Recital Weekend

Did anyone else have Blogger problems last week?  I couldn't post Thursday or Friday?  Was it just me?

Well, it was a busy weekend.  L had a field trip Friday to the local "bouncy house" place.  We had such fun climbing, jumping and sliding. 

L coming off the bouncy slide.

Also, the girls' had their recital and we had a house full of company for the occasion.  My BIL, SIL, my niece and my in-laws came to visit.  They all stayed here in my little house....talk about family togetherness.  It was tight, but we had a GREAT time.

This is little Miss Pouty Britches before her performance.

Here is the much happier after recital picture with her flowers.  She also got a trophy for being the leader in her class.  She was so excited about her trophy that she slept with it right next to her on the dresser.  The next morning she got up and said, "Good morning trophy" and carried it around the house with her all day long. 

C also did very well in the recital.  However, she HATED her costume and not only refused to smile for a decent picture, but pretty much hid from me until she changed clothes.  Therefore, I have no picture of C to share.  Teenagers!

So, what did y'all do this weekend? 

Almost Wordless Wednesday

This is what I found when I went to check on the kids before I went to be the other night. 

J must've been expecting some 3D dreams! 

Have a great day!

New Used Playset and Mother's Day Weekend

My oldest, who is now 13, got a swingset for her 3rd birthday.  That metal swingset was a gift from my parents.  It was in the backyard at our old house and was then moved to this house eight years ago.  The kids have loved it, but it was a little small for four kids.  They constantly fought over whose turn it was to swing.  Everytime we got to the local hardware store, they begged for a bigger swingset.  We had our eye on this one.

This swingset is fabulous, but at $1,600 it was a bit out of our budget.  So, when Hubby heard a friend at work had a swingset to get rid of, we went to look at it.  This friend is a builder and designed it himself.  We bought it for $350 and enlisted the help of my dad (a former builder) and my brother to help Hubby haul it to our house and put it back together.  This is how it looks in our yard.

You can't see it, but there are monkey bars and a slide on the backside, and a climbing wall on the left.  This is how it looks from my porch.  And here is the seperate swingset.

It took the guys about 11 hours to disassemble, transport and reassemble everything.  They did a fabulous job.  There isn't much room left in my yard, but it's worth it if it keeps the kids busy and happy.  And the $350 was whole lot better than $1,600.  Now, we just need to restain it.

We also decided to have our Mother's Day celebration for lunch that day since the entire family was here.  We had BBQ Pork Sandwiches for lunch and celebrated my awesome mom.

It was a great Mother's Day weekend.  What about you?  Did you have a good weekend?

Just a Little Treat for the Teachers in Our Life

I had plans to get this project done early in the week, but I got sick so my plans flew right out the window.  Here's the scoop:  I'm southern and I'm Baptist, which means that if I love you...I feed you.  So, for Teacher Appreciation Day, I made The Best Cinammon Rolls EVER!  I made little tags and packaged them like this

Here is a closer look at the tags

My tags weren't perfect, but I thought they were kind of cute.  Of course, they had to be aqua and red.  I would've shared them, but I'm not smart enough to know how to post them.  I only know how to email them as an attachment.  Oh well.  It's a little late anyway.

Have a great weekend!

Getting To Know You Thursday....Conservative or Adventurous Risk Taker?

It seems this week I have been bombarded by adventurous stories on the news and on TV.  Hubby was telling me about an article on the biggest roller coastersin the world he read on the internet.  I watched Kate Gosselin walk along the edge of a skyscraper on her show the other day. 

After the skywalk came the skyjump.  She was fully harnassed and was supposed to "step off" the ledge of the building, but was screaming and crying out of fear.  I've seen countless people on Amazing Race who bungee jump, repel down the sides of buildings and go down zip lines that are hundreds of feet in the air.  So, this got me thinking about my adventurous side and how I compare. 

My dad tells me that when I was a little girl, about five years old, we stopped at one of those little carnivals that had set up in a store parking lot.  I begged my dad to take me on the squirrel cages.  Ya know the one?  It's like a ferris wheel, but instead of cars, there are cages that spin end over end.  I don't remember it, but he says that I had a great time, while he was sick as a dog. 

I grew up going to Six Flags in Dallas/Ft. Worth at least once a summer for my entire life.  We had many family trips and youth group trips there.  I was always afraid of the roller coasters, but gave in to peer pressure, rode it and loved it.  There were several to choose from.  I loved the big steel one that had two big loops in it.  It was sooo much fun!  I don't think it's even there anymore. 

I vaguely remember flying on an airplane when I was about seven.  Mom said I loved it.  I didn't fly again until I was 30.  I was terrified!  Hubby and I flew to Dallas for the weekend when we were first dating.  I was a nervous wreck!  It was only a 45 minute flight.  I was crying and would NOT let go of my then boyfriend.  I don't know how I thought he was going to save me from falling out of the sky, but if I was going down, I was taking him with me!  I did better on the flight back to Arkansas. 

I had adventurous friends in college.  The loved to go rock climbing and repelling. 

Hmmmm.  Let's see.  A huge cliff, with a tiny little rope holding me?  MMMM.  No thanks.  You see, riding a roller coaster is about as adventurous as I get.  One big reason is my fear of heights.  I am terrified of heights.  Actually, I'm afraid of falling from heights.  I do okay on things that move really quickly and that aren't physically demanding, like roller coasters.  But, I don't have it in me to jump off of a perfectly good sturdy structure into the air, even with a harness.  I'd have a heart attack for sure.  You'll NEVER catch me skydiving.  WHY would you want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane?  No way! 

Nope, guess I'm not a risk taker.  I'm pretty much a big ole chicken butt!  And proud of it!  I know my limits.  You couldn't even get me up to the top of that skywalk building.  No thank you!  I think I'll stick to the Tilt-a-Whirl.  Rides that threaten to fling me through the air, I don't find amusing.  Nope.

I think I'm pretty conservative in other areas of my life too.  I'm not a big gambler.  I have been to a few casinos.  I take in about $25 and when it's gone, it's gone.  If I ever did win some $$, I'd be outta there with my winnings. 

Deal or No Deal had a big open casting call several years ago in Arkansas. 

I went and tried out, but didn't make it to the show.  Bummer!  I wouldn't have done very well anyway.  I probably would've taken the first deal Howie offered me.  $3,000?  DEAL!  Thanks Howie!  And back on the plane, clutching my Hubby, with my $3,000 check I would go.  I would't be willing to part with my $3,000 just for the chance to make a little more.  What if I ended up with nothing?  Nope.  I wouldn't be good at it at all!  I'm definitely conservative with money. 

I think the only area of my life where I would be considered a risk taker, would be in my relationships.  I've never been one to hold back.  If I love ya, I'm gonna let ya know no matter what.  If you don't love me back, then it wasn't meant to be.  All cards on the table, no game playing, no regrets.  You always gotta take a chance on love. 

Yep, he was definitely worth the gamble!

So, what about you?  Would you consider yourself conservative or a risk taker?

Removing Cooked on Food Messes From Your Crock Pot

Because it's crazy here in the FFB house, I tend to use my crock pot quite a bit.  I love just throwing a bunch of stuff in the crock pot and coming home to a meal ready to go. 

BUT, what I hate about using the crock pot is the clean up.  I know it's only one big ole pot to clean, but every great once in awhile, it leaves a huge crusty mess in there for me to clean up.  I HATE having to scrub my crock pot to get it clean.  Hate it!  Luckily, I have a little trick to make it easier. 

After making Chili Lime Tostadas last week, my crock pot was a MESS!  It seems I didn't put enough lime juice in to make up for the fact that I had it cranked up on High all day.  The chicken was fine, but it left a big dry crusty mess in there.  Oops!  So, after removing our dinner, I added enough water to rise above the crusty stains on the side.  I added a squirt of dishwashing liquid and cranked it back up on high for about an hour. 

I let it cool back down and dumped out the water and most of the crusty yuck.  I added a little water and more dishwashing liquid and the stains came right off.  No SOS pad and sore arms from scrubbing.  WOO HOO!  This also works great on pots and pans.  Just bring them to a boil on the stove top. 

I'm linking this post to Holly's Tips and Tricks Party. 

Weekend of Surprises and A New Career?

Well, did everyone have a good weekend?  I did!  I had a hot date with Hubby Friday night AND I got an early Mother's Day present.  WOO HOO! 

That's right!  I finally got an iphone.  Welcome to the 21st century, Tanya!  WOO HOO!  I love this thing.  I've been coveting my Hubby's iphone for over a year.  I was supposed to get one for my birthday, but I told Hubby to wait until it dropped in price.  I think he got tired of me griping about my junker phone, which was a hand me down of his.  So, he surprised me with it Thursday night. 

We spent the weekend watching the NFL Draft.  I'm so excited about football season!  Now if the multi-millionares would just quit fighting over $$, we could all begin the countdown to the first preseason game.  Go Cowboys!!!!

In other random news, I'm thinking about a new career.  You see, Hubby loves buffalo wings.  I always thought they looked a little yucky.  A few weeks ago we ventured to a new restaurant in town, Hubby got wings and I decided to try them. Oh my gracious!  They were amazing!  I had no idea what I had been missing.  We ordered some Saturday night.  I looked a little like this:

This is Sonya and she is a professtional eater.  If Saturday night is any indication, I think I might could take her.  Those wings were lip burning, finger licking good!  MMMM!  I wonder if there is enough $$ in professional eating to offset the huge weight gain?  Hmmm.  Probably not. 

My other surprise came yesterday with an email from Paula @ Sweet Pea and Kristina @ A Home Made by Kiki.  Paula was having a giveaway for Shaklee samples and I won.  I've never been so excited about cleaning.  WOO HOO!  Thanks Paula!  Thanks Kristina!

Well, it's going to be a busy week.  In the next seven days, we'll celebrate Cinco de Mayo , Teacher Appreciation Week AND Mother's Day.  I better get started.