Staying on top of things is not my specialty....

Yes, I have been absent from this little blog for awhile.

Life happened.

Kids.  Sports.  School.  You know, the old excuses. 

I've missed writing but to be honest when all the little kiddies are nestled in bed, and about the only time I have to write, I am watching whatever I have on the DVR or passing out while reading.

Everyone's good here. 

Hubby's back on days so we are back to our usually crazy schedule, not the uber-crazy schedule where I have to enlist help from everyone in the Universe.

T's playing football every Tuesday night....and loving it.  Or maybe, he just loves hanging out with girls afterwards.  Either way, he's happy.

R is into her soccer and has a new found love for doing extensive makeovers on herself on the weekends.  I might have to hide all dark eyeshadows...she seems to have a penchant for them.

G is nutty as always....did amazing his first 6 weeks of Kinder here at the abode and we look forward to enjoying the rest of the year. 

This weekend we have 2 soccer tourneys.....one local and one an hour away.  Needless to say, I miss my husband.....Saturdays are just not meant to be until soccer season is over.  He coaches both R and G's teams, which leaves me running all over the place with T's Division 2 team. 

Luckily, we have lots of family that is able to make it to games as well. 

On a random note,

here is what G and I did today for school time......thought you might enjoy and want to check out the sites themselves that gave me the inspirations.

We loved the Word Family Spider activity!  I saw the pin on Pinterest but they were called Sound Spiders and used WH, CH, SH.....but when I saw it I immediately thought about word families.  G seems to enjoy working on word families, probably because it's an instant gratification thing...he sounds it out once and he pretty much gets it. 
Which is fine with  me, we will roll with it. 
Let me be real honest, when I see pins I usually just gets inspiration from the picture and do what I will with the project in the end.  With this one, I never even went to the site until I needed the link for you guys.  So,  that said, it came from The Lesson Plan Diva, but the link just to took you to her homepage.

Here is our version...a little more festive and more our speed.

I drew a circle in white crayon onto a black piece of construction paper and I cut out the strips of paper for legs.  I let him pick the colors and the amount of eyes (after showing him how to look up facts about spiders on the computer), and I wrote which word family we would be using.  He cut out the circle and did everything else.  I showed him how to do an accordion fold and he went to town. The googly eyes are key here, people. Grab a bag. Use them with wild abandon.  

We went over the -ick word family and all the words we could think of. 

I liked using the -ick family because we related it to Halloween and all things icky, spooky and scary.  Although, he told me that he wouldn't be scared of anything.

There weren't many creepy words other than sick but it didn't matter....

You could totally let them finish the spider themselves by gluing the legs on  but we wanted to hang it pretty quickly so we used the stapler.

For math time, we used the Haunted House idea I fell in love with the minute I saw it on Pinterest. 

This came from No Time for Flash Cards (who is brilliant, by the way).  You can use this in so many ways.....number recognition, sight words, letter recognition, addition/subtraction.  G loves math and is pretty fast with adding and subtracting.
We like to use what we have for crafts and projects instead of running out for a certain supply if we don't have to.  We had a paper bag from the grocery store, markers, paper plates, and sticky tack. Done.

Here is our version....he loved it and wanted to do it over and over again.  This is a keeper.

Hope your week is grand......let me know what you're up to this week!

Our last day in Orange Beach....it's been a busy day!

After breakfast this morning we honestly didn't think we would be doing much.  The rain blew through fast and furious and knowing what I know about sailing (zilch) I thought the sail would  be cancelled. 

I was wrong.

I love being out in the ocean.  I love the feeling of just being out there, and thinking of all the cool things that are probably surrounding us at the moment.  But, I was dragging my feet to the dock because I was absolutely sure we were going to get on the boat and then the sail would be cancelled after we loaded up. 

Like I said, I was wrong. 

We went on the sail and it was so worth dragging my tired butt to the pier.  And I have said that numerous times since we got back this afternoon.  Making memories is something I (obnoxiously) say over and over.  I want my kids to remember all of the cool stuff we've done as a family.  I know that they will remember today for a very long time.

We boarded the Wild Hearts sail boat this afternoon to set sail about 1.  This sailing yacht is nuts...it is a 53' Catamaran sailboat owned by Perdido Beach Service and it is gorgeous.   Capt. Rusty and his crew man this boat wonderfully, they take care of everyone on the boat and really connect with you personally.  Luckily, we only had to share the boat with one other family so it really felt private.  Capt. Rusty made it a point to get to know all of our names, especially the kids and he talked and chatted with them during the sail.  He works with 2 of his children as part of the crew and he had 2 more crew members that were great as well.

Capt. Rusty and his daughter (does anyone else think that Capt. Rusty might just be Dennis Quaid's twin brother?)

That's Capt. Rusty's daughter again, Hannah and that dude is Drew who was so helpful and happy the whole time

We sailed out into the Gulf and unfortunately didn't have any dolphin sightings but we did enjoy the sail.  Well, we all did except for G, who had his first experience with being sea sick.  It was rough for the little guy but he persevered through it.  After getting sick, off the side of the boat like a true sailor should, he laid back on his daddy and passed smooth out.  T and R fell asleep in the cabin after being at sea for a little while. 

G...pre sea sickness

The boys enjoying the view down below

B and T with the wind in their hair

Sitting with me on the boat

G- post sea sickness...poor guy.

We sailed back under the Perdido Bridge and anchored in a little spot in the bay where we all got out to snorkel, kayak and try out the YOLO boards.  R was a total natural at the YOLO board, I was impressed.  G and I had fun finding hermit crabs and setting them up for races.  I was not brave enough to try to swim with my camera above my head to land so the only pics I have of us actually in the water are few.  But we loved it!

My snorkel dorks...

Enjoying the ride!

T steering the boat and G looking on....

They had plenty of refreshments ready and waiting for us when we boarded including fresh fruits and veggies, sweets, crackers, cheeses and soft drinks and water. 

Can you see all of the goodies?

I am so glad we decided to go out on a limb and head out even though the weather looked iffy.  It was actually perfect.  Cloudy enough that it was a comfortable temperature and breezy enough to keep you cool on the boat.  T and G both got to steer the boat for while and loved it!  The crew was extremely knowledgeable and just as sweet as can be.  When G got sea sick, Drew (one of the crew members) checked on him and offered any help he could, he found some ginger candies hoping that would soothe his tummy. 

I loved this experience today and would do it again in a heartbeat.  I look forward to following Captain Rusty and his family on Facebook too.  He just happens to have a ministry for teenage boys which is where our heart is a lot of the time too. 

Hey!  It's the Hampton!

Perdido beach Services provides an excellent opportunity for tourists and locals alike to experience the area in a new and exciting way.   Being on a sailboat is totally different than hopping on a pontoon boat, which we've done and loved.  On a sailboat you experience the teamwork and camaraderie that has to exist to get things done.  You see the mast that rises 72 feet in the air and you hear the sails going to work and you feel yourself relax and notice all the little things around you. 

How great is that sail?  We had just gone under the bridge here, that takes some excellent steering

Loving life

Seriously, could he be any cuter?

Capt. Rusty letting G steer us a little.....he will remember this forever!

I hope everyone can experience the fun we had today and the memories we were blessed to make. 

Sail Wild Hearts has a great way of life, that's for sure!  You can find Sail Wild Hearts all over the place...Facebook, Twitter and on their website (which has a super cool video of the trek Wild Hearts took to get to Orange Beach). 

Cobalt for dinner.  We showed up and walked in thinking, this place is huge so it shouldn't be that long of a wait.  We were wrong.  Another recurrence. 
We needed a table for two.  I said it didn't matter if it was inside or out, just a table.  They looked at me and said it would be about an hour.  An hour?!  For a table for two anywhere in the place? 
Well, we went ahead and waited.  We waited in the very convenient shopping area with shirts, hats, scarves, stuffed animals, you name it. I didn't buy into it. We were seated after 45 minutes.  And they seated my 10 year old daughter and I right next to the bar. 
Disappointed.
The food was what I expected really.  When something has a bit of hype, the menu prices show it.  I had the blackened red fish, which was great but not like slap your mama great.  R had the kid's fried fish and french fries.  Like, I said the food was great but not worth me waiting an hour....and I was lucky, a man in front of me needed a table for 3 and they told him it would be an hour and half.  My husband even called ahead of time to see if they even had a kid's menu and asked if he should make a reservation for us and they told him, "No, you should be fine."  Grrrr......
Verdict:  food-great 
          service-eh. Our waitress was wonderful but the restaurant itself was not in the seating department
          decor: nice, very spacious...outdoor seating looked awesome


We have loved Orange Beach and my only regret is that we had not made it here sooner.  What an amazing vacation adventure we have been able to have once again.  Tomorrow we head to my aunt's house and T heads to Auburn Soccer Camp (War Eagle!), B will fly home Monday to take care of the pups and go back to work.  This will be the first time we are not together on our anniversary.  Year 14 is fast approaching next week.

I will post great family pics once we get settled in at my aunt's.  As of right now, I am sitting on a laundry room floor at the Hampton Inn and Suites, waiting on my T's clothes to wash and dry so we can have him ready for camp tomorrow.

Glamorous, people.  I am just stinkin' glamorous.


Don't forget to follow all of the deals for the Hampton Inn and Suites...especially the Endless Summer deals where you can find some great prices for traveling here during a great time of year.  You will not be disappointed. I can't wait to come back. 

Day 2 in paradise....Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort

Started the day off right with a nice cup of coffee while everyone else slept in. 

our "backyard"

My sister and I met down at the beach to stake our claim on chairs that are available to rent along with umbrellas.  They have 3 rows set up and they are perfect when you're not floating in the water. We got our stuff set up on the 2nd row and then came "home" to get ready for breakfast. 

Early morning YOLO boarders

This morning, we all headed to Baytowne Wharf and enjoyed a (huge) breakfast at Another Broken Egg Cafe. So good!  The prices are moderate to high for a breakfast place but it is a resort so you have to expect a bit of a price increase.  We had beignets for a little treat beforehand and the honey marmalade dipping sauce was amazing.  Marmalade makes me smile.  I had one of their omelets and so did T.  R went with the Belgian waffle and it looked drool worthy.  B had Huevos Rancheros (shocker-you can take the guy out of Texas but you can't take Texas out of the guy).  The kiddos all had a big glass of chocolate milk that looked like more of a milkshake.  They loved it though...although refills were not free on that.  Heads up.

Baytowne Wharf is great too....tons of  stuff to see, places to shop and eat.  The kids wanted to do all of the fun adventure stuff like the climbing wall and the bungee jump but all the grown ups were in a hurry to head to the beach.  We won.  Maybe we will be able to hit up the Wharf later on. 

  

My family, the water bugs we are, tend to stay in the water a lot.  The water was crazy beautiful today.  Emerald waters as far as you could see and the waves were just right for body surfing.

We also rented boogie boards, they come free to resort guests (2 for 1 hour), and floated around.  I should say that the kids floated around.  Every time I tried floating away the kids always found me.  The water is so salty that you can lay on your back and float forever, just rolling over the waves. 

There are concession areas on the beach....which do not come free, of course.  Except for the water.....Mom Tip: at the "bar" concession there is a big water cooler and cups next to it that you can help yourself to for free. 

We did buy some goggles there on the beach because we forgot all of our stuff at home and if you have sensitive eyes like my kiddos then you will need them. 

It has been raining off and on this evening so we headed into Destin to find something off the beaten path. We found The Florida House which was a small place and the food was great. B and my brother in law had the Chicken Parm and scraped their plates clean. We had planned on going to AJ's, it's been around forever, but it was uber PACKED. Like, no parking at all. We figured that the craziness in the parking lot resembled the inside of the place and went next door to The Florida House. Problem solved.

The beach exhausted me and I feel like I am about to pass out head down on this laptop.  So, adios, my friends.....more to come.

Our back porch...where I will be sitting with a cup of coffee in the morning....

Photo a Day June.....

I've been posting my pictures for Fat Mum Slim's photo a day challenge on Staying Home and Staying Sane's FB page and Twitter and have neglected to blog a few.  So, here they are...

Day 11: door
On this day I had an average of 6 kids in the house all day.  Coming in and out and in and out and in and...you get the picture.  The door was rarely closed all the way and if it was, it was slammed.  

Day 12: From a low angle
I couldn't decide which one to use so I just made a collage of them both.

Day 13: art
This, my friends, is about as crafty as I get. Sorry for the disappointment you may be experiencing at this moment.

Day 14: time
this is what doggie bathtime looks like at my house.  I think R was even wetter than the dog after it was all over with. And I love the look I am getting from Leni here....she was hoping I would rescue her from the torture.

Day 15: yellow
I took this from under a canopy of trees in my backyard yesterday evening as the sun was going down. I took a few shots but this was the one everyone in the family liked the best. 

 


And this one has nothing to do with the photo challenge.  My step mom gave me this picture of my dad when he was 3 months old so that I could scan it and have it in my "archives" seeing as though I'm basically the family historian aka the only one who takes pictures.

How stinkin cute was he??  What's really crazy is how much he looks like my youngest son or how much my youngest looks like him.  Love it!  Right now, my dad is in California working....this is his first time back at work (outside of the house) since his heart transplant about 7  months ago.  Yes, heart transplant. Brand new heart. God is good.

Moving on up.....watch out world!

This week has been all about moving on up in the world.  My husband was offered a job promotion and now G graduated from pre school! 

This graduation thing is really throwing me off this year.  He has been with the amazing Mrs. Holly since he was 2 1/2 and now at 5 1/2, he is ready (more than ready) for Kindergarten. 

The thing is....I will be the teacher next year.  For the first time. 

Out of all three of the kiddos, they have all gone off to Kindergarten with smiles on their faces but tears streaming down my face.  Many thoughts have run through my mind....and have people have not been shy about offering their opinion on the matter but I honestly believe that this is the right move. 

A little nervous? Yes.  Excited?  Definitely.  I am pumped about this new journey and I am confident in our decision we made as parents.  G is already on his last set of Kindergarten sight words and is well on his way to being a great reader.  The other 2 kiddos were in the same spot when they were that age but I honestly just thought that Kinder was the next step...so they went.  Homeschooling has evolved in my mind since then. 

I don't see any reason why not, actually.  He will be able to learn in a loving, encouraging environment.  He will learn about things that sometimes get passed over in public schools.  Yes, he will be the only "student" at home but he will have plenty of social interaction. 

I am excited about all of the possibilities that are out there.  He will be able to have experiences that he wouldn't be able to have in a traditional school.  I have been given the run down by many well meaning family friends about all of the things he will miss about being in a traditional kindergarten but I am positive he will be fine.  He has been in a structured pre school since the age of 2 1/2 and knows how to line up, sit quietly, do his work, keep his hands to himself...all of the little things that some kids are learning in kindergarten.  He will be just fine. 

Now, onto the graduation.  The moms who were in charge this year were amazing and I have no doubt that the main mama in charge could make a successful party planner.  The theme this year was the circus and everything was just too cute.  I realized when I was uploading pictures that I never took pictures of the table all decorated.  So, just imagine it and know it was genius. 

My boy all ready to go

the dudes....

his award this year....Most Clever :)

Our graduate trying to escape from picture taking....

G and his magical pre school teacher, the infamous Mrs. Holly :)

G and his Pop and Gran :)

G and his Boogie :)

Beach Baptism!

I was baptized at the age of 6, in the Methodist church my family and I started going to when we moved to Texas.   It was a sprinkling of water and I really don't remember it....and I had left my church long before having Confirmation classes.  My parents got divorced when I was 14, I don't really remember going to church after that except for holidays or special occasions.  I probably should have been there....I could have avoided a lot of heartbreak if I would have remained in a church and close to God. 
But....I didn't.  I took for granted that He would always be there for me in the End and I probably didn't have to worry about much up until that point.  Then, I got married and had a child, God became something more to me then.  We started getting involved in the same church I was baptized in.  When #2 came along, we were going pretty regularly.  #3, yep, still involved but drifting....felt kind of monotonous.  And my husband wasn't going as much with us, he just didn' feel like he belonged. 
I craved more and wanted more for my family.  So, I started rededicating myself to God and reading the Bible more, studying scriptures a bit, and getting into an amazing group of women who I can't thank enough for their help in our journey.  We have now found the perfect church home for our family and I don't feel like I am going to church on Sundays just to...go to church.  It's about what He has to say to me when I'm there, about the people that are in that church and how I feel when I walk through the doors. 
We were baptized today by immersion.  And it really was awesome.  Our oldest went through a class and has accepted Christ on his own....so he was included today and we got to help with it. 

Valentine's Love List.....gotta' love the simple things.

I honestly can't believe it's almost Valentine's Day.  This year is already going by way too fast.  Which means my munchkins will eventually grow up....never mind all the times I've imagined sitting on a white sand beach just me and B while our 3 children are in college or at a wonderful, well paid job.....it still makes me sad.  This weather doesn't help either.  In Southeast Texas it is not supposed to be below freezing and looking a tad bit like London with all the gray skies and misty air.  So, I am cheering myself up with.....Girl Scout cookies that were just delivered yesterday!..... ahem, I mean, happy thoughts!! In the spirit of Valentine's Day I'm asking myself, what simple things do I just love?

• the goofy things 4 yr old G says when he gets in the car on our way to take the big kids to school.  Yesterday, he yelled out a random list of numbers and then said "Hit it, Mom! And, that means, GO!"
• the way R leaves notes on her marker board for me to read during the day while she's at school.....and the messages I write back. :)
• weird things T says when I know he isn't doing what I asked him to.  This morning it took him forever to get ready and I said rather loudly while giving him the "mom" glare, "I hope you are dressed! It doesn't take 30 minutes to put on jeans!" and he looked at the dog and said "Leni, quit trying to attack me, can't you see Mom needs me to get ready?!"  He says everything with a hint of seriousness which I find absolutely hilarious.
• freezing my butt off at the soccer field last night wasn't so fun but taking my nephew out to eat afterwards was.  15 years old and can still hug and say "I love you" to his aunt and uncle without gagging or rolling his eyes. Love that kid.
• the way our doxie, Leni, falls on the ground and rolls on her back and wiggles side to side every time you talk to her. And her eyes which have a ton of emotion, I think I can sometimes hear her saying....help me.
• having a great conversation with my oldest. On the way home from a basketball game the other night, after a display of not so great sportsmanship from a few kids during and after the game, we talked about learning how to deal in the real world and that I guess some parents just don't really feel like taking the time to prepare them for it.  He leaned over and said, "well, I'm glad I have you as a mom."  If you have a pre-teen, you know how rare this comment was. :)
• the amazing healing power Girl Scout cookies have. Don't like rub them on an open wound.....but do have one when you need to smile.
• warm socks...especially the ones from L.L. Bean that my sister gave me.
• my heater...enough said
• my awesome group of friends who are all so different and all funny in their own ways
• making Valentine's boxes....just made a kick butt one today with G.  He wanted a Hulk Smash (his words) box....so we did it.  Resembles Frankenstein a little but he loves it!
• A new issue of Family Circle magazine because they have really good recipes
• NEW episode of Modern Family coming on tonight!
• did I mention Girl Scout Cookies?
• my Crock Pot which is cooking up some wicked bad dinner right now....and it smells DELISH.
• my grandfather's emails. <3
• the fact that anytime we go anywhere for any amount of time, as soon as we walk in the door G says "Mom, I'm gonna hang out in my underwear, 'kay?"
• I bought another Burt's Bees Blemish Stick last night after being out for like months...this should appeal to anyone who has to look at me......ever.
• My hubby and his Afro puff hair that bounces when he talks, sneezes, laughs......
• My NOOK color which I kinda' l.o.v.e.
• the book Raising Your Spirited Child (eye opening!)
• my dishwasher
• dreams of my grandmothers
• hot coffee!
• Griff's hand in mine
• my sweatpants :)