Left hand on yellow!

I guess Jess knows a lot of Ashleys....

I have actually been tagged twice concerning folders and pictures. The first is the 4th folder with my 4th picture. Course, I have folders within folders within folders before I get to any pictures. I just picked the 4th one every time:This picture was taken back in the Fall of 2004. So, Aidan would have been 3. Twister used to be one of his most favorite games. He would fall down on purpose after a while. The best part was spinning the arrow and calling out the instructions. Aidan always felt so important.

This next tag was for locating the 6th picture in your 6th folder. I'm including this tag as well because I was pleasantly surprised at what picture came up: Yeah, all you see is a picture of pumpkins. Well, not only is it quite fitting for the season, but this was the VERY FIRST PICTURE I ever took with my brand new camera that we purchased back in Oct. 2006. So it has some sentimental value to me. But these pumpkins sure do look nice don't they?

"Brown, paper packages..."

So, I was preparing for Hunter's birthday celebration this weekend with family (yeah, his birthday was last week--but the actual party is this weekend) and I realized that I didn't have any birthday wrapping paper!! Oh no! I needed to get the presents wrapped ASAP before he came home from school and I was running out of time.

In my rummaging I found my good supply of brown, packaging paper (the kind you mail presents with). Sure enough, just as I find this I immediately started singing, "Brown paper packages tied up with..." So of course I had to get the "string" to finish out the thought! And so, it goes:How ironic that all of Hunter's brown packages are all perfectly square.

We'll see if these "brown, paper packages tied up with string" will become a few of Hunter's favorite things...

Even now, hours later, that song is still going on in my head!!!

The Blood-sucker!

I feel like this is just an absolute stupid thing to blog about. But, by the time Friday rolls around and I need to think up something to post I always use a thought that's been following me for the last week. This week, it'll have to be those pesky, blood-sucking insects that we call:

The MosquitoSince Ike, they have been absolutely terrible. Normally, they aren't an issue. Yeah, they are a part of life living down here in Southeast Texas. To put it bluntly: Mosquitoes LOVE me!!! I can be outside (sometimes inside) for 1 minute, and I'll get three or four bites. For me I have to think, "Would I spray myself down in repellent for just one minute of outside time or just bare the few bites that I'll get that will go away in an hour?!" I typically choose to get bitten! It happens everyday. The other day I was outside with Hunter for maybe five minutes. I came inside knowing that I had a fair amount of bites. Okay, I lost count at 45. Definitely a new record for me. Took me a while to overcome that agony (all the while I'm chanting to myself, "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" for not spraying myself down).

I've also learned that these pests love Robyn just as much. For a few days I'd notice these red bumps here and there on her body. It took me a while to figure out that they were mosquito bites. I felt like a horrible mom! I've since become more careful and try to minimize the mosquito bites on her.

So, this blood-sucker is on the top of my list of major annoyances right now. Believe me, they WILL find me! What I don't understand is why none of the boys in my house (including Jaren) NEVER get bitten!! That is so unfair...

But, honestly--with all complaining aside--I won't let these pesky insects come between me and my love for being outdoors. So, insect repellent and I have become the best of friends. I know there are other ways to deal with insects besides spraying this cheap perfume all over you but...whatever.

3 Months Old

It's the coolest thing to smile and play with Robyn. I seriously had forgotten how much fun babies are when they are able to respond to you. On most occasions, all I have to do is smile at her and say "hi" in my over-dramatic, cheesy tone and Robyn will just laugh and smile back. No more running out of energy trying to get her to respond to me!
She's got the sleeping thing down...as she sleeps 12 hours at night now (and has been for quite sometime). She spoils me! She's got the "holding the head up thing" down as well. Makes it much easier for the boys to hold and carry her. She loves, Loves, LOVES her exersaucer.As always, she continues to melt our hearts everyday.

If you grow it, they will come!

And this, ladies and gentlemen is why I grow pentas!
My first Swallowtail to see on MY penta plant.

Mr. Hunter

Happy Birthday big guy! You're 6...wow, I can't believe it!

I've got a yummy thumb!

It's the oddest thing to wake up in the middle of the night and hear the sound of vigorious "sucking" echoing in the entire house! The first time it happened, it took me a few seconds to figure out what it was! It was Robyn, our newest thumb-sucker!

Just another cute picture of her!(The outfit that she's wearing is one of my favorites)

The 'Spell Checker'

I should call this my "Quirk #8"....misspelled words! For some reason I've been bombarded with this problem much more than usual this past week. And, sadly it's been in letters and advertisements that I see or get in the mail. (FYI: this problem does not bother me in e-mails or blogs). I have a rule: If I get an advertisement with misspelled words in it I don't buy from them.

This reminds me of a most embarrassing day that I had years ago that involved a simple typo...

I used to work at McDonald's. Yes, this is true--almost ten years ago now. Anyway, I'd been there about a week and it was finally time for me to be trained on "the counter." Time to learn how to take orders and use the register. During the next several hours I was pretty impressed with how fast I was learning this. However, I had been getting some odd looks and comments from customers all morning and I didn't understand why. Then, I noticed that my manager had put a sign in front of my register proclaiming this:
Does anyone else see the problem?? My manager told me he'd fix it. So, here's what he does:I know...so much better, huh??

Jaren has a 2005 publication of The National Dean's List which he's listed in. There could have been atleast 180,000 of these published. This is supposed to be a fancy book where they list all the college students in the country who are recognized for their "outstanding, academic achievement." Great honor, right? Then, you start to read the publisher's letter starting with the very first sentence:Does anyone else see the grammatical error(s) here? It's just sad.

And it doesn't stop there. Every week we get a newsletter from the Elementary school and it's always got misspelled words in it! I'm reading something typed by a person who is invloved in teaching my children and I find misspelled words. That's just not right.

People, please! Take time to spell your words correctly before you proclaim or publish publically!

7 Quirky Things

I've been tagged!! I'm supposed to list seven quirky things about me and then challenge three other people to do the same! I honestly believe that I've grown out of many of my quirks, but then we just get new ones, right?

1. If I have to share a room with a group of children over the age of five, I'll go crazy rather quickly. So birthday parties....yeah, we're still working on that. And, I'm so glad I'm "unable" to volunteer at the elementary school right now.

2. I'm a party pooper when it comes to Halloween and Valentine's Day. I mean, what is the big deal?

3. I don't wear shirts that have to be tucked in! I don't wear generic T-shirts either (unless it's for hard labor).

4. I hate making phonecalls! Especially if the person on the other end is a stranger (which is always the case when you have to contact your insurance, your bank, your credit card company, etc.). If all the world would communicate via e-mail what a nicer place it would be. This is such a phobia for me that sometimes I'll go without solving an issue for weeks before I finally get up the courage to do it or Jaren does it for me (he gets so frustrated with me because of this). Calling for a babysitter is the worst!!

5. Everything MUST have a place. Don't misunderstand...I'm not a neat freak. My house can be a mess, but when we pick it up I'm proud to say that everything has a place. If it doesn't, it'll sit there until it does. I'm bad enough that I will reorganize the whole house to find a place for one thing. So, yes--I'm always reorganizing (ask my husband).

6. I like "colorful" meals. For example: If you're going to have mac n' cheese you need to have atleast hot dogs and peas with it because mac n' cheese is ugly by itself. If you're going to have baked chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy you must have a green vegetable (not an orange one like carrots or corn) and sprinkling it with parsley helps too.

7. I like to serve my meals in serving bowls with serving spoons instead of right out of the pot/pan. I don't care if Hurricane Ike just came through and my electricity is out. I will still serve my guests from serving bowls. So what that I have to wash them by hand because I can't use the dishwasher. Pots and pans are for cooking in, not serving out of. And you certainly don't put the pot/pan on the table to serve out of. If you must serve from the pot, keep it out of sight.

Rereading this, gosh I'm so weird!

I tag Jamie, Maria, and Cindy!

Our New Best Friend

*Honestly, it took us a while to like you.
*First impressions weren't all that great.
*You were hard to "get along with" at first.
*Even when we said we liked you, we were still hesistant to come to you in times of need.
*But, eventually we worked out our differences...
*And we realized how much we do LIKE you!
*And now we can't go anywhere without you...just in case we might need you.

Meet our new friend, the Ring Sling!The story:
Robyn and I were having some real issues with certain things. Must I list them!! You remember my fall at church? The baby carrier that I can hardly carry because to me it's too heavy. Not to mention, when I put the carrier "on" the shopping cart like you're supposed to, I can't see over it cuz I'm SOOO short. Have you tried grocery shopping with the carrier actually in the cart?? Or, when you have to get a cart just so you have a place to put the carrier when all you're doing is picking up a prescription. And, let me tell ya--strollers don't work well in furniture stores, the post office, or in a crowded elementary school! And hey, this girl is not a small infant! She's approaching 14lbs. already! I love her, but she's so huggably chubby that those "front" carriers just don't work. I could just hear the life getting sucked right out of her as I would try to buckle/adjust it in all the right places. Not to mention it would take forever to get all situated! We were never comfortable. So, we had to find a solution.

The Solution:

I first became intrigued by these when I saw my visiting teacher using it all the time with her infant. So, we met. I had a lot of issues as I started researching them. For example: these slings are not cheap!! Most places sell them online for $75 or more! Are you kidding me?! Relax, you can find them on ebay for much cheaper (that's where I got 2 of mine). But I had questions about safety, durability, sizing, length, pockets? Can a child honestly be comfortable in that? Can you really carry a 3-yr. old? They look SOOO HOT to wear! The list went on. I was really, really skeptical at first. I've also realized that they are not hard to make yourself if you really wanted to. And, it took A LOT of practice (and watching YouTube to see how other mothers did it) to get each "position" just right. Obviously I got all my issues worked out cuz now I own three. I have one made of SolarVeil for the hot weather that we just love to experience down here. This one that I'm wearing in the picture is my "church-going" formal one.

Life has become better for the both of us since we started using ours on a constant basis.

Thank you Ring Sling for coming to our rescue! Robyn and I LOVE you!

Lake Livingston Lodge v. Hurricane Ike

Yes, Ike has and come and gone but I know there was some family out there who was concerned about how my parents' property was effected by the hurricane. We were up there this past weekend enjoying General Conference together and I was able to get a hold of some photos.

The backyard. A single pine tree caused most of the damage. It landed on the gazebo that was over the hot tub. Though the gazebo was completely destroyed, the hot tub remains in tack and still very much usable. This same tree also found the trampoline and destroyed it as well. I understand that my parents didn't waste any time replacing it. In fact, we helped get the new one put up while visiting. This is now their third trampoline (it's been replaced before).We believe that the debris from the falling pine tree took out this window (it's been covered and taped with duct tape).Just a picture showing one of the trees that fell. The waves brought in a lot of debris from the lake. So, we helped clean that up. These are pictures of the nearby marina. Unless you know how the marina is supposed to look you may have a hard time understanding what happened. Andy, you'd understand. Basically, the entire marina was blown several hundred feet (I'm not really sure how far) until it hit the shore. If you notice, there's no way those boats are getting out. The arrow says the marina is to your left (should be quite a ways to your left). However, when it got blown in, it now sits directly behind the sign.

Anyway, for those who were interested in how mom and dad faired in the storm. Nothing too major. They've worked hard and have gotten it mostly cleaned up despite some setbacks. If you want to hear all the stories, you'll have to ask them about it sometime. It would take too much to write it all down here.

In the end, there's a lot more sunshine that hits their property now.

It's a sad, sad yard

I find myself continually staring at my yard...perhaps always wishing it was something more than it really is. I just walk around and 'sigh' at it all. I love to walk around my yard and am sad that it doesn't impress me (I never was truely satisfied with it but now it just depresses me). The debris from Hurricane Ike is collected and gone so it no longer litters the grass. Sure, our old, dead fence pieces are still sitting on the lawn (anyone know if "they" will come by and collect those?) but other than that, it's all up to us to keep it aesthetically pleasing. Before I 'whine' I need to take a moment and publically thank our wonderful home teacher who has been coming every week since April to mow and edge our yard. He even treats it with bug killer and fertilizer from time to time. We've never asked him to come, he just comes. And everytime he does I always ask myself, "How in the world do I thank him enough for what he does?" It's because of him that our grass looks nice most of the time.

Now that the cooler weather is here, I have no excuse not to go out and pull the weeds in my side yard (there should only be one Foxtail and one Hosta with mulch in this picture)...

And get rid of the mostly dead annual plants (aka my Alyssum) and replace them. My passionflower vines got a serious beating from the winds of the Hurricane and now they just look like a big, jumbled, mangled mess!! I'm thinking of moving them all together to the backyard somewhere. Somehow I need to make them nice to look at once again. Though my tree out front is still standing, it no longer impresses me--it's slowly rotting from the inside and it just doesn't look healthy anymore (I've posted enough pictures of THAT tree).

My garden box is waiting for a new season of planting which I hope to accomplish next week. My snap peas were such a success last year! This year I'll only plant one row of peas, instead of two (I had peas coming out of my ears last year). And maybe try planting something new. My poor Hemelia bush got flatten by a segment of fence during the hurricane! I've had to stake it up. Miraculously not a single limb got broken on it. It seems to be doing okay. My marigolds are back in bloom as are my trailing lantana--after I FINALLY pruned them back severely. So, that is one good thing. I've got Mexican Heathers popping up here and there--all in the wrong places. Don't get me wrong, I like this plant--just not sprouting up here. Then there are places where our grass died due to the heat and to the cinch bugs. That's partially our fault--not watering enough. Can't seem to get it back. But, then again the cooler weather may help.

Yes, I know--this is nothing impressive. I just continue to 'sigh' at the sad shape my yard is in. Maybe I need help...