And The Winner Is......

Ok....this was really hard because they were so funny and yet so true! And while I'm all about funny...the English teacher in me loves a good pun! So, I had to go with Lori's:

Gee Wizz...Mom This is Fun!

And while I totally agree with both Amber and Vicki...it's much better than the trash and it probably would some how make it to MS...the word "Wizz" got me!

So, congrats Lori! I'll be hooking you up with your little prize in a couple of weeks when we are in Arkansas!

Name That Photo Contest

***Contest is closed****

When I saw that my mom took this picture of Kaden on our last day at the beach....it just screamed "Name Me!" So, I'm taking a prompt from one of my favorite blogs on my list and asking you to name this photo!



All you have to do it click on the comment section and enter. It can be a single name, a phrase, or even a complete thought! I want to hear from you! And the winner of my little contest will receive an embroidered dish towel made by me!
So give it your best shot! The contest will last from now until 9pm Thursday night! Then I will post the winner on Friday! Good luck!

Don't Mess With Texas

Ok...the pics have arrived. While this won't be all of the trip, it is part of it! Our plane ride was uneventful! We got on the plane, had a snack, changed planes, had another snack.....and then.....



We made it to San Antonio! There were several limo drivers with signs for their passengers....but when we got to our ride.....


It was a custom job specifically for the two rug rats!
Of course a trip to Texas wouldn't be complete without something country involved!


Just 24 short hours after arriving....this is where we found ourselves!






And that was just the first three days or our vacation!
Stay tuned until tomorrow sometime when I continue posting our summer vacation in Texas!

Texas or Bust

Our ten day vacation has officially started! I woke up early yesterday morning. Spent a few minutes with God and started my day! The day included: shower, bathe kids, wash 4 loads of laundry, and pack three people! Oh...and drive to Little Rock, board a plane, and fight with one sleepy three year old while listening to a talkative 6 year old! Surely I could survive this since I'm weaning off my meds, right? I got the laundry done, packed the suitcases, almost broke my ankle walking out the door to get something from the car, and spanked Kaden about 4 times before making it to mom's house! At his defense, he did take a small nap on the secong leg of the flight! Oh...and I'm happy to say that no grouchy passenger on the plane said anything about him this time or gave us any ugly looks.

Today, we plan to swim for a little while, visit mom's work, and go to the grocery store. We are all headed to the coast today until Tuesday! I'm sure mom will bring the computer so I can take pics and post them!

Vacation is on and hopefully I can try to relax a little while I'm here! I have a feeling that I'm really going to be missing Tony for the next ten days!

More Blurried Pics

Ok....I love this new thing MckMamma has taught me!

This is Kaden bowling in Arkansas.

Then Jordan (neice) bowling.

And I couldn't leave out this awesome pic of Raegan!

5/25/09

As I sit here watching Kaden take pictures of lord knows what, I just learned something new! As you may already know, I am a blog stalker of www.mycharmingkids.net . Well, this morning MckMamma posted a blog of how to make the backgrounds of your pictures blurred. I have a point and shoot camera so I used my PhotoShop Elements 6. And just look what I can do!

I know! I will so be using this application from now on! As soon as I can master it that is!

5/23/09

It has finally happened! Kaden had his first t-ball game! After weeks and weeks of rain, God answered our prayers and held the rain off a few hours so my sweet baby boy could get out there and show off his skills.


He waited patiently all day! Brady had two games that morning. Then, we didn't leave the park so we watched one of the t-ball games while we waited.


It was such an exciting day! Raegan and Kierra came all the way from Batesville to see his first game!

They went in numerical order, Kaden is number 17. When his first bat finally came, coach helped him get in position.

He gets ready and BAM! He hit the ball and started running as fast as he could!

Good thing Daddy was the first base coach! They planned out when he would run to second!

Of course I think the best part about a game is the fans! Here's Raegan cheering her buddy on!

And then it's Kaden's team's turn in the field! Lucky for Kaden and Hayden that Daddy was out there! It seems he was the only one really paying attention to what was going on!

Yeah! It's his second time at the bat! Wow! What a hit! It looks like everything is going to be great!

Apparently, he didnt' like the first base coach's (Daddy) instructions! He ran straight to the back of the field and started crying! I guess a long day at the ball field takes it out of a little guy! Because by the end of the night......

This was the only group picture I could get with my boys and their "best" girls!

5/17/09

I have blogged more this week than I think I have since I was pregnant with Kaden! I have a ton of pictures to post and some videos....I hope you enjoy and oh...five days left of school! So, here goes...Here's Kaden running the bases at the end of the game. (I know I'm going backwards) I tried to get a pic of Brady but some kid stepped in front of him right when he crossed home! Here's the boys on their favorite ride! Brady, Kaden, Ty, Lane, and Hunter! And Brady, Adam, and Matthew being silly at the game! Now, on to more that happened this past week!
This is Brady's school program! I wasn't able to go,but Tony got video of my favorite song! Brady had been singing this song for months. He sang it so much, that Kaden started to sing it too! I will have to get video to let you compare! Lots of other things have been happening around here too but I don't have pics! For example, last night, Kaden pulled a kitchen chair up to the trash can and decided to "pee" in it! I'm serious! I can't for the life of me figure out what would make a child want to do this! He's so strong willed! Saturday morning, while Tony was in the showe, Kaden climbed up on the kitchen counter and got out some allergy medicine from the cabinet above the sink! I mean seriously! What is wrong with this kid?!? Any suggestions? I just keep telling myself 5 more days and then I'm home with him for 8 weeks. Maybe we'll work on "home training!"

5/16/09

I heard the most shocking thing today....my little brother is now a blogger! What? He hates writing. He hated English in school. Who cares, right? I'm just excited to see him use the web for one of his many creative outlets! I just checked his site. There's not a lot of writing...but there are some beatuiful dishes he has created! I am in awe almost daily at what an amazing chef he is! The man is an unbelievable, creative genus in the kitchen! I am super proud of his accomplishments! Check out his site and be very careful! Drooling may occur!

http://ilpionero.blogspot.com/

5/14/09

As I count down the days until summer vacation, I am starting to think of all the things I want to accomplish this summer! Besides the fact that I am traveling, a lot, I am planning to get our home in order! I'm tired of being tired at the end of the day and not having the energy to get this house clean! I have discovered a new blogsite that I totally know is a God thing!

http://likeawarmcupofcoffee.blogspot.com/2008/06/31-days-to-clean.html
If you read my last post, you know I originally landed here to enter a contest. But the more I started reading, I realized this woman has a heart similar to mine! When I clicked on the 31 days to clean button, I found a home like mine and a woman who felt the same as me! So, I'm going to try her challenge. I get out of school next Friday. When I get home I'm going to re-read the first post and start my 31 days.

I do realize that I will be out of town part of that 31 days....but I will pick up where I leave off as soo as I get home! Start praying for me now...I want this house to be organized...There are a million reasons...but the one for today would be because we are wanting to adopt. I know that come January we will get a home study and many home visits. I want this place to be easy to clean so that if there is a drop by visit, we won't be running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to make it appear that we are clean all the time!

Another reason, the boys are getting bigger. They are taking up more space....we need to make room for them to keep growing!

So, please start praying now...we'll see how it goes.

Oh yeah....another prayer request....I am going to the doctor on the Tuesday after school to talk about getting off my Paxil. I've been trying to lose weight for about 6 months and it seems like as hard as I've worked, the weight hasn't wanted to come off. So, I'm hoping that by not taking my meds I will be able to lose weight!

5/13/09

Have I mentioned that there are just 7 days of school left for us teachers? I'm not counting them down or anything! Today is just a quick post. I'm entering a contest of a friend of a friend's blog. She has a great give a way going this week! Check her out!

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I enjoyed this so much last week that I just had to do it again today!
Let's see...Oh...I know...
I did not forego coming up with a great lesson plan last Friday and instead get out the colored pencils, glue, and magazines and let my students make a "Brochure" just so I didn't have to teach anything! (In my defense...I had just completed reading a novel to them...I have six classes a day! Yes, that's reading the same chapter six times a day!)
I also did not put on a big smile at the MIL's this weekend because grinning and bearing it is better than being miserable the whole time!
I also did not make brownies at 9pm last night thus using most of my WW points and then shoved another down my throat after working out today! NOT ME!
And...well, I'm ashamed to say this one....I would never have promised the 3 year old $5 to clean his room and them give him a dollar because I know he can't read! Not me! I would never do that to my sweet baby boy!

AHHHHHHH! That felt so good to get off my chest!

Not Me Monday

Yes, as you may or may not know, I am a blog stalker of the awesome MckMamma blog. I have been praying for Stellen for weeks now and have been blessed by her many blogs the past month and a half.
Today is "Not Me Monday!" So, here goes.

Despite my many attempts to lose weight before this June wedding I'm in...I DID NOT eat Taco Bell with my family before a baseball game! Not me!
I also did not secertly enjoy the rain so that I wouldn't have to go to yet another baseball game on Saturday!
I would have never taken a 3 hour nap on a rainy Saturday before I got all dolled up for the prom. No not my prom (that's true!) the one for the school where I teach. And I most defintally DID NOT do the "Stanky Leg" dance with a group of students at the prom! NOT ME FOR SURE!

5/3/09

I feel like it's been forever since I blogged. I have been out of things to talk about latily. It's not that there hasn't been anything going on...it's just that I haven't felt it! I thought I could update on all of the life's going ons here Pillstrom house.

Brady has been going to school, making good grades, and playing baseball. He hit a really good homerun Friday night! I was so proud of him. I took my camera but didn't get it on video :(

Kaden has had t-ball practice but his game was rained out on Saturday. I was really bummed because I can't wait to see him in a game! He's talking really well and I and just so proud of his progress.

Tony has been playing in the church band the last two weeks. He enjoys it!

And I have been on a mission to healthy eating. I have been looking for fresh veggie recipes and have been enjoying cooking! I'm going to steal an idea from "The Shoes in My Closet" and post my Sunday dinner recipe. I'm pretty impressed with the fact that I actually made homemade spaghetti sauce! And it was actually good!

Marinara Sauce
Olive Oil Spray
1 cup minced yellow onion
2 tablespoons freshly minced garlic
28 oz. roma tomatoes
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons no salt added tomato paste
2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
salt, to taste

Spray medium pan with olive oil and place over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook until tender (not brown). Reduce heat to low and add other ingredients. Cover, cook 1 hour stir occasionally.

I put the tomatoes in the blender because we don't really like chunky tomato sauce. Then I cooked ground turkey and organic wheat noodles. It turns out to be very low in calories and weight watcher points. I love to try something new like this! I hope that you will enjoy it as much as we have!

4/19/09

Today, Amber and I hosted a Bridal shower for our friend Kim. We are both bride's maids and she asked us to take care of her church shower. It was a rainy/beautiful day. By that, I mean it rained...the sun came out...it rained again...the sun came out! It was one of those days that God loves to use to keep us on our toes. We got to the coffee shop and the owner forgot about us so we got in the door a little late. But it went off like a hit!


This is one of the table toppers Amber and I made. The idea came from Paper Creations magazine. I just loved them and Amber was a big part of making this project happen!

We also made real cupcakes. This was our Friday night project. It was actually really fun making these. Reid kept making us laugh and we were on a sugar high by the time we got done at 11:30pm. They turned out beautiful and I was really impressed with our creation! BTW..."T" stands for Trentham, Kim's new name in a few weeks!

Kim looked beautiful as always. Here she is with Kaden. She is one of his favorite people and of course he would stop long enough to have his pic made with his Kimme.
There were people, presents, and lots of food. And at the end, all the teachers there made themselves to go boxes with the left overs! We were super excited to get to take home the yummy food! All in all, it was a great shower and I'm so glad it's over! My busy month of April is coming to a close. I can't wait for busy May to roll around and then we will be out of school!
Oh...I forgot to mention my boys! Tony was called into work about an hour before the shower. I was really worried because they usually stress me out at these kind of things. They were SUPER! They watched a movie in the conference room of the coffee shop! They only came out to get food, a drink and to potty! I was so proud of them and didn't want to forget to mention that!!

4/9/09

The day has finally arrived! "My Cheesy Cheesy Parpy!" No, not mine, Kaden's! He has been talking about this day for weeks. For his birthday, he wanted to have a Chuck E. Cheese birthday party. In true fashion, we celebrated with our friends! Kaden, Hayden, and Ryan (all born within 3 weeks of each other) partied like a Rock Star last night for two whole hours!

They are not in any particular order but here's the birthday boy enjoying his cupcake!

We all know that the ladies love a muscian! Here's Kaden and Ansley playing the drum.

Kaden and his big Bubba! They both had so much fun!

"Hey, Kaden, how old are you?" He's still working on this one!

Best Friends! Kaden, Hayden, Ryan and of course Chuck E.
We had a great time and loved it! Kaden got a cool lunch box filled with 100 tickets, a gold medal that said he was the birthday star, three balloons, and a cool cup. Plus, tons of tokens! It was a really good idea to split it three ways! Cheapest party so far!

4/5/09

This weekend turned out to be awesome! Friday night...nothing! Wahoo! Saturday, Tony took Kaden to a Redbirds game while Brady and I went to a brthday party. Tony fixed the trampoline and the boys spent about a hour out there last night while I got ready for Adam's going away dinner. We had some friends over and had a great, stress free hangout night. I know I haven't posted any pics in a week or so...so here you are!

The first pic is Tony and me in the kitchen last night before the party.


Here's Kaden after doing some flips on the trampoline. He cracks me up with his crazy hair!

Here we have Brady showing off on the trampoline.

And lastly, Kaden and his daddy at the game!

4/2/09

It has been a long week and I'm so happy it's comeing to an end! I have been teaching poetry this week and today we started an art project. I will take my camera tomorrow and post some pics of my awesomely creative students!

I wanted to turn you on to a blog I recently heard about.

My friend, Amber, has been asking me to pray for this family for a few weeks. I finally stopped at her blog tonight and realized the overwhelming need for prayer in this family's life. I will let you read for your self. I hope that you will join me in praying for this family and their sweet little boy with the heart condition!

3/30/09

I'm sitting here cracking up at my mom! Today, we discussed what she should blog about. She is in a contest on www.tallyscrapper.com to become part of the design team. One of the requirements is that she has a blog. Well, as computer savey as she is, she has no idea about the blogging world other than she has been reading mine for years. Well, now she's in and I'm sure she will be hooked! So, please, check out my mom's blog and let her know you're reading!
http://msippi.blogspot.com

3/21/09

Spring Break is coming to an end and I figured that I needed to at least post something. I have't put all the pics on the computer yet. But I couldn't resist this one. We...well the boys...painted the wrapping paper on my Dad's birthday gift. This is Brady having too much fun! I thought it was a pretty cool pic. I will get somemore up as soon as I get time.
I'm going to be working on cleaning out the boys' rooms the rest of the night. Wish me luck!