Have I Told You ...

Happy Wednesday!
Have I Told You...
 That we have a garden. Yes, us. To our great amazement it is actually growing real food that is not only beautiful but actually edible!!
Mission accomplished! We don't have a huge yard, but as I've said before I am a girl that can work with the minimal and I am never afraid of improvising. So, here you have it. our own little piece of Earth.

Mark 4:26-28 And he said, So, is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; 
 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up, he knoweth not how.
 For the Earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.

after planting

The plants are growing so well

The fruits of our labor, Amen!

Look at the size of this zucchini. No miracle grow was used!!

Happy Wednesday! Happy Blogging! Happy Gardening!

Sunshine on a cloudy day

 So maybe it's not sunshine, but a sunflower. Here in Ohio today there is a nice breeze and it is just starting to drizzle rain. Since the kids are at school and I don't have any babies today, I plan on wasting the day away(or at least the morning) playing online.
 I wanted to share a site I came across that is totally free. Who doesn't love free, fun stuff to spend more of your day..or night on the computer?!?!  www.befunky.com is a photo editing website. No downloads. All you have to do is upload your pics and start editing, creating, cropping....
There are so many fun changes you can play around with before you have to consider upgrading to the pay per month extras! Of course nothing in life is ALL free but I use what I find.
Here are a few of my edited photos...this is where the sunflower comes in...
I took a few plain pics with my cheap-o Polaroid digital camera and none of them turned out anything like what the flower actually looked like. It was so beautiful. standing there all alone with all its glory, surrounded by  my weed infested, completely neglected flowerbed. So I gave it a little digital TLC!

The first 2 pics are the originals, nothing edited yet

Now comes the fun 

just a little enhancing, sharpening and a stamp border

this one is watercolor with sepia and frosted edges

antique photo with darkening, high contrast and again the stamp border

old photo(70's) red tint, rounded corners and slight blur effect

again another "old photo" with scratches, softened and blurred edging. I added a plain thin black border

Have fun, It's semi-free!

www.befunky.com
P.S. No animals were harmed in this experiment nor was I paid anything to use or write/review this website.

The All new do!

I have wanted to get my hair done for I don't know....months... over a year? We finally took the girls last week to get their haircuts for school. I got so jealous that I finally broke down and got mine done. Well, I went and got it cut and had some layers put in. I loved the new style but my oldest daughter informed me that while the new haircut was a great step forward it didn't however, take care of the gray hairs I have acquired lately. Knowing I/we did not have money for a total mommy make-over decided to go with the good old, store bought in a bottle kind. Luckily, I am not picky but I am creative and love to improvise. With great help from Bug and my Sis, we came to an end result all of us(me mostly) are satisfied with. Here are my before and after pics.

Before

After

So, what do you think for a DIY hairstyle?

Where has my summer gone?

Today is the last day of summer break. Tomorrow we shall slowly begin to re establish some sort of normalcy and routine, Oh Lord I pray! Our whole summer has been kind of a hodge-podge of craziness. Projects, sports, redecorating, gardening, and all the unexpected events. All the while trying to get just the everyday things accomplished. We have had a few planned adventures and although my children will complain they were bored 95% of the time, I have managed to keep them entertained and there is never a shortage of things that they could  have been doing.

Our major project for this summer was to rearrange and redo 3 bedrooms. Ok stay with me here....

My sister lives with us and she was expecting a baby. Her room was in the (simi-finished)basement. The girls had 2 separate rooms upstairs on the main floor. The plan was to put the girls back in one room, downstairs and move my sister upstairs. Bedroom 3 would become the nursery for Elijah after his arrival. Which as I stated in another post was suppose to be somewhere near September 22, 2011. We were slowly but surely getting this all accomplished when Elijah decided to make his grand entrance 7 weeks early. After a few days of initial panic, worry, and quite plainly running around crazy we managed to get back to the project at hand.

Things have taken a few turns. Things have gotten left unfinished and put on hold, but for the most part our house is finally getting back to feeling like a home and not some real life version of The Money Pit. Here are some pictures through the blood(yes, you know there was blood in our DIY project), sweat and tears,there was also a window broken during this project and I cried, like a big fat baby!!!  Not because I got hurt, but it was just a long, late, oh please let us be finished kind of night and then...... yup, the window broke!

(sorry, no pictures of the window)

Roo's old room

midway working

Now the sis' new room

new white walls

Bug's old room

So ready for this carpet to go!

Elijah's nursery, getting there atleast

Much!! better than the carpet!

Getting started on the girls' new room

Daddy working hard. 

Bug ready to paint!

Roo's bed

Bug's bed

bookcase Sean built

Lots of space to play!!

Have I Told You ...

That my Roo absolutely loves her Play-Doh! She loves all the colors and I love all the creative ideas she comes up with.( mostly food related). I'm not sure where she gets that from? (insert sarcasm). Today Bug is off to the amusement park with family friends, so Roo & I have the whole house to ourselves. She thinks it's a mini-vacation. When I asked her what she wanted to do while I got some housework done, she asked for her Play-doh, that now is a limited hobby due to having Boogie's being mobile. It was the perfect day to open the windows, air out the house and really try to get things ready/done/accomplished. We are seriously on a time crunch now with Elijah due home soon and school starting back next week. Mommy can only accomplish so much in a day alone!
 While she is entertained I have accomplished 2 loads of laundry, dishes, made beds, gave the dog a bath, cleaned up kitchen, edited some photos, made lunch, and reset the On Demand 30 minute shows 3 times. Hey, Play-Doh can only keep you busy for so long!
PS.. I am feeling much better now that the cat dander is slowly leaving my lungs!! Maybe that cheap Walgreens brand allergy medicine isn't so bad after all!!

    Those little hands at work!

She does have quite a collection

"Black"berry pancakes! I told you she was creative!

Laying down on the job!

sorry this one is a little blurry. It is mac and cheese!

The mac and cheese is now my "cheesy heart cookie"!

After all that work a popsicle was requested to help her "relax"!

Where am I today?

I am all over the place! 
So, today was my day to sleep in. Boogies is visiting grandma today, so I had no reason to be awake at 6:30am.
I am first woken at 5:30 to Sean's alarm going off....dozing again
Then at 5:50 to him slamming drawers looking for socks...I believe?
I tried oh so hard to ignore it and miraculously fell back asleep.
6:10 I am awake coughing my lungs out and gasping to breathe! I notice the cat is at my feet, ON THE BED! (I am allergic to "the cat" as I like to call her)
dozing again, after nudging her off my feet.
7am, Juliette wakes me to find out why Boogies isn't here!!
coughing and grasping for a tissue to blow my nose, I give up and get up!
Thanks to my amazing hubby who always makes my coffee before he leaves, I decided I would start my day, grab a cup of coffee(hoping it would clear my head and soothe my throat).
I am now on my 3rd cup(extra strong), have went through numerous tissues, coughed up some nastiness! I know TMI! Checked my email, FB, read a few posts, and am seriously trying to get this fog out of my head!
At this point, just breathing without much effort would be nice!  Oh and of course I have taken my not so strong allergy meds. Wish me luck people, it is only 10 am! I have a feeling this is going to be a long day!

Shout out to new blogs

This post is simply what the title says. It is a post to introduce new blogs. I don't have a button or meme for these but I do hope that you will hop over and check them out. Every blogger loves to have new followers! These two are both my cousins.
One is a new mommy, new step mommy, young student and future couponer! She is quite witty and has a passion for writing through all her ups and downs.
The second is a mommy of a little boy just starting kindergarten, a photographer self taught, living in a house of boys and fur babies.
Please take a look and join them in sharing their journeys in Mommyhood!

Morgan's Blog

Sara's Blog

Also if you have a new blog or have come across an awesome blog you would like to share with us, leave a comment!
Happy Blogging!

Little Elijah Tyson

Psalm 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of The Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward.

I'm heading out to visit my newest and smallest nephew this afternoon. He is now 16 days old and gaining ounces everyday. Born at just 33weeks gestation he is making so much progress. It only restores my faith that God is the ultimate healer!  Elijah was born Aug. 5 weighing 4lbs 6oz and 17in long. This is my only little sister's first baby. He has overcome so much already in just his 16 days here on Earth! what amazing creatures we are!
My Sis is an amazing Mommy. She is dealing with so much that most new Mommy's don't have to. As many of us know things don't always go as we plan, but HE always has a plan for us. She is one of the strongest people I know, both mentally and physically. Her and Elijah are both born fighters. So before I head out today I just wanted to share our newest addition with all of you.
 Please continue prayers for our family as we get stronger.

The first time she got to see Elijah

Mommy and baby at 15 days old

One of the first days in NICU

A little of This...Because I'll never get to "That"

I figured I'd just start typing and see where it goes. Seeing as how today was going to be my "kids sleep in late, coffee is strong, animals are fed, laid back, relaxing day to write" kind of day.
Then reality slapped me in the face yet again!
Reality is, I have had 3,4...I don't know how many cups of coffee, the kids woke up at different times(which means different breakfasts), the phone has not stopped ringing, the dog has followed me around all morning, Lord knows what she is wanting..... and Boogies is teething.  Yes, my Boogies AKA the little chunk bucket I babysit. He has been miserable, vomiting, cranky, and just plain wanting extra snuggles.
So, amidst all this I now have Facebook drama! Yes, I said it. After a private conversation someone else took out of context, I have been accused, slandered, and deleted!! Woe is me.....not even close!
I have so much going on right now, I don't even have time to address this issue other than just to laugh, smile and pray! Oh and to blog about it of course! So, while I  still have not gotten around to writing about "that". Here is the "this" of my morning.

Have I Told You ...

Welcome Wednesday! This past week I've really been trying to get back into writing. I even made a list of topics I would like to write about. so as I've hopped around thinking of topics to write about I've been thinking about all the things I love, like, interested in, etc. So for today's 20 of me I'll give you 20 of my favorites.
1. Scents ~ sweet pea, vanilla, lavender, and orange. not all together mind you
2. Cookie~ oatmeal raisin
3. Season~ Spring
4. Sound~ children laughing or rain
5. Hobby~  reading,.... I know who would have thunk it?!?
6. TV show~ Criminal Minds
7. Coffee creamer~ vanilla caramel or mocha
8. Favorite book(other than The Bible KJV) would be Finding Grace by Donna VanLiere, it is amazingly inspirational!
9. Restaurant~ Olive Garden or Chinese buffet
10. Song~ Blessed Assurance (I prefer Randy Travis version)
11. Phrase~ I love your whole guts! (yea, we do say things like this in my house)
12. Food~ any kind of pasta
13. Color~ Orange
14. Time of day~ morning, I love the sun rising, when the house is still quiet.
15. Nail Polish~ any shade of pink(only on my toenails)
16. Pillow~ yes, I have a favorite pillow that is all mine! It is a feather pillow
17. Disney movie~ Aladdin or The Lion King
18. Movie~ Coal Miner's Daughter
19. Apartment~ When we lived in Forest Park(everything was new and it was huge), neighborhood was another story!
20.  Website~ I admit it's Facebook!
Hope everyone enjoyed and keep blogging!

Cursive is OUT?!?!

As odd as this sounds to me, even as I'm typing on a blog, it is true. Nationwide schools are taking votes to stop requiring cursive writing in some schools.
How do I feel about this?
First my creative writer, pen paling, English nut, reading fanatic is screaming "NO!!!!, This can't be happening!" then my somewhat educated side says, "Huh, Don't we need this?" While my Mom of 2 public school going children is thinking I have one daughter, Bug that despises any type of writing (other than what she feels is necessary and worth her time and effort). However she does have the basics of proper cursive writing down. On the other hand I have Roo, whom has not had any cursive taught to her other than her name. She has been signing her name since she was 6(thanks to her wonderfully proactive mother signing her up for pen paling). I am honestly a little put back that some professionals in these school systems feel this is not a necessity any longer. Now I get all the technology moving us into the future, but what about good ole John Hancock? Will our children never need or be taught how to properly sign their names?
I found one article, not local that talks more about the topic. What do you think? Is teaching more keyboarding over cursive handwriting progress? Any opinions appreciated. Here is the link to the web article I read.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/30/cursive-handwriting-instr_n_842069.html

Have I Told You ...

Wednesday already? Wow this week has actually gone pretty quickly. So short and sweet here they are.
20 of me
1. I love orange kool-aid. It's my favorite flavor
2. we finally have most of the girls "new" bedroom finished
3. I will hopefully be starting Elijah's room Friday
4. Someone besides me really needs to pick up the slack on the litter box
5. I can hear 2 different TV's on with the same show, but can't figure out why the girls must watch them in separate rooms
6. I could really go for some good Mexican food right now
7. I am reading a good book that I am dying to finish today or tomorrow
8. I miss a lot of my old friends lately
9. I just finished Elijah's first load of laundry :)
10. Bradley is finally taking a nap
11. It is a gorgeous day out. Nice breeze, not humid or raining!
12. I'm hoping to have so much more done before the girls go back to school
13. I am excited about going to church tonight
14.There aren't enough hours in my day to accomplish half of what I would like to
15. I have 2 new pen pals from a christian website I found!
16. I'm convinced the dog and cat are working on a conspiracy against my sanity this week
17. Juliette has been my big helper this week while Bradley is teething
18. Caralyne has VOLUNTARILY made her bed everyday this week  :)
19. Sean made dinner on Monday and it was pretty good!
20. I should really get another load of laundry done and take a break from the computer.

I apologize for this one being so random. I suppose I'm just trying to get back into the swing of things for now. Happy Blogging and God's Blessings Always!

Re-start

Hello anyone still following! I am going to try this again. My life has taken some unexpected turns in the last few months, but I am rededicating myself to some "me" time. Hopefully that will also include some blogging time. I do hope I can find the time to put in the effort and passion that I had originally hoped for this blog. I will just make this one short and sweet and add a few of my big changes, info and reasons why I have been slacking
1: My BFF had a baby boy, Bradley in February, which I now babysit full time
2. I have been trying to be a better servant of my Lord and that requires my time and attention.
3. My husband graduated from college in March(which means more family time)
4. My father returned after 16yrs and is now making an effort to be in our lives.
5. My sister had her baby 7wks premature and he is absolutely beautiful! Elijah Tyson born 08/05/11 weighing 4lbs. 6oz and 17in long. He has a mighty fight ahead of him but we are true believers that our God is the ultimate healer and Elijah is getting stronger everyday!
So with that said, and pics to come soon, please continue to follow along in my adventures in being a SAHM.
God's Blessings Always!