New Chart

We have been having attitude issues with Autumn and Riley so I saw a friend who made a chart similar so I decided to try it! The top has with a smiley, and thumbs down They have 3 tags there if they have an icky attitude with us or each other, hit, pinch whatever or backtalk they get 1 tag moved to the "thumbs down" side. If they get all 3 in 1 day they get no TV for the following day. The bottom part is chores they have to do as well as extra they can get paid for. (.50) When they accomplish their chore they move the tag to the middle. We start over every day! So far so good. If they do not move all 3 tags over for one week they get a Strawberries and Cream from Starbucks. (Bribery works HA) I was the parent who always said I wound not bribe! Oh well whatever can change our attitudes! Riley's 1st t-ball game got cancelled but Autumn has a game today! More later! Oh and Autumn vacumend yesterday and Riley cleaned his bathroom Totally worth my 1.00!!! Oh and I will not be able to go to women's retreat I am bummed but really what can you do?

The Boys new hobby

is to use a saw (YES FOLKS A REAL ONE) Daddy taught him how!

He is so crazy he was outside all day Sat, Sun, Mon, and today so far sawing the wood he has! At least when he gets older he will be handy RIGHT! So far he has a drill, tons of wrenches, screwdrivers, and hammers. All real he frowns upon the fake stuff :D

Autumn had major meltdown (UGHHH) yesterday she did something to Riley (I was standing right there) and so when I got onto her she started yelling "NO ONE EVER BELIEVES ME", and then " I didn't know I shouldn't hit Riley's hand" " it is crazy to get in trouble for something that I didn't know was wrong"

I emailed Eli what she said and his response (jokingly of course) was I think I need to stay late at work! HAHA!

I am loving the weather so far!! The kids have been outside which means less toys for me to pick up at night! I ca't believe that my girlie is almost finished with KINDER YIKES Where in the world did the year go???? Today she told me that she gave our number to a friend so they can call her UMMM NO you are only 5!!

She misses her friends at church terribly but is doing well, Riley misses his REALLY BAD and is not doing as well but it will get better! I am still hoping to get to go to the retreat we shall see. (MUST REMEMBER PACK ENOUGH CLOTHES)

Easter!!!

WOW What a week and a weekend!! We had a great time! Our week was great and fun filled!
So onto other things! The boys wanted to watch Rambo (I know it is not kid friendly) but Riley is in LOVE with "weapons" well he LOVED Rambo and so him and Zackary called me out while playing on the trampoline and this is what I went out to!




Here is proof they really DO LOVE each other even if they all like to fight!! I have to say I have the cutest boys in the whole world but I think every parent feels that way :D



Aren't they so stinking cute???


And I got this of all 3 I love these babies so much!!!



Here is our Easter Picture of the younger 2 babies. Riley has a thing for long sleeve button up shirts with ties and he looks adorable in them so Easter morning I figured he would happily oblige to wear one of the ones he has NOPE he did NOT want to wear them so this is what he wore and this is how he smiled


Oh well this is totally his personality!!

We had an egg hunt at church yesterday and I think for the maybe 10 kids there we had about 150 to 200 eggs it was crazy but the kids had a blast and all day yesterday Riley would be missing and I would go look for him He would be in the kitchen sneaking chocolate. Crazy boy would have it all over his face!

Love you all have a great week!!

Camping Trip

On Sunday after church we headed out to Possum kingdom to go camping. I was not exactly thrilled with the idea to tell you the truth. We finally got to the camping site around 5 ish. We got to drive around and pick the site we wanted and found a good one that a was little hidden and a playground right across the little road. We start unloading our PACKED TO THE RIM car and start the fire and set up the tent. All of that went suprisingly well. The babies wanted to go play at the park in the sand and there were a few kids there so they played in the sand and got really gross dirty but they were happy! We then cooked our hotdogs on the fire















After that we had more park play and exploring our little area. We then HAD TO HAVE Marsmellows on the fire. Those were yummy messy but yummy!
Around 830ish Autumn asked to go to bed and since I was tired also We went to "bed" (Eli wanted to be a sweety so he purchased me an airbed on clearance but we forgot to pack the airpump) so Autumn fell asleep I did a little reading and fell asleep while my wild boys played with the fire and were being goofy.

It rained just a bit on Sun night but not bad! Mon we woke up and the kids had breakfast which consisted of cold pop tarts (yuck) and powdered donuts ( yuck) and a water. I had a bowl of cheerios and a banana. Around 9ishe we headed to the hiking trail. We had a stinking blast hiking around looking at all the diffrent stuff, the cool trees, and just taking in the beauty of God's creation, and just spending time with just us, no TV, no phones, no computer!










After the hike it was lunch time. Then just play time! We had to fish because that is what the kids love to fish (IT IS SO STING BORING). Then Riley got to play with the slingshot which was a HUGE HIT! Then back to the campsite to start the fire and start the burgers! Then after dinner had more marsmellows.

The 2 babies were exhausted so we got them ready to sleep. Right around 9ish the park ranger starts comming around announcing we are in a tornadoe watch with 4-5 inches of rain possible and golf ball size hail. We were going to ride it out but both the babies got a little freaked out and even though they had already fallen asleep we decided that the idea of golf size hail did not sound appealling! So we packed up quickly ( with 2 kids sleeping) 1 kid who just wanted to play in the fire and 2 tired adults. Made it home last night around midnight Eli and I showered and went to sleep. I will totally go camping again even if just for the hike! It was so good to get away and enjoy the family!

So this was the end of the trip here is the cutest picture of the 2 babies while we were packing up!





I have tons more pictures but do not want to bore anyone!!

Highlight of camping

Zackary : the fire (dad let him put things in the firs and they spit in it Mom was asleep), and carving aa point in a stick.

Autumn: Roasting Marsmellows and fishing

Riley: Playing with the weapons (AKA the slingshot and a pocket knife), and roasting marsmellows

Eli: Hiking and sitting around the fire

Dorothy: Looking at the cool sights and hiking.

What a stinking week

Here is a rundown of the latter part of our week.

• On Friday while driving on the highway I dozed off and almost wrecked (The Lord had his hand on us for sure) I was so freaked out and so scared as were the kids.
• My debit card
• while at the bank to get cash since my debit card is out I think I threw away my license.
• My dryer broke last night

And suprisingly I am still laughing and VERY calm which if you know me it is very WEIRD :D

Today is the first day of our "New" church it is very odd not to be driving to 121.

We love you all 121ers and will totally MISS seeing you guys today!!

I am sure I will have tons of camping stories when we get back!

UGHHHHHHHHHHH

I tried 3 times today to use my debit card (yes I had money in there) and it kept being denied, so I called my hubby and asked if he had trouble with his he said no so I explained what happened. He told me to call the bank well someone tried to buy 430.00 worth of stuff at WALMART so they denied that THANK GOD and then flagged my acct. so basically I have no debit card for the next week and it is spring break OMGOSH My kids are going to be bored!!!!

Oh and since I am venting HA! our water heated pipe thingy broke (something not the whole thing) so we had to spend money on that and now I am driving around with squeaky brakes I am gonna need a break!!!


Ok thats all tomorrow I will be driving for 8 hours and then on Sunday after church we are going CAMPING LIKE REAL CAMPING IN A TENT CAMPING (totally hubbys idea Love ya sweety) but I am not an outdoorsy girl I mean going to the women's retreat is a big deal for me!

I am trying to let go!

I did it again! I let the boy pick out his own clothes. He did a pretty god job at least they sorta matched :) We start to work out again tonight the Flu kicked our butts.


My eyes hurt......

And we had a fab day yesterday eating lunch and getting great advice from very CLOSE LIFELONG friends :D Love you guys!! Oh and I will be stormig your dorm at the Ladies Retreat!

I have been Tagged!

What I was doing 10 years ago: I had my sweet 2 year year old,working my butt off aa a manager at a Fast Food joint, and in a UNHEALTHY relationship.

5 things on my "to do" list today: Clean out all the junk in my closet, get rid of some of the toys that no one plays with, spend time alone with God, play some board games or card games with the kiddos, take a nap

Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Buy my mom a house, buy my sister a new house, give to the less fortunate people in my community, give to the church, and buy myself a 2 seater convertable , oh and buy a boat for us and for my sweet friend http://fromgodintheshower.blogspot.com/

3 of my bad habits: I bite my nails when I am stressed, I pick at sores until they bleed (I know GROSS) and I am an impulse shopper

5 places I have lived: Sweetwater, TX, California, Irving TX, Hurst, TX, Watauga, TX

5 jobs I have had: Sonic, Taco Bell, Hotel front desk , Hotel Reservations, Accounts Payable, Oh and I worked in the Dean of Students office in College (loved that job!!)

I tag whoever :D

Our Snow pictures :D

We had a blast we went out 3 seperate times!!! It was a blast! We made a snowman in the back yard, and a snow family in the front!! We got about 3-4 inches of snow!!! We had snowball fights and we Riley jumped on the trampoline!

And since I can I will bore you with pictures :D

Eli got to come home early at 2:00 YAY except that ruined my plans for the afternoon of cleaning my closet and redoing it all! Oh well!!

What is up with some parents?????

OK I know some kids are PICKY but there are parents who just annoy the crap out of me. There is one thing about giving your children choices and offering healthy foods, then there are the parents that really just feed their kiddos nothing but crap. I was called by someone today to watch their kiddos, OK NO problem, then he comes to my door and says Oh can you feed them lunch (it is 1:00PM) so I say sure, he says I have their lunch in the car OK better, I get it in tell them they need to sit at the table (they looked at me like I was crazy), so I opened the bag that was "lunch" and it was tortillas with queso that is it. Now I realize that isn't the worst it coulb be but I was sure it would be at least some protein or something. That seriously would be a snack for my children.

And no it isn't anyone I USUALLY babysit :)

Texas Weather is CRAZY !!

Only in Texas will it be sunny and warm and the kids can be outside in capris and shorts sleeves and Riley had no shirt on to it snowing the next day! The kids had a blast we made a snow angel and a TEENY TINY Snowman!!
I also am "TRYING" to let go and let Riley dress himself so I thought I had to share what he wore to school this morning!! Doesn't he look FAB!!

Only in Texas will it be sunny and warm and the kids can be outside in capris and shorts sleeves and Riley had no shirt on to it snowing the next day! The kids had a blast we made a snow angel and a TEENY TINY Snowman!!
I also am "TRYING" to let go and let Riley dress himself so I thought I had to share what he wore to school this morning!!

We are at least doing somthing right

We are at least doing somthing right in this journey of parenthood. A little back story, about 3 or 4 weeks ago we purchased Riley a pair of shoes from Target and 2 days later they we already comming apart. Well I was MAD I mean I know my boy is hard on stuff but not 2 days hard and they were not on sale so I took them back and got my money back.

So today we were going to clean up the new "house" we have for The Exchange church plant and as we were driving this is the conversation Autumn, Riley, and I had

A-"mommy, remember when we took those shoes back that broke that were Riley's?"
M " Yes sweety I do"
A- "What do they do with the broken shoes mommy?"
M- "I am pretty sure they send them back to the people who made them"
A-" Well when those people get them what do they do with them?"
M- " I am not positive but I bet they throw them away since they are broken"
A- "Well why don't they give those shoes to the people who do not have shoes instead of throwing them away?"
M- " Autumn that is an awesome idea"
A- " And what about those toys that no longer work or make the sound, they could give those to those kids also They would LOVE to get those toys"
M-"Well Autumn I think that is such an awesome idea"
A- " Well lets go talk to the people at Target and tell them that they should give that stuff to the people who do not have what we do, Mommy those shoes would be so warm on a kid who doesn't have any shoes"
M- "Autumn that is great but if we go to the Target and ask to speak with someone YOU have to be the one that tells them this,I can't do this for you."
A-" OK mommy but I need you to go with me"

How sweet is it that my 5 1/2 year old is so concerned with others. I love it!! Oh and we will go and speak with someone at Target and see what happens!!! How cool would it be if this came to fuition and how many people that can help!

On another note Eli is better THANK GOD, my throat hurts and my head is killing me.

More late must.go.cook YUCK!

I have been TAGGED!

The Rules: Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog. Share 5 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog. OR Share the 5 top places on your “want to see or want to see again” list. OR Share 5 things you never pictured being in your future when your were 25 years old. Tag a minimum of 5, maximum of 10 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. The tagees have a choice of which they want to do.

5 Weird or Random facts about myself :

1) I skydived when I was 30 and am ready to go again!!! My sweet husband gave me that for my birthday!! I am a big thrill seeker! I can't wait for my boy Zackary to want to get on the roller coasters at 6 flags!!!

2) I was Eli's boss when we first started dating. It was a very weird relationship at first!

3) Last year at the women's retreat I gave my SWEET SWEET friend Shannon a HARD time about packing about 8 diffrent shirts for a 2 night stay only to realize I forgot to pack ANY and had to ask her for a few of her extras :D (I so miss you Shannon)

4) I moved out of my moms house at 15 years old and have been on my own since. I have had a job since I was 16. I never wanted kids and never wanted to be a stay at home mom if I were a mom. Kinda ironic that now I have a Math degree and stay at home with my 3 children! (Well we don't really stay at home much)

5) Eli and I were married in Las Vegas and it was the ASBSOLUTE best in the world, short, sweet, and cheap :D

I tag anyone else who wants to play :D