I've been tagged...

I've been tagged by Leigh Ann! It has taken me all night to try to think of 7 random things about myself.. and I am not sure I still came up with a substantial list. But anyway.. here is what I am supposed to do:

List 7 random things that people may not know about you. The rules are to link the person who sent this to you and leave a comment on their blog so their readers can visit yours. Post the rules on your blog. Share 7 facts about yourself. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, linking their blog. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I am just under five foot tall and I use my kids at the grocery store and shopping to get the things I can not reach. So.. if you ever see a small kid being hoisted up to the top shelf to get a cake mix, macaroni, etc.. that might just be me!

2. I failed my driving test the first time. No... not the written.. the DRIVING! and I am still not the best driver in the world. I seem to get distracted easily.

3. I play fantasy football and I am actually really good at it! I take it seriously and have won the championship twice in the last five years.

4. I enjoy scrapbooking! I have over 17 albums that I have finished and just love doing pages about my kids.

5. I freak out about blood and bones! Yes, I know.. not always the best thing when you work in a hospital and a lot of times in the ER. Under pressure I can usually handle myself.. but when I was first out of school (which was 13 years ago) I would really get sick! I now handle blood a lot better than bones.

6. I play softball during the summer for my church. I play second base and absolutely LOVE it!
7. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the water. Any kind! I like the beach, skiing at the lake, anything. Last summer trying to prove I was still young and agile enough to kneeboard and ski.. I tore my knee up.. so this summer should be interesting. My husband had to remind me that I was 35 years old!

Now to tag people.. I think most I know have already been tagged so if you read this and have not yet been tagged.. consider this your tag! :)

Have a great weekend.

Back at home...

We made it back home today around 4pm so it was a quick road trip but so much fun and well worth the drive. The kids had a lot of fun at the Razorback game. I am not sure who had the most fun. Scarlett jumped, yelled and cheered and engaged everyone around us in conversation. The poor girl beside us obviously did not know what she was starting when she asked Scarlett her name.. that began a thirty minute conversation! It was quite humerous. They both had their pictures made with the mascots (unfortunately the one with the boys did not turn out), Scarlett had her face painted with a pink razorback heart, and Ethan loved walking through the Hall of Fame there at Bud Walton Arena. Ethan is my number one sports fan! He loves all sports and is actually knows a lot about most sports. The kids get the most excited about sleeping in a hotel room! Who would have thought that one small room could bring so much joy. They check out every single square inch of every hotel we ever stay at and inspect everything. We had a great time and are planning a trip back to the Spring Football game. Ethan's first love is football so he is extra excited about that! He will be sad that D-Mac is gone.. but there will be somebody knew to be excited about. He proudly displayed his D-Mac cup.. right above my head! Full of coke, I must have been feeling brave this morning. We drove home trying to make sure we beat any ice that was headed to northern Arkansas but definitely had to stop off at Ozark for Rivertowne BBQ! OH MY! If you ever get a chance to go there I definitely recommend it. It is so GOOD and they have the BEST ranch dressing EVER! We had a huge lunch and enough for dinner tonight. Plus.. I bought a 1/2 gallon of the ranch dressing. You think I could freeze it??? Hope everyone has had a great week! I've been tagged.. so I will post that next! :) I have to think a while about 7 random things about me.

Road Trip!

As I am packing this morning to go to Fayetteville I thought I would leave you with a funny picture and one that makes Scarlett laugh.. which this morning we are in need of a laugh. She does not want to take a shower, pack her bag, stay home or go.. she just wanted to sleep and well I messed that up when I woke her from her nice cozy warm bed and so, like her mother.. she is a BEAR when she is woke before she is ready!

The weather is calling for a possibility of snow in northern Arkansas so just in case we get stuck I am packing for a couple of days rather than just a overnight stay. Part of me thinks it might be fun to be stuck in a nice warm hotel.. last time we were stuck in the ice.. it was on the interstate for 28 hours and that is a whole story in its self. Hope you all have a great Wednesday!

I must go try to convince Scarlett it really is a good day and she will have fun at the basketball game tonight.

GO HOGS!!!!

Wayback Weekend...Sentimental Saturdays! :)

I too have started going through old pictures and thought since my everyday life does not have enough for a blog filled weekend I would post some "wayback when" pictures or Sentimental Saturdays. :) I found some pictures of hubby and I from 1995! I laughed and told my friend, Abby, the other day.. "WOW, 13 years ago.. who knew!!!??". We had been dating almost a year when this picture was taken. I remember six months into the relationship I was going to go home to Nashville, TN with him to see family and friends and just prior to leaving he told me "... we will go on this trip and see what happens..." I don't really think either one of us thought this would be a lasting relationship. He kept hanging around and I kept accepting and almost six years down the road he proposed! I remember being so excited! I was so ready to actually start planning the wedding I had already had planned for years! So, marriage.. how hard could that be!!! This picture was taken as we were leaving our wedding. I was just so happy to be married and so excited to go on our honeymoon! We went to Montreal Canada and LOVED IT there! I think that was the first time I had been away from home and not gotten homesick. Somehow being with him there it felt like home! It was so great!!! Two months in we find out we are having Ethan and were very excited but we were still dealing with learning to live together and be married. A lot of adjusting was going on in that first year of marriage!

SO... two kids, almost eight years later we are still adjusting but it is getting better everyday. Hubby balances me out! He analyzes everything.. I am impulsive! He is my rational thinking! How great is that! :) I laughed at the beginning of this year and said"... new year, new beginning" and I was serious about becoming a little more in line with his way of thinking. So far I think I have done very well! :) BUT.. I think he would have to admit how boring his life would be if I wasn't still a little spontaneous! He has to have some surprises from me.. just good ones! :) August 2007

Showin' Some Love...

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day! We had a lot of fun, it started Tuesday with our party and I guess it will not end until next week when we go to the Razorback game, which was a Valentine for the whole family! :) Wednesday night Scarlett and I had a date and went to see the Broadway play "ANNIE". It was a lot of fun, and she came away with the fact that Annie had FAT HAIR! It was definitely a little over a four year olds head.. but she sat up and paid attention when they sang and when Annie returned with curlie hair after being "spiffed up".

Valentine's Day started off with a BANG! Ethan learned, or at least I think he learned, that maybe a six year olds stomach is not supposed to hold a 1/2 pound burger. He ate one AGAIN.. but this one did not quite settle in well on his little stomach. He was up sick at 3:30 am!! and again at 4:30 am!! Nothing like being woke up to the noise of "ralph and earl"! ha! and laundry at 3:30 am is not my idea of a good time! We laughed because seven years ago on Ethan's first Valentine's day he woke us up that morning with the same surprise! Nothing like greeting my Valentine first thing in the morning under those circumstances! Thank goodness it was not, or at least does not appear to be a stomach bug; just a case of the eyes really are bigger than the stomach.

That afternoon we went shopping at "Lads and Ladybugs" a boutique for little kids and they were having a 75% off sale! I took my mother with me.. I know when to take the mom shopping! Big sale, means lots of things for me and her to buy! Unfortunately, their clothing stops at size 4T, so nothing for Ethan but Scarlett got some of the cutest things! Everything was marked down so much! I got the cutest winter coat for $24 (or should I say my mom bought it for Scarlett) and this Anavini smocked dress! HOW CUTE IS THAT! I got it for $16. Sure it is a size 6 months but it will make the best shower gift for somebody! It was too cute not to get! If only my baby was small enough to wear that dress. :( Oh well.. wishful thinking!! They grow up TOO FAST!!!

We had decided just to stay home and have a nice quiet dinner with the family. My sweet husband showed up with a dozen roses for me and of course something for the kids. They had wondered all day "what daddy would bring them" and he did not disappoint! More Disney Cars for Ethan and a purple princess phone and dress up jewelry for Scarlett! I normally do not have anything for him, but this year I surprised him! He had been wanting the Towncraft box set, which is a documentary about the music scene in Little Rock in the nineties! I was able to buy it without his knowledge and surprise him! Brownie points for me! We had a great Valentine's Day and I look forward to many more to come! I love ya, honey! and I am sure we will have fun at the Razorback game next week!

Hope you all had a great day, too!

Cookies, Card and Friends! Happy Valentine's Day!

Today we had a Valentine's Day party for our friends. We decorated cards, and cookies and had lots of fun! Davis and Karlee's mothers could not stay so thank goodness for Ms. Abby for helping me out! Abby and I have been friends for over twenty years, and typing that makes me feel very old.. but don't worry Abby you will catch up with me this weekend! :) Abby has a almost five year old little girl named Maddy and my son Ethan just LOVES her! In fact when I mentioned the party and that they could invite some friends over, Maddy was the first name that Ethan mentioned. That incited a mini riot at my house since Maddy is Scarlett's friend and she was on "her list". It gave me a glimpse of how things would probably be at my house in another ten-twelve years. Well, today Maddy gave Ethan a Valentine's card and Ethan just tucked it away but after they left, he showed me the card and was all smiles and told me she "made" it just for him! I didn't have the heart to tell him that Scarlett and I got one too, so he now thinks he is number one on Maddy's list as well.
This is a picture of the kids decorating their cookies. I think I had seven different colors and we used paint brushes to paint the icing on the cookies, that worked really well. We had sprinkles and sparkles and all sorts of decorations. I think the kids ate the cookies as fast as they made them. I also had a table set up for the kids to make cards. That was a lot of fun! Cleaning up all the glitter has proven to be the most fun. :) In fact I just had to pick a piece of glitter off Ethan's eye lid.. how does it end up there???? I think everyone had a good time. I know my kids did! This may have to become a annual event. I even managed to get a card or two made myself. After the last child left and I had picked up the living room to atleast presentable I called hubby and let him know it was safe to return home. :) I did get the kids still long enough, or most of them still long enough for a picture. Karlee had already had to leave so this is the rest of the crew. Looks like I caught Ethan in the middle of saying something. Whatever it was it had Fletcher's attention. Hope you all have a wonderful, chocolate filled Valentine's Day!

I have a Wall of Fame Child!

This weekend was pretty boring! I work weekend option so that I can be with the kids during the week and I dread Fridays! Mostly people look so forward to their weekends but not me! I know that I will at be work all night on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. During my slow times I go to the nursery and rock the babies.. how fun is that!! I just love being over there in the nursery (when the babies are healthy and I am there simply out of choice) . Tiny babies that are just seeing the world are so precious, until there is fourteen of them crying at one time and that is my cue to leave! ! It definitely makes me want to come home and hug and kiss on my kids even though they are not really babies anymore. Do you ever stop referring to them as "your babies"???

On Saturday night we had some friends come up from Russellville for dinner and we went back to Cheeburger Cheeburger. We love that place! Ethan wanted to try the 1/2 pounder and have his picture made and be placed on the "Wall of Fame". I forgot all about that and being that he is "my baby" knew there was NO WAY this small child would be a 1/2 pound, 10 oz to be exact, burger. So I ordered him the kids meal. BIG MISTAKE! He devoured that burger in two minutes and was then ready for his 1/2 pounder. Reluctantly we finally gave in and ordered him the "big burger". The waitress seemed shocked when she asked if we wanted a to go box with it or if he was going to eat it there and we answered ".. no he is going to eat it here". We laughed with her and said "we knew he would only eat a couple of bites but he wants to try". Well, I guess fifteen minutes is about enough time for a Cheeburger Cheeburger kids meal to empty from a six year olds stomach because when the 1/2 pounder came it took less than ten minutes and it was GONE!!! Every single last bite GONE and he did not look the least bit uncomfortable. So, at the age of six he had just eaten more than his daddy! That scares me... I am not sure we will be able to afford the grocery bill for these two when he gets "older and eats like a man"!!!

The hoopla over eating the 1/2 pounder was what Ethan wanted. He had his picture made with the big burger, signed it and placed it on the wall of fame. I should mention that Ethan had a lot of motivation from Carter, my friend Kelly's eight year old that finished off the 1/2 pounder prior to Ethan! So, there stands Carter and Ethan side by side on the Wall of Fame at Cheeburger Cheeburger. If you go eat at Cheeburger Cheeburger take a look at my wall of famer son! :)

Happy New Year! China Style...

One of the great things about homeschooling my kids is that we get to do a few things out of the norm. We have a study called "Galloping the Globe" and we study all sorts of things about different countries. What better way to kick off a study on China than to celebrate the Chinese New Year, which happened to be today. We made our own fortune cookies.. which was a minor disaster! I do not recommend the recipe I used, or maybe I don't recommend asking me to make you any fortune cookies! They turned out horrible! It was great fun though, Ethan wrote his own fortunes so in the process he was working on sentence structure! English lesson, cooking lesson, and geography all rolled into one activity! Yippee!!!

We talked about China and their customs and traditions behind the New Year and made our own Chinese lanterns. I remember making these when I was little! How fun! I even
decorated a couple of lanters with glitter and pictures! The kids learned how to write "Good Luck" in Chinese, too. We had a great day and topped it off with a "New Year's Party". Ethan was so funny, he said it was a good thing the whole world didn't have a New Year's Party on the same day because if we did, the Earth "would be shaking from all the partying!". How funny kids can be!

It is such a great thing to be able to be with my kids and teach them even though a lot of days it seems like I am pulled in too many directions and that I am slacking in several departments. I hate missing all my weekends because I am working but I am working weekends to be able to be with my kids during the week. So many things, and so many ways the devil tries to discourage me but I try to stay focused and remember that I am doing all these things for their benefit. They are my focus and they are my prize! One bible passage I rely on daily is Phillipians 3: 12-14

2Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

What a great motivation that is! It is all worth the struggles to be with my kids. What a great feeling it is to see their smiles, even when their fortune cookies are a mess because their mother is a horrible baker! They thought it was the best thing in the world!!! I am so blessed to have my family!

What do you do to stay on track? Do you have a special verse or saying that helps you get through rough days? I would love to hear it.

Happy Chinese New Year to you all!

Happy Mardi Gras!!! Time to CELEBRATE!!!!

Monday was a great day! One of my friends from Russellville was in town and we went to lunch at Cheeburger Cheeburger. If you have never gone there I recommend it! They had the absolute best burgers! We liked it so much her whole family is coming back Saturday and we are going out to dinner again. Scarlett's first gymnastics class was Monday evening and she was so excited! She was dressed and ready at 3pm. She practiced her splits and sommersaults all afternoon! Once class started she did not want me anywhere near it so I got very few pictures. If she saw me she would say, "go, go, get away from the window!" Her she is doing her warm up stretches. How cute are they???

Today is Mardi Gras! We have a tradition at my house that we have a "Mardi Gras" party. We decorate the table and cook cajun food and have a big feast! Today I cooked shrimp gumbo, and the best muffaletta I have made so far! It was SO GOOD! I found some cheddar jalepeno bread in the Wal Mart bakery and just loved it! Worked great for that extra spicy sandwich. The kids enjoy decorating and helping me cook the food. We normally do a Kings Cake, but I slacked this year and forgot all about that until dinner was over. OOPS! Better luck next year! I was trying to explain to the kids about Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday and in the process explain lent.. I don't think I was doing a very good job! I knew it was not sinking in when Ethan asked me if "people in Arkansas had Lent, too.. or if that was just in Louisiana". Off to the internet for help! Here is a picture of my muffaletta. I used a roasted red pepper tampenade instead of black olive.. maybe that is why I liked it better.

I am looking forward to the rest of our week, we are going to have a blast! Tomorrow we are going to start making our chinese lanterns for a Chinese New Year celebration Thursday night! Can't wait!

Happy Birthday, Matt!

My "baby" brother turns 25 today! UGH!!! I guess that means I am really getting old since I am ten years older than him. When you are ten years old and entering your teenage years the last thing you want is a baby around that means you will have to babysit! and I did.. a lot. Being that he was so much younger than Michael and I, we put Matthew up to a lot of things. I remember telling him to go get thing I was too lazy to get up and get and you could always guarantee he would do it is you added, "I'll time you" and start counting. He would take off running! Matthew played soccer when he was younger, and as he grew older he played football and baseball. I loved watching him play ball. Jack and I started dating when he was twelve so we were able to watch him grow up. I remember for his fifteen birthday we took him to Memphis to see a Garth Brooks concert, I think that was his first concert! Matt is all grown up now and a wonderful Christian man, that God has placed in the ministry. He works as a children's pastor and I am sure he is impacting the lives of several kids every day. I am so proud of him! I Still can't believe he is 25!!! He has married a beautiful girl, named Dana, and she is a wonderful ministers wife. I am sure adjusting to our loud and crazy family has been a big adjustment! Poor Dana!! I think one of their first dates was at the Zoo with Angie (my other Sis-in-law) and Me with kids in tow. I knew she was the perfect girl for Matt when she made no objections to that date! :)

HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY, MATT! We love you!!!

This is Ethan...

I thought I would share a few favorite photos of Ethan this Friday. I realized with all the talk on my blog he is so low key and laid back that he has been forgotten. Ethan goes with the flow and really never causes a stir. That is left all to Scarlett and she does it well! If any of you knew me growing up and remember my brother Matthew, aka The Golden Child at my household.. well, Ethan is Matthew! Ethan is like Matthew in so many ways! (My "little"brother turns 25 tomorrow! I'll post about him then) Ethan has the same flair for sports and love of life! I love both my children so much, but it is funny to me how two kids with the same parents can be so different! We had guest over for the dinner the other night and when I call the kids in to introduce them and say "hello". Ethan grabs them with a big hug and a "Hi" and Scarlett yells "hello" as she is running through the room without stopping. Never a dull moment at my house!

The first picture was taken at a Travelers baseball game a couple of years ago. Ethan will start his first season of baseball this year and he is so excited! He is really good at it in the backyard, so I hope that translates well on the field. This picture to the left was taken at the beach this summer. Ethan has always been my little poser! You get a camera out and he turns it on. Whatever he is doing he will stop so he can pose properly for the camera! ha!


Lastly, This is Ethan and his Daddy at his first Razorback football game. He LOVES football! He knows all the rules, and actually understands them. His daddy and him have the same Razorback passion. Ethan was able to meet, what he called "the greatest backfield ever" this past football season. He met Darrin McFadden, Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis and was able to get his football signed by them. He was SO excited that day! I think he called everybody he knew just to tell them.

So, that is it, just a few of my favorite pictures of Ethan. So if it seems my day is filled with Scarlett... that is because Ethan is sitting at the table doing his work like I asked him to do and I am chasing her down, trying to convince her learning is necessary! Have a great weekend!