My Southern, Hippie, Married, Mom of Four Life!

Not a Creature is Stirring, Not Even a Mouse

2011-11-28T02:37:00.001-05:00

As I sit here in a silent house, not a creature is stirring not even a mouse (thankfully). I start to ponder off and think to myself. Wow this is nice!
I love a house full, I mean really I have four kids and five animals. But sometimes...just sometimes....nothing beats a little silence. Because really mom's never get time alone, not even in the darn bathroom. Some day's you look forward to that oh so wonderful shower, thinking I will sneak off while the kids are doing whatever they are doing and take a shower in peace. As you stand there under the water just relaxing and enjoying the warmth of the water and feeling the stress leave for a quick moment. You hear MOM!!!!! And there it went..right out the window...your moment of peace....but one day I am sure I will be depressed when all I have is my hubs here and no children to yell for me....but that is a long off....and yes I am happy about that...but I will still keep trying to sneak in those few Calgon moments away...like the one I am experiencing now...sitting here on my couch...relaxing with all asleep...never mine that it is 2:30am...a mom takes that worked in slot of time..whenever it comes.... :O)

Night....

Later Tators!

A New Hobby?

2011-11-15T15:32:00.000-05:00

Well, kinda I started an account on Pinterest! Have you? Here is my link http://pinterest.com/hippieprincess/ If you are not on Pinterest yet get set up. I have to say I really love not using my bookmarks anymore. I like to open which board I want to look at and see all that I have basically bookmarked for future reference! Super nice! Let me know if you have an account so I can follow you....Happy Pinning! :O)

Later Tators!

Birthday Love!

2011-10-16T15:48:00.003-04:00

So as usual it has been awhile since I have done a post. Life is keeping me pretty busy! But I do want to post some bday love to two special peeps in my life!

First off Tristan my 3rd in line turned 6 on Sept. 25th...Hubs came home for a visit from North Dakota for this special occasion....We had a busy 2 weeks while he was here, we did a double bday party for Tristan and my hubs Terry who just turned the big 40 this month! So below I will share some great pics from their double party! And even though their bday's have past and my post are late as always...I am yelling out....

HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY TO TRISTAN!!!!!!!

And.....

HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY TO MY HUBBY TERRY!!!!

You both make life very interesting and awesome we all love you very much!!! I hope you both enjoyed your bday party! Here are the pics, ignore the backgrounds in these pics..while family was here they helped move some furniture out and some new in...so stuff was everywhere! :O)

Why Pie? Terry is not a fan of cake..lol

Me and Sebastian

Katie, Caroline, Sebastian, Tristan

My son Preston

My brother Brian his wife Amanda and his girls Katie and Caroline

My mom and my daughter Kiersten

I am sorry we could not be with you on your 40th Terry, but always keep in mind we love you and you are always with us in our hearts and minds....Thank the Lord for Skype :O) I love you!

Well, that is it for now...one day when I find time I have a million post to write...but I will think about that tomorrow! ;o)

Later Tators!

Do you see what I see?

2011-07-30T21:00:00.001-04:00

So what does homeschooling mean to us? Well, that is pretty easy to answer. We take our kids interest to heart and find awesome ways for our kids to learn. The saying "We use the world as our classroom" becomes reality when you don't have to worry about sitting in a classroom for 6hrs a day.
So where am I going with this. Whelp, my oldest son is really interested in science and has mentioned he would love to work for NASA one day. So when I heard a few months ago they were ending the shuttle missions, hubby and I marked the last one on our calendar and worked hard to get hubby home from ND so we could make it to Florida for the last space shuttle launch. Everything worked out and we made it! We even had to stay the night in the car! Yes all six of us! I will be writing later on in another post of why and what else we saw on our adventure..but this is for a photo challenge so let me get to the photo I am entering before this turns into a very long post!
So warning the next post will be about our awesome vacation in FL, GA, and SC...and yes it will be very long with tons of pics of course! :O)

This weeks photo challenge is called...The View From Here...you can check it out and enter here...

L.E.N.S Photo Challenge

It was awesome! Something none of us will ever forget!
Later Tators!

What Does Summer Look Like To You?

2011-06-21T21:06:00.003-04:00

Well, living in the south summers are very hot and humid. So summer to me means...
1. Trips to the beach!
2. Field trips that are planned so when you get sweaty outside you can go indoors with air conditioning and still explore the location you are visiting ;o)
3. Tank tops
4. No socks to wash!!!!!,
5. Sandals..love my sandals!
6. Swimming
7. Extra deodorant..haha..
8. Vacation
9. Relaxing
10. Washing the dogs outdoors
11. Grilling out
12. Sunscreen
13. Bothersome bugs
14. Air conditioning
15. Lots and lots of water
16. Nothing on tv
17. Praying for rain
18. Lemonade
19. Perfect time to move
20. Wishing Fall would come!
This list can go on and on...What does summer mean to you?

This pic was taken at Virginia Beach in May...tried so hard to get a pic with everyone looking...but..tons of people waiting for their turn to get a pic in front of Neptune..so you get what you get...I got mine...but my youngest saw the playground is was jumping up to go play..and my daughter was flinging the hair out of her face...lol...love real shots, don't you....haha....

This picture is being entered into L.E.N.S Photo Challenge theme "Summer Time"

Happy 1st day of Summer!!

Later Tators

What? A Diet that Works!

2011-06-21T20:39:00.001-04:00

Yes, you read that right. There are actually diets out there that work and do not cost a ton of money! Now I am noooo way advertising here, but I am here to share my experience on the diet that I am on. Yes it is a so called fad diet...here is the diet name and layout of how it works...

Sacred Heart Medical Diet (vegetarian style)

This 7-day eating plan can be used as often as you like. If correctly followed, it will clean out your system of impurities and give you a feeling of well-being. After only 7 days of this process, you will begin to feel lighter by at least 10 pounds and possibly 17 pounds, and experience an abundance of energy.

SOUP:

1 or 2 cans of stewed tomatoes (I just used any kind of chopped tomatoes)
3 plus large green onions
1 large can of beef broth (no fat) (used fat free veggie broth)
1 pkg. Lipton Soup mix (chicken noodle) (I used Lipton onion soup mix)
1 bunch of celery
2 cans green beans
2 lbs. Carrots
2 Green Peppers

Season with salt, pepper curry, parsley, if desired, or bouillon, hot or Worcestershire sauce. Cut veggies in small to medium pieces. Cover with water. Boil fast for 10 minutes. Reduce to simmer and continue to cook until veggies are tender.

This soup can be eaten anytime you are hungry during the week. Eat as much as you want, whenever you want. This soup will not add calories. The more you eat, the more you will lose. You may want to fill a thermos in the morning if you will be away during the day.

DRINKS:

Unsweetened juices
Tea (also herbal)
Coffee
Cranberry juice
Skim milk
Water, water, water

DAY ONE

Any fruit (except bananas). Cantaloupes and watermelon are lower in calories than most other fruits. Eat only soup and fruit today.

DAY TWO

All vegetables. Eat until you are stuffed with fresh raw, cooked or canned veggies. Try to eat green leafy veggies and stay away from dry beans, peas or corn. Eat veggies along with the soup. At dinnertime tonight reward yourself with a big baked potato and butter. Don't eat any fruits through today.( I splurged and had sour cream...it was good...lol)

DAY THREE

Eat all the soup, fruit and veggies you want. Do not have a baked potato. If you have eaten as above for three days and not cheated, you should find that you have lost 5-7 pounds. (I had lost 3 by this point..darn sour cream..lol)

DAY FOUR

Bananas and skim milk: Eat at least 3 bananas and drink as much milk as you can today, along with the soup. Bananas are high in calories and carbohydrates, as is the milk but on this particular day, your body will need the potassium and carbs. Proteins and calcium to lessen the cravings for sweets. (this day was the hardest for me!)

DAY FIVE

Beef and tomatoes: you may have 10 to 20 ounces of beef and a can of tomatoes, or as many as 6 tomatoes on this day. Eat the soup at least once today. (I ate Quorn veggie chicken breast covered with canned tomatoes)

DAY SIX

Beef and veggies, eat to your heart's content of the beef and veggies today. You can even have 2-3 steaks if you like with green leafy veggies but no baked potato. Be sure to eat the soup at least once today. ( I ate out this day...I had tofu with veggies in hunan sauce with a very tiny bit of rice..could not go without eating the rice..yum)

DAY SEVEN

Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juice and veggies, again, be sure to stuff yourself and eat the soup. You can add cooked veggies to your rice if you wish.

By the end of the 7th day, if you have not cheated on this diet, you should have lost 10 to 17 pounds. If you have lost more than 17 pounds, stay off the diet for two days before resuming the diet again.

This diet is fast. The secret lies within the principle that you will burn more calories than you take in. It will flush your system of impurities and give you a feeling of well-being. This diet does not lend itself to drinking any alcoholic beverages at any time. Because of the fat build-up in your system. Go off the diet at least 14 hours before any intake of alcohol.

Due to the variety of digestive systems in individuals, this diet will affect everyone differently. After day three, you will have more energy than when you began, if you do not cheat. After being on the diet for several days, you will find that your bowel movements have changed. Eat a cup of bran or fiber. Although you can have black coffee with this diet, you may find that you don't need caffeine after the third day.

The basic fat burning soup can be eaten anytime you feel hungry during the seven days. Eat as much as you wish. Remember the more you eat, the more you will lose. You can eat broiled, boiled or baked chicken instead of the beef. Absolutely no skin on the chicken. If you prefer, you can substitute broiled fish for the beef on only one of the beef days. You need the high protein in the beef for the other days.

Continue on the diet as long as you wish and feel the difference both mentally and physically.

DO NOT - DO NOT

No bread, alcohol, carbonated drinks (including diet drinks). Remember, absolutely no fried foods.

DO - DO - DO - DO

Drink plenty - at least 6 to 8 glasses - of water a day, as well as any combination of the following beverages: black coffee, unsweetened fruit drinks, cranberry juice and skim milk.

This diet comes from the Sacred Heart Memorial Hospital that is used for overweight heart patients in order to lose weight rapidly, usually prior to surgery. (no it does not..it is a fad diet...but it works for most people!!)

Okay, I did this diet for one week and I lost 7 pounds...yes 1 pound a day so far, I am doing this diet for at least two weeks..maybe more!) It is hard at first, but once you get into a few days it gets easier! I don't even mind the soup..but I am a vegetarian, so it's easy! :O)

It does seem like most people lose about 8 pounds on this diet in one week! I cheated so I did not lose 8..haha...I did eat a couple of these graham cracker square things with chocolate on them...they were good...but I did keep up with the calories and only ate them once a day and only on like two of the days! I do believe if you are a bigger person you will lose more like the 10-17. I did a ton of reading about others that used this diet and that is how I came to that conclusion....but I have to say I am happy with the 7 I lost and hope to lose another 5 or more this week! The trick of this diet is to use it as a good way to jump start healthy eating! If you go back to your old ways of eating..you are going to gain this weight loss right back! Now of course I go on this diet right before I go on vacation in the deep south...I know smart right...lol...but hubby is coming home soon for a much needed visit and I wanted to look good ;o)

So there ya go....it worked for me...I cannot say if it will work for you...but do take caution when dieting! I did take my vitamins every night I always do..but I made sure not to miss a night...just in case I somehow was not getting what I needed from this diet..but I do not see how I would have missed any since you are eating so many fruits and veggies...

I am not sure if the weight might come back...like I said I am doing this for another week to lose more..cause I worry that what I lost was water weight and it might come back fast...but this diet is great specially if you want to lose a few pounds for like a wedding or graduation..or a reunion of some king...or like me..cause hubby is coming home after 6 months and also cause I want to jump start eating healthy! I have to say my carvings are so low now....it's kinda crazy, cause in the beginning all I was doing was craving so much junk....kinda like an addiction to junk food....new motto....Eat to Live...Not Live to Eat ;o) Yea I stole that from one of my favorite motto's....Work to Live....Not Live to Work....both are very true!

Anyhow..that is what I wanted to share.....till next time....

Later Tators!

Passion for Photo's

2011-06-04T14:56:00.001-04:00

My daughter has a passion for photography and she really takes such wonderful pictures. She also has an act with computer photo programs and can just transform a photo so easily. I have to say it takes me forever sometimes to get a pic the way I want it to look...specially when it comes to cropping. I mean really I can't let you people see my messy house...LOL...so yes cropping is necessary...haha....Anyway some of my favorite pictures are done in black and white...I just love how much better a pic can look by changing it's color. With both my daughter and I taking what feels like millions of pictures, it's good to know how to edit them and make them even more interesting.

Sometimes I feel sorry for my fb friends since I share so many pics..lol..but with hubs in ND and us in VA it is a great way for him and our families to see our kids...also taking pics is another great way to document all of our learning adventures! Because we go on tons of those to! :O) So if you have ever wondered why I post tons of pics...now you know ;o)

Anyhow,as I was bragging before how great my daughter is with her pics..I am going to show you one of my favorites that she has taken...the pic below is of my son Sebastian, he is sleeping in the car in his car seat....check out what wonderful work my child has done with her editing...yes so proud...can you tell ;o)
This is one of her older pics...but like I said..by far one of my very favorites!

He is so beautiful...even when he is dreaming. ;o)

Sebastian 9/2010

I am entering this photo in the L.E.N.S Photo Challenge theme dreamy black and white

Later Tators!

My Newest Project!

2011-05-31T22:54:00.002-04:00

I built this guinea pig cage a few weeks ago and finally decided to show it off. It is based off of the C&C cage, but mine uses flooring instead of coroplast . I have to say the flooring does not look as nice as the coroplast , but I could not locate coroplast and I had left over flooring..so free works best :O) The only prob I have found using flooring is it does not bend well at the corners so it kinda looks...getto...but hey it works! You do have to be careful when using flooring to make sure your pigs do not chew on it! Lucky me mine do not! It seems most people do fold the fleece over the edges, which might help hide the ugliness of the outside...but I like to keep the fleece folded in half so it is thicker for the piggy's to walk on. I do want to somehow fix the outer look or hide it somehow to look better...but for now it works just fine! The total project cost me about 20.00 and a few hours of work...and yes our pigs love it! :O)

Here is their new two story house now....perfect size for two piggy's... :O)

Also a quick shout out to my niece Caroline..she is 2 today!

Happy 2nd Birthday Caroline!! :O) We all love you!! :O)

Later Tators!

The Art of Relaxation

2011-05-28T19:17:00.001-04:00

One of the differences between teens and little ones is the energy levels! My two older kids can find time to relax all the time! My younger kids are always on the move! They have so much energy they can wear you out just by watching them. I am here to tell you if I had as much energy as my two youngest, I wouldn't have to worry about getting dimples where dimples should not be! Anyhow, when the occasion arises that both pass out from all their running around at the same time...of course pics must be taken. This one is from last year...but it always makes me smile! One looks sooo comfy and the other somehow is comfy...lol...

This photo is being entered into the L.E.N.S. Photo Challenge theme being Comfort!

Later Tators!

Your Fired!

2011-05-26T21:42:00.000-04:00

Yesterday in Virginia was a very very hot day. I was outdoors with my two youngest. They both were jumping on the trampoline. I was sitting in a chair trying to stay cool...what is it with kids and not caring how hot is out?
Anyway, so my...
5yr old Tristan yells: "Hey Mom, get me a water!" ( No please...no nothing!)
I look at him and say: "You run and get one!"
He looks at me in shock and yell's: "YOUR FIRED!"
Me: "I don't work for you!"
Tris: "Yes you do! Your my mom"

Now of course I go on to tell him he is soooo wrong....LOL....work for a 5yr old...ha...I take care and love a 5yr old...but in no way do I work for him....or do I? ;o)

Just had to share!

Does your 5yr old think you work for him/her?

Tristan my 5yr old fake smiling..lol...

Later Tators!

Preston Get's Braces

2011-05-26T21:14:00.002-04:00

Yeap, that's right. Preston is moving on to a new faze in life...BRACES! He's teeth were really tight in the back so they are put spacers in to help separate his teeth. So next week he will be getting the rest of those tracks in ;)

Welcome to metal world my dear! Love you!

Later Tators!

Happy Anniversary To Us!!

2011-04-29T19:51:00.001-04:00

A note to shout out to my hubby that is far away on our special day! Happy 5 years and many many more to come! Since you are so far away my loving hubby..I really hated to do it...I mean really...but I dragged myself and the kids out of the house..went out to eat Mexican...went shopping...and bought myself many gifts and got the kids some to, really hun it was hard ;o) but really since your paying in all...I decided to send a huge Thank you for our presents!!!

Happy 5 year Anniversary!!!!

I Love You!!!!

Later Tators!

Dangers of Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs! Repost!

2011-04-26T14:16:00.001-04:00

Reposting the link below to a blog I wrote back in 2008. I think the info is important for everyone to read. Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

http://mysouthernhippiemarriedmomoffourlife.blogspot.com/2008/08/dangers-of-energy-efficient-light-bulbs.html

Later Tators!

Happy 4th Birthday Sebastian!!

2011-04-18T20:02:00.002-04:00

Today April 18th is Sebastians's 4th Birthday!! My youngest is now 4, no more babies for me!
Sebastian being my youngest is of course spoiled rotten ;o) but he is so lovable, he loves hugs and kisses and loves to play chase. He is a whiz at all of his electronic games and has taught himself his numbers and ABC's with no help from any of us. He is always into something and loves to have fun all of the time. When he is hungry he will not come and tell you..nope not Seb you will find him climbing the cabinets like a ladder to get what he wants. He likes things Seb's way and no one else's, think that comes from being the youngest. When my little one smiles he can light up a room. He keeps me on my toes and I am so very happy and blessed he is in our lives.

Happy 4th Birthday Sebastian!!!

We All Love You!!!

Later Tators!

Happy 13th Birthday Preston!!

2011-04-18T19:46:00.002-04:00

On April 9th my oldest son Preston celebrated his 13th Birthday!!
Preston loves Science and hopes someday to work for NASA...he is always working away on some project or reading about Science on the Internet. He has always been really mathy and thinks all the time. His newest adventures lately have been in the kitchen trying to learn to cook...sweets of course..but his cooking ;o) He is not shy and never meets a stranger. Preston helps me out a ton with all the so called manly duties around the home since Terry has been gone..I really don't know what I would do without him. I cannot believe he is now a teenager....wow where has the time gone?

Happy 13th Birthday Preston!!!

We All Love You!!!!

Later Tators!

Adding to the Family!

2011-04-06T00:30:00.002-04:00

Meet the newest member of our family. This little cutie was abandon at the end of our long driveway. These people just dropped her and her mom off...the mama dog did not stick around..scared I guess, but Kiersten caught the little pup. We waited, called and even put food out for the mama dog but she never came back. We went back and forth on what to do with this cute little 8 week old girl. I was not wanting another dog, really I was not. Of course the kids are ready and willing anytime for a new pet. But really training another pup...oh my....I can here my family now...another pet?? But really how can you resist this very cute face....so yeap....she is staying...Say hello to....

...Emily...

Emily is our only girl animal member...I really think that is why it took us a few days to figure out what we wanted to name her. All of our other animal family members have names you all know...Leonardo, Davinci, Beethoven, Einstein, and now Emily...after Emily Dickinson (poet).. ;o) So let's see...two named after an artist, then a musician/composer, scientist, and now a writer...yes...we are homeschoolers....lol...

Later tators!

A Day in Time: April 3, 1865 & April 3, 2011

2011-04-03T22:33:00.001-04:00

Today April 3, 2011 my children and I rode out to Petersburg, VA to take pictures of the Historic Petersburg Courthouse. Why? We came across a picture in one of our photography books a few months ago, the photo is by Thomas Roche. On April 3, 1865 he took a photo of the Petersburg Courthouse. A little history of that day in time...
(The Petersburg Courthouse, built between 1837 and 1839, was the official Confederate headquarters during the Siege of Petersburg. On April 20, 1861, local volunteers formed in its square to enlist. On June 9, 1864, its bell sounded the warning for the local militia to meet the advancing Union cavalry.
During the Siege, soldiers from both sides could see the courthouse clock from the trenches and they set their timepieces by it. The clock tower was a favorite target of Union artillerists, who poured an estimated 20,000 shells into the city. When Petersburg fell on April 3, 1865 a Union flag waved above it.)
So we all thought it would be really neat to go out on April 3 this year and take a picture of the courthouse 146 years later, and these are our results! :O)

This is Thomas Roche picture taken on April 3, 1865

Below our all of our pictures taken April 3, 2011

Preston's Picture

Tristan's Picture

My Picture

Sebastian's Picture

Kiersten's Picture

After getting our 146 year old picture we headed out to eat some yummy Mexican, and then off to a Carnival they were having in the mall parking lot. Which of course the kids loved...here are a couple of our pics from the rest of our day! :O)

Yeap the big slide..me looking dorky and Seb looking very happy!

Preston being super cool and riding with Tris for me!

Preston loving the fast swings

Kiersten mid conversation, she was not feeling the rides today

Tristan loving the swings

Loving how much fun he is having


Pres taking Seb on Seb's fav..the big slide

Playing a couple of games..thankfully they did win a fish!!

Tris winning at fishing..but no real fish...just a prize..yay

Tris with his prize

Seb on the way home...we all felt this way..long but great day!

Later Tators!

Spring Is In The Air!

2011-03-28T21:59:00.001-04:00

Ahhhh Spring is in the air, well okay it was a few days ago. Now it has turned back cold...burrr....that is Southern weather for you. One day it is great and the next your looking for the coat you put away excitably thinking it will be warm.
For us Spring means waking up from the winter blue's and heading outdoors on some much needed learning adventures. This year I finally want to start doing Letterboxing, I have said many times but we are going to do it this year! I also have a ton of great field trips planned (Washington DC, Space Shuttle Launch, Exploring more of VA and NC to name a few.) hoping we get to all of them before we move. Yes...move fingers crossed and prayers said that my hubs will find a new job somewhere awesome and we get to move...so make sure to say a prayer for us...
Below is a pic my daughter took on one of very fun learning adventures at Tuckahoe Plantation last Spring....Which I have to say if you live near Richmond, VA, you really should stop by and see this plantation it is really nice, you do need appt. to see the inside of the home..but you can visit the outdoors for free...we loved it! This pic says Spring to me...everything green and alive...and there is nothing better then warm weather to get my oldest, my aspiring photographer outdoors for some great photo ops.... :O)

Linking this up to the L.E.N.S. Photo Challenge (Spring)

Later Tators!

Just Me!

2011-03-15T00:48:00.003-04:00

Yeap, it's that time again..this is for the L.E.N.S. Photo Challenge. The theme is mom in the middle (hand someone else the camera and share a photo of you out in the middle of the action). Well, I was trying to figure out what pic to use and this is the one I came up with...This is me..yeap, just me. The one great pic my hubs has taken of me...this was on our honeymoon we were driving somewhere in Savannah, GA...love love love that place...anyway this is someone's driveway...I jumped out and he took a couple of shots...then we had to hurry and jump in the car to zoom off...cause the owners were driving down their driveway..prolly to see what in the world we were doing....yea total free feeling....felt like we got away with something..lol...so without due here it is....Me..a little younger...a little thinner....and feeling free... ;o)

Later Tators!

While Your Were Gone!

2011-02-26T17:08:00.001-05:00

This week's L.E.N.S. Challenge is Red. Wow this one was hard for me. I went through tons of pics to find this one. I took this picture in Jan. of this year at the mall. Thankfully for us this section was still up. "Santa, you were gone so we borrowed your seat for few moments!" Yes it was roped off..but I was determined to get this pic..lol...so our kids quickly posed so mama can get her pic.. :O) the big man's chair is not centered..but it's the quirky things that make pictures great..right!

This pic really says Red to me, does it say Red to you? ;o)

Later Tators!

Spider Babies

2011-02-21T21:40:00.002-05:00

L.E.N.S. Photo Challenge entry for the week. It is all about Micro/Macro. I took this pic last year. I was hanging around outside and I noticed this mama Wolf Spider carrying a load, poor thing was dying and her babies were just hanging on. She did end up dying but her babies just stayed with her. I ended up having to move them so they would be safe. It was kinda sad..but I got a great pic of her babes...

Later Tators!

Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend...My Hair!

2011-02-21T21:30:00.002-05:00

Okay, so this is what has been happening with just me on the subject of hair for the past few months/weeks....I have had what you call a hair crisis. My hair was to my waist..and I had noticed over the past few months that my hair was getting really thin toward the mid back to the ends and also that it seemed like aliens had come into my room at night and started to cut certain parts of my hair..like my bangs and so on. It was weird like really weird. So I finally got around to checking out what was going on. I went to a skin/hair doctor and this is what she told me. First question. Have you been under any large amounts of stress lately? Well, who the hell is not under stress right! So yes, my hubs has been away for about 8 months..so yeap stress, he is living in ND for work, I am living in VA. Stress....Have you used any strong products on your hair? Nope, I take care of my hair. Any surgeries in the past year? Why yes..wisdom teeth removal, I was put under cause they were impacted. Well, there ya go. What? Surgery can make your hair go into some sort of shock? My hair went insane and started to break. Nothing I could do. It had started on the inside of the hair follicle, so from about mid back down to my waist it had started to basically break off...damaged..for good..no turning back..notta....all because of stupid wisdom teeth. Is that not crazy? So I decided to right this post for others to be aware, surgery can make your hair go nuts, and you might not even get the results to up till a year after surgery. My surgery was just over a year ago and I just started noticing this hair mess a month or two ago. The doc told me to get all the unhealthy hair cut..take my vitamins and start regrowing! Great.....what fun!

So I went to a stylist and got the girl cut my what was waist length hair up to where the damage had not hit....so here are before pics and after pics...I miss my long hair, I keep finding myself trying to move it out the way when I eat and other things..just to find it is not there anymore. I have had long hair most of my adult life, so yes many tears have been shed..but it's hair right. It might grow back long...a long time from now...lol...

so without further adue...here are the before pics...

and now the after pics....here's to the re-growing of hair... :O)

Later Tators!

Floating Buddha

2011-02-07T01:43:00.003-05:00

Okay this is for my L.E.N.S. submission...I really said I was not going to do this week since I have not done a real post in a while..but I am addicted to these challenges...really if you have a blog..get with it and do one of these challenges..they are great! :O)

So this one is a PE (physical education) Challenge, we do PE anywhere. When we are on field trips we do tons of walking among other things, when we are indoors there is a ton of playing and running..yes running in the house..and outdoors there is a little and a lot of everything. This photo was taken a few years ago but it is one of my favs....this was taking while my hubs was watching us play around on the oh trampoline...the two oldest getting a workout..and me...well I was along for the ride...so without further a do..here it is....

Floating Buddha... ;o)

I have a real post in the works...so yes a post is underway....I promise I have tons to catch up on...just been a busy busy winter...and so far a heck of a crazy year....hope you all are doing well in the new year!

BTW this was right when we put the trampoline up...and the kids were going crazy to get on it..after this photo..we put the net around it...I do highly recommend a net with any trampoline! :O)

Later Tators!!

Eye See You!

2011-01-30T15:19:00.001-05:00

So this weeks L.E.N.S. photo challenge was all about eyes....I found this pic and love it..my daughter Kiersten took this picture when my hubs was home for the holidays and we were all going out on the town for the day. My husband Terry was doing that thing all parents do..use the rear view mirror to check up on the kiddos in the backseat..yeap we all do it! Just thought this was perfect for this challenge..can you see the temp in the middle of my hubs forehead...lol....

Later Tators!

Timeless Moment...

2011-01-23T14:32:00.001-05:00

For the L.E.N.S. Photo Challenge this week, I am posting this photo that captured a moment I want to remember...

This photo was taking a few years ago, we had taking our children to my husbands parents home in Canada. We wanted his parents to meet their newest grandson, Sebastian. We were also lucky enough to be able to drive out to stayed a few days at Terry's grandpa's on the way back to the States. We wanted grandpa to be able to meet his newest great grandson. This is one of my favorite pictures..at this point in time...these two were the youngest and oldest of the family..Sebastian was five months when this was taken...

**I have to say I am really enjoy these challenges..it is getting me on my blog more...okay so I have not posted since the last one..but I have been doing some rearranging...post will follow when time allows...whenever that shall be.... ;o)

Later Tators..

For the Love of Learning!

2011-01-15T18:09:00.002-05:00

L.E.N.S. LEarning Never Stops Photo Challenge

Thought this was a awesome challenge...learning never stops with my family. We love to get and go and we think kids learn best by using their senses...so what better way to put those learning senses to work..then field trips! And yes we go on a ton of them. Not sure if this is exactly what was asked, but out of the house and on the go are some of our best learning spots! :O)


North Carolina Science Museum (Raleigh, NC)

Where Are Some Of Your Families Favorite Learning Spots?

Later Tators!

2011 A Year Of Making Things Happen!

2011-01-14T23:29:00.003-05:00

So it is now 2011 and my birthday has already passed for the year...yeap the big 37 and I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up...I really don't think I will ever know. But I have come up with goals for this year, and I am going to stick with them as much as I can. I am tired of things not happening, I am going to make them happen this year. I always say I want to travel a lot more and we don't..well you know what...we are going to travel this year...I don't care if we have to scrape by...We will have a vacation this year and we will go see some new places! You only live once and by darn it I want to travel to places I have never seen...that is the one thing I have always wanted to do...
I also want to get us started on living off grid as much as we can, then every year live off grid just a little more. My other huge goal for this year is to get prepared, the world is going crazy...birds dying, fish dying, poles shifting?, sun arriving early in Greenland. So what is going on? Not sure, but I think for one being prepared should be everyone's goal this year. I am going to concentrate more on our food storage, trying to find a really good hand held water purifier
(does anyone know of a good one that filters hexavalent chromium out among other things?)
Make sure to think about this when preparing, water is not as clean as is was back when...and it certainly will not be any more clean in the years to come.

On the family side...
Anyway, on to happier writing...I am been getting very tired of my surroundings so I have been doing some redecorating, going more toward the boho style and so far I really like it..Sometimes a girl just needs a change! Will post pics when I get a room complete..and when my house is clean enough to take pics..LOL...I try I really do...but really who likes to clean?

So what else has been happening? My hubs is working in North Dakota and has been for the last six months. Luckily he was able to fly home for the holidays, which were wonderful and I will post pics later on..on a catch up blog that I have planned since I have not posted a lot over the last few months..I have tons to share and a ton of pics from our family outings to post. When I find time! Anyhow, living without Terry is hard, specially when you are living in a town you really don't like...but I feel a move coming on in the Spring and I for one can not wait! Where to who knows right now..but somewhere! Need more change then just decorating! But for now decorating will work during the blah winter time!

I hope you all had wonderful holidays!!! Make sure to keep up with those goals you set! :O)

Later Tators!

Happy 15th Birthday Kiersten!

2011-01-01T22:07:00.000-05:00

Okay, so my daughter's bday was on Dec. 7th and I am just now posting it....I have been busy and not online as much...so this is a little late...but hey..better late then never right...she got her party on time...lol.....so here is a short post to my one and only daughter....

Kiersten was born on Pearl Harbor Day...so I always joke that it is surely the day the bomb dropped for me.... ;o) but really with the birth of my only daughter a path was laid before me that would truly take me on a wonderful adventure of being a mother...Kiersten had colic as a baby and as anyone that had a baby with colic....I went a little crazy....so yea blame her...haha...kidding....anyhow..Kiersten has been a true joy in my life..even when she has the teenage attitude..which is often, love you Kier! ;o) She is a second little mom to her younger brothers and a huge help to me...she loves animals and loves to take pictures..I really think one day she will have a career in photography....I thank the Lord everyday for my daughter, she is a true blessing.....and a great shopping buddy! ;o)

Happy 15th Birthday Kiersten!!

We All Love You!!

Will be back posting after my hubs leaves again for ND..he is home now for a visit after being gone for six momths....and we are all loving having him home....will update everyone later on why he is gone..it is because of work..no other reasons! :O) But that should share a little light on why I have not been posting to much...got lots going on....Hope everyone had a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year's...
Later Tators!

Halloween/Fall 2010 and Birthday Love

2010-11-16T23:53:00.002-05:00

What I have not posted in a while....SHOCKER....lol....We have had so much going on I really will have to do a two part post back to back do to all the pics and infoI want to post. That is not happening today though. I just wanted to stop in and say Hi to everyone! Hope everyone had a fun Halloween and I hope everyone is having an awesome Fall! I will of course post a couple (or a ton) of our Halloween/Fall pics, I changed the blog title pic to our newest and favorite Fall pic!
So what did we do for Halloween this year? We did a trip to the pumpkin patch to get our pumpkins, do the hay maze and right the hay wagon...we did our yearly pumpkin carvings, and drum rooollllll we went Trick or Treating...lol....
May the rest of your Fall we wonderful and get ready for Old Man Winter...he will be here soon! So without further do.....Here are our Halloween/Fall 2010 Pics.... :O)

Sebastian as IronMan

Tristan as War Machine (ironman sidekick)

Kiersten as a Lady Bug

Preston as a Scary Monster

Kiersten,Tristan,Sebastian,Preston

Oh yes one more not to add to Fall....my hubby Terry had his Birthday in Oct....he is not with us right now he is working in North Dakota...so we had to celebrate on Skype...but even though it has passed...I wanted to spotlight him on my blog...I love you Terry and I hope you had a wonderful Birthday..even if we had to spend it online..no matter the distance...I am always here for you and love you more everyday!!

Till next time....Later Tators!!

Happy 5th Birthday Tristan!!!!!

2010-09-28T00:14:00.001-04:00

This past Saturday was my second youngest Tristan's 5th birthday. Tristan had been looking very forward to this day for a while. He had been sharing with me everything he wanted and even going as far as pausing commercials, and then getting me come into the bedroom by telling me Sebastian needed a diaper change just to get me to watch these commercials...say the least this child wants everything..lol..he told me that he found out his name was a girls name and a boys name..so in his thinking this meant he was allowed to play with both girls and boys toys...LOL...smart kid!
Tristan is blessing to me and my husbands life just like all of our children. Tristan is so caring and loving and basically a joy to be around. He loves to help and of course loves to play outside. He is such a loving child...

Happy 5th Birthday Tristan!!

Tristan wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese for his bday..cause well that's where a kid can be a kid...and yes he kept saying that....so off we went. All the kids had a blast even the two oldest since there are vid games there of course..here some pics...

After CC we went and ate Mexican..yum yum...the waiters all sang Tris happy birthday in Spanish and English and he got to wear the hat...

Then off to shopping for him to spend all the bday money he got in the mail from grandparents and aunts and uncles....boy that was a long trip...then home we went to have cake and open presents...we got to have daddy and his aunt and uncle right in our living room thanks to skype, so that was nice to celebrate with others far away!

We ended the night chatting with daddy on vid skype and playing outside in the dark..always fun!

Tristan and I went out today and got a few more things he wanted with the rest of his money..and what..he got a spiderman bike..yay..my baby will finally ride a bike and not a big wheel...moving up in the world....

So yes I know his bday has passed..but hey like I always so this is my blog...

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY TRISTAN...WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Later Tators...

Dedicated to Illusion

2010-09-27T22:44:00.002-04:00

We lost a dear member of the family a few weeks ago. It has laid heavy on all of our hearts. Our wonderful cat of 11 years Illusion passed away. He was a very awesome cat. Always went on walks with us like he was a little pup. Freaked out when someone was crying and would scratch at the door till someone told him things were fine. We called him our babysitter, because he was forever watching over everyone and following the little ones around to keep an eye on them. Lou was the cleanest outdoor cat you would ever meet. He changed color with the seasons, from white to black..we compared him to Michael Jackson for this reason.. :O) He was always there ready for his rubs and his your so pretty compliments. He knew how to take care of himself when no one was around, he could break into a bag of cat food like no other cat. Lou was not only our cat, he was our friend that purred...

We miss you and love you Lou!! Rest in Peace,.....

Illusion was the best cat anyone could ask for, we were the lucky ones to have him in our lives...you will be truly missed Lou..

Suicide A Very Sad Word...

2010-09-18T01:47:00.002-04:00

A short while ago we had a friend commit suicide, a very young 20yr old man with a promising life laid out before him. I am not going to say to much about what happened or why he did this...what I am going to tell you a small part of his aunts speech at a very and I mean very packed funeral....this is not word for word...but it gets to the point...

"My nephew loved to camp, he would have these camp outs with his friends and would invite me to come and hang out with him and his friends...he invited me several times...I never went...with life the way it is, it keeps me busy, I always had something else I had to do...what I would give now to sit with him on one of his camp outs now....I can't change the past but what I can say to you all specially all of you young people (tons of college kids there) what is most important to share with your friends and family is YOUR TIME.....Something as simple as that...no fancy words...no fancy actions....just your TIME....giving someone your time can make all the difference in the world to that person..."

She said a ton more and sang a beautiful song...I cannot remember the name...but it had a lot of meaning...I really wish I could remember her speech word for word...it was heartfelt...of course I was crying standing at the way back...so I was lucky to hear what she said over myself sniffling....but what she said really got to me....thinking of my own children as I watched the slide show of this young man growing up with his twin...from baby to child to pre-teen to teen...and then just this past May he made it to his 20's.....I was thinking could this one day be one of my kids....do I spend enough time with them...do I tell them I love them enough....do I listen to them? I talked with my two oldest about suicide and told them it was never an answer....told them if they ever need me I am always here for them..) I don't care what it is....( I hope none of this happens, but if it does) don't hide that you are pregnant at 16, don't hide you are addicted to drugs...don't hide that you think you are gay...nothing will make me love you less...nothing...I will stand by my children till the day I die and hopefully even after that day....I will also stand by my friends and family...no matter what they do...how they act...or even if they decided they don't want me in their lives...and years later they talk to me again...and yea that has happened...people are people..things happen..some good...some bad....it's the way the world goes round....so all I can say...is love your family and friends...hold on to the good times....and make sure to give the special people in your life your TIME......

Wishful Thinking, Among Other Things!

2010-06-20T21:48:00.051-04:00

Things I want one day! Or wish I had!! Some sooner then others!!!

1. Limo privacy glass in my van...would that not be great! Kids in the back fussing or asking the famous "Are we there yet?"
2. RV, yes I still have the travel bug...and yes I would want that privacy glass in it also!
3. Another pair of driving lens sun glasses..cannot find them anywhere....
4. A really nicely organized home...hum this one will prolly never happen...lol
5. A nicely organized and stocked food storage!
6. Kids that love to clean ;o) Had to throw this one in here!
7. A huge savings account and I mean huge..haha.
8. A new Van and no not a darn Mini Van...to small I need a large van with bench seats..no darn captain chairs!
9. To be able to use the restroom by MYSELF...lol..no kids knocking asking me a question or my four yr old just walking in and hanging out!
10. Not to have to worry about having enough money to pay bills!!!!
11. Would love for it to be easy to take a picture with all four of my kids smiling without so much work to get it..haha
12. Animals that feed themselves
13. Clothes that wash themselves, fold themselves and put themselves away..now that would be a dream!! (and no they are not called kids...believe me I have tried them...lol)
14. A personal chief
15. To be able to get in shape by sitting on the couch..now would this not be awesome!
16. Would love for Wii games not to be soooo expensive
17. No scratchable DVD's, CD's, and Games
18. More large bookcases to hold my one major addiction....books
19. To never have to have my car maintain....ever and it still run like new!!!!
20. To never have to clean my house again and it still be clean....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
21. To be able to make whoppie whenever and not have to worry about kids hearing...lol..guess this one is coming one day...
22. To be able to afford a VACATION!!
23. Would love to be crafty
24. To be self sufficient..live more off the land
25. Hum...to not be so lazy...haha
26. To MOVE!!!! ;o)
27. To know that Homeschooling my kids is going to make a better future for them!
28. To be able to see our Canadian family and friends more often!
29. Travel the world
30. To have a government that was worth everything they say they are!!!!!!

This list can go on and on and I know I left tons of things off that I will think about later...but this is okay...what do you wish you had or could do?

On The Family Side....
So I am actually writing two post this month..wow...I am surprised, usually I only get one out a month...but wanted to share what we have been up to...hum..where to start? To play a little bit more catch up....I got my Field of Flower pics done again...location our yard...this is a yearly event in my home..one my family cannot stand..but they put up with it for me...lol...you can see some of my favs on the side here on my blog....and on the header...I will post another blog later showing more of those pics..cause this one will already have enough pics..as usual...haha...

Had a day planned of walking history in Richmond VA but we passed by this and changed our plans for some family fun.....and of course the kids had way more fun here then learning about history...haha...

Added two new members to our family....and the kids just love them!!

Beethoven (black/brown) Einstein (brown/white)

We live in a very small boring town....so when something big happens...it is shocking....so we had a bowling alley open here....yea heart attack right....can you tell I am ready to move...lol..so here are some pics from that big event...those who are saying bowling...big deal...if you lived here....you would know how big of a deal it is...hahaha...

Got to go home to NC for a nice visit...My niece turned one so we went to her bday to celebrate and hey got a little swimming in to...had a blast seeing everyone!!

Finally went back to the darn gem mine and got my gem..had it turned into a ring...btw it is a Red Garnette.....see this post for what I am talking about....Gem Mining
Have had tons of water days here at home the old fashion way...with the hose..lol..!!! Way hot in Virginia.....it's not the heat...it's the humidity...okay had to say that...And last but not least to finish the updates on what we have been doing....we visited Richmond VA Capital Buildings...we had a great time...little hot out..almost 100 but luckily for us a lot to see was inside!!!! Really neat place to go and visit..and best of all...it is free!!!!

Okay so for now I am all up to date...and since it is still close to Father's Day I am shouting out to my dad, hubby, brother, and to all dad's out in never never land...HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!

So can you say...enough with pics..lol....Till next time....
Later Tators!!!

SEX Does Sell!!!!

2010-06-05T23:05:00.007-04:00

Went shopping today at a street with tons and tons of shops and this is what we saw....

......Charlotte........ Carrie............. Samantha............ Miranda

Never ever want to hear that Sex does not sale..LOL..as you can see it is the dresses that the Sex in the City characters would wear....neat idea for a store window...below it shows a close up of what the pics looked like..the other two pics did not come out clear enough to post...but you get the idea....Thanks Kiersten (my daughter) for taking them for me!!

That is it..just wanted to share..to funny not to...will do family updates another time...hope you all are having a great summer so far....We are!!!!! :O)

Later Tators!!

Your Only as Old as You Feel!

2010-05-13T23:47:00.008-04:00

Trying to figure out when 36 became the new 86. Well, at least for me! This has been a week from hell. I somehow messed my back up and could not walk! Yes, could not walk..have you ever seen a sitcom and the person is stuck on the floor and calling for help..but they are naked? Well, that was me on Friday minus the naked part, thankfully..lol..I got up out of bed and made it to the wall and hung on for dear life and could not move any more, my lower back just did not want to support me at all. Thank the Lord hubs was here and came to rescue me! I hung around and tried to get a doc appt for that day, but no such luck. On Saturday I decided I could take the pain no longer and went to the ER. You should have seen my poor hubby trying to help me out of the car and walk slowly into the ER..all the while he was holding my purse...love that! If we were tons older, people would have been looking at us and saying..awwww would you do that for me hun....like I do when I see older people and the man is caring his wife's purse for her because she is walking with a walker....Anywho... They took x-rays and found nothing wrong, so they sent me home with pain killers...oh fun...cannot stand taking meds. But they did work..so yea for me! Anyway so I had started to feel better since the meds were working..then BAM I started getting this weird pain in my chest and stomach, tried again to get a doc appt. no such luck..so off to the ER I go again..cause the pain meds for my back were not working for this horrible pain. After tons of test and ultra sound they think I have a bad Gal Bladder..which is what I told them when I got there because gall bladders are bad on my dad's side...so more pain meds and they also set me up for some other scans and maybe a scope...yuck... to see what is going on...fast forward to today..still in tons of pain from the Gall Bladder..but now a kidney stone has started to move....kid you not...I am feeling 86..I guess when I go back I will be on more meds..so I will have like 8 bottles hanging around the house and have to get a pill box to tell me what time to take them all....this is insane...Okay, I know do I want a little cheese with my whine....but hey this is my blog and I can whine if I want to...whine if I want to....you would whine to if it happen toooo you!!! lolol......I do have to yell out a huge Thank You to my family for helping me through all of this and trying their best to keep the home clean without me and cooking and everything...I do have to say I liked being waited on at first...but now all I want is things back normal....Okay let me re-say that...I like being waited on...if there was no pain...so yes if I win the lottery anytime soon...I will have a wait staff...but since that is most likely not going to happen...well anytime soon.....the sooner I can get back to cleaning and cooking the better...cause the house does stay a lot cleaner with me doing it...but I am not complaining....they are all trying their best....and that is all I am asking for...hum...maybe I should get my mom up here...my house would sparkle after she gets done with it..lol...love you mom! Oh yes, I also took updated pics of my family...so all new pics on the side bar as well as the tittle...I love them and think they turned out awesome! So Love my family!! :O) Well, there ya go..that is some of what is going on in my life! What is going on in yours??

Later Tators!!

Sebastian turns 3!! And Happenings in Our Lives!!

2010-04-21T12:20:00.044-04:00

This post is dedicated to my youngest Sebastian! He turned 3 this past Sunday on April 18. This is the first chance I have had to sit and write a post so I wanted to make sure it was for Sebbie! It is hard to believe that I have no more babies...my youngest is a toddler and full of energy and life. He loves to play outside and loves all of his electric toys, specially his little orange laptop. He plays on this laptop a lot, he has learned his letters, numbers, big and tall, and how to spell..yes how to spell all in this laptop and another Apple toy he got these at Christmas and learned all of this over the past few months! Hum, an Einstein? Guess time will only tell..either way Sebastian brings joy to our lives everyday and when he smiles he can light up a room...but it is really hard to get that smile on film..lol....We went out and ate Mexican for his Bday..no he would not wear the hat..haha...we got him a huge Iron Man which he loves...why...becasue you can push a button and mke him talk..anything to do with buttons and making something happen...that is what Sebbie loves!! We celebrated his bday early this month along with Preston's down in NC with family, we had tons o fun!! I know his bday has already past..but that is okay...this is my blog... ;o)
So here's to you Sebastian my 3 year old!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Sebastian!!!

We Love You!!!!

On the family side: So I said I would try to write a blog earlier but it did not happen..so here is a couple or a ton of things that have been going on in our lives...We are still in VA...shocking I know! Hubs is working full time but at a temp job. So yeap we are still job hunting, I tell ya finding full time jobs now a days is tough! We do have an app. out for a job in Florida..keeping my fingers crossed for that one..would love to move to Florida!!! I mean really the warmer the weather the better..I am southern ;o) and we like it warm!! We did have chilly winter this year and a ton of snow,, sure we had tons of fun...but I could also have tons of fun hanging out somewhere warm...here are some snow pics from this year!

Let's see playing catch up on some of our happenings this year...when it is cold I stay home and inside..I know like a huge bear right..but now that it is starting to stay warm, we have been out on some adventures..here are a few...
First we went to Petersburg VA to Petersburg National Battlefield to see all the Civil War sites...Here are some pics from that trip, I have to say it was really interesting! Well, okay interesting to us adults... ;)

Second we stopped by Tuckahoe Plantation, which is Thomas Jefferson's boyhood home! We made this a side trip during the week..we were on that side of town because we were getting Seb's ears checked...he had tubes put in and we were just getting the after surgery check done. Now I have to say this place was pretty cool. We did not tour the inside of the home, but we walked all the grounds and gardens. Just beautiful! A wonderful place to have an outdoor wedding for sure! Kiersten took most of the pictures which she does now mostly, she does an awesome job...do I smell a career in photography for her...maybe! :) Here are some pics from that trip...Terry was at work this trip, he was missed... In the pics below show the slave quarters (11th pic down)..now lived in by the staff for this place...the school house where TJ went to school (10th pic down)..stables (8th pic down)...their old kitchen, smoke house (9th pic down)..along with other houses for different needs...and gardens..lots of gardens...oh and of course..his house! (4th pic down)

Other then those couple of trips so far nothing else has been going to much...we are studying Countries around the World in school and I have to say it is interesting to see how other countries do things! Oh yes...and Preston did awesome in the Central VA Science Fair! he won the Red Ribbon..second place! Yea Preston!!
So there pretty much caught up..since I posted the Easter Pics on the post before this one...I will leave you with one last pic..we did family pics for an early mother's day for mom...here is that pic...with my family..mom in the middle and my brother's wife and children...
Hope you enjoyed the million pics I posted...yes..pics are never missing around here..haha...hope you are all doing awesome and enjoying this wonderful spring weather!! Till next time...Later Tators!!

Happy 12th Birthday Preston!!

2010-04-09T13:08:00.013-04:00

Today my oldest son turns 12..Wow does time fly!! Preston is growing up into such an awesome young man...He loves Science and his dream at the moment is to be a Rocket Scientist and work for NASA...Hum, I could imagine saying my son is a Rocket Scientist..LOL...He just won second prize at the school science fair and will be competing at a huge science fair on the 17th..so I am wishing him luck on that! Today we are going to eat out..his choice and just hang out some..tomorrow we are headed down to NC to spend the day with relatives and celebrate his and Sebastian's bdays...Sebs will be 3 in 9 days..yes you will see a post on him to...But today it is all about Preston...so Here's to you Preston.....May your birthday weekend be awesome!! :o)

Happy 12th Birthday Preston!!!!!

We Love you!!!

On the family side: I know it has been a while since I have posted...we have done all sorts of things...and yes I have tons of pictures to post....this are a couple of our Easter Pics below..we had a wonderful Easter...We did our Annual Easter Egg Hunt, we hid 84 eggs!! Then the Easter Bunny came...Kids had a blast..and yes my older two join in the fun to..Hey if they want candy...they hunt for it..LOL....It's a win win..they get candy..I get my pictures!! ;)

We have tons of other things and gone other places that I want to share..but that will be a long post and today is about Preston..so I will be posting a long post next week to catch you all up on what has been going on....till then...Later tators!!

Just a Quick Note!

2010-03-25T14:24:00.007-04:00

Hi! Just popping on to do a short update!! I am still around...just have not had a ton of time to write...I do hope you all are doing awesome! I am hoping to have more time to write in the next couple of weeks..we have been on a few adventures and I will be sharing the pics soon..We are still living in VA for now...no change yet..bummer! ;) But we are enjoying the warm weather finally...love to see those trees budding!! Again, I promise to be back with a better post soon!! Till then....
Later Tators!

Are Stay At Home Mom's Clean Freaks?

2010-01-22T20:12:00.022-05:00

This will be a quick and to the point post...hubs has been at home and I just cannot seem to write, clean, stop eating, etc. when he is around...haha..love you hun! :O)

If I'm a stay at home mom, does that mean I should be a clean freak? Cause I am here to tell you..I am NOT...I disliking cleaning very much..but love to live in a clean house. Honestly I feel like the perfect Christmas gift for me would have been a maid service. I mean really have someone come twice a week. How awesome would that be? I would have them do the laundry of course and clean from top to bottom. Dust the blinds, clean the toilets. Really imagine how much time you would have to hang out with the kids, go on field trips or just go out and play. Cleaning my house takes wayyyyy to much time. Yes, I have four kids and yes they kinda sorta help clean. But really as soon as you leave one room nice and clean...it gets messy in an instant. Why? Cause everyone wants to be in the clean room! Honestly, I think living in a smaller house would be better. Easier to keep clean...Well, I think at least! So for my family that is reading this post! Thank you for all the gifts this year...I have no complaints on any of them...it is the thought that counts of course...and you people are awesome! But a beg for next year...all of you go in together and get me a year's worth of cleaning services...that would be a gift I would not return...re-gift...or just set aside...It will be a gift that I can jump for joy for and say sure..come and visit..house is CLEAN! No need to call before hand...just come on over!! lol....Love ya! ;o)

On the Family Side!
Yet another year has come and gone..and oh what a year it was! Things that have been going on since my last post...Well, Christmas of course! Christmas was wonderful, we did Santa thing..visiting the mom thing...and then visiting the dad thing...got tons of gifts and had tons of fun...Kids got spoiled and all of our tummy's got..well, full...so there you have it all in a nut shell...Oh, yea did I mention that my hubby got laid off right after Christmas...yeap that's right...just a few days after Christmas...what fun news that was! Lucky for us we have savings...cause really, as long as it takes to get unemployment here in VA is just plain ridiculous! Hubby has a new job now and starts this Monday...so the Lord has been looking out for us as always...what an awesome Lord he is!
Okay so onward..pictures..yes I will as always post a ton of pics..why? Just in case my pictures do not save to my memory stick, I will have some of my most cherished ones on here! Yeap, the old computer died and I lost about 6 months of pics...which in my family is a ton of pics!! So here ya go...Holiday pics...

Christmas 2009...

New Year's 2010...What is this...kids drinking Champagne? Yes, we let our kids take a small sip every New Year's....and yes my two year old still drinks a bottle...why you ask..cause he likes it that way! I have tried to break him..he is not into it..believe me I have tried everything...so there ya go....He will give it up one day...just not now.. ;o) Onward to the New Year's pics!

I hope all you had a great Christmas and I hope the New Year is treating you all great!!!
Later Tators!

Happy 14th Birthday Kiersten!

2009-12-07T15:49:00.008-05:00

Today is Kiersten's 14th Birthday...Man do I feel old..lol...I cannot believe in two years Kiersten will be driving!! Now that is a scary thought...

We are getting ready to put all of our Christmas decorations up, this is a ritual we do every year on her birthday to make it a little bit more special..since her bday is Decemeber....

For her bday this year I took her and Preston out for the night to see New Moon, do some shopping, and we ate dinner, and of course there were gifts..she has seen all of her grandparents and has had dinner with her dad...Kier has gotten tons of bday money in the mail and is loving it..haha...hum..where is my hey Congrats..your a mom of a 14 year old money...hahaha..kidding...well kinda..lol...
We are waiting for Terry to come home on Wed. to have her cake and go out for a family dinner wherever she wants to go...So all in all I have to say she has had a wonderful and long birthday... :o)

To our only daughter Kiersten....We Love You...May your 14th Birthday be as awesome as you are! ;o)

Better Late Than Never Halloween Photos 2009

2009-11-04T14:31:00.020-05:00

Hello all,
So as usual it has been awhile since I have posted. But I did want to do the mom thing and show our Halloween pics! :) Besides getting ready for Halloween not to much else has been going on around here! To be honest I am just glad Halloween is over...now onto Thanksgiving...My favorite fating day of the year! Looking forward to seeing everyone. Just wish hubs was here. Crossing my fingers he will make it for Thanksgiving but it is not looking good. The kids and I have not seen him now for almost three months. I tell ya I really don't know how all these military people do it. I miss him terribly and cannot wait to see him. What is going on with all the moving and such? Well, at this time we are still making decisions that hubs does not want me to discuss to much...but as for now the kids and I are most likely spending the winter here in Virginia. Praying we will at least see Terry at Christmas! And since I know my hubs is reading this way out in Idaho and most likely shaking his head at my spelling and grammar!! I want to shout out a huge I Love you Terry and I miss you way more then words can type or say! :o)

Other then this family loss of time together..nothing has been going to much. Like I said just doing the Halloween thing and now recovering from it, and moving on to the next Holiday...and then the next...I really cannot believe that Christmas will be here soon. I have not bought a thing...and refuse to till later on....Thinking it will be a homemade Christmas this year!! Well, Santa will still come but for everyone else it is homemade gifts baby!!

Okay, so onward to the Halloween pics!!

Kiersten and Preston did their pumpkin carvings this year! Started out rough but ended good. With the the two youngest we did the little puppy and cat Mr. Potato head thing...lol..thought they were cute. Tristan did paint the back of his. Poor Sebastian slept though it all. But it is okay, he would not have really been into it anyway. We made one for him!

We stayed in town this year for Halloween..the first year I have missed going to my mom's since my first child was born (13 years). I have to say I was not impressed with this small town. Our candy count was sooooo low I went and bought the kids candy so they would have some....I mean come on...I remember when I was young we would trick or treat forever...our bags would be full and we would have to run home to get another bag to fill up...now those were the days!! Next year we will pick a better location!! Terry was not here of course since he is Idaho..but he did do the pass out candy thing so he could be apart of it all and see all the cute and scary kids.... Here are the pics from our trick or treating night. Kiersten dressed up just for fun...she was an Egyptian Princess, Preston was as you see Darth Vader, Tristan was Iron Man, and Sebastian was an Unhappy Clown..lol...The best part of this Halloween is that during Trick or Treat hours...it was in the 70's...One of the warmest nights we have had in a long while for Halloween....wish it would be like that every year! Now see my daughter wore a tank top outfit, she was going to wear a coat over it...we had no idea it was warm outside...we all dressed for the cooler weather..when we got out and found it was soooo warm it was to late to go back in and change outta the warm clothes I was in and the clothes under the kids outfits...I was so hot walking around I wanted to take my soaks off...my feet were on fire...but I did not want to look like a redneck out on the street corner taking her socks off in the mist of all the Trick or Treaters...lol....so I suffered in silence! ;) Here are all my babes dressed up! Seb's did end up falling asleep during the walking around..poor little man..he misses a lot...but when he gets in that stroller...he relaxes...and I was not about to carry him around when we were half way through....he weighs a ton!

Hope you all had fun on the scariest night of the year ;o)

Hope all is well with everyone!!
Lator Tators!!

Potty Training, Gem Mining, and Votes Needed!

2009-10-09T12:49:00.020-04:00

Hi all! We are sitting back today enjoying a day off, no school...but yes as always..house work to do! I did want to drop in and do a short blog today..

So what has been on around here? Well, besides my hubs living in Idaho and me and the kids still here in Virginia...not to much...lol...I tell ya I have found it harder this time around kinda being a single mom...Having four is keeping me on my toes, I really am seeing the and missing the things my hubs does around the home. Missing him terribly!
We have had a lot more trouble then we anticipate finding a home in Idaho...The trouble...well the homes in the area we need to live is very expensive for a large family home, so right now decisions are being made on what to do..will keep you posted on those big decisions!

Other then that life has been pretty normal, kids have started to get excited about Halloween coming and me trying to figure out what we are doing for this special time...trick or treating here in this town, go to a mall, or go to my mom's in North Carolina since it is on a weekend...hum...not sure yet! What are you all doing? Not even sure what the kids are going to be yet. I do things so on the last minute. haha.

We did go gem mining and the kids had a blast, the kids found all sorts of gems. Sebastian liked playing in the water most of all! :) The kids got to sit with the owner and listened as he went over their stones and told them what they all were. Here is a couple of pics from our Gem Mining Trip...and yeap it was a school field trip ;) The last picture is of a Garnet. With our purchase of the huge bucket we get a free gem cut. So I am getting a rather large Garnet cut for me! Hey I paid right...and it is my birthstone! ;) I will show the after results when I get it. Should be back in about two weeks!

BTW during the gem mining trip, Sebastian was all over the place so I held him for a long time to keep him from getting into things, that heavy little man messed my back up and I was out of commission for a few days..lol...getting old is something else isn't it?

Hum, what else...Oh yes, my youngest I do believe is finally ready for potty training! Oh this should be fun...umm okay not so much..he has started taking his diaper off every time he pees...ohhh hello little dude..those are expensive...on the pot you must go! Wish me luck and cross your fingers for us...praying it goes smoothly..but I do have a feeling it will be hell...LOL...any tips out there for someone potty training a non-agreeable child? ;)

So say the least not to much else is going on....But I will end this short blog post on...a beg...lol...so here I go...

I entered my son in a Gap Casting Call...so make sure to vote for him...you will have to sign up for an account it takes just a min. to do it...His other two pics are still being approved..Ignore the M for his last name..I thought they wanted a middle initial..my fault and I cannot fix it...lol..here is the link...btw my daughter took the pic of tris below...:)

http://family.go.com/gapcastingcall/entries/hippieprincess4/107648766/

if you cannot get the link to work..you can go to this page...

http://family.go.com/gapcastingcall/

and enter his entry number number..it is..

107648766

Thank you!! :)

And hey don't forget to sign your kids up! You can vote once a day! So please vote...there are some real cuties on there!! :)

That is all for now..I know boring! LOL..but we really do not have to much going on around here at the moment! I think that is a good thing right...LOLOL
Later Tators!

Happy 4th Birthday Tristan!!!

2009-09-25T12:18:00.008-04:00

Today is my little man's 4th Birthday!! The kids made chocolate chip muffins for Tristan's bday this morning. And later we will be taking him out shopping so he can pick out what he wants for his birthday. Tomorrow my mother is coming up and she is bringing one of her famous homemade chocolate on chocolate cakes that Tristan has requested, and we will have a small family party for him tomorrow. Hubby called this morning upset that he cannot be here...but we all know why..

I cannot believe that he is FOUR!!!!

Happy 4th Birthday Tristan!! We love you!!!

Also, today is also one of my very best friends Tami's birthday!! I will not say her age...But I did want to shout out a huge...

Happy Birthday Tami!! Love you girl!!

Have a great weekend everyone!!
Later Tators!!

Single Mom Again? How Did That Happen?

2009-08-27T13:24:00.030-04:00

No, I am not getting a divorce. My hubs is just MIA....well, actually he is in North West Idaho working at his new job. The kids and I are waiting here in Virginia for Terry (hubs) to find us a new home. I'll tell ya this waiting game is noooo fun! But rest assure he will find us a home soon. I guess if I was not so picky about where I want to live and the size of the house, we may have already found one. But I am a country girl at heart and all we are finding are homes in the city. When we do make it to Idaho or Washington State which ever we find a home in...this blog will take on a whole new meaning...Southern girl living in the North West. Hum....should make for some interesting stories!
Hubby said the towns have tons of things and tons of restaurants, unlike wear we live now! So I asked him...have you seen a Southern Buffet we can eat at...yet..LOL..... ;) Just to let you know..if you have not already guessed...the answer was a big fat NO......Darn!!
As for now, I am getting back into the ropes of being a single mom. I have to admit...I am seeing the little things my hubs did around the house. What! Did I just admit that? lol! Okay, let me explain....no he is not a huge cleaner, but he did make sure the trash was taken to the dump almost ever day. And he did do some laundry when I begged him to..but what he really did, was just be here! See since I stay at home all day while he is working... for some dumb reason there is this feeling inside of me that says...okay girl, get doing some cleaning....so your hubby will not think you are just lounging around all day....Now yes ladies, I do homeschool and take care of children all day..but I reckon some cleaning can be done. If you have read any of my previous post you have found that I am sorta a slob. No this is not passed down from my parents to say the least...my mother is a clean freak...in which is what I think is a great and legit reason that I am a slob! Love you mom! But really I think your neatness backfired on me and well...made me slobby....okay, really I cannot blame my mother for my hate of cleaning....so I will just sit here and wonder why I am the way I am...and wish with all my might that I could find a hypnosis tape to make me be a clean freak! But until this happens....I will try to get my cleaning done..even though my hubs is not here to impress...sad isn't it? Okay, really my house does not belong on CleanHouse (a show) or anything like that so don't get me wrong. We are not nasty! LOL......just disorganized.....but isn't that life anyway? Well, my life I guess...

So what else has been going on? School! Yeap, like many of you parents out there school has kicked in or will be soon for some of you....and I am missing summer already! I miss my lazy days of doing NOTHING!!!!! Just hanging out with the kids and playing games. Now, we just long for the weekends for our sleeping in days ;) But with packing up the house coming soon...sleeping in will have to take a backseat for awhile. :( Other than school nothing else has really been going on...Oh, I did have my wisdom teeth pulled...that was a barrel of fun! Let me tell ya..35 is way to old to be having that done! But the pain killers were nice...haha...Kinda gave me flash backs to my younger years of partying....but that is all I am going to say about that... ;)

So as you can see...not to much going on....little boring around here...but since I have not wrote in a while I thought I would do a quick post! Hope you all had an awesome summer! :0)

Later Tators!

What It's Been Over A Month Since I Have Posted??

2009-07-24T12:47:00.025-04:00

Wow it has been over a month since I posted on my blog...what in the world. Oh yea, it's summer and lots and lots of things have been going on...this will be a family picture blog only this time....so here is what has been happening in our lives....tons of photos below!!

The kids went to camp...Kiersten and her cousin B did not have to much fun and called to come home early, I was going to make them stick it out. But there was a person issues at hand so I went to get the girls early. Preston on the other hand had a blast when he went to camp and wished it was not ending. So you can see...moody teens and camp does not work...lol...My niece stayed with us for a little over a week and we all had a blast. We went and walked around downtown Richmond so she can see some sites. We went shopping at the mall and ate a huge way to expensive dinner that I was irritated about...I mean come on there was 6 of us, Preston was still at camp. Burgers and Fries at Spinnakers....70.00....What??? Are you kidding me? Never again my friends will I eat there! Anyway...Onward...We did our Greek Olympic games in the back yard...now that was a tons of fun! We came up with tons of games to play and held our own Olympics and we even ate Greek snacks and drank grape juice...loads of fun!

We took the kids when Preston came home to Bells Isle in Richmond. It was a pretty neat place. We did not explore the island very much we went mainly to swim in the river. We had our very own little spot on these huge river boulders it was nice...the kids played in the river and had a blast. Make sure if you go to Bells Isle you wear swim shoes!!

The next day was July 4th and we took the kids to Kerr Lake to swim, which I have to say I liked better then the river. It was more relaxing of a swim when you have toddlers. It was only 4 dollars a car to get in, it had a sandy beach area and a roped off area to swim...besides all the rednecks..its was cool..lol...

That night we did our normal fireworks in the yard...they were okay this year..hubs tried his best, some of the fireworks just did not want to corporate! lol...but all and all we had a wonderful time.

We took B home the next day and hung out with my Mom and my Sister Jen and her family. So that was nice to see them. She has such a beautiful family!

Other then those events not to much else has been going on...I did forget to announce that my brother's baby was born at the end of May, they had another little girl and they named her Caroline. She's a cutie! I decided to take just Tristan with me to see the new baby Kiersten was sick so she could not go. Tristan and I had a great time. We went and saw the new baby and Tris also got to see Katie his cousin. Then I took him off to feed the geese and on the way home we stopped at a little carnival and had some one on one time. We had a very nice time!

*** Tip of the day if you do not have life insurance...get some!!! That is what I finally got my hubs..he really needed more life insurance, I mean really he is the only one that works in this family okay outside of the home...and if something happens to him...ummm...I don't want to have to go back to work....oh no...I love staying at home girls...love it!!! So life insurance was a must..lol..

Oh yes and there is one other huge think I wanted to announce! We will be moving very soon...yes that is right...I am moving out of this tiny town in Virginia....where you ask.....well hubs got a new job in Idaho....the jobs location is on the border of Idaho and Washington State, so we are looking in those two states for a house to rent....so your Southern Hippie will be moving to the West Coast...crazy I know!
Trying to find movers for cheap, trying to pack, making all the appointments one last time (dental, vision, etc) trying to figure out when the move will happen and all is making me a crazy person! My hubs will leave us in Aug. to go start his new job. As soon as he finds us a house to rent we will be moving up that way. So say the least I could be stuck here by myself for months to come... Prayers are needed for us! I pray he finds us something fast!! Fingers crossed!
So what do the kids think of the move? Well, they are fine with it..little nervous but excited. Well, until they found out there was no sweet tea and grits there...LOLOLOLOL...I told them we can make it at home...hahahahaha....! My children are total southerns! Hope no one makes fun of our accents...but hubs is for sure they will...haha...Oh well....The older kids dad is fine with the move, he works all over the US so he will still be able to see them. So all in all this is a good move!

By the way, my hubs got a new job the same day my new friend Tiffany came to hang out! Can you believe that! I finally make a friend in this town and now we are moving!!! What is up with that? But hey she must be a good luck charm! :)

As you can tell I changed my header picture. I finally got around to doing our yearly photos I will try to remember to share those next time, I feel like there is enough pics on this post..don't you..lol.....the one picture for my header is the best one of all four together out of what felt like 100's of pictures...say the least trying to get four kids to smile at the same time is getting harder and harder... ;)

Well, that is it for now! I was going to do a funny post, but that will be next time. Wanted to do a catch up blog for my own sanity before I forgot everything..haha...

Hope all is well out in blog land, what have yall been up to??!!!!
Later Tators!!

Camp Fever!!

2009-06-16T12:29:00.009-04:00

It's that time again...what time.....Camp Time.....can you smell it in the air...I can....Both of my oldest will be heading off to camp in the next few weeks, and they are both very excited. Why you wonder? Well to get away from parents of course! I mean really, all you that went to camp, is that not why you went? NO PARENTS to tell you what to do, just cool teenagers that like to have fun! Remember those low key summer's. Ahhhhhhh camp....I want to go! But my camp would be more like this....Parent's Only..Sleeping late, no one asking for breakfast. No washing clothes. No cleaning up...oh no..that is what the teenage camp counselors are for...Cooking heck no..not me! Pj's all day...yay...well unless I was going swimming in my who cares swim suit, no reason to look sexy...cause we would have separate pools...married parents and single parents. So I would be at the who cares married pool. You single parents can still look good all you want...I am happy being a slob now....LOL... No air condition...oh no my camp would be luxury all the way babe...(see pics ;) )I mean really if you are going to dream, dream big right! The big thing I would want at camp..NO KIDS!!!! Yes, that is right....alone...alone....alone....Yes, I do love my kids..but come on a vacation without them...now that would be awesome! That is what my camp would be like...what about yours??

One the family side: Not to much going on here, just relaxing and enjoying the warm weather. We have not really been anywhere since the last time I wrote. Reason being vacation is great, but expensive! So our vacations will be here at home for now. We are having a visitor come for a little while. My niece will be visiting and heading off to camp with my daughter and then will come back and stay a week with us...so when I have all the kids together we will do some field trips..We are finishing up Ancient Greece, so we hope to do some field trips to go along with Greece. We will be starting on Ancient Rome for all of July, looking forward to that, think it will be lots of fun! Trying to keep up with learning through the summer! Kids hate it of course. Their comment "It's summer, our time off!" Me " What time off? I never said that." AHAH...Mom wins! Why...well cause I am MOM...Superior being...LOLOLOL....

Wanted to say Hello to all my friends on here...I am highlighting all of my followers since I have been a very slack blogging buddy. I am trying to get around to you all! But I mean it's summer...I am outdoors..and no laptop yet. Maybe one day my hubs will get me one.....yea right...LOL....Have a great week!
Later Tators!

The Lie's Dressing Rooms Mirrors Tell!!!!

2009-05-27T11:44:00.019-04:00

Dressing room mirrors are terrible because they LIE! Yes they truly do! I was shopping with my mother this past Saturday and I was trying on clothes, I happen to catch a glimpse of my rear in the mirror..and do you know what...that mirror tried to show me that my bum had cellulite!!!!! What!!!!!! NO heck it does not..my bum is nice and firm..(denial)....and my body is in great shape....(yea right)....where does this dressing room mirror get the nerve to try and lie to me by showing me all of these flaws on my body that I just do not have...Has this happened to any of you out there??? I mean come on...I did nothing to this mirror, but use it to look at the snazzy tank tops I was buying for 6.99 each at JcPenny's...It's job is to show me how great I look so I will buy these clothes...not how crappy my body MAY look in the horrible light of the dressing room....I will tell you that I came home and after my mother left to go home...I went straight to my bathroom..took my pants off..jumped up on the bathtub rim and looked at my bum in the tiny medicine cabinet in this rent a house bathroom...and you know what...my bum looked great, there was no dimples, or fat...love that mirror!!! So after getting down and getting the pants back on...I decided after all of the stress that the dressing room mirror had caused...I deserved a snack.....so off I went to enjoy a little bit more cellulite...I mean...a nice cake....The End! ;)

On the family side...We took another small beach trip, had to get some work done for my hubby's visa so while we were down that way we stayed at the beach for a night. We decided to get a hotel on the strip at VA Beach. It was nice we walked the strip that afternoon, shopping in all of the surf shops and checking things out. When we got back to the hotel the kids decided to head down to the beach for a few.. before the three oldest walked out the door we said...DO NOT GET WET! We could see them from our balcony, so we decided it was okay for them to walk out on their own..with the hopes the older two would be responsible....I was getting things arranged in the room before we went out that night and Terry was watching them from the balcony...and not a few minutes later what happens...the two oldest kids come back with wet legs...Tristan came back total soaked with sand all over him...and crying...they were all walking in the shallow part of the water and he fell and was upset..but I washed him up and he was fine...so much for giving the older ones a little responsibility...hum...Anyway, we walked up and down the strip again we wanted to check out the fun park...way to expensive...can we say RIP OFF...so we walked on the beach side (VA Beach has a paved walkway on the beach side of the hotels) and ran into a playground on the beach..so we let the kids play on the playground before heading back to the hotel. The next day we got up and drove to see the USS Wisconsin Battle Ship. It was really neat to walk on this ship as it is still active and you got to see the battle wounds from Iraq. BTW to see the ship is free...it is in the Naval Museum..you just ask to see the ship only...free...nice! On our way home we saw a blow up toys so we stopped at that and let the small kids jump on the blow ups and then me and the older kids hit a local used bookstore...Yes, I love bookstores...On the way home we took a ferry...And that was pretty much it..just a simple trip..we did not really go on the beach to much..as the weather people said it was going to be chilly and rainy...It was not..but we had nothing to go on the beach with and I was not about to spend a ton of money getting things...so the actual beach will have to wait till our next trip...I think Tristan was fine with that after his wash out...

Other then that nothing else has really been going on...Sebbie just got over a small bug...but he is now feeling better thankfully...so for now we are just hanging around and ready for school to be out...last day here is next Wedensday...Yay....just trying to find camps for the kids to go to and figuring out some free things to do this summer...Ahhhh summer....can't wait!!! What are some things any of you are doing this summer...share some of your free summer tips with kids! Would love to gather more options....Posting some pics of our small trip below...hubs will be upset if he sees the last one on here...LOLOL...love you hunny....still have not gotten our other card looked at..I do believe I lost all the pics from our last trip....oh well....Till next time....

Later Tators!

Sex Postion in a Door Jam? What?

2009-05-01T11:47:00.016-04:00

Warning this post will be a bit more racy then my normal post! Okay, so I received my Glamour magazine in the mail a week or so ago and as I was flippin though it..this is what I saw....

So of course, I went right to study this article and died laughing...are these positions for someone that is 20? I mean come on....You can seriously get hurt doing some of these! Now don't get me wrong I am all for a new position but...I really don't want to end up in the ER doing it! Okay let us go one by one on these positions.....

1. This one...not to bad...easy well for me..haha...and that is important...but this one is basic
2. What door jam? If you have a bathroom in your bedroom, maybe...my door jam is way to small! I am also not to sure if I want a splinter in my back? And hello we have four kids...we can not just bust up and have woopie with the bedroom door open and do it right there in the door jam.....Oh my gosh my children would be horrified...and scared for life...lol...
3. As stated in this picture my thighs are so out of shape....guess I could get them in shape while doing this one...hum....haha
4. This one is the funny one....uhhhh no I am way to clumsy to balance myself to even attempt this...it does not look comfy for either person...and my husband has a bad neck anyway...yeap....37 will do that to you....well that or me crashing and flippin our car on Christmas Day 2006...That might have done it....hum...maybe... ;)

Okay, so sex as we all know can be wonder and fun....but if you cause serious injuries to yourself or your partner.....that is no fun! So be careful...find the positions that work for you...don't be scared to try new ones....that do no cause injury...and have fun...lol.....Would love to hear your comments on these positions...or hey, any other ones..... ;)

On the family side! Yes, I know a family side on a sex position post..haha..but here we go...I promised cheap travel tips...well our vacation was really cheap to be honest, cept the food cost of course. I will share this soon. I would be sharing now, but I have had a devastating loss....my camera that I lost then found and was soooo happy that I located it..did me wrong...I took pics from Preston's bday...our long trip...and then Sebastian's bday...in all I had about 250 photos on my camera...I was getting ready to download them and it said....CAN NOT READ CARD....So as of right now I cannot get my pics off my camera....we looked this up online and it seems this happens a lot! So if you take pics with your digital..make sure to get your pics off as soon as you can..and remember that your memory card does not last forever, you need to get a new one every year...to keep this from happening..that is if you take a million pics like we do!!!! This is your tip for the week! Take it to heart...so you do not end up like me and lose precious pictures!!! We are going to try to take the card to a photo specialists to see if they can get the pics off...but I am doubtful... :( To end on an up note, today is Friday! Yay! So you all go out and have a wonderful weekend!!!
Later Tators!

Happy 2nd Birthday Sebastian!!

2009-04-16T21:39:00.011-04:00

What? Didn't I just post a Birthday blog? Yeap..that is right two of my boys birthdays happen this month. Preston's bday just passed on April 9th and now it is time for Sebastian's!! These two brothers are 9 years and 9 days apart! :) For Sebbie's bday (sat. April 18) we will be out of town, so I am posting this a few days early.

It is so crazy that my youngest will be 2. No more babies!! yay....I am a proud mom of two toddlers, a tween and a teenager! Help...haha..kidding...well kinda...

So what is Sebastian getting for his bday? A vacation! Mom is in need. Will let you know what else he gets later on..when we figure out what to get him...lol...and of course there will be cake on Sat. night..yum...Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

Shouting out to our baby of the family!!!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Sebastian!!!
We Love you!!!!

On the family side: So where are we going on our mini well deserved vacation? We are heading to Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, and Cape Henry VA...taking in all of the history these places have to offer and anything free we can find..haha...Wish us luck! We are trying to do this vacation as cheap as possible...will let you know how that turns out..haha....hopefully I will be full of tips to help you all with a cheap vacation...but if there is no further mention of tips for a cheap vacation..then you will know it did not work out as I planned...LOL...But we soooo need a break from the norm...Spring break has been awesome...all it was missing was a small getaway...so well...we are getting away...till next time bloggers...and I know, I know...I will make it onto your blogs...this week as been busier then I expected...not sure why I was thinking it was going to be low key...with four kids...nothing is low key....
Later Tators! :)

Happy 11th Birthday Preston!

2009-04-10T08:36:00.006-04:00

Yesterday on April 9th was my oldest son Preston's 11th Birthday! So I wanted to do a post to wish him a very Happy Birthday! For his bday we went out for Mexican food and had the guys sing to him. He had to wear a purple sombrero which he proudly wore, we took some pics with our camera phone, since my digital camera is missing. So if I can ever figure out how to download those pics, I will post them! But here he is flexing his muscles...(boys will be boys) :) We took him shopping and he picked out a lightsaber that he wanted. When we got home, we had ice cream and so yummy cake. For his other gift from us he is getting a new bike today, so after school we are off to Wal-mart so he pick that out. So all in all he had a great birthday....Shouting out to Preston!!!

HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY PRESTON!!

WE LOVE YOU!! :)

More on the Family side: We are headed down to NC on Saturday to visit my parents. And then all this coming week is Spring Break! We decided to wait on going to Canada till the summer. We have been trying to figure out where we want to go for few days..and have not come up with a place yet. May not go anywhere. But I would love to get out of town. Need a break! Hopefully over spring break I will be able to finally catch up on reading blogs. I have not read any! Not ignoring any of you. Been in a blog slump for awhile. And really just a slump all around. So ready for bright sunny warm days to wake me up again. See you all soon on your blogs! Have an awesome weekend!! :)
Later Tators!

How Are You Living YOUR Life?

2009-03-19T11:12:00.032-04:00

I just finished watching, How to Make an American Quilt. I have seen it before a long while ago, and I just had to watch it again. Good movie. I love watching movies that make you cry, and that make you think about your own life. Kinda shows you what is important, or when you are older what was the most important events in your life. I hope when I am way older, I can look back on my own adventure and truly grasp what living was all about. For now my thoughts are; it is not the home you live in, the things you have, or how much money is in your bank account. Life for me now is about family and the people around me, the lessons I have learned and will learn, finding one thing I love and making it great, and living life to the fullest that I can. Because in the end, when you look back on YOUR life....hopefully you will smile and laugh at the times you had...not cry and wish you would have lived it differently. So how are you living YOUR life? What do you want to accomplish, so when you look back you have no regrets?

Talking about quilts, I have a many that I love showing off..as for the two on top of this page my grandmother made me the red one when I was very young, and my mother made the brown marriage one. And these are the baby quilts my mother made for each of my kids. The pink of course for my daughter Kiersten, Noah's ark for Preston, Spider Frogs for Tristan, and Winnie the Pooh for Sebastian. I wish I could make quilts, but I cannot do this as of yet. Do any of you make quilts?One the family side: Life has been going pretty okay. We have been tackling school work around here and waiting for spring break. We have not decided if we are Canada bound for spring break or not. Told hubs he better figure this out quickly, cause our break is a coming. I really could use a vacation. Just get to get out of town, and get out of the house and see some new sights.

We have had some crazy weather here in VA, one day it is 80 and the next it is 40. Hoping the nice weather makes it was back soon and stays. But I do have to say I am loving that the time has changed, I am so a day person! Love sunshine! Need it to grow :) We got out a day last week and took the kids to the park..here are some pics..

Also, my step brother made the cover of a local fishing magazine, good job Chris!
Let's see what else has been going on..Ahh yes, Kiersten and I have been taking pottery. We found an awesome potter and she has been giving us lessons. We are having a lot of fun. Also, Sebastian has been sitting on the potty. He still has not "used" it yet..but I am hoping he will soon! Other news, we have had a stray cat hanging around the house. Not sure if he will stay or not, cause our cat Illusion (lou) is not happy he is here and let's him know it. But the kids have named him Leonardo...Leo for short. He is a huge gray stalky cat. So we have Lou and Leo..for now at least.

***Also, today is my best friends daughter's birthday, Happy 12th Birthday Danielle! :) *****

If you ever wonder why I post sooo many pics...reason..I don't get to see my family as much as I like..so I post pics for them and you all of course...to show off what is most important to me....my family.... :)

I think that should do it this go around! Hope you are all doing awesome! Till next time.
Later Tators! :)

Should you really wear that?

2009-02-24T11:56:00.021-05:00

First off I wanted to say, in no way am I poking fun at over weight people. I myself have some extra weight, this is all about how some people choose to dress!....so with that being said...The other day my family and I went out shopping and ended up at the mall. And what I saw over and over again just bothered me. Girls..Women in shirts that are just to small or rather to short and to tight pants. Yes, most of the girls where teens to early 20's showing their tummy's off to the world...and their flab...gross...if you are going to wear a short shirt and tight pants that shows your stomach...please to not have stretch marks or belly flab...no one needs to see this!!! I have found that this a growing trend..let's wear a half shirt and let my flab hang out...No one wants to see your Muffin Top! Yes, I found out what this trend is called...Muffin Top...Get a clue, this is not sexy! I for one would never wear a half shirt out in pubic...I have stretch marks and a little extra plumpness around the middle..thanks to four kids...cakes, cookies, ice cream...okay you get the idea...so NO never would I wear a half shirt to flaunt my tummy in public. I can understand if you are at home or doing yard work, working out..but out in public..come on ladies and yes some men to... I know this is a harsh post...Sorry, but am I really the only one that is tired of seeing half shirts and to tight of pants on girls/women that really do not need to be wearing them? What do you think about this? Please show me that I am not alone in feeling this...lol.. :)

On the family side: We have had tons of things going on around here. Let's see where to begin? We took the kids into Richmond a week or so ago to see the Egyptian Building, it was closed to visitors but we got to walk around the outside and glance in the widows...really wish it were open..bad on my part for not checking, but we will take another trip up there another day..here are some pics of that, it was pretty cool and a cool way for Kiersten to end her Egyptian unit study. The gates had mummies on the inside is painted wild looking, the building is pretty big. Neat place to see..

On Valentine's day we decided to take the kids and get out some...what more shopping..ahhh twist my arm..haha...we had a blast...we were going to go out to eat, but drove around and of course ever restaurant was packed and I mean packed...so we say forget it and went to Sonic (a drive up where they bring you your food on roller skates)..we all sat in the car and had a sorta car picnic...it was pretty fun..we laughed and chatted it up was actually fun...Oh yes, Preston had a date for the Valentine's Dance at school, of course I did not get to meet her...I had to drop him off, no parents..lol...here he is before the dance...

As far as other awesome things..my youngest that hardly ever talks, he only says moma and dada...said Clues Clue (Blue's Clues) yesterday for the first time...yes we were in tears...been waiting such a long time to hear him say something else...!! And last but not least my 3 year old has a huge addiction to the Wii and wants to play it all the time. Hum wonder where he gets that from? Oh yea...his dad!! :0) Hope all my readers are doing well...as you can tell I am not on blogs to much these days...just so busy...which is nice..but I wanted to say..it is not because I am trying to neglect you all...I promise I will catch up and yes you will have like 10 comments in one day from me...lol....As for those that have given my blog awards..thank you so much..I have been bad and have not posted them, sorry for this..it is all I can do to get a post up these days! What I would love to know is..how do you all keep up with the blogs you read? I have looked at Google reader, but how do you make comments like that? Let me know how you all keep up with them! Wishing you all happiness and love...till I post again...Later Tators! :)

It's a MAN Thing?

2009-02-03T13:17:00.027-05:00

This post is dedicated to all the men and boys in my life! So here you are Hubby, Sons, Brothers, Dad, Step-Dad, Brother in laws, Nephews, Cousins, Uncles, and Friends! I think that covers all of you..haha! I do know that some women do these things on this list...but this is for my men and boys...So here is my list "It's A MAN Thing!"

1. Peeing Outside (the house is only 10 steps away! Oh that's okay, I can go right here! Even my little men do this..when its warm! :) )

2. Posing with Their Muscles (Mom, can you see my six pack?)

3. Extra Large Tires on Trucks (You know the ones...the wayyyy to big tires..what are you trying to compensate for?) (Kidding..lol)

4. Adjusting (Gosh hunny, in public?...it's okay we all do it!)

5. Comic Books (My hubby has hundreds in boxes...hundreds ladies)

6. Online Games (Yes, I know some women play them to...but what I have seen it is mostly men..and all the time! If they would clean as much as they play..My house would be spotless!)

7. Dirty Clothes Beside Bed (What is it about the laundry hamper...it's right there...throw in your dirty clothes...But oh no..he would rather the laundry fairy pick them up...you know..ME!)

8. Clean A Bathroom...What do you mean? (Ok, some men do this...but none of mine do! Got any hints to help me out on this one..LOL)

9. Non-Shopper (I love my hubby..but hate to shop with him..we are anywhere...10 min he is ready to go..and will let me know this every 10 min..till we leave..haha)

10. 1 Pair of Shoes and He is Happy? (What is that..I have to have at least a black pair, a brown pair, and then some in between, he is happy with one nice pair? Is he nuts? Oh yes..he is..LOL..)

11. Passing Gas or Burping in Public (and thinking it is funny! Yes, I know you know one of these men..lol)

12. Knows Everything There is About a Computer (even if they really do not!!!!)

No I am not man bashing..And just for the record..NO my husband does not do all of these on the list!! This is just for a laugh!! I love all of my men and boys! :) So gals and yes you men....What can you add to the list? Be nice! :)

On the family side! Life has been pretty good, just been hanging out..still trying to get organized, yes it takes forever..when you have tons of crap...lol...Kept a cute little boy the other day he was 3 same as Tristan..they had a blast, playing and running around! Also, we had an awesome family Super Bowl Party here..just hubby, me, and the kids..we made a huge fating spread of food and watched the game and laughed at the commercials! Nothing else has really happened...a little boring around here..but we did get some snow last night...just a tiny bit..but the kids played and played outside today and even got to make a snow man! Hope all my bloggin buddies are doing good...I am not online as much anymore..so I will be posting on my blog about once every two weeks...but if I get the urge it maybe sooner then two weeks! I am trying to talk hubby into getting me a laptop...he is on the computer all night playing his games..yes people..he is a computer hog!!! I have gotten a few awards and have not posted them yet..I am going to try to do that this weekend! Thank you to all who have given my blog awards! And yes, still trying to catch up on blogs..if you have not seen me..you should soon :) So if I get my laptop...I will be able to write on my blog and read more blogs in a timely manner...how nice..that would be..ahhhh just the thought.....okay..anyway..this is it for now...Oh BTW if you are on Twitter...I am on it a few times a day..so follow me and I will follow you back!! :)

http://twitter.com/hippieprincess4

Later Tators!!
Told you it was a tiny bit of snow.. :)

Somewhere in time!

2009-01-20T11:40:00.016-05:00

Sometimes I wonder what life would have really been like back over the years. Would I have really liked living in the 1700 or 1800's? Life seemed so romantic back in those days. Everyone spoke actual English and not slang. They wore prim and proper clothes and had lavish parties. But really was it that romantic? First off, I could not deal with slavery! And hum, no showers everyday, No deodorant, yuck. Sucking it in, in those corsets and maybe even dealing with lice. Does not sound to romantic does it? Okay, maybe that time period will have to live without me...oh wait it already did...I really would have loved to have wore a flapper dress in the 20's and danced the night away. And what about the 50's and their poodle dresses, and black and white shoes (oxford's) love those! Okay onward...the 60's and 70's hippie time! My mom always said I was born in the wrong era, sometimes I think she is right. But I do like the modern convinces of today. The 80's hey I was there..they were a blast, okay I was a kid..but Yes, I did have the leather pants and crazy hair style and loved Michael Jackson and wanted so terribly to ride my skate board while hanging on the back of a car, like Back to the Future! And oh the jelly shoes and jelly bracelets..boy did I have a million of those! But the 90's now those were my days! I was in high school and loving life! Boys! Boys! Boys! Grades? What grades? No it was all about guys, drugs, friends, and partying....those were the days...the days of large hair still here from the 80's, and yes I had the large hair and tons of make-up oh man did I were gobs of it! I dyed my hair every color under the sun...yes even jet black! Then BOOM it hit...1995! What, I'm pregnant? Wow, does that change your life in a flash. So yes, I had two babies in the 90's, got divorced, and had to grow up. But its all good, the 90's were awesome years! Onward to the millennium years crazy times...remarried, two more babies and moved to a new state. Style really does not matter these days, everything flies. Even old lady big hair...and wigs...bell bottoms, which yes I wear and love them! War still going on, what number is this again? Will we ever have peace? And the global warming, will the world end in 2012? Life has been crazy over the years past. Some I was there for and some...not even thought of..But I do have to say, over any time period. I like this one. Yea, it would be cool to visit the other periods, just to see how people really lived. Anyone have a time machine? In this time, we still have war and racism in the world, sadly but honestly I am not sure if those two things will ever NOT exist. But as for the convinces of this time, I mean come on air condition, heat, the toilet indoors, showers everyday, phones, T.V., and hey the computer which if I did not have...you would not be reading this blog! Really though...we are Free, free to do what we please for the most part. So yea, this time is right for me. What about you? What is your favorite time period?

On the family side: My step sis had here baby! Just a little about my step sis, she is married with 3 girls and her and hubby decided to have one more child to complete their family. And I am happy to announce for her last child, she had a little baby boy! I am so over the moon about this, no they were not having one more to have a boy, but that is what they got and I am ecstatic that she gets to have a whole new experience..specially in the changing diapers area!!! Love you girl! Other news, I went to court for child support and got that all taken care off...Should not have to go back to court for that for sometime now! My ex is going to give me sole legal custody of my 2 oldest kids which I am very happy with, so much easier for us to get through the borders when I have sole custody! Other then these things, not to much else has gone on. Just hanging around the house, not really wanting to be online. This has been a trend for a little while, trying to get my home organized and other things. Just have not really had the time to be on, or just not really feeling like being on. But, you will see me here and there on my blog so keep checking back. I will be visiting your blogs to, of course have to keep up with you all. OH yea, as for the sweets I have been doing okay. I am not going to lie. I have had some treats. I needed them...LOLOL...cutting out sweets I really think, has been the hardest addiction to break! :(
Later Tators!

What 35! How did that happen?

2009-01-09T13:08:00.015-05:00

Yes, it is true. I turned 35 on Monday Jan. 5! And I have to admit, I do not really feel any older then I already did before. I am not going to worry about aging to much. If I start getting wrinkles and my hair turns gray well so be it...I do have four kids so I can see these things happening way before there time...LOL...but really can you stop the aging process? I guess you can if you have all sorts of surgery, which I am really not all for..(unless medically needed)I mean come on, you see the actors and famous people that have these surgeries to try to stay looking young..you can tell, and some just look way worse then they ever did! Nope I think I will age gracefully, well I hope at least..I really hope one day I don't creep out of bed and look in the mirror and say...Holy crap what happen to you? I guess with my aging gracefully it is time to start taking some measures. I really should be using lotion allot more then I do, and taking some vitamins and minerals. The biggest thing they say you can do for yourself to slow some of the aging process is to eat healthy and exercise. Well, heck glad those things are on my list of goals for 2009 ;) Anyway, so back to my birthday..what did we do for my bday? Whelp, my 13 year old babysat her brothers, and hubby and I went out to eat! Yes, we went out by ourselves..granted in this town you are 5 min from everything, so if our kids needed us we would be home in like 2 min...and there is not a huge selection of restaurants here..but hey we got out and ate breakfast for dinner and it was oh so yummy..and had conversation with no kids interrupting..I have to say...It was nice! We stopped on the way home and got the kids Mickie D's....and went home and they ate, and then we had cake! So there that was my my bday..Nothing to fancy, but hey I'm not a fancy person..so it suited me just fine :)

So what else has been going on you ask? Well, I almost had a heart attack the other day..and no this has nothing to do with aging..I opened my electric bill..and what do I see? A huge flippin bill....373.58 to be exact...can you believe this? Now I rent and we have been in this house for let's see...10 months now and our bill has never been this high..so yes I am in line for them to come check the meter...and I have gotten the landlord to check the hot water heater and whatever else may be causing such a high bill...so far everything is fine..the meter will be checked in a week or so, so I will keep you posted...but really I cannot afford an almost 400 light bill a month, we keep the thermostat around 70...and heck we have radiant heat...so we buy oil to...oh no...not happening!! Something must be done! Okay, just had to get that off my chest!

So on to our family New Year's resolutions....
Mine
1. Get in Shape (my poor bum and tummy need it)
2. Stop Cussing (yes I am ashamed, I do cuss...got to stop)
3. Go back to church
4. Move out of this town! (please...get me out)
5. Keep my house cleaner (I try, I really do....I will try harder)
6. Keep up with the laundry better! (LOLOLOLOL..yea right)
7. Stop being so darn lazy (this one is hard, I love to lounge)
8. Be a better teacher to my kids (in all area's specially house work..haha)
9. Stop eating so many sweets and eat healthier
10. Get organized
11.TRAVELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Hubby's
1.Try to get family out of this town
2.Look into grad school
3.Stop gaming (okay, so I added this one..haha)
Now did you see anywhere, help clean the house, wash clothes...yard work..be more loving anything???hum!

Kiersten's
1.Learn to play the piano (she got a huge keyboard for Christmas, so she will be taking lessons soon)
2.Get better at math
3.Pay more attention to my cat
4.Write a book ( she is working hard on this)
5.Stop being lazy (like her mom...haha)

Preston's
1. Read more (boy hates to read! we have to stay on him like flies on crap to get his reading done)
2.Work out (he's in training ladies..he is 10..and girl crazy..what am I to do?...lol)
3.Play a sport
4.Do my chores more (ha....would love for this one to happen)

Tristan's
1.Learn to read
2.Sleep in my bed every night (would love for this one to happen)
3.Clean my own room (yea right, he is way to smart..he gets everyone else to clean it)

Sebastian's
1.Stop driving mom crazy with all my crying (please....let this one happen..haha)
2.Learn to talk more
3.Get potty trained (this one will be tough...I just know this one will take a while)
4.Sleep in my own bed (please!!)

So there you have it...my family's goals for 2009..okay okay...I made up Tristan's and Sebastian's...but hey they are realistic goals..don't ya think? ;)

Catch you up to date on my sweet habit...it has been hard this week, but I have not eaten any sweets..besides a slice of my bday cake! I am not totally stopping sweets...just cutting way back! I am going to treat myself from time to time! My new found love is a banana with peanut butter down one side..It is oh so yummy! If you have any healthy treats you love, share them with me! I could use some new options! Hope everyone's New Year is a wonderful one!!
Later Tators!

The First Step is to Admit you have a Problem!

2009-01-02T17:37:00.024-05:00

Okay, so it's a new year now so I must let you all know that I have an addiction!!!! Yes, me..I am addicted to ......sweets.....candy, cakes, cookies, pie, you name it I love it!!!!!!! So there, the first step is to admit you have a problem. And now I have done this. Just a little background info on me and addictions...I use to smoke cigarettes...long time ago now..but I quit.....use to be addicted to meat...long time ago and I gave that up to....use to be addicted to soda's but I quit those two....yes that is right....I do not drink soda's and have not for about 8 years or so maybe longer! So you see I can give up things, hard things to give up! But now I am sadden, I really need to give my current addition up, or I may end up being 400 pounds! So what to do? How I am going to cut this addition out??????? Whelp, I am going to hold strong and just not buy this crap anymore! Well, okay let's be serious I will buy some here and there. I mean really the kids should not have to suffer, just cause their mother does not have the willpower to not eat those yummy chocolate cakes! Ohhh chocolate cakes..I love you sooooo!!!! Okay Tiff get a grip!! Anyway, so who out there is with me? Who is going to stop eating snacks and only treat themselves from time to time only? Anyone??? :0) Now if you see me on my twitter and I have made a comment saying I have made cookies or baklava..my favorite...I want no comments on that..lolol....We got a Wii for Christmas and I plan on getting Wii fit as soon as I can...so I can exercise those treats right off!

On the family side: Our Christmas was wonderful! Santa was awesome this year and the kids got what they wanted (meaning child support came through..luckily!). My dad and step mom came up here a few days before Christmas, and we had Christmas with them. We dug into our finger food spread and then we all exchanged tons of gifts and then we chilled out and sat and had wonderful conversation and laughs with them..Then the day before Christmas Eve hubby and I packed up the kids and headed for my mom's in NC. The two older kids went to see their dad for an overnight stay and returned on Christmas Eve day. In which my mother had tons of food, so we ate, hung out, and opened a ton of gifts..so many in fact that we could not pack them all in the car! So mom is coming tomorrow (sat) to bring the rest of the gifts! Anyhow, we loaded our car up and headed home on Christmas Eve, got the kids to bed and then here comes Santa...that fat man left us waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy to much stuff! But the kids awoke on Christmas morning and were in Ahhh...so Thanks Santa! Our New Year's was what you expect it would be when you have four kids...we stayed at home :0) and to be honest, that is fine with me..bringing in the New Year with Pj's on is the best! I will write more on our New Year resolutions in my next post!
I hope you all had wonderful holiday's! It has been awhile since I have been on blogs..hubby has been playing his stupid Eve online game...yes I am married to a Gamer!!!! And his games make everything soooo slow! So you will see me back on your blogs catching up next week, when he is back at work..lol...!!! And yes, that means a million comments from your dear reader Tiff :)
Later Tators!

Here are some pics of our very spoiled Christmas! Forgive the blurriness! My camera died after taking these!! I bought a new one the other day! Yay for me! :)

First set are of My dad and Karen's Christmas with us! In the last pic..Tristan thought he was going home with them and was very upset when they left.

The second set is from our Christmas with my mom and stepdad. Now can you tell Christmas is my mother's favorite hoilday? She way over does it...but hey I'm not complaining..lol...

The last one is our Christmas Morning....as you can tell by our look of just getting out of bed and hair all over the place... :)

Happy Rockin Holidays!!

2008-12-22T17:27:00.016-05:00

Wishing you all Happy Holiday's!! :)

Signs You Taught Your Children Well

2008-12-18T08:50:00.016-05:00

This post is dedicated to all the parents out there that have been trying to teach your children to do things the right way! How do you know you have taught your children well? By the little things you see or hear them do and say. Now what brought this post on you may ask. Well, last night my husband calls me into the bathroom and this is what I saw....
My 3 year old Tristan had to well have is BM for the day and he went alone, and for the first time in his history wiped his own bum. And did not even tell us...but the signs were pretty clear that he was there! I was so proud! Cept I did tell him, he does not need to wrap the seat with toilet paper when at home!!! LOL....He has seen me do this many times in the public restrooms before placing him on the seat! So this is a question for all of you, In public restrooms do you hover? Or do you wrap the toilet in toilet paper before sitting on the thrown? Me I do the first choice :) But for a 3 year old..the second choice is easier!

As for my 13 year old daughter Kiersten, I see the things I have taught her everyday. She acts like a second mommy around this house. Always helping her little brothers and even just the other day...she started vacuuming without me having to ask her!!!! Now that my friends is a huge deal!!!!! :)

Now my 20 month old Sebastian, well he is still young but he does pick up trash even if he tries to eat it he gets us moving to get it! And if a water bottle is laying around he will surly bring it to you, cause he wants to drink it! But hey his job is to get us motivated to clean! He supervises really well! ;)

Onward to what I saw just this morning! My 10 year old Preston walking into school, and what does he do? He holds the door open for the girl behind him so she can go in first! Now that is being a gentleman ladies....

I am proud everyday of my kids but this is an extra special...Ahhhhh I feel so proud today! :0)

What have you seen in your kids to know you are teaching them well? :)

On the family side: Christmas is coming fast! I pretty much got done with my shopping this past weekend when I went to NC to shop with my mom! We had a great time! It was really nice to just get away. Cept, I could not sleep for the life of me. Missed my hubby's snoring and my kids keeping me up at night. Can you believe that!!! This coming weekend my dad and step-mom are coming up. We usually have our Christmas early with them, because everyone is so busy this time of year. So on Saturday or Sunday they will be up and we will enjoy our Christmas together, the kids are excited to spend some time with them and of course open some gifts. I am not sure if I will have time to post or make comments on your blogs next week, I will try. But I will be out of town some and of course it is Christmas so if I do it will be a short one! To all you have a great week, what is left of it and have an awesome weekend. To those that are not done shopping yet, Good Luck on your shopping adventures! :)
Again to those that have given me awards and tags! Thank you! I have been very busy like most of you this month, so I will not have a chance to post them at this time! But I wanted to say a huge Thank you to all that have given me the awards and tags! :)
Later Tators!

Boxes For Christmas?

2008-12-11T10:09:00.015-05:00

I was trying to figure out what else to get the two little ones for Christmas this year. And I went in to check on the boys and this is what I saw...

And then I glanced over and saw this!

Is there something wrong with this picture? :)

So I have come to the conclusion that I really should just buy boxes this year! All sorts of boxes..why buy toys when a box is soooo much more fun! I mean really, think of the money you will save!! There is no loud noise, no fighting on who plays with what, no batteries to buy! I mean really you cannot go wrong! They come in all different sizes and colors. You can group them together and make a playhouse, or just play with one. Think of the fun your child will have with his/her box or boxes! Hours and hours of imagination working at its best! Here are a few pictures of joy you have to look forward to when you get your child that special box!

So there is Tiff's Christmas Tip of the day!! lol...okay so I am kidding...my kids will not just get boxes....but I am sure they will be playing in the Christmas ones! I will besure to take pics..haha :)

Of the family side: I am leaving tomorrow to go to NC to my mom's all by myself! Yes, that is right! No kids! No husband! Just me!!!! For the first time in a verrrrrryyyyy long time!! Mom and I are hitting the shops and I do believe my sister in law Amanda may come with us. We are going to shop shop shop and get Christmas all done. Then we are going to go out to eat, and I do not have to worry about any kids!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am soooo excited....can you tell I do not get out much...lol....Hubby is staying home with all the kids...Love you hunny!! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! :) BTW thank you all that have given me awards!! I will try to get those up next week! :)
Later Tators!

Happy 13th Birthday Kiersten!

2008-12-08T09:31:00.008-05:00

Yesterday was my oldest and only daughter's 13th birthday! We decided to make a weekend out of her turning 13. We had had a double bday party on Thanksgiving for her and my mother so she had her party at that time. So this Saturday my two oldest Kiersten and Preston and I( Terry and the younger ones stayed at home), went to the movies and saw Twilight! Kiersten has been ready to see this movie for a while now. She has read the first book and got the second book as a gift for her bday. I have to say I was surprised the movie was actually a pretty good, with it being a teen flick. Hope they make a second one. :) After the show we went out to eat and had a blast. And on the way home..what happens? It starts to snow! Which was crazy to see...did not stick or anything, but it was pretty! Sunday on her acutal birthday, we had another cake with just the six of us and she got a few more gifts, one being the movie Interview with a Vampire. We made this a vampire bday since she is all into Twilight! All in all she had a really nice birthday weekend! So I am shouting out to the top of my lungs!! HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY KIERSTEN!
My now teenager!!! :)
We love you!!!!

A Post to Deadbeat Dad's!

2008-12-02T08:36:00.033-05:00

Hello everyone, Just to let you know ahead of time this is going to be a complaint post!! Reason being I am tired of dealing with my ex-husband! Shocker right, how many other women in the world are sick of their ex's???? I just do not understand why anyone would not want to see or at least call their children. Now I know I need a break from my kids every once in a while, but come on...a six month to a year break? Also, with the economy being the way it is..and us living on one income..don't you think ex that you should pay your child support on time? I mean really you make way over the amount of most couples income put together. Do I need to show you how to write a check again? Here is a sample....

And here is another sample on how to use the phone.....

And even better sample questions on what to ask when buying things for your children...you know the one's you really know nothing about....Just a few to start you off!
What size are they in?
What do they like?
What are their allergies again?
What grade are they in again?

Now to be fair I will tell you my blogging friends, he has not always been this bad..Way back and yes that is wayyyyy back, he use to get his children every other weekend. Now to be honest this was when he was dating the girl that he an affair with, while married to me...but all in good nature she did me a favor and I loved her for that!! (Favor being....got rid of my ex for me) But as soon as he broke things off with her...his children went to the bottom of his list of priorities...this also happened around the same time I got married to my new hubby...anyone see a connection here?? I can see my ex saying..."Oh, she's married now...let her new man deal with all of it!" Well, let me tell you if I could pick up my family and just move far away and not have to deal with ex ever again...it would be fine with me...See you don't get under my skin for the things you say or do to me...it's the things you don't say or the support you don't give to your children that gets under my skin!! You don't want to see your kids, you don't want to support your kids...then give me full custody and be on your merry way....my kids do not need you popping in and out of their lives and giving them hope that you will come around more!! You will regret the fact you did not spend time with your kids..and when your children figure things out....because I do not make up stories for you anymore..have not for a long while!!! I am not going to make myself look like the mean one..keeping their father away from them...oh no....not doing it....this is all on you ex.....and when the day comes when your children have finally given up on you and realize who and what you are....it will be to late for you to get the relationship you crave so much in your old age....and you know what I am going to say......................................... You couldn't take the time with them when they were younger...now they can't take them with you when you are older....You did this to yourself!!!

Okay, sorry had to get that out!!!! How many of you are dealing with something like this? Or know someone who is dealing with this? I have a feeling it is allot of people. Because when I was in court to get my child support upped there were soooooooooo many people in there who have not paid their child support..some went to jail and others just got off somehow...some of these men and women are like 50,000.00 dollars behind or more!!! DEADBEATS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now off to something more refreshing!!!! :)

On the family side: We all had a wonderful time on Thanksgiving at my mom's. All of my extended family came over and we had a great time..and as usual my mother being the wonderful southern cook she is had a very tasty and extra large meal...yes people I gained that five pounds!! And it was oh so yummy!! We also had a double birthday party..my mom's bday was the day before Thanksgiving and my daughter Kiersten's 13th is this Sunday..so while everyone was down we did the a party for both...It was great!! :)

Hubby, I and the kids did stay the night in NC Thanksgiving night. Cause my mother and I got up at 3:30am to go shopping for Black Friday! We were at Kohl's at 4:00am when it opened and had a blast...we stood in line that started all the way at the back of the store and round the corner...lol...long line...then off to Wal-Mart we went...line was much shorter there! Then we hit Target, Best Buy, BJ's and Michael's...We had a flipping blast...Love Black Friday! It is so much fun going out and seeing the crazy people out shopping..some still in their PJ's! And everyone was NICE!!! Anyway, got some good deals and had the mother daughter bond time and got home at 9:30am...just in time to..the kids were just getting up!!!! So what do I do when we get home?? Nap!!! :) (my hubby took this while I was snoozing!) Got a chance to see my dad and step mom to while we were down...so that was an extra bonus!! Whelp, the rest of the week we have just been hanging out...doing the work and school thing..and trying to get ready for Christmas..still need to put the tree and decorations up..will try to do that this weekend!! I hope you all have a wonderful week!!!
Later Tators!

Detention on a Saturday? What?

2008-11-24T17:00:00.032-05:00

Okay, so the other day while I was in driving school...yes driving school, had to go for a stupid speeding ticket, and I have to say I did quite well..and hey I passed the final exam..so yea for me!!! Anyway, so during some of the videos I had time to do nothing..haha...so me being the loser I am decided to start adding to my list of what to blog about....ok really stop laughing...lol....what a loser right?...like I do not have anything else in the world to make a list about. Like maybe groceries, what to get the kids for Christmas, my plan on how to get my house cleaned by snapping my fingers...I mean come on...list of things to blog???? So today I am breaking out this list and closing my eyes and picking a subject....soooooo.......tick tock tick tock....it is going to be on....Oh here's one...on my driving school... ;)
So this past Saturday I got up after nooooo sleep, my loving husband snored loudly allllll night!! My 19 month old tossed and tumbled (in our bed :( ) and my three year old up woke up in the middle of the night yelling "MOMMY...come sleep with me". So after getting him back to sleep, I went back to bed to listen to my hubby snore the rest of the night away. Okay, so I get up at 7am that is just way to darn early! Get dressed and go. Now the driving class is at a school here in town, a kids private school. Yes, school on a Saturday, total detention..sounds like Breakfast Club doesn't it? Well, maybe not, but it would have been nice to have been running down halls, eating sushi, and finding myself all within eight hours...but none of that happened...So where was I? Oh yes, class gets started and I get bored I started fantasying about all kinds of things..get bored with my fantasies so I started to write my list of blogs, all while freezing my bum off cause the principal of the school is there and keeps turning off the heat...What the??? it's freezing man!! To make a terribly boring story short..the class was long and all I kept thinking was what a waste of a Saturday!!! But it was worth going through the class for no points on my record and no insurance hike!! So there was my boring Saturday. But I have to say I would do it again..cause when I got home my house was sooooo clean!!! My husband and children cleaned the whole house, did laundry and then my husband cooked dinner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So worth being stuck in class all day!!! Sadly there was no getting high and dancing like a crazy person (Another Breakfast Club flashback). Which I should tell you is one of my all time favorite movies...I'm such an 80's geek!! To see Trivia on the Breakfast Club http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088847/trivia

On the family side: Thought I would show off some projects that my kids worked in the past weeks...The first one is my sons project on the Layers of the Earth. We bought a Christmas ornament that opens up, from the thrift store and painted it blue and then added the earth in green. He used play dough to do the layers and then labeled the layers. He also had to write a short summary along with the project. The second one is my daughter's project on the Nile and the fertile lands around it. This is a project from our new curriculum we just started. It shows how the Nile spills over and waters the ground around it keeping the land fertile. It is made from a box from around the house lined with plastic wrap and aluminum foil to prevent leakage. Then you make the Nile out of the dough you can bake, I wrapped the outer part in aluminum foil to prevent leakage. The she added the potting soil for the fertile ground, the sand for the desert, and she planted chive seeds to see if they will grow. We filled the Nile with water and watched it water the grounds...Pretty cool....the other things you see are a pyramid and a statue. :)

Not sure If I will have time to write out another post this week. Since we are trying to get the house cleaned up and get packed for a visit to my moms for Turkey Day...yeaaaaa!!!! So excited to gain that 5 pounds..lolol...I am off to visit as many blogs as I can fit in for now...Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!!!! :)

Later Tators!!

Do you wax, highlight or just leave it alone?

2008-11-19T19:58:00.021-05:00

Okay, so you may have guest I am talking about the dreaded girl mustache! Okay, so really no I do not have to much of one. My husband says he can't even see it. But me I can, I look really close in that mirror in my bathroom and there it is, glimmering in the florescent light. Errr it just irks me..Yes, I do know that women always see things on their bodies worse then anyone else in the world...but we are women..we are critical..lol...so I have been highlighting this thing for years and I am on edge about waxing. My question if you wax, when the hair starts to come back...does it grow prickly like a guys? Cause I do not even want to start looking like a man. I am woman hear me roar...not see me grow a mustache!!! Okay, some of you may be laughing right about now thinking what a total loser not knowing the deal on this by the ripe age of 34..but truly I do not...BTW yes that is my body in the pic..just not my head..lolololol...so wish.....Anyway, I would really love to know which method is best for your stache or if you have tried all..which one did you like best?

On the family side: My mother came up this past weekend and we had a great time! Friday we hung out, chatted and watched a movie. On Saturday Mom, Kiersten and Me went Christmas shopping and got lots of gifts for my two youngest. With Kiersten being with us I could not do shopping for my older two...yet...then we hung out and watched movies that night, while my hubby and Preston went to play Hero Clicks. Mom left on Sunday and after her leaving we just hung out and lounged..hey the house was clean...so why not just to do nothing!! Hubby and I took the kids to see Santa on Monday. Yes, I know Santa before Thanksgiving? But while shopping on Sat. I saw him at the mall, and decided to be smart this year and beat the long flippin lines!! And you know what...when we went to see him, we were the only ones! It was soooo nice, the kids got to just sit and relax and chat with Santa..the babies of course wanted nothing to do with him. We all posed for a picture with Santa because the babies would not leave our arms...lol...He was a really nice man! Every time we passed him he chatted with us. He was soooo bored and was ready to see some kids!! So get out and see him, before the lines get long! We will do no other Christmas stuff (besides shop) until after turkey day, cause usually I do one holiday at a time...but to save myself time seeing the fat man in the red suit before Thanksgiving will be our tradition now... ;) Started a new home school curriculum this week, we are using A World of Adventure..so far we love it!! There has been a little sickness running around the household and I have just not felt like being online this week. I get like this sometimes, just needed a break from the computer! Okay, so that was a long and drawn out on what has been going on around here..what have you been up to? Waxing a stache? ;)
Later Tators!!BTW the pic is not the greatest..the two on the end are not smiling, even though on most of the tries hubby was smiling..this is the pic where everyone was actually looking straight ahead!! :)

Never Stop Chasing Rainbows!

2008-11-13T08:35:00.007-05:00

Back when I was a single mom with two kids, we for some reason loved getting in the car and just driving around. Not sure why, guess it was because my kids would fall asleep and this gave me time to listen to music and just think things through. Not to mention find tons of awesome back roads and shortcuts :) One day on one of our long drives it started raining, and we kept driving. We drove and drove and then when we started for home, there it was a big beautiful rainbow! The kids were awake by this time and wanted to see where the rainbow ended, they wanted that pot of gold. So I figured what the hay...we will chase this rainbow today, so off we drove to find the end of the rainbow before it disappeared into never never land again. We drove down all sorts of roads looking out our windows the kids yelling it is over there go mom, turn here! We chased that rainbow for long while and the funny thing is...it ended in the forest behind our house! So we stopped to check the mail at the end of our drive and there it was..a letter promoting some car sale..but attached to it was a Gold Coin :) Can you see the excitement on my kids faces when I showed them the gold coin..What a day....We chased our rainbow and found our gold...and along the way our smiles! True story!! So the point to this post...Never stop chasing rainbows....the pot of gold...is the smiles and laughter that will live in your memories forever! :)
(in picture: me and my two oldest about the same time and age we chased our rainbow)

“We may run, walk, stumble, drive, or fly, but let us never lost sight of the reason for the journey, or miss a chance to see a rainbow on the way.”

The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow, but the rainbow won't wait while you do the work.”

Later Tators!

BTW you will not see me on much till next week! My mother is coming up for a visit tomorrow and staying the weekend!!! All of you have a wonderful weekend!! See you next week! :)

Girlfriends Poem and Awards!

2008-11-12T08:12:00.030-05:00

Thank you to Iceah from Wow Legs for this Poem Tag on Girlfriends! I want to share it to my lovely friends as well! This is dedicated to all of my blogging friends out there!!

When I was little,
I used to believe in the concept of one best friend,
And then I started to become a woman.
And then I found out that if you allow your heart to open up,
God would show you the best in many friends.

One friend is needed when you're going through things with your man.
Another friend is needed when you're going through things with your mom.
Another will sit beside you in the bleachers as you delight in your children and their activities.
Another when you want to shop, share, heal, hurt, joke, or just be.
One friend will say, 'Let's cry together,'
Another, 'Let's fight together,'
Another, 'Let's walk away together.'

One friend will meet your spiritual need,
Another your shoe fetish,
Another your love for movies,
Another will be with you in your season of confusion,
Another will be your clarifier, Another the wind beneath your wings.

It may all be wrapped up in one woman, But for many, it's wrapped up in several...
One from 7th grade,
One from high school,
Several from the college years,
a couple from old jobs,
On some days your mother,
On some days your neighbor,
On others, your sisters,
And on some days, your daughters.

So whether they've been your friend for 20 minutes or 20 years,
AND ONLY IF YOU'D LIKE TO,
Pass this on to the women who has a place in your life/lives.....

*************************************************************************************

It is that time again...award time....I have been very lucky and have received allot of awards over the past two weeks or so..so I am going to list them all and pick a few people this time...If I missed any awards..do let me know!! Thank you to all my blogging friends!!

The first two are from Rose 's O bstacles and Glories

The next three are from Susi e's Hom emade

The last award I got from both Susie's Homemade and Life in the Lapadula House

I am passing one, two, or all the above to some of my wonderful bloggin buds...Like always I am trying to award everyone I follow and who leave me comments..so here is my on going list of some wonderful blogs! Make sure to check them all out! :)

A Mummy's Meanderings
Middle Life
A Hippie Liberal Mom Chronicle. No Slack Intended
A Slice of Texas
Happily-Ever-After-Land
Kitty's Social Commentary and General Snark
Blooming in Boulder County
Journey2Learn
Best Post of the Week
American in Norway

These are in no particular order! If you area a follower or a comment leaver and you have not seen yourself yet getting an award from me..you will soon!!
Later Tators!

Would You Wear A MuuMuu??

2008-11-06T09:59:00.005-05:00

When I was visiting in NC, all the gals went shopping..it was so nice..anyway, we were all sitting in the car and my sister in law Amanda said something funny that I thought I would share. She said was thinking about changing her wardrobe and just wearing muumuu's around the house. Reason being, they are so colorful and look so comfy...Now you can imagine the shock on my face when she mentioned muumuu..I have this horrible picture in my mind of some ugly a** muumuus I have seen around town...so..I laughed of course thinking she was joking..I mean really she is like a size 2..why would you wear something so awful? I mean come on...sister....your gorgeous..your bod is great..flaunt it! Seriously though this is what I think of when I think Muumuu:

But I was surprised at what I found when I did some research and found these...never knew these were Muumuu's!

And for all of you creative hippie folks out there I saw this page and had to share, thought it was a really awesome idea...

How to Create a Peasant top from a funky thrift store Muumuu

Try on your new peasant top; they're proof that muumuus can be cute!

How often has your eye been caught by a bold, funky pattern in a thrift shop only to find that the print belongs to, ugh!, a muumuu? Well, despair no more, fair bargain maiden! Choose a muumuu with a print you really like, and don't worry if it fits you like a potato sack. When you've finished with this project excerpted from our book, Subversive Seamster, you'll have a peasant top that accentuates your finest features.
What You'll Need:
Muumuu
2 yards of 1/8-inch elastic
Step 1: Pin marks the spot
Start by trying the muumuu on. Mark a spot just below your bust with a safety pin. Measure 3 to 4 inches below your desired hemline, and use another safety pin to mark. The ruching we do in the project will make the shirt ride up a bit, and you can always cut it shorter later if it is too long. If you are going to hem the top, add another 1/2 inch to the hem for turning.

Salvage that funky fabric with a bit of elastic and a few easy stitches

Step 2: Rock the chalk
Take the muumuu off, and turn it inside out. Lay it down on a flat surface, and use chalk to draw two lines across the width of the shirt, where the pins are placed.

Simply draw a line at each safety pin using tailor's chalk. Make sure each line is parallel to the hem.

Step 3: Cut it off and don’t look back
Cut along the bottom line. Be sure that you have accounted for the seam allowance if you are hemming this edge. If you are going to hem the bottom edge, now’s the time. Fold the bottom edge under, so that the cut edge is facing inside of the shirt. If you’d like, you can iron this fold down, though muumuus are typically made of polyester, and polyester doesn’t like to listen to Mr. Iron. (If you do use an iron, use a low heat setting—high heat and synthetic materials don’t play well together.) Sew the fold down to set the hem using a straight stitch with a medium stitch length.

By stitching up a tie from the cut off hem and adding it to the neckline, our zipper becomes a cute design detail.

Step 4: Cut Elastic
Measure around your chest, right underneath your bust. Cut a piece of 1/8-inch-wide elastic to this measurement, plus 1 inch. Repeat these steps for your wrists if you would like to have gathering at the wrists, too. For example, if the circumference of your wrist is 6 inches, cut two lengths of elastic that each measure 7 inches in length.

Step 5: Create Ruching
Sew one end of the elastic to the beginning of your chalkline using a zigzag stitch with a wide stitch width and medium stitch length. Continue sewing the elastic to your garment along your chalkline, pulling gently on the elastic before it goes underneath the presser foot to stretch the elastic as you sew. Keep pulling the elastic as you sew to stretch it to fit your chalkine. You will probably have a little extra elastic when you get to the end of your chalkline, so just cut it off after you backtack the seam to secure the stitches—you do not want all this work to come undone! Repeat for each sleeve about 1 inch above each sleeve's hem.

Ruching gives your peasant top form; now you have turned a thrift shop muumuu into a cool peasant top.

The homepage to making this shirt out of a muumuu is

http://www.craftstylish.com/item/677/how-to-create-a-peasant-top-from-a-funky-thrift-store-muumuu

So I have come to the funny conclusion, that muumuu's really are not that bad..well if you choose the right muumuu..so who knows maybe they will be the newest trend in fashion..can you imagine...today's news...go out and buy a muumuu...lol...but really I did find allot of cute muumuu's or at least some wild looking ones that I would love to turn into a shirt....well if I could sew... :) So who knows maybe I will start wearing muumuus, yes Amanda I might steal your idea..haha..!! Well, what about you people? Would you wear a Muumuu?? Please share, I would really love to know what you think of these dresses. Also, make sure to count how many times I said Muumuu in this post..LOLOL... ;)

Later Tators!