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Pumpkin Farm Field Trip!

Lila went on her first School Field Trip to the Pumpkin Farm!!!

We had an AWESOME time!!!

We went on a spooky Hay Ride!

Look at some of the things we saw!!!

(Ooohhh! Big Bird was so scary on St. Street! Lol)

Lila LOVED all the Farm Animals!

Oh and the play area was so much Fun!!!

Don't forget the corn maze!

The class got to decorate their little pumpkins! The pumpkins were the perfect size for these little preschoolers!

TRACTOR!

What a GREAT DAY!!!

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

~Ra~

Pros & Cons...

Pros & Cons to Up Grading to a Rental Home!

We are currently in a town home (that I have learned to hate, it's just toooo small!!!) and would love to move into a house but it is not just as easy as clicking my red shoes together and wishing to have one!  So we are thinking about the options....

~stay where are till we are ready to buy

or

~renting a house

I would love to buy so at the end of the day the place would be mine to change anything I want, paint the walls any color I or the kids want, change the yard to have the trees and flowers I want, kids could have their own rooms, by the appliances I want, a yard the kids and the dog can run and play in...

But unfortunately we never seem to be "ready"

So we started looking for homes to rent.  But as we look I can't help but think that if we do rent a house the cost of rent will go up which will put us further away from the BIG goal of owning! 

We did find a house that was only a little over $250 more a month in rent but it was not much bigger than the town house we are in so here are the Pros & Cons...

Pros:

*Everyone (well kids) would have there own room!!!! (This is what we want the most!)

*Right School District!!!

*Fenced in bigger back yard

*My Own Drive Way!!!  (I hate it when people park in the spot that I clam as mine!)

*Linen Closet! (yes we don't have one and it has been a pain!)

*A Pantry and a Coat Closet! (we have turned our downstairs coat closet into a pantry and it has been a pain to figure out what to do w/ the coat during the winter)

*Bigger Closet for Hubby & I!  (Do I need to say more, lol)

*In our price range!  (most homes are $500+ more a month than we pay here)

Cons:

*The back yard is all red clay!!!  (do not want to fight that on the carpet)

*Living room and Kitchen are a lot smaller! (worried about where the fish tanks would go)

*Rent is MORE! (so owning will take longer to do)

*The opening to the attic is smaller!  (the big boxes that we have in ours would not fit through it)

*Where to store the bigger item that won't fit attic

*It is through a rental company so they are stricter  (can't paint walls & add a trampoline, two things I wanted to do) 

*Ugly Beige(or Cream) colored walls!  (I have been living w/ them for 4 year and as luck would have it they are the same ugly color at the house we found)

*To get to the back door you would have to go through my room or go out the front door and through the gate

*Landry room is not finished so it is wood beams

So... What do you think?

We can fix a few of the Cons like mulching the back yard so kids and dog don't track in the red clay.  Hubby thinks that it would probably be ok to paint the walls white.  Put one fish tank in our room, one in living room, one in  dinning/kitchen area and get rid of most of the small ones.  Get smaller boxes for some things in attic and use the move to go through and get rid of all the junk we have collected and don't need.   

So I think that now makes the Pros more right!?!

We just can't decide since the place was not "Perfect", but what place would be!?!  I was hoping for a little more....

So do we wait???

Or do we get it???

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

~Ra~

  

Lila Gets Her Ear's Pierced!

Today was a big day for My Little Lady Bug,

Today she got her Ear's Pierced!

This was a very big deal at our house since I am not the kinda person that wanted her to be born with earrings like some moms.  Not that it is a bad thing, if you looked at me you would think since I have 5 holes in one ear and 3 in the other that my little girl would have them too asap!  But to me it is a hole in a body, in my perfect little girls head!  I did not want to have her traumatized by the gun, yes it's a gun, and end up hating them or messing up her ears with in infection or ripping them out.  So I waited till SHE was READY and SHE WANTED THEM!!!!  

 (having her hair pulled back)
 And finally the day CAME!!! 

 So we found someone we trusted (not the lady at the mall that has been working there for maybe a month)...

It was our Hair Dresser!!!

Lila was so excited!  She got to pick out her earrings, she went with pearls since it's her birth stone!  

(I have a feeling they will be replaced with real ones by her beloved grandparents at Christmas or her Birthday)

(dotting her ears)

We talked about what was going to happen, since she is 4 I thought it was very important that she knew that this is big and I wanted her to understand every thing that was going on, even the part about it will hurt but just for a little bit!

And she was a brave Little (I mean Big) Girl!

She sat in the set all by herself and sat still when her ears were being cleaned and marked!

After the first one went in I got a shot of her sad almost in tears face =(  This is why I did not want to do this to her!  But she sat still for the second one too, I did hold down her hands with one hand and held her head steady for with my other hand.  And as soon as it was over her Daddy scooped her up and she bawled!   It broke my heart but it was over and the pain would be too very soon after!

By the time we got her to the car she was settling down, her little ears were bright red!  But like with the shots at the doctor's office earlier that week I had a present wrapped up for her to open when she got both ears done (I was so afraid that after the first ear she would not let us do the second one)

And that made it all better!  

"Aww... It's so CUTE!"

A Littlest Pet Shop Pink Flamingo 

(Our Hair Dresser has a huge collection of everything pink flamingos at the shop so I thought getting Lila one would be a nice connection to her)

And of corse it never hurts to add some Krispy Kreame Doughnuts!

It was very hard to get a good picture of the 3 of them but I did try!

Lol ;~)

So by the end of the day ALL WAS GOOD!

One Happy Little Lady Bug!!!

(w/ earring!!!)

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

~Ra~

Lila Got Shots

My Poor Little Lady Bug went to the doctor's office and ended up needing THREE SHOTS!   

But I already knew that she was going to need them and I told her so.  

She was NOT happy!  

So I tried to think of a way that would make her not as scared to go to the doctor's....  So I bought a toy, wrapped it up, showed it to her on our way out the door, and thats all it took, she was super excited!

 

Not about the shots but because if she was a Big Girl and got her shots she would get this very cool very sparkly present!!!

Oh and did I forget to tell you it is super "Aww it's sooo CUTE!"

Because Lila's new thing and everything is "Aww it's sooo CUTE!"

 And like a Big Girl she was a trooper at the doctor's and was not screaming "NO SHOTS!" like you know we all say!  (I know grown up that cry more over shots then children!)

 We did hold her down since there were 3 shots and she did scream and cry once got poked by them and cried till we got to the car!  She did not open the present till then because she was so upset but once in the safety of her own car she was ready to unwrap!!!  And look "They are sooo CUTE"

She got a 2 pack of the Littlest Pet Shop, a yellow ducky (since she has a rubber ducky collection) and a little green frog! 

 Oh and I wanted to add on the same day (after the doctor's apt thank goodness) during one of our carpools (we do 2) I gave Lila a pen and she ended up dropping her paper and writing all over her legs!

 How can you stay mad at that face!

To be honest I use to write all over myself when I was board at school so I was not upset at all!  

Just laughed about! 

;~)

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

~Ra~

First Week Being Kidless!

Week 1 of no kids for the 2011-2012 school year!  Yeah!!!

I have to say after our long hot summer with kids fighting and being bored "I'm SOOOO  BORED" I thought that I would spend the first week of school relaxing, sleeping, recouping...  

since my brian, memory, patience, and temperament has all gone down hill the last few summers (this one included)....

but no it has been a really busy, barely have any time to sit kinda week!

It Starts With...

Monday!

~After dropping off all 3 kids @ school I took the dog out for a good run/walk

~Took shower since I was all sweaty

~Did laundry 

~Made myself all pretty (even took my time on it)

~Picked up Hubby @ work 

~We did the grocery store (oh how sexy!) to get what was needed for dinner that night and the next, plus picked up their fresh sushi (that is made there) for lunch 

~We sat at picnic tables and enjoyed each others company in the fresh air (This was may FAVORITE part of my week!)

~Took him back to work!

~Then started the pick of Kids process: 

*Lila @ 12:30

*Jesse @ 2:15

*Cole @ 3:45

!!!!!

Tuesday!

~Dropped off Kids:

*Jesse @ 7:20

*Cole @ 8:45

*Lila @ 9:30

~Took Lily (dog) on walk/run, came home showered, make-up...

~Took stuff to dump

~Went to one bank to close account (they have a new fee and it was not an account I was using so there was not point in keeping it)

~Went to other bank to open new account (so I can still have one w/ just my name on it)

~Did grocery store for some fruit and chips for school lunches

~Got Chinese for Lunch!  I ordered to so I could use them in the school lunches for the next day or 2!  & since they over do the food it ended up making 8 lunches, 2 days for me, 2 for Jesse, 2 for Cole, and 2 Lila!  And it only costed about $10, thats $1.25 a lunch!  GO ME!!!! (oh do I need to add that it was not the only things in their lunches, they also had a fruit and chips)

~I even had time to take the groceries home and eat them b/f

~Picked up Kids!

Wednesday!

~Dropped of Children @ school (well 2 out of 3, one got a ride w/ a friend)

~Watched a friends 3 yr. old, took her to the park before we went to

~Cleaned my in laws' house

~Picked up Lila

~Picked up Jesse

~Went to a friends to order my new Lia Sophia Starter Kit (wish me luck, I now have a JOB!!!)

~Picked up Cole

Thursday!

~Dropped off Kids!  (had lots of trouble getting up and going)

~Went to $1 Store

~Then it was off to Walmart to do the BIG grocery trip!  (he wants me to come up w/ every thing we need and buy it for the 2 till he gets paid again!  I am getting better at it but it is still a challenge!  & it take for ever @ Walmart!)

~Went home put groceries away 

~Picked up Kids

~Lila's doc apt w/ 3 shots

Friday! (Today)

*Today was a super hard one and it went a little like this:

~Took Jesse to school 

~Got Cole up (Lila was already up)

~Could not find Cole's homework and a form

~Found Jesse's note book w/ all his HW in it!  (Grrr...)

~Thought that maybe cause Jesse's and Cole's back pack look the same that maybe he put it in his brother's back pack/ at the same time Jesse calls from school asking if I can bring his note book.  I asked him about his brother's HW and he did not have his book bag right there to look but said he would while we were on our way there!

~At Jesse's school with Cole & Lila to find out that everyone in the school is getting ready for a reading test, so we wait, once it start it takes only 3 minutes....  Sorry I have to take Cole to school TOOO, and they don't want him late ether!  

~On the way to taking Cole to school Jesse calls to say his brother's HW was not in his stuff but remembers seeing it .......  near the computer  .....  

~So turning around now...  Back to home...  run in, find HW... off to school again!

~He was about 3 or 4 minute late!  (but when I picked up he said there was no one stopping to get a tardy slip, so we are SAFE!)  

What a Morning!  Right!?!  

You have days like that right1?! 

Or are we all just CRAZY here!?!

*So the rest of my morning (Crazy me kept going) went like this: 

(Oh and Lila has Fridays off so it was the both of us)

~A.C. Moore

~Michaels

~Target

~World Market

~Jo Anns 

~Kohls

~Home to do Lunch

(And I only spent less than $15)

~Picked up Jesse 

~Picked up Cole

And these are just my mornings!!!  (Or what I can still remember of them)

There also my late afternoons and evenings...  My Hubby attempting to quite smoking...  The Dark Vader  lego head and dinosaur incident...  Magic card pack search...  Hubby's joint pain...  Fighting boys...  Dinner planning...  and so on!

How was your week?  And your first week w/ out the kiddos?  And what was your favorite part of the week?

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

~Ra~

First Day Of School! 2011-2012

They were so excited, it has been a long hot summer with (as they say) "Nothing to do!"

Lol!

August 25, 2011

Jesse going into 7th grade

He said he had a great day but was sad his best friend is on a different team, so year they don't share any class. Oh well probably better that way, they won't get into trouble together! Lol!

Can't wait to see how he does in Spanish (I wanted him to take Typing but he picked Spanish)

Cole going into the 4th grade! He is growing up so fast! He was very happy to see some of his old friends in his new class and is quickly making new ones!!! And the friends that are not in his class he still sees on the play ground so he is super happy! He is also starting a AG class, so he too is super smart! GO COLE!

August 29, 2011

Lila is going into her 2nd (and last) year of preschool with the 4 day 4s! She was so excited till the night before, she got sad that and wanted to stay with me! Lol! But I knew that her tune would change once she got there and saw all her friends and you know what!?! IT DID!!! She had an AWESOME DAY and she got to be the line leader!

So now that the kids are all in school what am I going to do in my short 2 1/2 hours being kidless!?! Right now it has been running around a lot catching up on somethings I did not want to do with them during the summer! But the first goal is cleaning up the house (again!)!!! Then maybe getting me time!!! (would love to get my nails done, have not done that in YEARS!)

But till then....

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

~Ra~

The Beach

August 19-21, 2011

We Love going to the Beach even if it is just for a short weekend! We had lots of fun playing in the waves and sand and even meet a new friend that joined us (see crab in the pictures)!

One Happy Little Girl! Lila already wants to go back!

My Little Character! I love the picture up top of Cole looking terrified which was about a wave coming to get his sand creation! Lol

Jesse did a lot of boggy boarding and being that he is just months away form being a teen he is not much of a picture person but I did steal a few!

We had a lot of fun going to one of the islands off our coast for a couple of days to just get away the weekend before school started! We did the beach and the aquarium, ate out, shopped for souvenirs, and all around had a great time! We had a crab crash our beach spot, lol! Unfortunately as we pack up around him he stood his ground and did not scurry to his hole so as we were headed up the board walk we saw a seagull come down and start picking at him. So sad =( for our new little friend! So everyone had a great time! (well except the crab) Wish we could have stayed longer!

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

~Ra~

Twas The Night Before School...

(Someone posted this on Facebook and it was too cute not to share! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!)

Twas the night before school started,

when all through the town,

the parents were cheering...

What a riotous sound!

By 8 kids were washed and

tucked into bed...

Where memories of homework

fill them with dread!

New pencils, new folders,

new notebooks, and glue!

New teachers, new friends...

Their anxiety grew.

The parents just giggled

when they learned of this fright-

shouted upstairs:

Go To Bed! It's A School Night!

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

~Ra~

A Diary of a Whiny Mom!

So again I am going to do: "A Diary Of A Whiny Mom!"

(we so love the 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' books and movies)

Today it is about how LONG and HOT the summer has been! School is around the corner and the boys are not getting any better! Most day have been supper hot so they can't spend a lot of time out there and they are the ages that they don't want to do the same things any more... the older want to be on the computer the younger one wants to play with toys still, and so on!

We have been to a pool here and a pool there (a lot more than last year) but nothing consistent like when we lived in the apartment 4/5 years ago. We have had some friends over and been over to friends houses. Lila did a couple of camps, the boys did not want to do any camps!

But all I hear most days at any given time is.....

"Mom, Jesse won't play with me! Make him play with me!"

"Mom, Cole won't leave me alone! Make him go away!"

"Mom, Jesse won't go outside with me..."

"Mom, Cole's on my side..."

&

"It's my turn first!"

"You promised to play another game with me!"

"He hit me!"

"Hey that's Mine!"

And it seem to be all day these days! And it is making me a little crazy!

Ok... A LOT OF CRAZY!!!

Is it to late to sign them up for YEAR ROUND SCHOOL? Because I CAN NOT take another summer like this! Something has got to give!!!!

~So sign them up for camp!

You can't make them if the don't want to go,

plus we don't have the $ to do it all the time!

~Take them out!

They fight even when we take them out,

so much so I don't want to go any where with them!

Plus the HEAT, Plus the $...

~Put them to work!

They do have chores.

Some they get payed for and some that they don't.

I am sooo glad school starts next week! I have a whole school year to figure out what I am going to do next year! I am praying for a good school year!

But if something does not give I may be running away come May 2012!

Sorry I just need to get it out,

Thank you for listening (I mean reading) my whiny self!

Any suggestions for next summer?

(And aways what I am searching for:)

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

~Ra~

Something That Makes Me Happy

Something that has made me really happy lately is that I got to start my fresh water fish tank! Any one that knows me knows that my hubby has an (lets call it) addiction to salt water fish, corals, crabs... well all the cool things you put in a salt water tank!

I do love the salt water fish and our 'Dory' & 'Nemo' but there are some fresh water fish I REALLY wanted! PINEAPPLE SWORDTAILS!

So we took the tank that has been sitting empty for quite a while (use to be salt water but he upgraded them to a bigger tank)

~reused a filter that we already had (but had to get new stuff to go inside so that we were not putting salt back into the tank)

~got water using the RO filter hooked to the hose outside (this took the longest time but was done in one day!)

~and last but least threw in a RosyRed fish that we had on hand (we feed them to the Lion Fish)

Then come the fun part since we reused most of the stuff I got to buy new rocks, plants, fish, and a cool little shrimp!

Bamboo Shrimp

African Dwarf Frog & Solar Flare Swordtail Fish

(the frog unfortunately had an accident w/ the filter. We will get another one when we get a better cover for the intake on the filter)

Fancy Guppy up at the top & Swordtails in the back corner

MY PINEAPPLE SWORDTAILS!

=)

So this is what it looks like today!

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

~Ra~

A Big Accomplishment!

I did this one a about a month or two ago but was still a great "Accomplishment"!

This is what you saw when we open our font door to let you in! Not PRETTY!

(Before)

All the shoes were driving me nuts! Yes I have a shoe problem which does cary over to some of my children! So I got a cubby thing (which we had to put together) and some baskets...

(After)

Now there is a cubby for me and one for hubby to throw stuff into as we walk in the door...

And two for each of the kids, one for library book or when school starts school stuff and one for their most used shoes (and while it is summer flip-flops)!

It looks so much better...

but we still have the basket of extra shoes on the wall facing the cubes but you don't see it unless you look down when you come throw the door or when you are leaving so for now it works.

I also want bigger baskets soon these ones came for the dollar store so I could keep the cost down! (those baskets are like $5 to $16 or so each and I need at lest 4!)

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

~Ra~