Where should I start?

It's been pretty busy around here lately. We had Dev's PreK end of yr party last Friday. The teddy bear picnic turned out pretty good. We ended up having it inside because it kept threatening to rain, but of course....didn't! Oh well.

The kids all brought teddy bears and we weighed them, measured them, wrote their names and any boo-boos on the card. They got to put bandaids on the bear if needed and then we took their picture.

Of course, D's bear was "bit in the back of his head by a bear"....He happens to be afraid of dogs...go figure! So is teddy bear...named "Hot Shocks" Yes, shocks as in a car part.....all boy!

The big boys brought their big toys to show the class. The kids all oohhh and aaahhhed, it was so cute. Then Mike drove a couple of them and the kids just loved it! What a great Daddy! (and Uncle Tim)

This was so cute I had to take a pic. I didn't make it....but a good idea! The story is very cute!

Daddy stopped and got some crawfish again for the boys. He got them some one day before and he couldn't peel them fast enough, the boys loved them. This time I was there and able to do my mommy duty and take pics!

Down the hatch!! YUM YUM!!

D's last day (due to a snow day) was a Field Day. He had lots of fun and I think his favorite was the 50yd dash since he LOVES to run! He was running literally as fast as he could! He even has his tongue sticking out! You can click on pic to see it if you want...hee hee!!

We went to my friend Beth's house for a cookout on Saturday. We had lots of fun and great food!! We even had food "to go"! Ha ha...the food was so wonderful. They also have a marvelous garden! We plan to take the boys back once everything is ripe to pick and let them see how everything grows! She has corn, carrots, radishes, lettuce, beans, onions, watermelon, zucchini, squash and others I can't remember!This is my garden.....it's not yours Beth, maybe next year! You have inspired me...although ours still won't be as big! I can't even remember all the things she has planted! These are our tomato plants....

These are my cucumbers. Dev insisted he wanted to grow some cucumbers so we are trying. Hey Beth!! I have flowers and runners now....yippee!

And these are our yellow and green bell peppers.

Dad brought me several more plants to plant that he started from seed. I need to get those replanted and I will have lots of peppers and tomotoes, I hope.
We had a nice lunch with all the family on Monday for Memorial Day. It was good to see everyone and have some good food!

Well that's about all for now!Toodles..

Some of our happenings..

My yellow lillies haven't bloomed yet but they are getting close.



My orange ones bloomed very nicely. This is the most blooms I have had so far on this plant.

My red ones are also starting to bloom. They are so pretty!

Our 3 birds eggs have now become 3 baby birds. Can you see two of them in the middle of the picture below. They blend right into the mulch!

I did manage to catch one walking around and quickly snapped a pic.

This is what I found when I rounded the corner one day.....shame shame!! He knows better!!! Of course I snuck back into the kitchen to grab my camera since he didn't see me... then he got that guilty look when the camera flashed..

Dev was in his first remote control car race this past weekend. He was the only contestant at this race in his age group but he did excellent! He got great practice time on the track and came in 1st!! haa haaa! This is only about 1/2 of the track that you can see. He is up on the platform in the background and his truck is in the bottom of the pic.

Great action photo jump shot by mom!! This is another one of my action shots. Look at the car landing and then look in the air above that one. D's is flying through the air after the ramp!! Pretty high jump!

It's been very busy here. I am getting everything together for D's end of year class picnic on Friday. Also trying to get teacher gifts ready too. I think I have it just about all ready. I think the kids will have fun at the picnic. I will be sure to post pics!!

Saturday we are heading to my friend Beth's for a cookout. I am really looking forward to it and the boys are too!

Monday we are having our own cookout for Memorial Day. I am hoping the weather is nice and I might break out the slip n slide or pool for the boys!

I guess I better go watch American Idol the tivo'd version before I see some leak on the internet or FB before I have watched it! I am so spoiled by the tivo, I almost hate watching commericals now when I'm trying to get to the end of a show to see what happens!! My unofficial guess for winner......I almost think Chris judging by the crowd last night....I like them both alot and I think either one is a great choice and they are both winners!

I am also looking forward to my one of my other most favorite shows on tomorrow night...so you think you can dance!! I just love that show!

And....one more thing....if anyone watches Housewives of NYC....OMG...the reunion show was such a trip!! The cat fights and drama totally crack me up! I do think my fav is Bethenny though, because I think she is the one that seems the most real. She does have lots of baggage and emotional issues..but real.

Toodles!

Busy, busy bee

Whew! It's been a busy week so far since Sunday. I have lots to share but no time to do it! Had a great breakfast with Dad, Dev was in his first RC race, i worked Monday, busy at work, spent part of today at Dr's with Bry for allergies and then did some shopping for a few upcoming parties including D's end of yr party on Friday. I hope to get some details up on here soon along with pics. More to come later... toodles.

I love this story! To all the Mom's out there.

I have posted this story in the past but not in this same exact version. I just love this story and it's message. I just wanted to post it again.

The Invisible Mother
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I’m on the phone and ask to be taken to the store.
Inside I’m thinking, ‘Can’t you see I’m on the phone?’Obviously, not.
No one can see if I’m on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.
I’m invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? & ;nbs p;Can you open this?
Some days I’m not a pair of hands; I’m not even a human being. I’m a clock to ask, ‘What time is it?’ I’m a satellite guide to answer, ‘What number is the Disney Channel?’ I’m a car to order, ‘Right around 5:30, please.’
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated suma cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She’s going; she’s going; she is gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England ..
Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in.
I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself.
I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, ‘I brought you this.’
It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe .
I wasn’t exactly sure why she’d given it to me until I read her inscription:
‘To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.’
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, ‘Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.’ And the workman replied, ‘Because God sees.’
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.
It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, ‘I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you’ve done, no sequin you’ve sewn on, no cupcake you’ve baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can’t see right now what it will become.’At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life.It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.
The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don’t want my son to tell the friend he’s bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, ‘My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.’ That would mean I’d built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, ‘you’re gonna love it there.’
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we’re doing it right.
And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
Great Job, MOM!
Hope this encourages you when the going gets tough as it sometimes does.We never know what our finished products will turn out to be because of our perseverance.

Our findings

I love my new rain boots that I got. They came in handy for the muddy fields at the Diamond mine.
Here is the view as we entered the digging fields! Can you find a diamond here??? We didn't!
We tried for about 3 hours but it was predicted for bad weather. We did have some rain and got to use the ponchos I brought for us. We dug and dug, but didn't find any diamonds! I didn't think we would, but I did have a slight hope, but no luck. Then the thunder and lightning came and we figured it wouldn't be a good idea digging with metal tools in the lightning so we headed home. Good thing because then the torrential rains came and it rained on us all the way home! Oh well, we went and had a good weekend anyway.
I am not sure how you would really find something here, but I guess it's possible. There were tons of rocks in the dirt and they were so small. I needed a magnifying glass :-)




These were not our finds.....darn!!

Pat, pat, pat.....

on my back!!!!!!!! I am so overly thrilled!! I ran my first 10K today!!! whoo hoo.....!!!!! It wasn't an official race, but I did have my new watch clocking my distance and time! I actually ran 6.2 miles!! I couldn't believe it! My previous personal best was 5 miles. I thought I would try for 5.5 today but just kept running. Then I was determined to finish my own 10K!! WHOO HOO!! Can I say it again...WHOO HOO!!! I'm doing pretty good towards my ideal goal of running a 1/2 marathon next year. I will probably needs lots of Ibuprofen tomorrow though!! Also, thanks to my wonderful hubby for bringing me a new visor running hat!! I really needed one and he suprised me and got me one after my run today! I have such a wonderful hubby!!
Well, just had to post my good news! I have two big shows to watch tonight, Biggest Loser Finale and American Idol. So, I won't be retrying to post my videos or posting any pics from our Diamond dig weekend. But, those will come later this week!
Toodles.

Happy Mother's Day!

First of all Happy Mother's Day to my mom!! I am so proud of you and thank you for all you do!


The day I became a Mom was a changing day in my life! Words cannot describe the emotions I felt! My baby Devin had entered the world at a whopping 10 lbs. 15 oz.....hee hee! His nickname is the hospital was "bubba" :-)

Two years later Bryson entered our lives at 9 lbs and 1 oz. and it was another beautiful day! I now became a Mommy of 2 boys!! I love my boys with all my heart! It is such a blessing to be a Mom!

Ha! It's funny to see these pics and how much they looked alike at first born! I had a wonderful day and hope all the other Mother's out there did too!

**I was going to post a pic of Mike and his mom, but I couldn't find the pic I thought I had.....but I am thinking of you too!

Love to all!!

3...2....1.....TEQUILA!!

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!! Only 45 minutes left till me and hubby enjoy my fav Mexican food and homemade Margaritas!! TEQUILA!! Too bad I have to work in the morning...but I can probably handle at least 3 !! :o)

The sun will come out......today!

YES! The sun finally came out today! After over a week of dreary and rainy weather I am thrilled! I had a great weekend with my friends from STL. It rained the entire time so we basically sat around and chatted, went out to Japanese for dinner and then home and played some Wii. It was a short visit, but alot of fun!!
We are still enjoying all the different birds at my feeder and I have even see a hummingbird or two finally. I think I need to move my hummingbird feeder though. I think it is too close to the bird feeder and the birds are scaring the hummingbirds away.
I am looking forward to this upcoming weekend also. For Mother's day my sis and I are taking my mom digging for diamonds! Yes, you heard me right! There is a state park near here that you can go to and dig around for diamonds. Maybe one of us will find something! We are going to head over Friday evening and spend the night and then get up and do some digging! It should be very interesting! I'll let you know if we find any!!!! hee hee!!
Hopefully my father in law will get out of the hospital today! He has been in there almost two weeks. He had part of his large intestine removed for chronic bleeding problems. I sure hope today is the day! I know he does too!! He seems to be recovering well and I wish him a great continuing recovery!
Also, just wanted to share a few videos of my most talented boys :o) :o)

OK nevermind, it's being difficult to upload my videos. I'll try again later.!

Friends

This was a birthday gift I made for my mother in law. I got the idea from a friend who told me she was making a flower pot with foam hands in it for a teacher. I couldn't find hands and decided to go with flowers. I thought it turned out very cute. If you are looking for a mother's day gift with pics of the grandkids in it, this is a cute and inexpensive gift they are sure to love!

It's been a busy week. I am glad it's the weekend. Two of my girlfriends from STL are coming to visit. I am very excited. I have been gone from there almost 5 yrs. This is their first visit and I am very excited! Although, it's raining and is supposed to rain the whole weekend. The good thing is that we now have our covered patio, so we can sit out and drink wine and watch the ducks in the pond and just catch up.
Some of our friends here are having a cookout so Mike will be taking the boys over there. We girls will have the house to ourselves this evening. I am sure the boys will much happier being off playing with other boys instead of hanging around with mommy chatting with her friends :)
Just a little update. I must get back in the kitchen and working on my yummy snacks for later! Toodles.

Variety of feeders

Here are a few of the different birds that are visiting my feeder. I am not sure what they all are, but the are so nice to watch!

Not just an elaborate story

Mike got out the fishing poles yesterday and let the boys fish in the pond behind us. While I was gone shopping he sent me a pic of this!! So when you ask Dev how big the fish was he caught and he stretches his arms out wide from side to side.....he's not just telling a typical fish story! It really was! WOW!! What a great catch!! B also enjoyed fishing, but was nervous to reel them in according to daddy. He said as fast as he could bait and throw in the line, the catfish were biting like crazy! This was the biggest they caught!

Supposed to be another nice day...so mom and I are headed to the zoo with the boys! :0)

Such a fun afternoon

To start the week....no he is not impersonating Squiggy from Laverne n Shirley...it was crazy hair day at school. We gelled up his hair to make a mohawk (shark fin as the boys say) type style but the gel really made all his curls come out! Still a cutie patootie!!

This is moments after arriving at the carnival. You can tell D is bursting with excitement and B is in awe staring up at a few of the rides!

D headed up these stairs for the slide without even waiting for me...he's 5 you know and not scared anymore!!! He is about 4 people from the top down the stairs in the red shirt.

We rode the slide multiple times. It was alot of fun!!

They really enjoyed riding in Mater!

This is an aerial type view of the snake coaster that we rode. D was all into it and raised his hands high in the air screaming...whoo hoo.....B tried to join in but barely lifted his fingertips from the lap bar and screamed....whoo hoo.....it was so funny!! He was trying to be such a big boy!

The boys enjoyed this ride...but as they kept going the bigger girls in their car were making it spin around pretty fast...

From the pic I think D was having a blast and B wasn't really so sure anymore :)

He was so proud of his inflatable bat!!

So...Yes I made my smiley pops tonight!! I am thrilled!! I think they turned out pretty darn good for my first attempt!! I didn't spend alot of time making the cake perfectly round shaped, but will know better next time! But overall....def a project I will do again maybe for the boys' classes or something!! They weren't hard to make at all. I did use gel icing for the faces instead of the edible markers. They were way too expensive at Michael's without a coupon. I will probably go back and get them with my coupon, but the gel worked pretty well. Don't forget a piece of styrofoam to have on hand to stick the pops in to let the chocolate dry. I can't wait for the boys to wake up in the morning and see their smiley snacks!

Then I had to taste one of them of course!!

Oh!! Casualty!! But yummy!! :o)

This is D going down the slide....very fun! Wish the girl would of stopped trying to be in my video though!

Also, our weekend plans have changed. My FIL is unexpectedly going to have some surgery on Monday. So we (the family) won't be going down for the weekend. Instead Mike and his brother are coordinating to get down there and be able to stay a bit for and after the surgery. Keep him in your prayers! Good night

I've been tagged!

I have been tagged by Susan

Here are the rules:
Take a picture of yourself right now, no primping or preparing. Just snap the picture.
Load onto your blog.
Tag 3 people to play… remember if you are tagged on another blog we will all be heading to yours to see if you played along.

So here is my pic! I am at work and took this with my phone..hence the bad lighting and quality...but I did it!! OK everyone, you are now tagged! Amy, and JJ and Dad-n-Dee.