My Genius Plan

I was reminded of a funny plan I had as I was talking to Maggie at church the other night. I've always loved kids and babies. After I started having my own, I realized that it would be so very sad one day when they were big and grown. I didn't want to be without my babies! So I hatched my plan. I would keep having babies until my older children were old enough to be married and giving me grandbabies. It seemed like the perfect idea at the time. Now I just laugh. And laugh. And laugh some more. Needless to say, this is no longer the plan.

Thanks Wendy!

I'm posting this on my site as well for the benefit of my family. One of my blogging friends took these pictures from my blog and made this digital scrapbook page for me. Well, she actually made it to "tempt me". She knows I really would love to take up this hobby but I don't have time. She's trying to woo me with her pretty work. She's doing a good job! But I can't do it. I just can't have another hobby!

She mainly uses Adobe Photoshop to make her pages, I think. Isn't it great? You can have these printed out or make dvd's with them. Maybe one day I'll take it up. It would be so much better than doing actual scrapbooking with all of the mess and cost of materials. I totally love the idea...

Don't Try This at Home

You know what doesn't smell good? Scorched tomato soup. Yeah. It's nasty. Trust me. I only wish I had a picture of Julia eating her dinner while holding her nose because there was a really gross smell in the house.....

It must be hereditary....

Poor Julia. I guess I've passed it on. Last night she came into our room frantic. She scared me because she was so scared. She was pointing back towards her own room and kept crying something I couldn't quite make out. Finally, I understood she was saying there were spiders all in her bed. I was totally able to sympathize with her imaginary plight so I put her in bed right between me and John and assured her there were no spiders in our bed. I don't think she believed me at first but after a little while she calmed down and went back to sleep. Poor baby. She was so traumatized by those horrid little creatures that weren't even there.......

My Girlies

Here's a couple of pictures we took today at home. I hadn't taken any in awhile so we just decided to do it. I have to say that Julia posed herself. I didn't even suggest that she lay that way or anything. I guess she's picked up some things in all of the photo sessions I've made her do. =)

The Way it Works

Ok, my Dad is horrified by the green outfit I bought for the baby. He thinks it is, and I quote, "so gay". Whatever. It's absolute cuteness. I'm not asking for comments saying it's cute - you all might think the same thing my dad does. I just wanted to go on record saying that I don't think it's gay. I love it and I can't wait for my little man to wear it. And the way it works is this -

I am the one who is pregnant for 9 months.
I am the one who gets big and whale like.
I am the one who can't drink Dr. Pepper because of the caffeine.
I am the one who has to go to the bathroom constantly.
I am the one who gets to be poked and prodded nonstop at the doctor's office.
I am the one who will soon have hairy legs because I won't be able to reach them with a razor.
I am the one who can't sleep on their back because I have a husband who rolls me over all night long so I don't cut off the baby's oxygen. (I'm not kidding.)
I am the one who will be blessed with gorgeous purplish-blue stretch marks on my belly.
And I am the one who either gets to go through painful labor or a painful c-section recovery.


Soooooo.....

I am the one who gets to decide what I dress my baby in. Sorry, Davus. =)

Battle Number Two

Tonight at dinner we had another battle time. I took the first round, but I didn't last too long. So then Daddy stepped in and took over for the rest of the time. We were eating Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti for dinner and everyone else liked it - even Aulora ate it. But Julia wanted nothing to do with it. I told her she had to try ONE bite - that's all. I'm such an abusive mother, I know.

It went on for soooo long and it was so absolutely ridiculous. I wanted to cry and laugh all at the same time! She would not eat that stupid bite.



Everyone else was finished eating.......Daddy and Julia were still at the table.

I had time to clean up the kitchen.......They were still there.

I got Aulora ready for bed..........They were still there.

I got John David ready for bed.........They were STILL there.

Finally, I saw John hold her down and force her mouth open to take the bite. She did eat it, but still claimed she didn't like it. In the process she somehow ended up with pasta on her face. (If you can't see it good in the picture, just click on it and you'll see it enlarged.) She had such a bad attitude that John made her continue sitting in the chair without cleaning it off of her. That did NOT make her happy. I know I probably shouldn't have, but I couldn't resist taking a picture of that moment. I would have really loved to take one during the whole forced feeding session, but I had enough sense not to do that. If she turns out to be picky, I will have proof that we at least tried our best to make sure she wasn't picky. Oh, I pray she will not end up being a picky eater. I just think that's a horrible way to live.

Anyway, she ended up being repentant and has been a sweet angel the rest of the night. It's always amazing to me how wonderfully sweet she is after discipline. The harsher the discipline the sweeter she is. Especially if John is the one handing it out. She really stays close to him for awhile. You would think it would be the other way around. I think that's a testament to how good of a disciplinarian John is. I'm so glad he is, because I am not......

Better Be a Boy

I really hope that this baby is in fact a boy. I bought clothes today. I just couldn't resist when there was a 75% off rack at Dillard's. I haven't been able to buy cute little baby boy clothes in soooo long and it was a nice change from girly stuff. Although, it's just a fact of life that little girl clothes are prettier and more fun to buy. I don't want to get out stuff from the attic yet, but I know what I have left from John David is not going to be adequate for this new little prince. Besides the fact that season wise they will be a little bit different.
When I get a chance, I'll have to clear out one of our many trunks to make space for all the little things I find along the way until February. And I'll get to choose the perfect Yankee fragrance to add to the trunk for sweet smelling boy things. I used the fresh cut roses scent with Aulora and it was absolutely wonderful. Everytime I dressed her, she smelled so good! I remember her tiny baby days anytime I smell that fragrance now. Sweet, sweet days. I can't believe I get to experience it all again - already. I always wanted to be a mommy and so I guess I am really getting to live out my dream.

Sleeping Beauty

My precious baby went to bed at 8:30 last night. It's 10:00 and she is still asleep. How perfect is she?

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Cheap

We went to Chili's for lunch yesterday. We had coupons for free kid meals so it was a no brainer to go there. As soon as we sat down, our server solicited us with their charity chilies you can buy for $1 each and color. I don't even remember what the money goes toward. I felt super pressured though and said that we would buy one. So she gave us one.

John David colored the chili, we ate our lunch, and our bill was brought to us. I checked it and noticed that we had been charged for 2 chilies, not 1. This really aggravated me. I hate being solicited for stuff anyway, but now I'm being charged for more than I agreed to. The worst part was that we couldn't say anything without looking super cheap. Especially since we were already going to use coupons.

It's not that we don't give. We do. But we give at church. We were only eating out because we had coupons to begin with. But I didn't want to say anything so I handed the check to John and told him he had to say something if he wanted it taken off.

When the server came back he handed her the check with our debit card and said very nicely, "Uhm, it looks like we were charged for 2 chilies instead of one." The waitress said snidely, "Oh, well it's no big deal. I'll just pay the dollar for the chili."

So she was rude, we were cheap, and one awesome looking airplane chili is hanging up on the wall at the restaurant. What a lovely lunch.....

Kidnapped Camera

Recently, Delana found a digital camera in her car and she thought it was ours. We found out that it was actually John's mom's camera so John decided to have some fun. Here's the picture he sent. (I had to black out our address.) Don't I have a funny husband? =)

Big Brothers are Smart!

At Walmart there were some men collecting money for their church and they were giving dum dum suckers to the kids. I was able to tell the first one no suckers (Julia had already had one from the doctor's office) but the guy sitting right by the baskets gave Julia one before I could stop him. (grrrrr) She was so excited but I told her she had to wait until later to eat it.
In the car, on the way to some Friday night fun, Julia and John David were talking. Julia told him that Daddy said he would hold her sucker for her. John David immediately said, "No! Don't give it to him! He takes candy away!" Hahaha!

He went on to recall how Daddy had "held" his candy bars from Royal Rangers one time. We had a good laugh. The sad part is, it's true! Daddy does LOVE his candy, but at the same time he really doesn't like the kids to have any. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We know. Double standard. At least he waits until they are in bed to break into his candy bar stash he thinks is hidden in the freezer. I think we all discovered his hiding place some time ago. What's more is that he uses our 2nd fridge out in the garage to hide some of his secret indulgences. He thinks I don't know, but I do. Did you read that, John Clay? I know you have Promised Land Chocolate Milk in the garage.

Silly man. Coke and candy bars and chocolate milk. He probably thinks he would die without them. =)

Telling John David The News

We still hadn't had a good chance to tell John David that he's going to have another little brother (or maybe sister). So this afternoon while the girls were napping, we sat on the couch with him and showed him the sonogram pictures.

John: Do you know what this is?

John David: My teeth? (he just had x-rays done at the dentist)

John: No-o-o

John David: A baby? (after really studying the pictures)

John: Yes!

John David: Is it me when I was baby?

John: No-o-o

John David: Julia?

John: No-o-o

John David: Aulora?

John: No-o-o (you could totally see the wheels turning in Little's head by this point)

John David: (smiling hugely now) The baby in your tummy??? (pointing at my own tummy, even though he did not previously know I was pregnant. it was just a big joke.)

John: Yes! A new little brother or sister for you!

John David: It's a boy??? (I think he saw where it said "boy" on the picture)

John: Maybe - we're not sure yet.

John David: Oh, boy! I'm going to be a big brother finally!

Me: No, you're going to finally have a little brother! We'll find out in a couple of weeks if it's really a little brother. It might be a sister. What would you do if it was a girl?

John David: I would send her back and get a little boy! I want a brother! We already have enough girls around here!

John: That's what I'm saying....... =)

And You Just Thought I Needed To Go On A Diet....

Here's the latest member of our growing family!

We went for our first doctor's appointment this morning. Everything went great and all is well. We really weren't positive how far along I was, but now we actually have a due date.

February 1st, 2008

So that puts me at 17 weeks. Even though I knew the due date was sometime in early February, for some reason I just hadn't thought about already being 17 weeks. I'm almost half way done! (Especially with my track record of early babies!)

We were all there for the appointment except for John David since he was at school. Julia was VERY excited when we told her what the sonogram was. She and John David both have really wanted another baby. For quite awhile recently, they kept teasing me that I had triplets in my tummy. They didn't even know I was pregnant, but they thought that was funny. At least I only had triplets - Daddy had sextuplets! Hahahahaha! Anyway, I was relieved to see only one baby in there today. =)

At this point, we don't know for sure if it's a boy or a girl, but the lady doing the sonogram is pretty sure it's a boy. We'll have another sonogram 2 weeks from today. Hopefully, we'll know for sure after that one. I was excited to find out anything today because I had thought that we were just too early for that. I guess not!

The baby currently weighs about 6 ounces. Not much to account for all the food I've been eating. John affectionately calls me "The Ravenous Beast" whenever I'm pregnant. He thinks it's so funny that I'm always soooo hungry. I tease him back that he's sympathy eating with me. Then I ask him when his baby is due. He always answers "A few months after yours". Hahaha. You're so funny, John Clay.

The only disappointing news we found out is that it's likely I will have to have another c-section just because I had one before with Aulora. I've been hoping to have a natural birth, like I did with Julia. My doctor said she would think about it and that I was a good candidate. Apparently, there is only one doctor in all of SA that allows a normal birth after you've had a c-section. There's a 1% chance that the old scar would rupture during birth. So if we didn't go with a c-section, it would be a very monitored birth. I'm sure I don't even know what all that entails at this point. I just know that recovering from a c-section was horrible! So we'll just have to wait and see about all of that.

Crystal, I guess we'll be twinkies and it will be a race to the end. I remember whenever I was pregnant with John David and it was all so new. I loved going to my parents' house to watch "A Baby Story" (they had cable - we didn't even have a tv!). I watched it constantly and John made fun of me. He always thought the show would be so much better if they had several women in side by side rooms, all competing to be the first to have their baby. Maybe that little dream will come true for him. Wouldn't that be fun......

Recent Pictures of Aulora

Here are a few pictures of Aulora taken over the last week. We've discovered she really likes to bang on a bowl while I cook. How soothing. I used to listen to Andrea Bocelli and now I get this. Oh, well.

Biggie, do you recognize the little white shirt she's wearing? It was in a recent package you sent. I LOVE it! It would probably be much cuter with pants that were a little fancier, but the blue jeans worked that day.

Can you see her little pot belly hanging over her diaper? I just love her little baby chub. =)

And those dollies she's holding. She loves the dollies. They were Christmas presents from Gran last year. One was for Julia and one was for Aulora. It's funny though, because Aulora usually wants Julia's doll, especially if Julia's holding it. I'm sure it's the beginning of many similar situations in the near future. Julia's very sweet and understanding though, so hopefully she'll stay that way. My goodness, the fun I'm going to have raising 2 little sisters! It makes me smile just to think about it! (And yes, I'm sure it's not all a bed of roses but I don't care. It's still going to be great!)

Oh The Memories

As I browsed through the grocery ads this afternoon, I saw this. Oh the horrors. When we were growing up, whenever Alberton's ran this special on cereal, my mom was there. She would buy at LEAST 10 boxes, sometimes many more. That would probably be ok except that she would buy ALL Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Do you know how long it takes to consume a pantry full of that cereal? FOREVER. I cannot eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch to this day. My kids and my husband like it. I buy it for them, but it pains me to do so. Any teenager who has ever been to my parents' house can tell you that they keep a pantry very full of lots of cereal. Albertson's should send a thank you card to my mom for keeping them in business.......

Meatloaf Recipe

I'm sure I'll regret sharing this later on but I'll be generous. This recipe is not for your average meatloaf. It is sooooo good and even if you're not a big meatloaf fan, you should try it out. I try things a little differently every time I make it and it just keeps getting better so don't be afraid to change it to your own family's liking.

Ingredients:

1 small can tomato sauce
3/4 cup bbq sauce (I use cattleman's sauce and we LOVE it)
1/4 cup ketchup (no need to actually measure everything - just pour it in!)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 pounds ground sirloin (or ground chuck - usually this is what I can afford and I don't think it makes a difference in the taste)
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
dash garlic powder


1. Preheat oven to 4oo.
2. Combine tomato sauce, bbq sauce, ketchup, and sugar in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Heat it until it starts to bubble, stirring often. Remove from heat.
3. In a large bowl, add about half of the sauce mixture to the meat. Use your hands to mix it together until it's well combined.
4. Combine remaining ingredients with the meat - flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Work it all in with your hands.
5. Place the meat mixture into either a loaf pan or a 9x9 pan. Wrap foil over the pan and place it in the oven for 30 minutes.
6.Now clean your kitchen and set the table. =)
7. After 30 minutes, take pan from oven, remove foil, and drain the fat.
8. Use a knife to slice the meatloaf (this is to help it cook better so don't leave this step out). Pour remaining sauce over top and spread it around. Do NOT replace the foil.
9. Return it to the oven for 25-30 more minutes or until it is done.
10. Think of me when you eat it. Unless you don't like it for some reason - in that case, you probably cooked it wrong. =) hahaha

Do not even think about using instant potatoes with this masterpiece. Make them from scratch - it will be worth it. Call me when it's finished too so I can come and eat it with you!

If you want this recipe, you better copy it down quick before I change my mind and delete it. =)

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Recipe

This is a new recipe I made on Monday night. I tweaked it quite a bit to what I thought would taste better and I think my changes made it taste much better than it would have. This is not an overly fancy dish, but it's great for just the family along with a salad and some good bread. It made lots - enough for 1 meal for all of us plus 3 leftover servings I've eaten over the last couple of days. It still tasted great even when I reheated it in the oven this evening. Yum yum!

Ingredients:

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 bags of cooked white or brown success rice (the bags come 4 to a box)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cheese soup (I used Campbell's Fiesta Nacho Cheese Soup)
2 cups grated cheese or more!
Ritz crackers
melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cut up chicken in bite size pieces. Cook in skillet with butter and salt and pepper (or whatever seasonings YOU like).
3. In a 9x13 baking dish, combine the cooked rice, cooked chicken, soups, and grated cheese. (Save some cheese for the topping.)
4. Top with more grated cheese and crushed up Ritz crackers mixed with melted butter.
5. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Like I said, not fancy but yummy!

How Weird

I just freshened up for church and noticed that I have gone the whole day without mascara on my left eye's top lashes. Thanks to the 7 different adults from church that saw me at some point through the day and said nothing. I thought I looked weird today but I hadn't been able to figure out why.....

Meatloaf Drool

We won a huge battle last night that will hopefully be the beginning of a new phase. Julia is a very picky eater. That would actually be an understatement. We've never put our foot down and made her eat anything. The rule has always just been nothing else to eat unless she first eats her dinner.

Last night I was just tired of it. She's almost 4 and eats peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, macaroni, pizza, spaghetti, McDonald's burgers, and chick-fila nuggets. That's about it other than a couple of breakfast things and snacks. No fruit, no vegetables, nada. Soooo not good.

So when she refused to eat any dinner even though it was really good and kid friendly too, I decided to put my foot down. I was ready to stick to it all night if necessary. She was told she had to at least TRY the meatloaf. One little bite. That's all. It was much quicker than I anticipated but ended up lasting about 15 minutes with some meatloaf drool on her shirt as a souvenir. But she ate a bite. That tiny little victory felt so great. It gave me hope that maybe she'll be ok after all. Next time it will be more than one bite, but I figured it was a good start.

**As a side note, I will say that the meatloaf drool came out of her white shirt with Tide. I love Tide with Febreeze. Ahhhhhh. One of my most favorite smells.....

The Bag Lady

Yesterday, at Walmart, I had a cashier I've never had before. She was nice but she had a strange habit. This girl double bagged EVERYTHING. This was annoying for several reasons. 1) Do you know how much longer this takes? I had 2 little girls who were very much ready to LEAVE. 2) This can't be good for the whole environment situation. I'm not too up on all that but I just figure it's a big waste. 3) She not only double-bagged stuff, she put only a couple of things in each bag. This meant more bags to carry into the house and longer to get them all out of bags.

I kind of laughed and said she must have had a bad experience with a bag breaking one time. But no, she said she just likes to do it that way. "It makes the bags lighter when you double bag." That's what she said. Scale someone? I'm no math wizard, but come on. Two bags are lighter than one? The bag lady also put little things into little bags and tied them up and then put them in larger bags. Wow. I just stood there in amazement. I had no more words to say.

So that's your warning. Watch out for the bag lady at Walmart. If you have time, and you want some entertainment, go for it. Otherwise, find another line.

John Part 1 and 2

John Part 1.

Poor, poor John. I kept waking him up all night long last night. I have hallucinations pretty regularly and unfortunately, John is the one I frantically wake up to help fix the "problem". The one I'll probably never live down is when there were giant grasshoppers coming in our room. (In all fairness, these grasshoppers were HUGE. Anyone would have freaked out.) Some more common hallucinations are things like something has spilled in the bed or on the floor and we need to hurry and clean it up, the kids are hurt, there are bugs in the bed, and so on. Last night it was a spill and a bug. That's all I remember anyway. Poor, poor John.....

John Part 2.

Wonderful, wonderful John. This morning he got John David ready for school, fed him, signed his school folder and dropped him off. He did all this while I got to sleep until 9:42. Yes, almost 10:00. I only got up then because the girls were waking up. John David came and hugged me bye before he left and he looked so cute. John did his hair kind of spiky and sharkey looking. I'm sure I know who's idea that was. =) Wonderful, wonderful John......

Late Night Rambling.....

What a great day - we got SOOOO much done! I've been very tired lately and any cleaning I've done has been because I just can't stand dirty, not because I had any desire whatsoever to clean. (And yes, I do usually have the desire to clean. I know I'm weird. And no, my desire is only for my own house. It really doesn't extend to anyone else's. Sorry.) Today I woke up with a cleaning streak in my blood and I went to town. Now, going to town with little kids around isn't quite as productive but it was pretty good. I cleaned the bathrooms, dusted, took out the trash, did laundry, vacuumed the floors and under the couch cushions, vacuumed the floor board cracks, swept, went grocery shopping, and cooked dinner. Then I bathed 2 kids and got them to bed. Whew!

John had his share of work and he got the lawn mowed, the trees trimmed (so it doesn't sound like we have a beaver living on our roof anymore) and the big long dryer vent pipe cleaned out. I'm talking about the one that goes from our laundry room out to our roof. It was quite the project and it's unbelievable how much lint came out. He's convinced it has never been done in all the 25 or so years this house has been around. Did you know you're supposed to clean that out? I think a lot of people don't. You should do it though - it makes your dryer much more efficient and saves lots on your electric bill. Besides that, it's a fire hazard not to clean it out. Bob told me once that that's one of the biggest causes of house fires. Who knew?

Oh, after ALL that (which is a whole lot even if it doesn't sound like it) John had music practice at the church. He's still there now. I don't think I'll be awake when he gets home. I'm too tired....

**Dinner tonight was good. I found a great caesar dressing by Marie Calendar in the produce section. I think the bottle actually says "Marie's" in case you try to find it. I'll probably post the new dinner recipe I tried sometime tomorrow. It was easy, fairly quick, and is great for adults and kids both. Hopefully my recipe will appease the Meems....... =)

My Little Clone?

Julia has really started to show interest in the piano and she likes to get out some of my music books and pretend to play the song. (Although she doesn't think she is pretending. To her, she's really doing it.) Some kids like to bang and pound on the keys but not Julia. She presses the keys softly and listens to what they sound like. I love watching her play.

Yesterday I had the rare opportunity to sit down and play the piano for a little while. When I finished playing she took my hand and gave it sweet kisses and then gave me hugs. She asked if I could teach her how to play songs like I did. I was smiling soooo big! Of course I told her I would. Watching her learn to play from little beginner books will bring back so many memories from when I was little.

I always loved to play but I didn't always want to practice what I was supposed to. I'll never forget sneaking into the kitchen to change the timer my mom had set for my practice time. I bet she thought that 30 minutes went really fast. =)

Smart Mouth

On the way to school this morning:

John David: Mommy, what kind of bird is that over there?

Me: Well, I'm not sure. I don't know too much about the different kinds of birds.

John David: It's black. It must be a crow.

Me: It is black, but that doesn't mean it's a crow. There's other birds that are black too.

John David: Well, it's black so I would suggest to you that it's a crow......

He would suggest to me? What is he, a lawyer? This little man really cracks me up sometimes.

On a side note: I've been thinking that when he asks me all these questions (so very many of which I do not even begin to know the answer to) I should start trying to at least sound more intelligent.

When they're little, they ask sooooo many questions that after a while, you just start saying I don't know, even when you do.

When they get older, the questions are still many but now they are more complicated. I really don't know the answers.

When we were younger, My mom mastered what is known to many people as "rear talking". Talking about something you know nothing about as if you are an expert. She used to fool us with her oh so smart answers, but we caught on as we got older. After a few sentences, which were always infused with a couple of scientific yet very made-up words, we would realize that she really didn't know the answer to our question at all. It's quite the family joke now.

I'm not at all saying that my mom is not smart. She is very smart. Have you ever tried to make up scientific answers to stuff? It's not easy. I stink at at. She's probably smarter than the people who actually know all that stuff for real.....

Check This Out......

This page is really neat. It makes me feel so small.........

This Post Is Dedicated To Colleen

BABY, BABY, BABY, BABY.

Baby.

Baby.

Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby.

Baby, baby, baby.

Baby, baby.

Baby.

BABY!

You Win and We All Lose! =)


(Is that how you spell that word? After looking at it so many times, it looks weird and wrong. Hmmmm....Nope, I'm pretty sure that's how to spell it.)

I Was Just Thinking....

at least our garage sale wasn't THIS weekend.

I was picturing A and I trying to move ALL of that stuff into the garage and the house in the middle of the night with zero sleep.

And we thought it rained a lot on the Friday of our sale. At least it stopped after a couple of hours. Not so yesterday.....

In case you don't live here, let me just say that I've never seen so much rain in a 24 hour period in all my life. Rain, rain, and more rain. And then some more after that. I don't think I'll have to water my grass for the rest of the summer. That's my plan anyway. =)

Dinner Gone Wrong....

Dinner was supposed to be soooo good tonight. But it fell quite short. =( At least the fault is not all mine. We planned on a great steak dinner - steak, baked potatoes, caesar salad, and King's Hawaiian Bread. It's hard to go wrong with a menu like that. But we managed it.

First, the caesar salad was gross. It looked great but the dressing had a weird and overpowering dill taste. That's the second caesar in a row I've made that was NOT good. Anyone know of a good caesar dressing? Maybe I should make my own. Let me in on the secret please because I can't find a good one.

Second, the steaks had an awesome flavor but they were well done instead of medium. =( John is normally the best steak griller around but according to him, "the marinade jacked him up." The marinade makes the steak a different color and he can't tell when they're done? Ok, if he says so.

Luckily for us, there's not a third to this story. Everything else was good. And I think the coconut pie I made for later is going to be great.....

Oh, I should also mention that my children have a knack for making me feel so good about myself. I fixed Julia's potato the way she liked it and thought all was well. But I was told it didn't look like mashed potatoes (remember, I made baked not mashed). I explained that it didn't matter what it looked like because it was going to taste good. She didn't believe me. So I told her to close her eyes and take a bite. She covered her eyes and got her bite ready. She started counting. 1....2...3...4...5... Still, she couldn't bring herself to take a bite. John David said, "Julia, just pretend you're eating a pancake, then it'll be good."

Thanks, John David. I love you too. I'm glad you were at least creative enough to invent a way to stomach your mother's horrible cooking......

Breathing Sweet Air

Julia had a hard time going to sleep tonight so I sat by her until she finally dozed off. Once she was asleep I found myself breathing in as she breathed out just so I could smell her sweetness. It was heavenly. I only got up because my legs were falling asleep. My goodness, I could just eat my kids up I love them so much.

Our Unproductive Morning

We went to the library this morning for story time. Julia had fun listening to her "teacher" in her "class". Afterwards we went over to Dunlaps to check out their store closing sale. Not worth the trip, I have to say. We then walked over to Burke's outlet since I'd never been there before. Again, not worth the trip. Not for us anyway. The walk between the stores was really gross too because the crickets were everywhere. At one point, it was raining crickets! They were falling from the ceiling, jumping from the sides and running everywhere. Gross, gross, gross - especially in flip flops. =) Now were home again until school is over - less than 3 hours.....

First Day Pictures

Here's my little man on his first day of first grade. It wasn't easy to take him and leave him, but it was waaaaaayyyyyyy easier than K-5. He was so peppy and bubbly and could hardly keep from running to his classroom. I stayed and watched through the window for awhile along with another mom. The first thing his teacher had them do was to choose a book from the shelf and take it to their desk. He chose the same book he pointed out the other night and buried himself in it. His mouth was shut, he was sitting still. I pray this is still the case 45 minutes later as I type this post.

I really like his teacher so far. His K-5 teacher seemed not so friendly a lot of times, but this teacher seems so welcoming and sweet. I'm sure more will come later this afternoon.......

Last Minute Summer Fun

Since school started today, and John just got back in town on Monday evening, we had only one day to squeeze in some family fun. So like I said in an earlier post, we went to Double Dave's Pizza and then we went to the mall to play glow in the dark putt-putt at Neon Jungle. The kids thought it was super cool. Daddy wanted to shop afterwards but tired feet and hungry kids won out and we headed home.

Bedtime didn't go quite as smoothly as I would have liked but it worked. I think John David was just a little too excited to sleep. Normally he lays down and falls to sleep right away. Last night whenever I checked on him he was up bouncing around on his bed or hanging off the edge for fun. He was still asleep by nine though. And this morning he woke up and was happy as could be....

Ok, I don't know what's going on with the pictures. Some are there twice because they had disappeared and I put them up again. I guess they only disappeared momentarily. I'm tired of messing with it so you have to look at them twice. You'll live....

Jewelry? I think not......

Today we ate lunch at Double Dave's Pizza. It's John's favorite place on Tuesdays because the pizza rolls are BOGO. The kids love going too because of the arcade games. I don't really like it too very much and usually they just go without me. But today we were spending time all together so I braved it.

John David told me he had some jewelry for me and to close my eyes. Of course I was suspicious, but I didn't want to hurt his feelings so I closed my eyes. I opened them just in time to see a wadded up napkin flying at me. Two more napkins quickly followed before I could tell him to stop because we were in a restaurant. His very matter of fact reply:

"Daddy taught me that. You'll have to talk to him about it."


The bad news is that I HAVE talked to John about it. He thinks it's funny. That's why he's a youth pastor, I guess.....

My Monkies

Here they are, happy and ready to go to the open house. I know I'm their mom and I'm certainly biased, but they are so CUTE. I love these little guys!!! =)

The New Do

Yesterday we tried a new hair-do for Aulora. I never did Julia's hair this way because I thought it looked silly. But with Aulora, it just fits. She looked so much older all of a sudden! Thanks, A, for the cute little dress. It's 24 months but it already fits! Surely it runs small, right? My child is NOT that big!

Birthday at Gattiland

This post is a couple weeks late, but hey, I have 3 kids. Don't I get to use that excuse for everything? =)

Happy Birthday little man! Hope you are playing with that cool new toy lots.

Don't stop until Mommy has lost her mind. hehehehe

(This evil is almost a match for KDP!) =)

Fun Times

Here's Julia having fun at church. I've never understood why my kids love church so much.....

Silly Girl

This morning I was eating breakfast and Julia startled me by saying, "Good morning, Mommy!" I looked over to see her standing there looking just like these pictures. She had tried to get dressed but it didn't quite work out.

Don't tell her I put these on here. She was quite embarrassed that people might see her without her shirt on. =)

Open House

Last night we went to the open house for John David's school. We thought his teacher was the same 1st grade teacher from last year, but we found out when we walked in that she had retired. The new teacher is very nice and John David likes her alot so far. She is much older than his K-5 teacher so she's more of a grandma type.

We took all his supplies to the classroom and he got to put his pencil box and notebooks in the basket under his desk. He is so VERY excited about his desk! It's on the back row and close to some of his old friends. There is a large book holder near the door and he has already chosen the long chapter book that he wants to read. I was proud when he pointed it out (very closely to his teacher) and read the title out loud with ease. He really is a good reader.

Julia was so sad to realize that she didn't get to stay in his classroom. She wants to go to school soooo badly! I've been giving her little "tests" as I've been reviewing things with John David. She really loves to learn and I know she'll do great in school when the time comes. We're looking for a Mother's Day Out program for her this year. She's ecstatic.

I'm sure we'll have lots to post about school after the first day tomorrow......

Robo Reptile

In Colorado, John David decided he was too old for Build-A-Bear Workshop (although my pictures prove that he did indeed enjoy himself while Julia was making her Hello Kitty). He found this Robo Reptile instead and he talked Grandmamma into it. If you know any of their grandparents, you would know that wasn't hard. =)
He's quite proud of this robotic creature and it's actually a pretty entertaining thing to watch. It has a remote control and does lots of different things.

***Being the cool friends we are, A and I got this same toy for C's little boy's birthday. Hahahahaha. I think she has forgiven us.***

Oh Happy Day......

Today is the day that our family is complete again - finally! Summer time is always hard because there's so much traveling and it always feels great when it's finally over.

I don't remember what it is like to all live at home together and eat meals at our table and whatever other things families might do. I just can't remember. I'm sure it will all come back really fast. And then maybe I'll hope for another trip. =) Jk. The days of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or chicken noodle soup for dinner are over though. Oh well, it's more than worth a little cooking if it means we're all here! Yea! Only a few more hours! I'm smiling........

Only 2 More.....

2 more days until we're "back in the saddle again". (Yes, Biggie, I know this song because of you.)
Tomorrow is open house and a meet and greet type of thing. We're definitely going since I've never even met the 1st grade teacher. I know her name and John David says she's very nice. She's been teaching for 15 years so she's experienced.

Earlier in the summer, John David would groan if I told him how many more days until school started again. But not anymore. He's so excited. First grade is apparently such a big deal. Mainly, it means no more nap times. We all keep telling him that one day he will wish he could have a nap, but he does not see the luxury in it at 6 years old. I think that maybe you get to have a desk in first grade also, instead of a group table. Wow. That is important. There's some other perks too, but I'm not privy to them at this point. I'm sure I'll be informed soon enough.....

By The Way....

The number is now 27.

I'm drowning in blogworld!

Help!!!

Scratching School

I was tucking John David into the top bunk bed tonight and as I was hugging and kissing on him, I felt Julia's little hands start to scratch my legs. It felt soooo good!

Me: Julia, that feels so good! Where did you learn to scratch so good?

Julia: Scratchin' School.

Me: Scratchin' School?

Julia: Uh-huh. (still scratching my legs)

Me: Oh....When did you go to Scratchin' School?

Julia: Friday......Did you ever go to Scratchin' School, Mommy?

I have no idea what she's talking about. The only place we went on Friday was the swimming pool and there was no scratching going on there! Really though, this child knows how to scratch and give little back rubs. I guess it's one of the reasons we keep her around. =)

I Refuse

I am making a decision NOT to become addicted to digital scrapbooking. I tried it today and loved it. I was even able to create a beautiful page. We already own Adobe Photoshop so I wouldn't even have to buy any software.

But I cannot spend my whole day on the computer! So even though I really would like to make awesome looking pages that could be printed or bound in a beautiful book, I will not.

Man, there's just not enough time to do all the things I want to do. Boohoo. I'll be content with blogging, a good book every now and then, and the occasional Ebay purchase. The rest of my time I'm going to be a mommy and clean and maybe even cook (much to John's delight!). =)

(I'm not against scrapbooking. This is just what I have had to decide for me personally. I can't do it all!)

The Truth

I just realized why my house had not been as clean lately as I would like. I tried blaming it on having 3 busy little kids or the fact that John travels a lot during the summer. But no. I cannot continue telling myself these lies....

I just counted. There are 25 blogs I regularly read in addition to updating my own. I really think I'm going to have to limit my daily dosage. I must. My clean house is at stake here.....

Walmart on a Saturday

I did it with all 3 kids. I did not die. I am alive. I did not yell. I did not spank. I calmly spoke suggestions. I came home with more than Doritos and Fruit Roll Ups. That's quite the victory, so excuse me if I'm just a little proud of myself.....

Good Bye Summer

It's been great and we will miss you, Summer. Some people always overstay their welcome, but you knew just when to leave. All the trips were super fun and spending lots of time with friends was great. Staying up late and sleeping past 8:00 (or 9:00!) was even better! No homework, no uniforms to wash, no "moving clips" because a bad choice was made, no crying because Bubba is at school, and no school zones to drive through. It's all been wonderful, Summer. We thank you. We can't wait to see you again next year. But for now.....

8:00 bedtime sounds divine. A routine and a schedule will feel so cozy. Watching my Little learn and get even smarter is incredible. New friends, special time with just the girls at home, only 2 kids instead of 3 for part of my day, no Star Wars legos all over the floor. Yes, Summer, we will not cry to see you leave.......

Boohoo..........

They didn't make it. =( John said they did it the absolute best they could this morning though so what more can he ask for? They're still having fun. My vote is now that they know they didn't win, they should just pack it up and COME HOME!!! But I don't think my vote really counts right now. Oh, well.......

Round 2

The group will perform at 10:57 am tomorrow morning. Good news is they aren't one of the first or one of the last - that's usually not good. Bad news is they are going right after a group from a very strong church, although I don't think it's their top group......

To check out what National Fine Arts is all about or to even watch the live evening services (which are incredible) go here.

They're Doing Good!

For anyone who is following them.....our human video group made it to the second round. If you're not familiar with the national festival then just know that getting to the second round is a big deal. Only about 1 in 8 teams who have made it to nationals will go on to make it to that next level. What's also cool is that our team beat out the team belonging to the guy who originally taught us to make our own videos. Sorry Parker. =( You taught John too well, I guess.

All second round videos perform again tomorrow and the top 10 will be chosen for the final service on Saturday where they will announce the winner. That's all I know for now......

Mommy's Wonderful, Incredible, Stinkin' Awesome, All Good Day

I get my babies back today!
I get my babies back today!
I get my babies back today!

(That's all I have to say.....)

Aulora's No Good, Awful, Horrible, Rotten Day.......Just Kidding. It Wasn't That Bad

My baby girl had a check-up today - along with 3 shots and blood drawn from both her little arms. =( It wasn't fun at all. I was worried that she would feel bad and be cranky all day but she was wonderful! A little motrin goes a long way, I guess.

Anyway, it's the most awful feeling to have to hold your baby down while someone hurts them. I hate shots and they have made me faint plenty of times, but I would take them for her any day if I could........

It's Not About Me

My heart hurts so badly right now. I've hurt this way before and it's probably my least favorite hurt I know. When someone you have invested into and you feel a personal responsibility for fails, you also feel like a failure. You start to feel like you're in the wrong place doing the wrong thing.

My broken heart is not solely or primarily because of my own sense of failure, but it does heap more hurt on top of it all. I mostly ache for this young person. I ache because of where she is and how deceived she must be to act this way. I ache because I somehow got too busy over the summer to go hang out with her like I had intended. Would that have changed how things are now? Maybe not. But I'd like to think God would have used me and the testimony I have in this same area to get through to her. But I got too busy and life was about me. It's so easy to forget that life is not about me......

So Aggravating

Yesterday, I filled up with gas at Town and Country. I always pay $5 extra for the car wash since you get 10 cents off per gallon anyway. When you're filling up a minivan it's worth it. Anyway, I filled up and drove away. It wasn't until today when I was looking at the dead bugs on the windshield that I remembered - I never got my receipt. I paid for a car wash but my ticket is probably in the bottom of the trashcan by the pump. I refuse to buy another one until it's time to fill up again. So I'll just live with the bugs for awhile. Boo.....

Garage Sale Pictures

Here's A and me washing John's car in the pouring down rain. Frankly, I don't know how A managed to look that hot in these pictures. We were both soooo tired and extremely sore. What a great actress, I guess. (Why were we washing this car? It was for sale and it was very dirty. John wanted to wash it himself that morning - when it wasn't raining - but I told him no because it would get too much other stuff wet. So when it started pouring down rain, he called and humbly asked if I would get some dish soap and wash it real quick. That's the story.) Don't you think we could be models in car magazines or calendars ? And please don't hate us just because we're so great looking in the rain. We can't help it. =) It's just the way God made us.......


I didn't think to take any at the very beginning so these pictures really don't do it justice. We had already sold a bunch by this point. This was a stinking huge sale.




The man wearing black in the picture below was forking over some major bucks to buy A's tiller. We were amazed that he had that much cash on him and that the tiller sold that quick. God was good to A that day! You should have seen her smiling.


Missy was a tremendous help with the kids. Aulora will go to her almost as quickly as she'll go to me. Thanks Missy!



And here's the picture of M kissing........her coffee table! She sold it and was kind of sad to see it go. I think the money in her pocket helped to take out the sting.





Finally, the moment you've all been waiting for.....All together, we made around..........

$2000!

It was a super duper weekend. I'm incredibly happy that it's over though. If I EVER have THAT much stuff again, I'm just putting a for sale sign in my yard and leaving the country......