The Johnson's

Saturday Morning Fun!

2012-01-28T09:57:00.001-05:00

We had some free coupons for some Krispy Kreme donuts so we decided to use them before they expired. We are always up for Krispy Kreme and free! We actually bought a calendar from them before Christmas for $5 and it has lots of coupons in it and many of them for free items. Anyway it was a good deal. It blessed our family this morning and we blessed a few customers with some free coffee. Happy Saturday!

"Realistic" Housewives

2012-01-26T21:53:00.000-05:00

This is a new series of posts that I am going to do periodically called "Realistic" Housewives not to be confused with "Real" Housewives. I think that most of us believe that we are the only ones that don't have it all together. We look at our friends, women we work with, women who write other blogs, etc and think "man, I could never do all she does, how does she do it?! She home schools her kids, cooks everything from scratch, her house is always clean, clothes are always washed and put away, she has time to go to the gym, take her kids to all their activities, volunteer at ________, and the list goes on and on!" You know someone like this don't you? If it's you then stop reading and move on to someone else's blog cause this post will not pertain to you. I sometimes think of Bree on "Desperate Housewives." Don't judge - yes I use to watch that show! Anyway, she is the epitome of what we would think of as a "REAL" Housewife. She always had everything perfect. Of course her life was a wreck but from the outside you would never know it! I am not going to get into all that now but really just sticking to realistically what a happens as a housewife in my house.

I am here to set the record straight that most of us or probably all of us if we are honest, don't have it "all together." I guess some of us are better at time management or organizing than others which helps. I use to try and compare myself to others but I have learned that really does no good. Comparison leads down a road of envy maybe jealousy. So I am trying to keep it real as a housewife.

So one of the things I am most realistic about is laundry. Living overseas spoiled me a teeny tiny bit. I guess I never knew how bad I was at it until we moved back to the states. You see while we living overseas I had a housekeeper who came once a week to clean and do laundry. I did the laundry occasionally but she did the bulk of it even ironing! Oh how I miss Sertap! (I do miss her for other reasons as well like her wonderful mercimek kofte.) Ok anyway, I was spoiled. But still I don't think I was that bad until I had kid #3. I think that was the big kicker. Having three kids has changed a lot of things! That's my excuse anyway and I'm sticking to it!

So onto laundry, I suppose a "real" housewife would wash and fold all in one maybe two days. That just never happens at my house. I might get 3 or 4 loads washed in one day but it might take a week (uh, maybe longer if I'm honest) to get it folded. Ever have to dig through laundry to find underwear or socks that match?! Folding laundry is one of chores I hate the most. I would wash all day long but fold...well it could sit and sit and sit. And it does sometimes. It ain't goin' now where. I can't wait for the day till my kids can fold their own clothes! So now you know that I am horrible housewife when it comes to laundry. #justkeepingitreal!

so I know you are wondering how long this laundry will sit here before it's folded!

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My Little Cowboys

2012-01-24T13:37:00.000-05:00

Yesterday the boys preschool had a Wild West day. They dressed up as cowboys and then had a little sing-a-long around the campfire. It was cute. The boys really enjoyed being cowboys for the day.

a sad little cowboy...I think he was crying because he wanted his hat off but his teacher told him to keep it on.

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Here are the words to Jesse's song:
I'm a tex, I'm a tex, I'm a Texas star!
Way down under where the cowboys are (in person it sounds like he is singing - "underwear")
I can ride'm, I can rope'm, I can show'em how it's done!

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"Family Time"

2012-01-22T18:06:00.000-05:00

Billy thought this picture was funny. Me on my laptop and then all the kids on their leap pads. They sat here with me for almost an hour playing. It was so quite! But I guess this is what the future will look like except I guess we'll have to upgrade their leap pads to ipads or something. Thankfully that is a few years down the road!

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I'm a Zombie!

2012-01-22T18:01:00.002-05:00

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Say Cheese!

2012-01-22T17:56:00.000-05:00

The kids love getting my phone or Billy's phone and taking pictures. Some are good, some are ok and some well...I won't post those cause they are mainly of me and I don't want everyone to see my double chin. So who knows maybe one of them will be a future photographer!

Jesse's self portrait

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Jesse almost got Bailey in the picture

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some of them are a little blurry so we'll just say they are "artistic"

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Wassup!

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NeeNee's funny face

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daddy's funny face

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and the last one is a picture of milk!

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Snow Mountain

2012-01-11T22:01:00.000-05:00

Because it has been so warm here this winter, reaching about 65 degrees most days with maybe a couple of weeks all winter that it has gotten really cold, we decided to go to Snow Mountain so the kids could play in the snow. Sometime around December the kids started asking when it was going to snow. So they have been waiting for snow! Luckily Stone Mountain has a created Snow Mountain for us snowless southerners. They have snow tubing for individuals and then you can do it as a group, 5 people in a big inner tube. That's what we did (except Jack, he was too small) and it was fun. Then they had a large patch of snow where you could build snowmen, igloos or just play in the snow. They provide buckets (I've never used a bucket for snow before- seems more like a sand thing), shovels, square molds to make bricks for igloos, scarves, hats and little arms for the snowmen. Then they had a couple small hill for kids to inner tube down or ride a sled. Jack loved the sledding! Well they all loved it! Every time Jack would get to the bottom of the hill he would say, "gin momma?" Oh that boy was so ready to go again! And Bailey and Jesse would practically run back up the ramp to go again. And as you will notice in the pictures we do not have our coats on. We had them on at first but after about an hour we shed them because it was warm!

After snowing we watch a really cute 4D Yogi Bear movie that they had at Stone Mountain. Then we rode the Sky ride up to the top of Stone Mountain to take a look. It was really cool at the top looking out over all of Atlanta and beyond. The kids enjoyed it too although Jack made me nervous walking (jumping, crawling, etc) up on this mountain! We are looking forward to going back in the summer for the laser show. If you come to see us we will take you for a visit! The park had lots to do and we would love an excuse to go back!

Stone Mountain...the carving was started by the same guy who did Mt. Rushmore. He started it in 1923 but only worked on it for about a year (I think). He got in an argument with someone over it, packed it up and started another project, Mt. Rushmore. Finally in 1963 some other guy started on the project again but essentially redid everything that the other guy started and then it was finished in 1972 or 74. Don't you love all the details?! And this coming from a history minor! I couldn't remember it all and was too lazy to look it up even as I sit on my computer to type this! Oh well, if you are interested in it google it yourself. :)

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And just so you know that is not snow that they slide down it is just white fake grass, turf or whatever you call it.

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The snow tubes

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This is where the kids played and went sledding. At first Jack and I played in the snow here while we waited on the others ride the big tube. He loved throwing the snow on me! He thought it was so funny!

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Learning How to Drive

2012-01-10T09:41:00.000-05:00

Well these days it seems that kids are learning to do things at an earlier age than in years before. For Christmas the kids got a Jeep to drive around in the backyard thanks to great grand parents. Jesse and Bailey were so excited. Jack likes it too but he got his own Mater that he can "drive" around. He still has a lot of learning to do though. All he does is go straight. He hasn't learned yet that you need to turn the steering wheel. And when he rides with Jesse or Bailey in the Jeep he likes to just throw it into reverse. It is really funny. That boy. Anyway, the kids have already started learning how to drive so by the time they are 16 they should be good!

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If you can't tell what Jesse yells at me he says, "you're beautiful!" already a charmer. He knows how to wrap his momma around his little finger!

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They laughed and told "jokes" on the swing for probably 20 minutes or more. It was funny because none of it made any sense!

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And half the time they were talking over the top of each other and had no idea what the other was saying but they laughed anyway!

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Here's my little charmer again...

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Rebecca Abla

2012-01-10T09:16:00.000-05:00

Last week we had a visit from a sweet friend, Recbecca Abla. We first met in Turkey. The day she arrived in Turkey it was snowing and thankfully I didn't have to go to the airport to pick her up since she was staying at my house. That was a crazy day! That's where our friendship started and I am so glad it did. While she was here I bought and fixed some Turkish food to make it feel more like home. It is always much more fun to share those things with someone who appreciates them. We had sigara borek (made with real yufka, kasar, and beyaz peynir), visne suyu and baklava (which I bought). I am thankful that I got to see more of my family from Turkey. So glad you came Rebecca Abla! And actually I am the abla since I am older than her. And sadly this was the only picture I took. Afiyet olsun!

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Easy Bake

2012-01-07T21:00:00.000-05:00

Bailey got an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas. So the other night we decided to try it out and make some cookies. I use to have one of these when I was little actually I think it was my sisters that got passed down to me. It was fun to "bake" and so I thought Bailey would like it as well. She did. She wanted to do everything herself. I couldn't believe how TINY everything was. I mean it was like baking for Smurfs or something. I didn't remember everything being so miniature. Bailey loved every minute of it. After they were done baking she served her cookies to the family like a good little hostess.

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Jesse was just as excited as Bailey was!

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Again, excited. He was jumping up and down.

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Jesse grabbed my camera and started taking pictures. Not the greatest picture of me

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Before they went in the oven

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After...

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Long Lost Pictures

2012-01-07T20:45:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures from Christmas that I forgot to post.

Jack and Granddad

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Christmas Eve Service

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Jesse taking my picture

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Bailey taking Billy's picture

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Bailey taking Jesse's picture

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This little boy went to bed about 8:30ish but I heard him yelling at me at 10:30. Not sure why he was not asleep but I let him stay up for a little while. He is such a squirt.

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While he was awake he saw this picture, picked it up and said "mommy, this girl mean." I said, "why this girl isn't mean, she is smiling." He just said, "mommy this girl mean." The funny thing is the little girl is me on my 2nd birthday. Haha!

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Georgia Aquarium

2012-01-04T21:22:00.000-05:00

Since we had some time off we decided to go to the aquarium on Monday. Billy had the day off so we headed to the big city. I think the last time we went Jack was a baby under 6 months old. The kids loved it. We ended up eating lunch in the ballroom by chance and it turned out to the be the best thing. Turns out there is a big viewing window to the Beluga whales and another window with just all kinds of fish, sting rays, etc. There were no crowds or lines and the kids just got to sit for a good while in front of the windows and watch. They loved it. It was really nice. Jack liked "petting" the fish. Although he did more splashing of water than actually petting. Plus his arms were too short to reach down into the tanks. Come and visit and we'll take you too!

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This was one of the windows in the ballroom. This is only a small portion of the window.

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One of the Beluga Whales

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The Penguins

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There was a huge tank of fish and this is what my kids where looking at - a computer screen!

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Jack passed out. This boy was tired because he NEVER falls asleep in his stroller. Even as a baby he didn't sleep in it.

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In Just 10 minutes...

2012-01-02T21:00:00.000-05:00

Kids can go from this...

This picture was taken at 2:50pm...

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To this...

This picture was taken at 3:00pm...didn't take them long to pass out!

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Jack's Jokes

2011-12-31T23:53:00.000-05:00

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More Christmas!

2011-12-31T23:51:00.000-05:00

Here are some more pictures of Christmas. We had Christmas in Louisiana and Tennessee. We had a great time. We are so blessed. (sorry there aren't very many pictures!)

NeeNee, Aunt Donna, Aunt Denise and the kids

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Jack got in the pantry and ate his candy...here is the proof!

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Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T14:53:00.001-05:00

To end 2011 we went to see "The Adventures of TinTin" in 3D. It was really good. We all liked it. Now on our way home to ring in the new year!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T19:25:00.001-05:00

Sweet Mornings

2011-12-23T16:04:00.000-05:00

I took this picture the other day of the kids after breakfast. They had all climbed up in the big chair to watch cartoons. This doesn't happen very often because they are normally trying to push each other's buttons. Brotherly and sisterly love!

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The Funky Paintbrush

2011-12-23T00:08:00.001-05:00

Tonight me a couple of friends went to one of those paint classes where you try to duplicate a picture they have already done. It was a lot of fun! I was a bit nervous cause I am not at all artistic. Overall it was "pretty" easy. We got to talk and just hang out during it. It was so much fun! I can't wait to do it again!
Sorry these might not be in order. I posted this from my phone.

More Christmas Activities!

2011-12-21T10:12:00.000-05:00

The boys had their preschool Christmas show last week. Jesse was so excited to sing his Christmas carols. And Jack well he would rather sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." Every time we would start to sing carols in the car he would say "no no, twinkle twinkle, momma." Of course the church was very crowded so I don't have any good pictures of Jack during the program. I don't think he sang but then I couldn't really see him.

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this video isn't very long but it is cute of Jesse clapping at the end.

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if you are wondering why Jesse keeps shaking his arm it's because he has jingle bells on his wrist. And you can see Jack a tiny bit in this video. He is sitting behind the kid with the red vest on.

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Jacks' "cheese" face

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Jack throwing his jingle bells around

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Party time!

2011-12-20T19:55:00.001-05:00

Last week all the kids had their Christmas parties. I was excited cause I didn't have to do anything unlike the Halloween parties! Not that I mind but three parties on top of all the other stuff to do during Christmas = stress! Bailey got to wear her pj's cause it was a "Polar Express" party. And I don't have many pictures of the boys parties cause I was running back and forth to between their rooms!

Gingerbread Houses 2011

2011-12-15T08:37:00.000-05:00

Every year we make gingerbread house. Well one year we had a gingerbread train. And this year we did a village. Since the kids are getting older it is harder to let all three of them "help" without it turning into chaos so thankfully Walmart had a gingerbread Christmas village with 5 houses! I had originally thought that we would each do one but when you are trying to supervise it is hard to do your own especially when one is a two year old, who is trying to eat the candy and the house! So we ended up with three houses plus the one Bailey made at school. The kids loved having their own house. We teased Jesse because his looked like an outhouse. We explained it to him and Bailey but they still didn't fully understand "outhouse" but proudly will tell people that his is an outhouse! It was funny.

Bailey waiting to put the candy on. Daddy is always the one who puts the houses together.

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Jesse and his outhouse

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Jack's house...you see the hole? that's where he took a bite!

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Bailey's finished house

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the outhouse

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our little village...the kids loved adding the people, trees, car and train to make it look real

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Our Tree

2011-12-03T10:22:00.002-05:00

The past few years I have pretty much let the kids decorate our Christmas tree. I help put the ornaments on the top while they do the bottom. Although this year Bailey liked standing on the step stool to help me. Jesse liked decorating too but Jack well he was more into undecorating if you know what I mean! Anyway, I have given up the need to have perfect tree with evenly placed ornaments. It is so much more fun to see a big clump of ornaments all on one branch! They get so excited and can't wait to put the next one on! I love our tree. It is perfect!

If there is a will there's a way!

2011-11-28T18:22:00.000-05:00

This statement is certainly true for Jack! If he wants something or wants to do something he will figure out how to get it done! The little stool in the picture below is kept in the bathroom but on more than one occasion he has moved it to the kitchen sink to do something or to the guest bed to get on it. Oh and he has moved it to get to my wall calendar so he could play with it! He did the same thing at my mom and dad's this past weekend. He needed to wash his hands and so he got their little stool and moved it into the kitchen sink but he was still too short. I have a feeling he will always be determined when he sets his mind to it!

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So Tired

2011-11-27T14:55:00.001-05:00

Every time we go to visit my family the kids play hard! They play hard with cousins and granddad and stay up later than normal. So when we get in the car to go home they are asleep in less than 5 min! But that is the sign of a great trip!

Long Time No See

2011-11-26T09:10:00.000-05:00

About a week ago we were able to see our friends Jackson and Sheryl and their three girls! We hadn't seen them in almost 3 years. It was right after Lorelai was born in Iowa and we only had two kids although I was pregnant with Jack at the time but didn't know it yet. When we first met Jackson and Sheryl it was just them no kids and we didn't have any kids. Bailey and Klaire were born 3 months apart, Ava and Jesse were born three months apart and then Lorelai and Jack are about 9 months apart. We both had our kids close together but I should mention although I had my first one first, she had her second and third before me! Superwoman! It was so fun to see and talk with them if even for a little while. Jesse and Jack were outnumbered by the girls but Jesse wanted to play with them so bad. And they let him much to his sisters dislike. It has been a good year because we have gotten to see several members of our overseas family! Starting with the Smith's, the Morgan's and one Lubinus! I hope more come to see us!

Klair (5), Bailey (5), Ava (4), Lorelai (2), Jack (2) and Jesse (4)

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8 years and counting!

2011-11-23T22:33:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. My love sent me two dozen roses! They were beautiful. And then we got all dressed up and went to a really nice Italian restaurant. It was fun to people watch while we were there! It was definitely a place that is more than eating. There were several tables that were seated before us and then ordered after us and just content to sit and talk. And the place had a certain "air" about it. I felt we stuck out like sore thumbs if you know what I mean. Anyway, it was a great night that Billy planned. So Happy Anniversary to us! Wouldn't want to be on this journey with anyone else!

see my flowers behind us?

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Light Garden

2011-11-22T09:48:00.000-05:00

I have said before that we are big fans of the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. This year they have a light garden and so we went to check it out. Looking at Christmas lights is always a favorite of ours to do during Christmas. So bring able to walk around and look at lights instead of driving was so fun! The kids practically ran through the garden to get to the next thing. They especially loved the little village with three trains and a trolley.

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an attempt at a picture in front of the poinsettia tree

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the kids dancing

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I loved the way they made this tree!

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And these poinsettia's were the prettiest pink. The picture does not do it justice

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My Little Pilgrim

2011-11-22T09:37:00.000-05:00

The kindergartners at Bailey's school had a little Thanksgiving program. It was really sweet. I think though that Bailey has stage fright. She just seemed real stiff and scared. But she was really cute!

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And if you didn't understand, Bailey says she is thankful for "Barbies"

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A Little Turkey and a Indian

2011-11-17T07:58:00.000-05:00

The boys had a Thanksgiving program at their school on Monday and each class dressed up as something different. Jack was a Turkey and Jesse was a Indian. I wouldn't really call it a program because they aren't performing but rather they just sing songs with the music minister from the church where the preschool is. He sang the same corny songs last year. So I guess I have 4 more years of listening to these same songs at Thanksgiving! But I'm thankful for my little Indian and Turkey!

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Jack and his boogers

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Pumpkin Bread French Toast

2011-11-12T09:31:00.001-05:00

I have made lots of pumpkin bread this fall. I mean lots and lot! I don't think a week has gone by since sometime in September that I haven't made at least one large loaf and several mini loaves in a week. And just so you know I haven't eaten it all! I give most of it away but Bailey and I haven eaten our fair share. Ok onto the French toast. I got an idea a few weeks to make French toast out of it and so today that's what I did! And as Jesse says "delicious!" I wasn't sure if I would like the syrup on it but it was really really good and gave the bread a whole new flavor. So if you like pumpkin bread and French toast give it a try! Delicious! I have to say it doesn't make a great picture. But it's taste not presentation for me this morning!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-08T15:48:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty sure I didn't post about this already so here it is. A classmate of Bailey, who also lives up the street from us had a birthday party at a pumpkin patch. The kids loved it cause they got to run around outside for an hour and a half. They also got a small hayride.

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This is not the pumpkin we took home with us. We (I) picked out a much smaller one! We learned our lesson the first time we came to this pumpkin patch a couple of years ago right before Jack was born. We got two fairly large pumpkins not thinking it would be that much cause at the grocery store you can get them for $5 or so. I think it cost us...well let's just say it was ridiculous! This one wasn't too bad and I paid slightly more than at the grocery store. They were not going to get me again!

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Before her crooked tooth came out...

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she chewed on some gum...

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Gone Fishing

2011-11-04T20:35:00.001-04:00

For Jesse's birthday he got a fishing pole and so did the other two. So tonight we went "fishing." Bailey and Jesse have a little fish weight on their poles and Jack doesn't even have fishing line on his! So we just pretend fish. Billy told Jack to throw it as in "cast it" and he threw it alright! Straight down toward the pond! Not once but twice! But we had a good time!

Thankful Basket

2011-11-04T18:21:00.001-04:00

This is our thankful basket. I started this a few years ago but haven't done it in a couple of years. So this year I decided it was time to start it again! When we sit down to supper we all go around and say one thing we are thankful for of course we have to help Jack a little bit. I'll say Jack are you thankful for _________ and he'll say "no" so I'll ask something else until I get a yes! We have lots to be thankful for!

Coloring

2011-11-04T18:14:00.001-04:00

Bailey left the crayons out and Jack found them. Can you tell what he was coloring on?!

Trouble!!

2011-11-01T18:04:00.001-04:00

Jesse hollered at us and said Jack has the water on upstairs. So Billy went up to look and this is what he found...

So I guess he doesn't need a bath tonight!

First post from my phone!

2011-11-01T08:45:00.001-04:00

This just a test. I wanted to see how it works. So maybe I can start posting on the go. Like that will ever happen when I'm toting three kids around. We shall see!

More Halloween

2011-10-31T21:09:00.000-04:00

This year we had Barbie, Batman and Scooby Doo! We also had a little Tinker Bell in our pack too.

A picture after they made their Jack-o-Lanterns. Granddaddy was down this weekend and helped them carve the pumpkins.

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Barbie, Batman, Scooby and a not so happy Tinkerbell!

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Billy's opening up the door yelling at us to quit taking pictures and go trick or treating!

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As soon as they got home they dumped all their loot out onto the floor!

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Scooby trying to get into his candy

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7 suckers that Jack opened took one or two licks and then said "done Momma!" He would have opened more if I had let him!

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Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T15:12:00.000-04:00

Well I'm am about Halloweened out! Just a few more hours till trick or treating but I am ready for bed. I won't tell you that I already took a nap this morning after getting Bailey off to school and then getting the boys to school. Ok anyway, it has been one long month of birthday parties (our boys and we've attended 3 others), three fall festivals, three Halloween parties, a grand opening and plus all the normal stuff we do every week. Makes me tired again just thinking about it.

Ok sorry, back to Halloween. This is just a little post about the kids Halloween parties at their schools. Jesse and Jack had theirs last week on the same day and same time. And I got roped into doing both parties which meant I was running between two rooms for one hour. Thankfully I had good people to help me plan the parties because these days you don't just bring a cupcake or cookie to a party at least not in preschool. They have to have chicken nuggets, fruit, cheese, chips and cookies or sweets. And then you have to have a craft or a game to go along with the party. Ok sorry I got sidetracked again. Thankfully Bailey's party was today so since I am a room mom I helped with her party as well. All parties were fun especially seeing the boys in their costumes. And Bailey was excited that her mom was at school.

The boys and their Halloween Parade. After Jack saw me he started crying. Poor little guy. And as you can see Jesse loved waving! And again sorry there is no sound but I did the video on my iphone and not sure how to get the sound onto the blog.

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Scooby eating his snack

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Batman had to take off his costume immediately but it is a good thing he had on his Batman shirt!

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This was Jesse's class dancing to "Ghostbusters" so just sing the song as you watch the video! You can see Jack dancing too.

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Bailey at her party

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Bailey's table

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Oh my sweet sweet toothless girl.

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Atlanta Botanical Garden in the Fall

2011-10-31T08:37:00.000-04:00

This weekend since my parents and sister were here we visited the botanical gardens again. All of us has been before in the spring and summer but we have never been in the fall. The big thing were scarecrows in the garden that individuals or business decorate and sponsored. Some were really cute like Scar E. Potter. The kids really like walking around looking at them. During the holidays they have a light garden so we are looking forward to going back and seeing all the lights. If you have never been to the botanical gardens I highly recommend if you live near by or are visiting us! We would love to take you!

cute picture of Bailey and Jesse

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cute picture of Jack

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We always take a picture here. It's tradition

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Bailey is getting taller!

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Jack riding the chicken

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I love this picture!

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Bailey riding the cow

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Jesse's Birthday

2011-10-31T08:26:00.000-04:00

For Jesse's birthday we didn't do anything big since we already had a party. Jesse had fish sticks as requested and the rest of us ate leftovers. I did make him a Lightning McQueen cake. I think it might be the last cake I make. It use to be fun but the fun has wore off. I quickly (and not very good) put the icing on. Thankfully in a 4yr. olds eyes it was a great cake! I couldn't get the black dark enough, it was more like gray, so I didn't put any icing on the chocolate tires. From a distance you couldn't tell. See what I mean about this is probably my last cake. Anyway, he had a great birthday celebrating with his nany, granddad and Aunt Kim.

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again trying to get a picture of all three kids

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Birthday Boy!

2011-10-28T23:04:00.000-04:00

4 years ago today this sweet little boy came into our world three weeks early! Happy Birthday Jesse!

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Two Birthday's One Party!

2011-10-24T21:33:00.000-04:00

This year we decided to have the boys a party together since their birthdays are only 9 days apart. Jesse wanted a Lightning McQueen party and Jack is really into Scooby so we had a Lightning McQueen meets Scooby Doo party. The boys had a great time with family and friends and our house showed it too! It was a wreck! I meant to take a picture but I forgot because I was so focused on getting it cleaned up tonight because I could not handle the mess anymore!

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Jack was so cute trying to blow those candles out!

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trying to get a picture of the birthday boys!

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More Birthday Boy

2011-10-20T09:26:00.000-04:00

Well I thought I would share a little more pictures from yesterday and just a little more about Jack...

Jack likes to play with trains, play with Scooby Doo, watch Scooby Doo, Mickey Mouse and Chuggington.
Jack knows his colors and likes to sing "Wheels on the Bus" and "If You're Happy and You Know It"
Jack loves to swing and play outside.
He graduated out of his high chair a few months ago but is still in his baby bed.
He has a temper like no other. He really knows how to pitch a fit! I tell Billy he is going to be a cusser (not that that is a good thing) because when he gets mad he will rant with a few words and then throws in "pootin" (his favorite word) - so it goes something like this "fuss, fuss, blah, blah, blah, POOTIN!" and then repeat a time or two. It is funny but not. Oh and he will sometimes throw in "mean momma/daddy" or "fight" when he gets really mad! And did I mention he might spit, kick or throw something. (I am not trying to make light of his temper we really are trying to work on it, thankfully he only does this at home!)
He loves to play fight with his daddy.
He calls Bailey "Honey" and Jesse "Bubba" it is really sweet.
He calls them Elmo kisses instead of Eskimo kisses.
And he is still a momma's boy! He still prefers his momma over his daddy but I'm sure this won't last much longer.
And he loves to do everything his brother and sister do or say. If they are playing something he has to play it. If they are "telling jokes" he tells a joke. If they are laughing he is laughing with them. Monkey see monkey do.

I'm sure there are a zillion other things I could share but these are some highlights of our little Jack!

Last night we celebrated his birthday with Michael, Holly and Aspen. We will have another party on Saturday to celebrate his birthday and Jesse's birthday, which is next week.

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As you can tell I missed him blowing out the candles so we had a "do over"

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Playing with Aspen. They loved that ballon!

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An attempt to get a picture of all three of my children

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attempt #2

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Happy Birthday Jack!

2011-10-19T21:37:00.000-04:00

Today Jack turned 2! Hard to believe two years ago I was induced at 39 weeks because of my gestational diabetes. I had to be at the hospital at 5am. And then for the first two hours all I did was fill out paper work and more paper work. Then finally about 8:30 the midwife checked me and I had dilated on my own to about 4 or 5 cm, then she broke my water and bam! the labor started! It didn't take anytime for the contractions to come on strong. I thought I could handle it for a while but maybe 20 min later I called the nurse and asked for my epidural. Thankfully it didn't take them long and it worked like a charm. I then slept one hour and the nurse checked me again at 10am and to my surprise had dilated to 10 cm! I was shocked because I thought for sure the epidural would slow it down but Jack was ready to get out of there! And after about 5min of pushing out he came. The easiest labor I ever had. That is the way to do it.

We love our little Jack. He is such a mess. You can definitely tell he is the baby. I can't wait to see how he grows over the next year! Happy Birthday Jack!

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Mustache Man, Batman and Rainbow Girl

2011-10-13T08:58:00.000-04:00

Last night a local car dearlership had a small fall festival so we met up with one of the guys that works with Billy and his family. There were free games and free food so you can't get much better than that! The kids loved having their face painted. Bailey just wanted a rainbow. So instead of just doing a traditional rainbow the lady did a really fancy one. Then Jesse wanted Batman cause he is really into him these days. And then Jack just wanted his face painted. He kept going to the mirror and giving himself a kiss. Then he would say, "off off." He looked pretty cute.

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We are still trying to get all the black from around his eyes! this morning it looks like he was wearing mascara.

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Lunch

2011-10-11T08:24:00.000-04:00

Bailey takes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch everyday. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree except I only had a peanut butter sandwich no jelly. Anyway, to make it a little more fun I will get out my cookie cutters and make different shapes. This day was a hand but I've done - hearts, pumpkins, letters, flowers, etc. you get the idea. I try not to let her see so it will be a surprise at school and then when she gets home she tells me what it was. It's fun.

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I have to tell you what my mom did for my school lunch. She would always take a bite out of my sandwich and not just mine but also my brother and sisters. Funny, right?! That was her trade mark. You knew who made it if there was a bite out of it. Makes me laugh just thinking about it.

So what things do you do in your kids lunch to keep it interesting and fun? I'm always looking for ideas!

Shooting a Moon!

2011-10-07T16:52:00.000-04:00

I'm sure it won't be his last moon to shoot! Jack sometimes likes to take his pants off (and this day his shirt too) and then for some reason he had to have his diaper off. It was funny watching him so I had to snap a picture of his little booty.

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Cuteness!

2011-10-07T16:49:00.000-04:00

This picture was so cute that I couldn't help but share it with everyone!

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Snaggle Tooth

2011-10-07T16:47:00.000-04:00

Bailey has lost another tooth. This time one on top. I think this was #4. The one next to it is loose to so before long both front teeth will be missing!

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Pool Time

2011-10-06T12:58:00.000-04:00

This was our last day in Louisiana so I just let the kids play in the pool ALL day! They loved it and even complained when they had to come inside. Actually, from 11:30-5ish Jesse and Bailey only came in one time each to use the bathroom and Jesse went once outside so he wouldn't have to come in! That's when being a boy comes in handy!

Lunch by the pool

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The next few pictures are Jesse being silly!

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The Swamp

2011-10-06T12:46:00.000-04:00

Ok I need to finish our trip to Louisiana! While we were there we took the kids on a swamp tour. Thankfully it was not that hot but the kids had to wear life jackets (and Jack's was a little big) making it a little hot for them and uncomfortable. But they loved seeing all the alligators and going really really fast in the boat. Jack had a semi-meltdown half way through due to no nap and being uncomfortable but thankfully a sweet lady gave him a blow pop and that solved the problem! Kept him quiet the rest of the ride! I need to remember this trick and buy me some blow pops to stick in my purse!

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See how long this gator was?!

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feeding the alligator

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the wind is a little loud but here we are going fast on the boat

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Insect Zoo

2011-10-01T10:31:00.000-04:00

While in LA we went to New Orleans, (one of my favorite cities) and visited the Insectarium, which is pretty much a zoo for insects. It was really cool. The kids loved seeing all the different bugs - big, small, some pretty, some not so pretty, colorful bugs and bland bugs. So if you are in NOLA I recommend it!

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these bugs don't look that big in the picture but they were huge!

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Inside the butterfly exhibit, daddy had a butterfly land on him. Jack wasn't too sure about it.

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these bugs were hot pink!

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Baby Alligators

2011-09-27T09:13:00.000-04:00

Last week while on fall break we went to Louisiana to visit family and friends. While visiting grandparents the kids got to hold baby alligators in the big town of Jennings. They loved it! The alligators do not bite. They are fed a soy formula and feed by a dropper until they are two. Feeding them soy ensures that they will not bite. After they turn two then they start feeding them chicken. Bailey and Jesse loved holding them. Jack didn't want anything to do with the alligators. He wouldn't even touch it. The alligators were named Bubba and Hampton. The alligators are rescue gators. Hampton got his name from the hotel. An owl dropped him in the parking lot of the Hampton hotel and someone brought him to the welcome center in Jennings.

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see Jack did not want to get close to it

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This was a big alligator at the restaurant we ate at that night. Jack didn't want to turn his back on the gator!

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Breakfast with Bailey

2011-09-20T22:36:00.000-04:00

Last week Bailey had a "grandfriends" breakfast at her school so her nany, granddadddy and KeKe came down so they could go with her. They also got to be the mystery readers in her class that day.

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Homemade Goldfish Crackers

2011-09-15T13:41:00.000-04:00

You all know that I love to read Pioneer Woman's blog. Last week she had post on making your own goldfish crackers. If you've lived in Turkey let me say goldfish "gibi" crackers. You could easy make them in the states or in Turkey. Billy thought I was crazy when I told him I was going to try it.

I did and it was so easy! And they were good. I have to say though they were better right out of the oven or shortly after. And if I make them again (which I will) I will make them thinner and cook them maybe a few more minutes. They weren't quite cracker crisp but they were delicious.

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The instructions say to use an aluminum can to make your goldfish cutter but it didn't work so well for me. I made the goldfish just fine but it was getting it out of the cutter that was the hard part. So I opted to use a small pumpkin and leaf cutter that I had for pie crusts - much much easier.

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So give it a try and let me know how it goes! Thanks again to Pioneer Woman!

Orange is our favorite color!

2011-09-15T13:21:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to show you a picture of the kids in their (our) favorite color! Don't they look great?! We dress in orange every Saturday. Even my husband wears orange. Go Vols!
for some reason Sara does not look that happy.

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there that's better, Sara

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Haunted House

2011-09-10T09:36:00.000-04:00

You might think this picture is from some sort of decoration from a haunted house but actually this is a cobweb from my house! In my defense it is in a window above the door so I never really look out of it nor can I reach it. I guess I need to get out the ladder. I promise the rest of my house is not like this!

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just so you understand how high it is and why I don't really clean up there but I'm thinking it might be time.

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Mommy Time

2011-09-03T22:23:00.000-04:00

With Bailey in school and the boys in preschool a few days a week I have a little time to myself. So far I have used it to grocery shop, shop for other things, have lunch at fun places, clean the house, do my DIY projects and go to places in the city I have never been to. And this past Wednesday was one of those days. I went with a friend to Marietta Square to try a cupcake place that I heard about from the one of the Cupcake Hunters. A friend of mine, Kim, in California, with three of her friends on are on the hunt for the perfect cupcake. And I am so glad they are because one of them was in GA the other week and went to Miss Mamie's Cupcakes.

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She said it was the best cupcake she had ever eaten! So I had to go and try them! So Karri and I dropped our kids off at preschool and away we went! I had never been to Marietta Square so I was excited to finally go. It is such a quaint little town square in the middle of a big city. And it has lots of little boutique shops and cafes. Before the cupcake shop we went to an Australian Cafe. We had some kind of spinach/feta pie. It was yummy.

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Then we just walked around. I almost felt like I was in another city because we parked and walked around the square a few times. People in America never walk. It was nice. Then we window shopped before we headed to get our cupcakes.

So the cupcakes...they were sooooo good! Amazing! The cupcake hunter was right. They had the perfect amount of cake/icing ratio. Not too much icing or not enough cake.

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Someone else I met had suggested the cheesecake cupcake. I was skeptical but it was so moist and tasted just like a cheesecake. I loved it. I also tried the red velvet because it's my favorite and it was spot on! Karri tried the banana pudding cupcake and it did not disappoint! I also took home the Guiness and a Reese's peanut butter cupcake both of which were delicious and the kids loved them as well.

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happy that momma brought home cupcakes!

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The shop was so cute. And one of the most amazing things is that the girl who owns and makes the cupcakes is only 24 yrs. old! Wow!

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So cupcake hunters I hope you come again my way! Maybe I'll have to go hunting for them! :)

Organizing!

2011-09-02T12:46:00.000-04:00

We have been in our house just a little over a year and there are several things that just needed more organization. One was the master closet. We had shelves but things were just stuck here and there or thrown up wherever and half of it was falling down. So one day I loaded up the kids and headed to The Container Store. I know a recipe for disaster taking three kids on a rainy day to any kind of store. But thankfully they were pretty well behaved and I was able to get what I needed. I love the way it turned out and don't get stressed out when I walk into my closet because of all the chaos. It is organized! Another reason I wanted to reorganize was to have a place for my undies in the closet. I got tired of walking into the bed room and then walking back into the closet to finished getting dressed. I know sounds lazy but that's just how I am. I also got an extra shoe rack so I didn't trip over my shoes every time I went in my closet.

I don't have a true before picture but this is an in between picture. It is sorta organized. Before I took this picture I threw away things and put them into totes but it was still not great. All that stuff in the totes was just laying of the shelves. Also all my purses/bags were just thrown up there but I decided to stick them all into one big bag. So it was better.

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But after thinking about it some more...here's what I did.

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and this...

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so until my next project!

A little DIY

2011-09-02T12:21:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I decided to do some DIY work in the bathroom. I would normally ask Billy to do this but being the type of girl I am - I didn't want to wait on someone else. I just did it myself. So this is what I did. In the kids bathroom they had two towel racks both of which were very high for kids. My kids could not reach them. And one we never even used. So I decided to take both of them down and put up a smaller one. Let me say I have never done anything like this before so I didn't tell Billy until I was already halfway through. :) I didn't think I was going to be able to get the screws out of the wall but after lots and lots pulling and googling how to do it, I finally got them out! Then I had to fill the holes, let them dry and then paint. My job is not perfect. I did learn a few things along the way incase I ever do something like this again. So the little imperfections are kind of like a battle scar. It's not all that pretty (but not that bad either) but I got the job done and I did it myself!

Before. There was a bar over the toilet just like this one but I didn't take a picture of it.

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it's gone!

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After

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After. I did need help with hanging the new towel holder. My sweet husband did it.

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My Calendar

2011-09-01T07:35:00.000-04:00

Last fall I was having trouble remembering everything I needed to do. It seemed I was always forgetting something. I forgot to take Bailey to ballet a couple of times or forgetting to send in snack or tuition for preschool and one time I forgot that I had scheduled a babysitter until she showed up at my door! Soooo...I had to do something. I did not want to be the mom that did not have it all together. Ok still don't have it together but I don't forget the day to day stuff anymore! I bought a calendar, that hangs in my kitchen, and I can change it out every month and put everything on it that our family is doing. It has been wonderful! Except for the time a kid came over and erased half my board! So now I try to put everything in my phone as well so that if it does get erased I have a back up. I don't know if my forgetfulness is due to old age or just the fact that I have 3 kids or my husband. Ok maybe all three!

out with August

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Hello September! and you will see above I have a board that I put pictures on and then notes or things I need to do in coming months

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Lazy Saturdays

2011-08-30T08:42:00.000-04:00

We normally have lazy Saturdays. This past one was no different. Here are Jack and Bailey watching cartoons. They were so cute sitting in daddy's big chair. Bailey had made a cozy comfy place complete with lots of pillows and of blankets! Jesse was sitting next to me on the couch while he watched cartoons.

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Sweet Caroline

2011-08-30T08:36:00.000-04:00

This past weekend we had a visit from Caroline and oh yeah, her parents. She is so sweet and easy going. All the kids loved "playing" with her.

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Jack giving Caroline some sugar

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Bling, Bling and More Bling!

2011-08-28T17:59:00.000-04:00

Any mother of a little girl knows that little girls love jewelry! Bailey is no exception. When she comes home from school I have her go to her room for an hour for just some quiet/rest time. The other day this is how she emerged from her room - all blinged up! She had 6 rings, 5 bracelets, 2 necklaces and I think 4 hair barretts. Only little girls. Gotta love it! Oh and I had to run somewhere, can't remember where, but I just let her wear every bit of her bling. You do learn to pick your battles. :)

Miss Bailey Bling

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Gymnastics

2011-08-28T17:42:00.000-04:00

Bailey decided this year that she did not want to take ballet and so she has moved on to gymnastics. When I think of gymnastics I always think of Mary Lou Retton. I guess I am showing my age because she rose to fame in the 1984 Olympics. I can remember wanting to be a gymnastic star after that. Of course didn't happen incase you were wondering.

So off we went to gymnastics. I was glad the only thing I had to buy was a leotard since we spent a few plus bucks on ballet. But trying to save a buck I thought maybe she could just wear her black leotard from ballet. It was ok but it showed her panties just a little so she opted to wear a pair of shorts over it after we had a tiny weeny little drama about it. :) So this week we will be going to Target to buy a new leotard.

It was was fun to watch her learn something new. She was really cute and did great for her first time. So proud of her. She loved every second of it and said she wanted to take more classes!

doing some exercises

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stretching

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trying to do a handstand

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Bailey's first cart wheel

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My Little Turk

2011-08-20T09:38:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week we had a couple of cool mornings. Not anything cold of course but not a hint of humidity with a slight bit of crisp. You know what I mean? Anyway, Jesse decided he needed a jacket one morning to walk Bailey to the bus stop. He had to have it. And then once we came inside he still had to wear it because he was cold. What a little Turk! So all morning he proceeded to wear his jacket. I know he was born in Turkey and spent the first seven weeks of his life there but come on. I guess that was all it took! And add that to the fact he really doesn't like ice cream because its too cold. Again, a little Turk.

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Table Manners

2011-08-17T07:57:00.000-04:00

Jack hasn't quite learned that sitting ON the table is not good manners. He frequently gets on top of the table when I am not looking. As cute as he is I still have to discipline him which is hard sometimes. and probably having him smile for the camera didn't help matters!

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Under the Bed

2011-08-16T11:18:00.000-04:00

Well it has been a while since I found Jesse sleeping in the bathroom or the hall but last week he did it again. This time as you can guess from the title it was under the bed. I noticed his door open during nap time and so I went to investigate. He wasn't in his bed so I went and took a quick look in Bailey's room and didn't see him. Then I went to my room, bathroom and closet but no Jesse. I was about to get a little panicked but I knew he had to be in the house. So I went back to his room and looked under the bed and sure enough there he was sleeping away. Funny boy! So I ran downstairs and grabbed my phone and snapped a picture and then just left him there because I wasn't sure how to get him out without waking him up. And sleeping on the floor didn't seem to bother him. So until next time I find him!

See the toy he was playing with on his belly before he fell asleep?

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Putt-Putt

2011-08-14T22:03:00.001-04:00

Any parent of young children knows the frustration of trying to plan and execute a fun outing. I have the tendency to build things up in my mind of how wonderful it will be. The kids will just be perfect, listen and do everything you say making wonderful memories for the scrap book or in our case the blog. And then quickly reality sets in! Five minutes after you get there you think "what was I thinking?!!" But then I have to remind myself to let my hair down and my expectations and just have fun with my kids! So that's what I did.

Last night we took the kids to play putt-putt. The kids loved it! All day today they asked if they could go play putt-putt. Even Jack kept saying, "putt-putt, putt-putt." So cute. Bailey picked it up pretty quickly. At first she would hit the ball and then if it didn't make it to the hole she would pick it up and start all over so we had to go over a few rules. It took Jesse a while to finally hold the club correctly and then Jack, well he was just all over the place and he wanted to throw his ball instead of hitting it with a club. He mostly would just go drop his ball in the whole. Again so cute. Oh and Jesse got a hole in one! So we will have to do this again but daddy may need to recover for a bit before we do!

Daddy giving Bailey a lesson

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Ok Jesse's turn to get his lesson but later on he preferred momma to help him :)

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Here's Jack showing us his stuff

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The video's aren't that great because I kept having to chase after Jack

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The club is as big as Jack is...they had a baby one but they couldn't find it or something

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Let this be a lesson to you

2011-08-12T15:14:00.000-04:00

Well if you can't get your money into your piggy bank then just rip it to shreds and stick it right in! Isn't this what everybody does? No? Really? Well my sweet daughter decided this was the best way to do it. As you can tell she did this to about 4 or 5 dollars. I never thought to tell her not to tear it into shreds. So let this be a lesson to you people with little kids!

I wasn't taping them back together so that I could use them I just wanted to see if I could do it. And I couldn't. I barely got one put together and it wasn't very good.

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Water Genie

2011-08-11T09:17:00.001-04:00

For the past several months I have been getting some kind of pitcher and filling it up umpteenth number of times to water the plants of the front porch. Well first let me say that I would fill my pitcher up in the kitchen go to the front porch water the plants then repeat about 4-5 times. This got really old. Then I found the water spicket outside right next to the front porch! Why I had never looked before I don't know. So then my job got a little easier and at least I didn't have to make several trips to the kitchen. Anyway, I ~~complanined~~ told my husband I was getting tired of this so on one of his trips to The Home Depot he got me this Water Genie! Perfect! You just hook it up to the water spicket and voila! you have water! It has a 40ft hose on the inside and a button for continuous water flow or you can control the water flow yourself. And it is only $9.97! Not too bad. Anyway, just had to share about something I was so excited about and makes my life much much easier thanks to my wonderful husband!

the water genie with my not so great looking flowers. The flowers look fine but the stems are really yellow. Can anyone help me out?

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my very thristy Vinca's

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once again the wonderful water genie!

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Jack's first day of preschool

2011-08-10T14:00:00.000-04:00

Well today was Jack's first day of preschool. He will go two half days a week while Jesse goes three half days. He didn't like me leaving him. He is something of a momma's boy sometimes but after he screamed a couple of times and cried and got his doggy he calmed down and I was able to sneak out. I was thankful for a morning to myself!

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One Long Week

2011-08-06T09:34:00.000-04:00

This was one long tiring week for a 5yr. old, who just started Kindergarten. Bailey loved school. She practically jumped out of bed the first three days when I woke her at 6:20am but day four was another story. All the getting up early, learning all about kindergarten, no nap in the afternoon days had caught up with her. She did not want to get up and go to school. This isn't pre-K anymore! Welcome to the real world! Oh wait that's the line for graduation. Might be a tad to early to use on a 5yr. old. Friday was a much better day not nearly as much drama in the morning. Thank goodness, because this little girl is packed with it!

So last night we headed to the pool so everyone could have some fun and since we didn't have to go anywhere in the morning we could "sleep in". I say sleep in lightly because with three kids, who wake up anywhere from 6am-8am there isn't much sleeping in. I prayed last night I would get to sleep till 8am but Jack must have prayed that he would only sleep till 7am cause that is when he woke me up screaming, "momma!!!!!momma!!!!MOMMA!!!!!" But I was thankful for 7! I guess Bailey caught up on her sleep cause she slept till 8.

Ok I digressed from my story last night, sorry. So we went to the pool. Then ate a late supper. After supper Bailey was so tired she just laid down on the couch and covered up with the blanket. She NEVER does that! My children usually only lay down when they are sick or very very tired. And Bailey was wore slap out. She even told me she was tired and ready to go to bed! While she was laying there her little brothers climbed up next to her and so I had to snap a few pictures. They were so cute! Anyway, this was a long week full of many firsts for Bailey as she started her school career!

she wasn't asleep here but she was just posing for the picture

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Jack "snoring"

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Baby Lizard

2011-08-04T07:35:00.000-04:00

I have said before that Bailey loves to catch lizards. I think she has some sort of lizard radar. She is constantly looking for them when we are outside. The other day was no exception. She found a baby lizard. This little guy was only about an inch long and she saw it! Really?! How in the world she saw this little guy I don't know. Jack even liked holding him. After she had held him for a while I told her to put him down I figured he had been traumatized enough and when she did Scrappy got a hold of him and tried to eat him. Then I'm sure he was really traumatized! We stopped him before he could eat him but I think he might have broke a leg and he tore part of his tail off. He was still living but I'm not sure for how long. Poor baby lizard.

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Wonderful World of Kindergarten!

2011-08-01T22:01:00.000-04:00

Well we have entered the wonderful world of kindergarten! Hard to believe our baby girl is old enough to enter school! But she is and was she ever ready! She wanted to ride the bus to and from school. She asked if I was going to follow behind and so I asked her if she wanted me to and she said no. She might be a little independent! She knew she was a big girl and could do it all herself! The only trouble she had today was getting up early. This girl does not get up early. When I woke her up it was still pretty dark outside and she said momma it's to dark to go to kindergarten! Yes I know dear but that's the way it is. And then her little brothers slept til 8am missing all the morning exitement. I was so thankful that I didn't have to take care of them while helping Bailey get ready for school! Thank you Lord! We are proud of our little girl and can't wait to see how much she grows and learns this year!

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Something New

2011-07-30T15:03:00.000-04:00

You may have noticed that the blog has changed a bit. I am trying some new things out so over the next few days or so it might change some more. Maybe, but right now a nap is calling me. So this will have to do. :) and let me know if you like it. If you don't like it well then just remember this "if you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all." Just kidding. If you have any advice or tips please share! I am new at this.

Flowers!

2011-07-29T11:23:00.000-04:00

You'll remember back in the spring we planted some flowers on our retaining wall. Well for a few weeks now we've had some blooms! We don't have a plethora of flowers blooming but we do have a few that are popping up. It is exciting to wake up and see at least one or two out my bedroom window. Here's a picture of a few we've had so far. One day (or eventually one year) I envision the wall being full of flowers!

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Cool, Bad or Lazy?

2011-07-26T15:25:00.000-04:00

Every Sunday night I let my kids have whatever they want for supper. Usually it is popcorn with M&M's. It sounds terrible and I can't believe myself that I would let my kids eat only junk for supper but I do. So I am trying to decide if it's because I'm a cool mom, who normally stays within the rules but can let her hair down every now and then. OR if I'm a bad mom - what REAL mom would let her kids eat junk (popcorn, cheetos, m&m's, Oreos, etc. you get the idea) for supper every week! OR if I'm just lazy - I don't want to fix anything and they normally complain about what I do fix so who cares let them just eat what they want. I'm leaning more toward just plain lazy. For now we are going to just stick with it. They are all still living and seem to be doing ok. So being a little lazy on Sunday will just have to do. (I won't tell you that it might or might not happen at other times during the week too!)

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Sweet Dreams

2011-07-26T15:16:00.000-04:00

I just love to watch my kids sleep. When I saw him with his hands behind his head all sprawled out, I just had to take his picture. So so sweet.

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Beach - Last Day

2011-07-23T20:18:00.000-04:00

Well yesterday was our last day at the beach. We spent the morning at the beach again and then headed home for lunch. Since it was the last day, I decided that Jesse could stay up and do whatever me and Bailey decided to do. So we decided to take a bike ride and we rode for 30 min or so but it was too hot. So we headed to the pool! Then we got ready and headed out for our last fresh seafood meal. We decided to eat at "The Salty Dog Cafe" which is always good but very very crowded. We got there at 5:30 and the wait was already an hour and a half but by the time we were seated it was a 2 1/2 wait! We did wait but the kids waited in the car watching a movie for a while so we had less complaining and whining.

Bailey had been lizard hunting all week and she finally caught one! She was so happy. You just don't know how happy she is when she catches a lizard or a frog!

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Bailey pitching a fit because Jesse kept messing up her stuff

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just like yesterday...carrying the water back to the hole they dug, over and over again!

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now Jack pitching a fit

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more water

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here's their hole but as you can see no water but just didn't care he must have played for 30 min. with those boats in that sand

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finally a little bit of water!

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this boy in the picture dug them a bigger hole and put water in it for them for their boats. He was sweet. and Jesse was so excited!

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see Jack with his hat pulled down. He has to look straight up to see anything! and he is saying "cheese!" by the way

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and this is how Jack looked at the end of the day. Sand in every crack and crevice on his little body. Part of going to the beach, I guess.

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they were so tired, Bailey and Jack fell asleep as soon as we got in the car

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Jesse had to watch Scooby first but later took a nap

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and this is what Jack did the last 30 min home. He might have been a little bored.

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Beach Day 5

2011-07-21T22:48:00.000-04:00

Well today was more of the same - beach, pool, naps. Not surprised, right? This has been a wonderful vacation and it is sad we only have one more day left.

This girl loves the waves

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Jesse pouting
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Jesse pouting again

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Jack loves his hat pulled down really low and when you try to fix it he fusses at you and pulls it back down!

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And again pouting!

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Bailey and Jesse must have 50 trips filling up this bucket with water. For some reason this entertained them for a really long time!

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This was at the top of the lighthouse. Billy was not looking forward to the walk up because it was really really hot. And he was right. Even Jesse commented on how hot it was. So next year we won't be going to the top of the lighthouse.

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Not the mother-son picture I had hoped for...

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Jesse wanted his picture taken in front of the boat

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Bailey was feeding Jesse and Jack ice cream. This was a big deal because it's the first time Jesse has liked ice cream!

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such a little ham

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