Kudos to John McCain for picking Governor Sarah Palin as his VP running mate. I think she will bring a lot of enthusiasm, youth and experience to the ticket. She may not have had national experience, but what she has done in her term as Alaska's governor is outstanding. She has cleaned up the politics, sold the state plane that the former governor bought on state credit, put taxes on the oil companies. Google her...see for yourself what a smart choice she was. I think she will help win the vote of the soccer mom, family's with special needs children and the white women who were rooting for Hilary. Kudos John McCain for being for showing us your Maverick side.

Just dropping in to say hi and a few small updates!

Well school has started and still 3 weeks later we are working out the kinks of car pooling. Lauren likes to get to school early for her social time, but now I have to take Josey to school at an earlier time too. They start within 5 minutes of each other a couple of miles apart. In order to make everyone happy we need to leave the house at 6:30 so that Lauren can be dropped off early and Josey can get to school on time. If we leave latter than that then Josey has to be dropped off first and Lauren isn't happy! It's insane I tell you...car pool at the middle school is RIDICULOUSLY long this year! They say this is the largest 6th grade class they have ever had. I then have to head home to finish getting Phillip ready and take him by 8:20. Craig and I had discussed the possibility of me working at the schools as a substitute teacher, but we can't figure out how it would work with car pooling. I guess I'll be staying home a few more years. I'm kind of glad and little sad all at the same time. I LOVE being available for the kids when they need me and working in the classroom and going on field trips and being the one to pick them up and see how their day was. At the same time I would love to take some of the stress off of Craig and contribute financially to the household. I wish I could do both....any ideas!

So have you heard about GUSTAV? Yep looks like another big one is headed this way. I'm anxious to see which way he decides to go. I think anyway about it we'll at least get wind and rain and possibly that yucky east side of the storm. A few tracks have it coming straight up Mobile Bay.......not a good scenario for us. Craig is outside right now getting the yard ready and we have 30 gallons of gas in storage, 2 extra chain saw blades and all the lawn mowers, chain saws and such ready. I need to go and buy some more easy to prepare food...got most of it yesterday...and some more bottled water and drinks. We are more prepared this go round as we now have a generator and 2 window units. (note to self ....need more flashlights and batteries.). We'll be heading to Tuscaloosa if things look really bad. Craig may have to stay and work. Is everyone else prepared?

On a little more fun note....I just joined a very awesomely cool, bad to the bone new scrapbook website... http://www.badgirlskits.com/. It looks like such a fun web site and the message board is great too. Something new to check out if you haven't been there. Sign ups are currently going for a competition of sorts. It is the Bad Girls Design Academy and is a 6 week school with classes and homework and HuGELY AWESEOME prize package at the end. I signed up and can't wait to get started next week. Hopefully Gustav will not be bad and will behave like a good little boy should and not interfere with my plans for the next week or two.....I don't want another Katrina....that was insane!

Well tootles for now....off to browse Bad Girls and then off to car pool and the bank. Let me know how ya'll are doing.

I Know It's Been forever since I've blogged...Please forgive me!

Things have been incredibly busy around here lately.....well since the last time I blogged we've been busy and that has been at least 4 or 5 months! So I'm going to give a quick run down of how things have been since March...the high/low points...

* March 21...Lauren broke her leg while doing an aerial and school. Later that day Evan asked her to be his girlfriend...she said it was the best day and worst day ever all rolled into one.

* Spring Break with a teenager with a broken leg is NO FUN for anyone. She was miserable and nothing anyone did could help. All of her friends were at the beach. Finally Anna invited her over! Thank you Anna!!!!

*March: Tuscaloosa for Easter

*Even though there was no dancing to be done Lauren still went 4 days a week. That girl is dedicated!

*April: I went to New Orleans with Phillip's 3rd grade class. We went to the zoo and aquarium. So much fun!

*April: Josey is tripped on the track at school and breaks his arm!!! Yeah you read that right...two kids with broken limbs. No I'm not abusing them, it all happened at school...blame them.

*April: Phillip turns 9. We had a water slide at the house...his brother and sister were not happy that they could not go down it.

* May: Josey and Lauren get their casts off within a week of each other. Lauren got a boot to wear and Josey had a brace. He missed skating and bowling at the end of 5th grade celebrations.

*May: End of year parties for both boys. As always I am room mom...luckily in Josey's class my dear friend Karla was the main room mom. Took a load off of me. This is the last year I will have to be room mom for more than one class. It's kind of sad, it means they are growing up way too fast. Josey starts middle school this fall.

*May: Lauren starts Physical Therapy after the cast comes off. Her recital was on May 27th and she was only allowed to do her Hip Hop dance, acro (one legged cartwheels) and two 8 counts of jazz. She was so sad she could not do the whole jazz or pointe or tap. She did a great job with the dances she did and was so psyched after Hip Hop. She got a trophy for her dedication in showing up and watching and waiting to see what she could do. She knew each dance by heart.

*June continues PT for Lauren and I was seen by Lauren's doctor for my ankle. It was treated as tendonitis. Been bothering me since December when I was first seen.

*June: Josey started playing tennis this summer and LOvES it! He is hooked. He plays two days a week. Phillip is playing flag football and Lauren is doing dance camp 2 days a week and coaching cheerleading at our church (4 and 5 yearl olds...so cute). I am taking the core fittness class at the dance studio.

*June: We try to go the pool at least 3 times a week.

*June: VBS at church. Josey's last year and Lauren worked with the first graders.

*June: Craig goes to the doctor for his back and attends one week of physical therapy to help relieve some of the pain. It worked wonders and he is continuing to exercise.

*June-July: We got to Sanibel Island on June 27th and returned home on July 3rd. As always the trip was perfect. Lauren's friend Nicole went with us. We swam, we ate, we shelled, we got some sun and visited with family. We went into Ft. Myers and visited the Edison home and went to the movies. The boys and Craig saw Ironman and the girls and I saw Wall-E.

*July 4th: Lauren's boyfriend and his family came over and we grilled and watched the fireworks at Creekwood Church of Christ. Then we set some off of our own. Fun night.

*July: continues with more activities and pool time. My back and hip were bothering me and had off and on for several months. I thought I had pulled or strained something. I saw Doctor Park III about it and he diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia. I'm still figuring out exactly what this syndrome is. It does explain a few things to me though. I guess I'm about to make some lifestyle changes. I go back on the 4th to see the Rheumatoid specialist at the Orthopedic Group. Say a prayer for me if you think about it.

So that is our last few months. I'll add a few pictures to illustrate. I promise I'll try to not be as long in posting next time!

PS...I am now addicted to GREEK food, so pass along any recipes you might have.

UGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I added 20 million thousand pictures from the last few months to this dang thing and somehow I deleted all but what you see....so I'm going to bed and I'll try again in the am!!! Goodnight!

A funny story and a 2peas challenge!

The Challenge.....

Are you the type of scrapper/card maker that buys things to use on items your creating now. Or do you buy with the future project you could be creating?

I would definitely be the scrapper who buys for future projects I MIGHT create. That would be why I have probably nearly 1000 sheets of pp...NO LIE! I'm scared to count it. I have 2 four foot shelves with pp and more in other places too. It is really kind of insane. Let's not even get started on the primas. I have at least 60 varieties and WILL buy more. My friend Laura Ellen was getting onto me because I bought 2 more things of prima Esprit flowers. Then there are the rubons, ribbons, embellishments, jewels, brads, pens and OH MY WORD the chipboard! There is absolutely no tellin ghow much I have invested in the hobby. You now what....I'll keep on buying too! Just bought a kit today from http://www.polkadotwhimsy.com/index.html. LOVE IT and I'll be stalking the mail man until it gets here! I also got a 3 month sub to http://www.scarletlime.com/index.html. I am soooooooooooo excited about these kits. There are soooooo many cute things in them and the possibilites are already rolling around in my head. The best part...I think a lot of the stuff in each kit is going to coordinate with the other kit! YEAH me!

So you want the funny story now? Well you will either find it funny or think I am a horrible mother...either way here it is....

The rule is get your undies and towel and whatever else you need before you get in the tub. Phillip forgot to get a towel and accidentally locked the door, so no one else could get in the bathroom to give him a towel. He REFUSED to get out of the tub and unlock the door. He didn't want to get water on the floor. According to him when he was 5 Craig got onto him and Josey about all the water on the floor in the bathroom. This was back when they splashed everywhere, threw cups of water in the air and just made a mess every night. There would be water seeping out of the bathroom. Craig apparently told them they would be grounded for 2 weeks if they didn't quit. Well of all the things they have been gotten onto about why did this stick and not some of the others things? Who knows? So last night Phillip WOULD NOT get out of the tub. He was not about to get the floor wet, even though I told him that he could dry it up with the towel after he dried himself off. He also refused to believe the door was locked. Lauren and Josey and I all told him the door was locked and he needed to unlock it. NOPE wasn' t gonna happen. He stayed in the tub with no water in it, screaming at the top of his lungs and pitching a fit and stomping his feet and banging his hands on the wall for somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes!!! I mean come on...open the door for crying out loud, the world will not end if there is a little water on the floor. I promised him he wouldn't be grounded and told him I had called Daddy at work and Daddy said to get out and unlock the door. He didn't believe me. Craig couldn't imagine what he could have said that would have caused this. Finally I told Phillip that surely by now he had air dried and wouldn't get the floors wet. I guess he thought about that for a few minutes because he finally got out of the tub and opened the door. By then there was no need for a towel, he was dry! You know it had become a battle of wills at some point and I was not about to lose to an 8 yo. He just had to scream it out. He's got to learn to use a little common sense. He was definitley pitiful by the time he came out, but the whole thing was so ridiculous that I struggled not to laugh, I didn't ....well not when he was around. He got me back though...Latter that night he got in my bed without a goodnight...well you can guess what happened after that! I was up until 2 am cleaning my mattress! This kid is the soundest sleeper on earth. I take him potty every night and he doesn't remember a thing, rarely opens his eyes. I pray he learns to hold it before he heads off to college.....but he did get me back I guess. So am I a horrible mother for letting him scream it out. He'll be 9 in just over a month, surely he should know better by now. Kids gotta love em.

Just a Quick note....AND THE WINNER IS....

the winner from last week's giveaway is comment number 10 Debbie!!!!!!!!!! So sorry I am late announcing. I've had a crazy week and a sick child.

Off to carpool, be back latter to update more. Send me your snail mail addy Debbie.

2peas question of the day....

Write about a question that looms large in your mind right now... So this is really quite stupid! I have always wondered about all those many, many, many years ago when people were first creating language why and how they chose the words for each object, action...whatever. I mean why is a dog called a dog and a cup a cup, why isn't it reveresed. I know that our English language comes mainly from latin but the same question could be applied to latin. Why? I've wondered this since I was little. I know weird, uh?

Other than that I wonder if I'm making good choices as a Mom. I know I'm far from perfect, but I think most of the choices are good. I know I make misstakes, but I just pray that they won't have any lasting negative effects. I'm not talking major mistakes I'm talking about those times when we react before thinking, open mouth insert foot moments. Those times we yell when we shouldn't have. I'm proud beyond belief of the young woman Lauren is becoming and the good kids the boys are. They all know what is most important and put God first. I'm not saying they are perfect, but they are deep down good kids. So we must be doing something right.

My Lovely Day!

Phillip and his friend working on a math game at AMSTI night. Lima beans cooking. YUM!
A big spoonfull of limas and carrots and ham and onions...YUM!
Josey would not put his hat on. He's too cool for that.

They had to chew gum and then blow a bubble and pop it in their hand. They then had to find out the diameter of the bubble and answer some other questions.

In this room they made observations of ink on different types of paper ie. copy paper, newsprint, magazine page etc. Phillip was proud to wear his hat!
He's just too cool for school!

These are the yummy biscuits that Craig made us for breakfeast. He may not be the most sensitive, romantic guy but he does these little things like this just to show us how much he loves us. It's the little things that count. The simple things. Thank you honey.

It truly was a lovely day. Craig got up with the kids and let me sleep in until 9am! aaaaahhhhhh love that! Then I got up and ate the breakfeast he had prepared for me...heart shaped biscuits! Spent a leisurely morning on the computer and then my sweetie took me to lunch. He definitley spoiled me today. I haven't even had to do the dishes for the last 2 days. I'm so spoiled!

Tonight we went to the boys school to AMSTI Safari. AMSTI is the Alabama Math Science Technologies Inititive (sp). We got to see it action as the kids played games in math and science. Craig and I both went and we divided and conquered. He went with Phillip to the first 2 activities and I went with Josey and then we swithced for the last 2. Both boys were fighting over who Daddy was going to be with. I was like "hey, what about me! " I guess it's because I get to go with them more for this kind of thing. I'm glad that they like spending time with their Daddy so much. He is so good with them and really puts all of his kids first. He always has. No matter how tire he is when he gets home he makes time to sit with them or play a game. He has been helping Lauren study for her permit....yes she could have gotten it in October, but I think she is a little scared.

Oh and I got my Jasmine cartridge in the mail today for my cricut. I'm going to go and play with it in a few minutes. Yeah, that's 3 carts now just waiting on my Accent Essentials cart to arrive and I'll be a happy camper! I'm in love with my bug!

Tonight after we got home from the school I made a big pot of lima beans for me. They are so yummy! I used

large white lima beans

diced hormel ham

chopped onion

3 minced garlic cloves

diced carrots

salt and pepper

tony chacheries cajun seasoning

dried jalepeno

You mus try limas like this they are too die for! Serve with some rice and a salad and some cornbread. YUMMMMM!

Jenna is my new blog BFFL!

I tried for ages last night to add a working link to my blog to my signature line at www.twopeasinabucket.com and could not get it to work to save my life. I was pulling out my hair trying! Jenna fixed it for me! Thank you so much! You ROCK! You are my new bloggin BFFL!!!! Check out her blog at...http://alteredobsession.blogspot.com/. She is an altering maniac! Don't forget to post a comment on yesterdays blog here to get in the drawing for my first ever blog giveaway! Be back latter to tell you about my HOT lunch date and how the AMSTI Saffari at school goes tonight.

Bye Bye 10, A Giveaway, A Challenge and the OBGYN

So, I'm sure you want me to start with the giveaway...but I'm going to start with ByeBye 10 first! Make you have to read on a little heehee. So I was looking at my lap the other day, just happened to glance down and I thought to myself "my that leg is looking smaller, is it just wishfull thinking?" So up I get and go get on the scales and low and behold I've lost 10 pounds. I wasn't dieting, not really trying...granted I've got another ?7 to go (like I'm gonna tell everyone). I was trying to save money and eat at home more. I've made sure I've had more stuff for me to eat for lunches so it wasn't so easy to just stop by Backyard Burger and grab a Black and Blue cheeseburger and fries. I've also tried to have more fruit to snack on. I'm loving the presliced apples. I've been making a little fruit dip for them with some light cream cheese and a little marshmallow cream. YUM. The marshmallow cream really isn't all that bad. For 2T it only has 40 calories, not fat and only 9g of sugar. Mixed with the light cream cheese it makes a yummy not too horrible for you fruit dip. I've even gotten Craig and Phillip to try apples. Phillip thought they were ok, but didn't like the after taste, said he would eat them again. Craig (my dh who is the pickiest of the bunch) said it was pretty good. YEAH! Not one but 2 tried something new, it's a miracle! For those of you who know my family this is huge! They are sooooooooo picky. Craig eats bananas and corn and that's it as far as fruits and veggies go. He will drink grape juice and orange juice. Phillip will eat bananas and sometimes green beans. Josey eats NO fruits and veggies, UGH...pediatrician says he's healthy though. I try to make up for it in other things and he will eat pizza and marinara. Lauren eats corn, mushrooms and several fruits. I've tried to talk to them about eating healthy and I thnk it is finally starting to sink in. I've put it to them as a health thing, not a weight thing. None of them are overweight...well Craig and I need to lose weight, but the kids are good. If they continue to eat the way they do though I worry about them. It's always been hard since Craig is so picky. I really have tried and all 3 ate better when they were little. So I still have hope for the future. I'm going to be buying the Deceptively Delicious ( http://www.amazon.com/Deceptively-Delicious/dp/B000UZNREG/ref=pd_rhf_f_t_k2a_4) cookbook and sneak it in them for now.

So I was getting ready for my yearly OBGYN visit, which all women should do, and got to thinking.....Have you ever thought about the time you put into getting ready for that yearly visit? I mean I know I double check and make sure everything is extra clean, perfectly shaved and trimmed and toes painted, feet buffed and lotioned and more. Not saying I'm not a clean and neat and tidy well kept person, but on that one day a year I take extra care, for someone who sees me once a year. Other than that in winter there are days that I skip shaving and don't "trim" as often as I should. Shouldn't I be doing this for Craig every day like I do for this doctor who sees me once a year? Just got me to thinking.

So I see all the giveaways on blogs and it got me to thinking that it might be fun. So I'm doing my very first blog giveaway! It's going to be a goody bag full of fun embellishments. I have just bought a huge bag of vintagfe buttons on ebay that are gorgeous so there will be some of those and all kinds of other fun stuff. You have until Friday to post a comment to this post to be entered. I'll have one of the kids pick a number and will post on Saturday who the winner is. Good Luck!

2peas Challenge... Describe one of your birthdays as a young child?

Hmmm... well I remember one in particular that stands out in my mind. We were stationed in England at RAF Alconbury and were living in a little village called Allwalton. I have to say that is one of my favorite spots in the world and I loved every minute of living there and attending the little village school (this was in the early 80's). For my 8th birthday I think we invited every child that lived in the village and a few who didn't. We had it at the house in the backyard and my Daddy was there in his Air force uniform, he had a mustache. My grandma and Case had come from the states. She had chosen to come for my birthday instead of for Prince Charles and Diana's wedding. I still remember how special that made me feel. She brought me a clock that I had seen in the Miami airport when we were leaving to move to England. I couldn't get it then but she remembered and went back and got it for me. My Daddy got me my first camera for my birthday. It was a little kodak 110 camera. I was so excited. My Daddy was a photo journalist in the AF and so this was the best gift he could have gotten me.
I remember the pinata and the cake and icecream and standing around opening gifts with all my freinds around me. Oh and I got a tape recorder too. Remember those things? We skipped around the backyard...small but filled on all sides with a lovely English garden of roses, daffodils, lavendar and a few small trees. We played all those silly hand games that little girls play....Miss Suzy had a baby....It is a day I will never forget and one I hold close to my heart. I miss my Daddy every day and am so glad to have this memory of him. I have pictures of this birthday but dang it I can't get my printer to scan. I can't even find it in Vista. Still getting used to it. I'll try to add them latter.

Thanks for reading and have a great week!

2Peas Challenge...Spring

So here is the challenge from 2peas bloggers today....

How do the mild days and freshness of spring affect your mood and outlook on life?

For me there is more than one answer to this. I love spring. I love the weather, the leaves begining to show, the flowers blooming, the smell in the air after a spring shower. I love the beauitul colors the flowers provide. I love the temperatures and the breezes. This all puts a smile on my face. I love Easter and celebrating the gift that God gave us when he sent his son to die on the cross for us (I do remember this every day, but it's nice to have one day set aside speciffically to recall and honor this great gift.) Seeing all the beautiful sights of spring and all that God creates anew each year is breathtaking.

At the same time that it is putting a smile on my face it is making my eyes itch, my nose run and I start coughing and sneezing. Allergies. UGH, that is the worst part about spring. I also know that I should be doing spring cleaning, but if you know me then you know I hate cleaning. I try do some. I usually clean out closets this time of year.

Spring is already here in our area. I know weird, right? It's snowing in some areas and we are having 65-73 degree days. I noticed today that some of my azaelas are starting to bloom. Time for a trip to Bellingrath Gardens soon.

So while I love Spring, I hate Spring too. I look forward to it and I dread it.

PS...The pictures are from Bellingrath Garden's website. You should come and visit sometime, it is beautiful.

OK, I'm back!

Sorry to leave so abruptly, but the weather was getting really ugly. It ended up not being so bad here, but north and south and west of us got it pretty bad. We just had alot of rain and wind and lightening. Parts of the Florida panhandle and southwestern Alabama got hit hard. Keep them in your prayers.

So back to my morning....My snuggle time with Phillip was awesome. I just love those quiet times. Well it always starts quiet. We were both missing Josey so Phillip went and woke him up and he joined us. How fun. Uh, yeah right. First they fought over who would be next to me....uh hey, I do have two sides! That figured out and then it was back to snuggling. That was until they started tickling each other OVER me! Then came the poking. Boys! Gotta love em. You know I would not have traded one minute of it for anything. What a special memory. It's something we used to do a lot and as they've gotten older they just go watch cartoons or play games. I like waking up like this so much better. I remember a time when we did it every Saturday. All three kids in the bed. Lots of laughter and giggling and hiding under the covers. Find me, find me, find me...like we didn't know they were there because their face was covered up. Memories....They are why I do what I do. I don't want to forget one minute of these special times. Do you have fun weekend memories.

PS...I'm missing my Lauren and ready for her to come home. She'll be here soon enough. Right now she's at church. I do miss her when she's gone. What am I going to do in a few years when she heads off to college?

The Best Morning!

I know I should have been at church, but I've had a bit of a bug this weekend....so we stayed home. Me and the boys that is. Craig is at work and Lauren spent the night with a friend. I slept in and woke up to a sweet little face beside me. It was my Phillip! I just love that snuggle time........gotta run.....finish latter.....really bad weather headed this way...tonrandoes and such. Headed to the hallway.

So How is your Weekend?

Mine has been kind of blah! It started Friday with a massive headache. Now just not feeling so hot today. Think I'm coming down with a sinus infection. YUCK!

I am hoping to get some scrapping done tonight. I already have the pp out and the title cut and the pics placed. Just need to put it all together with some fun embellishments. What have you worked on lately? What has inspired you? I got a new book put out by Memory Makers magazine and I looooooove it. It's called Scrapbooking Your Faith by Courtney Walsh. I wasn't just inspired by the layouts but by the words too. So many spiritual insights, it was humbling. I can't wait to work on more faith based layouts. I want to leave a solid, written view of my faith for my kids and future generations. I want them to know how Blessed I am to have a God who loves me and is my salvation. I think this book is one of my best scrapbook purchases EVA!

So what has inspired you this week?

So the layout is one from a few months ago. I love it though. Love the fancy pants paper and you know I love me some primas.

Love to all...off to scrap!

Well Here Goes

I've tried this blogging thing once before and didn't stick with it. Well here we go again. Hopefully I'll keep up with it this time. Since it is way past my bedtime. I'll be back latter to really get going and post some pictures and everything. I need some sleep because I've got some scrapbooking "work" that needs to be accomplished tomorrow. I'll leave you with one picture tonight.