Just another day in paradise...

Destin Sweet Destin....

2011-08-08T16:01:00.000-07:00

So can you tell I'm at my "happy place"... the BEACH! Don't mind the dark clouds in the distance... we decided the thunder wasn't going to stop us! We take a trip to Destin almost every year at the same time - the first week of August. It's the cheapest week to rent the condo we love... and probably the HOTTEST week of summer! Crazy... what we don't do to save a buck.

See my lovely orange chair... not only is it a backpack chair... it has a COOLER and a SNACK BAG attached! Seriously... it freed up two hands! Of course, after the kids buckets, shovels, towels, and body board thingies... I decided next year I need one of those cheesy carts people use to drag all their junk down to the shore. It's quite ridiculous!

This year we spent almost all of our time at the beach and pool rather than other random touristy things. We did go on a dolphin watch boat ride... holy hurt the broken tailbone. Kind of ruined it for me. We did see a pod of dolphins with a BABY! WOOT WOOT... very cool.

I thought this picture (not staged at all... ha...) captured the perfectness of my children and the love they share for each other...

sweet, eh? Fakers. :) They love the beach as much as we do... PERFECT! They could dig for HOURS!

This last one is in honor of my dear, sweet husband. He LOVES the concept of surfing and paddle boarding. Being that we live in OH... not near a lake, he takes full advantage of anything "surfing" related when he has the opportunity. So... while we were in Destin, he whipped out his "mini-surfboard" (seriously... that's what it is) and "rode the waves". Fun stuff... keeps him occupied and makes him feel like a stud!

Good times! Next year we might try the Atlantic shore... NC or SC. Not sure yet... any suggestions???

has it really been since MARCH!?!?!

2011-08-08T15:56:00.001-07:00

HOLY SMACKERS... they say time flies when you're having fun, but seriously... it's been since MARCH!?! YoWzA! Life sure does come at ya fast, eh?

Things have been crazy around here the last few months. Obviously the kids finished school for the 10-11 year (and they happened to start the new school year TODAY!!), we took a couple vacations, I had parvo (don't ask... pure misery) and broke my tailbone (even more misery... again, don't ask). The last two really put a damper on our summer plans.

We spent a few days in MI and a week in Destin, Fl. LOVE LOVE LOVE the beach! Wish at time we didn't live in central (no lake shore near by) Ohio. Kind of depresses me at times... something about hearing the waves is beyond refreshing and soothing to my soul.

I read some great books... "the Help" being my favorite fiction and "Give them Grace" being my favorite not fiction. I'm still reading that one though... trying to absorb as I read.

Now that all three Schwadlings are in school full-time (I feel like I'm in the first phase of being an empty nester) I'll be able to blog about nothing (HA!) more often! :) Lucky you!!!

One last thing... can I just say... how did I ever live without DVR? WOW... great stuff!

That's all for now folks....

Come live with me and be my love....

2011-03-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

this week we celebrate 11... yes 11... years of marriage! YOWZA! God has brought us SO far in those 11 years. It never ceases to amaze me at how blessed my life is because of Andy.

I have come to appreciate him and his love SO MUCH MORE over the last few months. He was so supportive through the whole cancer "thing"... I know that if it hadn't been for his encouragement some days that I might have just simply given up.

I have come to love his thirst for knowledge. It HAS to be his spiritual gift. He remembers things SO well... always has odd tidbits of information about the most random things. He has an amazing memory for biblical history... puts me to shame! He is constantly reading (literally... getting him to come down for dinner at times is IMPOSSIBLE) trying to learn more and grow deeper in his knowledge of God, the Bible, and just about every other random thing.

I have come to understand that sometimes... I just have to let him do things his way. It's okay for things not to be done the way I want them to be done. Example... emptying the dishwasher (random... but I KNOW all you wives out there know exactly what I mean here...). I always put things back in the exact same place. He does not. I find things in the most random places... not really sure why the were put where they were. Makes me crazy... but also makes me appreciate the fact that he does help out... sometimes :).

I look forward to our future together... no matter how long it may be. Where God is taking us... watching our kids grow... spending much needed quality time together.

It's been an amazing journey so far... and I can't wait to see what else is to come!!

SO EXCITED!!

2011-01-27T13:17:00.000-08:00

Last week, the company that belongs to the lovely "logo" above - Green B.E.A.N. Delivery - had a fantabulous groupon available for purchase. It was $15 for a $35 delivery! This is a new to our area service that I think sounds fantastic! They offer several options along with organic/natural groceries. The best part - it's all delivered to YOUR FRONT DOOR!!!

So tomorrow is our first delivery. They sent out a list of what's to be included in my medium produce (fruits and veggies) box... including... bok choy, broccoli, apples, oranges, mandarines (yes... a fancy word for orange), potatoes, onions, etc. SO EXCITED!!!! With my pre-radiation diet, I'm VERY limited to what I can eat. This bunch of fresh goodies couldn't be timed ANY better!

I'll plan to take pics of what we get... hopefully it's going to live up to the hype! :)

this has me thinking......

2011-01-26T05:22:00.000-08:00

So Lindsey over at the Pleated Poppy once a week does a What I Wore Wednesday post. She takes pictures throughout the week, then on Wednesday posts them for all the bloggy world to see. LOVE IT! She originally started this whole shebang to help keep the sweats/yoga pants at bay.... something that isn't necessarily easy to do!

So I've been thinking.... maybe I should try this. I've been a bit of a sludge lately - lazy, lazy, lazy. Hats almost everyday and my lovely knit pants close to every day (they really are SO comfortable). Shameful :). BUT.... when I try to think of cute outfits that would compare to Lindsey and all the other great girlies that link up to her *party*... it's a problem. Obviously something to work on over the next couple of months!

So... here we go. It's my first official picture - not so much for WIWW, but for the sake of taking a picture of ME. I really.... REALLY hate having my picture taken. Seriously... it's like a disease or something :).

Does anyone else want to join me in my WIWW journey?

positive thinking....

2011-01-20T13:19:00.000-08:00

So back in "the day" I was a huge fan of Monty Python movies. Lame, right? One of my NOT so favorites was the "Life of Brian". The ONLY fun thing about this movie was the song "always look on the bright side of life". Let's see if I can link up to it just in case you haven't heard of it before... (warning... it's a bit off the charts in sacreligiousness)

*please click here*

okay so i have NO idea of how to REALLY download a video to my blog. I'll figure it out later... :)

ANYWHO... after my last post (aka: pity party) I decided to post some POSITIVE things about having thyroid cancer... in particular the RAI (this would be the radiation portion of our program...).

SO... I have to be in complete seclusion for 7 days. This means NO contact with the "outside" world... I will be literally locked in our master bedroom. At first I thought what a huge drag this would be. BORING! But... I have some plans... :)

#1. I've been wanting to paint our master bathroom FOREVER! The walls and the vanity. What better time?!?! No reasons for my NOT to be able to finish it... it's the perfect time!! It'll be fun to surprise the husband with it when it's finished... he won't have to deal with the in between stuff.

#2. I've been meaning to read through the WHOLE Bible for a while now. Being a Christian for a majority of my life and having NEVER done this... pathetic. I'll have to pick up an old copy somewhere (I have to toss pretty much anything tossable when I'm ready to emerge from my lair) but that should be easy enough. Some good God time will be a great way to spend isolation time :).

#3. A GREAT excuse to get a new bedding set for our bed! I know, I know... silliness. BUT.... I'll have to toss all the sheets and whatnot from the bed anyway... so... hmmmm... time to start shopping. I actually already have a set picked out - just waiting for Macy's to have free shipping again :).

So now I have THREE positive things that will come out of my having cancer. Like our dear Monty Python friends sing... it's time to start looking at the BRIGHT side of life!

Struggles.....

2011-01-18T06:57:00.000-08:00

No pictures this time... (again!)... but I feel like I need to share what is on my heart.

Never in my 35 years did I think that I would hear the words "you have cancer". It's something that happens to OTHER people... not me.

Yeah... not so much. It's amazing how these "simple" words completely change your life. For some good... and some bad. I have been beyond blessed by the kindness and love of friends and family. Back in December when I had my surgery, they pretty much took over the day to day stuff for me. I'm not one to ask for help... but have I ever learned that sometimes, you just need to accept it when it's offered! :)

It's been over a month since my original surgery... the surgery itself has healed fine. A minor scar... but nothing (thankfully) to horrible. Life has gone back to normal for the most part... at least it appears that way to most...

But I'm struggling. Deeply. Sometimes I feel like depression is going to take over.... my mind is constantly churning out different scenarios. I pray all day long for God to take over my thoughts... to not let Satan have his way. I try to remind myself that everything happens for a reason and I only need to trust HIM.

I've tried SO hard to stay strong and positive through this whole ordeal... I haven't really had a "WHY ME?!?!" moment. But the longer I deal with it, the more I find myself wondering... "why me?". I don't like pity parties... and I've tried REALLY hard to not have one for myself. But right now, I'm not sure what positive can come from all this.

All this being said... it leads me to my "word of the year". Apparently these are pretty popular in the bloggy world :). My word this year...

Trust

Simple as that (HA HA HA!). I have to trust that God has a plan. I have to trust that in the end all will be okay... and if it's not, that HE will take care of both myself and my little family. I have to trust Him to not give me more than what I can handle... or if it feels that way that he will provide a way to best deal with it. My pastor once said that our lives are "God's story". I have literally clung to those words over the last few months. HE has a plan... I just have to be willing to follow his lead.

So... if you're a praying sort of person, I could use some :). I'm working to protect my heart and mind from the negativity that Satan breeds. Working SO hard to stay focused on the goal of glorifying Christ in EVERYTHING... both good and bad. Working beyond hard to simply TRUST....

looking back at 2010...

2010-12-29T11:28:00.001-08:00

I decided to take a trip down memory lane this afternoon... NOT a good thing. :) Here are the goals I set for myself to work towards in 2010... (I wanted to be able to say these things as of 12/31/10)....

1. I have lost 20 pounds

2. I have quit soda altogether

3. We FINALLY finished painting the interior of our home... (this has been an ongoing project for over 4 years.... you can stop laughing now...)

4. I tried seafood (I have a weird seafood phobia.... just typing that out has me almost "enjoying" a panic attack... it's rather bizarre...)

5. I no longer spend just because I can... I have been able to put more into savings rather than into junk we don't need.

Well... I can officially say one of them. #3... the house was FINALLY painted this summer/fall. As for the rest of them... yeah.... not happening.

Let's reflect a moment on each task...

1. I tried REALLY hard to lose the 20lbs. Was working out 4 times a week doing an hour of cardio each time. Also incorporated strength training. I never saw any sort of results... NADA, ZIP... NOTHING! But... now I sort of know why. The big "C" - cancer. Now saying this is all to blame... but thyroid cancer totally screws up your metabolism. HOPEFULLY now that the path to health has been embarked upon... but this time in 2011, I will have lost 30 lbs! :)

2. soda... i tried SEVERAL times. lame, right? not sure what it's going to take to quit drinking soda. miracle? :)

3. YEAH!!!

4. I was sincerely planning to try seafood while on our annual FL vacation this year. Had it all planned out - a grouper sandwich from Pompano Joe's. :) BUT... then the oil spill happened and I decided I'd rather wait a year. So... 2011 is my year! :)

5. I've done better with this. Not perfection by any claim... but better. Rather than boosting our savings, we've been trying to pay down debt... in a MAJOR way.

So that's the official rundown of 2010 goals. Time to start thinking about 2011... it's been a rough end to 2010... and possibly a rough start to 2011... but it can only go up, right?!

HAPPY NEW YEAR (a bit early...!)!!!!!

A GREAT day for a hike in the woods... :)

2010-11-03T06:25:00.001-07:00

Let me preface this whole ditty by saying that I REALLY need a better camera to catch the kids at the "perfect" moment. As you can see with the Chud below... I would LOVE to have him not be blurry in this picture! At least you can still see how cool this place is...

A few weeks ago we packed up the kids after church and headed to Hocking Hills. It's about an hour from our house... and SO amazing! Even though we've lived here for 5 years now we had never taken the time to drive out to hike around. It's a huge gorge type area just to the west (or is it east... maybe north... or even south... yeah... I really don't know) of C-bus. AMAZING!!!! The kids had a billion places to climb into... water to toss rocks into... in their minds... perfection!

I love this picture of "miss thing" below... you can totally see that she is absolutely SICK of my taking pictures. HA! The joys of being the mom! :) It's so rare to get all three looking at the camera, almost smiling, with their eyes open. I personally thing this picture is nothing short of a MIRACLE!

What have you done this fall with YOUR family?

Our annual FL vacation... August 2010

2010-08-30T09:54:00.000-07:00

Every year (almost) we head down to Destin, FL to enjoy the sun, sand, and pool. The kids love it, we love it... it's perfect. We stay at the same place every year... which is kind of nice. I like to be able to "be" on vacation when we "go" on vacation. Not stressing about getting lost or if our condo is going to be crap :). We did stay in a different condo this year... at the same complex. LOVED IT! It was our favorite out of the 3 we've stayed in for previous visits. Can't wait to go back!! Here are some pics of our time... nothing to life changing... just fun shots... except for the first pic...

see that nasty green goop.... it's algae. We've NEVER had an issue with it before. Apparently, due to the heavy rains in the Midwest... the fertilizer farms use along the mighty Mississippi has washed into the gulf. Gross. So... with all the HOT weather the gulf has had this summer.... the fertilizer has blossomed into some lovely green goo. Usually they have an "offshore flow" (winds blow yuk stuff out), but oh no... not this year. They've had a consistent "onshore flow". Figures. Enough with our nature/weather lesson.... let's move on.....

Miss Thing was SO proud of this hole... "mom... I have water!!!". She worked HARD on this... very hard. Kind of cute to see the kids applying themselves to something as mundane as digging a sand hold. Wish it would translate to room cleaning...

Had to include Red's hole... he's such a goofball. He wanted his picture to look like he fell into a huge hole... pretty convincing, eh?

the Chud had issues with digging a hole... he never seemed to sit in one place long enough to actually get anything started. Crazy kid... where he gets his energy... I'll NEVER know! I'll be curious next year if his hole digging skills have improved... :)

This is every mother's dream... all the kids playing together without bickering, yelling, or any other negative form of anything. This was toward the end of the week (maybe even the morning we left...) so thankfully most of the nasty green goo had moved a bit farther off shore (like 10 feet... but enough to make a difference!!). They sat and did whatever they do along the shore for quite a while. WONDERFUL! This is why I LOVE taking the kids to the beach... they're finally content.

What to do... what to do?

2010-08-13T06:06:00.000-07:00

Toward the middle of summer, I started to hear "MOM... I'M BORED!!!". Not really sure how it's possible with the GAZILLIONS of toys they have and all the fun outdoor stuff available to them... but none-the-less... I put my thinking cap on and came up with this...

SHAVING CREAM FUN!!!

Not exactly a "new" idea... but it was new to my 3 little schwadlings :)....

This is about the ONLY kind of graffiti I'd ever let the kids take part in... :) ... the kind that washes away. I (back in my rebel days... ha ha ha), along with some junior high friends decided it would be fun to use shaving cream all over a local elementary school one night at a sleepover. Yeah, the cops didn't like it so much (lame). That was my first run in with the law. I still don't think my parents know about it... my friends parents were FREAKING out! :) Anyway...

This was SEVERAL weeks ago, but I swear, he still smells like Barbasol. He loved it... he's a very touchy-feely kid... so this was great for him!

It was fun to watch once they really started to get into it. At first Miss Thing was all worried that it was going to "ruin my hair or swimsuit". Whatever. So NOT her mother's daughter in that regard. Once they figured it all out... WATCH OUT! As you can see even the little neighbor boy Dougie got into it (he would be the one in the blue shirt) - sorry Cliff and Anne! :)

I think Miss Thing decided it was revenge time on all the boys. Being the only girl sometimes she has to put up with a LOT of boy stuff. She took FULL advantage of this opportunity (you GO girl!!)...

One day, I WILL get a picture of all three of them with their eyes open! :) HA! They really did have SO much fun... you should totally try it if you have kids. It's cheap (less than $1.50 a can for the Barbasol) and cleans up easy. Must say, the clean up was the best part for me. I took the hose sprayer and told them to hold still. I LOVE spraying people... so it was perfect! BBBWWWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! :)....

FINALLY!!!!

2010-08-13T05:43:00.000-07:00

The shutters have been done for a while... but I've been such a slacker with sharing ANYTHING on this lovely blog :). SO here is the "not" so grand reveal of this project that ended up being the thorn in my flesh for many weeks!

Painting (what felt like) millions of boards - outside - in the sun - on our black driveway... yeah... not so fun. After painting them the lovely shade of "Napolean" (aka: dark gray) I realized I probably should've primed them first. Oops. Oh well... what's done is done. We had to make 10 of these babies... felt SO good to see them done and put together!

My uber-brave husband had to literally FORCE the nasty vinyl shutters from the house. I thought he was going to fall with them a few times... he seemed to enjoy it. Maybe a little bit too much....

Here you can witness the nastiness that WAS our faded, crappy vinyl shutters. These were DARK red when we moved in 5 years ago. Now they look pink. Gross. Who wants PINK shutters??

Not the best picture... but look how much better these look!?! We also painted our front door BRIGHT RED (think 16 coats of red paint... seriously) which really helped to bring it all together. I added some new pots of flowers and PRESTO CHANGO... so much better!

We saved so much $$ doing these ourselves (one set of shutters would've cost what we paid for 5 sets had we purchased them) so all the sweat, tears, and sunburn was totally worth it. I have to give props to Miss Thrifty Decor Chick who inspired me to try this project. You totally have to check out her blog. She's got some amazing ideas and she's so darn creative (yes... I'm jealous....) - you'll probably be sucked into it all like I have :). Consider this your warning...

On to the next project... painting our master bath. STILL don't have a color... so it may NEVER get done! :)

Busy... busy... dreadfully busy....

2010-05-19T06:27:00.000-07:00

I must admit... I LOVE veggie tales. Especially when Madame Blueberry sings the "busy" song. That's how I feel lately... BUSY. It's starting to make me crazy.

I've been reading this blog - Simple Mom quite a bit lately and have been SO inspired. I so desire a simple life for myself and my family. All the running we do seems to make us grumpy and tired. All the tv we watch seems to make us bored when it's not entertaining us. Kind of lame.

My goal over the next few weeks is to finish up the MANY projects I've started. The shutters... painting the great room (those of you who REALLY know me... you can stop laughing now)... cleaning carpet... purging stuff.

Even the kids are getting in the spirit - we're having a garage sale on June 12. They've already started sorting through their STUFF - keep pile, garage sale pile, and goodwill pile. I'm so proud! :)

So please stay tuned... summer is JUST around the corner! Sounds like a great time for me to get less busy (ha ha ha) and practice being simple...

Our first day at the beach for 2010!!

2010-04-22T18:24:00.001-07:00

It's been a LONG time since my last bloggie blog entry.... but thought I'd try to start up again (sounds familiar eh?). No time like the present!! :)

This year for Easter we went North to my family in west Michigan. My parents are blessed to live uber close to Lake Michigan... perfect in the summer. Semi-perfect the rest of the year. Something about 80 degree days in April made us all ready to jump back into beach time! It was a chilly evening, but the kids had so much fun! They could spend HOURS digging in the sand... and playing in the water if it wasn't FREEZING (then again... Lake Michigan is ALWAYS freezing!). It was chilly, but "relaxing" to watch them play!

Yes, I know. This is FUZZY. I was sitting inside my parents van at this point. I was COLD COLD COLD!! Obviously little dude didn't care - he was happily carrying his FREEZING cold bucket of water back up to the rest of the group...

This is about the only moment he wasn't running off into the sunset. My sister did a fantastic job of catching him... while I sat in the nice warm van.... :)....

Miss thing - always posing for the camera. Her irritation with me constantly snapping pics doesn't even show in her face... AMAZING~~

Here's the motley crew... our Michigan cousins. What a bunch!!

We're busy working on a house project - new shutters! Rather than spending $300 per pair (OUCH!) we decided to make them for $30 a pair. Good times. I'll post pics when done! Garden is also started - just onions and lettuce so far. Can't wait to get the tomatoes, cukes, and green beans started! :) We also planted 2 more blueberry bushes - they're PINK blueberries! SO FUN! Makes them taste better.... I hope (I'm NOT a big blueberry fan... but my boys love them)...

Ta-ta for now!

My Baby turns EIGHT today!!!!

2010-02-25T07:26:00.000-08:00

I'm BBBAAAAAACCCCCKKKKKKKKK! :)

2010-02-22T17:02:00.001-08:00

So after taking a short break from blogworld, I decided that I kind of miss it. I've decided that I'm not a daily blogging kind of girl... more of a random thought blogger. It's not always going to be about the kids.. but rather the random things happening in my life. Some decor stuff, some family stuff, so random thought process stuff.

So - if this sounds good to you... please stick around! :)

I FINALLY finished the kids bathroom (minus the white cabinet that I just can't find anywhere - one that I like at least) so I'll take some pics later this week to share with everyone!

Until next time... keep smilin!

Taking a break....

2010-01-22T09:54:00.000-08:00

So when I started... this whole blog thing sounded really fun. Well... as you can see, I never got "really" into it. I love to write... I love to share... but taking the time to upload pics, think of something to chat about... I don't know. It has kind of lost it's *shimmer* to me.

So, I'm taking a break.

I'll still be reading YOUR blogs though... maybe I'll find some inspiration... :)

So much for the BIG REVEAL....

2010-01-18T06:12:00.000-08:00

Yeah... totally should've borrowed this book from the library...

I'm stuck on the drywall part of my job. Seriously... it looks TERRIBLE. I'm done with the painting - accessories are on their way... but this drywall spot. It's becoming the thorn in my flesh.

YEARS ago after buying our first house in Fort Wayne.... we decided we could "easily" finish the basement ourselves. We had NO experience whatsoever with drywall... but it sure did look easy. HA HA HA HA HA... I'm still laughing at that one. We did finish it... tossed some sand mixed with paint on the walls for texture (to cover the CRAPPY drywall job) and called it a day. Only problem... everytime we accidentally bumped into the wall... we tore skin off our arms. YUCK!

SO.... we hired someone to come in, sand off the sand and completely refinish the basement. Should've been lesson learned, right?

Oh no....

We had the brilliant idea to finish a room in the unfinished basement of our current house. We were smarter this time - we hung the drywall... the hired the finishing out to a drywall dude. It's still not perfect... but it's the basement.

Now for my little drywall conundrum. If I leave it the way it is (finish sanding then prime... paint) I'll know it looks HORRIBLE for the rest of my days. OR... I could find a GREAT picture to hang over the spot - but I'll still know it's horrible. OR... I could just not care.

Any suggestions? :)

Hopefully by Friday I'll have it finished. Hopefully....

Projects, projects, projects....

2010-01-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

Well... I can mark one thing off my list - WAHOOOOOO!!! Over the last week I've completely purged our basement of all the *stuff* we had. Seriously... it was pretty ridiculous. We've been in this house for just over 4 years - and I found pictures still wrapped in newspaper from our move. Needless to say, they've been unwrapped... and repacked. *HA*! This summer when it's FINALLY warm again... I'm planning to spray paint the frames black... then start another project. Don't you just LOVE how that works??.....

Here is a sneak peak at my next project. I'm about 3/4's of the way done... so hopefully by the end of this week, I'll have it DONE and will be able to share it with you!

Bet you're just DYING to see what I'm up to now... (ha ha ha ha).....

Don't you just hate when....

2010-01-09T19:05:00.000-08:00

The big bug of JEALOUSY settles in? Personally makes me kind of bonkers. :)

I've been dealing with this lately... not sure why... I think it might be Satan attacking. I've been trying already in this new year to focus more on my walk with Christ. To really find Him again... to get in that place where all things are amazing because of Christ. Yet... as soon as I start to get into that groove...

YOWCH!!!!!

I get bit. Bad....

Maybe the first thing I REALLY need to work on is contentment. Contentment on where we're at - financially, in our home, with the relationships I have. For the things I feel I'm "lacking"... instead of feeling BLAH about them... use Christ to fill those voids.

Reminds me of a favorite verse... Isaiah 58:11 (NIV):

"The Lord will guide you always;

he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land

and will strengthen your frame.

You will be like a well watered garden,

like a spring whose waters never fail."

Time to get back into HIS word... and stop letting the things of this world control my heart.

Thought I'd give this a try....

2010-01-05T08:46:00.000-08:00

I've decided to try this out for a few weeks to see if we can do it. Our pantry and "schwadmart" (stash in the basement) have gotten a bit out of control over the last several months. Along with the half cow we split with family members.... we have enough food to feed an army in our house.

Yet.... I find myself hitting the grocery store for more EVERY week... ususally several times.

Well....

NO MORE!! I will not make useless trips to the grocery store. I will not buy just to buy. I will not buy 10 Betty Crocker mini microwave brownie things just because they're 50cents and I WANT THEM. :) They sure are good though... with just a little scoop of ice cream... mmmmm.... bliss!

Anyway -

I started this challenge out last night. We had chili (homemade... NOT from a can... stuff is too mushy!), cheese and crackers, and fresh fruit. Tonight it's fish sticks (nasty... but the kids like them), applesauce (canned this fall), and goldfish crackers. Tomorrow I need to take stock of what we have and make a plan for the rest of the month.

Any groceries I need will be coming from Aldi (have you been? The place rocks! I spent $24 today and walked out with oj, milk, eggs, guava/mango juice, snacks for kids classes - which means buying for 25 little mouths, green peppers, cauliflower, avocados, yogurt...etc... I'll spare you the rest... but seriously... the place saves so much $$ and the food is GOOD!). This should only include milk, juice, fruit, and veggies.

So we'll see. Should be an interesting challenge. We'll be eating LOTS of oatmeal, waffles, and cereal by the last week in January :)....

Wanna join the challenge?? Link up with us here.... should be fun!!

First day of the NEW YEAR... life is delicious!

2010-01-01T14:48:00.001-08:00

After partying like a crazy woman last night (HA HA HA... went to bed at 10)... it's been the PERFECT day for some football. I LOVE college football... especially when this team plays....

If you know anything about college ball... it's that Ohio State and Michigan have a FIERCE rivalry... (well they used to... Michigan kind of rots now... but that's besides the point...). I grew up in MI and now live in OH... and have been transformed into a die hard BUCKEYE. Not only are the chocolates delicious (some know them as chocolate dipped peanut butter balls.... LAME... they're known around here as BUCKEYES).... but the team spirit around the city ROCKS on game day. It's kind of strange... but really fun.

So tonight (as in right now as I type this lovely diddy), Ohio State takes on the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl. We've been waiting all day for this game... getting revved up to watch our team play to victory (a girl can hope.... right??)! We were missing one miniscule thing...

OH YEAH BABY!! Life is great in this new year... pizza is here (the start for losing 20lbs this year will have to wait until tomorrow).... football is on (and we're ahead presently)! So... no matter how you spend this first day of this new year... remember one VERY important thing...

GO BUCKEYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Let's get an early start....

2009-12-29T16:18:00.001-08:00

Can you believe we're on the cusp of a new year already? YIKERS! Seems like just yesterday we were celebrating 2009.... where does the time go???

Anywho - I've been thinking about my resolutions for this new year and have decided to try something new. Being that I'm NEVER able to follow through on my resolutions (let's be honest here peep's... does ANYONE follow through???) I'm going to pretend that it's already Dec. 31, 2010.... weird, I know.

Here is my list of things that I will be able to say I accomplished at the end of 2010...

1. I have lost 20 pounds

2. I have quit soda altogether

3. We FINALLY finished painting the interior of our home... (this has been an ongoing project for over 4 years.... you can stop laughing now...)

4. I tried seafood (I have a weird seafood phobia.... just typing that out has me almost "enjoying" a panic attack... it's rather bizarre...)

5. I no longer spend just because I can... I have been able to put more into savings rather than into junk we don't need.

I figure that over the next 365 days (actually 367 if I include tomorrow and Thursday...) I can totally accomplish all 5 of these things... they can't be "that" hard, right?

Sad news....

2009-12-22T12:08:00.000-08:00

Last night we received the news that Jake's preschool teacher passed away quite unexpectedly in the morning. Please pray for her family - her husband and two daughters (one is in 6th grade, the other in 8th). This is going to be an incredibly tough time of year for them both now and probably for a LONG time after.

She was a great teacher - just this past Thursday she put together a little Christmas pageant type of thing for the preschool class to do (not easy when they're all in the 3 year old range). It was such a joy to watch. We then enjoyed cookies and milk with her in the kids classrooms. I'm thankful that we had that time as families with her.... if only we knew then that it would be our last time to fellowship with her until we all get to heaven.

Thank you Mrs. Lueckel for being a wonderful teacher and example for our little Jake...

Our first snowman.... for this year at least....

2009-12-22T09:03:00.001-08:00

Gotta love winter in OH.... building one snowman takes ALL the snow in the yard. :) Kind of sad looking... isn't he? We'll have to perfect our craft in the coming months....

Look who turned 4!!!!

2009-12-22T08:54:00.001-08:00

Over the weekend the "chud" turned 4 - MY SWEET BABY! I can't believe that he's already 4... seems like just yesterday we were cuddling and rocking him. CRAZY!

We celebrated with family on Saturday - braving the local Chuck E Cheese. This has become a sort of tradition for our family... not sure if we're 100% on board with it... but the kids insist. THANKFULLY we beat the crowd and had the place almost to ourselves for the first hour.

On Sunday we were planning to see the Wildlights at the zoo with Grandpa and Grandma from MI. But.... I got sick. YUCK! Actually... the kids have been dealing with the cough gunk for several days - so our plans changed. We ordered pizza and played games. Perfect. Not too exciting... but heck... he's only 4. I know that in a few more years it isn't going to be this easy to get away with not really doing much of anything.

I wasn't going to include a picture of his "party" cake... but had to. The Chud LOVES Blue's Clue's. We watch it far too often - sometimes I think both Joe and Steve are my bff's. :) Our cake decorator lady at the local grocery store is WONDERFUL. She did a Scooby Doo a few months ago and now this.... *sigh*.... I wish I had an ounce of artistic talent.

All in all - good times. Now he's 4 and darn proud to tell anyone who asks (even those that don't....). Until next year....

I got my box!!!!

2009-12-07T10:25:00.000-08:00

I decided to join up with the great "CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT SWAP" put together by Joanna for all of us to enjoy. I mailed my box out to Nicole in sunny (or maybe not so sunny today) CA in mid-November. As soon as it was off... I promptly forgot about it.

So on Saturday when our lovely postal person came to the door carrying a box... I had quite the surprise!

What fun treats!!! :) I unofficially collect snowmen so I LOVED these!! 4 sparkly ornaments, a bright red snowman ornament, and hot chocolate (one of my favs) in a snowman mug! PERFECT!!!!

Isn't it the little things in life...? :)

SO thank you Joanna for putting this together... and thank you Nicole of all the special treats (I hope you liked yours... including the candy cane shot glass)!

the WRONG kind of cardio workout....

2009-12-07T10:02:00.001-08:00

Saturday, the kids had the "great" idea of heading to the zoo for the WILDLIGHTS show. For the whole month of December, our local zoo decks the place out with literally MILLIONS of Christmas lights. It's really quite awesome... wish I could do it in my yard :).

Of course... the place is CRAZY busy. Getting dark.... getting busier.

Half the group (we met up with my sister-in-law and her family) went to see the bats, while 4 of us waited outside. Ian and his cousin decided to dink around in some bushes... having fun, being silly... until... Ian disappeared. Literally... disappeared.

Hello PANIC!

My nephew looks at me and says "he went that way" and points a general direction.

MORE PANIC!

Is he hiding in the bushes, is he trying to play on the now closed play park, did he decide to join the other's with the bats? no.....

MORE PANIC!!!!!!

He is literally NO WHERE TO BE SEEN! Trying to keep a calm head, I go one direction and my sister-in-law the other... making a giant loop around the play area (yes... which is still closed). He's no where to be found. FINALLY the rest of the group comes out (seemed like at least an hour... was more like 10 minutes) and starts to help.

So after calling security... wiping away daughter's tears ("we're NEVER going to see Ian again!!!"), TRYING to keep a level head... Aunt Mindy found him. He was curled up in the fetal position under a table. FREAKED OUT. Apparently he didn't see us so decided to go and look for us (not that we had moved... even an inch... we were by a warming drum with a fire burning in it...) then realized he was lost. THANKFULLY he new to stay put... sort of.

I'm glad he was okay... but holy smackers... my poor heart. Thought I was going to have a heart attack. He of course is fine now.... (see picture below... he recovered) but I'm still a bit freaked out about the whole thing. I looked away for .2 seconds... and he was gone. I'm thanking the LORD today that some crazy person didn't swipe him... oh mylanta... just thinking about it practically gives me a panic attack.

Anywho - hug your little one's today!! :)

Jolly eh??......

2009-12-04T05:37:00.000-08:00

Let me preface this post with sharing with everyone that I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

I love that it's a time to celebrate Christ's birth with friends and family...

I love that I can bake and bake and bake and no one really complains...

I love that I can spend hours thinking of the perfect gift...

I love driving around experiencing all the lights that others want to share...

I love reminding my kids that it's nice to do things for other people...

yeah... I could go on... but I won't... because...

the stress of "being" Santa is FINALLY getting to me. Seriously... he's SO highly over-rated. I keep hoping that the kids will finally "get it" that there is no REAL Santa... sad, sad day.

Here's my issue - this year, we'll be buying stuff for the kids just to buy. There isn't any one fabulous thing that each of them have asked for (except for the American Girl doll... for the daughter who NEVER plays with dolls... seems rather pointless). Another stuffed doggie, a digital Littlest Pet Shop... more junk.

We celebrated Christmas with my family over Thanksgiving... (yes it was kind of CRAZY!) and already the kids are "bored" with their toys (sorry mom and dad if you're reading this... just being honest). How can they go from THRILLED to BLAH in a matter of less than a week?

Our small group adopted a family in our church to buy some gifts for... I've had so much fun with this! I think giving to others is sincerely under-rated... it's a great thing! :) BUT - is it sad that I feel giving to my own is over-rated.

Maybe I need to eat some of those Christmas cheer cookies....

GENIUS!!!!

2009-11-12T08:49:00.000-08:00

Have you seen these? They are BRILLIANT! They're called Hexibugs... and they've kept my 3 year old busy for HOURS. Who would've thought?

They're little "bugs" with rubber legs. They vibrate - which makes them move and crawl all over. Ian bought a hexibug habitat with some $$ he had saved... which makes them even MORE fun. Gives them a place to run around in circles with different paths to take. SO COOL! We're thinking of purchasing a few more sets so we can make the habitat bigger and MORE fun.

Seriously - if you have a little boy (or girl... Reese loves them too) who needs to be easily entertained (by someone other than mom... or dad).... you should totally get these!!!!

Sunny Eggo... Here we COME! (almost...)

2009-10-15T08:49:00.001-07:00

So about 3 years ago, A and I went to San Diego for the first time. It was love at first visit. We've tried to get back every year since then (it REALLY helps when he has a conference...) and we're leaving in less than two weeks!!! YEAH!!! I'm already planning in my mind what to pack... sad, isn't it?

This year we're using part of this trip to celebrate our 10th anniversary. We'll be staying in La Jolla (LOVE the sea lions)... can anyone recommend some great restaurants? After that, we'll be down by the gaslamp district. I'll be by myself most of the days downtown - any suggestions of what I should do?

This week and a half needs to go quick... A has been CRAZY busy at work, the kids are always complaining, and I'm just plain weary. I look forward to having some peace and quiet. Just being able to watch the waves... water has always been VERY soothing to my soul. Being in central OH doesn't present too many soothing water visits.

So - if you read my blog and have any brilliant suggestions for what to do this trip.... please let me know! :) We did the zoo last year... so we'd like to try something different!

YEAH!!!

Christmas Ornament Swap.... SOON!!!

2009-10-07T18:37:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Christmas... so when I saw Joanna's so fun idea (check her really fun blog out here), I HAD to share it with everyone!

Who doesn't love to find interesting and fun Christmas ornaments? Who doesn't love to share them with friends? I personally do... I could spend HOURS walking the rows, and rows, and rows, and rows, and rows, and rows.... of ornaments at Hobby Lobby right now. BLISS!

Anyway - starting October 12 and running through October 26, you can sign up at Joanna's site to be part of this fun swap. The details will soon be available... so check it out next week!

I would LOVE to have all my friends join this... ONLY because I would LOVE to see what each person sends and receives. :)

You can click on the link on the left... yup... over there... see it? It's Christmasy, isn't it? Hmmmm... I might just have to leave it up for a LONG time (yes... I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas).

Happy almost Holiday season everyone!

(yes... I'm a total dork today. It's been a LONG week and it's only Wednesday. Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred workout has shredded my brain and has me walking like I'm 90. Our house is all stairs... so I'm fried. back to normal, boring posts later....).... :)

Giveaways Galore....

2009-10-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

In honor of her 28th birthday, Crystal at Money Saving Mom is having a huge giveaway fest! You TOTALLY need to check it out. Her site is amazing anyway... so let today be your introduction. Seriously... you HAVE to check it out... go now.... stop reading this.... run... click.... save.... :)

Apple pie, apple crisp, apple butter, apple sauce....

2009-10-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

The kids didn't have school last Friday so I decided it would be the PERFECT day to pick apples... for the third time. Yeah... don't laugh. It's all about a good variety right?? They only have certain kinds at certain times... never all of them at once. I really do have a method to my madness...

He would pick the only branch with NO apples on it for me to take a picture of him with. What a goober.... :)

These two were ALL over the place.... half the time I couldn't find them. Notice the green apples on one side (Golden Delicious...a fav at our house) and the red (JonaMac's) on the other? That would be the variety I'm speaking of...

Not sure why (maybe because she's a GIRL), but the need to "strike a pose" pops up just about everywhere these days. Watch out TYRA!!!

Speaking of poses... he does this in almost EVERY picture we take. Not sure why... maybe because he's a part of my madness? Must admit... it's a great looking apple though...

Every year when we go apple picking I try to get ONE really good shot of all 3 kids. Mind you... we've picked three times, this is my third try. Still don't like it. Not sure what's up with Miss Things wacky smile. Might have to try again at the pumpkin patch next weekend. Good times. By Christmas card time, they'll be primed and ready to go!

So... now that we've picked over 100lbs of apples... anyone want some sauce, pie, crisp? YUM!!!!

Brotherly love???.....

2009-10-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

Some days my boys just can't seem to get along. Which I assume is TOTALLY normal... but things have taken a turn for the worse....

Posters taped to their doors. Yeah - nice. See how each one drew a picture of their brother, then crossed it out. In other words "YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED IN MY ROOM EVER AGAIN!!!!!".

Feel the love.....

*sigh*

Amazed....

2009-09-14T11:52:00.000-07:00

I have always been a HUGE believer in the power of prayer. Sometimes it takes little (or HUGE) reminders though of how powerful and utterly AMAZING our God is....

A few months ago, my mom shared with me the story of Heidi. She's a wife and mother... of 5 kids! They range in age from late teens down to 2 years old. A very BUSY mom!

She was diagnosed with cancer and given 6 months to live. Devastating.

People started to pray... to pray for a miracle. Sometimes seems silly... but God can do some pretty amazing things.

Last week she had a dream. It was the day before her next doctor's appt. She dreamt of a man... dressed in a white doctor's jacket, khaki pants, a blue with with large swirls and small crosses on it. He said, "You're fine". Interesting considering all the treatments and tests she had been given and was going through.

The following day she went to her appt. Guess who walks in... the doctor... wearing a white doctor's coat, khaki pants, and a blue tie with large swirls and small crosses on it. Guess what he said.... "You're fine - the cancer is gone." As in no sign of the cancer... anywhere.

This gives me goosebumps - I had tears in my eyes. God is amazing. I know there are SO many who don't believe out there in this world... but this just confirms it to me. God is still working - he is amazing - he IS.

Yup... I'm pretty amazed today.....

FRIEND MAKIN' MONDAY!!!!

2009-09-14T09:36:00.000-07:00

Amber over at "AE FILIKINS" has declared our topic to be.... FALL SHOWS for this week. Just in time too as they are FINALLY starting. Don't know about everyone else, but tv this summer has been PURE MISERY! So here is my list... so far.... :)....

I LOVE watching the Biggest Loser. I find it to be inspiring and motivating. Holy smokes... if these people can workout like crazy people, so can I. I think Jillian Michael's is brilliant (Bob too... ). It starts up again tomorrow night... so y'all will know what I'm doing from 8-10pm :). Eating ice cream and cookies while watching the Biggest Loser....

LOST isn't back until next year (AHHHHH!) but I already can't wait. It's the last season and they have a TON of questions to answer for all of us Losties. I'm going to be crushed when it's finally DONE. It's been a fascinating show...

Another show I thought of after adding my pics (it's SUCH a Monday!) is Lie to Me. It was new last year... and REALLY good. It's a show that both husband and I can watch together and enjoy (which is really rare these days...). I often wonder if the things they say show a person to be lying are for real... if they are, it's even MORE interesting. You should totally check it out.

That's my line- up for now. Nothing too major, I'm trying to watch less tv. Of course that all changes when it gets dark at 3 in the afternoon and the high temp for the day is 0. :)

What are YOUR favorite shows to watch this fall? Join us here....

We remember.....

2009-09-11T05:48:00.000-07:00

What are your plans.......

2009-09-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

So what are your BIG plans for this weekend? Anything exciting to send summer off with a BANG??

I have quite the list of things to get done...

1. Crown molding in our master bedroom - it's been painted and ready for molding (or is it moudling??) for quite some time... as in months. It will be WONDERFUL to finally finish the master bedroom project. I might even spring for curtains... WOOHOO!

2. FInish staining the deck. I'm about half way done... so not too much more. It's crazy time consuming though... rail piece by rail piece. Next time we're getting iron rails :)....

3. Paint great room (Kelli, stop laughing...). This has been an ongoing project for over a year... more like a year and a half. We have a HUGE high wall and I can't reach the whole thing with our ladders. So, half of it is painted, the other half is still the original contractor color. Pathetic. We need to either rent a HUGE ladder or find someone who has one we can borrow. Not to thrilled with having to climb so high (I don't like to wobble) but it REALLY needs to be done soon! It's starting to annoy me.

4. Serious purge of stuff and taking it to Goodwill. I have 2 bags already in the car (yes, they've been there for almost 2 months... oops!) and a couple more about ready to go.

I'm sure there are other things that need to be done (clean carpet, paint master bath, change out huge crap mirror in master...) but we'll see. Not sure if we'll have time :). Thankfully the CHUD starts preschool next week (WOO HOO - all 3 kids in school!!!) so I'll have a couple hour on Tuesday and Thursday's to do my "projects".

Do you have any BIG things to tackle??

Speaking of tackle - GO BUCKEYES!!! First game this Saturday against NAVY.... SO FUN!! :)

Free cheesecake anyone????

2009-09-02T09:48:00.000-07:00

How totally scrumptious does this cheesecake look? It's from Cheesecake Factory and it's called Stephanie's Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake - and a slice can be yours... FOR FREE!!!!

Cheesecake Factory is doing a nationwide stamp out hunger sort of thing. You bring in 2 cans of soup - you get a free slice of cheesecake. You have to be within the first 500 to donate... and it's only coming to select cities.

Want more info...? Go here.....

YUM!! THANKS MONEY SAVING MOM for this heads up....! WHAT??? You haven't visited Money Saving Mom's website... she's incredible.... you HAVE to check it out!! I'll make it easy... click on the dollar signs.... $$$$$.

Cheers!! :)

A Confession....

2009-09-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

I have been very convicted lately about budgeting our monthly everything :). The confession part - I have NO CLUE HOW TO! Seriously - I've tried to keep track of spending... but I forget to about 4 days in. I've gone through all of our monthly bills, divided them by 12... and now I have a lovely set of averages. I "know" how much I want to spend on different things (groceries, back to school stuff, gifts) but I rarely stick to my set amount.

So today, I decided to try something new with the grocery portion. I bought a gift card. Sounds dumb, eh? But - this could work! I figured that it's September 1, I could buy a gift card for the WHOLE month of grocery shopping. Used cash... not credit for those wondering :). When the gift card is at $0.... I'm done getting groceries for the month. We'll have to live off what we have (I can hear the kids panicking already....). Our basement holds the "Schwadmart" - my stash of extra stuff, so we wouldn't be starving. We might not have bread... but we'll have 10 packages of Betty Crocker cookie mix!

I'm determined to cut back spending (this is VERY hard for me... I LOVE a good bargain!) on "stuff"... so we can save more for our future (college, retirement...).

On a side note - I've started canning... and LOVE it! Seriously... it's SO easy. EVERYONE should try it! We're going to pick apples this weekend (YEAH!!! I'm SO EXCITED) so we'll have some yummy applesauce soon :). Just thought I'd share...

Anywho - what do YOU do to make sure you're not overspending? Any tips for a budget incapable person??

Interesting....

2009-08-25T09:56:00.000-07:00

I heard "the chud" playing with water in the bathroom today... NEVER a good thing. He came out and told me he had brushed his teeth... ALWAYS a good thing... sort of. I went in to inspect and this is what I found...

Don't you just love his brushstrokes? How he used the "paint" to make such intricate designs? GENIUS!! :)

Then I realized how neon PINK this toothpaste is... EWWW! It's so not natural!

Ignoring the gunk on my drain of the sink (we have REALLY hard water... it tends to bulk up) can you see how PINK this is?? WOWZERS... grab your shades... the stuff is blinding. My poor boys...

I HAVE TO GO!!!!!

2009-08-21T13:25:00.001-07:00

This is coming to Columbus in September... I'm already SO excited to go! Crazy, eh? Usually I HATE (and it's a pretty serious distaste) craft fairs... but this one is CALLING MY NAME!!! So, if you live in the Columbus, OH area and aren't busy Sept 18, 19, or 20... let me know! :)

What does your home say about you??

2009-08-18T15:40:00.000-07:00

Today while making daughter's bed (clean sheet day - WOOHOO!) I was listening to one of our local radio stations. They asked the question - when people walk into your house, what impression are they left with? What does your home say about you - and who you are... what you're about? Of course... this got me thinking.

The only thing that REALLY stood out in my brain about my home - is that I am far from perfect. I would LOVE to have a perfect "show" home... no toys laying around, shoes always in the right place, etc.... but hello reality. Harsh as it can be sometimes.

My home is a work in progress - literally. Walls painted as high as I can reach, walls ready for crown moulding, other odds n ends unfinished. We have a few cobwebs, crumbs on the floor, stains on the carpet. Nails holes that need to be filled. I tend to start things then NEVER finish them :).... not really, but it can take a while.

What I want people to "get" from my home - I love life as crazy as it can be sometimes. People are more important than things. My family is MAJOR important, but in all honesty, my faith is more important. I hate stuff... less is more.

This whole thought process has made me realize that I have a few things to work on.

How about you gals out there in "blogland"... what does your home say about YOU??

Just had to share....

2009-08-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

This is what rolled in about an hour AFTER the fishing trip....

Kind of glad they made it home when they did!

"Little Nemo" FL fishing trip!

2009-08-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

One of the cool things about the rental company we use while in FL is the amenities they offer. Free golf, food, video rental... and this year a free adult/child fishing trip. FUN! The kids went with dad... on a 3 hour tour... (you HAVE to sing that part!).

Can you see how excited they are (HA HA HA).....

Each kid had a chance to "drive" the boat. Always a fun experience... they thought it was totally cool. (Sorry about the weird colors... I've been experimenting with the camera and forgot to change it back before they left....)

Apparently "I" didn't care too much about the actual fishing part... just the fish in the cooler. He was totally fascinated with them...

So can you tell how exhausted "I" is at this point... poor kid! "R" would have stayed out for HOURS if she could.

All in all, they had a really good time. They saw dolphins (which I didn't get to see ANY of - and i LOVE LOVE LOVE dolphins!) and dad thinks he saw a shark. Another one of the dad's thought so too - which means it MUST'VE been a shark :). I said it was probably a tuna.

Good times!

Trash to Treasure Tuesday...

2009-08-11T09:05:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to share this "trash to treasure" for a while now... but never take the time to do it. So today... I'm jumping in to this new "realm" of fun!

We found two of these chairs in the trash - literally. Dragged them home. Looked at their ugliness for FAR too long before FINALLY being inspired to try something.

After sanding, priming, spray painting (my NEW bff!!), and picking out some cute fabric... here is the finished product...

Not super exciting... but a HUGE difference. Now I'm not totally embarrassed to have these in our house. :) I just need to find a few more chairs so I can have a full set....

Our Florida Vacation in pics... part one....

2009-08-11T08:54:00.000-07:00

We had SO much fun on our trip south... we didn't get to go last year, so this year was EXTRA special. It was WONDERFUL not having to worry about diapers, bottles, naps... all that "fun" stuff. Basically all we did was hit the beach in the morning... then pool... the rest/lunch... then beach... then pool... the crash into bed! We had waves most days... which the kids really had fun playing in. Thank the Lord for cheapie wave boards from the cheesy tourist outlet stores. Best $5 we spent the whole trip! The older two kids and dad went on a fishing boat excursion... more to come on that later....

He spent HOURS looking for shells in the water... but only found bits and pieces... but... we had to save them all and bring them home!

Watch for him on the pro-circuit some day....

Off to "surf" again... by the time we left, she could FINALLY do it without help :)!

This was his house for the morning... I made about 5 million trips back and forth to the water trying to fill it up for him. Not worth the effort... even for the 2 minutes it was sort of full...

A very proud moment... riding the wave all on her OWN!

I'll have more pics to come soon. Right now it's lunch time and I'm STARVING. The joys of hitting the gym for the first time in a week and a half. UGH! Talk about painful!

Organization help.... PLEASE!

2009-08-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

I know SO many of you here in "blogland" are organized to the max. I need your help... DESPERATELY! The kids just got home from school and I am SO overwhelmed with the task of keeping 2 kids stuff straight in my head. Whether it be homework or snack info... or just basic stuff that they bring home - what's YOUR trick? I'd hate to be the mom that NEVER gets her act together... but I kind of feel panicky that it might happen this year.

HELP!!!!!!!!!

sniff sniff

2009-08-10T06:14:00.000-07:00

We've only been home for 2 days (not even technically) and already the kids are back-to-school! WOW! My babies are getting so big!! A kindergardener and a second grader. Breaks my heart... but I LOVE the little people they're growing up to be.

I didn't even cry when "red" walked right into his K classroom without hanging on to my leg (MIRACLE!!). He found his name at his table right away, sat right down, and was ready to get to work. "R" didn't have as easy of a time... her BFF isn't in her class this year. We knew last week already, but decided not to traumatize her with the news. Rather - we told her to wait and see on the first day. No tears thankfully, but I could tell she was really bummed.

Now it's just "J" and mom... I wonder what kind of trouble the two of us can get into today? Hobby Lobby anyone??? :)

Leavin... on a jet plane....

2009-07-31T12:30:00.000-07:00

Okay... maybe not a jet plane... but none-the-less... it's VACATION TIME!!! WAHOO!!! This is where we're heading....

Our very favorite place for a family vacation - Destin, FL. We didn't get to go last year due to some insurance issues that at up a decent chunk of savings change, but this year it totally worked out to go! YEAH!! Our van is packed and totally ready to go... the kids are BOUNCING off the walls while waiting for daddy... and I'm on the computer. Some things never change vacation or not :). We have no plans for while we're down south... we hate plans while on vacation. Just the beach and the pool... maybe a dolphin watch ride... we'll see.

When we get back - the kids start school. Like the day after we get back (GREAT planning on my part!). PRAISE THE LORD the kids start school.... they're bored and I'm going nuts TRYING to entertain them. It's the teachers turn!!

I'll post pics once we return!

Summer Vacation - Part 2 - 4th of July...

2009-07-23T15:51:00.000-07:00

Yes, I realize that it's MUCH past the 4th of July holiday festivities... but none-the-less, here are the pics from our day. We drove up "north" Michigan to the small town of Ludington. This little town will always be special to me... I grew up camping over the 4th almost from birth. My grandparents also lived there for a majority of my life. I have many wonderful memories... :). That being said, we are NOT campers. The thought of camping makes both A and I cringe.... but for one day, we swallowed our distaste and decided to make a go of it....

My sister and her family along with my parents were camping. Here is a pic of all the cousins on MY side of the family...all 5 kids. :) Yeah - it's a HUGE group! My dad always puts up these huge "feathers"... not sure if they're obnoxious or pretty....

The state park had a craft for the kids... 4th of July paper lanters. Pretty cute... and easy to make (THANK GOD!!). Besides the mosquitos the kids thought it was fun...

For a small town, they put on a pretty great parade on the 4th. I (along with my sister and my dad) took the kids and their cousins downtown just in time... to grab hotdogs and wait. Seriously, you have to get there SO early to get a "good spot"... it's quite ridiculous. The kids did really well waiting... and waiting... and waiting...

Grandpa came to the rescue with food...

and the parade itself came with the snacks. Usually it's candy being tossed... but not this parade. The local ice cream shoppe (House of Flavors if you're wondering) gives out full pints of ice cream... this year they even remember the spoons! I got "stuck" with Coconut Sorbet (EWWWWW) but the kids got some caramel vanilla flavor. A church tossed out freezie pops...which "I" LOVES.... he pretty much chased them down the street trying to get more.

All in all it was a really fun time... a great way to celebrate with family. By the time we left... we were ready to go. We did our "camping" for the year... :)

Michigan Summer "vacation" -- Part One...

2009-07-23T14:15:00.000-07:00

Every summer we head to Michigan for a week. My entire family (parents and one sister) live there so we kind of kill two birds with one stone - visit family AND get to the beach. :) PERFECT! We can stay at my parents condo for free... although this year we stained their deck as payment for their hospitality. UGH - remind me NEVER to make that offer again!! On our "off time" (NOT working on the deck) we hit the beach!!

I pretty much HATE pics of myself... but thought I'd include this one to start. See the happy look on my face... HA HA HA! SOmtimes getting to hthe beach with the WHOLE family is QUITE the effort. Usually worth it... usually!

Notice the 16 million towels the boy is under... it was CHILLY at the beach! Unless you were laying down (my favorite position), you had goosebumps. But, being that we're from OH and we have no real beach where we live... we toughed it out!

"A" has this crazy thing that he loves to do - sand sculptures. It keeps him busy - and the kids think that he's the coolest thing ever! :) I forgot to take actual pics of his sculptures this year... I think he did a dolphin, hammerhead shark, and a turtle.

Digging in the sand could keep "J" busy for HOURS! Makes me wish we had a huge sandpile in our back yard. He was digging a hole... albeit was never that deep, he was VERY proud!

"I" LOVES to just lay in the sand and flick it. GREAT when it's blowing like crazy. He didn't care... the rest of the people around us... yeah... they cared.

"R"'s favorite thing was to roll around in the sand then rinse off in the 50degree water. Fun... really fun.

We always miss the beach once we leave... I'm more than ready to head back. All the trouble (not enough juice boxes or snacks, walking on the HOT sand, enough sand in the van to create our own beach...) is TOTALLY worth it.

My next installment of our summer vacation to Michigan will be coming soon.... I"m sure you're all greatly anticipating the moment... :)

FRIEND MAKIN' MONDAY!! :)

2009-07-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

Jolanthe over at No Ordinary Moments is our lovely host of today's FMM! :) THANKS!! Being that it's summer VACATION... today's theme is just that... vacations. FUN! Who doesn't love a good vacation?!?!

We have a two part topic today - first being what is your best/worst vacation. Second being the top 5 places you would like to vacation someday...

I actually have 2 favorites... one with kids and one without. Without was our honeymoon. We went to a small island off the coast of Puerto Rice for a week. It was very simple... no tv or movie theaters. Just the beach and some small local restaurants. We swam in a glow in the dark bay (seriously... it was REALLY cool), had ice cream from a creaky old van, and I watched A snorkel for hours (I have a fish phobia... there is no way I was going to get near all those fish!). We actually got bored and left a day early to spend more time in San Juan. The name of the island is Vieques... it was perfect.

Not to copy my friend Kelli, but I loved our first Destin vacation in 2006 with the family. The kids were still pretty small... but it was great being so close to the beach and the pool. We always go off season - as to miss the spring breakers - so things aren't crazy busy. We actually leave to go down again this year soon - the first week in Aug. Can't wait - no kids in diapers, needing bottles, 2 of the 3 can swim... YEAH!!!! Here is a pic of the kids on the beach... they look so young!! :)

Now for my top 5 places I would love to get to one day....

1. Grand Canyon - have never been but would LOVE to see it (from somewhere other than an airplane). It looks simply majestic!!

2. Maine - I would LOVE to go whale watching

3. London - I went in H.S. and would love to get there again as an adult. There were so many things we didn't get to see that I would love to check out

4. Australia - we've been watching a show about the Australian life guards and I think it looks awesome! I've always wanted to go, but the fact that it's halfway around the world makes logistics a bit impossible for now... :)

5. a cruise of the Hawaiian islands... maybe for our 25th anniversary (gives us 16 more years to save!!)

That's my list... please share yours and join us on FMM!! :)

What's in my heart.....

2009-07-17T09:58:00.000-07:00

My friend Kelli tagged me with the "game". A tough one this time that took some thought...

"With as much Creativity as you can muster, show your heart in:

a picture, a poem, a song, a quote, an item of clothing, a place, and a Disney princess"

So here goes....

Picture #1 - my family AND the beach (this includes my place thing too). My family is clearly in my heart. I have been SO blessed with a Godly husband who is a brillant father. Our kids are just as wonderful - creative, kind, curious... I can't imagine my life without them. The place - the beach. I grew up near Lake Michigan and water/beach was just a part of life. Now that I'm in central OH... sometimes I feel like a part of me is missing. When we do get to the beach it's almost therapeutic for me... soothes my soul.

Poem - "Friendship" by Khalil Gibron. I would type it out... but it's kind of long. So go here to read it... :). I think this is an AWESOME description of what friendship is and should be...

Song - "How Can I Ask for More" by Cindy Morgan. It's an older song... but I LOVE it to this day! I have no link... (sorry) but can share that this song is about how God gives us so many wonderful things - that we can't ask for more. It's the simple things... catching fireflies, building sandcastles, running barefoot in the sand... life is good.

Quote - "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice". I have NO clue who originally said this - I had it on a button when I was in junior high (remember when button's were all the rage... I had a bazillion all on one jean jacket). I think it's a great thing to remember... one I hope to teach the kids as they get older.

Piece of clothing - this Ohio State sweatshirt. Notice the lovely hole? This sweatshirt has seen better days. Both A and I fight over who gets to wear it - it's SO comfortable. If we could have 10 more just like it - I would pay ANY price!

Disney Princess - Belle. I love her... not sure why... she's just my favorite. The part in the movie where she's dancing in the field... *sigh* LOVE IT! Maybe it's her desire to seek out something different than what's expected... I really don't know. I could watch the movie many times over and still love it! :)

So there is my list... it was fun to put together... made my head hurt a bit... but I was able to look at lots of old pics that I wouldn't usually take the time to look at :)! Thanks Kelli for tagging me!!!!

Look who decided to move in....

2009-07-15T15:56:00.000-07:00

Just when I thought it was safe to toss out my VERY DEAD hanging plants.... OH NO..... do you see who decided to move in? Yes... it's a bird.

By the time we got home from our recent vacation... there was a nest and a second bird... and maybe even a few eggs. NICE! So... now I have a two lovely VERY DEAD hanging baskets on our front porch. I can't bring myself to take them down... who am I to play landlord and evict poor Mr and Mrs Wren? At least they aren't mangy sparrows. We DESPISE them.... GRR!

Gotta love God's nature... and his sense of humor!! :)

Some days...

2009-07-14T12:55:00.000-07:00

This is our 3rd born (and last... for GOOD reason) "the CHUD" as we affectionately call him. He looks like an angel... looks is the key word....

Today I downloaded pics from my camera... and look what I found. SOMEONE (being the "chud") once again decided to play photographer.

He loves his flip flops... apparently enough to want to look at them whenever he's scrolling through the pics already downloaded....

Self portrait... maybe someday he'll be famous and THIS pic will pay for our retirement... :)!

One of his best friends... and look how it's centered! I'm telling ya... he has a future in this!! :)

This is in brother's room... my kids have a thing for water bottles. Strange...

So I've decided it's time to keep the camera under lock and key. Out of 329 pictures downloaded... a MAJORITY were like this. I have pics of the tv (now I know what they watch when I'm not with them), bare butts (SERIOUSLY!), the neighbors garage up... and down..., and numerous other odd shots. He's lucky he's so darn cute!!!!

Check this out....

2009-07-14T05:32:00.000-07:00

One of my college friends just started a blog recently about feeding our families on the cheap. She's got some GREAT ideas... some YUMMY ideas... so I thought I would pass it along for you all to check out. Her blog is called "Frugal Family Feasts"... so check it out!! :)

Monday, July 13... 2009

2009-07-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

Outside my window... sunny blue sky with a few fair weather clouds... PERFECT!!!

I am thinking... about how WONDERFUL it feels to finally be home. We were on vacay for a week in MI... home for a day then off to Iowa for a friends wedding. LOTS of driving!!!

I am thankful for... my mother in law and niece who generously offered to watch all three kids for the whole weekend. We were able to drive to IA and back with just the two of us!

From the kitchen... tonight it's brats on the grill with salad, tomorrow chicken with black beans, burgers one night (of course)... beyond that.... I have NO clue!! :)

I am wearing... clothes :).... denim gauchos, brown shirt... nothing exciting...

I am reading... nothing right now... did too much in the car and REALLY need to get to the library this week!

I am hoping... to get some rest this week. I've missed sleeping in my own bed!!!

I am creating... getting ready to start painting my bathroom cabinets. Got one of my free Glidden paints... still waiting on the other. Once it's here - the project begins!!

I am praying.... for a chance to reconnect with friends. I haven't seen anyone in SO long... and I miss chatting with the girls!

Around the house... starting to get stuff ready for back to school (they start August 10!!)... we are in FL the week before school starts and get home the Sunday before. GREAT planning on our part :)!

One of my favorite things... sounds silly... but u-pick farms. I LOVE to pick fresh fruit...or veggies. Wish we had more to choose from around there!

A few plans for the rest of the week... pool... J's speech eval is on Thursday (UGH!). Not sure beyond that... I'm tired of plans

A picture to share....

we're hoping to take the kids out tonight to catch lightening bugs. We do it several times every summer... but so far haven't had a good chance to! Soon they'll be gone (the bugs, not the kids... :)!) so we need to get to it!! Just wish it got dark before 10...

That's about it for this week - nothing exciting. I'll try to post vacay pics and pics from my friend Michelle's wedding later... we had SO much fun! In a couple of weeks we head to Destin so I need to start getting our "plans" together for that trip.... YEAH!!! :)

If you'd like to join in our Simple Day fun... go here for some simple instructions and to join our daybook group!

Friend Makin Monday!

2009-06-29T11:17:00.000-07:00

When I remember... I like to take part in "Friend Makin Monday's". It's fun to read what other's have to say about the current topic... today it's appropriately the 4th of July!!! Shawn from Seriously is our host today... :)

Here are our questions of the day....

What are you doing this July 4th?? This year we're going to be up in MI for our family vacation. My parents are camping "up north" so we're going to join them for a day at the beach and a campfire cookout. My sister and her family are also up there camping so they'll get to join us! I grew up camping over the 4th so I"m excited to "relive" some of those memories. No fireworks this year though... it's a small town and near impossible to get around on the 4th.

What is your favorite dish to pass when attending a 4th of July party or summer barbecue?

I'm a dessert person... I love to bake. I just canned some fresh tart cherries, so this year it's going to be a fresh cherry pie. Also some star shaped brownies. I don't have anything specific... usually things my kids will eat :).

Do you have any July 4th traditions? Last year we helped out with our church's HUGE summer outreach - Food, Fun, and Fireworks. When we're home here in OH, we'll probably volunteer to help with that. When we're not home... it's usually a picnic and a family day at the beach.

Share your favorite July 4th picture. Horror of horror's... I don't have any handy! We lost a bunch of pics on our computer so needless to say, I have nothing from past 4th of July celebrations. Watch for some next week though... if I get a chance!

Have fun on your 4th everyone - be safe and ENJOY! Remember our troops as you celebrate the freedoms that we are blessed with.