snow and more!

...It is snowing! I love snow. I think if it is cold outside it might as well be snowing and so far this year, that hasn't been the case. But today we have snow. Yay! And school is still in session, so that is good too. :)

It does crack me up though--the local news stations are fanatics about bad weather. They will devote themselves to all day weather coverage if they can. Some of it is justified; letting us know about wrecks or updates on the snow, but some of it is just funny. "Let's go to Enid and talk to so and so and let's look at him stand in the cold and show us that it is snowing. Wow."

And here are my boys wearing their knitted hats. Yes, I knitted (if that is what they call what I did) hats. I used a knitting loom which is a wheel with pegs and it is so easy and has been fun to learn. I have been wanting to learn to knit or crochet for awhile. Why? I don't know exactly. Maybe because it is something I can do to help my remember my great-grandmother. I still remember Granny sitting in her chair and giving all her great-grandchildren crocheted booties. I received yellow ones and I wore them until the bottoms wore out. And while I haven't exactly learned the skill of knitting or crocheting (is that a word?), I am getting closer.

Last night the boys made their own pizzas. They decided to make smiley faces. I just decided to share that with you!

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And scrapbooking related news:
From Erica Weinstock, owner of Your Scrapbook Stash:

Their is a chance to win a Scenic Route Lynden paper pack on the

blog right now. This won't be shipping until the end of February so someone has the chance to win this before it hits the stores! So, if you know anyone that wants to win the paper, have them post their name and a message on the blog post and I'll pick a winner on Sunday. (Feb. 3)

So if you like scrapbook paper and want a chance to win some free product, head over to the blog and post a comment! Good luck!

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Have a great day!!

knock on wood for me

...It is windy today. So windy that I almost blew over while walking to my car, carrying a big bag of dog food. Not fun outside today.

Also not fun are the drivers around here lately. I told Seth last night that I was sure something was going to happen to my car soon. Two times I have been bumped into the last two weeks. Nothing major and both times the people who did it were very nice and apologetic. But yesterday there were major signs that a lot of drivers were not paying attention. What is it? The weather? Exhaustion? Talking of cell phones? Who knows. But I am on the defensive. I am a little superstitious about things happening in 3s.

I think I've told about my kitchen 3s. If not, I will again. Whenever I break something in the kitchen, I know that I will break 2 more things very soon. It always happens. I don't mean to, I don't even think about the 3s until after the third thing is broken. But I can count on it happening.

So that is why I am worried about the third thing happening to my car. Hopefully, it won't happen and if it does, hopefully it will be just a bump, like the last 2.

Who knows? Maybe Krista took the last one for me. ;)

Anyway, have a good day!

an update, of sorts

...This week is over, almost, and I will be glad. No photos this week, sorry. I haven't hardly felt like doing much more than what I have to this week. We have been going to the doctor (nothing serious, thank God) and just running around and I am glad today that Noah and I are just hanging out at home for a little bit. He has no choice because he has a bad cold but he likes the fact that he can watch tv a lot.

***
Rhett is still playing basketball and he is liking it more and more. He has scored a few points at the game and I can tell he is so excited when he does.

He has also started guitar lessons and he loves it so far. He can play his first song and if you come visit, I know he would love to share what he has learned.

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Rhett is also becoming quite the reader, even more so than he already was. Seth and I are so impressed by his reading ability. I love that he reads to Noah now. They'll just sit down and grab a book and off Rhett goes.

***
I took Noah to the National Cowboy Museum this past week with a friend. Although the children's area was closed due to the weather, the boys had fun there and learned a few things about cowboys. We went during Rhett's school day, so Rhett was insanely jealous so I have promised him we will go back soon. But I did find a dvd that has several episodes of some old tv westerns (for $5!) and they are excited to watch that on movie night.

***
My beautiful friend's birthday is tomorrow and her gift that I bought 2 weeks ago is still on my table, not even packed in a box yet. But I will get it mailed by tomorrow and now she'll have an extended birthday!!! :)

Happy Birthday Christy! Have a wonderful day and I hope you do something fun. Know I am thinking about you!!

***
Have a great weekend!

when is Spring Break again?

...Just to let you know how our week is going:

7:25 am: I stumble out of bed to the sound of my wonderful husband emptying out the dishwasher (his new job that he assigned himself, thanks sweetie!)

7:30 am: I go in the boys' room and turn on the closet light. Then I go eat breakfast and say good-bye to Seth.

7:40 am: I go in their room again to try to wake them up.

7:45 am: I get Noah to the couch and Rhett to get off the top bunk. I go pour their cereal.

7:50 am: They finally start eating after complaining how tired they are for 5 minutes. Can't they just go back to bed?

8:20 am: Rhett needs help picking out a shirt. Noah needs help with remembering to get dressed at all. They want to play. I say no. They ask why.

8:40 am: I am ready to leave the house. Rhett is not. He is in the bathroom. Noah is not. He does not have his shoes on.

8:45 am: We leave. Thank goodness Rhett's school is a mere 4 minutes away and Noah's preschool doesn't care that we are a few minutes late.

I wish I could say that this is a one-time occurence in our house, but sadly it is not. For the past 2 weeks, I can't get out of bed and neither can our children. I am hoping it is just the "rather be warm in bed winter blues" that has got us and that it will soon pass.

these long weekends make for hard good-byes

...After giving Noah a quick hug and leaving him in the gym at his school, I walked briskly back to my car in the dry, cold wind. I backed up and started to meander through our oh, so, small parking lot. The woman who sits at the front desk at the school came running to my car by then and said that Noah is having a break down. They had to stop him from running out the door to find me! So, I parked the car, got back out in the cold and ran back, wondering what could have gone wrong in the 1 minute we were apart from each other.

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He needed another hug. And a kiss. And an "I love you."

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So worth it.

It's Krista's Birthday!!!

...Happy Birthday Krista! I hope you have a wonderful day!

mmm! mmm! good!

...I've got a cold. And we all know that warm things like soup and hot drinks are best for a cold. Usually I go for Campbell's Chicken Soup. It is pretty good. But I am always disappointed in the size of the chicken and vegetables. So this time, I decided to make my own. I have never done this before and now that I've done it, I can safely say I'll never go back to Campbell's.

I don't know if it was the fact that it had to simmer for 2 hours and I was extremely ready to eat by then or the extra "stuff" that was put in (like the rind of parmesan cheese) but it was so good and made me feel so much better. I had it for lunch and supper and plan to eat it again today. Yes, I think that is the only downside--it made so much! But lucky for me, I still have my cold today and chicken soup sounds good again. :)

Of course I got my recipe from Rachael Ray's magazine, where else? Here is the link: Italian Chicken Soup . This recipe is from Silvana Nardone who is the editor of the magazine. She has a "No-Recipe Zone" column in Every Day that I just love. This is one of those recipes. (I did look at the recipe though since this was my first time to make chicken soup.)

***

Yesterday, I had a houseful of neighborhood boys here after school. I was trying to clean up my desk and saw Rhett dig through his backpack and hand one of his friends this note. He sheeplishly said, "I guess I got asked out on a date."

Yeah, I know!!! So I asked to see it and he said it was from a girl in his class and could he go? "But she is not my girlfriend or anything."

Did I just see a glimpse of a teenager or what?

***
Have a great day!

a little catch-up and update

...I have wanted ramekins for a long time and finally bought some the other day (thanks to mom and my juicer/smoothie maker confusion--long story but she knows what I am talking about). Anyway, they just take desserts to a whole other level. This is brownie mix from a box that I divided into the ramekins. When they came out of the oven, I let them cool slightly and then topped with ice cream and it was wonderful! Much better than a plain brownie.

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Rhett had a little accident yesterday evening. He was bending down to get a pencil and while coming up, he hit his gum on the corner of the table and bled profusely. He, of course, freaked out and thought he was going to die. I freaked out because his gum was turning blue. But everything seems to be alright. He is still alive and the gum looks a lot better today. Whew. We are going to the dentist tomorrow just to make sure.

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My mom-in-law emailed me and said she and Sammy used a reusable shopping bag the other day. I was excited and proud! I even saw at Target the other day that they had a rack in front of the cashiers full of red shopping bags. The lady in back of me bought one. Funny though. The cashier asked if she wanted to use it and she said, "No. I am just buying these 2 jars. Not enough to use that...Well, I guess I could use it. That is what its for!" I just smiled.

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My action goals for this week:

Continue to nag my kids about turning off the lights. Ha! Ha! Actually, Rhett is doing really well. Noah needs reminding from time to time. And I am trying not to nag. Really.

Donate old items to Salvation Army. Today they are coming to pick up some things so this was an easy one. :)

Stay on top of my laundry so I don't have to constantly "freshen up" the clothes in the dryer because they have been sitting there for many hours.

I still have the same research goal. Didn't quite make the time for that one last week.

***
My grandad is having surgery on his knee again today. Please keep in him in your prayers. I hope this time it goes well and he can get some of his mobility back.

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Have a wonderful day!

when mom is on the phone...by Noah

...When Mom is on the phone, she tries to do things with one hand. Not very well, I might add. It took her at least 100 minutes to open this bag of cotton balls.

When Mom is on the phone, she makes funny hand gestures to us that makes us think she is a bird. Is she trying to tell us something? Maybe she was trying to tell Rhett to get up off the floor and start his snowman project. Or maybe she was telling him he looked goofy.

When Mom is on the phone, she doesn't notice things, like me getting her camera and taking pictures of stuff she would never take a picture of. I mean, look at this cool shot! It is of mom's messy table. Oh, we got to go to Sonic as a treat today.

Like I said, Mom doesn't see things when she is talking on the phone. I let Scout in the house and here she is, trying to eat my GoTart wrapper.

Oh, Rhett got the camera here. And then Mom got it and put it up somewhere high. Darn it.
Grandmom, why couldn't you have talked to Mom a little longer? Who knows what I could have taken a picture of next?

good dog/banning plastic bags

...Scout came through surgery just fine. The vet found another small tumor beside the one that was to be removed but he said he got all of it and he felt good about that. So she came home and was pampered. I gave her a bath and she stayed inside all night with us. I think she really enjoyed that. :)
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In other news, check out the link to The Daily Green on the right. The Chinese Government put a nationwide ban on plastic bags, saving 37 million barrels of oil a year. I also put a poll underneath the link so be sure to leave your answer on whether or not you think U.S. should do the same. You know my answer--Yes!

Yesterday, I broke out my new reusable shopping bag at Wal-mart and had the checker put everything in there. I was so happy with myself. Not adding 2 more plastic bags to my under-the-sink collection just made my day.

So, good for China. I hope U.S. follows soon...

a lovely reminder

...This picture is of something I don't see often. We don't have any windows to the east and I don't go outside in the mornings just to see the sun rise but today was different. I had to take Scout to the vet early so I walked outside and saw this beautiful sky. Last night we had many loud storms, but still the sun comes up in the mornings. Even when you can't always see it, it is there shining its brilliant light. God sure can give us some beautiful signs, can't he?

I'll let you know how everything went with Scout. Thanks for the care you've shown. :)

silence

...The beds are empty. The living room is clean of toys. The halls are quiet of little boys humming the Star Wars theme song.

Back to School, once again.

Rhett didn't want to go to school today. Noah did, only because he was leader. I, honestly, will miss them. We had such a good week last week. But back to normal time is here.

***
I couldn't go to sleep last night. I think I am worried about my dog, Scout. She has a tumor on her side that the vet is going to take out tomorrow. He was blunt when he said, "She's an old dog. If she were 2 or 3, I might suggest a biopsy. But since she old, I wouldn't spend the money." I can see his point. I also know that he said it probably didn't spread, since it was a movable tumor. I also feel like I couldn't put my sweet dog through all that stuff that supposedly makes you better if you have cancer. So not knowing is best. But I am still sad for her. We have had Scout for 9 years. She is such a good dog. I hope we have her for many more years. And one more thing: She doesn't act old.

***
I haven't been scrapbooking a lot this past year and I think I finally realized one of the reasons why: I think my blog has become my scrapbook. So I am going to try to (and I say try because I know I won't always get it done) take and post one picture a day. Or post a picture each time I blog. And I am going to stop feeling guilty for not scrapbooking as much as I used to. I still love the process of creating a layout, but now I know I can do it when I want to and not feel like I am so behind all the time.

***
I hope this week holds great things for each of you!

my resolution

...I have a resolution. I am going to be even more committed to saving the world. Hee! Hee! Actually, I am going to be even more committed to helping the environment. (I'll give you a minute to roll your eyes.)

Okay, minute is over. Look, I know how difficult it is to "fight global warming." I know that I am a hypocrite because I drive an SUV. And forget to recycle. And drink out of plastic water bottles. And there are many ways that I can improve. But isn't that what resolutions are for? To improve? To do more?

Do you know that most questions that presidential candidates get about environmental issues are from students? Of course they care. This is what they'll be dealing with when they are parents and grandparents and responsible adults.

My kids are too young to care or worry about such things as global warming. So I am caring for them.

I don't know what all I am going to do. But I feel like God has placed this care on my heart so I am going to be open to ideas. I know I am but one person but someone has to start doing something. I am going to be that someone in my family.

My 3 action goals for this week:

To teach my boys the importance of turning off lights when they leave the room.

To unplug electronics when they are not in use.

To turn my thermostat down at night and when we leave the house.

My research goal for the month:

To find ways to offset our carbon footprint.

Have a great day!

better late...

...Here are some of my favorite photos from Christmas:

My sisters and I have not had a picture together in quite some time. Many people think we look so much alike and others not at all. It is funny. One night we went to a family get-together (minus Krista and her fam; they weren't there yet) and one of our dad's cousin was so sure I was Jana but had no idea who Jana was. I think they remember me being a little girl and are so surprised when I am not anymore. Heck, I am glad when I am even remembered. One of our relatives (a younger boy who adores my twin brother) didn't even know Casey had a twin sister until a few years ago! Anyway, I think my sisters are beautiful so I am happy that others think we look alike.

Noah was quite unhappy most of the time during the Christmas holiday--except for Christmas Day. He woke up, got exactly what he wanted from Santa (Noah is holding Star Wars Legos Video Game in the picture, exclaiming "Sweet!") and the rest of the day he was the happiest boy on the planet. My dad said, "Well, I guess we know how to make Noah happy. Give him 43 presents every morning!" Ha. Ha.

A sweet moment with my boys. Rhett is holding his Webkins from his Nana and Pop. Easily one of his favorite gifts. It is almost as good as getting a real Chihuahua, which he wants for some silly reason. ;)

This is the plate that the kids left cookies for Santa on. This is where Santa decided to write notes for his favorite gang. I love that when he ran out of room, he wrote on a leftover cookie.

Christmas Eve. A picture that shows exactly how Noah was the whole time (but Christmas Day). We went to Church that night and all the kids loved lighting the candles. Except my nieces. One fell asleep and the other two left early but the boys all thought it was cool. Seth thought having our oldest son read the words to the songs was cool. I thought hearing Noah try to sing was cool.

Ahh, I love Christmas.

Another picture from Christmas Eve. It just isn't easy getting 7 kids to smile pretty for one picture.

And here are the big kids. Like I said before, it was short but sweet. I love my family and I appreciate the time we get to spend together.

PS-Nana, thanks so much for the scarves. The boys got them in the mail yesterday and the first thing Rhett said was, "Wow. They smell like Nana's house. I love how her house smells." :)

Have a great weekend!

can't think of a good title for this one

...I've been slow to put away my Christmas decorations. I've been slow to clean up the house after getting home from my parent's house. I've been slow to get up and get things done and I've been slow to get back on a routine.

And I've been loving it. This week has been all about taking it easy, playing with the boys and not doing much of anything.

You see, every year, I go through the Post-Christmas blahs. No more pretty decorations to look at, no more Christmas cards to get in the mail, no more presents to wrap or receive, no more cookies are needed to bake, and especially, all your family has gone back to their homes and gone back to their normal lives. I'm sure I am not the only one who goes through it. But this year I made an effort to just spend time with my kids and have fun. And although that means that we have played a lot of video games, I'm okay with that. In a few days, our lives will have to return to normal. And then I'll be ready to do everything I've been putting off doing.