FIRE!

We spent last weekend at my sister's house in Muscatine. I had changed out of my clothes & into something nicer to attend a quincenetta. When I did I set my clothes on top of the bathroom counter top. They sat there for a few hours just fine. Once I got back to the house I wanted to change into my jammies, but realized that I had forgotten to pack any. In the mean time I draw a bath for Carmen & stick her in the tub to play while I get ready to change. At first I asked my sister for a pair of pj's to wear, but then remembered I could at least put my t-shirt back on to lounge around in. I grabbed the t-shirt & set my sweatshirt back onto the counter. I walk back out into the kitchen where my sister is to tell her that I really only need some bottoms to put on. Remember Carmen is still in the bathtub, but dont' worry the kitchen & bahtroom are right next to each other. I talked with my sister for at least a minute before I walked back into the bathroom where I found my sweatshirt on fire! Up in flames! I start screaming & yelling, my sister runs in to find out what is going on. Together we put out the fire. Of course we were panicked, but once the flames were out we busted out into laughter. Apparently I didn't see the candle sitting on the counter top so when I set my sweatshirt back up there I set it right next to the candle. All the while baby Carmen is looking at us like "what is your problem". Poor child, should not be taking lessons from her mama & aunt.

Of course, you know me...I had to snap a picture. You can see that only the arm caught on fire, but it sure did give off a big flame. Coulda fooled me. I was mad though, it's my newest sweatshirt. Now I gotta go order another one. Maaaaaan.

Awwwwwww

Hayes Hustle

I raced again a few weekends ago. This time it was in my old stomping ground of Muscatine, IA. I LOVE racing back home. Jim decided to not run this race with me. He still came along, with all 6 kids in tow, to watch me & cheer me on.

This race was a 5k (3.1 miles) and I finished in 22:12. I did NOT win, not even by a long shot. The girl who did win was a 15 year old high school stand out. She ran it in under 20 minutes. Can't really compete with that though and I'm perfectly fine with that. We're not compairing apples to apples here. More like a nice shiny ripe apple to a oblong over-ripe and in some places mushy banana. I did come in 2nd though AND I beat a woman who 3-4 years ago was always beating me. I'll take my victories where I can. : )

I placed first in my age group. There were no trophies, but instead coffee mugs for awards. I like that though. Something I can use. Really, my basement is fully of trophies just collecting dust. Until my next race.....

Easter Sunday

I used to be more "with it" on Easter sunday. Cute little outfits, quite often all matching with hairstyles to match as well. Pictures of every combination possible. I KNOW that this is not what Easter is all about.

Christ is risen....He is risen indeed!

But now....well, we barely got the eggs colored the night before and outfits, hahaha...I just ask they have proper clothes on when we walk out the door. And pictures? After some protesting and whining/complaining (from my OLDEST none the less) I had a weak mommy moment & went into meltdown mode myself and ordered them up to their rooms to change. I did get this one little shot of all of them. We had all the eggs hidden, the kids were itching to get out there & find them all. I held them hostage with "just ONE picture" before I let them go on their fun.

And if you look at the picture real close you see Andrew wearing sandals with socks on (although I'm lucky he had ANY shoes on), John is wearing winter boots, Nina a light jacket, Mandy a winter coat, Angel has on sandals with no socks & baby Carmen is wearing tennis shoes with her Easter dress & tights still on. And to end it all, yes, those are Halloween buckets they are holding. *sigh*

I had a hard time getting good pictures of them finding their eggs, but here are a few. The big kids still have fun, but it's beyond cute to watch Carmen & Andrew find their eggs.

coloring eggs

I think I summed it up best by saying I'm glad we only color eggs one day a year! Of course with most things that we do it's total chaos with the many hands and mouths a going at the same time. We survived just fine though and had some pretty Easter eggs to show for it.

trampoline

We had a nice weather day a few weeks ago. We took full advantage of working outside as much as possible. The kids were very excited to help with the trampoline set up. Andrew didn't even realize we owned one. He thought we were kidding him when we told him there was one in the garage. We took it down a few years ago and never put it back up. It made it seem like it was brand new, which for some like Andrew it is.






Carmen did her part to help out around the house too. Never too young to train these children!


Of course, she did her part to help daddy too.

pancakes

I made pancakes recently for Jim's birthday. Every once in awhile I get crafty with it & make letters or color them a certain color (pink for Valentine's Day, green for St. Patrick's Day, etc.). So I made some special ones just for the birthday boy. Although he wasn't home to enjoy them fresh off the griddle....it's the thought that counts right? I thought I would share my receipe.

3 c. flour
1 c. brown sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
2 c. milk
2 eggs
6 tsp. butter (melted)

Mix all of the dry ingredients, add the eggs & milk. Save the butter for last to be stirred in.

I only make them from scratch now. Once you've made them this way, you can never go back to pre-made mix from the store. If you make them just right you will find pockets of brown sugar & butter in them. YUM! I will give credit to my friend Laura whom I got this receipe from. Who knows where she got it from or maybe she made it up myself. I've made it enough though that my family & friends call it my pancake receipe. Either way, you've got to try it and let me know what you think!

Have you ever felt alone as a mom? Lost in your chosen field of mothering?



There is an organization that was created to encourage, educate and equip women in the profession of motherhood. Hearts at Home helps thousands of moms love their lives through their many resources including conferences, website, and books.



Recently I partnered up with this organization as a blogger. Over time I hope to share with you the many resources this ministry has to offer (old ones and new). To learn more about the Hearts at Home Blogging team go here.



In the meantime I would like to encourage you to explore their website and blog for an immediate dose of mothering encouragement.

Ready.....Set.....Go.....

Ahhhh, racing season is here again. Jim & I kicked it off with a local race here in Galesburg. The Carl Sandburg Run has been going for 28 years strong. I have run in this race several times, many of them taking 1st place. You can choose between a 2 or 4 mile run. I always choose the 2 mile. It takes me back to my high school race distance. I recruited some of my friends to join me which helped make the event more fun.

Of course, Jim was there too. (Don't ask what he is doing in the picture...I HAVE NO IDEA!) I look forward to having Jim there to keep me company....at least before & after the race, I usually have no idea where he is during the race.

Jim ran the 4 mile run. Once I was done I circled back out on the course to see him finish. He kept a good pace with our friend Sarah. They helped keep each other going on a solid 9 minute pace. He finished in the 36 minute range.

I was able to finish 1st in the 2 mile women's race. I did have some competition though. For most of the race I had a 14 year old girl in front of me a bit. It helped give me some focus to not slack off and cruise to a finish. I had to work hard to catch up with her. I passed her with less than a quarter mile to go and she never caught up. I finished with a good time of 13:50. I didn't even run that fast in high school. Now I know that it's not that I couldn't....I certainly had the ability, I just never tried that hard. Although in many ways it feels so much better now after having birthed my 6 children and battled the ups and downs and life.

There was a newspaper article that had all the details listed. ( http://www.galesburg.com/sports/x1548673993/CSC-RUN-Races-draw-135-runners ) The photographer took my picture, like an upclose shot of me. But I'm glad he didn't use it for the actual article. I like running & racing to get publicity. And I've learned over and over it's not always about the winning or winner.

We have another race next weekend in my hometown. And a few more in the near future. It's really just the beginning....

Happy Birthday Jim!

Yesterday was Jim birthday. I won't tell you how old he is. I will tell you that he is nearing the top of that oh so dreaded hill. You know...."middle age". He has about 364 days until he offically reaches the top of that hill. But, you know, who's counting?!?!?!

The kids are out of school this week for spring break. They were around to help me make his birthday cake. German chocolate is his favorite.


It's tradition that I make this for him, from scratch, of course. So the kids got a nice cooking lesson in the process.





Of course we had to have a little fun too!



I've been known to surprise Jim on several past birthdays with a party. He was keenly aware of this and kept asking what things I might be up to to try and "get" him. I reassurred him, though, that I was not throwing any party for him. Throwing a party, as in, me buying & then fixing massive amounts of food (some in secret, some right under his nose), then luring him away from the house while the guests arrive and him coming home in complete surprise. No, no....none of that this year.

But I did want to do something. It's just in me to do that....something. So I invited a bunch of friends to join us for supper at a restaurant. The Packing House is one of the finest places in Galesburg to eat. We rarely ever eat there due to the cost. On your birthday you get a prime rib dinner for free. We've taken advantage of that before. We joke that it's the only time we can afford to eat there because one of the meals is free. But depending on when our birthday falls and what we have going on we haven't always been able to enjoy that offer every year. In fact it had been 2 years since the last time we ate there.

I lured him to the restaurant, which didn't really work. He knew all along that I would be up to something. I told him it didn't matter what I did, he was going to be suspecious of anything that I did that day. But he was a trooper and played along. He was not surprised that we were having supper there and that one set of our friends were there. He didn't realize that I had other friends there too. We enjoyed a nice dinner and had great time & conversation with our friends.

Later we were able to enjoy the german chocolate cake that I had made. A simple gathering around the cake and singing happy birthday with the kids. It was the perfect ending to the day.