Picture Wednesday

Country = Bugs. I saw a sticker in Wal-Mart (harry calls it the evil empire) that said "Smile Now, Pay Later". That's what these little ants are doing. Unknowingly, just a little bit of this can wipe out their own people. Just because they entered MY house. (So, I would represent Satan I guess - in this story). Whether it be us entering into gossip (the leading terro for woman - little goes a LONG way), profanity, disobedience, or a general terro lifestyle....They entered my house and I got 'em. It looked great for them, having a good time out of the rain, with plenty of sugar laying around - feasting time....tomorrow there may be one or two left, then none the next day. Share the terro, get 'em all. This has been big for me - these ants have actually done me a favor this spring. Do I really want to infect my brothers and sisters, husband and children because I have a down day? I could always find some way to be an encouragement - obedience.

Let me introduce you to....Mud Man. Rolling around after the storms in his underwear. Can't beat that.

These are our closest neighbors.......zoomed in.

So many nights I stare at this sky with all different colors and think "Lord, how beautiful. And you must look at this like I look at my first scrapbooking pages. As if to say they are okay, but look WHAT ELSE I made? I can't wait to see."

and here is the trouble trio.....no, there's not a frog in the garbage can, or any bugs. It's empty. but awefully fun to stare at. Harry, so many days I completely take you for granted, picking at the things I would change about you. So sorry. This comes to mind now because I look at this picture in two ways. One - what a fun dad, joining in with the girls looking into an empty garbage can because they get a kick out of it. And two - why are they staring into it? Do they think the new garbage bag magically appears? Get on it, children! :)

LOVE when I catch these two doing the same things at the same times. Like holding their spoons with their right hand, and eating yogurt with their left....meaning no spoon. And yogurt all. over.

I think I will be okay now.....for the record.

Forlorn

for·lorn

/fɔrˈlɔrn/ [fawr-lawrn] –adjective
1. desolate or dreary; unhappy or miserable, as in feeling, condition, or appearance.
2. lonely and sad; forsaken.
3. expressive of hopelessness; despairing: forlorn glances.
4. bereft; destitute: forlorn of comfort.

In her defense, she has had 4 back teeth coming in for the last couple weeks. But, oh my. Not in her defense, how does "the teeth excuse" explain this face for anyone except Mom and Dad?

SING with me,

Oooooh it's Corn, Corn, Corn

That makes you feel forlorn

on the FARM, on the FARM...

Oh it's Corn, Corn, Corn

That makes you feel forlorn

on the hinky dinky double dee FARM

Sadie

So, we live out here in the middle of nowhere, and I was getting tired of the skunks and the FEAR of going out into that open night to get something out the van because I'm that much of a chicken. Wanted a dog to shoo animals and (ahem, the cats - Harry, pretend you didn't read that) and mean people, you get the point. I am a scardy dork and just needed a dog. But what do I want in a dog? Let's see (this was my list of what to look for in a dog). Doing a LIST.

1. Doesn't sniff butts

2. Doesn't beg for food
3. If you don't want to pet it, it goes away.

4. Chases animals away (and the gray cat)

5. Won't jump up on anyone

6. Good with kids!!!

7. Won't run off all the time
8. Is nice to visitors

9. Doesn't sniff their butts either

10. Won't knock my kids down, and scare them

11. Older dog (out of the puppy-biting stage)

12. Can't be an indoor dog

13. No Black Dogs

14. Hunting capabilities

So, a friend called and said there was a dog in the credit union swap sheet, so we called and went to look at her. Beautiful dog, 4 years old, lived out on a farm before with 1 and 3 year old children, and parents are divorcing (and I assume moving) so could not keep her. She was living in a heated garage all summer in town. It did not take long to decide we wanted her to join us out on the "rinky dinky double dee farm". Asked what he wanted for her, and he says "nothing, I just want to see her go to a good home". WOO! Do you KNOW how much dogs are?? Humane Society had over 100 on their adoption price, I was happy. Sadie is her name, and we went to Wal-Mart to grab some quick things (like food and a chain, so she wasn't exactly FREE). Took her home and put her on one of those cables staked into the ground. She was on it for a day, then walked her around the perimeter of the yard so she would know boundaries, and *note: I'm sure she was holding back on commenting on how big of a DORK I was because she knew this farm business well. Let her off the leash the next day, and she hasn't been back on since. Has not run off once, goes on point (which means she's a HUNTER, hehe - maybe her and I can go get some pheasant), GREAT with the kids, just say she meets ALL my criteria for what I want in a dog! Here she is, she has become part of our family very quickly....and have smelled no more skunks around here! And the gray cat is no longer meowing for food at my door! I would like that cat better if she would let anyone pet her (for the record!).

And she takes a WHOLE lot of abuse by these two! They knock her down, pull her hair, and try to ride on her. We've had her for a month, and she has never bit or sniffed butts. :) She needed a place to RUN without restraint. Really, we have been great for each other.

Our Picnic Today. What a day.

Yes, that is jelly above the middle name, not a glitch. :)

Meme...do they call it that for "me me"?

Mel tagged me.

my job is to think of 6 words or phrases that best describe me.

Here are the rules:

1. Write your own six-word memoir.

2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.

3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post.

4. Tag five more blogs with links.

5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

so here we go..
Here are six words/phrases that best depict who I am:

1. Musical

2. Crafty

3. Caretaker

4. Organized
(I didn't say it couldn't be an organized mess, but I know where it is!)

5. Cheap :)

6. Prepared

I know, I know, my vocabulary is so well-developed. I tag.... Angela, Tina, Sarah, Chris, and Heth. Sorry if you have already done it and I tagged you! If that's you, please disregard number 4 and 6 of my blog. :)

Only

So I'm standing in front of my kitchen sink doing dishes looking out the window, deciding what to make for supper. I glance up at the clock on the wall and it states that it's a little after 2:00. And I think "*gasp* I *only* have 4 hours until we leave for church".

Only 4 hours. Puh.

Heavenly

Remember this? I admit I have taken the "color" thing to new levels about every year.






Oh, COME ON! How beautiful is that?!?! Color makes me happy. Not like you couldn't tell or anything.

My Week.

Monday
10:00 katie comes to babysit
11:00 child support hearing
6:00 school carnival meeting at high school

Tuesday
9:00 bible study
Sister has appt. to see if she has her baby!!! I will also have
her daughter sometime this week (hopefully this week)
2:00 katie comes to babysit
4:00 Harry & I appt. with Anne

Wednesday
I would LOVE to take a friend out this day.
We will see if it works out!
6:30 church

Thursday
5:30 leave for work
6:00 carnival meeting (obviously won't make that one)
Have my nephew overnight

Friday
3:10 get Olivia and Darin for weekend
3:30 get my nephew back to his dad
5:30 - 8 school carnival (finally!)

Saturday
2am wake up
3am go to church to work the lock in for the kids
7:30 garage sales (city-wides if I can make it to that location)
church clean-up day

Sunday
8:30 church
5:00 bring kids back to .... town

So this makes 22 times into "town" one-way this week. 20 minutes each. How much is gas, again? I like the weeks I can sit and catch up on laundry, have a cup of coffee during nap time, have supper ready when Harry gets home...you know. But if I didn't have weeks like this one, would I really appreciate the relaxed ones?

Ahh, I love it! Just right!

You Are Bare Feet

You are a true free spirit, and you can't be tied down. Even wearing shoes can be a little too constraining for you at times! You are very comfortable in your own skin. You are one of the most real people around. You don't have anything to hide. Open and accepting, you are willing to discuss or entertain almost any topic. You are a very tolerant person. You are accepting and not judgmental. You should live: Somewhere warm You should work: At your own business, where you can set the rules

http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofshoeareyouquiz/
So, what kind of shoe am I again? None? Go me!

Meme!

I’ve been tagged! And the rules are…
1) link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog
2) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird
3) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by linking their names as well as links to their blog
4) let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

At Ann's request, I would be happy to share 7 weird random things about myself

1. I eat everything in twos. 2 jellybeans (LOVE the coconut, but can't stand the buttered popcorn flavor - and they are WAY TOO similar in color! - Result: Mmm, uhh, ack, quick swallow.), 2 bites of hot dog at a time, 2 m&ms. Same color, 2 blue, 2 red, and the one yellow, one brown, and one orange left goes to Harry.

2. DO NOT go in circles around me. E.V.E.R. Drives me nuts. If I walk to the left of you, I will be going by you the same way when I leave, so there is nothing that has gone in a full circle around me. if I fail, it makes me twitch - and explaining that to people makes me sound like the biggest fruitcake of the holiday. Tina. I don't say this to egg you on. Don't be showing up Sunday and running around me. You will pay. :)

3. I am smitten with action movies, but hardly can stand them anymore because of the language and nudity. There are a few I have found that are great, but it's rare. LOVE the theatrical version and unrated version where you can choose to leave the junk out of the movie. GREAT thinking, people. Love Bruce Willis - he looks like my brother a little - same mannerism.

4. I adore coffee. But not black coffee. I like to to buy flavored creamer - it's the only way to drink my only addiction. They are all growing on me, but Carmel Vanilla .... The Bomb so far.

5. Organizing by color makes me feel peaceful. :) Seriously.

6. I long to be older....Oh, do I long. 26, as I know I've said before is a party age. That's not me. I party with my toddlers, not the college pub crowd.

7. I grew up a "city....(town) girl", but I live out here with the sunsets, corn and bean fields, bugs (EWW), and farm equipment as of last year and LOVE IT. We just got Sadie, a 4 year old golden lab yesterday. "That's all I have to say about that."

I tag 2 people that have disappeared lately! Angela and Natalie

Gentle, Strong, and ... Surprising??

How many of you KNOW that we have our husbands figured out? Let's all say a "ME!!!" together. I know that when Harry gets ready for bed, he frowns, smacks his lips, puts his hands up a little ways and say "what do we got to eat?". Something cold, of course. Let me make you a verbal menu, sweetheart.

Or if I notice he is frowning more than usual I can ask "Are you okay?" and I will immediately get a response with a bigger frown: "Yeah, are YOU okay?" LOL, that's a classic. Pegged.

*Note: forgive me for all the punctuation errors here and run-ons, but it happened like this in my head.

So, last week on a Saturday I was going to be helping a friend, Mary, serving food at a basketball game for our church. I went to garage sales that morning, and then came home to hang out for a few hours before leaving for the night. My husband was extra attractive to me all day, and I admit, I had to let him know how I felt about him. He had this glow about him - wow, this man is gorgeous. :) And he's MINE! Little did I know where this glow was coming from. It wasn't me imagining it - it was excitement all bottled up.

Almost 5:00, have to be there by 5:30, so I started getting wipes filled up, diapers, bottles/sippy cups to go, you know...be prepared for toddlerhood ...... outside the house. Oh, Stacy still needs socks and shoes on. Then a friend of mine, Lisa, shows up with her daughter, and I ask her if she was "just in the neighborhood" - which....NO. ONE. is. just. in. the. neighborhood. out. here. Middle of nowhere - seriously. So here I am trying to think of a polite way to kick her back out the door because we have to be leaving....like now... - oh no - she's taking her shoes off....ahh, wait! Don't take those off just yet...we have to leave....Stacy needs socks and shoes, still....all these thoughts in the midst of small talk.

Then Harry pops up behind me and starts pulling me out the door. Wait- the kids! What?! He's dressed up for a basketball game. Do I have to wash nacho cheese dip out of that outfit tomorrow? "Ahh, do I need to change?" Lisa says "bye!" with a big smile on her face and takes Stacy in the living room to look out the window - at the middle of nowhere, and I am still worried about finishing the diaper bag packing.
"What is going on here - what just happened? Do I need to call Mary?"
"No, Mary's in on it. Here, put this on." as he hands me a bag with a dress, shoes, and matching undergarments, because that's just a complex I have. Okay, no basketball game I assume. This man will not tell me anything. AT. ALL! We played 60 questions on the way there, and I finally realized that he was telling me nothing of the truth as he answered these. I think it was the one he answered about "we're going to a Motley Crew concert" that I finally picked up on the fact that this was all bull hunkey. He told me about 10 times to just sit back and enjoy the evening. But me, being this planning fruitcake, has to have it all figured out before it happens. HELLO!

We get to a nice restaurant, very nice meal, good conversation, relaxing, glass of wine....did I mention no kids? You can actually hear each other talk quietly! lol Then he takes me to UNI - Walked in, this is the Waterloo/CF Symphony. Now, I LOVE things like this and my husband planned this whole day just for us....well, me really. Made all the phone calls, worked everything out, kept it a secret - and I knew this man.....he baffled me.

I know he reads these, so honey, I just want to let you know how absolutely special you are and it's times like these that I really realize how much I take you for granted. Thank you, thank you for putting our marriage on the top priority list. It would be so easy after Andy's death for us to fall apart, and by you taking the extra time lately and pouring it into us really shows me that we can come through this together, holding hands. I love you so, so much.

Miss Bimbo

I have a great idea. Let's teach our little girls (9 and up) to think about multiple jobs, multiple boyfriends, sexy underwear, boob jobs, diet pills, and cosmetic surgery. Oh wait, someone's already been on it. Have you people heard about this?!

MissBimbo.com makes me want to live way out in the country with oil lamps. We have the first part down already, I guess. Can you get wireless internet along with oil lamps, or don't those two mesh together?

Along with the french kiss game, this game gives out attitude points, people. Ugh, check it out and get educated - it's coming to a home near you!

My chef of a 2 year old.

Tiffany got out a big pot today and wanted to "egg, egg, cook". So I got out a little omlet pan for her. By herself, she sprayed the pan, cracked the eggs (she likes to sqeeze them, so we have to review to tap it on the counter first), 2 small eggshell pieces easy to take out, picked out a spatula and stirred it up, I added some salt and got a "Oh, thank you Mommy", then added her handful of cheese. Holy cow, when did she grow up. No, she didn't eat it. She served it to Stacy, who gladly accepted. She is very careful about getting burned, too. It's just built into her - I better take some cooking classes before she starts teaching ME how to cook.

Cleaned out our raspberry patch yesterday - I feel spring coming on!

Happy Easter!

Tiffany saw this huge bunny walking down the sidewalk and she darted toward him. This is a sprint, Ladies and Gentlemen.

















Happy Easter to you, Andy. We sent you off a balloon today!

I was just standing here doing dishes. No, I'm not sure how long my house will smell like this little guy. Aren't you supposed to be hybernating??




















But, it's a true sign that spring will feel like spring any time now. No, really, any time now. I'm super excited for a garden this spring!

Dear Andy,

1. You were perfect.
2. I have cried more tears for you than I knew I had.
3. I. Miss. You. Oh, I miss you.

I love you always,
Mom

Lovely Store Guide

I just wanted to say... we have a couple local grocery stores here, and I visit both. But on my way out of the store that has the bus (or maybe it's the front of a big yellow minivan) attached to the cart for the kids . . . I found a STORE GUIDE! This little guide maps out all the isles and rows with locations of food printed on them. As I make my grocery list, I write it out according to wherever I am shopping that day (aka whoever has great sales items). So the tuna helper and juice and canned foods always seem to be jumbled because those are the middle-of-the-store isles, and I don't have that much memory span in my little brain. But NOW there's a GUIDE - wanna know how this whole thing goes down? I'll tell you.

As the week goes on, I have a little spot in my daily planner on my counter that is made for grocery lists. As I notice something getting low, or just plain non-existant in my home and I NEED (note: sometimes NEED means M&Ms or Twizzlers if the price is right) it, I jot it down on my little list. Then the morning of the Big Adventure Out, I make sure I have gone through the sales ads, sit down with a fresh paper and write my list out in order according to store. But now there is no gap in my list. And let me tell you, when you're chugging through the isles trying to focus on which groceries you needed with 5 children needing your attention at that specific moment in time, you lose a little more sanity. So thank you, very very much for your store guide. I can now venture out with the children much easier than before, because I can weave swiftly up and down the isles and quickly grab things off the shelf IN ORDER without skipping a beat. Sure beats stopping at the end of each isle to check things off my list, then forgetting something and have to backtrack 3 rows, then remember where I was. Did I mention it's impossible to do this with children - good thing we have Daddy for you guys? Have I expressed this ENOUGH??? THANK YOU FOR THE STORE GUIDE!!!

Title?

How did this guy fit in my belly just a few short days ago??
And, here was our final Christmas picture this year. Pat-A-Cake works wonders!!

That's all for today - I have diapers to change.

Andy

Andy Duane Whiteside joined us at 9:25 a.m. on Wednesday. 7 pounds 1 oz. and 19 1/4 inches tall. We will go home in the morning and watch the snow fall until Christmas. What a gift! I'll get some pictures on here soon.

I LOVE THE SMELL OF NEW BABIES!

Update

So, it's been forever and a day, I know.

Does this make up for it?

My baby is walking...but the video wouldn't upload...sorry. It was a good one, too. :)

The cats wouldn't even eat my smokin' good side - so, it was chicken alfredo with no garlic bread - tsk, tsk.

I awoke at 3:20 am Friday to dive into this with Harry's cousins.

Baby #3 will officially arrive on December 19th at approximately 9:00 am (if not sooner).

And the kids got to have a bowlful of marshmallow Jell-O before breakfast last Saturday.

And I'm nesting..... b. a. d.

And I am 26 now. How embarrassing to say that.....for the record, I'd like to be thought of as 32. Please. 26 sounds like a kid. I hate it when people ask me my age, because 26 is a party age, isn't it? 28 is almost established, and 31 is established. So please, I beg you, don't say "oh, you're so young!" That may be the worst phrase for me to ever hear. The worst is when women I consider to be my friends say "I could be your mother". Ugh. Fine, I'll go to my room.

And I got through 6 1/2 hours last night without getting up to pee. Woo Hoo!

A Picture for You Today

I was out picking apples minding my own business, and heard .... this ....

Nice, huh?

And then I heard a little chicken say that the sky is falling - I just may believe him today.