Back Home

My boys are back home! :)

We met Granny and Papaw at the half-way point on Saturday, to have lunch and pick up the boys. They ALL had so much fun this past week. The boys talked non-stop once we got home. They told us all about how much fun they had, and even wanted to know when they could go back! haha

They loved their rooms. Remember, I had cleaned/rearranged Levi's room and closet. I also swapped some of the toys from each room. They played and played. It is like after being gone so long, all of their stuff is like new again. Yea!

We really did have a wonderful time while they were out of town. I got so much accomplished, and it was really nice to have some quality time together. We even got up early on Saturday and took Toby for a long Walk/Run. It was so much fun to workout together again. I miss that!

Anyway, we are getting back into a routine this week. The boys and I have had a blast together today. Not doing anything in particular. Just playing with their toys, playing school, cleaning the house, doing laundry (they like to help! haha) reading books, etc. It is nice to have them back home again. :)

Missing the Rug Rats

The boys are having a Blast at Granny and Papaws! I called to talk to them last night. Levi talked to me for a few minutes, but Seth wouldn't. He said, "I'm to busy right now!" haha The little toot. So they are having a wonderful time, and aren't the least bit home sick yet. Hopefully they will be ready to come home on Saturday.....

I am getting a lot accomplished while they are gone. I have cleaned/organized Levi's Closet. Cleaned his toy box out. Cleaned his entire room and rearranged all of the furniture/stuff in there. I have mowed our entire backyard, and treated the fire ant beds. I have done all of the laundry, and cleaned up the house. Treated and cleaned the pool. Took the library books back, gone shopping for groceries. It is amazing what all you can accomplish when your kids aren't "helping". haha I am about ready for them to come home so I can relax! haha Sad huh. Actually this is the longest they have ever been away from us, but they are doing just fine. So I am trying to enjoy every moment of it, and not miss them too bad. (Hence the reason I am staying busy...if I stay busy, I don't have time to think about how much I miss them!)

Stephen and I are going to go out to dinner tonight, to celebrate our Anniversary (which is actually tomorrow). We figured it would be less crowded tonight, than tomorrow night. I still can't believe we have been married 11 years! That is just crazy! I have spent almost half of my life married to him! haha....we started dating when I was 16 and he was 18, and we got married when I was 18 and he was 20 (I turned 19 1 month later, and he turned 21 a week after that). We were so young when we got married, but we knew we were in love and wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. My parents were even younger than we were when they got married, and they have now been married for 34 years, and Stephen's parents have been married for even longer than that. So we have had wonderful examples to look up to. :)

I better get back to work. I have finished the "touch up" painting in Seth's room this morning, and now I am cleaning out/organizing our weight room and spare closet. It has become a huge "catch all/junk room". Boy is this job overwhelming. But I better get back to it, or it will never get done. I need to finish it before the boys get back home to "help"! haha :)

Love you all,
Kandy

Boys

Our Anniversary is this Friday. We will be married 11 years already! Wow, how time flies when your having fun!

So for our anniversary, Granny decided to give us a break from the kids. She asked our permission, and then asked the boys if they wanted to go home with them. Of course the boys jumped all over this opportunity! So Granny and Papaw took the boys home with them.

It was such a quiet trip home last night. Once we got home we unpacked the camper and then crashed. Stephen woke me up this morning at 6am, so I would be sure and get up...since I had to pick up Toby at 10. I was afraid if he didn't wake me up, and since I didn't have the boys here to wake me, I might oversleep. So I got up early, drank coffee, watched the news, relaxed, and then got ready. I went and got gas for the lawn mower, then went and got Toby from the Kennel. We got home and I realized it was still to muddy to mow. So I started laundry and then started in on Levi's room. I cleaned out the toy box, cleaned out his closet, cleaned out his drawers and all of the little cubby holes in his "kitchen", then I moved all of the toys and some furniture out...we are going to re-arrange his room while he is gone. I am waiting on Stephen to get home to help me with the bed and the large chest of drawers. He was on his way home and got called back into work on an emergency...so it is now 9pm and I am still sitting here by myself, waiting for him...

Oh, and today I looked outside once, and our pool looked like this! I couldn't believe it. It was GREEN! It was perfectly fine this morning....

So, I called Stephen at work. He told me what chemicals and how much to put in it, and I did. Thankfully it was all cleared up in about 2 hours time. Yea!

Woo-Hoo!!!! My hubby just called. It is 9:13pm, and he is finally on his way home. Yea! I am so sleepy already though. Something about getting up early every morning, I am ready for bed really early nowadays.

Camping

We all always have so much fun when we go camping.

Levi, having fun with his Papaw. :)

We were in the "overflow area". The campgrounds were all full, so we were basically camping in the boat ramp parking lot. It was definitely a new experience that we will never forget! haha Talk about close quarters! At least "we" had courteous neighbors. They were quiet and respectful, and didn't bother us none. I can't say the same for Stephen's parents or sister's neighbors. His parents and his sister had the rowdy, drunk, disrespectful people next to them...on both sides! Oh, if you look way down at the end, you can just see the nose of Stephen's red truck....the tallest camper in this picture is ours.

The boys are always ready to go out in the tube!

Who doesn't love a good ol' Fruit Roll Up Tongue Tattoo! haha

Daddy was helping Levi with his bike, so he wouldn't fall over on the asphalt. The boys sure had fun riding their bikes out there.

Sleeping

This is Seth's favorite thing! haha

The hum of the boat motor always puts this poor baby to sleep. As soon as he comes in from tubing, he zonks out!

He starts out awake...then slowly slips off to dream land....

By the way, isn't he cute in the spiderman goggles! Granny got these for the boys. They loved them! They had spiderman swim trunks, life jackets and goggles. They were adorable!

By now, I am holding him....he is snoring so LOUD!!!! He doesn't wake up, until we pull up to shore to get out.

Tubeing

This is Levi's favorite thing! He rode in the tube every time! haha :)

This was the first thing we did. Levi, Daddy and Seth were the first ones out on the water.

Daddy and Levi , being silly! :)

Daddy, Levi and Seth

Mommy and Levi...Birthday Buddies!

Boat Trip

We went on a boat trip around the lake at about sunset one night. It was so beautiful and peaceful.

I loved this picture of Seth, looking out at the water.

Seth, being silly....

Levi, pouting. Papaw told him that he could drive the boat, but he had to wait until we got out into the open water...so he was pouting.

Daddy had also taken a few pictures of me on the boat.

Daddy was peacefully watching his sons....I love this picture!

Swimming

In between each skier, we would let the boys jump in and swim. They loved it!

The water was so clear and beautiful! You could see all the way down to Stephen's feet when we were swimming.

The water also felt amazing. It was about 81 degrees (water temp). It was so hot and humid outside, that it felt very refreshing to jump in the water and cool off.

Water Skiing

This was the first time we have been able to go water skiing all year. It was so nice to get out on the water again.

My handsome hubby! :) He went first.

Here, he had just lost one of his skis. He stayed up for a moment, before letting go. He found his ski, put it back on, and we went again.

Stephen even grabbed my camera, and took pictures of me skiing! Thanks Babe!

I was looking for the ski rope:

Hanging on for dear life! haha

Papaw skiing. Levi enjoyed sitting here watching all of us ski.

Stephen is really good at slalom (spell?)..I don't know how he does it, but he makes it look so easy!

Wonderful Week!

Compared to last week, this week has been a breeze! Thankfully this sun has been shining everyday, and we have been able to spend a lot of time outside. The boys love swimming in the pool. We have been in it at least twice every day this week.
We are going camping with Stephen's family this weekend. The boys are really looking forward to it (all 3 of them for that matter). :) I am sure I will have lots of pictures to share with you when we return.
Take care and have a wonderful weekend!

Baseball Game!

My parents came over on Friday. We took them to a Baseball Game, for their birthday presents from us. We all had a wonderful time! Thank you for coming over and staying the night with us. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! We Love You Both!

Here is Levi, Seth and Papa, watching the game.....

The boys LOVE ballpark hotdogs. They actually eat the whole thing, bread and all. They each ate TWO hotdogs before the night was over.

Levi, with his #1 foam finger....isn't this a cute picture! My little baseball fan.

Levi took this picture of Nana (my Mom), me, and Stephen.

Seth took this picture of Papa (my dad)...you can see his little fingers were across part of the lens. But at least you can still see Papa. :)

After the game was over, they had a fireworks show. It was wonderful. Seth loved it, but it was really loud so Levi was scared and ready to go home. We had Levi huddle up with Daddy, and he made it through. It was a great show! :)

Daddy is good

Daddy broke into Seth's room for me, (see the boys helping! ha!) then he took the lock off of the door. He re-keyed all of the inside doors for me this weekend also. He is the BEST! :) Thank you, and I Love you Babe!

Why me Lord???

OK, some of you may get a good laugh out of this...others of you will feel my pain.....

Today started with Seth locking his door AGAIN....I handled that OK, knowing we could break in once Daddy gets home. Then the rest of the day went fairly smoothly. They napped, which is a precious gift from God! (I needed that "quiet time"). Then they "helped" me clean the house...IF I kept reminding them of what they were supposed to be doing (cleaning Levi's room, not playing and scattering the toys all over the house)....
Then Stephen called, because he was going to be getting home really late, and didn't want me to worry. (Isn't he a sweetie!) So I decide to go ahead and have dinner with the boys, and then take them out into the pool for something FUN to do. So once we actually get out into the pool, we are playing and having fun (for less than 5 minutes)....then Seth said "Mommy, I need to poo-poo". (Well, if you know Seth, you know when he says this, he means NOW). He is on the ladder already, holding his bottom with a panicked look on his face! :o Oh no! I am in the process of getting out with him, and trying to get Levi out....and Seth is standing there saying "Oh No, Mommy it's in my wimmin'trunks." wonderful......So I make Levi get out of the pool, so I can help Seth....I am waiting for him to get out, and Seth runs into the house. I yell "Seth, don't take those shorts off!" "Wait for me!"
Guess what he does.....yep, he took his shorts off. Right in the middle of his bathroom floor, that I had just mopped a few hours earlier. Then he had proceeded to climb up on the toilet....well, hello he had just pooped in his pants, there wasn't anything left to come out and it is smeared all over his bottom and all the way down his legs (from where he took his shorts off). So I walk in to find wet swimming trunks laying in the floor, with a pile of poop on the floor beside it, and smeared poop all of the toilet seat and down Seth's legs. Oh, this is peachy.....
So I am fighting really hard to hold my temper down. I say "why didn't you wait for me like I told you to?" He looks at me with a blank expression like "what's wrong?" He innocently says "I had poo-poo". DUH! It's all over the bathroom!
Needless to say, I have one son pacing the back porch banging on the door, wanting to know if we are ready to go swimming again yet. I have another son with poop all over himself, his shorts, the toilet and the floor. Lord help me not to lose my mind! So I take a deep breath and start cleaning it up. First Seth, then the floor, then the toilet, and then his shorts. I put him in the bathtub to clean up (oh, and because we are locked out of his room, we have no access to clean swimming trunks...so his punishment was he didn't get to go swimming). During all of this, Levi is crying because he is afraid we aren't going to get to swim anymore...but I had promised him we would. So after I got Seth clean, he had to sit and watch me teach Levi how to swim. When Levi and I got out of the pool, we picked fresh tomatoes, and then I brought the boys in and we all got baths/shower.
I just keep thinking, OK Lord, what's going to be next????

again?!

Seth locked his door, AGAIN!
I am about at my wits end....but today I am much calmer...it was actually hard not to laugh at him. I sat him down and asked him why he locked his door. His chin was quivering and he was trying not to cry... then he said "my hand did it". I said "yes, I know your hand did it, and you control your hand, so that means you did it." He just looked at me with tears running down his face, and said "sorry mommy". Of course I told him he would have to have a spanking again, because he did exactly what I had told him NOT to do. So he took his spanking and cried for all of about 10 seconds. Then I sat him on the couch to "think about it" for awhile.

I just do not understand this child. After the spankings he got yesterday....and now again today (plus the time-out)...you think it will sink in eventually.

Tonight when Daddy breaks into his room, AGAIN, I am having him just go ahead and remove the lock...then I wont have to worry about it.

Much Better

The rest of yesterday went much better.

Thank the Lord for Nap Time! :) Aren't they so precious and sweet during this time?!

After nap time, Seth was much better. He acted like a little angel for the rest of the afternoon.

Last night, once Daddy got home, he broke into Seth's room (by taking the molding off, and jimmying the latch open...I think...I only saw it after). He then unlocked the door and fixed the molding back. Whew! Thank God for Daddy's who can do this kind of stuff huh.

After dinner, we watched a really good, older, movie. We had borrowed it from the library. It was called "winning season" and it was so Good!!!! As Levi and Daddy took a break half-way through it, to make popcorn...Seth and I were sitting on the couch. Then Seth said, "Mommy, I don't want you and Daddy and Wevi to die....then I couldn't hug you anymore....and i like to hug you...because I wove you!" I about broke out in tears! I promised him that none of us were going to die anytime soon, so not to worry about it. Then we played the "I love you THIS BIG" game, until Daddy and brother were ready to start the movie again.

We had a wonderful evening! Thank the Lord!

In Trouble AGAIN!

OK, this has not been a good day for Seth!

While I was on the phone trying to clear up a mistake with a medical bill, Seth locked his door and shut it. Luckily he wasn't inside! We do not have a key to this door, and I don't know how to get inside. We are just going to have to wait for Daddy to get home. Since I had already told him twice this morning, to leave the doors alone and quit shutting/locking Levi's door (I can unlock that one), he got a major spanking! I was so MAD!!!! I yelled, and yelled, and now I am hoarse. I feel so horrible now...but at the time I was mad and didn't know how else to get it through his thick skull that this is unacceptable and he has got to start listening and doing what I say the FIRST time! He got a major spanking, and my hand is now sore and swollen (now I know why my Mom used to spank us with her shoe or a belt! haha)

So after this incident...I walk into their bathroom. I found that someone had colored all over the wall with chalk. (where he found this, I'll never know). So I called Levi in, and he swore he didn't do it (I can always tell when he is lying, so I knew he was telling the truth this time). So I called Seth in. He immediately looked guilty. Then when I asked him who did it, he said the chalk did it. I said the chalk can't do it by itself, so who was helping the chalk. He wouldn't look me in the eye, and said Levi did it. I knew he was lying, so I kept on him until he finally gave in, started crying and told me the truth. I told him if he had told me the truth the first time I asked him, he would have only had to clean it up. But since he lied to me, he would have to have another spanking, and then clean it up. (Ouch! My hand was already sore, now it is in PAIN! I can only imagine how his butt must feel..)

Here he is, crying and washing the wall. Thank God it was only chalk. I don't think I could have handled my anger it if it was ink or marker.

hair color

My hair was bleaching out from a deep brunette to a red color, from being in the pool (when we actually have sunshine). So I changed it.... :)

P.S. Thank you Venece for telling me what color to go with, to avoid it turning green!!! :)

Here is the BEFORE: (very red looking)

So I lightened it to a "light brown", and here is the After:(above, and close up below)

Hopefully now it is closer to my "natural color" anyway. If the sun bleaches it out anymore, hopefully it will just turn into natural blondish highlights. :)

Go Fish!

With all of the rain/flooding we have been getting...the boys have had to be "entertained" a lot. I think they are getting cabin fever.
I actually took them to Wal-mart yesterday, to get them out of the house and buy groceries...then I just let them play outside in the rain, with their umbrellas...since it was only raining and not storming....so they got muddy and had to have baths...it was worth it for a moment of silence! haha
Stephen snapped this picture of me playing "Diego: Go Fish" with the boys. They love playing cards.

4th of July

4th of July was wet/rainy so we spent the day cleaning the house. We also re-arranged Seth's room. Afterwards, I snapped this picture of Levi, sitting on Seth's Bed, reading with his "TJ bearytales". He was reading "my first day of school". :) he is getting very excited about starting school this year...

Camping

We went camping this weekend. It was very relaxing!...Except for all of the bites I got. My legs are covered with chigger or mosquito bites....talk about constant itching! I had even sprayed "Off" on my legs twice, and I got tons of bites. I guess I will have to go for the "deep woods Off" next time...so what if it stinks, it would be better than all of this itching! Oh, and Stephen didn't use anything, and he barely has any bites at all! I guess they just like my blood....

Levi and Seth loved playing in the dirt, and finding roley poley's. that is what Levi is looking for in this picture.

Seth loved filling his truck up with dirt, and then dumping it.

Man's Best Friend!

How true! Here is Daddy and his dog. He spoils Toby rotten! :)