House Blog!

Instead of doing a big picture post on here about the new house we're building, I just decided to make a separate blog for it. I started it yesterday and still have tons more to add... so check it often if you're interested in seeing the progress.

If you're interested in checking it out, go to:

http://thenewfarmhouse.blogspot.com/

Leave me a comment or two! :)

~Ashley

Is it Friday yet?!?

So today the kids are out of school for "possible" predicted snow & ice. That's TN for ya! It was snowing lightly a little earlier but now it has cleared up. I guess if the temp drops below freezing then we'd have a mess on the roads... but it's okay for now. The kids are keeping themselves busy so far and I've only had to give the mean momma glare a few times so far (that's good!). :)

I was thinking about this before Christmas... I secretly want a BIG snowfall to come, like 10 feet would be fine (ha ha). I have always wanted the big HUGE beautiful snow piles like I only get to see in pictures. I would love to have big family snowball fights outside, then come inside to hot chocolate with extra marshmallows & a roaring fireplace. Instead we just get lots of ice -- not pretty at all -- and you can really hurt someone if you throw a big ice chunk at their face! Plus, we don't even have a fireplace here either. See, totally ruined the ideal winter weather vision for me. Maybe one day though... a girl can hope can't she?? ;)

Oh, before I forget... remember a few posts down where we made the pinecone birdfeeders so the birds would have some nice food?
*Problem number one: I hung the pinecones up so high that the birds can't get to them. They would have to do like a fly-by (bird version of drive-by) and I don't think they can do that. So they've been just hanging around looking at them. I've seen them stand under them & stand on the kids swingset looking at them; I'm sure they're trying to devise a plan of attack. But that's kinda like bird mind torture so I will move the pinecones to the tree line so they can get to them. ;)

*Problem number two: Well, the poor starving cute little birds that we made the bird feeders for (like my favorite Cardinal who lives in the back trees) turned into BIG ugly crows -- 3 of them, like a crow bird gang! I had put the extra leftover bird seed in the birdbath b/c I hated to throw it away... Well, that plan totally backfired. The crow gang landed right in my favorite birdbath; knocking it completely over off the base; and it broke into pieces! Wahhh! That totally stinks! The crows are going down I tell ya! ;)

On a good note -- I felt bad about hiding the Oreo's from my hubby so I took them from their hiding spot and put them in the pantry. I'm glad to say that I still have quite a bit left. See, I can share, I promise. ha ha ;)

With the economy the way it is, it's looking like DH's job could be in jeopardy. We hope that's not the case... but I'm all about preparing just in case. I'm a planner, I can go with the flow but I like control too. So we sat down and made a plan to have our new house totally done & moved into within 90 days. That's so big! Of course, me being the OCD list maker that I am, we made lists for him of things to do this week and also a list for me to do. He's busting through his list... I've done a few things but need to kick it up a notch or two. It'll happen though! ;)

I want to do a long post on the new house that we're building soon -- I think it'd be neat to be able to look back and watch it all come together from start to finish. I had the best of intentions of documenting it all before we even broke ground... but then life happened and I didn't get around to it. Ugh, I hate that!

Anyway, lunch time around here so I'd better end this. Have a great Wednesday everyone! :)

My "Not me! Monday" time again...

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.




Ohhhh, how much I love my "Not me! Monday" posts... and reading others too! It makes the usual crudiness {is that even a word??} of Mondays just seems soooo much better. So, without hesitation ~ Here we go...

Last week I did not on my super healthy grocery shopping trip pick up BOTH a bag of double stuffed oreo's and a pack of honey buns. Noooo way, I would never do that! And if someone DID see them in my cart, it was only because someone else must have accidentally put them in there by mistake. I totally blame someone else, not me! ha ha

And I would definitely never hide those said Oreo's in the middle of my cookbook shelf {far away from the pantry} and then cover it with a dish towel so no-one else would eat them all. And I wouldn't tell DH that I hid them on purpose --> that would just be so wrong & mean of me! Nope, not me again! Never!

I did not sit here updating my blog with all these weekend pictures for 2 hours when I've made a goal of doing some super duper early spring cleaning around here. I mean, after all, no-one probably even reads my posts! And if they do, then surely they're bored & half asleep by the time they're done! So I would never neglect my housework so my blog can look good. Nope, not me. ;)

I did not allow my dear little girl free reign to her jewerly box either. I know how much she loves all that costume jewerly -- but it would be really bad! Not only would she not match up properly but she may just get tangled up in all those tacky necklaces & bracelets! I wouldn't do that, nope, not me. But if it did ever happen, she would probably look like this! :)




Have a Happy Monday everyone! :)

Bring on the carbs!

In my attempt to cook & bake more from scratch {okay and a slight obsession with mall pretzels and course salt!}, DH & I decided to try to make our own pretzels lastnight. It was fairly easy and they tasted soooo good! Honestly, I was a little surprised myself. ha ha! C even asked to take some with him for school snack - and he wanted me to write the recipe down to share with his teacher. He's a sweetie pie! ;) Anyway... we used the recipe in my favorite simple recipe book "Dining on a Dime" (you can enlarge the pic to read the recipe specifics).

Here is some pics we took... today's all about picture sharing, huh? :)

All the supplies together? Check.
Throw some flour on your cheeks to look like a real baker while kneading? Check.
Cut the loaf into smaller pieces to roll out? Check.

And roll them out into 18 inch snakes? Check.

Admire my husband's secret pretzel shaping ability? Check.

Add egg wash over lightly & add course salt? Check.

Yummy smelling already...

And we voted these 3 as our favorites...

Runt pretzel; snake pretzel; and poo pretzel. ha ha :)

While they're not perfect... they were soooo good fresh & warm out of the oven! Woohoo -- we did it! :)

~Ashley

We must feed the birdies!

This is a fun project that I've been putting off for awhile. Well, actually not so much as putting off... but I couldn't find any pinecones! I was even going to buy some off Ebay (gasp!) or Walmart (double gasp!) until one afternoon last week, me & K were cruising around the school grounds going to pick up C -- and I spotted a million pinecones on the ground! I know I'm kinda dorky... but I was soooo excited to see all these FREE pinecones just laying on the ground! Who would've thunk it?!? All those pine trees on the school grounds have pinecones! Okay, so I'm not the brightest bulb in the pack, I didn't even think of that! :) So I busted a quick u-turn; grabbed a plastic bag (hooray for random plastic bags in my minivan!); then me & K jumped out super stealth commando style and filled our bag full of pinecone heaven! ha ha :)

Anyways... here's what we did with them yesterday. They now have a new life as bird feeders!

You get some cute kids (okay, I'm partial); some pinecones, peanut butter, bird seed and string (even left over Christmas colored ribbon work too! ha ha)...


Put your string around the tops first. Add a bow to your daughter so she can see properly to spread it all, check. ;) Then spread on some peanut butter (I thinned it down with just a little oil). Notice little K looking all impatient, ha ha.

Now she's happy. :)

Put on the birdseed...

And we're ready to hang them outside!

{Side note: When you let your almost 10 year old son take the pics... you'll surely get a good nostril shot like this one! :)}



~Ashley

Circus fun!

The kids (and us adults too!) really had a *blast* at the circus. It was amazing! Tons of lights; sounds, smells (yum, funnel cake!), smiley people... maybe a little bit of sensory overload, but fun either way.


I took my son C when he was 3 years old (6 years ago!), before K was born -- and the biggest thing we both remember is the cannon guy (who was supposed to be shot out across the air from his rocket/cannon), I guess he lost his footing attempting to get into the cannon and he fell flat on the ground. There wasn't a mat under him either. The EMS guys rushed in and took him out on a backboard. He wasn't moving, it was scary... even the silly clowns couldn't take the crowd's eyes off the poor guy. But as the saying goes, "the show must go on". I hope that rocket guy was okay. Nice warm circus memory, huh? lol {Side note: there was no rocket guy at the circus this time!}. Anyway~


Here are some pics that I wanted to share.

1st is the elephants... who I felt sorry for b/c I'd read about how mean they are treated -- but they actually looked to be having fun...

These guys (yes... 2 guys) make me want to do more yoga - wow! Talk about flexibility! And talk about how out of shape they made me feel... I do good with just bending over to tie my shoes! ha ha!

The tigers were HUGE with big teeth - I thought one particularly angry tiger was going to eat this trainer guy but he didn't after all... whew.

This motorcycle guy & gal were amazing too. I'm afraid of heights and could barely watch though... I caught DH laughing at me too. ha ha

The bouncy intertube guys were neat! Made me think of being a kid and bouncing on those big bouncy balls with the handles -- you know, the wayyyy scaled down versions of these!

So that's it! Hope you enjoyed looking at our circus pics.

~Ashley

We had such a busy weekend!

Whew, I'm glad it's Monday... isn't that bad?!?? I've got so many house chores to catch up on. We had such a busy (but fun!) weekend; full of good times & family fun stuff together. I love it when we all spend good quality time together -- which doesn't happen as often as I'd like since we've began building the house... a year and a half ago! The do-it-yourself house building project takes up so much time -- but it'll all be worth it in the end, I have to remember that.

Anyways, we had a fun weekend of going to the circus; making bird feeders; making pretzels ~~ but there are so many pictures that I'm going to break up the posts. :) Have a great Monday everybody!

~Ashley

It's on!

Woohoo! I'm doing the "happy we're going to the circus" running man/cabbage patch/robot dance {yep, all mixed together! just imagine that! lol}! K is feeling all back to normal, the 24 hour stomach bug has officially left the building... and we are surprising the kids with a fun trip to the circus tonight! :)

I was able to save 1/2 off each ticket {using the promo code "THRILL" on the Ticketmaster site} so I invited our nephew to come along too. Sshhhh... it's a secret... and I can't wait to see the kids face when they realize where we're going tonight!

I hope everyone is enjoying your weekend. Any fun plans? Did I mention how much I love reading your comments, each and every one of them just makes my day. ;)

I hate when they are sick...

Our little girl K is sick today... headache; fever; throwing up (all at 2AM of course)... you get the oh-so-fun mental picture? She feels absolutely terrible. And I hate when she's sick -- I'd much rather for myself to be 5x as sick for 3x longer then for one of my kids to be sick. :(

But, on a little itty-bitty bit of a brighter note... the lady at the McDonald's drive-thru (yes, I so needed my coffee jolt this AM!) gave K two of the stuffed little dogs from the "Hotel for Dogs" movie for free. I guess she could tell how miserable she looked... and perhaps she secretly knew that K had started a collection of stuffed dogs, lol. That made her little face light up for the rest of the ride home after dropping her big brother off at school (K did not mind missing school today, btw, however her brother had hoped he could get out of going to school b/c she was sick.).

Little does the McDonalds lady know that K has been lining up all her dogs for baths/talks/naps/etc for over a week now -- they even sleep in her bed with their very own special dog blanket. Just check out my "Not Me Monday!" post -- K even turned into a dog for a couple hours! Isn't that bad?!? But it's oh so funny too.

I hope she gets to feeling better soon. We were going to surprise the kids and take them to the circus tomorrow night. I know she would really, really enjoy that -- as long as she's feeling better.

Because I want to think of something more fun...

I must admit, I love changing up my hair! I get bored easily of the same color... and I like to change it up every few months or so. Some people get bored and change their furniture around ~ but not me, I change my hair! ha ha. So, it's about that time again. But I just need to figure out what color I want. You want to help me decide? Here are some of the "looks" I've had within the past few years {and don't laugh!} --

Dark Brown {DIY version}

Strawberry Blonde {DIY version}
Darker Brown with Blonde chunks {not a DIY version}

or... my now look of very blonde! {another DIY version}

I took this funny little survey and here's what it said...

Your Hair Should Be Brown

You are an intelligent, well respected person. You are very confident. You take yourself seriously, and other people take you seriously too. You are a good leader, and you can be trusted with someone's life. You motivate people well, and you command respect easily. You are competent, successful, and organized. You can't stand chaos. Some people mistake you for being cold, calculating, or elitist.

What Color Hair Should You Have?

So, what do you think? Leave me a comment! I'm thinking dark blonde with brown lowlights & blonde highlights thru out it. It can't be too scary (like purple or green with spikes) because I don't want to scare the kids at the school. But there are lots of choices. Hmmm...

Happy Birthday Daddy

Today would have been my dads 57th birthday. He died suddenly in 1996 at the age of 44. I was 19 years old and away at college. I miss him so much.

Although the years have went by quickly, it doesn't seem to get much easier. I was daddys little girl. What I miss most though is that he isn't here to know my children... to share his love of music & instruments with them (my son loves playing the guitar & my daughter loves the keyboard, things he loved too). I hate that he missed getting to experience being a granddad to them.

I miss you daddy, I hope you're having fun playing your guitar in heaven with the other angels.

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Well, this is my first time so please laugh even if it's not funny. :) I always love reading everyones responses on their blogs so I'm finally joining in too!
Let's see...

I absolutely did not purposefully watch the one hour "Disney on a Dime" show that I tivo'd today (again!) with the kids to get them super excited about us going to Disney (one day). I mean, they'd be sooooo excited that they'd surely mention it to DH (for the hundredth time!) tonight -- meaning maybe we'd go sooner. Nope, I would never do that. That just wouldn't be right. I mean, we're saving our money for that... and so far, the kids & me have saved a mere $5.08 in our little plastic vacation fund bucket. ;)

Oh, and I would never have taken my kids to McDonald's today for lunch. Even if they are out of school and it's snowing so pretty out. I mean, it totally blows my "no eating out" resolution -- bad on the budget and bad for the body. So noooo way, I would not do that. I'm way healthier & penny pinching than that.

And you know that since I wouldn't dare treat the kids to McDonald's for lunch... then I wouldn't double dare get them a hot fudge sundae for dessert. That would be especially bad! All that ice cream and hot fudge, madness! And even if I did treat them to one; I wouldn't get one for me! Nope, not me!

I don't know about yours... but my kids are always asking me for candy from the special treat drawer. They had emptied their Christmas stocking candies into the drawer and were especially wanting to eat the BIG candy bar they'd been saving. Ughhh, they must not realize how bad ALL that sugar and chocolate is for you (did I mention it was a butterfinger?!?)... anyways, so I would never tell my dearest son that he couldn't have it, he'd have to settle for a small treat instead ~ only to find myself an hour after they'd went to bed... sitting on the couch... watching TV (probably The Biggest Loser! ha ha)... and EATING the candy bar myself! Nope, I would never do that... why that would just be so wrong of me! --> Plus to eat while watching The Biggest Loser is even more wrong! ha ha

And last but not least...

I have not been playing along with my 5-year old daughter, who has been pretending to be a dog for the last 2 hours (the barking; panting; rolling around; food dish and all!). And since I haven't been doing that... then I'd never have to admit that I even helped tape on some dog ears & a dog tongue on her from her HappyMeal box (no, she absolutely did not have McD's today, told ya so!). But just in case you wanted to see what she would have looked like... I mean, if this all had been true... I would have showed you this picture below! ;)

Redbox promo code good for today!

I love renting Redbox movies, they rock for $1.00! They're even better when they give out free weekly promo codes (woohoo!) -- so, here's the promo code for a free rental. It's only good for today and will expire at midnight tonight.

K6W3G4

And for those of us who haven't used a promo code for Redbox (skip this for those who have) ~ when you first start (before even picking out a movie) the screen will give the option in the bottom left corner to rent it with a promo code... so choose that option. If for some reason that your code isn't good or you typed it in wrong, it will give you an error. Oh, and you may see a temporary charge of a $1.00 to your account (if you're addicted to online banking like DH is! lol) but that charge will disappear within a day or so, and will not actually be debited from your account. I guess they run a temporary charge thru just to make sure your card is good in case the movie doesn't return. ;) Oh, and the promo code is good for today only... but technically the movie isn't due back until tomorrow night (at 9pm central time around here).

So {as long as you turn the movie back in on time} it's free, and free rocks! Enjoy! :)

Yummy Pumpkin Spice Muffins!

DH & I made these delicious pumpkin spice muffins last week. They were really good and we all (picky kids included!) enjoyed them. I even sent almost 2 dozen with my mom to her work so she could share them with the other nurses & doctors. :)

Next time we make them I want to put a little teeny tiny bit of frosting on them -- either buttercream or cream cheese icing... double yum then!

Here's the visual ~~

We're having a baby this weekend! And I have hoarding issues...

Oops! Let me rephrase that... we're having a little foster baby over for the weekend! He's 3 months old; sweet, cuddly, and ohhh so cute! I love the cuddly baby stage -- you can hug them for a longer than 20 seconds and they don't even try to squirm away or say "mom, my friends are looking!".

We're all excited to do respite for my foster mommy friend. This is the second time we've done respite for him. He will go back home on Monday night... and then my sleeping will return to normal too. ;)

I'm secretly hoping this will get some of my crazy baby fever gone! I even went to Carter's a few days ago and bought him a warm outfit to look all cute in (oops, I mean to stay warm!). Oh, and I also got an extra gender-neutral one too... just in case, well you never know... AND the sale was really good! Way too good to pass up! And did I mention that I actually have several other outfits hanging in my closet that were too good to pass up too? Then I won't dare mention the Johnsons Baby Lotion that I got on sale for $1.17 (after using my $1.00 off coupon) -- cause that would make me definitely look crazy! :) Let me remind you that my "baby" is 5 years old -- and she won't even let me call her "baby" anymore!

Am I the only one that does this mass hoarding of baby items? lol

My brain must be frozen!

I must need a heater hooked up to my brain... seriously.

Isn't it bad that today I spend several minutes picking out the perfectly warm size 8 shirt for my son ~ even carrying it around the store while browsing for more warm goodies, thinking of how cute & cozy it would look ~ only to realize ten minutes later that he's actually almost 10 and the size 8 wouldn't have even fit him 2 years ago?!?

My bear family should return...I am in desperate need of hibernation!

{and yep, you guessed it, they were OUT of the size 10 shirt! lol}

K, this post is for you!

This was actually posted somewhere else but I want to bring it over here before it gets lost in cyberspace.

I just want to take a minute to brag on my 5-year old daughter. She just has the sweetest, most caring heart.

Within the past 2 months she's learned about kids who are sick and need wigs made for them from her school. I told her about "Locks of Love", so we came home and looked them up on the internet. She then decided that she'd have her hair cut to be donated to kids that didn't have hair. She said that kids probably made fun of them and that made her sad.

She has *never* had her hair cut before so this was a BIG decision. After weeks of making sure she wouldn't change her mind (and talking DH into it; and even trying to talk her out of it just to be 100% sure), I took her to get it cut. She smiled the entire time it was getting cut off... 10+ inches is alot for a little head. She's even decided to grow it out again to donate again.

So K, this post is for you. Your mommy & daddy sure is so proud of you for thinking of others. I know how much you loved your hair but I'm proud that you realize that others would love it too. I couldn't have asked God for a more compassionate, giving little girl then you.



We love you!

What's your new year resolutions or goals??

I am the post-it note/list making queen... really, it's bad (our computer area is like a sea of yellow stickies everywhere! lol). So, of course, on Jan 1st I sat down and made a list of goals I'd like to achieve this year. I'll share the top one today, maybe more later ~

* The most important for me is to loose these 20 pounds that I've been hanging onto for 5 years now. And to help my husband lose weight and my children to be healthier too. So, that means eating healthier (no fast food! I will soooo miss my McD's bacon biscuit though but my thighs won't! lol) and definitely more exercise (and walking from the computer desk to the couch does NOT count! lol). I've started reading "You On A Diet" by Dr. Oz & Dr. Roizen {very good read, btw} and walking on my treadmill too. After wiping all the dust bunnies off the treadmill, I think it's happy to finally be used instead of just hanging clothes on! ha ha

I think I've done fairly well with my goal so far... 9 days in. :) I went thru the pantry & refrigerator and cleared out the bad foods (the kids were totally bummed, like seriously sad). I went grocery shopping and only bought fresh fruits & veggies and basic staples for the kitchen. I successfully steered clear of all the boxed foods aisles, that is a big no-no now. Well, okay, I confess that I did buy some Pringles chips for the kids lunch but ONLY because I had a super duper coupon. Plus, by this point the kids were looking really depressed with all the healthiness in our shopping cart. ;) I came home and cut up all the broccoli & cauliflower for healthy snacks. I rinsed the grapes and put them in a container. I put out the apples & bananas on the table. I did spend wayyyy over my grocery budget ($181 after coupons & in-store savings! eek!) but I bought a lot of things that we didn't have (extra virgin olive oil; canola oil; whole wheat flours, yeast, etc), it all adds up quickly I guess. But all-in-all, it's important that we all get on the right track with our health and poor eating habits.

My DH's top goal is to buy only "made in the USA" items and to try to buy local produce (until we can grow our own). He thinks the US has really sold itself out and I agree. But do you know how hard it is to buy anything at Walmart with this kind of a goal? Oh man, it's hard! Last week on our "date night" we made a late night Walmart shopping trip (I know, fun fun!) -- and got 23 items on our list that were ALL made in the USA. The only thing we couldn't buy was his sandwich bags (made in Thailand?); and I gave in and bought a pillow (made in China but stuffed in the USA, ha ha). But it was a fun challenge!

So that's our top goals for this year. What's yours??

I did it, I did it! AND it's quite edible too!

After buying 2 bags of bread flour at separate times, getting a new bread pan from my mom for Christmas; I was still too intimidated to actually try to make anything. But, I finally did and it turned out so well! I didn't feel very good lastnight (I'm thinking caffeine withdrawal is the issue), so I was kinda dragging around with a BIG f-a-t headache. I had all my ingredients laid out on the counter but wasn't in the baking mood... until my sweet DH offered to help that is! He was my official kneader... my kneading skills (or lack of muscles!) only lasted several minutes. I really need to find my dough hook for the Kitchen Aid mixer (will make a post-it note for that!). Whew, who knew that bread kneading counted as cardio. There ya go Dr. Oz, my cardio for the day is done! ha ha

It took a while to rise because we used the slow rising yeast -- but it is ohhhh so good and pretty too. :) DH took some to work. Me & the kids heated several slices up this morning with a small little dab of butter (sorry Dr. Oz, I know... bad, bad. lol). But I'm pretty impressed with how easy it was.

I am still in amazement because the kids actually ate it and LIKED it -- which is ohhhh so big! Okay, so they still aren't exactly digging the broccoli & cauliflower for snack (versus the pre-2009 snack of chips & fruit snacks), but atleast the bread is a hit. :)

Our House Story... and the BIG letdown!

Okay, so maybe this won't be Wordless Wednesday after all... ha ha. I was actually thinking of this earlier but was going to wait until tomorrow to blog about it.

We are in the process of building a "new" old farmhouse. A picture of it is above, but just ignore the dirt on the bottom of the blocks... it's a work in progess. ;) We bought the land about 5 years ago; made the move from the big city {DH & I both are city born & raised} to the country 3 years ago; and now we're building our little dream house! Well, technically, DH has been building it... I've just been a "supervisor"... okay, okay... maybe actually more like a "spectator" who is only an occasional helper. :) But either way, we've been building it now for over a year and a half. It's almost done and I'm sooo looking forward to moving in and making it our home.

So, when I saw a picture of the HGTV Dream Home (above) I was in absolute farmhouse heaven. WOW! It's so pretty and BIG. I love all the detailed molding outside; the rocking chair porches; the hanging lights; the welcoming front door. I just knew that I'd get some cool decorating ideas from it. We tivo'd the one-hour special and I just couldn't wait to see how beautiful the inside would be. I just *knew* it would be nice and homey feeling. Boy, was I let down....

First off, it's on a street in the middle of a subdivision! You look out a window and see a house directly across the street --> not at all what I'd pictured when they showed the grapevines & sprawling land on the preview talking about Wine Country! But that didn't deter me, I can hang... I just wanted to see the inside.

Ugh, another letdown. Who decorated the inside? Blah! It's wayyy too modern for the style of the house. Honestly, there wasn't ONE single room that I liked! I couldn't even watch for the whole hour.

I'm so bummed that I didn't even register to win it everyday like I'd planned after that! Oh well, that's one less post-it note reminder for me... ha ha :)

What's your thoughts on the HGTV Dream Home? Dreamy or not??

Wordless Wednesday

Decided to finally jump in...

After becoming addicted to countless blogs long ago... I decided to finally jump in and start one myself! Hopefully it'll be a good way for keeping in touch with family & friends... and who knows, with my crazy life --> it'll probably add in some comedic relief for everyone too! lol Enjoy! :)