Our weekend

We've had a great weekend. We woke the kids up and surprised them Saturday by taking them to Wild Adventures. We met up with my cousin Sheena and her family. It was hot really really HOT but it was tons of fun. Cam was able to enjoy himself since he was older than the last time he went. We drank lots of water and slushes. We stood in on the bridge when the boat came down so we could get wet, we got our two oldest kids on the Twisted Typhoon(big mistake for me), we rode the Choo Choo Train(Cam's in love with trains) and saw lots of animals and we rode several other rides including the Ferris Wheel. The older I get the more I realize I do not like heights anymore.

Cam loved the rides. I can't say the same for Karli and Hunter when they were on the Twisted Typhoon. My glasses were knocked off my face and my neck popped. Hunter insisted on riding in the front so we were in the 3rd and 4th cars.

(These pictures are snappies uploaded through the blog so excuse the flat, pixely look).

We came home later that afternoon and Cam took his usual 2-3 hour nap. We had my SIL, Candy and BIL, David came over for grilled steaks. We all sat outside around the grill and talked(I love this).

Tonight(Sunday) we went to my Grandma and Grandaddy Cook's house for a going away get together for my Aunt. We had LOTS of food. Good food! My Aunt Rhonda can make some good salads! The kids had lots of fun and it was good to see my family. We came home around 3 for Cam to nap and then we went to our friends, Keree' and Russell's house for steaks. The kids love going over there. They rode on the golf cart after they were done eating for a few and then we came home. We got home and Cam took him a bath and went to bed. Karli has been cleaning her room and we're in the living room watching some tv and I'm doing this blog.

We have a tropical storm coming in a got a bit of rain today. I think we may be getting a little more.

Yay It's Friday!

I love Fridays and I'm glad that it's the weekend. As usual it will fly by but I hope to make the best of it. We have a surprise for the kids in the morning and I know they're both gonna flip!!

Today was Karli's last day of 4th grade. I was sitting in the bathtub a few minutes ago and I was thinking that next school year she's gonna be one grade closer to middle school. Then I thought about me when I was her age and I almost started crying! How have the years gone by so fast that my first baby is now(in less than two months) gonna be considered a tween! Huh?! Really? Where's the pause button at?

She has grown it seems overnight and has learned so much. She's got one heck of a memory like her momma and she reminds me so much of me when I was little. Even though she's a few years ahead at her age than I was. I was still playing with baby dolls at her age and her favorite thing to do is play games on the computer(or hack my Facebook account). Momma loves you Karlibug!

Cam's in the bed(probably already fast asleep with his "bankie"), Karli is on the computer in our room and I'm in the living room on the couch watching LMN and loading some pictures off of my cameras(yes I still have pictures on my old one). I need to charge my battery too so I will have lots of pictures from tomorrow. Oh that reminds me, I need to put my camera strap on this new camera. LOL. I need to finish editing pictures for my SIL too. I also have this idea I've been playing with in my mind. I want to make a book for Karli and Cam about the things I love about them and have pictures to go with each one. Sounds fun and lots of work. I seem to always think of things I want to do and never let myself rest. I want them to have lots and lots and lots of memories of their childhood and pictures to remember them by.

Okay pictures are loaded off one camera. Good night.

Pee pee

How appropriate for a title huh? LOL! This was Cam today. He went behind the couch and stripped his diaper off and then when I went to put the diaper back on him he said "Pee Pee" and pushed me away. Off to the bathroom we went and after "booshin" the toilet about 4 5 times he pee peed!!!! This boy is getting so good about telling us he has to go potty. On Monday(Candy correct me if I'm wrong) he told his Aunt Candy he had to "tink" and after she put him in there and walked off he did it!! Yay and you wanna know the kicker?? We're not even trying to potty train him. So different than our potty training experience with Karli. ;) Maybe I shouldn't have named the title what I did and then talk about Karli PASSING what she needed to in order to go to the 5th grade!!!!! Oh yeah talking about stressful stuff. I don't think I ate much during the whole week of the CRCT tests. I worried for her. See I never had problems taking tests...matter of fact I never actually studied anything and always did good! So it's hard for me to help her prepare for tests. It's just hard for me to go over stuff and hope she's absorbing it because it just always came to me. She has had one of the best teachers ever this year and I'm truly gonna miss Mrs. McCard and her encouraging words to my daughter. She has always had a positive attitude and Karli has never said a bad word about her. She loves her. I just hope we're/she's as lucky next year. 

So here we are..me and Karli sitting in the living room talking about anniversaries and watching American Idol. She's funny. I love her so much! She's not a little girl anymore but she will always be my baby. I love you Karlibug! Cam is in his bed snoozing away and Keiser is sitting next to me on a pillow licking everything on his body as he always does. Bwahaha. I had to put that. Good night.

Natural Products

So I have switched our shampoos and conditioners with more natural/organic stuff. I have wanted to do this for months but it took so long to read all the reviews and ingredients. This stuff takes time and lots of patience(something I don't have a lot of these days!)

I asked tons of friends who have been doing this for years and I really trust their input. I have looked at several websites and what others recommend and broke it down into groups so it was much easier for me to comprehend and sort through. So I started out using Juice Organics PomSmooth for me and my daughter and Angel Mama Earth Baby for my infant son.

I LOVE that the PomSmooth is free of Parabens, Pesticides, Petroleum, Propylene Glycol, Phthalates, Sulfates, Artificial Colors & Synthetic Fragrances. Not only that but it smells really good and lathers great!! Knowing that you're washing your hair in something that won't harm you is a big plus too!! We use the shampoo and conditioner. My hair feels smooth after brushing too!

The Earth Mama Angel Baby shampoo for my son is great too. It does leave his hair with a squeaky clean feel which is good because he doesn't have long hair.

When I ran out of the PomSmooth I wanted to try something different and get a feel for what all is out there so I tried Aubrey Organics Green Tea Clarifying Shampoo and Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner. Not totally impressed with the shampoo as it seems really sticky and you have to wet it a bit after putting it in your hair in order to work it around. It lathers really good though. The conditioner is good and really thick. It makes my hair really soft too.

So after all of this I will say that I have ordered more of the PomSmooth Shampoo and Conditioner. I like it better of the two brands.

I'm always on the lookout for more healthy, natural products and will be adding more to my list I'm sure.



Edited to add** We've been using these products for a month and a half now.

First Official Post

I will be blogging just about anything. Stuff I want to remember and my kids and family to remember and know and whatever else I think some of my friends want to know. Whether it's about my family, stuff I like to do as far as my crafts and photography, music and other stuff that I find important and fun.

I keep a book for Karli while she's in school, she has two baby books and Cam has his baby book that I try and keep updated. I also like to keep notes of happenings on my Flickr account. There's never too much information for me. I love looking back on my past and childhood and I want my kids to do the same, so in order for them to be able to do that I need want to have lots of memorabilia. ;)

So many new things have happened in the past month. Some are quite exciting such as painting and updating the house. My 22 1/2 month old son pee peed in the potty on Friday, March 16, 2012...no we aren't trying to train yet. He was at my SIL's house at the time too. He's talking and learning so many new words daily. A few of his newest ones are alright, bankie(blankie)and hungy(hungry).

My daughter is trucking along in 4th grade with the usual 4th grade stuff. She loves playing on the computer and helping me make stuff with my cricut.

Oh and one new thing that happened just today......
















My son can now scale his crib!!!!!!!! When he woke up from his nap, he got out and stuck his hand under his door. Uh oh!



Watching his daddy sand the laundry room. He had just woke up from his nap.



My daughter playing in the dirt with her brother and cousin. My momma and step daddy were there with us too.

Busy Busy

Been so busy with work and everyday stuff that I have neglected this blog. Lots of things have been going on and I have to write them down before I forget them.

To start off, I, yes I cut Cam's hair on the 11th of October and I have to say I don't think I will ever do that again. I immediately wanted to cry once I saw how grown up it made him look. I was not ready for that.

He has several more teeth too and seems to get smarter by the day. He figures stuff out so fast and then remembers it the next time he goes to do it like it's nothing. Amazing mind he has. My little boy is something else! We crack up when he starts to dance. Yeah he still loves to dance. He also loves chasing Keiser, our dog, with his scoot n zoom toy still.

He turned 18 months on October 26th and my hubby turned 33. The picture of him sleeping was on the 26th too. I almost forgot to get one.

Karli has gotten settled into the 4th grade and has an amazing teacher, Mrs. McCard this year. She loves her and I love her because she works with her on an individual level. It makes a difference to a child when they have a teacher they can trust and look up to.

She is growing up so fast too. It seems she went from toddling around pushing her little blue and pink car to wanting a doggone cell phone! Why in the world should a 9 year old have a cell phone?! I told her I didn't have one till I was 18 and she almost fell out! That's something we've got to work on. ;)

I told her to make a Christmas list out last night and what do you think is on her list? A phone. LOL! She's got a good bit of stuff on there and I laughed when I read some of it. If I could show her my Christmas list from when I was 9 she wouldn't believe it. I was still wanting baby dolls, cars and young child stuff. ;) Times have changed. Technology is to blame..... ;)

I have been on a Facebook break and have enjoyed every single minute of it. See, I had time to update this blog. Facebook seems to suck all of my time..time to edit, update blogs, post pictures to Flickr, talk to my girls on PYF, get outside and play with my kids, watch some tv with them, dance to the 70s with Cam on my hip, clean the house, soak in a hot bubble bath, RELAX! LOL!

So since I've had time to edit some of my pictures I will post a few that haven't hit Flickr or Facebook. I have been thinking of merging this blog and my photography blog too so I don't have two but I just don't know yet. I am also thinking at the first of the year doing a "Their World" project each week or month and post. A bunch of my friends have been doing this. Since doing a 365 on Karli and Cam I think it would be neat and fun to do. Something they could have to look back on too.

Puddle Jumping

After

getting

back

from

getting

groceries,

Cam

spotted

some

mud

puddles.

At

first

I

wasn't

so

sure

about

them

but

then

I

thought..............

grab the camera!