Happy Halloween!

October 31st rocks in my book! My boys had the best time tonight! Boys, you are the cutest Skeleton, Monkey and Ninja I ever laid my eyes on!!!

If ya'll get a hankerin' for some candy just drop on by! We have anything you can dream of! And we love to share! It's like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory around here...

Happy Fall Ya'll

and I'm not talking about Harvest time either. I fell really bad today. Get it, Happy Fall...eh, nevermind. Anyway as I was sayin', I tumbled down probably 4 or so stairs, while I was holding the baby and one of the big boys hands. The kids are fine, I however am in some serious pain. Yowser's. I keep telling myself if I can make it through 3 c-sections, then some really bad bruising should be doable. In the meantime, here are some pics from our Bee Extravaganza...

Holiday Control Journal

I just printed off my free Flylady Holiday Control Journal. It is going to be a great resource to be prepared for the Holidays. It includes a place to tape an envelope to hold receipts so you don't overspend, decorating and baking ideas, and of course cleaning/organizing tips.

The goal is to be fully prepared by December 1st, and treat it as if you are setting sail for a three week cruise beginning the first.

Time over the Holidays can be spent enjoying traditions (new and old), baking (which makes the house smell yummy), spending time with family and friends. Maybe it is because this time last year I was in bed sick and wasn't even able to decorate for Christmas (Shane did all the decorating for us), but I am so ready to get going. I love this time of year so much. Starting with the Fall Festivals and letting the boys trick or treat, and ending with New Years.

To get things kicked off right I have things in the kitchen ready to bake a 2 layer white cake with chocolate frosting this evening. That was one thing I did last year as I was laid up on the couch. Baked this wonderful white cake with my pretty red mixer and drank lots of hot tea. And let the kids watch about a bazillion movies.

Week in Review

This has been a very nice week so far.

Monday I axed cleaning from my list for the day. It was a much nicer start to my week!

I am trying to S-L-O-W down and enjoy my boys during the day. The day can get away from me so fast and before I know it it's midnight and I'm falling into bed.

We went to the Bee Pa..., I mean Pumpkin Patch. It was nice. Except for the fact that we almost died from the killer bees. But I danged sure left with 5 pumpkins. And a nervous twitch.

I am MAJORLY procrastinating on my Bible Study for the week. As in, I have 6 days worth of lessons to do and here I am blogging. It's amazing stuff, I think the blue skies and nice weather have me sidetracked.

I am counting down the days till Friday when the boys bring in the booty. Of candy that is. Gosh, these last few Halloweens I have developed a love of Laffy Taffy. Try it for breakfast I know you'll love it. It too is a good way to get your fruit in without the pesky flies. Or bees.

Fruit Flies

(For the curious, here is a response to the fruit fly quandary from my mom...)

Fruit flies? FRUIT FLIES?

ewwwwwww.

That's why I stick to processed foods, Honey.

Ever hear of chip flies? Cookie flies? Ice cream flies?

No ma'amy. ha!!!!

Fuzzy Headed Boys

I love, love, love little boys with fuzzy heads this time of year. They are the ones who got a buzz cut in the summer but are in the transition phase for a longer "do" for the fall.

And they walk around with little fuzzy heads and are so stinkin' cute.

Also, I need to talk about fruit flies. Where do they come from and how do they randomly appear in my house when the bananas ripen?

Hmmmm....

Why I Hate Mondays

Well I don't like admitting this but I really just don't like Mondays.

I often wake up feeling overwhelmed and defeated before my feet ever hit the floor.

I'm in a bad pattern of staying up way too late and having a hard time getting out of bed.

Yesterday here's wheeled through my groggy head as I tried to get up. When I get up I have to:

• make the beds
• get ready for the day
• unload the dishwasher
• feed the baby and boys breakfast
• bless my house during morning naptime
• make lunch and feed the gang
• continue dealing with the 4 loads of laundry
• bible study/tidy house before naps
• get ready for training tonight
• make dinner for the boys
• go to training

In the morning I had to deal with a "punching out the screen while the windows were open" incident. I'm pretty sure we won't have issue with this anymore. For a brief 2 seconds, I literally thought, "this is one of the first times this year I've had the windows open, maybe the boys didn't remember that we are not supposed to punch the screen out..." But then I came back down to reality and was like, "OH HECK NO!!!"

My boys sat in wide eyed amazement as Mama dealt out the consequences. No TV, Games, Movies, Cokes, Candies, Gum, Nothing-Nada-Zilch and you will not ever again touch one of Mama's screens.

I've never been one to have to deal with PMS other than eating an absurd amount of chips and salsa to feel better, but I have been in a bad mood the last 2 days which is just not like me.

Pray for my boyz. Poor things. It could be worse. We could have multiple hormonal women in the house to deal with. Advantage #14400 of having a house full of boys-fewer hormones and cheaper hair cuts.

I tried for a nano-second to try to think of making lemonade out of the lemons, trying to think of positive things, finding a happy place but right now I feel like squashing the lemon tree.

And don't even think I haven't eaten chocolate chip cake for breakfast the past 2 days because I have.

And why is it that I always seriuosly consider loosing weight when I'm in these moods.

Have a Nice Day.

Stupid things people do on vacation...

#1- Go to a REALLY nice restaurant with all three kids in tow. Here is a picture of me at the table BY MYSELF. Well, JJ is sleepin. The big boys are in the bathroom. Tip: If your kids are having trouble with regularity, take them out to eat, they'll be cured. The nicer the restaurant the quicker the cure! Trust me on this people. Props to Cantina Laredo, oh heaven help us all that was one dinner I'll never forget! I had 3 enchiladas. A chicken with poblano cream sauce, a beef with a chili sauce, and a cheese/onion with a chili sauce. I was really annoying while I ate I'm sure, but I was So-Ho-Oh happy at the experience!
#2: Pay $20 bucks to eat at Ben & Jerry's just because it's on the water making it more fun. I paid $5.50 for a pint of ice cream called Chubby Hubby. Once again, props to the Chubby Hubby variety. Peanut butter filled fudge dipped pretzels in a vanilla malt ice cream. Oh Please! My local grocery does not carry this flavor but I can get Fudgey Monkey at Kroger for $2.50 a pint.
#3: Seriously consider purchasing a pair of coon skin hats. I cannot post the pic of me in this because I look possessed or something. It was a bah-ha-had picture, but here are my little Davey Crocket's . Aren't they the cutest little things you ever saw?!?!
#4: And last but not least-Forgetting to look in the mirror to check the back of your hair before exiting the room. This confirms that my husband does not look at me. I have a clump of hair the size of Texas sticking up in the back and nobody bothered to tell me. Lord have mercy.

I'm back!

The view from our room


Hey Friends! We are back. I couldn't tell you we were leaving for vacation because I didn't want the Burglars who read my blog to come rob my Pampered Chef products while we were gone. As you'll hear in the video, we went to Big Cedar Lodge in Branson.

It was nice to get away for the week. We fished, grilled out, shopped, slept, read, watched T.V., swam and went out to eat. And little JJ tried Green Beans and Squash for the first time.

First Fish on the trip for the little guy! Transformer Fishin' Poles are the BEST!

Sooo COLD!!!



LINCOLN LOGS!

Yesterday I did my weekly home blessing and got things back in order. Today I am trying to tackle the 167 emails in my Inbox.

The house is decorated for Fall and is very festive. My next post will be on Stupid Things People Do While On Vacation!!! Be looking for some telling pictures!

I'll be back....

I am taking a little blog break for one week. Don't forget about me!!! I'll be back next weekend, just taking a week long break from the computer which is gonna be SO hard! Pray for me! HA!

I'm going to read and spend time with the fam this week.

Grocery Store Finds

This is one of those perfect days. The windows are open and all the sheets have been washed and the house smells like April Fresh Downy.

I had to take a minute and let ya'll know about some new things I've found at the grocery store that are really great.

• Oroweat OatNut Bread (made with Oatmeal & Hazelnuts)
• Oscar Meyer Thinly Shaved Rotisserie Chicken (prepackaged deli-style meat in the refrigerated section by the cheeses)

We've been making toasted sandwiches under the oven broiler and it is really great.

• Top one slice of bread with the Chicken and shredded cheddar
• Top the other slice of bread with cheddar and a few dots of real butter
• Broil till a little brown

It makes a great lunch with fruit, chips & salsa!