Trick-or-Treat Sweetness!

My Kitty, Ninja, Boxer (Rockey Balboa to be exact), and Angel; Halloween cuties.

Octopus for Dinner?

I got this idea from a magazine so I tricked the kids, telling them we were gonna eat octopus for dinner. You should have seen the look on their faces. :D You just cut 8 "legs" in each hotdog and boil until their legs curl up.
After we took them out of the water Sarah thought it looked like their "sticky things" or "suction cups" fell off in the boiling water. :D
The kids all got to make faces on their octopus before eating them.
Adam painted a face on his octopus using mustard.
Sarah made her octopus face using pretzels.
Jack pierced a "sword" (toothpick) through his octopus instead of making a face.

Jack doing brain surgery on his octopus.



Jack, Sarah and Adam enjoying their tasty treats.

The mind of a 3 1/2 year old... "The Sword in the Toe."

Or should I say inside Jack's mind...:D The other day I was driving around town when Jack informed me that a "sword" was stuck in his "second pinky toe" aka "big-little toe or other pinky toe" (the toe next to the pinky toe, incase you couldn't figure that out LOL). When I looked in the rearview mirror he was holding a small, sharp toe nail which really did look like a little "sword". He makes me laugh. He also calls butter knives "swords". Can you tell he likes weaponry. :D

Smiling Faces

Me & Tootie

  Me and Grace on the beach over Labor Day weekend before school started.  Probably one of the last, if not THE last nice beach day.  Don't mind the fat arm shot.  What can I say, I am alittle buff these days, HA! *wink*

School Days

Adam's 1st day of school today!(kindergarten)





Sarah's 1st day of school yesterday!(2nd grade)

I asked Adam if he made any cool friends at school today to which he replied yes three, only he couldn't remember there names so he described them as such using these exact words in this exact order: "The little guy with the glasses (friend #1), the big guy with the green shirt (friend #2), and the brown guy (friend #3). I thought that was sooo cute! :D

My "offical" seal

Pumpkin Heads

Garden Harvest 

 The kids each picked out a pumpkin from our very own pumpkin patch that we planted this year.  I don't think we will plant another pumpkin patch next year since it is quickly taking over the rest of our garden.  

Cousins

 Here are some more Sephia poses of my kiddos and their cousins.  My sister's girls...Kaylyn, Jenna and Lauren.  Beautiful! :D

 

*Check out Grace's face in the all girls pose (top right)  She looks like a drunk zombie!! LOL

Brothers & Sisters

The art of "Multi-tasking"

I want to start a bullet list for the things us mothers get accomplished through "multi-tasking"
Feel free to add your accomplishments in the comments and I will add them to the list. (That is if anyone reads my blog anymore :D )

• You know you have successfully mastered the art of multi-tasking when you can nurse your infant and clip your toddlers fingernails and toenails at the same time.~Momblogs
• When you can take care of your all your children while 3/4 of them are sick with the stomach flu and throwing up, without getting a single drop of puke on the floor, all the while feeling nauseous yourself.~Momblogs
• Managing to cook dinner (chopping or stirring something), hold a crying or nursing baby and talk on the phone (say to make an appointment). ~Princess Ruby
• Holding a conversation with a doctor, talking to one child, and getting the other child out of trouble? ~Princess Ruby
• Nurse while cleaning up a puking kid. ~Choppzs
• Nurse while grocery shopping. ~Choppzs
• Nursing a baby while cutting out a pattern. ~Amie

I know I have more, I'll have to think about it and update later.

Happy Birthday to the man I love!

Today is my honey's birthday and since I don't have a photo to post of him (he will never allow his picture to be taken alone without his hand covering his face) I thought I would list 28 reasons why I love this man.

1. His love of and devotion to our Heavenly Father.
2. He has given me four beautiful children.
3. His strength, both physical and mental.
4. His lips.
5. His hands.
6. His smile.
7. His eyes.
8. The way he talks.
9. His sense of humor. (he makes me laugh all the time and I love to laugh)
10. His intelligence.
11. His God given ability at problem solving. (he is amazing at this)
12. The way he is with the kids. (they adore him)
13. Because he loves me even though I can be a nerd (through song and dance :D ) sometimes.
14. His ideas about our future and how he is taking care of us.
15. His ability at making decisions
16. He is compassionate when he needs to be.
17. The way he suprises me with things on my birthday and other special occasions.
18. The way he listens to me.
19. How he keeps me focused.
20. He is my best friend.
21. He does a lot of things that remind me of my dad and I love that. (my dad died 7 yrs ago)
22. He works in a way that allows me to be a SAHM.
23. He is wonderful as the head of our house.
24. He is great at encouraging me and the kids.
25. He knows how to have fun.
26. He's an excellent gardner :D (I'll have to post an updated picture of our garden)
27. He knows how to cook a good meal.
28. For all the little things he does for me to let me know he loves me.

Those are just a few of the reasons why I love him and want to wish him a happy 28th birthday!

I love you Dan, Happy Birthday Baby!!

Family Photo

I haven't had much time to blog recently with all the construction/remodeling we are doing on our house trying to get it ready to sell. Today, however, I did get a chance to sneak away from all the painting I've been doing, but just long enough to post this family picture. This was taking on July 4th this year at my mom's house. It is hard to get everyone together to take a family picture so they are few and far between. I will cherish this photo until the next time I have to beg dear hubby to sit long enough for a picture :D
Hopefully I will get another chance to update my blog soon, but until then you can enjoy my family picture as much as I am.

Water or Coke?

Eye Opening Information! (This was an email from my FIL)

This is really an eye opener... Water or Coke? We all know that water is important but I've never seen it written down like this before.

WATER
1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.
2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.
3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%.
4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.
5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.
8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

And now for the properties of Coke:
1. In many states (in the USA) the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the truck to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.
2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone in two days.
3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the "real thing" sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous China.
4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.
5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion
6. To loosen a rusted bolt: Applying a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.
7. To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake. Thirty minutes before the ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for sumptuous brown gravy.
8. To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of Coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains.
9. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.

For Your Info:
1. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. Its pH is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days. Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major contributor to the rising increase in osteoporosis.
2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate) the commercial truck must use the Hazardous material place cards reserved for highly corrosive materials.
3. The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 ! years!

Now the question is... Would you like a Coke or a glass of water?

All I can say is a glass of ice cold water sounds so refreshing now! This has made me think differently about coke or any soda/pop for sure.

Happy Father's Day (two days late)

Happy Father's day to my wonderful husband, who is the greatest father in the world. Of course I am a little biased, but only a little. Below is an email my husband recieved from his father and thought it was funny so I decided to share.

Men Are Just Happier People

What do you expect from such simple creatures? Your last name stays put.The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolateis just another snack. You can be President. You can never be pregnant. Youcan wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a waterpark. Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your urinal. You neverhave to drive to another gas station rest room because this one is just tooicky. You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on abolt. Same work, more pay. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress $5000. Tuxrental-$100. People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them.The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected. New shoes don'tcut, blister, or mangle your feet. One mood all the time.Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff abouttanks. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open allyour own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act ofthoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still beyour friend.Your underwear is $8.95 for a three pack. Three pairs of shoes are morethan enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. You are unableto see wrinkles in your clothes. Everything on your face stays its originalcolor. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have toshave your face and neck.You can play with toys all your life. Your belly usually hides your big!hips. One wallet and one pair of shoes one color for all seasons.You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can "do" your nailswith a pocket knife. You have the freedom of choice concerning growing amustache.You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25minutes.No wonder men are happier.

Happy Birthday!

 My oldest, Sarah, turned 7 on Father's Day this year, June 18th.  I can't believe my baby is this old already.  Happy Birthday Sarah Bear!!

Tootie has teeth!

Gracie face sporting her two teeth she got just last month.

(Oh and Tootie is just one of her many nicknames)

Fun Outside

Wow! The weather sure has been nice around here. I thought I would share some updated pictures of my cutie pies. Sarah is almost done with school and summer break is fast approaching. Can't wait to get to the beach and enjoy the break before school starts again. This fall Adam will be joining Sarah at school, he in kindergarten and she in 2nd grade. I can't believe how my babies are growing up so fast. Next year will just be me, Jack and Grace during school hours. *sigh* Empty nest sydrome is already swallowing me up!

Sunday Best

Our trip to Chicago

We had a great time! We Rode the double decker bus and toured the city, we rode the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier, went up the Sears Tower aka Serious Tower (as pronounced by Adam) or Serious Trouble (as pronounced by Jack),  went to the Shedd Aquarium, and ate at some pretty cool places. We did a lot and I mean a lot of walking and nobody got sun burned.  Hooray! :D