like in her 6 short years of life. When we left, I told the nurse I hope we never see them again. I hope she didn't take it the wrong way. Somehow, I think we will be back.

Happy Birthday to me!

2009-08-19T14:14:00.003-05:00

Another birthday has come and gone. I think I am somewhere in the thirties. I spent the day the best way I know how--with my family. We spent the morning at church having a ward swap day and scavenger hunt. I am a smidge competative so I was already gunning for our family to win. When I saw that the prize included a bag of peanut M&Ms, I knew losing was not an option. Thankfully, Bryan and the girls share my competative spirit. So off we went with our list in hand and a plan in mind. We had about half of the things in the car (sad, I know) and we went home for the rest of the stuff. We each picked something to we could get in the house and knew we had to be back in the car within 5 minutes. We found everything except for a 2009 coin. Who knew that would be so hard to come by? So I went to the place that has everything---Walmart. The ladies there went through two registers to find me a shiny 2009 quarter. We raced (not exceeding the speed limit) back to the church and proudly presented our bin of treasures.We won! Nevermind that there weren't very many teams or that we didn't have any small children to tend to. We won! We had a great time. Who knew that something so simple could be so much fun for our family to do together? And a special thank you to our driver who got us there safely and even entertained us with a song or two.

We spent the afternoon just chilling at home then went out to dinner at my FAVORITE restaurant. American Cafe never disappoints. The Spinach con queso was as good as ever and the food was great, as usual. We splurged and ordered dessert. Who can pass up S'mores Sundaes? My girls and Bryan know how to make me feel special. I sure am lucky!

Back to School

2009-08-16T20:58:00.004-05:00

It's that time again. The girls started back to school this past Monday. I was not terribly excited about it because I like having them home with me. However, I do like getting back to the routine that goes out the window during the summer time. Even though we were totally prepared for the first day of school and left the house in plenty of time, we managed to hit the dreaded first day of school traffic. The drive that normally takes us 10 minutes on a typical morning, took us 35 minutes. So, we were rushing in to school before the bell rang and I had to hurry them in to their classrooms with a quick kiss goodbye. They all seemed fine but I had a hard time holding it together. They were the most adorable kids at school that day, in my opinion. They were so excited to get started with the school year after having met their teachers the previous week. Hayden was the only one who was remotely hesitant, because she is tired of answering questions about what happened to her foot. (For the record, it is technically her ankle and she broke it on the fourth of July on a trampoline.) They all had a great first day at school. It is going to take some time to get used to not having them home. The summer was just too short.
It is hard for me to believe that Taylor is starting 4th grade. She is so excited to have so many of her friends in her class. She has come home every day for the past week just chatting it up about everything they've done and what she has learned.

Hayden starting 1st grade is the hardest for me to swallow. I guess she isn't me baby anymore. She is so much more grown up and needs me less and less. I am getting sad right now just thinking about it.

Payton was excited to start 3rd grade with her new glasses. When she came home the first day, I asked her if she enjoyed being able to see that board at school. She said it was great and that she kept checking it all day with and without her glasses to see the difference.

Besides missing my girls during the day, I have been dreading school starting for various reasons. Now we are back to ironing uniforms, packing lunches, sitting in carpool, early mornings and signing behavior reports, reading logs, homework folders, permission slips, etc.

I do love to see my girls succeed, though. So, I will keep sending them to school. One more first week of school down. Only 11 more to go. Boo Hoo!! Somebody stop time for me.

On another note--I discovered a new song I like so I added to my playlist. It is by Parachute and is called "She is Love." Enjoy.

Today

2009-05-20T17:35:00.003-05:00

Today...I am copying Lynne's blog post.

Today...was the last day of Tiger Ice for this school year and I was able to make it through without getting a single drop on my clothes. That might be because I was only there for third grade.

Today...I ran to Wal-mart to buy lunchables after dropping the kids off at school because they informed me that the sliced ham being served in the cafeteria was "disgusting." I bought a pound of my favorite Jennie-O Sun-dried Tomato Turkey (sliced on a #1) while I was there.

Today...I got a much needed pedicure and indulged myself in a recent copy of Us Weekly while there. When I say much needed, I am serious.

Today...was the last day of after-school choir practice for Taylor. I played bubbles with Hayden while we waited. The big High School Musical concert is on the last day of school. I can't wait.

Today...I went to 3 stores looking for the elusive perfect brown flip-flop. My old ones are RAGGED but I will wear them until I find the perfect replacement.

Today...I was lonely, just like everyday. You would think that after an entire school year, that I would be used to being alone during the day, but I am not.

Today...as usual, I cried when I read Lynne's blog.

Today...Mrs. Funk was nice enough to take Payton home with Elle and then on to soccer practice. The end of the season tournament is this weekend and their team is in second place.

Today...I am sad that the school year is almost over and that means the kids are getting older.

Today...I am excited that the school year is almost over because that means no more ironing uniforms, packing lunches, signing reading logs, etc. for 2 1/2 months.!!!!!

Today...the DVDs were returned on time to the library. That is a first in a very long time.

Today...Hayden came home and promptly changed into her pajamas. Oh wait, that happens everyday.

Today...I was not as concerned about the dog roaming the neighborhood as my neighbor was. He is way nicer about dogs than I am.

Today...I am going to my first mutual activity in a long time since I am now serving in YW after serving in RS for almost 4 years.

Today...I counted the days again until the Benhams get here. Only 10 more days. I can't wait!!!!

Run, Taylor, Run!!

2009-05-16T07:54:00.002-05:00

Taylor decided to join her school's cross country team at the first of January. The team was formed this year in the fall. She didn't want to join then but after our family ran the Senior Bowl 5K in November she decided she wanted to. To make the team she had to run 2 miles in 26 or 28 minutes (I can't remember.) When she made the team she was very excited and committed. They had practice every Monday and Friday and meets a couple of times on Tuesdays. They also had one mandatory Port City Pacers 5K a month to run on Saturdays and several other optional races. Each of the 5K races gives awards based on age divisions. She is still in the lowest division, 0-9 girls. This is mostly 9 year old girls. A couple of times there have been younger participants (like her sisters) but not very often. Taylor's hardwork has paid off. At her most recent race, she ran her best time ever - 33:10. This is almost 7 minutes faster than her first 5K. She ran this race with her coach, Ms. Green who was encouraging her the whole way. Here they are together at the end of the year banquet. She is a great coach and sacrificed alot for this team. She ended the season with knee surgery after running a little too hard with Taylor at that last race.

It hasn't always been easy for her. She has finished a couple of races in tears after pushing herself. Hayden has been willing to help her out a few times. Knowing that there were treats and awards at the end of each race also helps.
This was after the Bunny Chase 5K where I think she placed first.

This was part of the ERD team before one of the races.

This was at the end of the year banquet. It is such a great group of kids and parents. Everyone cheers each other on and waits at the end of the race to high-five their team mates. She is excited to be on this team again next year.

These are her other 3rd grade team mates and the rising stars of ERD cross country team.

Butterfly release

2009-05-16T07:35:00.002-05:00

Several years ago, our PTA decided to set up two outdoor classrooms, AKA the butterfly gardens. Thanks to several hardworking parents and teachers, they have gotten bigger and better each year. What started out as a couple of canopies with nets thrown over the sides, is now two full size green houses with planters, benches, stepping stones, etc. Parents also donated flowers that butterflies are attracted too and will lay their eggs on. Each year every classroom in the school is given two cups with 5-8 catterpillars in each. The children are able to watch them progress from catterpillar into caccoon in their classroom. The cups are covered with a coffee filter and this is what they attach themselves to. After they become caccoons, (or is is it a chrysallis?), they are transferred to the greenhouses. Clipping these coffee filters to the lines strung across the greenhouses is not the most fun job in the world, but it was all worth it. After a week and a half, we had hundreds of butterflies just waiting to be released. On the day of the release the students gather around the greenhouse as the sides are rolled up and the butterflies start to fly out and sometimes land on the children. Obviously, they all loved it!
I didn't get any pictures of Taylor because the two greenhouses are released at different times and her grade level was scheduled for the second release.

Coastal Cuisine

2009-05-16T07:19:00.002-05:00

Part of Taylor's science curriculum this quarter is studying marine life. For the past couple of years at our school, the teachers have ended this unit with a Coastal Cuisine luncheon. This allows the students the chance to sample the local cuisine that includes some of the things they have learned about. The teachers put this whole thing together and the kids make decorations for the hallway. On the menu this year was gumbo, hush puppies, crawfish, bowled shrimp, and banana pudding .

Taylor willingly put everything on her plate but was not willing to try everything. She tasted the gumbo and said it was too spicy. She didn't want anything to do with the crawfish. She was willing to try the shrimp once a classmate offered to peel it for her but, when she saw the inside of eat, she changed her mind. She liked the hush puppies and banana pudding and asked for seconds. I was surprised at how many of the kids actually enjoyed the crawfish. I guess because it is not my thing, I figured kids that age wouldn't like them either. Yet, a lot of the kids were cracking those things open and sucking the heads like pros. Yuck!

Here are some gratuitous seafood pictures for the Benhams. Just a few more weeks and you can partake in your very own Coastal Cuisine.

Thanks to Maureen for being my hand model.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

2009-05-11T17:14:00.003-05:00

I have a confession to make. I have a slight shopping addiction. I don't spend my time hunting bargains for clothes, shoes, purses, makeup, or scrapbook supplies. I am addicted to finding great bargains on groceries. I like getting the Wednesday grocery ads a little more than I should and the Target ad is the first thing I pull out of the Sunday paper. I try to keep my coupons clipped so I can make good use of them. This isn't a new found love. This has been part of me for many years. Back when I was first married and when Taylor was a baby, Lynne and I used to spend hours clipping coupons and shopping at Delchamps when they would double and triple coupons. Sometimes we would close the store down trying to stock up on tinfoil, toothbrushes, cereal, etc. for free or just a few pennies. Delchamps eventually closed and those middle of the night grocery runs were history. But my need for a good grocery bargain lives on. You don't want to get behind me in the checkout at Walmart. I love to ad match and use coupons and it usually takes awhile. I also love to get my coupons doubled (up to 50 cents) at Brunos. I have recently discovered Targets $5 gift cards with certain purchases. But the story doesn't end there. Just a few weeks ago I was getting my weekly fix from the Wednesday grocery ads when I saw it.....Brunos was tripling coupons up to 55 cents on Saturday. Oh My Gosh!! I was so excited. And if that wasn't exciting enough, it has continued every Saturday for the past month. So what is a girl to do that has a stockpile of coupons and a addiction to good grocery bargains?! Go to Brunos. My first trip a few weeks ago yielded this bounty:

Any guesses on how much 5 bags of frozen biscuits, 5 boxes of Hormel lunch meat, 6 tubs of country crock spread, 10 large jars of Ragu, 8 tubs of frosting, 2 jars of wostershire, 1 box of crunch n' munch, 10 5ct. packages of Pringles minis, 12 boxes of Ziploc bags, 1 bottle of hot sauce, 1 bottle of Hungry Jack syrup, 4 bottles of Pine-sol, 11 rolls of Bounty paper towels, 2 bottles of shampoo, 2 bottles of detangler, 16 boxes of granola bars, 16 boxes of fiber one bars, and 17 1-lb. bags of rice costs? (That is 130 items -- all of which, we use)

Drumroll please......$117.00 with a savings of $232.97.

But it doesn't stop there. Here is the receipt for the day I spent 54 cents TOTAL on 6 boxes of cereal.

This is the other day at Target when I got 8 boxes of cereal and 8 jars of peanut butter for a cool $16.43.

Last Saturday's haul at Bruno's yielded this result:

I got these 17 1-lb. bags of rice, 25 rolls of Bounty paper towles, 16 boxes of Betty Crocker muffin mix, 16 Betty Crocker Warm delights (for when the Benham's come), and 5 boxes of Ziploc bags for $42.41.

The only drawback is that Bruno's will only let you do 10 coupons at a time so I have to stand in line dividing up my order into groups of 10 and try to keep the correct coupons together. My bank actually called me a few weeks ago because there was "suspicious" activity on my account. Apparently multiple small transactions at the same place sets off some sort of fraud alert.

I love finding a good deal, I love seeing my cupboards full for my family, and I love knowing that I am getting my food storage in place.

Sorry about the music...

2009-05-11T17:05:00.002-05:00

I don't ever have the sound turned up on my computer. So, I had forgotten that I had such a depressing song leading off my playlist. I am sorry about that. I have now changed my playlist and added a new song to the top. I have loved it since I first heard it a couple of months ago. Every word of it describes how I feel about Bryan. It is such a sweet little song and I can't get it out of my head. So turn your speakers up and listen to The Plain White T's singing "1234."

Easter 2009

2009-04-12T16:44:00.005-05:00

This one's for you, Riley!

First a little background info: I haven't blogged in a while because my card reader stopped working a few months ago. I had great intentions of buying one but I just never got around to it. So, Lynne the Awesome-est sent me one so I could upload pictures and update my blog for Riley. I am guessing Lynne didn't want to waste a trip to the post office on just a card reader so she filled our flat rate box with goodies for the family. She made the girls the most adorable skirts for Easter and with the extra fabric she made me a cute apron. She also included flower clips to match (see why she is the awesome-est.) We love packages from Utah, especially when they include authentic "Utahian" goods. Lynne did not disappoint this time. She included chocolate covered cinnamon bears and a Down East tee for me. Add to that some FHE kits and a bag of Easter Candy for Bryan and you have the most awesome package we have received in a long time.

Between my new card reader and my guilt, I have been compelled to update the old blog today. So Easter pictures is what you will get. Here is our Easter recap:

Last night Hayden was worried that we didn't have any carrots to put out for the Easter Bunny so we left him the next best thing--celery with peanut butter. Rabbits eat that, right? He must have liked it because he left the girls some goodies. (Even though I told Hayden I thought she was on his bad list. Does the Easter Bunny keep a good list and a bad list?)

Hayden was excited to see that the Easter Bunny didn't eat all of the celery because she wanted some. As she was about to eat it, Taylor and Payton started freaking out at her because they didn't think it was safe to eat after the Easter Bunny. Really?!? Just when I thought they had already thought of everything in the world to argue about, they find something else. I guess they are only concerned about her safety. So I made Hayden her very own celery with PB.

The girls looked especially cute this morning with their new Easter skirts (courtesy of Lynne) and flowers in their hair. So after church, we went over to Mobile Botanical Gardens for pictures. We had only been there once, a very long time ago for a wedding, so we just went there on a whim. It is open everyday from dawn to dusk and is free. It was Beautiful. The still had azaleas blooming and bunch of walking trails with great places to take pictures. I only wish my camera skills matched the setting.

We were even able to get a half way decent picture of Bryan and I. This was the only picture, out of all the ones the girls took, that was in focus and had both of our heads in the frame.

After we got all of the pictures I wanted we went home for the long awaited egg hunt. The girls are getting passed the age when you can just throw the eggs in the grass and call it a day. Bryan and I actually had to hide them this time.

Bryan did hide some just out of their reach for our own amusement. It was fun watching them jump over and over for two little eggs. After Taylor walked off, Payton tried to strike up a deal with me. She said if I got the eggs down for her, she would let me have one of them. I did finally get them down for her because I knew she was willing to risk injury for a plastic egg. She almost face-planted on the driveway while trying fetch this little egg.I really didn't think Hayden would be able to able to reach the eggs in the top of the crape myrtles but she is no dummy. She just shook the heck out of those trees until the eggs fell.The weather was really nice today so the girls sat on the driveway and sorted goodies while Bryan and I sat on the front porch and chilled. It was such relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Another long overdue post

2009-01-01T19:56:00.001-06:00

(Pretend it is October 1st instead of January 1st)
My little girl is not a baby anymore. I know that she hasn't been a baby for a long time but everytime I look at her she seems older and more grown up. I miss her bald head, big blue eyes, and bright toothless smile. But I love now seeing her beautiful smile and those same blue eyes as she changes from a little girl into a wonderful young lady. Her smile lights up a room and her laugh is infectious. She is a kind, helpful, intelligent, inquisitive, sweet spirited, funny, loving girl. People have told me you can tell how special and wonderful she is just be looking at her smile. I have to agree! Even though she is only turning nine, I feel like she is growing up way to fast. Thankfully, though, she still likes to snuggle, play with her sisters, and act silly. And she hasn't gotten to old to hold my hand our let me give her a kiss in front of her friends at school. She has gotten a little more picky about what she will wear and how she wants her hair fixed. There are some things I lover about her getting older. Taylor really loves to sit down with a good book and would read through the night if I would let her. She is involved in several after school activities that she loves. She is pretty self sufficient with her homework. She is an excellent helper at home. And she now is big enough to need this beauty:

Taylor has asked for a new bike for every birthday and Christmas for the past couple of years. Our neighborhood is not very bike riding friendly so we have held off. This year for her birthday, she once again asked for a bike and that is the only thing she wanted. So in the morning when she left to go on her birthday breakfast date with Daddy, this was waiting on the front porch.

She was just as happy and excited as I had expected and I love watching her ride it. Of course, I won't let her out of my sight and I freak out everytime I hear a car.

The other half of her birthday excitement had to wait a few weeks. We went to see High School Musical 3 and she got to bring Hannah along. We had to wait until the movie came out, which was several weeks after her birthday. The wait was worth it. She loved it and has already asked if we can buy it when it comes out on DVD. I am sure we will.

Let's start at the very beginning...

2009-01-01T17:38:00.005-06:00

...A very good place to start.

When you read, you begin with A-B-C.

When you blog you begin with Halloween.

OK, I know those aren't the words to the song. But, it applies here. While I have lots of Christmas and Disney vacation pictures and stories to share, I am a little bit behind on the posts. So for the enjoyment of my #1 blog fan, Riley, I am going to start back at Halloween and work forward.

Taylor went as a 50's girl. You may remember that her and Bryan attended a Daddy/Daughter Sock Hop together back in August. Taylor wore her poodle skirt from that for Halloween. She looked especially cute with the new hair accessory she picked out. Payton was a Vampire Princess - not to be confused with just a vampire (like she was last year.) Ever since the summer when Riley let us borrow her beautiful boots, Hayden has wanted to be a cowgirl. Don't be confused by the Sheriff's badge she is wearing. It came in the package with the toys guns so she wanted to put it on. But she said she was still a cowgirl.

The girls posed for some pictures before we left for our Ward Trunk or Treat.

They had this little scenrio all made up for this picture. Hayden, the brave cowgirl, is protecting Taylor, the scared little sock-hopper, from Payton, the evil vampire.

We love the Trunk or Treat activity at church every year. It is usually held the Wednesday before Halloween which I really like. It gives the girls two chances to wear their costumes and gives a chance to hang with all of our church friends without forgoing regular trick or treat time on Halloween. It is really fun to see how creative everyone gets with their trunks. We don't go all out, but we do have our little set of light up ghosts we have used the past couple of years. But, I think it messed up the AV lighters in the van because now I can't even charge my cellphone in them anymore. We also have a Halloween music CD that we play. Our favorite song is Monster Mash, which we kept playing over and over. This was the first year that we let the girls roam around the parking lot by themselves. I passed out candy, took pictures, and roamed around while Bryan harrassed the Parkes boys and threw candy at the older kids.
Hayden was very happy with how her costume turned out. She was so excited that I was finally going to let her wear the beloved cowgirl boots out of the house.

She came up with this little pose and was cracking us up with her deep southern drawl and fake spitting.

Hayden and Grant are great friends and were happy to pose for a picture when I asked. I think they look so cute with their missing teeth.

Payton's makeup job shows my most advanced makeup skills. Makeup and hair are not my thing at all but she was happy with the results.

She got less candy than the other girls because she spent alot of time at the Fusiotti car. They are a great ER Dickson family that Lisanka invited to Trunk or Treat. Traci brought a Smores maker instead of passing out candy. That was definately the hit of the night. Next year I think I might just have to bring a cotton candy machine and snowcone maker.

Taylor enjoyed running around and acting silly with her sisters and Hannah. She has never been my child that enjoys being totally dressed up or wearing makeup. So, this was as far as she wanted to go. No extra scarf or make up or elaborate hair do. Totally my kind of girl. I think she looks beautiful.

As usual we had a great time at the activity and as usual my chili didn't win. That is OK though because I have never tried to win. I don't have chili skills. I just bring a pot of my chili every year because I know my kids will eat it. It isn't too spicy. It doesn't have a bunch of beans. It isn't made with deer meat. It is just plain old chili.

Wow... I am really boring!

2008-12-01T13:34:00.003-06:00

I saw this on someone else's blog and thought I would post it here. You are supposed to copy the list and bold any of them that you have done. I have also added a little commentary where needed. So here it goes:

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band ....at school (I took band in high school but I wasn't actually in the band. It was just a class for me to skip)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland /world
8. Climbed a mountain - (I have hiked in the mountains but I don't think that counts)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - (If I had done this I would have died of a heart attack and wouldn't be here to tell about it.)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (Does the Angel Tree count?)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables (I tried but no vegetables ever grew. Just a really long vine)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (Bus-yes. Train-No)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (With Bryan, yeah baby! Ha, Ha)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community (on TV)
36. Taught yourself a new language (I can translate Whinese)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud (back on my soccer glory days)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (only a home movie)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (how do you spell successful...10+ years as an independent contractor throwing newspapers. Jealous?)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies - nope, but bought and eaten enough to own the Girl Scouts
62. Gone whale watching - I'm resisting a really mean joke right now
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (high-fived Richard Simmons in the Macy's Parade. Jealous?)
92. Joined a book club (no but I have joined a CD club and got a good deal on some sweet music. Something like 12 CDs for $0.01. Jealous?)
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby - (Actually, mine were more like toddlers)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

I guess I have experienced a few cool things in life, they just aren't on this list. I think I will make my own list and post that. Anyway, I think this is supposed to be a tag, so TAG!

They must really love each other...

2008-11-16T20:01:00.003-06:00

No matter what they are doing, I always find the girls crammed into the same 2 square feet of space. They like to share this same space in:

A closet floor
Eating breakfast
Doing homework
Under the comforter on my bed
On the swingset
In front of the TV
The couch where I am already sitting
In the bathroom to brush teeth
In their beds
In front of the computer

This is not a staged photo. This really is how they play. They have plenty of room to play in their bedrooms or in the TV room. Yet, they usually all cram into a closet to play. When they sit down to do homework, they will all gather around one corner of the dining room table. But their favorite place to share space is their beds. The other night I went back upstairs to check on the girls after I had tucked them in. Hayden wasn't in her bed or in her room. So I start calling for her. She comes running out of Taylor's room to tell me that she was sleeping in Taylor's bed. I go to check out the situation. Taylor was in Payton's bed with her and tells me that she had been sleeping there for the past couple of nights. More recently Taylor is sleeping back in her own bed but Hayden hasn't left it. So if you need some extra space to play of sleep, come on over. We have some space we aren't using.

I have field trip fatigue

2008-11-16T19:32:00.003-06:00

It is only November and between the three girls, there have already been six field trips. Fire Station, Little Schoolhouse, Bellingrath Gardens, the Farm, the Battleship, and Christmas Jubilee. Taylor has another next week, too. Since I am in school, I haven't been able to go on all of them. Bryan and Aiti (Bryan's mom) have filled in. However, I am already growing a little tired of them. I know that sounds horrible. Bryan tells me that the kids don't need one of us as a chaperone on every single one. But, I feel like it is one of the reasons I am a stay-at-home-sometimes-when-I-am-not-in-school-myself-or-volunteering-at-their-school-or-running-errands-or-doing-something-church-related-mom. However, I know how much the kids like having one of us along so, I will continue to go. Even though the buses usually stink, I usually have to ride on the bus with the mean driver that won't let anyone talk, and bathroom facilities aren't always the cleanest, I will still go. I have learned a few tricks of the field trip chaperoning trade. Always bring a bottle of water and some Excedrin. Stash a few books in the bag for the really long bus rides. Keep hand sanitizer handy. Pack a yummy lunch. Don't stress if you forget the camera. Kiss your child alot in front of their friends. Sing silly songs together. I forgot my camera on Hayden's field trip to the Battleship last week. Here are a few pictures of her Fire Station and Farm fieldtrips:

Bryan took the day off to go on the Fire Station field trip and just smiled when I handed him the camera. He knew what to do.

This little farm is in Bay Minette and is about 1 hr from the school. The long bus ride is worth it. It is one of the "Kindergarten" field trips, so I have been there 3 times. I still acted very excited about the emus, pigs, pony rides, etc. all for Hayden.

That is Hayden's teacher, Ms. Ryall. According to Hayden, she is the best teacher in the whole world. I totally agree. I think Lynne would, too. Trent and Riley both had her for Kindergarten.

Time to celebrate

2008-11-08T07:53:00.003-06:00

I have to brag about my girls again. They all got straight A's for the first quarter. Hayden and Payton didn't act like it was any big deal. Taylor is pretty happy about it, though. She said third grade is the hardest ever. She spends about 45 min on homework and there have been a few tears shed (from her and me.) She struggled a little bit in math but once I realized she was missing the instruction 3 days a week for speech and PACE, I got that straightened out. I love her teacher so much. Once she and I discussed the problem, she made sure Taylor was there for math most days. It has made all the difference.

Once the report cards came out, we had to celebrate! The girls all agreed that Marble Slab was the best place to do this.

Hey now, they are Allstars!

2008-11-08T07:39:00.002-06:00

It is only October and all have my girls have already been selected as an Allstar. I am one proud mom! For anyone that doesn't know, each teacher picks one student from her class each month as the Allstar. This is a student who has shown good character. I guess it is like a student of the month. They have a little breakfast with donuts and juice each month for the allstars. They are given a certificate and a prize. This year, instead of getting a little goodie bag, the kids get all star t-shirts. The best part about it, is that they can wear them every Friday instead of their uniform shirt.

Payton was selected for the month of September. On the certificate, the teacher writes the reason for selecting that student. Payton was chosen for always being kind to others.
Hayden and Taylor were the Allstars from their classes for October. Hayden was chosen for "showing she cares for her friends and teachers."

Taylor was chosen for "always being willing to lend a helping hand."

This picture is for you, Riley. Blakely was also chosen from her class for October. So, I took a picture of her and my girls just for you.

Saturdays are so unpredictable...

2008-11-02T17:29:00.004-06:00

...except for one thing--ALABAMA FOOTBALL! ROLL TIDE!

Our Saturdays always seem busy. They may involve cleaning the garage, helping spruce up the family cemetery, family picnics, church activities, working on the car, etc. However, we ALWAYS make time to watch the game. Around here, when you say "the game" everyone knows what you are talking about. We have been Alabama fans forever. We have rooted for them through the good times and bad (losses, sanctions, injuries, numerous coaching changes, etc.) This season has made it all worth it. Since Bryan and I both went to U of A we can rightfully call the Crimson Tide "our team." The girls love to watch the games too, especially when I make fun snacks.

The third Saturday in October is always a big game. The Alabama/ Tennesse rivalry is second only to the Alabama/Auburn rivalry. To paraphrase an Alabama player: We hate Auburn because we have to. We hate Tennesse because we want to. Lynne told me about this clip on youtube. After watching it, I had to share. I can not figure out how to post the actual video, but here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7G7loR2VVw

Anyway, I made a few fun treats for the Tennessee game this year. We had apples with caramel dip, halloweeen cupcakes, sausage dip, and Chicago style pizza. After seeing a food network special about it, Bryan decided we should try to make some. It actually turned out pretty good, but looked to gross too take pictures of.

This is the best sausage dip and is so easy to make. I got the recipe from one of my scrapping friends, Debby. She brought this to a crop one time and it was love at first bite. Just cook up your sausage (I wouldn't use anything other than Jimmy Dean.) Drain off the fat then add a can of rotel and block of cream cheese. Mix it all up and serve. So delicious.

Before the game, the girls were out drawing with sidewalk chalk on the driveway and they heard the ice cream man. So, they all run in to get their allowance and run back out to sit and wait. They sat at the bottom of the driveway and waited for almost an hour. They kept hearing the faint song of the ice cream truck, but it never came down our street. Taylor told me they prayed six times and it still didn't come. I tried to make it all better. I went outside with a box of popsicles and offered to sell those to them. Taylor and Hayden were ready to buy but, Payton was all upset because she didn't think she should have to buy popsicles from me. So being the nice mom that I am, I gave them away for free.

This is Taylor's masterpiece on the driveway. In case you can't read it, the title is "Family Stages." The order of the stages is love, marriage, baby, grow up, live, and die. I guess, since Bryan and I love each other, got married, then had a few babies, we are now growing up. Don't you just love it. I really can't wait until I get to start living.

Believe it or not...

2008-11-02T16:53:00.002-06:00

...we did celebrate Halloween. It just seems like life has been moving along at a pretty quick pace for us lately. So, obviously, I haven't taken the time to blog about it. We did make time to pick out pumpkins, though. I didn't take the kids to the pumpkin patch this year. (overpriced and over-rated) They each picked a pumpkin out of those huge boxes at Wal-mart and they were just as happy with them. See:

And thanks to Lynne, we didn't even have to carve them. She sent us some vinyl pumpkin faces to stick on them. They turned out just as cute with no mess. Love it! After we brought the pumpkins home, the girls were willing to sit for a few pictures. Aren't they beautiful?!

I wanted a picture of them all together. To get one of those, I usually have to agree to a silly picture too. This time wasn't any different. So here is the picture I wanted and the one they wanted:

Only because I was tagged

2008-10-28T11:07:00.002-05:00

Dianne tagged me. So here it goes. These are supposed to be one word answers, but I probably can't stick to that.
1. Where is your cell phone? pocket
2. Where is your significant other? work
3. Your hair color? Brown
4. Your mother? I think you mean yo' mama
5. Your father? Opa
6. Your favorite thing? I don't do favorites
7. Your dream last night? lions
8. Your dream/goal? 30 lbs.
9. The room you're in? Scrapbook/exercise
10. Your hobby? scrapbooking
11. Your fear? bees
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Utah
13. Where were you last night? t-ball game
14. What you're not? warm
15. One of your wish-list items? sold sign
16. Where you grew up? Germany/Alabama
17. The last thing you did? cleaned
18. What are you wearing? jeans
19. Your TV? annoying
20. Your pet? NONE
21. Your computer? handme down
22. Your mood? overwhelmed
23. Missing someone? family
24. Your car? Minivan
25. Something you're not wearing? belt
26. Favorite store? See number 6
27. Your summer? the best
28. Love someone? Bryan
29. Your favorite color? See number 6
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? yesterday

I am supposed to tag some people, but I am pretty sure the only person that regularly checks my blog is Riley. So I tag you!

What's in your pocket?

2008-09-24T21:01:00.003-05:00

The other day I was thinking about that credit card commercial that has the slogan "What's in your wallet?" I don't even remember what card it is for, but it was stuck in my head while I was cleaning the house. I really kept thinking "What's in your pocket?" When I clean up I put any little stray objects in my pocket so I can deliver them to the right room. One pocket is usually for trash too big for the vacuum and the other pocket is for little stuff that probably deserves to go in the garbage but I am too nice of a mom to throw them away. So after I finished cleaning, I emptied my pockets and was amused by the assortment of things. I was going to take a picture and post it, but that is way too involved so I will just list the contents of the non-garbage pocket.

Nerf gun dart
leapster game
3 hair rubber bands
blue hair ribbon
chuck e cheese token
dime
lid to strawberry shortcake pen
my little pony comb

These things are not out of the ordinary. I am usually sticking things in my pocket all day long, so I can put them away. After emptying out my pockets, I was wondering if other people do this, and what little treasures/stuff they end up with. If you collect things in your pocket, throughout the day. Post a comment and let me know what you have. Wow, what an exciting life I lead.

Let's play a game

2008-09-24T20:48:00.002-05:00

Who is up for a guessing game?

What phrase do I say most often when the kids get in the car after school?

A. How was school?
B. Did y'all play with puppies at PE?
C. Who wants to go to Sonic?
D. Let's circle the parking lot and sit in carpool again.

The answer is: B
Why? You ask. Kids smell. And not just mine. But mine are the only ones that bring the offending PE odor into my car in the afternoons. So yes, I ask them pretty regularly if they played with puppies at PE. But about Sonic, here is another question?

How many times have we been to Sonic in Hayden's lifetime?

A. None, why would you want to eat outside in this heat.
B. Everyday. Hello, happy hour.
C. Six times
D. Who knows, but I could sure go for a big ol' nasty cup of ice right now.

The answer is: D
But, according to Hayden it is C. The other day after school she asks if we can go to Sonic for slushies. For the record, Sonic isn't near our house, and I don't think we have ever gone there after school. (Even though it does sound like a good idea.) I tell her no. Then she starts in with this whole whiny bit about how we NEVER go to Sonic. I, of course, answer with "Never?" She says "not never, but we have only been six times." I don't know where she came up with that number so I question that too. "Six times?" Hayden says "Well I havn't counted but I know we have only been six times." My poor deprived children.

Maybe I am not as old as I feel

2008-09-24T20:17:00.003-05:00

I have been feeling a little old lately. Not that 31 is old, but in my head, I am still in my early 20s. So, I started back to school this fall. I am trying to ease back into this whole college thing with two math classes, a biology lecture, and biology lab. Well, it has been kicking my butt, to say the least. I don't know how many times over that past month I have said the phrase "I am not as smart as I used to be." I am embarrassed to say that I have left after class in tears and had to call Bryan to vent about it. I have spent MANY hours studying for Biology. And just when I think the lightbulb has turned on for me in math, it burns back out. Actually I think the math lightbulb in my head just flickers. Anyway, between feeling a little dumb and sitting in classes full of what look like 12 year olds, I feel old. Not to mention, my run the other morning combined with being on my feet all day working my shift at the consignment sale, left me feeling like an old lady. I could barely walk yesterday.
Well today was duty-free lunch at the girls' school. (The teachers don't have to eat lunch with their class. The parents come and take over for the lunch period one day a month.) I have been running a little ragged the last couple of days and the makeup just isn't covering those dark circles under my eyes. Again, I am feeling a little old. So to make myself feel better, I told all of the kids in Payton's class that I was her sister. Of course, some kid had to call me out and say that I was her mom. He said he knew because they were in Kindergarten together and I was her mom then. And then another kid said the sweetest thing I have ever heard. He said I didn't look old enough to be a mom. How sweet is that. I don't look old enough to be a mom! I love it. Maybe I'll go have lunch with her class everyday.

A mother daughter tea party

2008-08-31T17:49:00.002-05:00

After uploading the pictures of Taylor and Bryan at the Daddy-Daughter activity, I remembered about the Mom and Daughter tea party we went to this summer. It was obviously fun. We were a little late (surprise) and sat at a table in the corner. It was probably better that way because we tend to get a little rowdy. They had a cute little word scramble. I kicked some serious 8,9,and 10 year old tail on that. They also had a little questionnaire that the moms were supposed to fill out about thier daughters and vice versa. Well, we didn't get the memo that you were supposed to fill it out together and have it be a little bonding moment. Because, we were all about secrecy and I think a few loud accusations of cheating and peaking were made. Like I said, we had a great time and it is so much fun to spend time with the kids one on one.

Some funny pictures

2008-08-31T17:03:00.003-05:00

Combining two families in one house for a month can have some logistical setbacks. The Benhams are always so welcoming and we totally had an AWESOME time this summer. But the time we spent there was not problem free.

There is always somone being mad about something:

When there are that many kids and that much laundry, there is bound to be trouble. Like not knowing whose clothes belong to who.

Or just having to wear whatever you can find, not matter how many holes are in them.Between church shoes, tennis shoes, crocs, flip flops, etc. we were always hunting for shoes. So Hayden just made her boots go with everything. Yes, those are her pajamas.

The homeowner can become very hostile.

The food situation is another whole story. You want ice cream you have to make it yourself.

The idea of nutrition goes right out the window. Laffy Taffy is a food group, isn't it?

If you do get hungry enough for something healthy, like pringles, you have to get it yourself, and you may be left to just crumbs.

Do you know how many gallons of water it takes to bathe that many kids? I think the slip-n-slide with irrigation water is a perfect substitute. Who needs soap anyway?

All that recreation can make a kid tired, so there has to be TV time. But there is never enough seats.
Ever!

At the end of the day everyone is tired and just ready to go to sleep. But good luck finding a bed. You may be better off in the hammock at Cabela's.

Kong Kone

2008-08-31T16:27:00.002-05:00

I know that I have been promising pictures from our summer vacation. So I will be adding them slowly, but surely. Whenever we visit Utah, we have a list of places we like to go. Well after finding out about the Kong Kones, we had to add Maceys grocery store to our list. Besides Kong Kones, they have very good sales. I'll have to post about my love affair with Utah grocery store sales at a later time. Anyway, we believed all of they hype and we weren't let down.

So what do you get when you add this:

and this?

THIS!!!!

and THIS!

We asked the girl at the counter how many times a day people drop their cone. She told us that was the first time she had seen it happen since she had been working there. What?!? She must have started working there that morning or something.

I am a sucker for soft serve ice cream. Especially a swirl cone(or twist-as they say in Utah.) But Lynne and I were good and resisted temptation. These pictures sure do make my mouth water, though!

It's about time

2008-08-31T15:54:00.005-05:00

I have been a little out of practice with scrapbooking. I haven't made it a priority over the last couple of months. Other things have been taking up my time and I think blogging every now and then, fills the void. That all changed last Saturday. Bryan took the girls to see "Clone Wars" (I told you, he wishes for boys sometimes) while I got to scrap with my best-scrapping buddies. I didn't stay the whole day, but I had such a good time. I am pretty pleased with the layouts, considering I have not been anywhere near a trimmer and adhesive in several months. But I had to get warmed up and back into my groove for Creative Escape. (Totally excited about that!) Anyway, in case you are interested, here are the goods:

Journaling: My sweet Taylor-belle. We have called you that since you were a baby. Even now at 8 years old, that nickname suits you. Your smile and spirit always remind me our your total beauty; both inside and out.

Journaling: Whenever I am trying to take your picture, you always try to strike a pose. Sometimes I get frustrated because I just want a normal picture without a silly head tilt, goofy smile, or dramatic pose. Well this photo shoot was different. The spotlight was on only you for a few minutes and you were allowed to pose however you wanted. I realized that it doesn't matter how you sit, hold your head, or smile, your inner beauty always shows through. You are such a beautiful girl in every way.

Journaling: (song lyrics) Where are you going my little one, little one? Where are you going my baby my own? Turn around and you're two. Turn around and you're four. Turn around and you're a young girls going out the door.

The pictures in the first three layouts are from a family/cousin photo shoot that we did with an awesome photographer while on our trip to Utah. You can see a few more of the pictures on her blog here.

Everybody Rock and Roll...

2008-08-31T15:38:00.003-05:00

What does someone do when there is a hurricane coming? Go to a sock hop, of course. Taylor and Bryan went to the Activity Days Daddy Daughter Sock-Hop on Saturday. Taylor has been excited about this since it was announced earlier this summer. She isn't normally a dress-up kind of girl, but she was especially excited about getting all dolled up for the event. We went to together and picked out the perfect colors, trim, and poodle applique for her skirt. I can count on one hand the number of things I have sewn in my lifetime. So, me making a poodle skirt for her was quite an undertaking. It didn't turn out quite like I had hoped, but to her, it was perfect. The whole time I was working on it, she kept telling me how much she loved it. It really made the work worthwhile.

They danced, hula hooped, made a little keepsake frame, and ate root beer floats. I am not sure who had more fun--Taylor or Bryan. Taylor did say that Bryan embarrassed her a little so, I am guessing he was quite the dancing fool.

I just love these pictures. You can tell on Taylor's face how much she loves her daddy. I know every now and then, Bryan secretly (or openly) wishes we had a boy, but he is such a good "girl" dad. Even though he doesn't understand the drama, isn't too fond of Hannah Montana, and isn't the best at fixing hair, he is a great dad to our daughters. He loves them so much! I couldn't ask for anything more.

Olympic fever

2008-08-21T21:02:00.003-05:00

It seems like it all just started, but pretty soon it will be coming to a close. We have LOVED all of the olympic coverage. Obviously, we watched the swimming and the gymnastics. But we have also enjoyed volleyball, soccer, water polo, track, diving, steeple chase, marathon, etc. I have always loved watching the olympics, so I knew we had to have a little fun during the opening ceremonies. Now, we are no where near as cool as Lynne and her neighbors in Harvest Hills.
We had a good time though. We invited the Kirbys over and we actually watched the opening ceremonies. The kids enjoyed the drumming and dancing. Once the athletes started parading in, they decided to head upstairs to watch a movie. We continued to watch. Mostly to see how long those Chinese cheerleaders in the background could act excited.
What is a party without food? We had to stay with the Olympic theme. So we had pizza (our nod to Italy) and some olympic colored snacks. Bryan separated a giant bag of M&Ms (with a knife, not his hands) into the olympic colors. Hayden helped him by eating all the orange.

I made a rice krispy treat olympic rings. This was my first attempt and homemade frosting with crisco, powdered sugar, etc. It tasted WAY better than it looks.

We rounded out this healthy well-balanced menu with olympic fruit salad. We tried to add a fruit for each color in the rings. But the blackish grapes and blueberries are the same color. It still tasted good.

Although the food was good, the best part was just chilling with friends and family.

We are already talking about our party for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Good thing we don't have to actually wait until then to have a party. Because the Alabama Football season starts in 9 DAYS! YEAH! ROLL TIDE!

Happy Birthday to me

2008-08-21T06:20:00.004-05:00

Not today. Last Friday. The big 31. They keep coming at me faster and faster.

The only reason I even mention it, is to brag about Bryan. As many of you know, I have been on a diet of sorts. So he took the time to make me the most delicious diet friendly dessert for my birthday.

What I would like to have eaten was this:

But once I saw this I was totally OK with not having any cake. So the kids had it all to themselves.

This was Bryans delicious creation. It was a crushed Double Chocolate Atkins bar crust. Layered with a Slim-a-Bear (or something like that) light Klondike bar then topped with Light Whipped Cream and berries. Oh my gosh. It was AWESOME!!!! Totally decadent. I have the best husband in the world.

We were thinking about going out for dinner, but I decided I'd rather get take out and stay at home. So we got some salads from O'Charleys and watched the Olympics and the girls watched Barbie Island Princess. (love the Redbox) I am telling you, we know how to have a good time.

I wasn't at home all day by myself though. I went out to breakfast at Cracker Barrel with some very good friends that I hadn't seen in a while. We had an awesome time catching up. Then, I got to go help Hayden's class at lunch. This was their second day eating in the cafeteria and they were still trying to figure it all out.

My best present for the day came from my kids:
While I was out picking up dinner, they made me the sweetest cards without me even knowing or any prodding from Bryan. I have the best family. What more could a girl ask for!?

Getting ready

2008-08-20T06:12:00.005-05:00

Disclaimer: In case you haven't noticed, I haven't spent much time blogging lately. So for the next little while, I'll be playing catch-up. I have certain family members harrassing me about posting some pictures. Enjoy!

We didn't jump into this school year without preparation. We counted down days, bought supplies, met teachers, filled out paperwork, bought and ironed uniforms, dug out old uniforms to see what still fits who, planned our morning and afternoon routines, hung backpack hooks, etc.

This was right before we went to meet the teachers and bring our supplies. Payton was especially excited because we had not gotten a call from her teacher so we had no idea who she would have. Taylor is the only one that needed two bags for her supplies. I tell you, 3rd grade is no joke.

The night before school started the girls received several phone calls from friends and family wishing them good luck. This is Hayden talking to her best friend Grant. Thanks Aiti, Benhams, Mimi and Opa, and Kirbys for thinking of us!

The job board has been in place for a while, but we have been a little relaxed with it. But school usually jump starts the chore chart again. (Please ignore the laundry room walls. That is the only room we haven't repainted. That border has been up since we bought the house.)

Oldnavy.com is my best friend. That is almost one stop shopping, except for shoes and plaid. I spent several hours on Saturday ironing and sorting. It is all ready to go and the girls have already planned their outfits. The decision is so tough. White shirt or white shirt? Hmmmmmm. The uniform policy does allow for green polos but I just love the white so thats all I buy. But the real decision comes between khaki and plaid. Jumper, skirt, or skort? Decisions, decisions. At least we can have variety in hairbows and ribbons.

Bryan hung these hooks for me in the laundry room. It has already proved to be awesome. The girls take their backpacks right to their hook when they get home. And we have had a whole week of school and haven't lost a lunchbox yet.

The shoe basket completes command central for school. The shoes come right off and into the basket when we get home. We haven't rushed around looking for shoes yet. Let's hope we can keep this up.

We are off to a good start. If only I could figure away around all the ironing.

I added...

2008-08-19T22:11:00.003-05:00

I added my pity song to my playlist. It is the first song. So if you want to hear it, turn your speakers up now. Here are the lyrics if you really want a good cry. If you don't want to cry, skip it all together. Consider yourself warned.

Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile I
watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness
And I have to sit down for a while
The feeling that I'm losing her forever
And without really entering her world
I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter
That funny little girl

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see what's in her mind
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sleep in our eyes,
her and me at the breakfast table
Barely awake, I let precious time go by
Then when she's gone there's that odd melancholy feeling
And a sense of guilt I can't deny
What happened to the wonderful adventures
The places I had planned for us to go
(Slipping through my fingers all the time)
Well, some of that we did but most we didn't
And why I just don't know

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time D
o I really see what's in her mind
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture
And save it from the funny tricks of time
Slipping through my fingers
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Schoolbag in hand she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile

Believe it or not...

2008-08-19T21:38:00.003-05:00

...we started school, too. It is no secret that it has been harder on me than any of the girls. I already miss the lazy days of summer, but I love having the structure again. I was/am super sad about Hayden starting Kindergarten. I have shed a tear or two or a hundred. But, she loves it and is already so happy and of course, that makes me happy. The week before school started, Bryan and I went and saw Mama Mia. There is a song in there called "Slipping Through My Fingers" or something like that. Anyway, I was totally crying as I thought about Hayden going off to school. Then I started thinking about when the other girls started school, and it just went downhill from there. I still cannot listen to that song without crying. So, I don't. I'll try to find a way to post it, so everyone can share in my pitiful moment with me. Fortunately, my help has been needed a few times at school already, so I get to have a little hug, kiss, or a wave from my girls throughout the day. It makes it better.

I feel bad for all of the other kids at school, though. Because my girls are TOTALLY the cutest. Especially on the first day of school.

You know what I'm about to say Riley?.....

Don't hate. Appreciate.

It was raining like nobody's business on that first day, and several more days since then. But that is summer time in Mobile. We just go about our business, splashing through the puddles and having a good excuse for bad hair.

Stop the harrassment!

2008-08-01T06:29:00.002-05:00

OK, I'll blog. I have been tagged twice on the same tag so I guess I better respond:

The RULES:
1. Link the person who tagged you...Lynne and Andrea
2. Post these rules.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them

Disclaimer: I don't think anything about me is quirky. I am TOTALLY normal. In fact, one of my favorite sayings is "too bad, everyone can't be as normal as us." (meant with total sarcasm)

1. I read magazines backwards. I don't know why. I recently found out that another friend of mine does, too. Try it some time. You might like it. I also work mazes backwards. Not that I work mazes often, but when I do, I do them backwards.

2. I don't do favorites -- never have. Even as a kid, I never had a favorite color, animal, or anything like that. I can't tell you my favorite song, movie, flower, food, etc. I would give my right arm for some Pizza Hut pizza right now, though. I guess the one exception to the rule is: I LOVE the smell of pine-sol, so that might be my favorite household cleaner smell.

3. I spontaneously start singing all the time. It is usually in response to a word someone uses in normal conversation. You give me a word, and I know a song for it. If you haven't been a part of my spontaneous singing, its probably because I was holding back. Maybe I won't next time. About 5 minutes after arriving home from our long summer vacation (to be blogged about later,) Bryan said something that made a song pop into my head. So of course, I started singing. I asked him if he missed my spontaneous singing, and he admitted that he did.

4. I dream very vividly almost every night. You know, the pregnancy dreams. The wierd ones. I have those too, alot.

5. I have an annoyingly, uncanny sense of smell. Annoying to my family mostly, because I always think I am smelling something. But it is annoying to me also, because it is very distracting to pick up on every scent. Bryan says there is a study where they train dogs to sniff out cancer in people. So, maybe I have a future in medical research.

6. Lynne may rock at Sudoku, but I will kick your tail at Tetris. If you are up to the challenge, name the day and time and I will be there.

So there you go. If you read my blog and haven't been tagged, consider yourself tagged.

A Father's Day Tag

2008-06-15T10:26:00.002-05:00

After we participated in the Mother's Day tag, Taylor has been talking about wanting to start a Father's Day tag. We came up with 25 questions together. If you are tagged, post the questions and your answers on your family's blog and tag 5 more people.

1. What is your dad's favorite food? Beef Enchiladas
2. Who is his favorite team? Alabama Crimson Tide
3. What does he do at work? Work on valves
4. If he could have any job, what would it be? a principal
5. What do you and your dad like to do together? play football
6. What does he do when he is not at work? watch TV
7. Does he snore? yes, very loud
8. How does he make you laugh? by tickling me
9. What is he good at? playing the guitar
10. What is his dream vacation? taking us to Disneyworld
11. What would he do with $1 million? buy a motorcycle
12. What is his favorite TV show? Ninja Warrior
13. What did he study in college? science
14. Who is his best friend? Jerry Kirby
15. How does he comfort you? by hugging me
16. What is his nickname for you? boogerhead
17. How long does it take him to get ready for work? about 30 minutes
18. How much does he weigh? 125 pounds
19. What are his hobbies? playing video games, playing football
20. If he were a superhero, who would he be, and why? Superman, because he is strong
21. What is one thing he can't live without? his family and diet coke
22. What makes him happy? presents and Dreamland ribs
23. What are his bad habits? watching TV
24. What is his favorite snack or treat? honeybun cake
25. How do you know he loves you? he comforts me and plays with me

I am tagging: Riley Benham, Payton, Hannah Parkes, Ross Jordan, Ariel Odom, and Emily Kimball.

Another pit stop

2008-06-13T09:31:00.002-05:00

After leaving Dianne's we headed west through Oklahoma. We kept seeing signs for Cherokee Trading Posts. I was explaining to the girls about how they have Cherokee ancestors. So we decide to stop off and look around. It was a little touristy, but the girls had so much fun looking at all the dreamcatchers, pottery, weapons, dolls, jewelry, etc. I let them each pick out a little souvenir. Hayden and Taylor opted for the little leather bag filled with shiny rocks they got to handpick. Payton wanted one of the fanciest dreamcatchers in the place. We settled on the small keychain one after I told her we would try it out and get a bigger one on the way back through, if the small one worked. As we were checking out, the lady told us about the live buffalo they had. We went to the fenced area to see them, but they were way on the other side and weren't moving. After a few minutes we loaded back into the car and start to drive off. Then we notice the two big ones and the baby one running across the field. It was feeding time, so we all got back out of the car and the girls were able to watch the buffalo get fed. The funniest part was Hayden yelling "Buffalo!!" at the top of her lungs to get their attention. It didn't work.

Good friends mean good times

2008-06-13T08:44:00.005-05:00

I am so lucky to have a great friend like Dianne. I am even luckier that she lives between Alabama and Utah so I get to visit her and the fam on the way. We miss the Mitchells alot so it is great to spend time with them. Our overnight visit with them last summer was entirely too short. So this year, we decided to spend an extra day with them. It still was not enough. Her two little ones are adorable and Bradley is growing up to be such a nice young man. Of course, I love anytime I get to spend with Dianne, and Arin is nice enough to tolerate us together. It goes without saying that we get a little silly around each other. So we made the most of our time together: a picnic, swimming at Arin's sister's house, a latenight trip to the grocery store, etc. We just enjoyed hanging out. Dianne made hairbows for the girls while I copied recipes from her cooking magazines (I found a delicious looking recipe for strawberries and cream french toast sticks that I might have to share.) Obviously, I couldn't let the time go by with out taking some pictures. So here they are:

My girls are in love with Lyla/Baby Juju. She is quite the princess and such a good baby.

The Mitchells are big OSU fans. Arin's brother will be starting for them next season. Hayden found this OSU helmet and put it on. I had to take a picture of her for Bryan. Taylor asked Dianne if they rooted for Alabama or Auburn. It was cracking me up, because it is a strange idea to Taylor that someone could like a team other than those two. Dianne had the best mix for wheat pancakes. I didn't tell my kids they were wheat and they gobbled them up and asked for seconds. Hayden and Aidan were nice enough to help in the preparation. My kids were introduced to a whole new way of eating pancakes and it is now their favorite: spread with peanut butter. Maybe we are the only ones who had never had PB on our pancakes, but now they won't eat them any other way. Arin's sister was so nice to let the girls swim in her pool. I think a little recreation helped make the last two days of driving more enjoyable.

While all the kids are playing in the pool and having a squirt gun fight, Aidan was busy trying to wrestle Bradley, trying push Arin in the pool, and taking a break for some skittles.

We were sad to leave them and Dianne said Aidan was sad we left, too. I am definately looking forward to seeing them again on our way back home.

Road trip - must haves:

2008-06-12T23:29:00.008-05:00

On May 31st, we left on our road trip to Utah. I was definately excited about our final destination and a few stops in between. However, I was having a little anxiety about being in the car for three days with my kids. They were great last summer when we took the same trip, but I was still a little nervous. I shouldn't have been, because they were great. From my experience of the past two summers, I have come up with a list of things that are a must have for a smooth road trip. Here they are in no particular order:

Crayola Window Markers - these provide endless amounts of fun. Just be sure to have a generous supply of Windex wipes on hand, also.

Bottled Water - just don't freeze it the night before. This results in you having to keep bottles in your windshield all day to thaw them.

A couple of fun stops in between - Our choices were one of the Cherokee Trading Posts/Tourist trap in Oklahoma and the Capulin volcano in New Mexico. (more on these two in future posts.)
Leapsters (with headphones) MP3 player - preloaded with all your favorite tunes and the necessary gadgets to run it through your car stereo. I am done with the days of constantly changing CDs.

Crayola Model Magic - minimal mess, easy clean-up and tons 'o fun for everyone.

A mascot - a beautiful project from the previously mentioned model magic. By the end of the trip we had an entire family complete with a baby, a dog, and a few pieces of furniture.
Great friends to stop and see along the way - I highly recommend the Mitchells!! (more about them in another post)

And last but not least, an awesome destination! (more about that in MANY more posts)

Hayden finally turns 5!!!

2008-06-12T22:43:00.003-05:00

After many months of counting down. Hayden finally had her birthday on May 29th. Her day of fun started with the traditional breakfast date out with Bryan. As usual, she picked Cracker Barrel and told Bryan he HAD to order pancakes. I am not sure why she cared what Bryan ate, but that was part of her plan. When the got home, the girls were ready with her presents. I had taken Taylor and Payton to Walmart the day before and let them each have $5 to spend to buy her something. They wanted to get the most for their money so they headed to the section of $.88 toys. They bought an assortment of things that included, my personal favorite (heavy sarcasm intended,) a recorder. Hannah had spent the night so she was there to join in the fun. The girls spent time decorating the gift bags and getting everything ready for Hayden. She, of course loved all of her presents. I couldn't resist taking a picture of all the girls modeling the "Bubba" teeth, one of the gifts from Payton.

The day continued with a trip to the mall. Hayden decided to do that instead of having a birthday party. We went to all of her favorite mall stores and she got to ride the carousel three times in a row. Instead of "just looking" at the Disney store, she was able to pick out whatever she wanted (within reason.) When we went to Petrie's she saw a three part Best Friends Forever necklace set and wanted to spend some of her birthday money on that so she could give each of her sisters one of the necklaces as a surprise. After several other stops, we headed home totally exhausted. The day wasn't over though. She got a visit from Grandma Jeannie along with another birthday present.The day ended with her getting to pick anything that she wanted for dinner. She had already decided weeks before that she would have her birthday dinner at the "computer McDonalds." She spent her first day being five, doing exactly what she wanted to do. She was so happy and I can't ask for anything better than that.

More snacks and a confession

2008-05-27T21:38:00.001-05:00

First the confession. I have been threatened on multiple occasions by a certain person who shall remain nameless. OK, I will give you a clue. Her names starts with an L, ends with an E, and has YNN in the middle. What is the threat? She is going to "out me" about my recipes and recommendations to try them. So my confession is, I haven't personally tasted most of the recipes I share with you. I have kind of changed the way I eat and most of these snacks and goodies don't fit into that. So, I can't really vouch for how good they are. So, I have to go on the word of my kids.
Anyway, here are a few more snacks that we have enjoyed making together over the past couple of weeks.

Sweet and Crunchy Snack Mix
2 1/2 c. Rice Chex
2 1/2 c. Honey Nut Cheerios
1 box (10 oz) honey Teddy Grahams
2 c. mini pretzels
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
4 1/2 tsps. ground cinnamon

In a large bowl, combine first four ingredients. In a small bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together; pour over cereal mixture and toss to coat. Spread into two ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 275 for 10 minutes. Stir and bake 10 min. longer.
This is a fun snack for the kids to help make. My kids, Bryan, and several visitors really enjoyed this snack.

Extreme Rice Krispy TreatsI found the recipe for these on one of my favorite food blogs. Here is the actual link to the recipe. My pictures don't look as great as hers, but my family didn't complain. They were a total hit. I have found lots of other great recipes on her blog. I am sure you will too.

Crunchy Peanut Butter Balls

My kids said these tasted like the Little Debbie Nutty Buddy snacks. They were gone within 2 days.

1 1/2 c. rice krispies

1 c. peanut butter

1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow cream

1 1/2c. semi sweet chocolate chips

4 tsp. crisco

Combine rice krispies, peanut butter, and marshmallow cream into a bowl. Stir until completely mixed. Form into 1-inch balls. (I used and ice cream scoop.) Melt criscp and chocolate chips for 60-90 seconds in microwave and stir until chips are smooth. Dip balls in chocolate and place onto wax paper. Cool them in the refrigerator until the chocolate is set.

According to Bryan and the girls, these are very good.

Birds NestsMy kids were not a fan of these, but the adults that tried them said they weren't too bad. And, I thought they were too cute, not to share.

3 c. mini marshmallows

3 Tbs. butter

2 Tbs. peanut butter

1 can (5 oz.) chow mein noodles

peanut M&Ms

Combine first three indgredients in a saucepan over low heat until melted and stirring until blended. Remove from heat and stir in chow mein noodles. Place on wax paper in mounds. Press down in the middle and put M&Ms in the middle to resemble a bird's nest and eggs. You can also use jelly beans. Again, my kids didn't like these but the adults did. So try them at your own risk.

So, now everyone knows my dirty little secret. I have no idea if any of these recipes are good, so don't blame me if they aren't good. Sorry.

The birthday week has started

2008-05-27T21:11:00.003-05:00

Hayden will be turning 5 on Thursday. In keeping with tradition she was given the option of a birthday party or a "mall day." This is the first year that she has decided against a birthday party. That didn't hurt my feelings at all, since I am trying to get ready for our trip. Out of necessity, caused by high gas prices, we started the mall day early at Build-a-bear, on Monday, since we were already in Spanish Fort visiting the in-laws. And so the weeklong celebration has begun. We went to Krispy Kreme this morning with the Kirbytons for birthday doughnuts (which were free, thanks to straight A's on Taylor and Payton's report cards.) Tomorrow, Hayden will be treated to lunch out with Mimi and Grandma Jeannie. They are taking Hayden to fill up on her favorite food--crab claws. On Thursday, Hayden will start the day with a breakfast date with daddy ( a family tradition) then complete the mall day experience. She was also lucky enough to have a mini-birthday party on Monday thanks to Aiti and Aunt Jill. She sure is spoiled.

Here are the pictures from Build-a-bear. She immediately decided on the wolf/Alaskan Huskey. She can't decide what exactly it is. Hayden knew right away that she wanted it because "it looks just like Boris." Boris is my brother, Dave's, dog that Hayden loves very much and talks about often. The girls refer to him as their dog cousin and are super excited to see him on our visit to Utah. Anyway, I had Hayden look at and feel every other animal, but she was sure that she wanted this one.

She wanted it stuffed full so that it would stand up. I have no idea what her wish was when she put the little heart in, but she was thinking very hard.
We went through the routine of brushing and picking out an outifit.

She knew right away that it was a girl so she picked out a very frilly dress for her and some hairbows, too. So meet the newest member of our family, Angelina.

Here are the pictures of her mini-birthday party.

She thanked everyone for the presents, without being prompted and was very generous with the hugs. I don't think she was expecting the party, so she was very excited.

It was nice to have most of the family there, including Granny and Paw-Paw. The only people missing from Bryan's side, were the Nowells. Hopefully we will be seeing them this summer when the come visit.

Thanks to Jill and Aiti, there was plenty of cake and ice cream and Addilyn was not going to miss out on that.

The best $1.99 I've ever spent

2008-05-27T13:47:00.003-05:00

It is day three of my new job and I am not doing too bad of a job. We headed out for our daily trip to Target. The girls had scrounged up $2.00 between the three of them and wanted to buy a toy that they could share. We found rocket balloons in the little dollar bins in the toy section. For $1.99 you get a package of 20 balloons and a pump. We have been having the best time with them. I highly recommend them.

I have a new job

2008-05-27T13:26:00.002-05:00

It is not a job that I actually applied for. It is one I was selected for by a panel of three important people. It is only a seasonal position. It will last from noon on Thursday May 22nd to 8:15 am August 8th. I was appointed as the new event coordinator for the Emmertson household. Apparently, the games, books, toys, backyard, TV, etc. that my children have, are not enough to keep them busy. They think in my position I am supposed to keep them entertained at all waking hours of the day. I am pretty sure they expect new and exciting activities planned for them at each half hour interval. School had only been out 2 days when I had heard "I'm bored" enough times to make me crazy. So I started my new job off with a bang. We had a rip-roarin' good time play Twister Moves.

Twister Moves is a little to difficult for Hayden so she did her best to annoy her sister by jumping on the mats. When that didn't work, she resorted to backbends to get attention.

We have many more hours and days of fun ahead of us this summer. And, yes, some of that time will be filled with TV watching. If the past couple of days is any indication, we will be watching The Sound of Music ALOT. I think we might need to get some more furniture. I don't know if the one beanbag chair will last with this kind of use.

I know its been a while...

2008-05-26T22:11:00.002-05:00

I have so many things to blog about, but I figured I could take a minute and participate in this tag. Andrea tagged me, so here are my answers. By the way, if you haven't been tagged yet, look for your name under T.

A. Attached or Single- You mean like popsicles? I like them when the two stick ones are attached to each other. Kidding, I am super-attached (on paydays) to Bryan!
B. Best Friend(s)- My sisters
C. Cake or Pie- Yellow cake with chocolate frosting
D. Day of Choice- payday
E. Essential Item- dental floss
F. Flavor of Ice Cream- Cookies and cream
G. Gummy Bears or Worms- chocolate covered cinnamon bears --these go best with a game of Phase 10
H. Hometown- "My home's in Alabama, no matter where I lay my head. My home's in Alabama. Southern born and southern bread."
I. Indulgence - Sunday afternoon nap
J. January or July- January-- July (usually involves seeing the Benhams)
K. Kids- 3 dramatic, wonderful girls
L. Last movie I saw in a theater- Baby Mama. (That is pants-wettin' funny)
M. Musician: If you base it on what is in the car right now, it would be Hannah Montana or the kids from High School Musical. But I am really digging Ingrid Michelson and Jason Mraz right now. And I just rediscovered Dave Matthews.
N. Number of siblings- 5
O. Orange or Apples- Granny Smith apples
P. Phobias or Fears- bees, lightening, something happening to my children
Q. Quote- Hey, Lynne! You fat lard, come get your dinner. (That just popped in my head. I don't really have a quote that "speaks" to me.)
R. Reasons to smile- Leaving on Saturday for the great road trip to UTAH!!! Get to see Dianne on the way.
S. Season- the holiday season between Thanksgiving and Christmas
T. Tag - Wendi, Melissa, Mom, Liberty, Dianne
U. Unknown fact about me- I am (hopefully) running my first 10K in July.
V. Vegetarian or oppressor of Animals- Oppressor!! Give me an O. Give me a P. etc. So, I eat meat. You got a problem with that? Cuz if you are a vegetarian, I'm pretty sure I could take you.
W. Worst Habit- Threatening violence? Really, my inability to take anything seriously. To me it is always open season for making jokes.
X. X-rays or Ultrasounds- That is a wierd question. I guess whichever keeps you waiting less time and has a smaller deductible.
Y. Your favorite Food- I would give my right arm for some pizza right now!
Z. Zodiac sign - Leo. Never paid much attention to that. However, I do know that "today work or school is likely to be slightly more taxing than you would normally prefer. Don’t worry too much though, because some positive changes are on the way; in the meantime plan for an evening out with friends. De-stress, chill, put the day behind you and enjoy yourself!"

That's all that's left?

2008-05-14T11:18:00.004-05:00

I made another new recipe for Family Home Evening treat on Monday. I know the pictures don't look appetizing, but it must have been good because it went fast. Between Bryan, my mom, and the kids having some (and seconds) and my mom taking some to Grandma Jeannie's house there was just enough left for the girls to take for snack the next day. The recipe is supposed to be for snack bars but they seemed more cake like. Here it is:

1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs, beaten
3/4 c. butter or margerine, melted
1/2 c. each milk chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and vanilla or white chips
3 snickers candy bars cut into 1/4 inch pieces

In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Combine the eggs and butter. Add to dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in chips. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Immediately sprinkle with candy bar pieces. Cool on a wire rack.

Another must try recipe. If you do, let me know how you like it.

I did it.

2008-05-14T11:09:00.002-05:00

I have said before that I like to try new recipes. Well, I had never made jam before Monday, but I decided to take the plunge. This may not seem like a big deal to very many people, but it is to me. I usually stick to baked goods, casseroles, comfort food, etc. I have been having the urge to try canning somethings, so I figured strawberry jam would be safe. I had to kill some time while my oil was getting changed at Wal-mart the other day, so I picked up the supplies. I just used the recipe out of the sur-jell box, as Lynne and Ricky suggested. I was pretty impressed with the results and the kids were too. Hayden asked if she could just eat it with a spoon. After tasting it, Bryan said he was willing to just eat PB&J for dinner if I didn't want to cook. So, I am guessing it turned out OK.
I think I will have to do this again. Maybe blackberry next time. And when peaches are in season, I think I will be canning sliced peaches and making peach jam. I might be getting a little ahead of myself though. We'll see.

Another snack

2008-05-14T11:03:00.002-05:00

The strawberries got eaten up pretty quick. So I had to make something else to fill my platter. I had been wanting to try this recipe for Rocky Road fudge and it was a big hit with my girls, the neighbor kids, and Bryan. It is super easy. Let me know if you try it.

Rocky Road Fudge
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 Tbsp. butter or margerine
3 cups salted cry roasted peanuts
1 pkg (10 1/2 oz.) miniature marshmallows

Combine chocolate chips, milk and butter in saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in peanuts and marshmallows. Spread into a greased 9x13 pan. Refrigerate until firm.

Try it. You won't be disappointed.

I love Mother's Day!

2008-05-14T10:20:00.005-05:00

Mother's Day was awesome this year. Besides having the greatest kids in the whole world, I have the greatest husband in the whole world, that always makes sure Mother's Day is extra special for me. He took the kids out Friday night to shop for presents. I gave him a list to help him out. When they gave me my presents on Sunday morning, I had everything from the list: an apron, a can opener, measuring spoons, a Taste of Home magezine, and the new Creating Keepsakes. I was also presented with beautiful cards that the girls had made at school. I was also pleasantly surprised to get something that wasn't on my list. An mp3 player. I have been wanting one. But, that is one of those things that I think would be cool to have but would never buy for myself. The best part about it is that it connects to my new treadmill. I also got a Mother's Day surprise in the mail. It's a book called "Mothering with Spiritual Power." I totally love it and would highly recommend it.

I am the luckiest mom in the world! My kids were so obedient and kind on Sunday, at my request. They are generally pretty good kids, but they stepped it up a notch on Mother's Day. And of course, Bryan is really great too. He made the kids breakfast, ironed all the clothes, and got them dressed. We were actually EARLY to church for the first time since I can remember. After church, he made lunch for the girls and me, then insisted that I enjoy the rest of the afternoon by myself. So I went into our room with my new magazine and chilled. I got a little lonely though, so I went into the living room to be with the family. The girls went off to build a fort, so I took a little nap. I spent the rest of the afternoon with the girls, rearranging my scrapbook space to make room for the treadmill (which I l-o-v-e.) It was a great day, and I feel so blessed to be a mom. It is the best job in the whole world.

It is a monumental day!!

2008-05-14T09:58:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Taylor donated her hair to Locks of Love. I had to take her the next day to get the cut cleaned up a little. The other girls had been talking about wanting haircuts, too. So we took the plunge. Here they are before:
Here they are after:

What is so monumental about this, you ask? The second two pictures were actually taken the following Monday morning before school. For the first time in her whole life, Taylor was able to fix her own hair! Yeah! Then, she fixed Payton's and Hayden's hair. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is HUGE for us. I feel so liberated. The hair fixing used to take a big chunk of my time in the morning. I know at 8 years old, Taylor may be joining the "doing your own hair" club a little late. But, the longer her hair got, the harder it was to maintain. Even pulling it back in a ponytail was a job because of all the tangles. I refer to Payton's hair as a little "fluffy." She has some natural curl, so it is usually doing its own thing. So alot of brushing, whining, and hairspray was usually involved. One of my pet peeves when dropping the girls off at school, is seeing kids that looked like they just rolled out of bed. Can you not brush your child's hair in the morning? Especially boys. How hard can it be to comb a boy's hair? (I'm sorry if that is one of your children. If it is, you can borrow my brush. I keep two in the car.) So, I have always been a little neurotic about making sure their hair is fixed when they go to school. That is not as much of a hassle anymore, because Taylor is now our little beautician. So, besides their haircuts being totally adorable. We have the bonus of Taylor being able to fix her own hair.

C/T/S (That meant change the subject when I was passing notes in middle school so I think it works here.)
I have always told Bryan I should go to Dental Hygiene school so I could clean our kids teeth. Those cleanings don't come cheap. Now, I have decided that after that, I will go to Cosmotology school to learn to cut hair. Apparently, three haircuts for kids is a whole lot more expensive than I remember. Anyone want to join me?

Flat Taylor

2008-05-14T09:36:00.002-05:00

Taylor has had a school project in the works for about a month. It is based on the book "Flat Stanley." We have enjoyed this series of books around our house for a couple of years now. Taylor was able to read it again this year with her class and then they were given the assignment to make a "flat" of themselves. Then they had to send their flat on a couple of adventures. So we sent Flat Taylor to Utah with the Benhams. They took her to St. George and Zion National Park for Sprink Break. We also sent her to the Vasses and they took her to Disneyworld. Flat Taylor was also sent to the Nowells in Hawaii, where she saw just about everything there is to see there. Flat Taylor made it home on an airplane with Mimi via Chicago and Atlanta. Thanks to everyone that helped. Taylor's project turned out great and she was so excited to get the packages and emails of pictures, brochures, postcards, etc. Part of this project for the class was to learn about different parts of the US. They were trying to see if they could have visits in all 50 states. Taylor was excited to share with her class that her flat had been to 6 states. She had to write about one of the adventures that her flat went on. It was only required to be 2 paragraphs (seven sentences each, with at least five words in each sentence) This counted as one of her writing grades. So, it had to have proper spacing, punctuation, indention, spelling, etc. She worked VERY hard on this part. I think it was the longest writing assignment she has ever had. She ended up with two full pages, single spaced. As you can tell from the picture, she is very proud of how her project turned out. It had to be the work of the student and not the parent. She picked out everything that went into it. All the stickers, the project board, the map, everything. I did help her with placement a little bit, but this was her project all the way. I am so proud of how hard she worked.

Anything you can do...

2008-05-14T09:21:00.003-05:00

...I can do better, Lynne. So you think you are so awesome for making chocolate covered strawberries. Well, I'll see your strawberries and raise you some chocolate-covered pretzels. (Is that the correct poker lingo?)

Actually, thanks for the idea. Friday afternoon was strawberry dipping time at our house. We had chocolate left over, so we grabbed a bag of pretzels and dipped those, too. Taylor and Hayden had more fun eating the chocolate than actually dipping, I think. Payton wasn't there because she was out getting ice cream after school with her teacher and a couple of her classmates. We were sure to save her some though.

A side note about the platter that the strawberries are on: My mother-in-law gave it to me for Christmas. I totally love it. I love keeping it stocked with goodies for my family.

Thanks Brant!

2008-05-10T11:21:00.003-05:00

Payton was tagged by Brant, so here are her honest, unedited answers.

1. What is something mom always says to you? Thank you for making your bed without me asking.
2. What makes mom happy? Cleaning up our rooms
3. What makes mom sad? Us not following directions
4. How does mom make you laugh? Telling funny jokes
5. What was mom like as a child? a girl
6. How old is your mom? 30
7. How tall is your mom? More than 1 foot tall
8. What is her favorite thing to do? scrapbook
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? go visiting teaching
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? blowing bubblegum bubbles
11. What is your mom really good at? making us laugh
12. What is your mom not very good at? playing "In a Pickle"
13. What does your mom do for her job? throw papers
14. What is your mom's favorite food? healthy stuff
15. What makes you proud of your mom? You're my mom
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Cindy Vortex's mom
17. What do you and your mom do together? play games
18. How are you and your mom the same? we both are tender-hearted
19. How are you and your mom different? our age
20. How do you know your mom loves you? you tell it to us and you act like it

I think everyone we know with a blog has been tagged, so we can't think of anyone else to tag.
Wait, Trent and Lance Benham. Your turn

****I just wanted to add that Payton informed me that Cindy Vortex is mean so I would not be her. But I could be her mom. After hearing this conversation between Payton and I, Hayden apologized for saying I could be Cindy Vortex and that I actually would be Minnie Mouse.

Another Mother's Day tag

2008-05-08T16:13:00.003-05:00

Taylor tagged Hayden so here are her answers.

1. What is something mom always says to you? Treat others how you want to be treated
2. What makes mom happy? Kisses
3. What makes mom sad? When I don't do what she says.
4. How does mom make you laugh? Say funny jokes
5. What was mom like as a child? Funny
6. How old is your mom? 30
7. How tall is your mom? 30 lbs.
8. What is her favorite thing to do? Snuggle
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Relax
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Being cool
11. What is your mom really good at? Connect 4
12. What is your mom not very good at? Checkers
13. What does your mom do for her job? Spank butts
14. What is your mom's favorite food? Crystal Light and salad
15. What makes you proud of your mom? For eating healthy
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Cindy Vortex
17. What do you and your mom do together? play starfall.com
18. How are you and your mom the same? We have the same color eyes
19. How are you and your mom different? We don't have the same height hair
20. How do you know your mom loves you? Because she gives me a Valentine.

A Mother's Day tag

2008-05-08T15:49:00.004-05:00

Taylor was tagged by Riley on Lynne's blog. Here are Taylor's answers to the questions. She has also tagged some of her friends who haven't been tagged yet. So play along. Cut and paste these questions to your/your mom's blog and fill in your answers. Include a picture of you and your mom if you have one. Then tag a few more people.

1. What is something mom always says to you? Smiles are contagious

2. What makes mom happy? When I treat my sisters kindly

3. What makes mom sad? When I don't obey

4. How does mom make you laugh? Acts silly when I am trying to be mad

5. What was mom like as a child? A girl

6. How old is your mom? 30

7. How tall is your mom? 3 ft. 8 in,

8. What is her favorite thing to do? Spend time with her children

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Go to the grocery store

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Being a movie star

11. What is your mom really good at? Acting like a clown

12. What is your mom not very good at? Keeping Hayden from sucking her thumb

13. What does your mom do for her job? Act like a mom

14. What is your mom's favorite food? Meat

15. What makes you proud of your mom? That she is going on a permanent diet

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? The mom on The Flintstones

17. What do you and your mom do together? scrapbook

18. How are you and your mom the same? We have the same eye color

19. How are you and your mom different? She has a lot of freckles and I only have a few.

20. How do you know your mom loves you? She gives me hugs and kisses and asks how my day was.

I am tagging Cecily Odom, Emily Kimball, Hayden Emmertson, Josiah Applegate, Dylan Parkes, and Dylan Newburn.

My sweet little girl

2008-05-04T23:44:00.003-05:00

Taylor, for the second time, has decided to donate her hair to Locks of Love. She and Payton donated when Taylor was in Kindergarten and she decided to grow her hair out again so she could, once again donate. Well, a couple of months ago the Student Council announced that they would be doing a huge Locks of Love donation project. So Taylor decided this is when she wanted to do it.

They held the event on Friday, at school, before Family Movie Night. They had two stylists there to cut everyones hair. Taylor was so excited leading up to it, because she was ready for a hair cut. They decided to take a picture of everyone involved before the haircuts. Taylor is in the middle in the peach shirt. There were students, teachers, siblings, and friends involved. There were even several people that didn't wait to get their haircut but brought their ponytails in to donate.

When Taylor was sitting in the chair, she was a little nervous. Especially when they started cutting. It has been a really long time since she had short hair. So, I think it kind of shocked her when it was gone. But once she saw how cute her new haircut was, she was all smiles. And she especially loved all the compliments she kept getting. I am so proud of her. And she is already talking about growing her hair out so she can donate it again.

Oh the horror...

2008-05-04T22:59:00.003-05:00

I am a little of a planner when it comes to menus and grocery shopping. I have always tried to plan my menu and shop for a couple of weeks at a time. But lately, to minimize trips to the grocery store, I have been planning our meals and doing the shopping for an entire month. It is a whole process for me. One day I sit down with my previous menus, new recipes, cookbooks, list of dishes I know, etc. and plan the menu. It looks something like this.

It is a process that takes a little time. But I enjoy it and it always seems to pay off on the evenings when I am too tired or too busy to think about what is for dinner. It is already decided and as you will see (if you continue reading) half way prepared. In case you are wondering, the highlighted items show what meals I am cooking in the crockpot. And this month is a little different because I will be gone the whole month of June (Woo-hoo!) so I am doubling a bunch of meals to put in the freezer so Bryan will have food while I am gone. (The little blue dots are actually D's to show me what I am doubling.) I know he can take care of himself, but it makes me feel like I am not totally abandoning him, if I have food for him. My next step is to make "the List." I used to have a pre-made list on the computer that I would print off and put little tick marks next to each thing to show how many I needed. I don't know what happen to that file, so now I just write it out. Again, it takes a little while, but it is worth it. It keeps me from buying things that I don't need because they aren't on the list. This may seem a little boring but all of this information is very important to my story. My next step is to hit the stores and shop the sales. First it was Brunos for ground beef, pork chops, roast, and cereal. Then home to unload and pick ur the freezer bag. Next on to Winn-Dixie for Chicken and cheese. All of that goes into the freezer bag as I head out to Wal-mart for the rest. I don't have anything else planned so that I can take the time I need to get everything on my list. I go to the health and beauty products first, then to kitchen storage stuff for a few more containers, then to automotive for motor oil, then on to groceries. And that is when it happened. . . I couldn't find my list. Of course, I am in a total panic. This isn't a list I jotted down on the back of an envelope. This is a whole sheet of notebook paper, front and back, that took me over an hour to make. So Hayden suggests we go look for it. It is a good thing I had a clear headed four year old with me because I was on the verge of sitting down in the middle of the aisle and crying. We both were pretty sure I had it when I came in the store so we start to retrace our steps. Back to automotive. I must have had a frantic look in my eye, because the guy working back there asked if I was okay. Did I need help finding something? Did I lose something? I am like yes, yes as we continue to walk up and down the aisles. "I lost my grocery list and I HAVE to find it." He stops dead in his tracks, turns around and looks at me like I have lost my mind. I'm like "I know it sounds retarded that I am even looking for it, but that list is my brain." Then he asked me what it looks like. I am totally describing it to him like it is going to help. "It is a piece of notebook paper and has groceries listed all over it." Well, we didn't find it, so we went back to the kitchen storage area. I must still have the frantic look, because someone else quickly asks if I need help. (Just as a side note, as anyone that has shopped at Schillinger Wal-mart knows, they aren't usually offering help around there.) I asked him what employees had been on that aisle on the last 20-30 minutes because I was wondering if they might have seen my grocery list. He kind of does this double-take thing as if to say "A grocery list?" By this time, Hayden and I are on our hands and knees looking under shelves so I think he took me seriously. Well long story made not quite as long - we didn't find the list. I even checked a few trash cans. So, I had to shop without it. Well, three hours after setting foot in the store, I left pulling two full carts of groceries and a holding a receipt as tall as Hayden. And guess what I found when we got to the car:
Of course I checked it to see what I had forgotten. Luckily it was only about 5 or 6 things. At the suggestion of Lynne, I will be making a duplicate copy next time. I think I might safety pin it to Hayden because (knock on wood) I have never forgotten her in the car or lost her at Walmart.

Well, the next day was cooking day. After cooking and dividing up all my meat and chicken, my freezer looks like this.

All my effort has paid off. Despite the work involved it is all worth it. And I even ended the night with a clean kitchen. I know it all seems a little neurotic, but it really keeps me sane.
And because I am a nice mommy, there was pie before bed.

My little helper

2008-05-04T22:46:00.002-05:00

Hayden has been my little helper ever since she could walk. She loves to help unload the dishwasher, help put clothes in the dryer, sort socks, set the table, help cook, etc. But her most favorite job of all is bringing the garbage can in from the street. I have never quite understood why she likes it so much, because the can is bigger than she is and we have a steep driveway so it is no easy task. The garbage usually runs pretty early in the morning, so right after dropping the girls off at school on Thursdays, she runs down to see if the can is empty. And if it is, she starts the long journey up the driveway. I always offer to help, but she never wants it.
This is the funniest thing to watch when she is hauling it uphill. From this angle you can't see her, so it looks like it is going up the driveway by itself.
Since this whole garbage can experience occurs on a weekly basis, I decided to take pictures of it. So, Hayden also wanted a posed picture with the garbage can. I know, totally gross. But this is her holding an imaginary bouquet of flowers and pretending to marry the garbage can.
Hayden is doubly excited now about garbage, because last week our recycle can was delivered. So now she gets to haul two different cans up the driveway. I tell you she is one lucky girl.

Good friends - good times

2008-05-04T22:34:00.004-05:00

Since the Kirbys have moved closer to us, we have seen more of them. It is easier to get together for a playdate now and then. Shawna has offered to watch Hayden for me a few times. So, the other day I went and picked up Grant and Bradie in return. Besides the fact that Hayden totally loves playing with them, I know from experience that running errands by yourself is a million times easier than doing it with the kids.

Anyway, after lunch, playing, and coming in and out of the back door about a million times, they settled in for a little TV time. PBS Kids and gummi bears make for some happy kids. I love for Hayden to have someone to play with and someone else to chatter to. And don't let Bradie's little petite size fool you. That girl can put away some gummi bears. I probably should have cut her off, but she is just too cute to say "no" to.

Just a little side note: I love the dishes for kids from IKEA. They are perfect for everything.

I really am smart!

2008-05-04T22:12:00.002-05:00

I am always telling Bryan that my main redeeming quality is my intelligence. I think I am really trying to convince myself more than anything when I say that. The day to day tasks of laundry, carpool, cooking, cleaning, etc. don't require a tremendous amount of higher level thinking. So, I actively seek out information to keep my brain active. I think that when you have kids, part of your brain is used to form their brain because I feel like I got a little dumber after each kid. I have run laundry without adding soap, walked around the house looking for my cellphone while I am on it, mixed up my kids' names on a daily basis, told Bryan the same thing twice within a few minutes because I can't remember if I thought it or actually said it, and totally forgotten entire conversations I have had with Lynne. So, I have to hold on to the brain matter I have left.
Anyway, I came across this little test on someone else's blog and thought I would give it a whirl. Thankfully, I found out that I really am smart. So, give it a try.

Summertime is finally here

2008-04-26T22:21:00.003-05:00

Yes, I know it is only spring. But it's definately summer-ish. All the signs point to summer. We have full on heat and humidity. I think it is finally safe to pack the winter clothes away. School will be out in less than 4 weeks. And the ice cream man has started making his rounds. The girls came running in when they heard the first truck this afternoon. But by the time I robbed Bryan's wallet, the truck was gone, but obviously not forgotten. So when the second truck came, we were ready. After he handed over a powerpuff girl popsicle for Taylor, a lil bratz popsicle for Hayden, a giant ice cream sandwich for their friend, and some mouth dyeing popsicle for Payton, I handed the man his money and told him to never come back by here again. I don't think he took me seriously, though. I am pretty sure their map has a big star by our house so they know to come to our house everyday and drive around the block blaring Turkey in the Straw until I give in and buy more.

Of course I had to take a few cute pictures. When I came back in the house, Bryan saw me with the camera. Can you believe he accused me of letting the girls get stuff from the ice cream man just so I could take pictures?! Of course I wanted pictures. 1) I need something to blog about and 2)When the girls complain about how they never get anything they want, I have proof otherwise. But that is not why I let them get something. I knew that everyday we heard that music coming up the street, they would beg me for ice cream. If he came by 100 times, they would beg and whine about it 100 times. So I say lets get it out of the way now and save ourselves a whole lot of trouble. Today there is ice cream for everyone, even the neighbor friend. Check that off the list of summer to-dos.

And since we are in that summer-ish spirit, we broke out the sidewalk chalks. Sidewalk chalk is not near the top of the list of things I love. Especially, since our house is on the market. Last time we got it out, the girls drew all over the fences around the backyard. But, hey after getting playdough out last night, (another one of my least favorite toys) what can a little sidewalk chalk hurt.

Just a sidenote: We scrubbed Payton's face with a loofah and still couldn't get that blue popsicle dye off. So if the ice cream man comes by your house, don't get the mouth splasher, tongue dying gigantic popsicle. You will regret it if you do.

Pooped - - Not quite.

2008-04-26T22:04:00.004-05:00

When we got home from the Autism Walk this afternoon, Hayden was pooped. I guess riding on Bryan's shoulders half the time just wore her slap out. So while the other girls were playing on the swingset, she participated in her favorite pasttime. She found something soft to snuggle and sucked her thumb. She was too tired to even look at the camera at first.

I eventually got a smile out of her.

Then she sat right up and asked if I would take a video of her doll pretending to play the guitar. I told her I would, but that she would have to sing. She agreed and I got this little gem:

By the way, I love our daybed. It is the best place for lazing, if that is even a word. If its not, it should be. So if you are looking for a good place to laze, come on over.

Autism Walk

2008-04-26T21:44:00.002-05:00

Taylor's teacher, Ms. Burden, invited Taylor to be part of her son Jacob's team for Mobile's Autism Walk. We were so excited to be part of this. Besides it being a great cause, it was a fun family activity. There were inflatables, crafts, live music, a silent auction, refreshments, etc. The main event was the actual walk that was set up around the parking lot at BayBears Stadium. I was able to explain to the girls a little about what Autism is and how it affects some of the kids they know. The frog is the mascot for the Autism Society of Alabama and stands for: For Research Outreach and Giving Support. Payton was a running a little ragged the last lap, so I told her about the frog and that our part is Giving Support. I think she actually understood. The girls were so excited to see some of their friends there. Ariel and Cecily Odom were also there for Team Jacob. The walk went alot faster for me since Andrea was there to chat with. We also saw the Scotts from church. Of course, we saw tons of people from school for Team Jacob.
We were part of the largest team there, by far. Ms. Burden said they had over 100 people there. It was nice to see so many parents, teachers, and students from school out to support Jacob and the Burden family.
I am so proud of my girls for making it through the event with minimal weekend. Between this and cheering on the contestants at Special Olympics last weekend, I think they are understanding the importance of service and thinking of others. And lets face it, one less Saturday spent in front of the TV watching cartoons means success to me.

Does anyone have 12K?

2008-04-26T21:30:00.002-05:00

Bryan has had his eye on this little number for a while now (in white, not red.) He has been by the Suzuki dealer many times, sitting on it, admiring it, asking if its on sale, etc. The one he wants is still on the showroom floor just waiting for him. So whenever he is in the area of the store, he runs by for a little visit. Today was one of those days. We were just around the corner, so we stopped by. Hayden jumped out of the car first and told us she was going to show us which motorcycle daddy has picked out. She ran in the store and found "the one" in about 30 seconds. She has been there with him before and knew it right away when she saw it. All the girls talk about "when" daddy gets that motorcycle. Payton even asked if her and Bryan could come back to the store on a date. We all want him to have it. There is just one problem. $$$$$ So if anyone has a some extra $1000 dollar bills laying around that they aren't going to use, send them our way. I'm sure Bryan would take you for a ride in return.

Just another day

2008-04-26T20:49:00.002-05:00

This is just a glimpse into a typical afternoon at our house. This was actually Wednesday after swimming with the Kirbys. The girls were very obedient and got started on their homework right away when we got home. Well, Taylor had to make a detour to change out of her swimsuit into her nightgown and to grab her CD player. She has discovered the joy of listening to music while doing homework. She was listening to the High School Musical 2 soundtrack and she would just jump up and start dancing every so often. I love having the kids doing their homework in the kitchen while I am making dinner. I know it is a weird think to love, but its those little things that count. And yes that is her nightgown. That is a girl after my own heart.

Payton was reading her "just right" book from school out on the daybed. She has discovered the Magic Treehouse series. I knew she would love those books. Taylor has read a few but never seemed terribly interested in the series. Well, Thursday when she got in the car after school, guess what she was reading. You guessed it, the same book. It was so cute to see both of them reading the same book on the way home from school. And yes, Payton is wearing her swimsuit. And yes, she did sleep in it that night.

When Hayden saw me taking pictures of the girls, the clothes she was wearing mysteriously got dirty so she had to run inside and change into this outfit. Her favorite. This beautiful green dress. She got it from Aiti for Christmas and has loved it ever since. She would wear it everyday if I would let her. The only problem is she has gotten a little taller, so the dress has gotten a little too short. But everytime she sees it hanging up clean in the laundry room, the clothes she's wearing somehow get messy or wet or sometimes just disappear, forcing her to wear this. It never even makes it out of the laundry room to her closet. If she had her way she would wear it, sleep in it, and wear it the next day. I know this because she has asked if she could.

Payton's 1st book report

2008-04-24T11:03:00.004-05:00

Payton has her first book report due today. After alot of deliberation, Cam Jansen was ruled out and she chose Fancy Nancy. She worked hard on her picture and presentation. I am proud of her and I think she is pretty darn cute.

Is it summer yet?

2008-04-24T10:43:00.003-05:00

Grant invited Hayden over to play in his new sprinkler. Of course, she wanted to stay all afternoon. Shawna also told me I could bring the other girls over after school. They had a great time. But between swimming, popsicles, and it not quite being summer, the girls were a little cold. However, that did not keep them out of the water. They love hanging out with Grant and Bradie and today was no exception.

Hayden's bottom lip was shaking so bad from being cold so I had to video it. I kept telling her to quit smiling because when she tried to smile her lip stopped shaking.

When she ran off at the end of the video, she was running back to jump in the pool.
Oh, and I am sorry I have not learned my lesson about the vidoes.

Good Times

2008-04-24T09:44:00.004-05:00

We love to have the missionaries in our home. Expecially Elder Tovo and Elder Reis when they bring some music to share with us. After dinner the other night, they indulged us with a few of their songs. After bringing out Taylor's guitar, Bryan's guitar, and Payton's keyboard we had a little jam session going. Elder Tovo was even nice enough to teach Bryan a few new chords.

We definately have a good time when they come over, but we especially love the spirit they bring into our home. It is nice to hear the stories of their successess and for their example of hard work and dedication.