Bulbs Galore

The tulip party was a success. We planted about 190 bulbs. Hopefully next spring they'll all bloom. I cant wait!! I think I'm going to make it an annual event, we had a great time. It was so funny everyone was late and my Mom and I laughed until we almost cried. I had fixed a ton of food, gotten gloves for everyone, etc. When no one showed initially I told Mom, we better bulk up we've got a lot of bulbs to plant, and we laughed some more..... Madelyn (my sweet baby) sat outside on the porch patiently waiting for everyone to arrive, she was so excited. I took the picture of her from inside our house through the storm door. I'm so disappointed that I didn't take more pics, all the girls had gloves and aprons and the boys had spades.

Lisa came up with the ingenious idea to place marshmallows where we planted the bulb, that way we would know where they were planted and not plant another one in the same spot. Avery (Emily's daughter, the blonde in the pic above) was perplexed by this notion. She evidently loves marshmallows and couldn't conceive why in the world we would waste a perfectly good marshmallow by placing it in the dirt. She tolerated this process for a brief time, then she took herself and her marshmallows to the front porch and ate them all. It was hilarious!

My friend Emily threaded my sewing machine for me while she was here. I've had the machine for 3 years, practically tortured Kenny to get it for me one year for Mothers day. When I got it I got out the instructions, became very frustrated and put it all back up. I hadn't threaded a sewing machine since Home Ec class (20 years ago). So in my spare time I'm going to bust out some pillows for the bench in our dining room. I'm sure that will happen real soon :).

My dear friend Lisa got to stay awhile and we had dinner. It was so good to get to just chill out and visit with her, we don't see each other near enough. She has 4 children and is pregnant with her 5th, her youngest son Samuel is in the pic above. He is so sweet... I cant wait to see number 5!

Halloween

I know, I know, long time no blog. It has been crazy, work, kids, life in general....I'm back dating this entry so that it will chronologically be correct on my blog.

These are pics from Halloween. Batman is Kenny's brother Robbi, with his three girls. We would normally have 2 more sweet girls but since Tim and Lan moved to Virginia Beach, the dynamics have changed a bit. We did miss them!

Kenny wasn't able to pull off "Dog the Bounty Hunter" in time for Halloween, next year for sure. I have A LOT of posts and pictures and will try to post more tonight and tomorrow.

Long Day

Today I was off work to take all three of the girls to the doctor. The appointment was at 11:00 am. Kenny left work and met me there. After an 1 hour and 15 minutes Kenny had to leave and go back to work. I was left in the exam room with three hungry, tired children... Poor Ellie Kate had her 4 year well child and had to get 5 shots today! Chloe and Madelyn also got their flu shot. We left the doctors office at 1:15, I was physically and emotionally exhausted. We went to Cracker Barrell and ate lunch. I let the girls pick out a cheap toy for being so brave today. Ellie got a whoopie cushion and Madelyn a frog and lizard that you put in water and they grow.. Only my girls.

Kenny's Costume

Kenny has decided he wants to be "Dog the Bounty Hunter" for Halloween. Hopefully he'll be able to pull a costume together by Friday. He had the nerve to ask me if I wanted to be Beth.. I'll certainly post pics if he is able to morph himself into the ultimate redneck.

The Weekend

Kenny took Madelyn and Ellie to a Halloween bash last night at the high school. Madelyn came home with her hair painted purple and Ellie with a gold fish in hand (yes a live one in a Ziploc bag). They went through the haunted house and were both talking so fast and simultaneously that all I heard was " a kid hiding, jumped out, chainsaw", etc. They'll probably be scarred for life.. actually they didn't seem scared at all.

We're anxiously awaiting the arrival of the girls Halloween costumes. Chloe is going to be a peacock, Ellie a mermaid and Madelyn a cheerleader. I originally wanted to make all of their Halloween costumes each year and would still like to, but this year it's been too crazy. We're going to trick or treat with Robbi, Heather and our nieces. We'll post pictures of the candy fest after. This will be the first year to trick or treat without Tim, Lan and their girls :( Lan was so sweet and mailed the girls a treat saying they would miss trick or treating with them this year.

I'm having a tulip planting party this coming weekend. Yes, I've invited my friends and family over to help me plant tulips. Lots of kids, dirt digging and laughs. I'll post pics after the party.

Kenny is wrapping up Track and Cross Country with Regionals and State. Basketball has already started, so life is about to get crazy. He is the High School Boys basketball coach this year and is very excited. If you're in the area, come and watch a game. Warning: If they lose Kenny will not be talkative after, so don't take it personal. He's very intense while coaching and of course hates to lose. Hopefully he'll have a winning season!

Our cat Whiskers (the stray that never left) has a broken leg and needs surgery. Whiskers is an outdoor cat and something got a hold of her in the night. Mr. Coco got a much needed haircut and looks 20 lbs thinner.

Chloe has 2 more teeth, for a total of 8 now.. crazy! She is a crawling maniac and pulls up now on everything to stand. She is still a Mommas girl, shunning Kenny if he tries to take her from me. Every time you change her diaper she stretches and pokes out her big (little) belly for you to rub. I love that!

Beekeeper Blog Discovery

I discovered this blog today. I'm going to share the pics with my girls, they'll be fascinated.

Linda's Bees

Dirty Laundry

I don’t know about the rest of you but in our house, laundry kicks our ass. Yes, I cursed on our family blog. Judge me if you must, but it is both appropriate and factual. It seems as though we always have mounds of laundry. I honestly can’t even remember the last time we had no dirty clothes… maybe 6 years and no kids ago. My children know to visit the dryer daily in search of clean clothes, pathetic I know. In light of these facts, I’ve written a tribute to my dryer.

Ode to the Dryer

Oh dryer Oh dryer, an ode to you

You dry our clothes and you store them too

You cheat the closet and dresser

Time with our wardrobe

For they never quite make it past the lint catcher

How I wish there were a fairy to bust out the wash

While I sleep at night and dream of matched up socks

To the dryer in the morning my children will flock

In hopes of finding some pants and hopefully a top

Any simple ensemble will do

The hunt for clean panties will quickly ensue

Color coordination is always a plus

Hoping for a match or there’ll be a fuss

Oh dryer Oh dryer, wonderful you are

Now if you could only cook dinner you’d be a rock star…

PG-13

Is it wrong that watching Kenny do laundry or wash dishes is like porn to me? :)

Pumpkin Update

Kisses From Daddy

The Great Pumpkin

Front Porch

Oklahoma Clouds

Great Read

I'm currently reading a wonderful book "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. For those of you who haven't heard about it, there's a link to an excerpt in the right hand column of my blog, look for the book. You can also go to http//www.thelastlecture.com/ and actually watch the video.

Pumpkin Update

Random

I really don't care for spiders, but this weekend while outside I couldn't help but become intrigued by the web and the dueling granddaddy long legs. I actually wanted to get a closer picture of the spider in the web, but my lense is short and I will openly admit that I was scared the stupid thing would jump on me.

Tis the Season...

Hunting that is.. Kenny has bought a 2 person tree stand and had the girls in it this weekend. They can all three fit in it. He fit both the girls with safety harnesses and put wood panels on the sides for safety. The girls were so excited and insisted on climbing it with him multiple times this weekend. It will be interesting to see how neat Kenny really thinks it is the first time they go out and the girls are talking, giggling, telling him they have to go pee, etc. I cant wait! I took pictures, but I'm still unable to post them. Tomorrow I'll insert pictures into all of my posts from today.

Who's Who

After the most recent pictures I posted of the girls, I've been asked by several "Who's cat?". It's our cat, a stray that showed up as a kitten a couple of months ago and had never left. The girls have named her "Whiskers". We also have a dog that we inherited from they Downings when they moved to Virginia Beach. His name is "CoCo", named by their daughter Destiny. He is a Cocker Spaniel, very sweet dog. We also have 1 hermit crab, had 2 ,but 1 died yesterday. I got them at the Amish auction for the girls. I had no thoughts on the life expectancy, but wow that was short.

I'll post pictures in a bit, for some reason I'm having trouble with that today. I also have a new pic of the pumpkin, spider pics (random I know) and new pictures of big Daddy and Ellie that I'll write about later.

Heaven Sent

OK, so you now how in a movie two people see each other and instantaneously fall in love. There's usually a golden aura color surrounding both of them, like they were sent from heaven. That's how I felt this weekend when Kenny got our new dishwasher installed. I swear I think I heard an angelic choir in the background when I ran the first load. It was serendipitous.... I'm pretty sure a few tears fell as I looked at a clean glass that I pulled out of the new beautiful, heavenly machine.

OK so I know I'm being dramatic, but seriously we haven't had a dishwasher since I belittled our last one and it quit... what 2 months or so ago, felt like an eternity. We are in business now, with one exception.. We also got a garbage disposal this weekend and the install is not going so well. Kenny, my stud husband, insists on doing everything himself and I'm very thankful he is so talented. I'm sure he'll get it all squared away soon..... (fingers crossed).

The Lone Pumpkin

Last year we dumped our rotting pumpkins out by the fence line. I had bought 6 or 7 varieties. (OK, so I do love pumpkins). Anyway, we now have a pumpkin growing. I'm going to post a picture of it weekly. It appears it's going to be a traditional orange pumpkin not the heirloom type. We have decided that next year we are going to plant a pumpkin patch. Then everyone can bring the kids out and pick a pumpkin. Have I mentioned that I LOVE fall.....

To be or not to be..... that is the question

Let me know what you think about the new layout, should I keep it or go back to the old?

Outside this Weekend

Treasures from the Auction

And, so....

I know everyone has been anticipating this blog, curious if Kenny and I are still married with three children. But first I must explain the delay in blogging. Chloe got sick Saturday night and so I’ve been home, holding her lil baby butt for the past 3 days. Thankfully, her fever broke today and she is feeling much better. I’ll spare you all the details, but it must be put in writing, for viewing by Chloe when she is older, that today I scraped her poop out of her diaper with a wooden popsicle stick, and delivered it to the lab. Nothing like a good ole stool sample for humility sake….:).

My mom and I faired the weather at the Amish auction, with our umbrellas, ponchos, raincoats and rubber boots. A testament that we were indeed much more prepared than most of the attendees who were in shorts, flip flops, etc. Early in the morning, before the rain began, people stared at our boots and looked at us like we were crazy… then the torrential down pour(s) began. I must say I would’ve stared at us too; we looked hideous in our boots. Obtaining the boots was the hard part. Friday night I went to Target and called TJ Maxx in search of rubber boots and rain ponchos. No such luck there… what the heck? I always see these cute leopard, polka dot and stripe pattern rubber boots at the store, but not now. I begrudgingly called Wal-Mart and of course they have both. I get to the store, only to discover that the only ponchos in the store are NASCAR. I must apologize if I offend anyone, but nothing screams redneck like NASCAR. I had my choice of NASCAR on the front or Dale Earnhart #3. I just knew there had to be more options, so I found a sales clerk and inquired. She said I should try the hunting dept that maybe there are some camouflage ones back there. Perfect… redneck options 1 and 2. In my desperation I did go to the hunting dept and they were sold out. So I went with the Dale Earnhart #3 Poncho, because it only had small font on the front. The poncho itself was black, so I took a black sharpie and covered in the #3 and Dale’s name. Kenny said “I don’t know which is more redneck, the NASCAR poncho, or you coloring it in with a sharpie”. OK, point taken. So onto the boots, the only option was black boots with an army green sole on bottom. My mother will attest that those boots were the most uncomfortable shoes either of us has ever worn in our lives. Just the same, we arrived around 8:00 and left at 5:00. We had a great time, met a lot of people and had some good conversation with the Amish. I bought some old crocks and watering cans to plant flowers in. I’ll post picture of my treasures later.

I called Kenny about 11:30; he was in the car with the girls on the way home from the fair. He said they had to leave early because there was a torrential down pour. The girls were in the back seat, stripped down to their underwear and diaper. No, I’m not kidding. Kenny said that they were all so wet by the time they made it back to the car, that he had to take all of their clothes off. He said poor Chloe looked like a drowned rat. Of course Kenneth Malcolm knew full well that it was going to rain, but didn’t take any rain coats, umbrellas etc. “Preparation” is such a silly thought. Regardless the girls of course had a blast, saw all of the animals, etc.

So yes, we are still married and still have three beautiful, crazy girls…

Wild and Crazy Weekend

It's time for the annual Amish Auction in Clarita, Oklahoma to be held this Saturday. The auction is held on acreage owned by one of the Amish men. The Amish make homemade goods, furniture, quilts, lots of great food, etc. They also allow outside vendors to come in. All of the proceeds benefit the Amish School. I am giddy at the thought, I love everything about it. I will admit that it is typically miserably hot and humid and this year proves to be much worse. With hurricane Ike approaching they are forecasting 7 inches of rain in that area. I'm all the more excited... that maybe most people will be detoured given the weather, leaving that much more for me to peruse through. I'm going to buy some rain boots tonight and a rain poncho. I've told a couple of people at work that I'm attending. Their reaction was comical, "Wow Tamatha you really know how to get wild and crazy on the weekend, sound fun... in the rain, hot, porta potties, etc".

Enough about me, now to the most comical part of this weekend. I had originally arranged for someone to keep the girls as it is an all day event. I'll leave around 6:00 am and get back at 6:00 pm. Kenny thought he had prior commitments with the school, but has since discovered that he doesn't. So he decided he will keep the girls. Kenny is great with the girls but he has never kept Chloe for more than a couple of hours as she is indeed a "Mommas girl". Anyways, he first said he was going to take the girls to Calvin to my parents house. I said "Hey slick, my mom will be with me at the Amish action, so you don't have the dump them off at Grandmas house option and run and disappear into the woods all day". That stumped him...until yesterday he told me that he has decided to take the girls to the state fair. OK, if you have children I know you will understand the logistics of packing up three girls, stroller, diapers, bottles, snacks etc and taking them to the fair... a fairly complex task. Kenny is going to laugh (roll in laughter, actually) when I tell him I think I should make a card to put in Madelyn and Ellie's pocket that has their name, our name and a phone number to call if they get lost. Kenny again is very responsible, but he also walks 20mph and is often not cognizant that our children are lagging 2 miles behind him. In any event this weekend should prove to be entertainment for all involved. I'll let you all know how it turns out and if we end the weekend with all 3 children...

Good TV

OK, for those of you who don't watch the TV show "Jon and Kate Plus Eight" on TLC, you should. Jon and Kate have a set of sextuplet's and a set of twins, and the show is a documentary of sorts of their life. It comes on Monday nights at 8:00 pm central standard time. Kenny and I watch it every week. It makes me feel sane and normal as I watch them deal with their children and bicker back and forth. In fact it's watching Jon and Kate's interactions with each other that is the most entertaining! If you haven't seen it, you should give it a watch...

Naughty Tot

Ms. Chloe bug starting crawling on Sunday. So cute and so funny, very robotic and methodical in nature right now. I'm sure by the end of today she'll be a crawling machine. Chloe will be 9 months old this coming Saturday. She is so funny, such a monkey. She decided she wasn't the least bit interested in baby food, so we skipped that and went straight to table food. She then decided that she didn't really care to eat in her high chair, she prefers to sit in our lap and see that she is eating off of our plate with our silverware...... I know... she is a naughty tot! She also has a mouth full of teeth, 6 teeth. She looks hilarious, she's so tiny and then she opens her mouth and has a full set of dentures, 2 bottom and 4 top (2 front, 2 eye). She also has a smile that will make you melt.

Ellie update: In addition to the mismatched socks, she has also decided she wants to wear one pigtail on one side of her head and leave the hair on the opposite side down. She's a nut!

Madelyn update: She is her sweet, considerate self, she loves animals and all kinds of bugs. She is constantly helping Big Daddy or I with something. She loves to wash dishes! She certainly didn't inherit that from me..

Nix the Status Quo

Ellie Kate has decided that she wants to wear two different socks to school each day. Today she wore one with primary colored hearts and one hot pink hello kitty sock. I love it that she is her own crazy self. For those of you who have a free spirit on your hands, you should check out littlemissmatched.com

Hunting with Big Daddy

The girls went dove hunting with Big Daddy this weekend. They were in full camo with camo hats that had a pink bow. They went to Pauls Valley and went with Craig Ensey and his three children. I asked Madelyn if Kenny shot any birds. Madelyn said he only shot one ,that he shot a lot but didn't hit any. I love it! Kenny said he told the girls they were going to have to try a different approach on their next trip as they were running everywhere and of course talking and giggling. I'll post pictures later. I have to admit if you would've asked me 10 years ago if I would be married to a hillbilly and sending my children hunting with my hillbilly husband, I would've laughed and said you were crazy. I must admit I love him heart and soul, hillbilly and all. Needless to say my parents are getting a big laugh out of this.

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school. Madelyn started 1st grade and Ellie began her school adventure in Pre-K. Ellie Kate was so excited and so proud to take her tinker bell backpack to school. Madelyn was also excited. We got her a messenger bag for her birthday that you color with markers, so she had colored the bag and was excited and nervous at the same time. It's so funny how different she and Ellie are. Madelyn is very reserved, shy and is very quiet in new situations. Ellie Kate is like "whatever", rock on, lets go. I cant wait to see how Ms. Choe bug is going to be. They both said they had a great first day.

Madleyns 6th Birthday

Madelyn wanted a dolphin theme for her birthday, so she had a dolphin cake and straw beach birthday hats. I don't know what I was thinking putting 12 kids into a small blow up kiddy pool, genius...... It didn't matter they had fun just the same. Our good friends "The Creeds" came and it was so wonderful to catch up and see their four beautiful children. We did miss the Downings. The highlight of the party was when Kenny caught a mole and we put it in Madelyn's bug geranium. That poor mole got tortured for a couple of hours. I refused to let Kenny kill it, so he took the girls down the road and they dropped it off in a pasture. The bad news is his parents, siblings and distant cousins are still living in our yard. Good times!

Seriously

Ok, so the dishwasher was obviously offended by my harsh comments and has now decided to boycott any operational functions... Additionally the air conditioner has gone out in my car, got freeon put in, no go, needs a new compressor and I got a speeding ticket on the way to work on Monday. I think God has a great sense of humor and must be thinking this is hysterical as I curse my way through these obstacles....

We had Madelyns birthday party this weekend, great time, I'll post pictures soon.

Awesome

Kenny started the dishwasher yesterday and the dishwasher door was partially open. Now granted most dishwashers wouldn't run with the door open, but not this fine piece of machinery from 1978. (Like most appliances in our home there is a secret way to operate them i.e. stand on one foot, blink twice and push the door in three times to shut it.) Kenny wasn't aware that the door was open and left to go pickup Chloe. I came home and started dinner and water started flowing out of all of the seams of our laminate wood floor. Needless to say the laminate is now lifting... I must tell you that when we do get a new dishwasher, I'm going to take a sledgehammer to this one, seriously....

Super Star

Ellie Kate is our performer. She sings daily, making up the lyrics as she goes along. She insists that we sit quietly and watch her sing. She comes out pretending to be on stage and greets us like we are her fans (and of course we are :) Will this be great to drag out in 20 years or what?

It's The Little Things..

Yesterday we were talking about Chloe's birth and remembering the girls reaction. Of course they were excited and so sweet when Chloe finally arrived. They both however separately, without the other knowing asked me where her eyebrows were. Ellie said "Where are those things over her eyes Mommy?" and Madelyn said " Mommy when will she get her eyebrows?". (Let me clarify that Chloe did have eyebrows, they were just very light. ) So funny, the things they notice.

Perspective

Today while driving to work I noticed this cow with his neck shoved through the barbed wire fence. He was feverishly reaching for the grass on the other side, obviously convinced that it must taste better. I laughed and thought, it's not just humans but an animal as dense as a cow believes that the grass is greener... Of course, most life experiences have taught me that indeed, it is not. I guess with age we learn to enjoy what we have, live in the moment and cherish what's in front of us. Lord knows I'm still working on this. No one does this better than my Dad. He wants for not, and is content as long as his family are happy and safe. I love that about him. He's always so calm and at peace, takes everything in stride. Such an admirable man with a genuine sweet spirit. I've been blessed with incredible parents- I only hope they know how much I truly adore them.

Happy 4th!

Ode to Technology

I just recently discovered a few wonderful gadgets and a great website (thanks to my friends) that anyone with children should investigate. First is the Bissell SpotBot. It is a compact carpet cleaner that you simply place over the stain, turn it on, walk away and it sprays cleaner, scrubs and sucks up the water and cleaner- I borrowed my friends machine to clean some spots on our carpet and it got every stain out. I have to go buy one, I loved it. It is truly a miraculous machine.... I know, I'm easily amused.

Second is Flip Video- This is a small video camera (3x5) that records up to 60 minutes of video. It takes 2AA batteries and will fit in your pocket. It has a USB port that flips out from the side, plugs into your computer downloads the software and videos all together. We borrowed one from a friend to see if we liked it prior to buying, and we absolutely loved it. We videoed more in the 2 days we borrowed it than we have in the 7 years we've had our big video camera. The Flip Video camera was just so convenient, that we were constantly grabbing it to video the girls. It's also not terribly expensive, you can find them on the internet from $120-$150. Be sure to get the one that records 60 minutes as they do have one that records only 30 minutes.

A friend just recently introduced me to the website Freecycle.org. This websites mission is to reduce the waste in our landfills and to give items away free to those who can use them. The posts contain offered and wanted items. You cant sell or trade items, only give them away free. I've already given away a couple of things that we no longer needed. It felt good... with a family of five, I feel like we generate so much waste. It was nice to do something "green" and participate in the recycle process.