Not Much Happenin' Here

Last night we shopped around a couple different stores--including Target, yum! We found Psych Season 2 on a ridiculous sale (I bought Season 1 for around $50 and we bought Season 2 for under $14). We came home and had a surprise dinner of.......can you guess.......yes! Turkey! Then the boys went to bed and we watched a few episodes.

Today is a lazy day. We haven't had one of these in....well, I don't remember the last time we had one of these! We've watched another episode or two of Psych and played with the boys. Now we're all about to go get cleaned up and ready for something today. Not sure what, but we'll think of something! It's a cozy day and it's a blessing to be spending it doing nothing but spending time with my favorite boys!

Happy Saturday to All!

Favors?! YES!! Favors!!

And here they are:

(I forgot to take pictures beforehand, so the photo is courtesy of people leaving their gift bag behind...*sniffles*) I made a candle for each of them (when I say "made a candle" I mean that I bought a candle and decorated it with some ribbon and other niceties), tied together some cinnamon sticks, some cocoa, and some delicious chocolates. Just reminders of the cozy season to come.

I also made these two centerpieces. Each costing a total of.....are you ready.....$2.30. Yeah! I love me a good, cute deal! I got the vases and rocks at the Dollar Tree, and then all the foliage was from Walmart and each set was $.10.

Yesterday's guests included Rich's mom, his dad and Becca, Nathen, Sherah and Ryker, Patrick and Jackie (first Thanksgiving giving as an "official" part of the family!), Sean, Alyssa and Rylynn (Pat and Jackie's friends), and us! It was a lot of fun.

We also drew names for Christmas gifts. It was funny because we couldn't decide how to draw each other (i.e., couples, families, or individuals), and someone piped in and said they wanted their own gift, not a couple or group gift for their family. That solved the debate, and we drew individuals! The funny part is, each couple drew another couple! But I want you to know, Sherah, that I will get you your own gift......promise!!! :) It will be fun!

So, in closing, here's some pics from yesterday. Sorry there aren't more....I was a little busy, you know?!

So how was your Thanksgiving?

That Good Holiday Feeling

It's just one of those holiday days that you hope for! I'm baking and cooking and preparing for tomorrow. I'm so blessed to host Thanksgiving for Rich's family this year--I'm really excited! The weather outside is cold and rainy. That's perfect weather for your house to smell like pumpkin pie!

Well, I need to go prepare some more--a hostess' job is never done! I have favors to finish and a turkey to stuff. He's H-U-G-E! I'm going to have to beat the sun up tomorrow to get that bad boy finished in time! But oh....the stuffing....gravy....my mouth is watering and stomach growling! I suppose I should consider dinner this evening.

May you all have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving, and may we all NOT look like this tomorrow night:

A Kung Fu-E Day

Kung Fu Panda, how I love thee. Let me count the ways:

1. ummmm *crickets* uhhhh......Oh yeah. I love all the wonderful things you teach my impressionable toddler. Things such as telling his uncle "You're just a big fat panda". Or, how about when he grabbed his brother and shook him saying "Give me my dragon scroll". Good times.

I really do like that movie. It has a lot of funny stuff in it and it helps me out sometimes when I need to do something uninterrupted style.

That pretty much sums up our last coupla days. That, and these:

This little face came in to greet me in the office. I know what you're thinking--the same thing I was--aww, he's finished with his snack of apples and peanut butter and he's coming to tell me that he needs to clean up. We're both wrong....mostly. He did finish his apple snack, along with all of this:

Let me tell you that child bounced off of the walls forever! Have you ever tried to make a kid all hyped up on sugar eat his HEALTHY dinner? Not so fun, is it?!

This is just so stinking cute, I thought I'd include it. He made his turkey hat at preschool today and wears it proudly all-the-time! It bother Rich, though, that the turkey's smile is upside-down. Apparently, Rusten likes grumpy turkeys. You know what they say, birds of a feather....

Menu Plan Monday

Well, last week was a bit of a failure for me. I forgot I had done this, then other things came up. In a nutshell, I pretty much did NONE of my meals last week. So, in light of that, this weeks menu looks an awful lot like last weeks. Sorry!

Monday: Lasagna

Tuesday: Green Chili (see last time for recipe link)

Wednesday: Chicken Nuggets (homemade: chunk your chicken and roll in a breadcrumb/frosted flake combo)

Thursday: Duh! Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans and a pumpkin pie

Friday: LOTS of leftovers

Saturday: Turkey Soup (Aunt Barbara's recipe)

Sunday: Maybe some clam chowder? We'll see.

Ummm....Hi

Sorry for the strange disappearance. We had a busy couple of days, I guess.

Friday I had a doctors appointment and then went shopping for Thanksgiving. That evening I didn't feel real well because I had taken the flu shot at my appointment. Saturday I was fine though.

Saturday we had errands to run and then we spent the afternoon just cleaning up around here for our prayer group here that night. Heart for the Harvest was awesome on Saturday night. Only Dennis and Susan showed up, but so did God!! It was neat.

Sunday we had church and then youth and then our landlord came by to pickup a fridge. Then my parents came over and we bbq'd some burgers. It was nice and relaxing--except we were racing the '24' clock! My dad HAD to be home by 8 to watch 24!

Today is back to routine and normal......ahhh. My brother is with us today and maybe tomorrow because he's out of school for the week. I always enjoy having him around!

Have a great Monday!

I'LL Tell You Why...

...my house smells like pickles and my kids are eating toes and pants!

It all started with this:

I was preparing lunch and the boys found a Pampered Chef gadget and decided to play with it and ultimately break it. As I was looking to see if it was truly broken, which as you can see, it is, Reed decided to pull out my absolutefavorite mixing bowl which then shattered. Here's what THAT looks like nicely packaged in a Target bag:

Yes, there's more! At this point, I stopped making lunch and put the kids up to the table and out of harm's way. I finish picking up the glass and commenced to finishing lunch. I grabbed the pickles out of the fridge and.....yep.....

I was speechless. That can't possibly have just happened. All that green--pickle juice, not moldy tile grout. I left it. My poor kids were so hungry, they looked like this:

Well, the kids are now snug in their beds for naps and I'm avoiding the pickle-smelling kitchen by talking to you. I'm waiting for it to dry more so I can pick up the glass, then finish mopping....again....for the second day in a row. Such is the life!

A Motivated Mom, A Walk, and Relief in the Outdoors

Your very own (over) achiever blogger as been trying out a new cleaning system. It involves a checklist, which is practically my favorite thing in the whole, wide world, thankyouverymuch! It's by Motivated Moms and it's basically a checklist of chores for each day. It's designed to keep your housework under 2 hours everyday and free up more of your time. I know as a SAHM, it's hard to to accomplish housecleaning, short of assigning a whole day to it--which, by the way, I used to do until now. So I'm giving it a shot and so far, so good. I enjoy feeling like my house is company ready at any time.

One of the daily items on the checklist is "Read to Children" and one is "Exercise". So today we did both! I read the boys a book and then we went for a walk. It was really enjoyable. Rusten has recently learned about dandelions and how he can blow them. I included some pictures. What I did NOT include a picture of was the dead cat in the gutter that Rusten was fascinated by, thinking it was poop. Go figure.

Later this afternoon, as I'm preparing dinner, Rusten wanted to go play out in the backyard with his dog. Fine. However, I look up and sprinklers are on and guess who's running through the sprinklers with his sweatshirt and cowboy boots--which by the way were on the wrong feet?! Yep, Rusten and Paylen were enjoying a refreshing spritz in the sprinklers. But that's not all peeps.

I realize it's awfully quiet out there so I go to my bedroom door to check on him. I see a little boy's buns. He has his back to me and his pants around his knees. I asked him what he was doing, and I startled him. He (so confidently) told me that he was peeing "right there". Oh, well okay then...carry on. What?! His response later, when daddy talked to him about it: "Paylen pees outside".

Tonight we went and ran errands and then stopped at the frozen yogurt place and had some as a family. It was a pleasant evening. Now, I shall sleep!

Menu Plan Monday....on Tuesday

I've started a new group thingy that does Menu Plan Mondays. It's a huge network of women who post their menus for the week, then you have some choices and new ideas. I decided not to post yesterday in honor of my favorite nephew, so I'm posting on Tuesday this week. So here's my menu this week:

Monday: Corn Dog Chili (yes, I said that in the right order!)

Tuesday: Cowboy Spaghetti

Wednesday: Lasagna

Thursday: Green Chili (It's not exactly like this recipe, but almost)

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Spicy BLTs

Sunday: We have youth and other events....don't think I'll be cooking!

Today's An Important Day

**UPDATE**

Last I heard, a couple hours ago, Ryker was fine and stable. He's just being a bit antsy (like all 10 month olds) and that can be difficult for proper treatment. I'm praying that God helps relax him to heal properly--without too much meds.

We could use your prayers!

My nephew is having another open heart surgery today. In fact, he should be in there right now! Please pray for a smooth surgery and a quick and easy recovery. Also pray for strength for Nathen and Sherah, as I can't imagine what they are facing today. God is faithful and will continue to be!

We love you guys, Nate, Sherah and Ryker!!

Just Waitin'

Well, today's the day! Daddy comes home from Mescoco (as Rusten says it) today. In fact he called me a bit ago and he should be home in the next couple of hours--barring any road problems from the So Cal fires.

Today, after Rusten pooped in the potty, he was begging for his normal poop-in-the-potty-sucker-reward. I had a ring pop (thanks Amy) and that's what I gave him. Thirty minutes later, my son's face is green. Sorry I forgot to take a picture, but I'm sure you can imagine the green, sticky mess he was. In light of that sugar intake, I decided the boys could play awhile longer and nap later. I'm working on making thank yous from the party, so they were in the back of the house entertaining themselves safely....right?! Wrong. They were using clear nail polish to paint Rich and my bathroom. Yes, I know, I should be grateful it was clear. But seriously?!

So they finally went to bed an hour ago, and I can still hear them. I went in there and Reed's crib is filled with toys and Rusten's running amuck. I suppose I should be grateful he didn't leave his little bro high-n-dry with nothing to play with. Hopefully they get some good sleep before daddy gets home.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!!!

Daddy, Come Home!

Rusten was upset tonight (mostly because I told him he'd have to wait until after bathtime to have his 'cokorn' {popcorn} instead of right after dinner). He was crying and saying "I want my daddy to come home!". Well, I concur.

I'm not sure how single moms do it! I'm used to handling them ALL-DAY-LONG-EVERYDAY, but every evening, Rich is here to help me--and help me, he does! He's always great about helping with baths and such. He's a great dad!

Hopefully their trip to Mexico was productive and inspiring, I know he was excited to go. While he was traveling abroad doing the Lord's work, though, I'm getting cabin fever with two little sickies who are finally doing better, but still carry the stigma of being on antibiotics because of 'strep throat'. I think we might have to bow out of church in the morning because they can't be in the nursery, and Lord knows when you're meeting in a school, there ain't no cry room 'cept outside. I, for one, would rather stay at home.

It's really late and I'm really tired, so I apologize for the randomness and disconnectivity of this post. I need to finish off organizing my scrapbooking stuff and then I can go to sleep. I stayed up until 1 am cleaning this place. I had to disinfect it. I couldn't take it anymore. It now smells so clean in here--unless the dog's in here, yuck. Isn't life so much rosier with a clean house? Anyway, so I went to bed late. Then kiddos woke up very early. I tried to nap, but I'm not real good at that. So here I sit. To think, I'd rather talk to you than get some sleep.

By the way, thanks for the comments on the new look. The header ain't singin' to me, but I'll keep working on it. Good night, and I'm sorry for even publishing this.

A Pit of Festering Viruses and Bacteria

That's what we are.

Delicious, no?

Well, Rich is on a quick missions trip this weekend and I took the kids to the doctor on my own. Turns out, Rusten has strep throat and she put them both on antibiotics. Reed is starting to get better, but he still has a rash, and she didn't want to take any chances.

But here's my God story in all this. We have a deductible plan, which means we pay for e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. It gets expensive quick! Example: Rusten's visit today, $65; Reed's was free because it was his regular check-up; Two antibiotics, $80ish. Yikes! So I asked if I could take my prescription elsewhere, instead of using Kaiser's pharmacy. They let me. I marched right on over to Walmart where their prescriptions now total.....*drumroll*.....$8. Yep, that's right, I didn't miss any zeros. I walked around Walmart saying "Thank you Jesus". People probably thought I was a bit crazy, but I was stinking grateful!!!!

So now, we mend. We quit festering and we mend. Daddy will be home in time for everyone to be honky dory. Oh the life of a mom--I love it!

Mother Of The Year! Yep, Right Here!

Okay, my boys are sick and not acting their best. I know that. Rusten had a come-apart this morning though when he learned about daddy's plans for the weekend. So I told him we'd run our errands and then go visit daddy for lunch.

We made our first stop at the church to drop off work and pick some up. While I'm standing there talking to Pastor Gary, I had already put Rusten in the car, and he was wandering about in the front seat. I finished my conversation, put the kids in their carseats and put the stroller away and shut the doors. That's when I heard it--*click*. On my car, when the driver door is open, you can hit the lock button, but it won't lock until all the doors are shut......and your keys are on the front seat, I think that's part of the combination also.

I called my husband to come rescue us and I'm pretty sure there were flames coming through the phone. I just don't understand why?! I mean, doesn't every mother lock her kids in the car like this on a regular basis just like me? Seriously. Ya'll are lying if you say no. Really? Yeah, that's why I'm getting the MOTY award today!

Luckily, Pastor Gary has AAA and in a jiffy they sent us a convict-looking-with-an-inmate-beanie-on-his-head man, who may have been on crack, and he got that door open in no time! I'm not sure, but he might also be self-employed doing this kinda stuff. I'm just sayin'. Meanwhile, Pastor Gary and I were busy putting on a puppet show through the windows of the car to entertain the boys--don't ask.

Needless to say, our errands were pared down quite a bit after this incident and naptime is a wreck. Oh well, there's always tomorrow!

I Have Some Humble Pie Here--Care To Taste?

I took the kids grocery shopping today after our trip to Target. Target actually went fairly smoothly, and we ended the trip with an Icee and some popcorn. We made our way to Winco--a store I am equally in love with because I can save so much money!!

Shopping in Winco actually was also smooth. In fact, I had several people compliment the kids on their behavior. It's amazing how much less trouble they get in when they're busy carrying around a bag of popcorn.

Okay, fast forward to the checkout. Rusten and I load up the conveyor belt with our plethora of food. I made small talk with the nice young man ringing up my groceries, and like every good Winco shopper, began bagging my groceries while he finished his job. He nicely told me when he was done, "That'll be $197". Okay--better than I expected because my cart was F-U-L-L! I had made sure there was money in the checking before I left, and I pulled out my little ATM card only to hear that it was denied. I tried again. And again. Then I was sent to the ATM machine where all my cards were denied. Can you see my face--it's still red!!

I asked if I could finish bagging my groceries and go to the bank. He let me but was probably thinking I'm scum and I won't be back. Oh well. Just to make things a bit more tragic, as I was bagging my eggs-yep, you guessed it-the carton opened and dumped several out which shattered. I discretely fixed them in the bag-yolk and all-and left them. I was mortified enough, people don't need to know I can't hold my eggs either!

At this point, it's naptime and my boys haven't even had lunch yet. We set our full cart aside and make our way to the car and headed to the bank. I just got cash out--I'll "discuss" this issue with them later. I went back and paid for my groceries and we headed home. I was SO humiliated. I cannot even describe. But then suddenly I thought, "Hey, now I have something to blog about". I was able to pull through it and move on. Thank you bloggerland!

I Love My Kids

Especially when they let me sleep until 8:07! (Of course, there was that incident at 5 am when Rusten was ready to be up for the day...)

I have massive Winco shopping and Target shopping today. I go to Winco so I can afford to go to Target!

Rusten crawled in bed with me this morning, at 8:07 (did I mention that?), and I told him we needed to go to Target. He got a huge surprised smile on his face and said "WE GET ICEE GO TO TARGET?!" Not wanting to disappoint, I suppose I should finish getting ready.

Have a happy Wednesday!

And That's When You Know You've Had Too Much...

When your trash barely fits through your door after your party, you've probably had too much fun!

Or, how about when you fall asleep in your bib after lunch, you may have had just too busy of a morning (or in his case, no morning nap!)

Thank You!

Today is a day of sanitation (no, not sanity) at my house. Reed is still battling a bit of a fever, and Rusten still has a cough, I still have a headache, but Rich is much better. Anyway, I can't take it anymore, and everything is being C-L-E-A-N-E-D!

With not much to discuss here, I want to simply say "THANK YOU!" to all of our veterans. I realize not many (if any) read my blog, but I am grateful for what you have done for my freedom and freedom of my family. Thank you to all of those that are serving currently, in these hard times. Thank you to all of the families of those that are serving that are making a sacrifice for us to have freedom.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Cough, Sniff, Puke...Repeat

Such is the life at our house the past 24 hours. Good times.

Rich came home last night super sick, and he's been in bed ever since--that is, when he's not....well...puking and what not. Reed has had a fever ever since Saturday. After everyone left from his party, his fever was 102.6. I took him to the doctor on Sunday morning, given his past history with ear infections. They said his ears were clear, but he was putting in for a prescription of antibiotics, in case it didn't clear up in the next few days. Rusten has a horrible sounding cough, and has had it for well over a week now. Other than a mildly nagging headache and severe sleep deprivation, I am peachy.

Everyone just laid down for a nap, so I think I shall do the same.

Before I go, I have to show you what I found this morning. Poor Rusten is bored to tears today, and apparently, he thought he could do what he wanted when I wasn't looking--I know, what else is new?! Anyway, the cupcakes that once looked like this:

were too enticing, and they now collectively look like this:

Happy eating and health to all!

Happy Birthday to Reed......AND RICH!

Last night was a lot of fun. We had a great turn out for the parties. Lots of Rich's family was here and lots of our church family was here, and my parents were here, and our long-time friends--the Jacksons, and Rich's boss came....it was awesome! Thanks to everyone for coming and supporting two of the most important boys in my life!

We had everything decorated for Reed's party. Rich's party was going to arrive. My mom and Rich's dad were snagging people as they arrived to help carry in Rich's party (his balloons--30 of them, his tablecloths, his favors, his cake). I had a hard time keeping Rich off the front window, he kept announcing "I swear I saw Becca" or "I think the Boozers drove by". That booger! Then later he told me that his buddy Darrell gave it away earlier in the day when he called Rich. Something he said clued in Rich--Darrell and I will be having a talk later!!

We served hamburgers, smoked sausage, hot links, potato salad (courtesy of Grandma) and chili. Rich's dad brought the drinks and my mom did the chips. I must give a shout-out to Karen who helped me with all of the crafty things of the party, including the invitations, which I can now post a picture of!

So....here's my eclectic outpouring of pictures!

Support Your Local....Pillow

Last night, we rented two James Garner movies ('Support Your Local Sheriff' and 'Support Your Local Gunfighter'). We took them over to my parents house and we watched the first one. It was a lot of fun--very funny movie. Then we came home and Rich pulled out the couch bed in the front and he and Rusten laid down to watch the second one (I had to bake cupcakes for today--blagh--so I watched it from the kitchen). So, they were both into the movie (which, by the way, was not nearly as funny as the first) and then I found this:

Anyway, we have a party to get ready for tonight! Yeah! I promise to try to remember to take pictures and do better than I did at the wedding with that one!

On Tap For Today

Well, starting with last night, dinner was a lot of fun! I miss Rich's grandparents, and I think they're amazing people. I burned the clam chowder. I have never done that before. I felt R-E-T-A-R-D-E-D! I ran to the store and got more ingredients, and made another batch. What's my deal lately?! My cooking funk needs to wear off--especially for my chili I'm making for Saturday...you may want to watch out!

So then I wake up this morning from a dream where everyone is showing up to tomorrow's party today. I hadn't had the chance to finish all the projects that I am going to finish today and tomorrow, so we were just throwing things together and the party was stressing me out to the max (welcome back '80s). I hate dreams like that.

Well, today I have a couple errands to run to get a few things to finish a few projects--vague enough for you? My mom is coming over in a bit to help. That will be fun! I need to get a bunch of butcher paper, and I found some at GW, but guess what?! They don't open until 10! I was all ready to head out, and I called to see if they would cut it ahead of time for me so I could just go in and pick it up. Guess not right now, huh?! Oh well, now maybe I can streamline all my errands a bit better. Good grief, with as much as I'm putting into this, you'd think I was hosting an event at the White House.....settle down, Katie! Now I'm off to find chairs...

So Busy, I Don't Know What To Do

Ever felt that way? My mind is spinning! I finished up an outside cleaning project today, and now my party planning is in full swing. I drove around with my pen and paper today pricing food--again, I'm a dork. I know. I'm just tightly budgeted, so I need to make sure that I'm getting the biggest bang-for-my-buck. I priced Smart n Final and Sam's Club and they probably both think I'm crazy for toting two rambunctious toddlers in there with my little pen and paper, like a nerd. At least I left the calculator at home, heaven help me!

Karen helped level me out and finish writing down what is left to buy and do. I think I have a pretty good handle on it now...I hope...I guess only time will tell.

Tonight we have Rich's grandparents coming over for dinner. I'm so excited to see them. They live in Arizona now, so visits are few and far between. They came here for the wedding, so we're trying to spend some time with them before they have to head back. I'm so excited that they get to be here for Reed's party on Saturday too!

In light of this evening's plans, I suppose I should stop wasting time and get to cleanin' and a cookin'. Happy Thursday evening!

My Precious Reed-Bob

I love you, baby boy. You are the most precious and the sweetest baby ever. I pray you never lose your sweet spirit.

I remember one year ago today, at this time, I was laying in the hospital bed enjoying some Starbucks (thank you very much Auntie Sherah!) and enjoying my new baby boy. What sweet memories I have of that day, meeting you for the first time and enjoying time with all the family around.

Your hugs are amazing and the way you cuddle is the best! You make me feel so important to you, and for that I thank you. Now you're cutting more teeth and you're starting to walk around a bit, you're using sign language very well and you're communication is improving daily. I will miss this first year very much, but I do look forward to the year to come.

Thank you, Lord, for Reed. Please help us to raise him into the man of God that you have destined him to be. Amen.

We had chocolate chip pancakes for his birthday breakfast this morning. He's one--so he got his first chocolate (the first from mommy and daddy at least).

I'm a Dork.

Today was Rich's brother's wedding day. Patrick and Jackie made the big plunge today into holy matrimony, blah, blah, blah. It was awesome! If I do say so myself, the officiant was amazing and very hot to boot (way to go, babe!).

They had a beautiful ceremony. Rusten was the ring bearer. He strutted down the aisle sporting his awesome $2.49 Kohl's shades with a hot chick by his side. He was adorable, and Rylynn was too. (I do have pics of them trying to kiss at the rehearsal dinner and I shall have to share them another day.) Jackie was gorgeous...no, stunning! The ceremony was light-hearted and touching. The reception was very elegant and nice as well. Congrats--Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Essman!

The dork part comes in because I, out of all the photography moments today, took nary a picture. Dork. I'm not sure what I was thinking. Oh well, I shall treasure the fond memories in my heart!

Now, I'm tired. Yeah for an extra hour of sleep tonight!