Our ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, more projects and Petapolooza!

In our house when I tell you that it's never a dull moment...I just don't say that to say it.

It was only a matter of time before we got called out for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Here it is in it's entirety. I'm still waiting to see mom and dad's video's, along with both Jen's.

With all that behind us we've been busy little bee's here at our house. These past few weeks I've been trying very hard to start "fall" cleaning. I even started cleaning the windows. I've said it before and I'll say it again, "I'm not really THAT kind of mom." I'm more of a crafty, lets work on projects that will bring us joy, and less of a "we need to have everything clean all the time" kinda mama. But, sometimes I reach my S.T.L. and have a wig out moment when the clutter is just too much to bear. This is where I find our house at the moment so it's time to start cleaning windows and taking care of all the projects that we should have kept an eye on five years ago. Like the back deck and the cement slabs.

See all that junk behind her...THAT'S what I'm talking about.

We just recently had this added because, well, we needed the space.

So with this said, it was only a matter of time before I had a wig out moment...I kinda think that the five year mark is my time frame. After five years of something, I start to want to get whatever it is DONE. So my hubby is an awesome man, and he lovingly agreed to help me work on my, "OMG! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE AROUND HERE!" Five year wig out moment.

Gotta teach them young that hard work pays off!

He said afterwards, "I really should have been wearing shoes."

I'm already starting to feel less anxious about this "space."

After 5 years, this is how NASTY this cement pad had gotten!

OMG! It's SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Once we got that all squared away and the wood moved to another place I'm starting to feel better about the girls having a safer, less messy place, to ride their bikes. It's like a Nascar track for littles! The best thing though, is since we took the training wheels off Roo's bike, at least she can get more confidence riding on here rather than tackling the street right now. That makes this mama VERY happy! And since we got this project done we had enough time to go to Petapolooza!

http://www.purinafarms.com/event-calendar

This little guy was half Border Collie and Blue Tick Healer, IF we ever get a dog, this is the kind of dog I would want. I have a love for Blue Tick Healers! 

NO, WE ARE NOT GETTING A DOG!

Seriously, someday this girl is going to be a Veterinarian!

I did tell everyone that IF and WHEN we ever got a new house then we could get a dog, but since we aren't moving for at least another year, the dog thing is still off the table. Granted, they are super cute, but the answer is still NO! We went out to support my bestie Jen (who I called out in the ALS challenge) she and her hubby Brad have a Bulldog named Frankie. We love Frankie!

Frankie the Bulldog!

And because we were there and they had food trucks we figured since it was close to lunch we'd go have a look. I have this total aversion to food trucks...but they had a DESSERT food truck and to me that's a TOTALLY different thing! It's dessert people! It's like my favorite thing EVER!

Seriously, I could probably eat this whole entire tray!

Look at the happiness!!!!

You seriously can not beat this!

This is a GREAT place for desserts! THE BEST DESSERTS I can ever remember having!

They put my baking to shame! SHAME I tell you!!!

http://destinationdesserts.org/

Please check them out if you have a serious sweet tooth! The prices are great too!!!

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend with your loved ones.

This is where it starts...the finale!

Four days shy of two months and our project is completed!!!!

Roo working out what stays and what goes

After A LOT of discussion and A LOT of work these crates and the shelving are finally done and installed. MANY thanks to my father-in-law who so graciously helped out with building the shelves for our crates. MANY thanks to Mitch who spent many an hour staining and polyurethaning these crates to make them withstand the hardest users. It truly is amazing what this project has taken from our house and what this project has given back to our house. 

What it used to look like with the long couch on the long wall

And the short love seat on the shorter wall

This was a great set up at the time, but unfortunately these couches are as old as our marriage and have worn out in certain spaces because Sheldon always sits in the same spot! You laugh, but it's totally true! When you sit, and others always in the same spot it's logical to believe that those couches will wear more in those areas. Yes, that is a totally Captain Obvious statement. Well, after about eight years of wear in the same spots things tend to break and tear. My mom suggested that if we also move the living room around we might instill, over time mind you, a wearing of the couches in different places, and be able to keep the leather couches longer then we might have expected. Another Capt. Obvious statement, but it needed to be said. Also the fact that our cats have pockmarked the top of said couches seems to add that overall extremely "well loved" and totally "lived in" look that our house SCREAMS when visitors drop by for a visit.

Never fails....no matter where we move the furniture.

So while we took a day, and some more discussion we finally figured out that we'd give the room a little move around to see if this, oversized furniture for the room, would fit the other way. What we found out was that it was down right WEIRD! Being used to something for so long and then changing it has its visual drawbacks. Seriously, this is going to take some getting used to.

Plus when you only have two shelves done out of three you end up with this for a day or so.

Yes, we found out AFTER we first bought these couches that they seriously were too big for the living room, but what we paid for them, and driving up to Michigan to pick them up, we realized that we didn't care and they weren't going back. We made the most out of the space...and then with three loving and adorable children we ran out of space. Have I mentioned we need a bigger house?

Prepping for the area to be utilized to the fullest extent

Cinderella vacuums to her  heart is content.

And the sisters slack. By the way she LOVES to vacuum!

Roo prepped the area so that tomorrow they would have the space to play, granted we still don't have all the room in the world, but it is better than it was. The rest of the toys will be going with my bestie to The Crisis Nursery of St. Louis. She decided that she has a couple hours a month to donate her time to a great cause, and I love her for that. I might not have the extra time to donate, but GOOD LORD do I have what the Crisis Nursery needs which is toys coming out our ears, clothing for little girls, food stuffs, extra diapers, wipes and craft supplies. Please if you are interested in learning more about the Crisis Nursery please click this link:

 http://www.crisisnurserykids.org/

They also have a wish list:

http://www.crisisnurserykids.com/wish_list.htm

These little ones can use all the help they can get and if I can help Jen help them by donating our extras, than I'm ALL for helping. Remember, every little bit helps. I was informed that when a child goes to stay at the Crisis Nursery it could be anywhere from a couple of hours, to a couple of days, to a couple of weeks. Those little ones sometimes don't know when they are going to see their parents again. The great thing is, when they do get picked up by their parents they are allowed to take one toy home with them. Sometimes that's the only toy they have. Breaks my heart, but it makes me feel better to know that if you have extras they could go to a great cause like this organization. 

In the end that awful space now looks like this. TA DA!!!!!

I'm going to go with "It's a cozy space"

We still have more to give, but for right now it's manageable.

Thank you all for letting me share my neurotic tendencies with you! Makes me feel better to vent, and  to get to show you the before and after. It's amazing what projects can be completed AND can grow with our family as we grow. When these crates are done holding toys, we'll get to reuse them for whatever strikes our fancy. For now, I know that it was well worth the time and effort it took to complete these, and I'm totally happy that we didn't end up going with buying the crappy plastic stuff from China! 

'Tis the start of football season

Packer Backers...Get it! LOL!

Football season is upon us again and this girl is a happy camper. Growing up we weren't much for watching sports on television. As I've gotten older I've become a fan of football (The Packers), baseball (The Cardinals and sometimes the Red Sox - I lived in Boston for four years), and Hockey (The Redwings). You won't ever catch me watching golf though...tennis maybe, if it's on, and the same goes for soccer.


On a day like today where my beloved Packers are playing the Rams, and the weather is PERFECT for relaxing on the couch, I think it's time for us to whip up some chili and corn bread! I've come to figure out this year that I LOVE Hatch Peppers! One of the lovely ladies I work with sent me the link below...So I figured I'd pass it along to you fine folks! 

http://www.shockinglydelicious.com/40-best-recipes-for-hatch-chiles-you-need-right-now/

Recipe: Newfangled Cowtown White Chicken Chili



Summary: Green chiles, cumin, cayenne, oregano and garlic enliven this White Chicken Chili that was a people’s choice winner in a Texas chili contest. Use Hatch green chiles if you have them!



Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 medium onions (I used 1 humongous onion)

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 (4-ounce) can green chiles (I used 5 Hatch chiles, roasted, skinned, seeded and chopped)


4 cups cooked and shredded chicken (I used 1 20-ounce package lean ground turkey)

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

6 cups vegetable broth

3 (15-ounce) can Great Northern white beans, drained and rinsed (I used 1 can each of Great Northern, white beans and pinto beans)
2 tablespoons flour

Salt and pepper

4 ears of corn, kernels stripped off (this is my addition because I had corn!)


Garnishes: Sour cream, grated cheddar or Jack cheese, tortilla chip, chopped fresh cilantro


Instructions
1.Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté about 10 minutes, until translucent; add the garlic during the last minute with the onions. (If you are using ground turkey, as I did, add it here and cook for about 10 minutes.)
2.Add the chiles, chicken (if using), cumin, oregano and cayenne pepper. Sauté for 2 more minutes. Add vegetable broth, beans and flour. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 2 hours or longer, stirring occasionally. (I simmered it for only about 1 hour, leaving the lid off for the last 30 minutes because it looked a bit soupy for my taste. I also added the corn kernels during this last 30 minutes.)
3.Ladle into bowls and garnish as you like. I used a hefty toss of chopped cilantro and some grated Mexican-blend cheese.
4.Serves 6-8.




My changes and additions

I’m a big fan of using what you have, so I had ground turkey but not chicken, so I used the turkey. It is Hatch chile season, and I had some, so I used Hatch instead of canned green chiles, and my corn needed to be used, so into the pot it went. 

Follow her original recipe, or use my tweaks…suit yourself!



Source
Aimee Lane of Fort Worth, Texas, from “Chili Cook-Off in a Box Handbook” by Gina Hyams
(Andrews McMeel Publishing; $14.99).


Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Number of servings (yield): 6-8
Culinary tradition: USA (Southwestern)


The Cornbread Recipe:

A little honey sweetens this big batch of buttermilk cornbread. Feel free to cut back on the honey if you like a less sweet cornbread. Serve this cornbread with beans or peas for a delicious everyday meal.

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredient

2 cups stone ground cornmeal

         1 cup all-purpose flour

         2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

         1/2 teaspoon baking soda

         3/4 teaspoon salt

         2 large eggs

         3/4 cup buttermilk

         3/4 cup milk

         3 tablespoons honey

         1/4 cup melted butter, cooled

Preparation:

Heat oven to 400°. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan or spray with nonstick baking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, milk, honey, and melted butter.

Stir the liquid mixture into the dry mixture until blended. Spread in the prepared baking pan.

1.            Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

The inundation of paper and "The Box"

The start of a new school year at our house is an exciting time. It’s a time for us to shake off the laziness of the summer; sharpen new pencils to match the new adventures that we’ve only dreamed about in our minds. To start a fresh chapter in the book that is our lives. Hungry for the much needed information to make us smarter and better people and to share those experiences and information with our family members, so we as a whole, become well rounded. These are the gifts of a new school year and along with it the first day of school.

The thing that seems to follow a few short hours AFTER the first day of school is the inundation of PAPER! When my girls were small they had just a page or two of paper that they would bring home. For an example, the letter H paperwork with crayon scribbles all over it, that they were so proud of, and would want prominently displayed like a Monet on our fridge. I can handle one or two pieces of paper, the ten plus sheets of paper multiplied by three children and then again by how ever many days are in a school year is another animal ALL together! If you don’t have children imagine being overrun by almost a ream of paper on a monthly basis that your child ASSURES you is so priceless that it needs to be kept for prosperities sake! It gets a little daunting and really old really quick.

I don’t know about your house, but in our house, if you try to sneak a broken crayon or a single fairy shoe that hasn’t had a mate in months into the trashcan it starts a screaming match that would put Gordon Ramsey to shame! I have to be a ninja or act like the Mexican drug cartel in order to purge the broken crayon with half its paper missing into the trash can! Imagine the scene when I purposefully walk over and try to throw away “said H paper” from above into the trash that will have a HUNDRED mates to match over the span of this little one’s school year. This is the INTJ mama in me talking mind you. We learned pretty quick that we better come up with a better system and think it up quick or we were going to be overrun by paperwork that makes me want to drink on a nightly basis!

The system that we’ve come up with is the “box” system. If you happen to work in an office like I do, you get paper delivered in boxes. We go thru paper at work like water, thank GOD we recycle, and in no time we’ve got an extra paper box sitting around. This plain old nondescript paper box will become the receptacle for all great school work that DESPERATELY needs to be saved from the landfills. It also saves this mama from the hysterical meltdowns because, “MOMMY THREW MY PAPER AWAY!” As a mother I know that I’m supposed to be “sensitive” to my little’s needs and create a loving encouraging environment where they can thrive and create an atmosphere of love and acceptance, while also trying to balance the fact that someday they will go out into the world and have to deal with disappointment - LOTS of it. The logical part of my brain says, “These kids won’t give two shits about these papers when they are 20, wondering just like I did when I was given mine, why in the world these were kept.” Until then, and on the off chance that I am wrong, it has happened many times before and is a sure bet that it will happen again in the future, that  I’d rather be safe than sorry I guess. Plus it saves my sanity from the melt downs.

"The Box"

The way this box works is the papers come into the house. The deal we have is that “most” of the papers will be thrown in the trash…i.e. homework that you’ve already done, turned in and was graded does not need to be kept. There is no need for that information anymore. “School paperwork” like PTA meeting information, certain (if not all) fund raiser information goes in right after it. If you hate me right now for throwing that stuff away then go right ahead. We get almost a different fund raiser every week. We can’t do them all and I don’t have that kind of energy to manage all that stuff anyway. Drives me CRAZY! We pick ONE fundraiser a year and that’s all the capacity we have. Also, in this list are any daily transmitions from school that won’t matter in a week or two like lunch schedules, letters from the principle, other teachers and whatnot. It is not uncommon to get at least 8-10 pieces of paper come thru the front door of my house on any given school night! This is for ONE child mind you, my school ager. Imagine this times three little ones. You’re looking at, on a good night, about 11-12 pieces of paper, multiply this by five nights and that’s 60 + pieces of paper. You are now starting to grasp the issue.  Anything else is emotional fodder for the box. This includes and does not exclude the following: Art projects, crayola drawings, scribbles on half pieces of paper, paper with torn stickers half attached, holiday masks, head gear such as crowns and tiaras, anything that has sparkles on it. GOD FORBID WE THROW AWAY ANYTHING THAT SPARKLES!  All that goes into the box and on rare occasion we do get talked into saving homework. *Insert the parental eye roll*

You are starting to get a glimpse into the first hour I step into the door to my house from my day at work. Throw in the, "MOMMY! MOMMY! MOMMY! I need to tell you sumpin'," and you're starting to get the picture. Also add in mail distribution, figuring out what we are doing for dinner, Mitch vying for my attention too and trying to change clothes and somewhere in between you see into every parents first hour home who works outside of the house. We chose this life, I get it, but I don't know where I can unsubscribe to the paper inundation. If you can find me that number PLEASE let me know because it makes me crazy. You are probably wondering what happens to the boxes once they are filled to the brim with memorable school moments? The box lovingly resides in our storage room, AKA "The black hole," until at some date far far into the future when we will go through it and figure out if we are keeping it longer or decide to have it slip into the landfill and meet it's eventual demise. This years box sits in the dining room, on the floor, next to the cat food and our kitchen table. A visual testament that we care about our children's memories and that we try everyday to be good parents. Like the sign says, "Don't mind the mess, our children are making memories." 

My wish....

 I’ve never been a real sensitive person. For all of my friends and acquaintances who read that first sentence I can see all of you right now shaking your heads yes. I’m laughing with you too because we all know that it’s true. You also know that I, to a fault, am bluntly honest and for some of you that’s really hard to take. I also find that the older I get the more sensitive to things I become, and I have three little girls to thank for that.  I see the world in which we live in is getting worse and worse by the day, and as a parent that hits a cord with me. 

Earlier this week I was having a horrible time of it. I had just read that ISIS was decapitation woman and children and burying some of them alive. I follow the news here and everywhere and it’s unsettling. They say that a picture says a thousand words. Well the pictures that I saw broke my heart in ways I never thought possible. I couldn’t image being in such a state of turmoil and not being able to do anything about it.  Those poor children experiencing such fear so early in life and their parents watching these horrible men slaughter their neighbors, friends and loved ones.  My heart couldn’t process what I was seeing let alone feeling. I wanted to do what I could for those poor people and unfortunately there wasn’t anything I could do for them sitting half way across the world. How do you stop a terrorist group from slaughtering hundreds of people? Unfortunately, for a person like me, you can’t. It’s unrealistic to think that you could.

On top of the slaughtering and ethnic cleansing going on in Iraq, we have our own little upheaval here in our neck of the woods. We’ve made national and world wide news with the riots that keep getting worse by the day. My sister doesn’t live far from there. I’ve already told her and her family that what little space we do actually have, that they are more than welcome to come and stay with us if the need for it becomes glaringly apparent. My heart hurts for that whole entire community. My heart hurts for the parents who lost their son. My heart hurts for the officer that made the life and death choice that he felt he needed to make. My heart hurts for the people of Ferguson whose community has turned into a circus of violence. My heart hurts for the police officers and their brothers in blue who have promised to protect the people in that community from their own neighbors. I can only pray that we learn the lessons we need to learn from all of this. Sometimes lessons come with a hard price to pay. Regardless, it’s hardly ever an easy answer and still a hard pill to swallow.

Plus, Robin Williams committed suicide. He was in my top five of FUNNIEST men on the planet. It was a hard blow to hear that someone who brought so much joy to others was still fighting so many demons.  I have read a lot of posts on Facebook talking about suicide in general, and one post in particular made me stop.  It was a post about how many service men and woman with PTSD and other post war issues commit suicide every day and why should we grieve so heavily for Robin when he didn’t go to war or give his life in service for our country.  I’m a truth seeker, and very pro soldier, but that made me shake my head again in sadness. Yes, he did not serve in the military. Yes, he did not put his life on the line to protect what a lot of us seem to take for granted EVERYDAY. Did the joy he brought to others affect us in ways we can love and appreciate? The answer to that I hope is yes. We all have talents and special gifts that we give to the world. Some people’s gift is the gift to serve and protect. Some people’s gift is the gift of humor and the ability to bring joy to others. Was his life any less important because he wasn’t a soldier? I hope your answer is to that question is no.  Apples to Apples people; is anyone’s life more important than someone else’s regardless of station or profession? I really hope that you answer no to that. ‘Cause if you answer yes, then Sugar, we need to talk.

 I understand the point they were trying to make, that there are hundreds upon thousands of military personnel that suffer to keep us all safe. I believe the point should be that we need to be aware that people suffer; to be compassionate in our dealings with people in general. We are all judges when it comes to other people’s behavior, but when it comes to our own behavior, we defend ourselves like lawyers! I hope that in taking his own life he brought to light the fact that a lot of people suffer from mental illness. I’ve suffered and fight everyday to not be depressed. Life has given me so many blessings that I wake up in the morning thankful for what I have. It’s just days like the other day with so much sadness in the world that my depression creeps back in and I have to step back and look at it objectively. I have to separate the things I CAN do from the things that are outside of my control. I want to fix it all, but that is unrealistic. I have to not feel bad for the things that I can’t control and let those things go and pray that God watches over those people.

My wish is that people go out every day and make a difference in other people’s lives. Say something nice to someone, compliment someone, help someone if you can for Christ SAKE’s it’s FREE! This kind of behavior creates such a positive ripple in the world. I choose to start everyday with a thankful and grateful heart. Compliment people, encourage good positive behavior, to create an environment that is ripe for “Rockin’ on with your bad self!”  THESE are the traits that I want to be remembered for and to raise my girls to emulate. I want to be remembered for lifting up the down trodden, for giving confidence to the under dogs, for helping people understand that you don’t have to be a real sensitive person to be a sincere one. You can still tell the truth and not be so harsh about it. Being a kind person isn’t so hard; you just have to “wanna” do it. So in our times of trouble and sadness, I know I can’t change the past or affect changes around the world, but what I CAN do is be good to others. Change can start with me and I can assure you it does and will continue till the day I pass.

Be the change you wish to see in the world. -  Mahatma Gandhi

My jar full of wishes

You just never know where you'll end up...

Remember the Barn Graveyard post, well Mitch had read it and saw the pictures and decided that he wanted to go back and see if for himself. Today being Saturday, and having nothing to do, but clean the house I agreed that going out in search of an adventure was right up our alley. Before I came to that conclusion our discussion sounded more like this. 

Mitch: I want to go somewhere.

Me: Okay, where do you want to go?

Mitch: Lets go see that barn graveyard

Me: You do realize that this time of year it's gonna be hard to get into, there's going to be poison ivy and grass way past our waists since no one cuts it, there will be ticks and whatnot out there too.

Mitch: Yeah, but I want to drive by it and see where it is. 

Me: Okay, sounds good to me.

To get me to go on an adventure is usually THAT easy. What actually transpired was a little different. So you have to drive on 21 to 30 to get to where we needed to go and as we were driving, most of the scenery looked correct...and then it didn't. It's funny how you plug an address in to your phone and it spits out three choices to you. These three choices were not the same three choices it gave me the last time. Needless to say we drove ALL the way to Catawissa (56 minutes away) without even a glimpse of this elusive barn graveyard. As Mitch and I sit in Gayle's driveway trying to figure out a different way back, one that we might have missed Mitch's phone showed us a different route to take and it turned out to be the correct one. Yeah for Google Maps!

As we were driving back we cross over a bridge, a newer bridge and I happen to look over to my right and I see the falls that I had seen before! I told Mitch to go back. I told him I wanted to stop and take a picture of those falls before, the last time, right after we went exploring in the barn graveyard. Unfortunately it's a really hard shot to get because it's in the middle of a bridge and the bridge is used a lot. Any shot of taking that picture without getting ran over is slim to none. I asked him to pull a U-turn and go back to the white and green house and make another left!! This mama was EXCITED!

This is what I saw! It's beautiful!

So once we get turned around and going back in the right direction, his phone started telling us to turn around and go back the way we were headed. NO WAY PHONE! This is the way! I'm sure of it!!!

As we turn down this rock drive, I look for any kind of signage that says, "Private Road" or "Private" and not seeing anything we press on. As we turned a little ways down we ran into two very nice gentlemen, a father and son you could tell by the looks of them. The son comes up and I asked him if we could drive down a bit further to take a picture of the falls. His response back to me, "for $400 bucks, sure why not." All I could do was laugh and laugh I did. When I stopped he looked at Mitch and said, "Well since she didn't take me seriously I guess you can drive down a ways and just park off to the side." We drove another 100 feet and pulled off to the side.  I have to tell you this place was AMAZING!

The first thing I noticed was this laying against this beautiful building.

The buildings that were on this guys property (YES, indeed this was his private residence...God don't I feel like an ass!!) were gorgeous! So well done it was like walking into a WHOLE other world! I love places like this...finding gems in the rough. When you are looking for adventure you just never know where you'll end up!

So here's the bridge that I saw from the bridge that everyone drives on.

This is the out building that the conquistador was laying up against

It really is quite a stunning old bridge.

Come to find out this bridge was in a movie AND built in 1893 by a company that is still in business in St. Louis!! The company is the St. Louis Bridge & Iron Company. 

The movie 'Saving Shiloh' was filmed here in 2005! Who knew!!

Saving Shiloh on IMDB

You tube clip that SHOWS the actual bridge

The owner of the property came out and had a lovely long chat with us and I apologized for laughing because I didn't realize that this was a private residence. Jim, the lovely owner, did say that somedays he thinks about putting up a 'Private Drive' sign up by his newer house, but then if he did he wouldn't get to meet so many nice people who stop by to look at the falls.

He told us that the dam was built in 1836 before the Civil war and that he used to live in the mill that butts up against the bank of this small river. It's so picturesque I can't even believe that he lives here and has for 40 years! This man has four grown children, two daughters and two sons and they've all since moved away. He's 73 mind you, and sharp as a tack! He tells us that five years ago he built himself a newer house and lives up by the street, but still uses the mill to this day. Seriously, I don't know about you, but I would totally live in a mill! He said that his children used to swim in this river and he jumps into the river from the bridge from time to time. He just makes sure he takes his cell phone out of his pocket and takes his shoes off, but it's just a fine jump!

He says that in St. Louis when they tear down the old buildings, he knows some of the construction guys, and they call him and he reuses some of the old rock facades to build up his little town.

I am in serious awe of his creativeness! He has such a great eye and a talent to match.

He told us that he's going to pour a cement floor off of this and put a table and some chairs here.
Seriously the view is perfect for a such an idea!

He says he built this door and told the girls it's a magical door that will take you anywhere you want to go. Well, right then, I was in one of the coolest places I've seen in a long time and loved every minute we were able to stand and chat with Jim.

And to think we almost missed this over some crazy directions! If we all looked around more at the space in which we travel it's truly amazing all the things that we are able to experience. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, but most likely if you look hard enough there is adventures to be had just about anywhere. I have learned that, "If you open your heart anything is possible." - Saving Shiloh

When in Rome...

So the saying goes, "When in Rome, do as the Roman's do."

Well, here it is, it is preseason football time again and this mama is happy.

I love football, I really do and to prove it here is the preseason schedule for this year.

ESPN NFL Schedule

So when my sister called me up the other day and asked if I was interested in going to a preseason Rams game I was kinda excited about it. I wasn't sure how the logistics of kids, hubby, and I all going was going to work out, but I was excited to think that there was maybe a chance we could go. Now I've only ever been to ONE professional football game before and that was to watch my beloved Packers play against the Rams two years ago. I am a Green Bay Packers Fan. I can't help it. But somehow, some way it magically worked that we were able to go!

For your viewing pleasure our wonderful first night of football for the year:

So we all know you can't go to a game without your GEAR!

I DO have a Rams jersey that was given to me back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and God knows only where it is...actually it might reside in a box somewhere in the storage room of our house, which is also known to us as "THE BLACK HOLE." Good luck trying to find it in enough time to make this years play off games. Seriously, it's a mess....we won't go there.

So now we've got the gear right? Well, I didn't have gear, which was immediately accessible, but I bought a shirt and I bought one quick.

It's pretty right?!?! I mean gold really isn't my color, but I'll blend.

She's already excited and they haven't even lost yet.

Yeah, yeah, yeah I know...but seriously, am I lying? I think not.

Back at home Auntie Jen and Claira get to stay behind and have some bonding time! AWE!!!!!!

The excitement is building!!!!!!

And they see the field and it's glorious!

So if any one has ever met my children they know that they are HAMS through and through and what would a football game be without the shenanigans of my children? Truly, they are almost 4 and totally 6, nothing really is too serious to them.

The great ghost of football players past. 

And you can't take little ones to a football game and actually expect them to sit still.

They get stuck in the arms and the Cornholio's come out! LOL!

But what is a game without the food right? $25 later for nacho's, endless popcorn and an endless pop and seriously, the fact that we JUST ate dinner before we went to the game is a distant memory. My girls eat like we've never fed them before in their LIVES....0.o Seriously...it was a sight to behold.

I caption this "Blackmail" Yes, I painted her nails because it was a special occasion.

Soph's face is priceless! 

I'm not sure which is bigger, the jersey dress she's rocking or that POP! Good LORD!

But truly the best times are when the "faces" of my family come out...like the REALLY good ones. The one of Mitch above, if you didn't notice, was pretty funny, but check this one out. 

2 words: LOVE IT!

She wanted to tell her sister "somepin." Oh the joys of being their mama!

So with that my friends I give you our night at the Rams game...Check out my facebook feed later next week. I'll be sporting my hot sexy Green Bay Packer kicks from my couch watching the game from the comforts of home.  

Final Score: New Orleans Saints 26 to the St. Louis Rams 24

Told ya, I wasn't lying....