Some of my favorite Christmas Ornaments

I've seen some other bloggers out there posting about some of their favorite Christmas ornaments. And since I'm partial to a few of mine, I'd thought I share some of them. The sad thing is that there are a few of my most prized ornaments that didn't get put on the tree this year. With my youngest around and pulling on things I decided to give them a year off and they should hopefully make their return next year. So maybe next year I will get to show you those ones.

First off we have a favorite off all my children. It's one of Santa's face and he is always getting fought over who will get to hang him up on the tree. Whoever does do it always puts him front and center and then everyone knows that Santa is watching everything they do for the rest of the month. Some days it helps their behaviour and other days it doesn't.


I also have a fondness for snowmen. This is one of my favorite snowmen. He's a very simple snowman but I just really like him.


Now as a mom, I am always excited when the kids bring home ornaments that they have made at school. This year is the first year that Hoss got to bring home one and he is very proud of his Christmas wreath. I think it's pretty neat to.


This next one was made by Z. when he was in first grade I think. I truly love it. It's his hand print in white paint. But they didn't stop there, no, they added little touches to all his fingers to make them look like snowmen. How cute is that? I had to put this one up pretty high this year to keep it away from tiny hands.


Then of course having two boys, I have a Santa playing football that gets fought over. Poor Hoss never stands a chance against Z. in hanging this one. Z. practically smells it out before it's out of the decoration box and grabs it first. Z. has become all about football in any form. So yes, this is one of his favorites.


This last one is one I just found this year. It's a small wooden ornament of the Holy Family. I love this so much that I'm thinking that I will keep it out year round for us to enjoy. Originally I thought it was a small Holy Family statue, but when I picked it up I saw the hook and string to hang it from the tree with so I realized it was really an ornament.

But then I get to wondering if it would be sacrilegious to then put it back on the tree at Christmas time. After all if it's been in place of honor all year long would it really want to go back on the tree? Oh, how my mind works sometimes. Putting emotions into inanimate objects. Anyways, give me your opinion on that one would ya?

Restocking and Baking

I'm restocking our medicine cabinets today or at the very least throwing out the super old stuff. (And yes that was restocking and not packing). Hubs and I have decided once again that we love our current house so much right now that we really don't want to leave it. Even for the extra space, the extra money we would spend just seems sort of crazy to us since I'm officially a stay at home mom. See I told you we were flaky people lately. So we finally made a decision (we even spit on it...okay we really didn't do that)that we aren't going to go anywhere until our youngest is in school.

So now i can focus on more of the Christmas activities that I've been feeling like I missed out on last week. I'm way behind in my baking and picture taking. Have I ever told you how much I love my kitchen. It really is perfect for me. It has just seem so lonely lately without any treats being created. Now if I can just find my camera that Hubs packed up, then I could take some pictures of the baking about to ensue. To me that definitely takes precedence over unpacking those few boxes left.

Shopping Online

I've been doing a lot of shopping for Christmas online lately. I truly don't like to shop much and will generally do anything to avoid the crowds at the stores. But then I get to feeling a bit guilty. I see the shipping charges and think to myself "you really could have saved this money". But then I remember how cold it is outside and how I have to drag anywhere from one to four children with me. Once I calculate in the numerous potty breaks, snacks and tantrums avoided, I always decide that the shipping costs are well worth the hassle it saves me. Plus it has the extra benefit of getting something "fun" in the mail. Yes, I do like online shopping.

Flaky

Hubs and I are turning into some serious flaky people. We love flaky biscuits,flaky pie crusts, flaky pot pies, you get the idea. We never dreamed we would be flaky people. We always thought we were more consistent lovin' kinds of people. You know the soft, moist, spongy kind. You put something in the oven and your always guaranteed the same results over and over. That's not necessarily the case with something flaky. Some days it works out perfectly but other times there is just to much shortening to make it flake just right. But over the last year we have proved to ourselves and our families that yes, we are the most flakiest people they know. I guess flaky isn't always a bad thing. It can make for some delicious meals at least. It just really surprises us is all. Maybe we should join a meeting or something. We could stand up and introduce ourselves as Mr. and Mrs. Flaky. Do you think it would help?

Photo Hunters

This weeks theme is long. So here I am pondering what sort of pictures do I have that can be described as long. And I decided on a picture of a bridge that's close to our home. It's not the longest bridge in our area but I think it has some of the most character to it. Up until about six or seven years ago it was still in use. The scary part was that it was a one lane bridge. So when you would drive up to it you would check as best you could that no cars were coming from the other direction and if it was clear you would drive as fast as you dared to get across it. It was always a short adventure that felt much longer to get across than it actually took. But since school buses had to use that bridge (built around 1887), they decided to build a new "overpass" right next to it. Now the "Old Alton Bridge" is just a park for us to go walk around in if we want to. The kids love going there.

So here you can see what the LONG reinforced boards on bridge look liked. You can also see some of the LONG steel bars that make the shape of the bridge. (Sorry I know there is a technical name for these things but I don't know what it is and didn't just want to refer to them as the red thingies).


Here's another view of Old Alton Bridge.

I guess the days of driving across this bridge are LONG gone now but not the memories. Those will stick around for a LONG time.


So there's my take on this weeks theme. For other views on this week's theme visit TNCHICK.com or PhotoHunt

Packing Stinks

Let me just tell you that I truly hate packing. Whether it's a suitcase for a short trip or just reloading the diaper bag. But truly, the worst of it all has to be packing for a move. I detest it so much that I try to do as little of it as possible. I'm trying to talk Hubs into believing that we are suddenly rich and we should just hire professional movers to come and pack us up. He's having none of it though. No sirree, not my man. My man is way to manly to let someone else come in and pack up our prized possessions (and I use that term very loosely). Nope, my man wants us to pack ourselves up and then he wants to move us himself.

My manly man is out to kill me with packing. I did the very least packing I could possibly do during the day. You see in my world, tiny little elves, fairies or gnomes (I'm really not sure) come to pack up all our stuff while we sleep. So when Hubs gets home from work I proudly show him my two boxes of packed items. Hubs loves me to much to really tell me what he thinks of my two boxes but I can see it in his eyes. But I am not to get off that easy. No, not me. My sweet manly man starts to pack after he has been working all day. Then naturally I feel guilty so I start to help. During all this late night packing my four wild indian children are running around like crazy. Meanwhile I keep trying to convince him that really we should hire movers, all to no avail. So I keep on packing.

And just in case you don't know it... Packing Stinks.

Nap Time dilemas

I don't know when it started exactly or why. But A. is having some serious napping/bed time issues. I'll lay her down and she will scream and cry for at least an hour or more if I let her. It truly has just gotten so frustrating for me. But it's even worse when my one and half year old doesn't get a nap. So just pray that we both get over our nap time/bedtime issues. Because obviously mom has some issues also otherwise this wouldn't frustrate me so much.

Wordless Wednesday

Hangin' With the Big Kids

For other WW click here or else you can click here .

Catching My Breath

Ok, after the whirlwind of activity of the last few days, it's time for me to catch my breath. My mom was here this past weekend so we got to spend some fun time together. We were able to also get a lot of the kids present shopping done with out them being with us. Huge help for us. So thanks for that, Mom!

Then as some of you know, we have been looking to get a bigger house for over a year now. We have patiently been waiting for the right one. We put offers on two other houses but backed out because they just weren't exactly what we both wanted.

Well, Sunday we got a call to go and check out a new house which was almost finished being built. So we packed up and went to see if it was something we wanted to see inside of. And it was. So Monday we toured the inside of it and loved it. It isn't far from our current home so my children won't have to change schools and they can still see their friends easily enough. So all day yesterday we (and by that I mean me) were on the phone getting all the details hammered out. We signed the paperwork last night and we will be closing on our new home in two weeks.

So now we are in the process of getting our current home listed so we can either lease it or sell it. Hopefully everything will go smoothly from here on out. We are just going to be super busy trying to pack up and finish all the rest of the shopping needed.

Hopefully my sanity will remain intact. Well at least the little bit of sanity I had left anyway.

Busier than

a one legged man in kickin' contest. I promise to be back soon. Once Hubs has finished running me ragged. All is good though.

Happy Trails

The kids and I went out for a walk this morning. Only they specifically asked if we could go somewhere with a path or a trail. I agree but am thinking to myself "Where in the world do they come up with these things". So we went for a little walk along in an area I've been meaning to take them to for a while now. I was just waiting for it to cool down enough so the chiggers wouldn't be so bad. They were very excited to be able to walk through the wooded areas along the trails.

They were super excited to find a tree with a tree trunk that was hollow enough for them take turns hiding in.


They liked being able to walk across the bridge and being up high.But there all time favorite was dropping rocks into the water from way up high and hearing them splash into the water.

They spent a long time trying to decide who made the biggest splashes with their rocks. I think they decided it was a tie.
And now they are happily back home playing with one of the many sticks that somehow ended up in the van. You have to love it when the stars align just right for a nice morning out.

Wordless Wednesday

One of the views from our apartment: Merikoskik, Oulu, Finland


For other WW click here or else you can click here .

Welcome to Scroogeville

I've been informed that I may as well be Ebeneezer Scrooge. My children told me this. Why? Because when they were outside yesterday they noticed that we are the only house without any Christmas decorations or a tree up yet. They went down the block looking at all the houses and came back and said that "Eveeerryone has one but us" (just insert your favorite whine here).

And so the torture has begun. When are we going to put our tree up, what about the lights on the house? It's not that I don't put up our decorations early every year, I do. But this year I decided not to do it the weekend over Thanksgiving. Mainly because it would give me one less week of Baby A. pulling on the tree. I am now regretting it. The kids have been to the store with me and know I have new decorations, so they want them up NOW! I keep telling them to be patient we will do it this weekend but patience and my children don't get along very well.

Best Before Date

You know how any food product we buy has a best before date. Well I must admit to being one of those people who doesn't really pay much attention to it. Unless it's milk. I'm always checking that date. My Hubs on the other hand does check the dates on food. Which means he is always throwing stuff out. He looks at me and tells me "It's gone off" to which I always reply in my sweetest voice "Where did it go?". Just drives him crazy...I love to drive him crazy.

So this weekend Hubs decides that he can't find anything in our pantry. To him it was a disorganized mess, to me it was marginally organized chaos. I knew the general area of where something should be and usually found what I was looking for no problem. So Hubs decided to clean out the pantry and organize it.

He brought in the big garage trashcan and got to work. He organized, sorted and every now and then asked me a question. We decided that we could probably give all the baby food away since we don't use it anymore. We (notice how I count my comments from the recliner as help)tossed out two big bags of old food, stale chips and whatever else he saw.

In the process he found my most favorite chocolate bar ever. It's called a Geisha and I can only get it when someone brings it back from Finland for me. It had gotten lost somewhere in the land of macaroni and cheese. So for me, the entire process was now worth it.

The only problem was the best before date was past. Oh what to do, what to do. Well I decided to go ahead and keep it. It is chocolate after all and it's my most favorite chocolate bar ever and no one is going to Finland anytime soon to bring me back some more. So it got put back into the now half empty and very organized pantry where it wouldn't be lost again.

But it didn't stay there, instead my Geisha bar started to call my name, begging me to come and open it and see if it had gone white yet. Because once it had then even I would have tossed it out. So I opened it. And it wasn't all white looking. I still had hope. Would the hazelnut filling still be good? I decided to try it and see. And just as fast I took a bite, I spit it out. The hazelnut filling was old. So I had no choice but to face the fact that my last Geisha bar was most definitely past it prime. I'm so sad, my surprise find was not worth eating and even more humbling than that is that now I must tell Hubs that yes he is right, I really should be more aware of the best before date.

I can hear him laughing now.

Photo Hunters

This weeks theme is hot. So I thought of all the different things that are hot for me. With all the cooking going on in my kitchen yesterday I had tons of hot things to choose from. But then I would have had to stop cooking to take pictures and there was no way my family was going to let me get away with that. So it was after we were stuffed and sitting in misery on the couch watching football that I finally decided on this weeks photo.

I was freezing cold but couldn't light the fireplace since the pilot light hasn't been lit for the season. So I decided to just light a bunch of candles instead. And while it did give me the flames to watch it really just wasn't as good as a big fire. But I really hated to ask my poor Hubs to get up and light it since we were so full. And honestly all any of us really wanted to do was to suck our thumbs, curl up into the fetal position and take a long nap. So for my choice for this week, I settled on a couple of the candles that were lit last night as we tried to recover from the gluttony of our Thanksgiving dinner.


So there you have it, a very long commentary and one little photo to go along with it. For other views on this week's theme visit TNCHICK.com or PhotoHunt

On your Mark, Get Set **UPDATED**

GO!!

I've given thanks, eaten way to much and enjoyed my family. So today I get to go buy new clothes to fit my bigger body and not enjoy the crowds of other people out shopping. I wouldn't be going except I saw the cutest shoes in the ads yesterday. I was overtaken by the urge to have them. They have taken over my every thought and I have even dreamed of them in my pumpkin pie induced craze. So if you see a crazy lady in the shoe department with a definite sugar/turkey hangover. It's not me. It's one of the other millions of ladies out in the stores today.


Since I know your truly wondering what shoes would possibly get me out into the stores today, I thought I'd post a picture. So without further ado let me present my Skechers. Aren't they lovely?

Wordless Wednesday

Some Thanksgiving colors to warm your front porch.

For other WW click here or else you can click here .

Free Christmas Music

The nice folks at Provident Music label are graciously offering the bloggers of the world a chance for a free copy of Michael W. Smith's new Christmas CD. All the details are on this site--but you have to act VERY fast. Only the first 150 qualified bloggers will get a copy. So hurry up and go check it out.

Simple Plans

Since we aren't going anywhere for our Thanksgiving holiday and it will just be us at home, I get to be the cook. Not a big deal really. I've done the big meals before for just our family and they always turn out pretty good. But I decided that I wasn't going to go crazy cooking a ton of different dishes this year. Why should I when it is really just me and Hubs that eat the leftovers. So I bought a small turkey and plan on doing just a few sides. Nothing to big. But since my kids do love to eat in the dining room I am still planning on letting them use the good china and crystal ware (at least the big ones). I see no sense in saving it for when they get bigger. I don't get to use it enough as it is. And the kids feel very grown up when they get use the same plates as grown ups. I'm not saving the pumpkin pie either. Hubs and kids are welcome to cut a piece anytime they like. The sooner it's gone the better off my weight will be. So that's it for our simple plans, how about yours?

Some things never change

Hubs and I were laughing on the drive home from church yesterday. Why? Because it became obvious to me that some things just never change. Back in the day, when we were young we would get our high school yearbooks. And we would spend the next few hours pouring over all the pictures in them. Trying to find all our friends and anything else that would matter. Then we would spend the next few weeks trading the yearbooks with our friends so that they could sign them.

So why did this trip down memory yearbook lane happen. Well it's because we got our new church pictorial directory. So on the drive home I started to flip through it and look at pictures. I'd say to Hubs, "hey look here is so and so, what a cute picture" or "hey look this is the funniest expression I've ever seen a baby make" to which Hubs would just look at me with this strange expression. That was until I showed him our pictures. It's the same picture we have at home but for some reason it looks much worse in the directory next to all the "cute" pictures. He just shook his head and said great another cue ball pictures of me (he shaves his head bald by the way). Then he goes on to say that our oldest son Z. has the cheesiest grin ever to which I have to agree. He also needed a haircut really bad. Bad planning on my part when we took the picture. But we rescheduled it so many times it was a wonder we even got it done.

So we got to talking about how similar our church directory was to a yearbook. It's a really bad picture of us for everyone to see and keep for as long as they have the directory. So anytime anyone needs to put a face with our name they are bound to go "oh my" when they find us. I'm sure I'm not the only person who feels that way but in our case it truly is true. The only difference between the two is that this time I'm not going to get my friends to sign it for me and tell me to "Stay Cool and Never Change" because let's face it, after looking at that picture that is exactly what they are going to be wishing I would do...change, seek help, something please.

So yep, some things do never change. Bad pictures in driver's license, yearbooks and church directories are pretty much a guarantee in our household.

Photo Hunters

This weeks theme is I Love ____ (fill in the blank).

This was both an easy one and a hard one for me to decide on. There are so many things that I love. I love my family of course. I love coffee, which makes dealing with the youngest members of the family easier first thing in the morning. I love ice cream. So you see that was my problem, to many things to pick and chose from. But then I was reminded about how fast my kids seem to be growing up before my eyes. And so I decided that what I really love is being there for some of the milestones that we parents get to enjoy. Here are two that are just from this week alone.

The first time they learn to ride a bike without training wheels.


The first pre-school presentation that your child is in.



Hope you enjoyed my take on this weeks theme.

For other views on this week's theme visit TNCHICK.com or PhotoHunt

Best Turkey Ever

Tomorrow is the big turkey lunch that my son's school has to celebrate Thanksgiving. When Z. realized this he got so excited and declared that it was the best turkey ever.

Now me being me, I had to question him. How can he possibly think this since he eats my turkey every year also. Doesn't he know the turkey they serve him in the school cafeteria is probably some kind of compressed processed meat. Quite unlike anything we have on our Thanksgiving table. But Z. being firm in his declaration of his school turkey, says mom it is the best turkey ever. It's juicier. What! My nine year old has suddenly developed a sophisticated palette and says my turkey is not as juicy as the cafeteria variety.

What else can I do but throw up my hands. So I remind him how one day when he fondly remembers his mama's turkey he will suddenly realize how much he is mistaken. But for the time being I think I do know who has the best turkey ever. It's me, and he is asleep in bed now dreaming of his turkey lunch tomorrow. And just for the record my turkey is juicier.

I'm Five and I play Basketball

That is the new greeting you get from Hoss nowadays. He will tell anyone who appears to have a pulse and has even eyed the fence post lately.

He told the man at the grocery store, he told the lady at the register. He ran up to the fireman and paused just long enough to say "Hi Fireman" before he launches into his I'm Five and I play Basketball. He tells anybody who will listen.

This is because he has his very first basketball practice tomorrow night. It's his first time playing team sports. He has always been a spectator at all of his big brother Z.'s games. Now he realizes that it's going to be all about him. And in a family with four kids, lets face it...that's big time. We get to take him to practice and we all get to go watch him play his games. He is so excited that he can hardly stand it. He has been practising for over a week now at home and feels ready to go make lots of baskets at practice tomorrow night. That's pretty big stuff if your five.

Might as well be homeschooling

I've noticed a trend with my fourth grader lately. He goes off to school for eight hours a day. He comes home and he and I will work on various homework assignments for at least another hour and sometimes even two. All so he can do well on his TAKS test in the spring. I am doing so much proofreading and editing of his writing that it feels like I am in the fourth grade also.

So when I stop to think that my son is essentially doing school work for a total of ten hours a day, I often think homeschoolers have it right. They can spend what I hear is on average about four hours of true school work in the morning and the rest of the day is filled with other activities. Then I realize this is me we are talking about. There is no way I could ever be a homeschooling mom. I don't see myself as having the patience to deal with all that it truly would it entail. So where does that leave me...I guess back in the fourth grade doing a bunch of editing.

Worldess Wednesday

Two Tongues are Better than one!

For other WW click here or else you can click here .

Fall Into Reading- Sailing to Capri

I just finished reading Sailing to Capri by Elizabeth Adler and thought I would review it for the Fall into Reading over at Caddapiller Days. This was an impulse by at the store the other day. I was looking for a quick and easy read and this one totally fit the bill.

The story is about how a wealthy English tycoon dies mysteriously but leaves a list of six people who could have had something to do with his murder. He has hired a P.I., Harry Montana, to investigate it along with his dear friend and assistant Daisy Kean. They are instructed to get the six people on board a luxurious yacht and go on a cruise off the coast of Italy. There they will waiting for the real killer to make himself known somehow. Along the way both Harry and Daisy start to fall for each other. The real killer is naturally found out at the end and it proves to be quite the surprise.

While this is what I consider to be more of a light and easy read, I enjoyed it. The romance part of it didn't get so detailed as to make you think it was actually a true romance. But at the same time the mystery/suspense details didn't get so detailed that you were afraid to stop reading. It was a good combination for both. If your looking for a relaxing book with lots of great details for you to imagine the lavish lifestyle, then this would be a great choice.

Circus Time

Hubs and I took the kids to the Shriner Circus last night. We packed the kids into the van and left for our forty-five minute drive of torture to Ft. Worth. Four kids in the van that long, knowing they are going to the circus, well I think my husband and I deserve medals for having patience on that drive. They were bouncing off the windows to say the least. But, I must admit we big kids were pretty excited about it also.

So we get to the venue an hour before it starts. Where we find out it's open seating. So now we are faced with the dilemma of do we continue on our original plan and go grab a bite to eat before the circus at a restaurant. Or do we go get super good seats and let the kids play on the bounce houses, pony rides, etc. and spend a million dollars on bad food. So for once in my life, I was wishing we could go to MacDonald's at the very least. But the kids begged and pleaded (which honestly didn't take much convincing for dad) and went inside to spend way to much money. I must say we were warned however. The old man in the ticket box told my husband flat out, "Oh, there is all kinds of crap in there for you to spend your money on." And I must say, he was right.

We spent forty dollars on 3 boxes of popcorn, 3 cokes, 2 orders of nachos and 2 day old "fresh pretzels". Oh how I was missing MacDonald's about now. But we did get great seats and the kids got to go down and bounce on the bounce houses and ride some of the rides. We were also lucky enough to spend way to much money on cotton candy and plastic light up toys.

But the circus itself was great. The acts were a lot of fun for the kids and us. I truly don't know what people are thinking when I see some of the stunts that they do. The clowns were cute and did a great job making the kids laugh. It wasn't the big Barnum and Bailey Circus I had seen before, but I thought it was actually a bit better than that one. And to top it all off, they stuck someone into the human cannonball and shot him out of it. The kids really liked that. And they keep going back and forth about what was their favorite act. So they enjoyed themselves and so did mom and dad. It was a great family night out, even with the day old "fresh pretzels".

Photo Hunt

This weeks theme is flexible. I was trying to think of some of the everyday things we use that are flexible. What I came up with was some of the Bungee Cords that my Hubs keeps in his garage. The kids will pull these out and attach all sorts of things to the back of their bikes or Power Wheels trucks. They stretch them out pretty far but they always go back to normal. Pretty great invention if I say so myself.

Then as I was going through some of my old photos I came across this one of fire hoses folded neatly in the firetruck. I think they are pretty flexible considering the extreme amount of water pressure flowing through them. After they are all done they fold up so nice and neat.


For other views on this week's theme visit TNCHICK.com or PhotoHunt

Little Miss Independent

I have a very independent three year old. K. is the type of child that once she makes up her mind, then there is no going back. It was a great trait when it came time to potty training. She decided that she didn't want to wear pull ups anymore and that was that. She was done and only wore big girl panties after that.

K. has now decided it's time to be a big girl again. She went to bed Wednesday night telling me that she wanted me to take off the training wheels on her bike. I said okay we will try it out tomorrow and put them back on if you want. She just informed me that no she wouldn't need them anymore. So yesterday she reminded me that I needed to take off the little wheels on her bike. I took them off and then we began to work on riding her bike like a big girl. She had a few spills but never cried or got upset. She finally figured it out after about twenty minutes and was riding on her own after that. She still doesn't have the starting or stopping down yet (which is why my back is so sore today). But she said she'd learn that today along with the turns. Yes, my three and a half year old is very independent. Hopefully today I will be able to actually get some pictures of her riding on her own.

Just one more milestone to remind me how fast my children are growing up.

I've had it up to ear today

I know I am a dork using the whole here and ear wordplay. But I really have had it up to ear today. Hoss woke up with a bad ear infection which meant another trip to the Dr. But as I'm getting dressed, Baby A. comes up to me mad cause her new earring (as of last week that is) has been pulled out. By K. no less. So then I had to strip the bed (the one I just changed the sheets on) in order to find the missing earring and couldn't. So I give up and find another earring to put in her ear. Naturally it is a different size gold ball but it's all I had. Once I get it in I find the missing earring. No big deal I think, I will just take the small one out. But no matter how much I try, I can't get the darn thing off. And since I didn't want to mess with her ear anymore than necessary, I leave Baby A. with a mismatched set of earrings. For the time being. Maybe I should just let K. take this one out for me. Oh wait, I haven't remade the bed yet, better do that first so I can tear it apart again looking for the earring. Yep, I've had it up to ear the ears today.

Ah how we have fallen back

I must say that the fall back time change has been a good thing for us. The reason is simple, it's easier on the kids. My oldest son can now ride his bike to school in bright sunlight versus the sunrise. Which is a great thing as far as safety goes.

But the really important good change for us is at night. It has been so great that it gets dark earlier. We get the kids inside at an earlier time. We eat dinner at an earlier time. The kids get bathed earlier. And the best part...drumroll please.... the kids go to better earlier. Which means that there is more adult time. Yes, I can honestly say that I'm very glad that we have fallen back this week.

Wordless Wednesday

Another beautiful fall rose.

For other WW click here or else you can click here .

Is It a Bad Thing if..

instead of just washing and changing the sheets and towels on your beds you just run to Target and buy some new ones? It really kind of defeats the purpose since I am so freaked out about unwashed brand new things that I won't be able to use them until they are washed. But once I finally do get around to finally washing them, then I'll be able to enjoy them. Now I just need to find some new laundry hampers for the kids rooms and new bathroom trash cans.

Just one more way to avoid doing laundry.

Looky What I'm Learning

I'm finally trying to figure out all this photo editing stuff that everyone else seems to know how to do. I'm a bit of a slow learner since if it involves using the computer I will let Hubs figure it out and then explain it to me. That way I don't have to strain my brain or anything serious like that. This is also why my cool digital photo picture frame is still not on my mantle. Maybe I'll tackle that one next. Then again maybe I'll just pay better attention next time he tells me how to do it. But anyways I digress once again. Photo editing... my pictures... oh yeah.

Here is a picture I took this past summer of one of my Purslane flowers. It's a very pretty hot pink which I love.

But I'd wanted to get just the flower part and nothing else. So I spent some time finally playing around. I realized that I could trim the picture. Wow.. what a concept. So I trimmed. Then I added a bit of color saturation. Then I realized I could put text on the pictures. So I did, not that I'm a professional of any sort mind you. But since I figured out how to do it then by gosh I was going to. So now this is the end result.

Tell me what do you think? Are you completely shocked and awed that I am even excited about this bit of photo editing that any third grader can probably do. I mean it really is pretty easy stuff and I don't know why I haven't done it before. And I'm really not sure why I'm so excited about finally doing it now, but I am. Anyways, if nothing else, it gives me another chance to look at my pretty purslane flower this winter.

Announcing the Winner

Wow, I had close to two hundred entrants. That's just way to fun.

The winner of my earring and necklace set is

Laurel Wreath over at laurelwreathsreflections

I will be trying to contact you soon to figure out the details of shipping it to you.

Thanks to the rest of you for playing.

Photo Hunters

This weeks theme is classic.

The first thing that came to my mind was our friend Janne who came to the US from Finland and wanted to buy himself an old Cadillac. He would be able to restore this classic car and then take it back to Finland where he would be able to enter it in the American Classic Cars Competition over there. He found one while he was here and he spent many hours restoring his "classic baby". Here is an old Buick that belonged to another friend of ours.



During our time we lived there we went to a couple of car shows. For my husband and I, it was just cool to see the old cars. But for the Finns that we saw at the car shows, it was more than just cool. They were really impressed by them. This is because it's harder for them to get them over there anymore due to regulations required of a classic car. Here are a couple of pictures of the "classic" cars we saw while we were living in Finland.





We even saw some classic foreign model cars (these were of more interest to my husband and I then the American ones).



We also saw some classic tractors (who knew people actually cared enough about tractors to put them in a car show).


And some classic steam engines.


So there you have it, many examples of classic machinery. Hope you liked it.

For other views on this week's theme visit TNCHICK.com or PhotoHunt

Wordless Wednesday

Warning: Sitting to close to the TV may cause your eyes to bulge out.

For other WW click here or else you can click here .

Fall Y'all Giveaway

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. I WILL PICK A WINNER LATER ON TODAY AND POST IT. THANKS FOR PLAYING.


Like I've mentioned the Fall Giveaway is in full swing. I've entered lots of them so far and have been thinking of what I can add to the list.

I have finally decided on a necklace and pierced earring set. This set has some pretty lavender stones in a silver setting and chain. So if you like it then let me know.


I will leave this giveaway open until Nov. 2 and will chose a winner after that. This giveaway is open to anyone. I feel bad that so many of the international people are being left out, so enter away. Just leave me a comment (one per person) and be sure to leave me a way to get in touch with you either through your blog or email.

Head on over here to see what other giveaways are going on.

Planting time

It's that time again. Time to get ready to plant the flowers for fall and winter. And while the Vinca is still full and pretty, it was starting to show some signs of yellowing around the leaves. They just don't do as well once the cooler weather starts. So yesterday I had my sweet husband do the dirty work of pulling them up. He was very opposed to this since he thinks along the lines of "leave them in until they die completely". But he did it anyway. So this afternoon I had the help of K. and Hoss and we just finished planting two flats of pansies. They were also way to much help with it came to watering them. This is their favorite part of helping mommy's flowers. They are now in the ground and will have plenty of time to get established before the first real frost comes to our area.

Now all I have to do is replant two flats of my pinks (or dianthus) that my husband so kindly killed with weed poison at the end of the summer. I'm still not sure how he confused these pretty flowers for weeds but that's another story I guess. These are in the back yard so it's easier to plant them. The kids tend to wander off and play in the back, instead of helping me plant. These too should have plenty of time to get established before they die off for the winter. They will come back in early spring and surprise me with their pretty colors once again.

I'm still considering planting some bulbs also but haven't decided on which ones. It will probably be the daffodils since they do really well in this area. I always love seeing them in other yards and think it's time I enjoyed them in my own.

Fall Y'all Giveaways

The Fall Y'all giveaway is in full swing. So head on over here to see all the free goodies people are giving away. It looks like a long week for the fingers.

Fall Into Reading- Code Talkers

I decided that I would go ahead participate in Katrina's Fall into Reading over at Callapidder Days. I don't have an actual list created of what books I'm working on yet but thought I'd at least review the ones I finish.

I just finished Code Talkers by Joseph Bruchac. It is a novel about the Navajo Indians during WWII and how they created an unbreakable code. Since I've always been interested in history, this topic caught my attention. I had heard about them before but didn't really know much about them. While it is a work of fiction, the historical facts in the book are completely true. The details were not so great that I actually got bogged down, which is quite possible when your talking about war battles.

The story begins with a man telling his grandchildren about what his war medal is and what it took to earn it. The main protagonist is sixteen year old Ned Begay who was forced to go to a boarding school as a young child in order to learn how to become more "Americanized". He and the other Navajo children are forced to speak English only and not speak their native Navajo language. They are constantly reminded about how worthless it is to just be an Indian during this time.

When the war breaks out Ned is able to lie about his age in order to join the Marines and thus become part of a select group of Navajos who are fluent in both English and their native language Navajo. These men create their own code to be used during the war out of common words that are assigned to military terms. They then go on to train new men and add to this unbreakable code every few months. These men had to commit to memory everything they were learning and were sworn to secrecy. They were never aloud to speak of this code existence until 1969, almost twenty five years after the war ended.

The Code Talkers were vital to the many battles that were fought in the South Pacific and saved countless lives in the process. They helped to take back the islands of Guam, Okinawa and of course Iwo Jima. They were highly valued because of their ability to pass on information so quickly. Their fellow Marines and soldiers held them in very high esteem because of this fact until the war ended.

This story ends as Ned returns back to reservation after the war only to realize that he is once again considered a second class citizen because he is an Indian. All the pride that these code talkers had at being able to use their native language to help serve their country was sworn to secrecy. No one had any idea of the service they had performed.

While there are alot of details in this novel about war, you are primarily drawn to Ned's character and his emotions he felt during his life. He is a very likable character and you can't help but share his pain and joy. This is truly a story about hope and tolerance and how we should learn to just accept people and their differences instead of trying to wipe them out.

Photo Hunters

This weeks theme is pink.

With two girls I have plenty of pink to chose from. Especially when my oldest loves to wear the color pink. So I decided to use a photo of my daughter dressed in pink. But why stop there, we have somehow been given three pink big wheels of varying sizes. In this picture you will see my oldest daughter playing eenie meanie miney mow to decide which pink big wheel she wants to ride on. Meanwhile her older brother is patiently (or maybe not) waiting for her to make up her "pinkin'" mind. Somedays it's just so hard to be a boy in this house.


So that's my choice for this week. For other photo hunters visit TNCHICK.com or click PhotoHunt

Happy Birthday to Me...

Happy Birthday to me. Happy Birthday to me, so bring on the well wishes...I'm a hundred and three.

No really, I am not a hundred and three..yet. But my brother seems to think so judging by the card with the grim reaper on it. Some people just need to be reminded that they are older than you. Sorry to toot my own birthday horn but if I don't then no one will ever even notice. And I certainly can't have that, that would be very depressing. So save me from the depression of getting older and realizing that I now have to bake my own cake, since mom isn't close enough to do it.

Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll get a night off from the kitchen. And in case your wondering (or if your my husband who can never seem to remember my exact age) I am thirty five again this year. I liked it so much last year I thought I'd do it again.

Wordless Wednesday

Her first taste of dried corn.

For other WW visit Five Minutes for Mom

Because Once is Never Enough

I took the girls to the Pumpkin Patch this morning with our playgroup from church. It traditionally is a very hot and sunny day when we go on this outing. Today broke with tradition and the girls actually needed to wear sweaters. So for once it felt like fall at the Pumpkin Patch. The only bad thing about the weather was the strong wind. But the girls didn't seem to notice it much until it was time for our picnic. They enjoyed playing with the pumpkins or as A. likes to call them the balls. I had a horrible time getting them to emerge from the bounce house and only succeeded when K. had to go to the bathroom and of course they enjoyed their hayride.


It really surprised me that they weren't a bit more bored with the whole pumpkin scene since we went as a family on Saturday to another Pumpkin Patch where they got to ride a train. But of course they just take it all in stride and assume that everyday will be a visit to the Pumpkin Patch from now on. In all honesty I think I now have enough pumpkins in my front yard to be officially declared a pumpkin patch. Since we always let the kids pick one small pumpkin I think we are now at about ten pumpkins. They are all of various sizes, shapes and condition. Some of the smallest of them have been used as a bowling ball a few times so they really are showing their wear and tear. But what else am I going to do with all these pumpkins? Anyway the children always have fun and by the time next year rolls around I will have forgotten all about the wind and will be ready to do it all again.

Halloween Treat

I received a Halloween treat from Hootin' Annie this week. For no other reason than I happened to visit her blog and leave her a comment. She is passing out treats at random to bloggers that she doesn't know until the end of the month. She is hoping to have her treat passed on to other bloggers that we don't normally comment on or really know. So in keeping with her idea that is what I am going to do. For more info on how this works just visit Hootin' Annie. You can join in the fun at any time if you like.

I am going to pass this on to A Marathon Leap. I have been reading her blog about training for the Chicago Marathon but never left any comments. Initially, I was just drawn to what kind of person actually decided to do this sort of training and how intense the training schedule would be. But then she started to post pictures of the most divine looking cupcakes along with her training and so I was hooked and I continued to read. I was really disappointed for her when the Chicago Marathon was cancelled due to the heat before she was able to finish. But she has now signed up for a new marathon later in the year in Las Vegas just so she can reach her goal of completely a 26 mile marathon. Such dedication and drive to reach her goal deserve a Halloween treat.

So thanks to Hootin' Annie for the treat and I hope that A Marathon Leap enjoys her Halloween treat.

Hitter of the Month

Z. loves to play baseball as I'm sure the few of you that know me in real life know. Well he is actually pretty good (in my opinion anyways). But now he has been awarded the Hitter of the Month at the Baseball Academy that he goes to. Just another way for me to brag on my boy, I know. So just bear with me and grin and bear it. The month will soon be over.