Recipe!

Well, I've got a very fussy 1 YO on my hands today and don't have much time, so I thought I'd share one of my favorite recipes in the whole wide world. Kath - this is for you...although you may already have this particular one.....

Eat-By-The-Spoonful-Salsa

2 Small Cans White Shoe peg Corn
1 Can Black Beans – Rinsed and Drained

½ Purple Onion
Tomato
Cilantro

Italian Dressing

The ingredients with no measurements by them mean it's to taste. Like, however much suits your fancy. I like heavy cilantro, you may not!

Yum, Yum, Yum....

Salvaged!

What do you think? Those middle layers you see, between the long and the short against my chin, were NOT there yesterday. It went right from short to long. It really did look awful... but I like it now! It's different than before, but still considered long! YEY for Tracy @ Fringes!!

I could just cry....

I think I'm getting my hair chopped off tomorrow. I went today for a trim and she talked me into soft layers around my face so when I blew it out with a hairdryer and a round brush it would frame my face. Nice..... But tonight when I took it out of the bun/ponytail thing I had it in (yes, I put it right up wet, I didn't get it styled or anything because I spent the day @ home with 4 kids.....) I freaked out. The shortest layer is around my chin, which I knew about because it was framing my face....What I didn't know is that she took that all the way around the back of my head. So now, when my hair is down, it's chin length until halfway around my head. I HATE that look. Reminds me of a rat tail or something because now all my length is in the very back middle. I'm tearing up just writing this. I had even talked to the women about growing my hair out to donate it. We had talked about Ella's alopecia because she had trimmed her hair before mine. Why would she do that if she knew I was trying to grow it out? Again, I wouldn't have minded if it had just been the front of my face, but it's all around. The only way out is to cut it all that length. I'm soooooo upset about this. I've been growing it out for years and finally cut away the last of the perm and thought I was home free. I know it will grow back, but I don't think I look good with hair that short. Not to mention, Jon likes it long. He's bummed, too. He even said to me, "I don't like it." I have to agree with him. I don't like it.....

So, all you readers out there, come out of lurkdome and tell me about your bad haircut experiences ('cuz I know you all have had one....) and make me feel better and reassure me it WILL grow back.....

The Party

A wise man in my life once told me, "Don't watch your kids grow up through a lens." I've taken that to heart and do not take nearly as many pictures as I used to. That being said, there were many aspects to Coby's party that I did not get on camera and that's okay. But I will share with you the one's I got! The first thing the boys did when they arrived was jump in the pool. You will notice an extremely nice roof on our play yard, courtesy of that aforementioned wise man!








While they were outside a game of touch football erupted. The boys had a blast! As they were playing, I was inside preparing this:

A make-your-own-pizza bar! Needless to say, this was a fun yet messy part of the party. The boys headed back outside for awhile while the pizza's cooked. After dinner came the cake:

It turned out very well and got rave reviews! Whew! Coby opened his gifts next and got a wonderful variety of the things he had been asking for! As dinner and dessert were being digested, they went downstairs for some Rock Band fun!


After it got dark they went outside to play flashlight tag. They also used up some sparklers and Pop It's we had leftover from the 4th. They then settled down and watched Ice Age II and fell asleep. I heard the first sounds at 8:00 the next morning...not bad! Jon set up a dye-your-own-pancakes station and let the kids go to work! Let me just throw in my disclaimer here, moms. You will notice in this picture (obviously taken the next morning) that the boys seem to be wearing the EXACT same thing they were wearing the previous day. While I would love to say I did the laundry while they were sleeping in their PJ's so they could have the same outfits on the next day nice and clean (even though they all came with a change of clothes!) it didn't really work out that way. I could even say they the boys really wanted to wear the same clothes as the day before so they got into their PJ's to sleep and then changed back into the dirty ones. But that wouldn't be entirely true, either. The truth is, they stayed in those clothes the whole time. I don't think I'll ever understand the male species and it's interesting to see this start so young. While I'm at it I might as well confess that I don't even know why you all bothered to send your son with a toothbrush....

All in all I consider this year to be a success! Coby wants the same thing (again!) next year. So moms, know ahead of time that you don't need to pack anything for the kids but a swimsuit, towel and sleeping bag.....

After the boys left we packed up and headed out camping. The Santa picture you saw posted from my phone was taken in Cumberland. They have a big festival every Friday but I didn't figure out the Santa connection..... Anyway, I leave you with a pic I took of Jon and the kids at our stop on the way, Sideling Hill.

Happy Birthday, Coby!

I can't believe my baby is EIGHT today! He is very excited that he does not have to ride in a booster seat anymore (although I'd rather keep him in one....), but he's not too excited that he is now responsible for putting his own laundry away. It's a fair trade, don't you think?

He has decided he'd rather go out tonight for dinner than have me make him something and thankfully his choices do not include one of those over-prices Japanese steak houses. Although it does include Denny's....blech!

In honor of his birthday, here are some fun facts:

* Coby was born three days before his due date, on my mom's birthday!
* I pushed for three hours before the doc brought out the vacuum. I often wonder why he didn't do that 2 1/2 hours prior?!
* Coby suffered three febrile seizures when he was a baby. The first was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me.
* He started walking at 9 months old...he never really crawled, just cruised!
* He had crowns on his top two front baby teeth.
* His first temper tantrum was on family vacation in NC when he had just turned three. I got it on video!
* He loves to swim.
* He loves video games!
* He loves going to Rita's.
* He eats his mac and cheese with mass quantities of ketchup on top.
* Coby is a wonderful friend and son who loves God and I wouldn't change anything about him!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BUDDY!