In the middle of

friggin nowhere. okay, maybe cotton country? There are fields and fields of the ripe white fluffy stuff all around us..

and here we are.

right now..trying to wait until the kids are nice and sleepy to turn the lights out and go nigh nigh in our rented bed..

We're visiting my grandparents in a little town in TX.

and there are more crunchy leaves to play in
some goats to torture...aahaa...they were so afraid of us.
and farm stuffs to push around.

and look at...boy does my boy love wheels...he loved this wagon. and its wheels.

And I had fun with the women folk. There were four generations of us "crowin'" at the same time...it was pretty neat.

Five- Road Worthy Snacks

Well, we're packing up the kids and heading out on the open roads bright and early tomorrow...okay well technically not bright because we are leaving before the sun wakes up. However, I wanted to list some of our favorite road snacks. These are by no means all of them...and I already realize that I have left out some...but here are five that are usually our traveling companions as we drive off on our adventures.

1. These are what the hubby likes to travel with...me not so much.

2. Now these are one of my favorite driving snacks.
3. I had to list these...When I was a kid, we used to travel around 4 1/2 hrs to my grandparent's house. My parents would always buy us a candy for the road and I would always pick the giant sweet tarts...Now when I was little, they weren't chewy...They were literally giant chalk like discs that would take us forever to eat, and would give us major blisters on our tongues!
4. We recently discovered that popcorn is an AMAZING road trip snack. Traveling with two little monkeys can get a little rough, nothing says silence like a big ol' bag of PC.
5. I actually don't like snackin' and driving as much as I did when I was a youngster ;) however, trail mix sounds mighty good this time around. I think I shall pick up some raw nutty goodness before we depart.
Happy Friday my lovelies!! See you soon!!

Piled up

We seriously just had a blast outside playing in the leaves. I am actually still sweating from raking and re-raking our tiny patch of lawn for the kids to play in. I've been really working on keeping the teacher in me at bay, so she wanted to say, "Okay, jump in the leaves once, then start putting them in the trash can." HOoooooowwwwwweeeeeverr...I kept saying to myself over and over, "C'mon now, the point of this was play...so let's play." I could not find little man's rake as many places as I looked, I am wondering if it was stolen. He used one of our big rakes, however, and pushed rocks and leaves all over the grass...again, an exercise at silencing the teacher in me.

We played for probably 30-45 minutes out there.right after lunch.and now it's naptime.nice.

Five-things that keep you busy/eat your time

It is sad to me to think that somedays I am so busy...I forget to just get down and dirty and have fun with my babes. I have been trying to be more fun and play with them more...with fingerpaints and playdoh...digging in the sand and collecting leaves.

Here are some of the things that keep me busy...and I just need to be more aware of it.

1. Crocheting. I love it. It's a challenge, it's relaxing, it's fun, it makes a little bit of extra $$ for us. But it takes my time away...like crazy.

2. Cleaning the house. I wish I had a routine or a "recipe" if you will for how to do this in an efficient...non dreadful way. But I hate it...and I think it hates me too...because I am constantly vacuuming, washing and cleaning, sweeping and mopping...and sometimes it doesn't even look like I have lifted a finger.

3. Going to the post office. I sure do wish the lines weren't so long...and that I owned a scale. So I could get the postman to just come pick up my packages. but i don't.

4. Laundry. Seriously? Like I just finish a massive undertaking of cleaning 4 human beings laundry...and I already have a mountain of dirty clothes...snickering in the corner.

5. Technical junk/tv. I think we need a hiatus from techy stuff. We are almost always online or watching tv to relax. That needs to change. It shouldn't be on my list..but it is.

Do you have a list of things that eat your time?? Are there changes you have made in your life to be less busy? Do you have any helpful housekeeping hints?? I'm all ears.

I'm a Baker

I love to bake cakes, cookies, pies, cobblers, you name it, I've probably over the course of my life baked it.

So how come nobody told me about this?? Kirkland Signature Ground Saigon Cinnamon. I just picked up my first container of it today at costco...for $2.99. It's huge. It's Amazing. I'm hooked.

With the winter baking season fast approaching, I found I would be remiss for not mentioning it to anyone else who hasn't tried it yet. Sweet. Spicy. Strong. I cannot wait to make biscochitos with it this year!!

Five- Things that make you smile

Sorry I didn't get my FIVES done on Friday, but my hubby had a little health scare and we were at the hospital. My blog was the last thing on my mind!!

Today, though, I think about all the things that I have to be thankful for and here are some things that make me smile.

1. My daughter. She is one of the funniest little people I know. Yesterday we were driving somewhere in the car, and she was making a sleeping sound...like snore...shooooooooo...snore.. shooooooo. And her brother said, "No sissy, not that noise." But she kept doing it. Totally straight faced, looking him right in the eyes....and even more exaggerated. "snore...ssssssssshhhhhhhooooooo." I said, "Sissy, you are so funny." and started laughing...she kept up her sleeping sound...staring right at her brother and cracked the tiniest smile on the corners of her mouth.

2. My son. He is so smart and has just the best personality. When the fire rescue men and EMTs came to our house on Friday night, instead of being afraid, he says, "Hi Guys!!" We went to a restaurant yesterday and there was a little baby in a high chair at the table next to us. He says to the baby as we are leaving, "Hi baby. Smile big." (The baby smiles) " Then he says are you having fun?" I just love his sweet little personality.

3. My hubby. He really is such a sweet man and so supportive. There was never any question about me becoming a stay at home mom. He never complains if he comes home to a crazy house...and me sitting next to a pile of yarn. :) He's my best friend and so funny, smart and loving. He is such a good Daddy and knows exactly what to say to the kids when I am frustrated or at a loss. This little episode we had on Friday really made me think about how fragile life is and how every moment we have together is precious.

4. Finding a new pattern that works up really well. I love when I really want to find a pattern for something...like booties, slippers, a bag...and I find one that looks really cool...and I try it...and it works out so nicely for me. I have so many times found a pattern that I wanted to make and it sooooo doesn't work out for me. Hate that. So when it works, it is a very happy moment for me.

5. Hearing happy news. It really makes me so happy when I hear from a friend who has been lonely for such a long time who finally met their best friend and are getting married. Or a friend who says they are only having one babe...and they find out they are preggo with number 2...or somebody who is really hurting for money gets a wonderful promotion. Gosh I love happy news!!

What about you? What makes you smile?