Towel Heads and Teacher Gifts

Asher always laughs when I come out of the shower with the towel wrapped around my hair on the top of my head. He giggles like crazy and says I look silly. Then, of course, the other kids start giggling too! They think it's just HILARIOUS!

SO....

Tonight, after Asher's shower, I wrapped the towel around his head and made him stand still so I could take a picture... the whole time, I was giggling that he looked silly! He thought it was... HILARIOUS...again! Guess it doesn't matter who the towel head is, it's just down-right silly!!


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My friend, Lisa, found a great idea on Pinterest for teacher gifts. Click HERE for the link! Basically, to sum it up, she takes the 12 days of Christmas and makes it teacher-specific. For example:

"On the 9th day of Christmas
9 canes of red and white...
Guess who my favorite teacher is...
If you guessed YOU, you're right!"

I tweaked a few of the days so that I could use some of the stuff I already had on had... like day one was supposed to be a clipboard, but I did Elmer's Glue. Lisa helped me come up with a couple cutesy sayings for my stuff as I am not that creative! Here's a pic of day 1's gift for Xander's 1st Grade Teacher: Mrs. Mitchell!! "For the 1st day of Christmas
I bring you not nails or screws...
Because you hold our class together,
A bottle of Elmer's Glue!"

I can't wait to put all 12 gifts together! There are 12 school days left before Christmas vacation so he will take the first gift tomorrow!! Sure hope she likes them all! I'll post pics each day as I make each one!!

Chicken Tostada

Super Yummy dinner tonight!!

I put frozen chicken thighs and legs in the crockpot this morning with some salsa and water. I let them cook all day long. When it was time to cook dinner, the meat just fell off the bones. It was soooo yummy. The salsa had infused the chicken for an amazing flavor!

I fried corn tortillas to make tostadas.

I made homemade refried beans.

Cut up tomatoes, onions, and shredded cheese.

The littles had bean burritos, but Tim, Xander and I had tostadas. The house smelled so good of the salsa chicken that even when I went out to WalMart with a coupon, the cashier asked if I had mexican for dinner because the paper smelled like it! LOL... too funny! BUT... now you know how good my house smelled today! LOVE IT!

Stop working and dance

I was washing dishes while the kids listened to music on Pandora. Xander comes into the kitchen and says, "Stop working mommy, and come dance with us!

A friend of mine once said, "When your kids grow up and look back on their childhood memories, they won't remember that you worked hard to clean the house, they will hold onto the memories of quality time spent with them." Her point was- rather than saying, "I can't play with you after dinner because I need to wash dishes" say "The dishes will wait, I will play with you!"

My kids won't look back and say, "My fondest memories of my mom were of her washing dishes." Instead, it'll be about the times that I "Stop working and dance!"

Sometimes I get frustrated when the kids "interrupt" MY time.... when I am cooking and they want to show me the costume they put on... when I am working on my business meeting agenda and they want to sit on my lap while they're watching cartoons... Rather than be frustrated with the interruption, I am going to start making the effort to take those moments and relish them! It hit me hard when Xander said that one little sentence. I don't keep my house all that clean anyways... trust me... but when my cleaning makes my 6 year old tell me to stop cleaning and spend time with him, it made me realize how little time he gets. SO.... just thought I'd share my thoughts of the day....

Twin Love

Xander and Asher have a great bond ... they're great friends because they are brothers. I love watching them play together, rough-house, and be buddies.

But...

Jonathan and Bella have such a sweet bond. I've always heard of identical twins having a bond like none other... but never heard the same about fraternal twins. They are essentially just siblings born at the same time, right? I don't think that's all they share. They have such a unique relationship... the relationship that most adults crave...

Last week, I took the kids for a playdate at Burger King. There were kids everywhere, but Jonathan and Bella stayed together- playing together. It doesn't matter if there are tons of other kids around, they are content with each other! Don't get me wrong... they DO know how to socialize with other kids.. and they do it well, but they are CONTENT without other kids too!

These two pictures are from today. (a little blurry, but you get the point...) They were watching Curious George. I sat on the couch and watched them ... admiring their love for each other. I love how they just lay on the floor holding hands... and hugging!

I am so glad that they have each other! I know that no matter what they face in life, they will always be the best of friends!

Last of of Thanksgiving Break

I was sad to miss church this morning! We've been going every week ... well, Tim and the kids have been anyways, I've been going every other week. Sleeping after working all night is so much easier than staying awake through church. BUT this week, I was planning on going, but then Tim woke up feeling crummy! All day long, he's had the sniffles, coughs, and sore throat! Boo! It was so cool to me though that the kids were even bummed. Twins kept asking if we were going to get ready to go to church! They didn't quite understand that we were NOT actually going to get to go! For sure next week, for sure!

I slept very well today... so glad because I was so very tired!

After my nap, I made burgers and fries with pasta salad for dinner! It was delicious...so much better than fast food burgers! Then I had apple pie for dessert... YUM!

Now I am getting ready for work... boo! BUT on the other hand, YAY for having a job to go to!!

Thanksgiving break- Day 4

Today was the first day of this long weekend that we didn't do anything at all! It was nice to just lounge around the house! Xander and Asher took turns playing games on the computer... Jonathan and Bella took turns watching Caillou and Curious George! I stayed in my pjs all day and vegged out on the couch! My mom stopped in for a little bit, but otherwise, it was a quiet day...

Love my life!

Thanksgiving Break- Day 3

This Thanksgiving break has gone by so slow... but that's a good thing! So often our mini-vacations fly by, but this holiday weekend really feels like a long weekend!
EVEN THOUGH I WORKED LAST NIGHT!

Since I got the ultimate pleasure (NOT) in having to work Black Friday at WalMart... yes I know I am crazy for offering to work on my day off... anyways, since I worked overnight last night, I slept for a few hours of today. BUT, after my nap, we loaded up The Bunch to go to my mom's house. We had decided that since we went to Golden Corral for Thanksgiving, we would all make desserts and hang out together at my mom's house! That way, the adults could enjoy adult conversation while the kids played !! The food was yum... my mom made banana pudding and fruit salad; my MIL made a pumpkin cake; Tim and I didn't make anything since our fridge was already full of sweet goodies...so we took apple pie, Kahlua cake, and sweet potato pie!

We played my favorite card game while we were there: Phase 10!! LOVE this game... thanks to my college days in the dorm! We'd all sit in the lobby and play for hours! Good times... great memory! Anyways, my MIL won (boo), but it was still fun to play! Xander LOVED watching us "shovel" the deck (shuffle)!!

After mom's we came home and put the kids to bed... Tim and I ate our dinner! I had put a pork roast in the crockpot this morning before I went to bed... so it cooked ALL DAY long and was sooooo delicious! I shredded it all up and added some Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce! Loved every single bite!

Now I am exhausted from the last 24 hours, so I am getting ready for bed.... hope your holiday weekend is going well!!

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P.S. I had to blog this ... I love how much the kids are picking up at church. Mainly Asher, but all of them randomly tell me things they have learned there. Recently, Asher wasn't being a very good eater at dinner. I told him, "you need to eat your food so you can grow big and strong."

His reply, "Well, at church, we sing a song that says if we read our bible and pray every day we'll grow... and if we don't we'll shrink!'

*it was almost like he was saying "I don't have to eat because church says I'll grow if I read my bible and pray! LOL... LOVE it!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We spent this evening with my mom, brother, and in-laws! It was a nice time together in a CRAZY environment!

My MIL thought that this year we should try something different and go to Golden Corral. I called ahead to see how late they're usually busy...so as to avoid the insane crowd. They said they start to slow down around 4pm. So, we went at 4... WRONG! I feel like I was deceived! The line was OUT THE DOOR! Even the dessert line was about 20 people long! It was soooo crazy! We all agreed that, while the food was good and we didn't have to clean up, next year will be celebrated at home!!

Hope your day was blessed!

Thanksgiving break- Day 1

Today was the first day Xander was out of school for Thanksgiving! It is also the day that I agreed to watch my friend's 7 year old son, Josh! My motto for the day, "I've got four, what's one more!?" HAHAHA

In all actuality, the extra kid really helped the household- the Bunch was fascinated with the new, temporary family member and pretty much stayed in self-appointed room time for the first couple of hours! It was quite nice! HOWEVER, when they DID come out of the room, they got the dogs riled up ... they (dogs, not kids) were barking and jumping around like crazy! So, in the midst of the craziness, I loaded up all 5 kids IN MY VAN (yay, I love that I have a van!!)... ANYWAYS, I loaded them all and went to Burger King. We had lunch, and I let the kids play for THREE hours! They loved every minute of it!!
After letting them play, we came home and an hour later Josh went home. Xander was pretty bummed... he wanted Josh to spend the night! LOL... Here's a pic of the bunch PLUS Josh!

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Tonight, thanks to my great husband, my mom and I got a night out! We went and saw a movie... Breaking Dawn- Part 1. It was great... I loved it- only sad that I have to wait until next year to see Part 2!!! It was nice hanging out with mom, too... we rarely get any time with JUST us alone! I enjoyed my mommy/daughter time!

Relaxed day with Yummy Dinner :)

We had a nice day of hanging out at home! Didn't do much except enjoy some great cartoons!

Then, during naptime, I made this:It was SUPER easy... and fun! I got it done in less than an hour, and I think it turned out cute! Tim even thought so!! Click HERE to see how to do it! Basically, what you do is cut a XL or XXL plain t-shirt all to bits and pieces... I am amazed at how easy it was! And the color possibilities are endless! I think I found a new craft project :) ... so, friends, don't be surprised if I make one for you!! LOL

For dinner tonight, I didn't quite know what to do, but I had in mind "Chicken, cream cheese, onion, mushrooms" ... EWW for the mushrooms, but I knew that Tim would like it! So... I sent Tim on a mission to figure out to do with my idea. This is what he found online, then I tweaked it a little to my taste and preference... here's what I came up with!!

Chicken Bundles

4 chicken breasts- pounded thin
1- 8oz block cream cheese
1 small onion chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
3 mushrooms chopped
2 Tbsp parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (divided in half)
1 tube saltine crackers smooshed up for dipping
1 egg beaten
2 Tbsp butter
seasonings as desired

*In small saucepan, saute onion, garlic, and mushrooms in the butter. Drain off butter when cooked through. Add three cheeses and stir until creamy.
*Spread cheese/veggie mixture over top of chicken
*Roll up the chicken.
*Dip in egg, then in crackers. Place on baking sheet.
*Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes until internal temperature is 165 degrees.

What day is this?

It feels very strange to not spend a Monday completely exhausted and miserable and grouchy! It's amazing when I don't work, how much MORE friendly I can be! LOL :)

The only problem is that I lose track of my days when I don't work! So, all day today, it did NOT feel like a Monday! So glad too, since Mondays are rough! Went to Tami's for the day... captured this moment with my kids and one of her's watching TV... so very cute!

After Tami's, it was hang at home time! I made spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner (the jarred sauce). It was super yummy! Xander got to paint on his little paint-by-number kit! He loved that!!

Church and Kahlua

I guess my title probably sounds a little contrary! LOL... mixing church AND Kahlua is somehow very wrong! Oh well... those are the two most exciting topics of my day today :)

I took the kiddos to church today... for the last several weeks, my MIL has been going into the class with the three littles because they cried when we'd walk out. The first week, they went in to play without hesitation, BUT before the end of the service, the teacher was calling me out of the church to take care of them! SO... today we tried something new. My MIL went in the room with them... and she stayed for about 5 or 10 minutes. Then she snuck out. She was very nervous to leave them (funny that she was more hesitant than I). I had to grab her arm and pull her to our seats in church because she wanted to stay with the littles. Anyways, long story short, the entire time we were in the service, my MIL and I kept watching the monitor for our parent number to be called.

AND THEY DIDN'T CALL US!!

I couldn't believe we made it through an entire service without the littles having a breakdown! I was such a proud mommy! Maybe this is the start of a good thing!!!
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And now, for the Kahlua explanation....

Many years ago, I worked for a collection company. A very wonderful woman, Shary, made a Kahlua cake one day, and I was in love. (with her and the cake... LOL) She was great....even without the cake!! Anyways, ever since I left that company, I have thought about how amazing that cake was. In my new-found love of Pinterest, I thought,

"I bet someone has Kahlua cake on here"

so I did a search... and FOUND IT! So, I quickly went to the store to buy all the ingredients. I didn't have a bundt cake pan so I called around looking for one to borrow from a friend. FIVE friends later, I found one (thank you, Towana)!! And today, I made it!

It looks delicious...

it smells delicious...

haven't tasted it yet, but I'm sure

it'll TASTE delicious!!


Here's my pics of the cake, the glaze, and the finished product!! (oops, I also added mini-chocolate chips, but didn't take the pic of them on top)AND click HERE for the recipe.
(The only thing about the recipe that I did differently is on the glaze... it says to add a few "drops" of water to thin... I think it was closer to 1/4 of a cup... but you'd have to play with it to get it the consistency you desire)

Playing, friends, and cake

What a day!

We were busy all day today... collapsing on the couch for a little while!

I had an appointment this morning at 1030. At 1115, my mom and I (along with the MIL) took the kiddos to McDonalds to let them play for a little while. They love going there and running!! I love the adult conversation while they play :)

After McDonald's I took them to Tami's to play.... again, they love going there and playing.... I love the adult conversation! Tami and I spent over an hour looking through Pinterest and Realtor.com! Fun stuff...it's always fun to dream of all the cool stuff you can find on both of those sites :)

When we were leaving Tami's she decided to go with us to make a Target run. We let the kids look at a few of the toy aisles before making them behave so Tami and I could look at groceries! In spite of the fact that the twins didn't get naps, they were surprisingly well-behaved! I bought stuff to make a Kahlua cake ... I CAN'T WAIT!

I try to keep myself busy when Tim isn't home... can you tell?? LOL

After our Target run, I took Tami back home, then we headed back home. We had been out for almost 8 hours! (poor puppies...I'm sure their little bladders were aching!)

Got home and Bella insisted on watching an episode of Caillou. After that was over, twinkies went to bed and Big Boys and I baked a cake! When the Halloween stuff was on clearance at Walmart, I bought a confetti cake mix with confetti icing for like $1.25 total! These pics are of my big helpers: Xander and Asher! (side note: I ALWAYS make him crack eggs into a cup instead of into the mix... just in case he gets shells in there! LOL)
Now, the cake is cooling, awaiting the icing!! We'll dig in tomorrow since, by the time it's cool enough to put icing on, the kids will all be in bed! I promised the boys they can put the sprinkles on top tomorrow before we get to eat it!

I'm totally exhausted... can't wait until my head hits my pillow!

*additional note: I just hit publish, then Xander says to me, "Mommy, I had so much fun today that I just want to give you a big hug and kiss!" I may be exhausted, but it's all worth it when the day ends with that kind of comment :)

*additional note #2....
The finished and decorated cake:

3 hour playdate

Today was great!

I took the three littles to Burger King for a playdate with other TMOMs and their kiddos! We've never done a playdate there, but it was nice to sit, chat, and eat while the munchkins played!

When we first got there, Asher got a little panicked in the play equipment. He was scared to come down because he thought he was going to fall. He REFUSED to come down... crying and scared.He was crying for help...my BIG booty is too big to get in there and help, right?? WELL... I took my big booty up that itty bitty stair case to get to him, and THEN, once I was up there, he decided "If I go UP, I can just slide down the slide"... didn't need me after all! UGH... Of course my dear friend took a picture! It was quite humorous... as I was standing in there, a pre-school aged little boy said, "You're too big, girl!" ... hehe... I agree, Kid, I agree!!


After he realized how COOL this play area really was, I couldn't get him off of it! Jonathan and Bella had a blast! Here's a super fun picture of Jonathan as he is coming down the slide... if you look close, you can see how bad the static was making his hair stand up! Quite hilarious really!!

Time with friends

Went to see a couple of friends in Tulsa today. It's always nice to hang with friends!

Kids refused to take a nap...so they went to bed early! WAHOO!!

Enjoyed getting caught up with a couple of my TV shows- Drop Dead Diva and Glee!

That's my day :-)

Windy Wednesday

Brrrr... it's cold out there! The morning started out REALLY nice. I sent Xander to school in just a long-sleeved shirt and jeans. By the time he got out of school, the wind had blown in a cold front and it was down-right cold!

That's the excitement of my day.... sorry so boring!

How was your day?

Two Things Tuesday

Tuesday's Two Talk-able Topics:

1-
Funny Jonathan story! You know how kids say the darndest things? Well, both babies had stinky diapers today... brace yourself, this might be a TMI (too much info) moment...
ANYWAYS, both twins had poopy diapers at the same time. Changed Jonathan's very normal "stinky-gross" diaper first. Then I changed Bella's. She is often a little constipated, so her poo was "pebble-y" ... hope that makes sense.
ANYWAYS, Jonathan gets up close while I am changing Bella and says, "Ewww, that's stinky balls!"
*hahaha... kid cracks me up every time!

2-
TMOMs are the best! We had our board meeting tonight... the November meeting is when we decide how we, as a group, are going to bless others for the holiday season! We take anonymous nominations from our membership, then at the meeting, we agree on the financial aspect of what we're going to do! I am SO VERY EXCITED that we'll be able to support 4 families this year! Two TMOM families and two community families (non-TMOMs) will receive food for the holidays, plus gifts for their kiddos! It's so great to be a part of such an amazingly giving group of women!!!

Moving to Michigan?

NO...not me! LOL... fooled you though, didn't I?

My mom and I went to the airport to pick up my brother tonight. He had gone to MI to see a couple of his gamer friends that he had never OFFICIALLY met except via their video games. He spent a few days there hanging out and loved every minute of it! So, he got back tonight and said he thinks he might move there! It might actually be good for him to get away and do his own thing... who knows, he may do really well there! He has always said he hates Oklahoma and wants to move... just never thought he'd end up in Michigan! Who knows.... we shall see!


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Today for The Bunch was fairly uneventful! I was sleepy (as I am EVERY Monday). Xander wanted spaghetti and meatballs for dinner... he got it! I love when he actually asks for something specific. Most of the time, the kids just end up with hot dogs, chicken nuggets, or mac & cheese. So when he specifies something that he'd like, I usually go out of my way to make it! Yesterday, he wanted grilled cheese...that was easy!! Asher loved dinner- he ate more than Xander did! With every bite, he'd get this HUGE, cheesy grin while chewing, then before the next bite, he'd say, "this is good supper mommy!" LOVE THAT!!

Yummy Dinner and Cute Twins

I worked last night after the MWS and Amy Grant concert. BOY was I exhausted! I think I might have been a little delirious because before I fell asleep, I posted a status on Facebook that I don't remember typing:

Day 13: Today I am thankful for the fact that my wonderful husband is braving The Bunch by himself at church today! QUIET house for mommy to sleep!! I'm at about 26 hours w/o sleep, so crashing very sooooooooooooooooooooooooooool,,,,,,,,,,,,,kmlllllllllll.,. (oops, collapsed on the keyboard, lol) ANYWAYS, going to bed... good night facebook! give me something good to read when I wake up this evening!


Kind-of a funny status update.... too bad I don't remember typing it! LOL.... anyways, Tim took the 4 kids to church this morning, then they went out with his parents for lunch. When they got home, I didn't hear a thing... dogs barked and jumped on my in my bed and I didn't flinch! When I woke up on my own at 430, I realized that I was in the same position I fell asleep in... hadn't moved at all all day long! Glad I got some good rest! Feeling better now!!

Here's a couple cute pictures of the twins- we went to the park a couple days ago and took some pictures!

For dinner, I made Easy Chicken Enchiladas! Super yummy!

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
1-8 oz pkg cream cheese
1/2 C sour cream
1-16oz jar salsa
1-15oz can pinto beans
2 C shredded cheese
Whole wheat tortillas

In skillet, heat chicken, beans, cream cheese, and sour cream until bubbly. Scoop mixture evenly into center of tortillas. Roll up and place in greased baking dish seam side down. Pour salsa over top. Cover with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Serve with sour cream, salsa, and chopped olives if desired.

Michael W Smith and Amy Grant

We had quite a busy day today! Started off with Xander's last soccer game this season. It was freeeeezing outside, but he had fun! The team lost 12-2,but they had fun! After soccer, we spent some time with Xander's friend Trystan, and his mommy, Jackie! Always fun talking to other adults while the kids play! After all of that, the twins were exhausted, so they took an early nap! Yay for me because it gave me a chance to lay down for a lil bit! This evening, Tim and I got a date night, thanks to my mom's willingness to babysit! I had won FREE tickets to the Michael W Smith & Amy Grant concert! So, even though going to the concert made me 40 minutes late to work ( yes, I know, irresponsible), we went and had a great time!

My UN-professional review... I love their music... Always have, always will! BUT, They don't put on a very rousing concert. I loved listening to them, but was, at times, a lil bored :( ... Overall, I enjoyed myself, as did Tim, but I am glad the tickets were free as I was a lil disappointed!

Now I am sitting at work, wishing I was home sleeping! But at least it was a great day!

Fun Friday

Happy Veteran's Day! Thanks to you if you served our country to fight for our freedom!

Because of Veteran's Day, Tim was off work!! HOORAY! Yay for a day of daddy/hubby at home WITHOUT me having to work... normally I work on his days off so today was nice!


We didn't do much this morning, but after lunch, we took the three littles to the park to run out some of their crazy, toddler energy! It was chilly outside, so we didn't stay too long. Then we went to get Xander from school. After school, went grocery shopping! No, that probably doesn't sound all that exciting, but the fact that we could do all of it WITH TIM was great! He misses out on a lot of our everyday stuff since he has to work...
I love having him home!!

Then, tonight I went to the airport to pick my mom up from her SECOND vacation in the last month! JEALOUS here! Glad she had fun...she deserves it! She does and does for everyone all the time...rarely does she get time for HERSELF!

10 on 10- Embrace the Camera

This is a little "day in the life." I'm linking up with my blogger buddy, Raeanne, for 10 on 10, a little project to take a photo every hour, for 10 hours, on the 10th of the month!

**Also, this month, the 10th just happens to fall on Thursday...Embrace the Camera day... So I just had to get in front of the camera on a couple of these pics!Enjoy a little glimpse into our day!

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7 a.m.
The foggy mirror after my shower
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8 a.m.
Loading up the van to take Xander to school
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9 a.m.
Jonathan and Bella laying on the floor watching cartoons----------
10 a.m.
Bella coloring----------
11 a.m.
Washing the dishes
(Yep, that's my hand for the Embrace the Camera moment... more of me later)
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Noon
LUNCH!!!
(Potato salad with a turkey/ham sandwich on King's Hawaiian Bread... DELISH!)
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1 p.m.
Asher took this picture while I was typing an email...
thought it was a perfect picture for 1pm!
(And another {embrace} pic)
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2 p.m.
Me forcing Asher to sit with me for a picture!! He is whining, "I wanna take the picture, mommy!"
(FINALLY, a REAL {embrace} moment)
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3 p.m.
Waiting in the pick-up line at Xander's school
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4 p.m.
Bella, Jonathan, and Asher playing in the leaves in our driveway

Lazy Wednesday

Not much excitement to report around the Boni house for today. I was OVERLY tired and have had a headache for two days... so I pretty much vegged out on the couch most of the day! A friend of mine picked up Xander this afternoon too, so I didn't even have to go out after school! (Thanks Rebecca!)

For dinner I made bacon-wrapped chicken with baked potatoes. And we had apple pie (thanks to Tami) for dessert! I was VERY sad that we only had a couple slices of pie...just doesn't seem like enough when it takes so amazingly wonderful!!

Here's a cute picture of Xander and Asher with a Mater display at Wal-Mart... Tami acted like she didn't know me when I had to stop and take their picture! Yes, I DID look like a tourist, but it was cute :)

Two Things Tuesday

Tuesday's Two Talk-able Topics

1: Michael W Smith and Amy Grant are on tour together this year! They did a tour together almost 30 years ago... amazing right? Well, they're going to be in Tulsa this week... and I WON TICKETS! I am so completely stoked right now! I didn't even have to do anything too crazy... I just posted a pic of Tim and I on a local paper's Facebook page, and they gave me two tickets! SO COOL! I can't wait to go!!

2: Tonight was our annual TMOM New Member Dinner! We had 5 new members and quite a few "old" members (having nothing to do with their age, of course...LOL)!! We had a great time! There were SO many kiddos... and even 3 husbands! Dinner was good, but the company was the best! Here's a picture of MOST everyone who was there (the kids were playing in another room, and 2 of the husbands weren't in the pic)

Earthquake anyone?

So... if you haven't seen the news lately about Oklahoma, we've been having earthquakes! Our first one hit at 2:15am on Saturday morning- it was a 4.7! Then Saturday night around 11pm, we had another- 5.6! Then tonight, we had ANOTHER one- 4.7 again! Between all of these, we have had 26 aftershocks totaling 29 earthquakes in less than 72 hours! It's nuts!

Then, to top it all off, in the last 24 hours, we've had thunderstorm after thunderstorm! It has rained SO much. Tonight we're under a tornado watch because of the horrible storms. So... a Facebook friend said, "They tell us to go outside for earthquakes and to stay inside for tornados. What do you do if they are happening at the same time." Kinda makes me laugh!!

Any excitement in your part of the world???

CHURCH!!!

Hooray... I got to go to church today! The last time we went to church, the babies cried so much that I had to leave the service to go deal with them ....therefore, missing out on the service!! I was so frustrated and sad! BUT, my mother-in-law offered to stay in the room with the littles so Tim and I could enjoy church w/o interruption.

The service was WONDERFUL! My take-aways:

*Don't blame God for something the devil did! "in everything, give thanks" doesn't mean to thank God for everything.... that would be like saying "Thanks God for my car wreck... thanks God for my lack!" ... NO!! God didn't do the bad in your life... the devil did... therefore, give thanks to God for in everything that the devil throws your way, GOD has provided a bigger gun to take out the devil and his attacks! Wahoo!!!

*In our lives, we worship and praise God MORE when we have a need in our lives. We pray and draw closer a lot of times when we're struggling with something. BUT in heaven, we will worship just 'cause! How much greater is it when we worship and praise "JUST 'CAUSE"!!!?? Nothing wrong with worship and praise- whatever motivates you to do it, just do it! Because, again, in everything give thanks.... (Philippians 4:6) with prayer and supplication,with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God! HE wants to know what we need... the word says to be anxious for nothing... HE is the God who provides... I love that in the same scripture that says to make your requests known to God, it says "With thanksgiving!" So... if you have a need... give thanks! Give thanks BEFORE the need is fulfilled... He always provides... give thanks!!

Love going to church... I have missed it!

What was your Sunday Take-Away???

Busy day

Soccer...shopping...restocking diapers (sure wish they were potty-trained)...yummy pizza for dinner... LONG nap in preparation for work tonight!

Busy, but good day!

Fabulous Friday

We had a full day today!

The morning started off taking Xander to the doctor. He had his 6-year-old well child check today... he is 54 pounds and 4'1" tall (87% on height/80% on weight... because he's sooo tall for his age)! He also had a sore throat again... doctor doesn't think it's strep again (thank GOD), but he's still complaining so he went to bed with a little meds! One of these pics are of Xander and Bella trapped under the counter at the pediatrician's office- Asher put them "in jail" and put the doctor's rolling chair in front so they couldn't get out. The other pic is all four kids anxiously awaiting our van- the ped's office has valet parking...so they were waiting there looking super cute so I HAD to click a picture!!

After the doctor, I met up with a friend who gave me some hand-me-downs for the 2 little boys (Asher and Jonathan)... 2 bags full of clothes and shoes! Thanks God for generous friends! She gave me a couple extra bags to pass on to another friend ... so after I saw her, I went to my friend Rachel's house! She loved getting new clothes too!!

After Rachel's house, we went to Tami's for a few hours. She made us all lunch (YUMMY). Then while the kids all played in her GATED AND CHILD-PROOFED living room, she and I sat at her kitchen table chit-chatting and discussing TMOM business... always fun discussion!! LOL :-)

After Tami's house, we came home so I could fix dinner. After we all ate, my mom came over for a visit! She is leaving on ANOTHER vacation tomorrow and wanted a grandkid fix before she goes! They LOVE when she drops by... as soon as she walks into the house, they all yell YAYA and jump up to give hugs!

Now...all the kids are in bed (YAY); and Tim and I getting ready to watch our shows we recorded yesterday! Loving the quiet time after such a busy AND FUN day!

Embrace The Camera- Halloween

We took several pics of our Halloween outing, but I saved the ones with the "grown ups" for today's post! Wanted to be sure to save them for our ETC day!


The first picture is of Bella... yes, I know this doesn't have us in it, but I LOVE the expression on her face as she's looking into her candy pumpkin!




Next is a picture of the kids with my mom and Mother in Law! I titled it: Grandmas and their ghosts (and PacMan too!)




Finally, a picture of Tim and I with the kids! I LOVE this family photo of us! It turned out sooooo good! Hope you enjoy!

Wonderful Wednesday!

Today was good because I got to take a nap!! WAHOO!!! Any day that includes a nap for ALL FOUR KIDS PLUS MOMMY has GOT to be a good day, right?

Nothing spectacular happened today for the littles and me, but Xander had a fun day! The first grade at his school took a field trip- he LOVES riding the bus! They went to Tulsa for a kid's concert and then to a big park to eat lunch and play! A cold front started moving in while they were there, so they left a little earlier than planned, but they had a blast! After the picnic at the park, he got to come home...so he was home at 1:15!

For dinner, I made salisbury steak and mashed potatoes with boiled & buttered cabbage! SUPER yummy dinner. Kinda annoying though... with every SINGLE bite that the three littles took, they'd say "No my like it!" They'd "cheek" every bite for like 15 minutes... UGH! It was a very annoying process, but at least it tasted good...makes up for the frustration a little bit!

Two Things Tuesday

Tuesday's Two Talkable Topics:

1: Dinner was super delish! We had chicken fajitas. I cook my strips of chicken, onion, and green bell pepper in a skillet with a little olive oil. Then, when it's all cooked through, I drain out the oil so the skillet is essentially dry...that way it gives the meat & veggies a grilled look by browning them... while it's browning, I add a couple little dashes of lime juice for flavor- the skillet is hot enough to evaporate the liquid while leaving behind the flavor! SO YUMMY!

2: TMOMs NIGHT!! Wahoo! You can pretty much count on every other Tuesday night's blog being about TMOMs! Tonight we had a social event... we shared food and gift ideas- exchanged recipe cards... voted on the best: Drink, Dessert, Savory Food, and Gift... (I won a gift card for my Mexican Bean Salad) It is always fun when I get to spend time with those ladies!! When you add good food with good friends, it results in a GREAT night!