The Aroma

There is something comforting about making sauce...

I was first introduced to "sauce making" by my mother in law...before then, it was Prego from a jar that we doctored up with browned meat and whatever herbs we happened to find in the old canister rings in the pantry...

I must admit that at first it was quite daunting...

However, moving out to the boondocks here...what else have we got goin' on...and so I can tie up my apron strings (if I ever remembered to wear one) and start my sauce making adventures.

I know that I've blogged about sauce making before, so I won't bore you with all those details once again...this year, though, we have all our ingredients from our own garden...

I'm not trying to boast or be all, "Hey, I'm so great cuz I have a garden and I grow things and they taste good and I'm so cool, blah blah blah..."  I'm just sayin' that it's really neat to have your own stuff that you yank up from your own backyard...

Truly...that's all I'm sayin'

Well...that and "HoooWeee...I'm so cool, cuz I got a garden"

Anyway...today was the day that I thought I'd try our first batch of the summer seeing as our tomatoes are finally starting to turn...and being that we have TWENTY TWO tomato plants...I figured I'd better get a jump on things whilst I can! 

PLUS...I just HAD to try out this new fangled contraption:

I'll just say now that it makes my heart smile and makes my arms very happy...because straining all those tomatoes through an orange juice strainer like last year...yeah, well that's sooooo last year!

I will explain this all in a moment, but we must begin with the saute' of our onion and garlic...

here's the close up shot of me so delicately dicing the onions...

If we zoom out...we see...

Yes, I know that the first thing that you may notice is that I'm not wearing an apron right? 

No?  you're actually wondering what the heck do I have on my face?

ohhhh that...yes well...apparantly my eyes have a slight aversion to wafting smell of onions...

Out here, we just remedy that with our daughter's pair of swim goggles...

worked like a charm I tell you!!!

Plus, I was in a dress...nothing says elegant like a dress, no matter what you got goin' on elsewhere right?

Let's continue shall we?

 This is where I just smiled, laughed, giggled a little...

sighed a sigh of relief and relished in the fact that I CAN cook in a dress with this little dream machine...

cuz it just does all the work for me...and no mess!

crank that sucker right up and out comes the guts on one side and the juice on the other...

LOVELY...

CHARMING...

EASY...

A little bit "gross" as Peanut pointed out...but all in all...it's an A+

And the point is...it gets us to this:

My Sauce!

And ooooweeee it's gooooood!

Havin' me some lasagna tonight...

minus the goggles.

Game Night

We didn't set out planning the addiction...

As I'm sure anyone will attest who has ever been "addicted"...it's not really a plan...you sort of fall in...

We stumbled across a game back in March of this year and I must admit, although I'm not the most competitive person...

and YES, I know some of you will argue this point with me...just know that my competitive nature comes out only when I'm feeling safe and secure within the confines of people who I know love me OR I'm so stinkin' angry with someone that I will be more than happy to throw a few elbow jabs their way to make my point...

Okay, so maybe I am a leeeetle bit competitive...

I'm more giving with my children...that's some kudo points right?

well...I'm more giving as long as I know that I absolutely can't win and then I'm cheering them on...now, if I see a little twist that can push me to the forefront...look out baby...Momma's Comin'...

Oh...are you getting the picture of Game Night at our house yet?

Yes, so anyway...

We came across a game called Rumikub

It starts out simple...just picking tiles and putting them in order...

Looking for 3 of kind, or straights...your first placement has to add up to 30...

In the beginning we thought it'd be "educational" and have the girls add up the numbers in their head to get to 30...

NOW, we're in such a doggone hurry to get the game goin'...they just start crankin' numbers...because...

STRATEGY people...STRATEGY!!!

The amount of analytical and strategical planning that goes on during a game is unbelievable...

Okay...well, then there is Little Munchkin...

But, seriously, we're all thinking and watching and waiting for the opportune time...

And then Little Munchkin starts the portion of the game called "distraction"

Daddy LOVES it when this happens..

cuz, he's not  competitive or anything either...

We're all pretty INto the game...we want all the options laid out for us...

See...what happens is, once you lay down your =30...you can then take ANY one elses tiles to help yourself get rid of all YOUR tiles...you can mix and match combinations...

It's in a split second and it hits you...or in MOST cases, it hits Sweetpea

She sees a way to formulate the entire floor...

to rearrange and mess up everyone else in the process...

and BAM...she's done!

We are always amazed at how fast their little brains can work...

Anyway...so GAME night has become EVERY night here throughout the summer...we can't seem to get enough and I must also admit that there are many a morning where the game stays laid out from the night before so that the girls and I can continue...

As I said...it's an addiction...

I know full well...

that I can be a pathetic loser fishing for verbal affirmation...UGH...I'm SUCH a words person...they can cut me down or make me feel like a hundred bucks...

it baffles my husband...this words addiction that I have...why does it matter what other people think or say?  why do you care? 

Yes...and I can see your point...

Okay...NO, I can't see your point...b/c for some reason, I'm wired in a way that words DO something to me...like when I read a book...ohhhh, I've got a good example for this one...(be patient with me as I run around the barn a few times in order to get to my point)

I read this book called Inkheart...and in the story, there's another story that is being read...and in THAT story the people COME OUT OF THE BOOK...the reader just READS THEM OUT...he basically brings them to life...

THAT'S what words do to me at times...I'm amazed at their power or rather, the power that I allow them to have (I believe THAT is a more accurate statement...ahem) And I understand this full well. But all the same, they affect me...when I read a story, I become part of it...when someone talks with me, I usually spend time mulling over the conversation for days...when I receive criticism, sometimes it's all I can do to keep going...when I receive praise, I'm giddy...

Yeah, I know...I give "words" too much power...and it really is something I'm working on...more specifically, I'm trying to separate the "emotion" from the "knowledge" that words give me...and, without tootin' my own horn (hee hee, I just said TOOT again...wayyyy too much time spent discussing toots with my 3 year old again...but THIS is besides the point) I AM doing much better with all that...

Okay...so where in the world was I headed with this post? 

Oh yeah...I posted the wedding pictures over at the wedding blog...

I could tell you my fear and trepidations that I had prior and during the wedding with regards to the blazing HOT sun and shadows and the fact that sweat was trickling down my back and that I was thanking God that I wore double layer capris b/c not only would my thighs have been slipping all over the place if I had worn a skirt, but seriously...I would have looked like I peed my pants after about 2 minutes of clicking...

I really could go on about the sweat...b/c I'm just gross...and I sweat...I can sweat with the best of them...If I were challenged to a sweating contest with... with... ((Okay, my mind is completely blank but insert a person who sweats a WHOLE LOT))  then I'd win!

yeah, so that'll show you!

((You're not really believing that I"m much of a words person are you?...Can she even PUT a sentence together with a complete thought???))

Doggone it...we're back to the pathetic loser thing again...

Anyway, if you get a chance...hop over to that CTPhotoMemories Weddings thing on the right and take a look...and then, if you want to "make my day" you can leave a comment too:)

thank you friends!

And so...

Yep...

Got nothin' goin' on in the ole upstairs room...aka "brain"...with regards to a blog post...

And so...

I'll just leave you with one of my joyous lists of information and bits of knowledge I have acquired over the past few weeks:

1) I'm a little overwhelmed with the amount of editing having to be done on some photo shoots recently...I am thankful for some extra cash for the family...but hoooweee I'm 'bout ready to throw this computer monitor into the garbage can....

2) I left our garbage can uncovered in the garage and there were hundreds of maggots there after the garbage man left in the morning...

3) I now have the feeling of creepy crawly things all over and it all started with that dang computer again!!!

4) It appears that I currently am suffering from small bouts of insomnia...I laid in bed watching the clock for TWO hours last night...I MADE myself do it because I'm stubborn and I was going to beat my body into submission and sleep...and then I did until about 8:30 this morning wondering how I got so lucky that my children slept so late...until I heard their little whispers down the stairs..."Mommy is still sleeping and if we're quiet, maybe she won't notice that we've been up for awhile...watching TV..."

5) Apparantly a three year old IS quite capable of utilizing an Ipod Touch and can quite easily purchase random applications...who knew?

6) Making cupcakes on your ipod touch is much fun, but not as much fun as seeing how fast you can unroll toilet paper!

7) Cheesecake Factory's 30th Anniversary cheesecake IS the best cheesecake ever made and the calories incurred can be cancelled out by drinking lots of water and hauling green beans from the garden...just trust me...well that, and don't step on the scale for about a month...it's 6, one half dozen the other...

Have a great day!

typical me

I found this shot on my wedding excursion with AM to Maryland 2 months ago...it made me smile...

Not sure if this was before or after we named our GPS guide who we believe was sczichophrenic... and YES I know I spelled that wrong, but it's late and I"m not doing a spell check right now...

the whole point of the post was to share the picture...and so...there it is...

Looking forward to a great, relaxing, non-kitchen cleaning weekend...although, I do believe that the bathrooms are now in need of attention...unclogged the toilet for the 4th time this week...makes me wonder what I'm actually cookin' in that kitchen of mine...hoooooweeee...

I'll leave you with that thought...have a great day!

Housework, photography & worship

Okay...so that's a title for ya!  Got a million little things on my mind and couldn't decide what to write down...

If you know me well enough, it basically just comes down to me just spittin' out whatever comes into my head at any particular moment...and so now, you reap the benefits of that little personality quirk...welcome to my brain!

After 5 hours in the kitchen this morning/afternoon...it finally was clean...why does a kitchen take that long to clean?  Well, in between making breakfast & lunch, filling up the pool, watering the garden, changing Little Munchkin in and out of bathing suits, fixing snacks...well, it just took awhile to complete the project called: Operation Clean Kitchen!

Throughout this whole "ordeal"...(don't you like how cleaning the house becomes an "ordeal" in my head?)  I count it a blessing to be a stay at home mom (SAHM)...but there are days that I wonder what I actually accomplish...I do like to tell myself that my children may not remember that the house was clean, but they will remember the fact that I made chocolate covered giant marshmallows and created a new hair style for their American Girl doll...and so, that sometimes helps me look past the sticky syrup on the wood floor that's been there for about 2 days and the burnt pine nuts on the stove and the pretzels crushed into the rug and the sour buttermilk in the fridge b/c the garbageman doesn't come until Monday...

you get the idea?

Also going through my mind as I was pondering the memories that my children will recall in the future...I was struck again by my whole love of "memory" and "taking photos"...at times, THAT becomes an "ordeal" as well...but my good friend (who also happens to be my pastor's wife) gave me an article the other day and knowing that I cannot write as eloquently as this photog/author does, I'm going to quote her...I hope you enjoy...I only copied bits and pieces of her whole article...but I hope you understand the scope of what she was trying to communicate.

Compelling Worship By Sally Morgenthaler

Good photography has often been confused with what is pretty.  But good photography isn't so much about the pretty and the beautiful as it is about what is true...It isolates moments in time so we can descend into a subject without distraction, developing new perspectives and insights as we relate that subject to our world.

Worship that is compelling takes care to provide the contrast necessary for people to experience God in specificity, not just as a wide-angle wash of general goodness.  Aspects of God's multi-hued, even paradoxical character deserve intential focus...

Not long ago, I came across an album of family photographs that predated my photography classes...The images were recognizable as generic scenic....most shots were not identifiable as to state or monument...sky was washed out, landforms lacked definition...shots of family appeared as distant figures...In a word, what i had produced were snapshots, not photographs...missing were the deep shadows, furtive sideways light, mornin dew, children's faces as they hunched over, laughing, as two lizards buried each other int he sand...Missing was LIFE in it's contrasts and marvelous detail...Life in focus and courageously specific!

Taking a tip from photography 101 (with respects to worship):  Know your subject (God), move in closer, then maximize the contrast!

Photography and memory making for me has built up in me a type of worship...and a way that God shows and reminds me what is most important in this life...

So, although it took me 5 hours to clean that silly kitchen today...it's okay...b/c i moved in closer with my kiddos and added some contrast to this thing called LIFE...

Although, if you come to visit...I wouldn't accept any leftovers that I may offer...stick with packaged granola bars or canned soda...just to be safe!

I'm Back...sweat and all!

Whew...I made it!

I actually GOT ON THE PLANE whilst my baby had a fever and I flew to Florida...to do a job...or as my darling Italian Stallion would say, "goin' on a business trip...piece 'a cake!"  He likes to rub it in now that I finally agree with him that business trips aren't necessarily all they are cracked up to be...

However, I must interject that 48 hours of not having to change a diaper, answer a question about cheesesticks or cookies, buckle a 5 point harness in a car, be awakened with cries for water, blankies or "just cuz"...was kinda nice...but outside of that...WHEW!!! 

Upon arrival, I was whisked away to the beautiful, sandy beaches of Naples...I met up with Sweetpea's former teacher and I started clickin' away with my camera...about 375 shots later, I actually stopped...I worked on my metering, the lighting, getting to know everyone, figuring out poses, getting the lay of the land...

And then we went to the dinner...where I scarfed down 2 racks of ribs...I'm going to blame the sweat that allowed me to shrink a dress size so that I could fit all that meat down my throat...but in all reality, I was wearing a stretchy skirt and I was "plum hungry!"

I collapsed into bed that evening in my nice hotel room...until I realized that there was actually free wi-fi and then, well, I was up until around 1am just playin' around with the pictures and sending emails to people that were already asleep...but, this is what we DO when we're on a business trip right?

The wedding was gorgeous and HOT and so fun and HOT and the girlies twirled in their dresses and I wrung out my shirt from SWEAT...if I fail to mention the strength at which the sun was beating down my back as I ran back and forth throughout the entire ceremony and then BRILLIANTLY decided to run out on the sand barefoot (IN THE SUN) to get that ONE shot through the tall reeds...

let's just say that noone was comin' too near the photographer for the remainder of the evening...good thing I had to stand back in order to "get them all in view"...cuz hoooooweeee...I had a rich aroma and it wasn't the seasalt whisping in the breeze!!!

Anyway...I took 1000 pictures...yep...ONE THOUSAND...give or take a few...more on the give side...I have a LOT of editing to do...and I have a family photoshoot to finish up by Friday...so I'm hoping to get some pics out here soon...

I'm happy to be home with my baby...who has fully recovered from her fever...(turned out to be roseola) and my older two started swim lessons...FUN TIMES...

can't believe summer is nearly over...makes me wish a little bit for this again:

And though it WAS beautiful...I'm remembering the sweat trickling down my back at the moment and I"m here to say that home is just wonderful for me!!!

Learning

I"m in a new Bible study...remember my post from here?

Yes, well...I'm learning quite a few things...which is REALLY awesome...and I promise to share some of those things very soon...

but, another thing that has been going on in my heart is the whole "passing blessings onto the next generation"...specifically...my girlies!

I've been wanting to "give" my girls special verses...now, please understand that I'm not creating verses out of thin air or anything...I just wanted to point them to specific places in the Bible (of which I know more than them right now) that stand out when I read them...and they stand out b/c it makes me think of them...of their personalities or their love languages...

Anyway, my plan is to continue to read and compile a short list for each of them...not that I have all the answers or that my picks are best...I KNOW that God is going to direct them to certain passages one day that they will claim for themselves...but until then...here are a few that make me picture their sweet faces when I read them:

SWEETPEA:  Psalm 139
I prayed this psalm all the time while pregnant with her...it was probably all the talk about "wombs" and such...but I also see words like, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made"...My Sweetpea gets fearful at times..."even the darkness will not be dark to you" it says..."You searched me and know me"...My firstborn desires to be known and loved...she has "anxious thoughts" (as does her mother)...I just love this whole passage...and so, at the top of her list is this psalm.

PEANUT: Zeph 3:17
This one stands out to me for Peanut b/c Jesus "rejoices over her with singing"...and my little girl is a music kid...she loves it...it gets inside of her...and I want her to always know that she is delighted in...she is rejoiced over...her anxiety comes in quietness and silent tears...she's more internal/introverted...and I love that it says that "he will quiet you with his love"

LITTLE MUNCHKIN:  Hab. 3:18-19
Little Munch is my stick of dynamite...I LOVE her enthusiasm, her determination and even her stubborness at times...although the parenting or lack thereof sometimes makes those things a hinderance...but I love how these verses talk about being joyful...she's always smiling and laughing and giggling...and then it says that he will "make my feet like the feet of a deer...he enables me to go on the heights"...I see such great things for Little Munchkin...that doesn't mean that she must be a famous actress, or lawyer or be in the gifted program at school...I just see her living life to the fullest wherever she is...and I LOVE her for it!

So anyway...those are just my thoughts and the beginnings of my list so far...just wanted to share it...I'm sure I'll be back to crazy Italian household antics here very soon...havea  great weekend!

Where did the week go?

I'm not complaining...

I like it when weeks go fast b/c that means Italian Stallion has the weekend off and we all just hang out together for 2 whole days...but goodness sakes, I feel like it's been a bit of a whirlwind...

My sister in law was in town from Tenn. with her family...which brings a whole new dimension to "cousin time" around here...Stick 9 children ages 1-10 in a room and let them loose...it's crazy chaos...and mostly we just let Nana handle it...I"m SUCH the good daugther in law!

We had huge saved up birthday celebrations, all day zoo trips, princess playdates...I'm exhausted...I mean, there comes a point when you just gotta lay off the fountain drinks and watching the grandparents running after children...

Anyway...it leads me to this weekend in which my kiddos are having Camp Gramma & Papa...it's not their first time without us...but as Peanut put it, "Mommy, we're in a whole 'nother STATE!!!...WITHOUT YOU..."  Sweetpea, my ever present firstborn implored me to write out all the phone numbers of every person that she could possibly need to contact if an emergency arose...I'm not quite sure what she was nervous about, but somehow spending time on my cell phone made her feel much more confident as well.

As I dropped the girls off with my mom, Peanut started to cry...which isn't necessarily unusual (the tears I mean) but the passion with which she was sobbing was quite alot to take...to which my 3 year old replied, "See Mommy, I not cry...I FIIIIIINE"  (which only made Peanut cry harder)

And now I sit here and I'm waiting for a call from my mom this morning b/c Little Munchkin got a fever last night and all nightmares of last March's episode with scarlet fever and pneumonia have plagued me through the night...I'm heading out this afternoon for Florida to shoot a wedding,...solo....I'm not going to say much more on that b/c I may get the shakes and start stuffing all manner of chocolate into my mouth to calm my nerves...so let's just leave it at that.  It just means that my weekend with my family is cut a little short...

I am making it up to them by signing them up for swim lessons next week...woohoo...I see pool memberships in the future...perhaps even as close as next summer...wouldn't THAT be fun? 

So...at the risk of getting too theological or philisophical...I need to say that Prayer has always been a mystery to me...Jesus taught us how to pray...He commands us to pray...I've been taught that prayer changes things...and I also know that faith is believing, even when everything else appears to say the opposite...

and that's what I feel about prayer...I've prayed for specific things...GOOD things...but, there isn't a a set formula or anything by which I can gauge...sometimes the answer is yes and sometimes it's no...and to be honest, the answer NO has been on some major things and that has made me a little gun shy to even ask much anymore.  So, I'm now just going to say that if any of you have a better grasp on this particular area in your walk with Jesus...will you, if you think of it, pray for my baby that she would heal quickly...that I and my girlies would return home safely this weekend...that emergencies would be non-existent and that I would trust that He has things all safely guarded and protected?

Thanks Muchly...
I'll talk with you soon...

Eleven Years Ago Today...

I married my best friend.

I never could have imagined my life as it is now...it wasn't what I expected...but, it's more than I ever hoped for...

I"m not saying that things are always perfect...I think you all know me well enough to know that I've got to be REAL...we do have our ups and downs...our disagreements that sometimes turn into big ole arguments and sometimes I'd rather just...just...shove cake up his nose!

But, the amazing thing is that God put us together and we fit...just right! 

I think back to the first time I saw him...me as a big college freshman and he, a little high school senior...

"what a sweet boy!" I thought. "I'll help him around campus when he gets here...he may need a friend."

The fact of the matter, was that I ended up depending on him more than I ever thought possible...

Do you know our story?

I'll give you the quick version...which translates into about 10 minute read, but I think you probably understand me by now...so hang in there!

Being the big "puppet" people that we are were...I got to train his team during my Junior year in college.  He was the captain of the summer traveling team, and I was heading to Australia.  He and I had to schedule practices, go over the line ups, make sure practice rooms were ready...in turn, he helped to train my Australia team...needless to say, we spent a lot of time together...

All the while, I was dating a guy who actually lived with Italian Stallion's parents while doing a pastoral internship...interesting set up to say the least.  I kept trying to set him up with my girlfriends, to which he'd politely turn down.  And we continued to get closer...becoming the best of friends...I could rely on him for anything...which I didn't realize I'd be doing very soon...

Upon returning from Australia, I learned that my younger sister was ill...she only lived one month to the day I returned to the states...My beloved now-husband came to my family...he played with my youngest sister, hung out with my brother, mowed the lawn, cooked meals, carted us back and forth from the hospital...and when I called him to tell him that Sarah was gone...he drove to me, from 9 hours away at his own family reunion to help us with funeral arrangements and just helping my family survive...He was just 19 years old at the time. 

My heart became attached, I just didn't know it at the time...

I had since broken up with said boyfriend, my relationships with everyone were frayed and raw, and he hung in there...

He loved me through all the yuck that followed with my crazy emotions of loss and confusion

He loved me when I moved away from everything that was familiar to take a job in another state to get away from it all

He loved me through all my worries and anxiousness about marriage and if I could be a good wife

He saw more in me than I saw in myself

He isn't perfect, but he's perfect for me!

Seriously, it's GOT to be love to marry someone who poses like THIS on their wedding day...

(thought I'd throw that in there for a good laugh...enjoy)

And so...today, I am remembering seeing him for the first time before I walked down the aisle to become his wife...today, I am thankful for the life God gave us together...

I love him for his generous spirit, his forgiveness, his loyalty, his decisiveness, his patience, his determination, his stability, his dependence on God for this family, his love...

I love you sweetheart!

Happy Anniversary!

You know it's bad when...

_______________.

I can't tell you how many different ways I can fill in that blank.  For example...

"You know it's bad when...
 ***Little munchkin doesn't wake up from her nap until 6pm and here we are at 11pm still waiting for her to stop singing!
***I can't fathom drinking another frappaccino in the next couple days b/c my body has a caffeine overload.
***my clinical strength antiperspirant can't deal with the heat index and  you can wring out my tee shirts.

My biggest one now, however, is...
You know it's bad when you are continually having conversations with yourself...in your head...in front of the mirror...driving in the car...to the point where your children ask, "mommy are you talking to yourself again?"

My situation is that I need a replacement.

A Thought Replacement...

I've slowly been coming to a realization concerning certain things in my life...being that I'm a "fair minded" person...meaning, I like things FAIR...being that I'm a right or wrong person and if I'm right, I want the world to know it and agree with me sort of person...well, when reality sinks in and it is evident that that is NOT how life works, it can be rather a downer for me. 

I have a couple of choices when circumstances arise that irritate me...when relationships are so annoying that all I want to do is scream from the mountain tops how wrong they are...when I'm doing everything right it appears and STILL I can't get ahead...

I can replace my hurt and my anger with truth and try to continue along in my journey called life OR I can wallow in my sorrow and "fairness" until the cows come home...being that we don't own any cows...they never come home...and so I end up wallowing for a longggggggg time...

I"m in the middle of the longggggg time right now...and I haven't had the tools...let me rephrase that...I haven't made TIME to UTILIZE the tools that I HAVE BEEN GIVEN to replace my wallowing thoughts with thoughts of truth...I've long been believing the lies and relishing in them...I've had many a conversation with my mirror aka "the pretend person(s) that I'd love to set straight"...

And, I've got to admit to you...I'm exhausted...as I said before...I'm coming to some realizations here of late...one of those is that sometimes, circumstances just don't change...and sometimes, PEOPLE just don't change and they will continue their way of thinking regardless of how wrong they may or may not be...

So, where does that leave me...

well...to put it bluntly...the mirror ain't talkin' back and I'm just not getting anywhere...and so I've come to the conclusion that it's ME that has to change if I'm going to make any headway...

does it mean that I give up and surrender...they win...I lose?  NO WAY!

It just means that I'm not to going to give away my precious time to think of countless ways that I could MAKE THEM LEARN and set them straight!  In the words of my husband..."let it go"

I don't "let go" very well (remember the discussion about my basement?)...so in order to move forward, I have to replace certain thinking patterns with other patterns of thinking, or attitudes...

I'm currently beginning 2 different studies...one is on attitude (glory be) and the other has to do with Moving Up (cue the Jefferson's theme song)  I'm sure that I will crash and burn a couple times along the way...but, I'm praying and hoping that God will just cue me to hand over, aka let go, of certain things and replace them with the confidence of what HE says is true...and leave the "revenge" and "teaching them a lesson" part to Him. 

I'll let you know how it goes...however, if you are my friend in real life and you see me driving along in my super cool mini van...and my mouth is moving and I appear to be having a ranting session with my rear view mirror...please send up a quick prayer for yours truly:)

I wanna be a cool pool mom...

It's my goal in life really...

You know...that mom that looks like she couldn't have had 5 children...who sits on the edge of the pool all tan in her little bikini...her children laugh endlessly without a care in the world...they are all perfect swimmers, so no need to worry...all the while pool boys come and wipe her brow....

WHAT?  they don't exist?  well, I'm thinkin' that there are some who THINK they exist and are trying to fit the mold...but, honey, I'm not even comin' close...

THAT was evident yesterday and I piled all three of my little monsters into the car and listened to the sweet noise of  "MOOOOOOOOOOM...she took it from me...Mom, will you tell her to stop breathing, it's bothering me??....Why does SHE get to ride up there, she got to last time and it's my turn this time...when can I RIDE UP THERE?" ahhhhhhh the togetherness!!!

After obtaining a hefty headache and pondering at least 15 times "why in the world am I taking them to the pool?"...we arrived at our destination, where...when I opened the door and the waft of heat that met me nearly knocked me off my feet...at this point, I grabbed all said "young'uns" and headed ran for the water...

It was interesting to people watch...well, that and try to keep my 2 eyes on my 3 girls...all in different pools...all begging to do the slide and the diving board and swim without a life jacket and Little Munchkin screaming, "watch me mommy watch me!!" every other second...

I wish I could tell you that it was a relaxing time had by all...but pretty much I was just picking up the mob and moving it to the water...it was a day...and it's over now...burned back and all...I will postpone my next pool trip for three years  another day...although Little Munchkin fell asleep pretty quickly once we were on our way home again...the other two have an intense fascination with my old phone...which only works for 911 calls...and I'm pretty sure they'll get antsy and want to try it...

Maybe they can tell the person on the other line that their cool pool mom is drowning and the sweet pool boys will come to my rescue...

Not!

Can you Hear me now???

By golly I hope so...

I've never been one too up on the new technology...I swore I didn't really need a cell phone and it wasn't until I got married that my husband got one for me b/c I had a long commute to work each day...and with my track record of blowing a tire, getting lost, running out gas, getting lost, forgetting how to put gas in the car, getting lost...did I mention getting lost?  Anyhoo...he thought it best that I get one...

I got the cheapest one available and I loved it...that big, huge, honkin' thing worked fine for me...I didn't need any special wingdings and gadgets...give me that brick and speed dial my man's number into it and I"m ready to go!

On the flip side, my darling Italian Stallion has a thing for new technology...he's not overly crazy...no he doesn't have an iphone and we still have the OLD...O.L.D. box monitor on this lovely computer...but, he's a sucker for a wide screen TV and likes to research all the new paraphenalia...

He tried to upgrade my phone a long while back and I held out for a longggg time...I didn't want to switch to those "Evil" flip phones...but, I succombed once everyone in my family went to Verizon and Sprint just wasn't cuttin' the budget anymore...

Fast forward another 5 years...well, after one too many times down the garbage disposal and a few too many throws out the car window by my babies...my dear little flip phone was just on it's last leg...and my heart couldn't handle the only one hour battery last before I lost all power...

It was time for a new phone...and I gotta tell you...I wanted...REALLY wanted the iphone...again, ATT is not Verizon, so I would have REALLY settled for a droid...really, I would have...it'd be fun...to have the internet at my fingertips ANY TIME OF DAY!!!

at the zoo:  no problem, let's check facebook
at the pool: let's see if we've got any more emails comin' in
wandering out back at the garden: hey, let's check the weather today

FUN...I tell you...F.U.N. 

and then I remembered that I have 3 little girls that want  need my attention much more than my computer screen...and since I have a few OCD tendancies... I got this instead:

I am by NO MEANS complaining...

I mean, come on...I got me a hot pink phone people!!!  my girls are ECSTATIC!!!

Same plan, just added some texting and I got myself a full keyboard..WOOHOO!

I should confess and tell you that husband still has a hankerin' for new tech stuff and has promised me the itouch for all my pictures...it's basically the iphone without the phone and that added $35 a month data plan package...I just want the touch screen and a place to look at all my pictures...all the time...cuz, that's not ocd or anything right?

FINALLY...a break!

I apologize once again...it appears I've gone nearly a week without a post...kinda defeats the purpose of "living out loud" if you only hear crickets on this end...

Things HAVE been a bit busy here...and by busy I mean to say that we've had 3 straight nights of putting the girlies to bed AFTER 11pm...closer to midnight actually...we've had our fill of bug spray, glow sticks, loud fireworks, and mountain pies in the firepit! 

It has been wonderful to spend time with so many friends...I"m an extrovert, so I've been ENERGIZED...but, unlike the energizer bunny, my battery has finally run low...and so, for today (the 5th of July) we've stayed in...on the homefront...staying in pjs until noon...and just hanging out with noone else outside our little family...

After the children slept in until after 9am...even Little Munchkin...we headed out to the garden for some FUN pickin'...I've shared a bunch of these on facebook already...so if you're not friends with me over there, please send me a message and I'll get right on that...sometimes it's easier to shoot a little "status update" rather than write out a blog post...

So...here are some pics of our time this morning...

We love the treasure hunting! I'm always amazed at how many potatoes come out of one plant...

We got a bunch o' potatoes...

We pulled up our garlic too...they orginally hung in the garage, but it stunk us right out, so we switched to drying in the trees...

We planted lots of onions this year..we just gotta get those tomatoes ripe and we'll be havin' some sauce making time!

This is everything from today...

Hope you all enjoyed your 4th!  We're looking forward to some pool time this week...and probably a lot of potato salad!