And The Winner Is.....

I used the random generator and number 3 was the winner of the 5 little Golden Books. Amanda from Secret Life of a Homemaker you won! I left a message for you over on you blog! Thanks everyone for entering!!! I appreciate it and Good Night! :) Anyone that is a fan of the old Andy Griffith commercials will get that last comment!

AN ODE TO ME MUMSY!

Thank you for watching my two little lads;
For without you to babysit, I'd have to call Dad:)
You are a blessing I want you to know...
For whatever you reap that shall you sow.
Oops.It's whatever you sow that shall you reap.
While reading this poem, please, try not to weep.
I wrote all of this and what I'm trying to say
(On this very hot and muggy, almost July Day)
Is Jonathan, Tonya, Tyler and Zach;
Think that you are the best AND that is a FACT!

Thanks so much for always being willing to watch the boys! We love and appreciate you. Oh, and sorry for the corny poem:)

The giveaway ends in 30 minutes....if you haven't signed up you better hurry!

See Jane. See Jane Sew. See Jane Sew with a Big Needle, Oh No!

I have always been majorly challenged in the artistic department. For example, a story I have never been able to live down, a classic story of my art capabilities would be my eighth grade year when I drew....wait for it...a stick snow man. I have no idea what possessed me to draw it, but the damage is done. Fastforward 14 years, and yeah, not much has changed. My three year old can't even make out my drawings. I'll let you in on a tiny secret, I think he probably draws better than I do.

Bearing that in mind, not only am I not artistic but craftiness wouldn't rate too high on my radar either. One of my goals has been to learn to sew. I'm not talking about the sad little knob of threads that I sew on the back of  buttons, but I mean really sew. Gracious, back in the day my Mom sewed most of her own clothes..I know,  right after she had walked up hill 5 miles to school. ha!

I was going to take a sewing class with my dear friend, Bethany Victoria, but I think our would be instructor skipped town. Smart Woman.  I ventured out on a mission to sew, with my very own two bare hands, matching outfits for my boys. I was going to sew a jon- jon (shortalls) for Zachy, but that was a bit much for a newbie. I decided to just applique a t-shirt and sew matching shorts for the boys.

I took my trusty buddy, Mom, or as I like to call her Ruby, on an all expense paid trip to Joann Fabrics. I was clueless. Mom said we need to get a pattern, and I said oh, I thought we could just guess at it. She looks at me and says we are getting a pattern. ha. She has no faith in me! Lucky for me Joann's was having some great sales. I got the fabric for 60% off, and the pattern for 40% off. I'm all set. Ready or not, here I come... Here is a sneak peek of my supplies.

Who knows, maybe next week I will tackle something else, like drawing a real snow man! You never know...

It takes a big hit to my head or better said, a firm knock to my knees!

Today felt like one of those days where 72 hours was crammed into 24 hours making it a very full day. What did I do? Nothing, but remain at home most of the day. I have learned that child rearing is not for the faint of heart, and it is by far much harder than any full time job I have ever had!

I always thought I would be the type of Mother, who would sit around all day reading Nursery Rhymes to my children. I would always be patient, kind,you know "practically perfect" in every way... exactly like Mary Poppins:) Ha. I am none of what I thought I would be! I have to pray for daily patience and I often have to go back to Tyler and apologize for how quick I was or how strongly I came across. I am as far from perfect as you can get!

Today was one of those days...I felt like I was after my two little guys all day long...Zachy don't touch that, Tyler don't push on your brother, Tyler, get your fingers out of Zachy' mouth, but Mommy I was just checking his "toofers". Zachy doesn't want you checking his teeth. and on and on it went. Sometimes I think of the Mother's who spend time doing crafts with their children or letting them cook or building forts or....you get my drift. I know Satan likes to come in on days like today and fight making me feel like the worst Mom out there.

Tonight I feel like God came close to me and reminded me of what really matters at the end of the day. Will it matter in the light of eternity if I didn't spend time making crafts with my boys or letting them cook or build forts wth them? No, the most important thing is that I show them Christ. That I teach them that the most important thing in life is making it to Heaven.

Tomorrow is a new day, and I am going to step into it thanking God for the blessings He has bestowed on me in the forms of Tyler and Zachary. And, I'm going to strive to show the love of Christ to my boy's.....and who knows, we might even build a fort:)

What I Heard With My Little Ear!

This afternoon, I overheard Tyler talking down the hall...."Where did you go, Baby". "There you are...come here, Baby". Zach was finishing up his lunch sitting in the highchair so I knew he wasn't talking to Zachy. I didn't have to wonder for long about who baby was because Tyler came down the hall bearing "Baby" ,a small lovely bug, on his hand. AUGH! The collecting bugs stage has begun! Breathe in, Breathe out. I can do this! So long as his "baby" never includes a slithering snake:) Notice the bat wielding Baby above! I told you he loves his bat and it goes everywhere with him. This picture was taken right after they both got up from their naps. Can you tell?

Tyler is a good big brother, and hates to hear Zachy crying. This morning at breakfast Zachy was a bit fussy waiting for his cereal and so Tyler decided to slip him a bit of poptart. Needless to say the fussing stopped immediately and Zach was inhaling his little tidbit of heaven.

Well, I have to run. I guess I'm going to be playing soccer as Tyler just brought me my "soccer shirt". Have I mentioned that my three year old has more athletic talent in his pinky toe than I have in my whole 5'5 3/4" body. Wish me luck!

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, 5 Little Golden Book GIVEAWAY!!

I told you, I love giveaways! Up for grabs is five Little Golden Books.

The books are as follows: Little Golden Picture Dictionary, Old MacDonald Had a Farm, Richard Scarry's Best Little Word Book Ever, Mother Goose and Seven Little Postmen. These books are used, but are still in great condition!

To make it a bit more exciting this time you can comment twice giving you an extra shot at the books. Leave your first comment just letting me know who you are , and then for the second comment become a follower of the blog or let me know you are already a follower for your second entry. Easy enough, right!
This giveaway will end on THURSDAY NIGHT, 6/30, AT 10 PM EST. GOOD LUCK!

Monday Madness

Does anyone agree with me that laundry multiplies from Saturday night to Monday morning?? I'm always amazed on Mondays at how much laundry I have in two days time. I think what I might do is get rid of all of my children's clothing except one every day outfit, one dress outfit and a pair of pajamas. Then instead of bathing them I will just throw them in the washer with their clothes on. Saves me time and money. Wouldn't that cause head trauma or breathing issues, you might ask. Well, I've figured it out. I would cut a hole in the top of the washer for their head to stick out and I would use the delicate cycle. I definitely would not put them in the dryer. I figured I would just drive them to a parking lot and let them lie out on the cement for awhile. No worries though I would lather them with sunscreen--and I would be careful to use the sunscreen that doesn't cause cancer! I only want what's best for my children! ha.

Speaking of Monday Madness... I realized that I definitely was not operating on all cylinders today when I handed my hubby a sippy full of milk instead of the chid standing right next to me. My husband just looked at me and grinned.

Tyler was full of energy and quirky comments today. He came barreling out of his room, while he was supposed to be napping, yelling Mom, I've got a job to do...let's get to work! I quickly reminded him that the only job he would be doing was napping. Unfortunately, he wasn't too excited about that job!

Tyler also looked up at me today, and said, "Mom, you're a smart kid"! Why, thank-you. I think.

Zach and his bat. He drags it everywhere....and everywhere that Zachy went, Zachy went, Zachy went, everywhere that Zachy went his bat was sure to go. It followed him to school one day, school one day, school one day....

Zach is now officially 11 months old. He is eating big boy food and loving it. Not only is he eating big boy food, but other random objects. I saw him munching on something today, and thought maybe he had stuffed a little piece of paper in his mouth or something of the like. Tyler told me ,Mom, he has a sea shell in his mouth. I just smiled thinking yeah right. When I should have been thinking, yeah, you are right.  Here is the little offender.

Where did this shell come from?? I've decided not only does laundry multiply,but toys and random objects also multiply in our house!

Stay tuned I have another giveaway coming up....

What Am I Thankful for this SUNDAY? Modern Medicine!

I am thankful for Robert McNeil, and all the other brilliant chemists/ pharmacists out there who invented Tylenol, Excedrin, and all other lovely pain medications. When a migraine comes knocking, they help make the visit more bearable! On  a side note, before modern medicine what did they do for migraines? Bite a bullet, bleed their foreheads,  drink whiskey, apply a paste or maybe they practiced the old saying, just grin and bear it.

I am also thankful for the bits and pieces of rain we have been getting!! I heard Tyler outside talking to the rain tonight....telling it he was glad it came to visit. I think it was based on that song, Rain, rain ,rain its good to see you again....". :)

What are you thankful for this Sunday?

Two "SHADY" Characters Were LURKING Around Our House Today!

Here are some mug shots of these characters~ look closely~ have you seen these "men"?

Zach had fallen asleep in his car seat yesterday when Tyler peeked over at him and said, "That is the CUTEST baby". Precious. Tyler then decided he would kiss his brother's pudgy hand. He reached over and gave a firm tug on Zach's arm almost pulling his little limb from its socket and continued to pull until Mommy intervened. He did have good intentions. He just didn't realize that Zach's arm was not made of rubber bands. I did notice today that Zach's left arm hung even with his toes. I'm hoping it will shrivel back up. Do you think I should get it checked? ha.

Roses are RED Violets are BLUE, I went to the OUTLETS maybe YOU should Go Too!'

Typically after Christmas and Easter I like to hit up the outlet mall closest to us for their big sales. I guess today counts as an after Easter sale/ close to end of summer sale kind of day. I got a lovely little invite to go along with my parents, bless their hearts. We loaded up the double stroller, double food for small fry, sippy, bottles, dvd player, extra outfits, toys, blankies, the kitchen sink and two small children and we were off.
Children's place had an incredible sale. I love to stock up on sweater vests for the boys there, and today they were marked down to $2.99. Not only were the sweater vests marked down to $2.99, but so were the sweaters and a variety of other items. I bought the boys a couple matchy-matchy items for this next spring/summer. Take a peek.

My next big stop was Gymboree. I love Gymboree, but I don't like to pay a lot, AKA cheapskate. Today Gymboree was having a huge sale where everything in the store was $10.99 or less. YIPPY! Here are a couple of the play outfits that I bought for Tyler that will fit him this winter/spring.

The tiny tiger shirt and matching pants were each $2.99. The baseball shirt was $2.49 and the pants were $1.99.

Our driver for the day! I have told him how important it is to keep both hands on the wheel at all times... BOYS, they just don't listen! :)

Back to the potty training topic...Tyler has this issue with wanting to share with random people that he now poops in the potty. Its special. Today he chose a sweet little Grandma to tell his news to. I was hoping Grandma was hard of hearing. She wasn't. She went right along with him and congratulated him. She told me, in a sweet little accent, Oh, Honey you have your hands full, but think nothing of it I had five". She then informed me that the way she had survived was by using EAR PLUGS. That's a little nugget of truth I will have to store away:) ha.

So, what are you waiting for.....get to the OUTLETS!

Decorating a La Yard Sale

I love Saturdays. Not only do I get to yard sale,  but I get to spend time with two of my favorite girls. ( Mom, don't you love being called a girl:) Of course, an extra perk is that we always stop at McDonalds. Food, count me in! ha.

I thought I would share some of the decor that I have found at yard sales. One of my favorite finds is the Paddington bear in Zach's room. It is in perfect condition. I remember asking how much they wanted for it, expecting a high price since its somewhat of a collector's item. When they said $2..uhm sold. The storage cubby/night stand I also found at a yard sale for $5 and the Paddington Bear books I found at Good Will for $6. The small pacy loving child is priceless.

I wanted to show an armoire that my husband shabby chic-ed. :) I don't have a before picture, but it used to be black.

AND THE WINNER IS>>>>

I used the truly random generator and out of 17 entries number 16 won! So...Mary Ellen step on down. Thanks everyone who entered it was fun! So fun in fact that I plan on doing another one...that is as soon as I figure out something else to give away. Honey.. Tyler.. Zach....hmmmm I wonder where they all went??? :) :)

Bryce with Sprinkles, Please.

Tyler requested Bryce for lunch today. It took me a little bit to realize that no my child was not a cannibal, but was requesting rice for lunch. He ended up with noodles, close enough, right? Not only did he get bryce, but he got sprinkles on his bryce. Sprinkles=Pepper.

Today was crazy hair day in our house. I moussed up Tyler's hair to stick straight up in the middle. I'm still not sure if he was impressed or appalled by it. And we moussed my hair to stick straight up everywhere....oh wait, my hair does that everyday anyway. I like to call it my frizzles. Let's just say my Chi hair straightener is my best friend. A shout out to Angie, who showed me that I too can have straight hair with a little extra effort. ha.

In other news, we had a visit from the tiny town racer today.

Potty Training 101

Tyler announced to me this past week that he was potty trained. Whew. I am so thankful he told me...I would never have known. ha. Through blood, sweat and tears I believe he is finally potty trained.

I feel like I have walked away from this having learned a great lesson. I will not even begin the potty training process with Zachary until he is at least ten. I am actually hoping he will potty train himself! :)

Death By Treadmill

With every teeny tiny itty bitty fiber of my being I loathe exercising! I only have two options though: its either exercise or wire my mouth shut. Although, I think wiring my mouth shut would be the simpler of the two. My worry with that is without fluids I would dehydrate and dry up like a prune. So my options are narrowed down to one: I MUST EXERCISE.

 The BEAST, otherwise known as the treadmill, is now sitting in my family room instead of the garage to encourage me to use it. Sadly, it really hasn't helped its just an extra hiding place for dust.  Here is the thing, I climb on the treadmill and exercise until my legs start quaking and I start seeing spots. I look and see that I have burned  20 calories. Wohoo. I am so proud of myself, but wait only 20 calories? That means that I only burned off the calories from the sugar free piece of gum I accidentally swallowed. AUGH! I am exaggerating and I know it is totally worth it to exercise. Not only to lose weight, but more importantly to stay healthy. My heart is a muscle and by exercising it makes my heart happy. I get it.

 Why should I exercise today, I ask myself?? Its the right thing to do. Its the healthy thing to do. It will give my heart a new lease on life. etc, etc.  It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that if I exercise it will help me feel less guilty about eating a piece of left over birthday cake:)

~PROJECT: SHABBY CHIC~

My husband is the talented one of the family. He is incredibly crafty and loves re-doing furniture and building things. Me--I am just the supplier, AKA the yard saler of the family. Recently, I bought an antique desk at a yard sale for $20. It needed help, but had great bones, so I brought it home to live with us. Here are the before and after pictures.

This picture was taken before all the paint was stripped off.

Paint completely stripped.

Finished Product.

Stay tuned...I found an antique dresser a few weeks ago that the hubster is going to start working on this week. Speaking of the hubster its so good to have him home!

I am definitely not the only one who is glad he is home. I caught this precious little bundle (the one without the shirt:) splashing toliet water around today. Yeah. While I was boiling scrubbing his hands I was telling Jonathan how amazing it is that such a pint sized person could get into so much trouble. He looked at me and said, uhm, Honey, I wouldn't consider him pint sized he is more like gallon sized. ha. I love that chubby little Zach.

On another note, I have a secret to tell you. I just found out today that the Fed-Ex truck is actually an ice cream truck in disguise. No joke. At least that's what Tyler believes. I wonder what would happen if I stopped the next Fed-Ex truck that passed and asked them for 2 scoops of mint chocolate chip ice cream with whipped topping and  a cherry on top:)
                                                 

**BERENSTAIN BEAR** GIVEAWAY~7 BOOKS

I love giveaways. I have signed up for so many giveaways in the last couple years and of course I ALWAYS  never win. ha. Don't feel sorry for me though, I did win a collection of lip gloss this past year. Wohoo.  Hopefully, you all have better luck than me.......without further ado I bring you the Berenstain Bears.

These books are pre-owned but are still in great condition. There are a total of seven books: The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist, Moving Day, Trouble with Friends, Count Their Blessings, Ready, Get Set, Go!, Trouble with Money, and The Berenstain Bears and the Truth. Great set!

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below. This Giveaway will end on Thursday night 6/23/2011 at 10 PM EST. Good Luck and may the best man win:)

NAME THAT FOOT

I love these pudgy little Zachy feet. This Sunday I am thankful for the two pairs of feet that pitter patter through our house. ( Although, Zachy still hasn't mastered walking so I would say his sounds more like a clippity clop:) There are many days when I would love to sit in the corner and pull every hair follicle from my head because of the owners of those feet...but at the end of the day I wouldn't trade those little feet for the world. So thankful for my little guys on this Sunday....and of course, thankful for their Daddy:)

What are you thankful for this Sunday?

I LOVE YOU LITTLE...I LOVE YOU LOTS!

Happy Father's Day!!! I want to wish my Dad a special Father's Day! God has blessed me with an incredible Father! If I had to describe him in just a few words he would be my supporter and my fix it man. My Dad has always stood behind any dream that I have had and has helped me to accomplish my goals. He has always been my fix it man whether it be something that needs painted, cut, hung, mended ( he even sews--it may be rustic, but he sews), or fixing a broken heart. Thanks Dad, for being there for me and raising me to love and serve Christ! And a flash back from all of my notes when I was younger:
I love you little, I love you lots. My love for you will fill ten pots. Fifteen buckets, sixteen cans, two teapots and  four dishpans!

Second, I want to wish my, Father-In-Law, Mark Elvin:) a happy Father's day. I love having him as my second Dad, and even though I tease him a lot I really do love him! Thanks for raising such a wonderful son that I get to call my husband!

And lastly, a very Happy Father's Day to my Husband! Our boys are so incredibly blessed to have you as their Daddy! I love you and wish you were here with us for Father's Day:( The boys have a little something they would like to say....

I almost forgot we have a budding pianist and singer in our family. We do have a small issue with him eating the microphone, but hey a little extra fiber never hurt anyone.

HOME=STARBUCKS

We have been working with Tyler on the different states trying to teach him where we live and where his Grandparents live. For some reason, he has the hardest time remembering that we live in  Florida. He can remember that his Grandparents are from Pennsylvania and Kentucky and he even remembers that we are going to Avaska, otherwise known as Alaska, this summer. Although, we probably shouldn't have explained the Alaska trip to him quite so soon because he doesn't understand we still have a month until we leave. When we went to Sams Club the other night he looked at me and said, "Mommy, is this Avaska?"
While driving down the road the other day I once again began quizzing Tyler on where we lived. He pipes up from the back seat and says STARBUCKS. I got so tickled. Do you think Mommy might love Starbucks a little too much? ha.

Anyone out there a yard saler?? I get so excited on Friday nights anticipating my Saturday morning yard sale-ing. Just thought I would leave you with one of my favorite yard sale purchases recently. I scored this incredible picture frame for $5.00. I love it!

ANDRETTI OUTING

My husband is a youth pastor and  a couple weeks ago we took this year's winning  youth team to Andretti's thrill park. The park consists of laser tag, go carts, games, etc. It was a lot of fun and quite an adventure for Tyler.

We stopped for lunch before arriving and one of the employees asked if we had everything we needed for our "family". Hello. We had 10 youth with us ranging from 13-17, a 3 year old and a baby. That means that I birthed 10 children in a four year time span from the age of ten to fourteen. It reminds me of the people who ask you if your child is a boy when not only are they dressed from head to toe in pink but they have a large pink bow planted on their head. Not that I have ever been asked that since I tend not to put pink bows in the boy's hair.

Andrett's was a neat place and Tyler enjoyed every second. He rode on the go carts with Daddy, he played in the park, but his absolute favorite was riding the train.

Zachy, on the other hand, was happy just to sit in his stroller and eat his little peach puffs.

I was the baby tender and purse tender ( too bad they didn't make me the cash tender:) for most of the day. I did get to play one very intense game of PacMan. The only problem was I couldn't remember if I was supposed to eat the little men or not. I quickly learned that I was supposed to be running from the little men. I also played a few games of air hockey with the hubster. He beat me every game. I never was good at hand-eye coordination games, well, for that matter any game unless talking counts:) I do believe my three year old is more coordinated than I am....

~GW BOUTIQUE FINDS~

I took a little trip to the Goodwill and found some great bargains today! I was able to buy 3 sweaters, 1 top, 1 pair of shoes and a set of books all for $11.54. Woohoo. I think they gave me the senior citizen discount. I'm elated, but I probably should be offended. The set of books I bought to sell on ebay...so hopefully I can recoup some of my money.

Anyone else out there a GW boutique shopper??

The Orchid Slayer & The Song Bird!

I did it again. Another innocent orchid bites the dust. The "green thumbed" Nurse is away on vacation so I am in charge of the office. This is only my fourth day and I'm already down an orchid. I noticed it was wilting the other day and so I spritzed it with some water and its been down hill from there. Its a joke in the office because I can never keep the plants alive. I'm good at keeping the candy dishes filled though. :O)

On a completely different note...I thought I would include a video of  Jesus Loves Me sung Tyler style. I wish I could bottle up a tiny pinch of his energy. I hope no one needs a neck brace after watching this!

The Importance of Safe Driving Skills!

Recently we have been trying our best to teach the boys the importance of safe driving. We want them to learn at a young age how to handle a motor vehicle. It works out wonderfully for us since they can drive themselves to their own play dates and it frees up time for me to stay home and do household chores.  OF COURSE, they are only allowed to drive during daylight. We want to make sure we put the proper boundaries in place.

Surprisingly enough Zach was the one that took to driving the quickest.  We started him out in the stroller first.

And then he graduated to driving one of his little cars.

We have full confidence in his driving skills and so he quickly began driving the van. Its great for long trips to have a couple extra drivers.

Tyler, on the other hand, struggled with driving. He always just wanted to sleep, which obviously was a big problem.

We found a great energy drink to give him before he takes his turn at the wheel though~worked wonders. Jonathan worked with him a bit on a go cart first.

And, then he too graduated to driving the van. His little eyes are sensitive so he always requests to wear sunglasses:)

What a relief it is to have reached this milestone. Whew. I'm sure this will make their teenage years less chaotic for us.


DISCLAIMER: For the faint of heart, no we have not yet worked on teaching our boys to drive....we figured we should at least wait until they have reached the ripe old age of five:)

What Am I Thankful for this Sunday?? WASHABLE MARKERS!!

Approximately an hour before church tonight Tyler and his accomplice, or should I say victim, Zachary were playing so nicely in the family room. Then  it got strangely quiet~ never a good sign! I went to check on them and Tyler had taken the lids off all the markers and put them on his fingers. Cute. I then noticed that he had marked  all over my floors and  all over himself.  (Thankfully we have hardwood floors) Then in the corner of the family room I saw a little drooling blue smurf, otherwise known as Zachary. Yep. He had used the blue marker to mark all over Zachy too! Needless to say the boys got their second bath of the day. This Sunday I am extremely thankful for washable markers....so thankful in fact that I could give the inventor of washable markers a big kiss right now.
 What are you thankful for this Sunday??

On a side note, did anyone realize that today is actually Christmas? At least that's what Tyler's been telling me. He has wished me a Merry Christmas at least three times today and even given me one of his toys as a Christmas gift. So Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.