They keep going and going and going....

Every time I turn around, I feel like somebody is asking me for batteries. My boys LOVE their Geo Trax, and their Vsmile Pockets, and go through batteries like water!

Each train takes 6 AAA batteries (3 for the train, 3 for the controller) and their Vsmile takes 4 AA batteries (for each boy). So, needless to say, I am FOREVER buying batteries.

When I was given the opportunity to review the Energizer 15-minute charger, I jumped at the chance!!

The batteries are a bit pricey - about $10/4 pack, but if you run through batteries at the rate that I do, and I'm not joking, I was buying batteries every week, it's actually a cost savings! The great thing too, is that it comes with a car adapter, so I can charge those batteries for my camera, or the Vsmiles right in my car!

I've actually have been holding out on doing this review, because I was waiting for the batteries in my camera to go dead, and they haven't yet! I put the rechargeable ones in my camera about 3 weeks ago, and they are still going strong!

Energizer has quite a few different types of chargers, so I'm sure there is one to fit your need! So, go out and buy one of these chargers, it truly has been the answer to all of my battery problems! :)

Also, thanks to Linsey at Lille Punkin Reviews, for giving me this opportunity! :)

Sometimes, it only takes a minute to make somebody's day

****This picture was taken the other day, while Brett was bird watching, apparently he needed swim goggles and moon boots !:)****


I had to run to two grocery stores this morning, and really had no energy to do it. BUT - I got in the car, and went anyway. Thankfully, these two grocery stores DID NOT have the "customer in training" carts, cause we all know I'm a sucker for those! :)

Anyway, earlier this morning, Brett caught some bugs, and put them in his bug catcher. It's got a strap on it that goes around the neck and he insisted they needed to come with us to the stores. Again, me being the sucker that I am, agreed to bringing the bugs into the store, but gave him strict instructions NOT to open the bug catcher! By the way, the bug catcher only had a couple of rolly-pollies, and a millipede (Brett called it a caterpillar!:) ) He wore those bugs with pride! Talking to them along the way, and showing everyone he could!

We got to the check-out aisle, and the cashier asked what he had, and he gladly told her about each item that was in the little cage. To see the sparkle in his eyes and the excitement in his voice as he talked to that cashier totally made my day! And the cashier acted as though she was genuinely interested. He was so proud!

The same thing happened at the second store - I smiled as my little Brettie told the cashier that the caterpillar (millipede) was going to turn into a butterfly.

It only takes a minute to take the time to make some body's day. Those two ladies definitely made mine, because they took the time out to listen to MY son! And I'm pretty certain they made Brett's day, and who knows - maybe my little guy made theirs!

I SOOO wanna win this, or this.....

O.K., so the ladies at 5 minutes for mom are at it again! They have some fabulous giveaways this week for Mothers Day!

First up, a new laptop!!!

And if anyone knows me, you know how much I LOVE purses! Well, look at this...
You can win this too!!! So go to 5 minutes for mom - ENTER TO WIN! Or don't, cause that would lessen my odds of winning! ;)

Oh boys!!!

My sweet, darling, lovely, cute, adorable, well-behaved boys....

That's what I was thinking for about a minute when I heard them giggling and playing so nice together this morning. I searched for my camera, so I could capture this VERY rare moment on film.

That minute was short-lived when I walked out of the house to find Brett cutting Owen's hair. Yep, that's what they were giggling about. Thankfully, I already had my camera in my hand, so I couldn't help but take a few pictures...

(yes, Brett still has the scissors in his hands)

I then had to buzz Owen's hair, because Brett cut it so short in one spot. And as a punishment for Brett, I had to buzz his hair too...he HATES getting his hair cut. Hopefully he'll never do that again...

(the picture doesn't do it much justice, but to give you an idea of how short it really was, I had to buzz it on a 1 - setting, and you could still see the marks from the cuts!!!)

And after...all buzzed and showered up!

(Owen proudly displaying his new frog he found at the lake, and Brett was crying cause his jumped out of the tank.)

Press On

When I was first pregnant, nobody told me just how difficult it is to be a mother - rewarding, yes, but difficult - notsomuch.



As a mom of 3 little ones, I find some days that I'm just done - can't go on anymore. I'm burned out, I need a break! My kids are the light of my life, but yet, I can be honest and say that it just is not easy. Ive talked with other moms who are feeling this same way, so I know that I am not the only mom who feels like this sometimes, so that is encouraging. But what is most encouraging, is that if we just ask Jesus, he will give us the strength to PRESS ON!

On Sunday, our worship team at church sang this song. It really spoke to me. Here are the lyrics:

Press On - Selah

When the valley is deep
When the mountain is steep
When the body is weary
When we stumble and fall

When the choices are hard
When we're battered and scarred
When we've spent our resources
When we've given our all

Chorus:
In Jesus' name, we press on
In Jesus' name, we press on
Dear Lord, with the prize
Clear before our eyes
We find the strength to press on

In Jesus' name, we press on
In Jesus' name, we press on
Dear Lord, with the prize
Clear before our eyes
We find the strength to press on
To press on

Just before Ryan and I were married, I found out I had a tumor on my pituitary gland. Shortly after we were married, we were told that it would be very difficult to have babies, but it was treatable and the doctors were going to do all they could to get us pregnant. A month later, without any medical help, I was pregnant with Chloe. 23 months after I had Chloe, I had Brett, and just 16 months after that I had Owen. All without ANY medical help! As a side note: I recently had an MRI, and it showed that the tumor was GONE! What an answer to prayer!!!

These three babies of mine are gifts from God. And I want to do everything I can to cherish them - especially while they are little. I want to find the joy in all the little things they do.

So the next time Brett and Owen walk through the neighbors wet cement driveway, (YES, that really happened) I'm going to ask Jesus for the strength to PRESS ON. And the next time that the boys get a hold of the Windex and Goo-Gone and decide to spray it all over their bedroom (Yep, that happened too!), I'm going to ask Jesus for the strength to PRESS ON! But I'm also gonna ask Jesus for the strength to see all of the sweet little things they do too - even if I am weary!

Excuse me now, while I go break up another fight - oh, and I gotta go practice what I preach! ;)

Praying for Stellan!!

Today, sweet Stellan is having heart surgery - actually as I type this, he is in the operating room! Please join me and my boys as we pray and wear Orange for little Stellan!

Another year has gone by!

Last year I wrote this post. Well, I'm proud to say that today, my husband is TWO YEARS smoke-free! I will probably write this exact same post every single year, and I'm o.k. with that. It's such an important date for him and I want to acknowledge it. It just means we get more anniversaries, birthdays and special occasions with him! :)

Oh, and this year, the numbers have doubled, of course...

About 18,000 Cigarettes NOT smoked

About $3,100 NOT spent!

Just awesome!! Keep up the good work Ry!

Do you Tweet!?!?!

So I've started "tweeting" or is it "twittering?" I haven't quite figured out the language yet.

Anyway, FOLLOW ME! Come on! Let's have a little fun! :)

Thank You

To say that this week has been rough would be an understatement.

This house has been so full of the sickies! Chloe is FINALLY starting to feel better - not coughing as much in the night, so that's awesome! Brett thankfully hasn't gotten anything yet, so pray that he continues to stay healthy. Owen had the flu Sunday or Monday night (can't remember which) and was up again last night vomiting, and then vomiting again this morning!

When is it going to end?

Last night Brett called me in the middle of the night to put his blankets back on him. I crept into his room, because I didn't want to wake Owen, and quickly covered him up and kissed him on the head. Brett said, "thanks, mom!" "You're welcome my sweet boy," I replied. I then looked over at Owen to find that he too had kicked off his covers. I covered him up. He looked at me and smiled. He didn't have to say anything - that smile was "thank you" enough!

I knocked on wood...

A few weeks ago, I was talking to a friend, and was saying how healthy my kids are. "Knock on wood, we've been healthy all winter."

I should know better than to do such a stupid thing! ;)

Sunday morning, we woke up with Chloe coughing up a lung, and not feeling so hot. We decided to stay home from church and just let her rest a bit. That whole day she laid around, so we knew she was pretty sick. She had a low-grade fever, and just wasn't feeling like herself.

Monday morning, we decided to keep her home from school, even though she said she was feeling much better. Because of the fever the day before though, I thought it would be good for her to stay home and rest. She felt pretty good all day - just a bit of a cough. In the middle of the night on Monday, the fever returned, as did the continual coughing. Owen was also up in the middle of the night vomiting. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep.

Again on Tuesday, she stayed home from school and we fought with the fever all day. Thank God, Owen was just fine!!! After her "mandatory" nap on Tuesday, she woke up with a fever of 102.5! About an hour after giving her Motrin, the fever was still hovering at 102. I called the doctor. I had heard that a fever virus was going around, but the cough worried me just a bit. She told me to go ahead and come in on Wednesday morning. She again was up all night coughing, and we fought with the fever again. It was pretty tiring, to say the least.

Wednesday morning the fever "appeared" to be gone. I actually debated canceling the doctor appointment that I had made the previous day. Boy oh boy am I glad that I went to that appointment. Turns out, her lungs were "wet" and because she is an "old asthmatic" the doctor wanted to go ahead and check her lungs for pneumonia. So, we head over to the hospital and get a chest x-ray and head right back to the doctor's office to read it. Thank God - NO PNEUMONIA! She does have bronchiolitis though. Nothing an antibiotic and some breathing treatments won't fix! :)

Wednesday night was the worst night all week!! My baby girl coughed and coughed and coughed and coughed...her fever also returned. I was at my wits end. I had given her a breathing treatment, Motrin for the fever and Benadryl for her to go to sleep - nothing was helping. I finally thought to take her into the bathroom and turn on a hot shower. She was not too happy about getting out of her bed, but I had to give it a try! So about 12:30a.m., there we were sitting in the steamy bathroom. Brett peaked his head into the bathroom and asked if he could sit with us. I said, "Sure! Take a seat!" He sat down on the Lightning McQueen step stool and we talked about the lake, pooters, (I know!) tubing, building sand castles, etc... It was actually a nice time, believe it or not! :) Unfortunately, the shower didn't work so well. She coughed and coughed. Finally about 2:30 I gave her another dose of Benadryl and she FINALLY fell into a deep sleep - and so did I! :D

It's now Thursday. It appears the fever is gone, but it's played this trick on me before. The coughing seems under control and she's ready to go back to school. (The doc said to keep her home until Monday) I'm just praying that it stays GONE! I need sleep tonight!!!

I'm off to make lunch and put EVERYONE (including me!) down for a nap!!!!