so fun!

I got this great idea from The Pioneer Womans website! This is too fun- please try it.. please please please!!

to you...

"There is one friend in the life of each of us who seems not a separate person, however dear and beloved, but an expansion, an interpretation, of one's self, the very meaning of one's soul." - Edith Wharton

"apple princess" chapter 2

Yesterday I took my kids on a road trip to Ellijay Georgia to pick apples, hang out, eat something local and antique shop.

The older kids were less than thrilled when we headed out for the long trip ahead and were hooked to their I-pods, game boys, PSP’s etc. so I enjoyed the silence for about an hour and then mayhem broke loose in the car!

Kid4 was throwing up! She threw up all over her car seat, her cute Halloween clothes and some of the seat. Luckily she threw up near a Carters outlet so we pulled and re-outfitted her in the adorable outfit above. I think we hurried out before she finished breakfast and the vitamins must have grabbed a hold of her tummy and revolted. Anyway Kid2 and I cleaned her all up, got her dressed in her new clothes and off we went. (She said she was fine and she was no longer green so we believed her) She did not throw up again.

Anyway as we headed north to the beautiful mountains of Georgia we all settled in to talking and having a nice time, the electronic devices were put down (ran out of batteries) and we all enjoyed good conversation and stories.

I have to say that I like my kids. Sometimes I think parents get discouraged by teen’s negative attitudes and their unwillingness to enjoy outings. My kids are use to my get in the car and go personality and I wouldn’t change a thing. Buckling the kids in the car and having them held hostage is the best time to talk about important things, laugh or just enjoy each other.

We had a great time! Ellijay is beautiful and the kids are begging to go back again today. With gas prices we are going to skip it but maybe next weekend?! If you find yourself in the mountains of Georgia go to Ellijay, it’s breathtaking. If you find yourself in the car with teens, give them a minute and then enjoy their stories and the time you have. The time we are given with our kids is so short- cherish it.

-oh yeah I bought about 100 lbs of apples, a giant bag of sweet potatoes, a giant bag of sweet onions and lots of apple cider! I am making homemade applesauce, apple pies and apple butter!

"apple princess" chapter 1

This morning I am taking my kids on a road trip to north georgia to an apple picking orchard. While I was getting Kid4 dressed she handed me a "fairy wand" and I tapped her on the head and said- "I deem you fairy princess of apple picking". She then turned to me sweetly, curtsied and tapped me on the head and said- "Ma-ma I DAM you fairy princess of apple picking too". I skipped the curtsy and the laugh and thanked her for "Dam-ing" me, like I needed that today with 2 teens and a preteen in the car all day!

**This is her last year picking apples

once upon a time....

On a beautiful day a long long time ago I worked and worked and looked forward to the end result.

The end result was this beautiful little boy. He is 12 now and I still think he is beautiful.

I found this sweet little picture of my littlest fellow and fell in love with him all over again.

Kid3 you are the sweetest little person I have ever met. You are patient with your friends, kind when others are not and smile even when you don’t want too. You are so smart, I am always proud of you and your grades. I love how when you get a B you feel like you need to work harder. You have a great sense of pride in yourself that is so rare. Every morning your face is smiling when you hop out of bed and I am always thrilled to see you. Your hands have always been so thick and strong, I love to see them wrapped around your handle bars riding your bike and laughing. I love your silly huge laugh, I love you Kid3. You amaze me every day. I don’t know how I got to be the lucky one to have you but I am so thankful that I am.

*picture 1 is me working hard
*picture 2 is the beautiful end result my kid3

Whittling, microscopes, feelings and this crazy lady...

Do you ever have something on your mind and you just whittle and whittle away at it? As you whittle you hope and pray that it will just go away but sometimes it seems like the more you whittle the bigger it becomes? I’m a mind whittler- I think and think and think about things until they are gone or dealt with. There are always those things that you whittle and work on and process and turn over and over and they just won’t go away. What do you do with those things?

Mr. B. always says that men compartmentalize things and women have one main file they like to store everything in. Although I tend to agree with that for the most part, I’m not sure about it 100% of the time. I think my mind is more like scientific slides. I was at the children’s museum with Kid4 Thursday and as we looked through the big microscopes at slide after slide I began to think that my brain was like that. It’s like having hundreds and hundreds of slides stacked all together. You can see through every one of them but you can’t always see just one. My thoughts are “compartmentalized” they are just in transparent files so to speak.

I don’t hide my feelings well. I don’t think I ever have- you’d have to ask Steph if I was a feelings hider in high school? I know I’m not now- that’s for sure. So, if I’m disappointed in someone or something I am just simply disappointed and don’t hide it. If I’m sad, I’m just sad and don’t hide it. I couldn’t hide my feelings if I tried, so if I’m feeling something I usually just avoid everyone because I don’t think it’s someone else’s responsibility to have to deal with my inability to not hide my feelings. Does that make sense?

I always hope I don’t come across like the lady (I use the term “Lady” loosely) in this picture above. She had absolutely no ability to hide her feelings whatsoever on the show wife swap. I really worry that my inability to hide my own feelings makes me come across a little nutty sometimes.

Yes! I have watched the show…. Yes I know it’s a waste of time…. Yes I am embarrassed about it… yes! I have watched it more than once…. NO! I don’t want to talk about it!

So, is it better to be able to hide your feelings away in a file and trap them in your head or let them all hang out and risk being practically transparent? This is the question of the day and probably the year!

hiding from the light...

Do you ever wish you could throw some sun glasses on, close your eyes and sleep for weeks and weeks? Does life ever exhaust you that much? It does me!

a cookin' kind of a day

I cooked and cooked all day long! I seriously started at 9:30am and ended at 6:30pm. I made two lasagna's one frozen and one for tonights dinner. I made chicken spaghetti without the noodles and froze it, enough for two nights. I made home made applesauce for three nights and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. My feet are killing me, my freezer is over flowing and I am going to sleep like a baby.... well someone else's baby- mine never slept!

strange but true

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgtfC5LBAW4

This is truly how I feel often... it may be a stain- big strange hair- a hair hanging from someone's clothes- a booger- an eye twitch- something in someones teeth.

If there is something "not quite right" about someone, I swear I hear the same thing this man is hearing. When I saw this commercial I shouted out- "Thats how I feel everyday"

strange but true.

I *hate* sleepovers but I love these little girls...

Im sorry, I truly am! I honestly hate sleep overs! It doesn't matter what I say- they ARE going to be loud. I hate to complain about my kids laughing loudly- doesn't that seem crazy? I just want to tape all mouths shut when they come in the door. I know I'm mean, I'm the sleep over Nazi, the queen of mean.... At least Im letting them do a sleep over and I'm not saying a word- YET!

**note to self- wear ear plugs!