I Lost It.....

sniff, sniff, sniff.... Yep, I lost it.... I officially lost "Mother of the Year" - again! I keep losing it, then I earn it back, now I've lost it again. Let me give you just a little recap of where our day went bad, then horrible.....

1. Woke Blake up at 6:50 - after he slept continually for over 12 hours! He complained of not feeling good. I told him he'd be better once he ate. He was really stuffy and I had heard him coughing in the night. Tried to get him to get up and around and told him I'd call the doctor for a late afternoon appointment (figuring he had pneumonia - more on that later).

2. In the meantime, Brooke was getting very mad because the black "comfy" pants that I got her yesterday are way too long and I won't let her wear them.

3. I'm continuing to yell at Blake to get up out of bed. He's still complaining and now getting teary. By this time, it's after 7 a.m. so I tell him I can't call for a sub. He's even more mad. Brooke is getting madder because she doesn't know what to wear to school.

4. I try calling Carrie (who didn't have her phone up loud enough!) to see if she could sit with Blake while I took Brooke to school and got my lesson plans there. No answer. Blake is stuck going to school with me. He's pissed. So now it's 7:30 and I call my principal to tell him to get me a sub, apologizing for the late notice.

5. Brooke and Blake continue to get ready for school. Blake is blowing his nose 100 times. Brooke just looked mad at the world.

6. 7:55 am - walking out the door and my principal called to tell me I have a parent waiting to see me. I have 5 minutes to get to school.

7. Parent waiting for me in the office. Brooke starts complaining of a sore throat and starts crying. I quietly yell at her about complaining all the time and try to get her to join her class. Basically pushed her down the hallway as I walked into the office. Blake is waiting for me in the car, didn't think my meeting would take but a minute. I left it running and is watching a movie. Yep, Brooke still crying.

8. 8:20 - tell my parent that my son is in the car so I go check on him. He's content. Brooke is now in the office - red eyed, teary, complaining of not feeling good.

9. 8:40 - Excuse myself from the meeting telling them that Blake is still in the car. Notice that there is no sub in my room. Nice. Won't even tell you what I said about that.

10. Take off from school with both kids. Cathi had called me a few times so I called her back. She said that she and Carrie would meet me to get the kids so I could go back to school. Off to meet them going about 75 mph. Nice. Good thing there weren't any cops.

11. Back to school to take care of everyone else's kids and not mine. Feel really guilty about that, but I know that being with Aunt Carrie and Aunt Cathi is really better than being with me. Make a doctor's appt. for the kids for 1:30 so I only have to take the afternoon off. No high school today, but I got that covered.

12. Finish my morning and leave at noon to get the kids and get them to the doctor.

The saga continues.....

So, by now, I've pretty much figured out that I've for sure lost "Mother of the Year". Brooke is pretty much so mad at me that she won't talk to me. That makes me feel good. I just get so worked up in the "heat of the moment" that I can't think straight. Then I end of yelling at my kids, accusing them of basically "faking" sick. Then I threaten them with having Dr. P do every test known to man-kind to get this "sickness" figured out for once and for all. No wonder I have gray hair, am overweight, and get headaches. What the heck????

So now we are off to the doctor. I've pretty much got the kids scared to death that they are going to undergo minor surgery to get them checked out......

Dr. comes in the room and checks out Brooke first. Basic conversation:

Dr. : "Does she complain of her ears hurting?"

Mom: "No, she's never said that. Just says that her throat hurts and her stomach is always upset."

Dr.: "She has a very bad.... horrible ear infection in her right ear."

Mom: ( I didn't say anything at this point, thinking I'm the suckiest and bitchiest mom alive)

Dr. : "When they are this age and they get an earache, a lot of times they don't complain of ear pain, they just feel rotten."

Mom: "Yep, she does."

Dr: "She has a right not to feel good."

I'm sinking in my chair at this point. Next is Blake.

Dr: "Blake the Great has bronchitis. No pneumonia... yet. I need to see them back in a week."


Do I need to say more? That's how our Monday went. Hell, tomorrow has to better, doesn't it???

Kids & their social lives!!

Brooke is 10, Blake is 7 1/2, and they have more going on in one weekend than I would ever think of! It all started Friday night when a group of 17 of us went to the opening show of High School Musical 3. The show was sold out but we managed to all sit within 2 rows of each other. It was a lot of fun. Of course the majority of the group was 9-10 year old girls, but there were 3 little brothers that were there, too - including Blake. It was actually a ton of fun! The movie was a cross between Grease, Footloose, Flashdance, and of course things related to HSM!

Saturday - Blake had a flag football game at noon. They lost.... again. They sure have a lot of fun playing and that's what's important. After that, both of the kids had a skating birthday party for girls (sisters) in their classes. It was from 1:30-3:30. Brooke took off after that party to go to another one - a sleepover for her friend Shaniah at Fun City in Burlington! Can't imagine what all went on there! Blake and I went to Galesburg and finally found his Halloween costume. It's only a week away you know! Tried to get Blake in bed early last night so he'd be ready for today, but that didn't happen.

Today - Blake was up at 6:30 and on the road at 7:30 with his friend Jonah (and his family) to Geneseo to the last 4 wheeler race of the season. I wasn't able to go since I had to fix lunch for Jeff and wait for Brooke to get home. He got 5th (out of 5!), but again he will tell you that it's all about having fun. They all get trophies, and that's all that seems to matter to him. He doesn't care what place he gets! Fine with me! He got home a little after 4:00. Kind of a cold, blustery day to be outside all day. I guess it was even sleeting during the race. Kind of glad I wasn't there! (Don't tell him though....) I picked up Brooke about 1:00 this afternoon from Cathi's. She sure had fun, but sure is tired! She's been asleep for about 20 minutes , since about 8:10. That's really early for her. I told her she might want to go to sleep, within 3 minutes she was out!

By the way, Blake has been asleep since 6:15 tonight. Slept through supper. Must have had a hard day! Good thing he had an early bath. This means he'll probably be up around 5 in the morning!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, one more thing - for those of you wondering.... Christmas is 59 days away!!!!!!

We Didn't Lose Rachel!!!

For those of you who read the comments on my blog last night, disregard some of what my lovely sister said!! Cathi, we did NOT lose Rachel in Target. As I recall, Jeff and the girls were in the toy section. Jeff wandered over to the next aisle, and as the girls looked around, Jeff wasn't there. Did they freak?? YES! They did! I could hear screaming kids from across the store and thought to myself "Oh, some poor, poor children got separated from their parents!" But, no, as I looked up, I saw Brooke and Rachel running, no sprinting rather, across the Target store!!! I believer Rachel was screaming "Aunt Chrissi, Uncle Jeff lost us!!!!!!!!" Then there was Jeff, trailing about 15 steps behind them with a really weird look on his face!! Yeah, we didn't "lose" her!!!

On a lighter note, the kids got picked up from After School safe and sound tonight by Grandma Wanda!! Brooke insisted I call her after school to remind her so I sent her a quick text!! Everyone got where they needed to be!!

Randomness

Not much going on here at the Ryners, but it doesn't seem like we've really had any "free time". I'm wondering how Blake will sleep tonight. I don't know how many more times the kid can blow his nose! He's all congested, yet his nose runs nonstop. He sneezes, blows his nose, coughs, blows his nose, complains of a sore throat, blows again, complains of a headache, and blows again. I put some Vicks under his nose and you would have thought I used gasoline. He started screaming at the top of his lungs!! I guess Vicks burns if you put it on chapped skin. Oops, there goes Mom of the Year... again. Speaking of that... real quick... their Grandma lost Grandma of the Year tonight when she forgot to pick them up from the After School Program. I had class and got to them at 5:59 p.m.! They were okay. I figured Brooke had cried in fear she'd have to be there the rest of her life, but she hadn't. (Sorry, Wanda, I couldn't help but mention it! They forgive you, just don't forget them tomorrow night!)

Jeff is busy in the field so I really feel like a single mom, but I don't think single moms have a large man slip into their bed everynight between 10:30 and midnight, starting to snore before his head hits the darn pillow! Ok, maybe some single moms do, I don't know! I think he falls asleep taking a shower. The other night I heard a god-awful noise as he was getting out, I thought he was falling through the wall or floor! That's the night I think he was snoring before he even laid down in bed. He's been in a relatively good mood through all of harvest. Today he did have some break downs and he's not home yet so I'm not sure how he'll be when he gets here. But considering that we really don't talk, I probably won't even know. He's in bed way after me and up way before me and out the door.

I came upon yet another blog! I was so excited to see that one of my friends from college is a newly found blogger friend! Check her out here. She's a teacher and has 3 kids and has the same chaotic life as all of us! That is one more blog that I have to check on a nightly basis!!

We have a very busy next few days - mentoring class, premiere of High School Musical 3 at the movie theater, a flag football game, open house, a skating birthday party, an overnight bday party at Fun City for Brooke, a weiner roast, a 4 wheeler race we are probably going to have to skip, and a hunt for Halloween costumes! Then, it will be Monday again. Ugghhh!

I know, I know, I haven't posted any pics lately, but I'm too cold to go out to take some of my favorite patio! Until next time...

My 2 FAVORITES are back!!!

It's quite chilly today.... 55, breezy, and a cold rain is falling from the sky. So what did I do when I got home after school? I went right up to my room, got out my favorite little step ladder, put it in my closet, and pulled out my favorite.... my very favorite.... my so worn-out they are conformed only to my body favorite... gray sweats. Yes, they are officially 20 years old now. Jeff's mom made them for him when we were in 8th grade (circa 1988). They are the most beautiful shade of gray, with black block capital letters going down the left leg that spell RYNER. Ahhh, are you picturing them in your head yet??? (Mindy, I bet Aaron knows what ones I'm talking about!) I'm not so sure how I ended up with them. I think his mom handed them over to me one day shortly after we were married... ya know, when the m-i-l gives you all of your husband's stuff that she doesn't want anymore.... and you don't want either... prom glasses, sports articles (ok, those are kinda cool now that we are old), baseball cars (like millions of them in 3 ring binders!).... you all know what I'm talking about. Well, I think these phenomenal gray pants were in there, too. Jeff just about choked tonight when he saw me in them for the first time this season. I know he was thinking that his wife is just crazy-hot (term coined by fav fellow blogger Karen) sitting on the bar stool in these crazy-hot sweats with her gray sweatshirt that she got on her honeymoon 12 years ago... that spells ASPEN across the chest! Well, you can really only see "SPE". Sad but true. I really think Jeff was a little choked up!

Now... on to my next favorite thing... I'm going downstairs to drink a cup of HOT apple cider (favorite thing #2) in my gray RYNER sweats (favorite thing #1)!!!! I know you're all crazy-jealous!

Still Here!!!

We're still alive and kickin'! Thought maybe we wouldn't be after the last week or so, but we have survived! The kids are much better. They felt better last Thursday (after they went to the doctor on Wed. and she said they had to stay home due to strep - why did she have to say that in front of them? I didn't have a chance of taking them back to school!) and have definitely made up for their "down time"!

Just to catch you up on our goings-on!
1. Jeff has been busy in the field. Things are going really well (knock on wood!) and yields are really good, too. We have taken a few meals to them. Brooke has rode in the tractor/auger wagon, Blake and me in the combine, and Blake has even made a couple trips to the river in the semi with Grandpa. It rained today, so Jeff did have a break, but he thought he'd be able to get back into the corn tomorrow afternoon.

2. I guess I had a touch of strep, too. Monday was the worst day for me. I was glad we didn't have school. Carrie, Cathi, and I went down to Kevin and Kathy's to help decorate the inside of the house and to help put things away. I don't know why I went, I didn't help. Most of the time I sat at the kitchen table with my head down on it. Cathi even said I snored. Guess I wasn't feeling too hot, but the kids were playing with Rachel, so why go home and try to entertain them when they were just fine there???

3. Brooke was the winner of the monthly drawing at the orthodontist's office. She won a $50 to the mall! Fun!

4. By the way, I wish that I could just "tell" everyone I was sick over the weekend. But, no, they know just by looking at the cold sores that are lining my top lip. Yesterday was horrible!! They were in that "blistering, oh my gosh, my face is going to crack" stage. I could literally feel them growing. Of course when I got up yesterday morning and could feel the platypus-type look on my face, I asked Jeff if my top lip was swollen. Instead of saying "No, Chris, you can hardly tell", he said "Jesus, what the hell?" Is that any indication of how bad it was? I felt so stupid going to school, but I did. Just got some turned-up lips from the little kids. Oh well.

5. My patio is done! Concrete is finally down! It looks great, and I was going to take some pics but I forgot. So I will and I'll get them posted soon! We've already used my much wanted fire pit a couple times. Nothing like a weiner over a fire!! It's been fun, and I'm anxious to use it again this weekend. Still have a bottle of wine in the fridge waiting to be drank by the fire.

6. I fixed 45..... yes, 45.... chicken enchiladas last Sunday night. I always make them for Jeff for his birthday. I was a few days late, but it's still the thought that counts, right? We had a little help eating them.... Chase, Joel and Jenn, Jake.... but we still had a 9 x 13 left. Chase and Jeff both enjoyed the leftovers!

7. My friend Dena had a little baby girl last Friday morning. Her name is Zella Walker! They live in Winchester, IL. Sure wish they lived closer!

8. We went to one of my teacher friend's house on Sunday to pick pumpkins and gourds. They have a rather large patch and were nice enough to let us come up and pick some. The kids had fun picking their own pumpkins. They look beautiful next to the mums on my new patio!!! Remember, I'll get pics taken soon!

Until next time...

So much for sleeping it off!

I was really hoping that the kids would feel a lot better this afternoon after taking naps. When Blake woke up, he immediately started crying because his throat hurt so bad and he had such a bad headache. I took his temp and it had gone up to 101.7. Brooke then came downstairs and started whimpering that she didn't feel good either. So off to the Clinic we went. I called them first and they said that they weren't too busy so I figured we better get in there before everyone else did! I thought Blake was going to fall asleep on the little medical bed or whatever it's called before the doctor came in. The kids were both running 100 degree temps in the office. She took one look in Blake's throat and said "Wow. That's nasty. Mom, his throat looks reeealllly bad". Oh super! Then went Brooke and her exact words were "Mom, her throat doesn't look much better than brother's!" I made the mistake of saying that my throat had kind of been sore today, too, so she looked in mine and said mine "didn't look great". So the kids both have strep and have to be out of school another day - at least. She wrote them prescriptions and wanted to write me one, but I told her I have amoxicillin here so I could take it. She recommended that Jeff get started on it, too, since strep usually will run rampid through the whole family. Then off to get the medicine. Blake told me in the parking lot of the Clinic that he thought he was going to throw up. How fun. He tried, but didn't. We headed to the pharmacy. As I was getting the prescriptions out of my purse, he stepped out of the car and proceeded to throw up all over the parking lot. The poor kid. I didn't think he was going to be able to stop. Nothing like a crying kid throwing up all over the parking lot, and we were parked right in front of the sliding doors that go into Axline's! I tell ya! That is just my luck. Blake has hardly eaten all day, and he's not eating much of his supper either. Brooke ate a little for supper, but not as much as she normally would.

So we are planning on another day at home tomorrow! I am sure hoping that they start feeling better. This is the pits!

Home Sweet Home

At least that's where I am today! Although I don't know how "sweet" it is. It will probably need disinfected after being home today. Blake is just about asleep on the couch. He is running a fever of 100 and has a sore throat. He sure doesn't feel good. I am thinking my thermometer isn't too accurate, he sure feels a lot warmer. Brooke is home with us, too. If I'm going to stay home with one kid, why not stay home with 2 right? I think that's what she is thinking! She's complaining of a sore throat, too, is coughing and blowing her nose. I thought I would be proactive and get them into the doctor in case there is something a little more serious coming on. But, everyone in the country must be sick, because I can't get them into the doctor until tomorrow afternoon. Our pediatrician is "out of the country" for 3 weeks and we can see one of his partners tomorrow afternoon. We can get into the Clinic here in town in early afternoon as well. I'm hoping that they will feel a lot better tomorrow, but I'm a little worried about Blake. Last time I waited to take him to the doctor for what I thought was just allergies, ended up pneumonia! He didn't cough or anything to make me think that he had that. Boy did I feel like a bad mom! And that was just about a year ago. You never know, huh?

Well they poured half of my concrete today. Trying to keep Pepper out of it was kind of a challenge this morning, so she is inside today. On all other days she'd want to be in here, but today she wants to be outside. I can just imagine paw prints all over it. They told me that in 3 or 4 hours she wouldn't be able to hurt it. Maybe she can nap this afternoon with Blake. All it would take would be one little invitation to getting on the couch and she'd be up there in a heartbeat! It does sound like a good idea. For me though, not Pepper!

Today is Jeff's birthday. He is now halfway to 40 like me.... no, not 20, 35! We planned on going out tonight for supper, but now that is out of the question. I put in a roast and will make french dips. The kids and I went to Farm King last night to look for something to get him. He is absolutely the hardest person ever to buy for. He's a farmer. When he needs something, he buys it. I wouldn't be able to afford anything he actually "wanted" anyway so he's getting a Carhartt sweatshirt, long sleeve shirt, socks, gloves, and a gift certificate. I thought I could at least make him a pumpkin pie or a peanut butter cream pie, but no, I can't. I don't have all of the stuff I need. Figures.

Today is also Roger's birthday (sis Cathi's husband). Not sure how old he is, but older than us I know. I'm sure Cathi is home right now whipping up some lovely, delectable birthday dessert, and some outrageously delicious supper to go along with it. Maybe I could share with her? Better give her a call and tell her to double her recipes!

I better go check on my patients. It's awfully quiet downstairs. I'm hoping they are both asleep. Chances aren't too good of that. We'll see. Maybe I could just take a nap. They won't mind, will they?

Prayers Please....

One more thing.... While you are all saying your prayers, include my friends Jackie and Mark in those prayers. They are such brave, good people, and are having to undergo what no one should have to undergo. Just mention their names in your prayers, please. I always do, and I really feel that the power of prayer is like no other. Thank you.

Quiet Time

As I am posting, Brooke and Blake are laying here beside me.... in my bed.... fast asleep. Whew! It's about time. They have absolutely, positively worn me out tonight! For some reason, Brooke was in a very talkative mood tonight. She couldn't tell me enough about her day nor tell me fast enough. Blake even made the comment that she had said more than him tonight. Now that's a change! They are so peaceful when they are sleeping. My little Blake is sleeping with his mouth wide open, making an "almost snoring" sound. Brooke has her arms wrapped up around her face, with Sophie laying right beside her. Too cute.

Amidst the nonstop talking of Brooke tonight, there was some crabbiness.... from me... and Jeff. Jeff is still not in as I speak. He is trying to get a field of beans cut before it rains tomorrow. So he is filling the semis and auger wagon before coming home. Then he has to move all of the equipment back to the farm to the sheds so if it does rain (which it will... I'll get to that in a second) the beans won't get wet. Chase and John are helping drive the semis this year. Chase just got his CDL a month or so ago so Jeff is glad to have another person around to drive the semi. That saves John a little from jumping from truck to truck, hauling to the elevator. Well, Chase hasn't really adjusted to "farm time" yet. He called me at 7:35 tonight, "Just Starving" so I took him a little bit of supper to get him by until they are done. The last I knew, Jeff hadn't stepped out of the combine for 8 hours. I offered to take him some ham balls for supper (talking to him through his crabbiness), but those aren't too easy to eat while you are driving the combine so he opted to wait until he gets home. His dinner is waiting for him in the microwave. Mmmmmm!

Now, why do I think it will rain? Oh, it will rain tomorrow. Dang it! My patio was supposed to be poured today, but it wasn't! Again, not on Chrissi's time schedule, guys! So they are supposed to be here at 8 am tomorrow with the cement trucks. Can they pour in the rain, you might ask? NO! NO they CANNOT! It is supposed to rain all day which means then we will be pushed back to Wednesday, then I suppose something will come up that day and then we will be pushed back again. Before you know it, we will be eating Christmas dinner on that damn patio! So that's the tune to my crabbiness! I am very impatient. I admit that, but come on. This whole project could have been done in 3 days, 3 weeks ago! And it's still not done. Jeff gets so mad at me because I get so mad about it, but he doesn't have to keep 2 kids out of the dirt, 2 dogs out of the dirt, and the dirt out of the house!! It's not as easy as he thinks!

Well now I am going to try to get rid of these crabbies and enjoy the peace and quiet around here... until Jeff comes home and I have to heat up his supper. I should have 5 or 6 minutes of it.... no, never mind, I think I see truck lights reflecting off the shed...he's home.. Peace and quiet no more.....

And the Survey says....

Just lifted this little questionnaire off of another blog. Thought it would be fun to do with the kids. Feel free to copy and paste onto your blog.
1. What is something mom always says to you?
Brooke- No.
Blake - Please.

2. What makes mom happy?
Brooke- when we are in good moods
Blake- being nice

3. What makes mom sad?

Brooke- fighting

Blake- fighting

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

Brooke- By laughing with me
Blake- saying funny things

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Brooke- short
Blake - nice

6. What is her favorite thing to do?
Brooke- decorating the house
Blake- go shopping

7. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Brooke- clean the house

Blake- go shopping

8. What is your mom really good at?

Brooke - making hashbrowns
Blake -teaching

9. What is your mom not very good at?
Brooke- running

Blake- getting things done when we have friends over

10. What does your mom do for her job?
Brooke - mentor

Blake - teach

11. What is your mom's favorite food?
Brooke- salad
Blake - spaghetti

12. What makes you proud of your mom?
Brooke- She's a good cook.
Blake- She's a good teacher.

13. What do you and your mom do together?
Brooke - Watch tv
Blake - Go to parties.

14. How are you and your mom the same?
Brooke - We look like each other.
Blake - We love each other.

15. How are you and your mom different?
Brooke - We have different insurance. I go to St. Mary's and she goes to Cottage.

Blake - We don't look alike

16. How do you know your mom loves you?

Brooke - When she says "I love you, Brooke Ryner"
Blake - She says "I love you, Blake"

17. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Brooke - Applebee's
Blake - the mall

Cute

Just thought this picture was cute. This is Blake and his friend Evan. They play on the same flag football team. Evan was over yesterday to play.

Our New Favorite Breakfast!

Thanks to my friend, Mindy, we have a new favorite breakfast around here! My kids are pancake fanatics so I thought I would take Mindy's advice and try "pumpkin pancakes". I did a recipe search for them since I didn't have a couple of the ingredients that her recipe called for. She became a fan of them at IHOP. I wasn't too sure of them as I was pouring this orange batter onto the griddle. I gave Brooke hers first and when I saw her eyes light up and a big smile upon her face when she took her first bite, I knew they must be pretty good! Blake is a very picky eater, but he liked them, too! I thought they were wonderful. Jeff is going to be mad if he finds out I made them because he is such a pumpkin freak! I thought I'd share my recipe with you. You really need to try them! Another great fall recipe!

Pumpkin Pancakes
1 3/4 c. bisquick
1 T. sugar
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 c. pumpkin

Mix well and pour onto hot sprayed griddle. Brown on both sides. Serve hot.

Enjoy!!!

Pooped.

Yep, that's what we are tonight. Pooped. Blake had a flag football game this morning at 8:00 am which means he has to be there at 7:30 am. I know I must have asked him 10 times if he was sure
he had to be to this game 1/2 hour early. Needless to say, he did. Darn was it cold! So we didn't get to sleep in this morning. Maybe tomorrow.

Brooke and her friend Claire spent the night at Grandma Wanda's last night so they didn't have to go to the 8:00 game. I thought that was a great idea - they'd get to sleep in. Well, Wanda woke up at 5:00 am and they were in the other room watching tv. She did make them go back upstairs and go back to sleep. Brooke said they woke up at 8:36. That sounds like a much better time. So Brooke and Claire played today. She's in the bathtub right now, I'm afraid she's going to fall asleep in there! She's pooped.

Blake played last night with his friend Evan. He really wanted him to spend the night, but we didn't think that was too good of an idea since they both had to play football at 8 am this morning. Evan left about 9:30 and I'm sure that Blake was asleep before their van got to Alexis. He then got up at 6:45 this morning. He's pooped.

Now for Jeff and I.... we're just pooped. I can't say I did too much today to wear myself out, but I sure feel like I did. Maybe it was just having extra bodies around. Jeff has picked 120 acres of beans and 38 acres of corn. The crops just aren't dry enough, but he really thinks he needs to start picking. He said he'll still be in the field in mid-November. Fun times. I'm not sure if he will pick tomorrow, but now I have to start thinking of meals to take to them in the evenings and on weekends. I really enjoy doing that, but I guess I just haven't given it too much thought this year. I need to get on the ball and think about what I can get tomorrow at the store.

Tomorrow we're off to town to look for a fire pit for my patio. I am soooooo excited about having a patio and having a fire pit. I don't know why I want one so bad, but I do. I think it will be fun to be able to sit out there and roast hot dogs and marshmallows. Although the rate we're going, we'll be sitting out there in our stockin' hats, gloves, and winter coats. Oh well!

Two of My Girls!

Pepper and her friend, Brooke! Just a casual shot! Ha! Brooke really wants to be in every picture I take. Isn't she cute? Oh, Pepper too?!

Some Recent Pics!

Just thought I'd show you some of the things going on around here.....

I just love Fall and love decorating for it! This is my new wreath that my friends Emily, Maggie, & Carrie gave me for my birthday. Isn't it awesome! I just love it. I think it looks awesome on my front door! Welcome Fall!










Ok, so I bought myself a little gift recently. I am an avid reader of Lisa Leonard's blog. She is a really cool mom and even cooler jewelry designer. My friend Mindy has a really great necklace with her kids' names on it so I decided I needed one! Lisa hand pounds them so each one is just personalized for you. Too cool!

We have a little project going on here. It was suppose to be done by now, but contractors are never on the same time frame as me! We re-roofed two small sheds, one by the house/pool and one that we call the "chicken house" where the kids park their bikes and fourwheelers. I have been wanting a patio .... somewhere, didn't care where.... that I could use for a space with some outside furniture and fire pit. I finally convinced Jeff that I needed one, so we start pouring concrete Monday morning. The forms are set. The patio itself is going to be pretty big, but it's in a spot where the yard is low and it's not much good for anything. The other spot is going to be behind the chicken house and will be 25'x25'. The kids can have a basketball hoop there and Blake will be able to ride his skateboard. By the way, farm boys aren't as good on skateboards as they think! Don't tell him that though! He's always wanting me to take him to Knoxville to the Skate Park over there. Whatever! You're a farm kid, remember!! So here are a few "before" pictures. I'll post "after" ones at the beginning of the week. Pray for NO rain on Monday!!

Where the heck have I been?

Gosh, if I could just remember what I've been doing that has stood in the way of my blogging? I am just not very good at this. I don't remember to update, then when I do, I'm in bed and don't want to get up to do it. Yes, Cathi (my dear older sister who is a blog-stalker but doesn't have a blog herself? what the heck?) has been reminding me daily to update. If I could only get the gumption to do it when she reminds me. She's the type of blog-reader that expects every blogger to just sit and blog all day long, along with snapping pictures and posting them, too. Well, you can see that I don't have any pictures this time either! There are a few things I want to take snaps of so I promise that I will do that this weekend!

My last week has mainly consisted of apples, apples, and more apples! Last Sunday we went to Carrie and Larry's to make cider. Yes, Cathi, I did go there to MAKE cider, not just to sit and watch, but how many people can you have around a cider press? Anyway, we made 23 gallons of cider out of red delicious apples! And boy was it good! I also had Carrie pick me up a bushel of apples (honeycrisp/empire) from this little orchard outside Burlington. The little old man has an orchard as a hobby and sells all of his apples for 30 cents a pound! Even honeycrisp! Yes, I bought 5 honeycrisp at the store for a mere $8.46! For 5 apples!!! I couldn't believe that this man sells them for 30 cents a pound! Bargain!

So.... Monday night was applesauce, Tuesday was apple crisp, took a break Wednesday night, and tonight I made an apple pie and 2 more apple crisps! They are so yummy, and it makes the house smell sooooo good while they are all baking!

At least it is finally fall. I just love baking in the fall - apple recipes, pumpkin recipes, chili - you name it, I like to make it! And I have some great new recipes to try thanks to my friend Mindy who put some recipes on her blog! There is this awesome little potato recipe that I've just been dying to try! Speaking of fall, it has finally cooled off in the Midwest so yesterday morning I decided to open up the house before school to air this place out! Needless to say, when I got home at 5:00 yesterday, it was 54 degrees in here! Yikes! It was a bit chilly. I think we were all aired out though!

Jeff started harvest yesterday. He is starting with beans, but isn't sure where he will go next as our crops just aren't quite dry enough for his liking. Blake rode in the combine tonight for a couple hours. I found out everything that I didn't know about farming when I picked him up! So I will be busy now on the weekends making meals to take to the field. I really like doing that, and Jeff's mom helps me out a lot. I should say that she is good at preparing the meals, and I help her out!

We are finally getting around to our "concrete" project. I will take some pictures and post more about that later. Yes, Cathi, I promise that I will. Until next time.... hopefully a little sooner than later!