My 3 WitCheS

I sure hope that you all had a Happy Halloween!!!

It is actually really hard for us to have ALL that candy at our house.... so this year we skipped trick or treating and headed to the cabin. Because if you can't trick or treat, you may as well have a PARTAY the cabin with Grandma!

I made this cape for Kisserbella and the bow. She is the CUTEST little witch I ever done see! Don't you agree? Even if you don't, say you do.

Unfortunately this was the best picture I could get of Savannah. She is such a turkey sometimes! IT was crazy hair day at school on Friday so I did 6 piggies with ribbons in their hair. It was more cute than crazy. Ain't it great to be CrAzY?

Doug took this of Mikenna. She said "Daddy, take it while I am doing this... and this... and this..." Oh boy. We are in trouble. Her latest thing is getting a little on the cranky side with me. Like for instance, I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for her and it had the chunky peanut butter. She about came unglued. I told her daddy did it. To which she replied, "oh." OH!!! OH!!! OH!!! WHAT? Are you KIDDING ME?

Then at the cabin I didn't pack her Halloween pants because I couldn't find them. I know shocking.... then she was mad that I didn't pack them (luckily I thought to bring her Halloween shirt on a whim no less). SO I being the VERY smart mommy that I am (I learn quickly) I said, "Oh daddy forgot to pack your pants. Sorry." And all was forgiven.... SERIOUSLY????

OK SERIOUSLY????

Mikenna and one of the two twins.

For our PARTAY, we had skeleton and brain dip. At first it sounded REALLY disgusting. My first thought trailed back to last year at work for our Halloween party somebody brought in grey jello from a brain mold. It was actually quite delicious.... but still. When I saw what it was, I thought it would be SUPER fun to have for dinner. SO here it is.

After I decided to do the skeleton and brain dip I googled Halloween recipes and came up with "witches fingers" (supposed to be a cookie, but I had already failed at the caramel apples and the "breadsticks" turned out to be more like bread loaves.... so I just put the red fingernail (red almond) on the bread loaf and called it good.) and these meatball eye balls. Hilarious. AND Mikenna wouldn't touch it for NOTHING.

Dad said it was all a bit more effort than he would have afforded, but it was fun for the girls.... I think. We then played musical chairs, ate popcorn balls, and did Halloween projects.

AND here are the two twins and Kisserbella. Aren't they FREAKING adorable? Ya I am not SUPER into Halloween, but we made it fun. AND now I must rest.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

A HaPpy LiFe

All around me I see the picture perfect families.

I go to the grocery store and see the cute little mom all done up with her 3 kids and their perfect hair, clean clothes, and of course stellar behavior. And of course I am there in my sweats, freshly washed (still wet) hair with my children who have long since pulled out their pony tails and look disheveled from their day at school.

I skip around to other blogs and see the picture-perfect-not-a-care-in-the-world-nothing-bad-ever-happens-to-me-families. And of course here I am, spewing the reality, not sugar coating (actually I am) my life all over the internet.

LOL!!!!!!! Isn't that funny? Ya. No.

Then last night as I was washing my face, I looked in the mirror (it was scary at best) and thought to myself. Wow. I am lucky. I am lucky because I have a house to live in. A modest one at best. Simple.

But I still have a house. With 4 walls. And people who love me who live in it. I have memories in my little house. I have children who are my world.

I have a car to get me from place to place. It might not be anything special to someone on the outside looking in, but it is special to me. It keeps us safe. And I don't really mind driving (who am I kidding. I. LOVE. IT)

I have good friends. Friends who listen to me. Who pluck my eyebrows, pick at my ingrown toe nails, give me a shoulder to lean on, bring me treats just when I need them, text me just to see how I am doing, call me just to say hi, pick up my kids from dance, exercise with me.... and so much more.

I have a good husband who does laundry, washes dishes, sweeps floors, bathes children, rocks babies to sleep, holds me when I cry, loves me no matter how many buttons I push.... and so much more.

This was a long look in the mirror and perhaps today I will blow dry my hair, put on some make up, and wear something other than leftover sweats I pulled from the dirty laundry..... then again maybe not :)

Moral of the story: I am grateful for what I do have and as long I don't dwell too long on what I don't have .... then I guess I can wait .... until someday.... when I do have.... all that I long for. Which isn't much.

Phonetically Speaking

We must first start with Kisserbella. OF course. Funny thought. Yesterday we were going to Costco and Mikenna likes to look at my phone. She has figured out the applications on my phone and knows how to get into the pictures. She says, "Mommy, there are a lot of picture of Isabella on your phone." Do you think she was implying that the 3 pics I have of her and Savannah combined and the 285 pics of Isabella are unfair? Maybe. :) But her are a few more... of the Kisserbella.




I know that everyone is doing parent teacher conferences. Oh what a great time of year..... well hopefully. We hope that our kids will succeed. We cheer them on. We work with them each day and night so that they will be successful in all that they do.

Yesterday we were at Mikenna's Let's play music class and she had to do a solo exercise. I was cheering her on in my mind, hoping against hope that she would do it correctly, but more important confidently. It was an interesting parenting moment for me. I am sure all the other moms were silently cheering their kids on, but I wasn't. Only I was cheering for Mikenna. (not that I wanted the other kids to mess up, I just have a vested interest in my daughter :))

Well anyhow, back to the point. I went to the girls parent teacher conferences. Savannah is doing VERY well. Behavior. Academically. Social. It is crazy. The teacher told me that they are even learning to read!!! I was floored! Savannah. Read? WOW! So she showed Savannah a few words from a book "ran" and "van" and she TOTALLY knew what they were!!!!! IT was AwEsOMe. I almost fell out of my chair I was so flabbergasted.

Then on to Mikenna's class. She is quite the social bug I am told. Need to work on that :). But when put on the spot becomes VERY shy. But who cares. I don't really like being put on the spot either. I know. Surprise. Anyway her teacher was explaining the importance of spelling. Did you know that in order for them to do algebra that they need to learn to spell phonetically before they spell correctly? Ya. I can't really wrap my brain around it, but now that you mention it I guess I can spell pretty good and while it only took me until 3rd semester Calculus, I finally learned algebra too. So maybe they are related?

Whatever.

I went into the playroom. Mikenna spends a lot of time there on the white board that we have hung on the wall. And on the white board I found this:

I am not sure what kind of a mother this makes me, but this was HiLaRIouS!!!!!! I just couldn't let it go unposted.

Mod Podge

Anybody know anything about Mod Podge? I want to Mod Podge sheet metal with scrapbook paper, but haven't a clue which one to use? They have indoor, outdoor, fabric, wood, etc.... and I am TOTALLY lost!!! Let me know which one works better on the metal surface.

Also..... If you know HOW to do it, please explain :) Do you glue down the paper with the mod podge and then mod podge over it?

HELP!!!!

MaNy MaNy WeDDiNgS

This year has been a year of new additions to our extended family. First of all Adam and Chelsea were married!!! Chelsea is a DOLL and we have had SO much fun getting to know her (my family members are NOTORIOUS for NOT bringing around the people they are DATING until they are 6 weeks from their WEDDING date.... don't worry I am not bitter :))

I digress.

WE love her! She is fun, witty, smart, and keeps Adam on his toes.Well these two have been married FOREVER!!!! But they are expecting...... A LITTLE BOY!!! We are so excited to have another baby grandson added to our growing brood (well MY growing brood anyway:))

Let us not forget Lauralie and Derek (sorry not a wedding picture to show.....) Although it turned out really great being outside in the Arizona heat in the MIDDLE of the SUMMER. We didn't sweat ALL our guts out, but we did lose some water weight :).

I digress again (don't laugh Jenny:)).

They are a very cute couple who enjoy being together and making each other laugh. They are actually a hoot to watch. Derek knows just what to say to Lauralie and it is usually the right thing. Lauralie has discovered that she REALLY can COOK and BAKE and she LOVES it. (I think)

Let us not forget the TURKISH Settler, that would be Doug's brother Burke and his bride Rachelle. For some reason, Doug saw fit to give each of his siblings a nick name that had absolutely NOTHING to do with their real names and well Burke ended up with Turkish Settler, Turke for short, like Burke, but with a "T." :)

I digress again.

We LOVE Rachelle. She is a darling girl with a magnetic personality. Her smile is infectious. And well she puts up with Burke and what more could we ask for. Right? Oh Burkey. I don't have a picture. Doug has them all on a CD somewhere. Will post when (and if) I find !

St. George AND the Marathon

We went to St. George a few weeks ago, so that my husband could run the marathon. Yes. You read correctly. That is 26.2 Miles, just in case you were wondering. The St. George marathon IS GORGEOUS!!! There are a ton of supporters and the scenery is AWESOME. And the company isn't bad either (thanks Don and Liline) (sorry grandma that we dragged you all over the place and made you walk 2 miles UP HILL) I am glad that we all survived it.

We (the girls and I) woke up around 7 to be out the door by 8 and pick up my cousin by 830. We then walked 2 miles UPHILL pushing a stroller with TWO flat tires (DUH!!!!) and we missed them at the 16 mile mark by like 2 minutes. GRRR!!! So we ran down the hill (ok we took the shuttle) and went to wait for them at mile 23 *we barely made it*, Then we went to the end (and missed them AGAIN by 2minutes) Owell. We met up at grandpa Walters house and there enjoyed stretching, gatorage, and HUGE pieces of bread.

Congrats babe! You. Are. My. Hero!!!!!!!

Thanks to my husband. I have the BUG!!! No I am not sick, well I suppose that depends on what you define as sick :). I have been running about 5 miles a day for about 2 months now (aside from the week my partner was sick and the week I was in Idaho) and when Doug finished the marathon, I was INSANELY JEALOUS. I know. You are shocked.

And then I caught the bug. I ran it by my partner (who was still thinking we would do a half 13.1: cake if you ask me :)) and she thought it would be "fun" or crazy to do the full marathon in Sedona. SOOOOOOO drum roll please..... we are going to do it. Feb. 6. After coming home from Idaho and a week off from running I picked back up again, ran 5 and then 2 days later ran 9!!! I haven't run that much in who knows how long.... and why would I? Well if you have the right timing, the right partner, and the right husband, all the chips fall where they may and you too can begin training :) oh and you need some motivation. LOL!!!! (yer dum)

I should blog

I should blog, but I don't even know where to start. And I am so exhausted I can't keep my eyes open any longer.

What we have been up to:
week long trip to Idaho
weekend in St Georgoe for Doug to do the marathon
a funeral
working
birthdays.

Will update later :) Hopefully tomorrow after I have NOT run 9 miles, like I did today :)

Mouse in Granny's House!!!

You may have been wondering where I have been (or not).... well we have been there and back and there and back again. I have been working in between and trying to keep the house in order. :) Will update later, but for now I must tell about the....

The Mouse In Granny's House

It was a beautiful fall day in October. All was noisy throughout the house, with cousin's giggles and squeals alike. Little boys and girls playing dress up, watching movies, stealing their chance at the nintendo while the boys were away....

When all of a sudden an uncle heard the "pat, pat." The sound of little paws passing on the tile. All the kids were playing and laughing together, but it was heard amidst all the clamboring.

Suddenly, tiny little squeals and cries came from around the wood stove.

Little noises, quiet as a mouse, trying to get out of a trap of sticky icky stuff.... When Uncle Colt looked around...... he found it!!!!!

Yes peoples. Isabella was that wittle mousey. I had a notion to go and look for her when I saw Doug coming down the hallway holding Isabella in outstretched hands, sticky icky stuff and all.

We tried with alcohol, soap, water, NOTHING WORKED. So Doug being the EVER so handy husband, googled it. When all else fails, GOOGLE works. Every time. Oil people. Veggie table oil. Smeared all over. Works like a charm. Even on the face. OOOOOOOOO so gross, but she is kissable again at last.