another milestone

The above photo was taken exactly one week ago. Today those training wheels came off and Rosie effortlessly made the transition to bike riding on 2 wheels. Well, she might not say it was effortless, but it took a matter of minutes before she figured it out, had her first bike wreck, and then proceeded to wow her friends and family with her bike riding skills. She was assisted by her wonderful Dad who offered her helpful advice, held onto her bike until he knew she was ready for him to let go, and then ran along with her for support. Luke, some friends who happened to be walking around the track, and I witnessed the event. It may have been a kodak moment, but I don't need a photo to remember this sweet day when Rose learned to ride her bike with help from her Dad.

the birds

We've been fortunate this year to have 3 nests of robins at our house. One of the nests is behind the backboard of our basketball goal. This nest was the last to hatch and I climbed up to take a picture of the babies a couple of days ago. Pretty soon the kids and I will be watching these four hopping around the yard.

Still trying to figure it all out

Last night, as we were waiting for our food at Belew's (my favorite place to get a milkshake and cheeseburger), Luke asked, "How did God make me?" Then he asked, "Did he have a bag of eyes and a bag of other body parts?" As he asked, he did some hand gestures like he was reaching down in a bag to grab something. I guess Luke was imagining God digging around in a bag full of eyes for the ones that would be just right for Luke. Then God would turn to his bag of other body parts, pick out what he needed, and put Luke together. I think it is a reasonable theory for a 4 year old to concoct.

Unrelated side note: Rose scored her first goal of this soccer season last night. I was so happy for her as she has so badly wanted this. Although, I do believe and I have told her that there are many other important things to do during the game than score a goal (like block the other team's goals, make assists, etc). It made my day, though, to see her pumping both arms in the air out of joy when she made the shot.

Tax Slayer

It is officially tax season and I have started, but not completed our paperwork. Although, I don't think that I should refer to it as paperwork since I am filling out forms online. No paper is involved until I print out a copy of my completed forms.

Anyway, this is my sixth year to do our taxes online and each of these 6 years I have used taxslayer.com with much satisfaction. It only costs $9.95 to file both federal and state. It is simple to use and I have had no problems whatsoever using this site. I originally discovered Tax Slayer through the IRS website.

I thought I would pass this info along to any who may be interested.

Happy feet

I have a goal to make it to the beach every summer. Sometimes I reach that goal and sometimes I do not. What can it hurt, though, to make it a goal every year?

The summer of 2008 we went to Orange Beach, Alabama. The summer of 2006 we went to Fort Morgan, Alabama. Not too shabby of a record considering that we've only been a family for a little over four years.

Several years ago, before children and husband, I made a trip to Ocracoke Island for my aunt's wedding. I had never heard of Ocracoke before the occasion. It is an island off of the Outer Banks (which I was also unfamiliar with at the time) of North Carolina.

Now, if you are wanting a commercialized, activity-filled, amusement park type of vacation, then Ocracoke is not for you. If you are looking for a low-key, laid-back, aesthetically pleasing getaway, then Ocracoke is the perfect destination or so I like to think. I would love to go back with my husband and kids in tow.

Who knows? Maybe we'll make it there this summer. I don't think it would hurt to get a list together of possible travel arrangements and accomodations. Do you?

4 and counting

On the first of this month, New Year's Day, Rob and I celebrated our 4th anniversary. Here is a photo flashback to four years ago when we eloped. I highly recommend the Bed and Breakfast in Sevierville, TN where we got hitched.

the quiet before the storm

The kids and I visited some friends in Louisville one weekend in October of last year. We visited the zoo while we were there. This serene photo taken at the zoo does the opposite of portray our experience there. Luke was a little wild man that day. It was one of those times when the parent to child ratio was taken advantage of. There were plenty of adults along for the zoo trip, but, unfortunately, not the daddy. We still managed to have a great time despite Luke's disregard of parental authority. I got to see an anaconda for the first time and that made the trip worthwhile as far as I'm concerned.

I'm tempted to say my all-time favorite

Creedence Clearwater Revival has been there for me for more than a decade. I grew to love them during my teenage years and I just can't quit listening.

I think I first grew interested when a cover band was playing their music at BETA convention my sophomore year of high school. Of course I had heard some of their music before, but the live performances by the band who called themselves Soundproof Pants really got my attention. Since then, CCR has been a constant in my music life. For some reason, when I listen to their greatest hits cd Chronicle, I enter a happy place where housework and daily minutiae seem not so bad.

The shoe tree as seen by Rose

Rose took this picture last summer of the shoe tree at Murray State. This is a tree that holds the shoes of those who met on campus and eventually married and evidently shoes of their children as well. I love this picture. I wish I could take pictures like this.

Cookies!

The 2008 holiday season marked our first family attempt at making and decorating Christmas sugar cookies. I thought we did a decent job. They were edible and I believe that is all that really matters when it comes to cookies.

Cheap clips

At some point in my brief history as a house wife, I got fed up with never having enough bag clips to clip the chip bags on the counter, the spinach bags in the refrigerator, the opened bags of egg noodles in the cabinet, and the numerous other bags around the kitchen that needed to be clipped. Then, one day, an idea came to me from the past. My grandmother used to clip all her bags with wooden clothespins as I'm sure many others did and still do.

I found that 50 clothespins can be purchased for about the same price as 3 or 4 bag clips. Whoever came up with the bag clip concept is a rich man or woman. I know clothespins don't have quite the same counter appeal, but I'm not throwing away any more money on cute bag clips.

Here goes nothing

Well, it is a new year. It is time to convince myself to start some new habits that might just make my life happier, healthier, and more fulfilling. What's on my list for this year? I thought you'd never ask. Oh, there is the excercise, the eating healthier, and the getting regular sleep stuff. There is the get organized, stay organized, and follow some sort of house cleaning routine stuff. Then, there is the fun stuff like decorate the house (I can't say redecorate because we are completely lacking in the decor department here), sew clothes and items for my kids and others too, and blog about my everyday life more often (maybe every day???).

What are your resolutions? Anything out of the ordinary?