My Southern, Hippie, Married, Mom of Four Life!

Over Two Years?

2014-01-10T23:29:00.000-05:00

Wow, it has been over two years since I have posted on my blog. Well, time just flies and I have not had time to really sit down and catch up. So here is a very short summary on what has been going on...

We have passed by a few birthday's the two biggest milestones...my daughter turned 18 in Dec. and I just hit the big 40 just a few days ago! We are still living in VA. My oldest son got his braces off in 2013, and my daughter will be getting hers off in the next few weeks....Can't wait for that! At least I will have a few years between sets before the last two will need them. Can't wait to make corn on the cob again! ;o)

My youngest has a speech disability and does not talk very much..but last year right before his 6th birthday I got to hear my first.... I love you momma...from him, and yes we all cried!

We still homeschool..of course and have gone on a ton of field trips and a couple of vacations over the past two years.

We have lost a few dear furry members of our family....both are missed!

Leonardo..our sweet cat passed in 2012

Beethoven..our cute g. pig passed in 2012

We have also added furry members to our family..all cats in 2012

Cleopatra (adopted)

Ruby, Dorothy, and Oz

(these three we found while driving down the road.

All three scared and very sick, just a few weeks old..all healthy today)

Other than all the above..life has been pretty normal...which is just fine with me...

Anyway, this is enough for now...hopefully it will not be another two years before I post again...

Till next time...

Later Tators!

Not a Creature is Stirring, Not Even a Mouse

2011-11-28T02:37:00.001-05:00

As I sit here in a silent house, not a creature is stirring not even a mouse (thankfully). I start to ponder off and think to myself. Wow this is nice!
I love a house full, I mean really I have four kids and five animals. But sometimes...just sometimes....nothing beats a little silence. Because really mom's never get time alone, not even in the darn bathroom. Some day's you look forward to that oh so wonderful shower, thinking I will sneak off while the kids are doing whatever they are doing and take a shower in peace. As you stand there under the water just relaxing and enjoying the warmth of the water and feeling the stress leave for a quick moment. You hear MOM!!!!! And there it went..right out the window...your moment of peace....but one day I am sure I will be depressed when all I have is my hubs here and no children to yell for me....but that is a long off....and yes I am happy about that...but I will still keep trying to sneak in those few Calgon moments away...like the one I am experiencing now...sitting here on my couch...relaxing with all asleep...never mine that it is 2:30am...a mom takes that worked in slot of time..whenever it comes.... :O)

Night....

Later Tators!

A New Hobby?

2011-11-15T15:32:00.000-05:00

Well, kinda I started an account on Pinterest! Have you? Here is my link http://pinterest.com/hippieprincess/ If you are not on Pinterest yet get set up. I have to say I really love not using my bookmarks anymore. I like to open which board I want to look at and see all that I have basically bookmarked for future reference! Super nice! Let me know if you have an account so I can follow you....Happy Pinning! :O)

Later Tators!

Birthday Love!

2011-10-16T15:48:00.003-04:00

So as usual it has been awhile since I have done a post. Life is keeping me pretty busy! But I do want to post some bday love to two special peeps in my life!

First off Tristan my 3rd in line turned 6 on Sept. 25th...Hubs came home for a visit from North Dakota for this special occasion....We had a busy 2 weeks while he was here, we did a double bday party for Tristan and my hubs Terry who just turned the big 40 this month! So below I will share some great pics from their double party! And even though their bday's have past and my post are late as always...I am yelling out....

HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY TO TRISTAN!!!!!!!

And.....

HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY TO MY HUBBY TERRY!!!!

You both make life very interesting and awesome we all love you very much!!! I hope you both enjoyed your bday party! Here are the pics, ignore the backgrounds in these pics..while family was here they helped move some furniture out and some new in...so stuff was everywhere! :O)

Why Pie? Terry is not a fan of cake..lol

Me and Sebastian

Katie, Caroline, Sebastian, Tristan

My son Preston

My brother Brian his wife Amanda and his girls Katie and Caroline

My mom and my daughter Kiersten

I am sorry we could not be with you on your 40th Terry, but always keep in mind we love you and you are always with us in our hearts and minds....Thank the Lord for Skype :O) I love you!

Well, that is it for now...one day when I find time I have a million post to write...but I will think about that tomorrow! ;o)

Later Tators!

Do you see what I see?

2011-07-30T21:00:00.001-04:00

So what does homeschooling mean to us? Well, that is pretty easy to answer. We take our kids interest to heart and find awesome ways for our kids to learn. The saying "We use the world as our classroom" becomes reality when you don't have to worry about sitting in a classroom for 6hrs a day.
So where am I going with this. Whelp, my oldest son is really interested in science and has mentioned he would love to work for NASA one day. So when I heard a few months ago they were ending the shuttle missions, hubby and I marked the last one on our calendar and worked hard to get hubby home from ND so we could make it to Florida for the last space shuttle launch. Everything worked out and we made it! We even had to stay the night in the car! Yes all six of us! I will be writing later on in another post of why and what else we saw on our adventure..but this is for a photo challenge so let me get to the photo I am entering before this turns into a very long post!
So warning the next post will be about our awesome vacation in FL, GA, and SC...and yes it will be very long with tons of pics of course! :O)

This weeks photo challenge is called...The View From Here...you can check it out and enter here...

L.E.N.S Photo Challenge

It was awesome! Something none of us will ever forget!
Later Tators!

What Does Summer Look Like To You?

2011-06-21T21:06:00.003-04:00

Well, living in the south summers are very hot and humid. So summer to me means...
1. Trips to the beach!
2. Field trips that are planned so when you get sweaty outside you can go indoors with air conditioning and still explore the location you are visiting ;o)
3. Tank tops
4. No socks to wash!!!!!,
5. Sandals..love my sandals!
6. Swimming
7. Extra deodorant..haha..
8. Vacation
9. Relaxing
10. Washing the dogs outdoors
11. Grilling out
12. Sunscreen
13. Bothersome bugs
14. Air conditioning
15. Lots and lots of water
16. Nothing on tv
17. Praying for rain
18. Lemonade
19. Perfect time to move
20. Wishing Fall would come!
This list can go on and on...What does summer mean to you?

This pic was taken at Virginia Beach in May...tried so hard to get a pic with everyone looking...but..tons of people waiting for their turn to get a pic in front of Neptune..so you get what you get...I got mine...but my youngest saw the playground is was jumping up to go play..and my daughter was flinging the hair out of her face...lol...love real shots, don't you....haha....

This picture is being entered into L.E.N.S Photo Challenge theme "Summer Time"

Happy 1st day of Summer!!

Later Tators

What? A Diet that Works!

2011-06-21T20:39:00.001-04:00

Yes, you read that right. There are actually diets out there that work and do not cost a ton of money! Now I am noooo way advertising here, but I am here to share my experience on the diet that I am on. Yes it is a so called fad diet...here is the diet name and layout of how it works...

Sacred Heart Medical Diet (vegetarian style)

This 7-day eating plan can be used as often as you like. If correctly followed, it will clean out your system of impurities and give you a feeling of well-being. After only 7 days of this process, you will begin to feel lighter by at least 10 pounds and possibly 17 pounds, and experience an abundance of energy.

SOUP:

1 or 2 cans of stewed tomatoes (I just used any kind of chopped tomatoes)
3 plus large green onions
1 large can of beef broth (no fat) (used fat free veggie broth)
1 pkg. Lipton Soup mix (chicken noodle) (I used Lipton onion soup mix)
1 bunch of celery
2 cans green beans
2 lbs. Carrots
2 Green Peppers

Season with salt, pepper curry, parsley, if desired, or bouillon, hot or Worcestershire sauce. Cut veggies in small to medium pieces. Cover with water. Boil fast for 10 minutes. Reduce to simmer and continue to cook until veggies are tender.

This soup can be eaten anytime you are hungry during the week. Eat as much as you want, whenever you want. This soup will not add calories. The more you eat, the more you will lose. You may want to fill a thermos in the morning if you will be away during the day.

DRINKS:

Unsweetened juices
Tea (also herbal)
Coffee
Cranberry juice
Skim milk
Water, water, water

DAY ONE

Any fruit (except bananas). Cantaloupes and watermelon are lower in calories than most other fruits. Eat only soup and fruit today.

DAY TWO

All vegetables. Eat until you are stuffed with fresh raw, cooked or canned veggies. Try to eat green leafy veggies and stay away from dry beans, peas or corn. Eat veggies along with the soup. At dinnertime tonight reward yourself with a big baked potato and butter. Don't eat any fruits through today.( I splurged and had sour cream...it was good...lol)

DAY THREE

Eat all the soup, fruit and veggies you want. Do not have a baked potato. If you have eaten as above for three days and not cheated, you should find that you have lost 5-7 pounds. (I had lost 3 by this point..darn sour cream..lol)

DAY FOUR

Bananas and skim milk: Eat at least 3 bananas and drink as much milk as you can today, along with the soup. Bananas are high in calories and carbohydrates, as is the milk but on this particular day, your body will need the potassium and carbs. Proteins and calcium to lessen the cravings for sweets. (this day was the hardest for me!)

DAY FIVE

Beef and tomatoes: you may have 10 to 20 ounces of beef and a can of tomatoes, or as many as 6 tomatoes on this day. Eat the soup at least once today. (I ate Quorn veggie chicken breast covered with canned tomatoes)

DAY SIX

Beef and veggies, eat to your heart's content of the beef and veggies today. You can even have 2-3 steaks if you like with green leafy veggies but no baked potato. Be sure to eat the soup at least once today. ( I ate out this day...I had tofu with veggies in hunan sauce with a very tiny bit of rice..could not go without eating the rice..yum)

DAY SEVEN

Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juice and veggies, again, be sure to stuff yourself and eat the soup. You can add cooked veggies to your rice if you wish.

By the end of the 7th day, if you have not cheated on this diet, you should have lost 10 to 17 pounds. If you have lost more than 17 pounds, stay off the diet for two days before resuming the diet again.

This diet is fast. The secret lies within the principle that you will burn more calories than you take in. It will flush your system of impurities and give you a feeling of well-being. This diet does not lend itself to drinking any alcoholic beverages at any time. Because of the fat build-up in your system. Go off the diet at least 14 hours before any intake of alcohol.

Due to the variety of digestive systems in individuals, this diet will affect everyone differently. After day three, you will have more energy than when you began, if you do not cheat. After being on the diet for several days, you will find that your bowel movements have changed. Eat a cup of bran or fiber. Although you can have black coffee with this diet, you may find that you don't need caffeine after the third day.

The basic fat burning soup can be eaten anytime you feel hungry during the seven days. Eat as much as you wish. Remember the more you eat, the more you will lose. You can eat broiled, boiled or baked chicken instead of the beef. Absolutely no skin on the chicken. If you prefer, you can substitute broiled fish for the beef on only one of the beef days. You need the high protein in the beef for the other days.

Continue on the diet as long as you wish and feel the difference both mentally and physically.

DO NOT - DO NOT

No bread, alcohol, carbonated drinks (including diet drinks). Remember, absolutely no fried foods.

DO - DO - DO - DO

Drink plenty - at least 6 to 8 glasses - of water a day, as well as any combination of the following beverages: black coffee, unsweetened fruit drinks, cranberry juice and skim milk.

This diet comes from the Sacred Heart Memorial Hospital that is used for overweight heart patients in order to lose weight rapidly, usually prior to surgery. (no it does not..it is a fad diet...but it works for most people!!)

Okay, I did this diet for one week and I lost 7 pounds...yes 1 pound a day so far, I am doing this diet for at least two weeks..maybe more!) It is hard at first, but once you get into a few days it gets easier! I don't even mind the soup..but I am a vegetarian, so it's easy! :O)

It does seem like most people lose about 8 pounds on this diet in one week! I cheated so I did not lose 8..haha...I did eat a couple of these graham cracker square things with chocolate on them...they were good...but I did keep up with the calories and only ate them once a day and only on like two of the days! I do believe if you are a bigger person you will lose more like the 10-17. I did a ton of reading about others that used this diet and that is how I came to that conclusion....but I have to say I am happy with the 7 I lost and hope to lose another 5 or more this week! The trick of this diet is to use it as a good way to jump start healthy eating! If you go back to your old ways of eating..you are going to gain this weight loss right back! Now of course I go on this diet right before I go on vacation in the deep south...I know smart right...lol...but hubby is coming home soon for a much needed visit and I wanted to look good ;o)

So there ya go....it worked for me...I cannot say if it will work for you...but do take caution when dieting! I did take my vitamins every night I always do..but I made sure not to miss a night...just in case I somehow was not getting what I needed from this diet..but I do not see how I would have missed any since you are eating so many fruits and veggies...

I am not sure if the weight might come back...like I said I am doing this for another week to lose more..cause I worry that what I lost was water weight and it might come back fast...but this diet is great specially if you want to lose a few pounds for like a wedding or graduation..or a reunion of some king...or like me..cause hubby is coming home after 6 months and also cause I want to jump start eating healthy! I have to say my carvings are so low now....it's kinda crazy, cause in the beginning all I was doing was craving so much junk....kinda like an addiction to junk food....new motto....Eat to Live...Not Live to Eat ;o) Yea I stole that from one of my favorite motto's....Work to Live....Not Live to Work....both are very true!

Anyhow..that is what I wanted to share.....till next time....

Later Tators!

Passion for Photo's

2011-06-04T14:56:00.001-04:00

My daughter has a passion for photography and she really takes such wonderful pictures. She also has an act with computer photo programs and can just transform a photo so easily. I have to say it takes me forever sometimes to get a pic the way I want it to look...specially when it comes to cropping. I mean really I can't let you people see my messy house...LOL...so yes cropping is necessary...haha....Anyway some of my favorite pictures are done in black and white...I just love how much better a pic can look by changing it's color. With both my daughter and I taking what feels like millions of pictures, it's good to know how to edit them and make them even more interesting.

Sometimes I feel sorry for my fb friends since I share so many pics..lol..but with hubs in ND and us in VA it is a great way for him and our families to see our kids...also taking pics is another great way to document all of our learning adventures! Because we go on tons of those to! :O) So if you have ever wondered why I post tons of pics...now you know ;o)

Anyhow,as I was bragging before how great my daughter is with her pics..I am going to show you one of my favorites that she has taken...the pic below is of my son Sebastian, he is sleeping in the car in his car seat....check out what wonderful work my child has done with her editing...yes so proud...can you tell ;o)
This is one of her older pics...but like I said..by far one of my very favorites!

He is so beautiful...even when he is dreaming. ;o)

Sebastian 9/2010

I am entering this photo in the L.E.N.S Photo Challenge theme dreamy black and white

Later Tators!

My Newest Project!

2011-05-31T22:54:00.002-04:00

I built this guinea pig cage a few weeks ago and finally decided to show it off. It is based off of the C&C cage, but mine uses flooring instead of coroplast . I have to say the flooring does not look as nice as the coroplast , but I could not locate coroplast and I had left over flooring..so free works best :O) The only prob I have found using flooring is it does not bend well at the corners so it kinda looks...getto...but hey it works! You do have to be careful when using flooring to make sure your pigs do not chew on it! Lucky me mine do not! It seems most people do fold the fleece over the edges, which might help hide the ugliness of the outside...but I like to keep the fleece folded in half so it is thicker for the piggy's to walk on. I do want to somehow fix the outer look or hide it somehow to look better...but for now it works just fine! The total project cost me about 20.00 and a few hours of work...and yes our pigs love it! :O)

Here is their new two story house now....perfect size for two piggy's... :O)

Also a quick shout out to my niece Caroline..she is 2 today!

Happy 2nd Birthday Caroline!! :O) We all love you!! :O)

Later Tators!

The Art of Relaxation

2011-05-28T19:17:00.001-04:00

One of the differences between teens and little ones is the energy levels! My two older kids can find time to relax all the time! My younger kids are always on the move! They have so much energy they can wear you out just by watching them. I am here to tell you if I had as much energy as my two youngest, I wouldn't have to worry about getting dimples where dimples should not be! Anyhow, when the occasion arises that both pass out from all their running around at the same time...of course pics must be taken. This one is from last year...but it always makes me smile! One looks sooo comfy and the other somehow is comfy...lol...

This photo is being entered into the L.E.N.S. Photo Challenge theme being Comfort!

Later Tators!

Your Fired!

2011-05-26T21:42:00.000-04:00

Yesterday in Virginia was a very very hot day. I was outdoors with my two youngest. They both were jumping on the trampoline. I was sitting in a chair trying to stay cool...what is it with kids and not caring how hot is out?
Anyway, so my...
5yr old Tristan yells: "Hey Mom, get me a water!" ( No please...no nothing!)
I look at him and say: "You run and get one!"
He looks at me in shock and yell's: "YOUR FIRED!"
Me: "I don't work for you!"
Tris: "Yes you do! Your my mom"

Now of course I go on to tell him he is soooo wrong....LOL....work for a 5yr old...ha...I take care and love a 5yr old...but in no way do I work for him....or do I? ;o)

Just had to share!

Does your 5yr old think you work for him/her?

Tristan my 5yr old fake smiling..lol...

Later Tators!

Preston Get's Braces

2011-05-26T21:14:00.002-04:00

Yeap, that's right. Preston is moving on to a new faze in life...BRACES! He's teeth were really tight in the back so they are put spacers in to help separate his teeth. So next week he will be getting the rest of those tracks in ;)

Welcome to metal world my dear! Love you!

Later Tators!

Happy Anniversary To Us!!

2011-04-29T19:51:00.001-04:00

A note to shout out to my hubby that is far away on our special day! Happy 5 years and many many more to come! Since you are so far away my loving hubby..I really hated to do it...I mean really...but I dragged myself and the kids out of the house..went out to eat Mexican...went shopping...and bought myself many gifts and got the kids some to, really hun it was hard ;o) but really since your paying in all...I decided to send a huge Thank you for our presents!!!

Happy 5 year Anniversary!!!!

I Love You!!!!

Later Tators!

Dangers of Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs! Repost!

2011-04-26T14:16:00.001-04:00

Reposting the link below to a blog I wrote back in 2008. I think the info is important for everyone to read. Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

http://mysouthernhippiemarriedmomoffourlife.blogspot.com/2008/08/dangers-of-energy-efficient-light-bulbs.html

Later Tators!

Happy 4th Birthday Sebastian!!

2011-04-18T20:02:00.002-04:00

Today April 18th is Sebastians's 4th Birthday!! My youngest is now 4, no more babies for me!
Sebastian being my youngest is of course spoiled rotten ;o) but he is so lovable, he loves hugs and kisses and loves to play chase. He is a whiz at all of his electronic games and has taught himself his numbers and ABC's with no help from any of us. He is always into something and loves to have fun all of the time. When he is hungry he will not come and tell you..nope not Seb you will find him climbing the cabinets like a ladder to get what he wants. He likes things Seb's way and no one else's, think that comes from being the youngest. When my little one smiles he can light up a room. He keeps me on my toes and I am so very happy and blessed he is in our lives.

Happy 4th Birthday Sebastian!!!

We All Love You!!!

Later Tators!

Happy 13th Birthday Preston!!

2011-04-18T19:46:00.002-04:00

On April 9th my oldest son Preston celebrated his 13th Birthday!!
Preston loves Science and hopes someday to work for NASA...he is always working away on some project or reading about Science on the Internet. He has always been really mathy and thinks all the time. His newest adventures lately have been in the kitchen trying to learn to cook...sweets of course..but his cooking ;o) He is not shy and never meets a stranger. Preston helps me out a ton with all the so called manly duties around the home since Terry has been gone..I really don't know what I would do without him. I cannot believe he is now a teenager....wow where has the time gone?

Happy 13th Birthday Preston!!!

We All Love You!!!!

Later Tators!

Adding to the Family!

2011-04-06T00:30:00.002-04:00

Meet the newest member of our family. This little cutie was abandon at the end of our long driveway. These people just dropped her and her mom off...the mama dog did not stick around..scared I guess, but Kiersten caught the little pup. We waited, called and even put food out for the mama dog but she never came back. We went back and forth on what to do with this cute little 8 week old girl. I was not wanting another dog, really I was not. Of course the kids are ready and willing anytime for a new pet. But really training another pup...oh my....I can here my family now...another pet?? But really how can you resist this very cute face....so yeap....she is staying...Say hello to....

...Emily...

Emily is our only girl animal member...I really think that is why it took us a few days to figure out what we wanted to name her. All of our other animal family members have names you all know...Leonardo, Davinci, Beethoven, Einstein, and now Emily...after Emily Dickinson (poet).. ;o) So let's see...two named after an artist, then a musician/composer, scientist, and now a writer...yes...we are homeschoolers....lol...

Later tators!

A Day in Time: April 3, 1865 & April 3, 2011

2011-04-03T22:33:00.001-04:00

Today April 3, 2011 my children and I rode out to Petersburg, VA to take pictures of the Historic Petersburg Courthouse. Why? We came across a picture in one of our photography books a few months ago, the photo is by Thomas Roche. On April 3, 1865 he took a photo of the Petersburg Courthouse. A little history of that day in time...
(The Petersburg Courthouse, built between 1837 and 1839, was the official Confederate headquarters during the Siege of Petersburg. On April 20, 1861, local volunteers formed in its square to enlist. On June 9, 1864, its bell sounded the warning for the local militia to meet the advancing Union cavalry.
During the Siege, soldiers from both sides could see the courthouse clock from the trenches and they set their timepieces by it. The clock tower was a favorite target of Union artillerists, who poured an estimated 20,000 shells into the city. When Petersburg fell on April 3, 1865 a Union flag waved above it.)
So we all thought it would be really neat to go out on April 3 this year and take a picture of the courthouse 146 years later, and these are our results! :O)

This is Thomas Roche picture taken on April 3, 1865

Below our all of our pictures taken April 3, 2011

Preston's Picture

Tristan's Picture

My Picture

Sebastian's Picture

Kiersten's Picture

After getting our 146 year old picture we headed out to eat some yummy Mexican, and then off to a Carnival they were having in the mall parking lot. Which of course the kids loved...here are a couple of our pics from the rest of our day! :O)

Yeap the big slide..me looking dorky and Seb looking very happy!

Preston being super cool and riding with Tris for me!

Preston loving the fast swings

Kiersten mid conversation, she was not feeling the rides today

Tristan loving the swings

Loving how much fun he is having


Pres taking Seb on Seb's fav..the big slide

Playing a couple of games..thankfully they did win a fish!!

Tris winning at fishing..but no real fish...just a prize..yay

Tris with his prize

Seb on the way home...we all felt this way..long but great day!

Later Tators!

Spring Is In The Air!

2011-03-28T21:59:00.001-04:00

Ahhhh Spring is in the air, well okay it was a few days ago. Now it has turned back cold...burrr....that is Southern weather for you. One day it is great and the next your looking for the coat you put away excitably thinking it will be warm.
For us Spring means waking up from the winter blue's and heading outdoors on some much needed learning adventures. This year I finally want to start doing Letterboxing, I have said many times but we are going to do it this year! I also have a ton of great field trips planned (Washington DC, Space Shuttle Launch, Exploring more of VA and NC to name a few.) hoping we get to all of them before we move. Yes...move fingers crossed and prayers said that my hubs will find a new job somewhere awesome and we get to move...so make sure to say a prayer for us...
Below is a pic my daughter took on one of very fun learning adventures at Tuckahoe Plantation last Spring....Which I have to say if you live near Richmond, VA, you really should stop by and see this plantation it is really nice, you do need appt. to see the inside of the home..but you can visit the outdoors for free...we loved it! This pic says Spring to me...everything green and alive...and there is nothing better then warm weather to get my oldest, my aspiring photographer outdoors for some great photo ops.... :O)

Linking this up to the L.E.N.S. Photo Challenge (Spring)

Later Tators!

Just Me!

2011-03-15T00:48:00.003-04:00

Yeap, it's that time again..this is for the L.E.N.S. Photo Challenge. The theme is mom in the middle (hand someone else the camera and share a photo of you out in the middle of the action). Well, I was trying to figure out what pic to use and this is the one I came up with...This is me..yeap, just me. The one great pic my hubs has taken of me...this was on our honeymoon we were driving somewhere in Savannah, GA...love love love that place...anyway this is someone's driveway...I jumped out and he took a couple of shots...then we had to hurry and jump in the car to zoom off...cause the owners were driving down their driveway..prolly to see what in the world we were doing....yea total free feeling....felt like we got away with something..lol...so without due here it is....Me..a little younger...a little thinner....and feeling free... ;o)

Later Tators!

While Your Were Gone!

2011-02-26T17:08:00.001-05:00

This week's L.E.N.S. Challenge is Red. Wow this one was hard for me. I went through tons of pics to find this one. I took this picture in Jan. of this year at the mall. Thankfully for us this section was still up. "Santa, you were gone so we borrowed your seat for few moments!" Yes it was roped off..but I was determined to get this pic..lol...so our kids quickly posed so mama can get her pic.. :O) the big man's chair is not centered..but it's the quirky things that make pictures great..right!

This pic really says Red to me, does it say Red to you? ;o)

Later Tators!

Spider Babies

2011-02-21T21:40:00.002-05:00

L.E.N.S. Photo Challenge entry for the week. It is all about Micro/Macro. I took this pic last year. I was hanging around outside and I noticed this mama Wolf Spider carrying a load, poor thing was dying and her babies were just hanging on. She did end up dying but her babies just stayed with her. I ended up having to move them so they would be safe. It was kinda sad..but I got a great pic of her babes...

Later Tators!

Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend...My Hair!

2011-02-21T21:30:00.002-05:00

Okay, so this is what has been happening with just me on the subject of hair for the past few months/weeks....I have had what you call a hair crisis. My hair was to my waist..and I had noticed over the past few months that my hair was getting really thin toward the mid back to the ends and also that it seemed like aliens had come into my room at night and started to cut certain parts of my hair..like my bangs and so on. It was weird like really weird. So I finally got around to checking out what was going on. I went to a skin/hair doctor and this is what she told me. First question. Have you been under any large amounts of stress lately? Well, who the hell is not under stress right! So yes, my hubs has been away for about 8 months..so yeap stress, he is living in ND for work, I am living in VA. Stress....Have you used any strong products on your hair? Nope, I take care of my hair. Any surgeries in the past year? Why yes..wisdom teeth removal, I was put under cause they were impacted. Well, there ya go. What? Surgery can make your hair go into some sort of shock? My hair went insane and started to break. Nothing I could do. It had started on the inside of the hair follicle, so from about mid back down to my waist it had started to basically break off...damaged..for good..no turning back..notta....all because of stupid wisdom teeth. Is that not crazy? So I decided to right this post for others to be aware, surgery can make your hair go nuts, and you might not even get the results to up till a year after surgery. My surgery was just over a year ago and I just started noticing this hair mess a month or two ago. The doc told me to get all the unhealthy hair cut..take my vitamins and start regrowing! Great.....what fun!

So I went to a stylist and got the girl cut my what was waist length hair up to where the damage had not hit....so here are before pics and after pics...I miss my long hair, I keep finding myself trying to move it out the way when I eat and other things..just to find it is not there anymore. I have had long hair most of my adult life, so yes many tears have been shed..but it's hair right. It might grow back long...a long time from now...lol...

so without further adue...here are the before pics...

and now the after pics....here's to the re-growing of hair... :O)

Later Tators!

Floating Buddha

2011-02-07T01:43:00.003-05:00

Okay this is for my L.E.N.S. submission...I really said I was not going to do this week since I have not done a real post in a while..but I am addicted to these challenges...really if you have a blog..get with it and do one of these challenges..they are great! :O)

So this one is a PE (physical education) Challenge, we do PE anywhere. When we are on field trips we do tons of walking among other things, when we are indoors there is a ton of playing and running..yes running in the house..and outdoors there is a little and a lot of everything. This photo was taken a few years ago but it is one of my favs....this was taking while my hubs was watching us play around on the oh trampoline...the two oldest getting a workout..and me...well I was along for the ride...so without further a do..here it is....

Floating Buddha... ;o)

I have a real post in the works...so yes a post is underway....I promise I have tons to catch up on...just been a busy busy winter...and so far a heck of a crazy year....hope you all are doing well in the new year!

BTW this was right when we put the trampoline up...and the kids were going crazy to get on it..after this photo..we put the net around it...I do highly recommend a net with any trampoline! :O)

Later Tators!!

Eye See You!

2011-01-30T15:19:00.001-05:00

So this weeks L.E.N.S. photo challenge was all about eyes....I found this pic and love it..my daughter Kiersten took this picture when my hubs was home for the holidays and we were all going out on the town for the day. My husband Terry was doing that thing all parents do..use the rear view mirror to check up on the kiddos in the backseat..yeap we all do it! Just thought this was perfect for this challenge..can you see the temp in the middle of my hubs forehead...lol....

Later Tators!