Gotta Share This With You

This is really out of context for my blog but I just have to share this cool product I've found! I love the little powder packets out there that you can mix into your water bottle. There are 2 that I'm especially in love with.

They are the Kellogs K2O protein water and the Vita Splash Fiber Infusion powder packets. I love to eat. But I want to be healthy. And after having three kids and my weight being all over the place for the past five years, I'm constantly trying to find something to help me with my eating habits. I want to maintain my weight healthfully.

With that being said, protein and fiber both help you stay fuller longer. They also help to to curb "over eating desires" - at least they do for me! :-) Anyway, I throw these babies into my water everyday. Sometime I even put one of each into my water bottle. They are low calorie and I have to say that they really do make a difference in the way you feel! I LOVE these and will continue to purchase them.



Oh, and they taste really good too.

Mommy Moment

I confess. I have "those days" where my kids drive me up the wall. I love them with all my heart, but sometimes they make me loopy! Well, today was one of those days. Every little thing they did drove me insane. Luckily there weren't any meltdowns or I might have lost it.

BUT, when you have a moment like I had towards the end of the day, all those annoying things instantly melt away!

I pulled out some pots and pans for Lillian to play with while I prepared dinner. Well, she was shortly joined by her brother and sister. Before long, they were playing "drums" on all my bowls. I wish you could hear the ear piercing noise it was making. But they were happy, so I let them.

All the sudden, I hear, "Oh no, Mommy will you forgive me? I broke one of your spoons." (btw that's how LOUD they were playing them).



Wow, I hadn't even gotten seen the broken spoon or gotten upset and she was already asking my forgiveness. I told her yes and thanked her for acknowledging her mistake.

Then out of the blue Olivia said, "I just listened to God. He told me to ask you to forgive me. And I did!" :: heart melting ::

God knew I needed some encouragement today! Just to hear my sweet baby talk about listening to her Heavenly Father makes it all worth it. I love it when I have those "mommy moments". It really makes all the hard days or long nights insignificant. There's a bigger place out there for all of us one day!

You Know He's Nuts When He Gives Your Kids....

power tools...real...power tools....to play with. Leave it to my children's father to "set up shop" for them. Literally. Actually, it was a cute idea. Whenever Robert is working in the basement or outside, the kids are right there with him. He's always trying to fix something. He's actually quite good and can figure out how to fix anything. Whether it be to re-wire the telephone lines in the house, or fix a broken training wheel on a bike. He can do it. He's my dear "Mr. Fix-it".

Landon, of course, wants to do everything daddy does. What son doesn't. But Robert took it to a different level - at least for a three year old. He made a little make-shift workbench for him. Then put lots of screws and nails just barely in it so that he could drill and hammer them in himself.

Landon had a field day. LOVED IT! And it came so naturally for him.


Yes, that's a real drill the THREE year old is using - quite well, I might add.



Now he pulls them back out so he can screw them in again. I'd say there's about 15 screws in the piece of wood. But hey, whatever keeps him occupied.

When he was done, he even emphasized the need to put the drill up in order to take care of it. Hopefully teaching him to take care of his things. What a hard thing to teach children. We're constantly trying to teach the kids to take care of their toys/rooms, etc. We tell them that when they take good care of the things that we've given them that it makes us want to give them more. Olivia is definitely getting this concept lately.

The bigger picture being that our Heavenly Father wants to bless us. But we need to be good stewards of what he's already given us. Then He will entrust us with more blessings - hopefully to be used to glorify Him.

I guess we're starting small. :-)

Not Done Yet

Boy, I have enjoyed playing around with my blogger template. I've always loved computers and they have always been pretty easy for me to understand. I think I programmed all of my college friends computers when I was at Ole Miss. I was the 'go-to' computer girl on my floor in the dorm. :-)

I knew that if I could just take the time to 'figure it out', I'd know what I was doing. Learning HTML is like learning a new language. But a few tutorials later, templates don't look like jibberish anymore. Surprisingly, they make a good bit of sense.

You've probably noticed my background, and columns, and header changing a bunch lately. It's not done yet. I'm just having fun exploring the infinite ways you can change your blog. It's SO fun. BUT, my awesome graphic designing sister and I are coming up with a cool header idea. Our brains are reeling with all the different options we have. Plus, she's fluent in photoshop and illustrator - two programs you need to know pretty well to create such fun designs. (I'd like to become more photoshop-savvy soon as well!)

Hopefully, between our two crazy brains, we can design something fun!

Keep tuning in for the final result...but for now, everything will probably look different day to day! ;-)

Bear With Me Please

I'm in the process of playing around with Photoshop (can we say...confusing?!). But I'm trying to come up with some fun things for my blog...at least personalize it a bit.

So until I really figure out what I'm doing, it may look kinda crazy for a while!

Years of "Rivalry" At A Peak!

So we got a chance to play Nintendo Wii at the lake this past weekend. Again, SO much fun - for all ages. After we put the kids to bed one night, of course, we broke out some competition on the wii.

Lacey and I decided to box each other! What a great way to work out any sibling frustration you've had over the years! We're 18 months apart, so we know A LOT about that! We got to punch each other in the face...yet never physically hit each other!

I haven't had so much fun in a while! ;-) Here are some fun action shots!


I must have done something good here! :-)

By the way, this is what we're watching so intently! :-)


I think I actually lost, but it was only because I had never played the boxing before! She had a good bit more experience on this game than I did! BUT, it was still fun to punch her!

Love you Lacey!

I Messed Up...Bad

I am human. I make mistakes. Luckily this isn't a huge one. But my heart is heavy. Robert has been leading a financial small group. One about getting out of debt (house included) and getting your money to work for you, etc. We've been working so hard at our finances after a rough 2007. We had so many financial hits and we finally have our head above water and are making INCREDIBLE progress. It's truly amazing. Praise the Lord!

I should go ahead and say, that to put me in a cute clothing store, without kids, a 'credit' to the store, and a debit card...well, it's just plain dangerous. My blood starts flowing like crazy. Endorphins begin consuming my body and my brain falls out to the floor. I am incapable of making rational financial decisions.

I came out of the store that I was in having spent way more than I knew I should have. My reasoning to the sales girl was that I had to "see it on me at home". Oh, and the ENTIRE store was on sale. AHHHHHHH.

I knew it wouldn't be very long (29.5 hours to be exact) that Robert would ask me about it. I stumbled over my words for any excuse that would get me off the phone with him as fast as possible.

My wonderful, patient, understanding husband showed me such incredible grace and mercy. That doesn't excuse the fact that I messed up, but for some odd reason, it really showed me how much he loved me. He didn't yell at me or get so upset that I actually became happy with my mistake. His response instilled in me even more of a desire to follow our financial plan and goals he has set out for our family.

I blew it, and I'm sure I'll blow it again. But I'm learning. We're all works in progress.

I'm so glad our Heavenly Father is even more forgiving that our earthly soul mates. What a wonderful example Robert set for me today. Thank you babe! I love you and I'm sorry!

Sweet Sisters

My sister and I were 18 months apart growing up. It was rough in the teenage years, needless to say. So, Olivia and Lillian are 4 years apart. I'm so curious to see how the age difference compares to Lacey and me.

Tonight, I chose to bathe only Olivia and Lillian together. I also let them play longer than I normally do.

I'm so glad I did. It was so sweet. To see Olivia take care of her little sister was so sweet! She was so eager to bathe her and wash her hair. She made sure she didn't fall over and go under while trying to reach the toys. Olivia was so attentive to Lillian's lack of coordination in the bath tub.

I sometimes feel bad for Lillian that I am not as eager to let her play and splash in the bath water as I was with Olivia. These days, her baths are more like "Wham, bam thank you m'am!"
You know...as long I get the job done!

But tonight, I let them stay in just about as long as they wanted to!


"You ready!?!?!"


"Water doesn't hurt! It washes the shampoo out!"


"Gotta wash your body off!"


"I think you need a little more scrubbing!"


"Maybe just a wee bit more!"


"Now we can splash and play!!"


"You learn so fast!"


Love the hair!



All clean...thanks to big sister Olivia!


Brother couldn't stay away for long. He knew he was missing out on a fun bath time.

Hey, a little water poured in the eyes doesn't hurt. She was probably burping all that up last night!

LOVE MY GIRLS! (AND BOY, OF COURSE!)

My Sick Family

Poor things...not to sound cocky...but what would they do without me! I mean, they're helpless!!


We're definitely on the UPSWING!!!

What Happens When You Have 3 Sick KIDS....

How can I say this without sounding like a bad mother. It's WAY easier to have 3 sick kids than for me to be sick. Let me explain.

1. The kids feel so bad they just sit there and the house says somewhat picked up.

2. The kids feel so bad that they don't have the energy to fight with each other.

3. They take really good naps!

4. They are so pitiful that they just want to cuddle with you and lay on you!

5. They don't whine for food and entertainment all day!

6. Sometimes, they even fall asleep on the couch in the morning and STILL take an afternoon nap!

7. They go to bed even earlier than they normally do - and ASK to!


Despite having twice the amount of cleaning (sheets, blankies, pacifiers, spoons, etc) it has been surprisingly easy to have sick kids. Yes, I'm ready to see the light of day. Yes, I want my kids to feel better - it's not fun to watch them be sick. Yes, I ready to get back into the swing of things. But over the past couple of weeks, I realized that me being sick is far worse on the overall status of my home than caring for sick kids.

Oh, and purell doesn't work - at least when you want it to. "IT" claimed Robert this morning as well. And let me just say, that might be the hardest "kid" to care for! ;-)

Again, it could be much worse. We're just going to push through all this and come out fine on the other side! Hopefully it'll be just in time for some nice spring weather! Yay!

Not Often Enough

How often do you encourage, bless, or affirm your siblings or family or even friends? If you're like me, it's not often enough. For my brother's 21st birthday, my mom asked us to write a letter to Walton blessing him and encouraging him. Ok, sounds good, I can do that!

I didn't know what I was going to say or what I wanted to say. But what surprised me the most was how much I would enjoy writing it! I sat down, put the pen to the paper, and it just all came out. I got to tell my 'baby' brother how much I loved him and how proud I was of him. I also got to encourage him and pass on some of my own perspectives that God has blessed me with about life. Then I wrote out a little prayer for him! Life is tough out there for kids these days, especially during this transition into adulthood! I especially prayed for spiritual and physical protection over him! And even for his future wife and children!

When I got done, I went in and said, "We need to do this more often for each other!" I got to put on paper things that I don't get the chance to say to his face the little that I get to see him. You never know what tomorrow holds. Family is so important - and our relationships need constant attention!

I urge you the next time you see a loved one to bless them, encourage them, affirm them! We all need it! And it feels even better to give it! I think I benefited just as much as I hope he did from our letters.

We love you Walton!

The Bonfire

We knew we wanted to do another bonfire during this lake trip. It was HUGE, thanks to Mac and him dousing it with gasoline before he lit it! I wish I could have captured the sound it made when he lit it...and then the "Wow" he said after he realized that half of it was out of the fire pit. He quickly ran and got the hose. After we set up chairs and fried everything we could think of in the fryer, we sat around the fire, made s'mores and had a little worship time! We gave it a good effort at least!


It's been so long since we've picked up a guitar. But I think we winged it pretty good!

Can we say, multi-tasking?

Next time I think I might try and get a few songs learned before we go!




How the marshmallow ended up all over her hands, I don't know...I think it had something to do with Uncle Mac! But they sure were good!

More On Their Birthdays!

Since the weekend was also dedicated to the kids birthdays, we had some fun surprises for them! They got a fun birthday cake that they got to nibble on all weekend! YUM! We also planned a little scavenger hunt for them to find some more goodies!


We had little clues that sent them out and about outside! They got a movie, and Olivia got a kickstand for her bike!


Tackle boxes!


A game and puzzle!


A helmet for her bike and airplane!

And the nerf guns...a big hit! They loved them!


Then they had a pinata full of candy! They loved knocking all those goodies out!



We took a few naps in the hammock! Lillian loved that fresh air!


She took a really good nap with daddy Saturday afternoon! Lil even joined in that one!

We Made It....Barely!

Whew! What a fun weekend. We're exhausted, and a little sick, but it was all worth it!

For my brother's 21st birthday, he got a Nintendo Wii. And he was oh so generous enough to leave it at the lake all weekend for us to play with it. Ok, I wasn't sure how I was going to like this Nintendo. It drives me crazy when people just sit at the tv playing video games all day and night. But this is SO different. And REALLY fun. The kids could even play. All ages for this and highly recommended! We're all so sore from playing it too!



Helping them figure out what they're doing!


They're playing baseball....Olivia is pitching and Landon is swinging...and nailing some home runs too!

I'll have to post some more of the boxing game - it's hysterical! Two people just punching their arms at basically nothing but on the screen A LOT is happening! More on the Wii later! :-)

What Happens When Your Sick With Three Kids...

1. They eat anything they want whenever they want - including ice cream for lunch and after nap.

2. You put up with a lot more whining and crying than you usually do because you don't have the energy to get up and do something about it.

3. You pawn them off to anyone that will take them. (Thanks mom)

4. You become obsessed with purell - it's literally in every room of the house. And I sent Olivia to school with it in her backpack...can you say...OCD??!! (But they did pray for me she said!)

5. You also become obsessed with lysol wipes and wipe down every surface you can think of...phones, door knobs, etc.

6. You watch A LOT of Noggin (decent kid tv channel) to the point where you are starting to enjoy them as well.

7. Let the boy go so stir crazy that he is hitting me with the baseball bat and I just walk past him like a zombie!

8. You let your 5 year old lay in bed with you while you nap - and actually get 2 hours of sleep!

9. Let the 8 month old sleep with you because you can't get up to put her back in bed after she's eaten!

10. Hope and pray that no one else gets this crud I have.


But, I haven't been sick in a loooong time.....and it really could be worse. Except we're supposed to go out of town today....at least by tomorrow morning.

Please say a little prayer for me, and for my family that nothing gets spread around and this weekend turns out better than it's starting off!!! It's their BIRTHDAY WEEKEND CELEBRATION!!!

Empowered

Turning 5 has been very empowering for Olivia. I guess it was the first birthday where she actually realized she was growing up and getting older. Ever since her 'big day', she believes that she can do more than she did before her birthday. She actually feels more responsible for herself. She's been keeping her room super clean doing chores around the house without being asked! (Definitely a plus for me!) She's been memorizing verses with me, and keeping me accountable. All of which she attributes to "being 5 now!"

Well, we were outside playing this weekend and she was riding her bike. I told her that when I was 5 I learned to ride a bike without training wheels! So we took the training wheels off of her small bike and began to work on balancing with her. I was running behind her holding the seat and showing her how to pedal.

Robert had a better idea and that was to teach her to ride down the small slope in the grass so that if she fell, it wouldn't hurt as bad. What a great idea! She really gained her confidence doing it that way first. It wasn't but maybe an hour later that she was brave enough to try it on her own in the driveway!

Let me just say, I wasn't expecting her to learn this fast at all. She was hesitant at first and we had to earn her trust. But then, every time she went a little bit further, she kept saying, "I'm 5 now and I can ride I bike without training wheels!"

So...here are a couple of tiny clips of her riding! In one, Landon gives her a loving push-start!











She can now start and stop all by herself, even without getting some help from the hill in the driveway! WHAT A BIG GIRL!! I'm so proud she kept getting back up on that bike and not giving up until she had accomplished it!

I just think she looks so darn cute on that tiny bike! I can't believe my baby can ride a bike without training wheels!

She also had a very intelligent, handsome teacher!

Can You Tell??

The days are starting to get longer! Everyday, we get a little more sunlight. I LOVE IT!!! It was killing me when it was dark at 4:45 pm!! During the summer, I would send the kids to play outside while I cooked dinner and I was able to cook in somewhat peace and quiet! Of course, we enjoyed many a mornings and afternoons out as well.

So....when do we turn the clocks again? Bring on that Vitamin D!!!! This weather is beautiful!!!

We're praying that it keeps up through the weekend at least! :-)

Smell and Memories

Over Christmas while we were out of town, I left a few articles of clothing behind. Mainly some of the kids clothes. Well, we received the box the other day and Olivia realized the night gown she had been missing was in it! She went to put it on that night and as she was slipping it over her head she said very enthusiastically, "IT SMELLS LIKE MIMI AND POPPY'S HOUSE!"

Wow, it's so cool how the brain works. She immediately associated that smell with her grandparents!

We miss you guys! We love you!

Birthday Dinner

Since we aren't technically celebrating the kids birthdays for another couple of weeks, we did want to acknowledge their birthdays. We asked them where they would want to go eat dinner and with no hesitation it was, "The place where they cook in front of you!". They love those Japanese steakhouse places. I can't say I don't hate them either - sushi...YUM!!!


Holding up how old they are!



Watching them cook - and using their chopsticks!


Pretty good at those chopsticks!



I do exist..Robert snapped one off of me.


This picture is hysterical to me. This is what they looked like with they were singing 'Happy Birthday' in Japanese. Uh...you could crack a tiny smile guys!


The fam!

After dinner, we let them use their toys r us cards from their grandparents! Landon got a big truck and Olivia picked out a craft kit! You should have seen their faces when they realized they could pick out almost anything in that huge toy store!! They were on cloud 9!!

When we came home we let them finally eat their birthday cakes!



Whew! And still more birthday celebrations to come at the lake!