No tears this time!

     It was a success!!!! The race I mean! Jim ran really well and once again, God sedated my ducklings! Well, baby girl did explode out of her diaper into her car seat just as we were headed to the starting line. I had to change her little toosh in the back of the car in the freezing cold...poor thing! Melissa and her friend Hannah were rockstars! They showed up and helped me out!

     That says a lot about their character, for 2 college girls to get out in the freezing cold on a Saturday morning to help a boring, married mama with her ducklings!

     Really, I bribed them with hotcakes from McDonald's! After the start of the race we piled into the warm car and headed over to McD's where Taylor devoured 6 pancakes and 2 yogurt parfaits. After potty runs we were back in the car just in time to catch Jim at the 12 mile!! The boys got out and gave him a high five!!!

     We had plans to hang around Oxford to do a little shopping and eat lunch, but after the first store I was done. That was all the Oxford-snobbiness I could handle.

Friendly Reminder

Just a friendly blogosphere reminder to change your air filters!!!

It's race time again!

     It's beginning to be that time of year again---race time. Jim's a serious runner, whatever that is, all I know is he trains a lot and he's fast. He could care less about placing or getting a medal. He races against the clock, trying to improve his time, something I love about him! It is a plus when he does win races where there's a monetary award though! I love going to his races. Before we had Andrew, I never missed a race. After Andrew's first race, Jim's gone solo to quite a few.

     Tomorrow {Saturday} will be the first race that all five of us will attend together! Yah..I'm nuts! There's just something about showing my support for my husband in all he does, not only in our home, but in public as well. I also think it's pretty cool for Taylor and Andrew to get to cheer for their daddy! It's so sweet! Jim is a super hero to these boys. At the Watermelon Festival in Water Valley last year Taylor had a throwdown screaming tantrum at the start of the race because he couldn't go with his daddy. It was so embarrassing...I couldn't even hear the prayer or the starting gun because he was wailing so loud. Jim keeps asking me over and over if I really want to go. All he can remember is the first race I took Andrew to.

     It was the Bodock Festival in Pontotoc, MS.  It's an evening race and one of our favorites to attend. We hadn't gotten to go to this race in 2 years because we had been in D.C. I was so excited. Not only is there a race, but a festival, vendors and lots of carnival-type food--my favorite!!! I don't know what I was thinking, taking an almost 3 month old out at 7 in the evening in the hot, sticky, muggy Mississippi humidity. Ya'll think I hold it together in public now.... Well, I didn't then.

     The race crowd was bigger than I had remembered...had to be a million people there. {exaggeration, probably a few hundred} Taylor was excited! Andrew was fussy. He was having tummy issues at the time and we hadn't yet figured out what was wrong. I got very very overwhelmed. Among a million people, with a 2-year old and a screaming 3 month old, I got a rare and very, very bad case of clausterphobia! It was awful. I thought everyone was staring {they probably were just admiring my glowing beauty=my sweat}. I thought everyone just kept getting closer and closer. For the first time ever, I wanted Jim to be the first one coming down that hill for more reasons than one. I wanted to get the heck out of that place. I was scared to death. Jim did come across the line first. By the time he found me on the courthouse steps I was doing all I could to not to burst into tears.

     He could see it on my face. "Honey, can we go home, NOW?" I hated leaving all that cotton candy, chicken on a sticks and corndogs behind, but I really couldn't take it anymore. As we walked away from the race, without Jim's prize for first place or getting his official time or having his picture taken for the Pontotoc Progress, I began to sob. Andrew and I cried all the way back to the car.

    So, as I prepare snacks, outfits, and blankets for our race debut tomorrow morning, Jim is remembering that long walk back to the car. He's probably asked me 10 times tonight if I was sure I wanted to go! I'll most likely regret going, but I have help meeting me there.{Melissa--remember her!! She's a life saver!}  It'll be freezing, not a sauna...a plus in my book.
   

I had to get back in the kitchen sometime

     My sweet friend Tammy had us over for dinner recently and made Chicken BBQ "Sammies" in her crockpot!!! OOOhhhhhhhhhhh, those things melted in my mouth. Jim even had seconds. It was sooo good. She got the recipe from Heather at Home with Heather and I of course had to have it too!
     I have never successfully made anything in my crockpot, but Tammy and Heather make it sound so easy and very helpful for busy mommies. I knew I was going to have to get back in the kitchen and start cooking at some point, so why not try these Sammies!

Here's what I used:

1 cup Ketchup

1/2 cup Maple Syrup

2 Tbs Mustard

2 tsp Lemon Juice

1/2 tsp Chilli Powder

1/4 tsp Garlic Powder 

4 Chicken Breasts (boneless, skinless)

I mixed all the ingredients in my greased crockpot pot.

I didn't have any garlic powder so I used minced garlic instead.

I cut as much fat from the chicken breasts as I could

Set my crockpot for 4 hours, I think I was supposed to do it for 5 though.

Added my chicken breasts.

In about 3 hours, my chicken was tender enough to shred with two forks.

And that's it! I think I had my crockpot up too high though, because to finish out the 5 hours, my liquid all got absorbed and seemed a little dry to me, but it was still sooo yummy. We ate this on whole wheat buns and it lasted us for 3 days! Tammy had all the fixin's though...she had the cole slaw, potato salad and pasta salad!!!

The next time I make it, I'll attempt to make some cole slaw!

Cooking in my crockpot was finally a success!  Maybe I'll try it again!

Just another ordinary day!

     We began our new Bible study this past Wednesday on the book of Jonah. I am sooo excited about this study because Mrs. Kay is leading us through the book, verse by verse, my favorite way to study Scripture! I think I was more excited Wednesday morning than any other.
     I got us all prepared on Tuesday night, uncertain just how I was going to make it out the door on time without any meltdowns. It was our first time back to Bible study since Carrie Ann had arrived. I packed the diaper bag for Andrew, including both boys' snack bowls and extra snacks. Packed Carrie Ann's bag, bottles, diapers, etc. It was all in vain!
     Jim and I awoke to rattling coming from our bathroom Wednesday at 6 stinkin' a.m....I had only just fallen back asleep from feeding Carrie Ann. The sound is our two other little monkeys hanging out in our bathroom (our bathroom, closet and laundry room are all connected so you can get there from the kitchen). The rattling is them shaking their snack bowls to get their goldfish out. Six a.m.!!!!!!!!!! They usually don't get up until at least 7!!! Awful, just awful! Jim put them back in their rooms. At 7, I got up with the boys and fixed their breakfast, found the trail of goldfish and raisins the boys had made. Turned on a cartoon and sat both boys on the couch while I went for a shower. I do this just about everyday. Well, not the breakfast part, Jim usually does that, but I usually turn on a cartoon for them while I get a shower.
     I'm showering, Jim's shaving. I get out, hear the boys having way too much fun for Mr. Philips, so, in my towel, wet hair, I head to the kitchen, when I arrive, this is what I found:

     Can you see Taylor standing there in the background? He's saying, mommy I didn't do it..Andrew did it. Andrew did it, Andrew did it.

Andrew was soooo proud of himself, he threw his hands up and it rained flour. When he got up to walk away, he acted as if he was skiing...

Upon further examination of this picture, I can see that Andrew didn't in fact act alone...there are big brother sized footprints all through that stuff! If anything, he instigated and cheered him on!

     Can you see why I was really looking forward to Bible study that morning!

     I know what you might be thinking, same thing I would think had I seen this happen to someone else: where were the parents? Well, I was in the shower, Jim was shaving. Mr. Philips 47 inch was babysitting. Might sound more pathetic had we been doing productive, more necessary things like nursing Carrie Ann or using the bathroom, something like that. The pantry, from which this flour was retrieved, had a child safety lock on it...ironic dontcha think!

     I held it together, I didn't cry, at least not then. While I was drying my hair, not once, but twice, Andrew pulled the two Swiffers and dust mop down out of the laudry room, breaking my beloved Swiffer Vac in the process. As I was digging through the boys' dresser drawer for matching socks, I lost it...I am the the one who had the meltdown! I stood there and cried like a baby!

     For lunch, I strapped those kids in the car and made them eat in their car seats...I didn't want to clean anything else up! Then...2 minutes before naptime, I am feeding Carrie Ann. Taylor starts giggling, pointing and squealing. Andrew has taken his pants off, along with his diaper! He's standing in the middle of my blessed dry clean only rug {note to self: never buy one of those again, no matter how good it makes your room look}. DO NOT PEE ON MY RUG!!! He takes off running, I can't unlatch Carrie Ann fast enough.

 Yep, that's exactly what you think it is! Tee Tee!

And again...he was soooo proud of himself...at least he stepped around it before he ran off!

     So now, I have a broken Swiffer Vac and ruined the filter on my vaccuum, because apparently, you aren't supposed to suck up flour with it! Go figure!

A house for the birds

     A few years ago I met Mr. Adrienne.  I finally met his wife, Mrs. Bonnie, less than two years ago when she was leading a Bible study I was attending at our church. She is such a delight! I have really enjoyed getting to take Bible studies under her leadership. I see Mr. Adrienne every Sunday in the hallway outside our classroom...he does something out there with the records, not sure what though.

     Mr. Adrienne had told me once that he used to teach shop and that he would help me with anything I needed. I love those kind of offers!!! I commissioned Mr. Adrienne to make me some matching picture frames for my living room for my three ducklings.

     I started staining them the week before Carrie Ann arrived and haven't had the first second to finish them up yet! However, when we went to Mr. Adrienne and Mrs. Bonnie's house to pick these up, Mr. Adrienne had a project for Jim and Taylor to do! He had cut out all the pieces for a birdhouse for Jim and Taylor to assemble!

 

Jim is explaining why this is the first time he has ever used a nail gun...

      Mr. Adrienne is very methodical and has a tool shop that made me giddy!  

 He led Jim and Taylor step by step in assembling the birdhouse.

     Taylor was scared of the little drill at first. Then he got the hang of it!

They added the car tag roof.

Taylor had soooo much fun!!!!

They added a sparkplug as the welcome post!

Taylor is Mr. Adrienne's new adopted grandson!!!

He even cut out a birdhouse for Andrew, but we are going to wait until Andrew is a little older to put it together.

This was a very special time, we loved it and had so much fun!

Taylor's new birdhouse is sitting on his dresser, waiting to be hung out by the water early this Spring...It'll make that bluejay that hangs out on Carrie Ann's window sill a very nice home!

Thank you Mr. Adrienne!!!! {And thank you Mrs. Bonnie for rocking Andrew to sleep!}

A picture's worth a thousand words

Here's a sneak peak at Carrie Ann's newborn pics...
If you love 'em, as much as I do, let Amanda over at
Reflections by Amanda Smith know!!!

Nana's Apple Cake

     Our friend Mary sells Tastefully Simple products. It's like Taste of Gourmet and Company's Comin'. If you are unfamiliar with these, they are a semi-homemade person's best friend! They usually consist of all the non-perishable ingredients to a recipe-you add the perishable. One of Jim's favorite is Nana's Apple Cake offered by Tastefully Simple. {See Mary's site here}

Really, this is all you need!

The mix, 2 cups of chopped apples (any type) and 2 eggs.

There are lots of options listed on the side panel that make different versions, but I went for simple!

I used Golden Delicious Apples, it only took about one and a half apples to make 2 cups.

Mix all ingredients, pour into 8x8 dish and bake for 45 minutes on 350.

I scooped out a spoonful of delicousness, topped it with some cool whip and toasted pecans and drizzled melted caramel over the top!

Visit Mary at Tastefully Simple to see what else they have!

     

Our Family

These last two weeks have been fun, yet exhausting. But, I have had a very helpful little "Big Helper"---Taylor! He has been the best helper. I've taken this time to teach him that he is his brother's keeper. For instance, when his little brother sticks the Mr. Potato Head ear in his mouth {exact reason I don't allow them to play with these un-supervised} Taylor is quick to snatch it from him!

Or when Carrie Ann is fussing, he'll sit down in front of her and pile tons of toys on her to see which one it is that she wants.

 He's picked out every Barbie doll there is for her. When she got her Valentine cards from his cousins, he asked me what would happen if Carrie Ann didn't like princesses?

They like to pull their chair up right in front of her swing and "look" at her! Yah....I was washing dishes and looked over and saw the swing seat about to do a complete 360...They don't get to do this anymore! 

This is how we spent our Valentine's Day...relaxing!

  And this is what I ate!....well, not all of it...Jim got one piece!

Finally, I blog again!

     Yes, finally! I put a cake in the oven {for Jim, hehehe}, sat down to nurse the baby, the Daddy put the Middle Child down for bed, and played with Bigger Boy, while nursing...looked over at the Daddy, told him I missed My Lemonade Stand...funny---he said he noticed today I hadn't gotten to blog in week!
     The baby fell asleep while nursing, the oven beeped-cake is done. Yum, Nana's Apple Cake smells sooo good. Put sleeping baby in swing, put Bigger Boy down for bed, convince him he doesn't need a lamp to sleep. I return to the living room and I push the power button on my computer. Wow, haven't done that in a while. The Daddy retrieves the cake from the oven. I get all the dressings out for the cake- roast some pecans, cool whip, make some caramel topping, stuff like that.
     That little stinker of a Baby is awake and screaming...OH MY WORD... She has sucked me dry so I made her a bottle. I picked her up to find she had pooped. Upon further inspection, I see that her diaper failed and she's gonna need a sponge bath! Once cleaned, she drinks her bottle, burps and I hand her off to Daddy. I return to the kitchen to find my cool whip had melted on the cake...
    Melted, schmelted! That stuff was good! Wouldn't you know it, as soon as I picked up my computer, typed the word "Finally," and that Baby Girl would start suckling on her daddy's chest...OH MY WORD....I do remember something about a growth spurt around 2 and a half weeks...
     So, if you are wondering how it's going...well, my vacancy from the blogosphere should explain it all. This is it! It's going great! I'm being mommy and wife with very few distractions and very short to-do lists. I've been busy, to say the least, but it's been a good busy. So as I type this out, I have figured out how to rig this Baby Girl up on the left side at the same time...yes, I know...ever the multi-tasker!
     This Baby Girl has been my best nurser, which is great for so many reasons. One, being the best, most natural weight loss plan God ever designed!!! Only problem...all the desserts people keep bringing us! {Don't stop bringing them, oh no...I'm just sayin' is all} 

My Demise

Thanks Lori!

Oh Happy Day!

     My 19-month old, Andrew, just wimpered, he's waking up from his nap, early no less, and my milk let down! Oh, I do love my babies! Ca..razy!
     My mind is fadunkled {I made that word up} today.  God has blessed me immeasurably over my life and especially more so over the last 2 weeks. I gave birth to our third child 10 days ago. That's 3 in 3 1/2 years. Jim and I have decided that now, with three, we are certified nutcases parents...not that one doesn't make you a parent, but now we feel like pros! {Who are we kidding...we're a circus act about to make it to the big top!} We'd like to be done having babies, but we all know Who's really in control of that.
     My friends here in Tupelo, and those from afar-via email/facebook, have gone above and beyond blessing our socks off with their love, generosity and cooking! It looks like Reynolds wrap threw up in our fridge! No lie! I haven't had to crack a pan since I came home from the hospital...except Jim did make me breakfast in bed for my birthday on Sunday. They've come to visit, sit with me, play with my kids {they just want to hold the baby, I know how they are!} remind me that the world still exists even though I am too chicken to leave my house! It's been so great and so wonderful. I can't thank them enough! You girls know who you are! {Cris, Deanna, Tammy, Sandy, Anna, Jennifer, Bebbie, Rebecca, Martha...and the list continues!}
     With new chapters, new changes get to occur. This spring Jim and I will be in the middle of some 180 degree changes in our life, we'll celebrate our 5 year anniversary, new professions, new roles...and me...I've got a new plan! I'm going to slow down.
     I thought Jim was going to spit his chocolate pie out of his mouth last night when I told him that I have loved not getting out, not having any plans, no demands of things to do {this coming from a very task-oriented person}  If bedrest and pregnancy didn't keep me down...being strung out on pain meds {not really, but I was last night}, no sleep and nursing around the clock will! Because I've sat still, my house has been cleaner, Jim says I'm nicer {??}, I've gotten to play on the floor with my boys, concentrate on nursing more.      
     I've made new goals...daily goals...
Like...today I will shower; tomorrow I will empty the trash; I'll do only one load of laundry a day; vaccuum the floors today. So far, it's felt great to mark off on my to-do list...even if there was only ONE thing on it!

    Well, now both of my boys are standing in front of me squalling, with eyes full of tears...I have no idea what they are crying about...don't think they do either...so guess I gotta go save the world!

Playroom Makeover

This disaster is was our playroom.

This is the playroom when it was in somewhat of an orderly state...

With some convincing, Jim let me sell the couch, and it's matching loveseat, woohoo!

This wasn't a room on our original home plans. It was the space for the dining room, and just a column where the corner is. We had the area walled up and added french doors so we could use it as a study or playroom. With a tight budget, I am well on my way to making it a fun playroom for our kiddos as well as a warm, cozy place for Jim and I to come be alone and watch t.v.

We  {Jim was out running and I was supposed to be doing something I'm sure a lot less straining...I did do this 2 days before Carrie Ann arrived!} I started by cleaning out the room.

The floors in this room are great, but we are carpet people and I want it to be warm and soft for the kids.

For $48 I bought a carpet remnant from a local carpet company that was just a foot larger than the actual size I needed. I also purchased carpet padding to help soften up the feel and to help protect the hardwood.

Andrew didn't think it was a good day for a nap and thought he'd help his pregnant mama instead.

Using a tape measure, scissors and Jim's {haha} new rotary tool set, I cut the carpet remnant to fit. I shewed Andrew off to the living room to play with his un-assembled train table.

Back when I made my trip to IKEA the day after Christmas, we got this really cool shelf on the super inexpensive side. Now, had I been aware of Ana over at Knock Off Wood: How to Build Knock-Out Knock Off Furniture, I would have built and customized it myself...but I didn't so I got this shelf for $69!!!

The shelf to the right is also an IKEA piece, that we bought before moving to this house.

And, Wahla!!!  And yes...it stays this perfect all the time. Gotta go pick out a cool lamp for the far left, to finish out the look. The big black bins are all sorted with different toys and I intentionally put the heavy stuff in them so the boys wouldn't pull them out!

This room is..To Be Continued...because I got interrupted by labor...but that is okay. As soon as I am fit and able, I will go lamp shopping at none other than my mecca...Hobby Lobby...  At the opposite end of the room, beside the window will sit a big comfy chair and ottoman. I will visit my favorite fabric store..PHI Fabric Wholesales here in Tupelo and get some fabric from their clearance reems to make curtains for the window and for the french doors. {just in case we ever have a house full and need to use it for sleeping!} On the right wall, I intend to use magnetic and chalkboard paint and make a big chalkboard/fridge door for the boys...they love the chalkboards in their rooms.

It's still a work in progress, but Jim and the boys have been very pleased with how it has turned out so far!!

To be continued....