We have eggs.....

The hubby went out to check on the hens and there were three eggs waiting for us, which is great because I checked about three days prior and there were none...so I'm pretty excited that we finally have eggs!

The kids made scrambled eggs with one of them and I think they were impressed that the eggs actually came from the hens....it really is a great demonstration of where your food comes from...the kids had heard us talking about it, but I think it finally sunk in when we got the eggs. So, it will be nice that we won't have to buy any and we will have fresh eggs...yeah for the hens!!

"The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it." - A. H. Glasgow

When we sleep...

does our unconscious mind try to tell us things in our dreams? The other night I dreamt of my Aunt Marilyn who just passed away and the dream was quite weird. In the dream, she knew that she had passed and we were sitting in a hospital chapel and I said what are you doing here...you are gone.
And she said, I'm waiting - I need to help them...I then woke up. So, in my dream I never found out who....strange dreams they are.
I've had dreams in the past of my grandparents who have died and I've always just felt that was their way of visiting me, but my recent dream just shook me a bit....

"The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don't know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened." - Unknown

100 books galore and more....

I haven't been blogging lately...a lot has been going on lately...like colds, sinus infections, strep throat, and now the stomach flu...but nothing exciting to really blog about, until tonight....

We reached our 100 book goal...today is day 85 and we finished the 100th book tonight...in fact my little sweet pea read number 1-0-0...she read, May I Have a Cookie, we also read Hurry, Hurry, Have you Heard? and Happy Hanukkah!
The kids were quite excited that we reached our goal and the school is still having their book sale, so after school tomorrow they get to pick out a book.

I'm also pretty excited that an old friend from high school will be passing through and we are going to meet up this weekend. It's been 16 years since we've seen each other, we've always tried to stay in touch, but just recently reconnected after several long years, so I can't wait to see her. We have a lot to catch up on and when I thought of how long it has been I really couldn't believe 16 years....where does the time really go?

I also decided (in addition) to the consultant work I do during the day to become an independent Norwex consultant. The school was having a fundraiser and I had a party and fell in love with the products....I'm not good with home parties...I never have a good turn out, but so far things are going well. The products are really great and you can basically clean your entire house in less time with water...which I had been making my own cleaners for about a year and these can replace my cleaners, however, I still make my laundry soap.

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching....we were going to head to MN for Thanksgiving, but decided to stay home and the hubs is going to cook. He really enjoys preparing such a big meal and he does a great job. I found some great non-traditional recipes to add to the fare.

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes." - Charles Swindoll

Halloween move over, it's the Holiday Season

We couldn't have asked for better weather for trick-n-treat night, it was a mild fall night. The kids changed three times because they couldn't decide what they wanted to be....I'm really thankful that we have a handful of costumes aka "pretend dress up play" that we didn't need to buy any costumes this year. I was in the midst of making my sweet pea's costume (she wanted to be a peacock), but towards the middle of the month she decided she was just going to wear one of the "princess dresses" and my little man had already said he was going to be a superhero. ***Tip**** when the store costumes go on clearance, we typically buy one for each of the kids and either save it for Christmas or their birthday - they love playing dress up year round and they love getting stuff like that when they don't expect it.

Anyway, the kids had a great time, we only hit two streets. On one of the very last houses, I see this man hunched over in a lawn chair holding a candy bowl, I immediately knew what was going to happen, but before I could say a "peep" the kiddies ran over and thankfully he took it easy on them and only said "boo!"
They sure got a fright, but laughed so loud as the kids were leaving they shouted, "thank you scary man!" And really they don't see that - out of most of the homes giving candy out, maybe two or three were decorated or people in costume and it definitely could be that we happen to live in a neighborhood with more older residents than younger, but I remember growing up all the homes were decked out with scary decor and there were some I wouldn't even approach because I didn't want to get scared.
The kids ended the night only eating two pieces of candy and we had a great time with friends that joined us....it was a fun filled evening.
So, today after we hit the science center we quickly ran to the store and sure enough all the Christmas decor was out. My sweet pea looked at me and said, "when is Christmas, is it next week?"
Well not exactly! Do stores think the sooner they get the stuff out, the more things people will buy? If most are like me, by the time Christmas actually arrives, you are burned out from hearing the music and seeing all the holiday stuff that you want to hide.
I don't look forward to the holiday season in the slightest bit....I do think it is getting better now that we have children and children always think that season is a magical time, so I do find it getting better, but it's hard because we can't seem to make everyone happy, but besides running away for the holidays, I did bring it up with my husband as to what the plans were, which he said he wants to stay home again, so I think that is what we will be doing.
I did find some really great ideas for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I'm hoping that I will have some spare time to work on these projects before the holidays.
One for Thanksgiving is making outlines of leaves and cutting them out - have the kids decorate them and then write one question on each leaf...such as "What are you grateful for, Which season do you appreciate the most, Is there someone at the table you have a reason to be thankful for, Is there someone not at the table you have a reason to be thankful for, and How do you show your thanks (gratitude)....."
So afterwards, you put the leaves in a bowl or jar and at dinner time, pass the jar around the table and each person takes a question and you answer the question. I know my kids will love this, they love when we ask questions at dinner time, so I knew when I saw this idea that it was something I'd love to do.
Last year, I had a jar and during the month of November we would write down things we were grateful for and on Thanksgiving morning, we read them.
The kids loved it so much, that afterwards the kids decorated a jar and turned into a thank you/wish jar - so we would write down things we were thankful for the day or a wish. My little man of course is just beginning to write out letters and such, but he would sit at the table and draw a line and tell me what he was writing. I think what they enjoy the most is looking back and reading what they write and of course when I get to the "lines," I simply interpret and then ask my son "is that what it says?" to which he will either say I'm wrong or right.
I also got some great DIY gift ideas that I'm excited to try out. And one of my goals this holiday season is to host a cookie exchange, I wanted to last year, but didn't get around to it, so I'm hoping this year to do it...so we will see how that goes.

Hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween!!!!

"Backward, turn backward, O Time, in your flight, make me a child again just for to-night!" - ~Elizabeth Akers Allen

Book Challenge Update....

Well we have hit day 60 and we have been in super charge mode and are up to 75 books...so 25 books left in 40 days....I think we can do it!!!! The kids were so excited to hear what we hit and I told them that as long as we hit that challenge, we will have a "shopping" spree (up to two books) to the bookstore.
I've order some books already for Christmas and have a couple more that I want to order via the kid's scholastic book order, but these are books that I pretty much pick out that I want the kids to learn, such as I'm ordering a Hanukkah book, a book about the meaning of "Christmas," and then there is a book about what's in my body and I also am ordering "The Story of Ferdinand" I loved that story growing up.
So when we go to the bookstore, they get to pick out any book, which I'm sure one will be on superheros and the other on princesses....oh the life of a child!
Once we are done, I'll take a photo of all the books we've read to get a visual...so far it's been hard seeing all these books laying around.

"He liked to sit just quietly and smell the flowers.” from Ferdinand the Bull

A Wasted Vote.....

I think not....the elections are drawing near and so you see all the negative ads and why the Democrats are better or why the Republicans are better, but neither is really addressing the issues or taking responsibility for their outcomes, especially if it is an unfavorable one.
You hear excuses like, "well I could have done it better had (insert political party) not stomped it" or "don't let (insert political party) in because they will destroy everything we've built, etc...etc...
I'm tired of hearing it, I'm tired of seeing it, I'm tired of it all. I hate discussing politics or religion with most people because what I have found is that it is usually the people who say they are "liberal" or "atheist" that will be the first to tune you out at the first signs of disagreement. I'm quiet and I don't make a lot of noise with my views, unless specifically asked, but I've observed this first hand and on more than one occasion. I'm neither Republic and I'm neither Democrat and therefore I stand behind those I believe will run the county, state, or federal government the best way while upholding the Constitution.
I'm open to listening to different views, hell, when different religious groups come knocking on our door, we don't slam the door. I listen to what people have to say because you never know when that will lead to something different or open your eyes and for that matter, change someone else because of the courtesy you have shown them by listening and they listening to you.
My ballot will cross party lines based on who I believe is going to do the best job based on what I've seen, read, and heard from sources other than mainstream media. I will be supporting Johnathon Narcisse for Governor because what he stands for aligns more closely to what I would like to see in this state. Will he win? Of course not, but I hope that he will get enough votes to shake things up and to get the attention that the people are tired of the same bucket of crap. Change starts at the bottom up and if the people don't demand change, then nothing will change. Is it so shocking that he wants to empower parents with regards to education choices or that it's blasphemy that welfare recipients should work (via community service or other) and get drug tested!!
So, I'm going to step outside of the box and vote for who I want, not who the lesser of the two evils are....

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Albert Einstein

"THE THOUGHT--To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not, rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony." - William Henry Channing

Happy Anniversary

My parents celebrate their 33rd wedding anniversary today! Congrats to them - wow - it seems like such a long time and it is!
My parents are an example of two people who despite having challenges, disagreements, fights and all that comes with marrying a man in the military; they have learned to work through those to build a relationship that can survive those hard times. The have fostered a relationship of love, compromise, laughter, and happiness.
I've seen the fights, but I've also seen the love and it's those that I take away from -that makes me want a relationship that can stand up to life's challenges and know that I won't walk away alone, but rather I'll walk away with my partner hand in hand.
So, I work hard at being a wife and proud to say that...too often I see other woman treat strangers better than they treat their own spouse (and it goes both ways men) and that is sad. I try to tell my husband that I love him everyday, I put him up on a pedestal to let him know how much I appreciate him. So what do I get in return, someone who loves me and tells me so everyday.
Now, granted neither of us is perfect and we all make mistakes and we have problems like any other couple, but what we have learned and try to do is to work together. Marriage is compromise and when there is no balance and one is constantly taking, it puts strain on the relationship.
So, will I be one to celebrate 33 years of marriage with my hubby? Well, I hope so, but I like to focus on the present and we are together today and that is all that matters!

Happy Anniversary MUM and DAD!!!! Love you much!!!! Here's to all those who've found their "one"

“I don't wish to be everything to everyone, but I would like to be something to someone." - Javan