weekend recap...

whew - what a week! not because we were crazy busy, but because of all the weird/exciting news & events that have been happening!

first, let me share more from VBS.....the kids had a blast & it was so much fun watching them sing friday night (the last night) & checking out the video & slide show of the whole week...

singing "pharaoh, pharaoh" - one of my favs when i was a kid! ;0)

sweet key chain that jaden made & gave to me

and i wanted to also share this message that i got from corinn's teacher - too sweet!

"I love having Corrin in my class! She is one of the few kids that answers my questions with coherent answers and remembers the stories! She is nearly always the last one finished with a craft, but hers is always the most detailed. You can tell she takes after her mom when it comes to making sure every detail is just the way she wants it. She wants it done right!"

and here's 2 pics she took...

saturday was awesome! daddy worked :0( but no cakes for mama & super nice weather to enjoy! :0) we had picked up this inflatable pool for the backyard & blew it up friday night.....i have to say - the box was sooooo misleading! look at the pic on the box....


ok, so it's not huge, but judging by the size of the kids in this pic, we're thinking it should b plenty big for our 3, right?.....well, it doesn't look quite as big in person, huh?


~lol~ the kids still have been having a blast! they got in about 4 times over the weekend and never got tired of it.....jaden can't do much - he's too big for the slide & just kind of hangs out at the other end - but he doesn't mind

the top part comes off to make a little more room too

during their first dip saturday morning (around 9am), we had a visitor.....a gentleman comes walking around from the front of the house & tells me he's looking for Mr. & Mrs. Porter.....well, that's our landlords - so i explain that they own the house, but don't live here.....he tells me that he read in the paper that there's going to be a trustee sell on the home on the 29th and that he & his partner are interested in bidding - SAY WHAT?!

yep! later that day, we got our notice in the mail, stating that on the 29th (my birthday!) at 2:45pm, the house will be sold on the courthouse steps....it says that the original loan was for $88,000 - $8,000 is due at the time of sale & the remainder within 15 days of sale.....i'm assuming it'll b an auction that will start at $88k.....that's actually a steal for this house! it's old, but HUGE!.....it was on the market for $187k about 2 years ago & never sold....not sure what it would appraise for, but it's definitely a fixer-upper.....unfortunately, curtis & i aren't in a position to buy any home at this point.....we pay $800 a month in child support (the boys will be 16 & 17 next month....so 1 & 2 more years to go) on top of all of our other bills.....so for now, we're just renting - trying to make it month to month & trying to save up for a home in the next few years

so, i called the landlady - she wasn't really trying to talk to me - said they were still figuring things out & she'd get back to me.....i'm really surprised - they're such nice people & i would have expected them to give us a warning.....hopefully, they're coming up with a plan to take care of things before the sale....if not, then hopefully it will b sold to someone else interested in keeping it as a rental & they don't jack up our rent so much that we can't afford to stay!

we live on a month to month lease, so if we do have to leave, we'll only get 30 days notice.....oh my, i don't want to think about it! :0( i'm just constantly praying about it & checking into other local rentals that are available.....letting go, and letting God

on the flip side, my brother & his wife & son just moved into their new farm saturday.....after nap, the kids & i headed over there to check it out.....the girls put on their "farm clothes" especially for the trip ~lol~


it's just beautiful! the house is perfect for them & the farm is soooo cool....up until now, i was just assuming that it was a poultry farm where they'd raise the peeps to big chickens & then sell them.....well, it turns out it's a farm where they'll have both roosters & hens in the houses together & they're raising them for the eggs.....my mom gave the kids & i a tour & explained the process

here's looking down one of the houses....both roosters & hens will live here in the middle
along both sides are the little "nests" for the hens
they'll eat different feed than the roosters.....the roosters' feed will come from those red feeders that are lined up down the middle of the house....they'll get lowered when it's time for the roosters to eat

then the hens somehow know to climb the ladder-like rails to go up along the sides of the houses to their feeders
once it's time to gather, there's conveyor belts that carry the eggs to a little room at the end of the house
it was soooo interesting!

i mentioned before that my parents are selling their home to move into a trailer on my brother's property & will be helping out on the farm for a while - trying to save up for their future "dream home".....here's a pic of the swing set in my brother's back yard - you can see my parent's trailer in the background

right on the other side of the swings, is this grape vine trellis

look what's up inside

sweet little pond out front

complete with fish & lily pads

and surrounded by beautiful flowers & mint/sage/thyme....so cool!

after our visit there, we headed to nana & grandpa's to play.....corinn helped nana pic some banana peppers, green beans & onions to take home (we're already loaded up on cucumbers & squash)

and she can't help but eat, while picking! ~lol~

and of course we played :0)

sunday was again low-key.....daddy worked :0( and mama had a wedding consultation (nana was sweet enough to watch the kiddos while i did that).....we hung out more & hit the pool again until daddy came home....then we had a family dinner at Denny's last night - the kids got these cute little rocket cups (which u know Jaden was super thrilled about)

on a random note - we discovered that the girls' shoe situation is out of control! does it really start this early?! ~lol~

and one more random....one of my good, good friends, cindy, got engaged yesterday! congrats girl! :0)

i hope everyone had a great weekend! happy monday!

poor baby!

my hubby just found out that the injury he's been dealing with since tuesday, is not a strained/pulled muscle, deep down in his thigh/hip like he thought - he pinched his sciatic nerve, just like his wife told him!!! ~lol~ and he didn't have to carry 3 babies to earn his injury either!


he has a part-time job doing landscaping work when he's off from his full-time job (LOVE my hard workin' man!).....and he was doing a LOT of weed-eating both monday & tuesday......he was laid up all day yesterday, barely able to walk - i tried to get him an appointment with our dr, but they were full so he figured he'd just wait it out (still thinking it was a strained muscle).....well today, he had to tell his full-time job that he couldn't help lift water heaters & his HR lady overheard.....after he explained his injury to her, she insisted he go to the dr - not wanting him to injure himself further, the company be liable, blah, blah - understandably so

so, he goes - and finds out from the dr that yes, it is a pinched sciatic nerve.....they gave him a pain killer (or muscle relaxer - don't know cause the prescription won't get filled, cause he refuses to take pills anyway - stubborn man), a note for his employer saying that he needs to be on light duty all next week, and sent him home

my sciatic nerve has bothered me off & on ever since corinn was born (the third one's a charm!).....so i know how it feels - it really, really sucks sometimes....but i've never missed work, been laid up in pain from it, or needed pain killers - i just work through the pain

men! they're such wimps! ~lol~

*one good thing - YAY for AFLAC! we're out of pocket $20 for the co-pay (plus curt used up 1/2 of one of his sick days at work), but since this was an "accident", they're sending us $120 for the claim! :0)

1st Birthday Bows

this cake was very special - it was made for Miss Cali's daughter, Madeline :0)

Miss Cali was Jaden's speech therapist from before he started kindergarten until last year when she left on maternity leave......she was planning on returning, but after beautiful Madeline was born, plans changed (and i don't blame her one bit!)......Madeline turned 1 yesterday & her mama had me make this sweet cake for her......Madeline loves polka dots & she almost always has a bow in her hair





it's been a really long time since Jaden last saw Miss Cali, so i took him along to deliver the cake last evening.....she was thrilled with the cake & Jaden was so happy getting to see her & to meet Madeline.....in the car, after we left, he said "i'm glad i got to see Miss Cali, she gave me a BIG hug!" - i told him that i think Miss Cali was super glad she got to see him too! :0) then he talked about the toys & books he spotted in Maddie's room (the cake almost matched her nursery!), their dog Zoe, how pretty Maddie is, etc.....he was smitten ;0)


*cake side note - u HAVE TO check out my friend Shanna's Wall-E cake - she did an amazing job!!! u go gurl! :0)

beautiful summer week

this week, the weather has been AMAZING! it's supposed to get pretty hot today (might reach 95), but every day this week so far, has been in the 70's (or low 80's) - sunny, but not too humid - just gorgeous!!!

i took this pic tuesday, on my way home from work - i just had to pull over & snap it
i LOVE, LOVE living in VA!!! :0)

the flowerbed is looking even better today!

i got more of the tiny weeds out last night while the kids were at VBS.....i can't tell u how gratifying it is to build a pile of weeds! ~lol~

this is only one of the 3 piles i got like this - today, i feel like i did a million squats - my thighs are so tight & burning! ~lol~


the blooming gladiolus that i thought would be red is looking more pinky/orange - just beautiful!

my sweet flowers - whoa, look at those ashy knees! i can't believe they're allowed to go out of the house like that! ~lmao~

they're nuts! ;0)

we had a visitor in our van this morning.....right as i was pulling onto the street of the girls' daycare, a pretty moth flew in through the front window.....it just sat there until i pulled in & was about to go around and escort it out - then it flew back out on it's own....i guess it was just tired & wanted a ride the rest of the way ;0) the girls thought it was too cool!

ah, much better!

as promised, my mom came by last evening while the kids were at VBS, to help identify flowers & weeds :0) she got us started (our downstairs neighbor, chris, came out to help me - he's a really nice guy) and then left us to finish.....it looks SOOOO MUCH BETTER! being the perfectionist that i am, i'll be back out there this eve to get the tiny weeds that are still lingering....but boy, what a difference! no where near the amount of seeds & bulbs that we planted are growing (i guess that darn crab grass did smother out a bunch), but i'm still happy with what is growing.....in amongst the ones that grew from seeds/bulbs, i've also transplanted 3 mother's day plants (although only 2 made it) and 2 plants that have come home this week from VBS.....please don't ask to me tell you what's what - if it doesn't have a bloom on it, then i've got no idea.....i'm just glad that it's no longer a "weed bed"! and there's still tons of room to plant more here and there.....it WILL stay looking this way from now on - that's a promise! thx again ma!!! :0)

blooms getting bigger
red ones about to pop too
and new ones will be showing their face soon
a mother's day plant from jaden that's still kicking! :0)i found a tenant living in our "weed condo" ;0)
i love praying mantises
the praying mantis is blurry in this pic (he's looking at me, on the left), but look at that hot bod in the background! ~teehee~
some more critters.....there's 2 in this pic - can u find them?
one of the 3 flowers that i'm most proud of growing! ;0)

VBS & night fishing

this week is vacation bible school at our church - the 2nd one for the kids this summer (they also went to vbs at the girls' daycare providers' church last month).....they LOVE bible school - but boy, oh boy, is it a mad dash in the evenings.....rushing home from work to grab the kids, run home & throw some quick dinner in their bellies, then get them to the church in time for the fun.....but i'm not complaining! especially since during the time they're there - mom & dad get 2+ hours of alone time ;0) ~giggle~

every year, i wish i had volunteered to help - it looks like so much fun & i remember how much i loved vbs as a kid....and i know they can always use volunteers....but every year, i have to remember just how much i have on my plate & how insanely busy i'd be if i had volunteered & i have to think realistically....and it's not like we just sit around and do nothing while the kids are there - we make sure to use our free time wisely :0)

so far, they've already come home with some really cool crafts & some potted plants.....as well as plenty of stories of all the fun they're having & what they're learning!

corinn hula-hooping before she realized we were there watching

a super cute kitty glasses case that gabby made

last evening, curtis & i picked them up together.....ever since jaden's bday party when they all got new fishing poles, they've been BEGGING daddy to take them fishing.....with the busy week of vbs, there really hasn't been any time.....so last evening, he said what the heck & we took them AFTER vbs! yep, vbs ends at 8:30pm (right as the sun is going behind the mountains) & we still went - night fishing! :0) and we caught lots! it was fun & luckily there was a super bright moon out!


although, i think curtis might be regretting the fact that we got all 3 of them their own pole....as soon as one hook has a worm on it, there's a fish to be taken off another.....then another hook needs a worm....so on & so on! i help with the worms, but i'm too scared to take the fish off the hooks - i'm afraid i might hurt/kill them in the process - so i leave that to the pro ;0)

confession...

ok, let me start out by saying - i warned you! i told you i had a black thumb, remember? and even tho it looked promising.....it's gotten totally out of hand! ~lmao~


u may have spotted it in this pic that was included in my last post....




i tried to crop it out, but u can see it right behind jaden's head



please don't gasp or call me names when u view this next pic.....



i'm serious, it's pretty embarrassing!



AHHHHHHH!

yeah, yeah....i know - weeding is required when planting a flower bed!
we call this our "weed bed" ~lol~

but we have gotten this poppy bloom and about 5 other red ones, and 2 white ones (the peony & tiger lily are blooming in other spots in our yard)

and we got these too...

from the seed/bulb packets we saved (so glad i did that!), it looks like this is a pinwheel? or maybe a cosmo? it literally just opened this morning, and it looks like the petals might unroll some more....so we'll see...


and this, a gladiolus....several of these are about to pop...


we also have some cute little wild blooms here & there...


and at least someone enjoys the madness of our "weed bed".....we see TONS of these tiny dragonflies there every morning...


so i guess my brilliant idea of planting a TON of bulbs/seeds all over the bed....hoping it would fill up the whole bed with flowers, and NOT weeds was wrong! duh, right?!

i still have to say, the girls have gotten such a thrill at not only spotting new blooms each day, but at also finding the dragonflies, butterflies, ants, spiders & other bugs that are living there.....they don't mind the weeds

i know we'll get more blooms here & there (y can't they all pop out at the same time? ~lol~), but not enough to make it look pretty with all the weeds & grass there too....i worked a little bit last night at pulling/cutting down the big obvious weeds, but i'm SO BAD at identifying the difference between weeds & possible flowers

i gave my mom a preview of this post this morning & she offered to help.....sounds like crab grass is my main culprit (so that's what it looks like?!) and evidentially, it can smother the flowers out.....so she's coming over tomorrow eve to help me try and get in there & get rid of as much as we can....she's so sweet! ;0) thx ma!!!



whew! glad i got that off my chest! ~lmao~