Gasp....

Two days in a row.... I am determined to catch up on my blogging slump. I just came in from folding (smashing, stomping and cramming) and putting away the kids water slide so I had to take a break (lol- a break- when I have been out of bed for 1 hour and 10 minutes). The slide had to be completely dry before you stored it and every time I had it almost dry.... it would get left in the rain and I would have to start over again.... I know- the highlight of my day is storing a water slide- try not to turn green with envy ;)

And on to the next highlight ... checking Zulily on my phone while blogging on my laptop..... sigh.....I need to get a life.... (btw if you have a little girl smaller than a size 6- today is awesome)

We had a singing at church Friday night. It was pretty good. I missed alot of the second half because I was downstairs helping with clean- up... but Kyle gave me somewhat of a glimpse of it... I checked my gallery on my cell phone and there are about 5 or 6 shaky-mini-videos of the Long Family on there.... He told Marquetta he was going to put them on You Tube. Sad thing is- he probably is more likely to know how to do it than I am!

The boys and I stayed home all day yesterday. I wasn't feeling great and Kaden has been battling the crud for a few days now. He obviously didn't feel good Saturday night because he was a nightmare during church. Two hours of crying over everything from wanting our cell phones to having a meltdown over a tube of chapstick. I weighed it up yesterday and decided it was best for us- and for those who sit close by us- that we stay home. Good thing we did- he was up at 2:30 this morning coughing every breath! I hate that my kids do this- I was the same way when I was little- if the weather changed my breathing and allergies would go crazy. Maybe the rain today will settle this crazy high pollen/ragweed/whatever down!

Not much else to report.... same ol stuff..... so I will end with MORE pictures..... because I know that is why you came here in the first place :)

Before the singing Friday night- Kaylee declared this was the ugliest dress she has ever worn!

This shows why Kaden and I didn't attend church yesterday.....

Kyle loves being the big brother (though I am not sure whom actually is the biggest :)

He can be sweet...

Allie and Kaden trying to fit under the bar stool (& looks like they were deciding who got to stay and who had to go)

Brody as Batman... Kyle as Spider/Bat Man

Kaden wasn't turning the lights on and off.... Woody was....

Chandler and his adorable self

I am now going to force myself out of this chair and in to doing some type of house work- I don't know which is sounding more appealing... the bathrooms..... or the dusting.... or the laundry.... or the floors...... ugghhhhh..... none of the above- perhaps I will blog some more ;) Happy Rainy-But-Warm Monday!

I went down to the river to pray.....

OK- that has nothing to do with this post but that song plays on my Pandora all the time and (even though I am well aware that it was on the movie Oh Brother Where Art Thou) I love it... and it is stuck in my head today :)

We went to Karen's yesterday to watch Bama stomp Arkansas in some good SEC football... but before the game I took the kids to Karen's back yard for a small photo shoot in their Bama gear (well- Kaden's Bass Pro hat didn't quite "go" but his hair is in major need of some clippers )

Kaylee at the top of the water fall (JD was scare just by looking at this pic :)

Notice Kyle's feet NOT hanging over... he thought a fish was going to bite him!

He decided to be brave

Fall #1 (somehow I thought I could do creek pics and no one get too wet... WRONG!)

Though he looks scared... he is really trying to push Kaylee away....

Praise the Lord (well... this was before Fall #2)

Tasting the water

After the final fall.... Kaden had a mouth full of grass :)

We then removed the wet clothes (minus Kaylee and Kyle's jeans because I didn't have any spares) and took them to the park at Grant. They loved their 30 minutes of freedom- we had to get back for the game to start :)

Kaden wasn't so happy about having to leave...

And this is my post for the day... possibly the week..... I have had my camera out alot more lately and JUST figured out how to put them on my laptop in order without duplicating them..... so watch out blog world- you will be seeing more and more pics of the life with the Cantrell's! (Now if a dear soul would teach me how to use my photoshop software I would be set... and I tried the you-tube videos that "teach" you.... and I still can't understand the geek that is trying to teach me!!!) Later!!!!

Uh-hum....

So sorry for the delay... I have yet again been thrown into the proverbial lion's den of life! I know your sick of hearing "we're so busy, whaa whaa whaa" from me so I will skip all that. We will just start off with "Hi, how you doin? Good? Oh!  Me too... " and go from there ;) No need to catch you up- most of you have been everywhere I have been the past month- church, birthday parties by the dozens, etc. etc. so I am just gonna start fresh from here....
All is well in the Cantrell household. We are trying the potty training thing with Kaden- which I say very lightly considering he maybe goes potty once a day when it is on the potty.... this is the part I wish you could send them to school to learn ;) His baby bed broke so he is now on a toddler mattress in the floor until we find some (duh duh dum) bunk beds. I know-you don't have to say it- Kyle needs a reservation to the ER for when we actually get them- but considering I caught him just the other day trying to jump off the dresser (very top) ALL the way across the room to the mattress Kaden sleeps on- I think bunk beds surely can't do much more damage ("Lord-you know my son- Please watch over his spider-monkey-flying-squirrel-self" Amen) I am growing used to the sound of crash/thump/bump/roll "I'm OKAAAAYYYY!!" Maybe I need to lock him in my padded cell for a while :)

Singing season is back in full swing. They have 6 or so bookings for now. (Yay- I know you just heard my shrill scream of excitement ;) I missed Big Cove's singing Friday night because Kyle had a stomach bug. Kaylee and JD went on without us. She couldn't miss it - especially when she figured out it was at THE Porter Kelly's Church! Who knew at 8 years old you that you #1- remember where a boy goes to church and #2 go to a singing just to see him? (& before you think I am that mother that pushes this type of behavior- think again... I was getting one child out of the germ infested house in hopes that we didn't have another epidemic of vomiting like we have had in the past- it just so happened that was the only place I could send her) Boyfriends and the drama that follows them aren't welcome in my house for a very long time... I have enough boys to tend to that LIVE here... I need no extras thank-you-very-much....

And to offer up an excuse for my anti-blogging-slump I have been in... I am sitting at the table.... living room tv blaring whatever Kyle is watching... Kaylee has hollered my name at least 5 times in the last 10 minutes- only to tell me she is out of the bathtub- which she gets her self out of every night- but tonight it required an announcement to the neighbors.... and Kaden just took a face dive off of the toy box and will have a gigantic bruise on his arm- to match the two on his leg- that I will feel the need to explain to anyone who sees them like I am going to be reported to DHR ....remember that peace and quiet and my little "coffee break" I used to get in the mornings... GONE.... I am living in the middle of a war zone from the hours of 8am-10pm.... It is hard to focus on what I was supposed to be putting in the washing machine let alone come up with a few paragraphs of my crazy madness to share with you all..... I am going to try to have a weekly blog time- but let me get adjusted to school (I know- it started a month ago- but I am a slow- have mercy!)

Want to see what the kids look like these days.... let me see what pics I have on this computer....


Joycelynn Grace- 10 days old... (she isn't mine- but oooo ain't she pretty :)



First Day of School.... may have posted this already....



Bff's - this child has been at my house alot this summer... and Kaylee often offers to trade Kyle for her.....



Bless it.... but now he knows how I feel... no privacy in this house!



Oh Mom... please let me have a skating party... Pleeeaasseee...



Skating rink floor 1- Kaylee 0.....  forgot to mention that she can't skate....



Kyle took horse-shoes to a new level....

And such is life... its all good- crazy- but good. I now have to go blow dry Kaylee's hair, give the boys a bath, get clothes/lunch/snacks/backpacks ready for tomorrow and hopefully sit back down before 10... and figure out where the remote control has wondered off to today (under bed, down in recliner, on the back of the toilet.... we are never really sure of its whereabouts :)

Good night all!

Have you missed me????

Wow! This summer has flown by and part of that is due to the fact of us running from boarder to boarder of the Alabama state line (and crossing it a few times along the way). We think our running is done for now- but Kaylee is trying to beg a mini-vacation out of us. Maybe a short trip to the smokies or to the cabin will do....

To try to catch you up would be impossible. In highlights- Kaden no longer has a pacifier! (tears here, this growing up stuff is killer!) About two weeks ago, it was bedtime and no paci was to be found so I did a trial run without it... and he has been fine without it since. Well- fine is a stretch... his terrible two's have kicked it in high gear.... guess he will show us!!! He argues with everyone, has this stubborn streak that won't give and can fall to pieces in 2.2 seconds when he hears the word NO. I think he did all of this before but the paci made him get over it quickly! He talks so well- says just about everything and you can actually understand him (we couldn't understand Kyle until he was about 4 years old....seriously.... he had his own language!) He is definitely the bully of the bunch. I guess you think you can push everybody around when you are two years old and the size of a pre-teen ;)

Kyle turned 6 and was not so happy about until it was over! The night before his birthday, I was tucking him in (and he was not happy that I wouldn't let him vacuum the floors like he thought Kaylee was) I tried cheering him up by saying "Somebody is going to be 6 years old tomorrow" and he busted out crying saying "I know- and my voice is going to be different! I don't want to grow up!" I laughed and said "You will be fine... 6 years old isn't hardly grown up yet" This kid says the funniest things EVER! He is still so sweet too... they sang happy birthday to him at church and he collected his dollars (you get $1 from people at church when they sing) and we went through McDonald's on the way home and he got all excited when we got to the window because he thought he was buying our food with his money! He kept saying "Thanks for letting them sing to me... this is the best day EVER!"

Kaylee is the diva these days- more so than usual! She is Kaden's caretaker and Kyle's boss. The big sister role is fitting her to a T! If Kaden gets in trouble or needs petting... she picks him up and rocks him (like he isn't almost as big as her) and she is sure to tell Kyle what he is/is not supposed to be doing and how to do it and when to do it and to stay away from her at all times.... and he listens to none of it! She is all in to clothes, shoes, make up (play... not for real.... though she did pull one on me the other day.... we went shopping and I looked really close after we were already in town and she had REAL MASCARA on!! I could have killed her! 7 going on 17 for sure!!) and the hair will always be an issue until she does it herself... and something tells me then that I will then be the one crying about it!!! I braided her hair yesterday and here came the tears because she wanted to wear her peace sign headband.... so we compromised with a ponytail and parted ways..... some days I think shaving her head wouldn't be near as difficult!! Oh- she and her bff Katie did not get in the same class this year.... the world just might stop spinning on August 15! (that is until she picks the new-school-bff for this year)

JD and I just returned from our weekend get-away to Nashville. We were totally lost without our kids! I love being able to stay here with my kids- but it has made me socially retarded! I wanted to tell someone to sit down, be quiet and eat their food.... but that doesn't work well at a table full of adults.... I actually ate HOT food and got to chew it rather than swallow it whole in 3 bites. I slept til 10... TEN... I went shopping and didn't loose anyone (though JD did want to run when I got to the spending part :) We missed the kids like crazy- but it was nice. JD said he truly had forgotten what it was like when it was just us two- but we wouldn't change our little crazy, kid-filled life for a million dollars.

And I am going now.... loads and loads and loads of laundry to do..... bags to be unpacked.... house to be found underneath it all! Happy Monday!

Excuse me....

Yesterday I took my 3 kids plus 1 more to the pool because playing outside isn't an option when the heat index is 110. Well..... I put sunscreen on them but didn't put any on me.... well..... we were the 4 lobsters sitting at church last night! I am just proud Granny didn't see them or else I would have probably gotten a whippin'! I seriously put it on Kaden's face TWICE and he was more burned there than anywhere.... can you say BAD sunscreen! I took a couple of pics with my phone but have yet to master the whole phone-to-computer-to-files-to-blog thing.... trust me.... it was pretty bad! Oh, and my sun burn must have instantly aged me to 45 years old because I was praying for a girl in the alter that looked to be somewhere around 20 years of age and an older sister looked at me and asked me if I was her mother!.... this was not good for someone whom is having an age crisis .... I was almost offended by that one! I nicely said "Ummm, no" and tried not to cry.

That paragraph mostly sums up our weekly life thus far into summer.... church-pool-church-eat-church-sleep super late (the kids- not JD and I)-church- and repeat. I have adapted to getting up in the morning and ironing clothes on the just-in-case we go to church. My kids have 3 questions "Are we going to church? Whose church is it? Are they gonna have food?" They finally gave up on trying to talk us out of going since that isn't optional most times (unless we go to the mountain.... then they get to stay with Nanny)

Since the last post we have baby showered Jacob and RaeAnn for baby Joycelynn whom is to arrive in August (poor momma..... summer is no fun when you are with child!) We have -well- we have..... the whole church-pool-eat thing ..... nothing else really monumental..... how boring.....

We have an upcoming trip to Nashville (woo-hoo... be jealous.... I know you ALL want to vacation to the Bass Pro Shop with me...(insert really big sarcastic laugh here) with JD's employer, but as of last night my kids had begged and pleaded a beach trip out of JD.... so I have high hopes of finding somewhere to stay a long weekend that has sand and ocean.... so far those hopes have been dimmed by no vacancy.... but I am still working on it!

Happy 2nd week of July! I hope you all are more exciting than me.... as I proof-read this I am thinking I need to get a life. Well... I love my life..... and I am not asking for excitement.... because in this house that comes in the form of a 5 year old jumping on a baby bed and almost knocking out his front tooth.... so I will stick with the church-pool-eat thing and not complain Thank you very much :)

Now where were we.....

Oh yes... Memorial Day was covered.... now it is Father's Day .... (we will pretend it wasn't almost a month ago.... just go with it.... :)

Father's Day followed our week of revival- therefor nothing fun and exciting was planned. JD had a major test to take for an insurance class and (of course) he had not studied but less than half of what he had to know.... and the test was on Monday (did he ask me when he REscheduled the test for the Monday after revival- WHY NO!- that would have been too easy because I would have said "Let's think about this JD... you will be dead and your brain will be too tired to cram study like I know you are going to do" but who asked me- I am just the know it all around here!) Anywho... our weekend consisted of JD eating, sleeping and breathing that book until he thought he had it (which he did... he aced it actually..... he also had alot of people praying he would so I am definitely giving the Good Lord  credit for that one!)

And I have pictures.... JD is not going to be happy that I shared..... but this isn't JD's blog now is it ;)-

Pardon the "we got ourselves ready" look my children are sporting...at least Kyle has his My Dad Rocks tee on :)

JD has fussed and fussed that we have no flash lights with batteries... so Kyle and I picked him
up some at the Dollar Store that morning.... and Kyle that we got him something BIG :)

Father's Day breakfast of chocolate gravy and biscuits....

And now I am caught up.... except that I forgot my camera yesterday so Marquetta has the 4th of July pics on hers.... so that will take a little while for me to get those.....

We went to her house and grilled and cooked and made ice cream (and enough food for an army). Grilling the hamburgers was an experience... with JD, Chad, Emily and myself trying to figure it out... I almost lost all my arm-hair over Emily's hamburger..... it was pretty funny- but you had to be there...

We bought some really good fireworks. The kids love doing our own just as much as watching a big show of them. Someone in the neighborhood did an hour of HUGE fireworks and it was better than driving all over town and getting stuck in all the crazy traffic. It was as good as it gets in my book (except when Kyle grabbed the hot part of the sparkler stick and burned his fingers... you know he never makes it out of anything unharmed!) He is okay now...

So Happy Monday/Tuesday (I am so confused today.... as I am most days ;) I hope you all have a good, short, 4-day week!

Told ya....

I am barely making it before Independence Day... but here are the pics from Memorial Day :) We have our annual church picnic at Simmons Park every year on Memorial Day. It is now the only day out of the year that I attempt to play volleyball and softball (which I didn't play... or did I.... I really can't remember... how sad!!)

The grillmaster

He actually did really well...