Operation backyard chicken is a no go.

Well, it was fun while it lasted. I got a no from the board but Im totally ok with it. It was not them but the county that was the issue. Looks like Gwinnett County is not all about the chickens. LOL

Looks like my gardens just moved up to TOP PRIORITY! Im reading EVERYTHING I can to make them work. The good news is that no matter what it is I can probably get Marc to build it pretty quick for the simple fact that means he gets to use his tools. I hope to have one of the beds done this weekend. I need to start getting the soil ready.

Guess whos coming!

Pending HOA approval




Guess who our newest house (backyard) guests will be. Yep, that's right. I'm still waiting on approval from the board. We are getting two hens. Marc believes I have lost my mind but trust me I have not. Am I doing it for the fresh organic eggs? Goodness no. Am I doing it for the fertilizer. UGH no, although that's another story. Lets just say the kids will be having a project that you cant experience the same way out of a book. Tommy is involved in this process all the way. He helped put the proposal together for the board. He went with me to the feed and tack store (yes, I Becky Cochran went to a feed and tack store) to find out all the pricing info. I want him involved in all the aspects of having these hens. We are ONLY getting two! All I am waiting on is my approval before I spend the money on the coop.

The other backyard project are the gardens. We have a significant water problem because we have a hill in the yard. I have lost almost everything I have ever planted back there. NOT THIS YEAR! I started plans last year to use raised garden beds. Raised high enough that they come to my hip. Almost like a garden table. We are only growing strawberries, peppers and green beans. I'm trying to learn everything I can between now and April. We still have a lot to do. Building the tables and getting the soil ready. I'm excited though. Wish me luck but what I really need is any info anyone has to help my little gardens!!!!! I'm sick of loosing everything I plant.

Christmas morning finally came! These pics are in weird order but you will get the gist of the situation. Christmas morning after Santa came. When Tommy was just a baby Marc and I decided we would NOT be going crazy at Christmas with gifts. We open gifts with his Grandmother and Papaw, Uncle Tim and Aunt Erica and Uncle Dave, then we open with his Grandma and Grandpa and his Aunt Jay and Uncle Brian. Then Santa comes and we give him our stuff. Not to mention his birthday is two weeks after Christmas. Serious overload! We do 5 gifts each and then they give each other a present. This year Tommy got a Red Ryder BB gun, mp3 player, air hog, and a telescope. Jimmy got a Playmobile camper, Lego's, magna doodle and a truck and bass boat. Together they got a set of tools that Marc put together and they LOVED! Tommy got Jimmy connect four and Jimmy got Tommy battleship Torpedo. They were both so happy and overwhelmed. None of that is including ALL the Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles that spoiled them too! LOL



Christmas morning I always do breakfast because everyone wants to come over and see what the boys got. This year my brother Brian and his wife Jay got to spend the night with Mom and Dad so they made it over too.




Jimmy with his Camper (He wanted one soooooooooooo bad because Grandma and Grandpa just bought a real one and he is all excited about going camping on the beach for Spring break). When I tell you these pieces are little TRUST ME! You honestly need a tweezers to play with them.




Am I the only one that thinks retirement is sitting well with Dad? LOL




MMMMMMMMMM Mom made yummy prime rib! SO GOOD.

Me with Brian and Jays dog Kylie. Great Dane. Need I say more. She is honestly the sweetest dog ever.

We started celebrating in November and enjoyed every second of it. HA. Marc had the week of Christmas at home with us and I LOVED IT. Everyone thought I was crazy because I waited until then to buy all the kids stuff. You don't have to drive yourself crazy. Just make a list and STICK TO IT!!!!!!! That is the important part. Marc works his behind off providing for us every day. He happily watches as we go here and there telling him how much fun it was. Because of him these boys have me here. Together we can provide them with what they REALLY need in life. We all know that does not cost a penny. Because of that I feel like he should get to enjoy the fun of picking the second to last Red Ryder gun at Bass Pro Shops 3 nights before Christmas, even though I could have easily gotten it 3 weeks ago any day of the week. Trust me when I tell you the look on his face said it all. That was one happy man! HA. I hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Peace or Noel?

Oh the decisions.

Pretty much from the first Christmas Marc and I shared as newlyweds we have had a long running.... ummmm, shall we say difference of opinion. You see, we have never bought stocking holders. We have stockings. The boys even put their names on theirs with glue and glitter a few years ago. Since then I have really wanted to upgrade the stockings but they wont hear of it. They are so proud of theirs and they LOVE seeing them come out of storage every year. The holders are another story. You see I have ALWAYS wanted Peace.
Marc on the other hand has stuck to Noel.

So, are you getting the picture yet? We have both secretly tried to stick one or the other in the cart but no luck. We have even had strangers in the ilse try to throw in their two cents. LOL. Oh, I completely understand I could always add or re buy the holders. That is not the point!

A few years ago we had to make a decision that for lack of better words, STUNK! Apparently Marc felt my health was quite important and all else took a back seat. I had a two year old and a six year old at the time and to tell you the truth a LOT on my mind. We didn't really have the luxury of time on our hands. Go to doctor, doctor say bad words, Becky get surgery next week. Seriously, that's what I remember. Don't get me wrong I would do the same thing all over again. I made the right decision for me and my family.

Soon after that we had an opportunity that I had only had dreams about. Adoption. Wow. It took all of 5 minutes to decide we were in. Sign us up. Now, unless you know me well you might not believe the next sentence but I promise you it is the truth. We had the nursery done that night. Yes, that night. I mean really with a trip to Target how hard is it. Lets just say it was Pink.

My Katie was coming home. My Katie never came. As fast as she appeared she disappeared. The opportunity was gone. Now, you would think a young mother with two wild sons who did not know a day before she would be adopting would be ok with this. Some things in life you just don't get to understand. We were feeling a pain like nothing we had ever had before when we were struck with an unexpected judgement from someone we trusted and felt loved us. We were kicked when we were down. Hard.

Needless to say we have now been married 10 years and still have no stocking holders. Oh, Ill get them soon but for now they are in limbo. Sometimes they hang here, sometimes they hang here. Sometimes you may see Jimmy running around with one on his head. For now this is where they have settled.

Sorry so long. I have just had the "what ifs" lately. Like I said we don't get to understand everything that happens but we do get to grab on to the positive and appreciate the joys we are living here and now. For me their names are Marc, Tommy and Jimmy. Those three fill my heart to the brim. Now, I'm going to get off this silly computer and go kiss each of their sleeping faces before I fall into bed and thank God for them. Good night.

Tommy the stockbroker

This made Tommy very happy. He now wants to go see Wall Street. Marc will be more then happy to take him Im sure.

Dancing with the Stars

For some reason I forgot to post about the Cancer ball this year. Every year Mom and Dad attend the ACS ball. This year the theme was Dancing with the Stars. I thought she found the perfect dress! Last years theme of 1940's was MUCH harder. This one fit perfect for the occasion.

Doesn't Dad look handsome!





My beautiful Mother. In more ways then one. She gives more of herself to more people then ANYONE I know. She does it all from the heart.



The two BEST parents any girl could ask for! I love them so much.

Sounds yummy

Green Bean Bundles
2-3 (16 oz.) cans whole green beans
1lb. bacon
1 stick butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp Garlic salt
Cut bacon slices in half. Wrap around bunch of green beans and secure with a toothpick. Make glaze from butter, brown sugar, and garlic salt. Place bean bundles in oven proof dish. Pour glaze over beans. Bake at 375 degree for 45 minutes.

I am NOT a fan of green beans generally. Christmas Eve Mom and Dad are making prime rib and I thought I might take these little bundles. Everyone who has tried them so far loves them so I will give it a try. I am just hoping they are not too sweet. I am going to cut the sugar at least by half. I did it with the sweet pot casserole at Thanksgiving and it was so much better. Anyway, if you try them let me know if you liked them. GOOD LUCK!

Pain

I have been following Andrews story for the last 3 months. I am heartbroken. I have no words only pain for those who love him.

http://bellamella-melanie.blogspot.com/

Last food post I promise!

I promise this is the last food post for a long time! I honestly think Im creating Monsters. I can no longer make dinner by myself. I have to say though that they are a BIG help. Plus, I don't have to worry about what they are doing while Im in the kitchen. They are under my feet. Tommy wants me to make sure you don't miss his joke about cream corn. HA.

Poor Marc

Poor Marc, Tommy asked if he could make an apple pie last night. Where Tommy is Jimmy is.
So as they were rolling the dough and pinching the edges Marc walked in. He asked them if anybody wanted to go hunting with him. Poor Marc. LOL




What I love about my boys are how much they are EXACTLY like their father. Yes, they would LOVE to be in the woods tracking something (ANYTHING REALLY) or have their hands in the earth somehow. But at 7 on a school night and we want dessert they can pull off a pretty sweet pie! JUST LIKE THEIR DADDY! Trust me. I think they did a GREAT job!

Oh, how I love them!

My Tommy. I just cant get enough of my Tommy. When he was just a baby Marc would take him to the top of the ladder and make it look like he was putting the Angel on top of the tree. I would of course think this was adorable and take as many pics as I could get. As he grew older he new the Angel topping the Christmas tree was "his" special job. It signified the end of putting on all the ornaments that mean so much and time for Egg Nog! He LOVES his job and looks so forward to it. He thought it was such a big deal a few years ago when he could climb Daddy's ladder and with just a "little" help from Daddy place the Angel on top. Well, this year with it sneaking up on me Tommy just climbed right up to the top and put the Angel on BY HIMSELF. Tears I tell you, TEARS!








This year he had a little brother nipping at his heels. A little brother that thinks he should have a turn. SORRY little man but that is Tommy's job and lets just say he is not giving it up.

So we decided that the Nativity Scene is SUCH a SPECIAL part of the tree that someone smaller needed to place it in just the RIGHT spot under the tree. We only new one little boy special enough. JIMMY!

Tears I tell you, TEARS!

Couldnt have said it better myself!

The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting

If you know me well you know how much this crazy world bothers me when it comes to parenting. I honestly think somewhere around the 80's we lost our minds and became obsessed with raising perfect little citizens and we got winy wimpy little brats instead. Those brats then grew up and voted for Obama. Just my opinion. Anyway, the above article was in Time magazine and I have to say I LOVED IT. As with anything there are parts I agree with more then others but the general idea speaks to me. I have faith once again that there are normal people out there! Yes, its long but great!

Family Night

This little boy was SO good at school this week that he got to pick family night.




So lucky for me he decided Dinosaur night. EASY! Plus Tommy was reading a Dinosaur book. Even better. So I did what every good mother does in 2009 when she needs an idea. I GOOGLED! First up, Dinosaur eggs in their nest.



Jimmy got to do a Dinosaur craft. I got to get yelled at about how much ink costs. LOL




That smile was worth ever second.




And this Bozo did not want to get brain freeze while eating his ice cream. Marc and I decided it was best to protect his brain as much as possible as to give it a fighting chance. HA He just makes me smile.

Someones getting a raise!

Seriously, whoever was the genius over in the Walmart marketing dept deserves a raise! Im pretty sure they have always had Walmart Brand stuff but for some reason I have never seen it. I have seen Equate but never in the food isle. The genius who revamped the boxes got my attention. First I noticed the boxes jumped out at me (which is quite ironic seeing as they are the most boring box out there...again genius!) Second, I notice the price was not just less but in a lot of cases WAY less. SOLD! I am still sticking to my name brands on certain stuff but some things I just don't care that much. So far everything has been great except the no bake cheesecake but that could just be me.



I also made meatballs in the crock-pot for the first time. I mean I made the meatballs and put them in the sauce in the crock-pot raw. That just seemed REALLY weird to me but it worked great. Marc didn't like the flavor of the recipe I used but the texture and everything else worked great. You have to know that I need an easy way to make meatballs because it is currently Tommy's favorite food!

Where have we been?

We have been way to busy lately to keep up! So, what have we been up to? Well, this week Tommy hosted his first Cub Scout meeting. He was a great host! Watching him get so mature is just an amazing experience. We were very proud of him that night. They painted their sail boats for the sale boat regatta. I'm pretty sure we are going to miss that next weekend but he had a ton of fun just hanging with his buddies. The kids just come for the snack anyway. HA HA





Making a typical mess for Mommy to clean up. Lets just say Jimmy earned his quarter but Tommy....not so much.





But by far this would be what we have spent most of our time on. UGH. The dreaded shower. This shower and I have not gotten along since the day I moved into this house. I'm pretty sure you can see why. For one thing the tile was dreadful! Notice how the tile is attached to....um nothing. I would not be surprised if I have spent several hundreds of dollars in the last 4 years on products to clean MOLD! Well, to make a long story short I had enough the other night. Mid shower I made a decision. When a women's mind is made up it is MADE up. LOL It does not help when the man who is asked to tear out the shower that instant is MORE then willing to find his hammer. It was out 10 minutes later. What is even scarier is when their son discovers demolition is taking place and MUST have turn. It turns out we made a very wise decision. Mold does not just come out of nowhere. The bathtub had leak (that is putting it mildly) that we could only see once the shower was out. The good news is that we caught it in time to remove, clean and replace any rotten wood. The bad news (actually GREAT NEWS) is that I don't think that tile is going back up. LOL So when all is said and done it only took around $8.00 to fix the leak and damage. The tile may be another story. WISH US LUCK! I will have after pics as soon as there is an AFTER to discuss.

Painting with the Cub Scouts

Saturday Tommy went with his Den to help paint a shed at the church.




He did such a good job! They worked together and finished quickly so they could all get to the fall festival at school.



They made a great team.





They should be very proud of themselves.

Once again I have way to many pictures and not enough time to sort them all out. We had so much fun for Halloween. The boys LOVED dressing up and trick or treating around the neighborhood! I felt really sorry this year for all the kids that could only go to the trunk or treat. I found out this year why people do them and I was just sad. Halloween has always been a great time for me to have fun with my family and it always will be. Tommy was a swat team member and Jimmy was a police officer. The rain held out for us and they got TONS of candy. Two big bags full! Poor Cooper had to go as their inmate. He loved every minute of it. Now it is time to get the house ready for Thanksgiving and then Christmas. I love the Holidays. I hope everyone had a great time with their little ones!

Oh my goodness, Halloween is just getting started but I had to share so far. LOVE THESE BOYS!

Well, if you can believe this Tommy's school was closed today due to the flu. So many kids are sick they shut his school down until further notice. All I can say is WOW, and I hope we stay well and everyone gets better quickly!



Tonight was Tommy's cub scout party and Bobcat ceremony. I was so proud of him because he was proud of himself. So far he has really enjoyed these boys and what they are doing. Nov 7th they are going to paint a shed at a local church and they are SOOOOOOO excited about it.




Due to the flu going around we were down to only three boys. They had fun painting there pumpkins though and we figured out they can get points for art. HA We parents take ANY points we can get for our scouts.





He looks so much like his Daddy here.






Fun with the boys!

Finally

I have been working on this FOREVER but I finally think I got my Tupperware site the way I want it. Let me know what you think and if I should change anything. I really wanted to get it out there before Thanksgiving. Hope this goes well! Fingers crossed!

We headed back to Franklin NC and the Highlands this weekend. Sat was a beautiful day in the mountains! Simply gorgeous!





Mom and Dad were camping in Franklin so we got to go see their new camper and let the kids play a little. The boys were bummed that the river the Grandparents told them to come fish in was actually about a 15 foot drop. After all the rain it was more like a raging river anyway.







Mom is going to kill me for this picture but it pretty much says it all. LOL







Tommy got to meet someone very special to him. Notice the hands in the pockets. That is a 7 year old boy trying to act cool. Trust me, I know him well.







I only take these pics to prove to Marc that I need a new camera! HA It was just such a gorgeous drive between Franklin and The Highlands.





After much deliberation I decided to let him at it and he did VERY well. I'm sure he contracted swine flu but he did very well.

The colors had finally changed.

Why the kids like to roast marsh mellows I have no idea. They never eat what they roast. They just like to catch them on fire and scare their Mother.

Had to show ALL the boys

I really get a kick out of the extremes people will go to. For some reason people seem to go so extreme in situations. When I was looking for the below quote from the Duggars (which I saw the other day and was just floored) I was SHOCKED to see how many people find this acceptable behavior on how to raise young girls. BOTH SIDES. What happened to teaching our young girls good body image. I personally think BOTH these situations are harmful to these poor girls. Below is a statement made by one of the Duggars about what happens when they have to walk outside with mere mortals such as myself. Funny, they had no problem showing her BIRTH to her 18th child on TV.

"This word - "defrauding" - was then used repeatedly for the duration of this segment in the show. One of the older girls went on to explain that if the family is out in public and sees a woman in an immodest outfit (including tank tops, by the way), someones shouts "NIKE!"Nike is the codeword for a defrauding, immodestly dressed woman. So, when the boys hear someone yell the code word, they all walk with their heads looking down until someone yells, "All clear!"

I can not even imagine what these boys will think about a girl in a tank top. The below pics are of the bathing suits they wear WHEN they let them swim in public.

On the other hand:

This is the source of many a mother and daughter argument in the Target Halloween isle. They will honestly make a Sexy Halloween costume out of anything! LOL I think I'm going to get Tommy a mask that he can not see out of for the next 16 Halloweens! HA.