Concert!

I had a night out the other night and went to a concert with some of my family & friends.  It was a great time-we were on the front row!  I've never been on the front row.  We saw Darius Rucker and had a good time.  Meme, Poppy, Aunts Lys, Ma, & Abbey, Uncle Wayne, Tricia (Meme's sister-in-law or Aunt Tricia), Cousin Kayla, and our friends Mary & Clyde went.  I had a great time and it was good to have some "mommy-time".  
I know I've said it before, but I LOVE going to concerts and it had been almost a year since I went to see Jason Aldean last year.  I think I was due a concert!  :-)  I'll try to make sure I see one a year-haha! 

Random thoughts....

Our new schedule is still working great-mostly for me.  I've had so much more energy and gotten so many more things done.  I really needed to make a change and I have to say, I'm truly enjoying the children more and also enjoying my "housework".  I think being well-rested and up before the kids has made all the difference in the world.  I also like getting a shower and being ready before they are up.  Lots of people tell me they would stay in their pajamas all day if they were home with their kids.   My personal opinion (which is just mine-no one else's) is that I'm not too fond of that.  I feel like I'm raising adults and I don't want to set that example for them.  I must say-who doesn't feel better after a shower?  Who wants to sit around in jammies all day?  Now, there are some days I don't end up getting a shower until Dustin gets home.  I really notice a difference that day, those days are "blah" days for me.  That's just what I've noticed about me.  Just saying.....

In other news-Henry is still toothless.  I've thought for months he was getting a tooth.   Every morning I excitely check his mouth and.... nada.  No tooth fairy visits for him yet.  Oh well....I'm not rushing it, but is there anything cuter than those little baby chicklet teeth?  I think not!!!!

Birthday month is still ongoing.  Nanny's b-day is Tuesday.  The kids actually know which birthdays are coming up-so it's exciting for them and something they look forward to. 

We have a big dirt "spot" in our yard right now.  It's not a dirt pile, it's just a spot we've cleared off, just because.  We aren't putting anything there, it just needed to be clear.  The kids are loving picking up sticks and helping clear it up.  Of course they also play too!  They were filthy tonight by the end of the night.  I love that they love playing outdoors and being "country kids". 
I know they are country kids when we saw a picture of a chicken the other day and Carson exclaimed- "Mom, there's an egg in there!"  It cracked me up.  He LOVES gathering eggs with Poppy and talks about it all the time.  He also likes to point out that you have to wash the poop off.  Kids are so brutally honest. 

All for now-I'm off to look up some new recipes!  I love finding new recipes.  :-)
 

Our New Schedule

Well, I didn't post yesterday because by 8:30 last night, I was exhausted!  Dustin and I decided on a new schedule for the kids, bedtime is now 8:30 for them.  I am setting my alarm to get up at 7 am, before them and get a few things done-like my shower, laundry, dishes, my Bible study homework/Bible time, blogging, bills, anything I need to do but can't seem to do with the kids in tow.  It's been a nice change.  I've also been going to bed much earlier, which makes for a more pleasant day I think.  I feel much more rested.  I've had to let some things go to do this.  Sometimes the house is a mess when I go to bed, but it will be there in the morning for sure.  I'm trying to limit my computer time as well.  It's just hard to stop browsing the internet once I start at night.  The next thing I know, I'll have spent 2 hours reading blogs, researching stuff, etc.  I still hope to post almost every day, but some days it just may not happen.  :-( 
On a different note- Monday I took the kids to a playground and they had a blast!  Amanda and I decided to get our lunch to go and take them there since Joyce ended up not being able to meet us.  We actually got to talk and the kids worked off some energy.  Once it was time to go, we got little resistance and everyone was happy.  I think we'll definitely do that again. 
Well, I'm off to do more chores.  I have all the windows up, enjoying this fall air!!!  Carson is running errands with Papa, Emmy is drooling over an American Girl catalog...Henry's being patient as usual but I think he'd appreciate some baby food. 
More later.....

Milk Monday

It's "Milk Monday" which means we will go get our fresh milk and today we are having lunch with Amanda and JuJu.  I hope the kids will cooperate, they've been a little "off" lately, which I think is attributed to lack of sleep.  They've been staying up later and getting up at the same time or earlier, no naps...equals fussy, grumpy kids.  Aren't we grumpy when we don't get enough rest?  Even Henry's not napped well the past two days.  He's already down for a morning nap now though, since he got up early today.  Some days he gets up to eat early, some days he sleeps on through.  I guess as Alyssa would say, "he sleeps till his hunger awakes him."  She's so funny.
Anyway, ever since we've been getting the fresh milk, people in our "milk click" had said they couldn't drink milk from the store anymore, it just tastes gross.  I had not had that problem, and sometimes have had to drink "store milk" because there wasn't enough for us and the kids, and the kids always get the fresh milk first.  Well, I drank some "store milk" the other day and EWWWW!  It tasted sour!  Yuck!  I just can't drink it anymore.  I wondered if this would ever happen and 1 1/2 years later, it has.  There is just nothing like fresh milk right from the cow! 

Scholastic Book Club

As a follow up to yesterday's reading post, I forgot to mention how excited I was to find that Hunter brought home a little Scholastic Reading Book Club flyer from pre-school!  Amanda made sure I knew about it so I could order.  Call me a nerd, but I LOVED getting these in school and always poured over them and hemmed and hawed about what books I wanted and hoped my parents would let me order.  I was so excited when Amanda told me Hunter got one.  You can get great books so cheaply through them!  I ordered 7 books this time, and only spent $19.95!  Two books were only $1 each, and they are well-known ones like "If you give a mouse a cookie".  I'm excited for the new books to arrive and to add them to our nighttime reading basket of books. 
Don't even get me started on the Read-Up points and free personal pan pizzas!  :-) 

Reading

Since I talked about going to bed so late last night, I will share our new bedtime routine.  We read at bedtime now, which we had not been doing for a while.  I always read to the kids when they were infants in their bouncer seats, etc.  Then they got mobile and no one wanted to sit for storytime.  Now, the kids are really getting back into reading, and I am SO EXCITED!  I LOVE to read, I always have.  In fact, I have to cut myself off from reading at times.  Right now, I haven't read a book for fun in over a month.  I just get too wrapped up in them and stay up almost all night reading.  The twins now choose which books they want me to read and we read, and read, and read, and read.....I know htey know it's also a delay tactic.  They do enjoy the stories though, and it's been neat to see them read them back to us.  The hands-down favorite right now is "Chicka, Chicka, Boom Boom!".  It is a really cute alphabet book.  We read it at least 4 times a night.  Emilynn and Carson both read it.  Last night Emmy saw the "Q" in there and said, "Mommy, it looks sort of like a zero."  I was pretty impressed.  Sometimes they say stuff and we don't even know where they've learned it.  We were alos looking at our bug book and she declared- "those ants are marching east.".  O-kay.  I am really, really glad they are so very observant!  Carson is a quiet observer.  He notices things like tractors and truck/car colors, etc.  He knows what everyone drives and what type of tractor our neighbor has. 
Anyway, I'm thrilled the children are so eager to learn and are such little sponges.  I can't wait until we can read chapter books at night.  Little House on the Prarie will absolutely be the first ones we read!  I love them and have read them many, many times! 

Our Day

Okay, so I know it's Saturday already, but I haven't made it to sleep yet, so this post still counts as Friday, right?  Right!  :-) 
Believe it or not, I JUST got the last child to bed!  Yes, it's been an off night for us.  Well, Dustin was off today so he did a bunch of yard work and we just played and hung around the house.  We didn't leave to go get some supper till 7.  Then both kids fell asleep on the way, so we decided it would be best to get take-out.  I also had to get a few grocery items.....we ended up getting home at 10 pm with two wide awake twins!!!  We finally got them down about 11:30, and Henry started crying.  So, he had to eat again before going down for the night.  Normally everyone is in bed at 9, so it's been crazy.  It's nice to be able to throw our schedule to the wind though when Daddy is off of work. 
Dustin was doing some work with the tractor, so Carson got his little push peddle tractor and was also "working" alongside Daddy.  So cute.  The twins are at a fun, yet busy age! 

Bus Ride

About a month ago, I met my mom at my grandma's house to take our bus ride we had been planning for the children.  We hopped on the bus at Nanny's house- mom, me, and the three kids.  It cost us a whole $2 total to ride.  The driver and other riders were so sweet and kept talking to the kids and making a big deal out of their ride.  The twins sat together and they LOVED it!  Carson sat by the window and put his arm on the armrest and never moved it.  He would tell us when he saw tractors, lawmowers, tires....just about anything.  Emilynn really liked it too, she was singing our "Wheels on the Bus" song and also looking at everything.  She is more into people though, so she was checking them all out.  The bus had a ton of riders!  I was shocked.  It was completely full at one point.  We rode for an hour and it was great entertainment.  Everyone told the kids "bye" when we got back off, and we stood waving at them till they were out of sight.  I will definitely ride again with the kids, I think I could take them myself and just leave Henry with Nanny.  Maybe next time Hunter can go with us too.  I can't remember if it was Carson or Emilynn who said it but they said, "I love that bus!"  It was so cute and a great day! 

Bible Study

I posted on how I loved our Bible study on Sunday.  As a follow up, since tonight is Bible study night, I have to mention what happened Sunday.  I got to Sunday School and church with the kiddos and the pastor started his sermon.  It was on anger!  I had just posted about how I was angry about something.  It's funny how a lot of the time the sermon seems aimed right at us, isn't it?  I was amazed at the message God had for me.  The pastor mentioned how when we speak and act in anger, we sever relationships and then we cannot be a witness to those people anymore about God.  He said a lot more that I can't really remember word for word, but it was just what I needed to hear that day. 
Carson came home and kept telling Dustin, "I went to church Dad".  It was cute.  They really love church now and enjoy going.  They always remind us to pray before we eat and at bedtime.  I'm hoping to get them a CD of songs called "The Rizers", short for the memorizers-so they can start learning scriptures through catchy little songs.  I don't know if anyone else has heard of them.  I haven't heard the songs yet, but I read great reviews on them. 
Anyway, I'm looking forward to our 3rd week of Bible Study and my Mommy time. 
Nicole & I have snack for this week-I have been cooking up a storm the past few weeks!  I keep signing up for cooking and I've really felt led to cook for people lately.  I'm not sure why...I just have.  I feel God placing it on my heart because it is something I can do, even with the kids.  There are lots of things that I don't sign up for at church because it just isn't possible right now, but cooking- that I can handle! 

May We Never Forget

I'm sure everyone remembers where they were on September 11.  I was in a college class, then classes were cancelled and I went home and was glued to the t.v. until 11 pm that night. 
I hope today everyone will remember all of those lives lost and pray for our troops who are fighting for our freedom each and every day.  What an amazing sacrifice they and their families make.  The twins are just starting to notice convoys that we see going down the road and we are starting to explainwho the troops are that we see when we're out and about, along with the American flag.  I look forward to teaching them to even more as they grow and are capable of understanding more. 
I want them to be Proud to be American! 

Birthday Week

It's a big birthday week for our family, which is why it's after 11 pm and I'm getting my post up!  We've had 3 birthdays this week-the most we have the whole year.  My uncle Dale's b-day was yesterday, my grandpa-"Pa"'s was tonight, and my cousin Brandy's is Wednesday.  We celebrated Brandy & Dale's together last night because Brandy will be out of town on her b-day.  I've made 3 cakes in the past 3 days!  My kitchen is a wreck, so I'm off of here to get some cleaning done & get to bed!  The twins helped me bake Pa's Lemon Cream Pound Cake today.  I was a bit nervous because I didn't start it until almost 4 pm!  Pound cakes take a while to cook, like 1 1/2 hours!  Yes, we were cutting it close.  It actually went really well though, everyone listened to me and took turns and we made a cake they were SO proud of!  It was tasty too!  We got Pa a new bag chair for ball games because his was in many peices and he put it together when he got to the game.  Well, Carson pats the gift and says "Here's your chair Pa".  Luckily Pa didn't hear him!  I knew they were going to start telling people what their gifts were, I just didn't know when. 
Birthdays are so exciting for them now.  They keep asking me if it's time for their Dora & John Deere party.  Well, they just want the cake & ice cream!  Haha!
More tomorrow.....the house looks like a tornado literally went through it.  It's bad....gotta try to clean just a teensy bit.  Tomorrow we are home all day & evening and I'm SO GLAD!!! 

Day of Worship & Rest

Since it's Sunday, I thought what better time than today to mention the wonderful women's Bible study we just started 2 weeks ago.  It is a Beth Moore study on David, Having a heart like his.  I love it already and I really, really need it!  I love the in-depth time spent sharing his word with my SIS group (sisters in service).  Usually there are tears at least once during a session when someone is sharing.  I was getting ready Wednesday night and I overheard Dustin telling the kids "Mommy  needs to leave and go for her Mommy time."  It was so sweet.  I'm so blessed to have a husband who knows I need that Mommy time to renew and be refreshed.  Henry has gone with me both times so far and he does great.  It is easier on Dustin to have only the twins to contend with while I'm gone. 

I have to say, having homework each night forces me to be in God's word each night and that has been a huge blessing as well. 
I will confess, I had a negative blog post ready to go yesterday because some things had really, really irked me that had happened lately.  However, I took some time (always a good idea), and decided against the post.  It wouldn't do any good anyway and there's no need to "stir a pot".  I think the Bible study truly helped remember that, along with a discussion Dustin and I had about how people look at you so much more closely if you are a Christian.  They want to see how you react to certain situations and are almost waiting for you to slip up.  Sooooo.....I want to encourage you to keep God's word close at hand and heart.  I love the email about how differently things would be if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone.  Anyway, think about your actions and whether or not they are something God would be proud of, before you say or do them. 
That's my soap box for today!  :-)  And I'm stepping on my very own toes!!! 

We've been in 1 John a lot with our study and here's a scripture I find so encouraging from there:

"We love because he first loved us.  If anyone says, 'I love God', yet hates his brother, he is a liar.  For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.  And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."
1John19-21

Cakes

I'm sure if you've read this for any length of time, you know I make cakes for my kids' and Hunter's birthday parties.  Honestly, I enjoy it as a hobby, but I wouldn't want to do cakes for payment.  It puts too much pressure and stress on me.  If I do them for fun and they flop, no harm done..we can run get one at the store.  Which HAS happened a few times- there was a particular incident involving a fire extinguisher, my cake, and a medium sized kitchen fire that caused us to buy a cake.  :-)  Thankfully I keep a fire extinguisher in my kitchen, and I HIGHLY recommend it if you don't!!!!  Just saying!!!!  Makes a great wedding shower gift as well.  Oh, and we picked up a new extinguisher at the store when we got the store-bought cake.  :-)  Enough of that kitchen story. 
Tonight I am working on two cakes for a birthday party at my grandma's tomorrow night, one for my cousin Brandy who is turning 30.  Another for my Uncle Dale.  Usually my grandma or Dale buys a cake, but they are so very pricey at the store and I spend so little to make one.  I'm not doing anything fancy, but I do want them to be special.  I almost didn't get my post of the day in because of that, but I'm on a break while waiting for icing to warm up from the fridge. 

I've been meaning to post pics of Hunter's cakes I've made him, so how appropriate to do that tonight!  Here is how the cowboy cake turned out for his 4th birthday: 

I loved how the cowboy cake turned out.  You can't tell from the pic, but it has little cowboy stuff around it, barbed wire garland, and the writing is "rope".  It was fun to make. 

 

Here is Hunter's 3rd birthday cake- Monster trucks!  Another fun one to make.  It really challenges me when there's no shaped pan to use.  I really prefer just a molded pan shape like his 2nd birthday cake below.  I also had fun pounding the matchbox cars with a hammer so it would look like Grave Digger had crushed them.  So fun!  The "dirt" is crushed graham crackers...also used the hammer...got lots of frustration out with this cake!  haha!

 

Here's the 2nd birthday Lightning McQueen cake: 

I was proud of him too!  He was fun to make and we also did cupcakes for that party...but I don't know why I don't have a pic of them.  :-(  Oops.

 

I don't seem to have a pic of Hunter's 1st birthday cake, but it was the Pooh one I also did for the twins, with the mini-Pooh "smash" cake.  I love doing this one, I will also do it for Henry's 1st birthday. 

 

 

 

So, there's Hunter's parties and my cakes of late!  Boy how four years has flown by.  I had just found out I was having twins when Hunter had his first birthday Pooh party.  I took him to church that day so Amanda could decorate and then got him some lunch and had some special time with him.  It was  a lot of fun! 

 

I will post more cake pics soon.  Don't know if they interest you, but I'm always searching online for cake ideas!  I love looking at cake pics! 

The Verdict is In....

I think I mentioned we were going to dance two nights this week, the first week.  Emmy's dance teacher really wasn't sure if she should keep her down for another year of Creative Movement or move her up to the Pre-Ballet/Tap class.  She's inbetween the ages and size wise she was much bigger than the kids in Creative Movement.  Cousin Morgan is in Creative Movement though, so that made it nice to have her in there and of course for me to talk to Kristen during class.  Cousin Olivia is in Pre-Ballet/Tap, so I had Melanie to talk to during that, plus all the moms from last year.  Many of the moms hadn't seen Henry since May, they couldn't believe how big and BLONDE he was!  :-) 
Anyway, Ms. Robin decided that Emilynn needs to be in the Thursday Pre-Ballet/Tap class.  I gave Ms. Robin the full and final say-I told her we would go with whatever she decided whole-heartedly.  Apparently Emilynn did much better in the older class, which makes me wonder if she was getting bored with Creative Movement after a full year of it.  She also watches Angelina Ballerina who does more classical ballet moves, so she seems to want to do more of those at home.  I think she's matured a lot over the summer and is definitely ready for the next challenge.  We will miss Morgan though.  :-(  After class Tuesday, I asked Emmy if she had fun and she said, "Yes, I got to see Morgan, and my friends!".  It was so cute.  Carson cried because he didn't get to see Morgan.  We will still do regular play-dates with Morgan, so everyone will be fine I'm sure. 
There was about 14 in the class last night, there was a lot of little feet tapping! 
We have to get tap shoes this week-so I guess I'm back to the shoe store!  As far as how that outing went, it was interesting!  We made the 40 minute ride just fine.  I took the front/back stroller for the twins, the front carrier for Henry.  It took at least 30 minutes to unload everyone (or so it seemed), and we headed into the store.  It amazes me how people see me coming with a stroller as long as an 18-wheeler, a baby attached to my front, and not one soul offers to open a door or anything.  It's okay though, I managed.  We got in, I got some shoes on her, despite having 17 lb. Henry between Emmy & me.  After much hemming and hawing, I asked the associate for her opinion and we went with the bigger ones for growth.  She grows so fast!  We got 1 1/2 sizes bigger from the summer class that ended only 8 weeks ago.  Then we got Carson a pair of tennis shoes, he didn't have any in his current size in the hand-me-down tote.   He was excited to get light up ones like Sissy. 
We paid and started the re-load process which is always harder than the un-load for some reason.  I got Henry in first, then the twins.  No one wanted to buckle.  Carson wanted the tags off his shoes that he had worn out the store.  Then he threw them off, then wanted them back.  Urrghh... Emmy hurled her brand new ballet shoes to the front of the car, just because.  I finally buckle everyone, walk around to my seat....hop in.  No keys.  Oh wait, I had to load the stroller after all of that.  Then hopped in and no keys.  I had a moment of sheer and utter panic.  But, they had to be in the car or store.  I had driven there after all.  I searched the diaper bag-no keys.  I took each and every item out of the bag-no keys.  I was literally about in tears at this point because I was going to have to unload all the kids, the stroller, and go back in to see if they were in the store.  At this point I am sweating profusely and trying to think of what to do.  I suddenly remembered I had sat the keys down beside Henry's carseat when unloading to go in the store....and there they still sat!  Thank goodness I had not locked the car.  I don't know how I would have sent a child through the hatch in the heat and trust them to unlock the door for me.  I seriously have mommy brain a LOT!  It's crazy how flightly I can be! 
I think I'll see if Dustin wants to get the shoes over the weekend, when he can go with me-for obvious reasons!  :-) 

It's Official!

We are going on a vacation in 2013!  Yay!  I'm SO excited already! 
I must say, I have NOT missed going on vacation the past few years.  The idea did not appeal to me whatsoever.  Others saw the beach and waves, I saw having to childproof a house, worry about a pool, worry about kids getting into everything.....worry about getting them to sleep in a strange place.  We are in a good place now as far as the kids go.  They are much better behaved and don't need things child-proofed so much.  So, we are heading on vacation next year.  I booked it today.  :-)  At first when we thought a bunch of family was going, we had a lovely house picked out, right on the beach, with a pool and all the "fixins".  Well, now it's become smaller, so we have a small, old-timey beach house right on the beach that's precious and quaint, minus the pool.  That's actually fine with me because my kids have no fear around pools and it scares me.  I am thrilled that we can walk right off the deck, down to the ocean.  No getting in the car, no elevators, just a short walk.  Beach toys can stay on the sand while we run in to potty, grab a bite to eat, etc.  I just want to sit by the ocean and read, and put my feet in when I get hot.  I'll be a happy camper. 
I'm really excited for the kids too, all their friends/cousins went on vacation this year.  They kept saying, "I want to go on cation".  It should be an adventure, no matter! 

Wordless Wednesday

Our busy week ahead..

We have a busy week this week!  It's only a 3-day work week for Dustin, but each of those 3 days is jam packed with stuff.  Today and Thursday we have dance.  Tomorrow night I have Bible study.  This means Dustin will be babysitting in some form or fashion each night after working.  Dinner has to be quick and easy...and ready early.  And I just realized Emilynn's ballet shoes are too small, so I gotta do something about that by 5:15 pm!  I guess the kids and I may be off to buy some shoes here in a bit.  I did spend 4 hours in the kitchen yesterday to get ahead for the week, so dinners are mostly prepared and either in the fridge or freezer.  The weekend brings our local Arts & Crafts festival which we'll take the kids to at some point to see the old tractors that they so dearly love, and I have to help with some clean up for a few hours as a church fundraiser.  Summer is definitely over and we are back in the swing of things full force!  Bring on fall-my favorite time of year when I feel like I can finally breathe again after the heat and humidity of summer! 

Something you don't see everyday....

Emilynn sometimes insists on wearing certain things and within reason (I guess that's a matter of opinion!) I let her. 

Here's to playing in the sandbox in August in your Christmas dress......we don't see that often in these parts...maybe in Florida or Hawaii you see this more often.  :-) 

I love Emmy's free spirit and individuality.  I really do.  She's a trip! 

Update on Carson

Carson is doing much better, thank goodness!  I finally took him to the doctor on Wednesday.  His throat was really red and irritated, but it wasn't strep, thankfully.  He had a few very, VERY grouchy days, so I am so glad he's on the mend.  :-) 

My fingers are crossed that no one else gets it! 

Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday-and holds it sacred as a day of worship and REST!   I love, love, love a Sunday afternoon nap and try not to do anything much for the day.  I don't like meetings and stuff on Sunday evenings, even church related because it's our family time. 

We are celebrating two birthdays tonight- my sisters Abbey & Madison.  It will be lots of food and fellowship.  Probably lots of laughter I imagine and it's always LOUD when we get together at my Dad's. 

More tomorrow! 

Operation Christmas Child Reminder

A post a day in September-we'll see how that goes!  Today is day 1, let's see how long I can keep it up!!!  One challenge is a lot of times at night-Dustin is on the computer.  I give up and go to bed!  I just can't post from my Kindle Fire, it's too hard to type so much on the touch screen (in my opinion!). 

Anyway- I wanted to remind anyone who is planning to do Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes that now is a great time to find stuff for the boxes.  School supplies are at rock bottom prices right now.  I also found things on clearance at Walmart, like yo-yos, jump ropes, kalidescopes, etc.  The kids helped me pick out things and it is so rewarding.  I don't know that they'll help me pack them this year, I still think they may not be as excited to part with the stuff when it comes down to it, but we'll see. 
I really prayed over our boxes last year and for the children who received them.  I wondered if the little boy who got a John Deere tractor loved it and carried it around as much as Carson.  Or if the little girl loved her dolly as much as Emilynn loves dolls, especially her favorite beloved "Chuckie Sue". 

I will leave you with one of my very favorite Bible verses-

"Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act." 
~Proverbs 3:27