Tea Dah-ling?

Every so often the kiddies and I enjoy a tea party, and yesterday was the perfect day for one! It was cool and rainy and a tea party was just the thing we needed to spice up the afternoon. We always dress in hats (they don't have to be fancy, just any hat) and usually we wear fancy shoes too. Little man decided that PJ's, a tie, and a newsboy cap were the perfect attire! Eva stuck with the ever popular green St. Patrick's Day hat and Easter shoes! On top of dressing up we also talk with English accents when we have tea parties - which is a riot to hear the little ones do!! We dress fancy, use fancy words, and talk with fancy accents!! Let me tell you...It's just a smaaashing gooood time dah-ling!

Simple Joy #17

The joy of just being silly! Is there anything better? As adults we can be silly, but I truly believe children bring out the best silliness in all of us!! Our family was recently eating a pasta meal and the kiddies were getting a kick out of sliding the pasta on their fingers like rings. We were all laughing and being silly together - one of my favorite things to do! I snapped this picture of Eva and I think it sums up the meal perfectly - pure silliness!!

Jon and Kate...do they even care about their 8?

Let's chat for a minute about the TLC show Jon and Kate Plus Eight. As long as you haven't been stuck in a hole the last year or so I'm sure you know which show I am talking about. I began watching this show occasionally when it first came out and promptly stopped because the way Kate would treat Jon would drive me UP a wall.

Many friends would bring up the show and I could not join in the conversation except to point out that I couldn't stand Kate's attitude towards her husband. Although I would always laugh and add that if I was raising 8 children under the age of 8 WHO KNOWS what my attitude would be like! Ha!

Well, last night was the season premiere and I can assure you my attitude would NOT be what I witnessed last night. Let me start off by saying I watched this premiere against my better judgement. Jon and Kate have been in the news a lot lately because they are having some problems "in paradise" so to speak. Jon and Kate's faces have been splashed on the cover of every magazine I pass in the supermarket. Soooooo....last night after the kiddies had gone to sleep my curiosity got the best of me and I turned on the season premiere.

I can NOT tell you how SAD it made me. Not for Jon. Not for Kate.

My heart was literally breaking for those poor children. They have never been asked for their lives to be broadcast to the world. They are so, so young. Yes, I'm sure they've had a lot of experiences they would have otherwise never had....but now their family is breaking up and it is happening on NATIONAL TELEVISION. I felt like I was watching a train wreck - but the passengers were helpless children - and I couldn't stop it.

I was FLOORED by the way Jon and Kate could not even sit on the same couch together. Helllooooo???!!! Your children will see this. Who knows...THEIR children could see this. I am just absolutely appalled that they would let this all play out for the world without thinking for a MOMENT about the impact this will have on their children.

Not only was I deeply disappointed in the decisions made by the Gosslin family, but I was also disappointed in TLC network for broadcasting this. Yes, I know...there is probably big money in it...but when did it become alright to exploit the feelings of children like that?

It bothered me....a lot. I actually woke up in the middle of the night and was thinking about it (yes, I can be crazy like that sometimes)!

So, I am curious about your thoughts on this. How do you feel about the show in general and the recent turns in it?

Memorial Day Weekend...in pictures.

Afternoon naps on the back porch

Fun with neighbors!

Fishing at the pond

Watergun fights!

More neighborhood fun

And a LOT of grilling out!

We were fortunate to have an absolutely beautiful weekend filled with quality time together, as well as with family and friends!

Getting down to the heart of the matter...

As many of you know, I recently spent 2 days wearing a heart monitor due to the fact that I passed out. The doctor wanted to see if there were any irregularities in the rhythm of my heart. I am happy to report that the results of my heart monitor, as well as 2 other tests, have come back completely normal. The doctor seems to think that my passing out was simply a result of standing up way too fast.

I want to thank all of you for the kind words, as well as the many prayers sent my way! Even though my heart told me all was fine...it was comforting to know I had family, friends, and even some of you that I don't know adding me to your prayer list. God is good my friends...all the time.

Hugs,
Jamie

"A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart"

--Anonymous

Protecting my babies...garden update #1

In the last week or so we've received numerous frosts in our neck of the woods. I covered my plants and the first frost we made it through with no problem.

But the second frost was much harder.

Even with covering my plants I lost nearly everything. Eva and I were sad about it, but not discouraged. We ARE learning after all!!

We lost all of our tomato plants, one of our basil plants, nearly all of our green pepper plants, and all of the flowers we planted. Still surviving were any seeds we planted, as well as 2 basil, and cilantro.

The kiddies and I made a trip back to our favorite nursery. We were told by the owner that they lost quite a bit too...which honestly made a rookie like me feel a little better. We bought a few more plants and another flat of flowers. We will be planting them today.

For those of you that are hoping to learn from my mistakes...this was one of them. I feel that I planted everything (except the seeds) too early. Everyone seems to tell you to plant around Mother's Day but next year I will wait until closer to Memorial Day.

Breathe.

I've mentioned previously how much I love driving on a sunny day...sunroof open, windows down, and a great tune on the radio. I truly believe it's therapeutic for me. It relaxes me and makes me smile. Today I saw my love of this transpired in my little ones...

We were driving home this afternoon on some back country roads. After spending quite awhile talking together Eva and Jaden asked for the IPod to be turned on (I still laugh when I hear Jaden say in his little voice, "IPod ON!!!" from the backseat). I turned on a great summer song, rolled down all the windows, and opened the sunroof. Eva and Jaden's faces immediately lit up...they know their mama loves to do this. I let the sun beat down on my head and the wind whip my hair all over. I took a deep breath in and exhaled deeply. I love this feeling. I was seriously soaking in every single minute of it.

And then I turned around to look at my little ones.

After some time giggling and singing along to the music they both got kind of quiet. When I turned around Jaden had his eyes closed, his arms straight out to his sides (as if he was flying), and the biggest smile on his face. The air from the windows blew right in on his face and my little guy was soaking in the feeling of the sun and the wind just like his mama.

His sister was just as quiet with her head tilted up and as close to the window as her booster seat would allow - letting the wind whip her hair around.

I smiled. So simple...but so important to me. I hope my children always find joy and peace in the simple things and I hope they always remember that in life the little things (like the sun on your face and the wind in your hair) are really the big things.

Let's Make the World a Better Place...

Eva recycling veggie corndog packaging

My friend Kim and I have always said that our childrens' generation is the generation that will save this planet. I was not raised recycling, I didn't think about the ozone layer (which was obvious by the CAN of hairspray I would go through each week as a teen to keep those bangs skyhigh and waterproof), and I never thought about the carbon fingerprint I would leave on the world. It just wasn't common when I was a child. As I've grown I've made little changes here and there and if you have read my blog for awhile you know that last summer Matt and I decided it was time to join the recycling world. I was fully aware we were a bit behind the craze...but there is good news...

My daughter has made up for ANY lost time we had in the world of recycling.

I'm serious.

This little girl of mine is a recycling QUEEN. I will feel like I am on top of the whole recycling thing and she will literally dig through the trash and come up with a TON of items I missed. She then will look at me with her little eyebrows raised and simply say, "Mommy, alllll of this can be recycled."

Crazy how our children teach us.

She is consistently checking absolutely anything that is heading to the trash to see if it can be recycled. I swear she can spot the recycling sign from a mile away. Tonight I was throwing away the plastic from a pack of diapers and my little girl studied that plastic wrap from every single angle to see if she could recycle it.

We now recycle absolutely everything that can be recycled. Everything. That's right, my little girl is doing her part to save the world one little milk carton at a time and I love her that much more for it.

"We are the world....we are the children...it's true we'll make a brighter day, just you and me."

--Lyrics to "We Are the World"

Road Warriors

Does this look like a rough and tumble crew or what?!! This is the scene in our little corner of the neighborhood nearly every. single. day. Nearly all the houses in our little corner have children all the same age...and all the children have jeeps (we are actually even missing one of the Jeeps in this picture).

It's crazy let me tell you....CRAZY!

It's hilarious to see all of them cruising around the block with their wheels...often not even driving their own - they all ride eachothers. Some are good drivers...some are not (apparently landscape lights and Jeeps don't mix). Some are daredevils...some are not (have you ever seen a little Jeep do donuts? I have.)

These days pass all to quickly and before I know it they will all be old enough to be driving real cars - gasp!! Until then I am going to enjoy watching these little "road warriors" burnin' rubber at a hefty 2 miles per hour....and lovin' every minute of it!

My New B/F/F

Yes, it's true. I have a new BFF. For those of you that know me personally this will come as no surprise to you....for those of you that don't, here is the scoop...

A few weeks ago I passed out. COLD. I stood up quickly in the morning, felt light headed, and the next thing I remember was laying on the ground with Eva and Jaden over me asking what I was doing on the floor! Quite honestly, it was kind of funny. The part that wasn't funny is that on the way down I hit my head on a nightstand....hard. After a few hours I decided a trip to the ER may be in order because of how hard I hit my head and the fact that I hadn't passed out in a VERY long time (I did occasionally in high school). Sooo....long story short (and many tests later - including a CT scan to make sure I didn't break any bones in my face) I will be undergoing three fairly routine tests just to make sure all is OK. The docs think that all the tests will come back fine, but it is always good to be sure!

That is where my new BFF comes into play. The picture of the monitor at the beginning of my post is a Holter Monitor. I will be wearing this monitor for the next 48 hours to monitor the rhythms of my heart. It is attached by little patches all over my chest, and then it clips on my pants...I look a bit like an early 1990's doctor with a cellphone clipped to my jeans! Ha!

As a person that tends to worry about health related things I can honestly tell you that I am quite amazed at how calm I feel about all of this. I feel in my heart that all will be alright! That being said, prayers are always appreciated! I'll let you know how my new BFF and I are getting along during the next 48 hours...so far - so good...except I can't shower with it on. Then again, true friends love you stinky pits and all!! Ha!!

Hugs and Love,
Jamie

Simple Joy #16

I love having a little vase of flowers on the nightstand next to the bed....it's awesome to wake up in the morning and see something so bright and cheerful.

And as much as I love that, there IS something that definitely tops it. Would you like to know what??

Freshly picked "flowers" from my munchkins. Absolutely NOTHING beats the kind of flowers that come straight from the heart of little ones...and straight out of the field nearby. I always try to display them in a nice vase...even if it is just a few dandelions. They mean more to me than any flower bought in a store...and they make me smile even more.

"Be like the flower....turn your face to the sun"

--Kahlil Gibran

The start of something beautiful...

I am growing a garden this year. It's the first garden I've had since I was a very little girl. Let's just say I have a lot to learn...but isn't that some of the fun in a new adventure like this?! Some of my friends have asked that I blog occasionally about my garden because they would like to possibly start a garden next year and they are hoping they can learn from me...triumphs and mistakes! So enjoy the first post on my gardening journey...

We started by digging up an area for the garden. I originally was going to keep my garden very small with only a few veggies...but as time went on Matt and I realized there is a lot out there that we would love to try growing! So it's bigger than originally anticipated...but still not huge. Matt and Eva dug up sod last weekend and tilled it for me. Eva is such a hard worker...I admire so much about her work ethic at such a young age.

As of yesterday everything is planted. Some things we planted from seeds, and other things we used plants for. We also planted flowers (marigolds) along the edges of the garden. I have been told they will help keep the bunnies away...and besides that I just think they look pretty!

We have potatoes, onions, beans, green peppers, tomatoes, basil, and cilantro. As you can tell from the pictures, Eva and Jaden helped me plant nearly everything. For those of you that have little ones, this is an awesome experience for them! I've already found that within the garden many lessons are to be learned...for all of us.

"Gardening is a way of showing that you believe in tomorrow."

--Anonymous

Simple Joy #15

There is nothing like feeling like my children have played sooooo hard during the day that they literally CRASH at night. I feel like it is so good for them and their little bodies!!! This was our day recently...

After waking up and playing outside for awhile

we had a picnic lunch in the swing set fort! We all had soooo much fun!

After lunch we played with the neighbors on the slip-n-slide! First time for the season and the little ones ran and slid for a good hour!!
After naps and more playing outside we headed to the pond behind my sister's house for some fishing!

And believe it or not, our little guy caught this sucker! Daddy was so proud!!!
Needless to say, after a day like that where we were outside playing nearly the entire day, our kiddies could barely keep their eyes open by bedtime. I wish I had a picture of the dazed look on their faces as the evening wore down! Ha! Ahhhh.....I love a day like that!

"Play hard and have no regrets!"

--Jimmy Buffett

Happy Birthday Jaden!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We can't believe you are two Little Man. You continue to inspire us, amaze us, and teach us...we feel so blessed to be your Mommy and Daddy. We love you!

We also want to give credit to our awesome photographers - Kelly and Justin - for some of the professional shots in this slide show. For more info on them please contact me.

And the winner is....

Let me start this post by thanking you - from the bottom of my heart - for the sweet comments you left on my last post. I never in a million years expected comments like that...I was honestly just curious as to how you found me and why you read. Your comments amazed me and even brought tears to my eyes..especially from those of you I don't even know!! You are all toooo sweet!

That said, I wish alllll of you could be winners - because ya are in my book! Unfortunately, I could only pick one winner. I was planning on using randominteger.org to have a computer pick the number that was the winner...but in the end decided it would be more fun to have Eva pick the number! I wrote numbers 1 - 17 (since that was the number of comments I had) on pieces of paper, mixed them all up, and let Eva draw a number out.

And the winner is....

The 12th comment on that post belongs to Jami from Fantastic Family of Four!! Her wish was that I would VISIT (which doesn't happen nearly enough since we live over an hour apart)!! Jami, your wish is my command!!! I couldn't ask for a gift that would be more fun to give!! The kiddies and I will plan on heading to your house for a playdate as soon as school is out, just give me dates that work for you!!!

As always my friends, thanks so much for reading and for taking the time to comment. It means the world to me!! Stay tuned...lots to share on my blog so I'll be updating frequently in the next few days!