still alive.

Just for those of you that are curious, I am still here and still alive. I have been spending a lot of time here. I will elaborate later.....

got into a fight with a mosquito.

Do you know how many times over the past two days I have heard the question, "Did he get into a fight?" (and this is after some Benedryl)

Well, it's been a lot. And my response has now become, "Yes he sure did! (pause) He got into a fight with a mosquito."

Apparently this ruthless little thing, the Asian tiger mosquito, causes quite the allergic reaction. I am just hoping that by the end of the week he won't look like he got kicked in the face when we go do pictures. :)

princesses, monkeys and spidermen too

A wonderful family in our squadron put on a spectacular children's Halloween party yesterday and with over 50 children in attendance, it was a hit. Our little princess-fairy-ballerina-angel, Spiderman and monkey were all in tow. And yes, you read that right as far as Elizabeth's costume goes. That will have to be a post all its own some other day.

There were activities galore for the kiddos to do. Mrs. H hand made treat bags for all of the kids with personalization to boot. The kids were given to tools to further enhance the decoration by painting their bags.
Of course there was also some cookie decorating that Spiderman himself found himself doing quite a bit of. I want to say it was all for the artistic side of the craft but I have a feeling he is like is mama and just wanted the M&M's.

The kids also made picture frames as well as popcorn skeleton hands, did bean bag toss, bounced in the bouncy house and had a great time comparing notes on costumes.

What a blast! Thank you so much H family for having us to your home and putting so much time and energy into this party. I know it will be very memorable to the kids. We had a good time too!Happy spooking season to all!

Just a side note on the missing monkey - who would have thought that a monkey costume would be so darn scary. My little man would not for the life of him let me put his moneky on and kept yelling "No monkey, no monkey!" Once he won that battle he proceeded to the bouncy house not to be seen until the end of the evening (wearing at least his monkey pants by then, I might add).

a little bit of football.

Our boys have been getting into playing with the boys across with street. Football was the game of the day today (well actually that is the game everyday). Anyway, Jacob and AJ really got into it and learned to tackle. Not sure if that is a skill I am ready for them to have but hey, I guess I have to give in at some point. :)





I think Jacob might be the next All-Star football player from the moves he demonstrated. Maybe he can support us in our old age. :)

gone fishin'.

Yep. That is what we did today with the kiddo's. The Okaloosa Island Pier had their 5th Annual Rodeo Roundup for kids. The kids were given rods, reels, bait and t-shirts. The weather was beautiful, the kids were all healthy and in great moods and we ran into good friends. What more could someone ask for. There were a lot of people on the pier but it wasn't overly crowded.

The water was very clear and we were even able to see several dolphins jumping while we were out there. The kids thought that was great!

What a great view. Seriously, I know I complain about the humidity and the fact that we are in Florida but when we have weekends like this and see how truly beautiful it is, a little part of me can't help but admit that I like it here. :)


The kids were very patient waiting for the "bite". Or at least as patient as they could be. Had to check to see if the bait was missing once in a while.


Jacob even tried his hand at it. I think our biggest fear was that he was going to toss the rod over the banister. He did great though!

And then there was the big moment!!! AJ caught his first fish! OK - so it was only a little bottom feeder but hey - he caught a fish!!! He was so proud of himself but who could blame him.

What a great start to a beautiful weekend! I hope you have a wonderful weekend too!

Wednesday Confessions

1. Sickness Update - Quarantine!!! I have decided that is what this house needs! Yesterday, it was off to the doctor's office again because Jacob was not getting any better and AJ's "poison oak" was not resolving. What a trip this was! Anyway, after all tests, labs, x-rays, cultures and exams, it was determined that Jacob has pneumonia with blood in his lungs, strep throat and an ear infection. AJ has a kidney infection, UTI, yeast and oh yeah strep throat as well. (No - this doc thinks he never had poison oak to begin with.) To be honest with you, I knew they didn't feel good but I would have never guessed that either one of them was this sick with the way that they have been able to play lately. I just feel bad for all of the people that we have exposed. Mike is headed to the flight doc today for a throat culture and I suppose I should go in too being I have had a cough and sore throat for about two weeks now. Isn't the change of seasons great?!

2. Despite the sickness that we have been dealing with around here, we headed out to festival that was put on by several different organizations in the area and benefited Bluewater Elementary School and Destin Middle School. Elizabeth's school ended up raising over $5000 that day.

The kids had a blast! AJ played on the firetruck and LOVED it! An of course there was face painting and pumpkin decorating. We also played a lot of carnival games and won a lot of prizes (aka junk). The kids (Mom and Dad too) were tired by the end of the day but it was a lot of fun!

3. Can you believe it? I am almost truly in my 30's. Aggghhh! I know I am 30 now, but that is so close to 29 that there is still hope of me being young and fun. 31 - well there is no turning back now. Actually I am just being a baby. I really don't mind getting older but I sure am feeling the generation gap more and more between the younger kids (i.e., my babysitter) and myself. There is so much that I can't relate to anymore. When did that happen?

4. Car shopping - WOW, that sure can cause some tension in a marriage, huh? The dilemma - my van (blech) is need of a transmission repair (est. cost $375) and 4 new tires (est. cost $600). The van itself is only worth about $2000. Do we dump the money into the van and hope there are no major repairs in the near future or do we suck it up and buy a new van? Now the new van would be oh so very nice but it also introduces a ~$450/month payment that we have not had to pay for several years now. (Let me tell you, no car payments is a very nice thing!!!) Not to get too in depth into our finances, let's just say the money is there but it would be tight. Oh what to do and how to convince the husband of the right thing...wink wink.

5. My mom is coming to visit. Did you all read that? If not, let me bold it for you - MY MOM IS COMING TO VISIT!!!!! I am so excited about this! The last time she was here to visit (or the last time she visited during the last time we were stationed here) was when Elizabeth was born. So, Niceville hasn't really changed all that much but the area that we now live in has and I am so excited for her to see all that we have around us. I am hoping that when she sees all that this area has to offer the kids that that will comfort her in our distance. Being away from my family was the most heart breaking thing about moving again. I hate it every day but knowing that my kids have so much more to do and are so much happier here makes it better for me and I can't wait to show her what I mean. I just hope it isn't humid while she is here because that won't go over too well! I love you Mom and can't wait to see you!

6. My kids have way TOO MANY clothes! Today I got motivated to clean out the kids closets and pull out the warmer clothes. I seriously think that just one of my kids has more clothes than I have - how is that? I know, I know - I am addicted to getting them clothes. They are just soooo much cuter than any adult clothes! Who can blame me?

7. I need to find some recipes that I are cheap and quick to make. Does anyone have any ideas? I need to be able to have some things that I can make on the days that we have activities in the afternoon and I run out of time to make dinner. Eating out needs to come to a halt!

8. When is going to cool off? I am so ready for fall weather and cooler temperatures. I am not expecting anything dramatic here but almost 90 everyday in the middle of October is a little ridiculous!

That's it - that's what you get for today. My brain is honestly too tired to concentrate any more. I hope everyone is having a good week.

versitile pumpkin.

So over the past few days we've had a little educational lesson on the many uses of pumpkins. I got it in my little pea brain that I should actually use some of the pumpkins that I have around the house rather than letting them collect dust for the next month. Anyway, I found a great site on how to cook a pumpkin so that was our first step. I let Jacob help me scoop out the inside goop. (Sorry, no pictures here - way too messy for me to step back to capture the moment.) Once the insides were scooped and in a strainer, I then set off to cook the pumpkin. If I had only known how easy it was, I would have done it years ago. Chop the sucker up, place it in a little water and micro for 20 minutes. It was great. I set the microwave to cook and left to go pick up Elizabeth at school. When I got back, I had a cooked pumpkin and the house smelled like fall.

We got back home and scooped out the cooked pumpkin, slapped it in the Cuisinart and pureed the heck out of it! All set to cook with!

The following day we did another pumpkin and the kids helped me separate the seeds out so that we could roast them. They thought it was so much fun because it was "soooooo gross"!

My first item to whip up with this new found freshness was Shelley's pumpkin muffins. OH MY GOODNESS!!!! Let me tell you, these guys were de-lic-ious!!!! The kids loved them so much that they wanted to share them with their friends, so. we made batched for both Elizabeth and AJ's classes. They were a hit there too!

And if that wasn't enough pumpkin for you, we also made pumpkin soup and pumpkin cheesecake (the BEST I have ever tasted!). Unfortunately, I was unable to get a picture of the cheesecake before it was devoured! Ha!

Who knew that pumpkin would be such a big hit in this house!?

sick baby

I have been absent this past week because this little man has been sick. Cold, cough, pnemonia, some sort of throat virus and diarrhea. Yep - it's been loads of fun! Anyway, we are hoping for a good weekend and hopefully some recovery soon.

pablo picasso

In art class, the kids have been studying the works of Picasso. Today's special project was to paint your face in the works of Picasso. What do you think? I think she looks like she belongs in some sort of tribe. :)

wait a minute...

... I see five little creatures in there! Oh yeah - two aren't mine! We had some dear friends over for dinner while Daddy is away and of course we ended the evening with everyone in the tubby. Isn't nice to have such close friends?

happy friday!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Have a great weekend!

dirtly little secret

So, I have a secret. I HATE dirt. Yep, that's it. Thought you were going to get something a little more juicy, huh? Anyway, I confess, when it comes to vacuuming, I tend to display a little bit of OCD qualities. I vacuum every day and sometimes more than once. Now let me make it clear, I have two animals that shed like crazy and three kids that well, they're just plain messy so I vacuum out of necessity.

Apparently my habits are rubbing off. I think we need to invest in a small sized "working" vacuum so I can get some help around here. :)

Wednesday Confessions

1. So, I ended up talking to Elizabeth's soccer coach last Wednesday. I just politely stated that I didn't think that the way he was talking to the kids was very appropriate for the age group. Well, I think it back fired because at the game on Saturday, instead of coaching her, he didn't speak to her at all. I swear! Anyway, she still had a good time (she's #5) and that is all that matters to me in the end!

2. We all know that politicians are dirty deceitful people, but how dare they interfere with my Grey's Anatomy! That is just plain rude to schedule the VP debate on a Thursday evening! Seriously!

3. Poison Oak sucks! My poor little AJ (once again he's going to kill me for this later in life) has a minor case of poison oak. If that wasn't bad enough in and of itself, it is in his "private area." Yep, you read that right. Let me tell you taking him to the doctor for that was a joy - not! The doctor's best guess is that he peed on a tree and wound up getting it that way but I'm not too sure about that because his tree peeing days have been eliminated (as far as I know). All I have to say, is only in my family do these things happen. I am just going to leave it at that.

4. Speaking of private areas, there are just some things that kids should be born knowing! We finally had to have the talk of who can touch what after finding the kids playing with Jacob's winky like it was a toy. I swear there are some things I just am not prepared to witness. After my scream of oh my goodness, I sat the kids down and told them about how we have private areas that are not meant for others to touch. Well, of course, this didn't register in Jacob's mind because the next time he saw Elizabeth naked, off he went to pinch her bottom. My kids truly embarrass me sometimes. I'm sure they think the same of me though. I guess I need to get over it because the conversations to come are only that much more complex! Mike can handle that, right?

5. Mike and I are in need of a new minivan and we need it bad. My 10 year old van's transmission is failing. Now here is the dilemma, do we put money into the old van to have the transmission repaired, which would cost about what the car is worth, or do we head out to the car lots and suck it up and buy a new one. Well, if you know me at all, I am sure you can guess what my vote is for. So, my brilliant, mathematically dorky husband came up with a budget spreadsheet for us so that we could figure out if we can afford a new car right now. (I put a link to the budget template because in all honesty it is a really good one - with pie charts and everything - and thought I would share with anyone that is need of getting one started.) I think we are going to head out this weekend and test drive a few and see where we can go from there.

6. I know I have expressed my mental dilemma's about going back to work but the top one on my list is being able to spend time with my baby one on one several hours a week. He is my baby and isn't slowing down any in his growing up. I want to be able to treasure my last glimpses of babiness while I can. We have had a lot of fun lately cooking, cleaning (yes, he helps me in that area), coloring, painting and frankly just goofing off. We sit down together and eat our lunch together on these days. Today he decided to put on dance show for me. Of course when I pulled out the video camera, the silly antics came to a halt but nonetheless, how could I not enjoy my time with Jacob when he does cute things such as this?

7. It is quite often I see this site.
You see, I drive over the Mid-Bay Bridge almost daily to get to the best shopping around and some really great places for the kids to play. The kids had an early release today so we met up with some friends and had a great time. (TPS girlies - this picture is for you guys!)

8. I am becoming increasingly disappointed with the lack of photo shoots that I am getting booked. Don't get me wrong! I have a couple booked that I am totally stoked about but I thought I would have more. I keep telling myself that it is a result of the economy and I am certainly a disposable expense but nonetheless, I really wish I had more. I am hoping it will pick up soon.

9. Are there every days when you feel like you should just adhere taxi stripes to the side of your car? Well, today was one of those days for me. I love being busy but I feel like I didn't stop today. Maybe that is what I should do to earn a little cash - Mommy Taxi For Hire - what do you think?

10. Well, I am off to pick out trophies for the soccer team and organize their end of the year party. A piece of advice for all, DON'T EVER VOLUNTEER UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GETTING YOURSELF INTO!!!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday and enjoying our new found fall weather!