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Red as a Baboons A**

So I told you that Mike and I gave the ol tanning salon a whirl before our trip. I especially am in great need of a base coat, because I am so white I would probably burn right up on the 1st day, and then spend the rest of the trip with sun poisoning.
And you know I have NEVER been to a tanning bed before, and I was quite apprehensive about the whole thing.
The germaphobia thing. I mean come on! Peoples {{starfish}} (okay I'll grow up) unmentionables laying there all nakafied and then dependant of a swipe of a disinfectant cloth from some 20 year old attendant before my unmentionables are suppose to lay there sweating...ew!

The naked thing. The walls are like plywood. No really. They are pieces of plywood, slapped together like a changing room in Walmart. I know, I know...you can take your bathing suit or stay in your undies, but if I am going to pay $15 I don't want tan lines. I am already out of the box here people! I am convinced the whole time I lay in the machine that they are opening the door and looking in on me. (why they would want to..I don't know. It is just a fear..okay?)

I told you that Mike surprised me with this so I had to pull myself together. I don't do well with surprises (I need some time to mentally prepare!), and after I freaked out and probably hurt his feelings, I said sorry, and that I would give it a try.

So off we went.

We were greeted by a girl that was the color of a burnt espresso bean. Don't get me wrong! She was 100% Caucasian! She just had spent maybe a little too much time cashing in her employee discount at the ol tanning bed. All I could think was "does your Mama know what you have done to yourself?" She was super friendly though and showed me all the machines and how to work them and assured me I wouldn't get locked in one. (another stupid fear) It was hard to look her in the face because I swear the whites of her eyes were so darn glowing white against that black skin....."How will you be paying today mam'...blink...blink..blinkity....blink...".

We actually did great and came out of there with 6 mins (me) and 8 mins (him) respectively. Not much to show for it, but we wanted to take it slow.

The next day he went off to work and I stayed home with the sick baby. Neither of us said a word about trying it again. By the time we met up again that evening it was another story!

Apparently we both were teething at the bit to make a more notable progress. We both had fit it into our days to stop in again. I upped mine to 7 minutes. I am so glad I didn't do any more. The parts of my body that have never seen the light of day are revolting. Those parts would be...
*under my boobs. I guess they must give there some shade, and when ya lay down with no support on they go where ever the heck they want. In my case they slide to the side and disappear! (very fun I know). So above my rib cage is a smear of red.
*Above my lady friend. Oh this paper thin very delicate stretch marked area, held 4 babies in my belly, almost blue its so white (have I grossed you out yet) has NEVER seen the sun. Bathing suits have always covered up this high and who knew it would be SO punishing!
*MY BUTT. Never have I owned a thong bathing suit. Never have I been to a nudist colony. Never have I even mooned anybody. This girl had no idea what the sun was.

When Mike got home....he was very red. Now let me say this in his defense. He tans very well. He is of a different skin type than me. In the summer, he jokes that we are different races.

He went back and did his for TWELVE MINUTES!!!!

Um...yeah.

His butt is waay redder than mine. And for all you fellow readers (I don't think I have any man readers, unless my brother is reading this...but even you girl readers that have my man's junk on your mind....YES, he was smart and covered up the family jewels..Thank GOODNESS!)

So it was a live and learn experience. I don't think we will be going back again before we leave Sunday morning:)

The Last of the Mohicans

Well the last of us to fall...did. I had hoped that it would spare the poor baby, but sickness has no mercy. That terrible throw up bug took hold of her this morning. She hasn't even kept down water, but cries for it. She only wants one thing, and that is for me to hold her. Even while she sleeps, she wants me to hold her.

So if I show up to the beaches of Cancun with just the clothes on my back...It's alll good! I will just buy what I need there.

Right now, I just have to hold my baby.

Special Date

Wednesday was Mike and I's actual anniversary and we had a fantastic day! We had plans to go out for a nice dinner, and so he came home by 4. For me that is so special because he usually is at work until 9 or later!
The two younger ones I got settled at my friend Malinda's house. She sweetly took those children after a day of work, so we could go out~Thank you Malinda!! I know the kids had a blast. Matthew said he played catch with Ana, and I know tomorrow, Summer is going to be pointing at your house wanting to go back and play with the dog dogs.

Before we left, Mike said he had a surprise for me, and took me to the new tanning place in town. He wanted us to get started on a base coat so we don't get fried in Cancun. I have NEVER been to a tanning salon before, and this freaked me out. Out of the box for me. But I gave it a try, and after a zillion questions I did it (YES...there will be NO tan lines:)

Then we were off to dinner. We had reservations at Bravo's. Yum Yum Yummy Yum Yum! I had a peach Bellini and he had a red wine. He had a breaded romaro crusted chicken Parmesan with fresh mozzarella and pomodoro sauce over herb linguine. I had mini petite Felits topped with Jumbo Shrimp in lemon butter sauce. We were SO full!

When we got home we got to set up our anniversary gift.

I GOT IT! A WII FIT!!

And the best new ever ever ever ever ever, that I will humbly say

{{ahem}}

It thinks I could gain weight!!! BWHA HAHAHAH!!!! I love this machine. Well it didn't actually tell me to gain weight. But it weighed me and tested me on all kinds of stuff and it said with my height (5'7) and age that I should stay at around 140.2 to keep from getting sick!!! I weighed in at 138. And that was after dinner, at night with clothes on. If I could kiss this machine I would! (Of course I am a delicate flower, and feeble little me has to be careful of.....Bwa HAhahahahah! I love it! I will milk this feeling for as long as I can because it rarely comes along in this life!

So we got everyone registered and the kids and I got to play a couple rounds of stuff before bed.

(Tatum~Mike~Becky~Matthew~Jake~Summer)

We hula hooped and ran. I think this will be really beneficial to Matty. Everyone registered in the normal range but him. He is bordering obese for a 7 year old. I am so happy he is excited about doing this.

The kids are in bed now and we are off to watch our nightly 6 Feet Under episode. (I bought the whole damn series:) We had a great day and evening. Everyone is healthy and happy. I have a wonderful loving mate to walk with me in this life. Life is Good.

Purse Tag!

Cara over at Land of Bean tagged me for this meme which is cute and fun, and a little embarrassing, but since I am a stickler for rules, I swear there was NO fudging. Cara and I discussed this and she assured me that I could NOT switch my daily purse for my "Coach" or for my "Dooney and Bourke"(ha ha), I guess this will have to do!!

Here are the rules:

1) Post a picture of whatever bag you are carrying as of late. No, you cannot go up to your closet and pull out that cute little purse you used back before you had kids. I want to know what you carried today or the last time you left the house.

2) I want to know how much it cost:) And this is not to judge. This is for entertainment purposes only. So spill it. And if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I’d love to hear it.

3) Tag some chicks. And link back to this post so people know why the heck you’re showing everyone your diaper bag/non-diaper bag.

This is my purse. I bought it at Kohls for like $35. I go through purses like Kleenex. I am really hard on them. They are used as my diaper bag, gym bag, everything bag. Having to show a picture of it makes me want to go and get a new one for spring! LOL.

Ppheww~! Now that that is over I get to the fun part! Tagging!

Aubrey!!!! The Fam Five. Girl I know you will Not disappoint!

Kim!!! From Chamomile Tea. Let's see what you've got!

Cassie!!! I am wondering now what you guys carry down under, since I am at such a loss about the food! LOL!

Becky!!! Wife O Riley. You have a great name...but do you have a great purse?

Two 15 year olds and a paintbrush~Bathroom Renevation!

Last weekend Tatum got inspired (or irritated enough by two younger brothers constantly interrupting her long spa like baths, needing their {{gasp}} toothbrushes!) to clean up and decorate the basement bathroom.
Desperate times call for desperate measures!

This bathroom is where the cat boxes are kept, and honestly I have done nothing with it since we moved here 4 years ago. So I of course was all for it! Anything for the good of the house, and keeping the peace.

She took her babysitting money, (and alot of my credit card) and chose a shower curtain, hooks, a mirror, and paint. Then this weekend, her and her friend were set loose to paint. 100% was done by them. I did not paint a drop. There was proof of this up and down their legs and faces;)

Here is the BEFORE:
And here is the AFTER:

I have to say I am pretty proud. Not only did it turn out pretty good, but there has been no back peddling due to spiders or coldness, or cat smell. We even bought the flushable kind, so she just scoops and flushes each morning. This has been a win win win situation!

16 Years and Counting.....

When I was 17 I fell in love. Looking back now, how scary that had to of been for my mom and dad to watch, but in my teenage indivisibility, I had no doubts or second guesses. I just knew what I knew, and I knew I wanted to be with Mike.

We had the odds stacked against us from the get go, but we were oblivious. We were rearing to get our life started together and ready to get the show on the road.

He was 28. I was in high school. He had moved around and been lost on many levels. I was too I guess, waiting for God's plan to take place.

Our marriage was 3 months after our 1st date. It wasn't at all a pretty or planned event. My mom had found out I was pregnant, and within 24 hours I was in a Justice of the Peace. We used the dress I had worn to my grandparents 50th anniversary party, and my brother stood in as a witness. My father wouldn't speak to me that day.

As much as I told myself it didn't matter, (we were already engaged!) and bottom line We loved each other, the way that day unfolded bothered me. I wanted it to be a happy day. It should have been celebrated!

(don't you love that my wedding pictures involve a picture of a man with bullet holes in the background!)

So for our 10 year anniversary we decided to do something special. I wanted to have another chance at a wedding. Sadly my dad had passed away, and I could not longer have him walk me down the isle ( although we had made our peace, and he grew to love Mike dearly), so anything involving a church turned me off. We decided to do a cruise and renew our vows on the beaches of Key West (where Mike had lived before we got married, and also where we had our honeymoon). We asked my mom about taking the kids, and it wasn't workable. We had no one else so we booked it for five! I found a company that would meet us when our ship stopped for the day stop and they would handle everything! The pictures, the champagne, they would officiate the ceremony, they even had flowers. Perfect! My cousin and her partner lived in Miami, and I asked them to come meet us one the beach for the day to celebrate. They said they would! I asked my mom to come. She said no. She said she was newly married and could not do it. I could not believe she wouldn't try to work something out for her only daughter. I was hurt, but continued with my plans.

Oh gosh! That trip!!! It was in February 2003 so it was shortly after 911. President Bush had issued a code orange. Getting on and off the boats were such a chore, but we managed. We had 3 little kids on a 7 day cruise, but we managed. I got sea sick, but we managed. The childcare our travel agent promised us wouldn't take the not quite 2 Matthew, BUT WE MANAGED! By the day of the wedding I was sick and frazzled. That was when the captain made his big announcement. When we would port at Key West...NO ONE would be allowed off the ship until ALL passports were checked, and security was satisfied. Code Orange was in FULL effect.

But we had photographers and preachers and cousin meeting us on the shore line?!?! I was about in tears. I went in my long white gown down to talk to the captain himself and plead my story with a baby on my hip!

Long story short, they did make special exception for us and let us wait in the bottom of the ship so when it was all clear we would be the first to leave. We were only a little behind on time and as we raced off the boat we ran to catch the trolley to Fort Zachery State Park with 3 little ones in tow. The driver asked us our story as we were quite noticeable with our attire, and he stepped on it once the seats were full. As he zipped into the part of the park we needed to be, I in my gym shoes and long white dress ran holding children's hands, heard the driving say over the speaker to all the people on the tram "they are running to their wedding folks!" People cheered for us as we ran towards the beach. It was wonderful.

My eyes scanned the beach for my cousins or for the wedding company, and there stood my mom!

She had secretly flew in to surprise me!

Needless to say the day was BEAUTIFUL!

and PERFECT!

and WONDERFUL!

As we renewed our vows the children ran around us playing. We had the music of Leo Keottke playing "Rings", and Enya playing "Only Time".

Afterwards we changed and we spend the day having lunch and walking the streets of Key West. I can honestly say it was the happiest day of my life.

Mike has always, always always been a stand up guy. He loves me to no end. He is faithful and my best friend. He babys me and watches out for me and tucks me in at night. I love this man so much more today than I did that day. Thank you Mike for this wonderful life we get to share together! Happy Anniversary~

Our Pretty Dos for Grandma Sunday

Today is the day that Grandma gets to come check out my blog at my mom's house, so I had to put up some new pictures of Summer. And what a better time than after we got our hair done!

She let me get her up in piggy tails for the afternoon, and I had decided to go back to having bangs!

Today should be interesting. After church, I've got two 15 year old girls painting downstairs! Tatum has decided to claim the basement bathroom, and is in the process of redecorating it. Cross your fingers....this could go lots of different directions~

Valentines Day~Show your Love!!

Fruit and Nuts

This year at the beginning of the school year when we had our meeting with the teachers, I showed up at my designated time, and realized with disappointment that I was one of the last parents to "meet and greet". The problem with this is that I was one of the last to get to fill in my obligatory slot for the yearly parties, and as I scanned the list and saw that Halloween was FULL, and Christmas was FULL, and my definite last choice of a holiday...Valentines Day had only but one opening. It was for "fruit platter". Now give me Christmas cupcakes and I can topple marsh mellow snowmen and delight the children, or give me Halloween craft and I will whiz up something fantastic. Even the slot of napkins, and you won't be disappointed in my theme related cute pick. But a fruit platter for a room full of 7 year old at a Valentines Day party, left me feeling at a loss of what to do. Would they even want fruit when there was going to be pizza and cookies and candy. I decided I needed to get creative.



I went through my cookie cutters and found one in the shape of a heart. I then took some melon slices and made them into hearts. Surround on cute Valentine Platter with strawberries and grapes and whaa-laa!




At least it looks pretty? Hopefully some of the kids will eat some fruit. (I am sure mine will not be one of them!)


Oh...and for the nuts part (in the title). A quick funny about Summer. She has been having issues with putting things in her ears and nose and getting them stuck. Well today, she shoved a piece of a cashew way up into her nose. She came to me crying and saying "owwie", and pointing to her nose. Luckily, she follows directions well, because I showed her how to inhale real big and then to blow out through her nose. Then I said "Now You Do it!" Out flew the cashew!


Dodged that bullet.


Hopefully she will outgrow this faze before it becomes something more serious!