Gone!

Look what's missing!! 

Isn't this the sweetest little face EVER??  And being the baby of the family he has this whole tooth fairy thing figured out and knows that Mom and Dad always take you out to lunch when you lose your first tooth.  

I get a tad emotional over lost teeth.  This little smile will never be the same and he will be changing at lightening speed from here on out. 

I am totally smitten with this guy.  And his precious mouth. 

The Puke Fest Is Over

I think.
I hope it's over
I pray it's over.
And we are moving on with life as though it is over.

As a matter of fact, at this point, my children are forbidden to puke again for at least another year.

And get this. According to my nifty way of journaling inconsequential family news, the kids have been sick this very same week THREE YEARS IN A ROW!!

I have a theory.

It's all because of the Valentine Bowl. The very yucky valentine dessert my kids ask for every year that I refuse to make unless it's Valentines Day. It's the only explanation.

So now it's time to disinfect the bathrooms and wash the sheets again.

Speaking of bathrooms..... after several weeks, a few trips to the store, and waking up to soaked bathroom rugs, Honey fixed the potty in our bathroom. And people, when you have as much unpleasant bathroom business as we have had the past week, you need all the working pots you can get!

Since we seem to be very hard on potties, kitchen sink faucets, and door knobs, he also bought us a brand new door knob that I couldn't be prouder of. And It probably explains why we never get invited to anybody's house. They want to keep their door knobs nice. And who could blame them?

So we are back in business. And happy to be amongst the living. Next year we will be stocking up on some essential oils, vitamin C, and a valentine dessert stuffed with all manner of super foods.

Ramblings Of Recently

This morning started with a squabble involving 3 boys and a dozen eggs.  By 7am I had given 3 different speeches on peacemaking and the difference between cooked eggs and raw.

And cleaned up broken glass.

And stuck my hand in a web of nastiness that had FREAK OUT written all over it.   Only I was too tired to do that so I just washed my hands.  27 times.

~We have been battling the stomach bug all week.  Each kid has taken a turn on a different day.    

And this scene is becoming commonplace.  

Good news is that there aren't many of us left who haven't had it so it has to be over soon.  

In the meantime, there's been lots of crackers, juice, sprite, and cartoons.  

~In other news,  Josh finally lost a tooth! And I'm here to tell you it was long overdue.  At his last ortho appt, Dr Harper told him that he plans to retire in 15 years and he'd appreciate it if he'd get some teeth out before then.  It's about time.

~Did you go to the Savers sales last weekend?  Because if you missed it, you were the only one who did.  It was sooo crowded!  I came home with a big bag for $23 that included 2 purses, a winter coat for ZBoy, a pair of shoes and some miscellaneous clothes items.  

Now that Mally is older she has this Savers day figured out and knows it's a girls shopping trip that she doesn't wanna miss.  She takes turns shopping with her sisters, trying on clothes, and trying to talk me into buying everything.   This time she saw all the barbies hanging up in bags....naked.
In a heartbroken voice she said, "MOM!!  Do you see how they treat their barbies?!  Those poor babies."

~This is what I've been looking at this week...

These bunk beds are perfect.   We are wanting to replace the metal ones with wood.  I  LOVE these....but I don't love the price.

This blog shows how this family has organized their 1100 square foot house to fit 11 people.  She has some good ideas on all kinds of things.

Limeade! Because summer is right around the corner.  I've been wanting to try this but it requires a trip to the store and, well with puke and all, it ain't happening.  

On A Saturday Night

Watch this.

Mañana.

White girl from the south blogging in Spanish. Well I can tell you I was just as surprised as you. But when I was texting Meg to ask her about her plans tomorrow I decided to try to type one of the six Spanish words I know. And it worked even though I spelled it wrong. Thank you auto correct.

And now, in addition to washing dishes and changing diapers, I can add typing in Spanish to my list of talents. My kids will be impressed.

So today I made a ton of soup to be ready to take some to the church soup cook off. I texted Dana (in English) and found out that it really was this Sunday. I asked my kids what soup we should make and everyone had a different idea. My man said potato so I went with that even though my potato soup is not near as good as Nana's. So when dinner was ready, nobody was really impressed and the only comments were "next time Nana comes can we ask her to make soup?" I'm not counting on any prize.

Other than making soup I pretty much did nothing except walk with my neighbor for awhile and spy on my bees.

My bees.

Oh y'all. I'm so worried about one of my hives. There is hardly any activity. Several dead bees on the porch that I cleaned up and hardly a hum when I press my ear to the hive body. I just don't know....
But one hive seems strong and busy. Next year I will do a different overwintering plan.

Anyhow.

I have a Netflix show. My first one. And I won't tell you what it is because it's a British show that has some words and I really can't recommend it unless you have a man that watches it first and can mute that sentence. But suffice it to say its right up there with Star Trek and 1980s wrestling. And people, it's hard to beat 1980s wrestling. My man introduced me to it probably in a desperate attempt to add variety to our Duck Dynasty date nights.

I will leave you with this. The verse I've been memorizing in Philippians chapter 1

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Adios ya'll! 

Half Way Into February

So remember my goal for February?  It had something to do with every cabinet, drawer, and closet being cleaned out and organized.  Welllll.......

It's slow going.  So far we've cleaned out from under the kitchen sink (which is messy again), the laundry room cabinets, refrigerator, and a couple of school cubbies.  But at least it's something and I'm hoping to get to a couple of rooms next week.  

We had a marathon cleaning day this week.  And nothing makes Momma smile like a clean house.  AMEN?  

Every floor, every bathroom, every flat surface, windows, porches, and dusting.  Ahhhhh....... 

~We've also spend a crazy amount of time getting ready for Valentines Day.  I tell you, sometimes Pinterest is the devil.  

Next year I've decided it will be simpler.  

But we had a fantastic night.  I was so happy to have all my kids home again.  And even though this is Meg's 2nd married Valentines Day, we've never had to celebrate without her.  This year June joined us and made it even more fun.  

But no Lane.  And that was sad.  She texted me early from her bed telling me she had been throwing up all night.  Then all day she slept and tried to keep food down while the rest of the kids steered clear.  My poor baby.  She had to stay in her room and miss everything! 

   

But today she woke up better.  PTL!  

Tomorrow is Sunday which means we need to spend this evening getting ready for church and then laying around all day after that.  I think it is a soup/chili cook off after church.  But I don't know for sure and how awkward would that be to show up with soup on the wrong day. 

  

New Rules And More Snow

It snowed!!!  Again.

Doesn't it seem like we've gotten an unusual amount of snow and ice this year?  Or maybe because this is my first year to have bees and the snow and ice make me worry about them and I didn't have that concern before.  Who knows.

Anyhow, it snowed.

And my people could not be happier.  Hot chocolate, snow clothes, snow men, video games, a Redbox movie that is long overdue, a new Kindle book, Daddy working from home, and some tomato soup.

Speaking of snow clothes.  This is what happened.  The first day I noticed that my little people barely needed any help at all getting all bundled up.  But I ignored it.  Then today!  They did it ALL BY THEMSELVES.

And I still haven't gotten over it.

I'm pretty sure this is the coldest Arkansas winter I can remember.  And other than a crazy electric bill, we are kinda enjoying it.  Or I am anyway.  Until I have to go somewhere.  Then I don't enjoy it anymore.

~Meg is coming over today but there is more snow so her daddy just left to pick her up.  Tonight we are making pizza and Meg is going to teach me how to make a cauliflower pizza crust.  I KNEW we were related!

~Guess what?  Only one week into Trim Healthy Mama and my man has lost 7 pounds.  I don't expect this every week but it's an encouraging start.  I'm still trying to figure it out. I've just now hit the chapter that includes recipes so next week ought to be fun.  Except I'm out of grocery money, which makes it not quite as much fun.  Gotta figure out the grocery budget leak!

~Little kids' bedtimes were getting later and later around here.  And since they get up early in the morning, I decided to change things up.  New routine..... after read aloud time and teeth brushing they can read in bed until 9.  At 9pm it's lights out and Mom comes in to put chapstick on little lips and kiss them goodnight.  Then their lips have to stay closed for the chapstick and kiss to sink in overnight.  The chapstick routine has made bedtime sweeter and they say, "Don't forget the lip thing!"

~I guess it was a week for new rules.  We've also had issues with frowny faces and wet noodles when Mom asked them to do something.  I hate pouts and whines.  So if this is you, you get to sit in a chair in the middle of the room and practice your smile for 5 minutes with a timer.  If you are caught not smiling your biggest smile, the timer starts over.  So far at the end of the 5 minutes they are in a much more cheerful mood.  And I've had one little girl, who after a warning look, said "I'm happy, I don't need to practice my smile."

~Before I forget, for those of you who have asked, Christian's graduation is April 26.  I hope ya'll come!

On A Saturday

It's February, and a whole month of 2014 is behind us. 

And I like February because....

1. It's close to spring. 

2. But it's still winter and that means all hot drinks and soups are fair game. 

3. Valentine's Day

And speaking of hot drinks wanta see my new recipe I made today? 

Sugar Free Hot Chocolate

In a saucepan, mix together..

1/4 C. cocoa

1 pinch salt

2 T. truvia

Add..

1/3 C hot water

2 C half & half

2 C milk

Cook this together and stir until it's hot.  

One of the things I love about my man is his supportive nature toward whatever I wanna try next.  Even if it means that HE is my project.  So I'm playing around with the Trim Healthy Mama plan and hoping to help him shed a few pounds.  He's a good sport.  And I assured him he would not turn into a mama when we were done.  

So all day I've been making him different THM foods and he loved the hot chocolate.  It's a keeper. 

~Guess what?  I went out of town all by myself with 2 girlfriends.  I know!  I haven't left my family since that time in CO when I came to AR to see Renee and Jodie.  We went to Little Rock to an adoption conference and had the best time.  We stayed in a hotel that had a tiny coffee pot and little bitty packets of jelly.  UPTOWN people!!  I brought jelly home as a souvenir for all my kids.  

We got lost, ate a ton of food, laughed, told our life stories, critiqued Dana's new hair do, visited the School For The Deaf , got lost, laughed, and ate more food.  

~Look who's in town!  Eddy Carmona! 

He called this morning to see if the boys wanted to kick with him.  UMM, YEAH.
He was working out some injuries and they took turns holding for each other and kicking and learning from Eddy's tips.

~Project February also includes organization of all types.  I hope to go through every drawer, cabinet, closet, nook, and cranny.  As I was sitting in the conference the lady said, "We want to equip you to do your work excellently."  And I wrote that down and decided that I needed to bring that home.  Because nobody can do anything excellently when there is junk all over the place and things are disorganized.

The first order of business is the menu planning/cookbook.  My cookbook is a mess and my menu planning has been lacking.

Next up is school planning.  That doesn't take too long but I spent some time lesson planning our new astronomy and making some notes.  It always feels good to have a plan in place.

It's almost dinner time and I will leave you with my other new recipe that came from Pioneer Woman...
It's delicious.  I didn't have cilantro or a lime so I substituted 2 T vinegar.

Restaurant Style Salsa

Yield: Serves 12

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Homemade restaurant style salsa that will MAKE you eat an entire bag of chips. It's that good!

ingredients:

1 can (28 Ounce) whole tomatoes with juice
2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced tomatoes And green chilies)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 whole jalapeño, quartered And sliced thin
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup fresh cilantro (more To taste)
1/2 whole lime, juiced

directions:

1. In a large food processor or blender, combine whole tomatoes, Rotel tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you'd like. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.

2. Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips.

Some Weekend News

Did you have a good weekend?   I'm rather fond of the recent weather patterns in my neck of the woods.  Cold during the week, but sunny and 60 degree temps for the weekend.  That means kids and dogs are outside!  

~It also means my bees are busy and looking for something to eat.  It's always a sigh of relief to see them out because it means they are still alive.  Some folks have already lost hives this winter.  One of my hives is way stronger than the other so I'm a little concerned about the weakling.   But so far so good.  And I'm thankful.

~Just when we thought Tiger football was over, we learned there was a sports banquet to attend. An awards ceremony if you will.

Now the problem with not being in the public schools is that your kid usually comes home with only 1/2 of the information. And important information too...like tell your mom this is a dress up event and not a jeans and hoodie affair.

Our boy was recognized as Special Teams MVP!! Coach K was ever so sweet, saying it was a big blessing to have him on the team this year and credited him for 1/3 of the game.

Now here in the south when someone says banquet that means FOOD. Maybe BBQ, several variations of potatoes, food items that involve tooth picks, different chicken options, some fancy side dishes, and desserts with swirlies and sprinkles.

Turns out this was a cookies and punch RECEPTION and clearly not a banquet.  I need to work with these folks on titling their gatherings.

~In other weekend news, my kids hosted an airsofting event at grandmas. Not to be confused with a banquet or even a reception for that matter since this was a fancy affair where people were required to bring their own lunch. It was 8 hours of hunting down your friends and peppering them with air soft pellets. They declared it the best time. I'm thinking I got the better end of the deal by hanging out with Meg and cleaning the fridge.

~In the words of Hank The Cow Dog, "We had a murder on the ranch!"  Korrie somehow got into the chicken coop and we are one less chicken. A BABY chicken too!! One that we hatched from a real egg. And it wasn't even a rooster. Because if it were a rooster, well who cares.

~So I read that last sentence and it reminded me of a funny thing that happened last week. Renee texted me to say that their well-house lid blew off.

But when I read it, I thought it said "Well, the house lid blew off".
And I'm like WHAT?? And spent the morning wondering if she was calling her roof the house lid and how it could've blown off. And I think that's what they mean when people mention misunderstandings with text or email.

~Here's something else funny.  Last night during date night, Honey was on the computer helping me with phone related issues.  I was standing over him, holding a bunch of stuff and I dropped my water cup right in his lap getting him all wet!!  .....Maybe you had to be there.  Or maybe not because Honey was there and he didn't think it was as funny as I did.

~This is what happens when his water is frozen.  He steps into the tub and laps up all the water after your shower.   Plus he walks around the house whining because his life is not perfect at the moment and it's just too much to bear.

~I'm not sure what happened but this month has been terrible for my grocery budget.  I have a week left until payday and $15 in my purse.  I planned our dinners for the week based on what was still left in the freezer and told the kids we'd be creative for breakfasts and lunches because I do NOT want to go over budget.   So far they are thinking this is great fun since everything is fair game.  They may be changing their tune come Thursday when we are down to a jar of pickles and a head of cauliflower.
But as for now, they are pulling out all sorts of junk that we somehow end up with but usually don't eat.  And Josh is sweet talking his chickens to be generous.  He's not such a fan of cauliflower.

~And now we are back to Monday.  Otherwise known as The Day We Have To Do Eleven Loads Of Laundry.   But school is done, there's a fire in the fireplace, and dinner in the works.

Life is good.

Distracted With Cookies

So it turns out that I didn't listen to a word my pastor said on Sunday.  And it was all because he started out by saying something about serving at the BCM and needing cookies.

And that's where I checked out.

Cookies.

So I sat there with all manner of cookie thoughts going through my head while everyone else was listening to what was probably a very fine sermon on something important.

Thoughts like...

I wonder if Meg is going to the BCM lunch?
What kind of cookies should I make?
I need to call Meg to see if she's going.
If she's going, I'll probably help serve lunch.
If I don't go, and she does, I wonder if she'll recognize my cookies.
Should I bring the cookies on a paper plate?
Do I have paper plates?
I think we're almost out of foil.
I'll have to see if I can ride with someone because parking will probably be hard.
Penguin cookies are good.
Meg would recognize them.
Or maybe I should try something new.
Wait. I wonder if they meant homemade cookies?

Then all of a sudden we were singing songs again and it was over.  Just like that.
And then, to top it off....I didn't even make cookies.

New Things Of The New Year

I've gotten some new tools this year that I'm absolutely loving! 

First off is this pan!  And ya'll, you should see my other cookie sheets/bar pans. 

Flimsy, crackling, discolored, and horrible.  

But Honey and I were browsing Kohls with my Kohl's cash (thank you Nana!) and I came across this pan.  Actually it's a Food Network brand but it's just about identical to this. 

Commercial grade, huge, and indestructible.  Plus it looks nice.  

I've used it for just about everything. 

Now I'm keeping my eye on the sales at Kohls and hoping to grab another one. 

.

If you're used to paying $2.99 for a cheapy potato peeler, you won't like the $13 price tag on this 

OXO Good Grips Pro Y-Peeler.

But it's worth every penny.  I promise. 

Easy to maneuver, super sharp, dishwasher safe and it gets the job done! 

This was just a necessity.  Plain and simple. 

My brooms and dustpan are tucked in a space between the dryer and the wall. 

They were always falling over, laying across the floor, and a mess. 

Best $7 I've spent all year. 

I wish I had a before and after picture of the shoe situation in my closet. 

Now my shoes don't look anything like these fancy ones, 

BUT I'd say it's a fair representation of what's going on in my closet now!

Except minus about 1/2 of them because I'm kinda a shoe minimalist. 

But doesn't that look nice? 

My kids bought me this book for Christmas and I've finished it, underlined it, and started it again. 

Lots of helpful advice!  

How 'bout you?  Did you get anything neat or helpful for Christmas that's making you smile in 2014?

Because I'm Not That Kind Of (Starbucks) Girl

Well we are nine whole days into the new year and I have nothing to report. 2014 has entered very quietly and a little boringly. Sometimes quiet and boring is nice. But sometimes you're like, HELLO! TIME TO MOVE ON. And I go back and forth between the two.

But Monday I had the most wonderful day with the most wonderful person. Our firstborn turned 22 and I got to spend the whole day with her eating and shopping and talking and laughing. I love that she still wants to spend her birthday with me.

While camping out at Target we made our way to the snack bar place and they have a Starbucks. Meg likes Starbucks. And she was sure I'd like it too. I'll just confess right here and now that it was my first time because I apparently live under a rock and have never understood the hoopla. So she ordered us a salted caramel something or other with complicated words. I don't even understand the lingo these coffee people use. Five dollars later (!!) we get a SMALL but very fancy looking drink with whipped cream and a straw. In a thin plastic cup. Which I don't understand because in my world when you pay $5 you should get a more substantial cup that you can take home and keep forever. But this was not the case.

I took a sip and EWWWW! It was coffee! And that might not be a surprise to you but when she ordered with the complicated words it did not include anything that sounded like coffee. So I was thinking this was going to be some chocolate type of frozen goodness. I was misled.
And it took forever to get that terrible coffee taste out of my mouth so we finally went to the grocery section and broke open a half gallon of white grape juice.

That's more my speed.

And It All Came Down To THIS!

Oh ya'll. I'm still smiling.  

I can't even tell you how happy the day was.

Everything was ready.  Everything in order.  Just waiting until the time to GOOO!!!!

The town lined Main Street at noon for a big send off.  In the freezing rain.  Horns honking, people waving and cheering.  The store windows had been decorated for weeks.

 And the bus drove toward Little Rock with a police escort.

It was so sweet I almost cried. 

But the weather was not looking good.  Thunderstorms in LR right at kickoff.  I had been watching it all day... and apparently so was the rest of the town because it was all the talk in the stands before the game began.

So we needed to leave early.  Meg and Ethan came to babysit until Lane got off work.  (thanks again guys!)

LB came with us since she was COW.  And it was fun to sport some of our new Tiger gear that Grandma made us. The thing I didn't have was a new shirt b/c they didn't have my size in the one I wanted needed. But Dana said it was a bad idea to try something so new this late in the game and I decided she was right.

We drove on.

And the closer we got, the clearer the weather got until there was a beautiful big rainbow in the sky welcoming us to Little Rock.   By the time we arrived at War Memorial the weather was perfect!!  No joke.

OH the stadium was beautiful!!  Lights, big screens, fancy seats.

We made our way to the stands and noticed that nobody looked familiar.  Wait...our people were on the other side!  Now there had been occasions at away games when we had no choice but to sit in enemy territory because the visitor side was so inhospitable.  But this was not the case.

While Honey was asking what difference it made where we sat, LB and I were already packing up.
Because it's important to be with your own people at times like THIS.

We had no idea what a good decision that was until after the game started and the other fans were so hostile!

Back at home, our fans were listening via web audio and cheering along.

The predictions for this game were divided.  One said we'd lose by 30.  Another said we'd win by 5.  Another said we'd lose by 1.

It didn't take long to see they were all wrong!  And that first touchdown was over-the-top exciting!!

Our boy had lots of opportunities to kick.  6 kick offs including a touch back, 6 extra points.
And my man was there taking around 500 pictures thanks to a sideline pass from Mr. Storey.

Now I've heard people say that they haven't seen a good Tiger game all year because they were all blow outs.   THAT IS a good game!!  Mercy rule is where it's at.

And they WON!!  

Happy coaches!

Happy kids!

Happy fans!

Christmas in Texas!

Here are some of my favorite shots of some of my favorite people. 

I say this every time.  But my grandmother is prettier every year.  And ya'll, she doesn't color her hair! 

Nana and Meg in her new Christmas shirt.

I have no idea how I made it into so many pictures.  I must've been hanging too close to the camera man! 

Baby Striker!!  Isn't he adorable?  And so tiny! 

But really, she should've asked me.  I could've totally hooked her up with a new kitty. 

And if YOU need a new kitty, I can hook you up too! 

Anybody??  

Lots of gaming.  My boy is a card shark.

Watching TV with PawPaw.  I used to do this with my granddaddy. 

I love both of these pictures with my mom and dad.  I want to have these printed.  

Nana's deviled eggs are always a hit.  And when they are around, everybody forgets how to share! 

Mally will talk Gram's ear off forever!!  

At least she didn't bring Pretty Pretty Princess and dress her up this time. 

Jes doing what he does.

So pretty these two.

Thank you to my awesome family for being so flexible to work around football games this year.  

And for their great hospitality and pure sweetness.  

I LOVE YOU!! 

Christmas With More Pictures Than Words

Such a fantastic day! 

I love the excitement in his sweet face. 

Our last day of our new Christmas devo

We got a lot of weapons this year...

Meg, Ethan, and Marc were over bright and early so as not to miss anything.

I

His new game that is so hard that nobody will play with him. 

Soaking up time with Lane before she left for KY the next morning. 

Target practice.  Look out dogs!! 

Time to play!

Because she ain't no yuppie girl! 

And neither is she.

Some football action where Lane decided to intercept the ball with her FACE and scored a bloody nose. 

Thank You God for sending your Son. 

Thank You for the celebration. 

Thank You for the joy. 

Thank You for my family.  

Next up:  Christmas in Texas! 

A Bunch Of Thankfulness

Well the senior mom dance was funner than I thought. Did you see it on FB?   No?   Because that's perfectly fine by me.

It started with the kissing game where they blindfolded the boys and told them a cheerleader was gonna kiss them on the cheek and they had to guess which one. At that point our 12yo decided he was done with football. Turns out the kisses were from mom and they all said they knew it all along. Yeah sure.

It was a fun night of getting to know the moms a little better and talk about the upcoming game. 2 more sleeps in case you lost count.

This morning our boy headed out early to Mr Smokey's house. Mr Smokey has a grandson on the team and all year he has cooked breakfast for all the senior football players on Friday mornings.

This morning is the last breakfast.
This game is the last game.

And I am so full of gratefulness for this opportunity.
Thankful that my neighbor saw him kicking soccer balls and started the whole thing. Thankful that the superintendent, principal, and coach thought he was worth their time and effort. Thankful for the friendships and the way they made him feel welcome and wanted.
Thankful for every Friday night warm/dry/cold/freezing/wet game I had the privilege to watch. Thankful for free passes for the younger kids. Thankful to Mr Smokey. And thankful for this town.

GO TIGERS!!