The Jarnagins' Journal

Valentine's Day Recap

2012-02-19T20:58:00.001-06:00

I clearly remember Valentine's Day of my childhood - we usually delivered baked goodies to our grandparents including my great-grandma. I also remember the little goodies my parents gave us to celebrate ~ I still have a kitty cat mug I got when I was probably 7 or so. I have tried to carry on the tradition of giving the kids sweet little gifts and delivering goodies to others to show love and appreciation. I actually, still have one of my Valentine gifts from my dad... this mug which is probably 20 years old. 

We started the morning with gifts... and Momma got roses. I tried a new recipe for donut muffins which turned out pretty good. They were a hit with the kids, for sure! I will say, donuts are better... and more fattening! 

Roses from my Valentine!

Dusty had to work so the kids and I used our time to deliver our goodies and Valentines to several widows and widowers including my grandparents. 

I love, love, love this picture of the kids with their great-grandma! She was so excited to see them that she ditched her domino match to visit with us. So, sweet! 

Dusty and I got to celebrate on Thursday with a trip to the city for shopping and dinner. We planned on seeing a movie but the times were just off for our timing so we drove home and rented a movie to watch in bed. It was a great date and I loved spending time with my Valentine! We're thankful for grandparents who were happy to give us a date day!

The kids had their Valentine parties at CDO on Thursday since school was cancelled on Monday. I did not get a picture of Cayson's Valentines for his friends but he took bubbles. Taryn took these to her friends. I got the printable here for them.

A Snow Day - Finally!

2012-02-14T20:02:00.001-06:00

 Our Oklahoma winter has been very unusual this year - warmer than normal temperatures and literally NO SNOW. This household loves the snow so we were beyond thrilled when we got dumped on Sunday night! It meant school was cancelled and we had the day to enjoy! 

Cayson spent the morning sledding and galloping in the snow with Daddy and Granddaddy. He had a blast making snow ice cream... and even more fun eating it! 

Taryn had the sniffles and did not get to participate in the outdoor activities so I gave her bowl of faux snow aka shaving cream to play in. She kept insisting on a clean towel to wipe her hands... but by the end, she was gleefully making a mess. Now, if you know me, you probably realize that it pained me to allow this mess. BUT, I was a big girl and let her make a big ole mess. It cleaned up easily! 

Thank you, Lord, for the moisture you sent and the beautiful white snow. 

"Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow"

V-Day Prep

2012-02-12T22:09:00.003-06:00

The kids have been enjoying prepping for Valentine's Day. Cayson, being our firstborn, takes it so seriously. Saturday morning, he had to start working on his projects first thing (7 am) so he wouldn't have to work all day long. His words, exactly. 

He also cracked me up because he knew the days of the week. He reminded me (while I was still attempting to sleep) that Monday was his school Valentine's Day party and it was the 13th so it was only one day before Valentine's Day because it's on the 14th. Whew. He is really fascinated with dates and times. He checks the calendar every day to see what day it is and always tells me what day of the week it is. 

Views from Taryn's Minnie Mouse Birthday Party

2012-02-09T21:30:00.000-06:00

My sister sent me the pictures she took of Miss T's Minnie Mouse birthday party! I love them! We are sooooo blessed to have a talented rockstar photographer in the family! 

Taryn was surrounded by many of her cousins, her bff, and much of our families. It was a special day to celebrate her! 

My grandpa - still silly at 86 years young!

You can check out the details of the decor and menu here.

Tuesday 10 or maybe 5...

2012-02-07T20:14:00.002-06:00

It is funny how all week long, I think of things I should include in my Tuesday 10 post and then it rolls around I cannot figure out what to write. So, tonight, I am closing with only five points...

1. Cayson has the craziest bedhead in the mornings. Someone mentioned that Justin Bieber would be jealous of that hair. Ha ha. This particular morning, he told me he was having a hard time balancing his hair. 

2. As much as I love to shop, it's a wonder that I had yet to visit the new outlet mall that is just 60 miles away in the big city. This week, we made things right and I will say I am in love. We only visited three stores - it was POURING rain but I managed to find a few good deals! Happy, happy girl! Here are the sleepy babies on our way home from our little jaunt to the city...

I am a bargain hunter... I love to shop, I love to spend money but I especially love finding good deals. I try to buy the kids' clothes ahead to save money... I usually get them darling name brand clothes at a fraction of the price! This week, I found the kids some adorable tops at the Gymboree outlet... for $2.49-3.99 each. Really, can you beat that for high quality clothes? I think not! I also visited a Good Will and was surprised to score some like-new name brand clothes for next winter for Taryn. It's a lot easier to find nice clothing for her than Cayson. Most boys his age/size wear their clothes out - him included. Nearly all of his current jeans have holes in the knees from all his crawling and sliding. 

My sister sent me Taryn's birthday party pictures today! I am giddy! They turned out amazing as usual! Rebecca is so great at catching all those special moments... so I am not worried about snapping away and can enjoy the special day! 

5. Look! My sister found me a back-up phone....

Tuesday 10!

2012-01-31T22:37:00.001-06:00

1. I cannot believe today is the last day of January and we have had such warm temperatures. I really enjoy snow so I have missed not having snowy days this winter but the kids have enjoyed playing outside! I love this picture from last week of Cayson on his PowerWing Scooter. 

2. Today, when I took the kids out to ride/run, Cayson and Taryn kept racing. Cayson on his Radio Flyer Scooter and Taryn pushing her "empty" baby stroller. Taryn got fed up with the stroller slowing her down as she raced so she ended up carrying the stroller in her arms and running. It was the funniest thing ever. I didn't have a camera or phone to get pictures. Ah! 

3. Dusty demoted me to a bag phone this week after my phone fell out of my pocket and into the kids' bath. Apparently, I am not responsible enough for an iPhone. This phone alone has been dropped in water twice. My last one had an exciting ride through the wash cycle of are washing machine. The current water logged phone is enjoying a spa day in a steamy bag of rice. 

4. Taryn had a very special birthday party on Saturday. She was surrounded by most of her family! Her bff, Gracie, was there too! She has been having a blast with all of her new toys! Pics to come soon....

5. Cayson is excited that his birthday is "next" in our family. He wants a police themed party so Momma has to get to work finding age appropriate ideas for his party. 

6. Last night, I got dinner on the table a little later than usual because my lassagna took longer to bake than usual. Cayson told me he had a great idea how I could have had dinner ready on time. "If you would stay in the kitchen instead of walking around the house, dinner would have been ready earlier." Ha ha. The conclusion is that while I am doing housework, I am actually just walking around the house. And he thought if I'd just stay in the kitchen, then dinner would have been ready. 

7. We are starting a new block of Bible studies at church on Wednesday nights. I am doing the ladies Bible study - James Mercy Triumphs by Beth Moore. I am so excited! Dusty is participating in the Courageous study that follows up the movie. 

8.  Common sight at our house: 

9. Always a good reminder. I need this poster size in my kitchen!

10. Do you like the updates to my blog? I shocked myself and designed the header using Picnik... you know, before it closes. And I even updated the sidebars with new pictures of the kidlets!

Date Day in the Big City!

2012-01-30T08:30:00.000-06:00

Dusty and I got to go to have a "date afternoon/night" last week! It was much needed time away from the hectic craziness of life. We ate a gourmet meal at Chic-fil-a (thanks to a coupon for free chicken nuggets) and did some quick shopping to pick up necessities for Taryn's birthday party along... which leads to me an ordeal at T@rget that we experienced.

We shopped our hearts out at Target buying clearanced items, groceries, necessities, and all those cute things they tease you with..... we finally headed to the check out and waited about 10ish minutes in line. The check out girl asked if wanted to open a  T@rget check card account to save the 5% on all purchases... I'd been meaning to do it so I agreed. When she got to the application process, she requested a check. "Uh-oh" All I had was a temporary check that was somewhat wadded up in the bottom of my purse. Of course, the reader would not read it so I told her it was okay, I'd just pay cash. The clerk could not get out of the application and into the payment screen. So, a manager was called and they declared the computer had locked up. (I think they just didn't know how to exit). Here we are, in a hurry to head out to eat before the basketball game with a cart of bagged products... and I do mean A LOT of bags! 

The manager declared the only option was to be rung up on another lane. Mind you, by this time, there's a long line of folks behind us including the lady right behind us who had unloaded her VERY full cart of products onto the conveyor belt already. Ugh. So, they got out all of my coupons from the drawer and took us to another lane to be re-rung out so I could pay in cash for purchases. I was quite frustrated and really wanted to just walk out. Dusty was awesome and reminded me that it is no big deal. That was the attitude check I needed to remember that our actions are a reflection of who we are in Christ. How I react to this situation matters... to me, to my husband, to the clerk and manager and most importantly, to God. Fifteen minutes later, we were out the door paying $2 less than the original total because the manager caught a coupon that did not scan the first time. 

After that, we made a quick stop at Hobby Lobby before heading downtown for dinner and basketball! I must say, thanks to the delay at T@rget, we got downtown at the perfect time to catch a free parking space open up a block from the arena. Score! We decided to skip the dinner and just go on to the game and watch pregame warm-ups. 

This guy was sitting right in front of us. Talk about Awesome-ness! He is NOT wearing a shirt under that cape - just some spiffy suspenders. lol. He was pretty cool and chill during the game. 

It was a great day... a day of learning from the every-day frustrations and a day of bonding with my dear husband! Oh, and the Thunder WON!

The perfect shade of pink....

2012-01-29T15:01:00.000-06:00

Most days, I am extremely grateful to be mommy to Cayson and Taryn... and occasionally, there are days when I would like to have a time-out card for Mommy... today, being one of those days... 

This morning, I put on a Veggie Tales so I could quietly do my devotions in my bedroom. Taryn wasn't too interested and went to the kids' room to play. No big deal... or at least, that's what I thought. She emerged a little bit later and Cayson yelled for me to come see the pink on Taryn's face. Okay, her face was not what worried me when I saw the rest of her....  

Little speck of pink on her cheek
She had slathered pink nail polish on her toes (front and back, she was thorough) and feet. Oh, yes!

I sat the naughty girl on the changing pad to clean her off all while I was shrieking out of complete horror at the disaster that was my sweet girl's beautiful skin. Then, it dawned on me that I needed to take pictures before I cleaned her so I raced to get the camera only to realize it didn't have the card in it and I could not find the card reader and card anywhere. So, iPhone had to suffice to record this moment. 

As I began scrubbing, I raised her pant leg only to discover she also painted her legs and knees. Oh, joy! Taryn does not do things half-way, that is for sure. Eek!

I decided the best attack was sticking her in a bubble bath to let the warm water help with the paint removal. I made her scrub it as part of her punishment. Yeah, punishment, yeah, right.

I will admit that I am grateful that she used her Piggy Paint polish instead of the real deal. Piggy Paint is water soluble so it did come off in the bath. I scrubbed the carpet with water and vinegar and it came right out. Her pajamas are another story... still trying to get the pink out.

Oh, and then the cat puked.... and Taryn touched it. *gag*

Celebrating

2012-01-28T23:20:00.001-06:00

We celebrated this Minnie Mouse pirate today as we FINALLY had her birthday party! She did take off the eye patch for the party, thank goodness. Notice she can't open her other eye because the elastic is going right over her eye lid. Goofy kid.

Show & Tell - The Booth!

2012-01-28T13:59:00.004-06:00

Fun things have been going on in these parts... for instance, we opened a booth at an antique mall! It's a very popular antique mall with a lot of foot traffic so I have high hopes that we will be successful! I still have a lot that I want to do to the booth including more doors to cover this icky red shelf & peg board and some more doors. Those things will come... soon enough. 

Here is a peek into the booth... it includes antiques, vintage treasures and some made-new things including my new pillows! Most of these were taken with my phone so not the best quality. 

I love this typewriter... I am secretly hoping it does not sell so it can find a home in my house. :) 

Vintage desk along with some fun vintage cowboy pillows. 

I love this antique medicine cabinet - it was destined for the dumpster before I swiped in to save it... errr, actually, my brother-in-law saved it for me. It's over 100 years old! 

This metal ice box is a sure treasure... it has shelves and all! 

Here are a few of the pillow cuteness... I love these fabrics!

That's a little bit of what has been going on around here! This weekend, we are celebrating T's 2nd birthday with a Minnie Mouse themed party. Holla!

Tuesday 10

2012-01-24T22:29:00.001-06:00

I'm trying to motivate myself to get everything done for Taryn's little birthday party this weekend. I have been a slacker mom and am so unorganized! I still need to make a menu and shop for a lot of things! We're having it at our itty bitty house so it's going to be a small and simple affair. Taryn is VERY excited about her party. When I mention it, she jumps up and down with joy. 

Both kids are STILL singing and humming Christmas songs. It cracks me up. Taryn mainly sticks with Jingle Bells. Cayson has quite a variety including Joy to the World, Jingle Bells, Away in the Manger, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, etc. 

My dad and I sorted through some of his antiques this weekend and found a few jewels... he has a huge collection of milk bottles and soda bottles. The caddy and bottles below found a home in my house. :) The camera will be finding a home at my sister's house. If anyone needs a bottle of Opium, we have one. :) It has 1/3 of a large bottle left. lol. 

Taryn has started praying recently before bed. It really is cute but we cannot understand most of what she says. She says it with inflection like we use in our prayers. She does always include her CDO teachers (usually 2 or 3 times each prayer!) and her friends at school. Sometimes, she prays for each friend by name and other times she just prays for her "friends." Prayer is powerful! 

Taryn had her 2 year check up this past week. She had a blast dancing around the exam room while waiting for the pediatrician. She weighed in at 26 pounds.... she gained 3 pounds since her last check-up. 

6. Cayson has the narliest bed head hair. It really gets quite the volume... I don't know if this photo does it justice, really. He has mentioned cutting it the past couple of weeks, so we may be chopping off his locks. :( 

7. We're decorating for Valentine's Day along with Taryn's birthday decorations. I did a quick update of my burlap wreath by adding a fabric bow and a Valentine's Day sign (Hobby Lobby). 

8. We've had a junior policeman around these parts lately. Protecting and serving our household. He gave me his "mean" face in a couple of these pictures. Can't you feel the anger? Ha ha. 

9. I have to share an easy recipe I saw via Pinterest - I didn't pin it because it was soooo simple! Place 4 chicken breasts (can be frozen), 1 jar salsa and 1 pkg taco seasoning into slow cooker and cook all day. Shred and serve on tacos, in quesadillas or on nachos. We had chicken tacos the first night but used the leftovers for nachos and quesadillas. It was such a quick and easy meal. I'm thinking that next time I will throw in a can of black beans for an extra healthy punch.

10. And, I must end with these two cuties! Picture courtesy of RM Photography!

Nerf Wars

2012-01-19T11:07:00.002-06:00

Our house has been a war zone the past couple of weeks. Dusty and Cayson were gifted Nerf guns for Christmas and our family (and friends) have had a blast playing with the guns.

Cayson has a cardboard shield we made for his protection. :)

Beware of Nerf bullets if you dare stop by our house. :)

Weekend Randoms: Phone Dump

2012-01-14T21:48:00.000-06:00

I've had a nice extended break from Internet thanks to our Internet provider... we are back and running thanks to a new router. I thought it was time to post a few random pictures from my phone!

Taryn loves to wear Cayson's hats... this day, she looked so gangster but threw in a glam with the wrist full of bracelets. Love her "style."

I love this photo of Dusty reading to the kids... a Princess book nonetheless.

We had a minor incident which felt like a major one to me this past week! When riding his bike home from my parents', Cayson somehow slipped and got his foot stuck. I could not free it and started to panic as I stood on the side of the road with two kids on bikes. I called Dusty who rushed home. He had to carry Cayson - bike and all home to work on getting his foot free. It took a good 15 minutes and Cayson was thrilled to be a free man again. 

Speaking of Dusty, he was involved in a big mj grow bust this week.... he sent me this pic so I had it on my phone. Nice operation, right? 

I thought it was time Patches made an appearance on the blog... it's been awhile. She is still around and kicking... at 20 years old! She is super cuddly during the winter months and is always on our laps or sleeping on top of us. 

We've gone to a couple SWOSU basketball games this week - our first of the season. They are doing fantastic this year and the other night, we got to watch the ladies beat the #1 ranked team! So fun! 

I am slowly working on the details for Taryn's Minnie Mouse birthday party... we ended up delaying her party until almost a month after her actual birthday. It's going to be a cute little party, I think. This is my first time to actually assemble and make the invitations. I usually do photo cards or printed invitations. 

My sister took 2 year pictures of Taryn last week... they didn't go so well as she was in a mood and only wanted to be held by me. I was quite disappointed as Taryn is usually very cooperative as far as the smiles go when we do pictures. Rebecca did send me this cute picture. We may have to schedule a mini-session to try to get a few more shots of the temperamental girl. 

Cayson and I had fun coloring these cute Valentines that I picked up in T@rget's Dollar Spot. Later in the day, his naughty sister got a hold of them and did her own coloring on them. So... I need to pick up another pack for him. 

At today's SWOSU game, I asked the kids to show me their game faces.... these are what they gave me. So cute! I love them!

Diva-fied Taryn

2012-01-04T09:23:00.003-06:00

She's all girl part of the time, all tomboy the other part. So much fun!

Christmas Day (finally blogged!)

2012-01-03T09:00:00.000-06:00

We had a fun-filled Christmas Day as our own little family unit. The kids fully loved digging into their stockings and opening their gifts. Cayson was so grateful and kept telling us how thankful he was for his gifts. That totally makes it worth it! Taryn loved her new baby dolls and lugged them everywhere as you can see in the pictures. We ate our traditional monkey bread for breakfast after opening gifts. 

It was awesome to head to church on Christmas Day to celebrate His birth! I loved it! Our church had a family service so Taryn was in with us and she actually slept through the majority of the service. We came home to an nontraditional meal of chili for lunch followed by naps! 

We headed down to Dusty's parents' Christmas evening to celebrate with his side of the family. It was a big jolly time with loads of food and gifts! 

Dusty with his older brother, Greg

The brothers with their dad aka Santa

Terrific 2's for Miss Taryn!

2012-01-01T14:32:00.002-06:00

We celebrated our girl on Friday as she turned two. It was bittersweet... saying goodbye to 1 and hello to toddlerhood. 

The little miss was pleased to discover a tiny bicycle and helmet waiting for her and her big brother was more than happy to "teach" her how to use it. 

She was happy to feast on donut holes and a banana for breakfast! 

She adores her new Daisy Duck and insisted on taking it everywhere we went. 

We had unseasonably warm temps for Taryn's birthday this year. It's hard to believe it was snowing the eve of her birth and there was snow on the ground when we left the hospital with our bundle! Back, to the warm weather, we headed to the zoo to take full advantage. I don't think it will often be mid-60's on December 30! 

Taryn LOVED the zoo! She fully embraced everything about it - running ahead, waving at all the animals, oohing and aahing. It was perfect! 

After the zoo, we did a little shopping and then took our birthday girl to Sara Sara Cupcake to get a birthday cupcake! They were sweet enough to add the candle for her to blow out. These next two pics are so sweet to me. 

Word that describe Taryn: Sassy, stubborn, adorable, motherly, active, sweet, loving, dramatic, pouty, energetic, center of attention, independent

Loves: Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, cars, harassing her brother, eating, playing pirates, Grandma and Granddaddy, animals, Princesses, "school," her friend, Gracie, dancing and singing, jumping, shoes, watching Mickey Mouse, bath time.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-28T07:53:00.001-06:00

Our Christmas Eve consisted of hosting my family's Christmas including Jesus' birthday cupcakes and then heading to my great-uncle & aunt's house for our annual Christmas Eve bash! 

Outdoor Play

2011-12-27T22:14:00.002-06:00

We had some beautiful weather today and Cayson was anxious to test out his new skateboard so we headed out to use up some of their pent up energy. I was quite nervous to let my baby boy ride a dangerous skateboard but he surprised me and did quite well (he had full protective gear on). 

Taryn padded along - sometimes toting her new baby along for the ride. She refuses to peddle and instead uses her feet to "Flinstone" it. 

Thank you, Lord, for beautiful days in the middle of winter!

Merry Christmas, friends!

2011-12-23T22:55:00.002-06:00

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas!

Snow!?!

2011-12-17T16:00:00.001-06:00

I don't think I've mentioned that it snowed the other week - a dusting, if you will. Cayson had prayed for snow and was quite ecstatic that God answered his prayer. He proceeded to request "much, much, much more snow because we really like it" during his next prayer. Ha ha!

Pinterest Love!

2011-12-16T11:58:00.000-06:00

Source

Are you addicted to Pinterest? Don't know what Pinterest is? Read here. If you want an invite, let me know!

I've tried many crafts and recipes that I've found via Pinterest and had great successes! I have several friends who have had failures as well. Mostly, mine have turned out great!

After a trip to the thrift store last week, I turned this sweater into these leg warmers aka boot socks! All for a $1 sweater.

I cut the arms off using the stripes as a guide. I hemmed them quickly to create the legwarmers which double as faux boot socks! 

I also made this tie turned necklace using one of my dad's old ties. Thrift stores normally carry ties for only $1 so this can be a cheap craft. I used unfinished wooden balls from the craft store - when they were on sale 30% off so that helped too. 

I have a board of recipes that I've tried and love! This week I made this potato soup and it was soooo awesome! We added in crumbled bacon (I think ham would be great too) and then added shredded cheese to our bowls of soup. So yummy and EASY!

He's a wise one...

2011-12-15T10:27:00.002-06:00

Our church had a family celebration Wednesday night with a children's nativity. It was so sweet... even sweeter that our little boy played a wise man. Isn't he precious with his big hair and crown? 

Cayson and his buddy, Blaine, who was a handsome shepherd.

Our Little Elves

2011-12-11T15:20:00.001-06:00

We had a little photo shoot with the kids so I could score a few Christmas-y photos. The weather was frightful so we stayed inside to shoot these photos courtesy of my sister.

S'mores Brownies

2011-11-23T09:00:00.000-06:00

Dusty is crazy for s'mores so last week I decided to take boxed brownies to a new level and make s'mores brownies. I realize it's probably not an original idea but I thought I'd share because it's easy and delicious! I just mixed up a brownie mix and spread it in a baking dish like usual. Then I sprinkled mini-marshmallows across the top and topped it with crumbled graham crackers. Bake as usual and devour while they are warm. Awesome s'mores!!!

Tuesday 10

2011-11-22T07:00:00.000-06:00

Blogging has really taken a backseat in my life lately. There's just so much going on with work, church, household stuff, family, etc. My Tuesday 10 is my way to catch up in one general post. 

1. Taryn has officially mastered the crib escape. She flings a leg over the side and climbs out onto her dresser and then jumps off the dresser. Fearless, she is. The other night when she was supposed to be sleeping, Dusty caught her dancing on her dresser trying to wake Cayson up. She now gets up at the crack of dawn (6 am) and wakes Cayson up. So far, they pretty much play in their room quietly for a bit so Momma gets a little more shut eye.

2. The Girl's Day in the Country went well. There wasn't as much traffic as I'd like though it was a busy weekend with lots going on and it was the very first event. I got a lot of custom orders so I am working on fulfilling those! She is looking at hosting a spring sale in April.  

3. We took our family photos on Friday despite ridiculous Oklahoma biting wind. It was freezing! And I wore a rayon dress that was quite breezy. We did our little family pics along with pictures with my parents, sister and brother-in-law. Rebecca is an amazing photographer and got some great shots! Here's a sneak peek: 

4. After pictures, we went to Arcadia, to snap a few pictures at the historic Arcadia Round Barn (yes, the official name - creative, I know!) and eat dinner at Pop's to celebrate my birthday. 

5. I have been busy working on custom orders this past week along with a few personal projects including this appliqued shirt and twirl skirt for Miss T. I also took products to The Presidential Boutique in El Reno this week. Check them out! I got in some new Christmas fabrics today and will be working furiously trying to get all Christmas outfits completed. I'm still taking orders so check it out! 

6.  Cayson aka Momma was in charge of snacks for his CDO Thanksgiving party. Thanks to Pinterest and PBK, I threw these Mayflower snack boats together. The kids have been learning about the Mayflower and Pilgrims so it went along with their learning. They were super easy to make. I made a template using card stock and cut the felt boats out. I ran a quick stitch along them with my sewing machine and attached the masses with hot glue. They weren't real sturdy and tended to tip over but they were cute. 

Cayson is completely fascinated/in-love with Jake and the Neverland Pirates. We don't have cable so he usually just gets to watch it at my parents' house. As part of their Halloween candy exchange prize, we got him the DVD and he is in pirate heaven. His life revolves around playing pirates. It's pretty hilarious and has rubbed off on Taryn. She and Cayson walk around the house carrying swords and talking "pirate talk." Funny stuff. 

The kids thought it would be a good idea to nap in their bedroom floor. I can guarantee that it was a bad idea and no babies got rest. But they are awfully cute!

9. I turned the BIG 3-0 on Sunday. Dusty & the kids spoiled me rotten with decorations, 30 roses, a cookie cake and many fun gifts. I have a such a sweet husband and awesome kids. Cayson loves throwing birthday parties so he got Dusty up at 6 am so they could decorate for my birthday. Taryn sang the sweetest rendition of Happy Birthday...seriously, adorable. I needed a lot of cheering up due to #10. 

10. Sadly, my dear grandfather passed away early Saturday morning. I found these pictures from he & my mom's birthday party in May. He was a great man who will be missed so much. Today, we will bury him. :( 

Grandpa & Grandma with their four kids

Grandpa & Grandma with some of their great-grandkids

Tuesday 10

2011-11-09T08:48:00.000-06:00

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. 

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. 

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! 

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.

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. 

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! 

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! 



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!

Dressing Up

2011-11-06T08:50:00.001-06:00

The kids got to dress up a few times last weekend between a costume birthday party, Trunk or Treat at our church, School (CDO) and Trick or Treating at a nursing home on Halloween. We kept things simple this year - Cayson wore his firefighter costume from last year and Taryn wore a garage sale found OU Cheerleader outfit along with her Minnie Mouse outfits from vacation.

Scenes from Walt Disney World...

2011-10-31T13:40:00.002-05:00

I am having major issues trying to get my photos off my camera and onto my computer. I don't know what the deal is. The good news is, I do have these pictures from our Disney PhotoPass that I can share! These are a few of the 200+ from our PhotoPass!

Tuesday 10 - Catching Up a Bit

2011-10-25T13:23:00.003-05:00

1. We've had a little Picasso on our hands... I keep finding her "artwork" in special spots throughout the house. She gleefully colored her ride-on toy as I sat stunned along with a book. I've also found pencil drawings on totes, dressers, her crib and their bedroom door. At least she honest... when I ask her who did it, she points to herself. 

2. Taryn attended her BFF, Gracie's ladybug birthday party the other weekend. It was a fun party and Gracie was definitely the cutest ladybug ever! Tarn got a few good hits in on the pinata and enjoyed the food & cupcakes!  

  I'm participating in a new and fun event - Girl's Day in the Country at Mound Valley Farm! It's going to be a great weekend farm sale with all kinds of vendors! I've been busy at work to get my things ready for the sale... I only have a couple weeks to get my act together and I'll be out of state between now and then! Eek! Slightly stressed....I'm hoping to have lots of sets of magnets, tissue pockets, some baby things, chalkboards, frames, and other finds. 

Speaking of... here are a few things that I've been working on! My sewing machine cratered and I have to make a trip to the city to get it worked on so I've been working on projects that don't involve sewing. 

Tons of spray painting

Lots of magnets in the making

5. Dusty took Cayson "camping" in our yard Sunday night. To say he was excited would be an understatement. Thrilled and over-the-moon. I took Taryn out to hang out and try to sleep with the guys... it didn't last too long. The moment, we tried getting her to lay down to sleep, she signed "all done" and said "all done." Dusty did concur Monday morning that he may take on my philosophy of camping - staying in a Holiday Inn is enough camping for me! Ha ha. 

6. Cayson had a hilarious bedtime prayer while they were camping that I wish I would have video-ed. He asked that "nobody would grab him and Daddy" while they camped in the yard. It included a few other cute phrases that I can't remember at this moment! I did take this video of him "reading" and singing God Bless America from one of his books. Taryn, of course, had to copy her brother. 

Sunday afternoon, Dusty went in to get Taryn up after her nap. Imagine his surprise to find her standing  in the middle of the room instead of in her crib! Yikes! So far, that has been her only crib escape.

I have an easy Halloween this year - Cayson is going to be a firefighter (again) and I think Taryn will wear something Minnie Mouse from our trip to Disney. Neither has bags for candy so I do need to figure that part out.

9. One morning this past week, I walked in to find Taryn had done all kinds of magical twists to her pajama top to turn into a very inappropriate bikini top. Somehow, the neck of the shirt was done under her armpits yet the sleeves were still on? I don't know how she does it.... 

10. We've been working on different art projects and school to keep little hands occupied. We made these darling apple trees the other week which I found on Pinterest.

It's Fall, Ya'll!

2011-10-19T22:26:00.000-05:00

We took our second trip out to P-Bar Farms Wednesday night for a little evening fun! Dusty drove the youth out for an event and the kids & I went out to play for a bit. It was cool.... almost cold. Perfect for us after our extremely hot summer here in Oklahoma! 

Cayson jumped on the "grasshopper" this time and LOVED it! Taryn had a hard time staying on so she didn't enjoy much jump time. I love the pics of Cayson in action... I got quite a few great shots.

I really wanted a pic of my new boots.... shallow, I know but Dusty completely cropped them out of the pictures. :( They are cute and brown and the perfect already worn in beauty.  

We'll be making two more trips to P-Bar Farms in the next week.... and then one more visit in November!

Pumpkin Pickin' With Our Pumpkins

2011-10-14T21:38:00.001-05:00

We took the kids out to P-Bar Farms to pick out our pumpkins! The kids love that place with their animals and slides! We had to drag them away with the promise of more visits this autumn (3 to be exact! We have several events out there.) 

Taryn got quite the kick out of this huge rooster. She kept going over to check him out. I was worried he'd go all crazy rooster on her. 

Try not to laugh at this picture.... probably the picture of the year. Out of the 4 Dusty took, this was the best one if that tells you anything. Hilarious stuff right there with Cayson.

A soft answer turns away wrath.
Proverbs 15:1a

Cayson-isms

2011-10-14T09:38:00.002-05:00

It's been a long time since I've posted "Cayson-isms." He really is always saying something that cracks us up... though, he also asks a ton of questions that we don't know the answers to! He's always talking.... except when he's sleeping... 

Cayson in the car on the way home from the airport the other week. I've never seen him this passed out in the car. At this point, we were pulled over by a local police officer & Cayson slept through the whole thing. Unusual for him!

A cute "Cayson-ism" from Sunday: We were looking through his Bible for a story to read before bedtimes and he told me he was looking for the story with the "Americans". I asked if he was talking about the Samaritan and he said no. I still have no clue which Bible story has "Americans." 

On the way to the city last week, I was talking to him about towns, counties, cities, states, countries and trying to explain the differences. Complicated, by the way. I was quizzing him on our town, county, state & country. When I asked what country we live in, his reply was "United States God Bless America." We sing God Bless America quite a bit in our house - he knows it word for word so that's where his answer came from. lol.

Cayson has been asking several times a day when we are going back to Disney World. I told him maybe when he's 7 (and Taryn's 5). He keeps complaining because he wants to go NOW.  

After the Rangers lost their game last night, Cayson exclaimed, "What's up with my Texas? I need to tell them to practice every single day before their next game!" Little coach in the makings... 

Our happy boy

Tuesday 10 - Vacation Style

2011-10-04T21:19:00.003-05:00

Pretty much all the material I have for this post revolves around vacation! 

Both kids loved flying! They both got a kick out of watching for airplanes at the airport. The both also napped on the planes which was a good thing for us! One of our flights was extremely rough - think: adults screaming out of fear. Yeah, a little rough as we flew through a storm. Cayson LOVED it! He thought it was just like a ride at Disney! He was chattering away the whole time and laughing. 

An hour after getting to our resort, in true Taryn fashion, she fell and chipped her front tooth. There was a lot of blood and I nearly passed out. We visited the dentist yesterday and will have another appointment next week to get that tooth shaved a bit to get rid of the sharp edge (she's gotten bloody lips from it). Needless to say, she wasn't a very happy girl the first week of vacation due to the pain. Poor thing. 

Cayson loved every little thing about vacation - from the flights (even the roughest flight ever! He thought it was great fun), riding his first roller coaster (Thunder Mountain at Magic Kingdom), the fun swimming pool, the beach, the eating, riding on boats, buses, trams, trains, monorails, etc. He cried the last day because he was not ready to come home! 

4. We rode my now favorite roller coaster ever at Hollywood Studios - Rock N Roller Coaster - it BLARES Aerosmith through the ride and travels through the dark doing loops and corkscrews - so fun! We rode it twice! 

5. This green shirt has made 3 appearances in Orlando... starting with our honeymoon 8 1/2 years ago! I've tried to get rid of this OLD shirt, but Dusty stands firm on keeping it. (He really was happy when I took this picture... this is his poker face)

6.  Both kids loved the Dumbo ride - so much that they rode it a total of 3 times! Taryn just wasn't her normal self thanks to the tooth injury so it was fun to find rides that she actually enjoyed and smiled on. We missed her smile that first week! 

7. Cayson started out being frightened of the characters even though we worked hard to prepare him for them. By the end of the week, he was much more comfortable and happily had his picture taken with Goofy. The very last day, he decided he wanted his picture with Minnie & Mickey... which was impossible to do since it was a Saturday. 

8. Dusty celebrated his birthday while we were visiting St. Augustine. Cayson loves throwing birthday parties so he & I went into town to get party supplies and cupcakes to throw Dusty a "surprise" party... Cayson kept telling everyone it was a surprise birthday yet he told Dusty about it. Ha ha. He was soooo excited and was very into it. We had to hide and Cayson counted to 4 before we could yell "Surprise!" It was cute how much fun Cayson had throwing the party.

9. Dad, Dusty & I visited the light house in St. Augustine and climbed to the top. I have a horrible irrational fear of heights so it was a big deal for me to climb those 219 stairs to the top. I had a white knuckled grip on the railing the entire time. It was beautiful and our first light house to visit! This was the first light house in the United States. It is painted brick which surprised me. 


The view from the top.

10. The beach in Saint Augustine was beautiful. It was an interesting experience with kids. Not as easy as our child-less days of laying on the beach for hours. It was a lot of fun to introduce the kids to the beauty of the ocean. Taryn wasn't a big fan of the waves and ocean though she enjoyed digging in the sand. Cayson, on the other hand, fully embraced it and loved every.single.thing about it. He loved ocean, the sand, the sea shells, the surfers, the birds. So fun to see his wonderment.

Autumn Clusters!

2011-10-03T11:00:00.000-05:00

Since returning home from vacation, I've dove into fall decorating and creating! I made a few autumn rosette clusters today for Sarah Found Sarah Made. I thought they turned out cute - they are even cuter on! Perfect to clip on a cardigan, scarf or purse!

I attempted a new autumn wreath too - so far, I'm loving it! The fabric bunting is just pinned on so I can change it out if I'd like. The rosettes are a cluster pin that I stuck on too. It's hanging from a strip of orange fabric that I tacked to the very top of the door for a custom & seamless look! I do love that I can change the wreath up for each holiday/season. I am contemplating adding a big fabric bow to the top... still undecided. 

I hung last year's wreath on our entry mirror and added the J this year.

I've finished my mantle and just need to finish up the decor in the dining room. Next up, planting pansies, mums & kales! Pin It

Back on the radar... in Oklahoma

2011-10-02T21:26:00.002-05:00

We are home from a very fun vacation to Florida! I am looking forward to posting about our trip - some tips and advice and fun stuff. We truly had a blast conquering Disney's empire in Orlando and relaxing on the beach in Saint Augustine.

Happy Birthday, Dusty

2011-09-26T01:00:00.000-05:00

Today marks 9 years since Dusty asked me to be his one & only forever... he proposed on his birthday 9 years ago! Happy Birthday, Dusty! You are a perfect helpmate, husband, father, and friend! 

You are always so helpful

You are always so handsome

You cheer us on

You accomplish big things

You are a role model to our kids

You are the fun dad and husband

You are the perfect date

You are a hard worker

You are a little goofy

Okay, maybe a lot of goofy!

You are the best husband

And you are an amazing leader for our family! 

We love you! Happy birthday! 

Tuesday 10 - This & That

2011-09-13T23:07:00.004-05:00

Tuesday 10 is a blog devoted to the "this & that" of our lives. It's a way to catch up on things and share whatever I feel like sharing. :) It's also a great time to share photos from my phone. 

1. Storytime at the library - we try to attend as often as possible since it gives us all something new to do for 30 minutes or so every other week. This past week, the kids' friends Britton & Gracie were there so they had a blast together! 

The boys coloring 

 The girls coloring

Isn't that adorable?

2. I made my favorite blueberry muffin recipe Sunday evening - and doubled it so we'd have extra to freeze. I forgot how much it makes in the first place! I baked mini and regular size muffins all evening long. I wanted to share the link for the recipe because these are divine and quite easy to make! I usually use frozen blueberries and skip the sauce step and just sprinkle with sugar.

3. The first annual Wind Festival was held this past weekend. Taryn & I met up with Daddy to enjoy the sites. Taryn found a victim in this sweet little puppy that she terrorized with hugs headlocks. Oh, and there was a Police vs. Fire cook off that the police won!!! 

4. One of my favorite features of my "new" studio is the ribbon storage - guttering! Dusty installed it for me last weekend and I love it! 

5.  Speaking of crafting/the studio. Thanks to YouTube, I learned how to fold fabric! It's revolutionized my life. I started folding and organizing today and am giddy with the organization of it all!

6.  We headed out for our first SWOSU Bulldogs' football game Saturday evening. The weather was beautiful and the kids really did well. Taryn was getting antsy after halftime so we headed home for bedtime. We attempted a family picture... sort of. 

7. These are a few t-shirt designs I made this week for a local boutique... if you're in town, check out Miss Trudy's children booth! 

Taryn might have eaten A&D Ointment, stirred toilet water with a hair pick (yes, we have a hair pick for some reason?), splashed around in bleach water, stamped her belly with a self-inking stamp and drank Momma's Dr. Pepper this week. Just a normal week in our house! 

We have some big prayer requests in our family right now - my mom has been really sick with headaches/migraines and other issues. Please pray for relief, energy & healing for her! Also, her dad (my grandpa) is having health issues. Please pray for motivation for him & health. Her mom (my grandma) also had an episode this week and ended up in the ER. My dad broke his finger the same day and ended up at the hospital too for x-rays. Needless to say, my mom is under a lot of stress right now with all that is going on and her health! We'd appreciate all prayers! 

And just for laughs to finish things off... 

Source

Back to SCHOOL!

2011-09-09T09:32:00.000-05:00

The kids started back to Children's Day Out (CDO) yesterday. Taryn was excited to carry her own "pack-pack" but I had to hold her hand because it was heavier than her and she could barely walk. Quite a hilarious sight.

I think they both had a blast! I asked Cayson what his favorite part of the day was and his answer, "Everything! I loved it all!"

Tuesday 10!

2011-09-06T20:24:00.003-05:00

1.

I am taking a huge leap of faith and starting a little crafting business called Sarah Found Sarah Made. Currently, I have a Facebook page here. It's my way to indulge in my hobbies and hopefully, be able to help support our family. I've felt the Lord has laid this on me and it's my turn to follow his leading in faith. 
I have a lot of products in the works and several things that I am refinishing. I'm planning baby burp cloths, washable Swiffer pads (awesome because it saves so much $), party banners and more! 

2. We made a quick trip to Dallas this week with some good friends with the main objective being IKEA! :) We took in a Texas Rangers baseball game which was a blast seeing as there were multiple home runs hit (aka fireworks after each home run). We were also able to try In-N-Out Burger for the first time! 

3. Our reason for heading down to IKEA is due to my sudden urge to completely redo our sun room and turn it into a crafting/sewing studio! We were able to get nearly everything needed to make it the perfect workspace. Dusty got to spend two days putting together all my IKEA treasures. :) I hope we can get it completed this week and I will share photos. Of course, once we started working in the sun room, it trickled into other parts of our house and we did some rearranging in the living room. 

4. Dusty and I had our first Sunday working in the toddler room at church this past Sunday. It was a lot of fun! I think we are going to have a blast this year! Dusty even had a sweet little boy fall asleep on him. 

The kids start CDO (Children's Day Out) at church this week. I know Cayson is excited and Mommy is excited to have a little bit of free time to get projects accomplished! This year, I'm not working in the program. I will miss the babies - they are so sweet! But, I'm excited to have a few hours a week to get things done. I "might" have a hair appointment scheduled for the first day! Ha ha! 

Taryn's current obsession is raisins... she wants them with every.single.meal and every.single.snack. Let's just say, the diapers they produce are not so awesome. 

Cayson is still in love with all things cars and police/fire related. He spends a couple hours a day playing away with them (and shooing his sister away). He's also very into pirates and I completely love when he, Dusty & Taryn run through our house playing pirates and talking pirate talk. 

I must tell you that I am completely loving my Erin Condren Life Planner! Like - majorly! I have my to-do lists for the week on the side along with goals for the week. There's plenty of room to add lists into each day along with our activities, bills to pay and meal plans.

9. My friend, Andrea is hosting a 2 on Tuesday and I thought it'd be perfect to include in my last two posts! This week's topic is FALL which is perfect since we've been experiencing some unexpected fall like temps here in western Oklahoma! I am looking forward to fall comfort foods like soups, beans, casseroles and such. 

10. I'm also looking forward fall clothes... you know bulkier things to hide bulk and cute boots and loafers!

"Your light will shine in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday."
Isaiah 58:10

Four Favs!

2011-09-04T22:18:00.000-05:00

I thought today would be a great day to share a few of my recent favorite things. I always reading about others' fav finds so I thought I'd give my two cents. 

1. My favorite scent at the moment is The Body Shop Satsuma Home Fragrance Oil. It is amazing! It's their signature scent that you usually smell when you're walking by in the mall. I had a Groupon to use awhile back and scored some oil and a burner. I must say that I love it!  

2. Ebates is something new to me but I've already earned over $25 in less than two months. When I'm doing online shopping, I usually shop around and then go to my Ebates site to see if the store is a participating store. Then, click through the link on Ebates and you earn a % of cash back. Ebates includes all kinds of popular stores - Old Navy, Children's Place, Sephora, Walmart, The Disney Store, Macy's, Nordstroms, Fabric.com, etc. Seriously, it's a crazy good deal to get paid to do your online shopping! They also have coupon codes posted to save you even more $$$!!!(Note: It looks like if you join today you get an added bonus - like a $10 Target card!!! Woot-woot!) 

I've also tried "dry shampoo" for the first time and must admit that I am a fan! I currently use the Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo. I have super oily hair so this is perfect to soak up that icky oil at the end of a day or to cover up that I haven't had my daily shower. Ick! This is the only dry shampoo I've tried so far but it works beautifully and is quite the bargain price! 

Pinterest... do you Pinterest? You can follow me here. It's an amazing site to find awesome inspiration! I've found so many great ideas that I can't wait to try out- everything from crafts, decor, home design, kids activities, recipes, style, etc. It's so fun... an addicting. There's even an iPhone app for the addiction..

Teenage Taryn Already?

2011-09-04T21:36:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday night, Taryn sat in church for Family Fun Night... except she didn't want to sit beside us. She preferred to sit farther down the pew by herself. She's so independent already... I'm so very afraid of the teenage years with her.

Tuesday 10 - We're still alive & kicking!

2011-08-30T22:09:00.000-05:00

The Jarnagins are still alive... and well, for the most part minus 3 sinus infections and one with a double ear infection. Life has been bumpy, crazy and busy. This could also be titled "Phone dump!" because I had to go through my phone pics to remember what all has been going on. 

1. We had a garage sale last weekend.... thus some craziness going on. We sold a lot of crap stuff and donated the remaining. It does feel good to get rid of two years worth of piles! Cayson had a cute lemonade stand and turned quite the profits! He had the cutest little sing-song pitch "Lemonade and Ice Water. Come and get it." He'd start chanting his little sales pitch every time someone walked within 15 feet of him. Isn't he a cutie? 

2. We went to the Hydro Fair the other weekend. It's a completely  perfect small-town fair with a picturesque setting. It seems like it's  straight out of a movie! The kids had the best time ever. Cayson & I  rode the Ferris Wheel (Cayson's favorite ride!). Taryn's favorite ride  was either the airplanes or train. Cotton candy is a Hydro Fair staple and at only $1.50, it's a cheap sweet! 

3. I've been trying to do some sewing lately... I have a long list of things to attempt to sew! I did sew a dress for Taryn using a pattern (first time!). Of course, now I'm afraid to wash it - afraid it will completely fall apart. I also sewed a blanket to go with her napmat for "school." 

4. This  Sunday, starts a new era for us. Dusty & I will start in one of the  toddler rooms at church! I'll miss teaching 3's - they are so much fun  but I also know the toddlers will be a blast! I'm also excited to be  teamed with Dusty. We're also switching hours of attending service so it  will be a change all around for us.

5. Speaking of church, I snapped this picture the other Sunday of Cayson  and one of his friends in Sunday School. They were sitting on the  little couch reading their Bibles together. So sweet! I've had the  privilege of being his Sunday School teacher for the past year and it  has been a fun experience. 

6. I don't think I ever posted any picture of Taryn's black eye from a few weeks ago. Here it is in all it's glory. I took better pictures with the good camera but here's one from my phone. It really looks like she's wearing thick eye shadow. 

7. Taryn has started the new habit of crashing in her high chair at lunch on some days. This day, she passed out and her mouth was packed full of crackers. 

8. This picture isn't the best but it's the aftermath of Taryn convincing 3 grown men to play "Ring Around the Rosey" with her. She's pretty convincing, that one, with her big eyes and blonde hair. 

9. Should I go into Taryn's latest adventures? I guess it's always good for blogging, right? Today, she mastered the childproof latch on the "candy" drawer of all drawers! I kept finding it wide open while she noshed on Dusty's candy corn stash. 

10. Our garden status: We finally have tomatoes!!!! Now that it is almost September. Our pepper plants are producing like crazy and we are getting a few cantaloupes.

Hope you have a blessed week!

"Encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing."

- 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Taryn Sleeps at Pizza Hut

2011-08-13T21:30:00.002-05:00

Taryn does occasionally slow down. She cracked us up by dozing while trying so hard to eat her pizza. These videos are so hilarious - you must watch! One was taken by Dusty and the other by my dad. Give it up for cell phone cameras!

InstaFriday - Finally imported phone pics!

2011-08-12T08:58:00.000-05:00

This is probably about 3+ weeks of phone pictures that I've been meaning to post! I'm always snapping pictures with my phone these days and rarely use the good camera... though I do have some fun pictures on the big camera I need to post soon. I hope your eyes don't bleed from the picture overload. 

Cayson was quite proud when he learned how to spell this word... his daddy was proud too. :) 

During our crazy 100+ degree spell, Cayson picked this book out for our bedtime storytime. It totally cracked me up! It was pleasant to read about snow and cold when it was so crazy hot outside. 

Some of my current reads (a few weeks ago). I've since finished the Karen Kingsbury and am working on the 5 Love Languages. 

I've been working on a few little projects lately - one being these shutters I've had for YEARS and haven't touched! They are getting repurposed and painted! 

I've probably mentioned that my kids eat A LOT. They out-eat Dusty & I for the most part. This was Taryn's piled high plate one day for lunch. Turkey, peaches, cantaloupe and whole wheat crackers. She ate every morsel and begged for seconds. 

I sewed some Swiffer pads for my Swiffer Wet Jet. It's a nice money saver - not having to buy the expensive disposable pads. These just go in the wash. So far, so good. I've also jail-broke the Swiffer so I can put my own mop solution in it and save $$$. 

My big kid playing! Love him! 

Taryn at Storytime at the library. She was more interested in her own book than the one being read. 

I was excited to harvest our first cantaloupes! They are voluntary - they came up from my composting. Our banana peppers are producing like crazy and we've since lost our squash plants. :( 

Homemade milkshakes - enough said. 

Last weekend, I found a few treasures at a garage sale. Spent $6 for all and got a few sewing things not pictured.

This week's Funday Monday involved a trip to the splash pad.... 

.... and a date night for the parents!

I wish I would have taken a before picture of Dusty's plate. We ate at Red Rock Canyon Grill and it was delicious! He ate his entire rack of ribs, monster pile of mashed potatoes and delicious house salad! 

The storms were rolling in as we left. It was beautiful! 

Gorgeous sunset on our drive home. 

We finished off our "date" doing manual labor cutting down weeds/trees on a job that Dusty needed to finish. It was a gorgeous morning and I was happy to help get the job finished. My muscles did complain a bit... 

I see all kinds of things on my morning walks.... this week, I passed a horseshoe on the sidewalk. Hhhmmm.... you know you're in Oklahoma when.... 

We got to watch some of the local college's morning practice one day this week. The kids loved it and the weather was completely beautiful! 

Yesterday was a nice, wet, cloudy day. It was awesome after weeks of 100+ degree days. Taryn thought it was fall, and pulled out her Uggs. Not the best picture but I was laughing that she was ready to wear her boots. 

And lastly, my phone got hacked by this little mister. Stinker!

Funday Monday Part 2 - Swimming!

2011-08-06T11:33:00.001-05:00

As part of this week's, Funday Monday we got to swim at a friend's house who has a slide & diving board. It was fun for a change of pace and the kids had a blast! We packed a picnic lunch to eat poolside so it was a very cheap fun adventure. 

Cayson loved the slide & diving board! 

Taryn cracks me up because she likes to lay her head back in the water but then she clings to dear life to me. 

Taryn, suprisingly, isn't big on the water. She'd much prefer to sit poolside and snack. She did enjoy going down the slide but we couldn't get any pictures as it took both of us - one to put her on and one to catch. 

Packed & ready to go!

2011-08-04T21:28:00.000-05:00

This boy cracks me up every.single.day! Today, I told him to pack a bag of toys/entertainment to take on a day trip to the city. He packed his backpack, put it on and was off. I didn't realize what he packed until later in the day.... he brought his water bottle, drumsticks, a blow-up parrot (say what?), and of course, cars. I was laughing that he brought drumsticks and an inflatable parrot in his bag as "entertainment."

Jarnagin Funday Monday!

2011-08-04T10:13:00.001-05:00

Our little family has started a little fun tradition for the past week and made Monday our Jarnagin Funday Monday! A few weeks ago, Dusty & I had a date night on our Monday. Last week, we took the kids to a bounce house followed by Chick-Fil-A. This week was an early breakfast at the park followed by swimming fun and a poolside picnic lunch. Cheap-o with loads of fun!

We arrived at the park around 8 am to beat the ridiculous heat (100+ temps). I packed breakfast bags (cereal and raisins in sandwich bags) and we *may* have picked up donut holes on our way out. Arriving early was perfect to beat the heat and enjoy the park all by ourselves... there wasn't another soul in sight! It was a blast!

Having a Spalsh!

2011-08-03T21:23:00.000-05:00

We've been busy having a "splash" lately and making memories! I have some fun pictures to post soon!

Awesome plannner for half price? Yes, please!

2011-07-27T11:47:00.001-05:00

I totally had to share this deal with you guys... it's today's Plum District deal (Tulsa) to get a $50 credit to Erin Condren. She makes an amazing day planner called a Life Planner. You can view a video of it on her website. I was sold after watching the video! The planner has plenty of room for notes and such (I'm needing space to write in my meal plan, etc) and they are beautiful to look at!

The deal is $25 for $50 credit to her online store. Pretty sweet, right? I may have bought two so I could get some cute return labels and notecards...

Copstache... yes, please.

2011-07-23T20:12:00.000-05:00

More Splash Pad Fun!

2011-07-22T21:45:00.000-05:00

We got to attend a fun pirate birthday party at the splash pad. The kids had such a blast! We snapped quite a few pictures of Taryn because she was easier to photograph than Cayson who was busy chasing the older girls. :)

Taryn w/her BFF, Gracie. Aren't they adorable? Gracie's hat was so Hollywood and cute on her! 

Taryn decided she loved being swung into the water so that's what I spent my timed doing! 

Dusty got into the action too! 

I'm not sure if I can totally explain this last picture.... especially since I have photo proof of unsuspectingly getting soaked by the large bucket. I had no idea it was about to dump and was leaning over to pick up Gracie. We got soaked! And somehow, my husband had the camera aimed right at the action. He claims he didn't know it was about to dump on innocent me.... the jury's still out on that claim.

Envy

2011-07-22T10:45:00.000-05:00

The little kiddos were quite fascinated with Blaine's birthday gift.... it cracked me up how they gathered around just staring at it.

Our Girl

2011-07-21T22:00:00.001-05:00

I had a few rough days last week with our little girl. Her firey personality must be a test from God.  She has spent A LOT of time in time out, her crib and has become an expert at saying "I'm sorry." Let me see if I can summarize her destruction this week. 

She has eaten glitter glue, Victoria's Secret lotion, A&D Ointment, a Dum-Dum sucker, animal crackers, cantaloupe.... the list goes on and on. If she wants it, she figures out a way to get it. In a split second, she pushed the bar stool across the kitchen to climb up so she could eat cantaloupe.... She's also spilled her brother's water (trying to drink from his cup) countless times. 
Pouring an entire bottle of water out on the table? Check. She even squeezed the bottle for good measure to make sure every.single.drop of water was out. Thanks, Taryn. 
She tore out a page of a library book. Ugh.  

She filled the cat's water with cat food - twice.

I saw a lot of this face.... pure fury.

The bookshelf was completely emptied - twice. She has now figured out how to turn the trash can on it's side to use it as a step stool to everything... it doesn't matter that it has trash in it or anything.... She also used the "handy" trash can to reach her top drawer and empty all her clothes in it - twice.

Climbing in the tub fully dressed? Check... twice.

She also mastered the phrases "Naughty-naughty" and "No-no" complete with finger pointing. Oh.Lord.help.me.

Despite all this rebellion from her, she really is cute and smart! She adores dressing up and you never know what she's going to walk out wearing - hats, underwear and shorts are her favorite. Pretty much anything she can put her feet through. One day last week, she had three pairs of underwear on over her clothing and was quite proud of herself!

Trying out Mom's new shoes.... she LOVES shoes! 

This outfit picked out by Taryn. A lovely romper with a fleece pajama top. Cayson's tall khaki socks and her Sketchers. Pigtails pulled out resulting in crazy hair. 

One funny thing she started doing this week is counting... all the way to 2! It's so funny to me... she does it all day long. 

She also loves to get "duck" (stuck). I remember Cayson going through this phase too and it's quite entertaining. Notice in this video she also asks me "Why?" She now asks "Why?" and "Huh?" 

If anyone wants free birth control, I'll let them *chase* Taryn for a day!

Tuesday 10... or 8!

2011-07-19T21:36:00.000-05:00

1. This was a site I came across on

one of my morning walks last week. It gave me a good laugh. There is a house a block from here that has medical equipment in the side yard (classy Oklahoma style, I know). This week was band camp at the college so I'm pretty sure some fun loving kids took it for a spin. I got a good laugh out of it.

2. Thanks to my parents, Dusty & I got to go on a date last night! It was nice to get away for a few hours to eat out, do a tiny bit of shopping and see a movie. We saw Zookeeper - it was cute! Kevin James is just hilarious as usual! 

As you know, it's HOT, HOT, HOT here in western Oklahoma right now. Like miserable hot for this summer loving girl! I discovered a makeup primer that keeps my makeup on despite this crazy heat - Urban Decay All Nighter. It keeps it from sliding off my face or melting into oblivion. I know it's a product that has been around but I thought I'd share it since it has become a life saver for me! 

I found a great recipe for lemonade here! It is amazing! I made a batch today and it is nearly gone. I love her advice to freeze the components so you can always whip some up. Anybody have a juicer I can borrow? 

Taryn has kept me on my toes this week.... so much, that it probably deserves it's own post. She is doing great at the pacifier weaning. She gets it at naps & bedtime and that is it. She's not nearly as attached to it at bedtime as she used to so hopefully, we can get rid of it all together soon. 

Cayson is full of questions these days... he even shot the "how did Taryn come out of your belly" question at me this week. Eekk! Sooooo not ready for that! He followed it with a "She came out of your belly button, right?" My answer, "We'll talk about this when you're a little older." I need time to prepare. 

Another good recipe to share - Cheesy Bacon Chicken. I made this in the CrockPot last week and served it with long grain wild rice and it was a hit. I can't wait to make it again! 

Our garden is completely cranking out the peppers - I've got to come up with a few recipes to use them up. I've been buying a cantaloupe every week from a local produce stand every week. I've always hated cutting them up. It's just so complicated to me... I used to always make Dusty do it but this summer I have started cutting them up myself. Accomplishment, right? Lol. Anyway, if you are local - the produce stand downtown (open Tues & Fri until 1 pm) has awesome cantaloupes!

I guess that's all for tonight! Hope everyone has a great week!

Splash Pad Fun with the Littles

2011-07-14T22:39:00.000-05:00

We took the kids to the splash pad this morning for a little fun. It was perfect - we got there early while it was nearly vacant. They both still require quite a bit of encouragement to get them involved in playing in the water. Taryn finally found a puddle that she loved - she rolled around in it, tried to drink from it (yuck!) and did head stands in it. It was pretty hilarious.

Tuesday 10

2011-07-12T21:57:00.000-05:00

1. Cayson has been cracking me up with all kinds of one liners. Yesterday, I mentioned that I was feeling dizzy. He piped up from the other room, "Is it because you're talking too much?" Dusty got a good laugh out of that. 

2. Cayson has also been critical about my clothing choices lately! It's been soooooo hot! I wore a strapless top one day and Cayson told me I was showing too much of my "top body." :)  I wore a dress to church Sunday and he questioned me later in the afternoon about it, telling me I needed to wear shorts with it because it was too short. Oh, my! Apparently, Momma needs a new wardrobe! Here's one offending top... 

3. Our garden is finally producing! We have picked 4 squash, 15 jalapenos, 4 banana peppers, 1 lone tomato and 1 massive cucumber. We have about 30 or so jalapenos that are about ready and Dusty discovered 4 cantaloupes today on our voluntary vines! They vines came up from composting and are surprisingly producing. 

4. I've had a couple of embarrassing little "moments" lately. Apparently, so embarrassing that I'm sharing them here. lol. On a Sunday a couple of weeks ago, I ran to the grocery store real quick before Dusty left town for a school. Somehow, I locked BOTH sets of keys in my car! We had to arrange childcare so Dusty could come try to break into my car in the scorching heat since he didn't have a car seat for Taryn. Luckily, he was able to get in. I haven't locked myself out of my car in over 8 years so I'd say that's a pretty good run. 

5. This past week, I took Taryn to the pediatrician (45 miles away) for her check up. When I pulled into the parking lot, my car seemed to lose power and wouldn't turn. I was able to get into a parking spot and call my dear hubby. We had to arrange child care for Cayson (once again!) and Dusty made the trek to come to my rescue. He couldn't figure out what was wrong so we headed to a shop to have it looked at. Dusty then realized that it was turned to 4-wd lo which was causing the odd loss of power and turning issues. Cayson had sat in the driver's seat to tell me good bye that morning and apparently turned it to 4-wd lo. Ah! I was so relieved it wasn't an expensive fix but a little embarrassed by my stupidity. 

6. It has be HOT here! I had to rush home with my groceries yesterday so my eggs wouldn't boil. lol. It was 114 on Saturday - too hot to do anything including cooking! I haven't been cooking much because it just heats up our house and makes the evenings  hot, hot.

7. We took Cayson to his first movie in a theater - Cars 2. He LOVES Cars (the first) but wasn't quite the fan of the second one. I did think the plot was a little advanced and I got the privilege of listening to his millions of questions through out the movie, "Why are there bad guys? What's going on? What is that?" and the list goes on. I enjoyed the movie besides answering all the questions from C.  

Fake smile

8. I must post this photo because I love it and I love him!!! 

9. Dusty is working away! He attended a 5 day school the other week in a town far, far away. We missed his face that week. Thanks to this heat wave, his lawn mowing has slowed way down but he's still always busy with something. 

10. That's all I've got tonight. I've got to get some shut-eye before my early morning alarm. Have a great week all!

Halfway to 2?!?

2011-07-11T21:55:00.000-05:00

June 30th marked 18 months for our Miss Taryn! I cannot believe she is half-way to 2. She is quite the feisty thing and we love her crazy personality to death! 

Taryn adores her family and is Cayson's shadow. She sweetly calls "Mommy!" "Daddy!" when she wakes up. I love to see her run to greet her daddy when he comes home. 

When I snapped these pictures for her year and a half birthday, she climbed up in a booster seat to proudly grin at me and drink from MY bottle of water. She things she is so big!  

At her check up last week she weighed in at 23 lbs, 4 ounces. She was in the 25-50th percentile for weight and 50-75th for height. She grew 2.75 inches in less than 3 months! 

She expands her vocabulary daily and is always surprising us with new words and phrases. I am hoping and crossing my fingers that as her vocabulary expands, her tantrums will cease. The tantrums and fits are about to do this momma in! I don't know if it's girl drama or if it's Taryn's personality... but I'm afraid we will be in for it come the teenage years!  

Taryn has become extremely attached to her pacifier lately due to her teething. Today, we started the weaning process of eliminating the pacifier. It was a tough day for us all! We are eliminating the pacifier except for naps and bedtime and eventually we'll completely eliminate it.

Taryn is all about dressing up these days... it's not unusual to find her wearing several outfits around her legs. She really loves to put Cayson's underwear on! She's pretty good about pulling her legs through them. She's becoming opinionated about her clothing and hair accessories and LOVES shoes. Shoes is a word she definitely can say clearly.

We love our sweet pea, Taryn, and are excited to see her grow but I'd love to keep her as my sweet little baby!

The New Law

2011-07-09T22:19:00.000-05:00

There is a new law in town and he is hard on law breaking citizens - especially those who don't wear their seat belts! His uniform includes snow boots despite the 100 degree plus temperatures.

Happy Independece Day 2011!

2011-07-04T10:12:00.000-05:00

We hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July! We will be remembering those who fought for our wonderful country with a fire-free celebration (due to a burn ban).

On the menu, homemade ice cream, brownies, strawberry tart, jalapeno burgers, bacon burgers, hot dogs, grilled potatoes and more! What are you doing this wonderful holiday?

Tuesday 10- maybe

2011-06-28T23:08:00.000-05:00

I'll see if I can get a full ten out... whew! Life has been busy! We've been enjoying our summer which has left little time for blogging. 

1. As you may have gathered from my previous post, we went to the circus last week! We took the kids to their very first circus - The Greatest Show on Earth! The kids LOVED it! I can't wait to get the pics up on the blog to share! 

2. Our garden is growing.... we have quite a few ripe jalapenos ready to be picked and one ripe yellow squash! My tomato plants are a big fat failure. They are getting huge but they are not producing. We sprayed Seven on them Saturday evening to see if that will help. Any advice? They bloom and then the blooms fall off. I've started watering them in the evening instead of the afternoon to see if that helps. So far, it's not helping. 

3. Cayson started doing some preschool workbooks today! I ordered a few from Amazon when they were having a good sale. He enjoyed it so much! He thought it was playing instead of school!

4. I made Taco Stromboli last week and it was quite the hit! Dusty had several helpings and the kids ate it up! I mixed up pizza dough using this recipe. I spread it out on a cookie sheet and topped it with taco seasoned beef (cooked), salsa, sour cream and shredded cheese. I rolled it up stromboli style and baked it. It was awesome! 

5. Taryn's started saying little phrases and it cracks us all up. She holds up her little hand and says, "high five!" ::cuteness:: She always follows Cayson's lead of looking at something with "I see, I see." She always has to look at whatever we show Cayson. She has started saying "night-night" over the past week too. Tonight, she surprised me by saying, "Not me" after her brother's lead. I can definitely tell her vocabulary is ahead of what Cayson's was at that age. I'm sure it has to do with having a big brother! 

6. Dusty's been working, working, working. He didn't really have a day off last week from the police department as he had an extra shift on his day off and had court on his other day off. Throw in mowing his lawns and teaching his class, he's been a BUSY guy! 

Our local library had a fun concert last week by Andy Mason. He sang fun songs and had a funny banter going on with the kids. Cayson loved it and was up dancing his heart out and having a blast. There was even guest appearances by a weather man, Jed Castles from News 9, and Cody the Zebra! 

Cayson has officially mastered the "bedtime stall." He likes to throw questions at me as I'm walking out the door like, "Can God see Daddy?" "Can God see through grass?" "How?" "Why" and the like. I've had to start limiting his deep questions before bedtime because they just lead to more questions. 

I've been busy planning our upcoming vacation... I say upcoming, 82  days, to be exact. It's exciting to us. I live for vacationing and  traveling! 

10. I made the above onesie and bow for a sweet little girl... my cousin's baby girl! She's expected to arrive in less than 6 weeks!

Clowning Around

2011-06-27T17:28:00.000-05:00

We have been busy clowning around! Maybe a Tuesday 10 post for tomorrow...

Cayson & Grandma at the circus

Dressing Up, Jarnagin Style!

2011-06-22T22:17:00.000-05:00

Dress up has been an ongoing game lately - especially with Taryn. She loves to layer clothes on... and loose garments around the house are fair game for her dress up antics. This week, she decided she needed to wear every single headband she could get on her head! I was so shocked to walk into her room to find this... 

Cayson likes to dress up in his firefighter costume (though he doesn't keep it on long since it's hot!) and Taryn wanted something. She's sporting a pettiskirt with a tutu and leggings underneath and a headband of her choosing. 

Later that day, she walked out of her room sporting this lovely look and carrying all her headbands. 

To add to her goofiness, she is sporting her bikini (both top & bottom) underneath her skirt... she somehow has them pulled up on her legs... not correctly, mind you. That would be too boring!

Cayson cracked me up this morning because he said he needed to wear his sun hat with his fire fighter costume so he wouldn't get sunburned. And then, he added the flip flops. Total protocol firefighter gear. 

Sweet Summ-a-time!

2011-06-20T21:50:00.001-05:00

Nothing like running through the sprinkler on a scorching summer day!

This was Cayson's first time to fully embrace the sprinkler! He's always shied away from sprinklers but this year he fully enjoys it! ::Fist Pump::

On a funny note, I told Cayson to run inside to take off his tennis shoes, socks and shirt so he could play in the sprinkler. After he'd played awhile, I asked if he took his underwear off because his wet shorts were a little transparent. Of course he had! Since he doesn't wear underwear with his swim trunks. He also had them on backwards to boot. Ha ha!

Swim, Boy, Swim!

2011-06-19T21:54:00.001-05:00

Cayson took swim lessons over the past two weeks (less a couple day break due to his staph infection) and he had his "show off" lesson last Thursday. We were proud of him and hope we can build on what he learned! 

Cayson was a champion at floating on his back! He kept floating and floating and floating!
 

His class with their sweet teacher, McKenzie. Cayson loves McKenzie! 

InstaFriday - My week in photos!

2011-06-17T22:15:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd participate in a little linky called Insta Friday where you post the pictures from your phone for the week... pretty much, the pictures of our lives!

I finished up several gifts last Saturday for baby showers/birthday parties including this little bag.

This post has a lot of Taryn pictures.... because she is always up to something. Driving with an oven mitt? Check!

Ready for church... stylin' her brother's Texas Rangers hat - backwards, of course.

She put on her swimsuit all by herself.... bottoms & top around the neck. She's ready to swim!

Helping Mom out

My handsome man in uniform! I got to r~~ide along with him~~ be his junior deputy one night this week as part of our Parents Camp.... more on that later!

Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do when they come for you?

We enjoyed salads poolside as part of our Parents Camp. Parents Camp fed us well...

Taryn decided she's a salsa lover this week. By the end of the meal, she was dipping her fingers in and licking them... yes, she is a Jarnagin!

T wanted to try on her swimsuit so I obliged and put it on over the onesie. She proceeded to find a few accessories to go with it... sunglasses, bracelets, pacifier...

Yes, this book came in the mail today... no, I am not the one reading it.

She goes from girly girl, to tomboy girl sporting her brother's hat, playing with his tools and driving her "car."

Cayson got a few owies - scrapes on his face, elbows, and knees this week thanks to a clumsy fall. He's recovered, thank goodness! Not what he needed since he just got over a nasty rash caused by staph infection from a nasty scrape on his foot. Pretty much, he's covered in scrapes and bruises... the life of a boy!

We watched a portion of the car show cruise downtown despite the ridiculously high temps (106 at 7:30 pm). It's crazy hot here!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Full bed: Family Love

2011-06-10T22:24:00.000-05:00

I came home from my a.m. walk this morning to find all my favorite people in our bed - including Patches!

Firefighter Birthday Extravaganza

2011-06-06T21:05:00.000-05:00

We finally celebrated Cayson's birthday party last week with a small firefighter birthday party with a few of his friends. We had initially planned to have a friends party and a family party but Dusty's work/time restraints just didn't allow for it this year. We were a month late celebrating as it was!

We had the party at our local fire department. I made cupcakes and cake balls (requested by Cayson) and we grilled hot dogs for the boys.

The boys had a tour of the fire station... they were so cute listening intently to everything the fire fighter said!

Thanks to my sister for taking these pictures for us! Check her out here.

Life From My Phone

2011-06-04T11:13:00.001-05:00

These are pictures from the past week on my phone! So many fun adventures and memories!

Birthday tart for Grandma made by Cayson with help from Momma.

Rainbow snowcones are the best... until your sister gets it.

These boots were made for walkin'...

A fire truck birthday party!

Adorable boys!

Crashed out after our very hot walk.

Oh, yes. This was parked at the barber shop. Pulling an ice chest and lawnmower behind a bicycle, check!

Multi-tasking Daddy-o

They were both "writing" accident reports.

Splash pad fun!

Kiddie pool play

Cayson teaching Taryn how to bat. So sweet!

Crazy girl! Dressing up?

All Smiles!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone