Thursday, March 31, 2011

90/365: Mar 31

Today was a blood drive day! Got a new shirt to add to my collection. Actually, it always seems like they run out of my size right before I get there... so I have to get the next size up... which means the shirts are pretty much only good for workout clothes. But that's okay with me! : )
In about 56 days I can make my next appointment.
You can save lives too!!! Every donation can help save up to 3 lives... and it's a great feeling to be a "hero".

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

89/365:Mar 30

Knitting Adventures continued.....
I made my first dish cloth today. And to be honest... it's not perfect... It's not that great... but it will be used for washing dishes, so it doesn't really matter how pretty it is. :) That and with practice, I will get better and better and better!!!
Even more fun... in a few years, well.. several years... I can teach Rebekah how to do this! But I am exhausted for now so I'm going to shut down my brain for the evening. Good night!!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

88/365: Mar 29

KNITTING ADVENTURES.....

For the longest time I have wanted to learn how to knit... since before Rebekah was born, actually. And all I really want to know how to knit is a simple, easy, durable wash rag to use in the kitchen. Well.... today was the day I decided to REALLY sit down and get to learning.

Now.... my tendency is to be a perfectionist at nearly everything.... And knitting, takes a LOT of patience. Because a person has to learn, not only how to do the stitches... but also how to hold the needles, how to hold the yarn, how to keep proper tension.... etc. And being a perfectionist... every time I mess up, I want to quit. So for my "project" tonight, i just decided to do basic 10 stitched and rows..... Row after row... And it's not pretty. It's not perfect... but I'm learning. So in no time (I say optimistically) I will be knitting wonderful kitchen rags... and who knows, maybe someday I will venture into knitting other stuff too!!! :)

First attempt... Didn't get very far...
5th or 6th attempt... it's late, I'm tired... I'm going to rip it all out and start over tomorrow :)

Monday, March 28, 2011

87/365: Mar 28

Today was another good walk.... 7.5 miles. And a good evening with family dinner. I cooked tonight... and I've gotta say, it's an awesome feeling to have a bunch of people eat, enjoy, and compliment the meal I made. :)

After dinner I spent a few minutes looking at Popp's flowers and I took a few pictures of Heidi and Jake. I'm so glad they are here!!


Sunday, March 27, 2011

86/365: Mar ....20-something-th

We had SOOOOOOO much fun at GG's house today. Even so, I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I should have. That's okay though. :)


swimmin' family fun!
Mr. Jake's first time swimming. He pretty much loves it!

Tyler loves swimming too.... with the dolphins. :)

Poppa, enjoying the fun and shmow.

She had sooooo much fun too!!!

And poor Jene' was stuck doing homework the whole time :( ;)

Saturday, March 26, 2011

85/365: Mar 26

Walked today... 10 miles!!! WHOO! It feels so good and hurts so bad. LOL. I didn't really ever think how much it would take to walk that far.... or even think I could do it. But we did.... and under the time limit that mapquest said it should take. (I mapped our route after we got back to see how far it actually was that we walked)

AND I took some good pictures this evening..... and much to my disappointment, in the rush of leaving my grandparents' house, I forgot my camera there. I HATE it when that happens! BUT we had and awesome dinner. Bompa steaks (which are hands down the second best steaks ever,.... sorry Gpa, Texas Roadhouse wins out) and baked taters, corn, green beans, and ranch beans. YUMM-O!

So... all in all, it was a GREAT day. :) And we're so very excited about tomorrow!! We get to go swimming at GG's house!!! :) Rebekah has been counting down all week. I'm so glad she's gotten over her fear of large-er than bath sized- bodies of water... I will DEFINITELY have pictures to post of tomorrow's adventures. But for now..... my bed is calling my name. Good night, all!

And... just because I can.....

Friday, March 25, 2011

84/365: Mar 25

Whoo! Got in another good walk. Today's was 4 3/4 miles. So that's 10+ miles in 2 days!! But right now I am SOOOOO sore! It's okay though, I'll get over it. :) I'm just glad I'm getting out there. The weather is beautiful, so that really helps.

And finally.... a few pictures from today.



My kids are so flippin' CUTE!!!! :) 

Thursday, March 24, 2011

83/365: Mar 24

Another day, another dollar.... oh wait.... I don't get paid. ;)

BUT I did a 5.5 mile walk with my Ne', Heidi, & Mom, plus the kids in the strollers. It felt really good! And since Heidi is on the same lose weight kick that I am, we figure we will try to walk more days than not while she is visiting. :)

From there we had a communal lunch at the g'rent's house. While hanging out there, I got a call from a GM with Orlando Universal Studios.... Ben and I were picked in a drawing for a VIP 90% discounted family vacation to all the awesome parks out in Orlando. PLUS a 2 adult "mini" vacation at one of the 25 Top vacation spots in America. PLUS a short Bahama or Mexican Rivera cruise..... only catch was.... they needed $500 up front to place holds and deposits. That and I only had a 1/2 hour time limit in which I could call and discuss the trip with Ben before they cleared our names and went on to draw the next family..........
So because 1) I couldn't get a hold of Ben during work hours and 2) we don't have $500 to throw away right now, I called back and had them take us off the list. Sad Day!! But hey..... maybe sometime in the future, we can afford the trip ourselves.
Moving on......

THEN we went to do a little shopping. Rebekah needed a new bathing suit since we are going swimming at GG's house on Sunday. This is the one that she picked out. (and being the over protective Momma that I am..... I LOVE her choice!)
This is Tommy's suit, that we got last week ;)
We're gonna have some stylin' kids hanging poolside!

ANYWAYS.... back to our day.... from shopping, we came home. At dinner. Had dessert. Then did the bed time routine. All in all it was a good day. I sure am looking forward to tomorrow! Hopefully, I will get out of my little "funk" and get to taking some more pictures!!!

But for now... I shall bid thee, "Goodnight!"

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

82/365: Mar 23

Today was a long day. And not horrible. I helped a friend out by babysitting her son. It's nice to have someone else that the kids can play with. Just adding even one more kid into the mix totally exhausted me. Today's picture is a sweet one that I got of Tommy and Jack.



Oh! And for some exciting news, Heidi and Jake are down for their little "mid-tour" visit. It will be awesome to have them "home" for the next couple of weeks... or however long they decide to stay. :) Starting tomorrow morning, Heidi & I + kids are going to go walking. I can't wait! Time spent with some of my favorite people and exercise added in the mix. It's gonna be great!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

81/365: Mar 22

My kids.... the blankie headed pirates...
ooooh the things that Ben comes up with. They both loved it though!

Monday, March 21, 2011

80/365: Mar 21

It's officially spring!!! And what did we do today?!?....... we stayed inside because it was so gosh darn windy.... :( BOO!!! But that gave me plenty of time to catch up on some house chores that I kinda neglected last week while dealing with all the sickkies.

And, you know what's worse than trying to take pictures of your kids when they JUST WON'T LISTEN?! Trying to take pictures of a silly little dog who has the same problem. BUT I got at least one that I'm happy with.

Jackson Daniel.... blah blah blah.... Stewart is getting "big". I say this in quotes because at 4 months old, he is a whopping 4 pounds. He sure is cute though! But not cute enough for Ben to change his mind about little dogs to let us get one. LOL!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

79/365: Mar 20

Today we headed out to Benson to celebrate Ben's mom's birthday. Her brother, Unlce B, came down and brought fixin's for dinner. It was awesome! New York Strip steaks, Crab Caesar salad, Stir fry veggies, and breaded shrimp. YUM YUM. That dude sure knows how to fill a person up! :)

And while we were out there, I took a few minutes (Yes.. just a few minutes. The thing with the White kids... they very nearly HATE being photographed, so getting them to actually agree or accept getting their pictures taken in the first place is nearly a feat for a god. haha.) to take Caleb's senior pictures. Anyways, being the nice and accommodating individual that I am, I got a few stand out pictures (which = eyes open and smiling) and was done. Here's what I came up with...

So..... pay attention here....
WHO READS MY BLOG? GIVE ME A SHOUT OUT AND LEAVE A COMMENT!! ♥

Saturday, March 19, 2011

78/365: Mar 19

Today was a laze about the house kinda day. Ben and I even took naps while the kids did. It was great to not have anywhere to be or anything to do. But the real "fun" happened this evening. Actually... it wasn't horribly exciting, but it involved one of my most favorite things, so it made me happy.

Jene' came and picked me to so we could check out and shoot the "super moon".

To learn more about why the moon was so super tonight... click here

Anyways, here's some of the pictures...



Now.... to be honest, I am kind of disappointed that I don't have a bigger zoom lens.... regardless.... they didn't turn out too bad.

Oh... and for those wondering.... when the moon rose, it was VERY orange. But when it was higher in the sky, it was brilliant white. :)

Friday, March 18, 2011

77/365: Mar 18

Today's blog shall be a story in pictures....



There's no way to fix it this time.... so little girl gets to look goofy until they grow out. Thank the Lord for hats!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

76/365: Mar 17

Happy St Patrick's Day!! 

There is a wee bit of Irish in me blood. Actually... the Stewart's I descended from came to America from Ireland... so yeah, I'm Irish. Not too sure about on Ben's side of the family though. That's something I will have to look into, for sure! 


Anyways... it was a loooooong day today. But I think, I hope, I PRAY that everyone is on the downward slope(s) of our illnesses and we are all feeling better. YAY! Let's hope it sticks this time!! 

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

75/365: Mar 16

Well...... took Mr. Thomas to the doctor again. Apparently he has Fifths Disease. Which for it's serious name.... it's really not that big of deal... or really a disease. It's a viral infection that causes a rash. A pretty mean and nasty looking rash. Add to that fever and soreness.. and we've got one fairly grumpy kid. But the doctor assured me that it's worse for me, as the mom and having to see and worry about the rash, than it is for Tommy. It is just going to take some time for it to go away. So for the next few days (5) we will be doing oatmeal baths and Aveeno lotions to help reduce the irritation.

And despite Ben being the conservative and a-bit boring (but still amazing ♥) guy that he is.... He decided to give Tommy a Mohawk this evening. And I must say.... my kid can rock it! :)

74/365: Mar 15

Beware the Ides of March

The term "ides" was actually used to refer to the 15th day in March, May, July, & October, and the 13th day of all the other months in the year. But historically, the "Ides of March" is significant because it refers to the day that Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times in the Roman senate.... in a conspiracy led by his good pal... Brutus.
("Et tu, Brute?")

But, throughout history... March 15 has remained an important date. Let's take a look, shall we??!!

44 B.C. - Caesar assinated
1943- Columbus returned to Spain
1545- The first meeting of the Council of Trent
1767- Andrew Jackson (our 7th President) was born
1776- South Carolina declares independence from England and set up it's own government.
1820- Maine becomes the 23rd State.
1906- Rolls-Royce is incorporated
1985- the first domain name on the internet was registered.



All these fun facts are presented to you thanks to Google, and the fact that absolutely nothing blog worthy happened yesterday. Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

73/365: Mar 14

I was very sick yesterday.... but not with the tummy issues that the kids have been having. It seems like I got the flu. I hope nobody else gets this. I am really praying for heath to return to our family. This is getting ridiculous! It seems like we have had at least one person in the family sick since the beginning of the year.

Anyways.... yesterday I felt worse than I can ever remember.... I don't usually get the flu. Colds here and there... but never the fever & chills + really bad cold symptoms. And as such.... I just wanted to spend the day in bed. Well, I didn't get to spend the WHOLE day in bed.... but the kids' awesome Auntie Nay (Jene') came and took them for awhile so I could get some rest. I am so thankful for her!!!

I still don't feel very well today, but I'm better than I was yesterday. So hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things soon!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

72/365: Mar 13

So... the sickness is lingering. Tommy and Bekah were still having tummy issues all day. And now it seems as though I am coming down with something unpleasant. Aching head, woozy, choughing.... BLEH.
BUT regardless of the yuckos going down here at the White House.... We did have a major accomplishment!

The play yard is done!! And we got it together in about 10 hours. HA.... 16 hours.... we beat that!!:)

Here it is:

You'll have to excuse the pink swing.... Rebekah got it for her 1st birthday.... and let's face it, regardless of the color, it's a swing. ;)

Rebekah is just about in love with the thing. She calls it her "booful house" I'm glad we got this while they are little.... that way they have LOTS of years to enjoy it!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

71/365: Mar 12

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BELOVED!

And in other news..... Today was a good day. At least Ben enjoyed himself.... even though NOTHING went as we originally planned. Well, that's life!

But we had a picnic lunch at a (different) park with Ben's family. Then we came home and started building the kids' play yard.... that will be fun to finish up tomorrow! And my amazing sister brought us pizza for dinner, since our plans of going out didn't work. So even with the disappointments of the day... there is so much in our lives to be thankful for!! And to wrap up the day... the sunset this evening was brilliant! Oh, and the trees are in bloom..... Spring is my favorite season of the year!!
Peach tree
Pear Tree
Sycamore tree
sorting pieces parts (Jene' was photographer)
"Bekah's working"
Whoo! ....

Friday, March 11, 2011

70/365: Mar 11

I thought we were all better....... and we are........ except Rebekah. :(
I don't know if she STILL has whatever this bug is.... or if she got it again..... but it's not fun. Weird thing is, though, she acted totally normal until this evening. :( My poor girl.

We did get a chance to go out to the park and have a small picnic and play for a little bit.... and here are a few pictures from that.

Oh... and the very exciting news for the evening........... Ben's shampooing the living room carpet. :) HAHA.... If I had my choice, we'd do tile throughout the living area and halls.... but it's not my choice!! At least the floors are clean!!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

69/365: Mar 10

Hey!!! Guess what?!?
We're healthy again!!! YAY! I'm so glad that was a short go round with this illness. And the weather is great again. mid to high 70's for the rest of the week!!