Our Little World

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T15:13:00.002-05:00

Gobble till ya Wobble!!!!!

Life Right Now.......

2011-11-22T11:17:00.001-05:00

I was sure by now

God you would have reached down

And wiped our tears away

Stepped in and saved the day

But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining........

Blessing Mix

2011-11-20T14:23:00.003-05:00

Today we made a Blessing Mix to take to our Keepers group tomorrow. You place a little of each item in a plastic bag and tie on the below meaning of each item.

Bugles: Shaped like cornucopia or Horn of Plenty, a symbol of our nation's abundance.

Pretzels: Arms folded in prayer, a freedom sought by those who founded our country.

Candy Corn: The sacrifices of the Pilgrims' first winter. Food was so scarce that setters survived on just a few kernels of corn a day.

Nuts or seeds: Promise of a future harvest, one we will reap only if seeds are planted and tended with diligence.

Dried fruits: Harvest gifts from our bountiful land.

M&M's: Memories of those who came before us to lead us into a blessed future.

Hershey's Kiss: The love of family and friends that seetens our lives.

Just Like Dad

2011-11-13T20:33:00.002-05:00

Syd LOVES to be just like Daddy. A month ago they sent out the information for the Grand Prix. We asked Syd if she wanted to race just like Dad did back in the day. Her answer...."nope." We were shocked. Fast forward to 7 days ago and she is freaking about this race and she wants to be in it.....UGH. Really!!!??? You had 30 days and now we only have 7!!!!!She and Daddy pulled it off and got the car done. Below is a picture of her car and Tom's from 1985.

There was a lot of drama when we got to the race tonight. Her car was too heavy and she was going to be disqualified. There was a Dad there with a tool box. He pulled out his dremel and hollowed out the underside of the car. He saved us! Syd will be sending a thank you note this week.

Syd raced 4times.....3rd place in one and 2nd place in three other races....averaged out to a 3rd place finish.

Sydney and Tom with their trophies....Daddy with a 3rd place win back in 1985 and Syd with a 3rd place win tonight.

We Survived

2011-11-05T11:25:00.003-04:00

We survived our first Youth Group activity. When I say this to Madi she just rolls her eyes at me. She had a blast! It was called Black Out Madness and you had to wear as much white as possible. Theyhad black lights to make the kids glow. Most of the snacks were white so they glowed too. We got threre at the end of the night to see the toilet paper fight and it was something to see.....100 plus middle school kids glowing in the dark throwing toilet paper into the air.

We used:

-electrical tape on her pants with some of the fruits of the spirit.

-streamers on all of her belt loops.

-big white flower in her hair.

-electrical tape for Jesus on her t-shirt.
-white polish for her nails.

She had a great night and is still talking about it today!

Weekend Beach Trip

2011-11-04T22:43:00.003-04:00

The little surfer girl.

The Mr. & Mrs.
I gave my sister several chances to take a "normal" pic. She was warned that this would show up on facebook or blogger.

Keepers Group

2011-11-04T22:31:00.000-04:00

Awana....Western Night

2011-11-04T22:26:00.001-04:00

Tricks or Treats

2011-11-04T22:14:00.003-04:00

Happy Halloween!

The Hubbie.

Me aka being a good sport.

The ladies and some friends!

Blackhawks vs. Hurricanes

2011-11-04T22:09:00.002-04:00

Grandma Post

2011-09-04T14:18:00.003-04:00

One of our GREAT deals found at Belk. Why is this post called a Grandma Post? It is the only way to show the out of town Grandma's the new clothes.

Birthday Girl

2011-08-05T12:58:00.004-04:00

We went to Booth Amphitheatre for the BIG birthday party. They were showing the movie UP. The party theme was beach/tropical. This was the party favor and craft.

Friends since kindergarten.
The girls busy working on their shoes.

One of the girls joined a hula hoop contest.

We put flameless candles into these green tiki cups.....so cute! We had 2 security people stop by our table to make sure they were flameless.

The birthday girl wanted Shirley Temples at her party.

Happy Birthday Madison!!!!

I'm Crabby......

2011-07-19T11:41:00.004-04:00

about these new pets my people brought into the house. When they go in the room to play with them they shut me out. I just want to "play" with those new things. Can't they hear me crying when I get lucky enough to sneak in and get by their house? I just want to "love" on them. One more thing.....when did they decide I wasn't enough!? I'm the only pet they need.

HMPH!!!!!

July 4th

2011-07-04T17:52:00.003-04:00

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Fishing

2011-06-25T21:35:00.003-04:00

Brave.....

Not so brave......
and the freak out.....

"DADDY IT'S BLEEDING!!!! GET IT OFF, GET IT OFFFFFFFF!!!!!"

First 5K

2011-06-11T15:13:00.003-04:00

Today I ran/walked my first 5K(Race For The Cure) with a group of wonderful ladies.

All along the route people had their houses decorated or sat and cheered us on. I loved this breast cancer garbage can.
A shot of me before the BIG race. All the wonderful ladies I was able to walk with.

My 4:30 am breakfast. I asked one of the trainers at the Y what I should eat the morning of the 5k. It looks strange but it gave me the energy I needed to get thru the morning.

I came home and rested and took at Gentle Yoga class with my Hubbie this afternoon. I can't wait to do it again nest year with my family!

The Naked Scanner

2011-05-28T08:47:00.002-04:00

Our entire family went on an airplane yesterday(even the dog). Yes we are crazy! We get over to security and I see new scanners. I ask the lady if they are the naked scanners and yes they were. I am told that I need to take the dog out of his crate and walk with him thru the old scanner. I follow the rules and wait for my family on the other side. I wait, wait, and wait. I finally see them grab their shoes and I'm ready to go. Oh no....."Do not give your children their shoes and do not touch them. They will need a pat down." I'm like what?????!!!!!!! Madison begins to cry and cry and Syd thinks this is the best thing. Thomas also had to get the pat down. I'm asking why do they need to get a pat down? They refused to do the naked scanner. "GOOD GRIEF!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!????" I'm just thinking why would you not just go thru the naked thing. Sydney and Madison: Daddy said not to.(Syd says this while laugh and Madison while sobbing.)

They begin the pat down and Madison just keeps crying. Poor thing. Syd just kept laughing and then she says to the lady............"this is great it's just like a massage!"

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T14:02:00.002-04:00

Happy Easter!!!

Paddle -to-the-Sea

2011-04-21T12:51:00.002-04:00

We started using Beautiful Feet Books for our Geography study. The first book in this study is the story Paddle-to-the-Sea. If you've read the book......we are at the pond/marsh part of the little boats adventure. Sydney has a VERY difficult time just being still while I read. I had them make their own leggo pond/marsh scene. So cute!

Springs Has Sprung!

2011-03-10T14:11:00.004-05:00

The Hubbie has been pleading with me to take the girls pics by the trees. I'm not even joking a little when I use the word pleading. He was ready to take them out in their pj's this morning. When we got back from co-op today I asked them to go get a dress on and make Daddy happy. It is now pouring rain outside and I'm sure the flowers will start falling off. Happy Spring Ya'll!!!

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-02-14T15:28:00.003-05:00

Good friends, chocolate, crafts, and ummmm way too much makeup. Oh the stories I could share.....but.....what happens at the Girl House stays at the Girl House. FYI the pics were before the thickly applied makeup.

Hughette Hefner

2011-01-29T19:03:00.004-05:00

Syd LOVES to be in jammies. I have even let this child wear them to the YMCA, store, and library. She has even been known to wear them under her regular clothes. She has even asked for a pair of pajama jeans. Have you seen the commercial for pajama jeans? Crazy! We have started to call her Hughette. She has know idea who Hugh Hefner is except he is this man who is so rich he wears jammies all day long.

She has been reading American Girl Doll books and her favorite is Kirsten. She decided she didn't like the way the Kirsten series ended. She is now writing a book. I'm like you go girl you write that book. It's great spelling practice. We are even going to mail this story. A girl can dream. Right?

Back to the jammie thing. Syd has decided she wants to be a writer. Have you guessed why? You can be in your jammies all day!!!!

YOGA

2011-01-25T17:23:00.005-05:00

I have been doing yoga for a little over a year. I got Thomas to try it and he really liked it. He wouldn't go alone. I got sick and he decided he would try going alone. He did it and survived! Ha! Every Sunday our YMCA has family fitness. A couple of weeks ago they had family yoga. They offered this class back in October and it was packed. We decided to get the girls their own yoga mats. A certain store had them on sale. I went in with instructions on what color everyone wanted....pink and purple. The only ones on sale were pink and navy...ugh. I grabbed the pink one and then started looking around and whala there was a purple one in the clearance section. We are a yoga lovin' family! You should see the yoga moves my youngest child can do. It's crazy how strong this child is.

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese on the Food Network

2011-01-24T15:24:00.003-05:00

Over the weekend we went to a potluck. They are not one of my husbands favorite things to do. We all survived. LOL! When I was younger our church had a potluck the first Sunday of the month. I always remember all the ladies with their crockpots filled to the top. Fast forward 20 years and I'm bringing my crockpot filled with food. I've noticed not everyone seems to....ummm.....bring enough food to share let alone feed their own family. We have been to potlucks where there hasn't even been enough food for everyone there. An email went out to our small group to bring a dish to share. They even said make sure it is enough to feed your family and more. We all were also asked to bring a drink to share. I brought my crockpot filled with mac & cheese and a gallon of lemonade. Most of the older ladies ladies brought a lot of food and few ladies my age. Then there were a few ladies my age that well didn't share the load. One family came with this little 8 oz. container of slaw. Another family(mom and dad w/ 3 kids) came with 2 little subs and 3 soads.

Do you do the potluck thing? If you do what is your go to recipe? Do you share the load? Okay you don't need to answer my last question. At the bottom of this post is the link to the mac&cheese recipe I made. Paula Deen and you cook it in the crockpot. It was so good.

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese on the Food Network

Da Bears!

2011-01-23T15:21:00.003-05:00

This is what our family is doing today. Seven minutes into the game and it's not looking good. We are all dressed in our Bears stuff and blue/orange. Are you ready for some football? Who are you cheering for this weekend?

Happy New Year!!!!

2010-12-31T18:02:00.003-05:00

Syd in some of our New Year Tree decorations. This year I decided to decorate the tree for New Years. Got the idea from my dear friend Melonie. I would link her name to her blog but I have no idea how to do that.

Some yummy snacks fro the celebration. A few weeks ago our store had 24 packs of soda buy 2 get 3 free. When I came home yesterday with more soda my husband said I had lost my mind. I have some fond memories of drinking soda from glass bottles when I was little.
Happy New Year!!!!!

When Life Gives You Lemons.....

2010-12-27T14:12:00.002-05:00

You make a lot of lemonade, lemon bars, lemon cake, bar-b-q sauce, and lemon ice cubes.

A week before Christmas a friend on facebook posted she had 200 lemons and needed to sell some. I bought 40 and was wondering what I was going to do with them. I used them up fast and wished I had some more. She posted again saing she still had lemons and I bought 30 more.

I have been making the Paul Deen lemonade recipe and it is so good. If you have a great lemon recipe please share.

SNOW

2010-12-26T09:01:00.002-05:00

Cake In A Cup!

2010-12-02T12:40:00.003-05:00

Today we decided to try this recipe we found. It isn't great and yet it isn't awful. It was fun and will be a do again. I think next time we will have a few more yummies to add to it.

Cake and egg nog....what could be better?

I had some larger mugs that the girls used to make their cake in. My mug is just your regular coffee size mug. It also worked great.

1 coffee mug

4 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons baking cocoa

(mix dry ingredients well)

add

1 egg

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

mix

You can mix in a few chocolate chips or anything you think of.

Mix everything in the mug and then place in the microwave for 3 min. Top with whatever you think would be yummy. Enjoy! Warning the mug is very hot.

An 18th Century Christmas

2010-12-01T16:42:00.003-05:00

Today the girls took some classes at the Museum of History. The class Sydney and I took was on 18th Century Christmas. It was really good. Syd made the swag in the above picture. They gave us a card with the legend for each one. I thought I would share that with you today.

Merry Christmas!!!

Holly: Whoever first brings holly into the house at Christmas rules for the year! (I've already told Syd that won't happen here.)

Ivy: Wearing an ivy leaf in the hair or hat was thought to prevent intoxication. Placing an ivy under the pillow may make one dream of true love.

Cedar: Small leafed evergreens at doorways and windows were thought to discourage witches, for it was said that a witch must stop and count each leaf before entering.

Rosemary: A popular Christmas green. It symbolizes remembrance, love, and loyalty.

Mistletoe: Each berry of the mistletoe is supposed to hold good luck for one kiss.

Past & Present

2010-11-20T10:04:00.002-05:00

My Mom is a lady who throws nothing out. A few months ago she sent a package to us with all kinds of goodies. This package also included some of my old art work from when I was little. I loved my teacher Mr. Fillmore he always had us doing great art projects. The picture in the middle is mine from 1985. I was 10 years old. They had a lot of fun seeing my old stuff and making their own.

Noodles & Company Giveaway

2010-11-01T21:33:00.011-04:00

I will pick 2 winners and each will get a free sandwich and bowl of noodles, soup or salad.
A month ago I went out with other MomBloggers to Noodles for a Taste Testing. This was my first visit to a Noodles & Company and I loved it. My husband and I have been twice since my MomBlogger visit and it has been great. We've always had great service! If I'm going to spend my money eating out right now it has got to be great food and service.

The cookies and rice krispy treats are great! The snoodledoodle is my favorite.

We were able to try the new Noodle Sandwiches. They were great! Our favorite is the Wisconsin Cheesesteak Duo. It is so good! Even Madison my child who only likes pizza will eat this. She doesn't even pick out the mushroom and peppers.

I also enjoyed the Med Duo. The salads and noodle bowls were great too. Another plus is they make everything fresh made to order. That is a plus for me since I am allergic to carrots. They also have a 100% satisfaction or they will make you a new dish.

Here is how you can win.....
1. leave a comment on my blog
2. leave a comment on my facebook
3. follow Noodles & Company on facebook (and let me know)
http://www.noodles.com/

Pick 1 or do all 3.
Your name will go into a drawing.

Thank you Noodles & Company!

The Ladies Are Home!

2010-10-24T13:03:00.002-04:00

Sydney had just gotten off the bus. She said she had a good time. She isn't sure if she will go back next year.
Madi the Princess.

They took 2 of these buses filled with 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. The favorite story was some boy on the bus and the bathroom and a stink.....enough said. You've got to love camp.

Christmas Clearance

2010-10-24T10:57:00.002-04:00

I found a great deal at the Family Christian Store in Cary yesterday. If you are local they still had 3 left in the clearance area. It is $18.00 and I paid $3.80. The little angel below had a broken arm. With a little glue she is all new.

A Girl & Her Horse

2010-10-17T22:12:00.003-04:00

This was the first time the girls got to ride a horse. They had a great time. They made treats for the horses, learned the anatomy, how to saddle, groom, and ride. Now, all I hear is "When can we do this again?"

Um Why????

2010-10-16T20:18:00.002-04:00

I clean....

I take a shower.......

I come out to this.....

Creative Juices

2010-09-28T13:03:00.004-04:00

Today we used our free products from Elmer's Glue. One of my sisters is going thru chemo treatments for cancer. We decided to work on some cards and big flowers for her. We loved almost everything.
Our finished products. Aren't they beautiful!?!? It looks so bright and happy. We used the scissors for the trim of our cards and for the petals of our flowers. They cut very smoothly.

Sydney with the corner rounder. I LOVE this thing. I have another one from a certain other company and it is so HARD to use. I always need to help them when they want to use it. Not with the one from Elmer's it was so easy. I was free to just keep working.

The girls also loved the glue pen. It was great for sticking down little things with it's point.

This item I wasn't so happy with. I tried and tried to get this thing to work. I've used one from another company with no problem. If anyone has any suggestions let me know. I got one tiny spot of glue from it and then nothing. It scratched and left indentations in the paper. Overall we loved the products from Elmer's Glue. A BIG, HUGE plus to me was that my 8 year old was able to use all the products without my help.

Craft Time

2010-09-27T19:43:00.003-04:00

I guess it's time to get my creative juices flowing. Thank you Elmers Glue for the free products!

Chalkboard

2010-09-06T18:20:00.003-04:00

Took an old frame and removed the picture and glass.
Spray painted the frame.

I used chalkboard paint on the glass.

Tada!!!! The finished project. I wanted a little chalkboard in the girls bathroom. They asked if I'm going to write something new on it every day. I need to get better chalk. The sidewalk chalk likes to crumble and powder.

Still Here

2010-09-05T18:27:00.002-04:00

Just thought we would stop in and let you know we are still here.

Just busy living life.

Wrinkled Ladies

2010-08-13T13:26:00.001-04:00

Tonight I'm going to see Anita Renfroe with a friend. I'm so excited. I never thought I'd get to actually see her in person. If you go to You Tube you can see more of her video's. Have a fantastic weekend everyone!!!!

Shopping Trip

2010-08-11T15:31:00.003-04:00

This week Harris Teeter is doing SUPER DOUBLE coupons! That means they will double any coupon $1.00 up to $1.98. Activia was on sale for $1.99 and I had a $1.00 off. Double that $1.00 and it was FREE!!!!!! The total for the items in the below picture came to $13.08!!!! Run on over to your Harris Teeter and SAVE, SAVE, SAVE!!!!!!

Breakfast It Does A Body Good!

2010-08-09T08:59:00.000-04:00

The Family Who Paints Together........

2010-08-04T09:23:00.003-04:00

Stays Together!!!!!

One of my friends on facebook said we are always painting something. She is so right. I can't stand white walls. I need col0r. We still have a lot of walls to paint in this house to paint. This paint job took place in the Man Room as we call it. Thomas has been wanting to paint the garage floor. We found a GREAT deal on garage floor paint.....you know the rest.

Whenever it rains the girls and I like to go out in the garage and read stories. We open the garage door and just enjoy the rain. We hope it rains good and hard really soon.

One picture I didn't get was what our driveway looked like. The people next door asked if we were moving and if we were selling anything. Yes, it was loaded with stuff.

"Dad Life" by church on the move

2010-07-29T21:00:00.001-04:00

It's Okay Mom........

2010-07-22T22:34:00.001-04:00

we are related!!!!

Better Late........

2010-07-17T22:49:00.004-04:00

Than Never....right??

Happy Fourth of July!!!!!

We had a great but busy 4th. We had a family over who also has all girls. We had so much going on that I didn't get very many pics taken. Things started to slow down when we sat and watched the guy across the street shoot off illegal fireworks.

Anna and her little girl Jenna with Syd.

Candice, Madison and Madison
Alexis and Sydney

Madison & Madison

Sydney made the cake for celebration.

Madison made place card for our cook-out.
I hope you all had a wonderful 4th too!!!!

Saturday

2010-07-10T21:42:00.002-04:00

My Saturday mornings have been wonderful the last few weeks. Thomas takes the girls to the library for the free movie and it is so nice. I usually put on a movie and clean. It is so wonderful to clean and not have it destroyed within minutes.

Then later today the kitchen skin began to leak. I'm not sure if it is really fixed yet.

We measured the girls today to see how much they have grown. CRAZY!!!! Syd's is hard to read because she has scribbled here and there on her spots.

You can see Madi's better. I can't believe how much they have grown.

The below picture was a happy ending to a good and then bad day. These s'mores were so good. I called them city s'mores. If you've never tried nutella before you must RUN not walk to the store and get some.

Happy Saturday!!!!!

Eat Mor Chikin'

2010-07-09T10:51:00.002-04:00

Cow Appreciation Day!!!!!

Are you ready boots? Start walkin'!

2010-07-08T16:31:00.002-04:00

Cray 8!

2010-06-12T12:43:00.009-04:00

My baby turned 8 while we were in Chicago. Her big day was on Memorial Day. We packed a ton of fun into one day. We had a little party for her at Poppy & Grandma's house while we watched the Hawks. Madison even wrote a new Happy Birthday song to the tune of Take Me Out To the Ball Game. It was great!

For dinner we went to Portillo's. We ate at Portillo's twice while on our trip. It has the best Italian Beef.

Syd thinks they have the best hot dogs she has ever eaten.

We also went to Cantigny to see all the flower gardens and the War Museum.

Does the picture below look familiar or the one above with Syd? Remember the movie League of Their Own?

My dear friend from High School was kind enough to make a Birthday Cake for Sydney. When we lived in chicago she would make cakes for Madi's b-day. Sydney was very excited. She had said she didn't want a plain square cake. Here we are with our little ones. She set Thomas and I up on a blind date back in the day.

The Birthday Cake. The Birthday Girl had a wonderful day!!!

Chicago Wins!!!!!

2010-06-10T09:13:00.003-04:00

We spent the evening watching the Hawks win the Stanley Cup. The truth is I was the only one who watched the Hawks win. The girls were in bed sleeping. Then the game went into overtime and Thomas went for a walk. He said he he was stressed. The game starts and I'm thinking he'll be back any minute......?.....and nope he wasn't. I call him and tell him he is missing the game and I think they won. If you saw the game you'll know why I say "I think they won". It was a strange ending. Thankfully I hit the record button and caught the win.

These are just some of the shots from around Chicago that Hawks things. The Tiffany store statue even had a Hawks shirt on.
This is Thomas and his brother watching one of the games. He had fun watching the game with his family. It was funny to see him have other men to yell at the tv with.

Family Visit

2010-06-08T07:48:00.003-04:00

Our first full day in Chicago we went and had lunch with some of my Cousins. We had a wonderful afternoon with everyone. When I first moved to Chicago I was ready to come home. My Mom knew that we had some family in IL. and made a call. One Saturday I made the hour drive to meet some family. I spent many weekends with them. It was great to see them again and Madi and Sydi got to know them too. We had a wonderful time.

Madi was beyond excited to get her hands on Lilly.
Madison was our photographer for the day. She saved up her money and got a camera for the Chicago trip. All the pics in this post were taken by her except the one with Lilly of course. ;)

Where We've Been

2010-06-06T11:32:00.003-04:00

My posts this week will be about our trip to Chicago. We had a great time!

(A More Real) Love Story

2010-05-14T16:15:00.000-04:00

Enjoy!!!!!

May Day Project

2010-05-04T22:19:00.005-04:00

The girls and I made these to for to hand out for May Day. When I was a little girl my Mom would drive me around in the morning and I would hang May Day Baskets on doors. This is the first year I've ever done this with the girls and they loved it. If you click on the title of my post it will take you to a little link about the History of May Day Baskets.

Princess Ball

2010-05-01T21:20:00.004-04:00

There are a lot of pics for the Grands. I just wanted to give a little fyi. Look at this happy Princess. I told her that blankie had to stay at the house.

The ladies with their Prince.

Here are the shoes. Madison was so proud of those things. She is now nursing blisters.

I took advantage of the happy mood, great hair and fancy dresses.....can you say photot shoot?

Here is a funny little story from the dance. They had cupcakes with rings in them at the dance. Sydney got herself a ring and tossed the cupcake in the garbage. She proceeded to do this two more times to get Madison and Daddy rings. They had a wonderful night of dancing.

Sneak Peak

2010-04-30T17:27:00.002-04:00

This child right here just sucked the last bit of energy out of me. She wanted her hair curled and yet she didn't. You know what I mean? Are you done yet?(was asked about 20 times). She just couldn't stand still. Doesn't she look like a little doll?

This one here is so in the moment. She is so funny. She just loves this!!!!!
Big Hair for the Big Night.

Tomorrow I'll post pics of the dresses and Daddy and the corsages. I'm going to go enjoy my FREEEEEE time!!!!!!

Gluttony

2010-04-22T16:45:00.003-04:00

The other night I went to the store to get some food. I found this salsa on clearance for $.94 and bought some. I brought them home and the Hubbie went crazy. Just so you know I got home from shopping at 11pm. He jumps in his car and...........................................................

Comes home with this!!!!!

Pretty Things & Annoying Things

2010-04-19T18:13:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to share a picture of our flower bed. Thomas got himself a Japanese Maple with his b-day money to replace an ugly tree the other owners had there.

Here are the girls on their old trampoline that needs a new cover. The annoying part of this post is that adorable white haired man on the trampline with the ladies. I was trying to get pics of my flowers and they were screaming about the handsome man trying to get their game.One more shot of the flowers......'sigh'.....just beautiful!

Got TP??????

2010-04-13T15:34:00.003-04:00

WE DO!!!!! lol!!!! I got picked to have a green party for www. houseparty.com .

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T18:08:00.004-04:00

We had a very busy Easter weekend. We made Resurections Rolls yesterday and they came out perfect. A little fyi. for those of you that might not know what they are. The marshmallow represents Christ and you dip the marshmallow in the melted butter and then roll it in the spices. Now it is ready for the tomb aka cresent roll. You wrap up the cresent roll around the marshmallow and bake them. When they come out and you break them and they are empty.

My Hubbies parents came in for a visit and we were busy for a week and celebrated Easter on Good Friday with them. We went to a wonderful church service of Handel's Messiah. Syd even made it thru the service with a lot of work and the constant Mom eye. ;{

We also did some egg coloring.

Our table at brunch. Today we went out with some family on my side and went to church @ 8am. I'm so ready for bed. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter.

The Hand

2010-04-03T09:22:00.003-04:00

If you follow me on facebook you know that we met Gov. Bev Perdue the other day. I didn't have my camera with me and we missed catching the moment. We did get a picture of the hand that shook the hand.

Sisters

2010-03-26T11:50:00.003-04:00

Every Thursday we have our co-op followed by a park day it the weather is nice. The weather was fantastic so we headed over to the park with all our friends. It is funny thing to see. Kids from high school age all the way down to infants. We come and take over the park. This little Miss in the picture was very happy because her good friend Mara was there too. They walked about the park and just did the big girl thing. When we got home Madison informed me that she and Mara are sisters. "Mom were sisters in Christ! Isn't that cool!?!?"

Spring Blooms

2010-03-23T21:59:00.003-04:00

I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart, I will tell of all your wonders. Psalms 9:1

I will be back.......someday(maybe this weekend)

2010-03-18T22:41:00.000-04:00

Cool Mom Award......

2010-02-17T14:36:00.006-05:00

All the cool Mom's pipe frosting into their children's mouths....right? She has had so much frosting today. I'm so going to pay for that later.

Madison made us a Valentines Cake today. We are celebrating Valentines Day this week. It was just too crazy with all the family here. Saturday we are going to Olive Garden to celebrate all the love.
Enjoy the video!

The Tropps 'R' Here aka Family

2010-02-12T21:40:00.003-05:00

Madison and her Cousin Nayara. Madison has been having fun lovin' on this baby.

Joey, Sydney, Paul, Katie and Madison the Cousins.

We went to the museum today and had fun. As you can see I had fun just trying to get a picture.

Fun In The Sun And Snow

2010-02-01T09:34:00.003-05:00

We had one last day of sledding yesterday. The snow on our street has now melted away. We still have snow all over the ground and I'm sure by Wednesday it will be all gone. No Chruch yesterday everything was closed. Today schools and some businesses still remain closed. It's just crazy what 6 inches of snow can do to this area. Thomas took us out yesterday and we braved the streets. I wished I had a camera with me to snap a pic of our snow plows down here. It is a tractor with a plow on the front of it. It was a wonderful and relaxing weekend being stuck at home with no place to go. I even cooked up a storm during this winter storm.

Have a wonderful week!!!!

One More....My family and grown men at their best.

2010-01-30T18:15:00.003-05:00

Down The Road We Go

2010-01-30T12:04:00.002-05:00

Snow

2010-01-29T23:24:00.001-05:00

Field Trip

2010-01-28T22:00:00.005-05:00

Today we went to the Museum of Life & Science with some friends and had a wonderful time. Here is Madison standing infront of the bear exhibit. This poor bear just kept walking around this little circle.

Madi, Sydi and their friend Laci.

This was one of Madison's favorite things at the museum. It was part of the Wind & Water exhibit. They were all able to said their own little sail boats. It reminded me of the Stuart Little Movie.

Sydney and her buddy Eli. They have been friends since we moved down here to NC. Eli is 2 days older than Syd. Notice Eli's missing front teeth. Sydney's are soon to be out too.

The fossil hunt was also a HUGE hit with everyone! They fond many different kinds of Shark Teeth.

This was so cool. To the left side of Madison is a Tobacco Hornworm. They have a camera in there so you can view him BIG time. A microphone is in there too and you can hear him eat the leaf. How cool is that!?!?!?

Sydney always talks about wanting to touch the clouds. Guess what.....!!!????? Her wish came true. Look at that face.

Madison and I had some fun with Origami. Prince Charming didn't appear when we kissed these frogs.

Treasure Island

2010-01-25T13:21:00.004-05:00

Madison's finished pirate map.
Sydney's Pirate map.

We've been reading 'Treasure Island' and decided to make treasure maps. Sydney is staining the paper with a tea bag to give it an old look.

They also had to scrunch it up into a ball afew time to give it some more age.

1. Draw your map.

2. Scrunch map up into a ball a few times.

3. Stain with tea bags.

4. Put map in oven @ 325 for 5 min. or until map is dry.

5. Mom takes fire and burns the edges of the map.

Gotcha.....

2010-01-20T12:45:00.002-05:00

It's another nice day down here in NC. The girls and I had our lunch out in the driveway on a blanket. The grass was too wet (rained Sunday). Then I went inside and they stayed out to read. I looked out the window and saw this. I had to grab a pic. They don't even know I took it. I snapped it right thru the glass of the window.

Don't you just love the tank top sundresses? We went to the store earlier and there are people in winter coats. They thought the people in winter coats looked dumb (dumb is what they said). It is 65 here.......I think they are crazy and so are the winter jacket people.

Carolina Blue

2010-01-15T11:01:00.002-05:00

Look at that beautiful Carolina Blue Sky!!!! Did you notice those little buds on the tree? YES!!!! Spring is on it's way. I know we still have some cold days ahead....ugh. It's days like today that make us thankful we live in NC. It will be 60 today and we are beyond excited!!!! We are going to meet Tom for lunch at a park and walk the trail. Thank you Lord for this little glimmer of Spring in January.

Snow?????

2010-01-08T09:50:00.003-05:00

Because we got these.......

We didn't get this.
I'm okay with it but the girls are sad.

The After

2010-01-01T23:43:00.003-05:00

Mom this last picture is for you. This little orange dish has been in my Mom's house as long as I can remember. Now it is in my house. One big difference is she kept it in her Dining Room and now it's in my Master Bathroom.

I got the idea for this project from www.thriftydecorchick.com . Her blog is great. This was our first project and it was a lot of work. We almost took everything down because we didn't think it looked right. In the end we fell in love and may become molding junkies.

Happy New Year!!!!

2010-01-01T00:50:00.002-05:00

How did we ring in the New Year you ask?

PAINTING!!!!!

I'll try to get finished pics up in the next day or two. We still have some painting to finish tomorrow. I'm beyond excited!!!! We are trying something(technique) out in this room that I've wanted to do for a little over a year. I had dreams of doing this in our old house. Now I get to do in my sweet little house.

Happy New Year !!!

Oh yeah!!!!!

2009-12-26T00:05:00.002-05:00

Tom got a Snuggie!!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!!

2009-12-25T12:06:00.003-05:00

Merry Christmas !!!

We were all ready for a visit from Santa. We gave him cheesecake with a choice of regular or soy milk. We've had a BIG breakfast and opend presents and are now watching the Disney Christmas Parade. Our 2nd round of Christmas will happen in a couple hours. We will have 15 total in our little house. YIKES! I hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas time!

C is for Cookie...

2009-12-18T13:39:00.002-05:00

Madi had a friend come over the other day. Hmmm what to do so that little sister doesn't get left out of the fun. We made cookies!!!! These are just some of the MANY cookies we baked. I think we've made about 9 different types. We keep a few at home and send the rest with Daddy to work.

It snowed for about 5 minutes here today (HIUGE flakes). We are watching the 1949 movie of 'Little Women' now and then it's on to Hot Chocolate and Ginger Bread Houses and Trees. Merry Christmas!!!!

Nativity Giveaway on Simple Mom — Live simply, stay sane. Life hacks for home managers.

2009-12-09T13:24:00.002-05:00

Simple Mom — Live simply, stay sane. Life hacks for home managers.

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A Little Weight Update

2009-12-07T15:05:00.006-05:00

Here I am at the end of May. I started working out on June 1st.
This picture was taken back in March. I look like yuck.
Another one from March.
Madison took some new pics of me today.
From July of 2007 to November of 2008 I had lost 20 lbs. Then in June we joined the YMCA and I've lost 30 lbs. A grand total of 50 lbs. I couldn't find any pics from 50 lbs. ago. Who wants to get their pics taken? These before pics are all with the 30 lbs. still on me. I haven't lost anything in the last month. I started with a trainer last week and I hope to shed some more pounds. I won't give my weight but I will say I've gone from a size 20 to a 14.

Happy 12th Anniversary

2009-11-29T22:41:00.002-05:00

What Is & Has Been Going On........

2009-11-22T22:13:00.001-05:00

For our Homeschool co-op I helped with a quilt/art class. This quilt belongs to Madison. I had to help sew 16 quilts and yes it was CRAZY.

Our 12th Anniversary is on Nov. 29th. My sister took the girls this weekend. :) I made the Hubbie go see New Moon with me. If you haven't read the books they are great. Yes they are vampire books but there isn't really any blood sucking going on. It's a teen love story. Just give them a try.

For dinner we went to PF Changs and it was FANTASTIC!!!!!

I decided to take advantage of a kid free day and do some painting. A few of the room in our new house had a nasty Baby Powder Blue in them. I'm painting the last room with that color today. The new color is Olive Martini. I'll post pics when I'm done.

By Wednesday afternoon I have to have 8 of these made. I'm already exhausted just thinking about it.

200th Post

2009-11-15T16:16:00.004-05:00

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation's revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untamable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing God
All powerful, untamable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
You are amazing God

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God

All powerful, untamable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God

Incomparable, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same
You are amazing God
You are amazing God
Chris Tomlin

This is also my 200th post. WOW!!!!!! I just might have to do something special for that. Make sure you leave a comment. The pictures are of my backyard. This is our first fall in this house and we just LOVE the trees and they are beyond beautiful right now. Happy Sunday Everyone!!!!!

Spooktacular

2009-11-01T14:51:00.003-05:00

We had a busy and fun Halloween weekend. We went to the Regency Amphitheater and saw the movie Casper and had a great time. The girls even entered a contest and won most spooktacular and best costume. The place went all out with a haunted trail as you entered, haunted bathrooms and a ghost who would sail thru the sky during the movie. They even had guys dressed up as ghost busters (remember that movie) they danced up on stage to the song and then came running down into the crowd to save us all from the ghosts.
On Halloween night Thomas took the girls door to door to get the loot. They bring extra bags with them as they fill up their pumpkins. They have about 4 grocery bags full of candy. CRAZY!!!! They walked all over our subdivision and the one next to us. Baxter and I stayed home to hand out the treasured candy. Everyone had a great time. Just pray for me as I try to stay out of the candy.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T14:43:00.003-04:00

This is a jib jab thing that my niece-in-law made of my sisters and I. I'm the werewolf. Have a Happy and Safe Halloween!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Just go to sleep!!!!!

2009-10-25T21:09:00.003-04:00

Sydi spent the weekend with my sister. The girls love going to her house TONS of fun and TONS of snacks. Sydi IS the Energizer Bunny all the way. My sister said she went crazy at 10:30 pm on saturday. This is a child who goes to bed at 8 pm every single day. For the last week she has had a little cough at night and we have given her cough medicine at night. I sent it with her just in case. My sister can't get her to calm down and then she remembers the medicine...... YEP! Syd was asleep in 10 min. LOL!!!!

Empty Nest

2009-10-23T21:55:00.003-04:00

We are empty nesters this weekend. Madison is at camp and Sydney is at my sisters. We miss them but life is good! I'll be a happy and refreshed Mommy when they come home. "sigh" Happy Weekend!!!!

A Little Funny!

2009-10-22T22:15:00.000-04:00

Prayer Request

2009-10-13T18:27:00.002-04:00

This is my niece Laura and she was diagnosed with Skin Cancer about 2 months ago. She has started receiving interferon IV 5 times a week for a month. My sister is down in Florida with her right now to help with her adorable red haired little twin boys. Thank you for your prayers.

Homeschool Beach Conference

2009-10-12T10:27:00.006-04:00

We had a great time at Fort Fisher Aquarium on Kure Beach. This island was so beautiful when you got to the end of it. It's all protected with the aquarium and a Civil War Museum. There was a battle fought right there on the beach. Things got a little crazy by the end of that day and I forgot to get pics of the Civil War stuff.

We went to Wilmington for a Homeschool Conference with the Maxwell Family and it was fantastic. www.titus2.com The girls got a picture taken with Sarah Maxwell who writes the Moody Family books. They were so excited! They were also excited because the next day when we checked out the Maxwell's Blog there was a picure of them with Sarah.

We went to Wrightsville Beach and walked the beach and played in the tide pools and ocean a little. The temp. was only 67 but the water was warm. Do you see the little starfish? That is the first one we've seen in North Carolina.

I just love how they are holding hands.....it just melts the heart!

Where We've Been..... ;)

2009-10-06T23:05:00.000-04:00

Bennett Place

2009-09-28T12:52:00.005-04:00

About a week ago we took the girls on field trip. We did a quick study of the Civil War here in the Raleigh area. One of the books we read was, “Emma and the Civil Warrior,” by Candy Dahl. We had a great time and learned so many things that you just don't learn in a school book. Did you know that Union Soldiers occupied the South for 12 years after the war eneded? When President Lincoln was shot the peace talks were taking place here in Raleigh for a surrender of the Confederate Army. To save the city from being burned Sherman kept it a secret for the Yankee Soldiers (knowing if they found out he was dead they would burn the city).

The picture of Madi and Sydi show where the two sides met that day. Madi is representing the Yankees and Sydi the Confederate Army. They are standing on the actual sides the Army's approached each other from.

This simple farmhouse was situated between Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's headquarters in Greensboro, and Union Gen. William T. Sherman's headquarters in Raleigh. In April 1865, the two commanders met at the Bennett Place, where they signed surrender papers for Southern armies in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. It was the largest troop surrender of the American Civil War

Fruit Tasting

2009-09-25T13:43:00.005-04:00

Today we went to the brand new Harris Teeter just up the street from us. They had some clearance fruit we had never heard of or tried. It was fun and tons of laughs. Some of that fruit was just GROSS! All of the fruit had a label except for one. It is the big green one and so we named him Bob. He was just okay. The worst was the red fruit we all spit that out. Madison spit out every single fruit except for the star fruit. Big fun in the Krause House today!

Crazy Hair Night

2009-09-22T14:21:00.004-04:00

It was Crazy Hair Night at church for the Awana the other night. Everyone had great hair! Sydney of course had the BEST!

College

2009-09-19T00:10:00.003-04:00

Today we were in Downtown Raleigh doing some fun stuff. I'll share those pics later. We are in the van and we pass part of the NC State campus. I ask the girls if they might go there someday. If I have any NC readers my husband and I are from Chicago and New York and we don't care about Duke, UNC, NC State or whatever else there is. All you non NC readers people down here are CRAZY about the college that they went to. I just don't get it. Therefore I could care less where my girls go to college in state. I would love a private college but not so sure the bank account would like that. Now that all of that is on the table on with the story.

Mommy: Girls do you think you'll go to NC State someday?
Madison: (no answer)
Sydney: Don't you remember I'm not going to leave. I'm going to do homeschool college.
Mommy: Really?
Sydney: Yep.

Yikes!!! I might have to go back to school.

If You Give A Mom A Muffin.....

2009-09-12T21:43:00.003-04:00

If you give a mom a muffin,
She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
She'll pour herself some.
Her three-year-old will spill the coffee.
She'll wipe it up.
Wiping the floor, she'll find dirty socks.
She'll remember she has to do laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She'll trip over boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her
she has to plan for supper.
She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She'll look for her cookbook
("101 Things To Do With a Pound of Hamburger").
The cookbook is setting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook.
The check book is in her purse
that is being dumped out by her two-year-old.
She'll smell something funny.
She'll change the two-year-old's diaper.
While she is changing the diaper, the phone will ring.
Her five-year-old will answer and hang up.
She'll remember she wants to phone a friend for coffee.
Thinking of coffee will remind her
that she was going to have a cup.
And chances are... If she has a cup of coffee,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

Written by Kathy Fictorie

I thought we needed a little funny after 911. I'm oh so glad to be out of this stage. So funny now to think back to those days.