I was trying to get dinner ready this evening and I knew I remembered seeing Joshua in the office.  He was sitting on the floor messing with the “kids books”.  The kids have about three shelves in the office for their books.  They usually stay rather well organized and on the shelves, except for the bottom shelf that is easily reached by the little boys (Owen and my friend’s son Jonathan)….those shelves usually look chaotic and sometimes don’t have a single book on them because they are all over the floor of the office…and every other room in the house!

As I pulled the chicken off the stove, Joshua ran in and said, “Mom! You’ve GOT to come and see what I organized!”  My heart leapt  for joy at the thought of one of my children having a desire to get things organized…but with three boys, I wasn’t getting my hopes up!! LOL!  This is what I saw:

Not only did he organize them according to their height, but he also pulled all of the books to the front of the shelf which is something I always do. It looks neater and keeps the shelves from getting dusty! Definitely MY kid! :)

~audrey

A few nights ago my husband had to work late with my father-in-law, so I decided to try and make it a special night for the boys. We went to the store and used the “Red Box” to rent a movie. I didn’t let the boys see what I rented so it would be a surprise when we got home. We also got popcorn and M&Ms for a special movie treat.

MOVIE NIGHT!

I just had to add this one because you can see the light of the glow sticks.

Jesse, Owen and Joshua already in "the zone", watching the movie. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we got home, we closed all of the blinds and made a tent out of dining room chairs and bed sheets. And for the ‘icing on the cake’, I brought out a bag of small glow sticks. We brought all of our pillows and blankets into the tent and settled in for our movie. “Hotel For Dogs” was the feature presentation. :) It was a cute movie and we hadn’t seen it yet, so the boys actually WATCHED the entire thing. Once the movie was over, they helped me clean up…even vacuumed the popcorn off the living room floor. All in all it was a great little date-night-in! I love having boys. Mine certainly have a special way of making me feel like a princess.

I have to add that today is my birthday and my in-laws kept the boys last night. My mother-in-law said, as Joshua came in the kitchen this morning, the first thing he said was, “Well, today is the big day for the birthday girl!” My sweet little man.

 

~audrey

I don’t know how many of you are on facebook, but I am, and it can be quite addicting and time consuming if you’re not careful. I should start this by saying, I LOVE FACEBOOK. I check my facebook almost every day and I have a few friends that I would probably lose contact with if it weren’t for facebook…that is my disclaimer. LOL!
I have noticed lately that facebook has become a place for a little subtle competition between the housewives. Many of my ‘friends’ are housewives and/or stay-at-home moms (like myself). So, I find it hilarious to see just how many ‘status updates’ are about who worked out this morning, who made a gourmet meal for dinner, who lost weight on their diet this week, who has a “date night” with the hubby tonight, and who takes the best pictures (it seems like at least 50% of my friends have become professional photographers in the last year or so…don’t get me wrong, most of them are REALLY good and extremely talented…it’s just funny how many of them have gone “PRO”). Another thing I’ve noticed is just how many “mommies” are posting pictures of themselves in their bikinis for all the internet world to see. Yes, I’m slightly jealous/envious of their post-partum bods, but I’d like to think that even if I did wear a size 2 after having a baby, and I did choose to wear a bikini, I have a little too much modesty to post them on the internet.
Most of the comments under all of these pictures are of pure jealousy and how much they are “hated” for being so gorgeous and skinny…then the ‘owner’ of the picture comments back, “oh girl, you made my day. all I’ve eaten today is an apple and a diet coke, I feel so fat…” blah, blah, blah.
I do think that it is our job as women/wives/mommies to encourage each other, support each other, hold each other accountable, build each other up…but it doesn’t all have to be made public. We don’t have to SEE the fake boobs your hubby purchased for you a few years back to know that you are a beautiful and successful woman…and throwing your kids into the pic doesn’t make it any less obvious.
Let me also say that I am completely guilty of some of these things (not the skimpy pictures…because I have none! LOL!). I’ve posted plenty of status updates about my children’s accomplishments, where my hubby took me for dinner, a long-awaited girls’ night out, etc. It’s just the phoney stuff that cracks me up…like the perfectly POSED pictures that are claimed to be one of those ones the “hubby took while I wasn’t looking”….um, right.
There is nothing WRONG with anything that I’ve mentioned in this post. I just HAD to state the obvious…all in good fun. :) Keep the entertainment coming!
Have an awesome weekend!!

~audrey

We’ve had our garden in the backyard for two weeks now and everything is growing beautifully.  We should have lots and lots of veggies by the beginning of July.  We even had to add another 4′ X 4′ section to allow more space for our pumpkins, cantelopes, and watermelons.  However, little by little I’ve noticed something has been nibbling on my squash leaves.  I decided to ask for help from my facebook friends and fellow gardeners.  We’d like to keep this garden as organic as possible.  The response was great.  A few people told me about planting marigolds around and in your garden to keep away harmful pests.  Another tip was purchasing ladybugs from a local nursery to release in the garden and the ladybugs basically kill the harmful pests.  The thing to remember is, some insects are good for your garden.  Some insects will leave your plants alone and feed on the harmful insects.  The final tip was to mix up a ‘recipe’ that you spray on all of your fruits and veggies:

1quart hot water

1 garlic bulb

1 small onion

1 tbspn cayene

1 tbspn liquid handsoap

Mix the first 4 ingredients in a blender and let it steep for an hour, then add soap. Pour into a spray bottle and spray on all of your fruits and veggies.

 

I planted the marigolds today.  I may try the spray a little later in the week if I notice continued nibbling.

 

Have a great weekend.  We’re going to have rain here this afternoon, so we’ve been working our tails off in the backyard since about 8am.  I’m sure our neighbors love us!! My hubby is building an addition on the back of our house and the saws and air compressor are pretty loud for a Saturday morning!  :)

 

Â
~audrey