Just Another Day in Paradise

Harry 30th Birthday

2012-01-25T21:57:00.013-06:00

Anyway who knows me knows that I am not very good at keeping secrets when it comes to gift giving. When I finally figure out the perfect gift, I want to shout it from the rooftops. I'm notorious for giving in early and letting people open their gifts early so I can see their reaction because I know they're going to love it. Well, I am so proud of myself because I was able to keep Jordan's 30th Birthday present a surprise! Go me!

So how was I able to pull this off? Well, first Jordan decided that he wanted to go to the temple for his birthday (so very Peter Priesthood of him, but I was excited to go as well). We arranged for Mom to watch the kiddos so we could go to Atlanta. We got a killer deal on a hotel in Atlanta through Hotwire. A few days later, we saw that the Atlanta temple was going to be closed for two weeks starting the week we were going. FABULOUS! This has been the Florida Golds' luck for the past year. So we called Hotwire and asked about a refund. They said they couldn't give one because it was one of their super hot deals. The dilemma was do we go anyway since we already paid and just say we tried to go to the temple or do we just suck it up and head to Orlando. We had planned this trip with another couple, the Lasters (David and Becca). Becca and I were talking about it and felt like we should go to Orlando so we could go to the temple since we already had babysitting covered and a rental car. We then decided it would be a wonderful idea to surprise Jordan with tickets to Universal Studios Island of Adventures so he could go to Harry Potter World. We figured out the cost of the new hotel room and the discounted tickets through David's work. As luck would have it, I had some Christmas money left over that I could finagle to cover the cost. The thing you have to know is Jordan watches our finances like a hawk. There was no way for me to pull this off if I had to withdraw money because he would know before I got home that money had been withdrawn. So the saved Christmas money was enough to cover both tickets with a whopping three dollars left over.

The next phase of the plan was to talk Jordan into Orlando. This was no easy task. Jordan didn't want to give up the amount from the Atlanta hotel reservation. This part of the plan required me to be a little bit grouchy to get him to change his mind. Jordan is normally one to go with the flow whereas I'm more the uptight one. Well the roles were reversed this week (this was partly induced because of some not so great events...an IRS letter saying we filed our taxes wrong probably due to my stinking tutoring I did last year AND the car started overheating for mysterious reasons). It took a while, but we finally convinced him to be okay with going to Orlando.

An adult trip to Orlando was exactly what we needed. We made the six hour drive Friday afternoon with no kids. This meant it actually took six hours instead of eight. No one was grumpy or picking at the other one on the ride down. Again, just what we needed. Saturday morning we woke up super early to go to the temple. Becca's Mom works there and informed us that there were six buses scheduled for Saturday. (I can't wait for the Fort Lauderdale temple to open! It'll cut down some of the traffic to the Orlando temple.) We got there so early, the temple wasn't even opened yet. I could tell Jordan was not that excited about being there so early. We had a great session though. We were both grateful to have the opportunity to go to the temple despite all of the hardships we had faced making plans for this trip. When we left, there was a line out the door with about 75 people waiting to show their recommends. INSANE!

After the temple, David had mentioned that he had never been to City Walk (the shops and restaurants outside of Universal). So we rushed over to City Walk. Becca told Jordan that you could see Harry Potter World from the gates. We walked down to get a glimpse. The boys took a bathroom break when we got to the gates. While they were gone, Becca asked me how I was going to tell him we had tickets. I told her I had no idea. I honestly didn't think we'd make it this far without him knowing. So when he came back, here's what happened.

So we rushed in and headed to Harry Potter World without Fast Passes (since they cost tons extra at Universal). Let me just say that I am so glad we didn't buy Fast Passes! Instead of taking 45 minutes just to buy a Butterbeer, it only took 5. The Harry Potter Ride was only a 45 minutes wait versus the normal 2 hours and 45 minutes. That was followed by 2 minute waits as single riders so we could ride again and again quickly. It was AMAZING! Here are some of the things we did and saw.

The Hogwarts Express.

Butterbeers, which were super sweet and rich but delicious!

Hogwarts Castle was amazing!

The boys had to make sure they could fit in the seats before getting in line.

What's that? There's no stroller to be pushed? So FABULOUS!

A wand selection demonstration at Ollivanders. Yes, those are wands from the floor to the ceiling. All different kinds of wands. Jordan was too chicken to buy a wand. He didn't want to be that dorky...though he really is and I love that about him.

We ended up closing down the park...leaving at 6:55. An hour before it closed, we decided to go on the water rides since the high that day had been 80 degrees. By the time we went, the sun was down and it was cold if you were one of those idiots that were wet...which we were. He had the best time though! Best. Birthday. EVER.

2012 Resolution

2012-01-02T18:14:00.002-06:00

Two thousand eleven was a very difficult year for me. It was the end of Jordan's college undertaking. This meant he was going to get a fabulous job making enough money so that I could stay home and raise Callie. It was supposed to be the year we got pregnant with baby #3 and continue to grow our little family.

As the school chapter of our lives came to a close, I grew very excited. Where would Jordan get a job? Would he get it before the summer so that my summer checks could be put into our money market account to help save for a nicer/larger home? Would we have to move? The thought of packing up our life and moving excited and frightened me all at the same time. As time progressed, the summer came and went without finding any kind of job. Thankfully we were used to living on a meager teacher salary, so we were accustomed to very tight budgeting. Right before the school year started last fall, Jordan got a part-time job with Hertz. We were very grateful. He has continued to work at Hertz part-time while still looking for a full-time position elsewhere. We have chased lead after lead without luck. Needless to say, my 2011 was not what I expected it to be. Many of my dreams and goals were forced to be put on hold. All of the stress from our situation and the disappointment really took its toll on me.

As 2012 approached, everyone began making their resolutions. As I thought about what I wanted from 2012, I realized it really came down to one thing...happiness. So my goal for 2012 is just one thing...to be happy no matter what the situation may be. It sounds a little selfish and not that big of a goal until you break it down as to how I'll be able to achieve it.

1.) Read My Scriptures Daily - Last year, I hate to admit it, but I did not read daily. When I do read, I always feel peace. I need that peace daily to be truly happy,

2.) Family Home Evening - We were good about it during the first part of the year. When Jordan got his job we slacked off because his schedule changes weekly. Every Sunday I fill out our weekly dry erase calendar board to keep us all on the same page. This year I'll put FHE on a day when all of us will be home, not just autofill it on Monday.

3.) Exercise - I'm not one of those people who loves to exercise. I like when I'm half way done...I feel proud that I made myself do it and feel energized afterwards. The last six months I've done a lot of stress eating. Exercising will help me feel good and help take care of that stress eating weight.

4.) Keep My Toenails Painted - Painted toenails make me smile. I've always loved having polish on my toes. They rarely go naked...until last year. The stress of everything just seemed to consume me until I didn't even make time for myself. This year, they'll never go naked. Just thinking abut that makes me smile.

5.) Try New Recipes - I love to cook, and I do so regularly. I love not only providing a delicious meal for my family, but the art of cooking in my kitchen by myself is quite enjoyable. It is one of those things that makes me happy, and I'm good at it. I'm usually up for trying new recipes. Last year, I didn't try the first new recipe...wait, I did try one at Thanksgiving. This year I am going to dig through all of my recipe books and find some recipes to try.

6.) Get My Craft On - Last year I didn't make time for this...not the first scrapbook page or hair bow made. This year I'm making time for crafts. I enjoy them and they make me happy. I'll even include the kiddos in some.

I know my resolution is a little different this year, but I'm excited to see how 2012 turns out because of it. What is your resolution for 2012?

First Loose Tooth

2011-12-29T10:47:00.003-06:00

Carson could not wait until his first tooth came out. Everyone else was losing teeth, but him. Finally the time came for his first loose tooth. He loved it. Then, he realized it had to come out...not so fun. He was quite the scared one. It took 4 minutes of coaxing to finally get it out. This was the Sunday of the Primary Program so we were rushing around trying to get to church early. All throughout the program he kept feeling the hole where his tooth used to be. Here's the whole tooth extraction. If you decide to watch the whole thing, be sure to notice the huge proud smile at the end. I was able to capture complete joy on his face.

Bob

2011-12-29T01:25:00.009-06:00

This is Bob. He's our elf on the shelf. This was his second year in the Gold home. Last year, he was a bit shy. This year, he was much more mischievous. For any of you that don't know about elf on the shelf, he's an elf that flies back and forth to the North Pole every night to report on how the kids are doing (naughty or nice). When the family is around, he is still like a toy. When we are sleeping, he becomes his elf-self and can sometimes get into things. If the elf is touched, his magic disappears. Carson named ours Bob (let's just say when baby #3 rolls around, he won't be helping us name it...hehe). Here are some images of Bob and his adventures.

Bob found himself a girlfriend. Don't worry, we didn't tell Mickey.

One night Bob decided it would be humorous to color the kids' noses. He chose a marker from Callie's room. He thought he was getting green, but really ended up with purple (that's why the marker lid doesn't match the noses).

At first, the kids didn't notice the marked up noses (perhaps because it was wearing off from all of their tossing and turning). They came into my room and Callie announced, "The elf took my fricking marker! That naughty elf came into my room and took my marker!" First off, I was completely appalled at the word choice and knew I needed to be a little more careful about my language. At the same time, I was overcome by laughter at her thought process. I regained my composure and asked them which one of them had marked on their noses. They both looked at me shocked and told me neither had. They ran to the bathroom to check their faces. We decided it must have been that pesky elf, Bob.

Bob became quite active the week of Christmas. He decided it would be funny to doodle on the kids' pictures. They got a good kick out of it.

One night Bob decided to go repelling with Barbie. It looks like Barbie was stuck and in need of some help. Bob was coming after her when the kids woke up and he was forced to become a toy.

Christmas Eve was Bob's last night with us. He decided to TP the Christmas tree
before he left.

He even left us a little note.
We are going to miss our little buddy Bob the elf. I'm sure he'll have lots of new adventures with us next Christmas season.

Oh, Lookie There, I've Got a Bite

2011-07-22T22:07:00.011-05:00

One of Jordan's favorite songs is The Fishing Song by Brad Paisley (you may also know it as I'm Gonna Miss Her). For those of you unfamiliar with the awesomeness that is Brad Paisley, the song is about the love of fishing. We recently went up to Tennessee to visit family. One day while we were up there, we went fishing. The pictures we took definitely describe fishing in through the eyes of the kids.
Phase 1: The Honeymoon Period

Look at how excited everyone is to be fishing. Of course these pictures were taken two minutes after we got there.

I love that Cade is fishing like a man with that pink fishing pole.

Phase 2: Boredom

Five minutes later, this is what everyone looked like.
Phase 3: Happiness

Callie caught the first fish. That reinvigorated everyone else!

Dad was very proud!

It wasn't much longer until other fish were caught.

Everyone was happy!

Reasons We Love Florida

2011-07-20T19:22:00.029-05:00

I'm surprised at how many people don't really like where they live. It's crazy to me because I absolutely love where we live. There are so many reasons we love Florida. Here are a few...

Sunsets at the beach.

Cars can drive on sand.

Fabulous kids to grow up with my kids.

Wonderful friends to do things with.

An endless supply of water.

It's the one place it's okay to show a little crack.

Great educational opportunities.

Grilling out requires an Aunt Jemima rag.

You never have to let the cat die.

There's no age requirement to become a hair dresser.

Hotels have special beds for kids.

Parks that bring a smile to your face no matter how hot it is outside.

Fun uncles that are willing to sweat along with you.

Redneck fireworks.

Parades that throw candy, beads, and popsicles.

Pools are everywhere.

Plants are shaped like our favorite characters.

You can nap anywhere.

Dogs are bigger than you are.

Everyone hugs everyone.

Faith

2011-04-07T18:30:00.004-05:00

When we found out that I was pregnant with Carson, we had only been married for a few months. We were both working at the time, and I was going to school full time. We were unsure of what to do. Should I quit school and stay at home with Carson (even though my school was paid for)? Should I continue school? What about the work situation? We had a lot of questions and no answers. Everyone around us had their versions of the answers for us. We decided to turn to the Lord in prayer. We both felt that I should continue school, but one of us should always be home with the kids. That is when we came up with our plan. I would go to school and stay home with Carson while Jordan worked full time to support us. I would work a few hours when Jordan was home to help. When I graduated, I would teach to put Jordan through school and he could be home with the kids. When he finished school, he would get a job and I could return home with the kids. We prayed about our plan and again felt that this was the right path for us. Many people didn't agree with it or couldn't understand why we decided on this, but we didn't care. We knew we had prayed and received our answer.

Well fast forward almost 7 years later, Jordan is graduating May 1st. Life hasn't been as easy as we thought it would be when we decided on this plan. It feels like we are finally at the end of a long, long road. Right now we are in the process of finding Jordan a job (something much easier said than done). This job hunting is very frustrating at times. Do we move? Do we stay? Can we find a job that will allow me to stay home? Anyone who knows me knows that I have a very black and white personality. I am a planner. I like to have my ducks in a row at all times. This uncertainty of life is really testing me. I know it will work out. However, I am not a patient one. Through this I am learning patience and faith. Monday night I became frustrated with it all. I turned to my scriptures for comfort. I happened to be in Mosiah and read about Abinadi. I have read this story numerous times, but I felt differently about it on this occasion. I thought here is a man who knows that people want to capture him and he goes back in disguise anyway. Once he is back, he professes he is Abinadi and begins teaching. He knows what is going to happen to him (and it is in no way pleasant), yet he had the faith to go back. This made me think of Samuel the Lamanite as well. He was similar in how he went back to a hostile environment. These men had incredible faith. Why can't I? I am already blessed to have a job. I can work another year if I need to. We are trying to do what the Lord has asked of us. Why wouldn't he bless us with a fabulous job opportunity? There are so many examples of inspiration in the scriptures. I am so grateful for the scriptures!

Carson T

2011-04-02T20:29:00.016-06:00

Here is my Carson T.

He is super smart.

He is a big goof ball.

He is a hugger.

He is best buds with his daddy.

He is athletic.

He is a lover of the beach.

He is a lover of animals.

He is creative.

He is a baker and a chef.

He is a grumpy bear in the morning.

He is a good friend.

He is my ray of sunshine!

Callie Paige

2011-03-22T20:31:00.019-06:00

This is my little Callie Paige.

She is my creative child.
If you leave her alone for two seconds, you'll come across something like this.

She is always proud of her work.

She is a lover of peanut butter.

She makes funny facial expressions.

She is a lover of animals.

She is a bad driver.

She is a lover of the beach and her brother.

She is a lover of manicures.

She is an artist.

She is a lover of swinging.

She is a lover of Minnie Mouse.

She is my happy little girl.

Callie's 2nd Birthday

2010-12-22T13:32:00.003-06:00

So I'm not sure if it is because I'm working and feel extremely overwhelmed, or if it is just the fact that Callie's birthday is in December...but I was not motivated at all in planning her birthday party. Normally I am super excited and know what I'm going to do a few months in advance. Maybe it is the curse of the second kid...been there done that before type of thing. Two weeks before Callie's birthday, we were sitting on the beach by the fire at an Elder's Quorum activity when I finally received some inspiration. One of my favorite books to read in December is Chris Van Allsburg's The Polar Express. I decided it would be fun to have a Polar Express Birthday Party for Callie. So I came home that night and stayed up creating cute little invitations that looked like tickets. The kids wore their pajamas to the party. We had homemade hot chocolate in our hot chocolate maker for the kids. We watched The Polar Express movie. Everyone had a great time! The kids left with their own bells. Here are some pictures from the party. I love her expressions!

Mickey's Christmas Party

2010-12-02T21:45:00.015-06:00

Yes, that IS snow in Florida! Last month we took a quick trip down to Disney for our first Mickey's Christmas Party. I've never been before and didn't really know what to expect. The Magic Kingdom closes early and you have to buy a separate ticket for the event. We have season passes so we just had to purchase the event tickets. This is amazing because most people don't want to buy two tickets...this means less people in the park. It was totally worth the money!

When we first walked in we saw the snow. I don't know who was more excited for it the kids or me! All of the employees were dressed in Christmas outfits and everything was decorated for Christmas.

We immediately went to our favorite ride, Buzz Lightyear. Normally, this ride is a 90 minute wait. However, it was only a 5 minute wait! It was this way for all of the rides. We didn't even have to wait to ride the tea cups. We'd get on, off, and right back on. It was AWESOME!

After a few rides, we decided to take advantage of the FREE hot chocolate and cookies. This is a big deal because everything in the park is super expensive. Being the frugal momma I am, I made sure we got our fill of free goodies.

We then went to the parade route and found a spot. The kids really loved it because they both love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Callie is not into any princesses, but loves Minnie Mouse. Santa also made an appearance in the parade. That made Carson's night.

After the parade there was an amazing fireworks show. It was all coordinated with Christmas music. We even got to see Tinkerbell fly. Callie was more interested in seeing Tink.

Another really neat thing about Mickey's Christmas Party was that characters randomly came by to interact with the kids. We were eating some dinner and Goofy randomly came by. Look at Carson's face! He had so much fun! Usually you have to reserve and pay a ton to eat with the characters.

After dinner, we went to a dance party. An elf led the kids in all kinds of dancing. The kids really loved it! They got on the dance floor and shook their booties.
We had such a blast. I think it is going to be a yearly tradition to go down just for Mickey's Christmas Party.

Catching Up on the Year

2010-11-26T15:52:00.009-06:00

So obviously I never take time to update my blog. It takes a Thanksgiving break that we are actually staying at home for in order for me to find the time to blog. I was glancing over the previous blog posts to see what was important to me the last few times I posted. I am still crazily couponing. The spoils of couponing have helped us save up for a brand new livingroom set complete with a new tv. It is the first really nice furniture we have had. Anyway, here is what has been going on with the Florida Golds...

Carson started Kindergarten this year! How crazy is that?! I love this picture because they both look so happy...this is BEFORE Callie realized she wasn't going to school too. Carson has a fabulous teacher this year named Mrs. Sexton (yes Carson is learning to spell sex in kindergarten as he writes her name a million times). His best friend Gabi is in his class again this year (we rigged it that way). It is so funny to just listen in on their conversations. A few weeks ago Carson and Callie were playing while I cooked. I heard Carson say, "Gabi! Gabi!" I stopped and asked, "What did you just say?" He giggled loudly (as he always does...he has no inside voice) and said, "Oh! I mean Callie! Silly me!" Perhaps they need some time apart?

I am still blessed in these hard economic times to have a job teaching 3rd grade. I absolutely love third graders! They are still so sweet and eager to please without much of an attitude. They love learning and enjoy anything hands on. As much as I love teaching, I am ready for Jordan to be done with school and get a job so we can switch roles again. I am ready to be at home with my babies. I've also done a fabulous job of losing my baby weight and then some (which puts me back at the size I was right after Jordan and I got married). I lost 30 pounds with Weight Watchers online. I've been able to keep it off too without much effort, which is awesome.

Callie is about to turn two and is a mess! I call her my expressive child. She LOVES to color...especially all over her body (I never had this problem with Carson). She makes the craziest expressions and is very animated. She has some redheaded grandma in her when it comes to letting people know what she wants and when she wants it.

Jordan is busy being a stay at home dad and finishing up school. After this semester, he will have only 2 classes in the Spring and then he is done! I am so proud of him. I know this has been a long road for the both of us. We each thought that switching roles for a few years would be a piece of cake. ABSOLUTELY NOT THE CASE! We are both ready to switch back. It has been a learning and growing experience for both of us. I think we definitely have a greater respect and understanding for what the other one does for our family. I really am blessed to have been married to him for 6 years now.
I know that a lot more has taken place, and I really hate that I'm not blogging about it because that means I'm forgetting so much that is going on. I really will try to make an effort to blog once a week or so in hopes that I can remember all of the wonderful little crazy things my family does or says.

Mardi Gras

2010-03-11T20:52:00.004-06:00

Pre-K puts on a Mardi Gras parade at Waller every year. They make masks to wear, pass out beads, and dance. This year Carson was in the parade. He was so cute! Jordan came up and brought Callie too. It was nice. Carson has really grown a lot this year at school. I was really worried that he would be bored at school because he already knew a lot going into Pre-K. He has learned so much and grown up a lot this year.

Updates

2010-03-11T20:28:00.004-06:00

Alright so I'm over taking pictures of my couponing deals. I'm still couponing my little heart out. We've established a new budget and have stuck to it. This has helped us save up for our trip to Disney. We are going the first weekend in April (my Spring Break). Duane and Faye are coming with us. We are super excited! Carson has been begging to go back for the past two years.

Carson is absolutely hilarious at this age. Yesterday he was outside playing because it was finally gorgeous. He picked up a big stick and ended up scratching his chest with it. There was some blood. He came in and we cleaned it up. He wanted a big band-aid on it. We were out of them, so I told him I would just use lots of little ones. So I began using my pre-nursing classes and bandaged him up. As I put a few band-aids on, Carson stopped me and said, "Mommy, I'm going to only have one booby. I can't have just one. I'm supposed to have two." Every day he has something silly like that to say.

Callie is into EVERYTHING! I totally forgot that 15 month olds are like tornadoes. She is always digging in my purse and emptying my wallet. She never messes with Jordan's stuff. It's always mine. She has developed a little attitude. She wants to make sure that even though she is small, she is still here.

Jordan is still tackling the Mr. Mom role. It's not been as glamorous as he had originally thought. He is really doing a good job though. He has 6 more classes until he graduates. HALLELUJAH! I love teaching, but I'm ready to switch roles too!

I am still teaching 3rd grade. I just survived another year of FCAT Testing. This year I've been less stressed (even Jordan noticed). I've joined Weight Watchers online. A lot of the girls at work are doing it at school. I've lost 17 pounds and am down 3 sizes. Hip hip hooray! Now that I'm losing the weight though, I am getting the baby bug. Jordan has to hurry up and get done with school so we can try for baby #3. That's what we have been up to.

Weekly Roundup

2010-02-26T19:41:00.009-06:00

This week was a really good week. I spent more than last week, but last week was my cheapest Publix trip. Here's the breakdown.

CVS

Transaction #1

This week I started off with $10 ECB. I picked up my favorite eye shadow and some Colgate toothpaste for the kiddos and only paid $1.77. I saved $10.05, which is a 85% savings. I also earned $4 ECB. This was a total money maker.

Transaction #2

Here's what else I bought (well, minus transaction #1 in there too). I ended up with 2 packages of toilet paper and 3 packages of paper towels for only $7.65. I saved $36.00 with ECBs, MQs, and an extra CVS Q for $5 off $15 purchase from the scanner. An 82% saving on paper towels and toilet paper is not to shabby!

Target

We were in need of dog food this week. Luckily it was on sale and I had a coupon. I ended up paying $24.45 for it all and saved $27.40. Each item averaged out to $1.53 which is awesome with the dog stuff included.

Publix
Pic 1

Pic 2

So this week I bought a ton and it won't even fit in one picture! There were some killer deals. I even picked up some fresh shrimp (yes, I did have a coupon for it). I ended up spending $60.34 and saved $189.64 (which is my largest dollar amount of savings)! AWESOME!

Side story: I went grocery shopping Wednesday night and Mom went to Publix Thursday night. She had a $1 coupon and said, "Well it's only a dollar, but every little bit helps." The bagger then told her that just last night a lady came in and saved $189 and only spent $60. Mom then proceeded to tell him that that lady was her daughter. Too funny!

Weekly Roundup

2010-02-19T16:11:00.006-06:00

Since I never blog anymore, I am going to start sharing my awesome finds once a week. So here's how I did this week. I hope it gets you excited about couponing, whether you want to start or want to get back into it!
Walgreens

Walgreens was a slow ad this week. I did get an awesome deal on toothpaste though without the ad. I used $15 of my Walgreens Register Rewards on Publix this week because there was nothing I needed that would roll them over before they expired. Walgreens is weird because you can't more coupons than items, but you can use a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon. This means you have to find some filler items. Luckily paper towels were on sale for 50 cents and we needed some. Toothpaste was only 34 cents and came with a freebie on top! My total at Walgreens this week was $3.08. I saved $8.22!

CVS - Transaction #1

This week was a great ad with lots of deals to roll over my Extra Care Bucks (ECB). I only paid $3.49 and saved $25.07. I also got $11.50 in ECBs back.

CVS - Transaction #2

I did really good and was only going to have to pay tax until I checked the clearance and found this cool toothbrush that sings for 2 minutes so you know how long to brush. I couldn't pass it up and figure I'll throw it in Carson's Easter basket. It was on clearance for $4.50. My total for the second transaction was $7.69 (toothbrush and then $1.71 in tax). I saved $22.88. I did earn $10 ECB too.

Publix - Groceries

This week was more of a stock up week at Publix. I did rock out my best grocery shopping ever there (with my kids accompanying...I MUST be crazy). First I have to say that the kids were good, but I didn't get to do my normal walk down every aisle looking at everything, coupons, and tearpads. I ended up missing one that would have saved me $2. I found it after the fact because as I was checking out Carson had to go potty. While I waited on him in the bathroom I saw the tearpad. The lady also didn't take my Walgreens store coupon which they normally do so I missed out on another $3. So keep in mind that my bill should've been $5 less, but I will live. I got all 72 items for only $15.29. I saved $121.53. Hooray for 89% savings and each item averaging to 21 cents! I LOVE couponing and saving money!

My New Hobby

2010-01-15T12:25:00.004-06:00

My sister-in-law is a crazy couponer. She's been trying to get me to do it for a while now, but it all just seems like a cryptic language when using the websites she suggested. I finally buckled down and tried it though at the beginning of the year. Let me tell you...I absolutely LOVE couponing now! The photo above is from my trip to Publix today. How much would you pay for all of that? (It's too bad you can't really see everything because there is so much.) Publix would say you should pay $143.36. However, I only paid $48.38! I saved 77%! It averages out to be 65 cents per item! The only bad part is I no longer will be able to pay regular price for an item. So far I have saved $219.98! Thanks Alice!

Ta-Dah!

2009-12-01T20:19:00.001-06:00

These are the next size down jeans! I am now one size smaller than I was before I was pregnant with Callie! After looking at the picture, I realized that layering for the one cold day in Florida was not the best way to show a slimmer me, but the jean size doesn't lie!
I went to Kohl's today to use my $20 Kohl's Cash. I had a hard time finding clothes for me (probably because Carson was with me). I tried on a cute little jean skirt that was a size smaller just for fun. It fit! I then tried on a pair of jeans in the same smaller size and they looked fabulous! Not only did I go down a size, I got a killer deal too (I know, I'm on this killer deal high).
Jean Skirt $34.00...sale price $10.20
Jeans $36.00...sale price $14.99
Kohl's Cash $20.00

Grand Total $5.56
Amount Saved $64.81
Percentage Saved 93%

Best Kohl's experience ever!

Awesomeness

2009-11-30T20:22:00.003-06:00

What would bring me out of my 6 month hibernation in the blogging world? What could be that awesome? I just have to share my awesome deal I got tonight! First off, I am normally a couponer. I check the circular ads for the best grocery deals. I know that I'm not as good as my fabulous sister-in-law, Alice, who rocked out 50 boxes of General Mills cereal for...FREE! I will never get to that status, but this is what I bought at Winn Dixie tonight.

Stouffer's Family Size Chicken Enchiladas $13.99
Pepperidge Farm Garlic Bread Loaf $2.79 ... FREE!
Steam Fresh Green Beans $1.89 ... FREE!
2 Liter Pepsi $1.89 ... FREE!
Breyers Oreo Cookies and Cream Ice Cream $5.99 ... FREE!

Grand Total with Tax $14.13
Total Saved $12.56
Percentage Saved 47%

Too bad I didn't have a coupon for the Stouffer's!

Carpet vs. Laminate Wood

2009-06-30T17:07:00.003-05:00

Okay, I really need your opinion!! We desperately need new flooring in the house. It's not really a want anymore, it is a need. The question is whether to put carpet or laminate wood flooring. Which do you prefer and why? Both Jordan and I thought laminate wood. The more I've talked with people who've used it, the more I'm leaning to carpet. I'm afraid that it will some how get wet and we'll have to replace it. I do love the feel of carpet too. At the same time, carpet stains. We do have a carpet cleaner though. Which do you think is the best choice and why? I need your help!

Callie's First Trip to the Beach

2009-06-20T13:03:00.007-05:00

***WARNING: IF YOU DO NOT LIVE BY THE BEACH, THE FOLLOWING PICTURES WILL MAKE YOU YEARN FOR THE BEACH***

We finally took Callie to the beach a couple of Saturdays ago. She did not like the water at all. In her defense, it was a yellow flag day so there were some pretty good waves and a lot of noise. She liked the sand though. She went to a pool on Monday and loved it. She'll warm up to the beach as she gets older. Here are the pictures of her first beach experience.

The look on her face is priceless!

Mommy and Callie soaking up some rays!

The water was choppy so it isn't as pretty as it normally is, but it still is nice.

Carson loves the water, while Callie...not a fan.

Callie loved her feet in the sand.

Primary Activity

2009-06-16T10:37:00.005-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we had a fabulous Primary Activity. It was about Family Home Evening. It was really neat because it was set up just like FHE. We had a song, prayer, scripture, story, activity, treat, and closing prayer. The activity was to make a FHE chart. Carson had fun making it. We already have a nice one, but he still loves his. The other activity was a big water slide. The treat was snow cones! This FHE totally outdid any FHE we have ever done. It was a lot of fun though. Here are some pictures from the activity.

Carson and Aiden play so well together. They're becoming best buds.

The Primary President was able to get the slide and snow cone maker for free. She is quite amazing!

Click the picture and look at that face up close! If he didn't love Primary and FHE before, he does now!

Carson Moments

2009-06-14T21:03:00.003-05:00

I have a couple of funny little Carson moments to share. Since I've been staying home for the summer, I get to experience more moments like these.

The other night something amazing had just occurred. I don't even remember what it was. There are a lot of ways to express your amazement. Wow! Awesome! Cool! Holy moly! Oh my! Carson chose a different way, "Oh my, Holy Ghost!" I thought I was going to wet myself. (We've obviously been having a couple of FHE lessons on the Holy Ghost.) I explained to him that that is not appropriate and gave him some other alternatives to say instead. Too funny!

On to another moment...We've been having trouble with Carson talking when he's in time out. When he's at the "naughty stool" (yes we did Super Nanny him), he could talk to himself forever. I told him he could no longer talk when he was at the "naughty stool", and if he did he would receive more time. The next time he was in time out, he began to talk. I added another minute and did so a few more times until he sat quietly. When there was only about two minutes left on the timer, Carson yelled, "Mommy!" (time out is in the kitchen so he can't get attention from anyone). I told him there was no talking in time out. He then yelled, "Meagan!" I told him the rule again, no talking at time out. So he sat quietly until the timer went off. He quickly turned off the timer, grabbed himself, and ran to the bathroom screaming, "I have to pee! I have to pee!" before I could even get off the couch to go talk to him about why he was in time out. Jordan and I were dying! The poor kid. I am kind of glad that I didn't let him ask because I am sure I would have told him to wait because he has used that as an excuse to get out of time out before. Oh Carson!

Little Jordan

2009-05-26T16:45:00.002-05:00

I was checking my e-mail and looked up to see Carson. He had pulled apart his fishing pole and was putting it back together. He is definitely a little Jordan!

Pictures from Easter Sunday

2009-05-11T22:50:00.023-05:00

I am late posting these, but they were some that Happy (Michael) took and I just received. Every year we always get a great family picture at Easter. This year, I didn't think we were going to make it. Here's how our pictures turned out.

The Girls

The very patient baby Callie.

Carson on the other hand...was not so patient.

Thankfully this is not the only family picture we got!

Hooray! We got a good one!

Thanks Happy! Your picture didn't turn out too bad either.

Kid Fest

2009-04-25T13:31:00.007-05:00

Last Saturday we went to KidFest. It is once a year and costs $1 per kid and $2 per adult. We always go and have a blast. The trick is to get there right when it starts. By the time you're ready to leave, everyone else is just getting there. We had a blast! Here are some pictures of what we did.

Callie just hung out in the stroller.

Carson loved Bouncing.

Carson loves firetrucks and this was one of the first things we did. He was super excited!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail...

2009-04-15T21:13:00.001-05:00

Here are some pictures from Easter.

So Blessed

2009-04-15T20:00:00.003-05:00

I really thought that I had posted about the process in which I got my job. I was looking back so I could link it and I couldn't find it. So, here's how it happened. I graduated back in December of 2007. It is normally difficult to find a job in the middle of the school year, but I checked daily to see if there were any openings. Every morning I would check...nothing. One day in February there was an opening for a Kindergarten ESE teacher (Special Education). To teach ESE, you must be certified in that area. I was not. I told Jordan about the opening and he told me to apply. I told him that I wasn't going to because I am not qualified. We went back and forth on this for a few days. Finally out of spite I applied, muttering under my breath the whole time. Long story short, I got the job and loved it! At the end of the school year, I did not have a job for the next school year because we lost an ESE unit (which means there weren't enough kids to keep the teacher). The principal told me that she was really impressed and would love to have me back. She said she would call if something became available. She called in the middle of July and offered me a third grade position. I happily took it and only had to sign a contract (no interview and the job was never posted). All of this happened during a hiring freeze. When the hiring freeze was over, the few jobs that were posted had between 70-100 applicants. I know that there is no way that I would have had a job without the previous experience in Kindergarten ESE. Well now that we're up to speed, today is the day that we find out if we are asked back for next year or not. With the economy the way that it is, there are many cuts. I really was expected a letter saying they don't have enough units to keep me. I checked my box for the letter early this morning, only to find nothing. When I got to the classroom, I received a phone call asking me to see the principal during my planning. Luckily my planning was at 8:05 because I was very nervous. Last year the principal called me in to explain she didn't have a position for me. As I sat nervously, I heard the words that I was not expecting to hear "We are inviting you back next year." I could not believe it! I was so excited.

By the end of the day I heard that there were four teachers that were let go. There may have been more, but that's all that I heard. I know that my Heavenly Father always has taken care of me and continues to do so. I am very blessed to be able to work while Jordan finishes school to keep from taking out school loans. I am not sure if I will be in third grade again or not. The principal said she will let me know by the end of the school year (next month). Today a huge burden has been lifted. I am very grateful.

What Will I Find Today?

2009-04-14T15:50:00.005-05:00

First off, let me start off by saying I love my husband. I really do. Not many men would agree to a role reversal for a couple of years. Both Jordan and I have realized that this role reversal thing is a lot harder than we thought it would be. We are steering clear of any school loans this way, but it does take sacrifices. Luckily it will only be for a little bit longer because Jordan should graduate from FSU in December of 2010. Anyway, when I get home from work I am always anxious to see what I will come home to. Will the house be a complete Carson Tornado? Will the living room be freshly vacuumed for the fifth time that day? Today I came home to one of the funniest things I have come home to. I was sitting on the couch talking to Jordan, when Carson came around the corner. I asked him how his day was. I immediately noticed that he was dressed today (some days don't go as well for Jordan and the kids stay in their jammies). I looked at his shorts and asked where he got those from. I knew instantly where they came from. Like a good little frugal girl I always have a couple of baby outfits on hand. I pick them up when they're a good deal for presents. It seems like there is always someone having a baby. Carson had on a pair of baby boy PANTS not shorts. They were a 6-9 month pair of khakis that I had originally picked up for Julie's baby, but he had already passed that size by the time I got around to getting them to her. It was such a hilarious sight! Jordan and I laughed for a while. He told me that he thought he was doing well today because they came out of the clean basket of clothes. Too funny!

Little Jordan

2009-04-01T10:51:00.003-06:00

For those of you who don't know too much about Jordan, Jordan was a child who was in everything! From all of the stories that I have heard, I wonder why on earth he ended up being a middle child instead of a last child. Carson is very much like his daddy. He is always in something. Callie is more like I was, happy just to be watching. When Carson gets into things we call him Little Jordan. Maybe if we would have known how much he was going to be just like his dad, we may have named him Jordan. Anyway, I was feeding the baby and talking to Angela on the phone. Carson came around the corner from the kitchen with a boiled egg from the refrigerator. I told him not to eat that because it had been in there for a week and I don't know how long boiled eggs are good. I told him to throw it away. So he ran back into the kitchen and came out with another egg. I told him the same thing because there were about three boiled eggs in a bowl in the refrigerator. I told him to just throw away the eggs. He asked if I wanted him to throw all of them away. I told him yes. I heard him cracking them as he threw them in the garbage. I told him to stop playing and just throw them in the garbage. He said okay. I came back into the kitchen to clean out the refrigerator to find this...

Yes, that is a dozen eggs that were bought LAST NIGHT in the garbage. What else is there to do but laugh?! He did exactly what I told him to do. He threw all of the eggs in the garbage. Next time I will be more specific.

Remembering Nanny

2009-04-01T09:19:00.003-06:00

The other day I was asking Carson what he wanted to do since I was home for Spring Break. He said he wanted to go to see someone. It sounded like he said he wanted to see Nanny. Nanny is my great grandmother who passed away a few years ago. When Carson was born, we had 5 generations alive on my mom's side. I didn't think that he remembered her so I asked him to tell me who he wanted to see again. He repeated himself, "Nanny. You know, that lived with Mimi and Papa." He was obviously remembering Nanny. I told him that she was dead and lives in heaven with Heavenly Father. I was kind of afraid he might react to her being dead. He replied, "That is a long way to go to see her." I love him!

I Did It!!!

2009-03-31T09:07:00.003-06:00

Callie is three months old and will be four months on April 5. Today is a milestone! I have on a pair of prebaby Callie jeans! YAY! I have been working so hard at this and am finally there! I am still going to keep working at it, but I am so excited! I did it!!

One More Day...

2009-03-26T20:15:00.002-06:00

One more day until Spring Break!! Today we had to go to shelters for the majority of the day due to bad weather. That is not one of the many perks of being out in the portables (some of the perks being having a bathroom and no one comes out there unless they have to...that is IF they can find you). Today and tomorrow fourth and fifth graders are on a school trip so we were moved to a fifth grade room which was nice because we could continue our day close to the normal routine (normally we share the library with another third grade class). Anyway, to make a long story short it has been a long week! I can make it one more day! The district is not allowing teachers in their classroom during Spring Break and we have to unplug everything in the room, so that will kind of nice though I could get a lot done. Hopefully within the next week I will have the time to really update. We're just staying home for Spring Break. No Disney World, kidney stone, or pregnancy this Spring Break. It should be nice to just relax with the Jordan, Carson, and Callie.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

2009-03-01T08:22:00.003-06:00

Carson is a follower. This can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on who he is around. If he sits next to someone who is being good, he will be good. However the trouble starts when he sits to someone who is not being so well behaved. There is a child at church who he cannot sit by because of this. I told him to not sit by Marcus. He then began firing the why questions at me. After answering why to about 5 related questions about why he couldn't sit by Marcus I finally just said he is a bad kid because he doesn't follow the rules. I know, I know...there are no bad kids, just bad decisions and that was a bad decision to tell him that. However, he did finally stop asking questions and has not sit by Marcus when Marcus comes. Last Sunday, a different Marcus was giving the scripture during closing exercises in Primary. Carson proceeds to lean over to his Sunbeam Substitute Teacher who is a very good friend of ours and tell her that Marcus is a bad boy. She is confused and tells him that Marcus is a great kid. Carson is adamant and tells her, "No, my mommy said that Marcus is a bad boy! Not that Marcus, but the little one." CRAP!

The Worth of a Quarter

2009-01-15T16:18:00.003-06:00

A quarter really won't buy you much these days...that is unless you have a three year old. Carson will do pretty much anything for a quarter. If Carson doesn't want to clean his room one day, we'll offer him a quarter and the room will be clean in a flash. He loves to have a quarter in his pocket when we go to a store so he can get a piece of candy. The other day Carson asked me to get him some juice. I was in the middle of feeding Callie and told him I would do it when I was done. He asked if I would do it right then even using the magic word please. I told him no. He then responded, "I will give you a quarter Mommy!" I couldn't help but bust out laughing.

Me Time

2009-01-13T16:57:00.003-06:00

Now that we have two kids, I think it's going to be harder to get some me time in. Today I was able to get some me time in. I start back at work next week and was in dire need of a haircut. Mom has been trying to get me to go to her new hair lady. I finally decided to try her out. She is fabulous! It was so nice to have my hair washed, conditioned, massaged, and cut. It was a wonderful hour!

Hooray for a new cut!

Even though I do need a little me time, I do love my kiddo time.

Learning About Babies...

2009-01-13T16:47:00.003-06:00

Carson is still doing great with Callie. He is learning more and more about babies each and every day. When Callie's cord fell off, we were finally able to give her a real bath. Carson wanted to take a bath with her. We had to explain to him that Callie is too little to take a bath in the bathtub. He learned there was a baby bathtub also known as a sink.

The other night, I told Carson it was time to brush his teeth. He told me that Callie had to brush her teeth too. I told him she couldn't because she doesn't have any teeth. If only I had a picture of what his face looked like when I told him that. He had never noticed that before. He didn't believe me. I had to show him before he would brush his teeth.

Gold Family Time

2009-01-13T16:32:00.004-06:00

Jordan's parents came down on Christmas and stayed through New Year's Eve. Ali and LeGrand and their girls came down too during this time. We had a blast. We stayed at a rented beach house. We were able to watch the sunset on the beach. We played games one night...and yes I am smarter than a 5th grader. Team LeGrand/Ali and Team Jordan/Meagan made it to the million dollar question and each got them right. LeGrand demanded another million dollar question for both teams to answer to determine the true winner. Team Jordan/Meagan were declared the true winner. We finally found a game that Duane didn't beat us at. It was a ton of fun to play with the girls. The weather was fabulous...70s. The Sunday everyone was here, we blessed the baby. Jordan ended up with a kidney stone the day after Christmas. He passed it that Sunday evening. He came for church and was able to bless Callie. He then had to go home because he was feeling awful. That is why there is no family picture on the day she was blessed. Jordan has stopped drinking sodas in hopes of having no more babies (kidney stones).

My grandma made the blessing dress. It is gorgeous!

Christmas

2009-01-13T15:43:00.008-06:00

Alright, it has taken me forever to add new pics to my blog but I am finally doing it. For those of you who don't like the blogs that post tons of pictures, go ahead and make your way to a different blog (Alice...haha). I have been asked to add more pictures with the baby. Here are some pictures from Christmas.

This is a family picture of Christmas Sunday. It actually turned out pretty good surprisingly enough.
Christmas Eve we spend at my grandparents. We eat BBQ sandwiches and get to open presents from my grandparents and cousins (the grandkids exchange presents).

This year I took charge and passed out the presents.

The chaos of opening presents on Christmas Eve.

Carson loved opening all of his and Callie's gifts.

Callie just watched all of the craziness that is Christmas Eve.

Santa did come and visit the Gold house. This year Carson asked him for a fishing pole and a kitchen...two totally different presents. Jordan and I woke up early and made muffins for breakfast. We were waiting on Carson to wake up. I was so excited for Christmas this year because Carson is such a fun age. He really loved Christmas. I was in the other room when I heard him coming down the hall. I screamed and told him to wait and stop right where he was. I didn't have the camera and camcorder. I scared him because he was not expecting that. Poor guy. It was so great though because when he got up and saw what Santa brought him, he was super excited. He said, "Santa brought me a kitchen and fishing pole!" If you look carefully in the picture, there is no fishing pole. I asked Carson again what he got from Santa. He looked again and said, "Hey, where's my fishing pole?!" Thankfully Mommy and Daddy bought him one so he did get the two things he wanted along with a million other things. Again, Callie just sat back and watched.

Daddy's New Home

2009-01-08T10:48:00.004-06:00

New Year's Eve we were driving Jordan's sister Michelle to the airport. Jordan's family had come down to visit and bless the baby. They stayed at a beach house that they rented. When we were coming over the bridge to take Michelle to the airport, we saw three different policemen, all of which had someone pulled over. After we dropped Michelle off, we had to go back to the beach house to fill in her seat with the remainder of our stuff (we so need a van!). When we were coming back over the bridge for the last time to go home, the police were still there. Did we remember? No. This was apparent when we were pulled over. Jordan was driving and I was sitting in the backseat with the kids because it was easier for Michelle to just get out of the front seat at the airport. Carson looked at me and asked why we were stopped. I said a policeman pulled us over. He asked why. I told him because Daddy was driving a little too fast. He then went on the why escapade. Why? Why? Why? After answering a million whys as to why we were pulled over, Carson stopped and sat quietly. The speed limit on the bridge is 45. It ALWAYS has been...except for now it is 35. When did it become 35? Who knows! I couldn't believe it. Oh well. After receiving a fabulous ticket, Jordan slowly started driving again. It was really quiet in the car (very unusual in the Gold car). About five minutes down the road Carson in a serious tone asked, "Mommy, is Daddy going to jail?" I was able to get out a "no" before fully busting out laughing with Jordan. No, Daddy would not have a new home...in jail. Carson sure knows how to break the tension.

CTR

2009-01-06T17:08:00.002-06:00

Sunday was Carson's first day in Primary. He is now a Sunbeam...though I don't think the classes are called that anymore. At any rate, Carson was super excited about going to Primary. It was the only way I could get him up and ready for church (Jordan was at his morning meetings). Before we left for church, I handed Carson his first Book of Mormon. I debriefed him on not crying or fussing because he doesn't get to pray. I informed him that everyone would take turns (he ALWAYS wants to be the one to pray and can make a scene if he doesn't get to pray). When we arrived at church, Carson didn't want to go to Sacrament Meeting. He wanted to go to Primary. I informed him that no one was in Primary until after Sacrament Meeting. When he finally did get to go to Primary, he was so excited and he had a great time. Carson received a CTR ring in class. He learned that CTR stands for Choose the Right. I thought man I can totally use this to help parent. After we came home and ate lunch, it was time for a nap. Carson did not want to take one. I told him he needed to Choose the Right and listen to Mommy and Daddy. He then responded, "No, I Choose the Left!!" What a crack up!

A Look Back on 2008

2009-01-05T22:55:00.004-06:00

I've thought a lot about the last year as the new year approached. So much has happened in my life this year. I told Jordan that if there was any year to send out a family letter, this was the year! Did we? Of course not. I barely managed to get all of the Christmas photo cards sent out. I was reading through Heather's blog, and decided I wanted to blog about my year as well. I kept thinking I wanted to write it down, but after a couple of weeks thinking about it and not doing it, I decided to just blog about it. So if you don't want to read on, that is okay. I will totally understand. This is mainly for me to remind me of all of the craziness we went through and yet some how survived with the help of the Lord.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you have never done before? This year I began teaching my own class. I went out of my comfort zone and applied for a job that I was not even qualified for. A special education job was the only job opening available in February. I told Jordan that I couldn't apply because I was not certified in that area. He told me to apply anyway. I did grudgingly. I received a call back to interview. After I left my interview, I knew I had completely blown it. I kept thinking of all of the answers that I should've said. I thought to myself at least I had this interview as experience for my next interview. The next day when the principal called, I let the answering machine pick it up. I knew what she was going to say and would take it better on the machine than by talking to her. To my amazement, I was offered the job. I taught Kindergarten Special Education from February on to the end of the school year. After that, we lost a special education unit at our school so my job was gone. I was able to come back in August teaching my dream job of regular ed. third grade.

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions and will you make more for 2009? Do I even know what my resolutions were? They are probably in my journal and I doubt that I ever really kept any of them. I am so awful at making a ginormous list of resolutions and never being able to do them all. This year I decided to do things a little differently. I am slowly adding one resolution at a time. Last week we began exercising daily as a family. We go to the walking park by our house. The whole family has really gotten into it. Now that the exercising has become almost routine, it is time to add another resolution to my life until it feels routine like...and so on. We'll see how well this works at the end of the year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth in 2008? Yes. It has been the year of births. My second cousin's wife, Sarah, had a little girl in the spring named Gracie. Another second cousin's wife, Rebecca, had a little girl a few months later named Bailey. My best friend from childhood, Angela, had her first baby in July on the 24th (the same day as Carson's birthday). She had a little girl named Alison. To complete all of the girl births this year, I had Callie December 5th.

4. Did anyone close to you die in 2008? This year we have been blessed to not have anyone close to us die. The year before was a different story.

5. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? I would like to have a more peaceful and fun going summer. This past summer was filled with so much uncertainty, that I don't feel like I was really able to spend it the way I wanted to with Carson. I wasn't sure if I was going to have a job in the fall and there was hiring freeze for teachers. Jordan was laid off in June so we lost income and insurance (keeping in mind that I was pregnant). So much was up in the air that I am sure I have a few more grays in my hair from it. This year I hope to know that I will have my job in the fall. I hope that Jordan will be working on base, which will allow us to save my summer paychecks.

6. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? December 5th will remain etched because it was the birth of our second child, Callie. It was much different this time than with Carson. We had to make arrangements for Carson while I was at the hospital. I was induced so that was nice to know ahead of time the date. We had to be at the hospital at 4 a.m. I ended up having her at 12:50 p.m. It was an easy labor with very little pushing. It was amazing to see how Carson took to her immediately.

7. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I think my biggest achievement this year was landing a job. Right now it is really hard to get a teaching job in our district. So many of the people that I graduated with are without jobs. Budget cuts continue to occur. It was so important that I get a job because I am taking over the role as breadwinner for a few years while Jordan finishes school. He received his Associates Degree in December and begins FSU this month.

8.What was your biggest struggle in 2008? My biggest struggle was in the summer. With all that happened, it was so hard to pray and know it was going to work out. I am the kind of person who needs a plan with dates and times. This summer I didn't have a plan with dates and times. I didn't know if there would be an opening at Waller. I knew the principal said she would hire me back as soon as she could if she could. I didn't know what we were going to do for insurance. I didn't know how long it would be before we had another income coming back in. It was a true test of faith.

9. Did you suffer any illness or injury in 2008? I had never used our insurance until I started teaching. Three years of no sick doctor visits. When I started teaching, I was sick with one thing after another within the first month. I had pink eye, the flu, and strep throat within two weeks. Five year olds will do that to you.

10.What was the best thing you bought this year? This year I attended Time Out for Women in Tallahassee with my mom. While there, I bought a canned food rotating system from Shelf Reliance. It is the best thing I bought. I now can see what I have and it is not hidden in my pantry. It also has been great in inspiring me to get more involved with my food storage. I was able to add a lot of things to my food storage this year because I was more excited about it...a big part of it due to the rotating system.

11. What did you get really really excited about this year? Christmas! Carson was so excited back in June and only became more and more excited as each day passed. I also knew that Callie would be here at Christmas too so I wanted Christmas to come more than I ever have. I loved seeing the excitement and wonderment of Christmas in Carson's eyes...from the lights, to the tree, to the presents and wrapping, to the nativity scene and the story of the birth of Jesus. This year I put my Christmas decorations and tree up earlier than ever in November because I really wanted to enjoy putting them up rather than being really round and pregnant and not enjoying it.

12. What do you wish you had done more of? I wish we would've had more family activities. We do some things off and on throughout the year as a family, but we don't have a ton of traditions. We don't have a family movie night or things like that that I think would be nice. When Jordan's family came down last week, I realized how much we don't do that we could do as a family...like go to the beach, play putt putt, play games, etc. I want to do things together that our kids will look back and say I remember we always did this. We have started walking together as a family and it has been really enjoyable. Carson asks when we are going every day.

13. What do you wish you had done less of? I wish I would have worried less about things that were out of my control.

14. What was your favorite TV Program in 2008? I still enjoyed my Grey's Anatomy this year. I also got into Chuck, the Mentalist, and Life really loved them all.

15. What was the best book you read this year? I got into the Twilight series. I read all four books as Jordan laughed and asked me if I just learned how to read. I told him I'd go back to being illiterate after I finished all four. I finished them in about 2 weeks. My favorite of the series were Twilight and Breaking Dawn. I did enjoy stopping and reading for pleasure. I don't do that enough.

16. What was your greatest musical discovery this past year? I have fallen in love with Taylor Swift this year. I just can't get enough of her music.

17. What was the best movie you saw this year? I would have to say Twilight. It was the most anticipated movie for me. I read the books before going and had never done that for a movie.

18. How would you describe your personal fashion statement this year? Round. Ha! I started off the year in my nice dressy work clothes. When I moved out to the portables in August, I realized that between the treks I would be making to get everywhere and being pregnant, it was okay to wear denim to work. I went for a much more laid back look. I am hoping to get back into my regular clothes soon and get back into the more dressy side.

19. Where was your favorite place you visited this year? Disney World!! We had to go two different times this year due to Jordan's kidney stone, but it was a blast! Every time that Carson watches a Disney movie and sees the blue castle and Disney logo, he asks when we can go back again. I told him Callie has to be bigger.

New Family Photo

2008-12-17T11:06:00.002-06:00

This picture was taken courtesy of both grandmas. Grammy wanted a family picture. Nana took the family picture. I was not excited to take a family picture because I still have 15 pounds to shed from this pregnancy. However, it turned out pretty good so I am glad that we did take it. Now I will have nice Christmas cards to send out this year.

Prayer

2008-12-13T18:23:00.002-06:00

Family prayer out our house usually goes something like this...Mom or Dad asks Carson who he wants to pray. He sometimes will answer, but usually is just fighting it because he knows he has to go to bed right after prayer. So one of us will start to pray. Carson will interrupt the prayer saying he wants to pray. Mom or Dad finishes the prayer and we have another prayer by Carson. Recently Carson wants to pray all of the time. He always answers that he wants to give the family prayer. We will be driving in the car and he will say he is going to pray. He volunteers all of the time in nursery to pray. He always has to give the opening prayer during Family Home Evening. Last night, Carson was giving the family prayer. He now tells us he doesn't need help praying so we never know what we're going to hear. Usually he ends up listing everyone he knows in his prayer. Last night he proceeded to say, "thank thee that Carson can go pee pee and poo poo in the potty..." Now we have been working on him not talking about pee pee and poo poo because he uses those words to be silly. He'll replace a word in a sentence with either of them. When he said that in his prayer, Jordan and I both tried not to giggle. I listened carefully to see if he was trying to be funny. He didn't laugh. Instead, he continued on with his prayer and later ended it. Since Carson did not laugh or seemed to be phased by what he said in the prayer, I can only assume it was sincere. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I am grateful for that too. I am glad I only have one in diapers and that Carson is so independent.

Christmas in November

2008-12-10T14:07:00.002-06:00

Yes, I did say Christmas in November. Nearing the end of my pregnancy, I knew I was getting larger and immobile as the weeks progressed. We decided to put Christmas stuff up this year super early in November. Jordan made fun of me, but went along with it. Carson was wearing shorts that day so it didn't quite feel like Christmas, but the radio station was already playing constant Christmas music. Even though everyone laughed at me, I was glad we did it early this year because the last two weeks of my pregnancy were very tiring.

Santa is in Town

2008-12-10T13:51:00.006-06:00

This year we decided to go see Santa arrive in Panama City. It was a Thursday and Jordan has school from 5-6:15 on Thursdays. I dared to brave it on my own. Santa was supposed to arrive by helicopter at 6. He was then going to ride on a firetruck the few feet from it was to the mall entrance. So we had Santa, a helicopter, and a firetruck...all of Carson's top three favorites. Santa ran a little late that day which was actually very nice because Jordan got out of school early and met us. Carson was so excited! He was able to high five Santa. On the way home he asked if Santa was bringing presents tonight. I said no. He then responded, "That's right. Baby Callie's not here yet." Carson started asking about Santa back in June so I told him that Baby Callie would be here and then Santa would come. Now Callie is here and we still have 15 more days until Christmas. Poor Carson.

First Dentist Visit

2008-12-10T13:09:00.002-06:00

Look at the good little blogging mom I am. I had my camera in my purse ready for a blogging moment. However, Carson's first dentist visit was back in September. Our desktop has been out of commission for quite some time so that coupled with working are the reasons for the lack of posts. Now that Jordan has the desktop back in line, I have all of these pictures that I haven't posted about. So the next couple of posts are backdated. Back to the dentist, I wasn't sure how it would go. The hygienist said Carson may only let us walk him back and sit in the chair. I was prepared for that. Afterall, he is only three. Instead, he LOVED the dentist. He got his teeth cleaned and everything. The hygienist said that he had good spacing so he more than likely won't need braces. Awesome, especially since I had to have them. I was glad that Carson had a good experience at the dentist. He is usually good about cleaning his teeth, but now he is really good about it because he doesn't want to make the dentist sad.

Baby Callie is Here!

2008-12-10T12:48:00.004-06:00

It takes quite a bit more preparation when having baby number two than it did with the first one. This time, we had to figure out where Carson would be while we were at the hospital. After making plans of bouncing him from one person to the next, we were ready to go to the hospital. We had an induction scheduled for 4 a.m. Holy moly that is so early! We later found out the one of the ladies in the room next to us had to be there at 3 a.m. so I guess we were lucky to get one more hour of sleep. I was really surprised that they got us back into a room and hooked up with patossin (however it is spelled) by 5 a.m. I was kind of expecting the labor to be quick because I seemed to progress faster than they thought I would with Carson. Once I reached a certain point, the labor was fast. It was so fast that we had to wait on the doctor. The nurse told me to do two practice pushes and then ordered me to stop. She frantically called the doctor and informed me I could not push anymore because she would get in trouble if she delivered the baby without the doctor there. That was the longest ten minutes of waiting. Two pushes later and Callie was born at 12:50 p.m. She weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces and was 21 inches long. Both Callie and I are healthy and doing very well. Here are some pictures of her.

Pictures of Callie

2008-11-24T20:44:00.004-06:00

We have 11 more days until the newest addition to our family, Callie, is scheduled to arrive. By scheduled, I mean we have an appointment at the hospital at 4:00 a.m. on December 5th. Today I went to the doctor for a weekly checkup. Mom was able to get a few good shots of Callie which is very rare (we've only really had 2 times where she hasn't had her hands and feet in her face). Check out the next Fluff. You can already see how round her little face and cheeks are.

3 Year Olds Will Tell All!

2008-11-20T16:41:00.002-06:00

Jordan is still adjusting to staying home with Carson. It is a good adjustment, but one that he realizes he doesn't want to be permanent. Are things different? Yes. There are things that he is so much better at than I ever was when staying home, and vice versa. At any rate, Carson is a hoot because of his age. He says and does the funniest things these days. Since Jordan is staying home, Carson has done a few things that have told on him. One day, Jordan was running in to pick up the pizza from Pizza Hut. Carson and I were in the car waiting. Carson was unhappy because he wanted to help Daddy. I kept trying to make deals with him to convince him to stay in his seat belt and wait. I told him that if he'd stay, he could go back and watch cartoons. He then proceeded to let me know that he was not interested in that bargain. He said, "Mommy, I don't want to watch t.v. I do that all day with Daddy!" Of course this is so not true. When I told Jordan about it, he laughed because Carson had been watching more t.v. that week because he was trying to study. One last story involves the best Christmas present I ever bought Jordan...The Wii! One day when I came home from work, Jordan decided to play Mario Kart. Carson was back in his room, but bolted around the corner into the living room the moment he heard the Wii turn on. When the game loads, a character says, "Mario Kart Wii!" Carson chimed in perfectly with the game. I couldn't help but laugh and tell Jordan that that was sad. So according to Carson, all they do is watch t.v. and play Mario Kart. I know better than that though.

Jorgan's Blog

2008-10-06T15:51:00.002-05:00

Jordan is now a stay at home dad/college student. This has been our plan since I had a scholarship and he didn't. I would finish school first and then he would go to school full time. It's an interesting role reversal. I have informed him he only has 2 years to finish school, so don't get too comfy. Jordan has only been home for almost a week now. I told him that he should start a blog to share his adventures as a stay at home dad. He finally decided to hop on board with the idea. Go check it out and leave a comment. You'll find out why my title reads Jorgan and not Jordan.

Baby Weight

2008-10-05T13:38:00.002-05:00

This pregnancy I haven't gained as much weight as I did when I was pregnant with Carson. I do have 2 months left, but I don't think I'll gain another 23 pounds in 2 months. I am feeling a little better about myself knowing I am not gaining as much as I did with him. I went to the doctor on Thursday. Carson and Jordan came along too. Carson wanted to come back with me even though I wasn't seeing the doctor yet. Usually they give me a cup to pee in, check my blood pressure and weight, and ask a few questions. This time was no different other than Carson came along. I was trying to multitask in the bathroom as I filled the cup and was trying to keep Carson occupied because I could just see him opening that door at any time exposing what would be an awful sight. Carson kept asking me a million questions about what I was doing and about the baby. He then looked at me and said, "Mommy, your butt is too big for the potty!" I thought how fabulous that he has noticed this as I am sitting there trying to balance myself, fill a cup, and watch him. Three year olds are brutally honest. When it came time to be weighed I though of what Carson had said. Then, the lady informed me that I was down a pound from 2 weeks ago. HA! Take that Carson! My butt may be big, but I did lose a pound in 2 weeks!

Who Needs Applebee's?

2008-09-27T22:03:00.003-05:00

First of all let me just say that I LOOOVE Applebee's!! It's a place that I know I can order anything off the menu and know it will be good. Usually, I order the same thing I always order when I go to a restaurant. I know what I like and that's what I want. I am not as brave as Jordan. One of my favorite things at Applebee's is their Oriental Chicken Rollup. MMMMMmmmm. I came across a recipe for the Oriental Chicken Salad and decided to give it a try. I put mine in a tortilla to make a rollup of it. It was to die for. Seriously, I do not need Applebee's anymore to get my fix of Oriental Chicken Rollups. Here's the recipe.

Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad/Rollups

4 breaded chicken breast fillets (I used Tyson)
1 romaine heart
1 1/2 c. coleslaw mix (or finely shredded cabbage)
1/3 c. toasted almond slivers or slices (blanched almonds)
1/2 c. chow mein noodles

Dressing:
1/3 c. vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. horseradish
1/2 c. canola oil

Cook chicken fillets as directed.

To make dressing, combine everything but the oil in a blender of food processor and process until liquified.

Continue to blend and slowly drizzle in the oil until blended.

Make coleslaw with the cabbage and the dressing first and top it with the lettuce, almonds and noodles. Then cut up the chicken and add to salads.

I just used flour tortillas to make the rollups because it was a last minute idea. They were great though. Enjoy!!

Carsonisms

2008-09-22T16:19:00.005-05:00

Three years old is such a funny age. Carson is always saying funny things. Here are a few of his latest Carsonisms.

This is a conversation we had Saturday morning.
Carson: "Mommy is it morning time?"
Mommy: "Yes."
Carson (looking out the window): "Yes it is. The sun is up and can melt the ice."

Another similar conversation the Saturday before last.
Carson at 5:00 a.m.: "Mommy, is it morning time? I want to watch cartoons?"
Mommy: "No. The sun's not up. You have to wait until morning."
Carson went back to sleep.
Carson at 7:00 a.m.: "Mommy, is it morning time now? Can I watch cartoons? The sun IS up!"

Church on Sunday.
An announcement being read: "We'd like to thank all of those who went this weekend to help clean up in Louisiana."
Carson: "Mommy, Nana went to LouisNANA."
(That's where her husband lives. She wasn't helping out or anything this past weekend.)

In the car.
Daddy: "Carson, what is your full name?"
Carson: "Carson Taggart Gold."
Daddy: "Good job!"
Carson: "Taggart like RRRROOOOAAAARRRR!"
(I am thinking he thinks his middle name is Tiger.)

Killer Ribs

2008-09-18T17:46:00.001-05:00

Last weekend I picked up some ribs on sale at Sam's. BBQ was sounding good! I didn't know how I wanted to cook them though. In the past we've put the ribs in the crockpot with some BBQ sauce and they've been good. This time I wanted to try something different. I became adventurous and found a recipe online and decided to jump in and try it. It was awesome! The only thing I would change is that I would put them in the crockpot because they cook longer and are falling off the bone more so. I will definitely be using this recipe again!! It would even be good on chicken! Try it out!

Killer Ribs

Ingredients

* 3 lbs pork back ribs
* 1 (8 ounce) jar honey
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1 teaspoon chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
* 2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
* 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
* 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
* 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
* 1 medium onion, grated or finely chopped
* 12 ounces barbecue sauce
* 1/4 cup white sugar

Directions

Place all ingredients together in large roasting pan (i use bottom of turkey roaster). Cut ribs apart for easier serving. Mix together making sure to coat all ribs with this semi-dry paste. Spread ribs out evenly on bottom of pan. Cover lightly with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 1 hour, turning or stirring occasionally. You can use broiler for these ribs, just watch more closely, and adjust cooking time.

Of course after I made these, I received my Every Day with Rachael Ray and it had tons of BBQ recipes in it. This one is really good though!

Say a Little Prayer for You...

2008-09-17T21:26:00.000-05:00

We are totally into our little nighttime routine at home. It is so nice. We stop everything at about 7:30 and Carson gets a bath. Next comes pajamas and a book. This is followed by family prayer. Usually Carson wants to pray. His prayers consist of quickly saying "Dear Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ Amen." I try to interrupt him and help add things in. Usually this works. Tonight it did not. He told me he wanted no help and could do it himself. This was his prayer: "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for letting us go to work. Bless us to have fun. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen." He is so big! It is so funny to hear him ask to have fun. I love this age! Afterward, Carson gave us kisses and hugs and tucked himself into bed. He is growing up way too fast! Good thing baby Callie will be here soon! I love the independence, but I hate him not needing me as much.

Gas Hysteria

2008-09-14T06:54:00.003-05:00

Thursday night I actually stayed up long enough to watch the 10:00 news. Normally I am in bed by 9:15 because I cannot function on a few hours of sleep like Jordan can. Anyway, the news said it would be best to fill up tonight because of possible gas increases or shortages. I told Jordan that we better fill up. I drive a total of 40 miles round trip to work and back daily. I was already running low on gas and thought why not fill up now and not have to stop on my way to work. So Jordan said he'd go fill up both cars. He went to fill up the first car with no wait. As he was finishing up and leaving, he saw a lot of people pulling in. When he switched cars and went back to fill up, he had to wait. We laughed about it the next morning because we figured it was all people watching the news. Hooray for media created gas hysteria. I called Mom early on Friday and told her about what we had heard on the news (knowing she was an early bedgoer as well and probably had not seen it). I told her that I didn't know if it really was going to be a problem or if it was just media being media. When I came home Friday I didn't really notice any gas stations. It was when I went to pick up Carson from daycare that I noticed the craziness. Cars were out in intersections waiting for gas. I have never seen so many people. Mom called and said she saw people waiting for gas at Wal-Mart all the way back at the lawn and garden section (the gas is all the way across the parking lot at our Wal-Mart and this means there were 15-20 cars in line). I couldn't believe how crazy it got. I got up Saturday for my yard saling adventure and noticed that many gas stations were out of gas. CRAZINESS!!! We didn't have a lot of price gouging like Tallahassee and other places (Tallahassee saw gas at $5.49 whereas we paid $3.79). It really made me think about my food storage and where we are at in that aspect. We've been doing well adding things monthly. I kind of saw a glimpse of what it might be like if there is a food storage. Scary!

The Biggest Roller Coaster

2008-09-13T15:38:00.002-05:00

I love my job! The first four weeks of school have been great for the most part. The more and more I teach, the more I realize that my job is the biggest roller coaster I have ever been on. Some days I come home feeling defeated because it has been in a rough day. Other days I come home on a high because I had an awesome day and I know my kids did too. Thankfully there are more of the second kind of days than the first. I am grateful to have one of my best friends up at Waller teaching with me. Without her, I know I could not make it. Who else could I run to and tell of my horrible or wonderful day and know that she too is going through the same thing. The hardest thing about this job is trying to balance life. As I look around my living room right now with the kid asleep and Jordan at Stake Conference I think of all that I should be doing and getting done, yet here I am blogging. It's hard to find enough time for everything: family, keeping up the house, church, downtime, grading, planning. I am still working on it. I have found a great routine for making sure I do take some time for me. Saturday mornings I've started going to yard sales. The few dollars I spend on stuff I probably don't need helps to keep me sane. Is it retail therapy? No. I've been there. It is about getting out and doing something for me. It's hard to find the time, but Saturday mornings work out the best because Jordan and Carson like to watch cartoons in the mornings together. I know I haven't blogged in FOREVER, but I was just thinking about how great life seems to be going right now and thought I'd take a second to update. Are things perfect? Never. However, we are finding our balance in everything and are content.

Trash Talking at Disney

2008-07-27T20:43:00.005-05:00

A talking garbage can?? Only at DISNEY! We came out of the restrooms and saw a talking garbage can.
Do you see the guy in the upper left hand corner with a blue shirt, hat, and glasses? You may have to click the picture to enlarge it and find him...my own version of Where's Waldo. He is holding something and talking into it. He was the talking garbage can. No one figured it out because he looked like a tourist. (Well Jordan figured it out because he's a smarty.) He had a messenger bag on that had the controls to move the garbage can and a microphone he held in his hand. It was hilarious! We seriously sat there and watched people interact with it for a good 20 minutes. It was great to watch kids and adults open the trash can to see if there was something inside that was moving it. I LOVE Disney!!

Disney Trip #2

2008-07-27T20:22:00.002-05:00

First off, NO KIDNEY STONES THIS TIME!! Hooray! We were able to use up our tickets and have a blast. Second off, park hoppers are not something to invest in if you have kids. We paid the extra to make our tickets park hoppers (so we could go to more than one park a day if we wanted to). There was so much to do with Carson that we really didn't use that feature to our advantage. We did have a wonderful time. We started off at Hollywood Studios (formally MGM). Carson met Mater and Lightening McQueen. This was the longest line we waited in to meet a character. We HAD to meet them though. Hollywood Studios was Jordan's favorite park because it took you behind the scenes and showed you the tricks behind making movies. There is also a lot of memorabilia. Now if this was Jordan's blog, the slide show would consist of every picture he took of the memorabilia. Since this is not, it will only have a few pictures of that. We went to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot too. I have a few stories from the trip that are blogworthy. So here is the condensed slideshow of our second Disney trip.

What ARE you dreaming about?

2008-07-27T20:18:00.002-05:00

Carson took his nap last week and this is what he looked like. Should I be concerned? I wonder what he was dreaming about?? The joys of having a boy.

My Birthday - July 8th

2008-07-27T19:25:00.002-05:00

Ever since Carson came along, the focus on my birthday has been switched to Carson's. It's way more fun to plan a party for a 3 year old than a 23 year old. Birthdays and holidays were always big in my family growing up. So this year for my birthday we decided last minute to go out and eat some BBQ. It wasn't a big huge deal, just Mom, Dad, my grandparents, and our little family. I got my hair cut FINALLY on my birthday so my hair was crazy and still wet when we went out to eat. When we were leaving after dinner, we came across the biggest UF fan in the world's car. It is tacky, but I couldn't resist a picture with it! We went back to Mom's to eat cake...not just any cake, but double doozie big cookie cake YUMM-O! The lady still misspelled my name despite spelling it for her right there. Oh well. I opened my presents there. Jordan bought me a game for the Wii. I really don't play the Wii much, but I did want a karaoke game. Can I sing? NO! It sure is fun though! I didn't want to karaoke in front of everyone because I do have a horrible voice, but I did. I ended up doing really well. I went platinum, unlocked a character, and unlocked a video!! We had so much fun! You can see the surprise in my eyes in some of these pictures. Thanks Dad for being the photographer since we left our camera at the house. You did a great job!

The Best Week EVER...and It's Only Tuesday!

2008-07-15T09:30:00.003-05:00

Okay this week has been the best week ever! Maybe that's because the last month and a half haven't been so great with the whole job waiting experience with Jordan and myself. At any rate, it has been a wonderful week! Jordan started his job this week. Hooray for that. However, we were planning to go to Disney Thursday-Sunday to use the tickets we didn't use when Jordan had his kidney stone. We're totally piggy backing this trip. Mom has a conference in Tampa that her work is paying for. They are paying for the gas/hotel/etc up to $2,000. This is why we can go to Disney now (plus Carson is about to turn 3 so we have to hurry and go because we didn't buy tickets for him). Our tickets, gas, and hotel are already paid for. We just have to buy food. HOORAY! The problem is Jordan just started his job. I was so worried they wouldn't let him off. They did though. What else could make this week better?? I HAVE A JOB!!!! The principal from Waller (where I taught Kindergarten ESE for part of last year) called me late last night. She couldn't find my number and remembered that my Uncle John was my uncle and works at the purchasing department (he had called her when I interviewed back in February to put in a good word). She got my number from him. She told me that the regular education Kindergarten class she thought would be available was not yet. She did have a third grade job. I jumped on it! I LOVE third grade. I did my student teaching in it last year. I just might have some lesson plans I can use from last year! How amazing is that?!!? It gets better...right now there is STILL a hiring freeze. So no jobs have been posted. Since I did work last year and received a letter saying I would not be guaranteed a job back next year, the superintendent said she could change the letter. So that means all I have to do is go sign papers tomorrow. I don't have to interview. The job does not have to be posted. She doesn't have to interview a certain amount of candidates either. HOW AMAZING IS THAT?!! I told you this week is the best week ever...and we haven't even been to Disney yet!!!!

Boy or Girl?!

2008-07-13T00:03:00.001-05:00

After weeks of continuously looking at baby #2, my mom has officially called it. We are having a GIRL!!!! We're so excited!! Baby Callie will be here in December.

July 4th

2008-07-12T17:20:00.003-05:00

Every year (except last year when we were visiting Jordan's family) we always do the same thing for the 4th. We start the day by going to the Lynn Haven Parade. It is really not a spectacular parade by any means, but is something we just have done for forever. Carson had a great time this year. We put him near the road so he'd get some candy and beads. He ended up with a ton of beads and candy.

Afterwards, we headed to my aunt's house for a cook out and a swim. The missionaries were tracting in her neighborhood. So we invited them to join us for lunch. We had a ton of fun. Afterwards we went home for a quick nap. Then we went to another cookout at the Glanzers. We followed this with fireworks on the beach. They were gorgeous! If you've never sat with your toes in the sand, with the waves crashing, and a nice breeze blowing while you watch the fireworks, you are really missing out!

An Answer to Prayer

2008-07-12T17:13:00.003-05:00

Jordan received a call back finally from Berg Pipe (he applied there the first week he was laid off). We were so excited because it was killer money. He called me after his interview to tell me that they wanted to hire him. They even offered college reimbursement. There was a problem...the schedule. It rotates every 3 weeks. There is no way for him to go to school and take this job. I was devastated! I knew that there is no way for him to take this job, but it sure was good money and we could totally use the money. After accepting the fact that he could not take this job, we were both bummed for the rest of the day. Then Jordan received another call. Okay, Jordan had not yet received a call back in the entire month of June. We were so excited! It was for a job that he applied for the first week he was laid off as well. It's a company called Del Jen that the Air Force Base uses to do the landscaping and grass cutting for on base. This job has great hours 6-2:30. It is seasonal and ends in September (how great would it be for him to work the summers while I still get my teacher pay??). It works out perfectly for his schooling. He will even be making more money than he was at Century Boats (only by 2 cents...HAHA). With the holiday (Independence Day) being the week he interviewed, it has slowed the hiring process down because the military likes to take a very long weekend then. Jordan will start this coming Monday. Hooray! This is definitely an answer to so many prayers.

Writings on the Wall

2008-07-12T17:03:00.005-05:00

Carson has been so great to get his art box out and color all on his own. He is very independent. I had a thought a few weeks ago that we might not ever have to go through the coloring on the wall phase. A few days later, I was wrong. I was explaining something to Jordan when I heard Carson making some noise. I didn't know what he was doing, afterall he is pretty noisy. After a few minutes of the constant noise, I went to find out what he was doing. He was coloring...ON THE DOOR! Do I yell at him or do I grab the camera thinking this would be a good blogging experience?

Of course I grabbed the camera! We did have a talk about not coloring on the doors or walls. As I grabbed my 409 and some paper towels, I hoped the crayon would come off easily. The purple came off so easily. I looked down at the crayons on the floor and realized he had some that were washable and some that were not. The only purple was washable. I looked for the orange crayon. There was only one of those too and it was washable! However when I went to clean up the orange, it wouldn't come off. I didn't understand. I stopped scrubbing and took a step back. I found the culprit...the NONWASHABLE orange crayon. Needless to say I quickly threw the few regular crayons away that did not say washable on them. We are now a washable only crayon house.

So Much to Post...

2008-07-12T16:57:00.002-05:00

I hate getting behind with blogging. I get so behind that I don't want to blog because I know it is going to take forever to update my blog. I've finally made the time to do this though. After I'm done, hopefully I'll blog more since I won't be so overwhelmed.

A New Recipe

2008-06-23T22:00:00.006-05:00

***UPDATE. Thanks Julie for catching my mistake. I did a simple copy and paste from Rachael Ray's site, but I did not include the recipe for making the mashed potatoes she made with it. The mashed potatoes called for some of the lemon juice. I have corrected the recipe. The joys of blogging late at night is my brain doesn't work as well.***

First off, before I get into sharing my new recipe, I have to tell you why I have time to blog tonight. Jordan went to work today and will go tomorrow with two of my cousins. They own a roofing business and told Jordan if he didn't have a job this week that they could use some extra help. So he had to get up at 5:30 and be at work at 6:30 this morning. He worked all day in the Florida heat (thank goodness it was cloudy this morning). He came home around 5:00. He was beat to say the least. So he and Carson (who did not get a nap today because we went swimming and it through him off his routine) went to bed early tonight. It is kind of nice to hear only the faint sound of the fan in the living room. So after a nice relaxing bubble bath (when do I ever get to take one?!!), I decided to post a new recipe that we tried tonight that was really easy and delicious. I love trying new recipes (only ones that fall within my comfort zone that I am pretty sure I know I will like). These kind of recipes tend to be Rachael Ray's because of the level of ease and I usually love her food. This one was on her show last week I believe.

Roast Citrus Chicken

Ingredients
* 4 legs and 2 whole chicken breasts, cut in half (I just used all chicken breasts since that is what I already had at the house)
* 4 cloves garlic, smashed
* 10 fresh bay leaves
* 2 lemons, sliced
* 1 cup green Cerignola or Sicilian olives (I opted out on these because my boys do love olives, but these have pits and I was not about to take the pit out for Carson...he'd want to eat them all and I'd never get to eat)
* 1 large onion, chopped
* Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), for drizzling
* Salt
* Pepper

Directions
Preheat an oven to 450ºF.
To a roasting pan, add the chicken, garlic, bay leaves, lemon slices, olives and onion. Drizzle everything with EVOO, season with salt and pepper, and transfer to the oven. Roast, turning the chicken pieces occasionally, until they are golden brown and cooked through, about 30-35 minutes.

We had mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas, and rolls with the chicken. It was really yummy.

How Do You Keep Your House Spotless?

2008-06-23T15:40:00.003-05:00

I feel like I am constantly cleaning and cleaning, yet never fully satisfied with the results. Carson is at the age where he can and will help me clean up, but as soon as he "helps", he undoes EVERYTHING! Whenever I go to my mom's, dad's, and grandma's, I always covet how clean and uncluttered their houses are. I know, I know. That's bad. I think having a little one around the house has something to do with why my house feels so cluttered. None of them have tons of little toys in every room like we do. Chance's (my youngest brother at 17) toys include the laptop, PS3, and his cell phone. Alice has a killer play room that is enormous to keep all of her kids' things. Maybe the spare bed should be a play room. It's small, but could work. Then again, baby #2 is coming and will need somewhere to sleep. At any rate, how do you guys do it!?! I need some tips on keeping it spotless with a little one! I think my problem is I want everything spotless and I get overwhelmed. I am going to try something new this week though and see how well it works. It's really just simplifying the whole cleaning process. Here's the plan...I am going to clean a few rooms a day and when they are done, then I can scrapbook, go to the pool, etc. without feeling guilty. I know...not a hard concept, but one that I think will really work for me since it's not so overwhelming trying to clean it all in one day and never having any me time. So here's what I'm going for:

Monday - The Kitchen
Tuesday - Laundry, Laundry, Laundry
Wednesday - The Bedrooms
Thursday - The Living Room
Friday - Laundry, Laundry, Laundry
Saturday - The Bathrooms

Can I really get all the laundry done in only 2 days without letting it seriously pile up?? We'll just have to see this week. I may need to make some adjustments, but I am thinking this will work!

Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime...

2008-06-17T19:36:00.009-05:00

This summer we have had a lot fun so far. We've spent some time up at Pop's house. Where we have swam and rode 4 wheelers.

Carson has even learned not to eat everything that Pops gives him.

Carson has helped out around the house and earned some money by doing so.

Our gerber daises are in full bloom and gorgeous this summer thanks to Carson.

We have made, chased, and eaten bubbles.

Carson has tried his hand in photography.

I attended a 2 day AIMS inservice for school. It was great! I got paid for it and we got all of this free stuff!!

I can't wait to see what else the summer has to bring!

Tobacco Free at Age 2

2008-06-07T22:23:00.003-05:00

Lately there has been an anti-smoking commercial on. I tried to find it so I could post it with this, however I could not find it. The commercial is a shoot 'em up video game that someone is playing. He kills everyone and it says level complete. After the level, he pulls out a cigarette, lights it, smokes it, and dies. Then it goes on to say that smoking kills 50% more people a year than hand guns. Whenever this commercial comes on, I always say something like, "Eww!! Gross!" when the cigarette is pulled out since Carson is normally watching. Carson has been on this dead kick. I don't know why or how it got started, but he likes to pretend he's dead or the bad guys are dead. (In a matter of like 3 weeks he's started this mess.) So I always point out that the guy is dead in the commercial and end by saying cigarettes are bad or yucky. I thought it couldn't hurt to start Carson off early. A couple of nights ago we were watching something and that commercial came on. I wasn't really paying attention until I heard Carson tell Daddy, "Ew! Yuck!" when the cigarette was pulled out. This was followed by an, "Oh no! He's dead!" I could not believe it! We were cracking up about it. Carson is only 2 and he is a tobacco free campaigner!

A Sense of Accomplishment

2008-06-05T12:34:00.004-05:00

This is NOT my house, but I am too chicken to take pictures of my house and post them. So I lifted it off Google.

I started working back in February. Since then, my house has gone downhill. You can just imagine from February to June how horrible my house looks. I was planning to start Monday on getting the house back in order and getting some things done. Monday morning I slept in a little bit and then got up, showered, got dressed, put on my make up, got Carson ready, and was walking out the door to buy Jordan's Father's Day gift at 9:00 a.m. when Jordan called me. This is normally his break time, so I didn't think much of it. He told me he was coming home to help me clean (he was off the week before from work with only Monday paid and felt guilty about not cleaning that week). Come to find out, he was calling to tell me that he had been layed off. I freaked out and bawled. I just kept thinking that this could not be happening to us because we have another baby on the way. With Carson we weren't prepared because I was on birth control when I became pregnant with him. With this one, we were so prepared. Both of us were working. We had killer insurance (which we had already met the hospital deductible with thanks to the kidney stone incident). Then we found out that my ESE unit was being dissolved, so I have no job next year. Now Jordan has been layed off and our killer insurance is only good through the end of the month now. Anyway, now that I have totally vented and did not intend to do so when I sat down to blog...it has taken me a few days to get over this fear of unemployment and now I have refocused my energy back on getting the house in order. Today I have cleaned my kitchen. I promise we're not dirty people, but man there was a lot of work to do in our kitchen. Now my floors are nice and shiny. The room smells of cleaner. The stove top is scrubbed along with all of the cabinets and counter tops. There is not a dirty dish in the sink. It feels GREAT! We'll see how long it will stay that way with a two year old, a husband, and a wife that loves to cook.

Baby Callie?? Baby Porter??

2008-06-05T10:59:00.003-05:00

Tuesday I finally went to the doctor for this pregnancy. Mom has been doing ultrasounds and gave me prenatals so I haven't neglected this pregnancy by any means. I just didn't want to take time off from teaching since I was out of leave due to the joys of getting the Waller Crud (pink eye, strep throat, and the flu). Mom asked the doctors and they said it would be fine to just wait until school let out. Insurance pays for an ultrasound on the first visit so I got to see mom during my appointment. She said we'd just measure and make sure the due date was accurate. It was, December 14th. The baby was being so good about spreading his or her legs so mom decided to just play around and see if we could see anything. She saw three lines, which means a girl!! She never checks this early because you really can't be sure for another few weeks. Mom kept checking and kept seeing the three lines. Then, she saw something that she said might be a boy. She only saw that image once so we'll see. In two weeks we'll know for sure she said. How exciting!! When we did the 3-D ultrasound, the pictures didn't come out so well because the baby kept kicking and kicking which made the pictures blurry.

Here is the view that looks like baby #2 is a girl.

Here is the 2D shot from the belly ultrasound. This baby is taking after Carson...look at the size of that head! (Mom actually said it was just the angle of the ultrasound.)

50 Moments

2008-06-02T15:32:00.002-05:00

I love to scrapbook, but often times I get behind. When I get behind, I get overwhelmed and dread beginning again. Heather White recently had a great giveaway. She was giving away 5 copies of a brand new book called 50 Moments: Scrapbook the Pages that Matter Most. Here is the concept, "If you were only going to create 50 scrapbook pages about your life, what would they be?" Sounds like a great book! Guess what!? I won!! So I get an autographed copy!! I am so excited!!

These are a few of my favorite things...

2008-06-02T15:24:00.004-05:00

I love that song! What would I change the words to if it was written by me? Well, I have signed up for another swap. I LOVE SWAPS!! I mean who doesn't love getting a package in the mail?! I saw the favorite things swap last year on Marie's Blog after the fact. This year, I caught it in time! Here are the rules, straight from Kelly's Blog.

it's really quite simple: as a participant, you will be asked to choose at least three objects (i don't think anyone would mind if you decide to send more) that are some of YOUR favorite things to send to your partner... maybe it's an apron you made, your new favorite book, or that favorite flavor of lip gloss. be creative & most importantly have fun with it! objects can be new or vintage, bought or handmade... just remember, it is best to send something the you'd be pleased & excited to receive yourself.

Sounds like fun! I cannot wait! It's not too late to sign up. Sign ups will be open until this Friday. Head on over and join the fun!
Click here to sign up!

An Appropriate Designated Smoking Area

2008-04-30T20:10:00.005-05:00

Alright, I know I just posted this picture of my school. It is important to take a look at it this time for this particular post. It looks nice right? Good. Keep that in mind as you continue to read. There are some faculty members who smoke. The problem with that is they have to be so many yards or feet away from the school campus, by law, to do so. Where do they go? Why on the other side of the road. Right across from the front of the school. I wanted to take a picture of it to share, but I wasn't sure what others would say if I was taking a picture of it. It might look a little odd. Instead, I lifted a similar picture from Google so you don't have to use your imagination. So where do the smokers go to smoke their cigarettes at my school??

The CEMETERY!!!! How ironic!

Kindergarteners Brighten My Day : )

2008-04-30T19:50:00.002-05:00

I love Kindergarten! It's not like any other grade. Five year olds are just sponges! In what other grade will you get an entire class with their hands up ready to answer when you've only said, "Who knows", "Who can", or "Who will"??! They don't even listen to the question you are posing. I love them! They just crack me up!! Today they were doing it again. I was asking a question and two words into my question half of my class's hands pop up. Today I decided to have a little bit of fun with it. I giggled and told them that they had to put their hands down and raise them only after I asked the question. I knew they couldn't do this. Everyone, except one girl, put their hand down and awaited my question (or really the words "Who will"). Again I started with "Who will..." and half of my classes hands were high in the air. Bless them! I finished with "...give me a dollar?" You should have seen their faces. They were kind of confused. Some kids put their hands down. For those who did not I told them to pay up. They ended up laughing and putting their hands down. I thought that that might fix my eager hands. Nope. This is kindergarten, what was I thinking! "Who will..." *hands flying in the air* give me their big toe? Most put their hands down. I had one silly boy who I could just eat up keep his hand up with a smirk. I then said I guess I need to go get some scissors. Everyone busted out laughing. The next thing I know, one of my babies...bless his heart was coming back with the scissors box. My para and I looked at each other and giggled. He thought I was serious. This is the one that told me he needed to go to the doctor. (This is a normal thing for him when things are challenging.) I asked him why. He said his baby was coming and he needed to go to the doctor (as he rubbed his big Buddha belly). Again, Kindergarteners brighten my day!

Kidney Stones + Two Blue Lines = Disney Trip

2008-04-17T17:06:00.007-05:00

Well, our Disney trip wasn't quite what we expected. Monday we ventured over to the Magic Kingdom for the day. We had park hoppers, but didn't use them that day because there was so much that Carson could ride. We had a blast riding it's a small world, the tea cups, pirates of the Caribbean, Buzz Lightyear, and more. Carson even went on his first roller coaster ride and loved it. He wanted to go again! It was so much fun! Carson wasn't quite tall enough to ride the bigger rides. You have to be 40" at the Magic Kingdom and he was about 2" too short. The park was open until 11 p.m. We left though around 9. When we got back to the hotel, I told Jordan I have no clue how my Mom and Dad did it taking us there. I had factored in a day off at the hotel for our visit, but Mom never did. We were exhausted!! We decided to sleep in and use our hotel day on Tuesday. My calves and arms were sore from walking and holding Carson. It was good thing we stayed at the hotel that day because Jordan had kidney stones. He didn't pass them until Saturday. I love that Carson is only three because at any other age he would've been bummed that we didn't go to any more parks that week. Instead he didn't mind exploring Orlando, swimming in the pool, and vegging out in the room. Luckily the tickets we bought were not for specific dates. They are good for six months. That just means we'll have to make another trip. We had another health related incident on the trip. I found out that I am pregnant!! We are all so excited!!!! It wasn't the trip that we planned, but it turned out to be an alright trip. We'll try Disney again this summer. We did manage to take quite a few pictures though. Here's a slide of them.

Our Little Family

2008-04-05T20:28:00.004-06:00

I love our little family. Don't we just look so cute in this picture?! Yeah, I know that totally sounds like I'm tooting my own horn (too much Junie B.). It's just that for some reason the only time we get a really nice family picture is on Easter. It's worked that way for the last few years. By a nice picture I mean all of us have our eyes open and we all are looking at the camera (with a 2 year old this is almost impossible). So I wanted to share this picture because it's a miracle that it turned out so well. A lot has happened since my last post. Obviously I totally stink at blogging now that I am teaching. I love teaching, but man it is the most exhausting thing ever. Anyway, this week is Spring Break and we are going to DISNEY WORLD!! Jordan has never been and Carson is 2 so he's still free. We got a really good rate since we're Florida residents back in February. It's all worked out really well. We were going to go in the summer before Carson turns 3, but Jordan's work is closing down this coming week (no one wants to buy a boat with the great economy so they have been making cut backs a lot lately). So we found a killer deal on a nice hotel on Hotwire and decided to go for Spring Break. I'm really excited because we really have never had a family vacation that wasn't just to see family. Not that we don't love to see family, because we absolutely positively do, but this is our first family theme park vacation. It's funny because we invited family to go with us, but no one took us up on the offer. Now my mom and stepdad want to go, but can't. So she said we have to go again next year. I love my mom. So we're on our own on this trip. I can't wait!! We leave tomorrow and get back Friday. We have 4 day tickets and they are park hoppers, which means we can leave one park and go to another one on the same day. It's going to be so much fun!! I'll have to blog about it when we get back. Until then, here's what we've been up to...

Teacher Initiation

2008-02-28T16:34:00.002-06:00

I started my new job at the beginning of the month. By the end of my first week, I lost my voice and could only whisper. I thought that I might need a trip to the doctor, but didn't want to ask for time off since it was my first week. After all, my class is made up of only 8 kids and I do have a full time teacher aid so whispering worked for a few days. Since I opted out of going to the doctor, I made my way through another week or so and Monday I couldn't take it any longer. I called in and went to the doctor. She said that I might have the flu, but it's been longer than 48 hours so she couldn't give me any drugs because they wouldn't be effective. Don't worry, I did get some drugs. However they were for pink eye and strep throat. Seriously??! So I've been out from work since Monday and today was my first day back. Tuesday I thought I was going to die or that I'd rather die than feel so horrible. Luckily I felt somewhat better Wednesday and even a little better today. I made it through the day and what do you know...tomorrow is Friday! That is kind of nice, though I'd rather go through a regular week at school than be that sick again. I am now officially a teacher with my student induced illnesses (one student had been out with strep the week before). Hooray for working with little kids!!

My Busy Life

2008-02-27T09:44:00.003-06:00

Alright, so life has been totally busy these days. I hate that I haven't kept up with blogging because then I get overwhelmed with everything that I need to mention that has happened. Here are some pictures that show what we've been up to.

Jordan's Birthday was January 25th. In the past we've had bigger parties, but this year we decided to go with a party of 3. We had fun and the cake was spectacular! Thank you Publix! Carson just decided that he was the one who was supposed to blow out the candles. So after helping Daddy, the candles were lit again and Carson got to blow them out all by himself. Carson had his first living room camp out with Daddy. Mommy had to go to work the next morning. Darn. It was so great because after about an hour, Jordan came and got into the bed. Carson got up around 1 or 2 in the morning and the first thing out of his mouth was, "Where is Daddy?!!" So both of the campers made it in the bed with me. Oh by the way, if you look at the picture of Jordan and Carson in front of the tent, you will see that Carson has inherited the dreaded CH-EE-SE picture curse from my mom. My mom always is in the middle of saying cheese when the picture is taken and looks hilarious. I LOVE YOU MOM! Lately we've been on a game kick. I think that we can thank Faye for that. In Jordan's birthday package from his family we got a game called Toss Up. After playing that game, we pulled out other games we've had but haven't played in forever. Just a little side note: Toss Up is a great game because even Carson can play it. Tiffany would be proud that we pulled out the old Phase Ten cards and I killed Jordan almost every time. A few weeks ago I had to go take a test to become certified in Exceptional Student Education K-12 (to keep my special education job). I PASSED!!! My dad was great enough to watch Carson so Jordan and I could go to Tallahassee to take the test. After passing the test, we stopped back by Dad's to pick up Carson. We ended up staying there for most of the night. We played around and built a fire. We shot off a few fireworks. I love that my dad lives in the sticks! It's so much more fun! Here's a video of some of the fireworks that my half brother Chris brought Dad. The video is just from our digital camera, but I think it turned out well. Listen carefully because you'll hear my brother Chance do his little scared girl scream.

Kindergarten ESE Here I Come!

2008-02-05T12:31:00.000-06:00

I received a phone call this morning and guess what!!! I have a job! I will be teaching at Waller Elementary, Kindergarten ESE. My class will consist of 8 students. I will have a para for 6 hours of the day. A speech person will come in too. It's so exciting and so scary all at the same time! I'm sure it will be some of the hardest work I have ever done, but it will be the most rewarding as well.

And the Winner is...

2008-02-05T12:24:00.000-06:00

Don and Lisa Osborn!! Congratulations! Sorry I am a day late announcing it. Carson drew yesterday morning, but it was a crazy day. I have the pics of him drawing, but will post them tonight because Jordan took the cord for the camera and I don't know what he did with it. Anyway, congratulations!!!

Bloggy Giveaways

2008-01-29T21:44:00.000-06:00

All right my first giveaway! I have wanted to do one for a while as a way to get some of the lurkers to come out. I was reading a blog and came across this wonderful mother of all giveaways. Currently there are over 700 giveaways to enter!! The question is, how long will it take you to enter them all?! But before you go enter other giveaways, keep reading and enter my giveaway. Then you can go see what other people are giving away.

I have some vinyl wall graffiti to give away! It says, "Cinderella is proof that a new pair of shoes can change your life." It's in a cutesy font with little stars. I can't take a picture of it because of the tape on top of it. However if you are unfamiliar with vinyl wall graffiti, here are a few pictures of some. Careful, you might become addicted to this stuff!

Alright now to the rules and how to enter. I will ship anywhere in the domestic U.S. (sorry for any inconvenience). All you have to do is leave a comment. Be sure to put your name and e-mail because Anonymous entries will be excluded. All entries must be received by Sunday, February 3rd 11:59 p.m. CST. The winner will be announced Monday morning. Good luck! Remember to check out the other giveaways too!

UPDATE

2008-01-24T16:58:00.001-06:00

Since checking the stat counter is my new favorite hobby, I thought I'd share one more way someone made it to my blog today. Google "Walmart bowling shoes" and the fifth one down brings you to me. Only the internet could bring someone searching for Wal-Mart bowling shoes to me. I didn't even know Wal-Mart made bowling shoes. Do they??

The Invisible Counter

2008-01-24T09:12:00.000-06:00

I just recently added an invisible counter to my blog, courtesy of Stat Counter. If you have a blog and don't have this, you totally need to sign up. It's free! It is so neat because not only does it tell you how many times people viewed your blog each day, it tells you where they are from and their path. I noticed someone logged on from Hawaii. I thought that that was pretty cool because most of the people that log on are from the northeast. I then checked the path of how they got to my blog. The person from Hawaii Googled "swallowed penny effects". Sure enough if you Google that, I'm the third site that pops up among medical sites. How funny is that!?! So yesterday two people actually logged on to my site from searching for information on swallowing a penny. Another person found my site through Googling "Sears Portrait Package". It's amazing to see how people get to my blog, even if it is for a second or two. Many of them come from my Sister-in-law, Alice's, blog. So fun! Sign up for this free counter if you don't have it already!!

A Blonde Moment

2008-01-22T11:59:00.000-06:00

Miss Teen South Carolina's answer to a judge's question on why many Americans can't find their country on a map."I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some people out there in our nation don't have maps, and, uh, I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and, uh, the Iraq everywhere like, such as and I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., er, should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future for our children."

I haven't been blogging as much because I have felt like there's nothing really that has happened that is blogworthy. My husband reminded me of an incident from this weekend and asked if I had blogged about it yet. This blonde moment of mine is blogworthy.

To set this little story up, I have to start share some background knowledge. We received a free dishwasher back in February from a member of Freecycle. I immediately gave up the cabinet space for it. However, the dishwasher just sat and sat. On Christmas Eve, my wonderful hubby decided it would be the perfect time to install the dishwasher. This was his thinking...I am finally going to install that dishwasher. It will be perfect timing with Christmas and we are having guests over for a big Christmas breakfast. Here was my thinking...Are you nuts?!!? I have to cook for the party tonight and the party tomorrow afternoon. I have to clean the house for the 10 or so guests Christmas morning. We have a party at 6. UGH!!!!!! After going to my mom's to cook, Jordan showing up late to the party, cleaning the house late that night, and running the first load of dishes in the dishwasher (which didn't even make it through the entire cycle before messing up), I was frustrated to say the least. We were without hot water in the kitchen sink for the big Christmas breakfast. The day after Christmas, Jordan fixed the dishwasher (since every place was closed late Christmas Eve and Christmas Day).

The first few days that I was home while Jordan was at work, I admit I was a little scared to use the dishwasher. I loaded it anyway, and started the dishwasher-anxiously awaiting something bad to happen. I was so excited when it made it longer than it did the first time without breaking. However, the dishwasher kept running even though the knob had hit off and even past it. I just stopped the dishwasher by opening it. I didn't know why it wouldn't stop. I took the dishes out. They were a little dirty still. I did not want to tell Jordan that the dishwasher wasn't working AGAIN. I hand washed the dishes and didn't say a word. I tried another load. The same thing happened. I kept thinking, "Great, I have a dishwasher, but can't even use it." I couldn't tell Jordan. He was too excited about having installed it and it work. I continued to wash the dishes by hand for a few days. Finally, after a big meal, I loaded the dishwasher one more time. This time when I closed the dishwasher, I made sure all of the right buttons were pushed. I looked very carefully at the dial. Then I saw something that I had never noticed before-A NOTCH. I took a step back and totally felt like an idiot. The dishwasher worked fine. I had not noticed the notch and apparently had been turning the dial looking at the opposite end. Such a BLONDE MOMENT! In my defense, the dishwasher is black and so is the dial. The notch is black too so it doesn't stand out like some dishwashers that are white with gray notches. Maybe I should paint the notch so it's easier to see. I am so glad that I didn't tell Jordan that he needed to fix the dishwasher. I would've felt like more of an idiot if he would've been the one to tell me about the notch.

The Cousin's Party

2008-01-09T22:39:00.000-06:00

We have a lot of traditions on my Mom's side of the family during the month of December. One of them is the cousin's party. My grandpa and his siblings have a nice dinner party one night while the kids have their own party (the cousin's party). This year's party was at the creek. We ate, went on a hayride, the adults swapped crazy white elephant gifts, and the boys jumped into the cold creek while it was pitch black like crazy kids. My Aunt Kim brought a girl with her to the party. She said she had been on a hayride before. However, our redneck hayride is unlike anything that she had encountered. We had a lot of fun. This is always our favorite thing to go to. I took tons of pictures on the hayride, but it was pitch black outside and the flash made Carson blink in almost every picture. I'm slide show happy so here are the pictures from the cousin's party in a slide show.

The Slide Show

2008-01-09T17:54:00.001-06:00

I finally figured out how to do a slide show! Hooray! These are all of the pictures from the Tennessee Trip. I know I already posted some, but since I figured out how to do the slide show I have to post it!

Turning off the Computer

2008-01-09T00:07:00.000-06:00

Normally my blog entries consist of pictures and stories of our family. My sister-in-law, Alice, hates blogs like that. She reads mine because she has to (plus we're so far away she can keep up with what's going on in our lives). Her blog is full of funny stories. Check it out...after you finish reading this entry. Anyway, this entry has some humor in it...just for you Alice!

I have two e-mail accounts that I check regularly. One I created when I got married, goldengirlof85@yahoo.com and the other meagangold@gmail.com. I have reasons for having both accounts. The yahoo e-mail lets me have access to yahoo groups like freecycle, LDS YW, and FHE Swap. The gmail account is my "adult" account. This is the one I use on my resume and at FSU. It sounds more grown up than some silly goldengirl one. Anyway, I have noticed that within the past few weeks when signing in to my yahoo account that the num lock key has not been on (since I need it for my address). It is ALWAYS on. It's been bugging me because I'll attempt to sign in and the screen will say that the user and/or password is not correct. I'll look and see that the 85 was not typed in. Sure enough, the num lock key light is not on. Tonight I have figured out why that keeps happening.

We were getting ready for bed. Carson stopped and said, "Mommy, turn the computer off." Normally we leave it on. I don't know why, we just do (maybe because we're afraid that it won't come back on since it's 6 years old). Before I could say anything, Carson ran to the computer. In the past he's turned the monitor off, so I assumed that that was what he was going to do. Instead, he pushed the num lock key first, and then turned the monitor off. He did not even hesitate at which key to hit. Since the light for the num lock key went off when he pushed it, just like the monitor, he thought he was doing me a favor and turning off the computer. My num lock mystery was solved.

Pictures from Vacation in Tennessee

2008-01-07T22:35:00.001-06:00

Alright I totally gave up on the whole slide show thing. Alice, you'll have to help me. I uploaded my pictures to Flickr, but couldn't figure out how to put them on my blog. So anyway, here are the pictures. First, we made our way to Knoxville to see Alice and LeGrand and nieces. Carson had so much fun with the nieces. Now I am missing having someone to play with Carson. Here's a picture of Bella and Carson eating olives. What kind of kids eat olives?? Next we traveled from Knoxville to Waynesboro, VA to visit Jordan's cousin Joe. They have two girls, one is a few months older than Carson. They were fun to watch because they're both two. Mason and Carson played together, but then had their two year old "this is mine" fights. While visiting cousin Joe, Carson got to play with the adult's toys. Carson loves tractors so he was so excited that uncle Dirk had a tractor he could ride. As if that wasn't enough, cousin Jarrett's toy is a bus he bought. Seriously who owns a bus???! It cracks me up. After Virginia, we went to Jordan's parent's house in Kingsport, TN. While we were there, it snowed. I LOVE the snow!! It's so magical. I guess it's because I'm a Florida girl. However, Carson did not have the same outlook on the snow. He thought it was neat to watch, but when we came out to play in it he did not like it. This picture is of him running back inside. We also went to the new natural history museum while we were there too. Carson had a blast digging for bones.
We ended up having a wonderful trip. Now I have tons of catching up to do...laundry, Christmas decor packed away, etc. That's always the worst part about coming home from a trip.

A Much Needed Vacation and an Unfortunate Event

2008-01-04T23:47:00.000-06:00

We just got back from our trip up to Tennessee to visit Jordan's family. Can I just say I LOOOOOOOOVE Tennessee. Now that I have graduated, Jordan needs to hurry up and finish school so we can move there! Jordan had 2 weeks off for Christmas vacation. We decided to go to Tennessee for a week. We visited Jordan's brother Legrand's family in Knoxville, cousin Joe's family in Virginia, and his mom and dad back in Kingsport, Tennessee. It was a lot of driving, but it was a blast! It even snowed while we were up there! Check out the slide show.

****UPDATE - Alright I am trying to figure out the slide show thing. I uploaded my pics to flickr, but it's too late and I'm not understanding how to get them here. So I will work on that...

When we got back home, I had a message for an interview on Wednesday. We got back Thursday. I was so bummed at the missed opportunity. I called the lady back that night and she said I could probably interview Friday. Friday I called back and she said they had already filled that position. It was frustrating, but I'm sure something better will come along.

Like Father, Like Son

2007-12-18T08:48:00.000-06:00

Last night Carson surprised us again with something not so wonderful. Carson loves to take medicine. I thought that that was good when he was sick about a week ago. I didn't have to force it down him. Plus he would remind me that he needed his medicine. He is just now over his little cold he had. Last night while I was watching tv and Jordan was on the computer, he came to Jordan with an empty bottle of Triaminic and said, "Carson drank it all gone daddy." We totally flipped out. The medicine was out because he had been sick and had been taking it up until just a few days ago. It was on top of the microwave, but he managed to climb and get it. He then managed to open the "child proof" top. I figured there was about just under a half of bottle of medicine left in there. Carson was sticky with medicine all over him so we knew he didn't drink all of it. We called the Poison Control number in the phone book. It just rang and rang and rang. Then we called the pediatrician and an on call nurse called us back. She gave us the local Poison Control's number. While Jordan dialed one number, I dialed the other on the cell phone. The local Poison Control was busy for 30 minutes. The other Poison Control number from the phone book just rang and rang and rang for 30 minutes. We called the nurse again. She said to call the pharmacist at Walgreens (the only 24 hour pharmacy in town) to see what the active ingredients do to a 2 and a half year old. At this point it is 10:30 at night. He said it would only increase his heart rate and make him have a lot of energy. He told us that we should be grateful it wasn't a cough medicine (it was Chest and Nasal Congestion). A cough suppressant would have worked like a sedative which would have put him out and been scary. He reassured us that he would probably be fine. When we called the nurse back (at her request) she said that she felt much better about the situation. She had told us before that if we did take him to the ER, they would assume he drank the whole bottle and treat him for that. We sat this one out at home rather than the ER and Carson was fine. Holy moly! Another exciting day in the Gold home.

All Grown Up

2007-12-16T22:27:00.001-06:00

I have officially finished my college career with a degree in Elementary Education. Today was our graduation. Now I need to find a real job!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

2007-12-14T09:38:00.000-06:00

I love this time of year! Note that it is still in the 70s and even 80s which does not make it feel like Christmas is coming at all. However, this is the time of year that my mom did most of her baking when we were growing up. She was always baking for people as a random act of kindness through out the year. At Christmas though, everyone got cookies...sometimes even her own kids. We always laugh about it because she was always baking for everyone else. We had to run and steal a cookie or two when they first came out of the oven if we were going to get a cookie. She was always worried about baking for everyone else. We always gave her a hard time about it and still do. Now that I'm married and have my own little family, my name has made it to "the list". I now get a big plate of cookies, while Chance (who still lives with mom) has to run and grab a hot one if he wants a cookie. My mom is like the most amazing woman in the world...and the best baker as well. The smell of freshly baked cookies always reminds me of Christmas!

Pa Pa

2007-12-07T13:40:00.000-06:00

Last night Jordan was messing with the rocking chair and out fell a pacifier. We laughed and decided to see if Carson remembered his "pa pa". We asked him what it was. He said he didn't know. We told him it was his old pa pa. We made him put it in his mouth for old time's sake. He looked so silly.
Look at his look in this picture. LOL. It just made me think how much Carson has grown in the last year. He doesn't have his pa pa, he talks nonstop (I don't know who he gets that from), he's potty trained, he can count, and he can say his ABCs. He is just a sponge right now. It is so fun! He LOVES Christmas lights, Santa, wrapping presents, and putting presents under the tree. I can't even begin to think about what he'll be like this time next year.

Missionary Dinner

2007-12-05T16:04:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow I am having the missionaries over. I used to be good at feeding them every Thursday, but with student teaching I quit doing that. So it has been forever since we've fed them. I'm making lasagna, salad (always makes everything go further), corn (my psycho family always has to have corn with lasagna, spaghetti, ziti, etc.), French bread, and ice cream dessert. The reason I wanted to post about feeding the missionaries tomorrow is to post a great recipe. I love making ice cream dessert because it takes 5 minutes to make and does not tie up your oven like brownies, cakes, or cookies. It is also very kid friendly. Carson helped me make it tonight.

Ice Cream Dessert

Ingredients:
12 ice cream sandwiches
8 oz. cool whip
caramel sauce for drizzling
chocolate syrup for drizzling
heath bar pieces or mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Unwrap ice cream sandwiches. Break them apart and put into 9 x 13 pan (or whatever size you'd like). After all ice cream sandwiches are broken up, flatten with hands to make an even surface.

Dollop the cool whip on top. Spread evenly. Drizzle chocolate syrup and caramel.

Top with heath bar pieces or mini chocolate chips. Freeze for 5 + hours.

I usually make mine the night before and let it freeze overnight. I pull it out of the freezer about 5-10 minutes before dessert time. This way it's easier to cut. It is so great because my dessert is done and I don't have to worry about it tomorrow.

FHE Exchange

2007-12-03T14:45:00.000-06:00

I recently participated in a FHE Exchange via a Yahoo Group. The ladies did an amazing job with their lessons. We each created one lesson each. We made 13 copies of our lesson (12 for the other ladies and one for us). It took longer for the exchange to take place than originally thought because some people didn't send theirs on time or at all. We did end up with 10 other lessons. All of the lessons were on The Book of Mormon. Instead of taking a million pictures of each lesson, I thought I'd post pictures of them as we get to each one as a family. Tonight's lesson is on the Stripling Warriors. I'm so excited! I can't wait!

Elf Yourself

2007-11-30T18:42:00.001-06:00

The holidays are a time for friends and family. Jordan's family lives in Tennesee. Many of our friends don't live here. So to help keep in touch with them this year for Christmas we sent out an e-mail with this cool link. Check it out!