Oh the things Hayden says at Aldi...

Hayden is a talker.  I think he could talk 24/7.  The last couple times we've shopped at Aldi, he said weird or embarrassing things to random strangers.  The first incident happened 3 weeks ago.  Some nice old man was telling me how cute my kids were when Hayden, out of no where, said, "I have a friend named B-nana".  This little old man looked at me like 'what did he just say?'.  So I had to explain Hayden's imaginary friend, B-nana, to this total stranger.  (Yesterday, Hayden told me he needed some "little food for B-nana's birthday party."  He also talks to B-nana on the phone alot....)

And today.  A sweet little old couple was going on about how perfect it was that I had a little girl and little boy and Hayden blurts out, "My Daddy wants another baby now."  I think my face turned bright red, and the little old lady said, "Oh really, what does Mommy think about that?"  I wanted to say, "Mommy thinks this little boy needs to learn to keep his lips zipped!" but I just smiled and said, "Maybe when the little one gets potty trained we'll think about having another."  Then I zoomed through the isles and prayed we didn't pass them again.  Who knows what else would have come out of Hayden's mouth. 

Pictures

I had thought about taking the kids for a walk by the river, but realized Kevin took my car and would be gone with it all day. So, we did the next best thing - play outside. Allie played in the Cozy Coupe for the first time and she loved it. She didn't understand how to move it, but the horn was entertaining enough for her. Hayden got more practice on his bike. We stayed out about 2 hours and both kids were exhausted! They came in at 3 and they both slept till after 6! Here are some cute pics :)

 

To-Do List

I'm waking up bright and early tomorrow. I have a very long to-do list!
Here's what's on my to-do list for Friday:

1. Starting at 6:45am: Hit up lots of yard sales - poor Hayden needs some more clothes!
2. Run by the bank and visit my BFF, the one and only, very tan, Amy Foster (and give her some cleaning stuff to get the orange Gatorade out of her carpet).
3. Go to Weight Watchers and weigh in.
4. Go to Aldi and get a weeks worth of groceries.
5. Go to Walmart and get the few odds and ends I need there.
6. Come home and feed everyone lunch.
7. Lay Allie down for a (much needed) nap.
8. Pack up the house for our overnight stay at Christmas Lake.
9. Drive to Christmas Lake
10. Enjoy a camp fire filled with hot dogs, s'mores, & family fun! :)

Then I have to go to bed early so me and the SNL can yard sale shop till our legs fall off (or the $ runs out, whichever happens first)! I'm majorly excited and pumped up for the once-a-year community sale at the Village!

Harry Berry

About a month after Kevin and I got married, we were sitting at Biaggis having dinner and I told him I was ready for a new baby - a baby kitten that is. He agreed Holeshot, the cat he had while we were dating, was ready to be a big brother. We felt sad for him when he was home alone all day and had no one to play with. After dinner that evening, I talked Kevin into going to just look at kittens at PetSmart. I took one look at little Harry and told Kevin I wasn't leaving with out him.

People tell me Harry wasn't a cute kitten. He was missing fur on his face, he stunk, and he had some problem with his butt that made it all swollen and blue (my mom took one look at him and convinced me he was going to die that night I got him). I didn't see any of those imperfections though. I saw his black beauty mark on his little poochy and just thought he was the cutest kitten I had ever laid eyes on.

Harry was/is very loved. I think that's what made him turn out so handsome. When I say he's the worlds best cat, I'm really not exaggerating. I think if anyone ever broke into the house, Harry would turn on Pit Bull mode and attack anyone who tried to harm us. He loves Hayden and Allie - okay maybe he doesn't love them, but he tolerates them better than any other animal on the planet would! He's lost countless handfuls of hair while Allie is learning the meaning of "nice" and Hayden still continues to pretend Harry is a "horsey". If the kids do anything that is really causing him to be upset, he cries for me to come save him, but he has never been aggressive towards them.

He's been called lots of names the last 4 years we've had him. I call him Harry Berry more than anything else. (I think that hot pink nose looks like a little berry.) Kevin tends to refer to him as "your cat" or "dumb cat". Hayden calls him "Haw-wee". Poor boy can't say his R's!

Harry may also be part dog. I'm thinking about having him tested to see if that's possible. He eats everything. I'm not talking just food here people, I'm talking about things! Along with any food scraps he finds on the floor (or in the sink when we aren't home), he eats our shower mats, the kids shoes, he chews our door knobs on our cabinets, & he eats papers and fuzzies off the floor. He plays fetch (will go get the toy and drop it in my hand time after time), and he follows me everywhere like a little lost puppy. If I'm doing dishes he's sitting at my feet. If I'm at the couch, he's on the ottoman. If I'm tucking the kids in bed, he's waiting at the door for me to come out (or sometimes he makes his way in and waits in Hayden's bed for me). Oh, that reminds me, he loves to sleep in Hayden's bed - with his head on Hayden's pillow. And he drools when he sleeps.

This cat is seriously a freak, but I just love this big fur ball to death and I can't imagine him not being part of our family. More to come on the other fur ball in our family...

Courageous

I don't remember the last movie we went to see in the theaters. Maybe it was Dear John? It's been a while though! I can tell you that we will be going to see the movie Courageous when it comes to theaters September 30th. Here's the trailer for it. Check it out.

KLOVE

What do you listen to on the radio? We went shoe shopping for Hayden yesterday and one of the stores had music videos playing. The group Hansen was singing. I had no idea they were making new music. The worker at the store said something about Hansen's big come back. To be honest, I just really don't care.

When I had Hayden, I realized as he was getting older he really was a little sponge. He hears everything I hear and say and sees what I watch, and I knew I needed to change a few things. I knew we had Christian radio stations, but I just never tuned into them. I remember my dad telling me about 95.3 KLOVE and how he had listened to it and how it was a neat station. (Sidenote: my Dad NEVER listens to the radio. The time we drove to California I don't think we turned on the radio the whole way there and back!) One day on my way to and from somewhere, I turned it on. I recognized several of the songs from church. I heard some new ones that were just really good and catchy. I wasn't really ready to just quit listening to my current stations so I just turned into Christian radio now and then.

One day the morning show came on 106.1 KISS and the things the hosts were talking about were so inappropriate. I immediately switched the station to KLOVE. About a week later, KISS did the "news" and it was just full of celebrity gossip and who got arrested for what over the weekend. That was about the time I realized I didn't want that "trash" in my life. Today at Daughters of the King, our teacher's lesson paralleled this. She was saying if what you are watching or listening to isn't uplifting or encouraging, don't waste your time watching/listening to it.

The last 2 days I've kept KLOVE playing on my computer so it's always quietly on in the background. It makes for such a peaceful environment. I was cooking lunch yesterday and a song came on that I really liked. Its a great way to refocus throughout the day. It's helping me control my emotions rather than letting my emotions control me. (It's really easy to want to 'lose it' when you have kids crying or arguing or yelling while you're trying to get something done. Not that I'd know that from personal experience or anything....)

KLOVE does a 30 day challenege. They tell you to switch to their station for 30 days and see what changes you notice. It's a positive an encouraging radio station, and if you don't currently listen to them, you should give it a try! Here's a link to their website (where you can also listen online) and find a radio station near you. They also have an iPhone app that's free.

Here are a few of my favorite songs right now:
Beautiful Things
Starry Night
Restless (I love everything by Switchfoot)

Pretty Evening Sky

Someone is going to be tired in the morning... and it's me!  (You have to know Hayden to appreciate that line.  He says things like, "A little boy missed his mom, and it was me.")  So anyways, Kevin worked tonight and the kids and I spent an hour or so outside after dinner swatting misquitos playing and taking pictures.  I think the temp was in the low 70's and it was perfect.  The sunset was beautiful.  I'm more than ready for this fall weather!  Here are some cute pics from tonight.

Sweet Deal!

Is there any other ice cream I love more than Sweet Cece's?  Ummm no!

I got this card in the mail last week.  I thought about not telling Kevin and going by myself so I could eat 2 cups.  But, we all went as a family and enjoyed it together.  I can count on one hand how many times I've been the last month and a half (thanks to our budget).  We were going about every other day earlier this summer, but now it's such a treat!  A very generous person gave us their BOGO coupon so I'm counting down the days till we go again :)

Chicken Soft Tacos

I'm on a kick with these new recipes!  Anytime we have tacos, it's with ground beef.  I found a chicken marinade recipe in the Grocery Shrink E-book that sounded delish.  (I am not going to post the recipes that come out of any of these E-books, so if you want the recipe, just buy the book(s).  The set of 3 is $12 and they are wonderful!  I refer to mine often.)

I did make my own flour tortillas again.  This time I used white flour instead of wheat because the hubs whines when I use wheat.  Here's the recipe:

3 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup warm water

Stir together dry ingredients. Gradually stir in enough warm water to form a crumbly dough, then work dough with your hands until it holds together. Turn out on a board and knead till smooth.

Divide into 12 pieces and shape each in a smooth ball. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rest 15 minutes. Flatten one ball into a 4 or 5 inch circle, then roll to a 9 inch round, rolling from the center to the edges.

(I used my pastry cloth).

Place on a preheated griddle or heavy wide frying pan or electric griddle set at 375. Almost immediately blisters will appear. Turn tortilla over and press all over with a wide spatula. Turn tortilla again and press on the other side until blisters turn a golden brown. If tortilla sticks or browns too quickly, reduce the heat. Stack tortillas as cooked inside a folded cloth in plastic bag. Close bag and let steam.

Kevin says these are the best tortillas he's ever tasted.  I liked their consistency.  It took me about an hour to make 12, but I'm hoping to cut that time down the more I make them.  Definitely a "keeper" though.

Kevin used his new charcoal grill for the first time today.  He did a great job on the chicken!  I told him next time I'm going to double or triple this recipe and use the chicken throughout the week (in salads, in tacos, or just by itself!)  It's nice having a hubby that will do the grilling :)

 

We topped our tacos with lettuce, cheese, ortega sauce, & Kevin put ranch on his.  I did buy tomatoes for the kids, and I took a nibble off one, but left them off my taco.  I'm still not over the fish experience and the concept of trying something new.  Maybe next time?  The verdict on the tacos = A-MAZ-ING! Kevin says he wants them once a month.  I couldn't agree more!

Stretched

When I first started this blog about a month ago, I was thinking of possible topics to blog about.  One thing on the list was stretch marks.  I have them.  Lots of them.  I guess that's to be expected when you gain 51lbs and have a 10 1/2lb newborn baby your first pregnancy.  Wowza.  After I had my big boy Hayden, I hated my body.  I thought I'd never get my shape back and I knew my skin would never be the same.  When I had Allie, I didn't think I could get another stretch mark, but I was wrong.  They just appeared in new places!  I wasn't as mad about them the 2nd time around though.  My recovery with Allie was a lot better because I had a new attitude.  I wasn't as focused on getting my old body back.  I was more interested in getting healthy and feeling good about the body I have. 

I will admit, I did buy some Bio-Oil like 3 months ago.  I used it a few days, but I just felt defeated before I really started using it.  (If anyone wants the bottle the can have it.)  I have read many articles saying you can do alot about the appearance of stretch marks, but you pretty much can't get rid of them without going to extreme (surgical) measures.  So I had a heart to heart with myself.  I knew I had stretch marks for a reason, and if the only reason was to remind me of how lucky I am to have 2 wonderful kids, then they are worth it.  No more trying to get rid of them, they are a part of me. 

Last week I joined a program at our church called Daughters of the King.  Every Wednesday a large group of women meet together for worship then break up into small groups (you choose your group before the semester starts and I chose the Focus on the Family group).  The book we are working through this semester is called "Am I Messing Up My Kids" by Lysa TerKeurst.  I'm only on chapter 5 and I can tell you this book has changed my morning routine, my thoughts on mothering, and how I speak to my kids.  I can't wait to see the effects of this book months and years from now. 

The reason I brought up this book is because Lysa has a chapter titled "Why Do I Always Feel So Stretched?".  Here are some of my favorite thoughts from this chapter.
"A strange sense of pride welled up in my heart as I realized these scars made me like Jesus in a way.  I gave of my life to make new life possible.  I carried this new person and took on their weight.  I was stretched almost beyond what I could bear.  My experience left me scarred and forever marked.  But the product of these scars is a joy I could not have any other way."... "I have been called to die to the selfishness that characterized my life before kids.  Life was about me back then.  My schedule, my needs, my wants, my time, my money, my desires, my dreams, my plans dictated how I spent my life."..  "He wanted my life to be about Him and His plans for me." ... "Giving my body gave my kids a chance at life." ... "In His resurrection, He could have come back without the scars on His hands, feet, and side, but He left them there.".... "I think He left them because He wanted to.  He came to love not the scars themselves, but what the scars accomplished.  He was called to be the Savior of the world, and He did it.  I am called to be a mom, and I'm doing it."
So after reading that chapter, I was like bring on the stretch marks! Ha :) I just loved her perspective and wanted to share.

If you area interested in buying the book, the Vineyard sells it for $11.99 plus tax or you can click here and buy one on Amazon!