My Day

Wow, it's been a long day for me.....some days the day just seems to drag on and on. First I went to the store, made two pans of chicken enchiladas, made cookies, dusted everything, cleaned the bathroom and I just finished mopping the floor. Oh, and I kept up with "the two girls", played in the sand (one of the nice advantages of living near a golf course...you get a nice big sand area next to every green!), threw bread to the chickens (do chickens get constipated? Cause the girls and I threw a bunch of french bread to them!), gave baths and then put them (the girls, not the chickens) to bed. Those are just the main things too....there was also countless diaper changing episodes and spankings; Bethany seems to be going through the trying 2's a little early. I didn't even have the help of Jacob this evening since he was on a day fishing trip, but they do have a cooler full of fish that he says weighs 50-60 pounds! Lots of fish to freeze and eat....yummy! :)
So, yes it's been a long day, but I still need to paint my toenails....some things are just that important, you know. Sometimes with kids you get so busy keeping up with them that you don't get to do anything for yourself and maybe painting your toenails isn't that much, but it's something and sometimes you just need that little something. :) Actually, what made me feel really good today was registering for the 38th annual Hospital Hill Run! Yep, I'm going to do it again, hills and all, and I'm going to work on being faster and more prepared for those hills because they're killers if you're not trained enough! I'm pretty stoked, if you can't tell and I'm all ready to start training! I feel like this will be a better race for me because I have a year of running down; so, instead of starting from nothing to running the race in 3-1/2 months, I'll be able to focus on speed and stuff and not just trying to get the miles out of the way. I never knew I would be this excited about running 13.1 miles, but it's rather addicting and I can think of far worse things to be addicted to than running!

Around Here....

I know, I know.....I had been doing pretty good with posting frequently and then I failed to keep it up. I did just get a bunch of cookbooks from the library today (which I'm extremely excited about!), so I won't guarantee I'll be able to post every day, but I will try! :) I also got The Strong-Willed Child by Dr. James Dobson, so I have some reading to do....figuring out how to raise your kids is definitely a full time job as I'm continually finding out!

Still no word from the jobs Jacob applied to, but the closing date isn't until December, so it could be awhile before we hear anything. I'm still trying to keep from getting my hopes up too much, but that's definitely easier said then done considering how much I want him to get the job. Patience....I keep having to work on that! Its one of those qualities that you constantly have to be working on because for some things you might feel like you're actually getting better, but as soon as you think that God brings in another situation that causes you to have to start all over. :)

We had a terrific time last Saturday with our friends from church...it really is wonderful having friends to spend time with and our calendar is filling up fast! It's been really nice to be able to get the games out and play. :) I actually did a lot better, at Mad Gab, when we played it last Saturday than I did the first time I played it....which was good! The guys did beat us (we played guys against girls) at one game, but I think us girls had a slight disadvantage considering we were also having to watch our kids....and we got a really hard one that not even the guys could get and they seemed to be constantly getting really easy ones! :D Ok, more then likely it was completely fair, but you never know and there will definitely be another round to give us girls another chance!

We also went down to Rolla this past weekend and that was (like always) so much fun to see and visit with everyone....we even got to have a bonfire and do marshmallows! I also got to practice shooting my gun (which I haven't shot a gun in what seems like forever) in anticipation of deer season. All my shots were kill shots, so that was nice...I could still use some practice to perfect my shooting and get it where I want it every time, but I was at least happy to not have missed the target completely! :) Jacob did have to show off his expert shooting skills by announcing he was going to hit the eye of the deer (we had one of those 'front ends of a deer' posters) and then taking one shot and shooting it right in the eye and then saying he was done! Show off! :) I love him anyways though and I'll just have to shoot a 14-pointer during deer season! :D

Alright, I better get back to changing diapers....oh, and I'm going to be giving French Bread a try now that I'm back in Missouri and I don't have to worry about the high altitude of Colorado to mess up my bread from rising. :)

Exciting Prospects

Some amazing job opportunities have opened up for Jacob just this week and we could definitely use your prayers as he pursues them. We are very excited about the possibility of them working out, but also trying not to get overly excited in case nothing comes of it. It is an answer to prayer just that we've become aware of these openings and they appear to be perfect positions for Jacob considering what he did in the military and the plus of having a top secret clearance, so we are really hoping and praying that it works out! Of course, that also meant that we were rushing to try to get a resume together since he's never had or needed a resume before. So Jacob started writing down all the information and I worked on putting it all together in a resume format yesterday....and as of today, other then needing a few things added and some tweaking it's ready to go and we can move on to the next part of the process. It could take some time for anything to happen, but we have a friend on the inside who is really working to move things along faster for Jacob, which has been really helpful.

Also, this coming Saturday we're having a little get-together with some of the couples from our church and we're pretty excited about it! It'll be a good way to get to know some of them better and also just to have fun playing games with couples our own age. :) I'm also making some cake truffles, so it won't take long before everyone is on a sugar high! It also means I have some serious cleaning ahead of me...not that I don't clean regularly, trust me, with kids I feel like I'm constantly cleaning....but when we're having company I like to take a little more time and do things I might not do every single day. Like going through the toy boxes and making sure they're all put where they're suppose to be and that there are no crackers mixed in! :) Today I'm working on scrubbing up any chocolate milk stains on the floor; I try to clean them up as they appear....and believe me, they appear quite often, multiple times a day if that explains things any better....but sometimes I don't notice them or in other cases they need more serious work. So, yes I have a busy day ahead of me, but I've still been able to post....so hurray for me! Speaking of stuff to do....I better get with it!

Fall Is Here!

It feels very much like fall (and a little like winter) the past couple of weeks. The cool weather is nice for being outside and last week I took the girls to the park near here and they had a blast! Well, that is until Bethany heard another mom tell her kids it was time to go and eat lunch; she started following the kids saying "eat, eat!" So, we had to head home because she didn't want to play anymore....just food....she kind of has a one track mind when she hears anything about eating food! She's definitely my eater and would literally eat all day if I let her. I'm constantly finding her getting everything out of the snack cabinet, and making a big mess, trying to find something to eat....usually right after I've fed her lunch! One of her favorite things to do is, after she finishes eating her own food, she wants to get down and go to Abigail's plate and finish her food....probably cause she knows there will always be food on Abigail's plate. :) Two totally different little girls and boy do they make me run to keep up with them in all their antics, but they can also be very cute and entertaining!Bethany is getting really well at communicating....and she loves her daddy!They love being outside....Abigail definitely looks excited....not so sure about Bethany. :) We're loving the fall weather, although it has been cold the last couple of days which is giving me an idea of what this winter will be like with 2 wild girls being stuck inside!

I hope everyone is enjoying the fall...it'll be over before we know it.

Fishing & Sunsets

Friday night Jacob and I went fishing when he got home from work. We live right next to 3 little lakes which have some nice bass, crappie, blue gill and catfish....probably some more, but that's all that I can think of right now. Jacob and I have gone out a couple times now, where we'll leave the girls with his parents and we'll stay out till dark (and the girls bedtime) fishing! It's like a date on the lake at sunset! It's been a lot of fun, even when we got rained on a little last time. :) Ok, partly its been because I've been doing pretty well at catching fish! It's my blog so I have the right to brag just a little....ok, it'll probably end up being a lot! :) So, the last time I caught a crappie not long after we started fishing and ended up with 5 fish total; the other 4 being bass....which was the most fish I've ever caught at one time....actually probably the most fish I've ever caught period! I haven't really fished much since having the girls though. Jacob caught 5 bass too, so we were even and, of course, I was pretty happy about having caught the same amount as him seeing how he's been fishing since he was like 3!Then Friday, right off the bat, I caught a bass! It was too little to keep, but it was still a bite (you'll see why that's so important later! ;) ). I had another bite and then I caught 2 more bass that were keepers...only about 11 inches each. Then after a little while longer I caught a 13 1/2 almost 14 inch bass! He was a good looking fish...probably one of my biggest so far! So, yes needless to say I was pretty thrilled! :) I didn't get any more after that, so it was kind of a slow evening of fishing, especially for Jacob who only got one bite the whole evening! I told him it was because the fish like my bright pink fishing pole (Jacob got it for me while he was deployed and it's really really nice) and he's going to want to start using my pole because of all the fish I'm catching! :) I also told him it helps to sweet talk the fish into biting! He laughed about that, but when we were about to be done he gave it a try! To explain the "sweet talking"....when I start fishing I just randomly start talking to the fish and tell them that they want me to catch them and that they love me so they should let me catch them.....and so on and so forth! Sounds crazy I know, but hey, I catch fish so maybe they do like to be talked to sweetly! ;) Btw, so far there hasn't been anyone fishing when we've been out there, so if you were wondering what other people think and if I'm a disturbance, don't worry, as of yet no one but Jacob has had to deal with listening to me talk to the fish! :)The bottom lake where Jacob and I usually go fishing....the water is usually a little calmer too.
Abigail and Bethany watching Daddy and Papa fishing! Abigail kept asking if they were swimming, so I tried to explain that they were sitting in a boat! :)
Jacob and his dad out fishing on the middle lake.
It was a beautiful sunset! Next time I go fishing I'll try to remember to take the camera so I can get pictures of Jacob and I fishing together....of course, they probably won't be as nice as this one since I'll be in the boat....and catching lots of fish I'm sure! :)

Baking

I figured it was about time I did a post on some of my baking exploits....nothing extraordinary, and I definitely need to take more pictures of what I make because I don't have a lot of pictures and it's simply because I don't think of it till after it's all gone! Then I'm like, why didn't I take a picture of that! Oh well, I can't do everything right and it takes time to remember to take pictures of everything you bake......ok, well for me it does for any of you out there that 'always' remember to take a picture.....I'm jealous, but I will get better! :)Southwest Chocolate Stack-Ups - These were very yummy and very easy to put together if you made everything up before hand. They also look pretty impressive for something so easy to make!
My first attempt at making Coconut Meringue Pie. It needed more meringue........
But it tasted amazing!
Second attempt turned out a lot better and it was still delicious!
Cherry Pie - It turned out pretty good. I was wanting to make a cherry pie that didn't just consist of "cherry pie filling out of a can". So, this was a nice change and it wasn't too sweet like a lot of cherry pies.
Oreo Truffles - So chocolaty and good!
Cake Truffles - These were absolutely amazing and I'm not kidding! Everyone who had one loved them and they are actually really pretty easy to make, so if you're wanting to make something that looks and takes amazing then you should definitely try these out!
Cookie Dough Truffles - These were good and they would probably be better if you didn't serve them with the Cake ones! :)
Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting - These are a very yummy treat and the cream cheese frosting makes them amazing. My husband and his dad like the frosting so much they like me to double it! :)
Homemade Cinnamon Bread (Pioneer Woman's recipe) - I've made this twice now and I love it! I did switch to using whole wheat flour to make it a little healthier and it is so good toasted and buttered!
Bethany's 1st Birthday Cupcakes - Nothing that extraordinary, but adding the mini m&m's was a plus and the girls loved them!
Abigail's 2nd Birthday Bear Cake - This was so fun to make and he turned out sooo cute! Hillary was amazing and helped me decorate him since she is extremely good at that and we had a lot of fun doing it. Kayla was also very helpful in holding him (before we iced him) while I did a little heart surgery due to some problems while baking him! :) It was definitely a fun time! :D

Hopefully you enjoyed looking at all my baking attempts....I will try to keep it up as I try new things out!

The Girls & Me!

So......I'm trying to accomplish some things today......one of them being to post on my blog so if you're reading this then good! It is rather tempting to read while the girls are asleep, but I figured sometimes I can read even when they're awake, but actually posting on my blog while they're awake?! Nope, not happening! They end up crawling all over me trying to reach the laptop and then doing something to it that I can't fix, so it's something I have to do when they are peacefully sleeping and I'm praying they sleep "just a little longer!" Seriously, I don't think anyone really understands the importance of nap-time for kids unless you are a mom and have kids of your own. I mean, it is really necessary for the survival and well-being of a mom....you have got to have that time while they are napping and if it isn't long enough it can drastically change the happiness of your day!

Two days later......I guess they sensed that I was hoping they would sleep longer, and seeing how it is quite impossible for them to be nice to me and sleep longer, I am once again trying to finish this post....while they're awake! I know, I must be crazy! :) It is actually getting close to their nap-time so I will have to pause in writing, but I shall, with as much certainty as I can, finish this today!

Nothing really new is going on around here, other then the fact that the girls are getting bigger and getting into more trouble....if that's possible....and in Bethany's case she just keeps finding more and more ways to get in trouble. Abigail has her phases, but has also discovered the joys of watching movies (Shrek and The Little Mermaid) so she can be entertained easily if I'm needing to get something done. For me, I've started P90X again and this is my second week of doing it. I guess I felt the urge to try and burn a little more fat....hopefully it's working. :) I've been reading that getting enough sleep is really helpful in losing weight. Unfortunately, On most night I can't even get 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep so hopefully that isn't altogether true. Bethany has been getting better, but then she goes through phases that set her back again so we keep having to work through them again....it will be so nice when I can move her into Abigail's room!You see it, right?! All that orneriness?!
It's so cute when they give each other kisses! :)We were saying 'cheese'.....so, of course, we're going to have cheesy smiles!
Bethany looks so sweet here....it must have been perfect timing on the picture, because I don't remember her being very still while I was trying to take pictures!Even through the girls aren't looking at the camera, I still think they look pretty sweet....and I love black and white pictures!