And I didn't even need a Topsy Turvy!

We've really had a lot of fun so far with our tomato growing experiment. I planted 6 tomato plants in 5-gallon buckets... and the remaining 12 plants went straight into a dirt pile down at the new house. I thought for sure that these 12 would die, but thought I'd be worth a shot anyway (versus throwing them away because I was NOT going to buy anymore buckets at almost $3.00 a piece!). But instead it was the other way around -- the bucket tomatoes have not done well at all, over half has died, and two plants have one little itty-bitty tomato a piece slowly growing on them. These in the dirt pile on the other hand, are crazed!

So here they are the day we planted them, 6/15/09... you can barely tell the tomato plants from the grass and other stuff growing (lol) This was sooo not planned. ~
and 10 days later (really!), they looked like this... all organized & cute
Our first baby tomato! Awww... :)

And now, welcome to the wild tomato garden just 4 weeks later! Tomatoes are growing every which way!! The little bamboo stakes didn't last long at holding these wild guys up, next year I'll have to come up with a better plan. :)

But we sure are looking forward to having yummy, delicious organic tomatoes soon. On just one plant alone, I counted 14 tomatoes... which is probably more now! The first ones are starten to ripen and turn red. I've better figure out something to do with all of them -- salsa, spaghetti sauce...???. This picture was actually taken 2 weeks ago and the tomatoes have almost doubled their size since then.

And I thought I needed a Topsy Turvy to make them grow! ;)

So eggcited!

Our little girl chickies aren't so little anymore. I normally don't like things growing up (like my kids! lol) but with the chickies, I guess it's a-okay. Check out what present one of them left us 2 days ago... and I found another one today! Woohoo! I so needed a smile with all the craziness around here right now, thanks chickies! :)

Not a good day... not a good day at all

Someone came in our new house and stole every single tool my husband had lastnight. He still had tons of work left to do, in hopes of having the inspector come out this week. And we were hoping to get to move in next week. :(

You can read more about it at my house building blog here...
www.thenewfarmhouse.blogspot.com

What a cruddy day. I hope tomorrow is much better.

What a weekend!

We had such a busy weekend. Katelyn had her dance recital on Saturday and did wonderfully. This was her 2nd year of dancing so this years recital was a lot less stressful than last year. I knew what to bring backstage (didn't even forget anything!); when to go backstage and avoid the masses of people all trying to get back there at once (a nightmare last year)... it was nice. She has decided that she wants to take next year off and I'm all for that. She loves dancing, but having dance class every week is what she doesn't care for... especially since her class is right after school so she gets no down-time. I ordered her a cute dance trophy and we gave it to her after the recital, she loved it! My mom & in-laws had her flowers and my MIL made her a super cute ballerina cake... so she really had a great day. She was worn out and ready for bed that night, for sure!
Anyways, here are some of the pictures that we took.

In her tap costume waiting backstage...

In her ballet costume backstage...
It's over and she loved it! My mom got her these beautiful flowers. This is my favorite picture. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Then David got our go-kart out on Sunday and took the kids for a ride around our fields. He even took the kids through the creek -- what a mess but they had so much fun! We pulled off several ticks (yuck!) before bed but the kids absolutely loved it. I thought Katelyn would be scared but David said she was asking to go faster --> he already had it floored! :) Cole was just grinning from ear to ear. David got me on the go-kart and I thought for sure that he was trying to kill me! lol Here are some pics of the fun...

Before... thumbs up!
During... put your hands up! Woohoo!

Before... thumbs up!

During... super big laughing going on!

And after... her muddy flower power dress
After... soaked from head to toe!

We had a great weekend! The house is finally getting done; we're looking forward to more downtime together as a family; and school starts next month... it's all good! :)

Oh where has the time went...

I just realized that I haven't blogged in almost a month in a half! Whew, where has the time went?!? Actually a lot has been going on around here this past month or so...

*The kids soccer season ended, they both loved it and are looking forward to the next playing season. Katelyn had an absolutely wonderful coach who didn't mind when she cried her head off during the first game and Cole's team won every single game they played. He was really stoked after losing every game last season. :)

*The kids school year is over. Katelyn will be in 1st grade and Cole got promoted to 5th grade. Katelyn was blessed was such a wonderful teacher for kindergarten, we sure will miss her. I wished that I could clone her to be Katelyns 1st grade teacher too. Cole is looking forward to a great upcoming year. He had a rough year this year so I'm praying for a good 5th grade teacher that will re-ignite his love of learning. They are both super excited about summer break and have kept me crazy busy every single day since the minute they got out of school! :)

*The chickens are getting sooo big. All 10 are still alive (much to my surprise!) and they now live in Katelyn's old playhouse that my hubby converted into cool chicken living quarters... they love it! We just might get our first eggs within several weeks. They are carb chickens -- they won't eat fruit or vegetable treats... but they'll ripe your hand off for some break or spaghetti noodles! Hmmm, they must take after me! ha ha They sure are fun to watch too! It's like a soap opera -- they cluck at each other, scratch for goodies in the dirt together, and then puff up really big to show who's bigger on the chicken bossy-gal list.


*The new house is coming along slowly. It seems like we get one thing done and then stall for another month of the next project. Honestly, it's been the biggest stress ever and has put me in such a funky mood at times. There are just so many details and when it's a DIY project, it just makes it all that more stressful I guess. We've been building for almost 2 whole years. The good news is that everyday we're getting a little closer to move in day! Hip hip hooray! It will all be worth it in the end; when exactly is "the end"... well, we haven't quite figured that out yet! lol

*We've been foster parents now for over 2 years... and I put our home on hold a few months ago until we move in the new house and get settled. I just felt like I needed the break after our last placement left (an 18 month old girl who was physically abused by her parents, but returned back to them we no penalties within 6 months... too soon, too rushed, too much swept under the rug IMHO). I felt run-down and my kids deserved my 100% attention again. I got so wrapped up in that case, trying to advocate for the sweet little girl. It was hard. So I think I must be sick because I actually miss fostering... I don't miss DCS being so involved in my day-to-day life, I just miss the kids. I'm thinking we'll do foster-to-adopt when/if we decide to open our home back up. I'd love to adopt. It's all just been on my mind lately and I'm not sure why.

*On a much brighter note :) I went back to college to be a teacher! After years of thinking about going back to finish my degree and flip-flopping about changing my degree from nursing to elementary education (and losing lots of credit along the way, bummer); I applied, jumped through tons of hoops, and finally met with my education advisor to see what classes I needed. Everyone has been really nice & supportive so far... I figured they'd laugh me right outta the building. :)

*I took a May summer class that lasted 3 weeks... yep, one whole semester in a 3 week course = craziness!! It was nice because I took my class while the kids were in school. It's been a L-O-N-G time since I was up at 1:30am doing homework though. I made an *A* in the class so all the busy days & sleepless nights were worth it I suppose. And I've signed up for more classes in the fall if we can afford it (keeping my fingers crossed).

*I've been trying to grow tomatoes and that's not going so well. I've got 6 plants on the patio here at the rental house in 5-gallon buckets; and 8 or 10 more planted in a big dirt hill at the new house. I thought for sure that the dirt hill plants would just die but I had no where else to plant them -- and didn't want to spend anymore $$$ on buckets either -- so wouldn't you know that they actually look better than my patio bucket ones?! Go figure! I guess because it was a cow pasture for years, and years, and years, all that cow poop made some super awesome dirt so the tomatoes are loving it there. I've got a lot to learn if I want to ever actually grow anything! lol

Anyways, that's been about it for us. :) I can't wait to catch up with what everyone else has been doing.

~Ashley

Woohoo, I'm back for "Not Me! Monday"

I have really missed doing the Not Me! Monday's... so let's get going!


* Being the avid news follower that I am, I was not the least bit confused when I read the top story last week, "New First Dog headed to the Waffle House". Whoops! Not Waffle House, it's the White House. Nope, not me... I can read... but Waffle House does sound yummy right now! :)

* I did not tell the kids that I was throwing away all their Easter candy because their teeth are surely going to rot out of their head and I'm tired of the begging for eating "just one more piece". Every day, more candy arrives -- no kidding! But I would never crash their sugar highs, nope not me! {Yep, it's all disappearing today while they're at school... ah ha ha ha!}

* After a trip to a local state park yesterday full of neat Native American history, I overheard DH talking with a park ranger about an old submarine in SC used in the Civil War. I did not later ask DH if the Indians actually built that submarine -- and ponder how exactly they would do that... I mean, using bones; sticks; arrowheads?? c'mon -- I just couldn't comprehend. Nope, I am not a clueless dork... I am quite the history buff... so definitely not me!

* I did not curse the 10 cute fluffy (and loud!) chicks in my living room at 3:30 this morning when they woke me up from my perfect sleep, all because they thought it was wake up time. I did not mutter under my breath that I'd make them into chicken casserole if they didn't stop chirping so loudly. They are our adorable pets after all, and I'd never eat them -- so I wouldn't dare try to scare them with such a comment! And even if I did, it probably wouldn't work anyway! Nope, not me!

* I did not look at my to-do list today and wonder if I could crawl back in bed and tackle all these "to-do's" another day. I'm way more goal driven than that... so I'd never think of such a lazy thing! Nope, not me... ever, ever! ;)

* And last but not least... While looking thru some recent pics on my computer -- I did not see this one that my DD took of my Clinique Mascara in my bathroom with her brothers kid camera... too funny! And no, her frugal momma does not have a slight Clinique addiction!



Hope everyone has a great day! Leave me a comment and I look forward to reading everyone elses funny Not Me! Monday posts! :)

A day to randomly reflect...

I love all things old; people, furniture, books, places... I could go on & on. I especially dig old houses. I don't know why, maybe it's the charm in the ones that have been preserved, or extra cozy homes that have raised generations of families; or the fun search for the diamond in the rough that just needs a little tlc... I just love them all! Little ones, small ones, big ones, tall ones... I just love them all. So when I saw this 110 year old house below that is for sale, my jaw dropped -- it's beautiful (and so crazy expensive)!

Today me, DH and the kiddos took a drive after breakfast about 20 minutes up the road to "Old Stone Fort State Park". Honestly, I never knew it was there -- whoops! I've never been a history buff but the older I get, the more interesting it all becomes. It's not a very big place but it's so full of neat history, we just spent time soaking it all up. The kids even commented how much fun it is to learn there versus sitting in a desk reading about it in a book! Over 2,000 years ago the park was (what is believed to have been) a Native American ceremonial site. It has this really cool large mound that has a river flowing on both sides. The museum had so many neat things that have been found there on the grounds, made me realize how clueless I am about history I guess.

What was really sad was that this same area was almost developed in the 1960's to be a lake-front subdivision! Whew, glad that fell through and the state was able to purchase the land. It's just beautiful -- large tall trees, wildlife, a neat old rehabbed bridge, rippling waters, and a peaceful feeling that was so nice (and so much needed!). We are hoping to go back next time and camp -- and use those hiking trails too {versus eating all the roasted marshmallows!}.

Today on the way to the park we spotted a cow that had gotten out of the fence and was almost on the main (way too busy for a cow) highway. The old house nearest the pasture was obviously vacant so we stopped and told a neighbor, then we tried to herd the cow back away from the main road as we could and into the yard until the owner could come open the gate. Yep, cow herding in a minivan! ha! I bet that cow was laughing at us! :)

But the house intrigued me though, it looked lonely. Weird huh? That I think a house is lonely? I mean that you could tell that it once had a family who lived there and loved it and now it was just there... all alone... paint chipping, gutters falling off, bushes/grass/trees/steps overgrown. So I came home and done some research on the house. It was built in 1936 and sits on 135 acres, the farmer who once farmed those fields and tended to that house has since died, even his children are almost all gone.

Maybe it just reminds me of my great-grandmothers house... the house that my grand-daddy built her with his own hands, the house that raised 8 children in only 2 bedrooms plus all the extra grandchildren and great-grandchildren that never seemed to leave... the house that we had every single holiday at and even though we were all a very tight fit you always felt at home... the house that I've owned now since grandma passed away in 2005 and I can't seem to even fix up because I can't imagine it not being "their house", so it's "lonely" too just like this one I saw today. Ahhhh, bitter sweet I suppose. One day, one day.

Anyways, it got me to thinking -- I remember being a young child and wanting the biggest, fanciest house I could ever dream of... like, hmmm, maybe the Barbie Mansion (lol) -- but now as I get older (and hopefully a little wiser for my 32 years of age!), I find that the simple joys in life are what really matters. Kinda like history; or your personal life legacy... what do you want your legacy to be? That you were a good person; were compassionate to those in need; would give the shirt off your back to someone who needed it more; caring; thoughful; loyal; trustworthy; happy; loving... these are just some that I hope can be said about me one day even if I live in a shack or a mansion or a tent or a camper. Even this little house below that is behind that big house above that's for sale looks good!

So I don't look forward to having that fancy barbie mansion anymore -- but I do look forward to having farm animals on our perfect comfy cozy house that my husband is building for our family; happy children playing in our creek; learning how to plant vegetable gardens; flowers in bloom; sounds of our tractor; pretty trees and colored bushes; freshly cut haybales; butterflies; hummingbirds; and a fancy chicken coop -- yep, that's my new fancy. :)

So today for me has been quite nice, peaceful and thought provoking. I like those kind of days I guess... sure beats just sitting around cleaning house (again!) and watching Dr. Phil. :)

What is this?

While down at the new house yesterday we found this __?__ {thing} that I believe is more than likely an alien brain. :) Then we found a few more just like it in odd places spread out; on the ground, in the grass, and in a dirt pile too.

Have you ever seen anything like it? If so, what in the world is it?? It has a soft plyable egg shell, with a thick gooey inside slime layer, then a brain looking thing in the middle that is firm. Weird, very weird. And I sure hope this doesn't mean that a random alien invasion is going to happen once we move in -- that'd stink! lol

Any ideas???

Saddened & Sick...

Yesterday my sons science teacher was arrested for federal charges of making child pornography. From what I've read so far, he has also been (grooming and...) bringing kids to his house for 30+ years and giving them drugs, alcohol, and videotaping them among other really gross & disgusting things.

Luckily for us, my son was never alone with this man, but I still feel sick just knowing that he even looked at my son and was in the same room with all these innocent children! I've seen this creep in the school parking lot and smiled at him -- never thinking for a second that he was a child predator. What's even more scary is that he would have also had access to the SAME bathroom that the school children use... and that just really makes me sick! :(

Luckily, he's off the streets now... but sadly, it took over 30 years for the real monster to be known. He has worked many many years for the big science musuem in Nashville; done youth camps; science homeschool classes; he's worked as both a substitute & regular teacher in both public & private schools; among many, many other places where as parents, I think we let our guard down a bit more. This is a blunt reminder that there are sick people everywhere; our children are safe no-where.

My prayers today are with the children who he took advantage of; for the families who are just learning that their child had associated with this sick-o; for the children who have had their pictures shared with other pedophiles; and especially for his own young daughter, who now faces the public eye in finding out that her father is a sick predator.

If you care to read the details about this monster... here is a link...
http://www.murfreesboropost.com/news.php?viewStory=16364

I am an avid news watcher and I hear these kinds of stories far too often... I just never thought it'd be in my childrens school. Call me naive. I just feel sick...

Talk about a learning curve!

We've had such a busy, crazy, fun weekend. Whew!

If you read my post below, then you saw that we became rather quick (very unplanned) chicken owners. I've had so much to learn ~ and even though I've been reading all about chickens/random farm stuff --> all that "knowledge" that I thought I had went straight out the window once we walked in with the chicks! lol

They've been lots of fun to have around; even if they are in my living room (lol). It's so neat to watch them ~ I love how they just fall asleep so fast (sometimes while still standing up! sometimes all stretched out! sometimes they look not so alive either so I have to check for breathing!) and we love how they stretch their little legs out when they've been sitting down too long. Just when they've all fallen asleep... it never fails that one will jump up chirping loudly and wake them ALL up again -- then they run around for a few minutes, settle back down, fall asleep, and do it all over again! They've officially been named by Katelyn as the "chick gang". Here is a picture from this morning of a few of them standing in the food dish... yeah, I know it's a Christmas mini-loaf pan --> I'm all about repurposing (my Michaels 10 cent after Christmas special from 2 years ago!) ... and it's the best I could find for now until they grow more! :)

Below is todays chick pic! :)


And Cole didn't end up with a bunny after all. I knew that would be a no-go once he started talking about he'd play with the bunny... and feed/water it... but I'd have to clean the poopy cage up everyday. Ummm, no. So we went yesterday and he picked out a cute dwarf hamster and all the fixings to go with it using his birthday money. He is very excited to have his 1st animal that even lives in his room! ;) And the bonus is... it's smaller... it makes less poop... and he gets to clean the cage himself! Yay, win for me! ha ha Here are a few pics of "Peanut" the hamster, who is a girl and lives in a Bolt cage with her very own plastic couch & TV. She stays up all night exercising loudly in her wheel and she even has a look-out tower on the top of her cage. She's one lucky girl, huh? :)

Cole is so excited!
sleeping in her TV? :)

Have a wonderful day everyone! Oh, and I posted on my housebuilding blog but I'll mention it here too --> we're getting our electrical inspection today, which means we may finally get lights on IN our house which doesn't involve using a big, long electrical cord. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we pass our inspection!

Done went and done it...

Me & the kiddos went to the Tractor Supply today... nope, not to get chicks - just to get dog & cat food for my mom. Yep, they had chicks ~ bunches of chicks and even rabbits too! And nope, we bought only dog & cat food. Aren't you surprised? I was. Those chicks were so cute & fluffy... and I just couldn't help but think of what wonderful addition they'd be to our new house and land. Katelyn & Cole both were just scooping them up and loving them. I mean, we need farm animals, right?? How can we be called a farm without farm animals? It just doesn't sound right. And I've read that it's harder to get chicks from the hatchery's this year because demand is so high... yep, you know where this is headed, I'm weak I tell ya! And of course, I totally had it all rationized out. :)

So, me & Katelyn decided we'd better go back and just a few little chickies to get us started... but then the girl who was helping us said we had to get 6 (a law?)... then for some crazy reason, I told Katelyn to pick out 8 chickies instead. Then that number went up to 10, just straight outta my mouth! What has possessed me?? :) We loaded up our buggy full of chickie things and quickly jumped into the van for the 20 ride home -- Katelyn held the little cardboard box full of chicks in her lap all the way home. She was even talking to them, yep, wayyyy cute! They all have survived so far (4+ hours) and are just "talking" away in their little make-shift brooder.

I'll take more pics later (of course!) but here are a few for now! Oh and PS: Cole wants to go back tomorrow and buy a bunny/bunny cage/supplies with his birthday money! I think it may be a good responsibility for him. And I think my husband is going to faint! lol ;)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend so far!

Tea Party Anyone?

Since the weather here has been so rainy & windy... we've had to be more creative with what we do indoors to keep the kids occupied while on spring break. It's hard work keeping them occupied. I'm not kidding, if I could bottle up their energy and sell it --> we'd be overnight millionaires! ;)

So we've played with toys & games; danced; watched some cartoons; did an impromptu circus act {Katelyn as the ring master/ballerina act & Cole as the juggling act} in the living room floor; and me & Katelyn even did some basic sewing. But I'm starting to run out of "fun" things... which is not good when it's looking like rain for the next 4 days! Yuck!

Luckily for me, Little Miss Katelyn always comes up with the cutest ideas of things to do or crafts to make. So while playing restaurant with her Dora kitchen, she decided to invite me & Cole to a Tea Party {fancy plastic dishes and all! yes, I super duper washed them first... complete germ-o-phobe here}. It was cute and we all enjoyed it. She even had Sierra Mist ready for Cole, the picky one who doesn't like sweet tea. Ahhh, relaxing! :)



Now I'm thinking that a tea party birthday in August might be right up her alley. I decorate cakes as a hobby, so I could totally make her a cute little teacup cake! :)

Calgon... take me away!

Today is not a good day -- my head has been pounding all day {I have migraines quite frequently... yuck!}; it's been raining and sooo windy here since lastnight; and the kids are off from school for their spring break... which equals to this --> I'm feeling kinda crabby and the kids can't go outside to play to run off their pent up energy so they've been arguing and uber moody all day long. Ahhhh... is it bedtime yet? :)

And obviously my hearing is going too along with my sanity... because I drove Katelyn 15 miles into town for her dance class in the pouring down rain (I so hate driving in the rain!) only to read the sign on the door saying they were closed this week. I was wondering why I was the only one in the parking lot. Hmph, guess I missed hearing that last week! ha ha

I should've known that today would be crazy --> yesterday I found a 4-leaf clover (a rarity for me!) and when I woke up this morning, my lucky clover that was so pretty yesterday had willowed, rolled and dried up into a 2-leaf clover. That was my sign that I should probably just crawl back into the bed. :)

However... on a small brighter note... several good things have happened today ~

*I did change my blog background to another cute bird theme. I'm totally digging all things bird themed right now, including the cute nest w/eggs & a small bird cage on my "decorating" table in my living room.

*I am totally skemping on the nutritious, healthy dinner tonight and making us some calzones. No slaving in the hot kitchen with a big headache for me... woohoo!

*And since I needed to look half-way presentable {versus the "just crawled out from under a rock" edition of me} to the dance moms who always look flawless, I took a shower... washed my hair AND styled it... and even applied some nice makeup -- all while the kids were having "quiet time" in their rooms (read it as they only banged on the bathroom door 3x versus the usual 8x, lol). Yay me! Even though I goofed b/c there was no dance class, hey, atleast I'm clean! And that matters for something. :)

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

Soccer season starts again

Cole played last season and really, really enjoyed it. And this time, Katelyn is playing too... although she made it thru one practice and said that she doesn't like it. Go figure! :) Oh well, it only lasts 2 months so surely she can make it thru that long or maybe she'll grow to like it as time goes on. Her coach is really great with the youngins', so that should help her too.

It didn't help that it was really cold on practice day and only got colder once the sun started going down... like shivering cold for us peeps who get cold easily. I could barely focus! I now realize that I cannot possibly ever live my dream life in the snow field plains of Montana or in the Alaska bush (my 2 choices) --> because if 55 degrees is cold to me, just imagine what the winters there would be! -- I'd turn into a ice sculpture quickly! Brrrr... maybe Hawaii is more up my alley! ha ha :)

So, here are a couple pictures before their first soccer practice.


Here is their "game faces" on... funny!

Cole (in the green shirt) practicing stopping the ball... he had fun but he's team is no joke this season. Very serious stuff now.

Katelyn practicing kicking the ball up past the cones... she looks excited huh?

But she did enjoy making her hair flip & flop from side to side... and she did save a ladybug that she almost stepped on with her cleats (she's my bug girl). I had to go on the field and get it from her so she'd get back to soccer instead of bug saving. Ahhh, fun times! :)

Kids keep it interesting, that's for sure! :)

Fun, warmer times! Yay!

There is about to be picture overload -- we've been so busy around here and I've neglected my blog (again!). The weather has been generally good, so we've done alot more outside things... which mean tons of pictures! And since my memory is so bad, I need to put them on here so I won't forget! lol ;)

Here are some pics that we took at a local park on the first really nice day.

I forced them to pose by a tree... I'm soooo not a photographer! :)


And here's me & Cole...

and there's Katelyn (she picked out the non-matching bow, btw... lol)

And Cole again. I love his smile here, you can tell he was excited to get some good play time in.

Hope the weather is starting to warm up where-ever you are too!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

... and for the record, I do not have on any green today! {Unless pink is the new green} And yes, I did get pinched quite hard this morning by my wonderful son. :)

Someone stop me! :)

I love Tractor Supply. That's big considering I'm a former city girl with no "real" country girl experience at all. We were just there last week browsing around... and I just so happened to notice 4 very large tubs & bags of chick feed around the tubs.

Awesome Breaking News! --> They're getting chicks in today! Which means... I am NOT allowed NEAR Tractor Supply -- because I am not feeling very strong today. ;)

We've wanted chicks for a few years now but I need to wait until we get all moved in and build a decent coop. But they are ohhhhh so cute! And I've read several chicken/farm animal raising books... so I'm all ready, right? David just said how cool it would be to get the kids involved in 4-H ~ so they'd learn a lot about helping raise the chicks. I could totally talk myself into this... which wouldn't be good! But look at how cute they are too {pic below}.

Ohhhh, I totally have to control myself today. I can hear them now... cheep, cheep, cheep, come buy me Ashley!... cheep, cheep, cheep.... lol!

And the precious fluff ball pup below is another one that we're so looking forward to one day soon! Great Pyrenees are the cutest ever... and they keep the coyotes away too! :)



The last time I went to Tractor Supply when they had animals (a few years ago), I came home with a cute bunny and all the bunny fixings {cage, food, watering stuff, treats, etc...}. The kids were stoked! So David was really scared when they had goats for sale in the front of the store -- they were all in the parking lot and so cute! Had they not been all males... it's very possible that I would have stuffed one in the mini-van and came home with it. :) And he thinks me bringing home stray baby kittens is a problem... ha ha ha!!

Another time, me & the kids ended up at a diary cow auction -- yep, I was secretly eyeing the little heifer bottle babies. I totally would've put one of them in the mini-van too... except they sold for around $1,000 a piece because of their cow lineage. So that totally killed that little plan. But one day I'll get one! :)

Happy Monday everyone!

I have not been abducted by aliens! :)

I just wanted to tell you 4 people who read my blog... ha ha haa!... that I'm alive & kicking. I realize that I've neglected my blog and I promise that this week I will get back on track (hopefully!).

We've been so busy around here with birthdays {which equals to parties, goodies, presents...}, then my daughter got sick last week and now I've been sick with the crud for the past few days too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's just allergies and not some super funky crud. Everything here is in full bloom (blah, pollen!) and the weather has strangley went from "oh-it's-so-nice" warm one day to "brrrr, I'm freezing" snowing the next. C'mon spring already, geez!

It's bed time for me now though... so until tomorrow... good nite! :)

Ouch!

Today I went and had my hair done by the cheap little salon down the street from the kids school. I've been trying to treat myself to little pleasures some... okay, actually this only started last week -- ha ha! But I sometimes forget to think of special things for me, and instead focus 110% on everyone else, which leaves me feeling empty when I actually have time to sit down and think about it.

It's something that I'm working on... and I've forgotten how much I like certain things -- like not having bad hair that looks like a skunk on top and straw at the bottom; and like not wearing the same clothes over & over for years {when the homeless peeps are looking better than you, it's a sign!}; and not having 18 different hair colors in my hair because I'm too cheap to pay to have someone do it {the diy color now has even a twinge of green in it now thanks to a backfired "ash blonde" that didn't work out as planned, lol}. I'm definitely not the "girly-girl princess" that I was in my past life (before kids!), that's for sure. Ahhh, confession... it feels good! ;)

So, back to the story. I had my hair washed/trimmed/styled today. The only problem is the girl who washed my hair was half cat, no kidding! -- she washed my hair and scrubbed so hard {clawing! literally clawing with her pointy nails} that I was almost in tears (or shock!). In her past life, she must have been a tiger. lol I think she could tell that I was uncomfortable when she noticed my neck tensing up in the wash bowl -- but nope, she didn't let up! Actually, now that I think about it... maybe she could tell I looked stressed ~ so she thought I'd enjoy it?? Like I was relaxing. And I know my hair wasn't THAT dirty to need all that kneading, clawing and scrubbing all combined. Hmmm. Surely not, I mean who in their right mind would love getting their scalp peeled off section by section by a total stranger in a random beauty shop? My head still hurts hours later! One thing is for sure, if she is there next time --> I will run straight out the door!

I hope your day was better than mine... atleast this part of my day anyways!

I got my snow wish!

Here in our part of TN, we rarely get snow -- usually, if anything, we get ice! So imagine our surprise to wake up Sunday morning to this beautiful 5 inches of snow... it was amazing! :)

I posted some other pics on the house blog too for those who want to check them out. Sadly, it's all melted now ~ but I'm ready for Spring anyway. ha ha

Below is K making a snow angel...

And C helped our neighbors make an igloo... neat huh?
K took her sand bucket & shovel to dig in the snow...

Here was our patio table -- 5 inches of snow!

Below is the creek beside our new house -- so beautiful!

Is it Friday yet??

I'm sooo ready for the weekend! How bout you?

I've accomplished a lot this week though. I made my HUGE drop off at Goodwill. I dropped off *so much stuff* that I thought the concrete ramp might just implode when the last bag was sat down. I donated just about something from every room I think, except the kitchen maybe, I mean bags & bags & bags of random things. The little old man who helped unload everything from my van had to be 85 years old, he was cute & very nice. I mean cute in a nice old man kinda way. :) It was such a nice free'ing feeling of getting rid of so many things that we really don't "need", that I've decided to do another donate run tomorrow after I take the kids to school.

My almost 10 year old son did a project for Black History month. His assigned person was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I was glad he got him because it gave me & both the kids a chance to sit down and discuss him more in detail than just what they'd learned in school. The hard part was that his report could only be 2 paragraphs -- how do you take someone as important & life changing as Dr. MLK and condense that into 2 paragraphs?!? We finally got it all together and I was so excited to pick up C from school, to hear all about what everyone thought of his oral report. He was pretty bummed -- his teacher just said "next" after he was done and the kids barely paid attention he said. They didn't want to see the pictures we'd printed off or the "I Have A Dream" quotes we'd worked so hard on to glue all over the board... get this, they wanted to SMELL the SPRAY PAINT smell on his poster board! Forget the hard work guys, let's just sit around smelling spray paint and joking on how stinky it is. I hope that isn't a look into their futures... huffing is bad news. ;)

I ate lunch with K today and her teacher aide told me how sweet she thought K was. I hear that a lot about both of my kids {usually!}, I'm a very lucky momma. But what else she said really touched my heart and made me so proud. She said K is the only kindergartender that bows her head; clasp her hands; and prays before she eats her lunch. She just thought that was the sweetest thing, and so do I.

On the other hand, after school today I heard my 4th grade son C playing with K's leap pad in her room. It's the leap frog with all the alphabet on it, you can spell random words or play games to help you learn your ABC's/words. I guess C thought that todays "random words of the day" should be "doo-doo"... and then he started to spell "u...g..." -- that's as far as he got before I called him in the kitchen to where I was at. I asked him what he was spelling in there {with a mean momma face too} and {with that oh-I'm-sooo-super-busted look}, he said "fart". He told on himself because I didn't even hear that one! He must need to be reminded that us momma's can hear & see thru walls; nothing gets by us. He's getting himself in trouble a little too much... he must need more chores! ;)

I hope everyone is having a great week!

I can almost see the finish line...

This weekend has been all about cleaning & organizing. And boy do we need it! I would have taken pictures of the scary whats-hiding-in-there "before" and oh-so-clean "after" so you can really see how bad it was... but I don't want to embarass myself too much! :)

I tackled my sons room all day yesterday; daughters room all day today. In between the two rooms, me & the kiddos made a Target run to buy new bookshelves for both of their rooms. I never realized how expensive regular, plain ole bookshelves cost! Ouch! So, with one kid who fell down and skinned her knee coupled with a major crying {pitiful looking} epidsode in the middle of main aisle; and one complaining boy who hates to shop but enjoys sitting on every beanbag in the store kid later... we finally made our way to checkout and had 4 new bookshelves! :)

Have you ever read the Bernstein Bears book, "Too much stuff?"... I found that book buried in my sons room (if THAT isn't a sign, I don't know what is!) and that is exactly how their rooms were. I don't even know where half this stuff comes from, I swear it multiplies! ;)

Whew, I do feel like I've accomplished a lot though and have definitely burned some calories too. I have *tons* of things to donate to Goodwill tomorrow (I hope they have enough room, I should've warned them!) -- and I plan on sneaking in a few more big things while the kids are at school (sshhhhh, top secret!). It's so hard to sneak stuff in the donate pile with them here. Some of the little presents I got for Christmas are going because it's things I'd never use but I'd hold onto them forever in a closet -- someone else can use them, so they're gone (ahhhh, it's freeing! lol). I've got a lot of brand new looking books that I'm going to see if any kids at the school could use; if not, they'll go to Goodwill too. I'm taking my big magazine pile to the county nursing home, I'm sure they'd appreciate having them.

Next is the master bedroom/bathroom and donating some of the extra toddler clothes that I had left over from our last foster baby we had (she had outgrown them already). I was going to hang on to it all... but it's just stacked up and taking up wayyy too much room -- so I'll tackle that this coming week.

Me & the kids were looking back at our Destin, Florida vacation pictures from a few years ago earlier {see below pic} and I've been daydreaming of the warm beach, colorful sunsets, swaying palm trees and bunches of quiet... ahhh, relaxation! :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Something about Mary... and more

I've been wanting to blog about this for a bit, but haven't took the time to sit down and type it. This is probably therapy for me, but way boring for you. So try to read till the end, I promise it's not just sadness... it gets better, there is a point to all this rambling. And my DH says that my blog is too funny for him, hmmm... he may rethink that after this post. ;)

The month of January for the past few years has been a real down-in-the-dumps kinda month for me so I usually try to keep myself busy so I don't have time to sit and sulk about it. January 21st is my dads birthday, he died in 1996 after a car/train collision. I was 19 years old. My parents divorced when I was 3 and I really didn't get to really hang out with him a lot until I was 16 or so and driving myself. He did get visitation when I was younger but there's something about me driving myself over there that makes it more meaningful, I don't know. But I do cherish the years that I had with him and I'm thankful. Maybe one day I'll feel like doing random blog therapy about the circumstances of his death; and how his death has affected everyone who knew him. It's a story that maybe could touch someone else. All I care to say at this point is please don't drink & drive; and please don't ride in a car with someone who has been drinking either {that doesn't make you any safer than you driving yourself}. It only takes 1 second and 1 bad choice to change your life forever; your families life; your childrens life; the lives of those other people sharing the road with you... please don't drive under the influence.... ever.

My great-grandma {who practically raised me} died in early January 2006. She was the best "grandma" a little girl could have; stern but loving & cuddly too; my true best friend; she loved people unconditionally and didn't judge others, regardless of their good or bad choices; she was Christian and was so strong in her faith without shoving it down your throat; she led by example, by her actions, not by just talk; she was strong willed but caring; she'd give you the shirt off her back, plus a good meal to go with it just in case you needed it too. She was married for 57 years before my granddaddy passed away from cancer in 1984; they raised 8 kids in a 2 bedroom house that my granddaddy built for her with his own hands. Their kids went on to give them tons of grandkids and great-grandkids and even great-great-grandkids, it's a big family. Although no-one in my family ever had a lot of money, she still found a way to make everyone feel special. She'd make sure everyone had a christmas present... now, it may have been wrapped up in recycled wrapping paper that she'd saved from last year, but it was wrapped atleast! Oh, and with a recycled bow too! :)

She was 95 years old when she passed on and probably healthier than me until she started getting sick... she went downhill pretty quickly after that and for several months didn't know who any of us were. It was a really hard time and I found myself struggling between being a stay-at-home mom to 2 children; a 4 year old & a baby and trying to make quality time to spend with her. Plus trying to accept that she didn't really know who I was at all. It was all so hard. Whew, getting off track here, so all this to say she was so awesome and I miss her soooo much. I miss her being here but I know she's an angel now.

Fast forward to now --> Last month a message board I'm on told everyone about a little lady that she'd met during a nursing home trip to see someone else. This lady is 83 years old and named Mary. She lives in New York. Mary told her how she'd had her own farm and loved living in the country until she had a tractor accident. Her farm was sold (I assume) and she was put in the county nursing home there. She doesn't have any family or friends to visit her. She spends her days looking out her little bitty window in her room reading magazines {the country'er the better}. She misses her old life. How sad...

As I was reading the post about Mary, her story touched my heart and what perfect timing too... honestly if Mary lived closer to me, I'd pick her up and bring her to our little bit of Tennessee country to live with us. :) And my husband thinks it's bad that I bring stray kittens home... what about a cute little old lady?? :) Sorry, had to joke or I'd cry!

So, instead of sitting around here being stuck in the past and sulking about those I miss... I had a mission -- a mission to send Mary a sweet care package. I got the kids in on it too. My 5 year old colored "Ms. Mary" 2 pictures that she very thoughtfully picked from her coloring book. My son helped me pick out some travel size items {lotion, soap, chapstick, socks, handwipes, sanitizer, etc.} and we put in a country living magazine for her to read. We picked out a small furry Valentines bear and I bagged up some yummy Hershey kisses for her to have {we made sure she could have sugar first though!}. I also got her a little flower she could plant in her window, it's self contained and she could just add water. I put in a little note about who we were and that we hoped that she liked the little package -- I hope she doesn't think we're stalking her. :) My message board friend will hopefully get to stop by to visit Ms. Mary soon so hopefully we'll hear that she got it okay.

I hope Ms. Mary liked her care package from some random Tennessee mom as much as we liked getting it all together for her. It made my heart happy to do it for her; the kids enjoyed it and it's so important for me that they give to others, big or small... it just feels good. And Ms. Mary got her package on Feb. 12 {per delivery confirmation}, two days before Valentines Day. :) I'm going to send her another card today just so she continues to get mail.

And now I'm on a mission to find a local Ms. Mary. We have a local county nursing home in the town over that I'm sure someone would love to have visitors, cards or care packages. Maybe you could find a Ms. Mary (or even Mr. Mary (Marvin?)!} in your area. :)

Happy (late) Valentines Day!

I had a great Valentines Day. The kiddos spent the night at the in-laws house. They had a lot of fun and came home with bags of goodies, not kidding either... bags! of goodies! I might have to throw it all out to keep us from eating it (especially the kids!).

DH did good. :) I told him just to make me a card for Valentines... nothing more. He surprised me with a sweet funny card; a Butterfinger; a pack of mini-Cadbury bunny eggs for me & kids to share; and a gift card to Victoria's Secret too. He's a sweetie! He even checked out the Coach bags (my dream bag! even though my Target purses hold up just fine!) at the mall, which I'm sure sent him into near cardiac arrest because they are wayyy crazy expensive {you can't find them on the mall clearance rack I don't think! and they aren't found at his main hangouts of Lowes or Home Depot! ha ha} -- thanks honey, I know you try at all costs to avoid the mall and I'm sure you almost had manly convulsions while browing the oh-so-girly Dillards purse section, even if you didn't purchase anything. :)

DH cooked us dinner at home {calzones, yum!} then we headed off to furniture browse at Havertys. They have some really nice things -- kinda pricey, but hopefully they last a long time. Our Rooms-to-Go couch is on it's last leg & the fuzz is falling out; granted, it's 7 years old though and have made it thru many of my ~couch plopping down~ episodes so I guess it'll be happy to be moved into the man-cave to get away from me, ha ha. I scoped out a living room set named "La Grande" {American made, woohoo!} collection (it's leather, which usually isn't my thing but it's so nice & comfy too). It's a little out of our price range (okay, a lot!) but we'll see, I can dream. We picked out our bedroom furniture from the "Highlands" collection, very pretty! Ohhh, the best part --> laying all over the Temper-Pedic mattresses... awww, they were sooo nice! Our current mattresses are old and beyond flippable, way past their prime I'm afraid. I'd love to have a good, nice mattress that doesn't make my back-ache every morning! Surely I burn some calories though while I'm flipping around all night trying to get comfortable. I've heard good things about the Temper-Pedic, if only the price would be workable is a whole notha story though! ;)

Here's a pic of the bed we like...



and the couch...

We ended our "date" in the Barnes & Noble bookstore. DH found me the Jenny McCarthy book "Mother Warriors" on the sale shelf for $4.98! Regular price was $24.95 when it first came out and he remembered me saying I wanted to get it. I am looking so forward to reading it. I don't have children affected by autism in my family (yet anyways), but do have friends who have children on varying degrees of the spectrum and also have children in the school (where I sub & my kids attend) affected by autism. I think it'll be a good, inspiring read -- and Jenny McCarthy is such a funny girl too!

Oh, and I think I found my dream accent chair too. Very pretty! But I'm thinking that if I could look around hard enough, I could maybe find one like this at the thrift shops -- then I could change the fabric out on it. Here's the idea though... it's the "Yorkshire" accent chair from Haverty's. $499.00 -- ouch!



I hope (if anyone actually reads this!) that you had a great Valentines Day too! :)