OK, So Maybe...

...just maybe, I meant I was taking a two week blogcation. The first week went by so fast I honestly didn't know the next had started. I did get a few things done but not as much as I had wished. I DID get to bed at a decent hour one or two of those nights (this one is NOT one of them).

Last night Kiah woke me at 1+ or - AM to tell me she "hiccuped"* all over Marli's bed.

*In our house hiccup = puke


I walk into the girls room to find Marli in an utter state of panic yelling, "yook Yook Mommy yucky, YOOK!!!!" I grabbed her comforter and threw it in the tub to be delt with later. Then I wiped up all the remaining chunks with the lysol wipes and got Marli calmed down.

How did Kiah's hiccup end up on Marli's bed, you ask? Kiah sleeps on the top bunk... nuff said?

So Kiah was put on quarantine (spent the day in my room watching PBS and coloring) and I am praying that we don't get woken... waked... woked??? up the next three nights with the same, lovely situation.

Aren't you glad I'm back? :-p

What else has been happening the last week and a half?

I had a girls day out and spent it shopping... but not necessarily buying. I did pick up a copy of Bolt as an Easter gift for the kids and I went to Kohl's for the first time and was blown away by their styles in housewares and their prices. I mean blown away in a good sense. I lost myself in the clearance racks. We even found a new kids oriented thrift store. That alone made the trip worth it. ;-)

The rest of the trip and $ was spent on grocery stuff. No big whoop but the fellowship was good.

Some cleaning and laundry and carpet cleaning and organizing and, of course, schooling went on as well but looking around there is very little evidence of any of the afore mentioned activities.

This week started out with my preparation for the annual Campus Life Easter Egg Hunt. I stuffed about 250 little plastic eggs with candy and pennies. The pennies all had a letter or number on them which represented a prize or a verse to be read about the Easter story. Its great fun for all.

We also got some planting done. I put in my daisies and allysum (sp?) and we started our own little strawberry patch. There will be pictures on Sunday when I post two weeks worth of Project 365.

Looking forward, Saturday April 4th is my and My Love's 11th anniversary. Eleven wonderful years and we are still loving all over each other and growing in the Lord together each day. We have conned... er... asked my parents to watching the kids for the day so we can get out and actually have a conversation. I think we may go see Coroline (finally), visit Ikea, eat at Red Lobster, and just hang out at WOWmart (thanks Linda). Maybe I'll give you a run down after the fact, but for now...

Happy Friday!

Project 365~March 15-21

Ahhhh, my bloggy buddies. After tonight I will be taking a break. Not a long one, but just enough to catch up on the laundry, actually write a few letters, and finish a few projects around the house. I will return on Sunday the 29th with project 365 until then I won't be visiting, commenting, reading or writing blog style.

I will be checking my email so if you have a prayer request or need to contact me you can do so that way. Have a wonderful, blessed week.



Sunday, March 15th "its not a mess, Mommy, its our nestesses." Uh-huh.




Monday, March 16th James decides to take his soccer ball on a walk... maybe he should have carried it down the big hill... RUN BOY!




Tuesday, March 17th click the shamrocks to see what we did on St. Patty's Day.




Wednesday, March 18th Grandma brings over a new puppy computer game. There is no such thing as one at a time in this house.




Thursday, March 19th on laundry day all the clean socks go into a box to be sorted whenever I get to them, which often means half dumping the box to find a pair that match. Booger takes the opportunity to find a pair of forty winks.




Friday, March 20th I catch this scene while watching the kids through a window. That is a tire at the top of the slide. Can you see what they have set up? That poor bicycle is in for it. At least there isn't a kid on it.




Saturday, March 21st My Love takes the kids to the park so I can get some cleaning done but the vacuum just isn't working right. I check the brush end and the canister end but all seems clear... until I try to use the hose. I notice a stretched out area but can't get the bulge to budge. I snip then *GASP*. Who knows how long that has been building up... after I got it all out I thought it looked kind of like a Klingon pet of some sort... or perhaps a delicacy :-p I taped the hose up and the vacuum works like a charm.

See you next Sunday!

ABC, Wordful, and Watch Me Wednesday ~ A Triple Threat

ABC Wednesday


Today is the letter I



I is for the Ides of March
and all things Irish

Like shamrocks.

James rolled the dough...


Eden cut the cookies...


Kiah decorated them...


And Marli ate them.



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Wordful Wednesday



Anytime I am in the kitchen all the kids want to help. Usually I can find something for them to do... other times its much more effective to shoo them all out so I can just get us all fed and get on with our day. Today it seemed that James was the only one interested in turning our egg salad green. Especially after I reassured him that it would taste exactly the same as the "yellow stuff". Of course lunch was followed by a reading of Green Eggs and Ham. Thank you Dr. Seuss.


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Watch Me Wednesday

HURRY!
Someone invent a way to bottle this...








...the energy that is.

This is a clip of James and Cooper from their visit in January doing what little boys do best. Where do they get all that energy?

They suck it out of their Mommies. LOL!


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Happy Wednesday!

2nd Time Around Tuesday

No, I haven't heard from the Salvation Army yet. I'll give it one more day then I will call to see what is going on with my application.

Becky factoid: Its time you knew. I'm addicted to thrift stores. Well, to be honest, its not just thrift stores... its garage sales, flea markets, any place I can find something I never even knew I couldn't live without for under a quarter. I usually don't spend much... a trinket here, a flower pot there. Even all the kids' Christmas presents last year were second hand.

Hmmmm... is that sad?

Anyway, since about 90% of everything we own was given to us or from a thrift store I have decided to participate in ...



One of my favorite local events is the Higgins Diggins Flea Market. The Lions Club gathers the smelliest vendors from around the county, puts them all in a big dusty field in the midst of Summer, and supplies a few port-o-pottys. It is a lot of junk but the hunt is part of the fun.

Last year, when I had just about had it with the dust and the scorching sun I spotted it. A 20x24 framed scientific drawing of a dragon fly with roses.

Becky factoid: I have a mild dragonfly fetish. I say mild because they are here and there in my decor but not everywhere.

I walked over to the framed art work and as casually as possible, asked the price... $20. I thought it was worth it but I can get extremely whishy washy about stuff like this. I looked at it... wondered around her booth, looked at it again, then smiled at the current owner, thanked her and began to leave.

"I'll take fifteen on that picture." She called out. *GASP* I was too obvious! I turned back, "I'll think about it." I smiled. FIFTEEN! I really like it... but I don't NEED it... fifteen... golly....

Becky factoid: It takes me forever to make a decision to spend anything over a dollar at secondhand venues.

I went down the next isle pondering, whishing and washing, until I finally decided what to do. I went back to the booth with the picture and said, "I'll take it for ten." Please keep in mind that most of the vendors had started packing up, the end was near. "OK." said the former owner.

YIPPEE!!!

I paid the lady, grabbed the picture and ran to my car before I changed my mind again. Now it lives with me on the wall of our great room.

OK... so the room is not that great... but the picture is. :-)





My Dragonfly print isn't the only thing having its second go around. Lovely Karyn from Musings From Me has tagged me with this award...


I've seen it before but I'm all into being awarded... and its ovewhelmingly wonderful to be recognized for anything other than changing a doody diaper in 30 seconds flat.

Thank you Karyn :-D

Along with this award I am to share 7 things I love. I like how Karyn started hers...

Besides my Lord, My Love and My kids 7 things I love are:

1. Peace and quiet or just the sound of the rain hitting the roof.
   
2. Bird watching, feeding birds on my property.
3. Kitties.
4. Cold pizza and icecream (no walnuts or pecans, puh-leeze).
5. Crafting, making stuff with my hands, producing something I can be proud of.
6. Sleeping waaaaaaaaaay in.
7. The coast.

Now I am supposed to tag seven others... if you haven't done this one yet I tag YOU! Don't forget your reward. Anyone who comes by here over and over again deserves it.

Blue Monday

Yay for Monday!

Blue Monday, anyway.

Ever since Kiah got her hair cut I have been wanting to get a flat iron. They are sort of pricey... at least for one that doesn't look like its going to fall apart. For what I wanted it would have been around $20 bucks. That may not seem like an overwhelming amount but lets just keep in mind that this is anything but a necessity.

On my shopping trip on Friday I was perusing the treasure filled isles of The Goodwill when I saw this...




I had never thought once to check thrift stores for this item and guess what... it was only $3!

AND ITS BLUE!

WOOOOO-HOOOOOO!

I am so easily amused. :-p

I just love how it takes the frizz out of my hair. This pic was taken after my naturally, very wavy hair had been exposed to rainy wet weather frequently throughout the day...

Not to shabby huh? Not one frizzle.
I love it.

So I say, YAY for Monday... BLUE Monday that is.



To get more of the blues click the blue jay button.

Project 365~March 8-14

So Saturday I marched right into that Salvation Army, walked right up to the lady I knew I needed to speak to and said, "Who do I talk to about the help wanted sign in the window."

She smirked, "Me."

She then directed me to the back to get an application. I filled it out and handed it to her 10 minutes later. "Wow," she said with eyebrows raised. We discussed a few details then she told me she was going to fax it to headquarters with a personal recommendation. Then I said, "Wow." I guess it pays to shop Salvation Army...frequently ;-)

Now, about those ads. I'm not sure I will keep them around. If I had 500 followers it might pay off but I just checked and after two weeks I have made a whopping $0.87. Yeah, nice, I know. The kicker is you don't get paid anything until your account reaches $100. Thats a lot of clicks. If you feel inclined, click away, but not yet...

...its time for...



Sunday, March 8th home again with the girlies, Eden and Marli. They weren't as sick as last week, actually Marli was fine but Eden had a slight fever. We played ponies, playdoh, and started decorating for Easter.




Monday, March 9th the date of the famous phone book incident.




Tuesday, March 10th Kiah goes to Campus Life almost every week to spend time with one of her best friends, Haley.




Wednesday, March 11th we spend part of the day at the park with one of James' friends from church. We had lunch, played at the playground and fed some ducks...fun,fun,fun.



Thursday, March 12th I was plain worn out and trying to catch up on school stuff after our day at the park with kids who are still adjusting to the time change. My Love definately knows how to take the edge off Mommy.



Friday, March 13th I didn't take one pic, but you can read all about what I did here.




Saturday, March 14th after applying for a job, running errands, visiting a sick friend, and a trip to the library, all with Kiah and James in tow, I am ready for some peace and quiet. Coloring is quiet...lets color and color. Kiah loves to color.




Go click on the Project 365 button up at the top to see more weeks in review.

My Friday

Friday is a sacred day to this Mommy. Not only does it symbolize the start of a weekend, meaning there will be an extra adult around during the next few days, but it also symbolizes a taste of freedom.

Friday is shopping day.

Many women I know loathe the grocery shopping. I just can't understand that. It satisfies the deepest desire in me to go forth and gather goods to distribute among the masses.

Masses = my four bottomless pits, My Love, and a ravenous horde at Campus Life.

Now if I had to shop with all four kids in tow surely I would have some empathy for those who dislike this chore. However, I be spoilt. My Love makes sure that Mommy gets out to squeeze peaches and ponder choice cuts of meat all on her lonesome. It is my one reprieve. My me time. I look forward to doing exactly what I want to do without having to constantly count heads or keep my ducks in a row. I have no desire to share this time chatting with my girlfriends or meeting someone for dinner... its my time... just for me.

Is it terrible for me to protect this time with my very life? Are there some of you out there who are thinking "why on Earth would she ever want to leave her children behind?" Perhaps some of you do not understand my desire for solitude... and you know what? That is OK. I don't need you to understand it in order to enjoy it immensely.

Usually I start out by hitting the thrift stores. I don't always find something but its the search that relaxes me. I peruse the books for texts that may come in handy for school and I even have accumulated quite a collection of works that will last me through most of my retirement years... when I will actually have time to read them.

Occasionally I find a real treasure amongst the junk of others. I buy it with excitement in knowing that it did not cost me the MSRP of $14.99 but instead a mere fifty cents. HA!

After the thrift store hours have passed I move on to the drug and discount stores where the real work of shopping for six on a tight budget begins. I also get around to any other miscellaneous businesses where I have errands to run. Last on my list of stops is the grocery store. I walk up and down every isle even if I know I don't need anything in it. I'm just lookin'. This is me time...I'll do what I want.

This Fridays adventures in solitude included dropping off applications to various businesses. I did that first then paid homage to the Salvation Army. Do you know what was on their window?

HELP WANTED

I sort of wanted to inquire... me working at a thrift store would be like a dream come true...

DON'T ROLL YOUR EYES!

...but I lost my train of thought somewhere between a pile of books and a stack of board games and forgot to get an application. I had thought about it before, working there, but the hours didn't seem to fit my schedule.

When I got home I told My Love about the sign at the Salvation Army. He seemed to think that if I could land a late afternoon/evening position 2-3 days a week that we could make it work.

I was like...


I'm going in to get that job tomorrow (Saturday). Please pray with me that the position/hours will match what I have available. The Salvation Army really is one place I wouldn't mind working. I'm not looking to get rich, just pay for some ballet lessons and maybe some soccer for the boy. It's better than all the grease pits I applied at today... just no one else is hiring.

Speaking of which (getting rich), if you haven't noticed already, I have placed some of those nifty ads onto my bloggypoo. Right now they are in my sidebar but they may move later on. If you have the time I would really appreciate a hearty 'click' on the ol' ad there. I'm not sure how it will pan out but ya never know.

Thanks for hearing me out.

God Bless!

ABC, Wordful, and Watch Me Wednesday ~ A Triple Threat

ABC Wednesday

Today is the letter H

H is for Hamantaschen

One of the staff of Campus Life called me this morning and made a request for this cookie. It is eaten during the Jewish holiday of Purim which celebrates the story of Ester. I found a recipe online which in retrospect I don't think is as traditional as the one printed on the back side of the label from the poppy seed filling. The dough was good but if I ever make them again I will just use jam, fruit or chocolate.

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Wordful Wednesday

How do you empty a mud puddle?

First jump up...

...then...

SPLASH DOWN!

It is near impossible to keep these kiddles of mine out of the puddles. We go on a nature walk everyday, weather permitting, and I can't wait until the puddles are nothing more than than dusty divots in the road. As I've said before, the puddles are fun for the first week, after that... Grrrrr.

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Watch Me Wednesday

This video just cracks me up. It was just one of those crazy late night moments. James was still up and Daddy just happened to mention that he learned how to tear a phone book in half.

"Nuh-uh." I replied intelligently.
"Yuh-huh." he replied, equally as savvy.

But what got My Love to his feet was the fact that his own boy didn't believe it. I always keep extra phonebooks around for just such an occasion.

We are just crazy like that... yes, thats me singing the dramatic sountrack. :-p

My appologies ;-)

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Happy Wednesday!

Blue Monday and Check This Out!

For my Blue Monday scroll on down but you might want to check this out first ---

Karen Deborah over at
Fresh Fixins
is doing a giveaway.

All she wants you to do is leave a comment and then tell as many as you can about it.

AND YOU WILL WANT TO

because the more peeps we can get to comment the bigger the prize will be.

What is the prize???

Only Karen knows but I am betting it will be GOOD whatever it turns out to be. Its all for fun and that is what we are all here for, right?

And Karen Deborah is so much fun! I love her honest and to the point posting style and her zany way of celebrating the coming of Spring and PEACHES.

lol

So go check out her blog and leave her some comment love and be entered into a super fun surprise giveaway!

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Blue Monday


My Blue eyed boy in all shades of blue...

...even though his favorite color is green. SHH! Don't tell the hostess, but DO go get the blues by clicking the birdy button.

Project 365~March 1-7

MARCH!

WHAT!?!

Did you Spring forward?

Sunday, March 1st I skipped church to care for my two sickies. Eden had a head cold and Marli had a fever but if you know anything about 2 and 4 year olds its that even when they are sick they never stop. The video lasted all of 20 minutes before they were ready for something else. Playdoh, anyone?




Monday, March 2nd everyone was feeling a little better and good thing because Eden and Marli had an appointment with the pediatrician for well checks and vaccinations. They are both fine and growing normally and the maladies were determined to be viral. Poor Eden had four shots and a finger poke and did not even cry. Did you hear what I said? she is 4 years old, got stabbed FIVE times and DID NOT CRY.

She is more brave than I.

When we got home they wanted to play "dockter" to use all the skills they learned at their checkup.




Tuesday, March 3rd after a long day of baking for Campus Life, going to Campus Life, and running errands afterwards I finally sat down around 11:30pm only to realize that I had not yet taken a picture for the day. I looked around for evidence of any activities during the day but nothing caught my eye. Then I noticed that one of my socks was inside-out... all day... and I didn't even realize it. Its the one on the left.




Wednesday, March 4th was also a busy day with school and ballet. At the end of it Flip had the right idea.




Thursday, March 5th Aunt Dawn came to visit. She spoiled my kids with toys and hugs but thats what aunties from Missouri are for :-D One of the toys was those expanding rubberish thingies that start out tiny and grow bigger over night. Its akin to watching grass grow but the kids were so excited to find their stuff had "magically growed".






Friday, March 6th we are watching Mo for the day. My parents dog is as tall as Marli and weighs over 70 pounds and he is not even a year old yet. He is a gentle giant though and so mellow for a pup. He loves the kids and since we see him every day he is quite comfy here. Cuteness factor: Mo's toes :-)





Saturday, March 7th the week just flew by! And although we did go to the park today I had neglected to bring my camera. So you get a picture of one of Eden's charms. Everyday when Daddy gets home from work she asks, "did you have any mail for me?" She collects junk mail, receipts, coupons and used up gift cards and stores them away in an envelope for us to find later... in the "mailbox"

So that is how we jumped into March.

Enthralling,

I know.

;-)




Click on the button to see more greats weeks worth of photos or join in the fun yourself.