Thursday, February 25, 2010

First Curls

Pin It Now! It was a quiet, early morning in Colorado. No one else was awake except for my kids and me. Breakfast had been eaten and we had time to spare before the "late-sleepers" would arise.

I thought it would be the perfect time for me to have some sweet "girl time" with Shiloh. I'd been dying to curl her straight, fine hair ever since I bought a nice curling iron with Christmas money.

Obviously she didn't share my enthusiasm.


One unhappy, yet very beautiful, girl.

She hasn't wanted her hair curled since. Doesn't she know she has a mama who would love to sit and pamper her? I am kinda sad. :(

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

WFMW: Better Than Doritos, Say What?

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When it comes to chips, my man is a Doritos man. I don't think he's all that concerned about the INGREDIENTS! Taste is what matters most.

For me it's quite a different story.

Anyway, I wanted to do the happy dance the other day when he confessed that he'd rather have BOULDER CANYON ALL NATURAL chips over Doritos!!

Let me just tell you~these chips really are delicious! I LOVE them, my kids LOVE them and, can I have a "yea!", my husband LOVES them!

If you haven't spoiled your taste buds lately, you need to try these chips. Just click on the bag of chips to go to Boulder Canyon's website. There you can learn about them and see the different flavors. Our favorites are the Malt Vinegar and Sea Salt and Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper. BBQ is yum, too.

For more super, amazing tips visit We are THAT Family.

*Photo credit

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Grab a Tube and Fly!

Pin It Now! Tubing in Colorado was definitely an exciting adventure the kids will remember forever!! I certainly remember the first time I went tubing--around Lincoln's age in Minnesota--the place to where my family almost moved. We ended up moving to Memphis, but that's another story.

Join us as we relive the whipping wind in our faces while racing faster than a speeding bullet down a steep, snowy hill.



Gotta go over safety instructions first...

No chance of Lincoln getting cold.


Even Shiloh loved tubing as long as we didn't spin on the way down.

Baby Audrey wasn't quite big enough yet to ride down the hill.

Riding down in groups supposedly made you go faster.



The tunnel that took you back to the top.






Just an all-around, super-good time!!

WFMW: Apple Fun (Hidden Stars)

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I love having fun with food! Show your kids that in every apple's core is a hidden star!


First, choose several varieties of apple--this part is just for the fun of tasting and learning!

Then, cut each apple horizontally directly in the middle of the apple. The rounder, more nicely shaped apples will give the best results. (Crookedly shaped apples contain crookedly shaped stars)


Wala! A perfect star!! My kids thought this was so cool. Now they want their apples cut this way instead of the vertical way.

*If you wanted to make an art project out of it, you could use the apple as a stamp and make stars with paint on paper. All of our apples got eaten, though.

For more creative tips, visit WE are THAT Family.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Front Porch

Pin It Now! I wish I had one.

A big, beautiful front porch.

But I don't, so I took advantage of the one in Colorado. My only regret is that I didn't sit on it every single day drinking in the breathtaking view of magnificent mountains and never ending pines.

One day, though, I managed to fix myself some hot cocoa and sit for a few minutes just gazing and thinking. All by myself.

Wasn't too long before I just couldn't resist calling out the kids for some pics. I love porch pics.








Friday, February 12, 2010

The Revisitation of our Honeymoon Spot

Pin It Now! Yesterday as I was lying in bed sick, I decided to dig out my old honeymoon scrapbook and relive some memories. My daughter crawled up beside me and wanted me to show her a picture of the horses that took us on our carriage ride. As she was looking and listening to me tell stories, she interrupted and said, "Daddy was so young, and you, too!" (Boy am I glad she is still too young to notice the fact that "mom jeans" and tucked in shirts with hideous looking belts must've still been in style~ugh, how embarrassing!)

Well, we recently had the opportunity to revisit our honeymoon spot and share a nice lunch there with the whole family.


It's been almost 13 years since my new hubby and I traveled to a quaint, little town in Colorado~Georgetown. It was still mostly as we remembered it. Cozy and neatly tucked away between gargantuan mountains and spectacular views.

This go 'round, we had 3 beautiful creations to bring with us! It was fun showing our kids where we honeymooned. :)


Unfortunately we couldn't find the Alpine Hideaway, the place where we stayed. I still remember those delicious breakfasts in baskets~YUM!


The kids enjoyed the new addition to Georgetown~a really cool park. They didn't play too long, though. We were all cold and hungry!!



Thursday, February 11, 2010

My Guess: Not Strep

Pin It Now! Praise the Lord for no more body aches and just a smidge of a sore throat!!!!

I really do appreciate all the prayers and sweet wishes of wellness. :)

Well, all the research I have done on strep seems to suggest that with a strep infection there would be no signs of sneezing, runny nose, coughing etc. I have all of those symptoms and more now, plus that is exactly how Lincoln's illness began. He sneezed all the way home from Colorado. (And that's a 16 hour drive one way!) Interestingly enough, that's the only part Mark got--the cold part.

It could have been tonsillitis or some other intensely painful virus. I am just relieved that I don't have to worry about rheumatic fever or any of those other terrible sounding secondary infections that could possibly be brought on by strep.

During some nights when I'd wake up in pure misery, I would actually imagine myself getting up, going downstairs, finding the sharpest knife possible and slicing those red, fiery balls right out of my throat. The thought of choking on large amounts of blood and bleeding to death usually jolted me back to my senses. And then I'd wait until it was safe to down more Advil.

It is quite obvious that I am feeling better today:

Despite the fact that my nose is drippy, my eyes still glassy, my neck glands slightly swollen, sinuses and Eustachian tubes blocked and clogged to the max, and a cough every now and then, I, along with the help of my loyal children, vacuumed, cleaned rooms, cleaned kitchen counters, mopped kitchen floor and did laundry. I am sure I will pay later, but I just couldn't stand to remain idle any longer!

I still had to shorten our school day, though. Gosh, it hurts to read out loud for too long. Plus I sound like Rudolph.

Once I got over my emotional breakdown, I did realize that since we've been ahead in some subjects, catching up really won't be that bad. :) (Pain can sometimes cause me to overreact just a tad.)

I am so thankful to be on the mend but so ready to be completely WELL!!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Echo Lake

Pin It Now! Shiloh has complained off and on that she doesn't like living in the desert because it doesn't snow here.

She was beyond excited when we drove to Echo Lake where snow abounded as far as the eye could see. Let me be a cheesy mom for a moment and say, "I think Shiloh is the snow angel!" Aww, isn't she precious?!!








And snowballs--there is just something kids love about snowballs. Glad my kids had such a blast!


An evil, icy wind accompanied all this snow, and these desert cheeks weren't taking to it too well. And though my feet were double socked and wrapped in plastic bags, I might as well have been standing in the snow barefoot! Thankfully, the rest of me was quite warm due to all of the layering and snow gear provided by Grandma Honey and Jim. :)

Echo Lake was one of the places Mark and I visited while on our honeymoon almost 13 years ago, so it was neat seeing it again. Well, this time around we couldn't really "see" the lake as it was covered in so much ice and snow.

Despite the gelidity, the view was amazing and I basked in the magnificence of God's diverse creation! (And then I was ready to get back in the car where it was WARM!)

Ice Skating ~ Not So Much

Pin It Now! I used to be pretty talented on the ice. I got my start at The Mall of Memphis back in the day. My friend, Sara, and I would rock the ice with our fast moves and attempted twirls. I mean, we we could have tried out for the Olympics if we'd wanted to. (Yeah, right!)

When I was about 18 or so, I went ice skating with my church friends. I can't remember if Mark and I were already dating, but he was there and my friend Theryssa was there. If my memory serves me well, I think I could still stand up and at least proceed in a forward motion while wearing those bad boys.

I found out in Colorado that a lot has changed in 15 years.

Thank goodness I was the one with the camera that day. That means there will be NO pictures of me on this post. My family members were trying to be sweet by telling me it was probably just a bad pair of skates. Seriously, I had to call it quits for fear of breaking my ankles and ruining the rest of the vacation. That's okay, though, I hung out with my cute, little niece, Audrey, instead. (And took pictures from the sidelines.)


Anyway, so begins our Colorado vacation... on the ice!! (And I was literally ON the ice!)
















Audrey

Lincoln, Mullin, Jackson, Shiloh

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

I Broke Down and Cried Anyway

Pin It Now! So much for yesterday's post.

Just chilling didn't quite work out for me. I think I cried on and off the rest of the afternoon.

That really helped a lot. I got all stuffy and had to breathe through my mouth, which just made it hurt worse.

It is 12:08 pm on Tuesday and I am still in my jammies. Anyone who knows me at all knows that something must be terribly wrong if I am still wearing pjs after 7 am. I feel so gross, but I just got out of bed not too long ago.

Mullin has been Mr. Mom this morning. He took care of breakfast, entertained Shiloh, fixed lunch, emptied the dishwasher and washed all the dishes in the sink. Plus, he even managed to get a few subjects done in school. What a son!!!

I feel so horrible not being able to take care of Lincoln like I want to, but he seems to be feeling much better today. :) I am still hoping Shiloh will escape the torture of this infection--whatever it is. I think Mark is a bit under the weather as of last night, too. He still went to the store to get me some Popsicles, though, and went to work this morning.

MOTHERS AREN'T SUPPOSED TO GET SICK!!!!! Oh well, at least I can lay in bed at this stage in life. It's nice having children who are old enough to take care of themselves for a while. And sweet Shiloh keeps checking on me and planting soft kisses on my robe.

Please, Lord, help me to feel better tomorrow!!!

Monday, February 08, 2010

So Behind

Pin It Now! We're only 39 days into the new year and I am sorely behind. Eight of those days our family was on vacation. Eight of those days I have spent being sick, thankfully I was well while on vacation, but as I type, I am on day 3 of painfully enlarged, fiery red tonsils splotched with blistery, white patches. Unfortunately Lincoln is sharing this experience with me. :( I have lost count of the number of days my kids have been sick on and off this past month.

I am exhausted and just plumb worn out.

Thank goodness I chose not to write up a long list of New Year's Resolutions, a tradition I have long since forsaken due to the fact that I can so easily become enslaved to it. I am naturally task oriented and if I can't meet my list's demands, well, I deem myself a FAILURE with a big fat F! I would probably be crying and having a pity party right about now if I had such a list, because there is no way to possibly catch up, or so it seems.

I can't help but still have a mental list, though. So, I am regrettably feeling a bit agitated about not meeting my mental list's demands. My plate of responsibilities has increased this year, and I am getting a slight panicky feeling that I am going to bomb.

I have decided to rest today and not push myself. That means the kids will fall behind in school. But, I keep telling myself that it's okay--it's home school. If we have to work on spring break or continue through June--no big deal. It'll get done somehow.

So what if my kitchen floor is disgusting and my kids' sheets need changing--people all over the world live in much worse conditions. It'll be okay. My body needs rest.

I could go on and on here, but don't want to get too discouraged. It is rest time now, so I am going to do just that~ REST.

I am really going to try to not think about lesson plans, reviews that need to be written, classes that need to be scheduled, laundry, cleaning, cooking, grading, blogging, blah, blah, blah.

*Sigh*

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