Tote Giveaway

Go on over to Just Another Hang Up and sign up for this beautiful awesome tote bag she is giving away. There are also several for sale, what pretty bags she makes! Thanks Mia for the heads up!



Hurry, you have until July 6th to get a chance to win!

Help Please!

Do any of you fabulous ladies out there know where I can find a great online course about digital photography? I want to learn more about all the special features my SLR can do, but I need some help to understand it all.

Any suggestions? I would appreciate any input.

Thank you!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

I can't believe you are four years old already. Love you!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Shaving Cream

Squirt some on the shower walls and let the fun begin. My kids would play with this stuff for hours.

Our newest addition to the family!

Trevor got a frog habitat for his Birthday, the boy LOVES toads, bugs, worms all that kind of icky stuff, he is such a boy. So I knew he would love this. And he does! We went Saturday evening and he got to pick out his new pet. It is a Fire Bellied Toad. It's about 2 inches long and has the brightest red markings on it's underside, very pretty color.

I was sitting here on the computer the other evening after everyone else was in bed doing some research and I heard this sound that sounded like a dog barking at a distance, I got up and checked on the kids who were all fast asleep and then followed the sound, it was the frog! I guess it is male and when they are ready to mate they make this sound. Nice! The worst part of the whole thing is feeding it live crickets. I let Trevor do it, as he is not afraid to pick them up. I on the other hand, about freaked when one got away from him. They are very small crickets and a light brown color, so it was hard to see on the brown carpet. But we found it, thank goodness!

So now we share our humble abode with a toad. Toby the toad to be precise!

Yo ho Yo Ho a Pirates Life for Me!

Trevor had a fabulous 5th Birthday. We started the day with a gift, which was a scooter. He LOVED it. After we got around I asked him where he would like to eat lunch for his big day, of course he chose Burger King, as he LOVES their play place. So off we went to BK. We played for about an hour until lunch time and then ate and played some more. Next we stopped off at Target and got a few things we needed, since we had driven 30 miles to BK we figured we should at least get a couple of stops done. Blasted gas prices.

Anywho, after that it was off to the mall to ride the train and check out the aquariums they have there. By then it was nap time and we headed home for nap. After nap we enjoyed a quite dinner and playtime. He had a great day! The next day was Saturday, his party day. What fun he had at that also. He is in love with pirate's, so a a pirate theme we had. Don't I have the cutest Pirate's you ever saw? :).

The kids had a blast and you should have seen Trevor behead the Pirate Pinata. He sent that sucker sailing. We cleaned up and played outside in the bounce house the rest of the afternoon. The next day, Sunday was his party with his granparents..I know..we stretched it out to far this year. He was thrilled that he got presents for three days. I think he must have told 100 people that it was his Birthday. It was so cute, at Target, he told the cashier that he went to bed and he was four and he woke up Five! It was so cute. That boy! It was a great weekend and we are gearing up for Kaylee's fourth birthday, which is this Saturday. A princess party is in the making. She loves herself some princess's.

I can't believe my baby boy is five and my baby girl is going to be four. Where have the years gone??

Happy Birthday Buddy! June, 20th!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

If it's to be, it's up to ME!

Photo via flickr.

This post is just some thoughts for me to make me accountable. So read if you like. Skip if you wish!

I watched a movie last night and it really made me ponder my own life and how it is much like the girls in the movie. I have struggled with weight issues since I was little. My mom always over fed my brother and I for the simple fact that when she was growing up, there were 8 kids and my grandfather was an alcoholic who always spent all his money on beer and never on food. She went hungry more than she ever had food available to her. She even got deathly ill one time from eating a piece of chicken that someone had thrown away and she found. She worked hard to make sure us kids never ever went to bed hungry. In fact, she still always pushes food to my kids and nephews. She doesn't ever want anyone to feel the pain of going without needed nourishment. It's just her way!

I know she never intended this to cause pain to me, but it has. I ate when she offered to please her and to not waste, as there were so many doing without. I know that I am an adult now and I have the option of eating and I don't blame my mother for my fatness. I just think it wouldn't have been such an issue if I had started life with different eating habits. Again, it is not my intention to imply it is my mom's fault, because it is my own fault.

I was ALWAYS the "fat kid" of the class and was made fun of so very much during my life. It still hurts to think of some of the things I endured while in school. I wished so very much for acceptance as the beautiful person I knew I was inside and for friends who were not afraid to have a friend like me. I was so shy and standoffish because of the fear of rejection. I was never proud of anything I accomplished because I didn't want any kind of recognition that would draw attention to myself. I was walking through life with an inner hatred of myself that was heavily influenced by the constant ridicule and snide remarks that I faced.

I then turned to food as my comfort. It made me feel good for that short moment that I indulged in it. After word I never felt good, which then led to more self pity eating. I had(have) no self esteem and finally hid behind my own comfort zone. I didn't want to go anywhere because of fear of being made fun of.

I finally decided I didn't like being locked away and afraid to do things because of my size. I was missing out on so much in life. I wasn't living. I started trying to lose weight, but without help or support, I failed miserably. But I kept trying. I kept getting out and doing the things I loved and I got over some of my issues. I was still heavy but was a little more confident. I found a friend who was battling issues herself with weight. Hers were with gaining weight. She was terribly skinny and she still struggles with her weight today also. Her and I are still best friends and without her, I don't think I would have survived high school. I did lose some weight. But have gained it all back. I know I am heavy and am finally ready to try and make a lifestyle change. I don't like who I am and know that I would feel so much better about myself if I would drop all the excess weight. My heart hurts for my kids because I don't ever want them to go through what I had to. I don't want them to be made fun of because their mom is fat. I don't want them to hide in shame because they are embarrassed by me. I want them to be confident and walk with their head up, I want them to know they are beautiful and handsome and carry themselves as such. I don't want them to be conceited or go over board by any means. But I don't want them to ever be shameful. As my mother did me, I want them to have a better life than I did. I want the world for them. And to give them that, I need to be more healthy and confident. I am vowing to change myself. Even through baby steps I know I can do it. So today I truly start living.

This is my confession and acceptance of my problem. I will reflect on it and the emotion behind it when I need help to carry on and change myself for the better. If you are still reading, thank you.

Happy Father's Day!

To my dad, who I adore and love so very dearly. He worked so hard all his life so that my brother and I would never have to go without anything we needed or most of what we wanted. He gave us so very much more than he had as a child and provided a loving and happy home for us! I adore the love that he has for his family and most of all his grandkids. I admire you so much dad and thank you for making such an impact on my life and sharing your loving ways!


And to the man I love so very much and who is a wonderful father to our three kids. He has sacrificed so very much to provide a living for our family so that I can be home with our kids everyday. He has put so very much hard work into the farm so that when the kids are older and if they wish to farm themselves, they won't have to struggle as he and his dad have had to do. He loves his kids so very dearly and is so very loving and caring. I couldn't have found a better man to spend my life with. I am truly blessed!

Gotta love Kansas!

We are currently under a high wind advisory, Severe Thunderstorm warning, Tornado Watch and flash flood warning! Oh if it weren't for the farm, I would be so done with this state!

Slip sliding away

We got a slip n slide today and hooked it right up to the hose. The kids had a BLAST playing in the water. Of course they didn't quite get the whole concept of sliding down on their tummies. Isaiah spent most of his time in the splash pool at the end, splish splashing away. The other two were having fun just running up and down the runner under the tunnel of water, but it was fun anyway. What better way to spend a sunny 92 degree day?

I can see this becoming one of our favorite summer activities. It is so much easier than the pool..lol.

Riding with Barbie

Some adorable little three year old I know, who is about to be four, has her heart set on this bike for her birthday. She wouldn't know who Barbie was yet if it weren't for Nick and Cartoon Network advertising this bike all the time. :).

Who am I to break her little heart? It will be securely concealed in the garage for the next 26 days. :)

34 Things about Sandy

I got this from the lovely and talented Jori over at Hi There Cupcake, thought I would play along!

34 questions and their one word answers.

1. Your cell phone? ............................. Alltel
2. Your significant other?....................... Thomas
3. Your hair?.................................... annoying
4. Your mother? ................................. nurturing
5. Your father?.................................. hilarious
6. Your favorite thing?.......................... sanity
7. Your dream last night?........................ weird
8. Your favorite drink........................... water
9. Your dream/goal?.............................. healthy
10. The room you're in?.......................... cluttered
11. Your children?............................... amazing
12. Your fear?................................... dying
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years........... here
14. Where were you last night?................... home
15. What you're not?............................. thin
16. Muffins...................................... blueberry
17. One of your wish list items?................. ipod
18. Where you grew up?........................... Hutchinson
19. What you read last........................... educational
20. What are you wearing?........................ capri's
21. Your TV?..................................... old
22. Your pets?................................... none
23. Your computer? .............................. addictive
24. Your life?................................... blessed
25. Your mood?................................... happy
26. Missing someone?............................. yes
27. Your car?.................................... pontiac
28. Something you're not wearing?................ shoes
29. Favorite Store?.............................. Target
30. Your summer?................................. hot
31. Like someone?................................ always
32. Your favorite color?......................... pink
33. Last time you laughed........................ today
34. Last time you cried?......................... Thursday

Feel free to play along, I would love to read your answers! Thanks Jori.