Hurry Up and Post It!

Hey there!  Good morning!  Thank you for all of the well wishes yesterday!  We were in the big big city getting our back to school shopping done, it was fun to read all of the comments you left me! 

Speaking of back to school shopping, we are all done.  The bags are packed, although I need to get back in them and label everything.  Aiden starts school 3 weeks from today.  :( 

Monday we went to Adventureland.  Being pregnant I didn't feel safe going on the rides so I did a lot of waiting and watching.  I will share pictures as soon as I can keep a solid internet connection. Yes, still having problems but if the repair guy can't fix it today we are cancelling our service and switching so hopefully in the next week or so I will have a solid internet connection and can actually post some pictures and better posts.  I am trying to hurry up and get this typed while I have a sort-of connection.  Looks like I may be too late, ugh. 

Oh!  It's back!  Ending this now so I can post it quick.  Talk soon!!!

Erin

A Great Post!

Hey!  I am so so EXCITED to share some awesome news with you guys today!

I’M PREGNANT!!

Yep, that’s right!  I’m 11weeks,2 days today!  I am feeling great!  We have known for 7 weeks and it has been a LOOONG 7 weeks of keeping this amazing secret! 

Read on to see how the pregnancy has been so far.
Week 4
I’M PREGNANT!!!  I woke up on Sunday, June 9th, with a house full of friends who stayed the night after a party we had on Saturday night.  I knew if I was pregnant this would be the earliest I could take a pregnancy test.  I snuck into our bathroom, set the stick down and almost immediately I had a plus sign!  I went back to our bedroom and whispered the good news to Andy.  We were so excited!  It was so hard to keep the secret from all of our friends that morning! 
Week 6
I am emotional!  Andy told me about a co-worker who had to put his mom into a nursing home – you would have thought it was my own grandma who was moving into one!  I cried and cried and cried.  Later this week I cried about a human interest story on the news.  Otherwise feeling great.  No morning sickness, just tired, sore boobs, and very emotional.
Week 8
Finally, we are telling the boys the great news!  Brennan has been breaking my heart asking me daily when God is going to give us another baby.  Knowing He had given us one made it so hard to keep lying to the boys.  They were both excited when we told them, but not jumping up and down or screaming.  Wasn’t quite the reaction I was expecting, but oh well.  We also told our parents and siblings.  I want to tell a few close friends the news before sharing with the world, they helped me through our last pregnancy’s end so I feel like I should tell them first. 
We had our first prenatal appointment!  Also had an internal ultrasound, just to check on the development of the baby.  We were able to see the heartbeat!  And so far, so good.  The baby looks like a little Gummy Bear, little stubs for arms and legs.  We’ll have another US at 12 weeks.  If that looks good, we should be good to go and will have our last US at 20 weeks.
My due date is February 16th, a special day in my family because it’s my dad’s birthday!  I’m so excited for this date!  I’ve gone into labor on my due date with both boys, I hope that streak continues!
Feeling great still, aside from the extreme fatigue and being hungry ALL.THE.TIME!  I cannot eat enough to stay full, but if I eat too much I feel miserable.  Time to start eating lots of snacks and small meals throughout the day.  I bought Baby a cute little sleeper and some adorable little pacifiers.  I couldn’t pass them up!  I’m feeling so excited this time, where last time I just had a feeling something was wrong and never bought anything but diapers.  I’m taking this as a good sign.

Mam Start Pacifiers,  newborn
Week 10
We’ve finally told everyone.  We have a ton of support and prayers being said for us, it’s been so great.  I’m so glad to not have to keep this secret anymore, it’s too much fun to not share!  At our first baby appointment the nurse gave me a sack full of magazines, books and information. So fun!  Going through the magazines, trying not to burn through them all at once.  In one I found  coupons for a FREE car seat cover (will need that with a February due date!) and a FREE nursing cover (had one with Brennan and loved it, this one is girly and bright and I love it!).  I am slowly getting things we will need for this little one!

www.carseatcanopy.com

www.uddercovers.com
I am so happy to be sharing our awesome news with all of you.  You were all so supportive of me when we lost our last baby, I know I will have your support during this pregnancy, too.  It has been so hard to keep the news from you!  I’m excited to share my pregnancy with you guys!
So, add me to the list of pregnant bloggers!  Ha ha! Or should I say “Yippee!!!”  Also, add me to the list of locals and family members who are pregnant!  On my mom’s side of the family (starting with my great grandparents and trickling down to their kids’ kids’ kids’ kids!) everything comes in threes – weddings, funerals and yes, babies!  And guess what, there are THREE babies due in February!  How crazy is that?!?  Usually the threes aren’t quite that close!  So crazy and amazing and awesome!
Again, I’m so excited and happy to be sharing our great news with you guys!  It’s going to be a great 6 months!
Erin

Salsa Recipe and Misc.

Hey hey!  How’s it going today?  Things here are good, another cool morning and I’m sitting here in pants and long sleeves again!  Ahhh, it feels so good!  I love wearing a pair of jeans in the middle of the summer, it makes me excited for Fall and it feels so cozy.

This week Aiden (7) has been going to Vacation Bible School.  It’s every evening from 5:30-8:30.  The boy has LOVED it.  He has learned some awesome values, like being God’s worker.  They have fun activities, relay races and learn songs every night.  Tonight is their last night and they are having a short program at the end to sing their songs.  I’m glad he is learning so many good things and enjoying doing it. Bren on the other hand gets to spend those few hours with just me and Andy and he’s loving all that one on one attention!

I told you yesterday I’d share a super easy salsa/pico recipe with you so here it is.

Super Easy Salsa

1 can Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chilis)

3-4 Roma tomatoes (or 2-3 regular tomatoes), diced

1/2 medium Red onion, diced

1 jalapeno, seeded (unless you like the heat, then keep the seeds) and diced

a small handful of cilantro, chopped up

Drain the can of Rotel, then throw all the ingredients together in a bowl and stir it up.  Throw in some salt and about a teaspoon of lime juice, stir that in.  Let it sit for about a half hour to let all the flavors marry together.  Enjoy with tortilla chips, over enchiladas and tacos, inside quesadillas…even put it over the top of a hot dog!  So good! And so easy!

 

When I was a kid we spent a week at each of my grandma’s houses every summer.  At my Grandma Marie’s (Marie is a last name here) it seemed like we hit the week of her club’s annual picnic a few years.  There we met 2 other little girls around our ages.  We became summer friends.  Every summer for a few years Grandma would make plans for us to get together with Alyssa and Megan, we either go to their house down the gravel road or they’d come to Grandma’s.  I have wonderful memories of those summer friends and the things we did together.  Yesterday in the afternoon the boys were playing out in the driveway when the neighbor’s granddaughter from Texas rode her bike down past our house (we are at the end of a dead end street, perfect for little riders).  After the boys and this girl,Carly, rode around each other a few times staring at each other Carly went to her grandparent’s house and came back with her little brother, Corbin.  They were standing at the end of the driveway watching the boys kick their ball around.  Carly, age 6, bravely asked if they could play ball too.  For the next hour those 4 kids played together and had a ball. They kicked the balls around, rode bikes, played in the sand box and on the swing set.  My boys made summer friends!  I was so happy and excited.  The memories they’ll have!  And the memories Carly and Corbin (age 2?) will have of those Iowa boys!  I hope it means as much to them as my summer friends meant to me!  We told Carly and Corbin to come back today to play, I can’t wait!

Do any of you know my good friend Becky at Fitzpatrick's Follies?  Her post yesterday was really moving and I’m sure really hard for her to write.  If you don’t mind, please go over and read that post and leave her some words of encouragement.  Help me cheer her on and keep her motivated!  Thanks!

Ok, you’re going to think I’m weird (what’s new) but I love the smell of corn pollen.  This time of year the pollen is flying!  And I can smell it coming through my windows right now! Reminds me of when I was working in the fields as a teenager, we were mainly there to rogue but for about 2 weeks we were pollinators, my favorite time in the field!  It was so fun and smelled SO good!

Have a great Thursday!  I love the feeling of Thursday afternoons, it’s exciting knowing Friday is almost here!

Erin

So What Wednesday

Good morning!  Wednesday again, I’m glad we’re on the downhill slide to the weekend.  I wish today I could tell you all about the great time I had with my friends last night but I can’t because it was postponed until next week.  Womp womp.  But now I have that to look forward to next Wednesday!

Today I’m saying SO WHAT if:

• I am sitting here in yoga pants and a sweatshirt to stay warm instead of closing the windows. It dropped down to the 50’s last night, perfect sleeping temps!  There’s no way I was shutting the windows last night!
• I can’t get enough of the Royal Baby!  I want to see more!  Yes, I’m obsessed.  But I thought I was going to be having a baby at the same time so it was extra exciting to have a baby when the Duchess was, too.
• I still don’t have a solid internet connection.  I know, you’re tired of hearing about it.  I’m tired of talking about it!  I called again yesterday and still not fixed.  Grr!  I just saw last night Dish is offering internet service to their current customers, might have to check that out.
• I don’t care one iota about Anthony Weiner and his sexting.  A.) He’s not attractive so why would anyone want to see that? B.) GO AWAY!!!
• school starts 4 weeks from today.  I’m plugging my ears, covering my eyes and yelling “lalalalalalalalalallalalalalalalalalalaaaaa” like a kid does when they don’t want to hear what someone else is saying.

Coming soon, I’m going to share with you a super easy salsa/pico recipe.  Seriously, it’s so delicious and so super easy to make, you can’t mess this up!

Have a good day!

Erin

Naked And Not Going To Happen

Hey!  How was your Monday?  Mine was pretty good – went and picked sweet corn last night, can’t wait to dig into that!  Andy and Brennan worked on shucking it while I went to pick up Aiden from Vacation Bible School.  A storm was blowing in while we were finishing up, I took a few pictures of the neat clouds that preceded it, Aiden helping shuck corn and Brennan ‘helping shuck corn’.

If you need any help shucking your corn call up Aiden, he loves to do it!  You just have to pay him his weight in sweet corn!

Anyone else been eagerly awaiting the birth of the new Royal Baby?  When I was pregnant and found out William and Kate were pregnant and due close to my due date I was so excited!  Not many people can say they have a baby when the Royal couple does!  Ever since then I have been very excited about the arrival of the new Royal Baby.  To hear yesterday that it’s a Prince - I was so excited and happy!  I can’t wait to see that little bundle and to hear his name.  Can you believe that tiny little Kate had an 8lb. 6oz. baby?!?  Where did that little guy stuff himself in there?

Have any of you seen the new ‘reality’ show “Naked and Afraid”?   It is INSANE.  These crazy people are actually buck naked, walking around tropical rainforests, jungles, The Bush, islands in the Maldives… They ditch their clothes and leave them with whoever drops them off out in the middle of nowhere and start walking until they find their naked partner.  Can you imagine meeting someone for the first time while being completely naked???  Uhhh, nothankyouverymuch! They have to find little satchels that hold a few key supplies – knives/machetes, pans, and a map with where to stay for the next 21 days and where to go to get picked up at the end of their stay.  They have to build shelter, make a fire, learn to find their own food and fresh water and deal with the intense heat and ginormous bugs and snakes.  Really, this show is nuts.  The people who are willing to do this are nuts.  It’s must see TV, ha ha!  And it’s definitely NOT something I would EVER do in a million years!  Forget it!

The rest of this week’s temperatures are going to be amazing!  Highs in the 70’s, low dew points – I can’t wait!  I do believe a few bike rides are in our future this week! Some nice, long walks in the evenings.  Reading a book or magazine on the deck.  Awww, heaven!

Tonight I am going out to supper with two very good friends of mine.  And guess where we’re going to eat!!!  PAGLIAI’S!!!  My MOST favorite pizza restaurant in the big city!  After supper we’re going to get pedicures, can’t wait!  There’s something about spending a few hours with your girlfriends, it totally re-energizes me!

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Erin

Demo Derby Weekend

Good Monday morning!  Sweet corn's ready!!!  My aunt sent an email yesterday letting us know it was ready to be picked!  I can’t wait!  I love freezing sweet corn.  My favorite part is when you cut the corn off the cob, you get these 2-4” strips of corn.  I try to keep them in tact and pick them up and devour them!  Tastes sooo good!  Freezing corn is on my agenda for the week!
Friday night we went to our county fair’s demo derby.  If you’ve never been to a demo derby you are missing out!  Ha ha!  It’s so trashy, I love it!  Basically it’s a bunch of cars (or trucks, depending on the class) that get put together in a ‘pen’. They all get lined up, half on one side, the other half on the other side with their tails facing each other.  Then it’s go time!  They back up into each other, then spin around and go full force at each other.  It’s crazy!  Sometimes they get hung up on the cement blocks that form the outside of the ring.  Sometimes their transmission blows.  Friday night, one guy’s truck came apart from his entire front axel!!!  Yea, he wasn’t going anywhere! Ha ha!  So crazy and fun.  I love going to it every year. 
The boys finished their swim lessons.  They both went off the diving board!!!  I couldn’t believe it!  They loved it, had so much fun.  They did have their instructor there to catch them and help them to the side so no doing it again until next year because I can’t tread water and catch them, too.   I am so proud of them, they both took off this past week!  Going to the pool is going to be so much more fun now knowing I don’t have to worry quite as much about them.
Vacation Bible School started last night for Aiden.  He has it every night through Thursday.  I hope he has fun going.  Our evenings will feel weird not having him here with us.
Have a great week!
Erin

Jelly, Jelly, Jelly

Happy Friday!  Another week, come and gone.  This was a busy one for us.  The fair, swim lessons, supper with friends.  I’m ready for a relaxing weekend – hope I get one!

Yesterday was a great day at swim lessons!  Aiden and Brennan both went off the diving board!  Brennan was lowered into the water by another instructor down to his instructor in the water, so it wasn’t exactly a ‘jump’.  But Aiden!  Wow, that boy JUMPED off the diving board! 3 times!!!  He loved it!  So glad he conquered his fear and went for it!

We had a great day with Baby Aspen.  She’s still the happiest baby I know, so easy to take care of!  She’s 8 months old already.  She wants nothing to do with crawling or being on her tummy, but she loves standing up.  She’ll be an early walker I think.

Now for my jelly post. 

First and foremost, buy a box of fruit pectin (SureJell or Mrs. Wages Fruit Pectin are the choices in these parts) and read the directions all the way through.  Get familiar with the steps because it can go fast and you don’t want to mess it up because you didn’t pre-measure the sugar.

You start by cooking down your fruit.  The directions called for 14 cups of Black Raspberries, I just dumped all I had in the pan and prayed it’d be enough.  Add 1/2 c. water and bring it to a boil.  Use a potato masher to mash the fruit while it’s warming up and boiling to help extract the juice.

During this process get your jelly jars washed up in hot hot soapy water.

Get some cheese cloth ready for pouring your fruit and juice into.  I used my mom’s handy dandy gizmo to aid in the process.  I just lined it with my cheese cloth (folded so it was 4 layers thick).  If you don’t have one of these at your fingertips (who does?) just line a bowl with it.

After your fruit has been brought a boil and is thoroughly mashed, pour it into your cheesecloth.  Bring the corners up and start twisting, taking care to not let any of the fruit come out of the top.  Keep twisting and squeezing until you  have all of the juice extracted.

This recipe calls for 4 c. of juice.  If you don’t get enough juice (say 1/2 – 3/4 c. short) pour a little water over the fruit and re-squeeze it.

Prepare your hot water bath canner so it will be boiling and ready to can the jelly when it’s been jarred.  You don’t want it sitting around in jars jelling up while you’re waiting for your water to boil.  Also put your canning lids in some water and bring those to a boil, then shut them off.  Get your sugar measured (5 1/2 c. for this batch) and set aside because when it’s time for your sugar you want it right there ready to go. 

Pour your juice into your pan and add your packet of fruit pectin.  Bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally. When it is at a full rolling boil add your sugar. 

Stir constantly until at a full rolling boil again.  Take it off the stove and skim off the foam that gathers on top.  Next, pour it into your clean jelly jars. 

Wipe off the rims of the jars, then put on your lids and jar rings, snug them up.  Put them on the rack in your canner (that has boiling water in it), then lower it in. 

Once it is back to a boil set your timer for 5 minutes.  When that goes off pull the canner off the heat and let it sit 5 minutes. Then remove your jars, set them on a cooling rack or towel.  Wait and listen for all the lids to POP.  The best sound when canning!  DO NOT push down the lids to make them seal, that is a no-no in canning. And there you have it!  Jelly!

Sounds like a lot of steps, but the whole process (which included me running up and down the stairs to bring up all my supplies) only took me 1 hr. 20 min.  Well worth the time and effort when I slap some of that delicious jelly on my toast every morning!

Have a great weekend!

Erin

Finish The Sentence…

Hey hey!  We’re almost to Friday!  This week’s gone fast, probably due to swim lessons and the fair.  Today I am watching sweet little Aspen since her whole family is at the fair cheering her big sister on at the cattle show.  Lucky me!!  She’s too darn sweet, I can’t wait to hold and kiss her today!

I know I promised I'd do a post today about my jelly making from yesterday (turned out great!) but Holly and Jake are hosting another Finish The Sentence Link Up today, thought I’d join in the fun!

If I had one extra hour in the day... I’d spend it with my husband.  He’s so much fun, we’d probably just lay around laughing at each other.

I wish my name... wasn’t so popular in the early 80’s.  I was one of 3 Erin’s in my graduating class.

I think anything chevron is... fine, but I don’t own any.


My last nightmare... has been recurring.  I dream I have something in my mouth and I start to swallow it. This something is not something you should be swallowing, like a plastic ruler.  I always wake up and gagging and choking and scared to death that I’ve actually swallowed something.  It scares the heck out of me!

Sometimes... I check Facebook on my phone while I’m using the bathroom.


My last meal on earth would be... Pagliai’s Pizza

I would much rather be__fat and happy___ than_skinny and mad all the time_.

Mayonnaise... is a must on a BLT.


10 years ago, I didn't think... I’d be living in this town.

Selfishly... I want to be pampered and doted on all the time.  It doesn’t happen, but I want it.

My favorite show on TV right now... is The Young and The Restless.  A couple of major storylines are really good right now!  Must see TV.


And, George Zimmerman... has really packed on the pounds.


There you go!  I hope you have a wonderful Thursday, see you back here tomorrow!
Erin

Wednesday

Wednesday already?  I won’t complain that this week is flying by like all the others this summer but I am going to complain that one month from Sunday Aiden goes back to school.  Not cool!  (No, he doesn’t start school on a Sunday, he starts school on Aug 21st.)  With one month to go until school starts that means I need to get a Back To School shopping day planned for us.  I’m in denial that we only have a month of freedom left.  This only means one thing – we need to pack the next 4 weeks full of fun!

Swim lessons started yesterday.  Brennan did AWESOME!  That kid is a fish!  Aiden did pretty good, too, but he’s still a bit timid. 

We went back to the pool in the afternoon to play. It was so super hot, I barely sat on the chaise lounge because I felt like I was baking.  I layered us all up with sunscreen 2 x’s in the 2 hrs we were there but I still got burnt!  Brennan got too much sun and pool time, last night he didn’t feel good.  He wouldn’t eat supper last night and fell asleep on the couch at 6:30.  He actually slept 13 hours last night!  It was almost 7:30 this morning when he woke up. Today he’s a bit cranky but says he feels all better.

One good thing about the end of summer approaching – HAWKEYE FOOTBALL!!!  45 days till kickoff!  I can’t wait!  And did you know that the NFL Hall of Fame game is the first week in August? Say what!?  Football means Fall, which I love, so I’ll focus on that good instead of the end of summer. 

Because Brennie wasn’t feeling good last night we skipped the fair.  But I think we might go again tonight.  That Sloppy Joe Dinner is calling my name! Ha ha!

Today is finally the day – I’m making jelly!  As soon as we’re done eating lunch I’m digging in and getting it going.  I’ll do a step by step post on it tomorrow, it’s really very easy to make.  Canning shouldn’t scare anyone, it’s all easy!  I promise!

Have a great Wednesday!

Erin

The County Fair

Last night was the first ‘real’ night of the county fair.  Here, if it’s county fair time it is either hotter than hades or raining.  Cue the heat and humidity!  It was 93 degrees when we pulled in, the heat index was around 100 degrees and our dew point was in the 70’s.  Ugh!  The air just felt heavy!  But that wasn’t going to stop us!  And honestly, by around 6:30 it started to feel less humid, not quite as hot and there was a nice breeze blowing through.

Our first stop was to see all of the 4-H exhibits.  I love seeing all of the creative ideas those 4-Her’s and their parents come up with.  These are the two projects Aiden took that he made at his meetings.

We headed out of there and walked through the Exhibit Building (the businesses and political parties booths).  It was pretty lame this year, we didn’t walk out of there with any freebies.  We walked through the chickens and rabbits then stopped for supper.

I have to say, I dream about my Sloppy Joe Dinner all year long!  I don’t know what they do to make those sloppy joe’s, but they are AWESOME!  My dinner was delicious! 

With our tummy’s full, off we went to see the rest of the exhibits.  We ran into our niece, just after she got Reserve Champion for her dog at the Agility Dog Show!

We saw the pigs, cow’s, sheep, rabbits, chickens, horses, bucket bottle calves and goats.

And then it was off to the Sanctioned Track Pull! 

I’m guessing most of you will think “How boring!” but I love the tractor pull!  As a kid it didn’t impress me, but all 4 of us like watching it now.  They start out at the starting line, build up pressure in their engines with white exhaust coming out of their stacks, once it turns black they throw it into gear and take off!!  300 feet is the length of the course and a lot of them surpass that!  Not by a lot, but one did go 312 feet!  We sit at the end of the course so we can see how far they go.  There were John Deere, International and Allis Chalmers tractors there.  My dad is first and foremost an Allis Chalmers fan, with John Deere coming in a close second, so we have fun cheering on the very few AC’s that pull and guessing who will go farthest. 

I took a video of one so you can see how fast it goes!  It takes them longer to re-smooth the track each time than for the actual pull.  You can see this guy had a full pull because he made it to 300 feet, but he didn’t win his heat because another guy went farther.

County Fair 2013 is a success!  Not sure if we’ll make it back in there between now and Friday, but Friday it is on!  Demo Derby!!!  Can’t wait!

Round 2 of swim lessons starts today.  Brennan is quite the fish, he’ll have no problems.  I’m hoping Aiden is feeling braver and kicks butt in there this week!  And maybe, just maybe, we’ll stick around town and go back to the pool this afternoon to try to beat the heat.

Have a fantastic,fabulous Tuesday!

Erin

Our Packed Full Weekend

Happy Monday!  Whew, what a busy weekend!  I was so exhausted last night! 

It started Friday night with us going to a nearby campground to sit around the campfire with my sister and her family.  We roasted marshmallows and made smores, chit chatted and the kids played and rode their bikes around.  Got home about 10:30 that night, so we were all tired.

Saturday we got up and went outside to trim our shrubs.  We got that mess cleaned up, came in for lunch, got our showers then went to town.  Aiden had 4-H fair judging.  We got there right at 2 when we were supposed to and were given a number to get in line.  We were #23!  It was a long wait.  30 minutes later Aiden sat down with the judge.  He did great!  He was so nervous before hand, but as soon as he sat down with her he started talking and answering her questions with 2 and 3 sentence answers – I was so proud of him!  Because he is in Clover Kids (grades K- 3) they don’t get ribbons based on how well they did, just a ribbon for participating.

After that we went to my parent’s house to play farmer.  My folks went to Kansas City for the weekend to visit my dad’s brother and sister in law so they needed us to help take care of the farm.  We got there and noticed some things were ‘off’.  A bucket was laying in the driveway, my mom’s solar lights in the flower bed next to their house/driveway were knocked down and so was her garden flag.  Hmmm.  We started walking down to the barn to let the dog out and I noticed sheep poop in the driveway.  Oh great!  After letting the dog out we walked down and around to where some of the sheep are and saw the gate was pushed open about 3 feet!  Sheep were in there, but were they all there??  After doing some investigating (and calling my dad) we decided that some of the sheep had a free for all then put themselves back in their pen.  Quite the comedy looking back at it now. 

After a couple of 4 wheeler rides with the boys we left and went to town for church and the car show in town.  I love old cars and car shows!  My favorite is always the cherry red mustang convertible from the late 60’s!  Someday I will have one!

Supper after that then home to rest up from our day.  On the way home we saw a ton of deer!  Here’s a not so good pic, he ran away just as I was going to snap his picture and stopped a ways away.

See, we were all exhausted!

Sunday, woke up and went outside again to work in the yard. This time it was weeding the garden.  OMG, did we let it get away from us this time!  Luckily we have a mini-cultivator so Andy ran that and did away with most of the weeds that way.  The boys and I pulled the peas and raked up the weeds Andy had gotten up.  In for lunch, then clean up again to run to town for a quick WalMart run, to visit my folks and see how their trip was, then to the fair to watch our niece show her dog.  It started at 4, and I really thought it would only be an hour long.  3 HOURS LATER we were finally leaving!!!  Thank goodness I have good boys, they did awesome sitting there that whole time!  And my niece!!  She showed in showmanship and obedience in the 1st and 2nd year category.  For showmanship she got Grand Champion!  And obedience she got Reserve Champion!  Congrats Addison!!! 

Home from there and I was wiped out!!!  To bed we all went, after showering the dust and dirt off from the fair!

Tonight we will go back to the fair to actually see all the exhibits, the animals, eat my favorite Sloppy Joe Dinner, and watch the tractor pull.  I promise to take my camera this time so tomorrow I can show you some pictures!

Headed to town for groceries and lunch with my mom, time to get moving!  Oh, and my internet is still in and out so if you don’t hear from me it’s because I’m unable to connect.  Boo.

Have a great week!

Erin

A Quick One

Hey there!  I finished the second book in the Crossfire Series, Reflected In You, and I wanted to do my review on it quick while it’s fresh in my head.

First, I think the author could have had the same effect and cut out a majority of the book and written one book instead of 3. But that’s just me.  So, the main character ran out on the guy multiple times again, still just as annoying as in the first book.  I kept thinking ‘when are we going to get some answers here!’.  They finally came in the last few chapters of the book.  If I could have skipped most of the book and just read those I would have been just fine.  They made reading the whole book worthwhile.  And because of how she left book #2 I was anxious to begin book #3, which I have (barely) started.  I’ve heard mixed reviews about the third book, I’ll let you know what I think when I finish it.

Have a great weekend!

Erin

Untitled Because I Can’t Think Of One

Hey hey!  Can you believe today is Thursday already?!?  This week has flown by!  Nothing major planned for the weekend but I’m glad it’s almost here!

First thing I need to do today is apologize to all the bloggers I read.  Our internet still isn’t fixed, it sounds like it’s not just us but our area that is having the trouble.  I guess they need to do an upgrade for our area but aren’t planning on doing that anytime soon. So frustrating!  We’re getting close to trying a different carrier.  So anyway, I haven’t been reading blogs and commenting like I normally do, which I feel terrible about.  Please don’t take offense!

Yesterday was one of those days when everything seemed to go wrong.  I was so frustrated!  First it was the internet, then I realized my phone wasn’t working right either.  Then our door knob to the back yard got jammed so I couldn't turn the handle and the latch wouldn’t come out at all.  I took that darn thing apart, sprayed it with some WD-40, poked at it, beat it, did everything I could think of to get it out and finally gave up.  For the rest of the day I used a patio chair to hold the door shut.  Redneck!  We ended up going to the big city last night to get a new knob.  The good part about that was we ate at Wig-n-Pen.  They have the most amazing Bruschetta I’ve ever had!  So Andy and I shared an order of that and also had a Flying Tomato Pizza.  They call it the Flying Tomato because they put slices of tomato on top of the cheese when they bake it so they are ‘flying’ over the cheese.  So so good!

Today, of the boys earn it, we are FINALLY going to the pool!  This will be our first time all summer!  I feel terrible about that, but hopefully we can make up for lost time and start going a couple times a week for the rest of the summer (which is quickly fading away!).

I said yesterday how I felt lazy and all I wanted to do was read and watch soaps.  Well, I heard from quite a few of you (plus a totally random text from a friend yesterday) that you are feeling the same way.  Must be some kind of weird mid-summer slump.  Without a routine or any reason to get going in the morning I’ve gotten lazy.  I guess I’ll enjoy our summer freedom while it lasts and not sweat it too much.

Time to get moving.  Have a great Thursday!

Erin

So What And A Book Review

Happy Wednesday, Friends! 

Miss Shannon Dew from Life After I Dew is on vacation this week, so no ‘So What Wednesday’ link up today.  Boo!  But I will still list my So What’s this week because I love this link up so much.

So WHAT if…

~ I have no energy this week and don’t feel like doing anything but reading and watching soaps

~ I haven’t exercised in over a week and I feel like crap about it

~ I was planning on making my berry jelly this week but I don’t think I have any Sure Jel, a key component to making jelly

~ I took going to the pool today away from the boys just now because I am sick and tired of them acting like crazy hooligans around here.  I’m done with it. 

 

If you follow me on Instagram (homemadehappenings) you saw last night that I finished Sylvia Day’s ‘Bared To You’, the first book in the Crossfire Series.

What did I think of it?  Well, I was getting a little (a LOT) sick of the main damsel in distress, Eva, running out the door literally every time the going got tough between her and the hunk, Gideon.  I seemed like in every chapter she’d get ticked off at him and run.  I seriously got sick of this ‘go to’ tactic the author used.  Aside from that, the story is good but definitely getting drug out too long.  I’m hoping the next 2 books have a little more exciting action and not so much running.  If you like a lot of sex sex sex this is the book for you.

It’s time for me to stop being lazy and get moving.  I have told myself I will NOT read any books or blogs until this house is all picked up.  Doesn’t sound like a fun day, does it?

See you all tomorrow!

Erin