My Mix of 6

This last weekend I was able to get some more yard work in, although, I'm not gonna lie....kinda wished it would have rained a little more than it did. Now before you start yelling, "WHAT?!" at me; hear me out. I have been working hard in our yard for a few weekends now.  Literally till my fingers are numb and sore.  I'm trying to get my curb appeal back up to par, since we've neglected it for a little while now.   However, my neighbors over grown weeds/garden has been leaking through our fence.   Like, I said, I had not been staying on top of it.  To the point that some raspberry bushes have decided to grow take over the area.  As well as this incredibly tall grass.  As in, I swear I could have bucked it and rolled it into hay; it was awful.  My sore fingers will gladly whine tell you all about it too, if you just ask.    This...is our before:   Do you see how all those weeds, raspberries, and who knows whatever else, is totally choking out

Have you ever just sat back and said, "Where DID the weekend go?" Man, oh man, that is totally how I am feeling today.  Where did the weekend go?   Where did MONDAY go? I hope you had a great weekend.  I was able to get some more yard work in, which is always good.  We also had a birthday party and a BBQ to go to on Saturday.   Plus Hotrod, was off with his Boy Scout Troop on a hiking/backpacking camping trip, and The Mister went off to Ohio on a red eye last night for work.  With all that said, I just figured out where our weekend went.  Yikes!  It sure goes by fast.  So before Monday completely slips away from me, here is our meal plan for the week: Monday:  Burritos bowls (Chipotle style) Tuesday:  Scout Olympics Side Dish: Fruit Salad Wednesday:  Breakfast for Dinner   Thursday:  Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps w/ Cantaloupe    Friday:  Teriyaki Chicken Burgers w/Pineapple slices Saturday:  Grilled Steak w/ Chef Salad and Rolls Sunday:  Grilled Salmon w/ Roasted

If you know anything about our family, you know that we love to go camping. Summer. Fall. Winter. Spring. We love it. It's our family activity/hobby, if you will. So it was no surprise to me when Bubba announced that he would like to have a camping themed birthday party, earlier this month, which of course was a sleepover party. Unfortunately, because The Mister was working on the day of Bubba’s party, I was busy getting everything ready and completely missed taking pictures of everything, bad blogger, I know, still getting the hang of it.   Sorry.   I had a whole selection of fun games lined up for the boys to play, but they really just wanted to play on the trampoline and the rope swing in our backyard.   Which was fine, because tiring them out was a good thing.   :) We had your typical camping food set up.   Hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, macaroni salad, some Kool-Aid for the kids, water, and fruit.   The cupcakes I made were adorable.  Again since I didn't

My little sister, Emily , got married last October.   I had planned on making her this shadow box with a scrapbook page for a while and I needed to collect some things that were from before her wedding and from her wedding, so I could put them in the box.   I wanted simple but classy, because that's the way she and her husband are.  Simple and classy.     Her dress had a lot of beautiful lace on it.   Before the wedding I had asked my mom if she would be able to get some of the extra lace from Emily's dress and unfortunately, they didn't have any after the alterations.  Like always, my mother to the rescue, while she was unable to get any lace from the dress, she was able to get nearly identical lace from the fabric store, just for my scrapbook page.   I wrapped it around the page and glued it to the back of the card stock.  The plum sheer ribbon that is in the middle there, was the ribbon she used to tie up our bridesmaid's gift bags, on the day of the wed

Bubba went to a birthday party yesterday for one of his good friends.   His little pal loves Lego's.  I've gone over to their house, in the past, and have seen their family room full of his creative mind going to work with the Lego's building all kinds of things; and when his little pal had completed these projects and tried to carry them to mom and dad to show them off they had broken and fallen apart. I got to thinking about how we could give him a pretty cool gift with some Lego's.  We came up with the idea of a portable tray. Supplies: Plywood cut 18 x 18  $15.00 (approx.  Mine was 24 x 48 piece, I plan on making about 2 more of these trays for 2 other little boys)  $5/tray Trim piece 1.5" x 6'  $1.48 Nails  (had on hand at home)   -- Free Wood Glue  $4.99  (won't need to buy for awhile now) Lego base board   $20.00 2 handles  $1.02 each (clearance at Lowe's) Approximate cost: Under $30 Step 1: I started with a piece of plywood, cut

Good Morning!!  I hope all of you had a fabulous weekend and had fun celebrating those father's in your lives.   The Mister was on call for work all weekend, so we laid low on our activities.  Which was fine.  He ended up not getting a call at all yesterday and he was able to enjoy his special day in a very relaxing way. I, on the other hand, was busy working in the yard.  Working with the garden and more importantly, I was working on sprucing up the front yard.  I also managed to sneak in a little birthday gift for a little buddy of Bubba's.  Which the birthday party is today, so I will post that gift later this week. As for our meal's, I hope that this week is much better than last week.  Since I was cramming for my test last week, my family had to pretend I wasn't around.   I noticed a few things from that: 1)  Planned meals, unless pre-made by me, were a no go.  They just didn't happen. 2)  Grocery shopping by The Mister and the kids....less than desirable

Happy Monday everyone!  The sun is shining here today, although we are expected to get some rain this week, our kids are officially on summer break and outside playing.  In celebration of summer we escaped a little bit this last weekend and I got some studying in before my test, which that date is quickly approaching.   So because I'm limited on my time with my breaks while I am quizzing and cramming, this will be quick. **I try to serve a healthy green salad with all our meals.  Just a small variation on them each time. Monday:   Lasagna, corn on the cob, garlic bread and green salad Tuesday:   Slow Cooker:  Chicken Enchilada's Wednesday:   BBQ Ribs with potato salad and green salad Thursday:   Slow Cooker:  Garlic Chicken and Couscous Friday:   Teriyaki Marinated Steak Bites w/ baked potatoes and green salad Saturday:  Weekly Leftovers Sunday:  Chicken Marsala with Angel Hair Pasta Have a great week everyone!   I'll be back...after my test is completed!  Wish

I'm dreaming of giving my living room a makeover.  New paint.  New art.  New curtains.  New area rug.  Along with many more things. I have been living with these red walls for quite some time now.   I like(d) them.  But not enough to keep them around anymore.  I loved them when we first moved in....8 years ago...when accent walls with deep rich colors were the "in" thing to do.  It created a nice, warm and cozy feeling; on a beginner decorator's low budget.  (New house, brand new baby, unpaid maternity leave didn't leave much for a decorating budget).   But as the years have gone by my style has changed.  I am wanting lighter and brighter.  Yet still want the nice and cozy feeling.  I am a firm believer of working with what you have and the easiest thing you can do to change any room is to paint it.    However, painting this room, leads into a much bigger project.  You see...there is no clear stopping point to these walls.  They connect to the hallway, whic

Hey all!!  Did you have a good weekend?   We had a great weekend.  Bubba turned 8 and had a few of his friend's over for a camping themed sleepover party.   I'll post more on that later. Yesterday, Dustin Lynch, Tate Stevens, and Little Big Town came to Portland for the Country Fest, in downtown Portland, right on the water for our Rose Festival.  So we decided the best way to listen to this concert was via the water.  We and our friends, grabbed the boats, the family, some food and headed out on the water for a fun afternoon. Since I'm still studying, as the test date approaches, my meals are needing to stay on the easiest of easy sides.  No thinking involved.   This is what we will be having this week.  Anything I can make in advance, I will. However, I will need to take one day as a break, since Tuesday is expected to be...wait for it... 85!!!!!   So, in our house that means, boat night after work! Monday:  Leftovers Tuesday: Picnic on the boat (usually consists of

Oh where, oh where, have the years gone?    How can you possible be 8 already?   I don't even know where to begin with you. You have completed our family and rounded us out.   We became a family of 6 and with a nice little mix of 2 boys and 2 girls, we were completed.   I love how you love to snuggle with your dad and I.   I love how you are eager and willing to learn new things, no matter how big they are. I love how you are so caring and affectionate with your friends and family. I love how you love to play sports.     I love who you are and who you are becoming.  Your Daddy and I love you so much! Happy 8th birthday, Bubba!   You complete us!