We went to this place called 321 Bounce for a birthday party a few weeks ago. The punks had soooo much fun! How can you not have fun with a huge warehouse filled with bouncy houses and slides. Well I take that back.....I didn't have the time of my life because I actually got nauseous when I tried jumping with Kaden. I can not believe how incredibly stupid getting older can get.

I was really impressed with Kadens ability and perseverance that day. He was determined to keep up with the big kids.

My little pink camera can only handle the action shots to a certain extent.

My cousin helping Kaden get a slam dunk

Kyler was the jousting champion of the
day

You may not be able to tell but Hanna Montana had exploded all over the place. It was every 8 yr old girls dream! Kyler NOT being an 8yr old girl was not impressed. (But he was a good sport as usual)

Distraction

Its Friday night

Husband is working

I have tons of laundry to do

Kids need to be fed

Floors need to be swept and vacuumed

But what have I been doing instead????? I discovered a neat thing called Picnik! I can play with my photos and do all sorts of things to them. Here is a little of what I've been doing today instead of my chores...........








I could keep going forever. My whole way of thinking as now been changed. Like I really needed something else to distract me!
(Oh and I added more pictures to my slide show if anyone cares)

What I Love and What I Hate Wednesday


Its Wednesday already?? Time seems to run together sometimes especially if you don't have a normal schedule like everyone else in the world. (Or at least it seems that way) Today I actually was having a hard time coming up with things I love but I could come up with plenty of things I hate. Whats up with that? Sounds like someones attitude needs to be adjusted. We won't say who though.

What I Love...

I have decided that I Love the changing of the seasons. I heard that Monday was the first day of Fall and even though our Summers here usually tend to be pretty crappy, I think I am ready for Fall. It always happens to me at the end of each season. Right when I start to get tired of it, a new one comes around the corner with different qualitys about it that I like. Fall brings beautiful colors (that I wish stuck around longer) and fun new things to do like going to the pupkin patch. Since I live in an agricultural community, there are a TON of farms and patches to choose from with lots of stuff to do. It also means more cozy times in the evening snuggled with a blankie and a good book!

What I Hate.......

You want to know one reason why I Hate to see summer go???


That baby is easily over a pound by now. She is a prize heirloom tomato! One I have slaved over all summer. And by "slaved over" I mean planted, watered and worried about. She's meant to turn a beautiful marbled burgundy color and I can't bear the thought of her freezing on the vine. Boo Hoo. I had such high hopes for my tomatoes this year. I mean just look at the size of my plants

That middle plant is freaking huge! Its bigger then me! So much potential...down the drain. Here is what I have reaped from all my hard work....

It pretty big but still...its only one. ONE TOMATO FOLKS! Double Boo! But to their credit my cherry tomatoes have been coming in pretty good but you can only do so much with those little things

Our Very Own Mystery

This morning when I opened my garage so Kaden and I could go walking I discovered this............


I have no idea where this came from. I called Todd to see if he knew anything about it. He is also clueless. I pulled it out to take a picture of it but it was sitting amongst the bikes and lawnmower. As you can see it has a free sign on it. So maybe its from the Glen Eagle garage sales, but that was the weekend of the 12-14th. It could be something that Kyler got on his travels through the sales but ...its big and heavy. There is no way he could have drug that that thing home by himself. And if he somehow did get it home then why was nothing said. And since Todd has mowed the lawn since then I just can't see that as a possability. I tell ya this is very strange! Its going to be bugging me till 4pm when Kyler gets home so I can ask him if he knows anything about it.

But otherwise.....Look! I have a new piece of exercise equipment!

The Countdown!

The time right now is 4:13 pm.

In 3 hrs 47 min and 20 seconds, Todd and I will be sitting down in front of the tv for 3 hrs. All the doors will be locked. The phones will be shut off. The blinds will be closed and the kids will me muffled and locked in their rooms.

Why am I going to such drastic measure???

Heroes Season Premiere!!!!

Update: Its now 3 hrs 44 mins and 34 seconds..................and counting!

Good Fortune

Remember when I said I had that burr in my side? Well last night my mom came over and removed that burr for me and now I have a nice smiley face band-aid in its place. And how was that burr removed??????


My mother lovingly placed this book in my trembling hands last night. Yes, you guessed right....Its the book that I have been waiting for. The book that I thought I would have to wait months to read. Come to find out that she is also a fan. And she is the kind of the person who will just go and buy the freaking book! Buy a book? I KNOW!.......The very thought just blows my mind! So her deep pockets are sometimes my good fortune. And you know what else...she is letting me read it first! I know...the story just keeps getting better. So if you'll excuse me, I have a fantasy to dive into.

Oh and mom?...if your listening??? I will be expecting the third book in the next day or 2 so.....better get on it!

Its a New Day!

Today is a new day! And I needed one after such a sob story yesterday. Good Heavens to Betsy! Well, I finally updated my verse of the day. Have you read it? No? Well its over on my sidebar. Go ahead... I'll wait for you to read it. Did you read it? Isn't it good? Do you think it might apply to me just a tiny a bit? Coincidence?

I think not!!

Isn't it great after sobbing and sniffling over not hearing God ,that he speaks to me there...right in front of my face!! And what are we talking about anyways??????????????

Jealousy!

What? You haven't heard that I have a HUGE problem with that? Oh well.....now you do. Yes, I have a problem with jealousy. Been struggling with it since..well I can't even remember how long. After every miss hap in my life I moan and groan about how" life isn't fair" , "why can't our situation be like theirs" and "Things are so easy for them and always so hard for us". Waa Waa I know! Especially since I really do have so much to be thankful for but still, I struggle. Here are common things that I get jealous about......

* Others making more money then us

* Todds co-workers selling more cars then he does (even though Todd is more honest then they are...don't even get me started on that one!)

*People that are able to have a job AND bring their kids with...how ideal is that!

*Others that are able to lose their baby weight just like that!

*not having a more outgoing personality

*people that get to travel all the time

*things that just seem to fall into peoples laps...but never ours.

*struggling so hard to get pregnant

Doesn't it seem like it always comes down to money?? Like the devotional says..my inner peace is being robbed. I need to say yes to contentment in every area of my life. This can be a very crippling thing to have in your life. But I am happy that I have acknowledged it and recognized it. Its easier to work on things when you can admit to the problem.

So today is a new day and I will CHOOSE to be content with our lifes and what God has blessed us with. And I will CHOOSE to have a joyfull spirit in the midst's of my struggles!

There is this song that I really like and it always brings tears to my eyes because its something I need to remember on a daily basis ! I know its long but, I think its worth it!

I was sure by now,God, that You would have reached down

and wiped our tears away, stepped in and saved the day.

But once again, I say amen

and it's still raining

as the thunder rolls I barely hear You whisper through the rain,

"I'm with you"

and as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives and takes away.

Chorus: And I'll praise you in this storm

and I will lift my hands

for You are who You are no matter where I am

and every tear I've cried

You hold in your hand

You never left my side

and though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind

You heard my cry to You

and raised me up again

my strength is almost gone how can I carry on

if I can't find You

and as the thunder rolls

I barely hear You whisper through the rain

"I'm with you"

and as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise

the God who gives and takes away

Chorus

I lift my eyes onto the hills

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

I lift my eyes onto the hills where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

Well I think I'll wipe my tears now and go make dinner

Thanks for listening to me!

Ready For A Do Over

Ever had one of those day where you just either want it to end or want to go back about 2 weeks and do over? Well...welcome to my day! I made a huge mistake. Or rather a ton of little mistakes in our bank account and now its truly and royally messed up! And I don't blame anyone but myself. My husband tells me not to be hard on myself and he is a great guy for saying that and putting up with me, but come on...I am in charge of the money! I am the one who pays the bills, I am the one to say if we have money for this and that, I am the one who has access to our account. Todd works his butt off for us and so its my job and responsability to be organized and keep track of everything. So therefore I am the one to blame! I am only writing about this for my benefit. I am not looking for sympathy or pity parties. Sometimes it helps to just lay it all out to dry. I know that their isn't really anything I can do but move on from here and learn from my mistakes. Learn to be even more aware then I already was.

As I was laying on my bed today with a tear full heart I told God that I am over-whelmed. I know I can't do this alone and I really want to lay it at his feet. At times I am thinking I have done that but most of the time...I don't know. How do you 100% but your troubles at his feet? I have been struggling at this for a long time. I would think that if I have 100% done that then I wouldn't have these doubts. Is the heavy, guilty feeling I have almost everyday about not working, him telling me that I need to do something about that? I hate that I am making this more complicated then it needs to be. I know in my heart that God hears me and he is very uncomplicated. And that any barrier in our relationship is totally my fault. Just sometimes I wish I my ears can hear him better. As I look back into history, God has always taken care of us and I try to remind myself of that everyday. For some reason we just keep repeating history here!

Don't you hate it when you are trying to hide in your room so your kids can't see your tears and your 2 yr old comes in and says "what pappen ma?" Oh it just breaks my heart to even think about it. I hope my kids never know the struggles we have had. I hope that we can get our act together so our kids will only have great memories of there childhood. I hope that our kids will be able to hear God easier then I can.

Mama needs a do over!!!!!!!!!

Its Gone!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just look at this very boring background! Gone is my "leaves on the grass "template. Stupid me was messing with things I shouldn't have and now....its gone! And I am having trouble getting it back. I keep running into errors and crap. So until I can fix it (or have Todd help me) We are stuck with this!

This Book!

I finished it! (It seems like in a matter of minutes) Why do I like it? I can't really tell you. Its a simple read but I like how she didn't portray the vampires as blood sucking monsters. It made it more enjoyable to read. But you wanna know what makes me mad? What has put a burr in my side?

I am #268 on the holds list at the library for the next book!

AAAAHHHHHHH!

Look what I discovered in the grocery store today.....

I love being sneaky behind the kids back!

MWAHAHAHA MWAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

Oh excuse me, I lost control for a second

All around the house

I found this idea while I was out surfing other blogs. I don't remember were I found it but I thought it would be interesting to do.
The premise is this, take a picture of these 10 household items but there is no primping or staging allowed. The pictures of the items are to be taken as they are at that moment.

So here we go.....

The Fridge

I hate our fridge. Its too small and is somewhat falling apart. Someday the fridge fairy will grace us with her presence.

The Closet

This is somewhat of a catch all closet. Its been on my to-do list for at least 2 yrs

The Kitchen Sink

This could have been worse. Luckily the dishwasher is "dirty" cuz if it was "clean" then the dishes would be piled up while I waited for Kyler to unload it for me. oh how he hates doing that!

The Toilet

This is our toilet. Nothing to exciting.....its a toilet! I do hate the seat though. I have been wanting to replace it for a long time but keep forgetting.

This is Kylers toilet. This also needs to be replaced but I again keep forgetting. I only think about it when Teresa comes over cuz she HATES this toilet! Oh and if you look real close you can see what boys do best....miss their target.

Favorite Shoes

These shoes have been hanging around for a long time. I think they are super cute. But if you look closely you will see an inch of dust on them. Why? Because for one, I never go anywhere. And two, look at the heels! These are so uncomfortable. So what do I usually wear?....
I would always rather be barefoot! (Please ignore the chipped nail polish and much needed pedicure. Like I said this stuff isn't staged!)

What are the kids doing right now?
Kaden is refusing to eat the yogurt that he specifically asked for.

Kyler is doing his typical after school activity.


Favorite Room
I guess I would have to pick my kitchen because thats where I spend alot of time. I like that's its open and has alot of counter space.

Laundry Pile

My poor family has been waiting for me to fold this for about a week. And remember it has to stay up high so the cats don't pee on it.

Self Portrait
This picture was taken when Todd and I were dating. It was for a fashion photo assignment done by one of Todds college friends. (and yes it looks like I am scowling but the sun was really really bright in my eyes) This reminds of the days before kids, before bills and a time when I was a size 5!

My favorite thing in the house

I think I will pick my glass cat collection. I get one every year for Christmas. Sadly there are a few missing because of my darn cats! They like to break stuff. They are worse then kids sometimes.

So there you have it. Hopefully you learned a little something about me! Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go clean my closet or something...........

Looking at this picture you might think a number of things.

* Andrea has a problem with small rodents in the yard
* Terrorists are invading our property
* We are short on food so therefore we must get ourselves a nice deer

But no...none of those things are the right answer. This is what happens when you are the only girl around. When you have all boys in the house.
My days are not filled with barbies, tea parties, the color pink, flowers or dress-up.

No its a life of....

*bugs
*video games
*GI Joe
*Boogers on the wall
*dragons
*cars and trains
*all things stinky
*legos
*dirty faces and dirty feet
*and things like this.....


Shooting cans in the backyard!

What has my life come to? Where are the dolls? Where is the miniature kitchen with all the little pots and pans? Where is the nail polish and hair bows? What about Strawberry Shortcake or Rainbow Brite?

Well I guess if you can't beat 'em..............

Join 'em!

Free Day

Last Saturday was Customer Appreciation Day over at Todds work. I decided to go since I was a customer and felt I deserved a little appreciation! It was a rare beautiful day and it gave us something to do that was free. A huge bouncy house was brought in and the kids (And I mean ALL my kids) had fun bouncing there little hearts out.
Free bbq'd lunch

If you get a hole-in-one the first time, you get to visit the money tank




Kyler and I visited the money tank, but didn't get to keep the money because we were related to a worker. But they still made us do it "just to see how much we could get." I know....totally unfair and not making me feel very appreciated!

Oh and here's what happens when you spend more time at work then you do at home...

Things get a little friendly among the coworkers!

What I love and What I hate Wednesday

What I love..

Sometimes its hard to think of just one thing that I love. But after a rough couple of days with Kaden I thought I would remind myself of this...

I love baby bumps even at 2 yrs old!

What I hate...

My husband is a hard worker. His job can be stressful and the hours can be hell (he worked 244 hours last month) I hate that as hard has he works for us....its still not quite enough. I hate that the economy is effecting us big time and there is nothing we can do about it. I hate the realization that our credit is on the verge of being completly tanked. I hate the gulity feeling of not having a job even though I don't see how I can possibly manage one unless I work nights. I hate that you have to hear my woe is me story this morning!

What do you love? What do you hate?

Egg-in-a-hole

Sometimes it's the simplest things that taste the best! I learned this recipe a few months ago. It defines comfort food and are painfully easy to make. Now usually I don't like to eat breakfast but this morning I felt like having this and now I feel like sharing it with you.
So lets get started....

To begin, grab a slice of bread. Whatever your family prefers is fine. We personally like this nice loaf of Oroweat oatnut.

Next, grab something to cut a hole in the middle of the bread. Preferably a biscuit cutter but since I don't have anything as fancy as that I settled for the rim of a cup.

Heat your skillet over medium-low heat. You don't want to get it too hot or it'll burn the bread before your egg is done. This is the only tricky thing about making these and I still worry that I won't get it right. Next melt a healthy TB of butter. This another important thing about making egg-in-a-holes. You must not be afraid of the butter!

Let it melt all the way...
Then plop the bread right in.
Make sure there's plenty of butter underneath and carefully crack an egg into the hole. Don't move the bread for at least 30 seconds.
When the white looks about 1/2 way done, sprinkle with salt and pepper and carefully flip over without breaking the yolk. Salt and pepper the other side and move the bread around the skillet to soak up all the butter. Now the key is to know when the whites are done and the yolk is still soft. Just make sure the yolk feels soft to the touch, not to jiggly. Jiggly is not good! (in sooo many ways)
Ahh now just take a look at that. Perfection at its finest! Golden brown toast..white (not brown/burned) whites and soft unbroken yolk. (Now here is my side-note..I have only done this in a cast iron skillet. If you don't have one (I pity you) then I am sure it will turn out fine but might look a little different)
MMMM come to mama! Now what you don't see is me slathering it in ketchup because well...I like ketchup on my eggs! But I know thats not a common preference so I wanted to be nice and not ruin it for you. But if you also like ketchup on your eggs.....we can be best friends!