I was tagged too......

and wouldn't have even known what in the world y'all were talking about if I didn't
read all of your blogs........ love my blogging peeps :)

Fall Questions...

1. Do you like Starbucks? Like no...LOVE yes... love love love

2. How do you decorate and prepare for Fall? I have my halloween pottery pieces out (plates, ceramic houses, ghosts, black jack O lantern, ) and I have pretty pumpkins that I leave out and add some Thanksgiving things too after Halloween is over... I like it more than Christmas because it does not involve that rediculous tree!

3. Will you participate in your college's homecoming activities? well- I don't have a college- but if BAMA is celebrating anything- we usually do too :)

4. What is your favorite Fall clothing item or accessory? my new skirts! I have a new denim, khaki and brown skirt so I feel that I am set (minus that I need shirts and shoes to go with them!)

5. What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid? I was ALWAYS a punk rocker because it didn't involve buying a costume- which we never did!

6. Do you like Halloween/Horror movies? I like one every year or two... but it takes me a year or two to get over the fact that I watched it!!! lol

7. What is your favorite Fall activity? going to the Smokies to Dollywood for the gospel music festival...oooooo.....we leave this Saturday!!!

8. What is your favorite Fall recipe? Soups of all kinds

Quick questions...

1. What movie coming out soon are you looking forward to seeing? Letters to Juliet (I have a $5 off coupon so Kaylee is getting it for Halloween !)
2. What will you miss most about Summer? The heat! I detest winter and all that comes with it!
3. When do you start your holiday shopping? Day after Thanksgiving
4. Favorite exercise/activity? Vacuuming... I love it!
5. Best book you've read lately? I am in need of new books!
6. Do you make your bed every day? prety much- unless there is still someone in it when I leave in the morning
7. If you could choose a personal chef or a personal shopper, which would you choose? definitely the chef- supper is not my fave time of day
8. Which TV show are you most excited for this Fall? Greys and Private Practice- the only two prime time shows I truly follow.

And I'm tagging Amber, Ashleigh, Lindsey, and whomever else hasn't done this yet.

10 years....wow....

Yes- it has been 10 years since I graduated from high school. I graduated through a home school program but I went to Skyline from the time I was 4 years old until I was almost 17. That was 12 years of my life I spent with (mostly) the same classmates. They honored me by inviting me to attend the reunion. I had such good time catching up with everyone- seeing faces I have not seen since I left the mountain. Some of those faces look much the same- some looked so different I did have to ask who they were. Keep in mind- our class had a max. of 55-60 in it- and most of us were together from Headstart(now called Pre-k) until graduation- so these were a close bunch of kids. I do miss that about the mountain. I loved that school. The close knit lives of everyone- not the same thing my kids will have in the changes of elementary/middle school/high school here were we live. We had ONE campus for K-12. You just advanced to the next building... one for elementary (K-6) and one for high school (7-12).


Here we are 10 years later.... a couple of them are actually teachers at Skyline.... that just blows my mind.... teachers were OLD (or so I thought) and here someone MY age is now old enough to teach MY kids..... just weirds me out to say the least.

Lori and Emily- these two were my very good friends. They haven't changed much at all!

Another group shot...


This is just for Taylor and Michelle..... you KNEW I would be blogging about this :)-



This is Labristia- she was my sidekick throughout our entire elemantary years. We lived together it seemed. We have many (funny, embarrasing, I will never tell) stories that I hope we both forget!!!


And JD was a sweety and made sure that he made it to my reunion because I did not want to show up by myself! He had to be at the studio that morning and record 2 Christmas songs (start to finish) for an upcoming gospel Christmas CD that Joppa Pond Studios has in the works. He is picky and I know how long the NH project kept him in that studio- therefore I made sure he knew that I would likely cause great harm to him if he ditched me for recording.......

He went (even though Buena Vista is his LEAST fave restaraunt) and he smiled.... and I think he looked pretty cute ;)

We aren't having church tonight due to a death so we are all using tonight as a lazy, lay around, make-a-messs-so-mom-can-fix-it-back-tomorrow moment, so this is going to count as my normal Monday morning post because I am not seeing a spare minute for blog time amongst Hurricane Cantrell clean-up!!!!

Thankful Tuesday....

Today I am just going to be thankful. No fussing, no whining, no nagging... just happy to be where I am, have what I have, do what I do and be what I am....
it is all good :)

I have 3 healthy kids... I am thankful.
I have 1 healthy, loving husband.... I am thankful.
I have a house that is truly a home.... I am thankful.
I have a family that know what prayer is.... I am thankful.
I have food in my cabinets..... I am thankful.
I have a vehicle that works.... I am thankful.
I have the best friends one could ask for.... I am thankful.
I (most importantly of all) have salvation.... I am VERY thankful!!

Free Friday....

YAY! I have a free Friday! No work (other than the "norm" at home) No singings No parties No getting ready...... can you hear that??? The Hallelujah chorus is being sang in my honor :)

but short lived it is- we have a 10am birthday party in the morning which means me and Miss Grouchy (aka Kaylee) have to get up and run out the door. And let me tell you- she needs some rest- if that child has one more dramatic melt down this week I feel certain she will be shipped off to Drama Queen School! If it isn't hair it is clothes, if it isn't clothes it is shoes, if it isn't shoes it is school work, if it isn't school work Kyle must be breathing too close to her....... Lord help me make it until she is 18!!!!

We did have a comical moment this week. We were eating supper Wednesday night and chatting about school. Kaylee had "Camping" week last week and she was telling about how the teacher put marshmallows in the microwave to make smores and the marshmallows swelled really big when she turned it on. I told her my sisters and I did that when we were kids. Then she went on to ask me about when I was a kid. She asked "What did you wear BACK THEN?" and I asked "When is BACK THEN?" *PAUSE* I always ask unnecessary questions when we are in conversation like this because I LOVE to hear their answers! ANYWAY she said "When you were born..... in the 1940's or whatever!!!!!" So math must not be doing a thing for this child at school because I am 28 and she thinks I was born in the 40's!) I told her (after laughing my head off) that I WAS NOT born until 1981. She said "Well what did you wear THEN?" I said "you know how you wear your Justin Bieber shirt- when I was a kid there was this group called NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK- I liked them like you like him" OK- I felt like I was talking about the Beatles because she was like "who?" and then we went on to talk about the little records that came in the back of books that told stories, what I did at school, etc. etc. from when I was a child- and I had that overwhelming feeling of I am my mom- I really am getting on up there to be having a "Back when I was your age" conversation with my child.

Oh the joys of motherhood!!!

Just pictures......

Eating breakfast before school


Kaylee's self photography


I find him like this all the time- he loves his blanket and rubs it when he is sleepy. This one is too big to pull out of the bed so he just stands there and rubs it through the slats :)


Riding bikes and razors after school


He kept making this face when I would tell him to smile!

Have you ever been so tired.......

that you feel like you make it through the day just so you can go to bed that night- like bedtime just isn't going to get here fast enough.... I feel like that is going to be today! I dropped the kids off at school this morning and came home to a unhappy baby who was wondering around looking for me (OK- stop the panic- JD was here with him! :) I wrapped him up in a blanket and sat down on the couch for some morning snuggles and he was finished with that in about 2 minutes and I felt myself sinking into the couch like "Ahhhhh- I could stay here all day" then I remembered the 10 (for real... atleast 10) loads of clothes I have to do- the undone dishes in my sink- the unmade beds- etc.etc.etc. and I drug myself up and proceeded to make my coffee so I could semi-function. (and sat down at my computer to blog about it lol) OK- I am lame- but this is my thing so bear with me :)

Well- since I haven't done this in a while......

KID UPDATE:
Kaylee is just as dramatic as ever. The clothing issue is never ending in this house. I heard Kyle ask her to go outside to play and she had on a tank and some lounge pants that she had slept in and she said " I can't go out looking like THIS!" The she proceeded to tell me she couldn't play outside because she didn't have anything that she liked in her home-clothes drawer. (FYI- "home clothes" are what she dubbed her play clothes- she knows those are only for home- thus "home clothes" You are now Kaylee-educated!) Last night as I was choosing what she was going to wear to school this morning- I could hear her chanting in a just-above-a-whisper-so-Mom-will-hear voice "Please be the Justin Bieber shirt, please be the Justin Bieber shirt" and I had her new shirt she hasn't even worn in my hand when I turned around and she was not so thrilled about that! (I wasn't being mean- I didn't see the Justin Bieber shirt and didn't have it in me to search for it!) And then she didn't like the ribbon I put around her ponytail this morning.......and they say this will last for ATLEAST 10 more years!

Kyle has done really well in Kindergarten. His "progress report" stated he loves to talk (we have concluded that this will be a lifetime issue as he is never quiet unless sleeping) His teacher also told me that there are two little girls in his class that told him he was a cutie.... and he didn't appreciate their flattery... he associates all girls with his sister and that is yucky...but he does duck and hide when Chelsey tries to kiss him- and he grins when we tease him about her.... I guess he likes the older ladies :)

Kaden is coming out of his shell!! He has been the quiet baby at church that is so good and sits there without a peep and soaks up every move made. WELL..... that has suddenly turned into collapsing to the ground and screaming if he doesn't like what you are doing-or if Kyle is touching him- and throwing himself back and sliding like a 30 pound toad off of my lap!!! Whatever this last sickness was has turned my precious boy into a semi-monster!!! He is a ham though- he has decided he can jump- which means he gets about 1/2 an inch off the ground one foot at a time- and he shouts and plays church constantly! Everything in his hand is a song book and he pats it and sings and occasionally stops by a mirror to preach to himself.

I hope you all have a great week!

Warning... boring post ahead....

We had a not-so-exciting-trapped-indoors-for-days week last week because Kaden had a fever from Tuesday night through Saturday night. I would tell you what caused it but after my $30 copay (AGAIN) I got the "It's Viral" diagnosis- which in my book is the Dr's way of saying "I am clueless as to what this is and I have to say it is something". I am not the type that wants to medicate my kids or anything- but I am the type that only takes my kids to the dr when it is past what I have tried to resolve on my own at home- so when I hear "It's viral" every other time I go- it does not set well with me. His fever ranged from 103.8 - 100.1 for 5 nights and he would not eat and could not sleep and was the clingiest he has ever been- but never the less he is much better now and (knock on wood) no more fevers for him or the other two- so I guess I shouldn't be complaining.

We did get to go to church Sunday night- it was one of those last minute "Do I go or do I stay home one more night?" decisions and so I decided that the kids and I would go (JD was going with or without us) I had cabin fever and the baby did too- and he was 24 hour fever free for those who are concerned that I was spreading cooties :)

Monday we went to Gunter's Mtn church for their Labor Day picnic. The kids had a blast just running around and getting as dirty as they could! We love all the people out there- they treat us so well.
We left there and headed to Scott and Josie's to hang out for a while. (oh yes- we were traveling around the world and back!) The kids did more playing and absolutly LOVED playing in the subdivision, riding power-wheels on the street, taking full advantage of the neighbors playhouse, etc. It did kind of give me an itch to move into a subdivision- which is against all I have ever wanted. I am a house and land kind of girl...... JD is a "whatever I don't have to mow" kind of guy (that does not appreciate our 2 acres of lawn like I do :)

And here we are- back at the norm- life, school, church, and life..... and the singings start this weekend. I do like singings- but by Sunday night I am usually past my point of ironing, pack a diaper bag, get kids in the car- go again. That ONE extra time of getting ready really is a killer! If you see me nodding at church this weekend just over look it (after you laugh..... because you know I would be laughing at you too!)