Hope your day was very merry!
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to all my family and friends out there in blogland!
Hope your day was very merry!
Hope your day was very merry!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
100
Well, from what I’ve seen, it is a blog tradition to type 100 things about yourself when you reach 100 blog posts. So, since I always like to follow the crowd, ha, here I go! These are in no particular order, I am just adding to the list as I think of something since I know if I sat down to type them all at once I would never think of anything to say! It is probably supposed to be things that people don’t know about me, but since I’m pretty sure my readers are all family, you already know all these things! And, I am sure that it is supposed to be 100 quick things. Mine will not be. I am a rambler. Maybe that should be number one! So, get some caffeine to keep yourself awake and read away!
1. I love to blog. I wish I had more time to blog!
2. I don’t watch much TV.
3. When I do watch TV, the volume must be on an even number. I will even have it too loud or too low just to have an even number. Don’t even think about watching with the volume 21, just don’t do it!
4. As of July 6, 2010, Todd and I have been married 19 years.
5. One show I do watch occasionally is Say Yes To The Dress. I love wedding dresses. But, even after nineteen years and many dresses seen since, I still love my wedding dress and would choose it over and over again. I guess that is why it was “the” dress for me.
6. In another life I would love to be a wedding planner or wedding dress designer, or even a wedding dress salesperson. I love everything about weddings.
7. My parents and Todd’s parents were all in school together at Oklahoma Christian at the same time.
8. Oklahoma Christian is where Todd and I met.
9. On our first date, we determined that our mom’s both made spaghetti a lot on Wednesday nights. This was in between him tying and untying his shoes no less that 620 times. I decided then and there that he was the one for me since I could feed him spaghetti and he could teach our kids to tie their shoes. Just kidding.
10. Todd and I dated about six months, then we were engaged, then we married ten months later.
11. I have two brothers, Todd has two brothers. I love having sister-in-laws. No offense guys!
12. Todd and I have moved sixteen times. You read that right. Moved sixteen. Married nineteen. Yes, it is as bad as it sounds.
13. If you count Edmond and Yukon as part of OKC and Nixa as part of Springfield, we’ve only actually live four different places in all those moves. I don’t know what this means, except that I wish some of those moves would have been to some fun, exotic places!
14. I could totally live in downtown Chicago or NYC.
15. I think I have been to eleven major league baseball games. Have I mentioned I don’t care for baseball? Or hot dogs? I do like apple pie though. Why don’t they sell apple pie at baseball games?
16. I love to sew. I love to embroider. I’m so excited I have a daughter to sew for. At least until she tells me to stop, which will probably be pretty soon.
17. Everyone told me that girls are easier to potty train than boys. Guess what, they are NOT!
18. I wish all the time I was ten years younger so I could have more kids. I really would like more kids.
19. I am a terrible decorator. This worked out well when we were renting most places we lived. I had the excuse that we would be moving on soon. When we buy a house, that excuse doesn’t really fly.
20. I wish I had the nerve to have a whimsical, colorful fun home. Right now my whimsicalness sits at two chairs.
21. I have four of the sweetest kids I know. Ok, I’m a little biased. But, I love them!
22. Kellen started Kindergarten in Tulsa and was in school until November of that year, then we moved. We’ve homeschooled ever since.
23. At this point, I can’t imagine not homeschooling. I don’t know what the future holds, but I’ve gotten very spoiled having so much time with my kids.
24. You don’t have to read very many of my posts to guess what my grades in English were. But, I continue to write them anyway.
25. I can’t stand to scrapbook. My perfectionism gets me too freaked out about the whole process. So, I blog. I am printing my blog so I can put it up for my kids to have someday. They may not care, but it makes me feel better. At least they’ll have a little notebook to put next to their spouses 65 professionally done scrapbooks of their lives.
26. I have a tendency to be sarcastic.
27. My parents will be married 49 years this year. Todd’s parents have been married 48 years. For these marriages I am so thankful.
28. At our rehearsal dinner, Clay said he knew Todd and I would stay married because we are the two most stubborn people he knows. He was right. Sometimes it takes pure stubbornness to make it work. Or maybe the stubbornness makes the work. I don’t know. But, we’re still here.
29. This may be a list of 29 things. I don’t think I can think of 100 things to write about myself! I will need at least one more, I can’t end on an odd number.
30. Todd and I have only had one pet. Well, we had some fish when we were first married, but then we moved, and well, they didn’t make it. Abby was our one and only. The sweetest little daschund . She was not supposed to be a miniature, but she never got over 9 pounds. We had her sixteen years. She moved and moved with us and never seemed to be bothered by it. She was bothered when we had babies. She was bothered when we tried to get a second dog for her to play with. Needless to say that friendship didn’t last long and we found a good home for the new dog. But, moving didn’t bother her.
31. I would have loved to have named Callie Abby but everyone thought it would be too weird.
32. I am a nervous wreck about having a daughter. I have no idea what I am doing!
33. I love pink.
34. Lucky for Todd we had a girl. This last moved I changed the color of our bedroom from pink and white blue and white.
35. Todd always said he wanted three boys and a girl. That’s what he got. :)
36. The boys were born in Oklahoma City. Callie was born in Iowa.
37. All of our kids names had to have double letters, to go with our last name that has double letters. Daddy’s idea.
38. If you look in the right baby name books, all of our kids names are Irish.
39. Even if we had more kids we could only have about four more since by the time you take out all the baby names that don’t have double letters and are not Irish, you are only left with four.
40. I love to buy shoes. It’s not fun to buy shoes for myself anymore since I have to start with comfortable and work my way down. So, I buy shoes for Callie. :)
41. If I won the lottery the first thing I would do would be hire someone to clean my house, regularly. I am so over cleaning.
42. I love to fly. In airplanes that is.
43. I love to travel. The second thing I would do if I won the lottery is buy a bunch of airline tickets to all kinds of places.
44. I spent six weeks in Europe in between my junior and senior years of college. Loved it! I was part of a mission group with Let’s Start Talking. We spent five weeks working with a church in the Netherlands and a week traveling. One of the best times of my life. I would love to take my kids there.
45. Sam’s will not allow employees to take more than a week of vacation at a time. So, even though Todd has four weeks vacation, it doesn’t do us much good when it comes to traveling great distances. Unless I go by myself, which I have been known to do!
46. Tulips are my favorite flower. I would love to visit the Netherlands when the tulips are in full bloom, except that I am scared it would be too commercialized and then I would be disappointed.
47. I am not a fan of Disney. So, a trip to Disneyworld if about last on my list. That probably makes me un-American. Oh well.
48. The commercialization of things drives me nuts. Why does EVERYTHING have to have a sponsor? I know, because someone has to pay for all the “stuff” that people enjoy, but it is all just too much these days.
49. I have a terrible memory and that makes me sad. I wish I could remember every little detail of my kids lives, but I can’t. Bits and pieces jump out to me every once in a while, but that is about it.
50. I will not ever win the lottery because I don’t buy lottery tickets. But, it’s a nice thing to think about sometimes!
51. I think my second dream job would be to design children’s wear. I don’t know if anyone would buy it, but it would be fun.
52. In sixth grade, we had to make a poster titled something like “About Me”. In the part where we were supposed to draw a picture about what we wanted to be when we grew up I drew me feeding a baby in a high chair. Being a mama is all I ever wanted to do. So, I guess my actual dream job is coming true! Of course now I realize being a mama is way more than one job!
53. In sixth grade I rode a bus to another school to be in a gifted and talented class. We were a mixture of kids from all over town that got to be in the most wonderful class with the most wonderful teacher. I know, how did this happen? What can I say, I can take tests!
54. I pretty much didn’t like school except for sixth grade. I was so very shy that any thing other than sitting at my desk doing schoolwork was torture. I even volunteered to wash dishes in the school cafeteria so that I wouldn’t have to go to recess. Should I even admit that? I guess it doesn’t hurt for people to know I have been weird all my life!
55. I can’t draw to save my life. I wish I could. I wish I was an artist and super-creative. But, I’m not, I’ve learned to deal. I’m glad my kids are creative in spite of me!
56. I was deathly afraid of the dark growing up. I have outgrown it, a little.
57. Easter is my favorite holiday. Three reasons: Jesus, new clothes and the beginning of spring!
58. Fall is my next favorite. The temperatures are just right and even though I would not care if I ever watched another football game on TV, the thought of a high school game with a marching band just makes me happy.
59. Next would be summer. I love the freedom. Don’t love the heat.
60. I really could live someplace that didn’t have a winter. I despise being cold and despise snow. My Iowa friends can attest to this, since I complained the entire time I lived there. Sorry about that!
61. I also love to buy socks. I can’t stand to wear socks, but love to buy them.
62. I once took a sack with 102 pairs of socks to Goodwill. In my defense, there were a lot of little baby socks. My boys never really wore them since they were spring babies, but apparently I couldn’t resist buying them!
63. I was born in October. During the OU/Texas football game. I think that was an omen.
64. We have four OU football season tickets that we never use. Don’t worry, we sell them, but it would be more fun to use them!
65. My parents live in the same house that I grew up in.
66. Todd’s parents live in the same house he grew up in.
67. Our kids don’t know where they live.
68. In the third grade I got chicken pox and glasses all in the same week. Not a good week.
69. I have a college degree in Physical Education. I never wanted to be a teacher, I wanted to work in fitness or physical therapy.
70. My first job was at Presbyterian Hospital in the Oklahoma City Center For Athletes. I know what you are thinking, right up my alley. It was a semi-fun job that only lasted nine months because we moved.
71. My next job was for an eye doctor. I decided then that I wanted to work in the optometric field. That lasted seven months. Then we moved. Can you see a pattern here.
72. I have a terrible time making decisions. Big decisions, little decisions, it doesn’t really matter.
73. We were married six years before we had Kellen. We wanted to be “ready” before we had kids. Of course we soon found out you are never ready.
74. We would have loved to have our kids close together, but God did not have that planned for us. I think I will trust His judgment.
75. I really, really try to trust God and His plan for my life. It is not easy. I’m a tad controlling. I would have never laid my life out like this.
76. I have a pretty good life, so luckily someone else is making the plans!
77. I don’t remember when Clay was born, I was only 22 months old.
78. I remember every detail about the day Ryan was born. I was seven. While I was initially a little sad he was not a sister, I got over it very quickly.
79. I am now very glad he was not a sister. There are some advantages to being the only girl.
80. Ryan had long curly hair as a toddler, so I curled it and fixed it for him. The next best thing to having a sister.
81. People always thought Clay and I were twins. He was tall, I was short, and we were dressed alike a lot.
82. I sort of bossed them around a lot. Sorry about that.
83. Clay and Ryan both work in public education. I do not.
84. Clay and Ryan both live in Oklahoma. I do not.
85. Todd still says we will end up in Oklahoma City some day, for good. I’m beginning to think that is not in the plans.
86. If we could, we would move back to the first little house we bought in the Village. We LOVED that house, still do. Of course, we have added two more kids since then, so it might not really work out. But, that was the best house.
87. The second house we owned was in Iowa. We loved the space. I loved the laundry chute and laundry room.
88. The house in Iowa was supposed to be a work in progress while we lived there. But, we didn’t live there long enough. So, it became a major stress to get it done and sell it.
89. Todd never saw the finished product. I wish he could have. It turned out really cute.
90. Thank the Lord we sold it in three weeks. I couldn’t take that house anymore!
91. The third house we have owned is the house we are in now. It is new. Or was new. We’ve used it now.
92. It is sooo boring. Maybe if we built it ourselves, it would not be boring. But since we just bought it this way, boring. It is boring because I’m afraid to touch anything. Something about having an old house makes me think I can fix that, make it look better. Here, it’s hard to change anything since it is new. I don’t know if I ever want a new house again. But, I’ve learned to never say never.
93. I know I am blessed to have this home, don’t get me wrong. I am thankful for it every day. Just bored with it.
94. Or maybe I’m bored because I’m not pregnant or packing. Or pregnant and packing.
95. I wish I knew the Bible better. You’d think by going to church my whole life and taking Bible classes in college I would know it better. But I am finally realizing that you have to actually study it, not just sit and listen about it.
96. I desperately want my kids to know the Bible. So, we start our homeschool day with Bible and I am learning right along with them. It’s the best part of our day.
97. I love my kids. I can’t even describe how much I love these four people in my life.
98. I love my husband. I am so thankful for him. He has put up with a lot from me and is still here.
99. I love God. I am so thankful to Him for blessing me beyond what I deserve.
100. I love you for actually reading to the end! Ha! Unless your like me and you read the end of the book first to see if you actually want to mess with reading the whole thing. If that is the case, don’t bother going back to read the list. It will be ten minutes of your life you’ll never get back!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
A Sloooow Day
This must have been a slow day for the Springfield news! We were taking our lunch break from schoolwork when the doorbell rang. A couple of men asked if they could ask me some questions about having a sprinkler system in my house (which we do not have, btw). After I answered him he asked if he could interview me, since I am ever so quick I just stood there, thinking, “I think you just did”. Then I realized he meant for TV. Ha! I don’t know what I was thinking. Why didn’t I just say, “no thanks”. Instead, I said, “Can I go brush my hair first?” We were not planning to leave the house except to go swim at a friends house, so I hadn’t done much in the hair and makeup dept. and I had on my uniform of a black tee and jeans. Lovely.
Anyway, I ran in, took my hair out of a ponytail an slapped on some mascara and “lips” as Callie calls it. I came out and they had me sit on my porch. Yes, I’m just hanging out on my porch, talking about sprinklers. Very natural. Then, they asked if they could get some shots of my kids running around in the yard. !Oooookkkkk. That would also be very natural. We do a lot of just running amuck in our yard! After a minute I asked them if they would like me to get a football or something. So, we have the boys throwing the football around and Callie being shy. They got a nice shot of me forgetting that I can’t throw a football. They don’t actually show me, but show the football randomly landing in the middle of the circle and Garrett trying to reach it. Luckily they also cut out the part of Callie picking her nose!
For the record, I don’t have strong feelings one way or the other if people get sprinklers in their homes. I have always been paranoid about my kids not waking up if our house was on fire and the smoke detector didn’t wake them up. I think I saw a show about that on 20/20 or something. So, sprinklers would probably wake them or put the fires out before they needed to wake up. That would be a good thing! I also mentioned to them that if the sprinklers were ugly I would not want them. I guess they didn’t feel that was newsworthy! Yes, I really said that. Luckily, it was not a piece about “Local SAHM rambles on about random stuff”, I could have helped them out with that too!
Click to see the Foxx Family on the News, ha
Click to see the Foxx Family on the News, ha
Monday, July 26, 2010
Independence Day!
Well, I am hoping to get all of July blogged about before August 1. There is a good chance I am not going to make it, just in case you are on pins and needles to hear about it!
July 4 we started out with company, but sadly they had to head home since they had things to do bright and early Monday morning. Since we hadn’t really checked into what to do in this area for the fourth, we decided we would just stay home and see what we could see. Best decision EVER! Have I mentioned that we live kind of in the middle of no where? Well, that is not exactly true. There are cities and neighborhoods all around us, we just happen to be in a little patch of land with not a whole lot around us. Have I mentioned that we have some new neighbors? Yay! Since the first of the year five houses have been completed and four more are almost done. No one is right by us, which is nice. (Or should I be paranoid? Do all the trashcans and outdoor kids stuff scare people away? I don’t care, I like a little space!) Well, we could seriously have sat on our roof and had a 360 degree fireworks extravaganza. The other nice thing about being out of city limits is that you can pop your own fireworks. At least that was nice for those of us that wanted to just watch our neighbors fireworks! The boys couldn’t understand why we wouldn’t do this! Umm, safety maybe? Thirteen year old that thinks he knows how to do everything and fireworks was not a battle I wanted to face this year! One of our new neighbors had a party and had fireworks galore. We decided to elect him chairman of fireworks for our neighborhood from here on out! It was a fabulous time. Perfect weather, lots of fireworks, our family all together. Loved it!
Gannon, Kellen, Callie, Garrett, and Daddy enjoying the shows.
This girl was the LOVING the fireworks! She clapped and cheered the whole time!
This is just a good picture of her curls. :) 
Yay!!
Garrett and Callie deciding to stand and watch. It was better this way since we could turn around in all directions to view the shows!
Just to show how close we were to our neighbors show. Perfect! Just like having your own but we didn’t spend any money on fireworks or ER visits! (They didn’t go to the ER thank goodness, but it just takes on crazy firework you know!)Sunday, May 23, 2010
Better Than Last Year, I Think…
Well, Easter has come and way gone this year. It was a crazy time. Easter is my favorite holiday, and it seems to be crazy every year! Not the way I would like to enjoy it. I love Easter because it is spring!!! And because you get to buy pretty new dress clothes! And there are the Easter eggs, the bunnies, the pastel colors everywhere…I could go on and on! Easter 2010 was crazy all because of me. I had too many things planned at once. Not surprising I know!
The week of Easter we had just gotten back from a trip to Tulsa, where I never took a picture! I took my camera, but never took a picture. Trust me when I say we had a great time! While I was there we did some shopping. I decided since I was running out of time to make Callie a dress, I would buy Callie an Easter dress. Between Nana Charlene and I, we managed to pick out three dresses, two purses and a pair of shoes for Callie. Just in case. You never know what mood I would be in! I had also decided to order a pre-made, pre-pleated dress to smock, in case I had time. I really didn’t think it would be here in time to even start, but oh well, we had backups!
The Monday after Easter was the day to take things to our local Just Between Friends sale. This is a huge consignment sale that I have been missing while being in Iowa. I started going to them in Tulsa, and have since sold stuff through them in Norman and OKC as well. So, the week before Easter I had to get all my stuff ready to sell. Never mind that I had known about this for a few months!
And the week of Easter my parents were coming for a visit. This was a good thing as they haven’t had much time to visit us and my dad was coming to help me hang shelves in my John Deere room. Since I would be dragging stuff out of it to sell at the consignment sale, this would be the perfect time to do this.
And there was all the usual stuff: school, co-op, homeschool PE, probably orthodontist appointments since we manage to go at least every other week!
Well the dress I ordered came on the Thursday before Easter. I couldn’t stand it. My parents came on Thursday and I started alternating between pricing and smocking, and trying to be a good hostess, which I am sure I was not! This is why I titled this “Better Than Last Year…” Remember last year when I decided to make an Easter dress in a week? (Last years Easter saga:)) Well, this year I did it in three days. Granted I only smocked it. No sewing involved on this one. But the smocking is what I love to do anyway! So, is this better since I did it in less time? Or worse since I waited until the last minute two years in a row? Oh well, who cares, I love it! I do not have a great picture of it yet. But it is bright pink check with white and green stitching. It is not as long as I like for this type of dress, but cute anyway!
Look at this grin. This is her two-year-old grin. The grin that says “I am so cute, I can do anything I want!” (Can I just say she actually minded me tonight at dinner and even the boys were telling her good job it was such a surprise!) Ornery!
Todd has put his foot down on the matching clothes for the boys. This is the closest I could get without being vetoed!
Callie and Grandma having a conversation at the kitchen table.
Callie and Gannon taking a break from cleaning out the John Deere room. Notice all the tubs in the background? All empty now!! I am so excited. The consignment sale was a huge success! Worth all the madness getting the stuff ready. I would share how much money I made but it is embarrassing to think I had that much stuff to sell! 
Taking time out from the work to fly kites with Grandpa. One advantage of living in a house with no neighbors, trees, or anything for that matter! There was plenty of room to fly!
Taking time out from the work to fly kites with Grandpa. One advantage of living in a house with no neighbors, trees, or anything for that matter! There was plenty of room to fly!
Callie and Gannon watching the kite action.
All in all it was a great week and Easter, just tiring! I really am going to start Callie’s Easter dress sooner next year. I know, I could have used one of the dresses we bought, but I love to make her things! I figure I need to get things made now before she refuses to wear what I make. We are already starting to have issues with her picking out her own clothes!
So, moving right along in our little family journal. I recently started printing my blog for 2009. Since I don’t scrapbook, I thought this would be a perfect thing to print and bind for the kids to have someday. They may not ever care, but it will release some of the guilt I have for not scrapbooking! Or even just putting pictures in albums! Anyway, I feel the need to go back and include some of our life when I get behind so we can remember what we do!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Be afraid. Be very afraid!
Callie has taken to picking on Gannon when she gets the chance. I don’t know why. All of my younger kids have done this. Gannon would bite Garrett for no reason. He never did it to Kellen, just Garrett. Callie will pinch Gannon, not Garrett or Kellen, just Gannon. I think they just know that that is the child closest to their age so maybe, just maybe they can take them. Who knows!
Well, the other day Callie decided to stand on Gannon. He was laying on the floor drawing, she walked over and just stood there on his back. I was at the sink with wet hands so while I finished what I was doing, I was giving her the evil eye. (She, of course, was just giving me the I’ll do whatever I want smile that she has mastered!). After a few seconds, she jumped off Gannon, ran to Kellen for him to hold her and said “I’m scared of those eyes!”.
You better be scared sister!
During a not so scary moment! Callie ready for summer with her pink flower pants, pigtails, and Sonic! The best time of the year!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Behind. Behind. More Behind.
Are you wondering what I am going to write about? Well, if you know me at all you know it is not what the title could be about. Well, maybe it could be about that. Besides getting more and more behind in just living, I am getting more of a behind in the process! But, I don’t think we want to hear about that.
I haven’t posted much lately, as I am behind in everything. I have moments like this every so often, where there are just more things that need to be done than can get done. I know some of this is because I tend to make things harder than they have to be. But, hey, at least I made it to Easter before I failed my New Year’s resolution! ( New Year's Post here :) )So, hopefully, I’m back on track and will be catching you up on our lives from the last few weeks. Spring has spring and we are excited! Spring and summer in a new area, so there will be lots of exploring and adventure! I’ll try to keep up with blogging about it, I know all three of you that read are sitting on the edge of your seats!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Whimsical
Whimsical is my new favorite word. This all started a little while back when I was looking for furniture for our living room. First let me say I stink at decorating. I know what I like, but I can’t get it to come out the way I have in my head to save my life. So, looking for furniture is a weeks, months, years long process. Anyway, I was looking for something else on the internet when these chairs called “Whimsical” popped up.
I instantly loved them, I am always drawn to anything with the word whimsical in the title or description, when I think of that word I think fun. I loved the price of these chairs, loved the free shipping and free returns. What was not to lose? The fact that these do not look like anything else I have is beside the point! I kept showing them to my kids (they could care less). Kellen just couldn’t understand why they were called Whimsical or why I would want chairs called Whimsical. I love to find an opportunity to look up a word in the dictionary, so I told him to look it up! He said “on Google?” I said “No, in a dictionary!” So, he looked it up on an online dictionary :) and this what he found:
whimsical: 1 : full of, actuated by, or exhibiting whims
2 a : resulting from or characterized by whim or caprice; b : subject to erratic behavior or unpredictable change
2 a : resulting from or characterized by whim or caprice; b : subject to erratic behavior or unpredictable change
When you look up whims it says this: 1 : a capricious or eccentric and often sudden idea or turn of the mind
So, can you see why this is my new favorite word? Does this not describe me?! At least the 2b, “subject to erratic behavior or unpredictable change”? Or 1, “exhibiting whims”, which is an “eccentric and often sudden idea or turn of the mind”. I have beat myself up for years, calling myself scatterbrained. Do you know what scatterbrained means?
: a giddy heedless person
Giddy, maybe but heedless I am not. At least not anymore, I have four kids!
Who knew all these years I could have been calling myself whimsical? That sounds much more fun and cute doesn’t it? Now when I drive the wrong way on a one-way street, I can just say I am being whimsical. When I tell my kids we are doing this and this and this today, and we actually do that and that and that, I am not being scatterbrained, I am being whimsical! See what I mean! Sounds so much better than scatterbrain!
I've linked my post to two fun blogs today if you want to go check them out! I love seeing other peoples ideas on things!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Just That Kind of Kid
Yesterday was Kellen’s birthday. Thirteen. Yes, a teenager.
We have noticed a change in Kellen, the last six weeks especially. Not bad changes, just changes that means he’s growing up. He’s getting more muscular, probably in part to working out at the Y, but part his age. He’s kind of got the Peter Brady thing going on with his voice. He’s spending a little more time alone. I don’t think he’ll ever be in total hibernation like some teenagers, he has too many things he wants to share with the rest of us! But, he is being a loner a little more. Only five more years and he can take off on his own, never to be heard from again!
Luckily, there are things that are not changing, not yet anyway. He is still the kind, thoughtful person he has always been. That’s what I mean when I say he is that kind of kid. I don’t take any credit for this, this was all God’s handiwork. Why God chose to give me a child like this, I don’t know, but I am forever grateful. I tell him all the time that he is going to make a great husband some day, if I don’t use him all up before then! Just a couple of weeks ago we were out somewhere and I was trying to fill something out, holding Callie, juggling things. Kellen came up and said “Come on Callie let’s go over here”. I didn’t ask him, I wasn’t freaking out over my predicament, he just noticed I was struggling and helped.
Kellen is to the point in his schooling where there are some things that I can plan out for the week and he is on his own to get them done. He is an early riser and he’ll start on his schoolwork before everyone else is even up so he can get it done. He knows that he wants to move on to better things, so he knows how to schedule his day and get his stuff done on his own.
We decided very last minute what we wanted to do to celebrate his birthday. We decided we would have a few friends over to play outside and eat pizza, just hanging out kind of stuff. He said “is this one of those kind of parties where people bring you gifts?” I told him it didn’t have to be. “I don’t really need anything, so I would rather people not bring stuff”. On his own. I didn’t have to rant and rave about how he didn’t need anything, he knows he doesn’t. He wanted to invite some kids…and their siblings and parents. Not for any particular reason, he just likes all ages of people and wanted everyone to have someone to play with. I think this is a great quality that will serve him well forever.
Kellen setting the table for his party :)
Now, lest anyone thinks I think he is perfect. Or, in case he reads this and starts getting a big head…let’s just say God is not finished with him yet! He is human, he has struggles just like anyone else. We work on them daily! But, luckily, I think his great qualities outweigh the struggles, so I think we’ll keep him around :).
I am so thankful for Kellen. We didn’t know what we were having when we were pregnant with him, but for some reason I knew it was a boy. I am so blessed by him. I am so blessed to be able to spend so much time with him and try in spite of myself to train and teach him. He makes me look way better than I am! What more could a parent ask for!
Happy Birthday Kellen! Your daddy and I love you more than you know and we are so proud of you. Your brothers and sister love and look up to you. Thanks for loving God and trying your best to do His will. Thanks for being the best Kellen I know!
Friday, March 5, 2010
Our Typical Day
Ha! I decided to take part in Kelly’s Korner Show Us Your Life/Your Typical Day. I wish we had a typical day, oh how I wish. But, it is not to be. I have four kids and a husband that works retail, so luckily I am flexible! And really, I don’t really know if I want a typical day. I like unpredictable, spur-of-the moment days. A good thing with Todd’s unpredictable hours! The problem with this is that there are things that do have to be done on a typical day: cooking, cleaning, laundry, schoolwork…the list could go on and on. So, we have our set things, then try to just have fun in between.
We go to church Sundays and Wednesdays. We are so happy about our church here. It is a growing church with 350 or so members and lots of kids! And counting us, there are four home school families that I know of. That is such a blessing for the kids. It’s always nice to not be the only ones! And, we have friends with similar schedules, even better!
Since moving to Nixa we have joined a home school co-op. In all our years homeschooling we have not ever joined a co-op. The funny thing is that before we moved to Iowa, we were talking to the leaders about joining this co-op. Then we came back to this area and were still able to to join. It has been such a blessing. The kids loove it! Well, I know Kellen and Garrett do. Gannon does on most days and as long as Callie has Play-Doh time in her class, she is happy! The boys participate in all types of classes from science to art to P.E.. We do this on Tuesday afternoons.
On Thursday afternoons the boys go to home school P.E. at the YMCA. They love that too! Some friends from church and co-op recently joined so I have been walking with their mom while the boys play. So I enjoy getting in shape and chatting!
In between all of this we live our lives. We have our schedule for chores, school etc. If we stick to those, things go pretty good! But, we have been known to drop everything and go play, redecorate a room, visit family, you name it! This is one reason I so love homeschooling. The flexibility was not on our list when we first started this journey. But it so is now! I can’t imagine living by someone else’s calendar. I guess we live a little by Sam’s Club calendar if we want Daddy to join us, but he doesn’t always get to join us, and he’s fine with that. I know this life is not for everyone. I have many friends that would panic if they didn’t have more of a routine, but I panic if I don’t have some time to be flexible!
So, a typical day? We don’t have those, even by my standards! The only typical is that we are flexible and always together. Sounds like the perfect day to me!
You can find other peoples "typical days" here:
It's always fun to see what others are up to!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Once-A-Month Cooking
Well, I did it. I've talked about for years. My sister-in-law Kerry and I used to discuss it, but we never got around to making it happen. When I was trying to get our schedule together for the new year, it seemed like meal time was always in the way. Don't get me wrong, I like to cook most of the time. What I don't like is going to the store with four kids. I don't like being busy up to meal time and then trying to get it all together. I bought the Once-A-Month cookbooks a long time ago. I've had them a while, I know I bought them in Iowa at least a year ago. Anyway, while I was organizing my kitchen, I saw them and decided to go for it. So, after much planning and making lists, my fridge went from this:
to this in my freezer:
The grocery shopping was never ending. I hit Wal-mart, Sam's, and Aldi. Once the shopping was done, there was no turning back!
It was the longest day ever! I messed up by not following all the rules. Does that surprise you? The cookbook gave all these helpful hints and one hint was to wear comfortable shoes. I didn't wear shoes at all and I paid for it. My back hurt for days!
I had help, of course. This was our school for the day. Lot's of math!
Callie just stole bites of food. Especially the freshly grated cheese!
I planned to take pictures of things as the day went on, but there wasn't really a stopping point! Once you start, you just have to keep at it. Too much money goes into buying a months worth of food for six people. I wasn't about to waste anything!
We learned a lot that day about what to do differently next time. We have a list of things to try and buy for next time that will make the job easier. A lot of dishes can be frozen in 9x13 dishes. I was going to just buy a few more at Wal-mart, but they are more expensive than I remembered. I don't know if I have ever even bought one. I think the ones I have now were wedding gifts! So, we're going to look for some at garage sales and places.
I have planned (but not cooked) weeks of meals at a time for a while. I have cooked more than one meal sometimes, or cooked and frozen a few things, but never a months worth. I even included some stuff for lunches and breakfasts when we cooked. So, it was a LOT. One reason I had put this off for so long is that I thought it would be a lot of casseroles. It's not. I made very few. So far we have like most of what I made. We mixed some new recipes with some of our tried and true go-to recipes. Now that I have the idea of how this works, it will be simpler to do with almost any recipe.
In the end, it has been soooo worth it. The pluses are having a meal plan, I know what we are having for breakfast, lunch, and dinner up until Valentine's Day. I have most of the food in my freezer and fridge. The only things I don't have are the few fresh items that we pick up each week. Another plus is the amount of time I spend in the kitchen at dinner time. I am still cooking, but it is quick. Think Hamburger Helper, but good and healthy. I am spending more time on side dishes, which we are enjoying. My favorite is that there are very few dishes after dinner! We are able to put what we use on the table in the dishwasher and we can go to bed with a clean kitchen. (I do not hand wash dishes!) I am loving this part of it. I like to be done after dinner. Of course, a mom is not done after dinner, but at least the cooking and cleaning can be done! Also, I tried to make sure and make the recipes so that we would have enough leftovers for Todd to take a lunch, so another bonus!
But, the absolute best...I haven't been to the grocery store with four kids in weeks! I have hardly been to the grocery at all. Woo-hoo! Now that I haven't been, I realize that this is really what has been stressing me out. I love to shop, don't get me wrong, but not for groceries. It is so nice to have all the time that I would have normally been going to the store. I am thinking it is probably saving us money too. I haven't set down to figure that out yet. I need to get through a whole month and see what I spent all together and compare to another month where I didn't do this.
So, we will probably try this again. I already dread the day of cooking! But, this time I know the reward will be worth it. Think there could be a lesson in this?
Saturday, January 9, 2010
It's All Her Fault
I've decided my life is all my mom's fault. Is it still the thing, to blame everything on your parent's? It used to be. Used to be that you could go on Oprah and talk about all the bad things your parents did to you to make you the person you are today. I don't watch Oprah so I don't know if that is still the thing! I think people should be responsible for themselves and realize after a point that they make their own decisions and their life is what they make of it. But, for me, my life is still it is my mom's fault. That's my way of getting out of being responsible! Ha!
It is my mom's fault that I don't have anything to go on Oprah about. Too bad because I do love Chicago!
It's my mom's fault that I love plaid and colorful things. It's her fault that I think I can sew. She made these lovely outfits above.
Not sure if she made these or not. Probably, I don't think you could get anything this lovely in a store.
It's my mom's fault that I love family. I will go to the ends of the earth to make sure my kids get the chance to know their extended families. Family is what we have at the end of the day. While friends are wonderful and needed, family can't get rid of you, even if they want to!
It's my mom's fault that I have three boys. Really it is. She always told me that I would have a bunch of boys that loved baseball. Really she did. This was in response to me griping, complaining and griping some more about all the ball games I had to go to. My brothers were always on a team of some sort and our vacations a lot of times revolved around some sort of sports event. That or a cemetery, but that is for another post.
It's my mom's fault that my children's education is so important. She made sure that we did our homework, that we participated in all we could. It was never an option. We did our best in school and went to college. It was never a question, it was just what we were going to do. She took us on her own little field trips and opened up new worlds to us. She is huge history buff and loved sharing all of that with us. Luckily she loves sharing that with my kids. Again, my brothers got all of that gene. I think history is very important, but it is not my hobby. Both of my brothers are in education. I guess you could say I am in education, although what we do around here sometimes is not very educational! I think her attitudes at home, making everything a learning experience, helped me realize that homeschooling can work. That and the fact that she made me think I can do anything. (Still trying to decide if that is a good thing!)
It is my mom's fault that I married a Christian man. She married a Christian man, it's worked out well for her for 48 years. She talked a lot about the people we were going to marry. We knew that she wouldn't care what our spouse did, looked like, or anything. What mattered was that they were Christians.
It is my mom's fault that I have a mind of my own. I guess technically we all have a mind of our own, but we don't all use it. She has always been creative and adventurous. She has marched to the beat of her own drum. Not in a kooky way, but in a way that doesn't jump on bandwagons. She studies, and makes up her own mind about things. She uses the Bible as her ultimate guide, then does things the way she thinks they need to be. She thinks she can do anything, hence the reason my brother's and I think think we can do anything we want to do. I am glad that I don't have a problem being different. I am glad that I had the nerve to order the whimsical chairs instead of the boring brown and blue (a story for another day!). Of course I really didn't really have the nerve, I had to email her pictures and listen to her reasoning before I could order them, but I did the actual ordering! I am glad that I have a big family that I love and at least pretends like they love me!
The reason for all of this is that today is my mom's birthday. I'm glad that I can blame her for my life, because my life is not half bad. Here's hoping my kids will blame me for their live's someday. And here's hoping that she'll live until she is 80! (inside joke, obviously I hope she'll live much, much longer than that!) Happy Birthday Mother! Thanks for ruining my life :)! (Another inside joke, seriously.)
Friday, January 8, 2010
Why Make Things So Hard?
This is my New Years Resolution. I guess that is not really a resolution as much as a question. But, that is what I am going to ask myself all year. The biggest problem I think I have right now is making things harder than they have to be. I am terrible at making decisions because I am always worried I am going to wish I had made a different choice. Do you know how much harder this makes my life? This is for big things. "Should I get a brown couch or a red couch?" It is for little things. "Should we have chicken or pork for dinner?" Seriously. It consumes me. Do you know how many decisions I have to make during a day? What we're going to do, what we're going to wear, what we're going to eat, and the list goes on and on. How many of these decisions are really going to matter in the whole big scheme of things? All that matters to me is that I help my family get to heaven. And that I get there! I can't deal anymore. I am going to make decisions, live with them and go on in 2010. Really, I am. Now, what should we have for lunch?
A blog I enjoy is Kelly's Korner. She has "Show Us Your Life" parties on Fridays. Today's theme is New Year's Resolutions. I haven't ever gotten around to participating, but thought I might try here and there. It's fun to read what others are thinking and saying about life. She has a cute little "button" to click on for this, but I don't know if I can figure out how to put on my page. We'll see! Here is the not-cute button, but you can use this link to check it out if you are interested.
http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/2010/01/show-us-how-you-live-new-years.html
Happy 2010!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Holidays are coming!
Are you excited about the upcoming holidays? I am. I love holidays. I am sure it is because we always had the best times growing up. I was one of the lucky ones that had fun family times and special traditions every year. They were not anything fancy, just the same thing every year. My little family holidays have not been that way, for obvious reasons. I have to really battle being sad every year because we never know what our holidays are going to bring. The first hitch in our get-along is Todd's job. Please know that I am forever grateful for his job, he has a job which I know is no small thing. But, retail and holiday celebrations do not mix! The last two years, Todd has had to work even on Thanksgiving morning. We have enjoyed our Thanksgiving, but it is quiet without a lot of extended family around. We had one Christmas where Todd had to go to the Club three times to turn off the alarm that someone had not set properly the night before. All the Santa presents waiting patiently to be opened while daddy went to work. The last three years have really been crazy. So much travel...you have not traveled until you have traveled during the holidays! Of course two years ago we had a newborn, more craziness. Maybe there was craziness when I was little and just didn't know it :).
We are so excited to be closer to home this year. The holidays will still not be the picture perfect holidays that you read about, or dream about, but that is ok. I am finally coming to terms with this. Life is not perfect. Since Thanksgiving is the next holiday, I am hopefully going to be focusing on all that we have to be thankful for. The next six weeks will not be anything for Martha Stewart to write about, by any means! But, it's a holiday, how can it not be fun! What I am looking forward to is decorating my house, cooking meals that we don't normally eat, and seeing how excited the kids are. Gannon is five, a perfect age for holidays. Callie will be a blast as she starts figuring things out. Kellen and Garrett are getting old enough that we have memories to reminisce about. So, here is to reminding myself to keep this year low-key so that we can enjoy each other and the time we have together, whether or not it is picture perfect!
The cooking has begun. Cornbread waiting to dry out for dressing and mashed potatoes. I'm getting hungry!
Callie up early to help me cook the dressing. I love that we can make it ahead an freeze it. It is actually better that way!
Very serious about her stirring!
This is what happens when mama is cooking and almost two-year-olds are left to themselves! The boys saw her and actually said "I thought you knew she was doing this". Seriously?
Side note: Yes I do comb Callie's hair. She has crazy hair in these pictures because within five minutes of combing it, it is crazy. I hate to tell her that I think she may have inherited my hair :(. Do you think she is too young for mousse?
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Back In The Swing…
We are getting back into the swing of things and it feels so good! What a blessing to have a house that doesn’t need fixed! There are things I would love to tweak at some point, but it is not a necessity. We have really enjoyed just spending time as a family. I’ve been cooking up a storm. We were all so tired of eating out for two months! The kids and I had some home-cooked meals, but Todd only had take-out or the occasional frozen something he made in his hotel.
I have a new favorite site for recipes! Whole Foods Market. http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/. I’ve never been to a Whole Foods store, but the store always looks so yummy and healthy on Top Chef :). Wish we had one here!
Last week I made a beef stroganoff from their site. It was fine. The guys liked it. This is one of Todd’s favorite things so I made that for him :). I made a yummy chicken and rice soup. This was for me :), but everyone loved it. Yesterday I made Chicken Alouette. This was not from their site, I saw it on a blog I follow, http://southernhospitalityblog.com/chicken-alouette/ . It was so good and kind of fancy for us! Of course, like everything else I do, it did not turn out like the recipe. The recipe said it would make six, I ended up with twelve. Oh well, I am sure they tasted the same! This week I made Potato Chowder from the Whole Foods site. Everyone loved it, except Todd, who didn't get any! I made it on the night he closed, thinking the kids wouldn't love it so there would be some left, but no. We ate it all!
Hope this is a sign of things to come! We enjoy eating together and I enjoy cooking when things aren’t crazy everywhere else in my life! Here’s to happy cooking!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Halloween
Well, we are slowly getting settled in here in Springfield. Luckily, we had three out of four Halloween costumes ready before we got here, so we didn't have to stop in the middle of all this to figure out costumes. Garrett could not decide what he wanted to “be” for Halloween. He finally settled on Mystery Man. We had all the stuff to make his costume, but of course didn’t make it until the morning of Halloween. I wonder why?!
Halloween in our house seems to be almost an afterthought lately. This year, we had just moved. Last year, we had just moved. The year before, we had a baby. The year before mama was pregnant. Can you see how this happens? Last year at least we had moved into a neighborhood that had a lot of kids so therefore a lot of Halloween action. This year, not so much! Our neighborhood only has one other house, occupied by a single man we don’t see much of. So we decided to take advantage of a local church’s festivities. This is one of those churches that looks more like a mall than a church. They had tons of stuff to do and lots of kids in costumes. The weather was beautiful. We had a nice time, even if it wasn’t the traditional Halloween of going to neighbors houses and hanging out after dark.
My kids all love to dress up. They would dress up all the time if I would let them. They are all so imaginative that they take their pretend games to the max and have costumes and all! So, just having an excuse to dress up for the day made it fun for them.
On a side note: our house in Bettendorf has sold! Three weeks after we listed it, we accepted an offer. We should close on November 10th. They buyer is a cash buyer, so hopefully he won’t spend all his money before the tenth! I am so excited to be done with that worry. Now I feel like I can concentrate on this house.
Ladybug! Ladybug! Fly away home!
Mystery Man
Detective Kellen
Captain Rex
Little Ladybug
Daddy as an OU football coach, again. ha:)
Being a detective is serious business!
Not a great picture of us, but wanted to show how many people were there! We couldn’t believe it. I did not partake of all the stuff in my hands. The church was giving out free kettle corn, I didn’t eat any but kept ending up with all the empty cups!
Waiting in line for one of the attractions. Detective Kellen had found some time to shave. Apparently the moustache was itchy!
When we got home from the Halloween party, we started working on our pumpkins. Our realtor here in Springfield had left pumpkins and carving kits for the kids. The kits were Potato Head brand and poked in the pumpkins like Mr. Potato Head pieces. They are so cute!
Everyone working hard.
The finished products. Aren’t they the cutest? Gannon made a skeleton, Garrett a pirate, Kellen a vampire, and Callie made a princess, of course!
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