Homeschoolin' Hot Rodders

It doesnt get much better than this!!!!!!

2009-03-06T11:12:00.005-05:00

This post at Terri's says it all!

Only 4 weeks left of school!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-01T00:03:00.001-05:00

Hey, the kids aren't the only ones looking forward to a break.....

I am blessed :)

2009-02-28T23:40:00.003-05:00

I just have to say that I am SO blessed! I have a wonderful hard working husband who works 2 jobs so that I can stay home with our children. Not only does he do it, but he does it because he wants to. There are so many times when I have said it would be easier for me to just go back into teaching to help our income and take some of the burden off of him but he continually says he wants me in the home teaching and raising our children:) I can't ask for a better husband than that!

And then there are the kids :)........They are not perfect by any means....but they are learning *wink*. All 3 have HUGE hearts and I notice that even the most stubborn *ahem* is becoming extremely sensitive. We have our ups and downs (as all do) but the ups far outweigh the downs. I love these kids...the ones "God hand picked for us" and the ones who have grown in our hearts to the point where I can't imagine a time without them. I enjoy seeing them change everyday into people who have a HUGE purpose in life....a purpose I pray they take seriously. They have many obstacles to overcome....prejudice by others in and outside the church, adoption issues, and autism spectrum disorders just to get started but I know that God has put us together for a reason...and for all of this I say thank you as I am SO BLESSED!!!

Mama got new shoes!

2009-02-28T07:59:00.004-05:00

Yep you read that right! I bought a new pair of shoes for......MYSELF yesterday! granted I bought myself a new pair of Nike's (which have already broken down so much my knees were KILLING me) but before that...I believe the last time I had bought myself a new pair of shoes was Mothers Day 2007...I'm just sayin'.....

I went to a running store and had them double check my feet for the best pair of shoes for my foot type. I was glad I did because apparently I have every problem known to man with my feet (which I did not know until yesterday). I have wide feet (really??), they over pronate, I have a high arch, one foot is 1/2 size smaller than the other, and I am wearing the wrong shoe size (huh??)...you would realize that a 32 year old woman would realize at least 1/2 of these things already...

These are a pair of Pearl Izumi's which is a brand I had bought before....long ago...when I worked out consistently lol. They feel like I have pillows on my feet.....while exercising last night I could hear my feet saying "thank you" and blowing me kisses................LOL

My 7 year old!

2009-02-26T10:24:00.008-05:00

That's right! Its hard to believe my baby boy turned 7 yesterday! Seems just like yesterday we were looking at this picture...

Noah 6days w/birthmom

and wondering when he was going to be in our arms forever!!!

Homecoming 06/06/03 (15 mo)

Brit and Noah 06/03 (16mo)

Noah (16 mo) Abbey (13mo) Katharine ( 3yr 8mo)

Noah 17mo

Noah 18mo

Noah 16 mo (if you notice I am holding his right hand...he sucked his thumb so much that this was the only way I could keep it out of his mouth for the photo!)

Noah (17mo)

Noah (20mo)

Noah (24mo)

Noah 2yrs (almost 3)

Noah (4)

Noah(6)

Noah, I continually remember that baby boy that was placed in my arms in Haiti and wonder how it is that you have changed so much! It seems like only yesterday :) Though physically you may be changing, you have remained my sweet tender boy (most of the time *wink*) with a HUGE heart! We are so proud of you and know that the Lord has HUGE plans for you!

Lets play a game...Can you find the missing piece???

2009-02-21T22:05:00.003-05:00

So today we are at McDonalds with Michele and E and the kids are all playing nicely up in the play place. After a while Maddie comes down and says (very slurred) "mama I just felt something...." blood/drool is coming out of her mouth and I looked.....her loose tooth was gone! I asked her if she had swallowed anything hard...and she started screaming! Apparently she didn't even know her tooth had come out LOL. I told her that she had lost her 1st tooth and took her to the bathroom to look...she was so excited she was laughing her pants off! Then I asked the obvious..."where is your tooth???".....the answer given was...."I don't know".........so I asked "where did you lose it?".....again I was met with "I don't know" LOL. SO off the search went for the missing tooth! Thanks Katharine for finding it! Maddie you are getting so big! I can't believe my baby is already losing her teeth....

Crack-a-lackin! It's a daddy daughter dance...

2009-02-07T22:51:00.003-05:00

Well I wish I had pics...but my camera is shot and unless our $$tree out back starts producing, it will be a while before we get another one LOL Anyway........

Tonight was the Daddy daughter dance with girl scouts. Katharine and her daddy were able to go out on a date and they both had a great time. They made it to the dance around 6 and it was less than an hour after that where I started getting texts from Kyle saying sensory girl was shutting down....music too loud...to many people...strange new surroundings...little Katharine starts going through her own little breakdown...and I think daddy was a little nervous LOL. So I text back (so glad for texting now as he couldn't hear me on the phone above the music!) to keep her moving (dancing which I think is in his rule book as something that should never be done...by him at least) and to help her get engaged with her friends. Of course...he doesn't even know who her friends are LOL. Her girl scout buddies are so sweet though and I am sure got her involved (as I heard later that she was off playing with them). Sweet thing called me as soon as they left to tell me what a great time she had (whew) and how glad she was to see her friends. Kyle and Katharine then got to go out to dinner and they both had their favorites...steak!

So what happened to me you ask? I stayed home with Maddie and Noah. We made some YUMMY taco salads, ice cream sandwiches (the kids), and sugar free fat free pudding (for me...and you can remove the YUM from the beginning of that one and replace it with I-would-have-rather-of-had-an-ice-cream-sandwich-but-my-butt-is-too-big-already) and watched Madagascar 2. We had a great time and just loved getting to snuggle together. And yeah...CRACK-A-LACKIN! Whats up with that word? I laughed all the way through the movie and I am pretty sure it was just because of that word...I mean how can you hear him say that and not bust out laughing??? CRACK-A-LACKIN!!!!

Kyles political view........

2009-02-05T09:00:00.002-05:00

And I quote....

"Politicians are like diapers......they need to changed frequently and often times for the same reason.........."

My baby is not so much a baby anymore........

2009-01-28T19:50:00.002-05:00

And she did it all on her own............

Which of your children would you be willing to do without???

2009-01-27T14:09:00.003-05:00

Pelosi: Fewer babies = stronger economy

Charlie Butts and Jody Brown - OneNewsNow - 1/27/2009 6:00:00 AM

Updated 8:45 a.m. Central

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stirred up a hornet's nest by promoting the idea of spending of millions of dollars on birth control and abortion as part of the economic stimulus package.

"Contraception," argued Pelosi, "will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government." Her comments came on ABC's This Week when asked by host George Stephanopoulos how expanding "family-planning services" to the tune of millions of dollars will stimulate the economy. OneNewsNow sought reaction from Susan Fani, director of communications for the Catholic League.

"It's quite shocking, actually, that the Speaker of the House -- who claims to be Catholic -- would go on national television and claim that contraception would reduce the cost to the government," exclaims Fani. "It's just beyond words, really."

Pelosi has five children and six grandchildren. Catholic League president Bill Donohue finds her comments revealing. "We have reached a new low when high-ranking public office holders in the federal government cast children as the enemy," he offers in a press statement. "But at least it explains their enthusiasm for abortion-on-demand." Will the spending on "family-planning services" help dig America out of its economic doldrums? "That's not going to help grow the economy," Fani responds. "It doesn't even make sense as a prospect for helping this country through our economic crisis. So it's wrong on so many different levels, and just shows...a very flawed thought process."

American Life League calls Pelosi's remarks "a betrayal" of her Catholic faith, and the Christian Defense Coalition says it is "unthinkable" that she would try to stimulate the economy by "seeking to reduce the number of children."

America needs to produce 2.1 children per couple to keep up with births to support the population -- and that rate is not being maintained. Economies in Europe have been especially hurt by a drop in birth rates.

Taken from here

The ipod shuffle...

2009-01-22T11:06:00.005-05:00

Thanks HM:) You gave me something to waste my time on lol Actually it was kind of funny :)

1. Put your music player of choice on shuffle.

2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.

3. Write the song name down.

4. Tag 5 friends.

5. Voila! Enjoy.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?"

Strut (like you mean it) LOL Cheetah girls (I have Maddies mp3 ok???)

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?

Right where you want me (???)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?

Kiss the girl (ROFL)

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?

Groove Tonight

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?

You'll find yourself in you

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?

Got a Message for ya (Nicole C. Mullen)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIENDS?

You're the music of my Heart (awwwwwww)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?

Redeemer (I know my redeemer lives....how true!!!!)

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?

Pure :P (Superchic)

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?

It's On (Jump In! Cd)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?

One Girl Revolution (Superchic)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?

Talk about it (Nicole C. Mullen)

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?

Supercalafragalisticexpealidocious

HOW WILL YOU DIE?

Graduation

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?

Some call it Magic (That's So Raven)

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?

You get the Best of Both Worlds (Hannah Montana)

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?

Vertical

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?

Praise you in this storm

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?

Stand in the Rain (Superchic...yikes true!)

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?

Baby Girl

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?

Freedom

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?

Anthem (Superchic)

Join in if you want to!

Events of late from the conspicuous families point of view

2009-01-21T11:32:00.004-05:00

From the moment we adopted a black child, we were no longer a "white" family. Although not a black family, but still not the traditional white family. There were many things we had to learn such as skin and hair care...and then as they get older we deal with racism. Sure, Kyle and I have had to deal with racism since the kids were home. We have been shoved off street corners, called names, had my children followed around stores (very OBVIOUSLY), deal with "looks"...some trying to hide their stares and some...well....doing everything they can to make sure we understand they do not approve of our family make up. We are not the only ones who have experienced these type of issues. Lori has blogged about one of hers here. Although, as you can see, none of these has caused us physical harm, it is still more than we would have experienced if our children would of had the same hue as us.

We also have different issues to deal with. While stories such as "Follow the Drinking Gourd" and "The Safe House" are excellent stories, and ones I would not hesitate to read to children that are white..I have hesitated over our time as homeschoolers to read these stories. Not because I don't want them to know, but as soon as they "get it" they lose just a bit more of their innocence. While my 2 youngest could really care less at this time about what color anyone is, Katharine is very aware of her race and her "racial" surroundings. As I started to read these stories it didn't click at first (which was OK with mama) but I will never forget the 1st time we watched the movie Ruby Bridges. She was in 1st grade, just like Katharine at the time. As we watched the movie and watched the horrible things that happened to this little girl as her family fought for their rights...she asked me why she was the only one in her class...and of course I told her as gently as I could. It clicked. I saw her look at her own hands....her own beautiful God given hands....she turned them upside down, and then right side up...and she just looked at me. All I could tell her was that is was not right and not fair. As much as I would love to say this is all in the past, it is not. We still hear racial jokes and comments. Most of the time I think people think its funny to make these jokes and that there is no harm done. On the contrary...when you have the history that blacks in this country have, a joke, no matter how harmless to the white counterpart, is offensive to the black person...or the mother in the said conspicuous family. While at the same time people can say that my children don't have that history as they were adopted from Haiti and it was not their family that was affected...think about it. When we go to wal-mart and the woman follows my daughter around so close behind her back that they could share the same pair of pants...do you think she is looking at her as a foreign born child adopted from afar? No...all she sees is skin color...black....and then lumps all the stereotypes along with it.

.....to be continued ....

Take another look!

2009-01-21T01:10:00.000-05:00

Wouldn't you think a business owner would KNOW?

2009-01-05T07:25:00.005-05:00

This sign has been up in front of our local cable company for at least 3 days now. I believe it is supposed to say something about "The Big Ten Network" or something to that effect....Wouldn't you think that SOMEONE at the company would notice this issue?

My kids will have to run naked.......

2009-01-05T07:06:00.003-05:00

http://www.latimes.com:80/business/la-fi-thrift2-2009jan02,0,2083247.story

New safety rules for children's clothes have stores in a fit

Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times
A Goodwill store in Los Angeles is among those that will be required to pay for private testing for lead and phthalates of all clothing for those under age 13.

Some owners say the cost of testing for toxic lead and phthalates will shut their businesses. The law goes into effect Feb. 10.
By Alana Semuels January 2, 2009

Barring a reprieve, regulations set to take effect next month could force thousands of clothing retailers and thrift stores to throw away trunkloads of children's clothing.

The law, aimed at keeping lead-filled merchandise away from children, mandates that all products sold for those age 12 and younger -- including clothing -- be tested for lead and phthalates, which are chemicals used to make plastics more pliable. Those that haven't been tested will be considered hazardous, regardless of whether they actually contain lead.

"They'll all have to go to the landfill," said Adele Meyer, executive director of the National Assn. of Resale and Thrift Shops.

The new regulations take effect Feb. 10 under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which was passed by Congress last year in response to widespread recalls of products that posed a threat to children, including toys made with lead or lead-based paint.

Supporters say the measure is sorely needed. One health advocacy group said it found high levels of lead in dozens of products purchased around the country, including children's jewelry, backpacks and ponchos.

Lead can also be found in buttons or charms on clothing and on appliques that have been added to fabric, said Charles Margulis, communications director for the Center for Environmental Health in Oakland. A child in Minnesota died a few years ago after swallowing a lead charm on his sneaker, he said.

But others say the measure was written too broadly. Among the most vocal critics to emerge in recent weeks are U.S.-based makers of handcrafted toys and handmade clothes, as well as thrift and consignment shops that sell children's clothing.

"We will have to lock our doors and file for bankruptcy," said Shauna Sloan, founder of Salt Lake City-based franchise Kid to Kid, which sells used children's clothing in 75 stores across the country and had planned to open a store in Santa Clara, Calif., this year.

There is the possibility of a partial reprieve. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is responsible for enforcing the law, on Monday will consider exempting clothing and toys made of natural materials such as wool or wood. The commission does not have the authority to change the law but can decide how to interpret it.

But exempting natural materials does not go far enough, said Stephen Lamar, executive vice president of the American Apparel and Footwear Assn. Clothes made of cotton but with dyes or non-cotton yarn, for example, might still have to be tested, as would clothes that are cotton-polyester blends, he said.

"The law introduces an extraordinarily large number of testing requirements for products for which everyone knows there's no lead," he said.

Clothing and thrift trade groups say the law is flawed because it went through Congress too quickly. By deeming that any product not tested for lead content by Feb. 10 be considered hazardous waste, they contend, stores will have to tell customers that clothing they were allowed to sell Feb. 9 became banned overnight.

These groups say the law should be changed so that it applies to products made after Feb. 10, not sold after that date.

That would take action by Congress, however, because the Consumer Product Safety Commission's general counsel has already determined that the law applies retroactively, said commission spokesman Scott Wolfson.

The regulations also apply to new clothing. That won't be a problem for large manufacturers and retailers, industry experts say, but it will be a headache for small operators such as Molly Orr, owner of Molly O Designs in Las Vegas.

Orr has already produced her spring line of children's clothes. She says she can't afford the $50,000 it would cost to have a private lab test her clothing line, so she's trying to sell her inventory at a steep discount before Feb. 10. After that, she is preparing to close her business.

"We have a son with autism, so we are all about cleaning up the toxins that our children are exposed to," she said. "But I think the law needs to be looked at more closely to see how it is affecting the economy in general.

"Thrift store owners say the law stings because children's garments often come in new or nearly new, because children typically outgrow clothing quickly.

Carol Vaporis, owner of Duck Duck Goose Consignment in New Port Richey, Fla., said her store stocks barely used brand-name clothing from places such as Limited Too and Gymboree.

"We really provide a service to the community to help people get clothes for their children they otherwise couldn't afford," she said.

Families have been bringing more clothes to consignment stores, where they get a chunk of the proceeds, to earn a little cash this winter, she said. She plans to contact her congressional representatives and senators to ask them to amend the law but says there's not enough awareness about the repercussions of the law to force anything to change.

Many retailers and thrift stores appear to be unaware that the law is changing. Of half a dozen Southern California children's thrift stores contacted by The Times, only one had heard of the law. Organizations such as Goodwill say they're still investigating how the law will affect them because there is so much confusion about what will be banned.

Cynthia Broockman, who owns two consignment stores and a thrift shop in Virginia, recently stopped accepting children's products for resale. That raised the ire of a man who was trying to sell his son's castoffs there and had not heard of the new rules.

"I think it's not understood by people how sweeping and far-reaching this is," she said. "The ripples that are going to go forth from this are just astonishing."

alana.semuels@latimes.com

Happy Gotcha Day Maddie!

2009-01-04T22:44:00.005-05:00

yes, I know today is NOT her real Gotcha Day, but it was the only day close we could celebrate it as a family and we did that today:). Take a look at my baby's picture and tell me if you see anything different....

Do you see the gleam??? The one coming off of her EAR????? My baby has been begging for quite a while to have her ears pierced...and I was so nervous! I should have believed her as she kept saying she was ready...and boy was she! We headed down to The piercing Pagoda today (where Katharine had her ears pierced) and when I saw that they had 2 people available I knew we were good to go :). We picked out her new *pink* ear rings (her birthstone) and she was ready. All day yesterday and today she was asking questions...what does it feel like...does it hurt...what does it sound like....what do they do...do they stick it *in* my ear...and we answered all her questions honestly...without being BRUTALLY honest lol. As soon as the woman said "come on through the door" she was dragging me in! We walked back and she sat on my lap. They had both guns ready to go at the same time....and the women got both of their guns lined up...and then 1, 2, 3! They were in....Maddie jumped a little but NEVER cried! I kept waiting for it to come and it never did :) She was so excited to get them done and so proud to have "big girl ears" that the pain didn't matter. I guess she is a true woman as she embraced with grace the saying "beauty is pain." So true right ladies? lol Here are more pics from our day......

Maddie with big smiles about her ears!

After the ear piercing we headed to IHOP (hello...PANCAKES????) for the Gotcha Day dinner

Maddie decorating her pancakes

It was a rough day for all :)

The time is now....

2009-01-03T16:09:00.004-05:00

4:09 PM and I am still not running a fever today...YEAH!!! I did go to our local convenient care center (which I am not a fan of as I have yet to have a decent Dr. there) and I think I finally did ok this time lol. I knew before I went in that I had asthmatic bronchitis...really there is not much they can do except for give me some antibiotics for my sinus infection and then slap me up with some prednisone (YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!)for the lung issue. The sinus infection does not even really bother me (I have chronic sinus infections) but the asthmatic type coughing is out of control (it has not been like this in years!) so much to the point where I have had to sleep sitting up the past couple nights.

At any rate.....I go into the office and its a different Dr than I had seen the last couple times. I told him what was going on and I got my usual rx's of prednisone and whatever round of antibiotics they wish to try :) yeah!!! Now that I have my prednisone I have enough energy to run 10 miles but not even the lung capacity to walk one. I guess I will be doing my usual while I am on these meds....up until 3 am and NO CAFFEINE FOR ME!

*except maybe my cup of coffee in the morning...trust me that would not be a pretty sight!*

There's not a better way to start off the new year than with a clean bill of health :)

2009-01-01T18:10:00.003-05:00

And yep that would be me :) Although the circumstances that brought me to that conclusion were a bit freaky. I woke up last Sunday night with cramping in my chest. It had happened before I had had never said anything but as I get "older" I have to start taking these things seriously. My siblings and I are the oldest living full generation in my family. I do have 1 aunt on one side of the family and 1 uncle on the other and neither of them have been in great health either. As morning approached I I told Kyle what had happened and he made me promise to go see the Dr before I went back to the gym. I thought hum..there is a class tonight I want to go to so I better get in today!

At 4:00 I walked into the Dr. office (in my gym clothes of course) and waited until I was called back. I was taken back and the Dr. came into see me (we LOVE our Dr. as we know his family from out in the community not just from Dr. office visits) and asked what was going on (rhetorical question). He said as nicely as he could that my life is stressful (no kidding!) and that was where he was leaning BUT he wanted to do some EKG's just in case. They ran the machine 5 times and told me to ~~starve~~ fast until the next morning and come back for blood work.

The next morning (coffee in hand ready to drink the moment the needle went in my arm) I headed to the office for blood work. The nurses told me to call back in 24 hours to find out the results, which, of course, I did! They tested, thyroid, blood sugar, and cholesterol and they were all in the EXCELLENT range...not just good....or ok...but EXCELLENT! Yippee!

So now...the Dr. has put me on meds just in case it is a small hernia (kyle had one) and he said 3 weeks of meds should do me. He also said I need a hobby to help reduce stress...AND TO KEEP ON EXERCISING he he !

So now as I sit here with a temp of 101...I tell you I am EXCELLENT health...great....fabulous...*cough* *cough* *hack*

You know you're getting old when......

2008-12-26T15:08:00.004-05:00

A person spends 4 hours trying to load music on an MP3 player they received as a gift. After 4 hours the helpmeet says let me take a look at it...and says "Honey...how did you turn ON your MP3 player?"....he turns and says "Well, there is an On/Off Switch on the side." Said helpmeet answers "babe, the on/off switch is to LOCK your mp3 player so you cant load anything on to it..." *sigh*

Another sign is when you try to tun on your daughters MP3 player (are we seeing a pattern here?) and it is not co-operating. You try and try to figure it out. Everything loaded fine, it just wont turn on. You get out your sons MP3 player which is Identical to the daughters only to discover that the battery that came with his has plastic around it. Note to self *when placing a battery in a MP3 player, remove plastic and it will work fine....

Looky Looky...

2008-12-23T13:20:00.001-05:00

Tagged!

2008-12-23T12:19:00.004-05:00

8 Tv Shows I watch (8???I am not even sure if I KNOW of 8!)
1. Survivor
2. The biggest loser
3. Heroes
4. Grey's Anatomy
5. My Own Worst Enemy
6. Rachael Ray
7. Batman
8. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (ok give me a break...I have a boy who loves his Saturday morning cartoons!)

8 favorite restaurants

1. The Texas Roadhouse
2. Joes Crab Shack
3. Kingfish
4. Mongolian BBQ
5. Chilis
6. Olive Garden
7. Los Compadres
8. The Downtowner
(note to the children, please notice that McDonalds is NOT on that list!)

8 things that happened to me today

1. I went to the gym.
2. My sister called me :)
3. I received a great email :)
4. My daughter gave me some encouraging words
5. I walked out of the gym in the freezing rain...and DIDN'T fall (that counts right?)
6. Was asking by the munchkins to play a game
7. I had children that actually DID their chores...
8. Had a little one crawl in my lap, give me a big ol kiss and say "I love you mommy"

8 things i look forward to

1. Watching the kids open their gifts on Christmas day
2. My Nephew coming home
3. Going to my sisters for Christmas.
4. Going to visit my friend in Tennessee
5. Paying off debt!
6. Sleeping in
7. The end of our school year
8. Buying more curriculum (I should be in a 12 step program for buying Curriculum...Hi my name is Angela and I am a curriculum junkie)

8 things i ~~wish~~ pray for

1. Christian children
2. Grandchildren
3. That Kyle and I not lose sight of each other as our kids grow older and then move out
4. Safety for my children
5. To be able to take the kids back to Haiti to "meet" their birthmoms
6. The salvation of their birthparents
7. To teach my children everything I can to help mold them into children of God
8. Sanity

8 People I tag

1. Terri
2. Connie
3. Michele
4. Cassie
5. Amanda
6. Melissa
7. Salt and light Mama
8. Whomever else wants to join!

Well.... I did it...

2008-12-12T12:04:00.004-05:00

I was able to put on a pair of jeans from the "regular" sizes......you know....the ones that don't have a "w" after the number??? I may not be able to move or breathe...and I am pretty sure I broke a rib or two....and the entire world can see my panty lines...but by golly I was able to get them on....and zip them up.....without lying on the bed....y'all know what I am talking about lol

Breaking news...Batman and Spiderman are brothers....

2008-12-08T07:08:00.004-05:00

Katharine (holding Spiderman): Let me see his brother.

Noah (holding Batman): They aren't brothers! They don't look anything alike!

Katharine: It doesn't matter...they were adopted

Like father like son....

2008-11-25T08:03:00.004-05:00

Every Monday evening I take the girls to dance (we leave the house by 5 and we get home around 8:30) and Noah stays with his dad. He has had basketball practice lately but last night he didn't. He and dad had a little time to spend together last night....this is what they did :)

Why is it...

2008-11-06T07:57:00.003-05:00

That whenever you go on a trip, your house has to be perfectly clean before you leave??? Don't get me wrong, I clean my house. When we leave to go on a trip however....it never feels right unless it is as close to "white glove perfect" as I can get it??? For real..who is going to be here to enjoy it anyway? The cat? Now I am off to clean, vacuum, and scrub the carpets of my car....where we will spend approx 12 hours over the next couple days trashing it.

A "wee" bit sore........

2008-11-02T16:31:00.003-05:00

Well I FINALLY got the call I have been waiting for! I had put myself on a sign up list last summer to participate in our local gym's free program. If you work for 2 hours/week in their childcare room you get a free gym membership, free classes, and free childcare for my munchkins! They called me up last Wednesday, I went in for my orientation last Friday, and I made my 1st gym visit on Saturday. I really had a great time. I was alone and I wasn't the only ~~fat plump hefty~~ overweight person there (whew). I was able to get in a couple miles on the treadmill and about 5 miles on the stationary bike. Since I walk on the treadmill at home, it really wasn't all THAT different. I did, however, hop up on some of their weight machines to do some strength training. Ok.Ow.My shoulders hurt lol. But its a good hurt....I am looking forward to heading back tomorrow and working in the childcare center then taking an hour to do more cardio (hopefully I will get brave enough to tackle the elliptical....pretty bad when you see a woman in her 70's going to town on the machine and I am cowering in the corner like a little girl) and more strength training. According to the peeps at sparkpeople....strength training should be every other day so I am going to give it a shot.....I will probably do the same machines I did before as....well....I can't figure the others out ROFL! I am going to try and keep my eyes open and "spy" on people to see how they do the machines...........

On a funny note.....I saw people carrying these huge weights and doing walking lunges around the gym with the weights over their head. They were groaning pretty load...I was thinking to myself that I could not fit in there as I would have to use the 2 pound weight over my head.....while simultaneously falling on the floor and grunting....oh its a good thing I am not in Bob or Jillian's hands...I am such a wimp LOL

WFMW- DONE Being the Fat girl.....

2008-10-29T05:03:00.005-04:00

While I am sure many of your are familiar with Sparkpeople (a free online weight loss tool), many people have a hard time finding the encouragement and "camaraderie" that they need to help stay focused...well I have found it! I re-joined sparks a couple weeks ago and found the name of a group I thought sounded "cool"..it is called "Done being the fat girl."

So true! How many of us want to just be DONE???? They constantly have challenges and competitions that you are held accountable for. I constantly have a message in my sparkpeople email box about

birthdays, encouragement, or even posts on my spark blog offering encouragement or some other characteristic that goes with their "Go get 'um attitude." It has really helped/pushed me so far the past couple weeks to start shedding the pound again (See weight loss tracker above). I know that with all the challenges and support this group offers I will meet my goals!

For more WFMW posts check out Shannon's blog!

If you don't know the Heimlich.....

2008-10-27T14:01:00.004-04:00

Learn fast! The kids were sitting down eating lunch (bread, lunchmeat, cheese, corn, and a fruit of their choice). Noah and I grabbed a pear while the girls grabbed tangerines. Noah and I finished ours and the girls were finishing up. I was logging my food in to sparks when I heard Katharine coughing. I looked at her for a 2nd (it almost sounded like that asthmatic cough...and yep...you get a winner!) and then she turned and looked at me pushing herself away from the table. I asked if she was ok and she didn't answer me..she just kept gagging. I ran over and flipped her onto the table and before I knew it my hands were on her stomach and the little piece of tangerine came sputtering out of her mouth. Point being...you never know when or where you may need it....it is best to KNOW it and NEVER need it...than to NEED it and never KNOW it!

Menu Planning Monday

2008-10-27T09:24:00.004-04:00

Welcome to another exciting week of "How frugal can the Caswells eat?" aka Menu planning Monday......

Sunday- Baked Oatmeal, Chili, and yet more chili

Monday- Leftover Baked Oatmeal, Lunchmeat & Cheese sandwiches w/ celery & ranch dressing, Pasta salad w/ homemade bread

Tuesday- toast & peanut butter, "build your own" baked potato, Bean soup w/ cornbread

Wednesday- Grits w/butter, Peanut butter & (homemade) apple jelly sandwiches w/carrots & dressing, Roast w/ broccoli and potatoes

Thursday- Bagels &cream cheese, Tuna salad w/ homemade bread and carrots, Grilled cheese and tomato soup (YUM YUM!)

Friday- Fried eggs and toast (from homemade bread), noodle soup w/ carrots, Pancakes w/fried apples (homemade)

Saturday- Waffles, Peanut butter w/homemade apple jelly on homemade bread w/celery and cream cheese, Pumpkin and black bean soup

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATHARINE!

2008-10-27T07:53:00.005-04:00

Yesterday my "baby" girl turned 9! For months she has been reading the American Girl stories and decided last summer that she really wanted an American Girl doll. After finishing all the stories she decided that she liked Samantha the best. She has continually asked for her for MONTHS and if you know her, you know she never asks for ANYTHING! My other 2 I take into the store and its "I want this" or " I want that." She is not that way...she never asks for something unless she REALLY wants it. We even told her that if this is what she wanted...she was going to get the doll ONLY...no going out to dinner for her birthday or any other gifts..just this doll. She said that was more than fine with her. That just cemented that YES she REALLY wanted the doll! Well moms, you know how it goes, you really want your kiddos birthday to be special.....So on Saturday I took the trio and met several other moms from her dance class and we all went to lunch and to see High School Musical 3. They absolutely loved it! Several of us moms looked at each other when the movie was over and said "wow...that was actually good" LOL. In our opinion, it was MUCH better than the 1st two...of course the kids think they are all cool!

Here are a couple pics of my girl who woke up at 6:30 (am!!) to open her gifts (I say that with shock as we have never ever had an early Christmas morning.....every year we have gone in and woke the kids up at 8:00 LOL they just like to sleep)

Reminder...

2008-10-24T11:05:00.002-04:00

Doing schoolwork with a boy after having a shot of proventil is..such.a.dumb.idea.

Where have I been???

2008-10-24T10:05:00.003-04:00

Going crazy would be my 1st answer! Last Friday Kyle and I went to Sellersburg to pick up a heater from Free cycle (yeah for freecycle!). On our way down a friend of mine called and said that she ~~was as tired of her kids as I was of mine~~ had couple free tickets to Little Nashville to go see the house band and wanted to know if I wanted to go with her. ~~I was jumping out of the car and running home without my feet hitting the floor saying TAKE ME PLEASE! TAKE ME PLEASE!~~ I said "ok, sounds good." We headed out that night and it was SO much fun. It was Eastern star night so I think we were the youngest ones in the crown by about 40 years, but that's ok..it was fun anyway!

Saturday was Noah's football championships...he won! his team won for the whole division...exciting day! I was ashamed I didn't get that posted sooner :( great job little man!

This week we have been trying to stay on schedule/ahead of schedule with our school work being as we area headed out to Myrtle Beach in just 2 weeks (yeah!). If Noah keeps up his pace he should be finished with his phonics and reading by the time we leave and only have to work on math for a couple weeks when we return. Katharine has been trying to stay at least 2 days ahead of schedule...if they keep up this pace we should be able to break at Thanksgiving and then start again January 5.....how. I. long. for. that. break................

A day in the life of a Homeschoolin Hot-rodder....

2008-10-15T21:05:00.005-04:00

Maddie did her math lesson today and then played a game of "tornado." For those of you who are not familiar with math-U-See, each one of those blocks you see stand for part of a place value "equation." The green guys are units (ones), the blue are tens, and the reds are hundreds. MUS makes it easy for a kiddo to learn place value as each guy (green, blues, reds) all live in little houses on decimal street...only 9 guys are allowed to live in each house...the green guys house is all the way on the right, the blue guys house is in the middle, and the hundred guys house is on the left. In the game of "tornado" we place all the guys in the correct houses...and then a big "tornado" comes through and splatters the guys all over "decimal street." It then becomes her job to put them back in their own home (therefore learning the "place" of ones, tens, and hundreds)

Here is my Noah boy giving a big smile while doing his handwriting (brought to you courtesy of Rod and Staff curriculum)....

Isn't his handwriting NEAT???? I am so proud...he is only in 1st grade but I think he is finally learning to SLOW DOWN................

Yep here is Ms. Katharine doing her Language Arts ( Learning Language Arts Through Literature).........................

She is learning cursive this year....my little perfectionist is hard at work. At the beginning of each line you see the 1st "word" that is pre-written in the book, the rest on the line are hers! I can't tell the difference in most of them!

Look who's back on track!

2008-10-15T20:54:00.002-04:00

Yep my sis is back to bloggin' again.... head over and say "hi"!

sēē mē rēēd

2008-10-15T07:29:00.008-04:00

I am a mom who is all for doing whats best for your kids....even if its not "your cup of tea." This one however....is. Here are some pics of my 4yo daughter reading her 1st story yesterday! She was so proud of herself! How did she do this? By using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 easy Lessons. We used it to teach my oldest how to read, and then we made it through 1/2 of it with my 2nd (He catches on to things VERY easily and he was getting bored with it), and now we are using it for my youngest. She is having a ball learning how to read and thinks that it is too cool that she is starting to be "Big" like bubba and sissy :) The lessons take about 20-30 minutes a day and are very smooth flowing. Pay no attention to the weirdness in the letters ...it actually helps them later on (yes I was one who bought this curriculum thinking "I am NEVER going to like this!"). What else is good about this program you ask??? It will cost you less than $20! This is a great idea for people who are just getting their feet wet in homeschooling or for those who are seasoned and looking for a simple program to use! We love it and that is what worked for me!

Maddie Reading her 1st story yesterday

She's not proud at all..ya think???

Check out Shannon's for more WFMW posts!

Pancake house!

2008-10-08T20:36:00.003-04:00

So now as the blog police have alerted me of my crime....

The pancake house...oh my....dream come true if your world revolves around pancakes (as it does to Maddie). Her most favorite....favorite...FAVORITE thing in the whole wide world is....yep...pancakes...

We have a new restaurant open here in town called "The Pancake House." They not only serve breakfast all day (one of my favorites but one of Kyle's pet peeves) but they also serve a wide range of sandwiches and dinners. We try to not eat out all that often, but it is pretty much guaranteed that we will eat out on grocery day (which falls every other Wednesday). A couple weeks ago we had said we would go to "The Pancake house" oops......we kind of....well...forgot.... We have not been able to live that one down *sigh* so needless to say today was the day to go to *yikes*! "The Pancake House!" As soon as Maddie's eyes popped open today it was "We get to go to the pancake house today!" Before I knew it...I was washing dishes and the youngin' was dancing around in her underwear singing " we are going to the PANcake house today! The PAN cake house! I am going to have PANcakes today!" All this while doing little twirls...and dancing on her toes...We go to pick up Kyle's check to deposit in our account and as we leave Maddie says "Papa! We get to go to the PANcake house today!" No joke...everyone we ran into before lunch knew we were going to the PANcake house lol. I brought my camera but forgot to take pictures...oh well..I would of had to of been pretty fast anyway as my little darling ate 6! whole pancakes before I had finished my sandwich!

A sample of Hubby's work :)

2008-09-30T08:59:00.005-04:00

Here is a pic of the Oh Boy! Oberto/Miss Madison boat headed back into town the other day (courtesy of the Madison Courier). See the black cover on the blower? The cover that has "eyes" on it? Yeah, my husband did that :) All of it was custom work...Isn't he talented??

Been MIA~

2008-09-29T08:24:00.002-04:00

Sorry I have been MIA for so long everyone....back on the 14th we had a horrible wind storm that went through our county and left us without power for 8 days. Fun. yeah. to say the least. It could of been much worse and it was FAR from being completely devastating (although MANY homes, vehicles and such) were damaged. We were blessed in the fact that we only lost about 1/4 of our roof (not completely blown away, just had some shingles and tar to be fixed) and the trees that DID fall down were on the back of our property (40ft tall pine trees) so they didn't land on anything but the ground :) If the same trees at the front of our property would have fallen that way, it would of gone straight through the kids rooms. We praise God for saving us from that! Our neighbor, on the other hand had an oak tree completely uprooted and dropped on his truck...*ouch* Many of the trees around here were not even "torn", they were just completely uprooted. I am going to try and head out to get some pics of our area where there are still some trees down.

Hopefully we are now *back* on track!

- no power for angela -

2008-09-20T20:45:00.003-04:00

this' lori shepler & i'm posting for angela - as you can see, she's not been on here for a long time - this' due to the fact that she's no power & hasn't had any for almost 1 week now! - they're 'thinking' they'll get it restored sometime tomorrow or monday, but no guarantee, so we'll see - please pray with/for them as they're without all the conveniences that we all take for granted - thanks & i'll post on here again if i hear anything else!!

lori

Ahnier is here!

2008-09-11T07:39:00.003-04:00

And yes there is supposed to be one of those thingy marks over the "e" to make "ier" sound like "yeah"...but I have yet to figure that one out :). At any rate...head over to Lori's blog to see pics and welcome the whole family home!

Dear Katharine....your adoption story

2008-09-10T22:32:00.002-04:00

Dear Katharine,

Here is your adoption story, full and complete until the time you came home. As you continue to grow and read your story and look through your pictures we hope that you continually see where God had lead you, and where He is leading you. We loved you before we ever knew you, and will continue to love you all the days of our lives.

We began praying for God to bless us with a child immediately after we were married. God was continually showing us that the timing wasn’t right and that we were not looking in the right place for our special little one. As we began to pray, we became more involved with the people of Haiti, 1st through missions and finally by being touched by adoption. In September of 2001, we contacted Gods Littlest Angels about an adoption. We submitted some paperwork so as that we could be pre-approved by the Haitian government as we were not quite old enough according the specifications of the Haitian government. When the paperwork was returned we were told that we were not able to adopt a sibling group, but only a single child. We were disappointed but excited beyond belief about what God was doing in our lives! We compiled our dossier and were able to have it arrive it Haiti on June 28, 2002. After this was a wait…and more waiting…and more waiting….then on July 28, 2008 we received an email from GLA saying that a picture of our new baby boy was included, should we choose to adopt him. We were thrilled! As we continued to read we noticed that the email also said little Geno had a 2 year old sister ready for adoption if we were willing to try and fight the Haitian government. Attached to her email were 2 pictures, one of you and one of Noah. When we saw your picture we felt an immediate connection and there was no doubt in either one of our minds that you should be part of our family. We emailed GLA back and told them yes…and we immediately left the house to show you off to your new grandma & grandpa as well as Aunt Terri, Uncle Brian, and your new cousins. How happy everyone was! The excitement was just beginning. We had a picture of you and now we were just longing for you to come home and be part of our lives.

Just two weeks after we saw your eyes, we met two women who would be an instrumental part of your little life, Barbara Walker and Lori Shepler. Barbara was so glad to see us as she had brought many more pictures of you to share! We left our meeting with Barbara with light hearts and optimism. At the time, Haitian adoptions were taking about 90 days; you should be home by Thanksgiving!

Days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months. You weren’t home for your 3rd birthday and we cried. We mourned the fact that we had lost yet another milestone of yours. We longed to hold you, love you, and show you what life can be. After your birthday came Thanksgiving and you still were not home. By this time we had been in and out of IBESR 2 times. We were now in our 3rd time for good. While these times were hard, nothing could have prepared us for having presents under a Christmas tree with no children home to share them with. During the Christmas season of 2002, you were staying at GLA’s orphanage. Dixie gave us the BEST Christmas present ever…pictures of you! This was yet another time when your mom cried and cried….she cried because she missed you, she cried because you weren’t together on Christmas, and yet she cried because you were smiling in your picture and well….you were just so beautiful and perfect.

Months continued to roll on and we were seeing people come home with their children who started the process after us. It was very discouraging. You were growing older and not with your family. We so desired to be together but God knew what he was doing (as I learned over and over and over again during this process)!

Finally the day came! We had all your paperwork in order and we were to head to Haiti to pick up papers and get your visa. Oh how excited we were! We immediately booked our flight and left on April 14, 2003. We flew from Cincinnati to Atlanta, and then Atlanta to Miami. We spent the night in Miami and headed to Haiti on April 15, 2003. When we arrived we received disappointing news. The person to hand over your papers was not there anymore and we more than likely would not be able to get your papers in time to bring you home. We were faithful and believed that God could do anything, if it was His will.

As we excited the Airport we had a HUGE surprise! Noah was plopped into your mothers arms and you were plopped into your Papa’s. You had a huge scowl on your face! It was at that time the nanny explained that you had just awakened and you are ALWAYS a grouch when you get up! We were so glad to be prepared! As we scooted our way through town, you sat on your papa’s lap in the front seat and Noah sat on your mothers lap, asleep. You and your mother played “peek-a-boo” all the way through town…what a great memory.

While in Haiti for 2 weeks we met with your birth mom several times. It was so obvious that Christina absolutely loved you and she wanted you to have a better life than what she was able to give you. It was with tears in her eyes that she handed you over to us time and time again. She not only had tears of sadness (as she would miss you very much), but she also has tears of gladness (as the translator told us) because she wanted a life for you she had never had, a life she could not give you. She had completed very little school and so desired you to be able to be educated. Unlike America, education in Haiti is not free and open for everyone.

Every time we saw her she was drawn to you. She would love on you and kiss you, hold you and take care of you. She loved you and continues to love you. We always watched in awe at how strong she must be. We now understand how much she loved you and what a sacrifice she made for you. You see Katharine, like us, she loves you very much and wants you to grow up happy and healthy. How blessed you are to have 2 mothers who love you so much!

We continued through our 2 week stay in Haiti and you amazed us every day. You ate like a horse and even had to be taken to the Dr. as you were full of little intestinal buggies! We were all SO glad when that situation was…well…”cleared up.”

We made trips to the mountains and even to the beach when we were there. We took along a little beach umbrella and a little bucket to put Noah in so he wouldn’t have to go into the water. Once again you surprised us! You refused to walk into the water! YOU ended up sitting in that little bucket while Noah and Papa went into the water.

Oh the times we had! You delighted us with your songs and dance, and your ability to change a baby’s diaper. However, when it came to be night time you would cry…and cry and cry and cry. We felt so bad for you as there was no comforting you. You were grieving…stuck in a strange place, with strange people who didn’t even speak your language! You were “persistent” to show us your ways and how things were “done.” We ALL had a lot to learn.

We left at the end of those two weeks very weak and weary, teary eyed and sorrowful. We will never forget having to hand you over to The Nungsters at HIS home for children not knowing when we would ever see you again. It seemed like an endless cruel joke. We had issues with the Haitian government and we were now having problems with our own. Your mother cried out in despair so many times with a heart ache only another adoptive mother can understand…why….why were you to stay??? Oh ye of little faith…. (Remember how we said we learned much through this experience?)

As we boarded the plane, your mother cried. As we flew over oceans and land, she bawled. As she handed over a child we were escorting home to his new Papa, she cried even more. When we arrived in Cincinnati we were met by your Uncle Brian and Aunt Terri. We didn’t want anyone there…we just wanted to get home. As time went by we prayed for you and asked God to work in everyone’s heart so that you would be prepared for you new life in the states which we KNEW was going to happen…we just weren’t sure when.

After many prayers and contacts with our senator we began to see our prayers come into fruition. On June 4, 2003 your mother was once again with Lori praying for a little girl who was here in the states for surgery when we made that last call. It was to Katharine Sharp in Immigration in Haiti. She had all of our paperwork together and wanted to know if someone could be there THE NEXT DAY!!!!

Without hesitation your mother shouted “YES!” and headed home. As she was driving home she was praying to God over and over again, “Lord please give me a flight out tonight, be with my children. Give us safe flights, protect them. Lord Prepare them! Lord prepare US!!” As she raced the 2 hours home she called your papa to let him know that she was heading out…she just needed a flight!” She arrived home and was able to catch a flight….it was a good thing she was already packed as we had to leave the very moment your papa walked through the door!
That night she flew from Cincinnati to Chicago and then following day she flew from Chicago to Miami, Miami to Port-Au-Prince. She stepped off the plane and waited for Barbara and Kendra. Her flight was at the end of the day so the kids were not with them when they picked her up. After the visa appt. they quickly rushed back to HIS home for children. As your mom walked into the building, everyone was eating a wonderful looking dinner of pasta. She scanned the room for you but it wasn’t until she heard “MAMA! MAMA!” that she knew where you were. Her heart leaped with joy! Before she knew what had happened she had run over and was squeezing on you! After she picked up you and your brother she headed back to the guest house where your Papa was calling. He was waiting in pins and needles just to hear that you were safe and coming home…..finally.

You mom put you to bed early that night as you had to be up by 4am. When she woke you up…yes you were a grouch J that was to be expected though. She dressed you in a pretty little outfit and put on a pair of shoes. When you looked at those shoes you felt so proud. You couldn’t speak English, but would show those shoes to anyone who would half-way pay attention to you. The plane ride was uneventful and you even seemed to enjoy looking out the window and playing with your new toys. As we arrived in Cincinnati we had a small group waiting for us. Your grandma & grandpa were there as well as Lori, Spike, Brit, and Kiara (the other girls weren’t in the picture yet). Those who aren’t involved in the adoption arena often time don’t understand how important that “Airport” scene is! For us, it was like a “birth” a we were so glad to be able to share this homecoming with everyone.

From here on out your story continues…you will continue to grow and laugh, cry and mourn. If you take anything away from this, we hope it is that you understand that you were very much wanted and desired by not just one family, but two. God truly blessed us through this time and continues to bless us now. You are growing into this sweet young lady with so much potential. Keep your eyes on God, remain focused, love Him with all your heart and soul, continue to be obedient to Him and you will be blessed beyond measure…this is our prayer for you.

Love always,
Mama and Papa

Wordless Wednesday

2008-09-03T10:53:00.003-04:00

WFMW- Mildew in caulking

2008-09-03T06:50:00.002-04:00

Today's WFMW from Shannon is a backwards version so I get to ask YOU questions! My question today is about caulk. I have this wonderful garden tub which I clean daily. The only problem is...I continually get mildew in the caulk! I can't ever seem to get it clean and it is looking like the only option is to scrape it out and start all over. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to get the mildew out without having to replace the whole thing???

Labor day Meme

2008-08-31T23:38:00.003-04:00

This one is all about your labors....as in delivery...as in having children. Being as all of our kids were adopted...this should be fun :)

How long were your labors?

#1 & #2- Congrats! Its Twins! Only 2 1/2 years apart....forget hours baby...we are talking about months.....10 months of dossier prep, translations, and immigration all followed by 10 months the Haitian side paperwork, translations, and immigration.

#3- 30 days dossier prep, translations, and immigration followed by 4 months of the Haitian side paperwork, translations, and immigration (yeah we learned from our mistakes the 1st time)

How did you know you were in labor?
Labor = work...obviously you have never put a dossier together........

Where did you deliver?
not too many moms can say this one...."At the Airport"

Drugs?
yes please

C-section?
You bet...we flew in the coach section both times

Who delivered?
#1 & #2- I delivered them myself thankyouverymuch

#3- decided to take the easy way out *cough cough* and let Lori do it....

If you would like to join in head over to Shannon's and leave your post!

Yard Sale Saturday!

2008-08-31T23:00:00.003-04:00

Yeppers...yesterday it was A YARD SALE DAY! We headed up to a community wide yard sale we go to EVERY year. There is one place where I ALWAYS get Katharine new pants...brand name items for just a few bucks. Needless to say, I had a small heart attack when I pulled up and saw that there were hardly ANY tables there....*gulp.*

I walked around and to my delight

I found Kyle a shirt (he was just the right height).

After my glorious find I skipped 'round the table

to find pile after pile ..could he wear them? Yes he was able...

As I sang with glee I continued to search

and what did I find? New shoes for church

I leaped through the air from sale to sale...

As you can see..no, I'm not frail..

smiling gleefully at every turn...

I found new ways to read and learn

increasing my collection of Mark Twain

And books about weather to learn about rain

I passed by the antiques and many pool floats

but the sight that caught my eye were the glittery pink winter coats

I noticed deal after deal that made my pocket book sing.

The Brand new boots I bought will make Maddie's heart ring

As I danced through the streets I found spider man and sonic shirts for a boy

that would certainly make my sons heart jump with joy

As I found item after I item I said" No! This can't be!

A brand new dress for $2! you see?"

After 6 hours of shopping I had come so far,

But it was time to head back to my heavy packed car...

I sang and I danced..I got such a deal...

it was now 1:00...time for a meal?

As we headed back home...we thought of the day...

And the deals we received for such little out-pay........

Maddie and her "do"

2008-08-30T23:41:00.004-04:00

So after her pancake pics (she was obviously NOT in her best form) I thought to myself... "self, you need to take pictures of her hair when her hair is done...that way people know that you do ACTUALLY do her hair "lol so anyway..here is my big girl sporting her new "do."

Maddie and her Pancakes

2008-08-29T11:12:00.003-04:00

Who wants a pancake,
Sweet and piping hot?

Good little Grace looks up and says,
"I'll take the one on top."

Who else wants a pancake,
Fresh off the griddle?

Terrible Teresa smiles and says,
"I'll take the one in the middle."

~Shel Siverstien~

Too funny!

2008-08-26T07:59:00.004-04:00

Check out this post from Shannon....there are some really good Haiku's written by readers about "going back to school". Being as I have a 1st grade boy...........I bet you can tell which one made me just about fall off my seat laughing!

Take a look at THIS!

2008-08-25T20:42:00.003-04:00

I am by no means a photographer...I can get come pretty good shots of the kids every now and then BUT more often than not it takes about 45 minutes of positioning, crying, fighting,and many "stop that"'s, and "get you finger out of your nose"'s. Needless to say it doesn't happen that often....

Sooooooo..several weeks ago we went on The Belle Of Louisville with Katharine's girl scout troop. This was a trip where siblings and friends were allowed to come. Noah, Maddie, and Maria went along with us on this AWESOME trip. Well, last night I received a call from Katharine's troop leader...she had taken a FANTASTIC picture of Noah and wanted to know if she could share it. I said ABSOLUTELY! Her photo's are fantastic...its hard to believe that some of those are photos as they are so "perfect." Of course, I think the most perfect picture is of Noah..so here it is folks...the pic of my awesome little one :) Go and spread your love...tell her how cute Noah is and what an awesome job she did!

A katharine funny.....

2008-08-20T23:23:00.003-04:00

As Katharine was standing there talking with our preacher and his wife, I couldn't help but listen in and get a chuckle.....

Peggy: "I like your shoes! I like red" (her shoes had red stripes on them

Katharine: "I like red too...I think red is my favorite color"

Peggy: "Red is a good color. It would be one of my favorites too."

Katharine: "whats your favorite color, Tom?"

Tom: "I would have to say Brown, though I don't wear it that much."

Katharine: "Well your in luck! You like brown and I just so happen to be brown!"

Tom: " That must be why I like you so much"

:)

Look at my boy go!

2008-08-19T20:58:00.003-04:00

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL??? We certainly are! Here are some pics from the 1st practice tonight....GO NOAH GO!

Noah and his buddy Blake Noahs Coach showing him to throw
Noah tossing the ball
Noah making a run for it!

Thank you Connie!

2008-08-19T19:59:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to say Thank You to Myfriendconnie over at Smockity frocks. Without her help from this Frugal Friday post I would of never figured out how to start changing things around over here! Thanks Connie! Now to figure out how to get those cute little buttons on the blog!

Not finished yet....

2008-08-18T12:54:00.003-04:00

Well I am not finished yet but what do you think? I would love to hear from all the readers...with any "luck" there is a poll on the left side of the blog. Please tell me what you think! Also feel free to leave comments as to what you think could "enhance" the blog.

Menu Plan Monday

2008-08-18T03:00:00.001-04:00

Breakfasts:

Cereal

grits

Pancakes & syrup

Eggs and Toast
Biscuits and Jelly

Baked oatmeal

Lunch:

Pigs in a blanket

Grilled Cheese and Carrots

Bean, rice, and cheese burritos

Tuna salad and carrots/celery

BLT's and Cottage cheese/celery

Lunch meat and cheese sandwiches w/ carrots & celery

French Toast w/ eggs

Dinners:

Pasta salad (Monday is dance night so we need something on the go)

Chicken wings w/ corn and brussel sprouts

red beans and rice w/veggies

Pancakes

Homemade Pizza

black beans w/rice and sausage

(Sunday night is always FFYS)

Excuse the mess....

2008-08-18T00:57:00.000-04:00

I am going to be re-vamping within the next few days so please be patient and excuse my mess!

Holiday World!

2008-08-17T17:23:00.006-04:00

Hey all! Yesterday we headed out on yet another adventure...this time...Holiday World! We had a good time but the park was uber crowded :( I was hoping it would be down a bit since it seems that most of the state has already started school...Not so! Some of our friends were able to go with us yesterday too! They have 3 kiddos (12, 9, and 3, ALL BOYS!) and so all our kids together had a blast.

Noah-grins as always :) The Family by the end of the day

Kyle and maddie riding together

Maddie and her bud Landon

Maddie and Landon again

I don't know who this child is..and if I did I would say she got her attitude from her FATHER

Landon
Maddie

Meet the newest member of our family.........

2008-08-15T07:40:00.003-04:00

This is ~~Jordyn~~ , um Jordan the 7 week old cat. ~~She~~ He came into our home last Sunday after answering an add in the paper. Ms. Katharine had been begging for a cat since Claira was killed many moths ago. She not only wanted a kitten, but she wanted one to be hers. So after months of begging, we relented. We answered and add in the paper for free kittens. I took her down so she could pick out which one she wanted. The poor thing was covered in fleas and had a bloated belly. On Tuesday I did lots calling around to see who had the best prices on medicines and vaccines and such. The place where I had taken Claira too wanted twice as much as two others in town. One place only had afternoon appts and that just doesn't work around here. The other place that was equally as "cheap" (*cough*) is where we have gone for years...but sometimes you have to wait FOREVER for an appt. Even though we are waiting until next Tuesday (which is not bad) they went ahead and let us bring ~~her~~ him in to be weighed and pick up some wormer. This is where we found out that our "she cat" was now a "he cat." She now has a kitten to call her very own. Part of her chores every morning is now to make sure he is fed, watered and litter box cleaned. She also has to pay me $1 every time we buy cat food (when you only get $8 spending money every month $1 is a pretty big chunk!) and every time we need to take the cat to the vet for shots or whatever she owes Kyle a minimum of 3 hours work time in the garage...so this is not coming "free" to her. She has yet to complain (and probably wont as it is not her personality) and has already "paid" for her 1st visit by working 3 hours this week.

A time and a place....

2008-08-14T08:52:00.003-04:00

So as Jone Menke is laid to rest today, the majority of the community is mourning, but yet filled with a sense of pride.

Yesterday was my day "out on the town" so to speak. I took Kyle to work, did some errands, met up with a friend to do scrap booking, back to pick up Kyle for lunch, take him back to work, then shopping, hair cuts, and more shopping. As Kyle and I were eating lunch almost directly across from where the young soldier would have his visitation, we watched helicopters and such flying around and landing on the grounds of our high school (keep in mind we are small town, this doesn't happen...ever ). We saw several unmarked cars around the area along with several military personnel. We knew this was big....important. However what Kyle started to talk about next blew me away. Protesters...of the war...many of them...were expected to be there for the funeral. What? Don't get me wrong, I am not saying people don't have a right to an opinion. There are opinions all over the place out there. After all that what freedom is about right :)? We are able to form our own opinions, and express them, thanks to what? freedom. Great, have your own opinion....but lets have some smarts about it....

Kyle also told me that there were already protesters at the grounds where his funeral will be held (the burial will be on the state hospital grounds where Kyle works about 1/4 mile from his shop). Seriously? Is that really the time and the place? Please let them have their own opinion, express it all they want, but is the funeral the time and the place to express these? The funeral is not for the dead, but for those who are left behind. I am sure that the mother who is burying her son who was just killed in the war will instantly change her mind and welcome the protesters with open arms lamenting on how right they(the protesters) are (catch a slight roll of eyes here). Let this group of family and friends bury their loved one.....let them MOURN their loss. Let them focus on that for just this ONE day. Apparently this is too much to ask of some people.

What is their agenda anyway? They have to get something out of it or they wouldn't do it. Is it publicity? Is it debate? Is it just because it is enjoyable to "stir the pot" so to speak? If they were truly concerned about this family and how they have been effected...they would find another time and another place. But that's just my 2cents.

A sight I have never seen before......

2008-08-12T11:04:00.002-04:00

Today I was headed up to the vets office (more on that later) when I hear on the radio about the Madison man, Specialist Jonathan Daniel "Jon" Menke, who was being transported from North Vernon for his funeral tomorrow. There were hundreds of people lined along the side of the roads waving American Flags. As I approached a small intersection there were fires trucks with their lights a blazing, along with 2 huge cranes hoisting a HUGE American Flag above the road. The American Flag could be seen for miles down the road. It was amazing. While on one hand, I am so thankful for the men and women who have served/are currently serving, my heart aches for the boys parents. Such a mix of emotion! It was certainly a sight to see.

Menu plan Monday

2008-08-11T10:00:00.002-04:00

OK not such a great week...but we are being extremely frugal for the next few months while we try and save up for Holiday World, Katharines birthday, Vacation, and of course Christmas :) Many people ask how we do it, but we keep our food budget at around $125 every two weeks.

Monday- breakfast- grits w/butter, lunch-tuna salad, dinner- Tonight is back to dance and we will leave here around 4:45 and not get back until 8:30. Dinner tonight will be something you can "grab and go." Had I planned better it would of been something like "pasta salad" but alas, we are having PB&J's or Grilled PB with carrot sticks and ranch.

Tuesday-breakfast-bagels, Lunch- pb&j, Dinner- Yummy! Waffles! We LOVE waffles for dinner!

Wednesday- Breakfast- eggs and toast, Lunch- BLT's w/cottage cheese, Dinner-Chicken and Dumplings

Thursday- Breakfast- biscuits and jelly w/fruit, Lunch- Lunchmeat and cheese, Dinner-Wednesday's leftovers made into chicken noodle soup

Friday-Breakfast-peanut butter toast, Lunch- grilled cheese, Dinner- Thursday's leftovers made into Chicken casserole (don't you love how 1 whole chicken for about $3.50 can make 3 meals for a family of 5???)

Saturday-Breakfast-baked oatmeal , Off to Holiday World!

Sunday- Breakfast- leftover baked oatmean, Lunch-Tyropitta From my new Gasparilla cookbook! , Dinner- FFYS (fend for yourself).

Olympics

2008-08-11T09:12:00.003-04:00

Is anyone else glued to the TV???? Sorry Michele...I don't think the book will be finished this week as I have been obsessed with the Olympics.

Did you catch the men's swimming relay last night??? I was SO hoping we would win as France thought FOR SURE they had it in the bag :) hehe :)

Car show and a real find!

2008-08-11T08:31:00.005-04:00

Last Saturday we headed down to a car show here in Madison. They closed off all of downtown and there were cars everywhere....including my father in laws and my brother in laws (formerly kyle's car). My brother in laws Pontiac is in rough shape body wise but he has been working on the engine and it is running again so at least it made it to the show. My father in laws car was looking fantastic and all he really has left to do is the interior (kyle will be doing that). One thing about these car shows...many of the people pay to have their work done (which we are grateful for as many around here are turning to Kyle for their vehicles) but Kyles family does their own work...so when Kyles dad won the award for "Best Street Rod" they had an extra little "something" to be proud about. Of course after he won the award Kyle and his brother both were making comments about "Gene Caswell's car, completed by South Hoosier Hot Rods..." I found it rather cute. So while the men were doing their manly thing by walking around and staring at cars...we women did our womanly thing and went into the old antique shops and ~~drooled~~ looked at Vera Bradley's.

While in one of these shops I found The Gasparilla Cookbook! That probably means nothing to most of you, but I tell you I about flipped my lid when I saw it. I will be trying some recipes over the next couple of weeks from this cookbook ( one to be used this week). Terri you will have to see this! It even has recipes for Cuban Sandwiches (and the sauces) along with DEVILED CRABS! Excuse me while I go drool all over myself..............

We will never EVER feed the birds..EVER again

2008-08-07T23:09:00.003-04:00

While on a run for hubby's business today we decided to go to the zoo. The zoo has a cute little splash park as well as all the animals and playgrounds so the kids tend to love it. I usually bring about $5 and let the kids pick ONE activity to do. They can ride the carousel, ride the train or tram, feed the Lorikeets, feed the girraffe's etc. Today they chose to feed the lorikeets...now lets rewind....................

4 years ago (before Maddie came home) Kyle and I took Noah and Katharine to the Newport aquarium and went in to see the Lorikeets. The moment we went in there Katharine screamed at the top of her lungs. The birds were touching her...the birds were landing on her....the birds were......well......stuck in her hair. Yes you read that right...there was a bird stuck in here hair. She absolutely REFUSED to go into the area with the birds since then. So color me surprised when she said today she wanted to feed the birds.......now come back into time........

Katharine was so excited! She did not want to hold the cup of nectar but she DID want the bird to land on her. I had Noah hold the cup and was able to get a bird to land on Katharine's arm and she let him drink the nectar from Noah. The whole time Maddie is sticking her arm back and drawing back quickly as she is NOT sure what to think of this whole situation (she has never been in here before because of a freaked out sister, remember?). They then trade where Maddie is holding the cup and Noah is holding the bird. The bird then climbs on my shoulders and crawls up my head and scratches on my head....*insert laughs of children here*. The bird goes back to Noah and Maddie is still sticking her arm up. She gets her arm close to the birds feet and....yep...the bird bit her. She starts screaming...jumping up and down...yelling "I DON"T LIKE BIRDS!!! THEY BITE ME!!!!! HE HURT ME!!! I DON'T WANT TO SEE A BIRD EVER AGAIN!" and the screaming continues...all the while she has now freaked out the bird and it has decided to fly back up to the to of my head and try to hide. The lady in there say "would you like me to get him off of you?" So I said No lady, I have a screaming kid who is now afraid of birds and mommy can't even lean down to pick her up because a freaked out bird who obviously needs some Valium has decided to make a nest on my head. Please let it stay! "Yes please." So now I get to take my little girl who is jumping up and down showing her bite to everyone that would look (it was hard not to when there is a 4yo screaming at the top of her lungs "LOOKY MOMMY DA BIRD BITE ME!!! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW). While the lady is trying to shoo the bird off my head......I am so glad I do not have a picture of that one..........

Road TRIP!

2008-08-07T22:40:00.002-04:00

Last Sunday a friend of mine was talking about having to go to a conference and everyone that was supposed to go with her backed out :( She was not pleased that she was going to have to drive to some placed called "Fishers, Indiana." I said "Oh I know how to get there..I have friends there :)" She laughed and said "Ya wanna go with?" I replied with a "yeah! Why not? I have to bring the kids though..."..........."No problem!"......................We had all the arrangements down. We left the following morning at 5:45 (ack...gag) and headed out. I dropped her off at her class and the kids and I went to do some window shopping and then to meet up with Lori! We had a great time! The kids got to play together at a little splash park, Brit was able to get some reading in, and we sat there and gabbed. I left to pick up my friend and then we headed to the hotel to check in, then off to the mall and dinner! After the girls ransacked Libby Lu we did some other shopping and headed out. We stayed up chatting for a good while having some GREAT discussion (mostly spiritual) before heading to bed.

The next day I dropped off Brandi and headed back to the hotel so the kids could swim. Lo and behold our pool was busted but there was another hotel across the way willing to let us use their pool for the meantime. The kids and I headed over there and while it was tiny, it was clean and pretty (when I say tiny..I mean the deepest the part of the pool was 4ft and it could of fit into my living room). There was a hot tub right next to the pool and so I climbed in the hot tub while the kids played in the "big" pool. Now keep in mind, this is a SMALL area. If I was sitting on the edge of the hot tub, I could turn around and my legs would just about touch the pool...that's how close they were. While the kids were playing, I pulled out my copy of Persuasion and was reading. A man who looked like he worked in maintenance at the hotel came in there and pointed at Katharine and said (quite rudely) "how old are YOU??" she replied "8." and then he turned to Noah and said "And how old are YOU??" he replied "6." He then went on to tell the children to "get out of the pool" as they were NOT allowed to be in THAT pool without a parent there with them.....um hello? I know he HAD to see me...I am not a little woman roughly about 10-15 feet away from the kids...and the ONLY other person in there....add in the fact that my swim suit is almost a neon blue and hello.....I am obvious. I raised my hand and said with a ~~smirk~~ smile on my face "Excuse me...I AM there mother" The next thing I heard was a bunch of "I am sorry ma'ams" and "I didn't see you there ma'ams" and "Is the music loud enough for you ma'am?" *sigh*

After that we ended up at Maggie Moo's and then picked up Brandi ready to head home..It was SO nice to go away just for a night and have a "girls" night :) It was almost like being on vacation with the Sheplers and Lori and I would just "pretend" our kids weren't there LOL (While all the while munching on Hot Tamales...the candy ya'll..............)

11 Years.......

2008-08-02T22:20:00.003-04:00

For the way you provide for our family....I love you

For the way you protect me.....I love you

For the dearest friendship I could have.....I love you

For showing Christ in you....I love you

For being gentle and patient with me.....I love you

For making me laugh.....I love you

For being the greatest father....I love you

For helping me learn to laugh at myself.....I love you

For having a tender heart....I love you

For knowing when I just need to be held....I love you

For the last 11 years......I love you

Happy Anniversary to my best friend...............

Horton hears a family say AIR CONDITIONING PLEASE!

2008-07-23T09:01:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I took the kids and we met my sister at The Ohio Theater to see Horton Hears a Who at the summer family film series (AKA free!). The kids LOVED it and I thought it was pretty good (except for the homeschooling comment that REALLY didn't settle well with me). I really enjoyed sitting there thinking "Hey...I know who does that voice....now WHO IS IT?" I had to get online and check it out...I had Jim Carrey, Carol Burnett and Amy Poehler right but I completely missed Steve Carell and Jaime Pressly.

We returned home to have lunch a play a bit before rest time and school work. I was home for a while when I realized "it's awful warm in here" so I walked over and played with the air conditioning unit....nothing.......played with it again.....nothing....hummmmmmmmmm So that's when I call Kyle. he says "Well, I will look at it when I come home and see if there is anything I can do." Needless to say, he came home and 2 elements are shot. So what are our plans for today? HOPEFULLY we can pick up the elements we need (sometimes they have to be ordered) and then we are spending our day at the pool lol.

Fun in the sun, birthdays, and strep

2008-07-20T09:39:00.004-04:00

Wow has this been a busy week! It started off with Friday July 11 when we met our friends from Haiti for dinner. It was wonderful getting to talk with them and "catch up" on what is going on with them. Maddie was all over Edna and just didn't want to let go! The next morning we headed out to Six flags as the kids (and myself) had free tickets from a reading program. We had a WONDERFUL day as a family. Katharine, Noah and I hit the roller coasters and had a ball! We all headed to the water park where there was a killer wave pool and even more slides :) I took Katharine up and she picked out the slides. In my old age I had forgotten that I don't like water slides that are completely enclosed...as I started to hyperventilate...begging for light...I remembered why i didn't enjoy them lol. We all decided to head off to eat lunch after the water park. While I was getting the kids ready Kyle went to fill up our drink (you could buy a drink and they refill it all day for free...so yes we shared...this is important info for later on...). So there I am...Apparently I had too much water in my contacts and the only thing I could see was one big blur...So kyle leaves us...me...the blind lady...and 3 kids...and all the towels..and bags...I am sure it was a sight to be seen. My two oldest had me by the hand trying to lead me out of the water park to find Kyle....yeah...real cute....At any rate, we stayed until the park closed and all kids were sleeping by the time we left the gate :)

The following day we went to our congregation as usual but then in the evening we picked up our Haitian friends and took them out to Manville Christian Church so he could present his situation and try to gain more support. All day Kyle had had a bit of a sore throat but didn't think anything of it. However, by the time we left Manville that night he was well on his way to a migraine. The following morning he woke up and he could not even talk....and his throat was completely coated with blisters and ulcers. Off to call up Dr. Napier and whisper a quick "Happy Birthday" in his ear as yes...it was his birthday. We arrived at Dr. Napier's who was appalled at Kyles throat. He said he was going to do a strep test (which is what we believed it was) but he said he had never seen strep that bad so in his opinion it must be something worse such as Mono or Epstein Barr. While we are waiting for the test to come back he is bringing all kinds of people in to look at his throat. Kyle says "Why is it every time I come in here I am some kind of medical freak and everyone has to come see my illnesses???" Which is so true...Kyle doesn't get sick all that often, but when he does, he makes it COUNT! The test came back positive for strep which was a good thing as he could now get antibiotics...2 SHOTS! The nurse shoved one shot into his rear end and suddenly the kids broke out into a chorus of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR PAPA HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!" The nurse was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes and the Dr came back to give Kyle sympathy as he could see sympathy was not on the kids agenda for the day LOL. He stayed home from work for a few days and was feeling better. Wednesday night Noah came down with a fever and sore throat.....by Friday morning it was gone *whew*

Friday I ended up surprising the kids by taking them to The Beach Waterpark where they had a ball there too. Another day of fun in the sun! Noah and Katharine went on every water slide there was available while Maddie and I played in areas more appropriate for her. I was beginning to think that we were finally out of the sickies......

But as you may notice..it is 10am on Sunday morning and we are not at worship service.....reason? We checked Maddie's throat this am and she has some white "bumpies" back there...sigh.....who will get it this week????

Help! I'm Stuck!!!!

2008-07-09T10:14:00.002-04:00

So just the other day Noah was in the shower, recovering from our camping trip. I heard a shout from the bathroom "I FORGOT A TOWEL! WILL YOU PLEAAAAAASE BRING ME ONE???" Without a moments thought I grabbed a towel and tried to open the bathroom door....nothing. I shoved on the door....nothing...I said "Noah I need to you unlock this door!" only to hear back "Mom it's not locked!" uh-oh....The door was completely jammed and Noah was stuck all by himself in the bathroom. It wouldn't of been so bad but Kyle was helping out neighbor work on something. "Katharine....go tell your dad Noah is stuck in the bathroom and I need him to help get him out." Katharine runs out, tells dad. 5 minutes later I am still waiting and teasing my son "there is plenty of room underneath the door. I can slip you a sandwich every now and then. You have a sink for water and a toilet along with a shower. What else do you need???" After about 20 minutes Kyle comes walking through the door...Noah freaking out just a little bit by now...Kyles reactions? "Oh he really is stuck! I thought you were kidding me!" So off comes the doorknob apparently completely busted on the inside. Out comes the boy...FREE AT LAST!

Adventures at the 4-H fair....

2008-07-09T09:33:00.004-04:00

Last Monday, Kyle was working in the shop. He had just primered a car when he said "well it's going to be a few hours before I can do anything else...anyone want to go to the fair?" Well YEAH! So we all packed up and headed to the fair. We made an agreement with the kids (ok we made it sound like it was their decision) that they would not ride the rides. Since we went camping last weekend and then we are off to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom this Saturday (free tickets from a reading program) we told them we just don't have the money to do everything. If they wanted to ride rides it was going to have to come out of our gas money for six flags....so ride rides at fair...or ride rides at six flags....they chose six flags and we had basically no complaining (only from Maddie with whom I was ready to leave with the cattle).

On the way we were teasing about how we were "off to get another free vacation" like we did last year (last year we won free tickets to Indiana Beach). I didn't know how true that was going to be! We made our 1st stop at one the booth of a local radio station. Kyle spins the wheel...nothing. I spin the wheel....nothing. Noah spins the wheel....nothing. Maddie spins the wheel....nothing. Katharine spins the wheel.......Free tickets to Holiday World! Whoo hoo! We had a good laugh over that one and went on our merry way. We walked all through the expo halls...we picked up our annual yard stick, balloons (those things are evil), our annual cup of ice cream (.50 per cup and Katharine's was free for entering a 4h project), and went on the hunt to search for the littles 4h projects. After that we went by more booths....went by another radio station booth. Kyle spins...he wins "Elvis sunglasses" which we later confiscated by his brother. I spin...nothing. Katharine spins....she wins an Elvis clock with "swinging legs" LOL. Noah Spins....he wins tickets to The Beach Waterpark. Maddie didn't want to try....

CAMPING TIME!!!!!!

2008-07-08T07:13:00.006-04:00

Last weekend we took the weekend off and went camping as a family. We had SO much fun and it was a MUCH needed family get away. Kyle has been working hours on end at his day job and in the shop so we have not seen much of him at all the past couple months. It was so nice to "leave the shop behind" and get away for a couple days. We headed off last Thursday to a new-to-us campground called Sycamore Springs Park. It was a beautiful campground with wildlife everywhere. When we 1st pulled into the park there were several deer standing there waiting to greet us :) We found our site, got set up, and headed off for firewood. By the way....along with there being no charge to camp, they supplied firewood for free! Anyway..after a quick dinner we headed off to bed. The following day the kids spent their time riding bikes and fishing! All 3 kids caught their 1st fish while we were there while I stood by and took pictures. No, I don't fish :) I stand by and cheer (or listen to the mp3 as the case may be).

Maddie being her silly self

Noah with one of the many fish he caught
Noah has discovered a new game....UNO...we have played it before but for some reason it REALLY took hold. Here is Kyle and Noah playing game 423. Doesn't Kyle look thrilled?

Snowflake doing what she does best....

Maddie "enjoying" her watermelon

Our camper and camp site. The camp sites were pretty close together but we had room in other places. Here you can see two of the bikes on gravel. That gravel is actually another persons site but we were lucky and they didn't show up the whole weekend so we did end up having a little bit extra space. We had a road in front of our camper (you can see it at the bottom of the pic). Across the road was our fire ring and picnic table.

Here you can get a better idea. I am standing between the bikes on our campsite. You can now see the road and directly across is the fire ring and picnic table. You see the blue trash can? There was one at each site and along sides of the fire rings. Now what you can't clearly see...is that just beyond where Katharine is standing is a nice sized creek that we were able to fish from...right from our site :)
Katharine enjoying her watermelon
Kyle doing what he does best :) This dinner was BBQ pork ribs, green beans w/onions &bacon, biscuits w/ butter, and grilled corn on the cob....yummm yummmmm
Noah playing his favorite game of UNO (he's concentrating)

All of the rest of the family fishing...I am jammin on the mp3...

Kyle and the kids playing at one of the MANY play areas the park has.
once again, Kyle and the kids on "The Circle of Vomit"
This was taken at another park...Katharine being her own "diva-ish" self
Maddie

Noah, Katharine, and kyle fishing at our campsite. Anyone want to guess what I was doing?

Katharine's 1st fish
Maddie's 1st fish (this was on the same day she "enjoyed" her watermelon...I ended up throwing the shirt out as not even Oxyclean could get that watermelon stain out!)
Noah with his 1st fish...out in the pouring rain...he was so proud :)

She's Swimming!

2008-06-27T09:02:00.005-04:00

As I have mentioned in other posts, Maddie is an absolute fish when it comes to water....she floats on her back (for fun), dives face first in to the water, and the second her toes touch the water she is a kickin. Yesterday afternoon I thought I would take her life jacket off and see what she could do. I took her out into water where she couldn't touch well (about 3 1/2 ft) and this is what happened...

Can you believe it??? She was swimming by herself! She dove her head under the water and just started kicking! She was able to swim for about 5 ft without coming up for air. She kept asking to do it again and again....then she wanted to jump in and swim to me...which she did...quite well! What can I say! I think she is part fish!

The other kids were also doing quite well! Noah gets stronger and stronger every time we swim. It is amazing to watch! He is brave enough now to go off the slide in the deep end and off the diving board all by himself. Better yet...I know he is a strong enough swimmer that I don't have to be at the bottom of that slide or diving board ~~praying he doesn't land on me~~ waiting for him.

Katharine on the other hand, seems to have "digressed" a little this year. Last year she was going off the diving board with confidence. This year I have had issue getting her to go where she can't touch. She immediately "freaks out" and takes her eyes off of her goal. Being as part of her issues are "keeping focus" this should not come as a surprise. If it doesn't come easily...its usually not worth doing (according to her). But alas...mama wont let her give up quite so easily. 1st thing we did at the pool was the four of us plus Aunt Terri headed over to where it was 4 ft. I made them take turns swimming to me (Maddie still had her life jacket on at this point). After making her swim a few times she seems to get more and more confidant. By the end of the day she was going off the slide in the deep end with me there ready to ~~drown~~ catch her.

I've Lost my baby..............

2008-06-25T21:32:00.007-04:00

As of Yesterday, my Sweet little baby turned 4. She had a blast on her birthday. She wanted to go swimming (so of course I have pics!)

Maddie taking a rest

Maddie "getting a tan"

Noah pouncing off the diving board!

Noah swimming alone

Darling Katharine

The cake for "the princess"

Kyle looking thrilled in his "birthday girl" hat

Maddie ready to blow out her candles

Blow Maddie Blow!

Maddie...ever so proud of her "lollie lockets"

Isn't she just beautiful????? I can't believe it..my "baby" is 4....She is 4 but will always be my baby....we love you girl! We have seen you turn from this tiny frail little baby (were you ever really frail??) into this bubbling, vivacious little firecracker. You are such a blessing to us and we couldn't be happier that God chose US to be your mom and dad!

check it out!

2008-06-23T14:54:00.000-04:00

105

As a 1930s wife, I am
Very Superior

Take the test!

I'll have an order of Parkinsons with a side of cancer please....

2008-06-20T07:58:00.003-04:00

I have really been trying to kick the soda habit (I usually say "coke" instead of soda but I am afraid you would get the wrong idea if I just said "coke"!). I normally only order a coke every now and then when we go to a restraunt. Most of the time I order tea (unsweet) or just plain ol water. I have thought I would like to get rid of the "coke" habit for good...and I think this article just did it! .....back to making 'bucha.....

Caution: Some soft drinks may seriously harm your health
Expert links additive to cell damage

By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent

Sunday, 27 May 2007

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A new health scare erupted over soft drinks last night amid evidence they may cause serious cell damage. Research from a British university suggests a common preservative found in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA.

The problem - more usually associated with ageing and alcohol abuse - can eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's.

The findings could have serious consequences for the hundreds of millions of people worldwide who consume fizzy drinks. They will also intensify the controversy about food additives, which have been linked to hyperactivity in children.

Concerns centre on the safety of E211, known as sodium benzoate, a preservative used for decades by the £74bn global carbonated drinks industry. Sodium benzoate derives from benzoic acid. It occurs naturally in berries, but is used in large quantities to prevent mould in soft drinks such as Sprite, Oasis and Dr Pepper. It is also added to pickles and sauces.

Sodium benzoate has already been the subject of concern about cancer because when mixed with the additive vitamin C in soft drinks, it causes benzene, a carcinogenic substance. A Food Standards Agency survey of benzene in drinks last year found high levels in four brands which were removed from sale.

Now, an expert in ageing at Sheffield University, who has been working on sodium benzoate since publishing a research paper in 1999, has decided to speak out about another danger. Professor Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology and biotechnology, tested the impact of sodium benzoate on living yeast cells in his laboratory. What he found alarmed him: the benzoate was damaging an important area of DNA in the "power station" of cells known as the mitochondria.

He told The Independent on Sunday: "These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it: they knock it out altogether.

"The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it - as happens in a number if diseased states - then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously. And there is a whole array of diseases that are now being tied to damage to this DNA - Parkinson's and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing."

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) backs the use of sodium benzoate in the UK and it has been approved by the European Union but last night, MPs called for it to investigate urgently.
Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat chair of Parliament's all-party environment group said: "Many additives are relatively new and their long-term impact cannot be certain. This preservative clearly needs to be investigated further by the FSA."

A review of sodium benzoate by the World Health Organisation in 2000 concluded that it was safe, but it noted that the available science supporting its safety was "limited".
Professor Piper, whose work has been funded by a government research council, said tests conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration were out of date.

"The food industry will say these compounds have been tested and they are complete safe," he said. "By the criteria of modern safety testing, the safety tests were inadequate. Like all things, safety testing moves forward and you can conduct a much more rigorous safety test than you could 50 years ago."

He advised parents to think carefully about buying drinks with preservatives until the quantities in products were proved safe by new tests. "My concern is for children who are drinking large amounts," he said.

Coca-Cola and Britvic's Pepsi Max and Diet Pepsi all contain sodium benzoate. Their makers and the British Soft Drinks Association said they entrusted the safety of additives to the Government. -- !

A little Obama Linkage...

2008-06-19T08:39:00.002-04:00

Head over to Junkmale and Harmony's to see a very interesting post on "Obama-mania" (I couldn't have put it better myself!)

We are so excited!

2008-06-19T08:29:00.004-04:00

Look at what Katharine can do! Her hair is in a PONYTAIL! That is probably not a big deal for many out there...but in her case it is a HUGE deal! Her head was shaved because of scabies in March of 2003 while still in Haiti...she has NEVER EVER HAD HER HAIR CUT SINCE! It has taken 5 LONG years to get her hair this long. The best thing we ever did for her to help her growth was to put it in locs. Her hair is twice as long as it was before we put the locs in! This has been a goal she has been waiting for.... now she is waiting for her hair to touch her back!

This is creepy....

2008-06-19T08:19:00.003-04:00

My poor dear boy Noah...whenever he is absolutely exhausted he tends to sleep with his eyes open...this week has been a little crazy with extra ball games, extra ball practices and then add in VBS on top of it...the boy is just tuckered....So here it is...that one pic you have to post every so often that will make them want to hide it when they are around 16 lol

Hair? What Hair?

2008-06-18T08:00:00.004-04:00

Kids get older. That's just a fact. But why does it make us as parents wiggle and squirm at the things they go through? At the age of 8 1/2 my daughter is already experiencing some of those "changes"....she was so excited to be able to say she entered the world of the "shaving woman." Not her legs though...just her pits (this was after discovering they were long enough to braid...no joke...and lets not ask just HOW we found that out....)

So there we were....showing my "little one" wither her new blue razor how to shave off her excess hair so she doesn't look like she had "cousin it" in a headlock.........fun times!

Happy Fathers Day!

2008-06-15T13:30:00.004-04:00

Today we started off with the kids giving their gifts to their daddy....They each made a cute picture frame in their Wednesday night bible study class.

Katharine Madelynn

Noah

They each also gave Kyle a card. Maddie wrote "her own" card....of course we had to have a translation sent with it :). The helper in their class wrote everything on a piece of paper that Maddie had "written" on her card to her daddy...it reads like this:

I hope you have a good day, a good valentines day watching me do the recital and thank you giving me stuff and coming to my birthday and I hope you like my stars. I hope you have a good sleep and have a good day. I want you to give me a hug and I want you to be happy with me everyday. I want you to be happy everyday you give me hugs everyday you come home. Thank you for giving mom money. I hope you love mom and I love you and I give you kisses!

Love, Maddie

P.S. I hope you want me to be happy and do everything you want me to do. I will change diapers every night.

What?!?! I think she is trying to kyle he is old...she will change his diapers every night LOL

Once, a girl scout went to camp (went to camp)......

2008-06-13T17:00:00.004-04:00

So here it is.....Katharine's 1st time at girl scout camp. She went yesterday just for day camp but is staying the night for the "overnight camp tonight. She has been sooooooooo excited and yes I did a very good job of acting excited for her as I dropped my baby off this morning...don't get me wrong...I am excited for her....a whole new "era" of life has opened up for her....a time when she can spend the night with trusted other away from home...but *sigh* I have to admit I didn't fight off the tears as well as I had hoped to as I pulled out of camp this morning. ....not to mention it didn't help to have several people reminding me what happened at the Boy Scout camp this week....add on top we are supposed to have some severe storms tonight *sigh*......

A day of "fun" :)

2008-06-13T16:45:00.003-04:00

Katharine headed off to girl scout day camp yesterday and so I thought I would load up the other two and take them to the pool. It turned out to be a PERFECT day! We arrived just after 11 and the water was already 80 degrees! We ended up staying at the pool for 5 hours! yes you read that right! 5 hours! Both kiddos swam like they were fish! Noah spent the majority of the day going through both the regular slide and the slide in the slide in the deep end (with no life jacket!) while Maddie enjoyed her day floating and swimming wildly. She has a life jacket that she LOVES as it gives her LOTS of freedom in the water....I called her "Bob" all day long as she was just "bobbin" up and down in the water LOL. Both Noah and Katharine were FREAKED OUT by pools at her age so it is all new territory having one that I have to "chase" through the deep end! We had to leave just after 4 to go pick up Katharine at her day camp....Maddie was asleep by the time we got to the main road and her eyes were STILL red this morning! They are all SOOO excited about vacation as we plan on spending lots of time at the pool (indoor, heated)...they are all little fish who could live in the water from the time they wake up until the time they go to bed!

Maddie floating ion her back

Noah coming down the slide
Noah swimming like a fish
Doin some more swimmin'
Maddie and Noah Palin' around

Indiana Flooding

2008-06-13T16:14:00.005-04:00

For those of you who have been keeping tabs on the situation in Indiana...here are a few pics for you. We were stuck in the flooding last Saturday on our way home from Indianapolis. Here are some pics that were taken from he interstate (southbound was eventually opened while Northbound was still closed).

Trucks lined up for several miles on the interstate just waiting to be able to finish there journey headed northbound.

Miles and miles of trucks waited to actually get onto the interstate

Here are some pics of water rescues in Columbus. The men in the picture are up to their chest in water.

See the tiny red dot in the middle of the pond? Well that pond is a corn field and that red dot is the top of a tractor.

Sheds in Columbus after the water had receded about 3 feet.

See the silver tubes? Those are gas tanks from a local co-op.....the co-op was 1 mile away from where this picture was taken.

The road we drove through to get to a main road

The National Guard in Columbus

Headed to INDY tomorrow!

2008-06-06T23:09:00.002-04:00

Yep tomorrow is the annual Good Guys Show in INDY. We try to make it every year and most of the time it is for sheer enjoyment. This year is for enjoyment but since Kyles business is-a-boomin we have loads of parts to be looking for at the swap meet and hopefully tons of business cards to be ~~leaving on cars , placing in bathroms , dropping in purses,~~ handing out for even more business. Next year we hope to have a well put together portfolio of at least his interior work and a car for display.

We have everything ready to go..we will head out by 6am tomorrow....I baked an all organic ham yestrday which is sliced and ready for sandwiches, I have a loaf of bread baking in the oven now for our sandwiches, I bough lots of frozen organic fruit (I know fresh is better but it is going to be in the 90's tomorrow and there is NO SHADE AT ALL at the show!) so that it will stay cool in our cooler hopefully all day long along with all of our drinks (26 water bottles that are currently in our freezer!). We found some Jason sunblock at our local health food store (WHEW! I ahd forgot to order some last month!). We have borrowed our neighbors wagon for Maddie as strollers just really dont work well, not to mention we can throw our cooler in the wagon easier than we could the stroller. Nice little "extra" is that the wagon has an awesome cover on it. I believe we will be getting one of these for the car show in August.....

We more than likely will be there all day looking at parts, looking at cars (even more so than before...especially interiors!) and of course (my favorite) watching the top fuel cars!!!!!!!

FYI

2008-06-06T23:04:00.003-04:00

Upon the purchase of a new ink cartridge for your printer, please remember to remove the plastic piece off the bottom before putting it into your printer. Failure to do so will result in the printer not printing. This will then result in utter frustration of just paying $35 for a cartridge that does not work. This will then end up in comments such as "stupid computer", "lousy printer", "dumb 'ol thing". Simply follow directions to begin with and such actions need not take place....not that I would know any of that from personal experience....it was a "just in case you need to know" type thing :)

5 Years??? Really???

2008-06-06T08:40:00.005-04:00

Our 1st family Photo

Here we are....marking Gotcha day #5 with Noah and Katharine. On one hand, I can't believe it has already been 5 years. On the other hand, I barely remember a life before they came. Guys, your time with us is so special :) We love you and we are so glad that God picked YOU to be part of our family..forever :)Here are some random favorite pics of the kiddos :)

Katharine playing in the yard 2004
Katharine and Noah Summer 2003
Katharine and Noah summer 2003
Noah....all the time

Katharine Fall 2004

Noah Spring 2004

Noah Fall 2003

Katharine and Noah Summer 2003

WFMW-keep them occupied!

2008-06-04T06:56:00.004-04:00

Today's edition of WFMW is the "Mom I'm bored" edition. I have to admit...my kids almost never say they are bored. I think this is one HUGE advantage of not having a 3 month long break and taking 3 smaller breaks through the year. However...on occasion......

1. chores- whenever we take breaks we are tackling a certain set of "rooms." Last time it was my bedroom and laundry room. Next time it is their rooms (mwuahahaha). There is always some kind of work to be doing.

2. Even when we take a break, we never completely "unplug" from school. I try to make sure they have new books around to keep them reading. I also have them continuing to review math facts and such.

3. Speaking of reading- our library has a program for the kids every summer, after they read for 80 minutes, a parent signs off in their booklet and they receive a prize (free books, coupons etc). After they finish the whole book they receive a ticket to Squire Boone. Not too shabby!

4. Free movies-In our town they have a theater that has free movies every Monday and Tuesday morning. That is worth the drive :)

5. Sprinkler and water balloon fights- Ok I bribe my kids here.....go pull weeds for a certain amount of time and then lets play in the sprinkler/have water balloon fights. Of course mom is the one who gets to start it (Mwuhahahaha again ...)

For more WFMW check out Rocks in My Dryer for more!

Check out Julia! She's a TUBER!

2008-06-02T14:17:00.003-04:00

Check out my bud Julia from OH-IO!

The recital finished...yet memorable......

2008-06-02T08:17:00.007-04:00

Last Saturday was the kids dance recital...and they all did FANTASTIC! Sanite and Maddie each had 3 numbers (Ballet, tap, and Jazz) while Noah had 2 (jazz and tap). We had a ball game that morning so my expedition was packed to the max...I had everything from the kids ball game (uniforms, hats, helmets, baseball gloves, bats etc..) then add in everything we needed for the recital (3 costumes, 3 dance bags, 1 large bag full of make up, deodorant, hair clips, hair brushes, loc butter, Vanilla spray, glitter gel, tights, socks, Katharine's hair do-dads, Maddies mouse ears, gallon sized bucket of coconut oil, lint rollers, and Motrin ...just kidding on the last part)..then we had to hide Noah's balloons as we were sure he didn't want papa to buy him roses so we had 3 large Mylar balloons hiding underneath a comforter...add in 5 people and I am SO GLAD we have our ~~gas eating monster~~ Expedition. To make things nice and complicated, the coach told the kids that he was taking them all for ice cream after the game (good thing I thought ahead and packed wipes for a "quick bath"). They ate ice cream and we headed out to Scottsburg. We stood outside the gym waiting for them to open the doors. It was now 12;30 and I had 30 minutes to get 3 dirty ball players (well 2 dirty ball players and 1 kid that just felt like playing in dirt no matter how much I protested) into princesses and a prince. *sigh* enter fight or flight mode. Girls in one room....boys well...in the bathroom. Kyle took Noah and was able to get him dressed rather quickly while I took the girls and got them dressed, oiled, make up on, and hair done (needless to say....I am so glad we have the ability to do the majority of my girls hair WEEKS before the actual event...I couldn't imagine having to try and have time to actually "do" hair the day of!). I was able to get them greased and in the right shoes (they were numbers 1 and 2 to go on stage YIKES!) with 5 minutes to spare. I found Noah in the hallway...and then figured out he didn't even have anything until after the intermission...oh well...he is greased and perfectly ready to go.

They all did fabulous on stage! Noah had some issue trying to keep his hands out of his pockets but really seemed to enjoy himself. Katharine got out there and gave her all. Maddie got out there and.....well....she just gave it LOL. Her ballet and jazz were fine......but word of warning.....when wearing tap shoes on a high school auditorium stage that has been treated be prepared to slip! Her tap class got on stage and she was next to the end. Her little buddy Amanda was on the end. Amanda slipped an fell on her face. Insert Audience laughter....Maddie slips and falls on her face...insert audience laughter....all other 6 dancers continue on with what they are doing...Maddie and Amanda can't keep their eyes off of each other and are now having a competition to see who call fall the most times....then lets grab onto each other and see if we can fall together.....insert more audience laughter....note to self...Maddie and Amanda should not be next to each other LOL (though we should have known this as these 2 girls have been the "sillies" of their dance class all year).

Then comes the finale.......the song for the finale was The Circle of Life from the Lion King. They brought all the classes on stage and had each class sit in the very back of the stage. The song began 3 of the high school dance students performing, then each class of students was brought up to perform a part of the dance, then return to their seats where the next class would be brought up, dance return to their seats etc. The dances were not short either...I would say that each class had about 40 counts between walking to the stage, dancing, and then returning to their seats. So, after the high schoolers, they bring the 1st class up. There were 4 girls in the class around age 10..all dressed in these beautiful blue and purple fairy looking costumes doing a gorgeous ballet dance.......then............it happened. We hear giggling from the stage and there she was.......we see a "Minnie mouse" who had apparently gotten loose from her class..........my Maddie apparently thought she had a solo as she RUNS from the back of the stage all they way to the front...she is RUNNING in and out in between the ballet dancers like she was a car going through cones.... all the while the ballet dancers are trying to hold their composure. She is KICKING up her legs (trying to get her toes to her head)...jumping around..laughing in hysterics and giggling....to then turn around...shake "her stuff" at the audience (and imagine the audience laughing and looking at ME from the time my little "Minnie" got loose) and then running back in between the ballet dancers while her dancer helper/teacher (who is 13...she helps Ms. Pam every week with the little ones so everyone knows her as Ms. Rachael) is running and trying to catch her. Maddie is finally caught and brought back to her class where she cries in embarrassment ...as crying too...partly from embarrassment...partly because it was just soooo funny....and sooooo cute.....and SOOOOOOO Maddie................

Sanite and Ronald.....

2008-05-31T22:22:00.003-04:00

Years ago after the oldest two came home we went on a quick drive through to McDonald's. The kids had been home only a handful of months and Sanites language was referred to as "Sanitese" as it was a mixture of Haitian Creole and English...Hacrenglish? Anyway...very few people could understand her. As we did a quick drive through of McDonald's we noticed that alas..Ronald McDonald himself was there handing out meals through the drive thru...We pulled up and lo-and-behold..there he was. I look in the rear view mirror to see this utterly confused look on my 3 year olds face..(hello???some freak with bushy red hair and pasty white face is handing us food...)I said "That's Ronald McDonald!" Once again..insert confused look. "He is the one who makes your fries." The light bulb clicked on...she gave a HUGE *sigh* as she turned and said (and signed) with MUCH passion in her words..."WI WUFF WOOO" (translation from Sanitese is I LOVE YOU!)

Six Quirky things about me :)

2008-05-30T07:31:00.003-04:00

Junkmale from Thou and Thou Only had tagged me for a "Quirky" meme!

* Link the person who tagged you .

* Mention the rules in your blog.

* Tell about six unspectacular quirks of yours.

* Tag a new set of six following bloggers by linking them.

1. I can not stand for my food to "touch"...and then when I eat it...I eat one things at a time. I must finish ALL my corn before moving on to my salad...then ALL my salad before moving onto my chicken etc....

2. OK ....really weird... I LOVE homeschooling! I love spending time with my kids :) Imagine that :)

3. I grow my own veggies...(and apparently watermellon too this year...)

4. I love fermented veggies (hence the garden)

5. Whenever we go on a long drive....the car and HOUSE has to be perfectly cleaned....

6. I buy very little permade/processed food *shocking*...we make our own bread and snacks and only eat "cereal" once every couple of weeks (maybe once a month if that).

The following can consider yourself tagged:

Georgi

Lori

Cassie

Michele

Brittan

Great Weekend!

2008-05-27T08:10:00.001-04:00

Yep! Here it is...the beginning of another busy week....but at least we had a nice relaxing weekend! On Saturday we had a few errands to run along with a birthday party and then a cook out at my sisters. It was great to see them and my nieces...I was also able to see my nephew over in Japan via web cam.

Katharine has been really upset that Kyle has had to work so much...she is never able to see him :( On Sunday morning Kyle went in a woke her up extra early so the two of them could go to breakfast together :) How sweet :) We all met up at church where Katharine and I had to fly out of there to meet our fellow girl scouts by noon as we were headed to Build-a-bear!

We headed off to Build-a-Bear and I tell ya..it was SO much fun...I want to go back and build a bear lol. The only problem is that I don't have an arm and a leg to leave there as I already had to leave it at the gas pump this week lol.

On the mend...

2008-05-23T13:20:00.002-04:00

After I came down with it....Noah came down with it. Yuck! On the advice of many foodies on several lists I am on...I decided to take the route of the Neti pot and LOTS of garlic (accompanied by our usual doses of Keifer and 'bucha). WHA LA! Only a couple days later and I am feeling almost as good as new! Noah was running a fever and had the nasty coughs and the VERY NEXT DAY he was fine. This is unheard of for him! Fantastic! He actually got up this morning and ate his egg (cooked in some healthy coconut oil..yum!), toast, and big glass fo Kefir drink (this one had 1/2 kefir, 1/2 milk with a splash of vanilla and a dose of stevia). That alone is a VERY filling breakfast and he ate all of it!

And life goes on.........

2008-05-20T08:08:00.003-04:00

Yep we are all pretty boring around here.....life goes on. Last night was our last dance practice (we have 2 make up classes over the next week but with the cost of gas I am not driving out of town again unless I have to) and then we have rehearsal and recital next week. Tonight Katharine has her last girl scout meeting of the year and she is having a "Hawaiian Luau." She gets to invite a friend to go along...she is so tickled! One of her good friends from the homeschool group will be joining her tonight and she is so excited she just cant stand it! Tonight is also a baseball game and Kyle did volunteer for that one as I can not be at the game and take Katharines friend home at the same time.....

Also we have therapy today which Katharine looks forward to with great zeal...its going to break her heart when we have to start going every other week instead of every week because it takes too much $$$$ to fill up the tank on "The Monster."

Oh yeah...and a sinus infection....lovely. I am feeling a wee bit better this morning after eating a ton of garlic last night (and having to sleep on the couch because of it LOL). I also will be trying some "unconventional" ways to get rid of a sinus infection...I will spare the gory details and only fill you in if they work LOL

Lost??? Anyone? Anyone?

2008-05-16T18:08:00.002-04:00

So Jack FINALLY gets it....he and Claire are/were indeed brother/sister...I was wondering if he was EVER going to know/figure it out. And as for the next episode....I hear from Shannon we are supposed to find out who exactly was in that coffin....any ideas?? I have my own.....And whats with everyone lying about the rest of the folks on the island and how they/if they died?? Notice all the "looks" everyone was giving when referring to their "story" and appearing to be in shock (who wouldn't???).....hum......something tells me the trip off the island is going to be as nutty and crazy as life on the island...

Movin' on...

2008-05-16T17:40:00.003-04:00

We had pictures last night for dance. After some ~~major issues~~ small mishaps with the vest, we were able to get it finished, and then have almost 6 hours of sleep! Yeah!!!! Tomorrow we have a baseball game in the morning and a birthday party in the afternoon. I also need to try and get some school done tomorrow as we are running 1 day behind in our basics and 3 days behind in history. Sunday is going to be my day....my day.....I need to clean around this house....something I have not had time to do since we started back to school!! On Monday it is back to the grindstone...followed by our last dance practice of the year on Monday night (YEAH!!!!!!!). Tuesday the kids have a game at 7 but I am not sure if we are going to go. Katharine has her big end of the year girl scout party that night and she has invited another little girl from our homeschool group...she is so excited! Wednesday night is Bible study..and as of late we have NO plans for Thursday or Friday...but on Sat Kyle is going to have to work OT at the hospital (either 1/2 day or full day...not sure yet) and we have no ball game in the am...but a birthday party in the afternoon. The Friday and sat after that are the rehearsal and dance recital. The weekend AFTER that is the kids gotcha day and a car show we always go to....then the weekend after THAT is Girl Scout camp....and then the following weekend we are celebrating Maddies birthday at Kings Island......As of now...I am marking June 28 (HUH???) on my calendar as National "Do Nothing day"...at least in the Caswell household LOL At least nothing that seems like I should have the title "TAXI" written on my forehead....

Sorry!

2008-05-13T08:11:00.004-04:00

Wow I can't believe it has been that long! We have been soooooooooo busy around here. By the time I finish with school during the day, I either have someone running to baseball, dance, 4-H, Bible study etc. Since this is the end of the school year (for most) things are wrapping up...for example 2 nights this week we have to head to scottsburg for dance...one night for practice and another night for dance pictures. That's another thing....dance pictures. On top of me having to finish making Noah's costume I have to take care of the girls hair. On top of school. On top of Baseball. On top of 4-H. Oh, and On top of Girl Scouts. Our dance recital is the last Saturday of this month and because I did not feel I had anything better to do with my time, I thought it would fun for myself and Katharine to sign up for the Mother Daughter Dance. Actually I know this is going to be a great memory making experience for her (hopefully for a good reason and not because I fall on my face on stage). All in All....in 2 weeks dance will be over. On June 6 we will have our homeschool end of the year program.....that stuff will be over. The 2nd week in June is baseball championships.....that will be over. the 4-h fair will be in july...then yeah that will be over. Girl scouts just seems to go on with field trips that the girls earned through their cookie sales. I am hopning I can look at those as a time to *relax* LOL....hand painting pottery, build-a-bear, a trip on a boat on the Ohio River, and then finally a trip to The Great Wolf Lodge in Ohio.....yeah....and oh yeah... GIRL SCOUT CAMP! which I have volunteered for.....

Are we heading for the Fabulous fours?

2008-05-04T15:39:00.003-04:00

I don't remember...I really just don't. I know that I never went through "the terrible twos" with either one of my kiddos that we had in that age. Noah did go through what I would call "the trialsome three's"....and it seems that Maddie is now going through " the trialsome threes"....only she turns four next month. Of course...this could also just be the difference between girls and boys..........Noah was never one for outbursts of temper tantrums...he just whined and melted into the floor. Maddie on the other hand......she cried and threw herself on the floor because she didn't want to go to the banquet last night.....then as soon as I walked out the door she threw herself on the floor screaming because I did not take her with me. This morning Noah sits in his chair at church...Maddie walks over, stands in front of him and starts whining and crying " I want to sit in that chair.. I want that seat. NOAH MOOOOOOOOOOOOVE ." Oh good gravy......everything with this girl is just DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA.......:)

Reason #213 I hate TV..........

2008-05-02T12:32:00.003-04:00

For the 4th month in a row I get a bill from DISH NETWORK read that again please..... DISH NETWORK Charging us for movies we did not order....not only "movies" ...but those kind of movies. ARG! We have done everything they have asked us to do...placed blocks...speak with 4 million people at customer service...We were even told when we called LAST MONTH that if you live in close proximity to another receiver it is possible to get them confused....and that was from their REP! I reminded them of that today and I was told that wasn't possible. They told me the date and time the movie was ordered...Kyle wasn't home...and not to mention I am the only one in the house that knew the password to the blocks....not that I didn't trust Kyle with it....he just never needed to use it (the last movies we ordered were Daddy Day Camp and Mr. Magoriums Wonderimporium.....now do you see why a grown mad would not need to know how to order those ~~dumb~~ wonderful movies?). It was ordered at 5am...anyone that knows me that getting up at 5 just DOES NOT HAPPEN! So here we are *free* from TV....I am trying to talk him into ordering netflix every month instead of cable...that way when we need movies for school we can get them with no problem!

ARG to TV's!!! Anyone else feel that way?!?!?!?!

Please let it rain...........

2008-05-01T08:15:00.003-04:00

As I would really enjoy some free time this week! Especially before school starts Monday (actually we will have to do some work tomorrow). The kids were supposed to have a baseball game last Monday (Katharine and Noah are on the same team) but it was rained out....that's ok...we weren't going anyway as they had dance. Tuesday night was baseball practice from 5-6:15....well it was SUPPOSED to be anyway...We arrived at 5 (we meaning ALL the parents). One coach shows up at 5:30...and then the other coach shows up AFTER 6!!! They did not let the kids go until 7!!!!! We were fit to be tied. I don't mind if practice needs to be from 6-7....but at least we can prepare for that.... (stepping down off that soap box for now...)

So they have a game tonight....actually Katharine is the only kiddo going to the game...Noah is headed to a banquet for wrestling. I was picked to go to the wrestling banquet (yeah! Inside! Pizza! Cake! Awards! Home by 7:30! ooops did I say that???). Tomorrow is supposed to be the make up game for last Monday...and then we have ANOTHER game on Saturday morning (who thought up this crazy schedule???). On to of that...the game on Sat is from 10:30-12...after that we have to eat on the way to clean up the girl scout campground (I had committed to that before we ever had a schedule for baseball). I will hopefully get there by 1...be able to work from 1-3 before I have to turn around and come home for *hopefully* an hour before I have to turn around and head out to a mothers day banquet with the girls..........At the most..I will have an hour to get myself and 2 girls ready.....after doing yard work for 2 hours and no nap (for me or them).........*sigh* isn't this stuff supposed to be FUN????? Honestly..if it rains........out goes the game.....and the clean up..........and then all we have is the banquet...which truth be told is the only thing I really wanted to do anyway!

-5 Truths and 1 lie.......-

2008-04-28T11:53:00.007-04:00

Or fiction?????

alright, here's a game that was posed to me by someone else - it's where you list 6 things about you (5 truths & 1 lie) - you make it as hard as you can so it's a bit of a challenge to others that might wish to 'play along' - alright, here goes!

1. I walked all around the Charlotte airport with my dress over my shoulders...exposing myself to everyone.

2. I was a size 8 through high school.

3. When we moved from one of our houses....I lived on the 2nd floor and my mom had to replace some of the shingles as they had been removed from all the times my friends and I would "escape"

4.I felt the need to participate in Senior skip days...even when I was a sophomore and junior. I was a little advanced for my age....and besides...growing up in Fl...who could say no to a day at the beach????

5. When I was *wee- little* I aspired to be a *stewardess* on Eastern Airlines.

6. I Had my 1st car accident less than 3 months after I got my drivers license.

hummmmmmm.....now which of those is the lie.......