Taking a Break

I will be taking a break from my blog. It won't be too long, but I just feel I need a break. Sometimes, I feel like I would rather be on the computer than doing anything else. I need to break away from that. So, I will be back soon with some new pictures later.....

Mulch

I feel like I have bought so much mulch lately. We mulched some more around our garage and I bought some more flowers. I love my new hydrangea, I just hope I can keep it alive. I got a rhododendron also! I can't wait to see how big it gets. I want to landscape around our mailbox, but I am not sure how I want it to look yet. If you have any ideas, please send them to me!
The kids are doing great. I have been spending less time on the computer and more time on myself and my relationship with God and my family. Sometimes, I feel I have too many things going on in my life that I don't fit time in for Him. Everyday, I am trying to spend more time with Him.
My Aunt had her baby girl yesterday. Well, actually, I think it was around 2am this morning. I can't wait to see her! My aunt didn't think she would ever have a baby, but God blessed her this passed year. We are very happy for her.
This is what the kids have been doing the last few days:

I just love that they are spending time together. It is a relationship that I hope stays strong for the rest of their lives. They will always have each other, and that is very important to me.
Have a great week everyone!

I haven't been keeping up...

I am so sorry I haven't been blogging as much. I am trying to stay away from the computer a little more.

We had a great week and weekend. We decided that Jaden didn't need to play softball anymore, so he decided he was done. I signed him up for soccer again. It will begin in August. He is very excited! After all, he is a "Soccer Star"! I am also looking into gymnastics for both of the kids. I took the kids to the mall and let them pick out a few things. Jaden and I got our haircut, mine is now too short! Oh well, it will grow.

Today, we tried out another church in Indianapolis. It was nice, but we still do not think it is the right one. We will continue looking. We got so many things done today. I put mulch down out front and Jeff put up new blinds in the dining room. I planted a few plants yesterday and pulled some weeds. It is really starting to look nice. And for the big news of the day.................

We ate in our dining room for the first time tonight! I made lasagna and decided we need to start eating in there. It was so nice. Jeff and I kept telling each other how nice it was. We will be doing that more often. While we ate, a storm rolled in with hail. Jaden loved going outside and looking at it!

Here are a few pictures and a very cute video!

At the mall:

I was so excited to put this C on our door:

I was going to take the wreath off, until I noticed this:

Getting ready to eat in our dining room!:

Here is some of the mulching I got done (still more to do):

BTW, thanks Mom for the hostas! I love them!

Here is a sweet picture of the kids before church:

And a cute little video of Cassidy:

Zucchini Bread

I made this recipe for zucchini bread tonight! It was awesome! Jaden loved it. I found a way to get Jaden to eat his vegetables!

Zucchini Bread

INGREDIENTS
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups white sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS
Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

It is so quiet here!

Well, sort of. We have a new washer and dryer and it is so quiet! I never knew how loud our washer was until I heard this one! I love it. By the way, the kids love it too!


Today, Jeff is off and we finally have nothing to do! Well, at least not out of the house! Jeff is mowing the yard and I plan on getting some things caught up in the house. Hopefully, we will get some time to spend outside during this nice weather! We are finally getting Spring weather! It won't last long.....

Unbelievable

but so true.....

Father's Day *Updated*

We had a good weekend. Jaden picked up a few things for Jeff for Father's Day and we gave them to him yesterday. We also bought his favorite cereal. Then, we headed to Terre Haute to spend some time with my parents and go to church. We left a family member at church and didn't realize it until we got 15 minutes from home. UGH
Yes, you guessed it, Baby. We left Cassidy's baby there. She doesn't seem to worried about though. I really can't believe it. Jeff will be headed there at 10 to pick it up. He has some other things to do in Terre Haute, so he figured he would just go pick it up.
It seems like we have been very forgetful lately, and we seem to always be in a hurry. I really want to try to stop that. There is nothing worse than always being rushed. So, today I will be getting a little more organized and doing things a little slower.
We got a new washer and dryer yesterday and we plan on giving our old ones to a flood victim. If anyone knows of anyone who could use these, please email. Otherwise, we are going to go through the Red Cross.
Have a great week everyone. I hope to get some more pictures up soon.
*We have donated our washer and dryer to the Salvation Army. I hope many of you will think of doing this. There are so many people in need right now.

No softball yesterday

We let Jaden decide if he wantd to go to softball yesterday. I really didn't want to make him do it if he didn't want to. The reason he is there is to have fun, but he isn't. So, he told me he didn't want to go. We might try next week, but as for yesterday, he didn't want to. So, we planned some fun. First, I ordered some foods he would like. The kids had mini corndogs, fries, and mac n cheese bites. We also had cheese pizza and pepperoni pizza. (not very good for the diet) Afterward, I had made a big sugar cookie and the kids got to decorate it!

They had a lot of fun doing that.
Last night, I found a playhouse for the kids on Craigslist! So, Jeff set it up and they got to play in it after the cookie!



Cassidy really loves it! She didn't want to come out. It is very cute and I am sure Cassidy will use it a lot!
It is 8am, and both kids are awake. So begins my day.....
Have a good weekend.

Issues

We have been dealing with some behavioral issues with Jaden again. It seems to come off and on. I am sure everyone goes through it. It is such a pain to deal with. He hasn't been behaving for over a week now. He is starting to talk back and thinks everything should be handed to him. Jeff was off today and got to experience what I have been dealing with the last few days. He is not happy about it either. So, we have to start cracking down. We let things go for awhile, maybe this is the reasoning behind it. He needs to have structure. So, we will be back to a strict bedtime ritual and scheduled daytime activities. Tuesday, he left his softball game early. Right in the middle of the game! He was throwing dirt on another kid and Jeff went over to tell him to stop. Jaden decided to run off from him instead of listening to him. So, we left. He has now told us he doesn't like softball and doesn't like to go there. I don't know if he is saying this because of what happened, or that he truly doesn't like it. I really can't blame him if he doesn't like it. There is so much standing around. Jaden is an active kid. Basketball and Soccer suit him much better.
Today, we had a little time in Carmel, but didn't really get to enjoy it. Jaden begged for an icee the entire time and misbehaved. UGH!
I hope everyone is having a great week. Hopefully, we will make it to the weekend without tantrums. I am praying!

Flooding and New Orleans

Wow, what a horrible weekend for most people in the midwest!

Terre Haute had severe flooding this weekend, and so many people are in need of help. Our church is currently taking phone calls for anyone who would like to help. Their number is 812-234-7100. If you are not sure what you can do, but you have the time to do it, please call the number! I know that people are desperately needing it.

Also, some members of our church headed to New Orleans to help with the rebuilding there. Please take a moment to pray for them and the people they will be helping.

We are all doing well and we hope that all of this severe weather is over. Unfortunately, it looks like there are more storms headed our way this morning. Please pray for all of the flooding victims.

The kids and I went to a friend's house on Saturday for a cookout. Well, it was a pretty nasty day, and we stayed inside most of the time. The kids had a great time. It is great getting know people in our new town. They live just down the road from us, so that was nice! Jaden loves that he is making new friends. Afterward, we went to Hobby Lobby and I picked up a few new things.

I also got some more scrapbook paper. I just love Hobby Lobby. Their sales are great! I already ordered some cute thumbtacks for the board from Etsy. I am thinking of getting one of these to hang from one of the hooks.

Yesterday, it took us over 4 hours to get to Terre Haute because of the flooding on 70. So, we didn't have much visiting time before church. We don't have much planned for this week. Tuesday and Thursday are softball, and Wednesday we head to Carmel for Jeff's dr appt and a little fun. Have a great week everyone and keep all of the flood victims in your prayers.

LeeAnn

Trying new cupcakes **Edited with picture**

I am trying out some new cupcakes today, lemon lime with whipped cream frosting. Sounds yummy! I am excited. We have a cookout to go to, but it looks like it will be inside. :( I hate this weather. The kids will have a great time though. Last night, the storms were so bad, our trampoline got pushed toward the tree. Luckily, the tree was there. Otherwise, it would have went into the road.
Jeff was excited last night. Cassidy counted to 10 all by herself. Seriously, I think she is a genius! Right now, she is doing puzzles. She loves to look at books, do puzzles, and make a mess! LOL She can also sing ABC, Twinkle Twinkle, and Baa Baa Black Sheep. What a smart girl.
Well, I am off to finish the cupcakes. I will post a picture when I am finished!

Oh yes.....

I did find this today at Target:

Isn't this just perfect for Cassidy on the 4th of July! I couldn't believe it! We celebrate every holiday with cupcakes!

Doctor, Dentist, and Bowling

Yesterday morning, I was dreading the day. We had so many things to do. We headed to Terre Haute for dentist appointments, a doctor appointment, and bowling with my parents. Seriously, I wish God would make it clear why he moved us here! Anyway, we made it through the day. The kids have perfect teeth (yay), Cassidy is healthy but still short, and bowling was.........well...........fun. LOL! All of our scores were very low. It has been a long time! Jaden was so excited to go. Afterward, we went to Steak N Shake. I am feeling the after effects of that today. I am feeling bloated, like I could go all day without eating. I only have a month left to lose some weight before July 4th. Nothing should stop me now! Really!


It is already 75 degrees today. They are expecting low 90's. So, we probably won't be outside much today. Jaden does have softball this afternoon. We have a cookout to go to on Saturday, but it is going to be HOT! Hopefully, we can stay cool.
Have a great Thursday!

Organizing

Yesterday, I spent the morning organizing our kitchen pantry. It is small, but I am trying to get more organized and throw out things I never use. So, here it is so far. I still want to get a few baskets in there. Not exciting, but atleast it is organized!




Afterward, I organized all of the rest of my cabinets. I still need to work on the refrigerator. I was hoping I would have a new one by now, but that will have to wait. I am sure we will eventually get one.
Today, I cleaned the kitchen and vacuumed. I am waiting to hear if we will have softball tonight. There have been some thunderstorms going through, so I am not sure about tonight. They should call by 4 to let us know.
Tomorrow, we have another big day. We will be heading to Terre Haute for doctor and dentist appts for BOTH kids! That should be interesting. We are going to end the day with some bowling with my mom and dad. That should be a good time. I just pray to get through the day tomorrow with no meltdowns. I really don't think Cassidy is going to handle going to the dentist very well. We shall see.....
Last night, we had our Whole Foods organic ground beef. I have to say, I loved it! It tasted great and I loved the texture. I will be buying more meat from there next week.

The Weekend

First of all, here is a picture from Jaden's first softball game on Thursday.

He still needs a lot of practice. It is not that he can't hit the ball or catch it, he just doesn't get the rules of the game yet. I am sure it will come with time. The coaches just haven't done a very good job of teaching the game. Jeff is going to be working with him on that.
I made lemon cupcakes on Saturday for our church picnic on Sunday.

We went to Whole Foods and stocked up on some organic foods. I have to say, the prices are not as bad as I thought they would be. The fruit and vegetables are very high, but we plan on using the Farm Fresh Delivery, so I shouldn't have to buy it at the store. I got some ground beef, ketchup, bread, butter, bananas, milk, marinara, canned veggies, and some snacks. It is a good start.
On Sunday, we had a busy day. We drove to Terre Haute for the Wee Village (church) picnic, visit grandma and papa, and go to church. The picnic was wonderful. Jaden saw some of his friends there. There was some great food and games. I am so glad we went.









Here is Jaden's favorite thing to do at Grandma and Papa's. They have so much fun there!

Overall, we had a good weekend. Today, I really need to clean the house and get caught up on laundry. I just don't feel motivated, so I don't know how much will actually get done. Have a great week everyone!