The DK Family

Valentines Day pictures

2011-01-25T14:17:00.000-08:00

I decided to make a valentines card this year for my family. I normally only do Christmas and that is just on good years. lol I am by all means NOT good at the whole card thing. In fact, i still have written out christmas cards (addressed and all) from 5 years ago still sitting in a closet. i dont know why this is so hard for me to do but it always has been. Since this was a year with no Christmas cards i thought it would be the perfect time to do Valentines cards. I can't wait till they come in so i can send them out cause i personally think they turned out cute. Here is the final pics, just a little reminder to the fam of how much we love them. =)

BTW i never realized how hard it would be for a 2 year old to point to his eye and a 3 year old to make a heart shape. She could not figure it out for the life of her and really i just straight lucked out that i got a shot with it actually looking like one! lol

Lap Desks (my kids favorite Christmas gift)

2010-12-30T12:21:00.000-08:00

I made my two oldest kids lap desks this year for Christmas and they LOVE them. The lap desks and the eye spy bags are definitely their favorite gifts (or at least the ones they have used the most thus far). I also made one for my niece who is a little older then my two and she loved it as well and her mom says she not only uses it to read and work on but she turns it over and uses it as a pillow! I used chalkboard paint for my two little ones and my youngest son wanted to know where his was. I felt so guilty but since he is not as into coloring as the other two are i did not think he would want one. So i guess i will be making another one very soon! So far they have mainly used them as chalkboards but my oldest son, who is 5, has used it to do his homework on and loved that he could now do it on his "lap".

This one was made for my Niece Jalyn who is almost 7.

The next two were for my two oldest, Dalten 5 and Kayden 3.

And here are my cuties using them for the first time.

2011 Resolutions

2010-12-29T06:24:00.000-08:00

I normally do not do resolutions other then the normal i need to lose weight, but that sentence comes out of my mouth every month not just on new years! I have decided to join the flock of bloggers who are making their lists in hopes that really thinking about what i want this year and writing it down will help emplore me to accomplish them. So here it goes;

1. Lose weight (haha i had too)
2. Every month change one thing about my diet plan to get it on a healthier track. If i can do more then 1 a month great but my goal is just for one thing. These things inlcude things from a list of advise from my friend Elizabeth, she is very knowledgable in this area and i trust her assesments on food. Not sure where i will start but i better figure it out soon!
3. drink more water, which goes hand in hand with drinking less diet soda! I love water and i am not sure why i tend to forgo it for diet coke? Hopefully i can change that this year.
4. Be less critical of my craft projects so that i can start selling them for extra money. Selling things has been a goal of mine for quite some time but i see a flaw in everything i make and feel guilty charging people when i dont think it is perfect. I also feel really guilty charging people more then it cost me to make it.
5. Get better at woodworking. This kind of goes hand in hand with number 4 but i would really like to get better at woodworking skills. I would love to make things i could sell to people and i am talking about decor for the house, the yard and possibly one day even furniture! I am slowly building up my tool collection and hopefully will be able to master each one of them!
6. Start looking into buying a home. We want to own a home so badly but have been waiting till i am either working again or really close to it. I have told Darren though i want to go ahead and start looking into a loan so that we can get an estimate on whether he could get approved or not, how much we could get approved for and then advise on what we could do to up that price, example build more credit, pay off certain things etc. It is hard knowing what you should do to fix things when you are not sure what is on your credit or even what your credit score is. They may tell us we need to wait till his truck is closer to being paid off or all the way paid off. But at least we can start forming a plan and working toward that goal!
7. Reach my 5K goal!! My first 5K was supposed to be in Oct but of course i slacked off and was not ready and have not really gotten back on the wagon. This is something i truly want to accomplish as i have always wanted to be a runner and i think this would be a HUGE stap toward a healthy life style for me.
8. Cook more home made meals, though if i start changing our eating habits i will have to anyway. Dont get me wrong, we dont eat out very often as we do not have the money for it but i tend to make a lot of easy things that can go in a microwave or lots of pasta dishes, you know super easy things. I tend not to make a protein, carb and vegetable like you are supposed to and i really want my kids learning to eat the right way now so they do not have the same weight issues as i do and the possible health issues i could eventually get.
9. Start back to church!! This should actually be my number 1 and i have been saying this for way to long now. I always seem to think of an accuse as to why i cannot go but i am really doing my kids a serious injustice by not introducing them to God now. I do talk about him but not nearly like i should or like they would learn in church.
10. Spend more quality time with each of my children. I have had one date night with Dalten so far but i would like to switch off doing that with each of them. I think they all need their mommy to themselves every once in a while. And this next story i am going to tell you is a big part of why i dont want to put that quality time off!

That is the end of my list and hopefully at the end of the year i will be able to say i checked off all these things! On a sadder note, much much sadder. A girl i went to highschool with died, along with her husband, on Christmas Eve night. Their 8 month old daughter survived but is in the hospital with many fractures, bruises and two broken legs. I cannot seem to get this story out of my mind. She was not a friend of mine but i know exactly who she is. She was the all american girl that you wished you could be like. Super cute, smart, pom squad. Her husband just graduated from texas A&M with his PHD and was on his why to being an up and coming scientist. I can't help but think about where they were going or coming from, did they just have their babies first Christmas? or maybe just finish getting those last minute gifts? I also keep thinking about how that poor baby will never completely know her parents or have brothers and sisters or will never be able to celebrate chrismtas without thinking about the tragedy that took place. I am really trying to get over this story but it haunts me and i think it is because my worst fear is that i will die and not see my kids grow up or vise versa. i could not live without my children and the thought of someone else raising them devestates me. Anyway please pray for the Steigler and Goodpasture family and then love on your family because you truly never know when it is your time to go.

Finally posting some of my Christmas projects

2010-12-22T13:06:00.000-08:00

I am so excited about some of my projects, i still have more to go but i wanted to post some pictures of a few of the things i have made this year. I really hope my family likes the things i give them, personally i find homemade things the best kind of gift but that could just be me. =) First up is this nativity set. This is my absolute favorite. I saw it at Under my Umbrella, which is such a fun blog! She is very creative. http://undermypolkadotumbrella.blogspot.com/2009/09/nativity-patterns.html She was nice enough to give us the templates and everything. I of course had to do it the hard way since i am out of ink and i could not get them to enlarge so i free handed them by looking at her pictures. ha She also does not have the stable or anything so i made that and attached it to the board with a piece of dowel. (i just drilled holes in a board i cut for buttom and then holes in the bottom of stable so that it comes apart). I also attached the angel with a dowel and attached the North star to the angel with some wire. I was pretty happy with how it turned out! I am making myself and my mother in law one as well. (yes still lots to do before Christmas!!)

These next 3 things i made for Darren's boss, our friends the Nalleys and my brother and sister in law the Halls. I really hope they like it. I wish i new the colors of everyones decor so i could personalize them a little better but i am hoping i picked fairly neutral colors.

I made this sign for My step sister Kimberly and her husband, I need to make one more for my sister in law Debbie Ann as well. this particular project i saw at Mine for The Making..http://mineforthemaking.blogspot.com/2010/02/name-blocks.html I of course just used paint and not vinyl, one of these days i will win a sillouette! lol

This next sign i made for my step sister Kori and her family.

The next pic is what i made Daltens teacher.

This last picture i am posting i made for our guys handmade gift for our adult dirty santa. It took me forever to figure out what to take but i like how it turned out. In fact i am making one that says HOGS football for my sisters fellow as he is a huge Hogs fan and has his own mancave to hang it in. =)

Finals are done!!

2010-12-15T06:25:00.000-08:00

Well i can FINALLY get back to my crafting as i took my last final last night. Sometimes i could just kick myself for not finishing school before i got married and had kids. =) Live and learn!! Anyway here are just a couple of the things i did in between homework and studying. I am working on LOTS of great things but i cannot really post them until after Christmas since they are presents. =)

I found a tutorial for these cute trees at Shanty 2 Chic.....http://shanty2chic.blogspot.com/2010/11/ruffle-christmas-trees.html I however do not have a ruffler foot so i did it the super long way and "ruffled" them by hand. I still love the way they turned out and the colors match my home beautifully. I wish i could leave them up year round!!

This next post i saw an idea for somewhere and i cannot remember where. I hate it too because she has a link to a really cute kissing sillouette you can use. I however am a big dork and wanted to personalize it with my husband and I. We did our pics seperate lol and he had no idea what i was doing. He was wondering why i made him look down for a side view picture. ha Poor guy, he must hate having a wife who is always doing something to embarrass him. lol

Here is what it looks like on my book shelf.

I really want to add some of these super cute tissue paper trees i found at Mine for the Making. http://mineforthemaking.blogspot.com/2010/11/tissue-paper-trees-tutorial.html I want to make one the same height as the picture and then smaller and smaller. I think a gold, red and green tree would look pretty next to it and make it not look so lonely up there!

Gamestop contest

2010-12-09T05:28:00.000-08:00

Anyone who actually knows me, knows i havew a gamer husband. So i am entering this contest for him. He would sh*t a brick if i gave him this on christmas morning! lol

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama (link to: http://bit.ly/tmwishlist) and GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family? My wish for my family would be that we are heatlhy and happy and that my children understand the full meaning of the holiday and know that, though the gifts are a great bonus, they are just that a bonus!

2. What is your Christmas morning / Hanukkah Nightly tradition? Christmas Eve night we go look at christmas lights at our big display places. Then we come home and open one gift (pj's), leave milk and cookies for santa, and put reindeer food down outside. Christmas morning we wake up and have some great family time while opening the remainder of our gifts and then head out to the in laws for a full day of family fun.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be? I know this sounds a little odd as it is not material but i would wish for the power to finally overcome my food addictions so i could get to a healthy weight for myself and my family.

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money? We listen to alot of christmas music and dance around the house. We also spend more time together driving around looking at lights. My kids love it as much as me this year so it has been even funner. =)

5. What games did you play with your family growing up? When my sister and i were little we got an atari. We had so much fun playing with that untill we got a little older and finally got a nintendo. I will always heart mario brothers. =)

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood? Looking at lights before celebrating Christmas. Unfortunatley my family did not really have any traditions, which i think is why i have so many now that i have my own kids. i really want them to have things they can carry on to there families one day.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas/Hanukkah-away-from-home trip? I know most people say somewhere warm but i would love to be in the snowy mountains with plenty of food and drinks and firewood snuggled up nice and cozy with my family.

8. Check out GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year? My husband already has about 20 games picked out lol but i cannot remember them. i would want an x-box and the new x-box excercising games. I love the idea of not having to hold a remote while doing it!

My Christmas Wish List

2010-12-07T07:10:00.000-08:00

So i thought i would put a little Christmas wish list together. Things i really want, will never get (at least as a present ha) and that are out of a price range someone other then my husband would get me anyway. This list will more then likely serve as a reminder for me so i can know exactly what i want to get myself when i have spare money.

First up is this juicer. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000050FB5/ref=s9_wishx_gw_p79_d85_i1?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3536K9OWIOQUD&colid=KJWTAX3GFRM&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-5&pf_rd_r=1T3MCDEF6ABCQWK0Y8AW&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470939291&pf_rd_i=507846 such a great price and i have heard it works really well. I would love to start jicing as my family does not get near enough vegatables and i would love for us to get better at it. I am thinking with "juice" i could make this happen. =)

Next up are tools. I love doing wood projects and it is kind of hard when all you have is a borrowed jig saw and a borrowed circular saw. These are just a few of the tools i really want!!

I of course need new things for the kitchen as well. These should probably go at the top of my list but since i like crafting more than cooking it's not. haha

You can never go wrong with craft things for me. I would take scrap fabric, bottons, plastic containers you have saved, glass jars, paint, wood, pretty much anything because you never know when you can use it! In fact the more i look at craft blogs the more i kick myself for some of the things i have thrown away. =) here are just a couple of the 1000 things i am wanting. First up is punchs, scallop punches and circular punches. I want some in all sizes. this would make life so much easier when crafting!

Pinking shears!!

My New Favorite Find!!

2010-12-04T05:43:00.000-08:00

Can i just say i LOVE this idea. I am totally jacking it and hope that in the future i can talk my crafty girlfriends into doing this with me and maybe even my sister in law. (hint hint Jess) I think it would be so much fun to have a group of girls doing christmas crafts together, especially this one. Not to mention with this one you get to ensure yummy treats daily till Christmas. How can you can go wrong there? lol You could also do so much with this. if you didnt want to do a seperate countdown with words you could make a really cute countdown board to hang this from. So many ideas there from chalkboard paint and embellishments to two rows of beautiful scrapbook paper with numbers on them to flip over each day. I can't wait to see what i come up with. Since i just found this however i will be working on the hanger for next year. =) I found this at Bunch of Craft. http://bunchofcraft.blogspot.com/2010/12/10-days-of-christmas-crafting-day-4.html

Fabulous Finds Friday

2010-12-03T08:25:00.000-08:00

I have been neglecting this blog this week as i have been bsuy busy busy with school and crafts. hopefully i will get some completed this weekend so i can actually post some. =) i dont know why i cannot just do one thing at a time. =) Anyway here are a few fun things i would like to try my hand at.

Is this not the CUTEST. I want someone to have a little boy just so i can make this for them. NOT in these colors though, in fact my husband would die if he knew i even posted this. lol He is OU through and through! I found this at Grace Violet...http://www.graceviolet.com/2009/01/how-to-make-taggie-football.html

Here is something i am going to make my daughter. I think it is so cute!! I found it at Ruffles...http://www.rufflesandstuff.com/2009/10/tutorial-easy-no-sew-flutter-cape-with.html Check out her site, she has a cute little model wearing it for us. =)

And last are these cute ornaments i am going to have the kids make. I thought this would be a pretty simple project for all ages and it does not cost a lot to make. =) I found it at Craft O Maniac...http://craftomaniac.blogspot.com/2010/11/baked-christmas-ornaments.html

What I am soooo Thankful for!

2010-11-25T17:22:00.000-08:00

Trying to get a picture of all 4. lol NOT HAPPENING! haha My dear husband and 3 great kids.

My baby boy Daven., 2 years old

My Oldest son Dalten, 5 years old

My baby girl Kayden, 3 years old

They make my heart complete.

Teacher Thanksgiving gift

2010-11-23T07:30:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you are anything like me but as a stay at home mom i am broke quite often! Especially around the holidays when i am making tons of deserts and presents. So here is an idea for a cute teacher gift just to let her know you appreciate her and are thinking of her. I know gifts for teachers are not required but i like to give them something small on every holiday (and something bigger for christmas and end of year). Something holiday themed. I will start posting the crafts i make for each holiday. i can tell you now the st. patricks day one is super cute!! So anyway last night Dalten and I made this cute little card for his teacher. Word of warning, i AM NOT and artist and i HAVE the worst penmanship known to mankind. lol But it's the thought that counts, right? =)

Dalten had so much fun making the "leaves" he chose the colors and where to put them at. He liked making the leaves fall to the ground. haha I was hoping he would make it fuller but he said it was complete. lol

With this we gave her a watchamacallit as this is her favorite candy/chocalate (which we discovered from our start of the year survey we gave her) and a filled Cornucopia. We filled this waffle cone cornucopia with peanuts, pretzel m&m's and marshmellows. here is a picture of it but i already had it in the sack and used my phone but i got the idea from this tutorial here http://ourdailyobsessions.blogspot.com/2010/11/edible-cornucopias.html This is such a cute idea and actually what i am taking to my Thanksgiving celebration for all the kiddos, along with turkey poop, which i got from Mine for the Making http://mineforthemaking.blogspot.com/2010/11/turkey-poop.html =) so cute!

Finally a few finished crafts and a semi turkey clip tutorial

2010-11-20T21:29:00.000-08:00

I made this cute little wreath for my door for the holidays. I thought it was cute simple and cheap, which is what i am going for at the moment since all extra time needs to be spent on Christmas!! =) I do have to say i have a few picked out i am definitely going to have to make that will stay up the whole year! I threw some green felt around it to show where it will hang but i will be getting cute ribbon to hang it with NOT FELT. =) Oh also i saw this idea somewhere in blog land but as my last post said my lap top died along with all my favorites. boo!

I was also able to finish a really super cute christmas gift that i am dying to post on here but since i have family that reads this i cant post it. =( I'll have to after the holidays!

Does anyone else have a gamer husband? I do thats for sure!!! And i am getting pretty tired of seeing his game room look like this:

So i have finally done something about it!! I decided to make this CD holder for his wall with his favorite football team. Now I am sure this could be a lot cuter (especially if it were for a girl haha) but i used all on hand items. The only thing i bought for it was some extra black ribbon as i ran out halfway through and even though they FINALLY have sooner ribbon i opted not to spend extra money on it. I mean i love OU but 5 bucks for a thing of ribbon...NOT happening! My hubby has not hung it up yet so you dont get the finished look with CD's in it but here is what it looks like. i thought it turned out cute. =) Boomer Sooner!!

Okay so a girlfriend came over last night to shoot the bull and work on crafts in the process. I had mentioned making turkey hair clips for our girls so she picked up some things she thought would be cute. i had figured i would use ribbon but when i saw her idea i liked it so much better! So here is a small tutorial for it. First go out and buy these along with some brown, red and orang felt and some googly eyes.

Choose your colors and then cut off the thick pieces to glue to your turkey body for the feathers. For the turkey body we just cut 2 peanut shaped pieces out of brown felt. roughly about 2 inches but i think mine was a little more. We just free handed them so we both had differnt sizes but i thought the size looked cute on my daughters head. =) Here is what it looks like gluing them on.

You can see we just glued them on one at a time on one of the peanut pieces. After getting them glued on we took the other peanut (body) piece and glued it right on top so it looks like 1 complete body with feathers in the back. We then glued on googly eyes, a teardrop red felt piece and an orange triangle piece for the nose and then glued a clip on back. Here is the result. =)

Happy crafting!!

bloggy yumminess of the day

2010-11-19T14:43:00.000-08:00

Okay so i lied. I did find something this week that i just have to share. If you like eggnog and you have not seen this post you are about to love me!! I have tried 3 deserts this week that sounded soooo good i could not stand to wait. Of those 3 there is only one that my entire family LOVED!!! In fact they are going to be a part of my holiday desert collection from now on and i am even making them for my family next week at Thanksgiving. So if you have not seen this recipe at Making the World Cuter head on over there now, make them, and enjoy the yummy goodness you have created!!

http://makingtheworldcuter.blogspot.com/2010/11/eggnog-cupcakes.html

Fabulous Finds Friday or not

2010-11-19T07:28:00.000-08:00

So i thought i would start a new thing and do a Fabulous Finds Friday where i list my favorite things i found that week. However, last night my laptop decided to stop working so all my fun finds are gone and with three kids i dont have time to find them all again. =( Hopefully a friend of ours can get it up and going because i have soooo many things i want to try saved under my favorites. A lot of those are things i wanted to make as Christmas gifts!! So anyway you will now have to wait till next week for my fabulous finds. =) I am having a craft party tonight with a couple girlfriends of mine though so maybe just maybe i will actually finish a project (i have about 3 or 4 started lol) so that i can post about it this weekend. Time to get my booty in gear for Christmas. School is making me run behind!!

Printables

2010-11-15T11:51:00.000-08:00

Hi guys, Kara over at Mine for The Making is sharing some printables with us. She has an awesome blog with many great craft ideas, in fact her blog is where i won my first (and only so far lol) giveaway. It is the beautiful family est. sign i posted about a few posts ago. Anyway today she has a subway art printable that i will definitely be printing out. I have been wanting some subway art for awhile now and this one is just perfect!! I am also printing the hot chocolate one as i LIVE for hot chocolate in the winter time and it is just darn cute!! But really all of them are so go over there and check them out!! Here is her link. Sorry i am not cool enough yet to know how to just show her name without showing the whole link. lol

http://mineforthemaking.blogspot.com/2010/11/christmas-printable-4-christams-subway.html

Things i have made part 2

2010-11-14T07:41:00.001-08:00

Okay so this is all i am posting. Believe it or not there is more but i will just have to keep up with them now. =) Some of these things are things i have found on other sites but it has been so long i have no idea which sites to link them back to (even though i dont know how to lonk anyway ha). So i am sorry for not giving credit where credit is due. I will make sure on future posts to have that info.

This first picture is of some reindeer i made for family 2 christmas ago. I actually made 3 and the one not pictured is my fave but it was already with its owner when i took a pic. Also not sure why its blury like that but you can tell what i did. I was quite proud of these and am mad i did not make one for myself. Guess i better go buy a couple of garden posts. =) BTW when i gave these out i had one Uncle ask my husband how much i actually did, now is that sexist or what!! The only part i got help on was cutting the angle on the head because i do not have a tool that goes all the way through i had to turn it over and i could not get it even for the life of me!! i SOOOOOO need more tools. lots and lots of tools, as i LOVE wood working!!

I made this for my husbands desk and i love it. I already plan to make lots more with different sayings on them.

I made this for my moms bookshelf. It looks really good up there!

I made these leaf pillows from a fellow blogger. She is so smart, she found these placemats at walmart, ripped open a seam and filled them up. I just had to copy!! They really make my house feel like fall.

I love this headband though its not a great shot of it. It has 3 petals and 1 bead in the middle. I also made a cute yellow one with three smaller beads in the middle that i love too. This is also from a fellow blogger. Sorry i dont have their link. =(

I dont know why this is sideways but il go with it. You can tell what it is and its all out of t-shirt scraps. I have learned not to throw away anything these days. =)

Kayden likes to put this one in the middle of her forehead and tell me its a head light. lol

Minnie ears for Kayden and her cousins on our trip to Disneyland this summer.

This is a travel cars kit for the boys to play with in the car. I believe you can google car cozie for the tutorial on this one. I think this may be a christmas gift for some little people i know!

Here it is opened up.

A felt crown i made for a friends son. (i actully made 3 for all her sons)

Not a great pic of my two little ones but this is Dalten in his birthday crown. It has the numbers 5 on the side and this is Kayden in her St. Patty's day dress i made her.

Some crowns i made for the J's. =) My nephew and niece Jaxen and Jalyn.

This is a bracelet i made to remember our troops. I also made a pink ribbon one for breast cancer.

things i have made part 1

2010-11-14T07:11:00.000-08:00

Wow as i was uploading these pictures i was surprised at how many things i had done. In fact there are several things i have never taken pics of. =) I will start blogging by project though and maybe just maybe one of these days i will do tutorials like so many of the blogs i follow. They are where i get so many of my ideas from!!

This first picture is of my beuatiful daughter in the valentines dress i made her. 2/14/10 Kayden 2 years old.

She loved making towels into capes so i thought a cape would be PERFECT for her.

These are cans i made for all the guys in my family last christmas, inside they had homemade brownies, bad call bricks and coasters to match their team. I thought they would be great on a desk for pens and pencils or on a dresser for change or whatever they wanted. i thought they were cute. =)

These are key chain chapstick holders. They didnt turn out as cute as they should have but i didnt have the right size ring so it scrunched up on top a little. But still holds chapstick well. =)

My step-sisters are both huge wine drinkers so i thought these wine charms would be great.

A tutu for my neice

And of course a matching tiarra. =)

My huge OU fan husband got a CD holder for his car viser.

These are some little girl shoes i made a friend

These are my favorite of all the shoes i have made. They were for my son. He loved them and they looked soooo comfy!

Some comfy boots or little house slippers/

crafts

2010-11-12T07:14:00.000-08:00

I can't seem to make the pictures go after the blog so i guess you will have to read my blog after the pictures. lol Sorry!! I will work on that. =)

This first picture is what i am making from I am an Inspiring Artist. Here is the link, not sure if i am posting it correctly but it will take you to her page. =) http://nraevsky.blogspot.com/2010/11/homemade-cornucopia-tutorial.html

This next picture is from The Pink Peony of Lejardin. She also just put a post about the one Gwenny Penny did out of felt that is super cute too. In fact i cant decide which one i want to make!! But i think i am going with this one but with Gwenny Penny's sails. I follow all 3 of these blogs and i love them!! Great inspirations. http://nraevsky.blogspot.com/2010/11/homemade-cornucopia-tutorial.html

I have decided i need to start posting on the crafts i have made. I am constantly in the blog world looking for new ideas of things to make for myself or family. Right now i am on the search for mens gifts from ages 2-16 and 30-80. I actually think i have the little boys taken care of but i can not find crap for men!! I am on my laptop right now so my next post will have to include pictures of things i have already made. However here are a few of the crafts i am working on right now for Thanksgiving. Mine will probably not be as cute as theirs but these are too adorable not to share. I will make sure to post my picture when all is said and done!

I was a winner!!

2010-09-27T19:13:00.001-07:00

I am so excited to have won my first blog prize ever!! I recieved it in the mail this morning and it is so cute. I won this family sign from Kara at http://mineforthemaking.blogspot.com. She has many wonderful tutorials on her site and i want to try all of them! If you are into crafts at all you definitely need to check her blog out! Thank you again Kara, i truly appreciate and love it!

Kristy

Dieting...AGAIN!!!!

2010-09-13T05:46:00.000-07:00

Can i just say i HATE the word diet. I feel like this has been a word ingrained into me since i was a little girl. It is something i have always been doing or been avoiding. I have done so many "diets" that i am pretty sure my body and metabolism are probably messed up for life. I was certainly not blessed with a metabolism worth a hoot and have always been bigger than my peers but i by no means believe i have to be fat. I know that my eating habits are what contribute to this. Yes alot of people (like my husband) have no problem eating pizza and fries and mexican and all the other yummies i dont want to mention because they are making me hungry, without gaining an ounce. Is it horrible that i want to eat like that too? No it's not horrible, it's human, but I have to be realistic and know that i cannot do that without gaining LOTS of ounces. Last summer I heard about this great new diet called HCG. I tried it, it worked, I lost 70 lbs. But just like most fad diets once i got off there program i gained and i gained and i gained some more. This time however I have stopped myself before i gained it all back. I am still disspointed i let myself inch this far up but nothing i can do about it now but work hard to lose it. So I have now been back on the diet front for a week now and i lost 7 lbs. I know that is not a realistic number to expect every week but i am happy i am going in the right direction. This diet is called the body for life diet. Though it is a "book" diet, i dont feel it is a fad diet as it is just eating healthy (a protein, a carb and a vegatable) and working out. Duh, shouldnt i be doing that anyway? =) The only difference is, once a week i get a cheat day to eat whatever i want. I like this part because when i am craving something really bad i just tell myself 2 more days and i can have it. This is also nice because i can still participate in family gatherings, football parties, birthday parties, etc. You know all the things that tend to hinder us while eating healthy. It's not fun going to a party surrounded by yummy goodness and not being able to participate. Especially when your entire life seems to revolve around what you are eating. I wish i was not like this, but i am. I seem to constantly be thinking about food in one way or another. I hope to grow out of this one day but since i am 30 i dont know if i will. My mom is like this too, i am just trying really hard not to pass these habits down to my kids. Even if they get Darren's metabolism and not mine i still want them choosing healthy foods!! And not using foods as a treat, present, comfort food, etc. Anyway, off to another week of choosing right!

craft projects

2010-09-03T09:28:00.000-07:00

I have so many craft projects going on right now and so many i want to start! I think my entire favorites bar is just completely filled up with pages of things i want to try. This is no good when school is in session because my crafts go to the back burner. This is especially no good when those school subjects are fast paced and hard!! And this is superly no good when there is only 4 months till christmas!! =)I swear every year i say i am going to start early on Christmas but every year i am up till 2 or so finishing up my craft projects. You see i LOVE to make homemade gifts. Some people think this is because they are cheaper but it's becuase i love trying to give the gift that is individualized for a certain person. Something that is made completely from love and not a gift that is given just to give a gift but something i really think they would like. I dont always hit the mark but at least i try. =) Anyway i already have some great ideas for this year and cannot wait to see the reactions of my loved ones. I would post them here but since my loved ones are probably the only ones to read this i can't. I'll make sure to post pics after it's all said and done though. Happy Friday and happy 4 day weekend to me!!

First day of Kindergarten

2010-08-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

Here are pics from today, his first day of Kindergarten!

Here is a picture of Dalten and the kids on Daltens first day of preschool. They arent that great but i wanted to show how small they were. The first pic shows that Dalten comes to the lock on the door. I had not realized how much he has grown this year until i looked at these pictures. Its funny how that happens.

wordless wed. (kinda since it's my second post hehe)

2010-08-18T08:58:00.000-07:00

All pictures taken by the talented Kristen over at Boy N Berries...http://kristens-pics.blogspot.com/

Updates

2010-08-18T06:39:00.000-07:00

Wow! i can't believe I have not been on here since February! I missed writing about a few things along the way so i will write some very short updates on the months i missed.

March- Dalten turned 5 years old in March. He had his first sleepover for his birthday. He had his cousins here along with his friend Tristin. Surprisingly everything went really smoothly and the kids all a good time.

April- Kayden turned 3 in April. She had her party at a gymnastics center but just in the play zone. I think the kids, along with a few adults, had loads of fun. =)

May- May was finishing up the school year for both Dalten and I. I ended with A's but Dalten had some summer homework. We were told he really needed to build his confidence and work on doing more things for himself. He tends to say i dont know how alot! I really feel he has improved and look forward to seeing how he does in Kindergarten.

June- June was our first full month out of school and though i know we had plans every weekend I cannot for the life of me remember what we did at the moment. lol This has been a super busy summer for us!

July-One of my favorite holidays of the year ( i say one because really what holiday isnt great when you get together with friends and family). Every year we go to our friend Cory's house. This was year number 8 and it is so fun to see how families have grown. We started this tradition pre-kids for most of us and now grown into quite a bunch of families. lol We play volleyball and horseshoes, we had a moon bounce for the kids and a mister, sparklers, music, fireworks, great foode and great company! This month was also my littlest mans 2nd birthday. I can not believe how fast he is growing! He is even trying to potty train already. in fact it is momma who is not wanting to mess with it yet. but he goes all the time on the toilet so maybe he will be an early trainer. i can hope anyway. =)

August- We just got back from our first big family vacation. We have taken some sort of vacation every summer but this was our big trip! (or maybe i think that b ecause it has cost the most lol) We spent a week in California. We did 3 days at Disneyland, one day at the beach and 3 days at my aunts house swimming. We also did 2 24 hour car drives straight through. Needless to say it was an extremely fun exhausting trip! This month also starts the first day of a new school year. Dalten starts Kindergarten tomorrow. I am so excited for him but a little sad for all of us. I can't believe he will be gone ALL day long. He is going to learn so much this year and become so much more independant. But he will always be my first baby. I look foward to seeing all he learns and though he is nervous and does not want to start school i really hope he starts to love learning and being creative. He starts music this year, which i am VERY excited about!

Thats pretty much it for the updates. Kayden is now in underware full time and rarely has accidents but still does on occasion. Mainly when we are somewhere else, you know the one time you really dont want them too lol.

Thats about it, hopefully i will update this thing more. i am not that interesting but sometimes its nice to vent things out or share happy memories. =) Lots of things coming up, Darrens birthday, halloween, thanksgiving, my birthday and christmas. Lots of fun!!

My 5 year Anniversary in Eureka Springs

2010-02-23T19:46:00.000-08:00

Darren and I just celebrated our five year anniversary in Eureka Springs. We have been on camping trips and river floats together but this was our first true vacation. Not to mention my first trip away from all three kids. We had so much fun just being together and relaxing. It has been so long since it has just been the two of us and i had forgotten how nice it is. Not that my kiddos werent constantly on my mind. =) We did some shopping and exploring Thursday and Friday and just a little bit Saturday morning and then spent the rest of the day in the cabin. Eureka Springs has some very wonderful sights. Not everything was open as it was the off season but enough was open for us to enjoy it. i think there was only one or two things i would have liked to have seen that were closed. The streets are very small there and i was a nervous wreck without much traffic, i dont know that i could go during the open season when they say it is extremely busy. So i think we made the right choice for us in going during winter time. =) I am also very glad it is not child friendly. Part of the reason i had a hard time deciding on what trip to take was that i wanted the kids to go to every place i thought of so i wanted to save those for family trips. =) i could not even imagine have my kids with me in those time rowed stores. lol Anyway great trip, great company and Darren and i both cannot wait till our next trip as husband and wife and not mommy and daddy.........speaking of kids, my mom said Dalten did very well, which i knew he wouldn't mind us being gone since he is older, Kayden got very sick the day after we left (thankfully my mom didnt tell me how bad she really was or i would have wanted to come home) and kept wanting to call me. So i talked to her a lot so she could tell me "I sick mom, I throw up" oh it just broke my heart poor little thing. She is just now starting to feel better. She has not thrown up since lunch so i am hoping it is finally passing. Daven looked for me every day. He was who i was most concerned and sad about leaving. When we got to my moms to pick them up he litterally screamed at the top of his lungs, ran and jumped into my arms and started laughing histerically while kicking his feet. I mean it was like i was his christmas, birthday, and easter present all rolled up into one. It was the best feeling a mom could ever get and i wish so much i had had this on tape. He laughed for over 20 minutes hugging on me. It was great! here are a couple pics of our trip. The frist one is Darren and I on top of a 100 foot lookout deck (the stairs were so steep and it was so called my lungs were killing me by the time i made it up lol) and the next one is of our cabin.

sad today

2010-02-23T05:08:00.000-08:00

I am feeling very sad today. Darren is on his way to a funeral this morning. One a person should just never have to go to. His best buddy from childhood is having to say goodbye to his youngest son today. I feel very guilty for not being able to be with my husband as I know how hard this is on him. I also wish i could show my support for Nick and Cassie. I am not strong enough to attend a babies funeral. This is just a little to close to home for me. It is my worst fear imagined and it is hard for me to even contemplate. No one should ever have to put their child in the ground. Cassie and i were pregnant together for all three of my pregnancies and while Nick and Darren were both supposed to get fixed Nick was not quick enough. They had their fourth baby and first son together, after three girls, in October. Logan died of SIDS last Wed. This just breaks my heart over and over again. I am aching so bad for them but i have no idea how to show them I care. I can't even think about it without crying let alone see them. I have put all the responsabilty on Darren, which is so not fair of me. But nobody in mourning wants to see another person losing it. Darren is holding up pretty good but i have a feeling he won't be after today. He is racked with guilt over the fact he had not even met Logan yet. Sometimes life gets busy and its hard to make time to see the people you love. This reminds us of why we shouldn't wait. Anyway I am sorry to bring others down by writing this but i needed to get it off my chest. Please keep the Yoakum family in your prayers as they try to handle this loss. Not just the parents but the three little sisters as well. They are 1,2 and 4 like my kiddos. I can't imagine how they are dealing with this.

thinking thinking thinking

2010-01-10T16:57:00.001-08:00

I seem to be in constant thought these days. I am either thinking about food, kids, cars, money, or marriage. We will start with my thoughts on food. I love food! I miss food! lol that pretty much sums it up. haha I am still doing well on my diet. I backtracked just a little during the holidays but i am back at it and smaller then i have been since,hmm goodness, probably since before i turned 21. So that is very good news. I am pretty sure I will have to buy a whole new wardrobe for summer time. =)

The kids are always on my mind and i am pretty sure every parent out there feels like that. I constantly worry about whether i am doing the very best i can with them. I hope i play with them enough, spend enough time individually with them, feed them healthy enough food, help their imaginations soar, teach them to love the arts of all kinds (music, theatre, drawing, etc.), teach them to love themselves and others. I fear i lack in a lot of the areas i always felt i would be good at. I know i dont hit all of these points each day but i sure hope i am doing something right. My poor little Kayden is constantly testing me and does not seem to be afraid of anything. I wonder if I have done something to make her this rebelious or if there is a reason i cannot win this power struggle she is constantly bringing to me. i really hope it is just a stage and she will grow out of it and i really hope we make it through this stage sain. lol

We are down to one car in our family and that one car is going to die any day so needless to say it is another stress i am constantly thinking about. My poor little van is constantly shutting off on us and has just recently starting doing it while going 40 miles an hour down the road. Plus the heater has gone out in the front of the van so i stay freezing the whole time. We are looking for Darren a truck but a 4 door truck so if mine breaks down we can share it again as well. Not having a lot of luck there. It wouldn't be as stressful if him or I had fabulous credit where we could get a low interest loan but we dont so finding something nice in a price range we can afford even with a very high interest rate is proving difficult. No fun at all. Not to mention me not working makes it very scary to get a car payment and increase our insurance bill right now, which brings us to money.....

I love staying home but on the downside of that one income means going without a lot of things. Which is fine but when things like needing a new vehicle comes up it can be a lot scarrier then if we had two incomes coming in. I have been thinking alot about ways to make extra money for us. I am really thinking of selling some homemade items through etsy or the flea market or something. I am not sure though i get really freaked out starting anything new and like all new things it would be risky. I could set it up and no one like anything i make and then be out all the materials. Plus i am so not business savvey. So these are still rolling around in my mind but i am seriously tempted. I would like to make little dresses, bloomers, infant shoes, clutch purses, ties ( i really want darren and the boys to wear matching ties for our next pics hehe wonder if i could get him to)vests, lamp cord covers, hair bows, and tons of other things. anyway we shall see on that one. obviously you will all know if i choose to do it. =)

Last but not least marriage. I leave 5 weeks from Thursday for my five year anniversary honeymoon. lol I am so excited. It will be the longest i have ever been away from the kids but i know they will be in good hands with my mom and papoo and my aunt Kathy is coming down friday to help for the weekend as well. I am looking foward to 4 days of doing absolutely nothing but being together in quiet harmony. haha I think i will finish the last three Karen Kingsbury books since i only read the first one in the series before school kept me to busy to continue. The last 5 years have gone by really quickly. I guess when you have 3 kids during that time it helps speed things up. I am very blessed to have Darren in my life. He is a very great guy and we have done a lot of growing up together. He has changed so much since i first met him but in very good ways. I feel guilty sometimes because there are moments when i think about the guy i always dreamed about and the type of person i wanted to grow old with. I sometimes wish i had done things differently. I know that sounds aweful and there is really no way to put that without sounding bad but those are my thoughts sometimes so i am putting them out there. I hope i am not the only person who has ever felt this way. Now let me clarify what i mean by that. I LOVE Darren and i am VERY HAPPY we are married. He is the one I chose and i will remain with him until the day one of us dies or he leaves me, which hopefully that will never happen. I just always imagined myself with a Godly man, whom i met at church. And i think that is a huge difference between us. Not that i am leading by example and going to church like i should and i curse myself every Sunday knowing i am not teaching my kids what i want them to learn. I want them to be a part of church. But i totally 100% believe in God and all that he has done and is going to do for us. Darren does not feel this way. I think our lives would be a lot different if God was leading us. All of the church going couples i know seem so happy all the time and really seem like partners. Sometimes i just dont quite feel that. I also chalk this up to my very wild imagination. I have always lived in somewhat of a "dream" world. i did not come from a home with two parents and my dad was a verbally and physically abusive man to my mom while they were married so when i am with him i sometimes get appoligies for things like when he kicked my mom in the stomach while she was pregnant with me. I think it is because of this i made up how families should be and always expected my life to be like that. Well life is not perfect and obviously in my fantasies life was perfect so i think i still sometimes get fantasy confused with reality. That is why i am trying to work very hard at loving Darren for who he is and not who i think he should be. I am trying to look at all of our positives together (which is the majority btw) and not dwell on negatives (cause i tend to do that sometimes as though i like being miserable). I am looking at these past five wonderfully stressful(kids lol) years as a trial run to our next 20. Each year our lives have gotten better and i do look foward to seeing that trend continue for a long long time. BTW Darren would kill me if he knew i wrote this but the other night he told me i was his timex (ahh love) hehe sometimes he tries so hard to be romantic. =)

Thanks for listening to my ramblings
Kristy

2010 tradition

2009-12-28T17:05:00.000-08:00

So I thought of a new tradition to start this year and thought i would share in case anyone else liked the idea and wanted to do it too. I wish i had started it before Dalten came along. I am cutting out the numbers 2010 and since there are 5 of us an exlamation point too and taking a picture January 1st with us holding them. At the end of the year I am going to make a photo albulm of my favorite pics from the year with that one being the cover. I am sad I have not done this sooner. I thought it would be a cute way to document the kids growth along with a reason to make a photo albulm every year. =) Anyway that is what I will be doing from now on so thought i would share. =) Hey Jess, since I know you will read this at some point maybe we can start doing it at midnight on our future New Years parties. That could be one of the crafts the kids do----decorate the numbers for us. =)We may all be in our PJ's but i think that would be super cute. =)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I have been so bogged down with getting all my gifts done I feel like i have had no time to do anything. Now that the holiday is over and my house is halfway cleaned up i figured i would take some time for me. I even started a new book today. Man I havent read a book since school started last August. Man how i have missed reading. Hope everyone has a wonderful New Years and for those who drink please be smart and safe. I will be spending New Years at my mother in laws. It is our last adult party. After this year we will have family New Years eves and i find myself looking much more foward to that!! My kids are the last grandkids of the family and the very youngest so now that they are almost at the age that they can understand what new years means it will be exciting to let them stay up and ring it in with us. Daven probably wont be ready yet but Dalten for sure and possibly Kayden. Anyway thats a whole year away but like i said i am looking very forward to that! Any chance my kids get to spend and make traditions with their cousins is great for me. My favorite childhood memories are from times spent with my cousins. I want my kids to be as close to their cousins as i am to mine. okay so i will stop rambling. lol Happy Holidays!

30th Birthday weight loss goal acheived..score!

2009-12-10T12:09:00.000-08:00

I have reached a couple of milestones in my weight loss journey. The first one being I am now at the weight I was when I met my husband and most of my current friends over 8 years ago. Unfortanetly i am still 1 1/2 sizes larger than i was then. Gaining so much weight during kids plus just having three kids really proportioned my body a lot different (mainly in the gut, which i can not wait to have surgically removed lol). I say 1 1/2 sizes because though i can fit in 1 size up from what i was then it is a little tight in the tummy (that huge gut area i was just talking about)and being big i am just more comfortable wearing my clothes big even though they probably make me look larger. Still I am very excited to have reached this weight and look foward to continuing this journey and reaching sizes my husband has never seen me in. =)

This paragragh is about my 2nd milestone. This is a milestone that i never imagined i would have to face but nevertheless did so i thought i would share it with you in hopes to remind myslef of the humiliation i have felt about it so that i will always continue the determination to never backtrack. I know by example how easy it is to lose and gain lose and gain lose and gain and i am so tired of being on that yo-yo. After my husband and i got together umpt years ago (cause i have no idea when we got together lol) i switched from a run around job to a desk job. Between that time and the time i got pregnant i gained 30 lbs. 30 lbs when you are already over weight is a huge deal. During pregnancy though i was warned over and over and over again i gained at every visit. Being over weight i should only have gained about 15-20 lbs though the whole pregnancy. I remember walking into the Dr's office the week before my scheduled c-section and realizing i had gained 70 lbs. Not only did i gain 70 lbs but i reached a number i never thought possible and i was extremely horrified and disgusted all at the same time, not to mention hormonal so i am sure you can only imagine what darren went through the rest of the day. ha More then likely i went home and ate my feelings away so no telling how much i gained during the next week before my c-section. If you added those two numbers up I am sure you saw I gained 100 lbs after i met my husband. And this is me meeting my husband already very much over-weight. Pretty scary! I can't believe he married me looking like that. (we got married when i was 9 months pregnant and had only been engaged 1.5 months so yes i had already gained it all). But, as i am sure you all have figured out many sentences ago, I have finally lost the 100 lbs i gained. I still have anywhere from 50-70 more lbs to lose and no that will not put me skin and bones, in fact i will still be considered chubby to most but my goal is not to be skinny. I have never been skinny and i am just fine with that. I have a husband who loves me no matter what weight i am and 3 great kids. My goal is to be healthy for them so i can grow to be very very old, so that i can have the energy to keep up with them, and so that i never have to worry about whether or not i can fit on a ride they want to enjoy. Basically I want to live with them and not just watch them live.

I am attaching the first picture of us after becomming a family. Dalten's birthday 3/18/05. it is a very embarassing picture i never in my life thought i would share but i wanted you to see how far i have come. The second picture is our family pictures from November 09. My kids ages are 4,2, and 1.

Christmas Decor

2009-12-05T12:20:00.000-08:00

I have seen many people posting about their decor so i thought i would throw some pictures up too. =)I am still not done and in fact just bought my mistle toe at the dollar tree. =) I could not put out my breakables this year for an obvious 3 little reasons. ha In fact in some of my pics you can see the bottom half of the tree is now completely bare and i am even having trouble keeping the top half covered. little Daven loves to take it down but so does miss Kayden. Hopefully next year will be better. anyway here are some pics of my decorations. Happy Holidays. =)

This first one i made a few years ago. The cat plays music and the wings light up.

Giving Thanks

2009-11-25T21:31:00.000-08:00

Well tomorrow is Thanksgiving (actually in about 30 minutes). I have had so much fun baking away today. I have made 3 types of fudge, oatmeal cookies with peanut butter chips and white chocolate chips in them, chocolate chip cookies, melting moments, smores brownies, caramel nut chocolate cake, and cheesecake squares. Like i said i have been baking baking baking. The funny things is I am not really a desert eater. In fact I probably wont eat any of these tomorrow but my family will and that is why i made them. =) I made some of this stuff for the guys that work for Darren and took them up there today so don't worry it is not ALL going to just family. =) We go to my moms house in the morning and Darrens moms house in the late afternoon. I love hanging out with all of our family and am so thankful for each and everyone of them. At my mother in laws a lot of close friends come as well so it is always a huge party over there. We always have a good time! I hope everyone enjoys or enjoyed their Thanksgiving! Now i will list some of the thousands of things I am thankful for.

I am thankful for God and the wonderful blessings he has bestowed upon me. Everytime things are looking grim he sends a little miracle our way to let us know we can do it.

I am thankful for my husband. He gives me unconditional love and makes me feel beautiful even when i dont think so myself. He works hard so i can stay home and raise our family and even though he doesnt help with the kids or around the house as much as i would like (partly because i have never asked him to) he is truly trying to learn how. He is a good father and loves are children emensly and i know he would do anything and give anything to make them happy!

I am thankful for my children! They are the most precious gifts i have ever recieved. Children see the world through rose colored glasses and it is so much fun hearing their interpretations of life. I am thankful for their warm smiles, gentle hugs and sweet kisses. Their contagious laughter, beautiful singing and non rythmed dancing makes my heart happy. I also love seeing them play together. When Kayden asks Dalten if he will be her best friend my heart melts with joy. They have even started including Daven in all their little escapades. I can't wait till he can talk with them. =)

I love my family! Each and everyone of them have a special place in my heart. I have been so blessed to not only have been born into an awesome awesome family but to have married into one as well. We have plenty of laughter and good converstations with every encounter. There are certain family members i wish i could see a lot more, like my brother Jon. I miss him tremendously and sure hope he makes it down this way soon!

I love my friends new and old. Most of my friends are my family but i am starting to socialize a little more than i used to and i have thoroughly been enjoying it! I have always been somewhat of a tomboy and automatically got along better with boys then girls. I still feel a stronger connection with guys sometimes but obviously after marriage the thought of having a guy best friend flew out the window. ha But i do believe God is sending people my why and I am trying really hard to listen to him.

I could probably go on and on and on and on (does that remind anyone else of a song lol) but I will just leave it at my top five. Once again I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving (which it now is cause it has taken me forever to write this ha). I am leaving you with a picture of my three blessings. Man I LOVE them!!

Family Pictures

2009-11-17T17:18:00.000-08:00

So the weekend before last we went and got family pictures done. It was just a mini session for Christmas time so we can get some cards in the mail. I am not posting any on my facebook page because i am pretty sure i am giving a few to my mother in law for Christmas. Anyway my friend Holly did a great job but i was still kind of dissapointed, not in the work!!!, in me. I have been putting off family pictures for so long because i am very unsatisfied with myself and very critical. But i was sure hoping that after losing 60 lbs (though i am no where near my end goal) i would like at least a few of them. But of all the pics with me in it I only fell in love with one of them. I am still critical of course and wish my chin looked slimmer but the pose and the look just makes me feel all giddy everytime i look at it. My husband of course says i am a dork. haha But he is critical of himself too. all he keeps saying is how blad he is getting. Now he has been losing his hair since we met but I have to agree with him the pictures do make him look even balder. lol At least he is still super sexy, even bald. =) Anywho regardless of what either of us look like the day started off sort of bad. I put off till very last minute finding me a top to wear and getting the boys haircuts. So that day i got the boys hair done then came home gave them all baths put them to bed and went on hunt of a black shirt thinking it would take five minutes. Can you believe it was just my luck that black is not in this year or something. Catos did not have 1 long sleeve black top. Walmart had exactly 4 and of those 4 the one i did not like at all was the only one that fit (or so i thought till i saw the pictures). Anyway due to all that i was running behind and did not have time to flatten my hair all the way so it is way too poofy and i sweat off half my makeup. Kayden of course would not pose at all and anytime we let go of her for a second she would take off running. Darren was plum wore out by the time we finished. So we did not get the kids together for a picture and limited pics of all of us but thats the way it goes sometimes. Hopefully next year we will get better ones. Here is the picture i was refering to earlier. =)

Put In Perspective

2009-11-13T18:05:00.000-08:00

For the past week I have been in a funk. I feel like I need a break from home for some serious me time. I hate when I feel like this and I always feel so guilty and selfish when i do. I LOVE being a stay at home mom. It is very rewarding and I can not imagine being anywhere else. But it would be kind of nice if i could get a break every now and again. Darren has been working so much the last few months. He is not even home during the kids waking hours except for 30 minutes at lunch during which time he is shoving food down his face and rushing back out. He has even been going in on the weekends. Kayden seems to do the opposite of everything i say and i have no idea how to fix this problem. I sure dont feel like i am doing it right though because she is not learning and it does nothing but make me feel like poo. Dalten himself has even been back talking. That darn school is really teaching him. lol I am just hoping they grow out of these stages soon before i lose my mind. Anyway with all that being said I hope you can understand why i just want a few hours by myself so that i can regroup and come back a better mom.

Earlier this week I was reading a blog I follow that mentioned a blog she has been following this past year. the Williams family blog. i decided to check this blog out and spent over an hour reading all her blogs and bawling my eyes out. She has two sons, her first born Gabe was still born, and her second son Jonah was born with a rare hereditary disease called EB. The Dr's believe this is what killed their first son as well. i don't remember all the specific symptoms to write on here but the outward one that is unforgettable is that his skin falls off or blisters at the touch. They have to keep him in wraps and pray that they do not get infected. He is literally in pain because of this disease. Can you imagine your child hurting all the time? I cannot! This absolutely killed me. I have 3 beautiful healthy babies and pray i never have to share in the despair so many families have gone through. It sure puts things in perspective when you read about others tragedies and realize just how many blessings have been stowed upon you. Needless to say that was my regrouping session and i felt i was a much better mom today.

On a side note, pray for me that one day i will find a way to raise money for charities such as this one. I dont have extra money to give but i have the want to give it. There are so many charities i want to give too and i just know one day i will be able to. I do not want to see children suffering!

Handmade gift ideas

2009-11-09T19:24:00.000-08:00

So this year I am trying to make as many homemade gifts as I can. Staying home does not leave a lot of money in the pockets plus I LOVE doing crafts and to me a handmade gift is so much funner to give then a bought one. Maybe it is because i have taken the time to make something to show someone how much i care about them. Anyway I am super excited to have finally gotten some ideas to make for the family. Google and I do not get along that well so I have had tons of problems finding ideas that are not handmade gifts for sale by other people. =) I am having trouble finding guy ideas so if anyone has some feel free to shoot them my way. As long as they turn out good though I have some ideas for a few of the woman in my life and I have an idea for my husband so I can now officially start. =) Hope everyone else is enjoying gearing up for the holiday season. This is my favorite time of the year!

Here is a picture of the homemade gifts I made last year for 3 of my family members to sit on their front porches. They seemed to like them. =)

Gap Casting Call

2009-10-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

I entered Kayden and Daven into the Gap casting call. I doubt they will be chosen and I really doubt there is time to catch up for the fan favorite but I figured "hey why not try". If they do win we could get money for new clothes which is always a plus and I could get profesional pictures of them. Whats not to love about that!! =) So anyway if you read this please hop on over to www.gap.com/castingcall and put in the contestant id of 613811213, 653811782, 873811510, and 803811124. I also have a friend who has her daughter entered as well that i have been voting for so while you are there if you wouldnt mind throwing in a vote for 806123406 as well I would appreciate it. =) Thanks to all who vote!

"BREADED" PORK CHOPS WITH MUSTARD CREAM SAUCE

2009-10-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

The only problem I had with this meal is that I wanted to keep eating. it was soooo yummy! I will have to say it is one of my faves at the moment. I seemed to have more sauce then she did but i am pretty sure my porkchops were smaller. I bought the small ones that come in a package of 5 or 6 at crest so i didnt have to pound them or cut them up except to cut off any fat. I served this up with some cauliflower and lowfat cheese sauce and a baked potatoe for Mr. Darren. If your going to try a recipe i list I would DEFINITELY try this one. I'll be posting more reviews later in the week. I hope someone gets some good use from them. Happy Cooking!

Recipe
"BREADED" PORK CHOPS WITH MUSTARD CREAM SAUCE

2 thick boneless pork chops

salt/pepper
Penzey's Pork Chop Seasoning (optional - If you don't want to buy this, season the pork chops with a tiny bit of garlic powder)
1/4 cup almond meal
1-2 T olive oil (will depend on your pan)
1/2 cup chicken stock
3 T cream or half and half or milk
1 T Dijon mustard (or less)

Trim all fat from pork chops, then put between saran wrap and pound until 1/4 inch thick. For best results, pound the pork chops on both sides with spiky side of meat mallet, then cut each flattened pork chop in half for more manageable sized pieces for frying. Season pork chops on both sides with a tiny bit of salt, pepper, and Penzey's pork chops seasoning. Put almond meal on a plate and press pork chop into it, sprinkling almond meal over both sides of pork chop and pressing on until you have an even coating on each chop. Heat olive oil in pan big enough to hold all pork chops, then add pork chops and saute over medium heat until well browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Turn them a couple of times and be sure not to have the heat too high or the almond meal will burn. Quite a bit of the coating will fall off, but don't worry about it. There will still be enough left on to give a good brown color to the pork chops. The part that falls off gives a delicious nutty flavor to the sauce.

Remove pork chops to plate and cover to keep warm if you want. Turn up heat in pan and add chicken stock, scraping pan until all the browned bits of almond meal are loosened. Cook about 2 minutes over high heat, then lower heat to medium low and wisk in mustard, then cream. Cook sauce at a low simmer 1-2 minutes more. Pour over pork chops, garnish with parsley if desired, and serve.

Stuffed Zucchini Cups

2009-10-07T10:25:00.000-07:00

I have decided to start blogging on some of the meals i make since a lot of my friends are looking for healthier meals. Right now i am following a south beach phase 1 friendly diet. I get all of my recipes from Kalyn's Kitchen food bog. She is awesome. If you havent checked her out you should!http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/09/recipe-for-meat-tomato-and-mozzarella.html
I am on the fence with this particular recipe. I liked it enough to recommend it but it is not a meal I said "wow i want more!" She mentioned she liked hers crispier but i am thinking that was my problem. I think i would like them a little softer so next time I am going to try and cook the zuchinni for a little while first then add the stuffing. The inside was very good! Excuse the picture i obviously cant stack cheese. ha Anyway all in all i would recommend this, especially if you like zucchini!

Recipe
Meat, Tomato, and Mozzarella Stuffed Zucchini Cups
(Makes 6-8 servings, recipe created by Kalyn)

2 large zucchini or yellow squash, about 12 inches long
2 tsp. + 2 tsp. olive oil (may need more, depending on your pan)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 green pepper, finely chopped
2 T finely minced fresh garlic
1 lb. ground beef (10% fat or less)
12 oz. ground turkey (10% fat or less)
(use any combination of ground meat you'd like, but use low-fat ground meat for the South Beach Diet.)
1-2 tsp. Spike seasoning (optional but recommended)
2 C flavorful tomato-basil pasta sauce
2 cups low-fat mozzarella or other mild white cheese (I used low-fat blend of six cheeses called Italian blend.)

Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Chop onion and green pepper. Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in a non-stick pan, then saute onion and pepper for 3-4 minutes, until just starting to soften. Add minced garlic and saute about 1 minute more, being careful not to brown the garlic. Remove the onion, pepper, and garlic mixture to a bowl.

Add 2 tsp. more olive oil to the pan. Crumble in the ground beef and ground turkey, season with Spike seasoning, and cook over medium heat until the meat is well browned. Tilt pan to see if there is any extra fat, and remove with a spoon if there is, then stir cooked vegetables and garlic back into the meat. Add tomato sauce and simmer until the mixture has thickened and liquid has cooked off, about 10 minutes, then turn off heat.

While meat cools, cut zucchini into 2 inch thick slices, discarding ends. Use a sharp spoon or melon baller to hollow out a cup in each zucchini slice, leaving just over 1/4 inch of zucchini flesh. Be careful not to get too close to the skin or the cups will leak liquid when they cook.

Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray and stand up zucchini cups, open end up. Stir 1 1/2 cups grated cheese into the cooled meat mixture (it doesn't need to be completely cool), then spoon the meat-cheese mixture into zucchini cups, pressing down with the spoon and mounding it up a little over the top of the zucchini.

Bake zucchini cups for 20 minutes, then remove from oven and use remaining cheese to top each one with a generous pinch of cheese. Put back in oven and bake 10-15 minutes more, until zucchini is slightly soft when pierced with a fork and cheese is melted and lightly browned. Serve hot

Things I LOVE about my kids

2009-09-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

I LOVE the way Kayden sings ALL the time.
I LOVE the lyrics she makes up while singing. =)
I LOVE taking Daven out of his crib in the morning and having him tuck himself into me as tight as he can.
I LOVE the way Dalten can make me laugh just by laughing.
I LOVE that Dalten loves to learn.
I LOVE that my kids all fight over me and say "my mom" even though I get on to them and explain there is room enough for me to hold all of them.
I LOVE that my kids all love books and reading.
I LOVE that they are learning to play together.
I LOVE how much they LOVE each other.
I LOVE the way Dalten's eyes light up when he sees me after school and runs and jumps into my arms.
I LOVE how Kayden wraps her arms around him and squeezes so tight Dalten screams before she will release him to his seat after school.
I LOVE that they still need me to kiss there boo-boos before they are better.

I could seriously go on for days and days, between Daltens humor and animation, Kaydens very creative imagination, and Daven's sweet innocent charm. I am going to miss these days very much. Children grow so quickly. It honestly seems like yesterday I was learning how to nurse Dalten in the hospital. Can he really be creaping up on five? Can I really have three children who are quickly growing into their own little people and slowly not needing me as much? I swear I could be the mom of 18 children and counting. I honestly completely understand why people keep going. Children are such wonderful little beings and I have been so blessed with the three I have!

weight loss

2009-09-23T19:09:00.001-07:00

I realize I have not updated in a while so here it goes. I am still doing very well. I have lost another 20 lbs bringing the total to 50. I know that sounds like a lot but embarassingly enough most people can't even tell I have lost weight. I have a long way to go but hey at least I am doing it. =) I have not been this size since before I got pregnant with Dalten over 5 years ago so that is a huge achievment for me. I am shaped differently after 3 HUGE kids though so I am still a larger size than I was then. That part is NO fun. I am 20 lbs from my first major milestone. I hope to reach this by my 30th birthday in December. This will put me at the weight i was when I met Darren and all of my current friends and in laws. Every pound after that will be so much fun because I know it will be a weight my husband has never seen me at. It will be another milestone as well but I will wait till I hit it and blog about it then. =)

Be the change you want to see in the world

2009-09-23T11:21:00.001-07:00

I LOVE this quote. "Be the change you want to see in the world". I want to live by this quote but i feel i am failing at it miserably. I am not a bad person in any way. I love others, I teach my kids manners, I teach them to like everyone, I would do anything I could if someone needed me but I am not actively out there changing things. Everyday I watch Extreme Homemakover and those people are so extraordinary. They are the people I want to live like. They are actually out changing this world for the better. Yesterday's episode displayed a family who moved to a poverty ridden crime infested neighborhood to teach god's will to others and make it a better place. When they first moved in there were gun shots heard every night and crack whores squatting in the abondoned homes a few houses down. Their love and support to the community decreased crime by over 50%. Yes you read that right 50%. Can you imagine? One family changed an entire area that drastically. Imagine what could happen if each of us did our part. It's kind of like going down a street with tons of old cracking houses and right in the middle you find one beautifully fresh painted house with flowers all over the yard. It's a home you would be proud to live in all because 1 person took a little care in it. While getting to know people in my online English class i found out one woman takes her kids to feed the homeless at christmas time. She also has them take money from their allowance to give to a family for diapers or clothing. I SOOO want to teach my kids things like this. I WANT them to be humanitarians. I want them to love others as they want to be loved. My problem is i don't know where to start. I always use the excuse I am too busy, I don't have enough money, my kids are too young but i know there has to be something out there, even the tiniest thing that we could do for someone. I would love to learn to knit or crochet so i could make beautiful hats for the little boys and girls in cancer centers, but i have been saying that for about 6 years or more. It's time i stop talking and start doing! If anyone reading this has any suggestions for me please let me know. It's time for me to be the change i want to see in this world!

Daltens First day of school

2009-08-18T12:18:00.000-07:00

I am just going to post some pics for my brother Jon in case he is still checking out my blog. =) Dalten did great today,wheni asked what he learned he couldnt remember. when i asked if he went to the potty he said yes i peed but the girl next to me was pooping. lol He was all smiles so i know he liked it. Today started out rough though. it was a complete down pour, i had to park a block away,push a stroller with two kiddos, hold ones hand, and carry the schhol supply bag, book bag, and camera bag. We were drenched by the time we got there. no fun!! Then i came out to a flat tire. ha at least the year can only get better! I was too busy to get weepy and didnt have time to get hardly anything done before picking him up so i am pretty sure this year i will be just fine. now all day kindergarden next year i may be having a different story

Lazy Sunday

2009-08-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a while since i have blogged. We havent really been up to much. Just doing back to school shopping and things getting ready for my big boy to start pre-k. We had orientation Friday and i teared up. I truly thought i would be ok until Kayden or Daven started but i guess i willbe teary with all three of them. I am so excited for him to start this new adventure. All the new things he is going to learn and the friends he is going to make are going to be awesome. But i guess i feel like my little boy is actually growing up and some day very soon he isnt going to need me in the same way he does now and that is so scary to me. Especially since the other two are just right behind him. It also means I AM getting older. lol I pretty much stopped celebrating birthdays after i got pregnant with Dalten. Mainly because i stayed pregnant. =) but as these huge milestones start coming up for my kiddos i cant help but think of how fast the years are flying by. I do look forward to all the fun activities we are going to be having in the near future but i am sure going to miss the baby stage. I still have another year or two before i am completely out of it but i know that will come very quickly! once school starts the years really fly by!! Anyway here area few phone pics i took being silly with the kids. the bad part about being the camera woman is i am never in the pictures!! So i took some myself big zit,no make up and all. lol Here are my 3 little treasures.

week 4update

2009-08-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry keep forgetting to write my week 4 process. i am down 30 1/2lbs. 6 lbs from my first goal. I am finishing phase 1 though. i couldnt do it another week. i am nervous about eating again though. supposedly you dont gain weight back but since i have been eating next to nothing it is scary to think i'll be eating a lot more. i guess we will see though. phase two is basically like the phase 1 of south beach. no sugar and no carbs. So most of my recipes will come from south beach. You do this for three weeks and then you can add carbs back in. i am hoping to lose at least 10 lbs before i start the phase 1 process again in 6 weeks. i would obviously love to lose more then that but i will be happy with 10 lbs. anyway thats all the update i have for now on dieting. i may stop putting down the amount lost. i am afraid pretty soon the numbers will be too embarassingly large to put down. =) i mean most people lose 30 lbs and have dropped 2 or 3 sizes and at their goal. i am in the same size and still have gazillions of more weight to lose. lol but thats ok. 1 day and 1 lb at a time. =)

finished with week 3

2009-07-27T09:28:00.001-07:00

week 3 is down and i have lost 26.5 lbs. i am only 10 lbs from my first goal. i am really hoping to hit it by the time i finish this round. i have 3 weeks or 10 lbs left. they suggest to lose no more than 34lbs but i figure an extra 2 wouldnt hurt. =) then i will take off for 4-6 weeks and do another round or phase 1 of the diet. anyway thats my update. its been a little hard this week. i am a huge snacker around that time of the month and it has been hitting me hard!!! hopefully week 4 will be easier.

Daven's Birthday Party

2009-07-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

Daven had his first birthday party today. We had lots of fun with our family. We did the sesame street theme. Who doesnt love elmo? =) Anyway here a few pics from the party. So many good ones its hard to just choose a few. =)

Daven's 1st birthday

2009-07-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it is already here. 1 year has come so quickly. My little man had a great day today celebrating lots of firsts on his 1st. He had eggs, he got to sit foward in the car seat, and he recieved his first hair cut. He is no longer my little baby but turning into my toddler who is starting to become more independant. I was really hoping it would go slower since this is my last one but he seems to be doing everything faster! Whats up with that. =) He even gave me his first kiss today. What a beautiful day it was for me. =)We celebrate his birthday on sunday so ill throw some pics up then but here are a few from today. He is my angel!!

VBS

2009-07-19T20:25:00.000-07:00

My little man enjoyed his first taste of vacation bible school this past week. he had so much fun. I was really worried he didnt enjoy it or get anything out of it because he acted so shy the whole time. he hardly smiled and didnt really talk during it, which for Dalten is super unusual, but he always said he wanted to go back. Finally Thursday night after the last evening he came home and spilled everything he learned. i am talking this kid sang five versus of a song i have never heard. He has a crazy memory. I was absolutely shocked. Now he wont stop singing them, which in my book is just great. =) Anyway tonight we went and watched the highlights they taped over the week. it was wonderful. and they made a copy for all parents. I was so excited. Everytime a picture came up of Dalten he would say "mom thats me sad" then he would smile and say but i am smiling now. ha Leave it to Dalten. =) Anyway here is a cute pic with his hat on he made at vbs. He would smile for me. =)

13 days and 20 lbs down

2009-07-18T17:12:00.000-07:00

I have slowed my progress a lot but i new that would happen. i have gotten at least half a pound a day until this morning. i reached the zero mark. talk about depressing.i know it just had to be a little extra water though. i am eating no fat so i know its not that. yesterday and today have been kind of tough. not sure why but i have been craving food out the ying yang. i thought it would get easier as time went on not harder? i am hoping i might be creeping up on that time of the month issue and thats the reason for the hunger and craving pains! of course my hunger pains right now are coming from the smell of my husband and childrens extremely yummy looking pizza from papa johns! my 3.5 oz of super lean hamburger meat and handful of cabbage is not holding up against that!! i guess its time to go eat my apple. =) Just 28 days left though and only 16 lbs from my first goal. i am hoping i hit it or come really close. anyway i guess 20 lbs and 23 inches is pretty darn good for it not even being 2 weeks. Hopefully this week will be easier!

1 week complete..16 lbs down

2009-07-13T07:15:00.001-07:00

I have completed 1 week of dieting. I have lost 16lbs and 18 inches. During my first MONTH of working out extremely hard at the gym i lost 19 inches so to me this is crazy i did it in a week. I am now losing between 1/2 lb to 11/2 a day. I havent seen the zero mark yet but i know it will hit pretty soon. But i have never been on a diet where i didnt have an off day and gain a lb or two. So we will just see what happens. I feel better each day,more energetic and less feelings on food. Dont get me wrong i still have my cravings but they arent near as strong. I am officially 20 lbs from my first major goal. I look foward to hitting that mark!!

day 5..down 1.5 lbs

2009-07-11T04:58:00.000-07:00

woohoo, down another 1 1/2 lbs. i definitely like seeing more then 1/2 a lb in a day but i am perfectly content with 1/2 lbs as well. i know i will have plenty of those and some zeros too but as long as i dont have plus signs i'll be happy. yesterday was a little rough for me and i am not sure why but i was really craving some food. I stuck to my guns though and only ate what i was supposed to. it obviously paid off for me today. So 5 days down and 14 lbs smaller. Very exciting things. Only 22 lbs from my first major goal. I am really hoping i hit that milestone during my first 40 day round. I am definitely heading in that direction though so i have high hopes. =)

day 4..down .5 lb

2009-07-10T06:16:00.000-07:00

another half lb gone. i should be ecstatic but i cant help feel a tinge of dissapointment after the other great numbers i have had. i new it would slow down soon enough though. i just hope it stays to 1/2 or 1 lb a day. that would be awesome! My moms numbers are still staying steady so i have good reason to hope. 13 lbs in 4 days is nothing to sneeze at though. Yesterday was another good day though i started getting signs of womenly monthly issues. I am assuming the drastic change in diet is going to mess me up in that area. i guess i should be grateful i didnt gain any. =)other then a little extra craving and some crankiness though i was fine. =) i am ready to start day 5.

day 3..down 2.5 lbs

2009-07-09T05:55:00.000-07:00

2.5 more lbs down. yeah!! it sure is nice seeing the scale going in that direction. its been too long since it has done that!! yesterday was another good day. I am not hungry and not getting tempted by other food. Not thati dont still think about it from time to time, cause like i said i am addicted, but it is not unbearable. =) i stayed up late with pool league last night, which i may add i kicked some serious booty. 7 out of 10 games. =) i got a little hungry come 10 but lots of water helped though having to rush to a bathroom where my 5'2 inch body actually touched the door was not so much fun. ha i cant imagine what tall people go through i mean come on people its time to expand. anyway love sharing great news hopefully more tomorrow. =)

4th of July faves of my babes

2009-07-08T07:18:00.001-07:00

2nd day eating healthy..down 6lbs

2009-07-08T06:10:00.000-07:00

I am sorry did i read that right? Yes, yes i did. =) and i checked 3 times to make sure that scale wasnt playing a joke on me. 10 lbs in 2 days is notbad. now i know you lose the most in the first few days so i am not getting my hopes up on it continuing. But this is a very good motivator! Yesterday was not hard either. I truly find i am not that hungry. yesterday i split my dinner up to where i had my apple and peice of melba toast at 8 when i usually get hungry. this helped a lot! I already find my energy is getting higher. That is a huge plus in my book. I do not like being lazy. And it is nearly impossible to be with three kids running around. Well i will update again tomorrow. =)

3rd day,first day of eating right..down 4lbs

2009-07-07T05:36:00.001-07:00

yeah! i am so excited to see the scale moving in the other direction. i am sure the next few days weight loss will be water retention but i will take whatever weight loss i can get. ha yesterday was not near as hard as i feared and i actually was not cranky like i figured. i just new making food for everyone else would bother me but it didnt. I did not stay hungry but mentally i craved food. like i said i am addicted. i know it will take my body a few days to detox from this. around 8pm i did start to get a little hungry. not sure if its cause i slowed down on water or becuase that is when i snack the most. I like to enjoy food once the kids are in bed for two reasons 1)i finally can enjoy some food without 3 kids pulling in my leg begging for some and 2)i am super bored with nothing to do. I am very glad for the not being hungry part though.i know if i can get past this addiction phase i can handle the next two months with no problems. Well i am off to start another day. I'll let you know tomorrow how it goes.

2nd day..up 1.5

2009-07-06T07:08:00.001-07:00

I have gained a total of two lbs which is not much compared to most. this makes me worry that 1) the weight gain will all hit tomorrow when i should lose or 2) this diet wont work for me. But i am trying to think positively. i am definitely ready to get through today. i am already thinking about food constantly. I am such an addict it is sickening. But i know i can do it and i think once the scale is going the other way i will have good motivation. My mom is on day 8, 11 1/2 lbs smaller and says she feels terrific and is now over her constant cravings. so my week countdown is on.

1st day of diet complete..up.5lbs

2009-07-05T07:38:00.000-07:00

Well i started my diet yesterday. One of the two days you are supposed to eat all you can to get your fat reserves up. I honestly tried but only went up .5 lbs. A lot of people go up 8 or so in the first two days. I have alot of eating to do today.haha but i just ate a small microwavable sausage biscut and am stuffed. so this is not going to be as easy as i thought. when my mom started last weekend i told her she was crazy for saying she couldnt eat much but now i completely understand. Anyway off to another start, i'll update again tomorrow.

Old pics

2009-07-03T18:13:00.000-07:00

Here is a pic from Kaydens 1st,2nd and 3rd 4th of July. I wish i could find Daltens first few years but when my husband got a virus a few years ago it wiped out all pictures. =( This years 4th pic is obviously from a week ago but i did her 4th outfit. =)

It's been a while...

2009-07-01T19:11:00.000-07:00

Well its been a while since i last blogged so i figured i would update everyone on the Hall household though pretty much everything is the same. =)

I am now officially a college student again. I have been saying i was going to go back for years and now i have completed all the steps to do it. I start in August. I have a long road before i graduate but at least i have started down the path. I am very excited yet very nervous all at the same time!

Darren is doing very well these days. He is now a supervisor in his company and has the hours to prove it. He works 9-9 (at least) everyday and starting next weekend will have to work saturdays as well for 6 weeks. I mean he did increase his pay by almost 50% but sheesh cut the man some slack he has to see his family too. =) I am being a very supportive wife though and not saying a word. Thats why i am blogging about it here. lol

The kids are all doing great. We went out on the boat last Sunday and Kayden is now becomming a water baby like Dalten. Daven loved his first time in the water as well but got a horrible sunburn. NOT GOOD!!! luckily it went away very quickly and he acted as though he had no pain. and now he is darker then me. little terd. =)

Saturday is the 4th and i am so excited to celebrate this holiday with my friends and family. We always have such a good time getting together and playing volleyball and horseshoes. The friends are great and the food is fabulous. what else can you ask in a party? =)

The 4th is also the day to remember our troops and the reason we have freedom. I have so many friends and family that serve or have served in the US Army. I thank God each day for them and all our other soldiers. On this day i hope everyone remembers and if you pass a soldier i hope you say THANKYOU!! I know i will be thinking of my heros on this day; My dad who served in vietnam along with all my uncles including my Uncle JC who is a retired Marine Corporal. My cousin Wes who is a Lieutenant Kernel in the airforce, his wife Angela who is a Captain in the airforce, and my baby cousin Jared(my uncle JC's son) who is a staff sergant in the Marines.

Now on to me. =) Besides school nothing much else has changed. I still stay home with my beautiful children. I love it but as in any job you have your ups and downs. I try to be a good mom and a good wife but i know i am not giving 100% of what i can because i am not happy with me. I try to be but i am just miserably fat and i cant stand it. I know most people including myself say well if you dont like it change it and i completely agree with this but there is one small problem with that. i am ADDICTED to food. I can do a diet for a month or two and then i cheat one time and its like the spell is broken. i want food again. I do work out and have been for several months now. i do feel better but am seeing NO results on the scale. This gets so discouraging. People say you should figure out what makes you eat so i try to. i eat when i am depressed, i am depressed because i eat, it is an awful circle. lol i honestly have no other depressions in my life and it is so sad because i know my marriage would be so much stronger if i was happy with me. i shut darren out a lot due to my self consciousness and it is not right to do that to your husband. He is so supportive of me and tells me all the time he does not care if i am fat he loves me for me and if i gain more weight he will still love me. But when the first thought i think of when i meet people he introduces me to is "i bet they are wondering why he's with a fat girl" i know i have some serious issues. i now understand why so man people opt for gastric bypass. Its not the easy way out like i always thought, its a way for your stomach to say NO MORE FOOD. i still would prefer not to ever go that route but i sure want to be here for my kids too. I am starting a new diet on Saturday. I am not going to really go into the plan or what i will be doing untill i start seeing results and people ask me about it. I have some friends that i worked with at dobson who are all on it and swear by it so we shall see. My mom started it this last saturday and has seen results. I will blog about it though. it is not an easy diet so maybe if i am blogging about it it will help me stay firm and give me something to do besides stuff my face. =) Just a warning though you are supposed to eat all you can the first two days so i will be gaining but you are supposed to lose it in the first 48 hours after the two days. anyway we will see. If anyone actually made it this far thanks for reading. and i will be updating soon. =)

Have a HAPPY 4TH,
Kristy

Wordless Wed.

2009-06-17T10:05:00.000-07:00

LMAO

Random Thoughts Tuesday

2009-06-09T10:27:00.001-07:00

It has been forever since my last blog so i guess i'll hop back on the train.

We are finally all moved into a new home.Internet is up so it is official. lol
I still have lots to do but for the mostpart i am complete. Itsucksbeing the only unpacker. Plus i am getting rid of everything i dont need or want. i am tired of lugging stuff around just in case or because i feel guilty getting rid of it. I think i got rid of about 10 bags of toys. that is ridiculous!! i am sure i have even more to part with but hey its a start.

my summer is starting out great.i've already gotten away with the hubby for a float trip and cant wait for July 11th when we go back with the family. We hope to go again in August before school starts. I love being outdoors by the river or lake or even a pond. haha I think i have plans every weekend in July, which is very exciting. i love having fun things to do. Of course my favorite is the 4th. we do the same thing every year and it has never letme down in the fun area. i love my family and friends!!

My keyboard sucks. The space bar sticks which is why sometimes my words are together. i promise its not justme. lol whats sad is i fix most of them.

My baby Daven is walking. This is always when i really start craving another baby. They get so independant so fast. He doesnt want momma to just sit and hold him anymore. he wants to be where the action is. Heis pretty damn quick too. He walks, he climbs,and i am pretty sure soon we will addjumping to the list. He is not scared of a thing. just like his brother and sister. man i have my hands full!

Kayden is talking better and better each day. She is starting to become quite funny too. and she ALWAYS has to be center of attention. If we laugh at something one of herbrothers did she runs over and does the same thing only bigger and better. She is not one to be showed up. And you better laugh or clap for her cause if not she will stare you down until you do. ha she is going to be my wild one. i am scared already!!

Dalten is growing up so much these days. the things he says sometimes just amaze me. He starts school in August, just two short months away. i cantbelieve it! He is already excited too. We are still having bathroom issues though. very frustrating! andreally i dont think there is anything to be done. we have triedit all. we bribe, we ground, we spank, its hopeless. It is only pooping accidents. Hehasnt had a pee accident in months. He has never wet the bed either. And sometimes he will go poop on the toilet. when he wants some chocolate, or wants to go to the park but then the next day he'll poop on himself again. yesterday he yelled for me to come wip his buttand i hadnt even known he was on the toilet. i was soo excited!! i thought maybe this is it. that excitement was short lived as two hours later he was saying mom changemy butt i pooped. argh!!!!!!!!!! so FRUSTRATING!!!!!!

Not much new with Darren and i. He is still loving his job. It is so nice hearing him excited about things. It has been a long time since he hasbeen this way. It changes his whole personality. I guess that is anyone though. when your happy with yourself your nicer all around. But i think he really feels respected there and lord knows bub never did when he worked with him. I still love being home but i am starting to work on future plans. =) i'll talk about thatmore when i get things set in stone. way to often do my plans go sour and then i wish i had never saidanything to anyone. =)

Oh i started pool league up again. can i just say i am soooo excited. It has been so long and i have missed it. When i quit i was still working,dalten was in daycare and wheni got home i just wanted tobe home with him. i felt so guilty leaving him when i left him all week. Now though i am with them 24/7 and i look so foward to my one night out. i love doing something i love plus getting some adult interaction. and everynow and again i get to drink too. Darren and i take turns.

Anyway thats the updatesin the Hall house. I hope everyelse is enjoying their summer.

Kristy

Wordless Wed.

2009-04-29T07:37:00.001-07:00

Random thoughts Tuesday

2009-04-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

We finally got a house. We move in friday. i am so excited and can not wait! Now if only someone else would do the moving for us. =)

Dalten was drawn for school. yeah! so he will defintely be starting next year. i also looked at all the other schools and in the whole district only 1 school did not get completely filled up and have a waiting list. it just happens to be the school who's district we just moved into. woohoo. lucky week for us. =)

Dalten has been pooping on himself again. I just dont know what i am going to do with that kid. so frustrating! maybe now that he will have his own bathroom he will go more. doubtful but maybe.

i have become addicted to craigslist this week. I look at it non stop just waiting for something to pop up i want and in my price range. haha hey thats where i found my house. =)

well i guess i dont have too many random thoughts tonight. my mind is fuzzy cause i am so tired. guess i'll hit the sack. nighty-night

growing up

2009-04-25T05:40:00.001-07:00

My kids are 9 months, 2 and 4 but yet i already find myself dreading them growing up. It may have something to do with my sisters teenager and all the issues he is having. I keep telling myself that ours wont be like that though cause they will be from a family where both parents are there and love them. I guess we can never really know though. I dont believe at all that all screwed up people came from split unhappy homes. I think some people are just born crazy!I think my biggest fear is my daughter. She is already so demanding and stubborn. It's amazing how much you can butt heads with a 2 year old. ha I have also always been told that girls and mothers have conflict during puberty years. I guess it is all the hormones in both woman going crazy. I just read a fabulous book called Firefly Lane. It was great though it definitely helped play on my fears as a mother of a girl. =) I really hope i can be mother and friends with my children. I want them to respect me but trust me and come to me as well. I just wish everything i wanted was actually reality. It's funny all the things you say you will never do that you end up doing. Yelling for example. I have always seen my sister yell at her boys and thought oh my goodness i am not going to do that. well guess what. i do. and i absolutely hate it. They honestly dont listen to me though when i dont. I truly am working on this but they defintely test me each day. I watch nanny 911 darn it and her methods dont always work. lol Maybe i should call her. =) Anyway i think i got off track. my thoughts always scatter like that. thats why i am not a good writer. but if your reading this its probably cause you love me anyway. =) Those are my fears at the moment. they grip me every now and again and i figured i would just write it out. Hope everyone has a great Sat.

ps if you havent read that book i would suggest it. =)

Wordless Wed.

2009-04-22T18:51:00.001-07:00

Random thoughts Tuesday

2009-04-21T10:39:00.001-07:00

So Darren has gone out the last two weekends in a row. I decided this would be my weekend. I get home while ago and have an email inviting darren to a bachelor party this weekend. I just cant catch a damn break!! I dont think anyone realizes just how bad i need a drink. lol

On the same note as above i told Darren that when i go out this time i am staying the night with his mom (as he always does) and he is getting up through the night with the kids and waking up with them in the morning. Our oldest son is 4 and Darren has never gotten up with the kids. In fact i have only gone out one time to drink and left him with the kids. And that one time i went i had to be home by 11 and was still expected to get up with the kids in the morning. Now i guess in all fairness its not like it was demanded of me by him he just didnt get up. So i think it is very much my turn to sleep in.

Still on search for a house. It is getting very frustrating and very dissapointing. I guess people are getting very strict now that the market is the way it is. argh!!

On a good note since my last thoughts were all b*tching i got a new table today. new to me anyway. haha Now i am on the search for beds and a computer table.

Daven had his 9 month checkup today. He weights 20 lbs. He is in the 50% tile and for anyone who thinks that is big he is my first baby not to be in the 90%, so to me he is super tiny!! He was growing perfectly and right on schedule with all his milestones. I think he will be walking soon, which would mean my earliest walker. But you never can tell i could be wrong. He sure loves to let go though.

My oldest Dalten is forever stubbing his toe outside. It never fails everytime he goes out without shoes he comes in bleeding. You would think he would learn to throw his shoes on! ha. Anyway yesterday he went out and tore off half his big toe nail. it is so gross and he hurts so bad. i feel so bad for him. he cant even walk on it. my poor little big boy.

And on a fabulous note it is coming up on two weeks with absolutely NO POTTY ACCIDENTS!! woohoo!! He is finally truly my big boy.

Hope everyone is having a great week so far.

Wordless Wed.

2009-04-15T05:14:00.000-07:00

Electrifying. lol

Random thoughts Tuesday

2009-04-14T10:58:00.001-07:00

Dalten is still pottying without any pushing from mom. woohoo!!

I put Daltens name in to start pre-k in August. he is so excited, as am i!!

We are house hunting. We found the perfect house for us and someone either beat us to it or they didnt like our application. =( Now every house i look at i compare to that one. I am finding it very rare to find a house that big for that amount so i am praying something comes along soon!!! We are sooo ready to have enough space for us to live in!!

My sweet little Daven has not slept through the night in over a week now. Another tooth has popped out so hopefully the other three trying to will pop out soon and we can get back to a normal sleep schedule. Hopefully that is the issue anyway.

Daven is getting so big. He has started to let go while holding on to the couch to either just stand there or to reach for another piece of furniture. sometimes i think he forgets he cant walk. lol Though i dont think it will be long before he is walking.

The kids are getting their pics done on Friday. It was originally scheduled as family pictures but i want to lose more weight before we do those.

Speaking of losing weight i am at a stand still and completely frustrated. i now understand why so many large people have the gastric bypass. i used to think of it as the lazy way out but now i know i was completely wrong. i would do it in a heartbeat if i had the chance. there is nothing more frustrating then working out 7 days a week, watching what you eat and not losing anything. thats a whole other blog though. maybe i will start writing on that topic. i have heard it helps some people to blog about their weight struggles.

guess thats it. hope everyone has a great tuesday!

havent blogged in a while

2009-04-11T20:01:00.000-07:00

So i have been kinda skipping out on the whole blogging thing. This has been a crazy week. I thought i was pregnant with number 4. whew scary!! lol Though i dont think i will ever feel that done feeling i know beyond a doubt we are not ready for another one. so lets just say that scared some perspective my direction. Darren is getting closer to testing his stuff to make sure he is all good so that will be a relief not having to worry about it anymore. Now let me just pray nothing is wrong with me and i start soon. It is very unusual for me to be late. especially this late. Jess maybe you shouldnt mention this to Darrell just yet. Darren may get mad at me if he brings it up and he wasnt the one that told him. =)

On a happier note Dalten has pooped on the potty the last two days. For anyone reading this who doesnt know i have been potty training my son for forever!! He pooped and peed on the potty for an entire month before our 3rd son was born and then reverted back to not going at all. I heard some kids do that for a little while but i had no idea it would be 8 months before he would start again. I have not put him in a diaper since his 4th birthday but he has pooped on himself almost every day. He hasnt had any pee accidents but i am constantly saying do you have to pee, do you have to poop? Finally yesterday he goes oh man i gotta poop and jets to the bathroom. woohoo!! finally! He did it again today. I have not had to prompt him on peeing or pooping. i am praying this is finally the end of accidents. at least for the most part. I really want him to start pre-k this year and i told him they will kick him out if he poops on himself. lol I sign him up on monday. what a scary thought! they just grow so darn fast.

Since i am giving dalten props i better give kayden props too. She is my newly 2 year old and she poops and pees on the potty all the time. I havent truly started potty training her but she does it on her own. She pulls her pants and diaper off and runs to the bathroom door yelling i gotta poo poo. lol

I guess that is about it for my updates this week. I hope everyone has a great easter sunday. I wish we didnt have to celebrate inside but it should still be nice for the kiddos. =)

Wordless Wed.

2009-04-01T18:32:00.000-07:00

Where all kids should be. lol

Random thoughts Tuesday

2009-03-31T06:42:00.000-07:00

I am stealing this idea from my sister in law Jess. I thought it was cute..along with your wordless wed. Jess. =)

I just celebrated my kids birthday party and i already have both their birthday parties planned in my head for next year. All the way down to the cake. lol Yes i am weird!!

i sometimes feel like my child will be the last kid on the planet to potty train! and on that note i would love to send him to a potty training school. lol do they have those?

I just finished the book Twilight and it is so much better then the movie. It is crazy to me some of the important things a movie leaves out. I can't wait to start reading on the others.

Daven said dada yesterday for the first time. I was hoping at least one of my kids would say my name first but i guess it wasnt meant to happen. even though he says nana (pronounced like mama) so i am pretty sure he is calling for me. =)

Well i guess that is all the random thoughts i can think of at the moment. It is crazy how easily my mind can shut off from what i am doing when i hear my kids in the other room. I swear people probably think i am special when we are out in public. My train of thought is always gone. lol

Mommy Award

2009-03-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

My sis-in-law Jess nominated me for this. She is too sweet. =) I don't know if i deserve it though. I love being a mom but sometimes i over anylize all the things i wish i was better at. I sure hope i am not the only one out there that does this. =) I sure will accept it though. lol thanks Jess!!

There are just a few rules re: this award.

Here's the first:1. Admit one thing you feel awful about involving being a mom.
Well as i previously stated i strive each day to be a b etter mom. There is always something or other i feel i could do better at. I am a yeller, which i HATE. I wish they had a rehab for it. lol This is something i am working on and slowly getting much better at but i have to admit sometimes it is my first reaction. I'll move on though since my sis used that one. =) I wish i was more of a schedule person. I feel kids need to be on a schedule to help them thrive but since i have been a stay at home mom i have yet to do this. I always thought i would have a nap time, play time, art time, story time, etc but real life happened and that went out the window. =) I am working on this as well though.

Rule #2: Remind yourself why you are a good mom.

I love my kids with every inch of my being and they know this. All three are very much mommas kids and there normally is not a time of the day that at least one of them is by me. I play with them as much as i can. even when this means bouncing from my butt to my feet 10, 20, 30 times in a row on the trampoline cause they think it is cool. lol There is a lot of laughing, tickling, and yes even play fighting in the house. We do a lot of reading and coloring. I have also recently started getting healthier at the gym which has made me a much better mom. I am much more active then i was and i am just going to continue getting better each day.

Rule #3: Send this to five other Moms that deserve the Mom of the Year Award and remind them that they are the best moms they can be! Remember to send a note to those you selected so they will be sure to receive their award. I guarantee it will make their day, just as it did mine!

Unfortanetly i am knew to blogging and have no one to list here. =( So i guess this is just for you Jess. lol Hopefully you read it. haha

Dalten Ezrick

2009-03-28T19:45:00.001-07:00

My oldest little man turned 4 years old last Wed. Its so crazy how time flies by! of course i have had two other children in those four years so that helped speed it along. =) I still remember the excitement i had walking into the hospital at 5:30 that morning. It's so crazy the imaginings you can have about the unknown. I was scheduled for a c-section as Dalten was estimated to be very large. He did not dissapoint either as he came out a whopping 10lbs 4 oz (not even my largest baby). He looked like a gigantic sumo wrestler. lol I wish i had a picture saved on here right now so i could post it. It is soo funny! He was beautiful though. Black hair, black eyes, big dimples, perfect skin. I have enjoyed watching every moment of his life. Though excitement is there with every child you have it's not the same feeling as it is with your first. I don't mean the birth of the child but all of the firsts they have. The first smile, first word, first step, first i love you, etc. You can not replace that feeling with anything. Anyway i got way of what i meant to blog about. Tonight we have been getting ready for the birthday party we are throwing at chuck e cheese tomorrow. I made a huge cookie cake for Dalten and lots of cupcakes for Kayden. I decorated her tinkerbell cupcakes and Darren is decoreating the Ben 10 cake. I really hope this turns out well. He is a very good drawer but this is his first time working on a cake. =) Dalten is and always has been my little helper in the baking department. So tonight when i called him in to help me mix the cake batter (he helped me make his cake last wed.) he said "oh wow mom my cake, did i turn 5 now". lmao. he was so excited about this. He is definitely my comedian. I can always get a giggle when he is talking. Well my train of thought is gone, my 8 month old is screaming so i will leave it at that. thanks for listening to my ramblings. most of my blogs will be just that, ramblings! =)

Staying a mommy of three

2009-03-27T16:46:00.000-07:00

Well i figure i better go ahead and write my first blog. For those of you who do not know me, my children are my life. They are the reason i wake up every morning (literally since it is crying i wake up to lol) and the reason i go to bed each night (because i am extremely exhausted from them wearing me out all day =)) But i absolutely adore them and wish i could continue having more. I always thought i would know when i was done but i have never reached that point. I know several people who were 100% sure after their first or second child that that was it for them. But here i am three kids later and i am still getting that yearning. They seem to get so independant so fast. I miss that tiny baby that just wants you to hold them and love them. My husband on the other hand is DONE. He got the "i know" feeling. Of course he had the i know feeling after two so i should count myself blessed i got 3. And i do very much! I also completely agree with the fact we need to stop as kids are expensive and we havent won the lottery yet. =) I just cant shake that yearning feeling. Maybe one day i will but untill then i will just continue to love on my sweet babies and since my husband got fixed today enjoy staying a mommy of three.