A Day at the Lake

We had a fabulous time at the lake yesterday! It started out cloudy, and it was cold. But by 2pm, the sun was out. It was still cold...high of only 72*! but it was gorgeous.

The boys kayaked a bit when we first got there. They also fished, but I was at the house reading and won't let them take the camera to the lake. I am the MEAN MOM. However, Jordan's house keys and one of the 2-way radios are in the bottom of the lake. I'd prefer my camera does not end up there LOL.

We ate lunch and then the boys mowed Dad's lawn and the neighbor's lawn. Isaac didn't feel like extra mowing, so John (Jordan's friend and my "other son" since our families have been friends for 10 years) did Isaac's part. He said ten bucks is ten bucks LOL.

I took a nap and they fished some more. Afterwards, they convinced me to take them on the baot for a little shore fishing. I'll be glad when the boys' little boat that Dad is getting them is in. Supposedly this weekend! I hope so! I don't steer right, blah blah blah. But it was a nice ride before the fishing.

Then we cleaned up and headed home. It was a lovely day!

John and Isaac

Jordan They were racing to the dock on opposite sides!
Allen's sandcastle
John, Isaac and Jordan (Notice Jordan's handsome new haircut?)
Allen caught a fish, but it jumped the line. I took his picture anyway :)

Allen uncovering the boat
Isaac caught a nice large-mouth.
And a small one, too.

Portraits

We had our portraits done with Doug's parents, his sister and her girls and our family. It was a gift for my MIL's birthday. She chose the color scheme of black and white. It worked I think. We went to Sears and they did a fabulous job! So here are a few of what we had done.

Doug's Mom and Dad are in the middle

His sister is on the far left and the girls are hers.

Jordan
Our family

Doug and Me...I love this picture!
The three boys! Another favorite......
Allen
Isaac
They did a great job posing the kids. Aren't they a handsom bunch of boys?

Wonderful Wednesday!

I am choosing to look at the positive today! I've been walking around wallowing in self-pity and feeling quite depressed about Doug's new work schedule. I was quite convicted, and encouraged, to read De'Etta's blog yesterday. God is very much in control! He is big and He is Lord and He knows so much! He is a Good Shepherd! De'Etta, thanks for that preaching!

We are having quite the cool spell! It was in the 90s last week. Yesterday the high was 62* and today it will be the low 70s. The sun is supposed to come out today, so we are heading to the lake. The boys will mow Dad's and the neighbor's lawns, fish, kayak, and just enjoy the day. Jordan's friend, John, will be coming with us.

I'll swing by my inlaws' house on the way home. Our family portraits are in! I'll be borrowing her CD and be posting pictures tonight or tomorrow!

Have a blessed day :)

Where I've been....

I know I've been a sporadic blogger. Things have been hectic around here and I've been dealing with some personal struggles.

A couple months ago, Doug accepted a new job, put in his 2 weeks notice and all looked good. He was going to work for a local company and be home almost every night! I was so, so, so excited about this. I've been praying for this. (I've been struggling with praying for things. It seems everything I pray for is a big old no from God. For a long while, I quit praying for things for me/our family. I just didn't have what it took to believe God would actually listen and/or answer my prayers). So I was ESTATIC when Doug accepted this job.

So he puts in his 2 week notice. The new job sounded wonderful. His former Penske boss (whom he had for 12 years and we LOVE her, she is a personal friend) would be his new boss. Four or five former Penske employees were also making the move. It would be familiar and local!

So 3 days after he gives his notice, Deanne (boss) calls and tells him she doesn't think this job will work out for him. They hadn't started the account before he gave his notice, so he didn't have ALL the particulars. He would have been hauling flat bed. Well, the loads have to be strapped down, understandably. The way they do this is by hooking a 4" strap to the trailer, tossing it over the load, go over to the other side and SCALE! the side of the load (about 12' high) and walk along the top of the very insecure load to strap it down. Doug cannot do that job physically with his knees! So....the local job is gone!

Not only is the job gone, but Doug had already put in his notice and they were GLAD! InSight was cutting back on drivers and hours. They didn't even work Doug the entire 2 weeks he had left.

So here he is without a job. I am totally devastated! I really wanted him to be home! And the prospect of NO job, no savings since we've blown through that with his former job. It's been a long 14 months. I felt like I had no hope. I didn't even want to turn to God. What was He doing? How much does He think I can take?

But God did show up in a big way! Within a week of quitting InSight, Doug had a job interview, God provided the money for him to drive to IL to interview, and he was hired! It will be a good job with great benefits, vacation and a nice salary! But he will not be home. He'll be home even less than he was with InSight. He will be working for Sherwin Williams.

So, it took a couple weeks to get a start date. Doug went without work for 3 weeks. While he wasn't working, we spent as much time with him as possible, which is party of why I've not been blogging a lot! The other part was, I was really dealing with my disappointment and anger. I had huge temper tantrums, I cried and cried, I just wallowed in it.

I am trying to snap out of it. I am now resigned to the fact that my husband will only be home on the weekends. I don't so much being alone with the boys and single-parenting it. I've done that for years, basically, since he worked 14 and 16 hour days. But I really miss my husband. He is my best friend and we spent so much time together. I miss bike rides and walks, sitting on the couch talking when the kids are sleeping, intimacy, cuddling, waking up and seeing him. Heck, I even miss picking up his socks every day LOL.

God has provided for us in such a big way! He's provided financially to fill in the gap of no pay. Somebody in Doug's family has helped us out tremendously with bills and even getting clothes for our family! We went shopping Saturday to get Doug new clothes. I had already bought new things for the boys and me. We had many trips to the mall last week! So anyway, we are JCPenney and I'm tossing clothes at Doug. I didn't even look at the price tag. Just knew he needed clothes and many of them! So a friend of ours happens to be there. He starts talking to us and for some reason or another, he is still talking to us while we check out. So I left him in line with Doug (holding some of the stuff) and went to find the boys who were walking around. Our friend bought all of Doug's clothes!!! What a huge blessing. We've never had anything like that happen to use before! Our God is a big, big God!

I still do not understand why my heart cry of having my husband home just seems to keep passing through my fingers. It would have been SO much easier to have him take this job if the hope of him being home wasn't there. But God knows what is happening. He has a plan. Some days I wish he'd let me in on more of it LOL. I just have to put my trust and hope in HIM!

Doug started his job last week. It was a whrilwind for me. The kids were exceptionally busy and I am not used to being the only taxi. So...that is where I've been. Adjusting to more changes than I'd like LOL. I am hopeful to be back blogging on a regular basis. Especially now that we are finished schooling for the summer!

Summer Reading Challenge

My friend De'Etta, over at Choosing Joy, has instigated a summer reading challenge. It looks like a lot of fun, so I decided I'd join in. If you are interested, please click the link (choosing joy) to read all the rules. It is going to be fun! And there are prizes :)

In the summer, I read a LOT of fluff, so don't mind that. I adore reading and always find time to read. My real challenge will be to keep my daily Bible reading and devotions consistent. So that is the top of my list!

Here is the list of things I have out from the library right now, plus a few others that I want to read over the summer. I may or may not read all of these. Some of them are new authors. If I am into something that I just don't like, I'll quit it lol. I've also heard of 3 new authors I may check out. But really, I need to finish up the new series I started.

Personal Reading

Daily time in the Word
Intimate Issues ~ Linda Dillow & Lorraine Pintus
Every Woman's Desire ~ Of the Every Man's Battle books

Family Read Aloud

God Smuggler Reading Now

Christian Life

Heartfelt Discipline ~ Clay Clarkson
Invitation to Journey

Fiction ~ very fluffy, easy and mindless!

The next Tamar Myers book, but I'm not sure where I am in the series
Torchlight ~ Lisa Tawn Bergren (Christian fiction) Returned unread
Love and other impossible pursuits ~ Ayelet Waldman (to see if I like her other books) Couldn't get into it...rather depressing...but I do like her Mommy Mystery Series. Didn't Finish!
Between Friends ~ Debbie Macomber Returned...realized I had already read it!
Land of my heart ~ Traci Peterson (Christian fiction) Returned unread
Beach girls ~ Luanne Rice (a new favorite author) Returned...coulnd't get into it
Blue Moon ~ Luanne Rice Returned unread
The Gold Coast ~ Nelson DeMille Returned unread
Every Storm ~ Lori Wick (Because I've never read her and wonder if I like her...Christian fiction) Returned unread
A Fall from Grace ~ Robert Barnard (new author, never read) Returned...didn't like this new author
Key Lime Pie Murder: A Hannah Swensen myster ~ Joanne Fluke (her latest!) ~ Read
Murder Plays House: A Mommy-track myster (series I hope to finish this summer/fall) ~ Ayelet Waldman Read
"B" is for Burglar: A Kinsey Millhone mystery (liked the first one, we'll see) ~ Sue Grafton
Kiss the Girls: an Alex Cross novel (Hope to finish this series too!) ~ James Patterson (Dad got me hooked on James Patterson and Nelson DeMille!) Read
2nd Chance ~ James Patterson (another series I hope to finish by end of fall) Read
3rd Degree ~ James Patterson Read
Four to Score: a Stephanie Plum novel (very fun!) ~ Janet Evanovich Read
High Five: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Add Ons:

Hot Six: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Seven Up: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Hard Eight: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

To The Nines: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Ten Big Ones: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Eleven on Top: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Twelve Sharp: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

The Craddle Robbers: a Mommy track mystery ~ Ayelet Waldman Read

Bye-Bye Black Sheep: a Mommy track mystery ~ Ayelet Waldman Read

Back on Blossom Street ~ Debbie Macomber Read

The Edge of Winter ~ Luanne Rice Read

Along Came a Spider ~ James Patterson Read

Seven Pillars of Health ~ Dr. Conrad I think? Read

Lean Mean Thirteen: a Stephanie Plum novel ~ Janet Evanovich Read

Jack & Jill: An Alex Cross mystery ~ James Patterson Read

The Midnight Club ~ James Patterson Read

The 5th Horseman~A Women's Mystery Club Murder ~ James Patterson Read
Pretend You Don't See Her ~ Mary Higgins Clark Read
See, I told you summer is very fluffy! So....come join the fun, check out all the rules at De'Etta's blog, and happy reading :)

Happy Birthday Allen!!
My baby turns 13 today! Wow how time flies. I remember when he was that chubby little baby. Wasn't he adorable? Allen is such a pleasure. I am so blessed to have these 3 wonderful children.

Today we will celebrate Allen's birthday with his favorite dinner. Sauce & meatballs. I just put the post of sauce/meatballs on to simmer while we are in church. We'll have angelfood cake with strawberries and whipped cream for dessert.

Whew...what a crazy day!

It has been one full day here today! I woke up at 5:30 and wished I could go back to sleep. I even tried to go back to sleep. I ended up getting out of bed at 6. Decided it would be a good idea to bake the cake early since it was going to be near 90* today!

So what did I do today?

~Put cake in oven
~Started laundry (and did 3 loads total, hung one on the line, all are folded. Kids will put away tomorrow)
~Made a smoothie
~Cleaned kitchen
~While cake cooled Doug, Allen and I cleaned & decluttered the school room, turning it into a little tv room for video games. We moved out a broken computer stand and took a bookcase to the basement, sorted books for sale (I need to post those I guess).
~Switched loads
~Made marinade and got chicken soaking
~Decorated cake
~Cleaned kitchen
~Dusted the living room and dining room. Allen vacuumed
~Swept the dining room
~Cut pineapple for lunch
~Tried to nap, read a little
~More laundry and hung it on the line
~Tossed salad for dinner
~Talked to Doug on the swing while he grilled chicken
~Ate dinner with the family. I love that!
~Cleaned kitchen
~Made no-bake cookies for the fun of it? Actually, my friend De'Etta posted on her blog a version of these cookies and I had to have some.
~Ran dishwasher and washed more dishes that didn't fit
~Took laundry off the line and folded it
~Spent too much time on the computer!

Whew....no wonder I am tired! It is a good tired though. It is nice to have a productive day after being lazy for the past few days.

Jordan and Isaac spent 5 hours working for a friend from church. They are moving slag and patio pavers. They will go back next week.

Jordan is at band practice right now. He is playing in the youth band, during main service, all weekend. He is thrilled! Doug and the other two went to watch. Doug is taking J & I to the movies to meet a friend. They will watch Pirates.

I am enjoying the peace and quiet in the clean house :) And the sunshine. I may read a little. I may blog hop. I should walk. I ate too many of those cookies UGH. I have the best of intentions regarding my diet when I wake up in the morning....wish I could hold those intentions past 2! I've been eating terribly and I feel terrible, too.

Allen's Cake

Sunday my baby is going to be 13. We are having family over tomorrow for cake and ice cream. I am a cake decorator and have cool things to do cakes with. Allen wanted to decorate his own cake.

So we got out the handy-dandy cake projector. This is SO cool. It projects the picture down onto the cake. You trace it with icing and then color it in. Allen started tracing, but soon tired of that. So Dad took over!

Doug tracing the picture onto the cake.

Picture waiting to be colored in.
Allen decorating his cake.
The finished project.

I did not take much time with the initial icing of the cake, so there are chocolate crumbs all through it. Usually, I take lots of time to ice and smooth the cake. But today I am tired and Allen didn't seem to mind. He said he'd cover most of it with the picture anyway :)

I did the writing for him, but he told me what to write.

I cannot believe my baby is going to be 13!!!

Orange/Pineapple/Banana Smoothie

This is really yummy and refreshing with frozen bananas.

juice of 4 oranges
2 handful (a cup maybe?) cubed pineapple
2 bananas (I use frozen)

Blend together in the blender. Enjoy!

Yield: 4 c.

Our New Addition

Isn't she simply adorable? Her name is Lilly and she is 5 1/2 weeks old. I weighed her on my food scale and she is a whomping 1 lb. 5 ozs. So sweet she is!

Tucker doesn't know what to make of her. Buddy is hissing at her. So far she's done nothing but sleep and cry. She is a tired baby missing her mama. But she'll be greatly loved!

Catie's Whole Wheat Bread

I found this recipe on the Sonlight forums today. I was skeptical with the small amount of flour in the loaf, but it looked so easy (and it is) that I had to try it. I just pulled the loaves from the oven a little bit ago. It smells wonderful in here! And the bread is very good, too. I loved that I didn't have to proof or sponge. Just dump the ingredients in the bowl, turn on the Kitchen Aid for 10 min. to knead, and voila! I did transfer mine into a greased bowl to rise. I do not like crusty dough.

Catie’s Whole Wheat Bread

1 ¼ cups hot water
2 ½ TBL olive oil2
½ TBL honey
1 egg
1 tsp salt
3 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 ¼ TBL yeast
½ TBL lecithin (I don't have this so didn't use)
½ TBL gluten (optional, I used 1T)

Dump all ingredients into mixer in no particular order. Mix on low speed until moistened. Then knead on medium speed for 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. Don't even think about adding any extra flour until it has kneaded for 10 minutes, and even then, only add 1/4 to 1/2 cup more if absolutely necessary.Let dough rise in bowl 1/2 hour.

Punch down and shape into two loaves. Let rise in greased loaf pans for 30 minutes or until doubled.

For the fluffiest loaves, be sure to let it rise enough in the pans before baking. Do the Touch Test: 1. Press the dough on the side with the tips of two fingers lightly and quickly about 1/2 inch into the dough, and;

2. If the impression you made stays, the dough has doubled. If the indent quickly disappears, it needs a little more time; cover and let rise longer.Don't over rise; or it will flatten out in the oven. You want just the right point where it has risen all it can or should, but not too much.

Bake in preheated 350 oven for 30 minutes.Remove from pans and cool loaves on their sides on a wire rack.

Recipe is easily doubled or tripled.

I made the most wonderful new bread recipe today! It actually uses only 3 1/2 c. whole wheat flour and makes 2 loaves of bread. I'd like a taller loaf, but this is light, fluffy and my kids didn't say it felt like a brick! It was really easy, too.

Here it is in step-by-step photos. I didn't include the mixing in the Kitchen Aid. I was rather skeptical when I put the dough in the bowl to rise. It was SO tiny. But it did rise up nice and high.

Punched down and put on the board to rest for 10 min.

I then formed it into loaves and placed them in greased stones.

It doubled (see the finger marks?).

It browned nicely and is now cooling on the racks. I did cut 1 slice and let butter melt on it. Very tasty and not heavy at all.

Naps!

Who doesn't love a cozy nap on a cool, rainy day? Naps have become a regular part of my routine the past couple years, since being daignosed with fibromyalgia. It is the first I've had regular naps since the boys were babies/toddlers and preschoolers (all at the same time even!).

I often feel guilty about naps. I'm not talking a 20 min. power nap. No siree Bob, I am talking at least an hour, 2-3 hours on bad days (such as today). So I feel guilty. I could be doing so much more during the afternoon. Grading schoolwork, reading to my kids, playing games, or taking them somewhere. In the summer, we do go places, and I nap where we are at. The park or beach or whatever. Thankfully they are old enough to not need constant supervision and they wake me all the time.

But today I discovered a wonderful reason to take a nap! I am preserving my heart! That's right. According to a blurb in The Reader's Digest, "Folks who take regular naps lower their risk of dying from heart diseas by 37%"!

What better reason to lie down with a book and take a snooze? I am reducing my risk of heart disease! Plus it is cozy and fun, too!

Crusty French Bread. My family loves this recipe! I made it with white flour today. It is good mixed 1/2 white and 1/2 ww. I cannot get it to turn out for the family (I like it) with 100% whole wheat. They were happy for "regular" bread lol.

Crusty French Bread

1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1 1/2 c. warm water (110-115*) divided
1 T sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 T shortening, melted
4 c. flour
Cornmeal

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup water. Add sugar, salt, shortening and remaining water; stir until dissolved. Add flour and stir until smooth (do not knead). Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled.

Turn onto a floured surface. Divide in half; let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each half into a 10"x8" rectangle. Roll up from long side; pinch to seal.

Place seam side down on greased baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal. Sprinkle the tops with cornmeal.

Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 min.

With a very sharp knive, make five diagonal cuts across the top of each loaf.

Bake at 400* for 20-30 minutes until lightly browned.

This is my favorite quick yeast bread. I love that there is no kneading and I can have it finished by lunch. I hope you enjoy it too.

Peppy Pizza Pasta

1 lb. whole wheat pasta shapes (I used shells), cooked
15 oz. Ricotta cheese
8 oz. (I used way more) part-skim mozzarella cheese
couple handfuls Romano or Parmesan cheese
6 oz. turkey pepperoni
large jar spaghetti sauce (and/or pizza sauce, I use both)
2 eggs
seasonings of choice (I used 2 garlic cloves, minced onion, basil, oregano, parsley and pepper)

Mix eggs, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese (save some for top) and Romano cheese in a bowl. Dice most of the pepperoni into quarters, stir into cheese mixture with seasonings. Mix in cooked pasta.

Spread pasta mixture into a sprayed 9x13 stone (pan oopps, guess everybody doesn't cook with PC, eh?) Top with spaghetti and/or pizza sauce. We like ours saucy so I use a 28 oz. jar spaghetti sauce and 1 or so jars of pizza sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and pepperoni.

Cover and bake 20 min. @ 425*. Uncover and bake 5-10 more minutes, until lightly browned.

I served this with Crusty French Bread. Yummy!

Doug took the boys fishing on Monday. First they went to the boat launch and Allen caught this little sunfish. Then he took them to the spillway. There is a fish hatchery there and the waters are protected. There are TONS of carp there. They are huge and people go there to feed them. They actually are quite gross. The guys fish right outside of the restricted waters.

Jordan is 16 now and didn't want to buy a PA license (quite expensive for an out of state license), so he lured them with bread. These carp eat tons of bread, so the fishing bait is cheap! Allen loves to fish, but hates to touch them. So Isaac held his fish for him. All these are different fish. They just catch and release.

Now is that a proud bunch of fishermen or what?

Tuesday it was quite breezy! It was in the 80s and sunny, so the breeze felt wonderful. Allen decided to fly his kite. It was the perfect day and he had so much fun!

The boys have always, always wanted to catch a muskee. We were getting ready to leave on Tuesday evening. I sent Jordan and Isaac down to the dock to get the kayak. When they got to the lake, they found this muskee washing up on shore. It is about dead, but that didn't stop them from posing for pictures. I think they are going to pass this off as a catch!

Tucker loves the lake, too!

Home from the lake!

We had a fabulous time. Sunday and Monday it was cloudy and cool. Doug built a fire in the fireplace to make us all cozy. The boys fished, and fished, and fished! We watched the Survivor finale. I read 1 1/2 books, drank coffee, cooked meals, and cooked and cooked! These boys want to eat all the time it seems. We relaxed and generally had a fabulous time.

We came home at a good time. We got home about 9pm Tuesday and the rains started about 10:30. Today the guys are cleaning the basement and I am taking it easy. It's been almost 2 weeks since we had rain and my body is not accustomed to it now lol. So it isn't a good pain day. But it is nice to get things done at home. Next week, we must finish school!

I'll add pictures in a separate post. I am still learning my way around blogger. I need to figure out how to put the pictures in the middle of a post. Anybody know how to do that?

We're having a beautiful weekend!

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous! Yesterday it was 80*! Today it only made it to 69, but still the sun was shining and it was gorgeous!

Friday Doug and I did a few errands to Sam's Club, the local coffee shop (must have organic decaf, swiss water process coffee beans at the lake lol), and the local produce store. I picked up a case of oranges (75 large navels) for about $22 and ordered a case of Boston lettuce for next week. I love LOVE that they sell us cases wholesale. I'm aiming (see I said aiming!) to eat 100%, so we go through things like bananas, oranges, grapefruit and greens like crazy.

Anyway, we came home from our errands, packed up and headed to the lake. We got there about 11:30. The boys did the lawn and then Jordan and Isaac went fishing. Allen like to fish, but is not consumed with fishing, so he played video games. I know, it was gorgeous and he should be outside, but what is a Mama to do? I wanted a peaceful day LOL. He did eventually go fishing with Doug.

We met the new neighbors. He was there contracting out some work. Doug asked him about his lawn (He is 3 hours away and not interested in mowing himself) and he hired Jordan and Isaac on the spot, so they did his lawn too. We're up there every week mowing the cottage grass, so why not make a little money. This week they are going to go around and drum up more business.

We grilled pizza and had chips/salsa. I also picked up chocolate chip cookies at Sam's Club, a gallon of Breyer's vanilla ice cream and had ice cream sandwiches.

I sat on the deck, in the gorgeous sun, reading Safe Harbor by Luanne Rice. It was a sweet book. I like this new author I've found. I also took a nap, did dishes numerous times, and crocheted a bit.

My Dad and Cay came as we were packing up to come home. It was nice to see them and visit for a few minutes.

The boys wanted to go to The Relay for Life with their friends, so we dropped them there and made sure they had a ride home. Doug and I went dancing. It was fun. I was sore. We left early.

Today I was up by 6:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. I hate that! It's Saturday and only one child was home and we had no plans, but could I sleep in??? Nooo. So I got up and started the laundry (which I forgot to do Thursday since I visited mom, and didn't do yesterday since gone all day). A few hours later Doug woke up. I made some smoothies and we sat on the swing and watched Allen mow the lawn. I went to pick up the boys from their friends house. Doug and I went to walk the mall and grab a quick lunch (see why I said aiming for raw? I had a grilled chicken sandich with carmelized onions and provolon, on rye, toasted. So good!).

We ran home, picked up the boys and took J & I to the bowling alley to lane monitor a ladies' bowling tournament. We took Allen to our friend's house to see her baby kitties. We are getting the little girl. She is ADORABLE! We can't wait to get her next week.

Doug dropped me at home and I took a long nap! He took Allen shopping and they finished the lawn. Now Doug is picking the boys up from the bowling alley, collecting their friends and driving them all to a birthday party in the next county over. Somebody else is bringing them all home! Don't you just love carpooling?

We are hoping to have a fire tonight and sit around drinking coffee and relaxing.

Tomorrow J & I work at the bowling alley all day. Doug, Allen and I will head to church. Then Doug is taking Allen to see Spiderman 3. I'll rest and get ready to go to the lake for a few days.

Gosh, I am so gabby in my posts lately. If ya made it to the end, you are a good woman!

Chores

Kathy asked how we do chores in our house. I assign daily and weekly chores to the boys and they are expected to help out with anything else I ask them to do. I do not rotate chores very often. I want them to know what is expected and to be able to do it well. Every 6 or 8 months, we discuss chores and sometimes the boys like to switch, but it has to be agreed upon by them AND me. I also have the privledge of switching them back.

The rules for chores are: Within 30 minutes of being awake, you must have your daily chores finished. No chores, no breakfast! Believe me, teen boys like to EAT! Food is a great motivator.

Also, I only prepare 1 meal a day (sometimes I'll prepare breakfast). So when they fix their own meals, they are expected to clean up all mess. After each meal, they are expected to scrape, rinse and load their dishes.

Oh, they all are responsible for picking up after themselves. Everybody has their own room, and I expect them to put their things away and not leave them laying around the house when they are finished. For example, Jordan has many CDs that he has made. He likes to listen to CDs while doing school. He does school at the dining room table. Last week I told him, many times, every day, to put his CDs away. Well, Friday, yet again there were 2 CDs sitting on the dining room table. I told him 3 times throughout the day to put those CDs away. They were still there when he went to bed. Those CDs went into the trash. They know that is the consequence! He's not even asked about them!

Daily chores include:

Me~prepare meals, wash/load dishes

Jordan~put away dishes (every morning, and throughout the day as needed), make bed and tidy room, scoop kitty litter

Isaac~sweep hard floors in the kitchen, dining room, and back entryway, feed his kitty wet food, empty trash (every morning and throughout the day, also weekly in the basement), wipe down bathroom fixtures, sweep floor and empty trash, make bed and tidy room, set the table for dinner

Allen~Vacuum living room and dining room rug, sweep basement steps, feed/water animals, put dog out (all throughout the day), make bed and tidy room, pick up doggie doo doo

Then we have weekly chores. If you don't do your weekly chores without being reminded, and with excellence, you do not get to have a social life on the weekend. We do weekly chores on Thursday. It is awesome to have the entire house cleaned in 1-2 hours with us all working together.

Weekly chores:

Me~Dust living room and dining room

Jordan~Dust/sweep bedroom, mop kitchen floor

Isaac~Dust/sweep bedroom, deep clean the bathroom

Allen~Dust/sweep bedroom, vacuum living room (includes moving all the furniture and vacuuming behind it), vacuum up the steps and both hallways

I do all laundry. I wash, dry and fold into individual baskets as it comes out of the dryer. I do laundry on Monday and Thursday (plan accordingly lol). Every Tuesday and Friday morning, they are expected to put their laundry away during morning chores.

They take turns doing the lawn. Last year each person had a "lawn job". That didn't work well. So this year we are rotating turns. Every 3rd turn, you have to do the entire lawn, weed eat, sweep grass off of our driveway, walkways and the neighbors driveway (we are CLOSE to our neighbors). In the winter they argue over who "gets" to shovel and snow blow.

Now, in a perfect world they would do their chores without reminding and to the best of their ability. But it is a work in progress, eh? But generally they do a great job. The house looks presentable most of the time.

So that is how it works in our house. Mom thinks it is HORRIBLE that my kids work this much (I think she forgot what I did, at age 11, when she was a drunk??) Anyway, my husband is a truck driver and only home 2 days a week. I do not have the luxury of alone time throughout the day, while kids would normally be in school, to clean my house. I have fibromyalgia which makes housework difficult at times when I am in so much pain it hurts to move! I have 3 able-bodied boys that are capable of working, and so they do. We are a team....I am not a slave lol.

Where have I been you say?

I've been OUTSIDE! We've been having a beautiful week of sunshine and temps in the 70s. A whole week! That is SO rare here. I've been enjoying every minute. Monday I hung all the laundry, and my sheets, on the line. I love freshly hung laundry. I did the boys' sheets yesterday and a couple comforters.

We've been trying to wrap up our school. We have this week and next week scheduled. The week following I've left open to finish up whatever we didn't get finished. We finished The Hiding Place Monday. I was bawling through the end. Isaac said, "Mom, are you crying?" I replied, "Yes, aren't you??" We've started God Smuggler and are really enjoying it. It is our last official read-aloud of the year!

Doug has been having job issues. Actually, yesterday was his last day of work. The job he was going to take didn't pan out. So he is job-hunting right now. God is working many things out and I will have exciting new to post soon, I pray!

Today I am going to visit my Mom for Mother's Day. Allen is coming with me. The other two have bowling tonight. So weird to not have all the boys with me when I do things. Nice and sad at the same time.

Tomorrow, if it doesn't rain, we plan to spend the day fishing at the lake. In the evening, Doug and I are going dancing. The band is playing and they've not played for a few weeks. We are looking forward to it.

My inlaws are going to Niagara this weekend, so we won't be squeezing in a MD visit to my MIL. We are going to have a quiet, relaxing weekend. What are your Mother's Day plans?

What would I do without teenage boys??


I am so blessed to have 3 young men living in my home! Doug is working so much lately that he doesn't have time to do things around the house. When the boys were little and Doug worked like this, it was so overwhelming to me. But not now. I have 3 very capable young men here. Today these things were done by my sweet sons:


~Mow and trim the lawn
~Wash the van
~Vacuum the floors
~Take out the trash
~Sweep the hard floors
~Wipe the bathroom
~Feed & water animals
~Prepare their own meals and clean up their mess
~Unload dishwasher
~Fix the broken TV
~Sit and talk to mom on the swing
~Give me many hugs and ask how I am doing
~Make me smile


I thank God for these young men every day! I feel so incapable of hsing and raising these boys. But God is so faithful. He is here holding me up and guiding me. What an awesome privledge we have!

White Cake & Buttercream Icing

I have the neatest cake book. The Cake Doctor is a book full of doctored up cake mix recipes. So yummy! This is the cake I made for the shower tomorrow. It is also really good if you just ice it and trim it with raspberries. Yummy!

White Cake

1 white cake mix (I use Duncan Hines)
1 c. whole milk
3 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
1 T vanilla extract

Mix ingredients together for 30 seconds on low. Scrape sides and mix on medium for 2 min. Pour into greased/floured pans (2 9" round pans or 9x13) and bake at 325* until cake tests done (I don't know how long. I doubled it and made 1/2 sheet and it took 45 min.)

Filling:
Raspberry cake filling OR raspberry jam

Spread icing on botton layer and then spread raspberry filling. Top with top layer. To keep the icing from oozing out, pipe icing around the edge of the cake.

Buttercream Icing

2 c. Crisco
2 sticks butter, melted
2 lbs. powdered sugar
1T vanilla extract

On low speed, mix crisco and butter until creamy and there are no crisco lumps. Gradually add powdered sugar. Mix on the lowest speed possibly until smooth and creamy. Icing will look like satin. I use a KitchenAid and mix on speed 2 for 5 minutes. The prevents you from beating air into the icing.

It is a nice, soft icing. Perfect for decorating, writing, making flowers or just smearing on a graham cracker!

Made a cake today!


One of the ladies on the prayer group is getting married next week. So the gals are throwing her a shower tomorrow. I offered to do the cake. It's been about a year since I've decorated a cake, but it is just like riding a bike, you never forget!


This is a white cake with raspberry filling and buttercream icing. The best buttercream icing you've ever had. It is now safely delivered to my girlfriend's house so tha Tucker doesn't eat it lol.

I'm Back :)

We had a fabulous time at the lake. It was so awesome to be all alone with my honey. It was nice to talk without a loud bass guitar and many stereos blaring different music lol.

The weather wasn't so wonderful and it was cold, but we still had a fabulous time.

Friday we loaded up at the video store and ordered pizza. Doug built a fire in the fireplace and we cozied in for the weekend. We watched 3 movies on Friday. Deja Vu with Denzel Washington. SUCH a good movie. Hide and Seek, which was not my favorite, and The Holiday! Doug fell asleep during that one. It was a chick flick and so so good.

Saturday we woke to more rain and cold winds. So we watched more movies in front of the fire. We watched Blood Diamond. It was gripping and very sad to me that it was based on true events. We also watched Night Listener with Robin Williams and I thought it was rather weird.

I took a nap in the afternoon and Doug went to visit with the neighbors. About 5 the rain stopped and the sun came out. We grilled salmon and I made salads and baked sweet potatoes. We ate and then took a walk down the lake road. Doug fished for a while and I sat on the deck drinking organic decaf looking at the lake and reading. I am reading Mary Higgins Clark's I've Heard that Song Before. Very good! We played some cards and then watched The Break Up. I was so disappointed in the ending.

We slept in on Sunday and woke about 8:30 (sad that is sleeping in, eh?) The sun was shining and I was so thrilled. We cuddled in bed and then were lazy in our jammies all morning. We played cards and then cleaned up and came home.

We had a fabulous time and the kids had a fabulous time with their grandparents. It is so much easier to find people to stay with them now that they are teens. They were busy all weekend so it was so easy for my Gramma!

How was your weekend?

Thursday, Thursday!

I love Thursdays. Right now we're doing a 4-day school schedule. So that means no school tomorrow! Except for those ones that didn't get their work completed this week. So Jordan and Isaac have things to do.

Doug and I are going to the lake tomorrow, alone, WooHoo! We'll be home Sunday afternoon. My lovely Gramma is going to stay with the boys while we are gone. I am so looking forward to it. I've already done the laundry, grocery shopped so the boys have easy foods to prepare, and packed all but my toiletries. I am set to go! Now I just need my honey to get home. I am looking forward to spend some much needed time with Doug. I feel like we've not even talked in weeks.

What did we do today?

~School
~Weekly house cleaning chores
~Laundry
~Grocery shopping
~Run kids to the bowling alley
~Went to Kohls before coming home from BA. I am in search of a black sleeveless blouse and am not having much luck. Still no luck at Kohls.
~Will pick boys up from BA
~Allen and I will watch Survivor before going to the BA

It has been an awesome day. The boys all did their work and chores quietly and without being reminded over and over. Isn't that a lovely thing?

Doug should hear about the job he applied for by Monday. So I am thinking about that. I am anxious to have him home more.

I am still praying about school next year. Jordan will do the cyber school, but I just don't know about Isaac. I feel like I should continue hsing him. He really needs a lot of one-on-one attention. I'm not sure how the cyber school would work for him. I don't know how hsing will work if I have to get a job, even a job from home. I know from past experience that my body doesn't function well if I overcrowd my schedule. I just am not sure. I want to do what is best for him, kwim?

OK....I'm off to chat with Allen for a bit before Survivor. Have a blessed weekend and I'll catch ya Sunday night!

Tagged!

I've been tagged by MuddyBoots This meme has me sharing my reading list. You will see what superficial fluff I've been induldging in :)

Read within the past week or so:

Miss Julia Strikes Back by Ann B. Ross. I love the Miss Julia series. This is just the latest in Miss Julia's escapades. It is a quick, light-hearted read.

A Playdate with Death by Ayelet Waldman. This is the 3rd book in the "mommy mystery" series. It is fun and light. I don't agree with or care for the main character's view on being a SAHM, but the series is fun otherwise.

Wildfire by Nelson DeMille. I love spy espionage novels and this one didn't disappoint. Nelson DeMille is one of my favorite authors.

The 80/10/10 Diet by Dr. Doug Graham. This book explains the raw vegan, lowfat diet. I am attempting to eat like this and it was a very good read about nutrition.

Read to the boys for school:

The Hiding Place the story of Corrie Ten Boom. I am really enjoying reading this book aloud to the boys! So glad I saved it for the end of the year. I am tired of WWII battles and such. This is a heart-wrenching book.

Hiroshima by John Hersey. We just started this book and are only a couple chapters in. So far it seems to tell the story of 5 (or 6 I don't remember) people and where they were before/during and what happened to them after we dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. I am really enjoying this one also.

We'll read God's Smuggler next. I'm also looking forward to that one.

I never know who to tag. So, if you want to do the meme, please put link to it in the comment section. I also enjoy seeing what others are reading. I get great ideas that way!

An Awesome Day!!!

We have been having wonderful weather! Such a nice change from the snow we had the beginning of April.

The lawn was in desperate need of mowing at the cottage. So we did most of our school, had lunch and off we went to tend to the lawn. Everybody must take turns doing their part.

First Allen mowed the front and side lawns. While he was mowing I raked leaves, Isaac picked up the sticks and Jordan tried as hard as he could to start the weed eater. It wasn't working! So we skipped the weed eating. Isaac also got out the ladder and fixed the downspout covers that were blown down during a wind storm.

While Isaac mowed, I took Jordan for his first fishing liscense. Can you believe he is old enough to need a license?? And I forgot to take the camera to embarass him while he got it??

Me raking....

Allen mowing....

The dock doesn't go in for a couple more weeks, so Isaac sat on a bench to fish. He caught 3 fish today. Jordan waded into the water and caught 1. The race is on!
Isaac mowing....
Jordan mowing....
While Jordan and Isaac fished, Allen played video games. I don't know what happened to that child. He doesn't like to be outside and the lake isn't quite as fun for him as the rest of us.

I sat on the swing and drank some decaf and read a Miss Julia book.

We also had dinner up there tonight. I had pineapple and a huge tossed salad. The boys had frozen pizza rolls. Yep, I feed them well lol.

While I was editing pictures for this entry, I saw a couple pictures the boys took that made me smile. I just had to post them!

I knew there was a reason we called Isaac "Cousin It". This picture just cracked me up!

Man's Best Friend! Tucker misses Doug now that he is working so much. He is driving me crazy. He follows me around the house whining. He really does love Doug. He thinks he's a lap dog!

In other notes. I just finished 7 days of 100% raw eating. Well, there were 2 instances this week where I did eat cooked food. I am feeling pretty good. I had 2 days where I didn't nap at all. Today I didn't even feel tired. I was amazed to look at the clock at 1:45, while driving to the lake, and realize that I wasn't the least bit sleepy or in need of a nap. It was an awesome feeling.

Also, Doug is applying, road testing, etc., for yet another job tomorrow. It would be a local job and he would be HOME and he would be on DAYS! I am so hopeful that this one works out. I'll keep ya posted.

It's Friday!!!

I love Fridays! The end of the school week and Doug is home all day Friday, all day Saturday and most of Sunday! And today the sun is shining and the temps will be in the mid 60s. Sunny all weekend and working up to the 70s by Sunday!

I'm finally feeling rested from my trip with Doug. And I'm on day 3 of eating a 100% raw, low fat, diet. I am feeling much better today than yesterday. Yesterday I experienced quite a few detox symptoms. Shakiness and a killer headache were the worst. I am reading a book about raw eating by Dr. Graham called The 80/10/10 Diet. It is quite interesting.

Goals for today:

~Guys will clean out garage and make a few trips to the dump

~School the children, correct their work (I am not doing that enough this year), and make their assignment books for the rest of the year. Yippee! I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

~Finish yesterday's laundry

~Make lunch. Grilling burgers and making homemade fries for the crew. I'm having some kind of fruit.

~Boys need to tidy the basement. They are having friends tonight. We'll make a fire, roast hot dogs and make s'mores. Then they're going to watch a movie. Doug and I will sit around the fire. I am so looking forward to that.

Our school year is so not what I envisioned it would be. Last year we had a tremendous year and I had planned that this year would also be tremendous. I think my high school expectations may be too high? How do ya'll handle correcting schoolwork in high school? Usually, I correct everybody's work every day. I sit down with that child and we go over all they've done. It was taking a LONG time to do that this year. I think that is part of what made me feel so burned out!

I think we are going to let Jordan and Isaac do the cyber school next year. Jordan will most likely graduate through the cyber school since he only has 2 years left. I am seriously considering continuing to hs Isaac after 1 year in the cyber school, and let Isaac finish 3 years of high school hsing, and Allen always hsing. I don't know. I just feel sad about not hsing. I also feel overwhelmed with schooling these boys al the way through.

So how is your school year shaping up??

I can't figure out how to post pictures IN the body of the text. They always pop to the top. Anyway, these are pictures from when we were driving around at 7:30 am trying to get from the hospital to the hotel. You can't really see, but those trees up ahead were lying across the road.

I'm home from going to work with Doug. It was not quite what I was expecting. I think it would have been much better if we didn't get stranded in a blizzard and be without electricity and up 24+ hours before getting to bed. But we're home. My fibro was horrible, which didn't surprise me. I'm in the middle of a big flare-up anyway. But Doug was disappointed and I felt bad. It was all I could do to function.

So we left Sunday about 5:45. We had to go to Ashland, PA. We should have been to the hospital with the coach set up (Doug transports a mobile MRI unit to different health facilities) and back to the hotel 8 miles from there by 2. All was going well until we were coming off of Rt. 80 to Rt. 81. As soon as he pulled onto Rt. 81, it was a total white out with huge amounts of snow falling and 50+ mph winds. It was scarry! He slowed down to about 25 mph. We finally made it to the hospital at 2:30 am. Doug had never been to this hospital and had no idea what the place was like. Well, he had to back up from a lower parking lot to an upper parking lot. There was so much snow and he couldn't get the coach to back up that hill. So the hospital called their maintenance workers out of bed to come plow. We waited 3 hours for that to happen.

While we were waiting, the power went out, but their generator kicked on. The power kept flicking on and off. Power in all surrounding areas was going out and transformers were blowing everywhere. It was crazy! This was a little, rural hospital. So after the 3 hours of waiting, Doug tried again and couldn't get the coach up the hill. So the maintenance people keep doing stuff, Doug makes phone calls to see if they want him to keep trying, etc.

Meanwhile, I'm sitting right by the receptionist. She keeps getting calls from people calling off work, trees are down, etc. It is 5:30 now. Finally, at 6:30, Doug was able to get the coach up the hill and able to start setting up. A man had come into the hospital to sit and wait. He was trying to get to work and couldn't get through. He turned around to go home and couldn't get back home. There are trees, power lines, and utility poles down everywhere. So he came to wait it out at the hospital.

Finally at 7:30, Doug was finished and we left to go 8 miles back to the hotel, or try to anyway. We spent an hour driving around on rural roads, back up down rural roads, and trying to find a way out. There was NO way out. I was never so scared. These roads were BAD and narrow, rural roads in PA...so very, very hilly! At 8:30 we were back to the hospital. They offered us breakfast. I was so hungry. I did eat many bananas and apples throughout the night, but nothing since 2:30. I was exhausted and hungry. Doug had been up since 7 am on Sunday and I got up at 8 am. We should have been long snoozing by then. So I split a breakfast sandwich with Doug.

The tech that was to scan on the coach was at the hospital we were supposed to get to. So at 9:45, he made it to the hospital. We scooted out of there right quick before anything else fell. While we were waiting, the hospital's generator gave out. They had no power. We were sitting in the cafeteria, which had a huge wall of windows. It was GORGEOUS! to look at all the snow. It was wet, very very very heavy, snow.

So we made it to the hotel and they allowed us to check in, even though they had no power. Ten min. after checking in, the power came on and we were able to shower before it went off again. We slept about 5 or 6 hours.We got up and I was starving, but still everybody was without power. The only food to be had was bags of chocolate covered pretzels lol. So we ate those and eventually were able to order a pizza; the most disgusting pizza I've ever eaten, but beggers can't be choosers LOL.

We were able to leave the hotel at 8:30 (Doug has to have 10 hours off), to go back to the hospital and get the coach and head to Reading, PA. I was never so glad to leave somewhere LOL.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, thankfully. It was very, very croweded in his truck. He only has a day cab, so no bunk and no leg room or anything. My legs were so so so so so so so sore from sitting like that for 10-12 hours on Sunday and again Tues-Wed.

I am very glad I went with him, but I don't want to go again any time soon lol. It made me realize how very hard this man works for our family. I am so blessed. I would not want to go out and do that every day. It was very boring to sit around in a hotel all day Tuesday. We were up by 8 and then he didn't leave again until 4:30. He stays in the same hotel every Monday night, so I met everybody that he always talks to. We did go to a restaurant I've never heard of before, Charlie Browns. I had the best hamburger I've ever had in my life! We also walked around a tiny, little mall. It was wonderful to have all that time alone to talk together.

A Busy Few Days!!

Once again I am posting how busy I am. Who isn't busy LOL? I am doing my best to stay off the computer Friday morning through Sunday evening. I do not want to spend time on the computer when my honey is home. I am having a hard time with him being gone this week. So I am kinda in a pity-party mood. It's better not to blog when I'm feeling sorry for myself LOL. So that's where I've been!

I'm still thinking about schooling options for next year. I know we won't be hsing Jordan or Isaac. I am torn over whether to send them to PS or to do the public cyber school at home. I just don't know. I am overwhelmed and burned out. One of the most desirable things about PS is that they will be gone for 5 hours a day. I am tired of single-parenting all week. I really would love a break. But, at what expense? There are the "what ifs". What if they get in with a wrong crowd. I'll be dealing with that alone, too! Not really a desirable option.

HSing is wearing me out. I am tired of making assignment sheets, hasseling kids to do their work, and correcting work every single day. The correcting of work wears me out. Not knowing how to help them with something they don't understand is wearing me out. I am just plain tired! How do you get past the tired thing?

I keep thinking if we take a year or two off, maybe I can pick back up. But I don't have all that many years left. Allen will be finished with school in 5 years! Isaac only has 4, and Jordan only 2.

I don't know why I'm posting this. I just need to talk it through with somebody I guess. Doug told me to go ahead and do whatever I want. I think he is getting frustrated with my waffling. So ya'll have to talk it through with me.

We finally! do not have snow today. And it was a whopping 37*F! WooHoo! We do have snow forecasted for Monday, again! This is the snowiest season on record. We've had 89" of snow! We didn't start getting snow until January! December was SO warm, record breaking warm! I would much prefer snow in December than April, thank you very much lol.

So that is me. I hope to be out of this funk soon. It usually takes me 5-6 weeks to adjust to a schedule change. This is week 3. I am wonder, "What the heck are you thinking God?" It's been a long 14 months and I would like my life to settle down!

Tagged! And I forgot about it!

My friend from over on the Sonlight Forums, TanyaRejoyce, tagged me on March 26th and I am just now getting around to it.

In accordance with “THE RULES” I must post said rules in my blog entry:
People who get tagged need to write a blog entry of their own 6 weird things as well as stating this rule clearly! Three people need to be tagged and their names listed. Finally a comment needs to be left on each tagged person’s blog…

I've put this off because I do not think I have any weird things about me LOL. I am a perfectly normal lady LOL.

I'll give it a good try though!

1) 80% of the food that I eat is raw fruits, veggies and nuts. I only eat 1 cooked meal a day. I do not eat any refined sugars, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, packaged foods, ingredients I cannot pronounce or refined, white flours. I do eat healthy, whole foods that are mostly cooked from scratch.

2) I cannot relax if my house is a cluttered mess. If Doug and the boys are gone for the afternoon/day/whatever, I must first whip through the house and red it up, vacuum and have it be all neat looking. Then, and only then, can I relax and read, watch movies or just do nothing!

3) While I like (no crave) a clean, organized house, I do not like housework. I do it, though, on an organized and daily routine. The best thing about a schedule or routine is that, say, if you see a mountain of laundry on the basement floor on Wed., there is NO need to stress out. Monday and Thursday are laundry days, so plan accordingly! So, Wednesday = no laundry and no stress LOL.

4) I like to be in control and I pretty much think I am always right. This, sad to say, is a family trait. My maiden name is Broadway. There is a saying in the Broadway family (coined by the people married to Broadways) There is the right way, there is the wrong way, and then there is the Broadway! which is the only way! Those inlaws are so darn smart! They also have this little "club" called the Broadway Annonymous club. At any holiday gathering, you can find all the married-to-Broadway people in the room. My step-mom will say, in a rather dramatic voice might I add, "I've been married to a Broadway for 20 gglllooorrrriooouuuusss years! And then they have the nerve to ask questions, such as, "With a raise of hands, who controls the thermostat in your house?" Well, of course, only Broadway hands go up LOL. You never would have thought that meek, mild, little ole me, likes to be in control, eh? lol.

5) Next to being with my family, reading is my absolute favorite thing to do. Now, that isn't really weird, right? But, I love, love, love to read. If I find a new author I like, I have to read ALL their books, in order written, right then! I've been known to read while standing at the stove cooking, while waiting for kids to finish math, and while riding in the car at night. The little bitty book light is the best invention!

6) Six things, eh? What else could possibly be weird about me? I just asked my kids what is weird about me. Allen said, "Juicing". I guess he does not think cucumber, celery, spinach and apples are something that should be a beverage? Isaac (the middle, complient, likes everybody to like him child), shrugged and said nothing! I love that boys! Jordan said, "Everything!" Then went to list all the weird things such as, "Makes whole wheat bread when we much prefer white", "sing every song off key and really bad!", and I quit listening after that LOL.

Who to tag. I never know who to say! So, if you've read this and would like to reveal your "weirdness", go ahead and consider yourself tagged!

Is it Easter or Christmas??



Well, we were having gorgeous weather! Tuesday it was 77* and sunny and we were wearing shorts and sleeveless shirts. Today is another story. Here is my backyard around noon. The table in the second picture, it now has 3" of snow on it! We have snow showers in the forecast through next Thursday!

My backyard. Notice the huge, fluffy flakes of snow! Our firepit is almost completely under snow in this picture. Now you can't even see it!

My swing where I like to enjoy coffee and time with the Lord during nice weather (which we WERE having!). That table now has 3" of snow on it! I cannot believe this weather.

We did have a nice, relaxing day today. I was at Curves first thing. When I got home, Allen was up and ready for weekly chores. So I dusted the downstairs and he vacuumed the downstairs, stairscase and hallway then dusted/swept his room. Jordan got up and did his room and mopped the kitchen floor. Isaac came home from my Gramma's around noon, and he then did his room and scrubbed the bathroom. I completely forgot the laundry today LOL.

I made the boys omlets and bacon for lunch (I did not eat that lol). I slept all afternoon. Oh, my mom and gramma were her for a few while I was making lunch, so it was nice to see them.

My girlfriend dropped by for coffee this evening. Her daughter had to be at the church for 2 hours, and I am only 5 min. from the church. So I took the older 2 to bowling, came home to visit with Marla, watched part of Survivor, picked up the older 2, finished watching Surviver and took a bubble bath. Everybody is getting settled into bed and I aim to do the same really soon!

What is your weather like?

Wow, it's been a few days since I've blogged, eh?

I cannot believe it is April already, either! Where is this year going? It has been very busy here since I last posted on Friday. I'm trying to stay off the computer Friday-Sunday while Doug is home. And then Monday and yesterday were so busy! So, here I am with quite a few days between entries. What have we been up to you ask?

Friday

Friday during the day Doug ran a few errands, I did some housework and made a meal, the boys finished up school before spring break. I think I napped in the afternoon. The weather has been all over the place and my body is in so much pain, so I have been listening to that and resting as much as possible.

In the evening we went to my nephews' birthday party. On the way we stopped at my girlfriend's Lia Sophia open house. She became a LS advisor a couple months ago and was trying to get another party submitted, so she had an open house all day/evening. I was her only guest! I felt so bad. So I took a catalog to the party and collected orders and stopped by on the way home.

We had so much fun at my sister's house. It was rather chaotic! She has 2 boys ages 8 and 6 and a daughter 4. She also invited some little friends, so there were many littles there. My other sister is in FL, so her kids weren't there. It was loud and crazy! It is the first time I thought to myself, "Boy am I glad we don't have any littles right now." I was so glad to realize that. I've been mourning not having any more children for years, and it is nice to be at peace with it, at least this month LOL. I was at a PC party earlier this week and there was a 4 week old baby girl. I was able to hold her. I only held her for a few min. before she became too heavy for my sore arms. I enjoyed oohing and aahing over her, but did not feel that empty, wish I had a baby, feeling that night either. Hopefully I am moving past that.

Allen had a friend spend the night. He was at the boys' party with us and just came home for the night.

Saturday

Allen had bowling in the morning, Jordan went to the bowling alley for fun and Isaac went home with my Gramma Friday evening. So I was home alone. I went to Curves and then came home.

Our prayer group had an Easter egg hunt for the children along with a bonfire/picnic. I didn't go, but Doug took the boys. I stayed home and napped. It was either go to the EEH or go dancing with my husband that night, I couldn't do both. So I chose a date with my honey.

I got up and was ready to go when Doug brought the boys home. We had a great time dancing and talking with our friends. It was super duper crowded on the dance floor, though. Not my favorite thing! We did end up leaving about 1:20 instead of waiting for the band to finish at 1:45 and Doug help them tear down/load up. I was too sore and tired to stay any longer.

Sunday

Isaac and Jordan were in a bowling tournament. So Doug, the boys and my FIL left here about 8:30. Allen and I went to church, stopped at the grocery store on the way home, and rested all day. It was warm and rainy in the morning, but by 4 the sun was out and it was so pretty! After church I put stuffed peppers in the oven and took a long nap.

Doug and the boys came home about 4 and we had dinner. We ate outside on the swing. The boys don't like peppers so they had to fend for themselves.

Doug left for work and we just hung out. That evening we watched Amazing Race. It is getting down to the end now! It is going so fast!

Monday

It was absolutely gorgeous outside Monday! It was sunny and about 70*. The boys and I went to the lake to clean the lakehouse and get it ready for a season of fun and relaxation. I cleaned for about 7 hours. Allen helped me inside. Jordan and Isaac cleaned the porch and deck and all the patio furniture. The ground was way too wet for lawn work, so we'll go back in a couple weeks.

We came home and I ordered the boys a pizza. I was in so much pain from all that cleaning, so I took a long, hot bubble bath, put on my jammies and settled in for the night, at 7 pm!

Tuesday

Yesterday I was up and at Curves by 7:30. Came home and got myself presentable. Isaac was doing work for my great-aunt, so I ran him to her house. My FIL picked the other two up about the same time to help him load and haul some wood. They brought 2 loads here. It is wonderful, already split and dried, firewood! While I was out, I ran to the bank and grocery store. I seem to be at the grocery store a lot this week! I must not have planned well.

Jordan and Allen ate lunch and then I ran them to my Dad's house to help him with lawn work. I had the afternoon alone! I did laundry (about 8 loads) and spring cleaned my bedroom (minus windows). I read a book and took a nap. I was up by 4 and the boys were home.

Jordan had small group at church. So while he was getting ready for that, I sat on the swing and read some more and drank coffee. I took him to and fro church. While he was there I finished laundry and made bread dough and after the first rise put it in the refrigerator. We will be having sausage and broccoli stuffed bread with tomato soup today for dinner. It is going to rain/snow, so the soup will be warm and cozy!

That's right, SNOW! We're having snow forecasted for the next 7 days! I hope my flowering trees are OK because they are already blooming!

Today we are going to do nothing. Well, Doug is going to go apply for another job before he heads back to work. The boys are doing nothing. I will cook, clean the kitchen, and all that jazz. I have 1 load of wash waiting for the dryer still. I hope to nap and I may call the doctor an make an appt. I am having much shoulder pain and I am concerned it may not be fibro. It's been 3 weeks now and it feels like I have 50 lbs. of sand hanging on my shoulder. I have pain shooting down my arm and back and my hip hurts. It doesn't feel like "just fibro". So I am considering that.

I also hope to figure out why my ww bread dough does not rise! When I made white bread, the dough would rise to the top of the bowl. Now that I'm making ww, the dough barely rises. I don't know what I am doing wrong. I use the correct temp. of water. I sponge the bread for 15 min. before finishing. I knead it in the KA. But still the dough doesn't rise and it is so heavy. Any breadmakers out there have any ideas for me? I am not milling my own flour, but I am using freshly milled flour from a co-op.

Well, if you've made it this far, I commend you LOL. Have an awesome day!