The best of '08

So, I'm going to totally copy my cousin Cass's blog & try to creatively list my "best's" of '08...here goes (in no particular order...)

1. Getting to celebrate the 1st anniversary of marrying my best friend
2. Watching my "baby" Nick march into school to start kindergarten w/ his big sisters by his side
3. Finally getting my living room project done (by my handy hubby!) - new wall finished, crown molding & baseboards installed, new paint & new front door!
4. Discovering the awesome world of blogging & how it connects friends, both old & new
5. Coaching all of my daughters in both outdoor & indoor soccer...now I can say "NO!" the next time I'm asked :)
6. Cheering for Nick the T-ball player & Shane the T-ball coach
7. Finally getting some answers to Emily's behavior issues
8. Enjoying Shane & I's "date nights" - highly recommended for all married couples but especially those with children!
9. Road-tripping to Bumpus Mills, Tennessee for weekends w/ Mom & Scott
10. Watching 4 generations play softball at Shane's family reunion
11. Seeing the complete wonder on Shane's face as we first heard the roar of the dragsters in Indy
12. Experiencing Colts football in the glory of Lucas Oil Stadium
13. Eating a hot dog & drinking a cold beer while watching the Indianapolis Indians baseball team on a perfect September night
14. Hearing the collective intake of breath as our children opened their trampoline on Christmas morning...then covering my ears to the screams of joy!
15. Finally getting the perfect vehicle for our family - seats 8 w/ a DVD player & heated seats and its NOT A MINIVAN!
16. Half-heartedly supporting my husband's obsession w/ becoming a drag racer
17. Watching as my "everybody's party-buddy" brother-in-law Dave became one of the US Army's finest - so proud of you!!
18. Taking Hannah to the emergency room as she was awarded the "First Broken Bone" award - all healed now :)
19. Not only seeing Nick lose his first tooth but also trying to keep up w/ all of the teeth Emily, Hannah & Kate decided to lose this year...this all went along w/ reminding the Tooth Fairy (aka Shane) to put the golden dollars under their pillows before he left for work
20. Accepting the fact that its ok for a new washer & dryer to excite me as much as they did

That's about all I can come up with outside of the fact that I'm obviously very blessed to have a happy & healthy family...I know that 2009 will be just as crazy as 2008 - and I don't want to miss a thing!

P.S. I know I haven't posted about Christmas but we did sooo much that it would totally exhaust me to re-cap it all....safe to say we were all very spoiled, ate way too much and loved seeing all of our families!

Only 1 more day 'til vacation!

That's right...one more day then I'm off work thru Jan. 5th...woo hoo!! Work has been soooo hectic with the staffing changes that we had to make so I'm definitely ready for the break...

Last weekend, the kids & I made the one & only Christmas candy that I can make on short notice...M&M chocolate pretzels. So simple - line a cookie sheet w/ little pretzels, have plenty of kids around to unwrap a bag of Hershey kisses (milk or dark chocolate), put a kiss on each pretzel then put in a pre-heated 250 degree oven for 5 minutes...no longer! Pull them out of the oven then press an M&M (any flavor but try to get red & green ones - the peppermint ones are awesome w/ the dark chocolate!) down into the kiss. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes then put on cookie racks to finish setting up...simple & delicious!!

We had a busy weekend like most people this time of the year...the "sickies" hit Katie Friday night (that makes 4 out of the 6 of us!) and she was pretty puny all weekend long. We still managed to fit quite a bit in though!

We went to Huntingburg Saturday morning for Shane's company "kid" Christmas party - soooo many things for the kids to do like "elf" bowling, balloon animals (my hubby is the master balloon animal tie'er upper), letters to Santa, face painting, etc etc plus they all got a gift from Santa. The doughnuts & chocolate milk were good too...at least for everyone but Katie who "lost" her breakfast 5 minutes later - yuck! All she had consumed was the milk but we still had to make a run for the bathroom...and we almost made it....that's right, ALMOST. I had to do a little clean up...but she was a trooper and put her game face on for a little while longer until we could leave.

After the party, the kids & I headed back to Washington to take Kate to Shane's mom & dad's and Nick to Anna's so the rest of us could head to Evansville to finish up our shopping - we didn't think that a sick Kate nor a 5-yr-old Nick could hold up very well in the mall on the Saturday before Christmas!! The twins did great though and we finallllly finished our shopping - after the mall, we hit Target (one of the few things I miss about living in E-ville!) then went to dinner at Nagasaki. Its a Japanese hibatchi restaurant so the kids absolutely love having their dinner cooked right in front of them on the grill...its one of our family faves! Once we picked up Katie (Nick spent the night at Anna's) and got home, I wrapped gifts for 2 hours (ugg!) then crashed.

On Sunday, the twins & I went to church at Providence b/c it was Beth & Dad's 24th wedding anniversary and my brother Dan sang w/ the Praise Team and also solo...he did a great job! I was so looking forward to finally getting to hear Shawn deliver a sermon but no-go...his youth pastor preaches once a month and it was his turn....great message though! After church, we all went to Mi Pueblo and Shane & Katie met us there. Then all of the girls went w/ me to Anna's so they could open presents w/ Nick...such cute stuff! We headed home after a quick visit then I went to Wal-mart to stock up for all of the Christmas dinners this week. Once I got home, I made some more M&M pretzels then dinner then DROPPED on the couch....I was worn out!

The next week will be a busy as the weekend but I'm so looking forward to all of our family traditions...if I don't have time to post before Thursday - Merry Christmas to all of you!

Blog Award...

Big thanks to Jenelle for the blog award nomination! Our boys were in pre-school together and now go to the same school for Kindergarten...I absolutely love checking her blog out for new pics of her gorgeous kids and love reading her stories about raising 3 kids under the age of 6 :) And I also went to my junior prom w/ her big bro Phil!

So, here are the rules to receiving this award:
1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous bloggers in a post.
2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.

Instructions: On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.

I'm going to nominate...

1. My cousin Abbie - love her blog for lots of reasons but mostly b/c she always seems to have something profound to say that touches me and all of the cute pics of Max make me smile...

2. Another cousin Cassie - we've lost touch over the years w/ her moving to Seattle but I feel we've re-connected thru blogging. Her posts from her month in Africa were awesome and I feel I get to live vicariously through her exciting "urban" life w/ PJ!

3. And another cousin Shawn - Shawn has a way of posting about his faith that makes you think and want to keep reading more. He sometimes asks tough questions but they make you look inward and analyze yourself. I just finished reading his latest post about cookie blessings - brought tears to my eyes.

4. My friend Jen (finally, not a family member!) - I'd like to think I had something to do w/ Jen entering the world of blogging...well, me & a requirement for her MBA CIS class :) Jen's blog is so heartfelt and I always look forward to reading about the Fab Miss Alex and Brady Bear.

5. And last but definitely not least, Tera - the first blog I ever read was Tera's when I was searching for news about Andre, Mandi & Gabe's accident. I absolutely fell in love w/ her blog and wasted no time starting one of my own....Tera - my husband said "Thanks!" LOL!

So - on to my five addictions...my kids & husband go without saying so I'll find 5 other "things" to confess to...

1. Diet Coke - nothing beats a big fountain Diet Coke w/ extra ice...preferably as soon after I get up as possible...this is one reason visiting Mom & Scott's Bumpus Mills house is tough on me b/c its in the middle of absolute no-where and there's not a fountain Diet Coke to be found within 30 minutes.

2. Mi Pueblo's Quesadilla Jalisco - order it everytime I go - no variations.

3. Dark Chocolate - hated it as a kid but require it as an adult. My hubby shares in this addiction which can be a problem b/c it doesn't seem to last very long in our house!

4. Sudoku - crazy little Japanese game! Sometimes I play it online but other times I prefer good 'ol pencil & paper.

5. Trips to Walmart - ALONE...that's right - no kids, no husband - just my "me" time. Sad, but true...

good night!!

Facebook rookie

So I've ventured onto Facebook...I guess its about time given that I've been blogging for a few months now...totally different format but its fun! I couldn't believe how many people in my address book are on facebook...and how many invites to see other pages that come from them. Even my MOM has a page...LOL! Just kidding Mom - you know you totally rock :)

Good news on the "sick" front - Shane is feeling waaay better today & was able to go to work...even better news is, so far, no one else has came down w/ it. Sleeping on the couch last night wasn't great - especially since my "mommy sense" was tuned in to any sound I heard coming from any of the kids' bedrooms - I was so convinced one of them would come down w/ the bug in the middle of the night that I never truly went into deep sleep. I guess all of that Lysol is doing its job...

Short post tonight...need to work on my Christmas cards!

I think my house is infected...

Seriously, how many strains of colds/flus/bugs/icky creepy crawly stuff is going around??! My poor husband has been quarantined to our room b/c he can't keep any food down and other gross details that I won't go in to...I think my nose hairs are permanently burnt by the smell of all of the Lysol I've been spraying. I even went so far as to pick up the kids after school, take them to Mr. Gatti's (or "Mr Daddy's" as Nick calls it) for dinner, drive thru the City Park not once, but twice (had to go out both exits to see all the lights) then take the long way home looking at more lights...all this just to avoid subjecting my kiddos to any more germs at home than necessary! This bug is on top of the extreme head cold Shane had last week....poor guy! Knock on wood though...the rest of us seem fine.

Our busy weekend went off without a hitch...other than missing Shane's Christmas Party Friday night for his management team...we didn't want to expose any "babysitters" to any germs hanging around. I got my hair chopped off at the salon Sat. morning - its now above my shoulders & just as curly as ever! A quick stop by Jess's jewelry party netted me a new necklace then I headed home to pick up the girls to head to Vincennes for my dress fitting. After a "treat stop" at Starbucks, we headed home to the boys who had been busy installing our new front door...love it!! We headed to Mass around 5pm then hit Walmart (for the 3rd out of 4 trips total this weekend - gag!) for a few groceries/dinner (love that deli chicken!). Katie, Nick & I went to Clay's graduation open house on Sunday afternoon - the twins were under "house arrest" for various infractions so they got to enjoy some quality time at home w/ dad....from what I hear, that "quality" time wasn't so pleasant for all parties involved :)

And now, its Monday night & I'm facing a night's sleep on the couch - trust me, I'll take the couch waaaaaay before I'll chance getting the 'creeping crud' from Shane! Hope everyone else is feelin' fine and staying healthy!

Fighting the winter colds...

Yep, we've been hit...it started w/ Katie's head cold, moved to Shane's more severe head cold, struck Emily w/ nauseousness due to drainage (I'll spare the details on that one) and has landed on Nick who may have a slight ear infection along w/ his cough....so far, Hannah & I are ok - she's had a little bit of a runny nose but let's hope it stops there. I'm tempted to open all the windows on the house one day when we're gone to kill any bugs in here (thanks for the "tip" Lynn!). I was home w/ Em yesterday morning then Shane relieved me at lunch so I could go to work and he also stayed home w/ Nick today...he's still getting over his own cold so it gave them both the chance to chill out. They ventured out to meet me for lunch which was great - I don't usually get such handsome dates for lunch :) Nick picked Quizno's which is one of my faves...

I kind of forgot my busy Saturday when I mentioned in my last post that we weren't that busy this weekend...I have a hair appt in Loogootee at 9am, Jess's jewelry party in Raglesville at 10:30 then we're all heading to Vincennes after that to order dresses for Jess & Big Nick's wedding (6/6/09!). Abbie & I are Jess's personal attendants and my girls (along w/ cousin Hannah B.) are the "favor-passer-outers" and "reception gift girls"(both are official titles BTW)...hopefully we can find what we're looking for w/ little to no stress....b/c we all know that there's no stress involved w/ weddings :)

We're almost done w/ our Christmas shopping...we've scaled back this year a little. I think I've mentioned my Excel spreadsheet Christmas list but maybe haven't confessed that I have every list from the previous 3 years saved along w/ this year's so I can see exactly how much we've spoiled our kids over the years...trust me, we had room to scale back on the purchases! We do "believe" in Santa at our house but don't let that overshadow the true meaning of Christmas. I don't recall when I discovered that Mom was really "Santa"...then again, maybe he does exist since my gifts from her still say "From Santa" on them!! Gotta love the kid in all of us I guess...

Keeping some of you in my thoughts tonight...Jesse & Sarah for the loss of Gma Eaton, Patty's step-dad as he recovers from surgery, Melissa & her family as they make some tough decisions re: her dad...thinking & praying for you all....

Out of hibernation....

ok, so I haven't been hibernating...life has just been especially hectic for the last 2 weeks...good & bad but I'll focus on the good! This past weekend was a busy one...Friday night was our Olon party at the bowling alley - good food & a visit from Santa. Saturday morning, the kids & I went to see Miss Mouse at the Courthouse - we love going every year...cookie decorating, christmas stories, letters to Santa & a pic w/ Miss Mouse herself.

Enjoying our cookies

Posing w/ Miss Mouse

Saturday afternoon was spent at my Gma & Papa Beasley's for the annual Farley Christmas dinner...more fab food and another visit from Santa (a.k.a. Big Nick) - Nick did a great job for the 2nd year in a row and his dad Dan was visiting from Arizona so he got to enjoy the fun. My Nick (a.k.a. Little Nick) came up & very seriously said, "I think that's Big Nick, Mom" so I acted completely surprised even though I had just been upstairs duct-taping the pillow around "Santa's" waist to fill out the costume!

On Sunday, we hosted our 4th annual Cookie Decorating Party at our house - I hope this tradition continues for many years b/c I love watching the kids each year and how much they've changed. Cousin Max & friends Madi & Molly come each year too. Max wins the "Most Sprinkles on a Single Cookie" award while Molly gets the "I Licked Every One of My Cookies" award! I wouldn't be surprised if Max suffered from a sugar coma after eating one of his cookies :)

So, we took "The Picture" tonight - our Christmas card pic of the kids....I must say they did a great job & totally catered to their mom by wearing the matching jammies that I bought them...AND santa hats! I won't post the actual pic but here's a funny one showing their bellies. They're doing this b/c I had to keep tugging their jammie tops down during the pictures b/c these aren't exactly high quality PJs (they shrank horribly when I washed them - and no, its not b/c of how I washed them!)

This coming coming weekend isn't as crazy but busy nonetheless...Friday night is Shane's company party for the management team - appropriately enough in Santa Claus, Indiana. Nick is supposed to go to Evansville but we may have to re-schedule b/c he has the same head cold that Katie & Shane have...normally wouldn't be that big of an issue but he can't be sick around his baby sister Ana due to her being a preemie. So he may be joining his sisters in spending the night at Papa Ed & Gma Theresa's on Friday. Not much on Saturday other than normal chores (and my weekly 8 high capacity loads of laundry - yuck!) but we'll be heading to Anna's on Sunday for Clay's graduation open house. So hard to believe "Bubby" is old enough to be graduating college!! Makes me feel old that the kids I grew up baby-sitting are all grown up themselves!

Well, I hope this was a long enough post for all of you that have been nagging me to update my blog!! I'll try to do better!

Some cute kid stories...

Its been awhile since I posted (sorry - writer's block) so I have a few stories to share...

The kids have been dying to play in the leaf pile in the front yard for over a week but its been too cold/wet/yucky/etc. This weekend was finally nice enough and they totally took advantage of it! Sometimes it was all four of them piled in it and other times it was just one or two. The funniest thing I heard the entire time came from Emily - they were playing store/house and she said "I'm making a 30-minute meal" - seems like she's caught on to my daily addiction to Rachel Ray on the Food Network :)

Saturday was Thanksgiving at my Grandma & Papa Beasley's...waaaay too much food but it was awesome! Mom came home too so that was an added bonus. Before we left home to head to Raglesville, Shane was teasing Nick telling him how "pretty" he was in his sweater...Nick promptly replied that "Dad, girls are pretty; boys are AWESOME" - Shane & I got a good laugh out of that one!

Hannah sat in the front seat w/ me on the way to Grandma's - only because her dad wanted to sit in the middle seat & watch "Transformers"...pretty sad that the newest TV & best sound system we own are in our Tahoe! Anyway, as they were all watching a chase scene, Nick comments on how fast they were going...this prompts Shane to lecture his 5-YEAR-OLD that when he's sixteen, he better not get caught speeding! I had to break the news to Shane that Nick barely remembers to flush the potty on a daily basis - I highly doubted this particular talk was going to stick for the next 11 years - LOL!

Katie & I's soccer team FINALLY won a game last night...you'd think we won a tournament the way the kids (& parents) were cheering!! The kids on my team are so great - such different personalities but all good kids. We have 2 more games in the season - let's hope we've started a win streak :) Kate has been such a trooper - for being the only girl on a team of aggressive boys, she's held her own...she had a chance to score last night but the shot bobbled off her foot - oh well, she still had that sweet smile on her face!

We're looking forward to Thanksgiving with the Deitz family on Thursday - more of my fave foods and good times w/ family. Shane & I will make our annual shopping trip on Friday - we don't go to Evansville (I lived there for close to 10 years - I REFUSE to shop there on Black Friday!) but we shop here locally & in Vincennes. I have quite a bit of shopping already done but we've got plenty more to do...we're cutting back this year like most people but trust me, we had room to cut back! I'm currently trying to convince Shane to buy the kids a trampoline...I've got a few more weeks to work on him...

Its almost bedtime here for the kids...better go start our routine! It takes a little bit of time to get all four thru teeth-brushing/potty/hugs/kisses/endless stall techniques like questions about tomorrow/etc. etc.

Hope everyone has a safe & happy Turkey Day!

Setting records

Well - we had a couple of record-breaking events today...good and not-so-good!

First - the GOOD (which is where we should always focus right?!)....drum roll please...Nick has stayed on "green" for 3 days in a row!!!! He only stayed on green 3 times the entire month of October so we're on quite the roll! At the kids' elementary, the younger classes measure behavior w/ 3 colors - green = good, yellow = couple of warnings, red = obviously, not so good. For the most part, Nick is a yellow kid w/ an occasional foray into the underworld of red but not lately!!! GREEN GREEN GREEN...that's our mantra!

Now, the not so good...we had another indoor soccer game tonight and we lost - AGAIN. We're officially the worst team in our division...our record is 0-5. The worst part of the whole thing is we're a really good team but we can't catch a break! If there's a mistake to be had, we'll find it :) Oh well, the kids are great and the parents don't blame me so I guess we'll survive the second half of the season...my competitive side isn't too happy though!

Such a dreary day...

what a yucky Saturday!! Maybe we needed more rain than I thought but I think we're good now! I went out this morning to check on Buster & Hershey (our dogs) and practically flooded them out when I dumped the water out of the tarp over their kennel...they were snug & dry though in their doghouse so I guess I shouldn't have been so worried about "the babies"!

Our day has been fairly uneventful...Shane & Nick went out to his parents for awhile so the girls & I hung out here doing the normal Saturday morning routine - laundry, cleaning, etc. Katie had a game around noon - we got beat (again) - but my Aunt Peg came to watch so that was a plus! Aunt Peggy has been the girls' biggest soccer fan!

Nothing else too exciting has happened since then...a trip to Wal-mart (Hi Renee', Honey & Lisha!) for some "me time"...how sad :)...but I did get a few small Christmas gifts out of the way. Hard to believe Christmas is only 6 weeks away...

I talked to Mom this morning...it must have been the weather but we immediately started talking about our trip to Hawaii coming up in February...absolutely CAN'T WAIT!!! While it will be hard to be away from the kids for 8 days, we're super excited about going! Our kiddos will get some quality time w/ their other grandparents (besides Mom & Scott who'll be drinking mai tai's on the beach w/ us!) though so I know they'll be fine. I rarely wish time away but February can come as quickly as it wants!

I guess I've rambled enough...we're all hanging out here in the living room watching a movie...almost bed times for the kids - then....peace & quiet :)

A reminder...

I received the following in a "forward" email this week:

'When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.'

Now, I have no idea who came up with this or what that person was writing this in reference to but it spoke to me. I feel like there has been so much "taking" lately - 3 young girls suddenly lose their father, a beautiful woman's marriage has fallen apart, the economy has caused hardships. But, in all this, I've said so many times that God will never give you more than you can handle - not just trite words but how I truly feel. There have been many times that I've felt I've hit my limit but before I know it, the grace of God touches me and I'm reminded of all of the joys, not the sorrows.

I'm glad I didn't just hit "delete" like I do a lot of the time when I see "FWD:" in the subject line...I must have needed the reminder.

Catching up...

Hi all - nothing too exciting going on outside of the normal chaos! To catch up from my last post (a week ago - lazy me!)...Shane got home from his trip to Virginia Beach on Wednesday - the kids & I were very happy to have him home! Even though he works a lot of hours, he's always home by bedtime so we all had to adjust while he was gone. Wednesday night was soccer pics - which I remembered exactly 10 minutes before we had to be there and Katie & I were already in our jammies! A few crazy minutes later, we were out the door & made it just in time...thankfully we only live 3 minutes from the YMCA!!! Nothing too exciting happened Thurs/Friday. Saturday was another soccer game and Nick headed to Evansville for the night. I woke up yesterday totally sick w/ either the stomach flu or a bad reaction to the Long John Silvers we had Sat. nite. After the girls' religion class, I lazed around until I headed to Oakland City to pick up Nick - once home, I went to bed for a few hours to save up energy for Max's 3rd birthday party...which was totally fun :) Anna had a major houseful w/ Beasleys, Rabers & friends all crowding inside since it was absolutely FREEZING outside! Max made a haul and all of the kids had so much fun, especially on the hay ride...check out Abbie's blog for great pics!

Solo parenting for a few days...

Yep - the kids are stuck w/ me as their only parent for a few days...Shane is in Virginia on a business trip so I'm flying solo until Wednesday. I wish I could take "business trips" to Virginia Beach and stay in a hotel on the beach! He's auditing their sandpaper vendor so I guess they had to "jazz up" the trip somehow to get him to go!

The girls had their fall music program tonight (yes, I video-taped it so Shane has 45 fascinating minutes to watch when he gets home LOL) which was entertaining as always. Emily really had the rhythm tonight and she was smiling the entire time; Hannah looked like she was in pain and only smiled when she looked at me (hello - I was the one w/ the camera!); and Katie...well, I couldn't decide whether she was having fun or if she was getting ready to cry! She said she had fun so we'll go with that...

I think I'm going to subject Nick & I to a little pain tomorrow night & take the girls to High School Musical 3...we hardly ever go to the movies - for various reasons including 4 trips to the bathroom since no one has to "go" at the same time - but I thought it would be fun & keep the kids' minds off the fact that Dad isn't home. So think of poor Nick and I tomorrow night around 6:45ish while a bunch of 20-somethings are dancing, singing and acting like high school kids - oooh fun!

Halloween pics

Hi everyone - not a lot to say...just wanted to post a couple of Halloween pics from last night. It was great going trick-or-treating on a weekend night instead of a weekday...our kids actually got to enjoy a couple of pieces of candy instead of being told "No candy on a school night"!!

"Gabrielle" from High School Musical, Medieval Princess, The Hulk, "Sharpay" from HSM

Trick-or-treating on our street...

A good time was had by all...now we have enough candy to last us 6+ months!

God grant me the serenity...

...to accept the fact the my 8 year old is a compulsive liar. Seriously - I'm at my wit's end w/ Hannah...I once again busted her this week for hiding papers w/ bad grades in her backpack. This is the THIRD time she's gotten in trouble for this and the THIRD time we've had to punish her for it....what am I doing wrong??!! Our standard "punishment" for papers w/ a "C" grade or worse is the child has to tell us what went wrong (i.e. rushing, sloppiness, not reading the directions), correct the paper then no TV for the rest of the evening. Of course, if the paper was related to a new subject or something they're having difficulty with, we just help them correct it and try to explain the material - then move on, no punishment.

The majority of Hannah's issues are directly related to rushing, not paying attention to the details, etc. The crazy thing is, Hannah doesn't even really like watching TV so why she hasn't caught on that she should just take the small punishment is beside me! Instead, she gets into waaaaay bigger trouble by lying...I'm very frustrated at this point. Not only am I disappointed in her, I don't know how to make her stop. We've tried what seems like everything - positive and negative reinforcement - however, we keep coming back to this same issue. With everything else, she's a great kid!!!

Of course, I'm thankful that I have 4 healthy, happy kids and I know I shouldn't be griping but I'm just reaching out to see if anyone has any better ideas....at this point, I'm open to any suggestions!

Weekend in Bumpus Mills, TN

Yes, there actually is a place called Bumpus Mills in Tennessee and yes, before you ask, its in the middle of nowhere!! Mom & Scott have their "weekend home" on Lake Barkley and we love to go there to visit. Shane & the kids love it just a bit more than I do - I prefer to go to their "city" house in Nashville - hello, Bumpus is so remote, I can't even get a fountain Diet Coke! But I have to admit, the view is gorgeous and it is pretty fun riding around on the Kabota all-terrain & the four-wheeler...the kids stay outside the entire time and are absolutely filthy but boy are they havin' fun getting dirty! Gramma Cindy always has a "project" for them too so they look forward to that...this weekend we decorated halloween cookies and had a rock contest. The rock contest was for two reasons...1. Mom had cute little "1st Place" ribbons & some $1 bills burning a hole in her pocket so she was looking for a reason to give them to her grandkids and 2. Her rock garden was needing some more rocks!!! This apparently is going to be an on-going thing since she's given them each their own space to fill w/ rocks each time they come :)

Mom & the girls before "rock hunting"

Cookie Decorating

The rock contest winners!

The boys all went fishing Saturday morning while us girls went to the local Piggly Wiggly (love it!) to get the fixings for the cookies. By lunch time, the boys were home and we were making "mummy dogs" - hot dogs w/ breadstick dough wrapped around them - another "crafty" idea Gramma found in a magazine. Scott & Shane gave another secret fishing spot a try after lunch while the rest of us went on our rock hunt. 20lbs of rocks later (that's a guesstimate on the weight), Mom & I enjoyed a much deserved beverage while the kids cleaned up their rocks.

After the big boys got home, we had a pretty competitive game of wiffle ball that was, thankfully, injury-free for us old folks!


After dinner & showers, Hannah & Katie played checkers w/ Grampa Scott while Nick & Emily played "Go Fish" w/ Gramma Cindy...Shane & I just sat back & watched all the fun going around us! It was a nice break from having the be the entertainers :) After breakfast this morning, we packed up & headed home. Its always great to visit family, but its always good to get home too!

We had a visit tonight from my other parents (Beth & Dad) - they stopped by w/ Halloween bags for the kids - very little candy (thanks!!) and some "fun" stuff like Floam & Silly String (no thanks!!) - Beth is paying me back for the years of me giving my brothers "fun" stuff like Play-doh & finger paints!

At last, its quiet in our house...w/ the exception of Shane's comments to the TV re: the poor calls by the umpires in the World Series game. What is it about men talking to the TV like the people can actually hear them?! Like if he says "Bad Call!" loudly enough, the umpire in Philadelphia will look up & say "My bad"....must be a guy thing!

Happy Fall Y'all!

I've said it before but I'll say it again - I LOVE FALL! I could really do without the other 3 seasons but I guess that wouldn't be much fun. The girls & I went to Etienne's & got pumpkins/gourds on Saturday so I've actually, for the first time, got a "fall scene" on my front porch...corn stalks, straw bale, mums, etc. The corn is courtesy of my father-in-law and the straw was picked up by Shane so this has truly been a family effort! After school today, we decorated pumpkins w/ the kids...I found these totally cool "Mr. Pumpkin-Head" kits at Walmart and the kids had a blast picking out the eyes/ears/nose/mouth combos for their pumpkins.

The fun didn't stop w/ the pumpkins...the kids have been trying to rake together a pile of leaves for a week but the trees weren't cooperating. But today, they were finally successful - of course, this meant raiding the neighbor's yard but I really don't think they'll mind!

Here's our weekend re-cap...

• We went to Buffalo Wild Wings Friday night w/ the girls then stopped at Lic's on the way home - pumpkin pie ice cream - YUM! I started fighting a head cold on Friday and it stuck w/ me most of the weekend but the ice cream helped :)

• On Saturday, Shane headed to the race track to drag race his newest creation - did pretty well for his class. The girls & I had our last soccer game - beat the only undefeatable team left! Our record ended up being 4-1-1 so I was very proud of our team. After the game, the girls & I had lunch, went to Etienne's for pumpkins then came home where this momma took a much needed nap b/c my cold was kicking in. After Shane got home, I got the girls dressed in their costumes for Ed & Theresa's "Hallo-wienie Roast" and we headed out - the weather was absolutely perfect for hotdogs & marshmallows.

• Nick went to Evansville this weekend to visit his baby sister Ana and they went to the zoo and got their pictures taken. He brought home a lovely rubber snake from the zoo (watch out Gramma Cindy - he says he's bringing it w/ him next weekend to Bumpus Mills!). After I picked him up Sunday, we came home & gathered the rest of the gang to go out to Beth & Dad's for lunch...it was great to visit w/ them & Daniel...our lives are all so busy that sometimes the weeks get away from us so I'm glad we were able to spend a few hours with them on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

And now we're here...another work week. Not so busy this week which is absolutely fine w/ me!

Parent/Teacher Conferences

For those of you who know my children, you can imagine my, um, let's say, "anticipation" re: attending parent/teacher conferences! Not that I have bad kids; I actually have absolutely great kids but, they also have a great amount of energy & precociousness! Especially the younger three...

Here's a rundown of the conferences:

Katie - her teacher referred to her as an "angel" - no surprises there! Teachers always love Kate b/c she's such a sweetie and wants to please. She's doing really well in keeping up with the class but does need to work on her speed & reading comprehension.

Hannah - our social butterfly! Thankfully she's improved her mid-term grades - really had nowhere to go but up on one of them :) She's reading very well and loves her "chapter" books. Her area of opportunity is definitely in paying attention to the details...something Miss Ants-in-Her-Pants struggles with.

Emily - my combo kid - Katie's sweetness & Hannah's energy! Em is in 3rd grade and reading at a 5th grade level which thrills me to death - my fave thing in the world to do other than spend time w/ family & friends is reading a good book so I love it that my kids enjoy books too. Em's teacher describes her as "bright but bossy" - that's our Emily! She needs to work on keeping on task but other than that, her grades are very good.

And finally, Nick - Mr. Kindergarten. Nick has a first year teacher so I didn't know what to expect but it went well - she thinks he's very smart but doesn't always want to share what's in his head. I don't know where he could possibly get any stubbornness...LOL! He's all boy which leads to rough-housing w/ other boys so he needs to learn to keep his hands to himself, but all in all, he's doing great!

So, another round of P/T conferences done with...can't wait 'til the next one!

Catch up...

So, it's been entirely tooooo long since I've posted! Last week was absolute chaos at work (I termed it "A Week of Mondays" if that gives any indication...) and we had soccer practice, a make-up soccer game, haircuts & school pictures, Nick's first official Kindergarten field trip (Shane chaperoned) then finally...the weekend!

The weekend didn't prove to be any calmer...Saturday brought us laundry, a soccer game, laundry, Shane & Nick to the race track, laundry (we have a loooot of laundry around here!), lunch at Snack Shack for the girls & I, Wal-mart for Halloween costumes & the required accessories (hello - I have 3 girls), Kate to a friend's house for a few hours, the twins & I to buy mums then went to Mass, picked up Kate then went to Shane's aunt & uncle's house for a wienie roast. We got home around 9pm then 6 showers later...fell into bed!

THEN, Sunday started with a monumentous event - Nick lost his first tooth! It was a little traumatic on both Nick & I (for different reasons of course) but Shane came in for the save & yanked the tooth out...thanks Dad! After that drama, we took the girls to Religion Class then headed north to drop Nick off at Anna's so Shane & I could head to Indy for a Colts game....totally sweet seats too - free tickets sitting in the corner of the end zone! A double plus! Theresa picked up the girls and kept them all day so all 4 kiddos had a great day. We all got home around 7pm which gave us enough time for another round of showers before hitting the sack. WHEW - what a weekend! Here's some pics...




I don't think this week is going to be much calmer...we had another make-up soccer game tonight (played muuuuuch better than Saturday, thank goodness!), tomorrow starts the Book Fair at school which I will be working at for my required 2 hours, then the Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet tomorrow night (I'll definitely have a picture of me from that event to post but I'll save the details for later), Parent/Teacher Conferences on Wednesday along w/ 1/2 school days Wed & Thurs and no school on Friday...wowza!

I think that's enough for now...I'm going to go catch up on everyone else's blogs that I haven't read for a week!

You're my inspiration...

Do you all have those people in your life that inspire you? It could be someone you barely know or one that you've known your entire life...I have several and they all inspire me in different ways and for different reasons...

My parents - for obvious reasons! My mom & dad faced a tough decision when they found themselves expecting me - young, not married, conservative families - but they gave it go and did what not everyone else would have done - got married, moved to Alabama for Dad's work & had me! While they didn't stay married, they made me feel loved and both went on to marry other people MUCH better suited for them. They've inspired me to be a loving, tolerant parent - who is still working on having more patience!

Nancy Epperson - my boss at my first "real" job out of college. Nancy was my mentor and such a strong woman in a very male dominated company. She wanted us all to keep learning - she involved us in things that she didn't have to because she knew we would take that knowledge with us. She inspired me to be a strong woman, a compassionate boss and a good friend.

Abbie Raber - my cousin & little sister. Ab's easy going demeanor may fool a lot of people into thinking she's a pushover but she's surprising a lot of people lately...her faith leads her and she's an amazing mom - two things that will guide her in her quest for answers in this rough time in her life. She's inspired me to stand by my beliefs no matter what others are telling me to do.

Jennifer Zimmer - my closest friend from college. Jen worked full time and went to school while being married to her best friend...her & Tony provided a safe haven for Nick & I when we left Steve. Her unwavering support was priceless and her work ethic inspiring! Now, with 2 beautiful kids, a full time career and that same best friend, she's working on her 2nd Masters degree while coming to terms with her son's developmental delays. Jen has inspired me to never stop wanting more in life - even when we have to work hard to get it.

Ernie Beasley - my maternal grandpa. Never have I met a more tolerant, patient man who's quiet strength has led our family to be the solid group that we are...I should include Grandma Grace too b/c we all know that half of a man's strength lies in the woman who stands beside him. My grandparents are supportive even if they may not agree with our choices. They have inspired me to always value family, the good, the bad & the ugly!

I could keep going...but I'll leave those for future posts! I hope all of you take some time to think about your inspirations in life...and don't take them for granted.

School delay...

Since I'm home this morning w/ the kiddos due to the 2-hour fog school delay, I thought I'd post...not that I have a lot to talk about but hey, I can always find something :)

Nick absolutely is not understanding the whole school delay concept - he keeps telling me we're late for school! Which is funny b/c he's the one kid who asks e-v-e-r-y morning "Do we have school?" - not because he wants to go; he'd much rather hang out at home! Or go to Abbie/Anna's - if I had a dollar for every time he has asked to go see Anna/Ab/Max/etc., I wouldn't have to work!

Hannah is grounded....AGAIN. I did a random backpack search Sunday nite & found school papers w/ bad grades stashed in a pocket. I don't mean 1 or 2 papers - try 10 of 15 papers...all w/ a grade of "C" or worse. The little stinker! We have a rule here at home that if you bring home a grade of C or worse and I know that it was something you rushed through or just didn't follow the directions, you don't get to watch any TV that night. Now, if it was something difficult/new/etc., I can understand so we go over the paper and all is well. Hannah had been stashing these papers away for a few weeks - only giving me her pretty little A's & B's...well that sure backfired on her! She's grounded from going anywhere and no phone calls to friends thru this coming Sunday. What am I going to do with her?! The worst thing is - she doesn't even really like TV much (she can't sit still) so she would have been much better off just taking the punishment each time it came around!!

Emily & Katie are maintaining the status quo...no major issues at school and minding their Ps & Qs at home too. Of course we'll always have Kate's never-ending fascination w/ TV (um, I think she would watch corn growing if it was on TV!) and Em's "big" personality (i.e. sass-talker!) but hey, that's who they are and we love 'em!

Yard Sales & Family Reunions...

Wow - what a busy weekend! Abbie & I spent a lot of quality time together this past week getting ready for our yard sale on Saturday - which was totally great b/c I don't get a lot of time w/ Ab without others around so it was good to just hang out; albeit surrounded by TONS of yard sale stuff! We had a great turnout - they started coming around 7:30am and didn't stop until after noon. And...we'll be doing it again next weekend :) We didn't realize this coming weekend (10/4) is the Annual Cumback Yard Sale which is an organized "neighborhood" yard sale so we're cleaning out closets and finding more stuff to sell! I went thru the girls' rooms/closets this afternoon so we'll have girl clothes this weekend which we didn't have the first go'round. SO - if you know anyone needing/wanting the following, send them our way (Troy Road south of the Bypass to 400S - follow the hot pink signs!): boys clothes (newborn-4T), girls clothes (4-6X), household items, toys, womens clothes (S/M), baby items, etc. etc.

Today was Shane's family reunion (his Gma Lela's side of the family) at the Conservation Club in Washington - complete w/ the required pickup softball game w/ 3 generations playing & the 4th cheering them on...love it! Though I have to say...my hubby is getting older! Shane & his cousin Jesse (who talk a lot of 'smack' to each other) both agree that the game gets harder as the years go by. Katie played too & did a great job; Hannah & Em were taking a walk w/ Mickey, Sarah & Deanna and Nick was pouting b/c he didn't want to play the field - he only wanted to bat so I told him he couldn't play...I know, I'm such a mean mommy.

Here's Shane rounding the bases:

Tonight - Shane is totally indulging me by letting me watch the brand new VH1 "Behind the Music" - NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK! Can't you just hear the girlish screams?! I'm totally cracking up that they're releasing new material but hey, props to them for giving it a go - I can still remember Abbie & our cousin Cassie Trueblood in their NKOTB t-shirts when they came to see us at cheer camp my freshman year in high school...too funny!

October is almost here...my favorite time of the year! We're heading to Mom & Scott's "country" house at the end of the month & the kids are pretty excited - they love going to the house in Bumpus Mills, TN (Kentucky Lake) b/c they get to play outside allll day long, riding the Kubota all-terrain & the 4-wheeler. Gramma Cindy always has a great craft project for them too which they totally dig. While I prefer the "city" house in Brentwood (south of Nashville) for the restaurants & shopping, I usually get out-voted by Shane & the kids on where we visit my parents...5-1 isn't great odds! Oh well, I guess I can "rough it" in the country every now & then!

Here's to another week - hope everyone has a good one!

Family weekend...

Back to real reason I started this blog...my family! We had a great weekend w/ lots of running here & there...Saturday morning was spent at the soccer field (we're 2-0!) then the rest of the afternoon was centered around getting ready for the car cruise. Shane & I "cruised" w/ Gma & Papa Beasley in Great Grandpa Beasley's '67 Ford Galaxie...only 70,000 original miles! We had such a great time - from the chili supper beforehand to all of the candy we threw. The kids were all at Gma Lela's (happy belated birthday Grandma!) for the cruise then went home w/ Gma Theresa & Papa Ed for the night. We met up with Mom (yay - my mom was home!), Peg & Sharon at the park after the cruise then ended up at Sharon & John's for her fake margarita's...who would have ever known Squirt made a good margarita?!

I picked the kids up Sunday morning then got the girls to Religion class...Nick & I picked them up after class & headed to Anna's for another famous "Beasley Birthday Lunch"...yes, there are enough of us that we have to get together every month for birthdays. Love it! Not sure what I do without my family or what kind of person I'd be...I truly believe we are a product of how we're raised so kudos to my fam that I'm fairly normal :) This month was Big Nick, Tracy, Delbert & Clay's b-days...the food was great, the weather was beautiful and the family was fabulous! Nick & Max were typical boys - filthy head to toe - and the girls ran around w/ Hannah B (cousin) being silly girls riding the golf cart.

Abbie & Mom (Cindy)

Speaking of all of my family...the kids & I had a pretty funny conversation Saturday morning. Emily asked if they were spending the night with "Grandma" that night...I asked "Which grandma?" and she got irritated w/ me for asking what she thought was a silly question. I then had to remind her that she has: Grandma Beasley, Grandma Lela, Gramma Cindy, Grandma Beth & Grandma Theresa....what lucky kids!! The even have Grandma Gloria in California (Scott's mom) that they haven't been able to meet yet. And - they have almost as many grandpas to go with them....how blessed we are!

If you have time - check out my blog list - I've added my cousin Lauren's who decided to join the crazy world of blogging. I'm sure she'll be able to entertain us w/ stories from IU...keep it clean sister - you never know who's reading your posts! I've also added "Delaney's Dream"...tragic story of a young man who passed away recently and his fiancee's struggle to cope. Patrick's aunt Patty works w/ me and I think of her family everyday...keep them in your prayers.

Emily's curious mind...

Ok, so I thought I had fielded my share of "Questions" (notice the capital Q) when my girls first asked me "Where do babies come from?" "But, how do they get in there?" "Then, how do they get out?"...well, today took those types of questions to an entirely new level. Granted, the questions weren't directed to me, but, more embarrassingly, to the kids' after-school program director, Miss Karen. Let me tell you the entire story...

I went to pick the kids up today and they were playing outside on the playground. They ran in to the school to get their backpacks & Miss Karen came over to talk to me. She said Emily came over to her and asked if she knew what "gay" meant...Miss Karen is a retired teacher so she's used to these types of questions but I was still slightly mortified by this conversation already! Miss Karen replied to Emily that yes, she knew what that was. Em then went on to ask if Miss Karen knew what "S-E-X" was...yes, she spelled it out instead of saying the word (oh...my...goodness). Miss Karen replied again in the affirmative and asked Em where she had heard that word. Em explained that her "best friend" who will remain nameless had told her that she likes to throw boys on the ground, kiss them & have S-E-X with them...at this point in the conversation, I'm wishing the earth would open up & swallow me whole. I mean - this is my baby girl!! She's not supposed to be asking this at age 8...Miss Karen apparently saw my now complete mortification and assured me, in her own words, that my kid wasn't going to turn into some sex fiend by her next birthday!!! Needless to say, Shane & I plan to talk to Em about what she's heard from the other kids, if she has any questions, etc. etc.....please be thinking of us & pray that we say the right things and don't confuse her any more than necessary! I really didn't think I would be having this conversation at this point in my children's lives but unfortunately, I feel society has made kids grow up so fast...but I'm sure parents for many generations have felt that way. Why can't they just stay innocent forever?!

Family walks & Christmas shopping...

We just got home from from a walk...I think we're quite the site walkin' down the street...Dad, Mom & 6 kids! haha - of course I'm counting our 4-legged kids Hershey & Buster. Hershey is our 9-yr old dauschaund (i.e. wiener dog) and Buster is our 18-mo old springer spaniel....just guess who is better on the leash! I told Shane tonight that if I was on a skate board walking Buster, we'd probably be going 50 mph down the sidewalk! We all enjoy our walks - at least I do when the weather is nice :)

I could feel Fall in the air today - my absolutely fave season of the year...I love jeans w/ sweatshirts, wienie roasts w/ marshmellows, football games w/ hot chocolate...I could go on & on! Pretty soon, I'll plant our mums, take pics of the kids in the leaf pile, get out the fall decorations...of course fall just leads up to my favorite "eating" holiday - Thanksgiving! YUM!

People may think I'm nuts but I've already started Christmas shopping - hey, w/ 4 kids I can't afford to wait until November to start!! I guess I should confess that my "list" is actually an Excel spreadsheet w/ separate columns for each kid and 2 separate worksheets for Shane and the rest of the family. Oh, it doesn't stop there - I have a color-coding system showing what's from us and what's from Santa, bolding & italicizing to show what's been purchased & what still needs bought....I have everything we've bought for the kids since we started shopping together (2005) - let me say, we've got some pretty spoiled kids! Kevin, the Wal-mart store manager, looks for me every year on the day after Thanksgiving just to see my list...he's in Rotary w/ me so he razzes me all year long about my infamous Christmas list! Yes, I'm anal-retentive and proud of it!

We have soccer practice the next 2 nights then the homecoming parade Friday so it may be a bit before I can post again...I'll try to have pictures next time!

I'm Baaaack!

Yes, I know....its been 2 weeks since I've posted - sorry!! I worked on a post for 20 minutes after Shane & I got back from our anniversary weekend in Indy - it had pics & all - but my computer "hiccuped" and I though I lost it all....leading to me getting fairly ticked off so I shut down the computer!! However, I just found that post in my "drafts" so I guess I shouldn't have gotten ticked huh? I'll post it separately here shortly once I get the pictures in place.

Anyway - short re-cap of our Indy/Labor Day weekend - had a great time at Oliver Winery, shopping, Indians baseball game, Howl At the Moon, 13 (yes, 13) hours at the drag races then back home to get the kids, visit the Round Barn Centennial celebration, have Ed & Theresa over for lunch on Labor Day then back to work. Woooo - busy 4 days!

This past week was pretty busy too - Soccer draft Tuesday night, Evansville for kids' dental appts Wednesday afternoon, first soccer practice (I'm coaching!) in the pouring down rain Thursday night (hey, we lasted longer than some football boys that were practicing nearby!) then a fairly low key weekend ever since.

The kids have been fairy rambunctious (sp?) lately - typical kid stuff but I do have a couple of cute stories to share. Last Monday, I took Em to Wal-mart with me b/c she had $10 burning a hole in her piggy bank from selling her Go Diego! playset to Patty for her grandson...we were at the checkout and she dug her wallet out of her purse & handed over her hard-earned cash. As the checkout lady was finalizing the transaction, Em turned to me and whispered, "How much do I tip her Mom?" - cracked me up! I whispered back that we don't have to tip the Walmart lady & she very seriously said "Ok, I just wanted to make sure."!! Ah the innocence of kids!!

Cute kid story #2 - I was in our bathroom putting on makeup this morning and the window was open which faces our driveway. All 4 kids were outside when our neighbor Avery and her two cousins came over, one of which was a first grade boy. I listened intently as my two 3rd grade daughters proceeded to flirt with him (yes, its started already) then he had to leave. I started teasing them thru the window by saying I couldn't believe they were flirting w/ a younger "man" - of course they started squealing & laughing when Nick piped up and very seriously said "What's flirting??" I couldn't help but laugh b/c I'm sure our son will figure out flirting very quickly when his 3 older sisters start bringing their friends home!

This week starts Jump Rope Club (Mondays) and Just Say No Club (Tuesdays) for the girls, soccer practice Wednesday & Thursday for the twins, Homecoming parade (Just Say No Club is marching in it) on Friday then our first soccer game Saturday morning. Never a boring moment around here!!

The lost post....

Wow - its been too long since I sat down & posted! It's been a great four day weekend....here's a rundown of what we've been up to:


On Friday, Shane & I headed to Indy for our "anniversary weekend" - we dropped the kids off at school, went to breakfast at the Steamer then headed north. Our first stop was Bloomington where we did a little shopping then stopped by Oliver Winery for tastings, shopping & a snack - yum! Here's a couple of pics...




We headed to Indy after Oliver...we were able to check into our hotel early then stopped for another "snack" (what happened to regular meals??!) before changing our clothes & heading downtown. We checked out Circle Center Mall for awhile - totally looking for a pair of cheap shoes since the impractical sandals I was wearing were causing blisters - hey, I'm a girl and sometimes, well, fashion hurts! Anyway, didn't find any I was willing to drop cash on so I suffered on...


We headed over to Victory Field - Home of the Indianapolis Indians - for a perfect night for baseball...the weather was great, the hotdogs were hot & the beer was cold....awesome! Here's a couple of pics our "section usher" took of us.






We headed over to "Howl at the Moon" after the game - Shane & I first went to one of these "dueling" piano bars in Chicago a couple of years ago and absolutely loved it! If you ever get a chance to go, do it! The musicians are very talented and put on a great show!


We were up the next morning - bright & early - to head over to O'Reilly Raceway Park for the NHRA Mac Tools US Nationals...yes, drag racing. This was my gift to Shane for our anniversary - the traditional 1st anniversary gift is paper so he got paper tickets to this event! Anyway - after stopping at Starbucks for a very necessary caffeine boost, we headed to the track and got there @ 8am. I won't go into all of the details but the day was pretty cool - Shane was a like a little kid in a candy store and I was amazed at how close we could get to the drivers/cars. We had great seats right on the starting line. Here's us in the stands:



After THIRTEEN hours and a nice sunburn...we finally left! We were so tired when we left that all we could manage to do for dinner was stop at the first Hardee's we found, got to the hotel, showered & hit the sack.


NOTE: This is where I thought I lost the post so that's all I've got!

Our 1st Anniversary...

Happy 1st Anniversary to us! I sometimes try to remember what life was like before Shane & the girls became part of Nick & I's life and I just struggle to remember that time because we're such a perfect fit. We all became what each other needed...a husband to a wife, a mother to daughters, a father to a son, a brother to sisters. As corny as it sounds, I feel we were all meant to be exactly where we are today; even though the road here was preeeetty bumpy at times!

For those of you who don't know Shane & I's story....we actually dated briefly my senior year of H.S./Shane's freshman year of college but life happened and we went our separate ways. We both went through college, married people totally not suited to us, had beautiful kid(s) then divorced. I was ending my engagement to Wrong Guy #2 around the time of my 10 year class reunion in 2004. Shane's best friend Tim graduated w/ me so he & his wife Holly invited Shane & his floozy of the moment (totally can't remember her name!) to our reunion. I was leaving to return to Evansville at the same time Shane was heading to the ATM (to get more $$ to by the aforementioned floozy another drink!) when we stopped to talk on the sidewalk, shared pics of the cute kids we both were raising and exchanged email addresses. I moved home to Daviess County a month later in October and Shane & I started talking via email & text messages. We had our (2nd) First Date on October 30th, encountered some ups and downs over the next few months then before you know it, were engaged exactly one year later on 10/30/05. Nick & I moved in w/ Shane & the girls in Feb. 06 and this crazy family was born! Now, here we are, 1 year after our "I do's" and I can't imagine my life without these 5 people. They make me laugh, make me cry, stress me out, keep me grounded, remind me what is important about life every day, give me stories to tell for the next 50 years.....and totally complete me. This isn't just Shane & I's anniversary, its our family's....

Another weekend that flew by...

Another great weekend @ the Matthews house...nothing too exciting but a good one nonetheless. Yesterday was spent on chores (yuck), my weekly trip to Walmart (my "me" time - how sad!) then Ed & Theresa (my in-laws) came over for dinner to celebrate Ed's birthday. His b-day is actually tomorrow which is also Shane & I's 1st anniversary. We told Ed that by getting married on his birthday, we were giving him the perpetual gift of his grandkids every year on his b-day....so Shane & I could go out to eat :) Well, that's already backfired b/c they've gone out of town!!! Sneaky little suckers aren't they?! Luckily, Shane's aunt (Mickey) is going to come take the kiddos out to eat so Shane & I can go out for dinner....love her!!

Today was a fairly low-key today - I went to Lisa's bridal shower this afternoon which was fun - young love is too cute! Em was gone most of the day b/c she spent the night w/ a friend; Shane & Kate helped Gma Lela & Aunt DeeDee move some furniture; Hannah is still on house arrest so she was around the house and Nick was just hanging out...nothing much phases him as long as he has his trucks & cars to play with!

The house is quiet b/c the kids are in bed...and of course, we're watching pre-season football - fun! This week is another 4-day week for Shane & I b/c we're heading to Indy on Friday to celebrate our anniversary - think of me while I'm at drag racing alllll day on Saturday!!

Deep Breaths

Dove Chocolate wisdom for today..."Take an extra deep breath whenever you need it"...that had to be written with mothers in mind!! Surely I'm not the only one worn out at the end of the week...while its been a fairly good week around here (minus Hannah the Liar and Emily the Incredibly Slow Eater), its still been tiring! I'm not sure that will change anytime soon though...oh say, for the next 15 years! I guess I'd hate to be bored....

I'm glad to report that we're full into the swing of school - every morning gets easier & easier as far as getting my 4 little soldiers through our [carefully orchestrated] routine...I absolutely love it that my kids hop right out when we pull up in front of school, yell "love you Mom" and run in - what more could I ask for?! I think its every parents' dream to have happy, healthy, well-rounded kids - we've got that times 4 in our house!

We've got a pretty quiet weekend planned - no complaints about the quiet part :) We went to the K of C for dinner tonight - the kids ate great! Hannah absolutely cleaned her plate of shrimp & chips...she said "I'm not going to be wasteful"...amen sister! We were going to go to the 1st WHS football game tonight but decided to wait until true football weather, i.e. sweatshirts & jeans, instead of going in shorts & Tshirts. Nick was worried that he'd get in trouble though b/c his teacher said he "had" to go to the game and wear black & gold - it was really hard to convince him that the football game wasn't homework!

The rest of the weekend will be spent on laundry (me), cleaning (me & the girls), mowing (Shane), working on the race truck (Shane & Nick) and some fun stuff...watching movies as a family and I have a bridal shower to go to (cousin Trent Otto's fiancee') on Sunday. I'll try to take some good pics to post soon.

Uh oh....not a good day for Hannah!

Well, our little liar is back....some of you might know about Hannah's short trip to the dark side of lying earlier this summer and the subsequent punishment (remember her having to go to the county fair w/ us but not getting to ride any rides??!). Well, she's back at it - I won't go into all of the gory details but what could have been a fairly minor infraction - having to write a few sentences for flipping a behavior card in class for talking - has turned in to a month-long grounding for not only not telling us about the sentences but then proceeding to sign Shane's name to the parent signature line, insisting for 10 minutes to her teacher that "that's just the way Dad writes his name", not bringing the sentences to us for a 2nd time then telling her teacher she didn't know where the paper was!!! Oh my....talk about a sinking feeling when your daughter's teacher calls you at work to tell you all this....I was not a happy camper in the least bit. Just so you know - I'm sure Shane & I's parents find this funny and are thinking "what goes around, comes around"!!!! I know that's how I'll feel when my kids call & tell me these stories about my grandkids :) Needless to say - Hannah has been writing sentences since we got home and will be writing until she goes to bed...writers cramp for sure!

Busy few days...

Wow...what a busy few days!! Shane spent Friday painting our kitchen - looks fabulous BTW then played a round of golf w/ Jonah. Saturday consisted of taking the kiddos to Anna's for the day so Shane & I could get the house ready for his birthday cookout. We had a really good time at the cookout - good food, good friends & family, good times! Sorry but I didn't take any pics...for those of you w/ access to Abbie's Snapfish page - check out the slideshow entitled "Shane's Birthday Cookout"...funny thing is there's only one pic of Shane in the entire album :) As usual, most of the pictures are of all the kids...

Sunday was fairly quiet - Shane took Em & Nick fishing while Katie, Hannah & our neighbor Avery went w/ me to Walmart...should have went to church since it was St. Mary's last mass before closing but, for various reasons, we didn't go. I spent the rest of the day catching up on laundry...fun fun!

Monday was Shane's 34th birthday - happy b-day babe! We both took the day off from work and, instead of canoeing which was the original plan, Shane decided he wanted to go to Evansville shopping & eating at our fave pizza place, The Slice....no complaints from me!! We had a great time shopping at several places and just being together as a couple...we're coming up on our 1st wedding anniversary which seems kind of crazy since it seems like we've been together for so long...comes along w/ having known each other since we were 15 I guess! Shane totally scored as far as his big b-day present - I finally caved & bought him Guitar Hero - Legends of Rock...as yes, its been hard for him to put it down ever since! Check out his reaction as he opened it:

Just like a kid isn't he?!

Yesterday was also Shane's cousin Gabriel's birthday so we all went over to Grandma Lela's for cake & ice cream...here's the birthday boys:

All in all - a great weekend!

Closing in on the weekend...

We're almost at the end of the first week of school and so far so good! We went to Open House tonight at school and met w/ the girls' teachers...Nick's teacher is also an asst coach for the WHS varsity volleyball team and they had their first away game so she wasn't there. All good news so far from the girls...Nick unfortunately had a note sent home today - yes, its the 3rd day of school - apparently he was a little chatty :( I hope he continues to mature this year - he's one of the youngest (if not the youngest) in his class and he's the baby of our family...we'll see! Hannah & Emily both had really cute "all about me" papers they'd done...Emily describes herself as smart & cool while Hannah says she's "freaky" - when asked what freaky means, she had no answer - kids! Kate of course had all good feedback - that's what we expect from our "good kid"!!

Shane has a four day birthday weekend coming up...he'll be spending Day 1 painting our kitchen (fun fun!) but then the festivities begin! We're having a cookout Sat. then Shane & I are going canoeing on the Blue River on Monday...last time I was canoeing on the Blue River involved Steph, Kim &...well, never mind! oh the memories from that trip!!

I'm sure I'll have lots to talk about after this weekend! Look for lots of pics & funnies here early next week....

1st Day of School

We all survived the 1st day of school!!! I actually think...check that - know I had the hardest time of us all! The girls were fabulous "big" sisters and Nick was such a little man - I was the baby!! I knew it would be hard...heck, I cried last year and the girls were in 2nd & 3rd grades...we alllll knew this year would probably be the hardest on me - at least until Katie graduates high school!

I was so anxious to pick them up from after-school care so I could hear about their days...Katie's best part of the day was seeing her friends, Hannah loves her teacher and classroom, Emily was excited about her friends and recess and Nick....well, Nick couldn't name a favorite part but his friend Luke from the YMCA is in his class so I'm thrilled that he had someone he knew close by. When I picked them up, they were all playing and looked like such happy kids...made this mom's heart smile :) Now, let's just hope Day 2 goes as smoothly!

Simply be...

More Dove chocolate wisdom...Simply be, rather than do, for a moment. I don't know about everyone else, but this very simplistic concept is hard for me! There's always something that needs to be done, someone who needs attention, a phone ringing, another email needing answered...its hard to find the time to "simply be"...I guess I should say its hard to make time because its all about choices. I've said it so many times - life is about choices. Often its a choice between two options that are both unappealing but yet a choice has to be made. And once the choice is made - stick to it! I have very little patience for people who are wishy-washy and second guess themselves (and others) after every little decision....make an educated choice and MOVE ON! ok....I'll get off my soapbox now....

We just got home from Mr. Gatti's - we wanted to take the kids out for one last "hurrah" before school starts in the morning. We even played in Gatti-land...woo hoo!! Shane always stays home the morning of the 1st day of school so we can take them in together - of course there will be the required picture on the front porch w/ their new outfits and loaded down backpacks...too cute! I'll make sure & post a pic w/ tomorrow's message.

Fun family weekend...

Weekends just fly by don't they?!

Shane took Em & Nick golfing Saturday morning while Hannah & I went to breakfast (White Steamer - yum!) then went to Walmart to get picnic supplies. After picking up Katie from her sleepover (FYI - the sleepover girl got verrrry little sleep!), we headed to Spring Mill. We ate our lunchables (all 6 of us - even Mom & Dad!) then hiked down allll the steps to Donaldson Cave. We then had to hike back up allll the steps to the top :) From there, we went to the Pioneer Village - we love going to the Grist Mill w/ the huge wheel outside...this was the first time I was able to hear the "miller" describe how the Mill worked and see the corn actually get ground up - pretty cool! Like I said to Shane though, I would have been a horrible pioneer! Give me running water & electricity please!! We all took a wade in the creek which was absolutely freezing but fun nonetheless...at least until the snake came floating down! Needless to say - that put an end to the wading...

We all chilled for awhile once we got home...Shane is hooked on the Olympics so we watched that for a bit...we made Kate take a nap which ticked her off but she went right to sleep! After resting for a couple of hours, we got cleaned up and went downtown to the Block Party/Cruz-in. We drove "Alvin" - Papa Beasley's Ford Galaxy - so we fit in pretty well! There were sooo many people - way more than I expected. There were a lot of really cool cars and the free Kramers Coneys definitely made the waiting in line worth it. The girls got beads in their hair and we got to visit w/ friends (Steph & fam; Kim & fam) plus we "cruised" over to Scoops for ice cream when we left. After a drive out to Ed & Theresa's, we headed home & everyone crashed - quite the busy day!

Today we're just getting caught up on household chores and enjoying the beautiful weather...the kids are getting anxious for school to start and I'm ready to get back into "school routine"...its still hard to believe we have a 4th grader, two 3rd graders & the little man is a Kindergartener...I guess its not just the weekends that fly by huh?