I too exhausted to add photos from our week of adventure, but obviously not too tired to just go to bed. We spent the week hanging out at home and then heading over to meet my in-laws at the beach in Gulf Shores (or was is called Ft. Morgan? or Orange Beach? who knows, but it was that area.) and it was absolutely lovely! That's not a word I usually use to describe things, but it really was. It was so quiet and peaceful since nobody was around and we didn't have to drive to get there. It was great! But I'll talk more about it later.

I thought I'd give my opinion on the book I (was supposed to read) just read and tell you about the one I'm reading now. SO, the little book club book I got and was so excited to read was kind of a flop for me. I was really disappointed b/c I was really looking forward to it, but it was really hard to get into and if it takes me a week or more to read 50-75 pages then I'm probably not going to finish it.

And I didn't.

Eat, Pray, Love is divided into three sections: Italy, India and Indonesia and I just barely made it through Italy and had to quit not long after entering India. I think what made it so hard to read was I'd just read over 15 Christian fiction books and then dove right into a very non-Christian, non-fiction book. Not the best transition. I don't have any problem reading books that are not about Christianity, remember I'd only recently found a Christian author that I actually liked so it's never really been an issue, but this just wasn't the book I needed to read after reading so many of the other. It wasn't just that, I had a hard time following her story. It's like reading someone's diary, only without the sneaking part. We all know women can bounce around in their conversations and that's how this felt to me. I hate to start a book and not finish it, but I just had to call it quits on this one.

But, on a different note, I can't wait to see the movie! And I definitely want to see this one on the big screen. I've never been to any of the places she visits and I want to see them larger than life. Please don't choose to never read this book b/c of me (not that anyone really listens to me, just ask my kids) I just thought I'd give you my opinion. It's obviously good enough that they made a movie out of it and I still want to see that! (I also love Juila Roberts.)

Instead, I decided to pick up a book that my friend Tiffany is letting me borrow, it's called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and I'm really enjoying it. It's just letters written between a woman that is an author and a group of people who formed a pretend literary society during the war. It was the only way they could get together without getting in trouble with the Nazis. It sounds boring, but I promise it's not. It's actually pretty funny! The woman is spunky and single and says what she thinks. I love people like that. (Unless I'm on their bad side, which I usually try to avoid.) Want to hear something funny? There is a quote on the back of this book about how great it is. Guess who wrote it? The woman who wrote Eat, Pray, Love. HA!!!

Now my eyes are about to fall out of my head and the fly in our house is even too tired to circle my head anymore so I'm going to bed. Oh, and on a totally random note, today Brandon and I celebrated 6 years of marriage. Go us! Not much in the grand scheme of things, but if we were a hot Hollywood couple that would almost be a silver anniversary. So, yeah us! I love you honey buns and thanks for putting up with me for this long and for wanting to keep doing so for the rest of our lives. : )

Today was the last meeting of the year for the MOPS group I've been going to. It was my second year being a part of this and my first year being on the steering committee. To say that I loved it is an understatement. If there is a MOPS group in your area I strongly recommend joining. My friend Tiffany is the one who told me about it and got me going. She was one of the craft leaders last year and this year I took the job on. It was stressful at times, but oh so rewarding.

I had planned to put photos of each of our crafts on here, but yeah well, I didn't. I was only going to do it b/c I got each of the ideas from other blogs I researched last summer and wanted to pass the ideas along to anyone else looking. Today we made fridge magnets and they are "super cute" (does anyone remember who says that b/c I can't and it made me laugh every time I heard it?). I'm going to make new ones and I'll show you those, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. The first round I made didn't turn out and the second was ok. I wanted to make sure we had leftovers before I made any more.

I have to go make more "lelolade" (please say it while throwing your tongue out on each "L") for little miss priss, but I wanted to end with these little pups again. I wore them for the first time today and got more compliments than I ever have before on anything I've ever worn. Even some of the fashionistas of the group were asking me about them. (I was so flattered I almost peed my pants!) I'm SOOOOO not a fashion person, so to be complimented on something I found myself and actually wore is huge in my teeny, tiny little world. SO, in case you are wondering about them you would never believe but they are CROCS. Yup, I said it. And the wedge part is rubber and they are super duper comfy! You can find them here and I think that these are pretty cute too! I'm off to hang with my gang for a little while before heading out to dinner with the MOPS steering I worked with this year and will work with next year. Yeah for girls night out!!!

Christopher jumping off the dock at Turkey Creek... always a show off!



Whatcha' doin C-dawg? -- "nothing much, just chillin'"



Christopher practicing his "matrix" style jump.... actually, he's levitating right there.


Who loves water..... me?


who needs a hug? I got one right here, come and get it!

We have had a really good weekend here at our house. I think it's mostly due to knowing that Brandon is going to be home all next week and so he can relax (mentally that is) and the kids and I are just happy to have so much time with him.

Yesterday I got to sleep in until 8:30 (I know!) but still felt tired all day long. I think it's this dizzy thing I have going on. and I'm starting to think I'm allergic to my house b/c if I'm here for long I feel worse, but when I leave I feel better. How do you fix that? Anyway, we went to the BX and then to the commissary to get some groceries and came home to have lunch and put Sophie down for a nap. Brandon and Christopher went to go see How to Train your Dragon (is that right?) and seemed to have a good time. When they got home, they cleaned the pool in the backyard that has been hanging over the fence (very redneck, I know) and then we all got cleaned up and went to a birthday party for a sweet little boy that turned 2. He lives across the street from us and melts the heart of anyone and everyone he meets. We had a great time and are going to miss that family so much when they move next month. We came home and everyone (including Brandon and I) were in bed before 8:45. It was awesome!

This morning I was able to sleep in again (Brandon's been waking up at like 5 a.m. lately for work, so sleeping in for him is 6 a.m. or whenever the kids wake up-- just want to clarify I'm not that spoiled OR that selfish), but don't worry, it wasn't nearly as late as the day before. I was also told to not come out of my room yet when I did wake up, so I went back to bed (and played the coveted "hi-pod" as Sophie calls it) until they came and joined me with cards in hand. Even Brick brought me his own card. It was so cute! The kids were so proud of the pics they had made and I couldn't wait to get my hugs on! Brandon made me french toast (my fav!) and we all had a yummy breakfast while trying to figure out what we were going to do that day. Our S.S. class doesn't meet on Mother's Day b/c nobody comes due to other plans, so we just skipped church. Bad, I know. We went to Lowes and got wood to build an awesome step stool for the kids to use with the trampoline. It was WAY more than we thought we'd be spending, but the ground is soft and we needed something really sturdy.

The Ramages were more than happy to let us borrow their drill b/c both of Brandon's died before the first screw even made a dent. They hung out for a couple hours and the guys worked together. We love them b/c they make the most stressful project fun and manageable. The kids eventually started to melt and the stairs were done so we parted ways. Sophie napped, the boys tried and I worked on my next craft for MOPS. After Sophie woke up we loaded up and headed to Turkey Creek. The water was freezing, but it didn't stop the kids from playing in the water anyway. After that we drove through Dairy Queen and got blizzards. Note: the new Buster Bar Blizzard is delicious! We pulled over to a place on base so the kids could eat without us having to climb around every bite. Came home and played t-ball with the "new" t-ball stand we found on the side of the road on the way home. In think we will have two little players next year! Missed the sign up for this year.

It has been a great weekend and I'd add photos, but they just downloaded and there are about 400. No lie. I'll add them later. Hope you had a great weekend as well!!!

i know this is going to sound a little crazy, but my wish is to have a blog makeover. but it's not exactly "cheap" and so it's not in our funds right now. maybe for my birthday? but that's in february so maybe Christmas would be better. i'm just tired of the header thing and want something a little better. i don't want a crazy one with scrapbook looking stuff all over it. it's not me. i just wish that i knew how to do all of this myself.

maybe i should have paid better attention in that web design class i had to take one summer for my major.

who am i kidding. that was 10 years ago and that stuff wouldn't work now anyway!

some things are just easier to pay someone else to do.

The week has definitely gotten better. Thank you Lord! He knew that I needed a little break from the insanity that had been going on and I thank Him for His loving kindness. The other day we went somewhere, can't remember, but when we got home I opened the door to let the kids inside and I went to check the mail. Came back to find little miss sitting up here:

Yup, climbed up on top of a couple boxes and sat on them. Not sure why or how they didn't fall over, but thankful they didn't b/c it could have been some serious injury going on if she did. She has a little fan (you know the cheap $5 round ones?) on top of her kitchen in her bedroom and I went in to tuck her in one night and it was on. I didn't do it and she happily informed me that she had turned it on. Now, she has a sturdy kitchen, but it was not meant for 35 lbs. to be climbing, or standing, on it. We will be buying her a new tall fan to put on the floor today. She definitely takes after my brother in the scaling things that shouldn't be scaled. Christopher just never bothered to climb much of anything until he was about 2. He likes to climb now, but not like his sister.

After I took her photo and got her down we decided to have lunch. They looked so cute sitting there I just had to snap a photo. She hates when I fix her hair, but I LOVE it when she fixes it!

Brandon's been working a crappy rotation (not at our hospital, a different one and they treat our docs crappy) and today is the last day there. Tonight starts his vaca and I'm so pumped! We are starting it off right by returning a favor to the Ramages and watching their kids so they can go out. Tomorrow we have a b'day party at a park and wait, Mother's Day is Sunday! Who knew? Huh. Last year Brandon worked that day and was so busy he had to send a friend out to buy me a card! How sad is that? (In a sweet way, not a pity way.) I'm counting my new shoes as my present. (I'm sure you were too, honey and that's why I love you!)On Monday the kids have school so we will have several hours of freedom and I think we just might go to the beach during that time. Then a week of hanging out and his parents are going to come visit. Can't wait! Hope you have a great weekend!

I wanted to thank all of you who left me positive comments yesterday. And Christine, I specifically remember having a day exactly like that once! About near killed me. But the not staying in bed got better and I can finally take a shower during the day, alone, and pray the whole time that the mess I find when I get out will be one that is easy to clean up.

I know that other people have bad days, but you forget they can be just as bad as yours are. And yes, I have yelled at my child so loud it made them cry too. (I'm actually ashamed to admit it.) But I apologized immediately and hugged and kissed that child for like 30 minutes afterward. And I told an old neighbor (she has 6 kids) that I feel like the other neighbors all know us b/c I'm the one yelling at my kids all the time. But she told me you can't be a good parent and never yell at them at some point so she made me feel better. I figured if she had 6 kids she had to be doing something right!

So, thank you all for making me feel better about being so honest. I'm an open book, so just beware. You never know what you'll read on here! : )