Eco-Friendly Gift Giving

Lately I have been very conscientious about how much waste goes out into the environment. Although supermarkets and other stores are finally getting the message and not supplying so many plastic bags, people are still not getting the whole fact that they are the ones causing the problem, not the stores who are just going on the whole supply and demand thing.

There are so many little things we do in everyday life that contribute to the downfall of this planet. While going through the supermarket check out about a week ago, I had a conversation with the girl behind the counter. I was purchasing an extra carry bag with a cute picture on the outside. She asked if I would like to use it along with the rest. "No, I am going to use it as a gift bag", I said. "Oh, its cute" she replied. "But, I prefer to wrap things nicely. I always keep the paper when I receive a gift and recycle it in my craft work. It really irks me when people just tear open the wrapping".

Now while I sympathised with the poor girl, I could not help myself and had to ask " So how many trees do you think have to die for people to wrap presents?" The poor kid looked mortified! But she thought about it all right to the extent that she looked a little ashamed. "Why don't they teach us that in school?" she said. Hmmm, well, Im sure they do teach kids where paper comes from, surely? Around here, all it took was me walking past a big row of boxes and boxes of xmas wrap and casually saying "I wonder how many trees had to die to make this paper?" Dinoboy immediately frowned and replied "A lot mum". We then went on as a group discussion and it was decided that we would not be buying any this year!

It only takes a comment here and there for kids to work out things for themselves. And of course leading by example. If they see you doing the right things by the environment, they will follow. There are so many "little" things that you can do, that in the long run make a VERY BIG difference. So what can you do to help?

Firstly ask yourself before placing things in the garbage, "Can this be re-used?" A lot of what we throw out can. eg. glass jars, plastic jars or containers, pieces of string or ties (those ones that they seem to think all toys need a million of, these are great for use in the garden). Try to buy products that have the least amount of packaging or even better, none!

In the gift department, here are just a few.........

* Don't wrap gifts at all.
* If you must, how about a gift bag? If you do not write in the tags they can be re-used
* Or buy an eco bag and put the gift in it. (If its a childs gift there are heaps of cute ones available now and the kids can use the bags for outings, sleepovers etc.
* For adults....wrap in teatowels or fabric for crafty people.

Any ideas?????

Remember, every little thing we do helps! Make our planet a better place for our children!

Hey Alta

I am bestowing upon you, an award and since I can get in here thought I'd deliver it myself! LOL! Enjoy!

"This blog invests and believes in ‘proximity’ [meaning that blogging makes us 'close' - being close through proxy].”

Friends are Forever!

Love, hugs and smoochies Karisma xxxx

Snake in the Napkins

Ok - not really. There really isn't a snake in the napkins. I used that to get you interested and so that I wouldn't forget what I wanted to talk about. Pretty smart of me! LOL

Snake - It was AWESOME! Camera? Oh yeah - it was in the house. I have heard a lot about teachable moments. Well today was a teachable moment. I don't even remember what I was doing outside. I walked by our garden and I just happened to see a snake. Of course I called the boys over and we admired it's beauty. I was amazed at myself for remembering the name of it. Oh yes - it was my time to shine! Once we oohhed and aawwed until the snake was tired of us entertaining him, he decided to crawl out of the garden and into the flower bed. I immediately came inside and googled our snake. You are gonna love what I found...

Masticophis flagellum better known as the Eastern Coachwhip and here is another awesome website Coachwhip

I read that the coachwhip snake is very slender bodied and extremely fast. I saw it first hand today. What was the most unique to me was half of it was black and the other half was a light brown color. Interesting indeed!

What a teachable moment!

Oh yeah!!! I almost forgot! Napkins
With times the way they are and money kinda tight, we have been cutting back on lots of things. One of those things that I ranted about the other day was the use waste of paper napkins. Use it once and throw it away. Not anymore at our house. I announced to everyone at supper that there would not be anymore paper napkins bought. We will now make our own napkins and not waste another penny on something we are only going to throw away.
In my mind I had this idea about how to make our cloth napkins. I thought hmmm...if I can google a snake, why not google a napkin. So I did and this is what I found.

Molly's Handmade Napkins and Rebecca Writes Cloth Napkins
I really think that you will love the handmade clothe napkins on both of those sites. I know I sure will be doing some sewing in the next couple of days. I have some scrap material stowed away just for such projects.

Peace Within

What has happened to me? Where is this coming from? I don't know the answer to the questions and I don't want to know the answer. All I know is that I have a peace within. It's awesome. After just about driving myself nuts, I have finally figured out that the best thing for me to do is to lighten up. Yeah!

I'm really just updated and catching you all up to let you all know that I'm still around and we are still home schooling and we love it.

Money and more

$700 Billion - How in the world can someone or something get that far in debt? How can it possibly cost that much to clear up a mess? Shoot, when we spill a glass of milk it only cost a few cents. Ok - maybe a whole dollar now that the price of milk has gone up. I just really have a problem with this whole economy thing. Isn't it all just ridiculous!

Me and the boys save some money today. We turned off the air condition and opened up all the windows. Oh it was a beautiful day today. We are starting to feel fall in the air and it is a joy to have it. I'm either getting older or wiser...LOL...maybe both. I am noticing things that I knew about before but I didn't really notice them. Now not only do I know about them but I notice them. It's pretty awesome.

The boys have grown so much! Not only have they grown taller but they have really matured mentally. Some of the problems that we had before are a thing of the past.

School is going really well this year. I am so proud of all of our accomplishments. I'm gonna scoot outta here for now. Everyone is asleep but me and I want to do a little reading.

Home School Videos

I just discovered a great place to see some other homeschoolers doing what they do best. Yeppers - homeschooling! I am glad that other homeschoolers are showing off. With these home school videos, now I know our family is normal. LOL Go check it out!
Home School View Tube

Should I Quit

All of you know that I haven't been posting here like I should. I am just doing other things and don't want to spend so much time talking about what I want to do or what I've been doing or even what I'm gonna do...
I just want to go and do it. That's what has me thinking that maybe I should just quit. I mean quit blogging. No - not forever - just for a little while. Haha...that's pretty much what I've done. Well to some extent anyway.

Here lately I've been...
outside more
enjoying home school
raising a baby squirrel
doing more with freecycle
planning and planting a winter garden
enjoying our 3 boys

Working Outside

For the past 2 days I have found myself working outside. I love it! I have somehow changed in so many ways but all the same I haven't changed at all. One of the many ways that I have changed is that I have quit smoking. I'm not kiddin! In March of this year I gave up the nicotine. I am so thankful that I quit smoking.

Today we had lunch at church. We call it "Dinner on the grounds". We have dinner on the grounds every 5th Sunday. There sure are some delicious pots of food there! I am looking for 2 recipes this week, so if anyone has these delicious recipes tucked away somewhere, please share. The recipes are Buttermilk Salad and Pea Pickin Cake.

4 Rules of Fractions

4 Rules of Fractions

From: sbishop2, 10 months ago

4 Rules of Fractions

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: fractions mathematics)

The four rules - adding, subtracting, division and multiplication - with fractions


SlideShare Link

We Survived

My goodness...It sure does seem like I get started here and something happens and I end up a good ways behind. Who knows why?! Yes, we survived the storm. Oh gosh, schools were closed, businesses were closed and on and on. Rain! That's what we got. I am so thankful that we got lots and lots of rain from the hurricane.

Now I'm off to never-never land to loose myself again. I'll surface again soon and tell you something exciting.

Squirrel - he is doing wonderful! His eyes are open and he is eating (lots) and he is just wonderful. We decided not to call him Freedom II. He is officially Houdini.

Storms a comin

It's that time of year. It's been that time of year for a couple of months. Hurricane season! We live inland so we don't run around boarding up the windows and hunting higher ground. Our biggest concern is tornado's that spawn from hurricanes. We generally loose power for a couple of days and get lots of rain. I will say that we sometimes get some pretty high winds. Hmmm...that sounds like we get the hurricane. I guess we do. We generally keep our yard and barn area tidy but when a storms a comin we make sure that things are tied down. Anything that can fly around in high winds gets tied down. So much damage is caused from things that get thrown around in the wind of a storm.

This morning the boys woke me up for church with a surprise. The surprise...another baby squirrel. He was so cold when the boys first gave him to me. I was concerned that he wouldn't warm up, but he did. His eyes are closed, but if you look real close you can see a little bit of his right eye trying to open. By Wednesday or Thursday his eyes should be open. I'm having a difficult time getting him to eat (not really eat but drink his milk). Superman reminded me that it took a couple of tries on Freedom (our first baby squirrel) before he was really active at meal time. You can look back to a year ago and see our first little squirrel. I think we'll name this one Freedom II.

Getting Outside

Yesterday and today I found myself outside. I did - Really!

There have been a lot of changes in my life. We have met our first anniversary with the boys. Can you believe it has already been a year. From no kids to 3 kids all at once was certainly a different world than what we were used to. Our world turned upside down! We wouldn't change it for the world. We love the boys as if they were our own. Ha - they are our own and they have been for over a year now.

Since I quit smoking (almost 5 months now) I haven't been at the computer as much. And for some reason, I don't even know what I've been doing. LOL It's ok though because life is good and getting better. Yes, you are gonna get to hear all about it. I know, I have catching up to do and lots of pictures to show. I'll get to it!

Is This Too Much

I was just wonderin if this template is too much. I really kinda like it but I think I need to play around with it a little and get it just the way I like it. I know I have to be careful and not zap it all. LOL

Today was a wonderful day! I just love the water and the sun!

Messed Up

I have cleaned way too much house and messed up! I am almost sick about it. Somehow I feel like I have thrown the baby out with the dish water. I'll fix it - I know I will. Yeah - just look at the page. It's horrible and dull and ugly and...messed up.

Cleaning House

Over the next few days or weeks or however long it takes me, I am cleaning house. I don't mean here at home (even though I need to). I mean I will be cleaning my blog. Karisma has pointed something out to me that I should have realized a long time ago. Thank you Karisma for stepping on my toes...LOL!

You Want Me to Pay What?

Yeah - you read it right...You want me to pay what - as in how much? Do you feel sometimes like you are just paying for nothing? I feel that way lots of times. If you do the math and figure things out, you will come to realize that yesterday was my birthday. I know...I really am old as dirt. But it's ok - I feel better. Ha Ha!!!

I had no plans on celebrating my birthday in any certain way. As a matter of fact...I just wanted it to be quiet and peaceful. Now that I look back on it, I guess it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

I had a doctor appointment for my wrist. I dropped the boys off at one of our church members houses for a little project they had planned. Hugs and kisses bye and I'll see you in about 2 hours. 2 hours - yeah right. It was more like 4 hours.

My doctor appointment was pretty much like I thought - just a small co-pay and a very painful shot. Then off to some other place to get a brace made. I am not kidding when I tell you that when they told me the price that I would have to pay, that I got very sick to my stomach. The bad part - I couldn't even go outside and smoke! The good part - I don't smoke! Over 4 months now! The brace, $280 with my insurance. I called Superman and told him and he talked me into not throwing up. I didn't have the brace made because that price is ridiculous. I was thinking that I had some Popsicle sticks at home that I could mix with a little bit of tape and come up with a brace.

So if you can imagine me sitting here telling you this with Popsicle sticks and tape covering my right wrist. When someone sees it they just ask what happened and I smile when I tell them that one of our science projects failed.

Looking Back

Yesterday as I was enjoying the company of Granny Karen, she very casually pointed out to me that maybe just maybe I need to look back. Looking back is what I have been doing since she mentioned that to me. We have certainly come a long, long way. It seems as though every day brings a new challenge for me. I think that is because of what I have started doing. I'm not gonna break all out and start bible thumping on ya (not today anyway) but I am seeking God.

Are ya freaked out?! LOL I really am seeking God. Some people think omyshehaslosthermind.

Ok - so I have lost my mind. Not really, I am just walking a different path in my life.

I do have lots and lots of thoughts going on in my head and lots of things that I need to sort out. Don't give up on me, I'm here behind the monitor just sortin things out til the time is right for me to just bust on outta here.

So Far Behind

Have you ever? No, really! Have you ever been so far behind? I mean to the point that you just thought - hmmm....I think I'll just put everything in the garbage can and start over. I think at some point in our lives we have all been there. We have all thought that we are so far behind that there is no way that we could ever get caught up. But yet there are times when you can catch me sitting and reading something.

Reading something? Sitting and not doing anything? Ha - you can't be that far behind if you have time for that. Yeah, right! Think again. When you catch me reading or sitting and doing nothing - I am planning. I am catching my breath so that I can go on, so I can catch up.

One of my last post was stress. I told you then to look out (stay tuned) that I'm coming back. And I am! It's just gonna take me a little bit to continue getting things in order. I say things, it's really me. But you'll see, once I'm back full swing.

Oh yeah - I am going to try my very, very best to tell some of the silly stories that Superman tells.

Dealing With It

As I mentioned my stress level has peaked. It peaked to the point that I got shingles. Oh my goodness - shingles are painful. Did I mention that shingles are PAINFUL?! I believe that I have been given a warning. Shingles are brought on by stress. I have never experienced anything like it! I have stepped back and looked at several things. I have found that my outlook has got to change. I'm not even sure what happened to my outlook. Really!

I used to be this happy go lucky free thinking person. But I'm getting back on that track and laughing more and more every day.

Oh yeah - an 8 year old little boy has taught me how to play chess!

Stress

I haven't been here because my life has been consumed with stress. I'm not kiddin! I have been so extremely stressed out that I am just now getting back on my feet. It's time for me to take control of my life and let all of the negative outside influences go. I will talk more about this in my post that I will be putting here soon. Stay tuned! I'm comin back!

Today is the day that I promise myself that I will not let stress consume me anymore!

I Know...

I know just what you are thinking. I should update my blog and stop talking about updating it and keeping it up to date and so on and so on. Blah - Blah - Blah! We've all heard it before.

Ok, I'll do better.

Now, where have I been...

I've been to a couple of funerals. Dealt with those and moved on. I've rented an RV. YES, AN RV! Did we look like Robin Williams in the movie RV? I doubt it but I do have to say that we all rented the movie a few days before we rented the RV and went on vacation.

Our garden has done so well and provided us with so many veggies. I love home grown food. Home school is going well. Yes, we are still in school. There won't be very much of a summer break. Right now we are only looking at the month of August. We'll see what happens between now and then.

I Got Em

I got em! I got pictures to share and stories to tell. I have a whole darn camera full of pictures. It's so funny with this new camera I have...I just keep snapping pictures and never get them developed. Ha ha...I don't have to. I just plug in the cable that hooks my camera to my computer and wa la, I have pictures. But now I'm too darn lazy busy to hook up the cable. I'll get it hooked up and before you know it you'll have more pictures than you can shake a stick at.

Gotta run...

Movie Stars

It could be that we might become movie stars. Yes, you did read that right. Yes, it means just what you think it means.

This morning as Superman and I were starting to fix a wonderful evening lunch for our moms, the phone rang.

It was a television producer calling us to see if we would possibly be interested in doing a 30 minute television show about adoption. WOW - for us to be such a quiet little family and not want to be seen or heard very much of, things sure have changed. LOL

I will post more when I know more...

In the Newspaper

We are in the newspaper! Really, we are! But that's not the half of it. We are also on the governor's website too. Here - I can show you better than I can tell you.

Letter of the Week


Success Stories

To help you find us - look for Superman.

Catching Up With Alta

I sure hope that no one is upset with me. I know that it has been some time since I have been posting anything here. Things have changed so very much for me. I mean really - they have changed in ways that I never thought about.

Friday, March 28th 2007 was the first day that I had not smoked a cigarette in over 26 years. That is my official quit date. It hasn't been easy to get to where I am now. I had to pretty much give up my computer because I used to sit in front of the darn computer and smoke like a chimney. All I needed was a picture of a fire on the computer screen and we could have hung our stockings by it. Not any more - I am done with that. Been there - Done that!
Oh yeah! I still crave that smoke from time to time. I still want to run down to the corner store and buy me a pack and start smoking again. And there are days that I could run down to the corner convience store and buy a whole carton, sit on the curb and just light the carton on fire and smoke it like a musician playing a harmonica. But I just go on and get past that moment or those moments.

Since I don't know when, things have been changing for me. I think it may be because I'm growing older. Maybe it's because I'm growing wiser. Hmm...I might need to ponder on that a little bit.

The first part of this year I was drawn to read the Bible. I couldn't tell you why if you ask me. It was just something that I wanted to do, something I thought I needed to do. Get this - the plot thickens. I'll get to it before I'm done, hang on...

I talked with Superman about it and I told him that I had no idea why I wanted to start going to church or why I wanted to read the Bible, it's just that I had a craving for it all. My cravings got stronger and stronger. I am pulled by something. I'm being led toward or to this little church. Brother Andy is the pastor, he preaches words that I understand, words that I am thirsty to hear. I'll get more into this also, so hang on again...

May 2008 has brought me to a point in my life that I thought would never happen. This is my official and legal Mothers Day. What a feeling it truly is. I have my wonderful husband, my 3 boys and God to thank.

I'm gonna change the subject a little bit (sorry bout that). Our cat Dusty is now diabetic and has to take insulin shots. Yes he has cataracts like Jack. Dusty hasn't become completely blind yet but I do think that it will eventually happen. We are going to make Dusty as happy and comfortable as we can until he goes over the rainbow bridge. And just to let you know, if I talk about it anymore I'll be crying and snottin all over the place.

In the past 3 weeks we've had 2 deaths in the family. Both on my dad's side of the family - one of his sisters and one of his brothers.

Now that we are catching up with Alta (yep, that's me), I'll tell you about some power surges. I mean some real doozies too. Hot flashes! I personally call them Power Surges. There is no way in this world that what I am feeling is hot flashes. I'm way too young for that. Guess again! I have to schedule myself a doctor appointment. Somethings gotta be done!

I'll try to let you all know where we stand on home school in one of my next post. In the meantime hang in there...

Deer Dear

It seems that some days my boys walk around with their heads in the clouds. I keep thinking that one day they will finally pay attention. But as my dear loving husband keeps telling me "They are kids and kids will be kids." I guess that one day I will realize what he is telling me.

Tonight we are all sitting at the supper table, talking about our day and just being silly (as usual). I sit in a place where I can look out at the horses. Tonight I see CoCo just perk his head up and blow all up like the herd leader - he sure is beautiful when he does that. I mention to everyone that CoCo sure is interested in something. They all look out the window at him. By this time Shadow and Redman have spotted whatever CoCo sees. I am curious myself so I step out the back door.

I'm amazed! Not 1, not 2 - but 3 deer. Years back when I first moved to this area, I would see deer signs. More people moved in and the wildlife moved out. It was such a pretty sight to see the deer just easing along and grazing. I am so glad that they could possibly be coming back into the area.

We all ended up outside to watch the deer and the horses. The boys ask a few questions about the deer and why the horses were acting so silly. I just love answering those types of questions.

4 Weeks Yesterday

I made it to my 4 week mark! 4 weeks yesterday I quit smoking. After smoking for more than 26 years I finally kicked the habit.

Anyone that smokes and wants to quit - It isn't easy to quit.
Anyone that thinks it's cool to smoke - It isn't.
Anyone who is thinking about starting to smoke - Stop thinking about starting something that is almost impossible to stop.

I sure wish I knew then what I know now!

I Lost Count

I lost count of the days now. Not just the days, but the days! The days that I have been nicotine free.

Let me think out loud just a minute and then I'll let you know. Ok - my last one was on the - hmm...let me get to the calendar...April 4th was 7 days...so...March something...got it...March 27th was the last time that I smoked. So my first day of no nicotine was March 28th, 2008.

I tell ya, it has been a struggle. I have avoided all the things that I used to do. Sit at the computer - light one up. After every meal - light one up. I had more reasons to light one up than stars in the sky. PIT i FULL

Today has been kinda rough but I've made it this far.

We have a few things going on that is taking up lots of our thoughts.

1. We have got to buy another vehicle. This is pretty funny because we are vehicle poor. I mean it. If we put all of our vehicles in our yard, it would look like a used car lot. Gotta think again, so that I can tell you exactly how many we have. Our green hunting truck, there's the Dodge, then there's the truck that my mom has at her house (it was my dad's), then there is our SUV that is falling apart little by little. Ok, there's only 4 of them but isn't that enough. LOL Oh yeah, there is also the patrol car when Superman isn't working. Yep - like I said, a used car lot.

2. A graduation is in the very near future. My sister's baby is graduating from high school. We want to go to the graduation and spend a little bit of time with my sister and then we want to use the rest of the week as our vacation. So we have to plan for someone to feed the horses while we are gone, someone to feed the cats and clean the litter boxes. We have to board the dogs. Oh yeah, and now that we have a special needs cat, we have to find someone that can give Dusty his insulin shots twice a day.

3. I have a huge list of things that need to be caught up on. I think it may be easier to just throw the list away and start over.

I think that's all for now. I am gradually getting back to the computer so please be patient with me. Thank you very much for your support!

Home School Funnies

Home Schoolers you are sure to enjoy these Home School Funnies!
I found this What About Socialization that I thought was down right amusing.

How about this one Top 20 Advantages to Homeschooling.

How does a homeschooler change a light bulb?

14 Days of Homeschooling


I hope you enjoy them!


This is one of my favorites because someone always get caught in the act.
"If you get caught talking to yourself, you can claim you're having a PTA meeting."

Day Number 5

Wooo Hoooo

I have finally made it to day number 5 and right now I want to eat my keyboard. No kidding! And if this darn cat keeps putting her foot and then her nose in my pretzel bag, I might just have to eat her. Yeah - go ahead and laugh. You think it's funny now. It won't be so darn funny when I send you the picture of her fuzzy tail hanging out of my mouth. The same fuzzy tail that just sent my pumpkin seeds flying across the room.

Day number 3 wasn't too bad, I only broke down once. I had just finished eating and was still sitting at the table with Superman and the boys. It just hit me - that urge to smoke. I mean just like that too. I put my head in my hands and said - I want a cigarette. MJ jumped up from the table and grabbed me a peppermint. What a trooper! I actually broke down and cried. I popped the peppermint in my mouth and within about 3 minutes the urge was gone. I survived it!

Day number 4 was better than day number 3. April Fools day is a big day at our house. No, not because we stay up late thinking of tricks to pull on each other. It's a big day because it's Superman's birthday. He is a jokester enough that we don't need to think of any more ways to trick each other. His personality really fits his birthday. Amazing isn't it!

And you know about day number 5 cause I already told you. Ok, that little panic attack is gone and I have survived a total of 4 days right now and tomorrow I can say that I survived 5 days. Because today isn't over.

Day Number 2

Hello everyone!

Karisma, Thank You!

Today is Day Number 2 without smoking!

And the Score Is

3 to 1 to 0

I have not smoked today!!!

Yesterday I smoked only 1 cigarette.

It's the Computers Fault

I have stayed away from the computer because that is where I used to sit and smoke. Breaking the smoking habit means much more than stopping smoking. It really means to change where and when you smoke so the urge to smoke will subside.

Not only have I had to just say no to the urge, I have had to stay away from my computer. In the morning when I wake up, I have to busy myself instead of smoke. After meals I take a walk instead of smoke. When I'm driving I have to chew gum. And the list goes on and on. Right now I am chewing on pumpkin seeds. That is the only thing that I can do when I am at the computer. I guess because I use the hand mouth motion to put one seed in my mouth and remove the hull once I get the goodie out of it. I guess once I break that hand to mouth habit, I will be able to move on to gum or something else.

Ok - so it really isn't the computers fault but darn it, I needed someone or something to blame it on. Just kiddin...

Into My 3rd Week

As of today - I am into my 3rd week. I am doing really well but I do think that I could do much better. If you haven't been following along, I'm talking about me stopping smoking. I was smoking almost 2 packs a day. Today has been my best day - 3 cigarettes. Yippee for me!!! I don't have the craving very much but the habit is something else. Once I change the habit, then I will be home free.

Dreams - I have had some of the weirdest dreams in the past couple of weeks. I mean really off the chain stuff. Last night it was about one of our trucks being stolen and seen in Indiana being driven by someone. The night before I dreamed about taking the boys to the dentist. Not only did they get their teeth done but they all got a hair cut. Yeah - from the dentist. LOL The best part was that it only cost me $10. Imagine that!
And the list of off the chain dreams just goes on and on.

Sleep - I have noticed about 2 hours after I take my am pill that I get extremely sleepy and cold. I wonder what's up with that? If I move around there isn't a problem but if I sit still for just a few minutes, my eyes are closing and I am freezing.

Sick stomach - My first 10 or 11 days I was sick to my stomach. Almost to the point of up chucking. It's much better now and I don't really notice it.

The boys have been just awesome about the whole thing. I know that I have been in some odd moods and I really feel for them. I have to give them credit though, they are wonderful, as usual.

A quick little note...

Superman is quitting too. Sunday on our way to church he backed the car out of the driveway and made a comment about our habit. He said something like this - one day we aren't going to just wake up and not smoke anymore. We have to resist the urge. I agreed and all was fine. About 10 minutes later, right before we got to the church, he ask me where my smokes were. I said I didn't bring them with me. Oh my gosh - you would have thought that the earth just opened up and swallowed the whole car with us in it. No joke! It was so funny. He said that he has known me for 8 years and in that 8 years he has never seen me without my cigarettes and that day of all days and that moment of all moments, I didn't have them with me. It was just one of those priceless moments.

Your Easter Bunny Name

I thought this was so darn cute that I just had to share. Below is my Easter Bunny name. Leave a comment and let me know what yours is.

Your Easter Bunny Name is


Dandelion Fuzziwugs



Get your Easter Bunny Name at Quizopolis.com

How Many Days

I was going to be so good and keep a little journal of how my adventure to becoming a non-smoker is going.
Here's what I have to admit...
Not good!
My journal that is. Gotcha!!! Ha ha ha

I can hardly believe that I am on day 11 and I am doing so well. I started out taking 1 pill for the first 3 days. On the 4th day, I took 2 pills. I am still taking 2 pills a day. All just like my prescription advised me to do. 1 in the am and 1 in the pm.

I am still smoking but you would not believe how awful the cigarettes taste to me. I am not joking when I say this...I light up the cigarette and it taste just like I am licking the nastiest ashtray. Serious - it is so gross! But every now and then I have that little craving. Today I have smoked a total of 5 cigarettes. I was smoking 2 packs a day (40 cigarettes) and now 5 a day. Isn't that awesome?!

I am just so darn proud of myself. It seems to be getting easier and easier to say no to the cravings. It won't be long before I will announcing that I am a non-smoker.

Gas Prices

Gas prices are getting worse and worse. I'm not joking! I read an article today either on CNN or MSN or some well known website like that, that said that oil prices were at an all time record high. It said that the National average price is $3.22 a gallon.

Check this out. These are some prices that I found online from our area. They are listed in this order - Unleaded, Plus, Premium, Diesel. They are prices from different stores.

$3.279 03/10/08
$3.379 03/10/08
$3.479 03/10/08
$3.799 03/10/08

$3.299 03/11/08
$3.399 03/09/08
$3.499 03/09/08
$3.759 03/11/08

$3.319 03/11/08
$3.419 03/11/08
$3.529 03/10/08
$3.999 03/10/08

$3.359 03/11/08
$3.459 03/10/08
$3.559 03/10/08
$3.999 03/11/08

It is only going to keep going up. We have got to stop running here and there. Stop running to the store for one simple littel thing. In the past week our family car has been driven once and that was to go less than 10 miles round trip.

Let the Quitting Begin

Monday March 10th 2007 - I began an adventure like no other adventure I have ever tried.

Today is the second day of my adventure. I know it isn't going to be easy and I know it isn't going to be completed over night. I know that I must stick to this and see it to the end.

Let the Quitting Begin!

I'm quitting smoking!

I have finally got the money to pay for our prescriptions. That was an adventure in itself. The cost of the CHANTIX was - well let's just say it's expensive. Will it be worth it? I certainly hope so. If I see this quitting thing to the end then the answer will be yes.

For 26 years I have smoked cigarettes. Up until recently, I didn't even want to quit. I don't know what happened but at the beginning of this year I got the urge to quit. Off to the doctor Superman and I went and we walked out with the prescriptions in our hand. We went straight to the pharmacy to check on the price of filling the prescription. Ok, we had to go home and regroup and figure out how we were going to pay for the prescription. Income tax rebate! Oh yeah!

Our prescriptions are filled and sitting on each one of our desk. We took our first pill yesterday. I had gotten to the point that I was smoking over 2 packs a day. I opened a pack yesterday around 7pm. Today at 8pm, I have 4 cigarettes left in that pack. From 2 packs a day to 16 cigarettes in 24 hours. I already see progress.

I smoked my first cigarette about 1 hour after I took my first pill. It didn't taste any different. About 2 hours after my first pill I smoked my second cigarette. It tasted different. Almost like I wasn't smoking. More like I was just taking in air through a straw. Really kinda weird.

Today I haven't had the cravings like I usually do. The cigarettes taste a little different. They are actually kinda tasting weird. I have a little bag that has life savers and gum and tic tacks in it. I'm not much for hard candy but sometimes I think I want a cigarette, I just pop in a piece of gum.

I am pretty amazed that I am seeing a difference so soon. I'll keep you informed as the days go by.

Absurd Politic

I don't follow the election very close. I read a little hear and a little there but that's about it. I pretty much stay out of the whole political thing. But this I found to absurd not to pass on.

Tonight I read an article that one of the Presidential Candidates isn't saluting the United States of America flag.
I kid you not!
How in the world can anyone expect to be elected as President of a country that he or she won't even salute that countries flag?
Seriously, how can that be?

Here is what I found Barack Obama Failing to Salute the Flag

Don't just take my word for it, go and check it out for yourself.

And if that isn't enough to make you believe, then check this out

Criminalizing Home Schoolers

Do you live in California and home school your children? I would really enjoy hearing from you. It would really help all of us home schoolers if you would let us know your thoughts about this issue.

Parents of the approximately 200,000 home-schooled children in California are reeling from the possibility that they may have to shutter their classrooms — and go back to school themselves — if they want to continue teaching their own kids.

Be sure to read the rest of the article.

Schoolhouse Rock

I grew up with Schoolhouse Rock. I really did learn something from those little songs or jingles. They are so adorable. Back then I didn't think of them as adorable. But I did enjoy them. I think they used to come on the tv during Saturday morning cartoons. That sure was a lot of years ago.
I found a couple of those videos went we went to the library the last week. Finally, today I was able to show them to the boys. Funny thing was - I had to sit and watch the videos with the boys. I remember the darn songs. Once the video was over, the boys ask me if they could watch it again. That is just so cool!

I am on an adventure now to see how many more of the Schoolhouse Rock videos I can find.

Here is a video that you can watch that will give you a better idea.

Grocery Shopping

What a day! Yes - Grocery Shopping! I have put it off all week and finally today I had to do it. Grocery shopping really isn't that bad, it's just all the people. It always amazes me, no matter what time of day I go grocery shopping, it seems like everyone from everywhere is there.

My boys sure are a big help. They are always so willing to just jump in and do things at the grocery store. They pretty much know everything we buy and they just ask how many cans or bags or what have you.

This month they each have to fine a recipe and fix it. WW and JD has already found their recipe and yesterday they helped me with the grocery list. They made sure to have their recipes with them so they could add what they need to the grocery list. MJ just can't figure out what he wants to make. With WW and JD they have to make theirs from scratch. I think I will just have MJ do a box recipe such as a cake or cupcakes. I did buy a cake mix today that I want to use to make cupcakes for St. Patty's day. I think I will help MJ do that. I know that he will enjoy it and shoot, so will I.

I'm off to do a few things and enjoy the quiet of the house while everyone is asleep.

A Better Job

Yeppers - That's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna do a better job at keeping you all posted. I think it is horrible how I have all but abandoned my blog.

One place that I have been is here.
I have also been trying to get the boys on target with their school work. JD is still defiant but nothing like he used to be. He has come such a long way.

We are still very active with our home school group and we love it. We recently had a trip to the zoo and guess what - I even have pictures to prove it. LOL Finally, I remembered to drag the camera along with us. I'll tell you all about it before this week is over. I have lots to tell you!

Gotta run for now. The boys are watching the North and South series. It's really helping them with their history.

Our Third Sunday

This is kinda odd but I am really enjoying it. Today is our third Sunday that the boys and I have been in church. We really don't belong to any church. Of course everyone has their own beliefs of God and of church. Some may not even belief. It is your choice and I don't condem anyone for their personal belief.

I was raised in the Church of God. I remember as a kid watching the believers and listening to them speak in tongues. I was scared when it happened and I never really understood it. It was explained to me with the best explaination that my parents could give me. I think they did a wonderful job of easing my mind and not scaring me any more that what I already was scared. Thank you mom and dad!

Since I have become an adult (many, many moons ago) I had a life to live and I didn't go to church very much. Superman and I have talked about getting involved in a church, but finding the right church isn't always easy. A couple of time we attended the Methodist church near us. We liked it but it just didn't call to us. Somehow, some way we found another little church to check out. Some people call it church shopping. It sounds kinda funny but in all reality that's exactly what it is. You go from church to church trying to find one that you feel comfortable in. I think we found it. It's a small country church. They don't pass the offering plate around, they don't call you if you don't attend one day or a week or even a month. Actually Brother Andy talked about this today. I was extremely impressed. I don't think anyone needs to have their arm twisted to do something. They're either going to do it or they're not. Simple as that.

Now I gotta go back to the first of this month. Boy Scout Sunday was the first Sunday in February. Our boy scout troop attended and the kids really enjoyed it. We went back the next Sunday. Last night while the boys and I were sitting at the dining table, I ask them which church they wanted to go to. They all (almost in unison) said "Uncle Larry's church". Ok, that settles that.

Our third Sunday leads us to today. We actually walked into church late. The boys headed to childrens church and I took a seat to listen to a powerful message. Brother Andy has a strong voice as he stands on the pulpit in his jeans and boots to tell us all about the power of God. This calls for an Amen! Amen! I'm not rich. I can't afford fancy clothes and fancy cars to go to church and listen to the Glory of God. I'm not there to see how someone else is dressed or what they are driving. I am there to be closer to God and to hear the word of God.

WW, JD and MJ are all excited about going back. They told me all about childrens church and how much they enjoyed it. I'm excited for them!

We're going back! We won't be able to attend next Sunday but there isn't anything on our calendar for the following Sunday.

The Hits Just Keep on Comin

Right when I think that I am finally going to get caught up - The hits just keep on comin.

Honestly they do! I still have a mound of paperwork on my desk. This morning I started going through some of it and I actually threw some things away. I'm sure later on I'll be wondering where they are, but that's ok. I'll just deal with it then.

Over the last 2 weeks I have been really slack in the boys schoolwork. We have strayed from the books and did some fun projects. I sure wish that I would have taken the holidays to do that. Live and learn! LOL

This week I am really trying to get back into the book work. It's going pretty well - so far. Since we had 2 weeks of slacking, the boys ask if they can do this or that. I think I may have made an impression on them with some fun activities. That's not a bad thing! Our homeschool group is really picking up with activities. Now throw up the activities with the Boy Scouts and once again - the hits just keep on comin.
Ok - throw in a Valentine supper. I really wanted to have the kids do some Valentine decorations but there just isn't enough hours in the day. One thing I have really figured out is this...Kids have to get out and run to burn off that energy. Really, they do. I have noticed that our bad days are mostly because they didn't burn off enough of their energy.
Oh yeah - I almost forgot. It's garden planning time. Mention a garden and they boys just go bezerk. Really they do. Is is because they like to watch things grow or because it gets them outside. I don't know - I just like the fact that they are interested in it.
I sure do remember being in the garden with my dad. I also remember all the good meals that momma used to cook from the things that dad grew. Mmmmm - I can smell it cooking now.

Ok - that reminds me that I need to finish cleaning off my desk. Help the boys with their school work and I want us to take a little walk after lunch today. Have a wonderful day!

A Slacker I Am

Ok - I admit it. I'm a slacker! There! LOL

I really have slacked off on my posting here and keeping you up to date. I guess there isn't too much new to tell you about. Unless you want to hear about my 2 broken fingers. It's really a long story. I just hope that the swelling will eventually go down enough that my wedding band will fit a little more comfortable.

We have been busy with school and with the Boy Scouts. Somehow, I managed to get deeply involved in the Scouts. I really don't mind. But it really does keep me busy.

Oh gosh! I almost forgot! No more dial up - we are now among the fastest of the fast. Yep, we know have high speed internet. I love it! I hope I never, ever have to go back to dial up. Now I can enter my coke rewards points and it doesn't take a whole darn day. LOL I can do a few other things too. I am a gatherer and I love making a few extra spending dollars there. I'm also a boomertowner. I like watching my points build up really fast. That way I'll be able to cash them in for the gift cards.

Let me think. Hmm...
Last week in school we broke away from the book study. We worked on our counting money, drawing, reading aloud, learning our States, doing some word search puzzles and just plain out having fun. Our home school trip was even a break away from the river. We all meet at one of the members houses for some fun time with her horses. It really was just a very nice meeting and a nice break away from the routine. I have some pictures that I will share with you, when I'm not slacking.

Personality Test

Have you ever had to take a personality test? I have had to take one for two different jobs. I thought it was odd that I should take a personality test for a job, but I trudged through them.

If you haven't taken one, zip on over here. I think you will enjoy knowing more about your personality.

Here are the results from my test.

The Portait of the Inspector (ISTJ)
Inspector Guardians look carefully and thoroughly at the people and institutions around them. Making up perhaps as much as ten percent of the general population, Inspectors are characterized by decisiveness in practical affairs, are the guardians of institutions, and if only one adjective could be selected, "superdependable" would best describe them. Whether at home or at work, Inspectors are nothing if not dependable, particularly when it comes to examining the people and products they are responsible for-quietly seeing to it that uniform quality is maintained, and that those around them uphold certain standards of attitude and conduct.

These quiet, no-nonsense Guardians have a distaste for and distrust of fanciness in speech, dress, and living space. Their words tend to be simple and down-to-earth, not showy or high-flown; their clothes are often homespun and conservative rather than of the latest fashion; and their home and work environments are usually neat, orderly, and traditional, rather than up-to-date or luxurious. In their choice of personal property (cars, furnishings, jewelry, and so on) price and durability are just as important as comfort or appearance. Classics, antiques, and heirlooms are especially valued, having achieved a certain time-honored status-Inspectors prefer the old-fashioned to the newfangled every time. Even on vacation, Inspectors tend not to be attracted by exotic foods, beverages, or locales.

Their thoroughness and orderliness, combined with their interest in legality and standardization, leads Inspectors to a number of occupations that call for the careful administration of goods and services. Inspectors feel right at home with difficult, detailed forms and columns of figures, and thus they make excellent bank examiners, auditors, accountants, and tax attorneys. Managing investments in securities is likely to interest this type, particularly investments in municipal bonds and blue-chip securities. Inspectors are not likely to take chances either with their own or others' money, and the thought of a bankrupt nation, state, institution, or family gives them more than a little uneasiness. The idea of dishonoring a contract also bothers an Inspector -their word is their bond-and they naturally communicate a message of trustworthiness and stability, which can make them successful in business. With their eye for detail, Inspectors make good business men and women, librarians, dentists, optometrists, legal secretaries, and law researchers. High school and college teachers of business administration, home economics, physical education, civics, and history tend to be Inspectors, as do quartermaster officers in the military.
Queen Elizabeth II, Harry S. Truman, Warren Buffet, Queen Victoria, James K. Polk, and J.D. Rockefeller are examples of Inspector Guardians.

Our Outting Today

Our home school group leader, Mrs. Merrilee, sends out an email every Monday giving us all a little heads up for our weekly Thursday meeting. I tried to keep it a secret about what we would be doing. My secret keeping abilities failed last night. In our conversation at supper, I told the boys that we would be visiting an island. An island? Well my goodness, we're gonna need a boat. Imagine that! LOL

I woke up this morning and the boys were all dressed and were modeling their backpacks. Water bottles were all filled up and snacks were packed. Do ya think they were excited?! Yeah, me too. Even Mindy our little Schnauzer was running around barking and carrying on.

Down the road we go. The excitement didn't stop. They were going to get to ride in a boat. They just kept on and on. You know how it is!

Finally! At the river. Now I hear, "Where is the boat?" "Is that it?" And on and on.
The boats in sight and it's time to all load up.

The boat that we all rode in was a canoe. LOL No joke! It was not just an ordinary canoe. It was handmade out of cypress wood with a fiberglass shell. The owner gave us lots of information about the canoe. I sure wish I would have written some of it down. Ok - I now have an F in note taking. Hmm...I think I need to set a better example.
The canoe could only take 3 of us to the island at a time. It took a few minutes to get everyone there but it was well worth it.

Rum Island -
I don't know all of the history about the island, however; what I do know if pretty darn interesting. The history goes something like this: Years and years ago there was a house on the island. Yes - there was a still where they made rum. The island sits in the Santa Fe River with one county on the north side and another county on the south side. The island didn't have to abide by either of the counties laws because it wasn't connected to either county. Both of the counties were dry counties. A dry county is a county that cannot sell any alcohol.

The island's name is supposedly derived from moonshine and bootlegging operations that was located on the island in the early 1900s. A current sign on the site ironically warns, "Rum Island "No Alcohol Allowed." It has been reported that undercover police stake out the grounds, looking to bust people with open containers.

At some point the house burnt down. I have no idea what happened to the still. Somewhere on the island there is a small part of the foundation of the house. Today we did not find the remains. I would love to explore more on the island and find out more about the history.

Our 3 boys were extremely interested in the island. Their interest is an encouragement for me to take them back and do a little more exploring.

Note to self - next time - take the darn camera.

Something Cool for Home School

WooooHooooo! Thank you Karisma for posting these links on your blog. You know I gotta post them here to share with my friends.

Seagrass Adventures great site for the kids.

Community Environment Network is an alliance of community and environment groups from Lake Macquarie, Wyong and Gosford.

Time On My Hands

Today I found myself with time on my hands. Time for what? What the heck am I supposed to do? I stood in the dining room and I thought - "hmm...now I have nothing to do". LOL Have you ever thought that?
I think I was outta my mind for a brief second, when I thought I found time on my hands.

Yesterday in WW's and JD's Language Arts class, we studied Idioms. Yesterday I thought this would be a neat thing for me to tell you about. Of course I slept last night and when I woke up I had forgotten all about it. Which it doesn't surprise me that I forgot about it. I think that's why people say if you can't make a decision, just sleep on it. By the time you wake up you'll be forgot all about it.

An Idioms is a phrase or phrases that have meanings that cannot be understood from the literal meaning of the words.
Think about how someone that is trying to learn the English language. They hear an idioms and they automatically think of the idioms as a literal term. Time on my hands would probably mean to them that I have a clock on both of my hands. How about bent over backwards - which means have made a great effort to help. Can you just see in someones mind that you literally bent over backwards while trying to help? LOL

So I sat down at the computer this afternoon and thought I would just get you caught up a little. Especially since I haven't talked to you in quiet some time. I've bounced in and out here and there, but that's it. I was going to tell you all about how wonderful the past 3 days has been for me. That was my intent anyway.

I just started rambling here and there and somehow I recognized an idioms. So here we are, talking about a word that I have such a hard time saying. LOL

Can you think of any idioms to share?

The Days Go By

The days go by so fast sometimes. And then again, I sometimes wonder if the day will ever end. Do you have days like that? It seems like the more fun I have, the faster the day goes by. Now if I just happen to be having one of those days. Yeah - you know the kind. LOL It's those days that I wonder if they will ever end.

We have gotten back full force in our home schooling. We work on our regular subjects most of the time, but it's the extra things that I want to do. The extra things are games, cooking, sewing, exploring, discovering and on and on. I think the boys really just wanna throw their books out the window and do the things that I want to do. But we just gotta get that book work done.
B-o-r-i-n-g!

I think tomorrow I will just sleep in a little later than usual.
Or maybe take a nap during the day.
I think tomorrow we may just play one of those games.
It's always educational.
I think tomorrow we just might bake some bread.
Or just get out the flour and play.
I think tomorrow we might play hopscotch in the dirt.
Or find a stick and play fetch with the dog.

That's it! We are gonna throw the darn books out the window and play!

Happy Friday!

I Gotta Do This

I think when I say "I gotta do this", I may be asking for help. Help comes in many forms and the one that I am referring to is moral support. A pep talk or an "Atta Girl" or something. Shoot, I don't know. Ok, I'm gettin to it...

Every now and then, Superman will mention that we need to consider stopping the use of tobacco. I have always agreed with him. No doubt about it, we have to stop using tobacco.
I'm a smoker and Superman uses Copenhagen, every now and then Superman will smoke. Our tobacco is costing us way to much money. We all know the health risk so I don't even need to get into that part of it.
After the first of the year, I guess about a week into the New Year, I made a decision. A very large decision too.
I have made the decision that I want to quit smoking. I announced this to Superman and he is all for it and very glad that I made that decision. I even made the call to the doctor and set up the appointments for both of us.
Off to the doctor we go. We both come out of the doctors office with our prescription in our hand. We went straight to the pharmacy to get the prescriptions filled. The doctor said that the prescriptions would be expensive to fill, but he didn't know just how much.
Well we certainly found out how much the prescription is going to cost. Yes, it's expensive. $150 for me and $150 for Superman. $300!

I know just what your thinking... If we are spending the money to buy the tobacco, why can't we just get the prescriptions filled. Ok, it isn't that easy. We spend the money on tobacco a little at a time. Having the money all at one time is the problem.

What's going to happen? We are saving every penny that we can to get these prescriptions filled. I really am excited about getting started on quitting.

I'll keep you updated on how this works out.

Not Much Happening

I say there's not much happening but then again I could say that life is happening. We all know that life happens. No matter how we want to slow down time or even stop time at times, it just goes on and on.

For us the weather has been warm and cold. Not hot, but warm and cold. During our warm days we can actually wear shorts. During our cold days we certainly have to bundle up. One day the ac is running and the next day the heat is on. We are still way below the average rain level. We did get a little rain this weekend, maybe an inch. Just enough to make the sand stick to your shoes so you could track it in the house. And of course we had company yesterday and a lot of sand was tracked in the house. It's ok though, because the dogs bring in a lot of sand all the time.

Over the holidays I only gave the boys a few days off from their lessons. If I give them too much time they seem to have a huge memory loss. Is that with all kids? I'm actually wondering who is learning more, me or them. LOL At least one of us is learning.

I have worked on a few crafts. I actually finished a small quilt that I had started about 2 years ago. The boys really like it. We use it to snuggle up with when we are watching a movie.
I started another quilt last night. I dug through my scraps of material and started getting them in some type of order and cutting out squares for the quilt. I want to get really creative with quilts but I have a lot to learn when it comes to quilting. I have a book somewhere that has a little info about quilting but I think it covers more on applique than actually quilting. Yes, I want to try applique also.

I am still working on my gather points. I just got a free gift card to Home Depot and I can hardly wait to spend it. I'm working on getting my second gift card. I kinda thought I would save up my gift cards and maybe buy some paint.

"Meanest Mom on the Planet"

"Meanest Mom on the Planet"

‘Meanest mom’ sells car after finding liquor.

After finding alcohol in her son's car, she decided to sell the car and share her 19-year-old's misdeed with everyone — by placing an ad in the local newspaper.

You have got to read this! It is awesome! I am so glad that a parent actually took action.

Finally

Finally! I am back again. I tried to do this earlier but life happened. Imagine that! LOL

The weather here finally turned cooler. Ok, we had 3 days of really cold weather. It was a nice break away from the heat. Florida generally has some really strange weather. I hear people talk about this and that when it comes to our weather. And we have an old saying - "If you don't like the weather in Florida, stick around, it will change really soon".

I did a little bit of organizing in our classroom. I moved some book shelves around, put most of the books on the shelves, moved some of the boys school stuff and a little here and a little there. It is so much more organized now that we can all find what we need without running all around looking for it.

I have also been working on the Gather community a lot. A LOT! LOL
I really enjoy the Gather community. All you have to do is join, read a few articles, rate a few articles and if you are really interested you can post articles for your friends to comment and rate. It only takes a few minutes a day. Be careful though, it's addictive! I actually have just ordered my free Home Depot gift card. Yes, you heard me right - I did say FREE. Free things are always good!

Christmas at our House

Christmas at our house - it was our first Christmas with the boys. It was our first chance to let Santa into our house. I told you about going out and selecting our tree. That was a lot of fun and something that we will do every year. We had to buy some new ornaments because we had thrown most of the stuff out a few years back. We did have some homemade ornaments that we used. I love those. We also made some new ornaments. They turned out wonderful and we had a lot of fun making them. The cards that we made with the boys pictures inside were a big hit. Actually, everything that we made was a big hit.

Nana loves here canvas bag the boys made.

Christmas Eve:

Granny K stayed over. That was nice. It gave Superman and I a chance to do what we had to do. Superman read "Twas the Night Before Christmas". The boys were so ready to go to bed when it came bedtime. They were sound asleep almost when their heads hit the pillow. I baked several dozen cookies during the day. Sometimes the boys would help with the cookies but they really just wanted to eat them. Go figure!

Superman had been holding on to the 4 wheeler secret for so long. Just one more day and he can let the cat out of the bag.

Oh yeah - I almost forgot. We made a Santa Clause Landing Zone. We used milk cartons with tea light candles in them. The Santa Clause LZ looked so much better than it does here.

Our tree before Santa had arrived.

Christmas Day:

Our tree after Santa had arrived.

No this is not the Taliban! Talk about pulling the wool over their eyes!

The face of a very surprised and happy child.

Instructions, directions, do and don'ts!

Even do and don'ts from Grandpa.

Of course we have to try them on. They fit well...I know they belong to the boys. Now get off of them.

Oh yeah! Somebodies just gotta get brave!

And Mindy says it all...I've had enough!

I know there no helmets on anyone of us. Superman turned the 4 wheelers down, so they would go really fast. One the boys learn a little more about them and really get the feel of them and learn to respect them, then they will be turned up a little at a time.

Helmets are coming this month. We will not ride them anymore until protective gear can be worn.

New Years before Christmas

Talk about mixed up. LOL I posted New Years before Christmas. Now how did I manage that? Who knows. Maybe because I have been upside down with my head stuck inside a box trying to unpack all this stuff. When I finally pulled my head up out of the box and stood up - well - it was New Years.
I gotta go back and tell you all about Christmas.