So what wednesday!

It's Wednesday! Wahoo!











So what if I could have hung my children by their toenails when I went out and they had pushed 2 feet of water out of the 18 foot wide pool.  Needless to say, they are in HUGE trouble and have zero pool privileges for two weeks.  Its going to be a long hot 14 days.

So what if I am loving the summer sleep schedule the boys have been in. Gav sleeps in until nearly 10 each day, and the babies sleep in until 8. 

So what if I completely forgot we had an AEA meeting this morning until 20 minutes before.

So what if I hand delivered a chunk of the boys' birthday invitations because I was too cheep frugal to buy more stamps.

So what if Jay Jay ran away again the other day and instead of letting his soggy, smelly, mud covered body into my van to come home, I walked him outside the van door, driving really really slow all the way home.

So what if we were suppose to have family pictures again today (rescheduled for the second time due to rain) and they were cancelled again.  We went with my sister's wedding photographer who was running a super special so it was a deal that was too good to pass up, but now I am slightly annoyed but I really need to get them done, so we will try again next week.

So what if I made a photo collage of what we are wearing...

 

So what if I have no idea what I am going to cook for supper tonight... mostly because I haven't had to cook much for supper since we have been running to ball practices, most evening meals have been sandwiches.

 

So what if I am so excited for my little get away to Omaha this weekend!  I am going by myself to see my friend Crystal on the Megabus (couldn't pass up $5 tickets!)

 

So what if I am getting rather impatient trying to find someone to come put in our new windows and I might have thrown a little tantrum about it yesterday.  I understand Scott can do it, but I just wanted to pay someone to get it 100% done, not 1/2 done, not 99% done, I wanted it 100% done so we weren't "going to put up that last piece of trim" on the day before Karter's graduation party.  I want it done, and I want it done in a 3-4 day weekend. I don't want to be living in construction zone, I want it started and completed project, not like the babies room that has a beautiful brown paint on the walls and leftover grey (because it wasn't ever painted) in the closet.  I am still waiting on 300 other projects to be 100% completed around here, I don't want to start another one.  And not to mention, I am just tired of walking around a giant roll of carpet in our living room, and tired of looking at the inside of the wall under the window.  I want this job done, and I want it done now.

 

On that same note, so what if it has been 1 year ago Friday that we were hit by that storm, this is also the last day I was able to open the windows in my house.

 

So what if that really is all I know today!

 

 

 

 

Epiphany in a lawn chair...

Another ball game was on the family calendar tonight.  4 out of my 5 week nights have been spent sitting in grass, smelling like bug spray and extra deodorant, watching one of my offspring play baseball.  Tonight was no different.  It was muggy, hot and sticky.  The bugs were out for blood, literally, and there was no breeze to speak of. I had mumbled under my breath all afternoon about how much I wasn't looking forward to going to the game tonight.  But Karter was excited, he loves ball. They have a great little team of young men, who cheer each other on and their skills and sportsmanship shine.  It is our first year on the team, most of them played together last year, but you wouldn't know that, because they have accepted him as a member of their team.

It took 2 innings tonight until it was Karter's turn to hit, I sat on the edge of my seat and watched as the coach took pitched him the ball. He hit it, stared at the ball(we are working on that) and then started to run.  He made it to first, and eventually around to home as the other players took their turns. We clapped and cheered.  By the fourth inning he was up to bat again, same thing happened. We clapped, we cheered. It was then that it hit me, like a ball batted deep into the outfield.  I watched him cross home and then jump up and down as he cheered for the boys behind him.

He doesn't have to be the best one out there, he doesn't have to hit it deep into the outfield, just being out there is more then we could ever have dreamt for him.  You see, there was a time when we were faced with so much uncertainty of what Karter would be able to do.

Tonight I updated my facebook to this:

As I sat in a chair and watched Karter hit 2 (maybe 3) coach-pitched balls at his game tonight, my thoughts quickly moved from the yucky heat and gross bugs, to the day Scott and I sat at Blank with a seizing infant and a Neurologist who was telling us she really couldn't be sure what our baby would ever be able to do or not do. We were faced with so much uncertainty, so much fear, all of those worries have been taken care of by God, and we have a strong, healthy little boy who loves people, playing ball and Jesus. We are so very very thankful.

 

Karter was diagnosed with a seizure disorder as an infant, its a long story that you can read here.
I am just in awe of this little boy that God chose to be mine nearly 8 years ago.  When I see him crossing the bases, snuggling his brothers or singing in church with his hands in the air, my eyes are instantly filled with tears.  He has such a special testimony, he doesn't even know it yet. God is doing some big things in his life and I am so thankful that he is mine, even when he cant remember where he last took off his ball socks.

Happy #6 to #2!

 

This little boy, who raced into the world and into our hearts 6 years ago today is having a birthday today! Not a birthday party, but just a birthday day.  We started the morning off with one of the smack you in the face and rock your world church messages I have eve witnessed.  Then it was fried chicken for lunch, presents and Monsters University the movie in the afternoon.  Our evening was spent swimming and having a bonfire for birthday s'mores.  What a great day to be six!

 

 

For his birthday, Gavin wanted:  a dirt bike, a four wheeler, a snorkel and a body pillow.  He received a snorkel, a outside game, a body pillow with pillow case, a piggy bank and no dirt bike or four wheeler.  I know, I know, we are the meanest parents EVER. 

 

 

 

 

Here is a little list of things I know about Gavin.

 

1. He has such an adult sense of humor.  Things he thinks are funny, really actually are. For instance, today while eating our fried chicken he looked up completely serious, tossed his hands in the air and shouted "I ATE THE BONE!" (think KFC commercial) I nearly died in a fit of hysterics.
2. He is OBSESSED with things that run on gas, dirt bikes, four wheelers, ATV's, anything.  You can nearly hear the testosterone flooding through his veins when he speaks. 
3. He still has an explosive temper.  He can go from 0 to pissed in .09 seconds and has a hard time dealing with change.  I think some of this is because he is very literal and left brained, which as a right brained person, I have a hard time relating.
4. He still cant ride his bike without training wheels, but he can finally tie his own shoes! 
5. He loves getting to go help Pa. Tearing down a house, or putting together a motor, Gavin is always up for the challenge.
6. He still sleeps with and loves Chewie. 
7. He thinks I may be 99% incompetent at any job that isn't "girl related" IE checking my oil, putting air in a tire, etc...
8. You are a great little beat boxer.  It makes me smile every time, and I really need to get you video taped doing it.
9.  He loves hanging out with his dad, but still wants me to tuck him into bed every single night.
10. He eat a huge variety of food, he is definitely not a picky eater.  His current favorite thing to eat is fried gizzards( I know, I just threw up in my mouth just typing that out- yuck!)
11. You love t-ball.  Your favorite part, is your grass stained ball pants.  You slide into every base, every time.  Then you stand up, look at you knees and smile to yourself.  I have some popeye like muscles for scrubbing the stains out of the pants each day.  Your very best friend in the whole wide world is on your team and you love it.  I love, that you found something you enjoy doing!

So what wednesday, on friday...

 

This Wednesday, I am tired. A little more then tired actually, like exhausted. I can tell I am worn out because I start to get that feeling that people are mad at me.  It is stupid really, but I constantly worry about people hating me or secretly being mad at me.  It's my own insecurity really, and somehow in my distorted perception on reality, my tired brain bends comments out of context, and turns glances in to daggers.

But it is Wednesday. And is usually my favorite day of the week.  Today is a little extra special, because I have most of the day to hang out at home, I have no where to be until 5:30 tonight and have 0 things that NEED to be done today.  My plans are to rest and recover from a crazy last few weeks.  Just last Monday-Friday I put 290 miles on my van. I made no less then 3 trips to town each day.  I would like to make a trip to Maaco to have my van painted taxi cab yellow.

So without further ado....

So what if my children who go to bed every night at 7pm haven't been to bed any earlier then 9:45 all week. 

So what if we made our official crossover to large family status by getting a Costco membership.  That's right y'all I can now buy in bulk.  Bam!

So what if I am SOOO excited for next weekend because I am going to Omaha to visit my friend Crystal.

So what if I have decided that at nearly 29 years old, I am so blessed with such an outstanding group of friends.  It is such a beautiful, eclectic basket of friends some I have been friends with for the majority of my life and others who are new friends whom I feel as through I have known forever.

So what if Jay Jay ran away yesterday and I am still horked about it. Today, I am researching invisible fence systems. 

So what if we have been putting on Max's diapers backwards so he cant take them off himself.  I am scared to death of a "code brown" in the bedroom.

So what if I bit the inside of my lip yesterday and then bit it 3,000 more times before the day was over.  Today it's swollen and raw and hurts like a sonofagun.

So what if I think the Kim Kardashian/Kanye West baby name is completely ridicules.  North West?  Awesome.  The only thing that could make it any more disgusting is if they had spelled it Knorth.  barf.

Blog hop- Wedding Details

So the details: New Years Eve 2005. My dress came from a going out of business bridal salon for $99.  It was cheap and fit so it worked.  My mom had to take the sleeves off because I hated them and they were itchy.  It was a beautiful day, and a snow storm was pending so some guests decided not to show, it was fine because the people who loved us most, were there.
  Our ceremony was small and intimate, and just the way I wanted it.  Our reception seemed huge, we had barbeque pork and salads for our meal and of course cake! Since it was NYE, we invited everyone we knew, who invited people they knew, and there was a ton of people throughout the night.  We rang in the new year with our best friends, (and all of their friends too-lol!)

I spend most of my wedding day doing this:

Location-- The Elks lodge in Newton.  My mom had the whole place decorated so beautifully that you really didn't notice the bar in the back (sounds classy right?) 

Bridal Party-- My mom limited it to 3, since we had already had a baby and so "even three was tacky." I really wish I would have pushed a little harder and had a fourth person, one of my dearest friends stand up with me.  Scott had 3 of his friends. My cousins were our ushers.

 

Colors-- Our colors were champagne, light pink, and black.  For the reception, it was all decorated in black, silver and gold (New Years Eve colors.) My bridesmaids wore black, floor length dresses that didn't match, but were less then $40 at Younkers.  Sam's dress was $50 at a bridal salon.  My favorite memory was that when Sam tried on her dress at Thanksgiving it was just a little to small, we told her to go back and keep an eye on what she ate, and work out a little.  When she came back for Christmas break, the dress was WAY too small and so my mom took the zipper out and made it a lace up corset back.

 

 

 

First Dance-- We danced to Kenny Chesney's "You had me at hello."

Honeymoon-- We spent the night in a hotel, and had passed out when we got there, we had Christmas the next morning. So no official honeymoon for us either.  I hope to go somewhere with just Scott and I someday soon.

What Would I Change?--Besides having a 4th person in my wedding party, I would have sold my soul to have a real wedding photographer.  My friend's mom took our wedding pictures and I legitimately have only 5 pictures worth hanging.  She was inexperienced and they were awful. I definitely shouldn't have tried to cut corners with my wedding photography. I edited most of them myself, and almost all of them are in black and white to make them a little better. I hope to someday rectify all of that by having some amazing pictures of us getting married in the middle of a farm field at my grandparents house. What really matters, is that I got to be married to this guy, the man that has held me up, loved me, and become my best friend through the years.

 

 

 

 

 

Some other great memories of our wedding day. 

• I was so excited to see him.
• He had sent me flowers, 1 dozen pink roses with a note that said "See you later."
• Our ceremony was small and intimate, just the way I wanted it.
• I will never forget the first time we saw each other.
• We were surrounded by all of our family and friends.

So what Wednesday!!!

SOOOOO what!

So what if I have like 50 (closer to 5) blog posts floating around in my head.  It honestly sounds like a monologue from Scrubs up there 98% of the time.  Posts about my latest adventures in child containment, how we have been spending our summer, about baseball, and about just life in general.  I will get them out... eventually.

So what if I have been putting Max on a leash to take him places.  I am pretty sure the whispers from the strangers I pass aren't commending me on my awesome parenting skillz. 

So what if I have also learned that blueberries, despite being in season and really yummy this time of year, also cause a LOT of poop. I don't think I have changed so many diapers in my life.

So what if Gavin's birthday list consists of a body pillow and a snorkel a dirt bike and a four wheeler.
 I wonder what he will end up getting?

So what if Luke chose to not make any noise to his speech teacher again today, but instead responded to her requests with some nasty stink eye.

So what if I have been driving to town at least 2 times a day every day this week.  Twice for VBS and again for baseball.

So what if I think Karter and Gavin in their baseball outfits is the cutest thing EVER.

So what if Gavin had his first ball game Monday and slid into home every time he ran the bases. He was covered in dirt from head to toe by the end of the game.

So what if Max nearly locked me out of the van the other day because while I was buckling Luke in he jumped in front and hit the button.

So what if I adore nap time every day.  If I could kiss it.. I would.

So what if as much as I adore nap time, I despise tattling.

So what if we have gone almost an entire week of not nursing throughout the day.  Just mornings and bedtimes.   But I have said "no nonny" or "no Na-nas" a million times each day. 

So what if that is all I have for today. 

Take me out to the ball game! -Karter

Karter had his first machine pitch ball game.  He was very nervous for his first game, and had been hitting some balls off the machine at practice and wanted to do a good job!

 He did!

 

 

Karter got a hit and was able to run all the way to second base.  His coach told him to run through, meaning through first base, and instead he ran through first all the way to second and made it without getting tagged out. Way to go Karter!

 

Running the last two bases!

Our dinner tonight!

We had an awesome dinner and I wanted to share so I can remember it for next time.

We had Sandwich Steaks (thin 4-5oz steaks) with a chimichurri sauce, with baked potato and ceaser salad.

I made the sauce like this:
 -I used one bundle of cilantro from the grocery store, mine hasn't sprouted yet so I had to buy it.
 -4 cloves of garlic
 -1/2 cup of olive oil
 -1/2 tsp of cumin
 -1 tsp of red pepper flake (use less if you aren't as cool as me don't like things as spicy as I do)
 -2 Tbsp of red wine vinegar
 -Salt
 -a pinch of Italian seasoning
 -1 splash of lemonade (I didn't add this right away but after tasting the above ingredients together I definitely thought it needed some lemon, I had none but I did use a little lemonade. If making again I would add some juice from a lemon as well as some zest.)

I through it all in my food processor and let her rip.  I brushed the steaks with the chimichurri sauce while I grilled.  I read that you could use the sauce as a marinade and would do that next time.

We dipped the steaks in the sauce. Gav loved it.. Scott liked the steaks but didn't care for the extra sauce. Oh well.


For dessert we made un-fried, fried ice cream.

I crushed 2 cups of corn flakes
and added them to 1/4c of melted butter and 1/3c of sugar and 1-2tsp of cinnamon and stirred.

I scooped up my ice cream topped it with the corn flake mixture, a drizzle of honey and chocolate syrup, a dollop of whipped cream and a cherry!
Yum!