Were You Able to Find Me?

I'm back!!!

I was able to move my blog to a new web address. It only took a few seconds and I was so relieved to have not lost anything big. I only had to re-enter my friends' links (I think that I've had to do that about 4 different times now).

Moving

I've been thinking of moving my blogspot for a little while now. I'm not going private, so that is the good news. I plan on sticking with blogger, I just want a website address that is a little more protective. As soon as I have the courage (and time and everything backed up), I will be moving my blogspot. I will email out all of my blogger friends and known followers with the new address (I'll also change it on FB when I get it up and running). I don't want to leave ANYONE out, so if you want to know where I'll be moving to, just leave me a comment and I'll be sure to email you. I don't know how long this move will take, but if you know me, I will try my hardest to get everything up and running in no time. I can't stand leaving jobs unfinished, so I haven't even started this process. I'm still trying to make sure that it will all work and trying so hard not to chicken out!

I'm really hoping to do this.

Maybe this weekend.

I'm just REALLY, REALLY scared!!!

I'm getting "LOST"!

My Beautiful Little Flower

Three Sick Kids...

...eventually equals one sick Momma.

My kids have been battling some kind of a cold the past couple of weeks and it finally caught up with me. I ended up taking Jackson to the doctor on Friday and he prescribed an antibiotic. Over the weekend I got sick, so I went to our doctor today. The good news is that I have already started my antibiotic and should be as good as new very soon.

Come on Spring...

Numbers (of the Random Sort)

18 ~ the number of cereal boxes that we have in our pantry. Abby Kate asked me the other day while we were out grocery shopping why I always buy so much cereal (I bought 5 boxes that day). I thought about if for a quick minute and told her because everyone in our house eats so much of it, plus that it is on sale.

3 ~ the number of kids that have been sick all week. Joshua and Abby Kate are finally feeling better today. I ended up taking Jack to the doctor this afternoon because he just didn't seem to be getting over his sickness. He is now on an antibiotic and will hopefully start feeling better soon.

2 ~ the number of eye glasses that Jason and I have purchased in the past week.

15 ~ the number of seasons of Survivor that Jason and I have watched together. We love Thursday night TV.

2 ~ the number of books that I am currently reading. I hope to post about them when I finish.

85 ~ the amount of change that it costs me to purchase a Sonic Slush during Happy Hour. I've become quite addicted to my afternoon splurge. Thanks to my FB friends, I tried the Lemon-Berry slush this afternoon. Yum-O!

20 ~ months old. Jack will be 2 before I know it! He is having a word explosion right now. I love hearing him say words.

230 ~ the amount of money already raised for the March for Babies. We are all getting so excited about this year's march. Thank you!

115 Months

Our paper towel holder that we received as a wedding gift 115 months ago.

I've known that our paper towel holder has been on its last leg for the past couple of months. Our old paper towel holder was nothing fancy, but it served its purpose of holding our paper towel rolls. I also know that paper towel holders are pretty cheap (at least they were 9 years ago) and it shouldn't be too hard to find another one. We will miss you!

Here's hoping we will find another one that will last 115 months.

Happy 115 months Jason! Love you baby!

No Pants and a Tease on Potty Training

Jackson really loves to run around the house with no pants on. I don't even know why I still try to put pants on him anymore, because they will always end up on the floor. He loves to take off his shoes, his socks, and his pants.

We are at that wonderful stage of taking socks and shoes off in the van, too. I remember Joshua and Abby Kate doing this and I would get so frustrated having to put back on 2 sets of socks and shoes at every stop. I know that it is just a phase and it will be over soon enough, but I've given up putting Jackson's socks and shoes back on him every time we get out of the van. Some older mommas give me nasty looks when they see that I have a barefoot child in the middle of winter, but if they only knew half of the battle that I was fighting....

I wanted to share a quick story from the other day. I had been wanting to take a walk around the neighborhood and let Abby Kate get out on the street to ride her bike. (There's only so many circles you can do in the driveway before you start to get a little bored). Joshua pedaled his Diego bike Flintstone-style, I pulled Jack in the wagon and Jason stayed on the road with Abby Kate while she road her bike. Before we left the house, we locked the door, but left the garage up. While we were circling back by our house, Joshua told me that he needed to go potty. I told Jason to keep going with Abby Kate and that I would take the boys back on up to the house. When we finally reached the door, I quickly realized that the keys to the locked house were with Jason. Jason and Abby Kate were long gone and so I did the only thing that I could think to do - I took Joshua to the side of the house and let him go potty. I know, I know, someone call the etiquette police... Well, we finished up rather quickly and the boys went on about their play. A few minutes later, I notice Jackson walking over to the same spot (as Joshua had previously been) and then pulling down his pants to his ankles. He gives me a quick smile and then pulls up his pants and runs off playing. He proceeded to "go potty" several more times before completely losing his shoes and pants.

I got so tickled with Jack imitating Joshua. This kind of thing doesn't just happen outside. Jack is constantly running to either bathroom and lifting the lid, pulling up his shirt (his pants are already off by that point) and then finishing up by flushing the toilet. He is always so proud of himself! I've gotten quite a few laughs out of this little guy.

We sure do have one smart little boy.

Potty training here we come.... :)

Our Family Fun Valentine's Day Celebration

Jason and I had plans to go out on a date the Friday night before Valentine's Day. Unfortunately those plans got canceled and so I decided to fully embrace the moment and really make Valentine's Day a fun filled weekend for the whole family.

We started early on Friday with a family lunch at McAlister's Deli (my family's favorite). We enjoyed our lunch date and then headed home. Jason stayed home with Jackson while he napped, and I took Joshua and Abby Kate to the library. We spent a very long time there working puzzles, looking at books, playing on the computers and we left with plenty of books and a couple of movies to watch. Since the weather was so nice, I decided to head over to the park and let the kids play. It was so much fun for all of us to be there. We had a lot of fun swinging, exploring and playing with some friends that we knew from school. The weather was just perfect and time got away from us.

We headed home to get Jason and Jackson and decided to run down to Krispy Kreme. Joshua picked out a Valentine's Day chocolate sprinkle donut, Abby Kate got a glazed heart donut, I got the same kind of sprinkle donut as Joshua and Jason and Jackson both got a chocolate iced donut. The lady even threw in a 6th donut to give us an even half-dozen. The best part was that it didn't cost us a penny! After watching the donuts on the little conveyer belt for a while, we were all getting hungry for dinner, so we put in a call to our favorite pizza place, Marco's. Not only is the pizza always great, but we got this one for free thanks to our fully-punched customer appreciation card! We treated the kids to a movie with the pizza in the living room. They all had the best time.

Saturday morning we all woke up and headed out to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. I think that everyone else had the same idea because we were there for about 2 1/2 hours. The kids were great and our breakfast was delicious. When we got home, the kids opened their Valentine gifts from Mommy and Daddy and we all had so much fun playing and taking a few pictures.

After some really good long naps, all three kids helped me bake a special chocolate Valentine's Day cake. While the cake was cooling, Jason and I treated the kids to Chick-Fil-A for dinner. After they finished their dinner, they played in the indoor play area. They had the best time together. When we got home, I bathed the kids and Jason got the TV ready so we could watch some of our home videos. We always record things, but we hardly ever sit down to watch our old videos. The kids loved watching the videos of themselves as tiny babies and Jason and I had so much fun remembering those early days.

We finally tucked the kids into bed and Jason and I ordered Steak Out. We had a nice and quiet steak dinner in the comfort of our own home with the children tucked into bed. Although we didn't get to go "out", we all had a great Valentine's Day! I think that this is one that will be remembered for years to come.

Jackson

Abby Kate

Joshua

Abby Kate

Abby Kate and Joshua

What a cheese!

Jason and Joshua

Joshua and Abby Kate

My THREE little Valentines

Joshua and Jason at Chick-Fil-A

Jackson eating his Valentine's Day cake

Spotlight

God blesses us all with many gifts and talents. I have several friends that have turned their creative talents into businesses and others that share their gifts through their blogs. I wanted to share a few of these with you. I hope that you are able to go and check out their work.

Momtessori - Laura Beth and I went to high school together and we were in education classes together at Lipscomb. Before having her two beautiful children, Laura Beth taught at a Montessori school. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited the teacher and mom in me loves her new blog. Her blog is filled with many creative methods for teaching our kids.

Patty Cake Designs - Jamey is so creative and I love her designs. She has really cute products at great prices. One of my friends recently received her silhouetted art for Christmas. The silhouettes are absolutely gorgeous.

Pure Innovations - I absolutely love looking at Ashley's work on her website. She is so creative and her work shows it. I met Ashley a few years back at Impact when Jason was still in Youth Ministry. I've had so much fun getting to know Ashley through her blog and by seeing her work.

SisterBug Embroidery & Gifts - Kera recently unveiled her new business and I love her products. She has the cutest monogrammed burp cloths and applique shirts. Kera is expecting new inventory soon and I can't wait to see what she will create next.

Tara Cooks - I've been eating my sister-in-law's food for nearly 15 years and I love everything that she fixes. I am a very strict rule follower when it comes to recipes and I don't tend to step outside of the box when it comes to making dishes. Tara is such a great cook and I am always amazed at what she creates in the kitchen.

Another Room Redo

14 months ago Jason and I decided to paint and rearrange the furniture in our bedroom. I am just now getting around to posting the pictures. I would like to say that the room is finished, but it seems like things are always a work in progress around here.

I had been wanting to get a new ceiling fan for our bedroom and my parents gave us a gift card to Lowe's for Christmas. My parents came down this weekend and my dad and Jason spent the better part of Saturday afternoon hanging our new fan. I absolutely love it!

Before

After
We had no idea that by moving the bed to this wall that it would make our room look so much better.

Before

Things didn't really change much here. I love seeing all of the baby equipment that we used to keep in our room.

After



Before
I wish that I had taken a picture of the faux mural that was hanging above our bed. You can also see part of our old ceiling fan in this picture.

After

Walkin', Rollin', and Cheezin'

Or a random array of photos...

Jackson dressed (or should I say, undressed) himself when I told him that we were going "bye". He was very proud of his pantless, sockless, wrong shoe ensemble. I love his pose here!

Trying to figure this whole shoe thing out.

We bought our minivan in June of 2004. Last Wednesday night, we hit the 100,000 mile mark!

I snapped this picture with my phone (not the best quality). He can really "Cheese" it up!

Me as a Baby

I get told a lot that Abby Kate and Jackson look like me. I've always had a hard time seeing the similarities that everyone else sees. I still get told that my mom and I look just alike. I remember the two of us standing in front of the mirror together once, trying to see what every one else saw. I can almost always see how other babies look just like their mom or their dad; I just can't see it with my own family. I know that I don't look like these baby pictures (seeing as how that was a LONG time ago), but I wanted to know what you all thought. So, here are some pictures of me as a baby. Do you think my kids look like me?

4 months

I've seen all 3 of my kids make that face.
Here I am with my great-grandfather.

THIGHS!!!!

Stitches

Last night was quite an eventful night. Jason and I were teaching Jackson's Bible class and quickly got lost in the world of "God Making Our Families". Towards the end of class, one of our Preschool Ministry leaders came and got me, telling me that Abby Kate had hit her head. She had hit her head on one of the corners of the room and she was bleeding. I am so weak when it comes to these things and when I walked in the room, I wanted to cry. My precious little girl had a really deep gash in the back of her head and her hair was all bloody. I don't think straight at all in those moments. Fortunately, we are surrounded by the best family and they thought for me. The boys went to a friend's house and we headed over to the doctor's office to get Abby Kate fixed up. She ended up getting four shots and now has 3 stitches in the back of her head. The gash ended up being about an inch long and was very deep. The stitches should dissolve over the next few weeks and hopefully she will be as good as new. Thank you to EVERYONE that was there for us last night! It means so much to us and we really appreciate each and every one of you!

Abby Katherine

My nephew, Micah, captured this photo of our precious Abby Katherine a couple of years ago. This is one of my favorites of my little girl. I love Abby Kate's peacefulness. She is so full of life and is absolutely adorable. I love how she craves alone time and finds such joy in her artwork. She loves being a helper and is trying to grow up way too fast. You have to earn her affection. She doesn't give her love to just anyone, but once you've won her, she is yours. She puts forth all of her effort and never gives up. She remembers anything and everything. Abby Kate is full of questions and loves sharing what she has learned. I love how you never really know what she is going to say and then trying to figure out where she came up with it. Abby Kate is all about the details. She is the best sister to Joshua and Jackson. I love watching the bond that she has with both boys. The bonds are so unique and I love the closeness that each of them shares. I love you Abby Kate! You bring us so much joy!

Saturday Evening Post

I was able to save $187.31 for the month of January by shopping the sales and using coupons. I'm really excited to see how much money I can save our family this coming year. I tend to go to extremes in an effort to save money!

Last night we decided to pick up a pizza on our way home from running a few errands. I think that our days of getting one pizza are long gone! I have no idea about what it will be like during the teenage years trying to feed 2 growing boys.

I'm making one small change to my "Friends" link on the side of my blog. It will only show the 25 most recently updated links. If you don't see your name on the sidebar, don't worry; it's still there. It will reappear the next time you make a post. Just trying to cut down on the length of links that I have over there.

I think that Jackson will flood our bathroom one day. He turns on the faucet at least once a day. This is how I found my tub the other day. He loves throwing all of my bottles of lotion into the tub. For now, I've had to put them away.




From the bottom, count up 3 shelves (to the one with the bread). This is where we found Jackson in full on Spider Man mode, scaling the heights of our pantry. Needless to say, my small step stool is now up on a high shelf out of his reach. This child....



Speaking of Jackson, I had to call Poison Control for the second time this month the other day. Jackson got a hold of my purse and got out a zippered bag inside that held a pill box. I've always kept 2 Tylenol in there. I found him with the Tylenol in his mouth. I was fortunately able to get it away from him and after piecing it together concluded that he ate about 1/4 of a pill. He was fine, but once again I was reminded that I can't turn my back for one second on our little Jack Jack!

Hope that you enjoyed our Saturday Evening Post!

From Praising to Tackling

Here's a little video we shot last night after Bible study. It's funny how they mess up some of the words in these songs! The video is a little long (3 minutes 49 seconds) but it gets pretty funny at the end.

Things I Can't Let Go

I have spent the better part of my day cleaning house. I am only taking a break to blog, because I really need one (plus my blood sugar is really low and I feel as if I am about to pass out). So far, I have cleaned half of the house. Only today, I am choosing to tackle much more than I can handle. I don't know why, but I decided to wash all the sheets, sort baskets and baskets of laundry and rearrange the playroom and the toys in all 3 kids' rooms. Isn't it enough that I am dusting and vacuuming the entire house, and I still have 2 bathrooms to clean (UGH!!!)? Why am I adding more work? I've been wanting to get the kids' top shelves in their closets organized and cleaned too, but I am forcing myself to not do this today. Jason has promised to help me tonight when he gets home after dinner, but I just can't let some things go. Part of me wants to stop and leave the rest for tomorrow, but I can't do that. I can't start and stop. I can't leave jobs undone. I can't let some things go. I like to have a clean house all at one time. For some reason, I decided to do some extra things today and now I can't just let them go. I really wish that I could be like others and not busy myself with this stuff, but my OCD self can't do that. I feel like Martha!

Wordless Wednesday

Well, maybe not completely wordless...

Moments later, Joshua stuck his little tongue in the jar of pb and licked it!

Jackson couldn't look any more guilty. His hand is in the bag of cookies!

My World of Random

~ I go through a package of socks every winter.

~ Jason and I rented the first season of Samantha Who? this past Friday for $.99. We really like it.

~ Tonight's dinner - Spaghetti Casserole, French Bread and a Caesar Salad.

~ I've been working on finishing up my Grisham book, The Last Juror. After that I am planning on reading the 3rd Harry Potter book. I've read the first two and I really liked them. I have a hold on Multiple Blessings, for when it arrives at the library.

~ I am hoping to plant a garden this summer. I would love to have tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, and green beans. I've got a lot to learn, so we will see. I do plan on returning to Kentucky to buy some ears of corn to freeze. We are still eating on the corn that I bought last summer. It is so good!!!

~ We have one fish in our pond. We also get to look out at the 4 beautiful horses that are at the back of our property.

~ The kids and I are planning on making sausage balls.

~ I'm really wanting an ice cream maker for this summer.

~ I wonder how long I can keep nap time going.

~ While sorting laundry yesterday afternoon, Jack managed to shove FOUR pieces of gum into his mouth.

~ I'm getting ready to go consignment shopping. I think that Joshua can still wear all of his clothes from last year! He only needs pjs, shoes and a few more pairs of shorts. Woo-hoo!

~ Buying shoes for 3 kids can get very expensive! At least Jackson is getting Joshua's old pairs.

~ Speaking of summer clothes - how long do you think boy's shorts should be? Slightly above the knee, at the knee or below the knee. I always have the hardest time finding shorts that are long enough that will stay up.

~ At what age do you think boys should stop wearing shorts to church on Sunday mornings?

~ My daffodils are getting ready to bloom.

~ We have raised $140 for the March for Babies so far! We are so excited!

~ YIKES!!! This really scares me!

My bottom shelf in our closet.

Confessing...

I've been tagged by Kyllie! In this tag, I am to list 5 of my addictions.

Here you go...

1. Saving money (and documenting it) - I've made several posts regarding my need to save. I feel like I have come a long way in my views of spending and saving money. A little bit saved here and there really adds up to equal a lot of savings. I get so giddy with excitement when I save big. I am very addicted to a good sale and an even better deal.

2. Deleting shows from our DVR - I don't know why I am obsessed with deleting shows off the DVR. There is nothing that is more addicting than sitting down and deleting a lot of shows (after I skim through them rather quickly). I really have this obsession with finishing and clearing up things. This really drives Jason crazy, but I am trying to see how many hours I can create on our DVR.

3. Pictures - I am totally addicted to pictures and photography! If you've ever visited our house, you can immediately see that I am addicted to pictures. I have lots and lots of photos hanging throughout our house. I have 7 photo albums for the kids (with the intentions of buying 2 more) for them to take when they leave home. In the past 9 years of marriage, Jason and I have accumulated 15 photo albums. We also have our wedding photo album, Jackson's photo album from his first year photography sessions, and a few scrapbooks. I am seriously contemplating getting some kind of a photobook for each of the kids that highlights some of our special memories. I am really addicted to the pictures, and I don't think that is something that I will ever be able to get over.

4. Chapstick - I think that I started putting on Chapstick when I was in high school. I can't go to bed without putting it on. I think that I apply chapstick (at least) five times a day.

5. Traveling - I am always looking for a way to travel and get out of town. I crave time spent away with my family. Sure, there are times where I just want to slow down and stay home, but for the majority of my time, I would rather be going somewhere. I have lots of places that I want to visit in my lifetime. I get so excited thinking about all of the wonderful places that I want to take the kids to visit and places that I want to go to with just Jason. If I could, I would be out of town a couple of times a month. Crazy, isn't it?

There, I confessed! Now, you've got to tell me what your addictions are?