Day 3 of YOU Challenge

Day 3: 8 Fears

1. My house burning down while I'm sleeping. I think that might be one of the most horrific ways to go...

2. The first time James tells me he hates me. I did it to my mom when I was probably 11-12. I know it will probably happen one day, I just hope I figure out how to handle it by then.

3. Losing my grandma. She was pretty sick last March and I'll never forget walking into that hospital room and seeing her there. She has come a million miles since that day, but it was one of the scariest days of my life.

4. Having another child some day. I know we will all adjust, but I worry if we can afford another child and how James will feel about it. He's been all ours for a couple of years and I don't want him to ever feel replaced.

5. Paper cuts. I handle paper extra carefully because I just can't stand the thought of it :)

6. Wood Stoves. I think this ties in with #1. I always had one growing up, but vowed NEVER to have one when I started living out on my own.

7. Cows. My brother and I used to walk through a huge field of cows to go swimming down at the river. I always had a fear in the back of my mind that they were going to charge us. It never happened, but where would you go in an empty field?? This fear has subsided quite a bit, but then again, I haven't put myself in that situation lately :)

8. Car wrecks. I hit 2 deer in 5 weeks time last fall and I'm freaking out a little bit this year. Thankfully, I wasn't injured, but I always slow down when I drive by those 2 places. I've never been in major car accident and I hope it stays that way!


P.S. This one was a lot harder than I thought it would be!

Day 2

Day 2 of the YOU Challenge: 9 loves

1. I love cold weather. Bring on fall and winter, I'm so tired of this 100+degree heat!

2. I feel like family is a given, but I really do love them and I wouldn't be who I am today without their love and support.

3. Reading. I don't read as much as I want too, but it's something I'm trying to change.

4. Coffee. I love hot coffee in the winter and iced coffee in the summer. I found the Pioneer Woman's recipe for iced coffee, I'm in heaven!

5. Wine. Having a good glass of red wine makes a bad day oh so much better :)

6. Watching my son playing sports. I will never be the soccer mom, but I'll settle for the baseball/football/basketball momma

7. A hard working man. No, not just any man, only mine! I love how hard he works to give us everything we want and need!

8. A few close friends. Good friends are hard to come by. I'm glad to know I have a few besties who will be there for me no matter what I'm going through.

9. Weekend Trips. It's been a while since we've been on a weekend trip, but I would much rather take 3-4 weekend trips a year than 1 big vacation.

10 Day You Challenge

I saw this on another blog and figured I can commit to a 10 day challenge...we'll see.

Day 1: 10 secrets

1. I like to pop my toes. It freaks out both my husband and my son.

2. I broke both arms when I was in the 6th grade. Having 2 casts makes daily tasks very challenging, but it got me out of some homework :)

3. I miss my great grandma Mac every day. Friday nights were our thing and it will be 10 years this November since she's been gone.

4. I hate earthworms. It's more than hate, it's an absolute fear. I hate when it rains and they come out to sun themselves on the sidewalk. I want to barf just thinking about it!

5. Being a step-parent is really hard, but it's also so much better than I could have imagined.

6. Pregnant smokers bug the crap out of me.

7. I once pronounced paradigm as pair-a-dig-um in college and was completely made fun of. Good times.   :)

8. Speaking of college, I miss it. Never again will I work 4 hours a day, sleep 10, and get paid for it.

9. I miss living with girls, boys are icky.

10. The secret to life is to work hard. It applies to everything you do! Family, jobs, marriages, friends. You have to work hard to keep the things you really want.

Football and Coldstone

We had a great weekend! Hubby was home on Friday night and my sister in law came over with her boyfriend and kids. It was so much fun! We certainly need to get together more often! After they left, we sent James to bed and Gene and I got to just hang out and talk and watch TV. It's been a long week and we haven't gotten much time to see each other!

Saturday, hubby left for work and James and I headed to football practice. He's starting to really understand what's going on and he has so much more confidence this year. I'm very proud of him. I had to chuckle, because last year, he couldn't do this one drill called karaoke. It's where you run sideways and switch your feet going over-under-over-under. It's hard to explain and apparently even harder for an 8 year old to learn. I spent an hour with him last summer in the front yard at my mother in law's trying to teach him this drill. He was crying and throwing a fit, but you know what? He finally figured it out. This year, he's showing kids how to do it and telling them how easy it is. At least, he remembers one thing I taught him LOL

After practice, he showered and we headed to Fayetteville. I needed to run some errands for my upcoming Pampered Chef party! We went to Walmart, then stopped at Coldstone Creamery for some ice cream. James loves ice cream and he wanted a large cone when we got there. I would only let him get a small cup because I know his eyes are much bigger than his tummy. And, I was right. He only ate about half of his ice cream and it took him about 20 minutes. Either that, or he didn't like his cotton candy/butterfinger/reese's mixture. :)

Today we have been pretty lazy. James has played outside all day long with his friends. I think he's needed that since school started. I've cleaned and checked some things off my never-ending to do list. Here's to a great week at work and school!

Football Season is HERE!

Pee Wee football season kicked off last night. Here's my little monkey. He's loving it so far, I just hope we find that balance between sports and homework!

Stuffed Peppers

The other night I asked Gene what he wanted for dinner. He said he'd like to have some stuffed peppers. I've only made them once with my mom several years ago and they turned out good, but I remember them taking a long time to make, so I tried to cut down the prep time. Here's how I made them.

You will need:
6 large bell peppers
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion
1 package shredded cheese ( I used pepper jack)
2 small cans of tomato sauce
1 boil-in-bag of rice (I used the Great Value brand)

First, you will need to clean your peppers. I took the tops off and dug out the seeds. Then you will need to blanch these in boiling water for about 15 minutes. While blanching your peppers, chop the small onion and cook it with your ground beef. Take out your peppers and add your bag of rice to the boiling water. Cook as directed, mine took 10 minutes. This will give your peppers time to cool so you can handle them. Once the rice is finished, mix together the hamburger/onion mixture, 2/3 package of cheese, 1 can of tomato sauce, and your cooked rice. Prep your baking dish using 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and the other can of tomato sauce. Fill your peppers with the meat mixture and put them in a baking dish covered with foil. I cooked these for about 45 minutes and they turned out nice and soft. If you want a little bite to the peppers, I would check them at 30-35 mins. Then, I topped the peppers with the remaining cheese and threw them under the broiler for a couple of minutes. Keep a close eye on them! These turned out really yummy, even James like them!

3 Girls + 2 Parents + 1 Little Boy = Happy CHAOS

So on Friday night, I invited my best friend's 3 girls to come spend the night with us. It had been way too long since I had seen them and I thought it would be a blast! It was definitely fun, but I forgot how rambunctious kids can be. Loud is the one word I would use to describe it. We ordered pizza Friday night and then I made milkshakes. That's when the party started! The kids were wired and were wrestling all over the house. I think Gene was ready for bed :) He had to get up at 5 am the next morning for work!

 On Saturday, we got up and I mowed the lawn. It was so hot! Then the kiddos played and they begged for lunch at McDonald's, so off we go. I thought it would be crazy, but it's really wasn't that bad. 8-12 year olds can pretty much handle themselves :) After lunch, we went to the park. This lasted about 30 mins and they kiddos were hot and ready to go back home. They were trying to play tag, without climbing.

 Before I took the girls home, I tried to get a pic of all 4 of them. We went from posing girls to one little boy who acted embarrassed to have his picture taken. Out of 4 pics, I think the last one was the best.

I had a great time, although James told me he's glad he's an only child. I think he likes the quiet more than I do. It was a great, fun weekend. Happy Chaos!

4th Grade!

Happy first week of 4th Grade little monkey. You are having a great week so far and you love your teacher. You don't know how happy this makes me! We love you and we are so proud!

Grape Festival

James' Aunt Gail and Uncle Stanton came up yesterday to spend a little time with him before school starts on Monday. We ate at Colton's and then headed over to Tontitown. At first, James didn't want to ride any of the big crazy rides, but instead wanted to play the carnival games. I let him play 1, because it was $5 and he won a can of silly string. Really? I could have bought that at Walmart for $1. So then I encouraged him to start going on some rides. The first thing he did was the huge slide.

After the slide, my best friend's daughter found us. She was with her Grandma and they had just come to ride a few rides. Well their hour, turned into about 3-4 and luckily James had a partner in crime to ride the rides with :) Here they are waiting for their first ride together.

Then, Lindsey convinced him to go on the Ring of Fire. This is the roller coaster that goes upside down. Now, when we first walked in to the Grape Festival, I teased James that he was going to get on that and he said NO WAY!!! But, it was a whole other story when Lindsey wanted to ride it. Poor guy got on all those rides he said he wasn't going too. I'm glad he got over his fears, because I think he had a great time.

This pretty much summed up how James felt after the Ring of Fire! He never did throw up, but I think if Lindsey hadn't been there, he might have. He's like his dad, gotta look macho in front of the ladies. Ha!

After the Grape Festival, we went down to Braums to visit with Gail and Stanton. We all had an ice cream cone and talked about school and sports and James' upcoming birthday in October. We are so so thankful for them. They are the only ones from James' mom side of his family that will come up here to visit him. They drive 3 hours to spend just a few precious hours with him. We love them so much and we are so glad they are close to James. There is no doubt in my mind that they love James and will always do what's best for him no matter what else is going on!

Guacamole!!

I love love love guacamole. And, I made an awesome batch tonight, I thought I would share.

You will need:
1 large avocado
2 small roma tomatoes
1/2 small red onion
1/2 jalapeno
1 lime
2 tablespoons cilantro
1 tablespoon minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
tortilla chips to enjoy

First, I cut my avocado in half and took out the pit. Then I scored each half and squeezed out the yummy goodness. Now, comes the fun part. I used my chopper from Pampered Chef and did a quick dice on the tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, and cilantro. Get out your chopping board and use your 9 year old for this part. They will have a blast while making you a yummy treat :) Mix the chopped ingredients, avocado and garlic in a medium bowl and add the juice of your lime. Add salt and pepper if you prefer, and sit in front of the couch watching Roseanne while you scarf this down!

Here's a crummy pic from my phone, but you get the idea.

Surgery Day!

Today was Gene's surgery for his broken ankle. I woke up at 0400 and we had to be at the Surgery Center by 6 am which is a good 50 minutes away. We arrived and they took Gene back immediately. I got to stay with him until they gave him his happy meds. He said he remembered being wheeled through the door and that's it. When he finally woke up, he asked the nurses when his surgery would be because he was getting very sleepy! LOL The surgery was supposed to take about 45 minutes, but only ended up taking about 25. The Dr said they put in 2 screws and everything went great. Gene took a little longer to wake up than expected, but he was fine. So very funny to watch him when he doesn't really know what's going on :) I'm thankful that everything went well and I pray these next 4-6 weeks aren't too hard on either of us!