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Chicken Daze

2011-07-09T19:38:00.000-07:00

Well, a lot has happen in my crazy chick world in the last month and a half. My 4 Barred Rock Roosters that I loved found a good home with my neighbor's mom. It was a sad day but I knew it was best. That left me with 10 chickens. By the end of May beginning of June all my chicks moved outside into their new coop. It seemed like they started to grow so fast after that because of all the yummy bugs and plants they were able to eat. It amazed me and still does how they can free range all day and then by 8:30 p.m. they all go back into the coop.

About two weeks ago Jay was sitting outside in the morning before work. He heard from inside the coop a cock a doodle do. I was so sad b/c I thought I had gotten rid of all my roosters. I thought it had to be Shan Shan, my silkie b/c it was not sexed when I got it. Less then a week later I let my girls outside in the morning and right in front of me Beauty, cock a doodled. I was taken back then it started to make sense because I knew she was the head of the girls but I thought she was the head gal, not a rooster. I bought her as a pullet, grr. I can tell she is a he now. I still call him Beauty. Hmmm... I am going to wait a little bit before I get rid of him.

On July 6th, my boy's b-day, I followed through with my itch to get some more chickens. I went to Fayetteville and bought 5 more. Two Black Australorps, one White Rock, one Silver laced Wyandotte, and a what we think to be a White Crested Black Polish. I spent extra for that one. They are 5 weeks old.

Now here is the run down of my birds:

Ameraucanas
1. Beauty
2. Marissa
3. Girly

Barred Rocks
4. Chloe
5. Gwendolyn

Silkie
6. Shan Shan

Black Stars
7. Pretty (I think she is just a Barred Rock but I bought her as a Black Star)
8. ? No name yet. She is very pretty with a black body with a shimmery green around her back and brown around her neck.

Production Reds
9. Lucy
10. Little Red

Black Australorps
11. ?
12. ?

White Rock
13. Sky

Silver Laced Wyandotte
14. Dot

I think a White Crested Black Polish
15. Fancy

I have let friends and family name a bunch of my chickens so they can feel apart of this fun venture. I am going to let my readers name the other gal (if anyone is reading this :) . Let me tell you that I want easy to spell and easy to say names. So give me your ideas for the ones with question marks.

Today I noticed Shan Shan had metallic blue ears. I had to read to see if this in normal and it is, so very cool. Also I caught her and got a comb and combed her down. She loved it. I told Jay that she is the closest thing to getting a cat I will ever do (not a big cat fan).

My two big Barred Rocks are probably my favorite because they are the most friendly I pick them up all the time and they seem to like it. I can't tell them apart so I might be picking the same one up all the time and not realizing it.

My next blog will be a picture blog of the coop and my gals + boy :(.

Don't forget to send me your name chooses!

A few things...

2011-05-24T08:20:00.000-07:00

A few things I've learned about chickens by reading:

1. They aren't noisy! Unless you have a rooster!

2. They aren't stinky! Unless you don't clean their coop!

3. They are sweet! Unless you mistreat them!

A few things I've learned about chicks by observing:

1. They aren't noisy! Unless I drop 10 worms in there brooder box, then they go crazy!

2. They are a little stinky, cause they are in my house and in a confined area. I do clean their box a lot and that helps a ton.

3. They are so sweet! I just had one chick that I know is a rooster now, fall asleep in my lap. I didn't want to move.

A few things I look forward to:

1. Getting fresh eggs
They are better for my family
Not having to go to the grocery store for them
Forcing me to find new recipes to try
Hoping that I can help others in need with them

2. Entertainment
I have heard that watching chickens can be better than TV.

3. Fulfillment
Knowing that I am caring for and helping these little gal.
Teaching my kids about responsibilities, working hard, and animals
Giving me something to look forward to each day

4. Seeing my gals grow up
Hoping that my dog, Peanut doesn't chomp on them. So far so good!

Wild and Crazy Chick!

2011-05-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

I have found a new venture/hobby/passion! "What is it?" you ask! Chickens!
Yes, living in Arkansas it doesn't sound that crazy to have them and the more I read about them the more it sounds like a good idea.

I don't know maybe a year or more ago I got on a kick, thinking I would love to live on a farm. I kept on telling Jay what a good idea it would be. He wasn't buying it. But then I got on a chicken kick not that long ago. I had heard of some people having some in there backyard and thinking that it was cool. About a month ago everything went into hyper-drive. My thinking about chickens turned into researching about them. I told Jay I was getting some and on our Anniversary dinner at a very fancy restaurant we talked about chickens most of the night. After the dinner we went and bought a book on them that a friend had suggested to me. I devoured the book and spent tons of time on the computer.

I wanted chickens to lay eggs, to have as pets, and to teach the kids responsibilities. I decided to start with chicks so they would be more friendly to us. Jay and I built a brooder box to keep them in while they are still little. On May 12th 2011, I got my first 3 pullets (female chickens under the age of one) they were 1 or 2 days old. I got Americanas. Olivia names one Marissa, Ike named one Girly, and I named one Beauty. We got them from the local feed store. Then four days later I went to Siloam and bought 6 straight run (nonsexed) Barred Rock that were 3 weeks old. I was hoping to get three hens out of them but it is looking more like two. I will have to give the cockerels away. City Ordinance, plus I don't want them. I also got one Silkie, she is a Bantam, which is a small beautiful fluffy chicken. I named her Shan Shan, after my good friend, Shanon that went with me on that trip. I haven't named the Barred Rock's because I know some are going and once they leave I will give the ladies their name's.

Well, today I just had to do it, I knew that the feed store had some Black Sex Link hens (a mixed breed that are really good layers) and I wanted some. I know some of my Barred Rocks were going to hit the road soon and I just hated the idea of not having very many chickens. So I got 2 blacks. So cute but I didn't check their vents and one had "pasty butt". Not fun pulling off a hard large poop off of a 4 day old. Hoping it will be fine..

I looked at tons of different coop styles and picked my favorite and Jay drew up the plans, he is such a smarty. Oh, he said he would build the coop but wants nothing to do with the chickens, that is all my job. I happily agreed. The coop is about 6 by 6 feet and about 6 foot tall. It is going to look like a shed but a little dolled up. The studs are up and roof is on but not the shingles. The run is going to be about 6 by 15 feet. There has been so much rain that I don't know when we will be able to finish it. I hope soon. My oldest chicks will be old enough to go outside in a week. I am ready to have some outside. 12 chickens in my house is a little crazy, once I think about it! Oh, I can't wait to post pictures of the finished coop and my happy girls.

Found a shirt at a thrift store a few days ago that I just had to get that said, "Wild and Crazy Chick" I think that sums it up pretty good!

Hair???

2009-02-22T06:53:00.000-08:00

*First off I got my husband's permission to post this blog*

My husband, he is a hairy man! I knew this the first time I laid eyes on him! He had big side burns in the shape of pork chops on each cute little cheek. Well today, after almost 9 years of marriage he brought the hairiness to a whole-nutha-level!

Jay, told me two days ago how he had a blister on his foot and it was bugging him. I didn't think much of it b/c blisters happen! Last night he was still complaining about it and I said maybe it was a piece of glass. He tired to show it to me at 11:30 p.m. but I was way to tired to look at his foot and see anything! So today I walked into the office with my man looking at the bottom of his foot! He was looking at the really tough area right below your big toe. Then I see him pulling out something. "Oh, a piece of glass", I think. NO, it was a hair, a half inch HAIR!!! Jay, does look a little like Michael J Fox...Teen Wolf....Na...............Maybe?

Oh, Breakfast Burrito!

2009-02-11T08:12:00.000-08:00

Wow, I am getting behind again in my own little blogging world! I have a few things in my life that are blog worthy to me, like my wonderful trip to Kansas City to the International House of Prayer, or my first 3 tiered cake I made for a church wedding shower, but instead I am going to blog about Breakfast Burritos! Ha, it makes me laugh just writing it!

Oh the Breakfast Burrito, yum! My man fell in love with them less than a year ago. Every fast food joint started making them and my man started buying them for a quick power boost as he went to work. Well, he raved and raved about Sonic's so I tried it, I liked it but I think Mc's is better. I went to go get my hair done yesterday and decided to pick up a yummy B.B. at Braums so I got one and went on my way. I started eating it and it tasted so meaty and opened it up and they forgot the egg and cheese! I went back and was super nice to them (I am afraid of spit, yikes) and they fixed it. So that brings me to today's blog. I have made a B.B. before at home many-a-times and they are good but I made one today and it was extra tasty! So this is what I did.

In a large frying pan I melted a tbsp of butter on one side of the pan. I put sliced onions on one quarter of the pan with butter and a handful of frozen hash browns on the other quarter where the butter was. I then put a frozen sausage pattie in the dry side. I flipped the hash browns when they got golden brown on one side and then added a little bit of butter to the last quarter of the pan and put two eggs in and scrabbled them up. I then broke up the sausage. I got out a large tortilla and sprinkled cheese on it and poured all the cooked food on top. I added some salsa (if you like it spicy add some jalapenos) and rolled it up and stuck it in the microwave for 30 seconds. This isn't a dainty breakfast, it will keep you going way past noon. Boy is it yummy and fast! I think it is so good because it has the crunch of the hash browns, the spicy of the salsa, the protein of the sausage and egg, oh and a veggie of onions :). Next time I think I will add some spinach and give it a little bit of a healthier kick. No more fast food places for me in this area!

The Big Bang!

2009-01-18T20:21:00.000-08:00

I made Chicken Enchiladas on Wednesday alone with some Spanish rice and some Avocado salsa. It all looked so yummy but there was one problem, I felt pretty sick! So my family ate quickly and then they went off to church. I decided to stay home and rest. I had a very small plate of the food and didn't really get to enjoy it because I felt pretty sickly. I made sure to pop the C's, Zinc's, and even gargled some Colloidal Silver that day. To my surprise I felt a little better on Thursday.

Thursday evening we were going over to Jay's parents home and Jay was going to work on his vehicle with his dad. His dad has just recently built a huge shop on his property to be able to tinker in during his retired life. I called that day to see if I needed to bring anything and told Jay's mom that I had made some enchiladas and I could bring them over. She said she had some leftovers too and I could do whatever I wanted. Those enchiladas were sounding mighty tasty so I knew I wanted to bring them.

In their 1500 sq foot shop Jay's dad has placed a large wood burning stove to heat the place. When we got there the parents suggested that we all hang out in there while the men work and the kids and the ladies could sit around the fire and eat. They said a few days earlier they had heated some food up right on the wood stove and ate out in the shop. I had my food in a 9X13 glass Pyrex dish. They told Jay to put it on the stove. I hesitated for a second but said nothing. Jay's dad started lifting Jay's car up with his special whatcha-ma-call-it and it made a load bang every foot or so (he said it was the safety lock). Once the car was at the correct height I was thankful because the noise made the kids crazy and me too. Then all of a sudden, BANG! But wait, that noise came from a different direction. Oh and wait I really can smell those enchiladas now! OH NO, my enchiladas had exploded! The glass shattered everywhere. I yelled, "DANG IT" Not because there was glass EVERYWHERE, no because I really really wanted those enchiladas and they were laced with glass! The men quickly cleaned it up. The glass was so hot it melted the dust can they were using. Jason's mom was hesitant to then put her food on the stove after that, but Jay's dad said it would be fine. It ended up being just fine. Her food was good, but you know when you just get your mind set on something, well that is what I had done.

I asked Jay tonight, "when was the last time I had made those Enchiladas"? We both agree it had been like 3 years ago. I don't think I will wait that long this time!

Dinner anyone?

2009-01-10T19:58:00.000-08:00

What can you do with 3 1/2 hours, a rotisserie chicken, and a 5 pound log of ground beef all on a Saturday night? Oh, I'll tell you what I did! I made a bunch of dinners for the next long time. It felt good. I used to do stuff like this before children but haven't found the time since. I think I am finding time again. Lets see, what did I make? Ok, two days ago I used a pound of the ground beef and made chili. So I guess I used 4 pounds tonight.

First thing I made tonight was a meatloaf and popped it in my fridge, it just needs to be baked. Next, it was a Spaghetti Pie. I haven't made one of those in forever. Again, all it needs is a good baking and it will be ready to go. Thirdly, I cooked some taco meat for a taco salad later in the week. The last of the ground beef, I made 4 hamburgers that I cooked. They will be eaten up tomorrow. That will be an easy meal after church tomorrow.

I bought my rotisserie chicken at Sam's Club (they are the best). I have looked and Sam's cooked chickens are sooooo much bigger than Wal-marts plus they are so close to the same price of the uncooked chicken that I can't really see why not to buy them that way! Well, I pulled all the white meat off and chopped it up into small cubes (4 cups worth). I saved the dark meat (thighs, legs, wings) for another meal we will eat. I split the 4 cups and made chicken enchilladas and with the rest I made chicken salad.

Now I have a fridge that is very very full and it feels so good. Anyone want to come to dinner? You bring the drinks!

New Blog

2009-01-09T08:12:00.000-08:00

I have started a new blog! It is just for documenting my journey to becoming a marathon runner. I though it would be fun to be able to see where I started and look at my progress along the way. If you want to check it out it is: http://myjourneytotwentysixtwo.blogspot.com/ or just go to my home page and get to it that way. Wow, two blogs lets see how I do keeping up with both :)

Splashing in the New Year!

2009-01-02T18:55:00.000-08:00

As I was lying in bed Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m. I decided what I wanted to do this New Years Eve. First let me tell you why I was in bed so late! I had gone to Siloam to see some friends that I hadn't seen in a long time that I had graduated high school with. Then afterwards I went and hung out with Shan, Trish, and Bleu until way too late! Right before I went to Siloam I had ran 8 miles on my treadmill. That distance is a first for me, just a little closer to my goal of a marathon! So all those things combind made me one tired lady.

Okay anyway back to what I had decided. I thought it would be fun to go to Branson for N.Y.E. and so I looked at some hotels online and called Jay at work and asked if he liked the idea. He said yes but said he wanted to stay at the hotel with the water park inside it. I looked into it and got us all ready. We were off by 5 something. Let me tell you that I hate that drive there. It is up and down and side to side. I always feel so car sick and this time was no different and even my boy kept on saying he wanted to go home cause he felt sick. Poor little guy! We made it and ordered a pizza and ate it in our room. Then we decided to go to the water park that night cause it was open until 10:00 p.m. and we thought we would go crazy and let the kids stay up late. They had such a blast! Splashing, going down a kiddie slide, and hanging out on an intertube on the lazy river. I decided I would just get in the next day and boy was I hot in that place. I felt like I was in a sauna! We left around 9:30 p.m. and got a few snacks then got in bed and watched TV. The kids hung on almost until midnight but not quite. Actually I didn't even make it until midnight!
The next day included me going to the Outlet mall while the kids and Jay went to Breakfast. When they picked me up they told me someone had payed for their meal and they got a card and it said that it was a "Random Act of Kindness" and that we should pass it on. How fun is that! After the mall we went back to the water park and this time I joined in. I spent most of my time in the pool like hot tub and the kids decided they liked it also. After we had our fill of the water park we killed 4 hours driving around and shopping and then we went to the IMAX at 6:00 p.m. to see "DEEP SEA" it was very interesting and the kids got a real kick out of it! After it was over we headed home. Ike was out like a light before we even had left Branson's city limits and Olivia didn't make it much further. It was funny to hear them snoring all the way home! It was a short trip but a good one.

Oh I forgot, the hotel we stayed in had the world's largest Banjo in it. I can't believe I had forgotten to mention this earlier :) Ok, now I am done!

I didn't know three could mean so much!

2008-12-26T17:27:00.000-08:00

Boy, I have been out of the blog loop for awhile and now I am ready to get back in. I can't believe Christmas has come and gone this year. I feel like my brain has been in a constant state of fuzziness for the last few months. This year has proven itself as a difficult year for me. Not one particular event has been the down fall but more like a mound of events that seem to have suffocated me! I could go into what those events were but I seem to think that for the most part they are pretty irrelevant. So right now, this is where I will start!

Today I was in the car with Jay and I said to him "2009 will be the year of organization, for me". I am a person that needs structure and this past year it has been lacking. So are you bloggers thinking, "is she going to give me her New Year Resolution List already". Heck ya, I am!

This first one is probably my most challenging one and one that is the hardest to tell you all because if I don't follow through with it I will feel pretty silly! Which makes me also want to really tell you all so that I will follow through with it. Alright here goes, I am going to run a marathon around my 30th b-day! That means I need to start training NOW.

Number two; was mentioned earlier in a pretty broad fashion, "organization" and I will break it down just a little more. I want to start making meal plains, start having house cleaning schedules, have weekend idea lists, a better budget, more family fun times, read more to my children! I need to say "NO" more to outside events. Have more date nights with my hubby and more one on one time with my children.

Last and definitely not least, I want to discover more who God is. I think I have been holding on to "Religion" and not working on my relationship with God. He is why we are here, not religion. We are to worship Him, not religion and it is about time I do some major sitting down with Him and learning more about Him. I really believe God has been asking me to do this for a while and fuzzy headed me hasn't been listening. I am ready to Listen Lord!

So those are my three. I see a lot of work ahead but oh just look what I have to gain from them all!

Jessica Brower McGonigal

2008-12-04T07:10:00.000-08:00

Fall of 1990 was the year I became friends with my BFF Jessi. It wasn't the first time that we met because we had attended the same elementary school and even road the same school bus but there was something about our 6th grade year where we just clicked. Which is quite funny since we started out pretty different. Jessi; super cute, little princess, outgoing, instantly popular. Myself; awkwardly cute, princess of mud, tomboy, not so popular. None of those things made us have one bit less fun with each other.

Once we became friends there was rarely a weekend that we weren't together. We would go rollerskating, go to the the movies, the mall, pretty much everywhere. Sometimes we would be out and about and we would act like we spoke another language around strangers. We would just laugh about it all the way home. I spent so many night at Jessi's house and we would make up songs, dances, and play play play. When morning came I always would wake up like an hour before she did. Not knowing what to do with myself I would just sit there. She wasn't a morning person and I was okay with that!

Summers would come and there was no separating us. The summer of 1992 was one of my favorites. That was the summer that Jessi invited me to go to her grandparents vacation home at Lake Anna in Virginia for 4 days. We had a blast! We went water skiing, tubing, and just lounged around. I felt so apart of her family.

There is so many more memories I want to mention like the time when Jessi and I made our time capsule in 7th grade. We worked so hard digging the hole and collecting our items to put in it. Our big mistake was, we didn't mark were we put it in her woods. One day I will find it! Another small event that made a big impact was one day Jessi and I were hiking in the woods and she slipped and almost feel into a shallow river bed, I ran and pulled her up. The next day she had made me a metal and said I saved her life :). A few things Jessi and I loved was music, roller skating, and making up dance routines. So naturally we have a video of us doing a roller skating routine to Mariah Carey's song "Some Day" Jessi and I even tried out for the talent show singing "Save The Best For Last - Vanessa Williams" but thankfully we didn't make it. We couldn't sing!

I moved to Arkansas the middle of my 9th grade year. Before I left she gave me a poem called " My Bestest Friend" that is hanging on one of my walls today. We had a lot of distance between us in high school and college but always would get each other caught up with phone calls or visits every year or two.

She was one that I shared many first's with and she was the one that stood by me as I married my husband. She taught me a lot and I think I taught her a thing or two also. She really was my BFF.

May 20th 1979-December 17th 2007 I love you Jessi!

29th Birthday

2008-11-12T12:10:00.000-08:00

I said I wanted to tell you about my Birthday weekend so here goes! Saturday the 8th, I planned a girls night out for my b-day. I sent an e-vite that said "A hip new Game Show is looking for adventurous contestants in the Northwest Arkansas area. Have you got what it takes to conquer the competition? This is your chance to make it big! Wow us with your game show prowess, and join the host for dinner afterward to celebrate your success." That is all the girls knew about the night except to meet at Jason's work at 6:00p.m.!

On Friday my sweet dear cousin drove from Tennessee to spend the weekend with me. He got here around 11:00 p.m. He knew what I had planned and he wanted to help out! Well, on Saturday morning Jason and I got up at 5:45 to go run a 5K race at the Pea Ridge Battle Field. IT WAS COLD and the run was hard but we did it! Bryan stayed home with the kids and when we got home we got ourselves and the kids ready and went to a Jason's company party at Fastlanes. We ate and played games and had a lot of fun with the kids. We got home around 1ish and put the kids to bed for a nap. From that point on we were working on the final details to my girls night out b-day party. Well 6:00p.m came and this is how it played out:Jason greeted the ladies at the door and they had to sign in. They sat in the lobby and we did some small talk. Once everyone arrived my cousin took them into the "green room" (cafeteria) and put them into two teams. He explained that he was the Production Manager and that we were going to play "Friendly Fued" each team had to come up with a name and make a sign. He explained the rules of the game and then it was show time.Prior to this night I had made up a bunch of questions and surveyed about 50 people and tallied the answers. I asked Jason if we could use his theater room at his work b/c it felt like a studio. I borrowed a camcorder so that we could film it. Jason put all the data on the computer so we could project the answers onto a big screen in the theater. He also got the theme song to play and some sound effects from the show. I had also went around to buisness to see if they would donate items for my goodie bags that I had for each lady. The goodies bags turned out pretty good.

The night turned out great! The game was fun and afterwards I opened gifts then we went out to eat. It wasn't the normal b-day party and I loved it. I am going to make a copy of the video and send it to each lady as a little momento!

By Request

2008-11-11T17:42:00.000-08:00

I have gotten a few requests to show some of my latest auction buys, so here they are!!!
The table and chairs I got out of the paper and it needed a little work. I had to recover the seat cushions , refinish the top, and spray paint the chairs and base but it turned out well. When I saw the side table at the auction I thought it would go so well with my table and it does. Even the stuff on the side table I got from the auction. Jason and I have had so much fun with the Fooseball table. I think I am finally out of the dog house!

What was I saying?

2008-11-09T16:30:00.000-08:00

Okay, today is my birthday and I had a great weekend. I can't wait to tell you all about it but first I want to share a little video with you! Maybe it won't be funny to you all but myself, my husband and my cousin can't stop laughing over it so I am sharing. The funny part is in what I say or in what I am trying to say, so listen carefully!!

Cakes, Caves, Chaos

2008-10-28T07:07:00.000-07:00

My last cake class for course one was last night so I want to show you my last cake of the class. I really enjoyed the class, I feel like I learned a lot! I have been practicing on large cookies and cakes that I have brought to church and I think I am getting the hang of it.

I haven't written in awhile. Life is busy. I didn't realize what a big adjustment it was going to be with O going into Kindergarten. We had a parent teacher conference last night and I cried. I am such a nut! I just worry about my little baby girl. The things they have to know in Kindergarten blows my mind!!! O is doing good just need to work on some areas where she is a little behind. I am just going to work with O (and try not to pull my hair out) and pray that God will let this information stick and she will become a smarty pants like her daddy!

My MOMS 4 KIDS group is going pretty well. This school year I have started doing field trips such as; a Krispy Kreme tour (you can call and set up a tour) the kids had a blast! We went to a pumpkin patch, got a pumpkin and had a hayride, fun! We are going to Fun City next month! I also started making a theme for each month. Last month was COLOR. We dress in a different color each week, we made play dough for the craft of the month, we only colored with the color of the week. It turned out cute. November is going to be a month of MANNERS. I thought that was appropriate because of thanksgiving and being thankful and all. Also two months ago my mother in-law and myself taught (the ladies that wanted to in the group (about 5 women)) how to make sock hats. We are giving them to the NWA Children's shelter! We have about 40 hats made and they are so cute! So that is what is going on in my moms group.

About two weeks ago we went camping at Devils Den. It was our first time to go camping with the kids and they had a blast. They did the caves, wow my kids are braver than I am! It was fun. We went with family from Tulsa (Hi Terina) and Grandpa and ma! We are already ready to go again!

I guess I am going to bring this up too, while I am at it. I went to an auction this weekend. I thought I was in trouble with Jason last time... Oh no buddy, this weekend was much worse! I bought a dresser and mirror, Foosball table, two side tables, a office filing table that I am using for a sofa table, a DVD player (that doesn't work, oops), a pressure washer, a tent, home accent pieces, a few toys, and I think that is about it. Yikes, I think I am not allowed to go to an auction ever again.

First Cake

2008-10-14T18:02:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post my first decorated cake from my cake decorating class that I am taking right now! I am pleased with how it turned out. I am excited to keep on learning new techniques.

Yes, I tried it and it tastes good!
No, I am not doing well with abstaining from the cake and icing! Weak, weak I am!

The Battle

2008-10-08T07:28:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago I decided to eat better. I went to a Nutritional Counselor and she gave me some ideas and put me on a month long body cleanse. I have lost almost 5 pounds and I feel like I am on the right road.

About a month ago I had signed up to take a cake decorating class that started last Monday. One of the strategies that this class emphasized is practice practice practice! That means I need to make a lot of cakes and icing to practice.

Does paragraph 1 and paragraph 2 belong to the same person? Is it possible to have a normal life with these two paragraphs together? Will those 5 pounds lost turn into 50 pounds gained? I have a cake in my house right now, what will happen to it? Stay tuned to hear the gripping details of the battle between good and evil.

Good Deal

2008-09-28T19:53:00.000-07:00

I went to an auction yesterday. I haven't been to many auctions but I enjoy them when I go. You can get great deals on almost anything! My first auction I went to I bought a floral cooler for Jay and for a good deal. It was/is huge and I had to hire a tow truck company to move it, Jay wasn't too happy. I bought it for him because he brews his own beer and I thought it would be good to keep his beer in. Well, over a year and half later it sits in our garage untouched.

Back to the auction yesterday, I tried to get Jay to go but he didn't want to bring the kids so I went alone, big mistake, Jay! I get there a little bit before it starts around 9:15 a.m. There was a ton of stuff, I mean a ton! Most of it was in big Rubbermaid bins. Well, I bought a lot, not even knowing what was in the bottom of the bins but liking what I saw on top. Just so you know I would only pay like 2 dollars for the bins. Then I bought something that would make my hubby mad at me the rest of the day. da da dom! I thought I bought a dorm style bedroom loft thing. I thought it looked neat. I got it for $50, which looked like a great deal! Well, I had to call Jay up and say he needed to go get his father's truck (which was 30 minutes away) and drive it to the auction (which was 45 minutes on top of that) and pick up something I bought. I had some time to kill while waiting on him to get to the auction, so I went over to my loft bed stuff. I realize that it was actually two complete sets. It had a computer desk, bookshelf, another shelf with 3 little drawers, and rails to set on top of it all X2. I started to get nervous thinking Jason was going to have to make more than one trip!

Well, he arived and sure enough it all wouldn't fit. We had to make two trips, my man was not happy! I said sorry a lot yesterday! This is his mad face at me!
This is the junk I bought in the bins (There ended up being some pretty cool stuff in there!

This is it, my loft bedset!!! Doesn't it look great! Can you believe it, I got this for 25 Dollars! Yes, it did take all day to get and it wasn't fun bringing these pieces up the stairs and no Jason didn't forgive me for quit awhile but it turned out great. This is in Ike's room and we still have to set up O's 25 Dollar bedroom set next! I do find some good deals!

Dollars and Sense

2008-09-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

I like Birthdays; loud, food, singing, excitement, friends, family, fun, oh and gifts! I like to do them up BIG!, not just mine but others too. I know some of you know this about me already but hey, some might not. The one area I am bad at when it comes to Birthdays is if you don't live close to me then I tend to forget about your birthday, sorry. Anyway, I had a friend who had a B-day last Thursday and I wanted to take her out cause she totally deserved it!

Disclaimer: I am sharing this because it was fun and different not because I think it is the best idea ever.

Okay, so we decided that Friday night would be her night! I picked her up at her house and I took the nice unexpected photo shot as she was opening the door.Then once in the car I handed her an envelope with a b-day card inside along with a little piece of paper that said "TASTE" on it. I proceed to tell her that today is "JAINA'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION OF DOLLARS AND SENSE" and tonight will be a night of awakening Jaina's senses. So we make a quick stop at the car wash because my car was horribly dirty but that was not part of her celebration it was just an extra bonus for her because I asked the guy for lollipops and he gave them to me and I gave them to her, score! Did you like that super long sentence? Okay so for "TASTE" I took her to Texas Land & Cattle Steak House, I hadn't been there but she said she liked meat and I wanted to be near the promenade, so that is where we went. We had great steak dinners along with a b-day song and a free yummy dessert! Then it was time for her next envelope that had the word "SMELL" in it along with $5.oo. I told her that she had to find something she liked that smelled good for 5 bucks and that is how it was going to be for the rest of the night. She had $5 for each of the senses that were left. Well the first shop we went into was Sephora and we smelled perfume for a long time that was a lot more than $5 but it was still fun. So then all of a sudden we noticed that the store was closing, so I thought okay we will just go on to the next shop in the promenade and then I noticed all the shops were closing. I couldn't believe it it was already closing time and I didn't have a back up plan. Well we sat in my car and I tried to think what we could do and all I could come up with was Wal-mart and that didn't sound like very much fun. I decided to try T.J.Max and thankfully it was still open but for just a few more minutes. We struck gold, she found the rest of her senses in that store and got some really cute items; tea cup and saucer, platter, panties, and salt grinder. Don't ask me which one item went to which sense cause it was a bit of a stretch but it was fun. I think Jaina had a fun night and I know I did too. Now it is time to plan my birthday, only 49 days to go!!!

In the mood!!!

2008-09-16T08:45:00.000-07:00

Cool weather gets me in the mood! No, not THAT mood (sorry dear), the mood to get crafty. First let me back up a little. I have been living in my house a few days short of 3 years. I love my house but I see projects everywhere. I think this is cause I watch too much HGTV!!! I am not one of those people that move into their house and totally decorate it right off the bat. One, because that takes a lot of money and I don't got it! Two, because I am a little more eclectic and I buy things for a room when I find something I like! So back to the mood! My latest project was to make a headboard for Jay's and my bed.

Quick side note! For the first 4 months of Jay's and my married lives we slept on the floor, we had no bed! I look back on it now with fond memories of being the poor young happy married couple. Now, our bed consists of $30 rails we bought and a mattress and box spring that a couple in our old church gave us cause they wanted a new set (thanks Sylvia). All of that to say, we can be thrifty!

So, my thrifty self decided to make a headboard. I bought the fabric under $15 (on sale), foam $18 (with coupon) , and batting $8 and Jay had a piece of Plywood I could use (free). We measure the size I wanted and I used the circular saw (which Jay didn't want me to cause he said it is real dangerous, but I laugh in the face of danger and used it (with Jay's instructions) and did it. Once cut, we (Jay helped me do this project, I need to give him the credit too) adhered the foam, stapled the batting and stapled the fabric and wala (is that how you spell that?) we've got ourselves a headboard. Down the road I want to put a frame around it and we need to attach it to the wall but for now it is just sitting pretty behind out bed. Here are some pictures of the headboard. The colors aren't as true in the photos as in person. My bedding has the color of my headboard in it!
Next project, Shannon's coming over tomorrow and we are painting my kids bathroom! Fun Fun!

Fall, you got me at hello!

2008-08-29T06:24:00.000-07:00

Fall is approaching at rapid speed and either I will try to ward it off or jump on and ride with it. The warding I guess is not practical because I would lose and I don't like to lose. I just feel a little cheated this summer. We had such an unseasonable amount of rain earily summer and then a cold snap late summer. My pool did not get the use I was hoping for from my family. Don't get me wrong I did enjoy the summer a ton, I just wish I had a little more of it! So I guess I will do the hopping on of fall and embrace it! Which won't be to hard because it is one of my favorite time of year. I am a fall gal in so many ways. First off, who doesn't like to get a warm comfy sweater on and go on a walk, crunching through the leaves! And those colors, my colors! Not only are they beautiful to look at in nature they look beautiful on me! Well the last part is a little bit of a stretch but I like to wear fall colors, browns, greens, oranges. If you know me, that makes up my wardrobe. This time of year makes me think of family and togetherness, I don't know what it is, but I look forward to it. Okay, no warding off fall, I am ready for you. And summer, I will see you next year and please remember to bring plenty of sunshine!

Oh baby!

2008-08-18T19:07:00.000-07:00

Today my girl asked me if I bought her and Ike when I became a mommy! Oh, I see a sex talk in my near future, kiddie version of course!

M4K

2008-08-14T18:04:00.000-07:00

I have been working on my M4K (my moms group) back to school kick off party for the past two days. We still meet some in the summer but things get in full swing once school has started. This is the flyer I did and today I posted it up around town. My kids hated getting in and out of the car about 50 times for me to hang flyers!

Now I am working on the goodie bags that each mom will get. So far each bag has a :
-notebook
-box of crayons
-stickers
-small bag of animal crackers
-an 8 pack of Dayspring note cards

I need a couple more items but they need to be very inexpensive cause I am working on a small budget, any ideas? I thought about hand lotion or something like that but I need to get it for around .50 each. Know of anywhere, friends?

Things I still need to do:
-Contact local pizza places and see what deals they can give me
-Get a craft idea and activities together for the event
-Make a M4K September Calendar of Events
-Brainstorm on field trip and guest speaker possibilities for upcoming months
-I am waiting on a call to see if a local business will cut me a deal on a moon bounce, hope so!

I am excited for this new year of M4K. I'll give updates!

The Blues!

2008-08-01T16:59:00.000-07:00

Yuck! It is a Friday night and I am home with Strep!! The kids are at V.B.S., and actually that is where I am suppose to be too cause I was a leader. I don't think many parents would be too happy if I was leading their kids around when I have Strep so I stayed home. My hubby is on his way to a week long backpacking trip in Wyoming so no help from him! Not to mention I am going to miss him terribly. Love you baby, have a blast while your sickly wife tries to take care of your two children. No really, I do hope he has fun and doesn't end up getting this while he is gone.

One good thing is the 3 Ibuprofens have kicked in and my throat and ears don't hurt so bad. I started my antibiotics today also so I want this bug to leave me ASAP!!!

New subject. In less than 3 weeks my life is about to get flipped upside down. Da Da Dom! My little baby girl is going into Kindergarten. Ahhhhhh. Ok, I know moms have to go through this (the ones that don't home school) but it doesn't make it any easier on me. I know O is going to love it but I am not sure how Ike is going to take it. He will be losing his partner in crime. I have to admit I am looking forward to seeing how he interacts with me, and how his personality grows without his big sister beside him. I have my little worries about O in school. I sometimes see how she is babied because she has some speech issues and she is so little and cute. I just want her to thrive and love to learn and not struggle academically like I did. Pray that God will give me a peace with this area! It seem like just yesterday that I was holding her in my arms!

My beautiful girl a few months old!

My beautiful girl a few months ago!

(My boy isn't too bad looking either)

I will make it, just needed to vent! Okay, now I have to go pick up my kiddos from V.B.S.!

Summer Fun

2008-07-22T14:19:00.000-07:00

Boy, the last few days have been so busy and fun that I want to share them with you all!

Thursday- I was listening to K.L.R.C (a christian radio station) and called in and won a $20 dollar gift card to a christian book store and a large pizza! Fun Fun

Friday- Okay this one is a big one for me b/c I have been wanting so badly to do this for the last two years. We went CANOING! Yeah, Yahoo, Yippy! Okay, to some of you it doesn't sound very fun and even a little red neckish. It is pretty red neck in these parts and we did see a lot of them but I still had a blast. Jason took a half day of work which is a miracle and we went to Noel, MO. It didn't start out so well, Jason forgot our water bottles and snacks in the car so he had to get driven back to car while O, Ike, and myself waited at the water edge. The kids had fun playing while we waited so that was good. Right as we started on the water a group of 4 canoes came close to us and were drunker then skunkers! The potty language that they were using was absolutely horrible. It made me want to row like the wind to get away from them but it didn't take long to get away and thankfully my kids were oblivious! After that it was smooth water. We saw turtles, ladies in tiny bikinis that should not be, fish, a lot of drunks that were friendly, but no snakes to my boys disappointment! I wanted to bring our camera but was afraid that it was going to get wet, so no pictures :( We ended up having a really nice time, the kids did fantastic and I can't wait to go again.

Saturday- Another big day! Let me give you a little background first. I started a group in my town a year and a half ago for "stay at home moms". We aren't a huge group but we have done a lot of neat things like: A food drive, touch a truck, parties, ladies night out, family night, walked in our town's parade, recipe swaps, field trips, and so one. Okay back to Saturday, we decided to have a float in the parade this year. So a few days before the parade, I had the moms make signs and then on Saturday morning I put together our float. I picked a beach theme and we had the kids dress up in their swimsuits and the moms had bright color tops on! I put a ton of sand (no really, it was 1 ton of sand) on a flatbed trailer and decorated accordingly. Well, the line up was at 5:00 p.m. the judging at 5:30 and the parade at 6:00 and boy was it hot. The kids did amazing and we won "best overall" and "best children's" for our float, I was so happy and very surprised. The kids did great playing and throwing candy! Here are a few pictures.

Sunday- Can't remember a lot of it, other than church and VBS meeting!

Monday- I had Step Aerobics at 8:30 a.m. than I ran to the grocery store at 9:30. Next, I meet up with some ladies from aerobics class and their kids at a little water park at 10:00 a.m. Rush rush rush home at 11:00 a.m. to have my moms group (it's called MOMS 4 KIDS, but I will use M4K when I talk about it) over for a pool party and cook out! I had about 6 mommas and 10 kiddos. I am tired just thinking about! It was a fun day and both my kids ended up taking a long nap so that was nice cause I vegged on the sofa the rest of the day, pretty much!

That leaves today, Tuesday- O and I had a girls day out! I dropped off Ike at Grandpa and ma's house and O and I went shopping for school clothes and supplies! Again, it was sooooooooooooo hot and we went to an outdoor mall for part of it and that was a bad mommy move, but we survived. Then O and I went out to eat and she just loves to eat so I think that was her favorite part. Our last stop was Wallie World (Wal-Mart) and we got her supplies. It was nice to spend a good part of my day with my precious girly. Then tonight I am going out with some of my favorite people to celebrate a good friend of mine's birthday! Happy Birthday, Shannon!!!

Well, that is it, my last few days. Hopefully you are still awake.

A Little Wake Me Up!

2008-07-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

Today I went outside around 8:30 a.m. to water some newly planted plants. It was a beautiful morning; cool, soft breeze, and the sun shining through the trees. I get done watering and drop the water hose to close my pool gate and then all of a sudden SQUIRT! The hose landed on the handle and totally sprayed me in the face. It was quit the shock and a good wake me up. I laughed and said to God "Very Funny". I love how even in the little things God can make his presence known. The little squirt in the face for me, was God saying "You are looking all around and seeing the beauty I have created now wake up and give me the Glory" Thank you God for blessing me with so much and thank you for your sense of humor!

Ike's Music Video

2008-07-09T13:14:00.000-07:00

Pictures, Pool, and Pokey Hair

2008-07-09T12:40:00.001-07:00

We have been enjoying our pool this year! It hasn't been incredible warm yet but the kids don't mind. My O has come leaps and bounds since the end of May, when we opened our pool. She can now jump off the side of the pool and the diving board. About a week ago she started swimming with only one floaty and just this past Sunday she found out that she can swim without any floaties. What a big girl!!! She told Jay and I on Sunday "I am so proud of myself, I was afraid and now I'm not" She now goes all around the pool in her frog/doggy pattle style swim. Its not the most beautiful swimming but she makes it look so cute. Ike is doing a lot better around our pool too. The last incident has made him more cautious near the pool.

Well, I wanted to show some pictures, so enjoy!

On the 4th of July

Ike is sporting the pokey hair!

Ike's B-day cake!

My big girl!!!

Jay crossed his eyes on purpose!

Wanted to show you the flowerbed that I have been working on. It will some day have a fire pit in the center.

I had to add this picture because of the wings coming out of Ike's head!

This is the first time I have added pictures so sorry they are all over the place! I hope you had fun looking at them anyway!

What was that thing?

2008-07-01T07:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was outside working in one of my flowerbeds and the most unusual bug flew by me. I reached out my hand for the buglet to land on so I could examine it. It was the size and shape of a small mosquito but it was covered with a fluffy white fur like a Pomeranian dog. It was cute yet mosquito like so I decided I didn't want it on my arm any more and shook it off and it flew away. What was that thing, a Pomeranian Mosquito? I wish all bugs were more fluffy looking and less leggy and icky. Maybe we would have domesticated them if they were better looking like that one?

Burn Baby Burn

2008-06-27T08:32:00.000-07:00

I have always considered myself an athlete! I played soccer from age 4 up until 18 years old. I stayed pretty active with running, hiking, and other activities up until the conception of my first child. Then I gained a whopping 60 pounds with her, wow! I lost a big chunk of that (but not all of it) partially because I got introduced to step aerobics. I didn't know if I would be able to get the moves down but I was happy to find out that I could because of a great instructor (thanks bleu) . I even continued taking classes during my second pregnancy!

I moved away from the town I was living in shortly after my Ike was born. The first year in my new town was hard. The first week after moving my appendix ruptured and I was down and out for a month or so. Then it was winter and it was cold and no friends and lots of eating and no exercising! Waa Waa. Anyway, spring came and I could get outside. One reason I picked my house was because I have a big chunk of land to play on. It is a lot of maintenance but I see that as playing still! Now I had my exercising again. I enjoyed mowing and weeding and picking up a million sticks but I needed something more. I couldn't see myself driving 45 minutes one way to take step aerobics with my favorite instructor :) but I needed to find something! I found it, an activity center 12 minutes away that has step aerobics, yay, yippy! So now I am back into the swing of things! I take aerobics 3 times a week and the center watches my kiddos for free. I love it! I think why step aerobics and myself jive so well is because I feel like I am dancing (not that I am any good) Well, it is more like me and a group of women 35 to 65 years of age dancing but it is still fun! What is your favorite way to exercise?

I Got My Money's Worth

2008-06-22T20:07:00.000-07:00

I had such a nice weekend with my family! Saturday we got up around 8:00 a.m. and got ready and left the house by 9:30 a.m. to take Grandma to the airport in Tulsa. It took us 2 1/2 hours to get there but the kids did great. I had to sit in the back in between two car seats but was pleasantly surprised that I had more room than I would have thought and I didn't get car sick.

We dropped Grandma off and then went to Garden Ridge. If you haven't been to Garden Ridge you are missing out. It is the mecca of home interiors! I didn't go crazy in there like I would have liked too, actually I didn't pick out anything but Jason got a few things. After that we were famished so we went to Cheddar's. We had some tasty burgers and went on our way. We did a little site seeing then went to Jason's cousins house that live in Tulsa. They tried to feed us tons but we were so full. I did try something that I thought was so clever and healthy, so I will share it with you all:

Cousin T calls them "Flax Snacks"
-Cup of Peanut butter
-Half Cup of Flax Seed (ground)
-Tablespoon or two of Honey

Just mix together, roll into balls, and yummy!
It tastes just like the center of buckeyes. You could add chocolate and I bet they would be heavenly!

I love the plants at Cousin T's and Cousin D's house. It made me want to get my place looking better. We'll see if that happens. We didn't end up getting home until 11:30 p.m. Yikes! The kids did sleep on the way home, though!

Then today we went to church and then came home, ate, and mowed. Jason and I decided at 6:30 p.m. to go do a hike with the kiddies! We went out to Hobbs National Park. Jason picked a mile and a half long hike for us to do and I started having flashbacks to the Lake Bella Vista day. We told the kids we were going on a secret mission. They had fun and so did Jay and I. There were some pretty steep parts but nothing the kids couldn't handle. We saw some frogs, spiderwebs, squirrels, and a deer! It was so nice doing something together as a family that was out of the norm. When we were driving home we saw the most beautiful clouds, they were the HUGE white puffy ones, with a gold glow around them! I was kicking myself that I didn't bring my camera.

So that is it, my weekend. Nothing glamorous but just one of those weekends that you feel like you get your money's worth!

Second Time

2008-06-14T19:20:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday my little Ike got in the pool without his swimmies on and started to sink. He kicked his little legs but just headed to the bottom of our pool. Right as I heard the sound of water I turned to see him heading down and I ran to the side and jumped in. It only took me a few seconds to get him but I held him in my arms for much longer than that. Fear went all through me! He didn't cry at all and he finally said to me "Mom, I'm okay." My two year old, almost 3 said to me, "Mom, I'm okay". I was glad he was cause I wasn't! We had a long talk and I told him he MUST wear his swimmies near the pool even if he isn't getting in. It's not like he fell in the pool, he just got in not realizing he didn't have his swimmies on.

So that leads me to today! Today was the day of Jason's 30th B-day party. Jason went out with 5 of his cycling buddies and did a mountain bike ride in the morning. Afterwards they came back and brought there families to our house for a cookout/pool party. When everyone started arriving we ate, swam, and I told the story of Ike falling in, like 10 time. Around 4:00 p.m. people started leaving but there were 3 families including ours still in the pool area. I was talking to a wife of one of Jason's co-workers with my back to the pool. (You don't have to say it, I have been saying it to myself all night) All of a sudden someone yelled something like "A Baby" I turn and see Ike in the middle of the pool sinking again. I never knew I could move so fast. I fling my shoes off as I am running and jump in and swim to him and pull him up. I do a half doggy pattle while holding him up and make it to the side. We get out and again I just hold him! He coughed a little and just put his head on my shoulder. I never wanted to get up from the ground with him on my lap and in my arms. The people there gave me a few minutes to hold him and then they came over to see how he was. This time there was no "Mom, I'm okay". I could tell that he was scared and boy did it scare me too. Again, there was no falling in just him forgetting he didn't have his swimmies. Changes will be made, I can't let anything happen to my little boy, I love him too much!

My Man

2008-06-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

My husband is turning 30 tomorrow! I decided I want to list 30 things that I love about my man! This is in no particular order!

1. He never talks bad about anyone.
2. He doesn't watch sports on TV that I don't like.
3. He puts down the toilet seat.
4. When I am in a bad mood he will dance for me and it quickly makes me laugh.
5. He loves our kiddos so much.
6. He thinks before doing something (it used to annoy me but now I see how wise it is).
7. He doesn't yell at me.
8. His dry sense of humor.
9. His love for God.
10. He is quick to forgive me when I am wrong.
11. He helps me with our kids.
12. He can fix things around the house.
13. He is patient with my craziness.
14. He is cute.
15. He is so even tempered.
16. He is very smart.
17. He likes the outdoors.
18. He is a snob about beer and coffee.
19. He likes food as much as I do.
20. He doesn't make me do something that I don't feel comfortable with.
21. He is good at his job.
22. He is dependable.
23. He has a good relationship with his family.
24. He will eat the leftovers that I won't touch anymore.
25. He likes my friends.
26. His cheeks (on his face)
27. His cheeks (not on his face)
28. His sense of direction, he can find anything.
29. His common sense.
30. He loves me!!!

I love my husband!!! Happy Birthday!!!!

FUN? IN THE SUN

2008-06-03T12:15:00.000-07:00

Last night I thought I would take the kids on a walk in the morning. I was just going to go around my neighborhood. When we woke up I told the kids our plan and they didn't sound too excited. So I thought I would be "SUPER MOM" and take them to Lake Bella Vista. I though instead of me pushing them in a stroller O could bring her bike and the little guy could bring his push toy! "Good thinking mom", I thought to myself. I thought "We could feed the geese, I could walk, the kids could ride to the play ground and they could play!" " I truly am super mom!!!"

Before we left my kiddos had a granola bar for breakfast, I thought that we would eat something when we got home (first bad move). I put on my sandals (second bad move) and I filled my water jug full (third bad move). Then we were off! The drive to the lake was beautiful. We got there and the geese immediately knew we had bread, they engulfed us like a swarm of angry bees ready to attack! I was so surprised that the kids didn't get scared. I gave the kids the bread and they couldn't break it up fast enough and through it before some geese would come and grab it out of there little hands. A few times Ike got his hand pinched by the geese being so impatient. But the kids had fun anyway and before we knew it, we were out of bread! SUPER MOM thought "this is going well"

Now it was time to walk, I put the 10 pound water jug around my neck (it has a strap) and O got on her bike and Ike got on his push toy and we were off again! I knew it was close to a 2 mile walk to the playground but thought we are tough we can handle it. The part I didn't think about was we had to walk that HOLE WAY BACK because part of the loop was closed off! VERY BIG MISTAKE ON MY PART! So, like I said we were off and I mean O really did go off. At first I thought it was cute, she felt so free to ride fast, her hair flapping in the wind. She hasn't had an opportunity to ride like this before. There was a paved path that goes right around a lake! When she kept on going I started to become "Super Yelling Mom". She was going so far ahead I couldn't see her! "O" "O" "COME BACK HERE" I saw her little head flip around to look but no stopping. "O" "O" "TURN AROUND" Ok, now I was "SUPER EMBARRASSED MOM" because there are people walking by me and people up the path just looking. " O" "O, STOP" During this hole time I am speed walking and telling Ike to hurry. Finally she stops! Now I was "SUPER MAD MOM". I get to her with teeth clenched and with sweat dripping off of me everywhere. I asked her if she heard me and she said "yes"! I asked her why she didn't stop and she said she "I wanted to go fast". I gave her a 2 minute talk why you need to stay close by because it isn't safe for her to be out of my sight. Alright, I calmed down and felt like "SUPER MOM" again. We walked and went over a pretty little bridge, walked under a bunch of trees and we had a nice breeze. Then the tiredness kicked in for all of us. I had to reassure my kiddos that the playground was approaching quickly and gave them a drink of water out of the 20 pound water jug! Ike went a little further than he had had it. I had to pick him up and hold the push toy and carry the 40 pound water jug while cheer leading to Olivia that she can make it.

We made it! The play ground had a lot of kids there, my kiddos had a lot of fun. I spent the entire time hoping I would stop sweating. I was now "SUPER STINKY MOM" It was so hot. I had checked the weather the night before and it said it was going to be in the high 80's. What was I thinking!

I decided to start on back after about 30 minutes or so at the playground. Did I mention that I had a blister by this point. The kids were already whining! Ike wanted to be held. I held him for about a hundred feet and decide it was way too hard. I was ready to start whining at this point too. With many stops, whines, cries, pep talks, angry mommy voices saying "lets go" we finally made it to the car! "SUPER TIRED MOM" and her "TIRED KIDS" made it! I loaded up the kids, bike, push toy, and the 50 pound water jug and thanked GOD that we were done.

I have decide to retire my "SUPER MOM" title and will come up with a better title for myself later. If you have one for me I would love to hear it!