A Random Post on a not so random Tuesday...

I love fall. It feels as if good ole' Alabama may actually see true fall weather in September. I think the highest temp in the next 7 days is only going to be in the low 80s. I know people from Wisconsin are laughing at us saying, "That is so not fall!" But for me, it totally is!

Speaking of Wisconsin, my husband wants to move to Green Bay. Mostly, for the Packers. Ok, all for the Packers. He hates being cold and yet wants to move for the sake of football.  It is near the water and I do like football.... It also snows in winter. I like snow.  It would be fun to see them play a game.... hmmm....

So I was reading in Proverbs(16:31) yesterday. There is a verse that says silver hair is a crown of glory. My crown has started. I'm not sure to be vain and cry or embrace it fully.  It's only one silver hair. I think I have it pretty well hidden. It's not that bad.

My oldest daughter, Sweet Pea, told me she brushed her teeth with Clorox. I panicked. I never leave bleach where they can reach it. Ever. After her daddy and myself asked, "What!!??" with panicked looks on our faces, she explained it. "Well, that's what it said on the toothpaste." sigh of relief. "Sweet girl, you need to read a little slower because that says Colgate."

I now have added to my crown of glory.

My baby brother #2 is getting married. Yay! Congrats to Ryan and my future sister in law Colbie! I'm so happy for them!

My son keeps asking me when we are getting married. That sweet boy. I have to explain that I'm already married to Daddy. He says, "Ok! When are you going to marry me?" God love his sweet self.

I had to separate him and his sister last night. He was laying on her and hanging off the side of the couch. I can't explain it. He was defying gravity somehow.  I don't know how he wasn't falling off. So I picked them up and sat them on the couch. Maybe I used a little too much force because they {may have} bounced up and down when I let go. They laughed and said do it again!

Oh look, my glory crown is growing...yay....

We're going to the "liberry" today. The kids love to go. I do to. I wish I could go in there with a warm sweater, a cup of coffee, and just read for hours and hours. That would be nice. It's so quite and cool in there. I can't do it with the kids, obviously.  The librarian would be like, "Ma'am, you son is climbing up that very unstable bookshelf. Your girls are arguing over who gets the Fancy Nancy book and...oh look! The bookcases are toppling over like dominoes!" I would be like, " Who knew they actually did that?" Ha, Ha, Ha, ahem. Here is my library card, it was nice to know you. Have a happy life."

I should go inform my kids we are going. My son just walked by in a Superman T-shirt, Spiderman underwear, Buzz Lightyear house shoes, and three hats. Yes, three. He says he's going ice skating on the floor. Thank God we don't have bookcases in the living room.

Oh look, my glory crown is growing...again...
Now I may just cry.



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Typical Friday Night....

It's mostly quiet in my house. I hear our dog Cookie barking at rabbits or dogs or squirrels or me(because I want let her in the house!). She's very protective. I like that, a lot! I've had the kids in bed since 8:30pm. I've put them back in bed at least 23.42 million times.

8:34pm
Daughter #2 says, "I'm thirsty." Go get your drink. "It's aaalllll gggooonneee!" She immediately turns to Jello. deep breaths, Jess, deep breaths.  Then get some water. "I don't waaaannnntttt waterrrrrrrr." *In a very stern voice* You may have water or you may not have water, but it is time to go to sleep. Now! "I'll take waterrrr." Her bones decide to grow back. She is no longer a puddle on the kitchen floor. 

8:36pm
Daughter #2,"I forgot to get Sissy's water." {They are "spending the night" together.} Get it and please, go to bed.

8:40PM
Son says, "I don't want to watch Bugs Bunny."
a low growl comes from Mama Bear. "How about Penguins of Madagascar?"
Son says, "That would be good!"

I think they are finally asleep! Netflix, here I come! I have Parenthood episodes to catch up on. 
cricket.....
cricket.....

9:05pm
 I hear bumps from my sons room. I'm pretty sure he is still not asleep. Or he is asleep and is sleep walking. If that's the case then he is tripping over the room full of toys. He, literally, picked up his toy box and flipped it over. I'm not even exaggerating! It was still half full when he did it. They boy has the strength of the Hulk when he is in his true to self, little boy form! Where do kids get all their energy and strength? I may never know.

9:07pm
I {just} consoled a crying daughter. She was in a pool of crocodile tears. Why? Her sister "accidentally"  pulled the flashlight away from her and it bounced off her bottom lip. She was and I quote, "Just trying to shake the light back on." {Um...Sweetie there haven't been batteries in that thing in 6 months. I don't think shaking it will make the light come on!} I think her heart was more broken than the lip was busted. Very little blood, all is good!

It's been a whole five minutes since I've heard a door creak open and little feet frolicking my....never mind. 

9:12pm
That very same daughter who was just crying decided she was "hungawe" It's not supper time, it's bed time. Back to bed.

9:13pm
Daughter #1 is up. She lost the back to her earring.....again. "Sweet Pea, how many times have I told you, 'Don't mess with your earrings?' I'll tell you, too many to count!"

9:14pm
Digging through jewelry box looking for another back to earring. Ha! Found one! Woot!
"Now, back to bed. Don't play with your earrings!"

9:15pm
Son comes tip toeing out of his room. I want to watch the new Alvin and the Chipmunks!" I say, "Dear Son, we don't have that." He replies with a sigh, "But, get the movie suitcase, we do have it!" In the most loving voice I can muster through gritted teeth, I might add, "I can't find it. It's probably under the floor of toys you just dumped out!" WHINE, CRY, TURN INTO JELL-O, CRY, WHINE. 

9:16pm
"Oh look! The Muppets! You LOVE the Muppets! How about this?"
His bones also magically appear again. He is now human again and not slimy Jell-o.
Son says, "Yes! That would be good!"
Off to bed...again.

It's been another 5 minutes of peace and qu....sigh...why? I'm about to turn into a blob of Jell-o and see if I can get my way.

9:22PM
Daughter #2 says, "I miss Daddy." Mama lovingly says, "Me too...he'll be home soon, go back to bed."

9:23pm
"I really miss Daaaaddddddddyyyyy."
"He'll be here soon, Sweetie. Bed. Now." Mommy is running out of patience.

9:24pm
squeak.....
Turn around and go to bed. Now. I know you miss Daddy, he'll be home soon. Good Night. I love you. 

9:26pm
Squeak....

If you need me, I'll be the puddle of melted Jell-o..... hiding under the table, waiting on my hubby to get home. Thank you Lord, that today is Friday!




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Feeling Overwhelmed? Have no fear God is here!

Today is Tuesday! I'm linking up with the Time Warp Wife for some Titus 2sday fun!

Have you ever felt overwhelmed? Of course you have! If you haven't you {might} just be lying! It's so easy to become overwhelmed in today's society. You have to keep up with Facebook, Pinterest, Blogger, the news, celebrity gossip, church activities, school activities, extra curricular activities, work, house work, home school, play dates, your favorite TV shows, and the list goes on and on and on. The last time I checked there are still only 24 hours in a day and still only one you. How do you keep up with everything and keep your sanity in check? Well, the answer is: YOU CAN'T. I'm not big on being negative. But, there comes a time you have to say I can't do it all.  You would think the answer would involve some complex equation. It doesn't. Just say NO! Change your priorities.  Tell your kids, pick one activity or sport, that's all we doing. Be the parent, your still allowed to control your children's schedule. Is Pinterest and Facebook more important than time spent with your spouse? Is keeping up with the latest celebrity gossip columnist really more important than making a home cooked meal for your family? Is watching your favorite TV show more important than spending time in God's word? When we step back and put our priorities in order, our time falls into our purpose. It falls into the appropriate place it needs to be. In my life, I try to put:
                                         God First, Husband Second, Children Third

I admit, it doesn't always look like that. Especially when life takes hold of you, instead of allowing God to take hold of your life. I read a blog post called I'm Maxed Out by Courtney at Women Living Well. It spoke volumes to my spirit today. She spoke about Michelle Duggar being overwhelmed around child number 7. I have 3 that I home school, I can't imagine four much less seven or seventeen, for that matter. She was overwhelmed! {Can you imagine?!} She cried out to the Lord that she couldn't do it anymore. The verse He brought to her spirit was 2 Corinthians 12:9. {I added 10 also, because it spoke to me!}

" ...My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecution, in difficulties, For when I am weak, then I am strong."

So today, boast that you can't do it. That you alone can do nothing. But with Christ, you have more than enough strength to carry through. Set God first, seek him, tell him your weak and can't complete all the tasks ahead of you. His power will rest on you and you will be made strong. So have no fear, God is here!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct  your paths. {Proverbs 3:5-6}

Many Blessings,


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My cleaning schedule...

I am happy for short weeks! How about you? This week has been like I'm ramming my head against a brick wall! It seems like I really have to work extra hard at everything this week. I guess that's just another way to relinquish control over things you just don't have control over and say, "OK, Lord I trust you." And so goes life. Today, I'm going to talk about household....stuff. Chores. Laundry. The mundane things that can completely overwhelm you, if you let it. Instead, take joy in the fact that you are able to take care of your family. Even though, not to many people actually like to clean, it's still a way of taking care of your family. When I look at it that way, it's not near as painful.  If you don't clean, you start having unfavorable "guests" show up and the next thing you know your on the next episode of Hoarders. For the love of Clorox, please take care of your family. (P.S. if you need motivation, you should totally watch an episode of Hoarders. The sheer thought makes me reach for a Clorox wipe.) Until my husbands decides to turn into Bruce Wayne and hires dear Alfred(I prefer Michael Caine compared to all other Alfred's because he's like a sweet, yet very cool grandpa!)  to come take care of my cleaning(and the bat cave) I'll have to settle on my own system of cleaning. :)
My current system of cleaning has been taken from numerous blogs. Over at Time Warp Wife she has a pretty in depth schedule. Mine isn't quite that in depth, but it works for me. I, usually, set aside each day to do one "major" cleaning along with "everyday" cleaning. I knew that I would need something to help me along this school year. With Sweet Pea in 1st grade and Sweetie Pie in K-4, and my son, who just dumped out half a box of animal crackers on his bed,  I needed guidance. I am a make a list kind of person. I NEED a list. So I came up with a list and it has worked wonderfully over the past 3 weeks.

This is what I look like when I clean.HA! .....Just kidding
(this is not my image!)









Monday: Laundry    As in all day. I do laundry once a week. My cousin Marie has always done laundry once a week. I always thought that's crazy. How can you only do laundry once a week? I decided to try it. I loved it! I take Mondays and wash, dry, fold, and put away then it's done for the week. I, occasionally, have to wash a load in the middle of the week for whatever reason. But, one load in the middle of seven days, is totally fine with me. I'm usually done by late afternoon. Especially if I set my timer that tells me when my dryer is done....ahem. I also haven't used as much laundry soap and I did washing every day or every other day. Sweet....I'm saving money in the process! 

Tuesday: Vacuum and dust.    I run the vacuum over the floors and dust and I'm done in about 30 minutes, I guess. Although, I'm not a fan of dusting....it has to be done. Vacuumed floors just make the house feel and look so clean. 

Wednesday: Bathrooms and Grocery List    I hate to clean the bathrooms. It doesn't take to terribly long but it's one of those "necessary evils" that has to be done. If not, see above comments about Hoarders. All through the day, I write out my weekly grocery list. I tend to find I'm out of things as I go through out my day making meals, home schooling, and cleaning. 

Thursday: Grocery Shopping and Bills   This isn't usually an all day affair. It could be, but I try not to let it be. I still have my daily cleaning to do, supper to cook, and school to be taught. Sometimes, you just need a day to shop....even if it's window shopping.  I like going early in the mornings before lunch crowds get there. (I love being a full time homemaker!) I also have been taking a kid a week with me. It gives us a great "Mommy and me" day. They like to help with loading the groceries and looking at toys. I like the one on one time, they like the hash browns for breakfast! ;) I also like going by myself sometimes too. It is very relaxing to me. (Thankful to my Mama for watching the kids and my sweet husband!) I also do my bills on Thursdays. I {try my best} do them first thing in the morning before I go to the store. That determines my budget for groceries for the week. 

Friday: Floors   As in mopping. I do the family room, which in our home is the living room, dining room, and kitchen. Then I do the bathrooms. This way, I only get the steam mop out once a week. {As long as there are no major spillage issues, which let's face it...!} 

Saturday and Sunday:  Rest!   My days are busy. From 4:30am to 10:00pm. Or from 8:00am to 1:30am.(depending on night shift/day shift) I am always doing something. Three meals a day {times 5}, home school, laundry, cleaning, baths, etc. I like that I can wake up on Saturday and Sunday and have a relatively clean house and not have to do any major cleaning. I need that rest. I don't want to be concerned with a deep cleaning. I would rather be concerned with spending time with my family! :)

Daily Cleaning:  Beds made, dirty clothes but in proper places, kitchen cleaned, floor swept, toys picked up before bed, living room picked up, hall way picked up, bathroom quickly tidied up.

Not that difficult. Just right for me. So do you have a list? Or you more go with the flow or just a once a week, all on one day cleaner? Let me know. Any tips? Show some love and leave a comment! :)

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It's Friday..Woop! Woop! ...

I'm so happy it's Friday! How about you? Yes?! Good!  First, it hasn't been a month since my last blog entry....say what?!  Tonight the kids and I are having a "Perry Party".{The husband will be at work....he never wants to trade spots with me! That's so not fair! ;)}  Who's Perry? It's more like "Hey, Where's Perry?" If you have kids, you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. Or if you don't have kids or maybe you don't have a TV, here's Perry:

Pet by day, Secret Agent by night. He's also on the Disney TV show: Phineas and Ferb. It's really a cute show and our family loves it. All of us. It has humor for everyone. Anyway, I've been asked, by my oldest to make a chocolate chip cookie cake. Of course, how could I say no?!  It's chocolate chips and Perry!

I'm also going to make my first cake to sale. It's a Blues Clues cake for a family friend. It's his first birthday and I'm super excited about it! My husband has been telling me for a while that I need a baking business on the side. My mama has also been telling me. Then, I made homemade cinnamon rolls for a youth breakfast, and my pastor's wife said you need to sell these. My pastor said, "Your calling is cinnamon rolls. Maybe would could use these for communion!" HA! Maybe not so much for communion!  So, I'm praying about if I want to do something like this in the near future. Hmmm.....

My cooking blog has almost been forgotten. GASP.  Not on purpose, of course. I do have multiple recipes and pictures to update it. I just haven't yet. I will soon. With school starting back, I'm actually more on my "normal" schedule. I like it. I like structure during the week and knowing what's coming next. :)

It has been feeling wonderful here in Alabama. It feels slightly like fall. Normally, it's 100 degrees and you can't breathe. It's barely reaching 90 and a breeze is blowing. I love fall. And soup. I think I'll make a beef stew for lunch. And by beef, I mean deer. My sister in law is always in shock at the wild game we eat. I think it shocks her more when she realized she's probably eaten it also, we just didn't tell her. I know it's mean....HA! I'm sorry Mo, it's funny! :)

Speaking of my Sis-in-law and my brother, they are on Facebook! Signal the hallelujah chorus! The end is coming. Life as we know it over. Just kidding. :)

I am so excited about something special happening this weekend. I literally, can't say more than that because it would give to much away.  So excited. Yay! Of course, when I can,  I'll have a big blog post about it!

My son and our new dog Cookie got in quite a pickle last night. I have no picture yet, my camera's battery is dead. {sigh} She's some kind of shepherd mix. She's cute. She wasn't cute when she came out of her collar and was barking on my front porch last night. I go to take her back to her collar and stake out, lead thing and it is wrapped about, not lying, 20 times around the kids' red tricycle. Not just wrapped, but tied. Naturally, as I'm trying my best to untie this contraption, I ask, "Who did this? There is no way the dog did this by herself!" Before, I was even finished speaking the girls piped up and said it was brother. About that time, the Boy said, "It was me and Cookie! We did it!" He was proud and I should have known. It was also wrapped around a tree. Seriously, never a dull moment.

I'm super glad it's Friday and my Husband is off work for two days. I need help in the trenches. On that note, School  is about to start, floors need to be done and bathrooms need to be cleaned. If you find my maid around, tell her she's 8 1/2 years late. {This is also the reason, I'm having movie night after the kids go to bed. I'm watching the Hunger Games and I'm eating popcorn all by myself. Thank you and Amen!}

P.S. If you haven't read the books read them! They're great! The movie isn't to far off from the books, so you should watch it too! You won't be disappointed! (You may even want to shoot a bow and arrow when you're done!)

Happy Friday!



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Life is good...

If I had a theme to my life, it would be: "Life is Good". Because, well, it is.  I am beyond blessed. I sit in a beautiful house surrounded by a beautiful family, with more than I need and every thing I want. I have such a peaceful heart tonight. I am just so content with where and what God is doing in our lives. So, what has been going on in our lives? Well, why don't you pull up a seat and let me tell you!


We started back in full swing with home school this week. I officially have a 1st grader, a (K-4) Kindergartner (Her birthday falls a little later, but we are still working on {some} K-5 stuff!), and a preschooler. Can someone please tell me, where have my sweet little babies went? Seriously, I just had a newborn, 1yr old, and 2 yr old. It's so bitter-sweet really. I'm loving every minute of these ever changing phases in life. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I could handle 3 kids on 3 different learning levels. I am so happy that it's going beautifully! I saw this really cute idea on Pinterest: Take a picture of your kids with the grade they're in and what they want to be when they grow up. Then you can look back on past years and see how they have changed as well as what they want to be "when they grow up"! Here are my "babies"!

Sweet Pea: 1st grade; teacher

Sweetie Pie: K-4; Ballet teacher

The boy: preschool; a pirate( a real one, not nice, mad!)

We have been busy with church. We have been at our current church for almost 5 months and love it! We only live about 10 minutes away, which is awesome! We can actually help when it's needed and go more often. This summer we helped with the Kids Crusade.(aka Bible School!) It was a total success. I must admit, I was 100% exhausted when it was over. It was worth it, to see so many kids have fun and learn about Jesus all at the same time!

Just for you! I have some of my families everyday antics to tell you about!

• My son has started to say "OH FLRAP"! Translation: Oh crap! Where did he get this from? It couldn't possibly be from his wonderful mommy who, on occasion, says it when she's frustrated. Occasionally....
• Upon telling my eldest daughter that she needed to go back to bed{for the 400th time that night} she told me she couldn't. I said, "Go count some sheep!" She responded, "Um, could you just take my sheep{stuffed animal, of course...I hope} and throw it over me so I can count that instead of imagining fake sheep?"   Me." Um..no! Go to bed!" Her." It's not that hard...as she lightly frolics back to bed"
• I would like to know, why is it that the lightest person in the entire house sounds like a herd of elephants running through the streets of New York when she walks? This is my Sweetie Pie. She, for some reason, literally stomps as hard as she can when she walks. I have no idea why! Her only other form of transportation is frolicking, like an elephant, down the hall. She thinks it's hilarious. I do not. 
• My son, who was suppose to be putting a cup in the sink, decided to get very quite. He was only suppose to put it in the sink and then come back and help me clean his room. Did that happen...no! I'm slaving away through dirty underwear{why are boys so gross?} and it dawns on me he's not back. Me:"Um Son, where are you at?" Him: " I'm in da kitchen." Me: "OK, whatcha doing?" Him:" Oh just drinkin' syrup." Me: "What!?! Give me that! Where is the lid? turning in circles Give me the lid you crazy dog!" Yes, the dog had the lid, the boy had the bottle. sigh. Into the trash Mrs. Buttersworth went.
•  As I'm leaving the trash, shaking my head at my ever...um.... interesting son, what's that I see? Why it's a straw. In the dog's bowl. I look at the cup my son was drinking from that recently had a straw in it. Missing...naturally. Me:" Did you drink out of the dog's water bowl with a straw?" Him:"Yup, I did!" At least he didn't lie.  

And on that note, I better get some sleep. After all, the kids are asleep and I need mine too. Especially, if they get a good nights rest! ;) 

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A helpful hint and a Titus 2sday Link Up...

Happy Tuesday everyone! I have been a busy little bee lately! After returning from vacation, it took a while to get back in the swing of things. Just in time to be turned upside down again when my husband's shift at work changed to night shift. Let me just tell you, bed time was fun last night! If you call wrestling monkeys into a twin size bed fun. They popped( I totally almost wrote pooped! Ha!) out of bed every 3 minutes for multiple things including but not limited to: potty breaks, drinks of water, it's too dark, I can't sleep, I'm not comfy, can I sleep in your bed since Daddy is gone. Yep, fun. :)

So, after trying to get settled in this past week, I was slightly haunted by my laundry pile. Why? Well, it had become taller than me and somehow multiplied itself times 2...every 2 hours. The question I ask myself all too often is: How can I make laundry easier on myself? It has to be done, we all know that. In our house, I'm the one to do it. My husband volunteers to help but, I feel like it's my job since I stay at home. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I do need his help and I'm not afraid to ask!

While at the beach, our condo had a dryer with a buzzer on it. A buzzer! It went off as soon as the dryer was finished. How incredibly awesome is that? Apparently, I have missed out! I thought to myself, wouldn't it be awesome to know when your laundry is done? Then I could just change the laundry, fold it,  and put it away. Maybe, I wouldn't be so distracted by other things and forget it. I am a mommy after all, mommy brain has a tendency to take over. And sometimes HGTV. That's beside the point.  


I realize a lot of people have buzzers on their dryer. This is no new thing to you. I'm just....well....happy about small things. :)

So my plan: Set a timer for my dryer. I had read this many times on many blogs and for some reason, it never clicked what they were talking about. Set a timer? How will that help me?  Ok, it takes me a little time to catch on to stuff, sometimes. What's that?...Oh, yes I do home school my children. Why do you ask? Why do you look a little scared? Oh, you'll pray for me and my kids. That's sweet. I think....

So I started out with 30 minutes on my oven's timer. It's central to everything, so I knew I would be able to hear it. It wasn't quite long enough so I added 15 more minutes and voila! My clothes are dried! So I switch out my clothes, set another 45 minute timer, and fold my recently dried clothes. What do I do while waiting, my other chores, of course. Or perhaps, catch an episode of House Hunters. Which ever happens to come first. ;)

With my helpful new tip to myself, I did approximately 11 loads of laundry and was completely done by 3:00pm. I started at around 8:30am. Not to shabby, if I do say so myself! :) I hope my helpful tip helps you with your hauntingly huge mound of laundry.



If you have a helpful hint, advice you would like to share, or if you would like to read some awesome articles head over to The Time Warp Wife and join in!





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