Tuesday 10

I had technical difficulties that made posting this a disaster on Tuesday.... so here my post a little delayed.

1.  Girl's Day in the Country is THIS weekend!!!! Friday afternoon/evening and all day Saturday! Make plans to attend - there will be all kinds of unique local booths! It's going to be a blast!!! I am very excited to be a part of this event!

2. Speaking of, I have some fun new products to introduce at the Girl's Day in the Country! Dusty & I have been busy working on some fun new chalkboards and photo display frames that I think will rock. I'll also have lots of handmade products - burp cloths, appliqued onesies & shirts, magnets, rosette pins & clips, tissue pockets plus a lot of fun finds! Our home has pretty much been a non-stop production line while trying to keep up with the household chores and keep the family fed.

3. I just returned from a fun-filled weekend trip to Birmingham, Alabama. My 1st visit to Alabama and it was a beautiful autumn! My sister & I went for a cousin's wedding - it was so wonderful to visit with our family from the south that we rarely get to see! We love our distant cousins (3rd cousins to be exact!) and always have such a blast with them. Rebecca and I laughed and laughed while hanging out with our great-aunts & great-uncles. They are a hoot and always full of great stories.

4. One of my favorite things about Birmingham, was the abundance of sweet tea. The first restaurant we dined at, I asked the waitress if they had sweet tea and she replied "YES, MA'AM!" It was in a tone insinuating I was crazy for even asking. I never asked after that - I just ordered it! I did miss my Dr. Pepper as it was not an easy beverage to find!

5. Being the awful mother of the year, I only ordered the kids' winter coats two weeks ago... when a major cold front was on the horizon. Their coats finally came in (after the cold front) and Taryn is quite the fan of hers. She's not very happy with us for taking it off when she rides in her car seat.... safety, first!

6. Cayson spent a day home with me last week and I snapped this picture while we were eating lunch. He looks so grown up here. :( He's growing like a maniac and eating every morsel of food in sight! I seriously cannot keep the kid's tummy full. I can only imagine what the teenage years will be like.

7. Taryn has become quite the polite little thing lately. If I ask her if she wants something, her reply is, "Yes, please." in the sweetest voice. She always includes the word "please" when she asks for anything. It is the sweetest thing! I love when my kids learn manners and USE them. I know they are not the best behaved but I hope they learn respect and good manners.

8. Dusty has recently cleared his plate of some of his responsibilities which made more time for FAMILY! Yay! He resigned as a volunteer firefighter and is no longer teaching a class at a juvenile detention center which has freed up quite a bit of time. We are loving it. He is staying busy cleaning chimneys for my parents as it is the very busy season and he's currently the only one cleaning chimneys. BUT, that is somewhat flexible and it's been wonderful to see him more!

9. I'm already stressing a bit about Christmas presents for the kids. They need absolutely nothing and don't really want much. Cayson's requests so far are a skateboard & pogo stick. Eek! Pogo sticks are recommended for 7 and up so he won't be getting one of those! I'm still a little unsure about the skateboard.... safety wise. He's not the most coordinated child - much like his mother!

10.

Source

11. (Because I can!) Dusty did such a fabulous job of keeping the house and kids while I was gone. I'm so lucky to have him because it wasn't an easy time. He took the kids to a birthday party at a local farm, a SWOSU football game, to Sunday School and church, and got them off to CDO on Monday plus he kept up with housework, laundry, feeding and bathing the kids. It sounds like they had a blast!

Taryn & Gracie wore the same shirt to the birthday party. Surprise!

Bundled up at the football game

Ready for church!