Memory Lane

15 Years Ago today I was beginning my freshmen year at Berry College in Georgia. I drove a honda CRX that took only 5.00 to fill up, and gas was only .80 a gallon. Even then I was often scrounging change for gas ;) My dorm was an castle donated by Henry Ford. And I worked at the horse barn on mountain campus. I would get up early to go feed and turn out 50+ horses before Biology I and then return in the afternoon for feeding, fence mending, doctoring, driving the water wagon, and other barn maintenance....

10 Years Ago today I was starting my first year at Lake Sumter for the nursing program. Madeleine was 8 months old. Mike was 6 months into recovery from a tractor trailer accident which took his arm, crushed his left leg, and left him with a traumatic brain injury. We lived in a little rental house on South Grove St in Eustis.

5 Years Ago today We lived in our current home, Liv was 8 months old, Maddy was a brand new homeschooled kindergartener. This was my first year of homeschooling and boy was I a sprayed roach!! Talk about crazy, stressed out poser homeschooler... I literally decided to homeschool a month before school was to start! I worked every Saturday at Waterman on PCU with my friends Darilyn and Rhonda.

3 Years Ago today- I was 7 months pregnant with Ethan, and had just found relief from my horrible morning sickness. I was working on CPU at the new Waterman hospital every weekend. Madeleine was 7 1/2 and Liv was 2 1/2. We didn't school much this year ;)

Present- I am home with Liv who had her tonsils out last week. Maddy is 10 going on 16, Liv is 5 and this is her first year of homeschooling. Ethan is almost 3 and a happy, energetic little boy. School is resuming tomorrow for Maddy. Ethan and Mike hang out during school hours. My aunt is slowly slipping away and I am really missing my sister.

Future- I hope that our kids grow up healthy and happy. I want to travel with them and not only teach about things in books but show them. Do I have the guts to do it? I don't know.. I would like for us to live closer to the rest of our family up north. I hope to stay close with all the great friends we have here.

Thrifty Thursday

Okay it is not Thursday, but there are some great weekend grocery deals out there that I thought I might share.

Albertsons - Huge Meat Sale

BOGO- bottom round roast, chuck roast, pork chops, pork tenderloin, tilapia,
5.98 lb T bones
.78 lb whole chickens
1.88/lb boneless skinless chicken breast

BOGO - Russet potatos
BOGO- bag salad
and 50 cent items throughout store - diced tomatoes, soups, etc... limit 50

Publix

Lots of BOGO- capn crunch, pillsbury, Pickles, kens salad dressing, pot chips lays, instant oatmeal, cheeze it's, ritz crackers, kraft mayo, slad bags, mac-n chz, baby carrots,

Frozen Veg. - green giant 10 for 10
Milk 3.79
Bread .89
ckn-whole 1.19 lb
Cabot block cheese - 2 for 5.00


Winn Dixie also has alot of produce 10 for 10 mix and match

It's that time of year again!

Yes fall planting for a garden. Mine is a nice raised bed of grass at the moment, but now is the time to get those seeds sprouted. Last year I had alot of lettuce, kale, green onions and 1 sad broccoli.

This year I am going to try:

tomatoes
lettuce (not so much as last year)
onions/ green onions
carrots
strawberries
and some herbs


anyone have any suggestions (Michelle??)

Praying for the Leblanc Family

As many of us have followed and prayed for Misty and her family, it is with a heavy heart I read Darren's announcement today. Misty has passed away. Please keep this husband and family in your prayers tonight. http://leblanclife.com/

Tina Fey looks just like Palin!!

We are home and Liv did great!!

Ok I'm going to blog

Yes, I have been just posting on everyone elses blog, and ignoring mine. It is so much more fun to comment than try and come up with a witty interesting post. Especially when all I have been doing is cleaning toliets, closets and climbing Mt laundry. Not alot of excitement there!



However I must say I have sucessfully whipped my closets, school room, kids rooms and laundry into shape. Why the need to do this, you say?? Well we have started our school year and as many of you know I have house ADD when it comes to school. I cannot teach math if dust bunnies are taunting me from the baseboards. I cannot focus on spelling knowing that the geotrax, legos and little people are all dumped out and intermixed in Ethan's closet. Crazy, I tell you but please read more in my post from 2006 http://homeschoolinginthesun.blogspot.com/2007/08/dusting-baseboards-is-necessary-for.html

Well all that being said, I also am trying to get everything organized and in line for Olivia's tonsilectomy on Wednesday. As in 2 days away. She has been having problems with her tonsils obstructing her airway, and she is thrusting her lower jaw out to make room for more air. It kind of gives her that bulldog effect when she talks, and her speech, Oh my, will we be in speech this year!!

So I am nesting, without the morning sickness!! I am secretly looking forward to having a really good excuse to stay holed up at home for 2 weeks. Please keep Livvy in your prayers. It is rough for 4-5 days, thank the Lord for Tylenol with codeine! She is a little bit anxious, as is her momma. Does anyone know anything about Dr Vaught in Leesburg? He seems great, but I have yet to meet anyone who has personally used him as their ENT.

On top of my cleaning weekend, Maddy and Ethan caught colds. I quarentined them so Liv wouldn't get sick, yeah easier said than done! Ethan touched Liv and she ran from the room hysterical that she was going to get sick.... like I said crazy, I tell you, crazy!!

Olivia's hijacked my blog

Dear Jake,

I am sorry but Barbie is NOT boring. I have two barbies and the barbie Island Princess elephant. The barbie Island Princess sings and I can make it dance, and umm with that barbie comes an elephant, but I didnt bring it to Awanas. The elephant has a sprayer so it can wash it's body off...

i am sure if Jake knew that the elephant had a sprayer then it would not be boring....


Okay while Maddy was laying on the floor she passed gas. I said Maddy, and she said everyone does it... Olivia says yeah your butt has to breathe, too. It sucks in air and then it comes back out.

okay, well I know what topic we will be studying in science tomorrow........

Baby Burrito

The girls just happened to be playing with the pink blanket that Ethan was pictured in a few posts below. So I said let's make a baby burrito. Do you know what a baby burrito is? Rhonda and I used to call swaddling babies in the hospital "making a baby burrito". You know its like tucking them up nice and cozy in a burrito shell......Ok, well anyway you know about my folksy
talk.

Anyway here is my baby (toddler) burrito.... Yes, the girls are at co-op today so I have had some time on my hands....and what's more important , folding my 100th load of clothes or making a baby burrito????

Some of My Favorite Things- Fall Edition

* The feeling of a clean slate, a new school year, anticipation of all we will learn and do this year.

* An Indian Summer in the Mountains (crisp cool nights, sunny days)

* The First Day of A New School Year (new pencils, backpacks, crayons, and schedule)

* A purring cat curled up next to me at night in bed.

* A cold day, a good historical romance novel, and a wingback chair in front of the fireplace.

*The first days of December when the air turns breezy and crisp. I open the windows and let the wind whip through the house.

*Octoberfest in Helen, GA. The leaves change, the weather is cool, and the sound of a cold rushing water over flat creek rocks (not to mention funnel cake)

* Cool days sitting on a blanket at the park with friends.

* Picking a pumpkin at the Trinity Pumpkin Patch

* Trick or Treating in Debi's neighborhood with the golf cart pulling the trailer.

* Fall baking, chocolate chip pumpkin muffins!!

* Publix's cinnamon brooms

* The anticipation of making a "Christmas List"

* That Christmas songs start playing on the radio the day after Thanksgiving

Baby?

Do you ever just miss having that real tiny baby? Does the feeling that maybe you could have just one more ever go away....? Ok, never mind Ethan just poured out my coffee creamer all over the floor. I feel the feeling receding .. ......

Friends at Night of Joy

Thanks Julie for the picture, I was bummed that I wouldn't get any from Mike...

Memories

Anyone feel nostalgic for our quilt group???

Some of the perks of having a husband who is the junkman is that he sometimes brings home cool toys like this.
A little carwash and good as new! Too bad it's bright pink!! Daddy I want a 4-wheeler or a Jeep!

On a whole different side note while I was watching them play, Liv stopped and Ethan got out and popped the hood. ( Yes it came with a hood) He jiggled the battery wires, shut the hood and got back in the car!! I was dying laughing, what a man!

Casting Crowns: Slow Fade Video

I ran across this video and thought I would share. I love Casting Crowns. What a powerful message.

Home Again!!

We are back and ready to get back into the school year. My aunt is maintaining and I hope to have the month here in Florida. Well I am going to bed, sleeping indecently late in the morning, and staying in my pajamas all day.