If my memory serves me correctly....

If my memory serves me correctly, I used to remember much more!

I have been browsing old blogs from the past 3 years (since I joined Blogger) and I can't believe how much I totally forgot about until reading it jogged my memory. Is it possible to have forgotten about so much when I am only in my 30's?

I have found that I definitely live like there is no tomorrow and that has always been my intention because truthfully, we have no guarantee that tomorrow will ever come. My 6 (soon to be 7) kids will have memories to last them a lifetime!

I have looked back over years of homemade Halloween costumes..anyone remember this body builder?!!

 

School parties....who doesn't love a Luau?!!

Family day's out...the excitement on their faces :)

Awesome birthday parties...one word, Wow!!

 

At first I was worried about the fact that I was forgetting things, but I think it is just because I do so much that nothing really sticks out as this amazing thing. Everyday is amazing, everyday is a party for us! Everyday is a new memory just created to look back upon and smile.

 

I love my my life and I guess it is just that simple :)

Our Disneyworld Adventure!! Day 2 :)

Our Disneyworld Adventure!!

Day 2: July 5, The Drive Continues....

Didn't sleep that well last night due to Matlyn falling out of bed so got up at 6:30am and went down for breakfast. I love the breakfasts at hotels like this! Anytime a Belgian waffle is a choice, you know they will have a lot to decide from. I went with a bowl of Raisin Bran, an apple, a banana and a buttered bagel (baby was hungry) Most of the kids picked a Belgian waffle, but I managed to cram some fruit into them as well :)

Onto GA!!

 

 

Made a few stops along the way and finally entered FL! Greg's cell phone "Ways" got us around a big wreck during the drive so that helped. Reiner punched Cameron accidentally while dancing to a song and that caused a fight. Never a dull moment ;)

 

I continued to look through the Disney book for ideas on which were the best days to go to which parks, restaurants, rides, etc....with this many kids, we wanted everything to fall into place.

 

We checked into our hotel...Royal Parc Hotel Suites. We ended up with a room on the first floor on the end, very lucky :) We walked around to check out the hotel and found it to be packed! There is a game room, gift shop, restaurant and laundry room. Also a gorgeous pool and hot tub.

 

 

 

 

After checking out our home for the next 8 days, we decided to hit Downtown Disney. What a crazy night this turned into! We drove around for what felt like an hour and left when we, without a doubt, could not find a parking spot! We decided to get some food so we drove to a Taco Bell. People in this lot were maniacs! Got stuck in the lot for a bit and then moved onto TGI Fridays. Got stuck in that lot as well! Finally made it into a Burger King lot and decided on some delicious deluxe chicken sandwiches that Cameron informed us were on sale for only $1.04..yay!!! I burnt my tongue on the mayo, but hey, that just means that they were not sitting around...yum!!! Walmart trip was interesting to say the least. Since we budgeted a kitchen for our hotel room and dinners in every night, we had to stock up on some groceries. Everyone was literally running through the store. Not sure why, but it felt like that we were completely standing still! I always thought PA was nuts compared to what I am used to in WV, but this was just insane! We hope to never have to go back there!

 

 

Old Town was next. We went for our pudgy pops at the General Store :) When I was younger, they were the only place where you could get a pudgy glass bottle for only 25 cents! Inflation....they are now at 69 cents each, but still a must when we head to Florida!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also bought some fresh mini donuts at a stand just down from The General Store. Very yummy! We walked around a bit, checked out the shoppes and rides and made our way back to the hotel for the night. A long day's drive, just ready to crash!

 

Epcot Tomorrow...stay tuned!

Wordless Wednesday! ~Lovely~

Wordless Wednesday! 

The Week in Review...Ghost Stories, Milk Duds and Sleepovers!

First week of August and we are into the hustle and bustle of the next school year. Here is our week in review for the week of August 5-11.

We are continuing our week of sports and band; Band at 9am-2pm, Soccer from 5-6:30pm and Cheer from 6-:30pm. Girls are still working on perfecting their half-time routine and it is coming along great!

The kids made their way around this week out and at home.Cameron stayed at Jay's house and woke up first thing to head to Kennywood for Beth-Center Community Day with Jack and Jay. He also stayed at Jack's house on Friday night just to hang. He did stay home on Saturday night and helped me out with the sleepover. Genin stuck around the house this week getting in some good Harvest Moon time on his DS and then stayed at Chris' house on Saturday night so he wouldn't have to be around for Kaplyn's sleepover. Kaplyn had some nice TV time with me enjoying some House Hunters Marathons (I love that show)  The 3 little ones are enjoying their final 2 weeks together at home before school starts.

Lost and Found

Lost: 3 recipes for this week's dinner....last seen sitting next to my recipe basket in the den where I selected them.

Lost: Reiner's DS XL...thinks Brandis stole it....

Found: Greg's WV ball cap. The Steelers one he was wearing for mowing grass had really faded from sun and sweat. Thank goodness we now have a fresh one!

Found: 3 recipes for this week's dinner....in the recipe basket, go figure!


Newbies this week!

I have a new love affair...with beach novels!! I started choosing beach novels from the 2 blog websites that I work with and must say that I am extremely pleased with the outcome of each and every book. For about 1/2 hour per day, I am whisked away into the fantasy world of whatever the current author thinks up. I will even just sit and stare at the cover and find myself quickly taken to that far off world away from my everyday, busy life. Wouldn't you do the same if you were looking at this?!

Garnier Fructis Sleep & Shine Intensely Smooth Leave in Conditioner. Since I became pregnant with my 7th child, my hair has been extremely dry! It began when we were on our Disney trip this summer and I had assumed it was the humidity in Orlando, but I was wrong. It continued to go on when we returned home. Since then, I have been applying a quarter sized amount to my hair and voila!! No more frizz or dry looking hair. Love it!!


New Recipes this week!

Caprese Burgers and Roasted Kielbasa and Vegetables. Both were quick and turned out awesome!!


On we go....

Kaplyn's "Lovely" 10th Birthday Sleepover was held on Saturday. We passed out some "lovely" invites and she was ready to go! She invited 5 of her closest friends and they had an absolute blast! Trampoline, pizza, pool swimming, hot tub, ice cream sundae craft, cupcakes, Mani/pedis, movie, ice cream sundae bar, makeovers, "Lovely" pink sweets bar, fashion show, musical game, goody bags, etc... The goody bags had some girly items; nail polish, file, some sweets and Cameron made a CD of 19 girly songs for the guests to take home with them. Breakfast the next morning was chocolate milk, orange juice and donuts (can't go too homemade when you went to bed at 4am!) Kaplyn can't wait for her next one :) Will be posting a separate blog of party fun!

We attended my uncle's funeral this week which was tough. His brother is my Grandpa and he filled in as Grandpa after ours passed away. As I get older, it seems that we lose more people which is something I have found that I am going to have to get used to. He had cancer and the only thing that makes me feel any better is knowing that he is no longer struggling to breathe. Rest in Peace my sweet uncle...love to you in heaven...


Likes of the Week

Milk Duds. The baby has changed her mind yet again! Cheetos to Golden Grahams to Milk Duds! What a range of tastes!!

Giant Eagle's cereal deal! Buy 4/$10, line with coupons, after fuel perks, FREE Cereal!! Gotta love it!!

Kaplyn and Reiner's 2013/2014 school year teachers. Kaplyn got Mr. Meyers who is her last year's teacher's husband and is also Cameron's past 5th grade teacher and a friend of ours for 5th grade. Reiner's  teacher is Mrs. Hess, also Cameron's past teacher (first grade) We have always loved her and couldn't be more pleased!


Broken :/

We had a few things break in the house this week (thank goodness they weren't any one's limbs)

Reiner's closet door came off of the track and we found that it is broken above. Since these are original doors from when the house was built, it will be hard to match up the stain color. Hoping to figure out a way to get it fixed.

The kitchen faucet had a mishap that my husband was positive he could fix.... Somehow he made it worse and it is now taped together. A new faucet in our future...um, yes.

More weekly fun!

On Friday, Kaplyn and Matlyn accompanied me to Washington to run errands. We needed to pick up party supplies and I was hoping to hit some yard sales to find Kaplyn some shorts. Due to the rain, we ended up at only 1 sale and onto a consignment shop; Tina's (one of my faves) Found her a pair of shorts that are very trendy and fit perfectly! I also purchased a pretty maternity shirt for 80% off and a few purses from the $1 rack. We had actually visited Tina's just a few weeks earlier and Kaplyn was tickled to have found a Build-a-Bear Spider man Outfit. It was missing the mask so it wasn't complete, but she was happy with it. This visit, she went to the same bin where she found the outfit and what do you know?! The mask!!! Now the outfit is complete and will be a great addition to her Build-a-Bear wardrobe.

Sunday was Date Night for hubby and I. We made a trip to a salon and got a hair spa package. I was so happy to get partial highlights, washing, deep conditioning mask, cut and style! Afterwards, we did some shopping and picked up some Christmas gifts for this year, you gotta love a 25% off coupon for friends and family day! Applebees for dinner included Spinach and Artichoke Dip and Bourbon Chicken. Very yummy!!


~Blast from the Past~

Received my DVD from Netflix this week...Family Ties Season 1. Now there is a Blast from the Past! Not hugely fond of the first Season, more of when they were just getting started, not too exciting.


Dislikes of the Week

Ghost Stories. I have always been a huge fan of ghost stories. Kaplyn decided to tell her younger siblings some this week and we have been fighting them ever since. Trying to keep them in their own beds, convincing them that there really are no ghosts in the closet, etc... Grrrr.......

No longer being able to toss an old TV on the curb to be picked up. We have never had issues before, but I guess the rules have changed and it has to be recycled. 2 garbage pickups later and it is still sitting there :/

Pregnancy Weight. Due to my 50 lb weight loss before getting pregnant, I got used to being very light and having a ton of energy. Now that #7 is on the way, as I gain weight I am finding myself pulling on the rail to get me up the stairs. Hope I don't have any trouble getting it all off. Eek...scary!

...Final Thought for the Week....

 

Life is only traveled once; today's moment becomes tomorrow's memory. Enjoy every moment, good or bad, because the GIFT of LIFE is LIFE itself. Have a nice day. -Unknown

 

 

                                                                                                            Dede
  

 

Our Disneyworld Adventure!! Day 1 :)

I have had a lot of friends who have requested to hear about our Disney Adventure since people are amazed at how we are able to do so much with the amount of kids that we have :) Here is a sneak peek into this year's awesome summer vacation!

Day 1: July 4, The Drive Begins...

We left for vacation later than we usually do (12:30pm) Thought it would be nicer to get to the hotel in Rock Hill, SC a little later so we could crash into a nice bed and be able to get right up the next morning. Made a pit stop in Jane Lew, WV (sorry...but baby has to go sometimes ;) Grabbed some pepperoni rolls for the road (ok, I have to admit that I stopped just for the pepperoni rolls) and we were on our way!

The next stop, we saw 2 old cars, one was a Nova and the other, not sure, but had an awesome fire paint job along the sides and said "Hillbilly Hellraiser." By the name and the way the crew was dressed, I would say they are a local band. Really cool so I snapped a pic of their car...love to find gems like these along our routes :)

 

 

I dozed for a few hours due to the heavy downpour of rain (I do love a good storm ;) and awoke to the most beautiful site! I can't remember exactly where we were in Virginia, but there was a gorgeous rainbow stretched clear across the road! I snapped a pic on the "Pop Art" setting of my new camera and it came out looking absolutely gorgeous!!! What do you think?!

 

 

 

 

Minutes later, for the first time in our lives, we drove through the rainbow!!! (Knock that one off of the bucket list ;)

 

 

Drive continues getting us to the Howard Johnson in Rock Hill around 7:45pm. We only had 2 pit stops along the way which wasn't bad for 2 adults (1 pregnant) and 6 kids! Had a delicious cookie at check-in and checked out the breakfast area for the next morning. This hotel was another first for us...we have never stayed in a hotel that had 3 double beds in a row!!

 

 

 

Strange, but worked for us :) Very comfortable for our overnight stay halfway down to Disney.

 

 

Found a local Cici's for dinner which we were very excited about! The one in Washington near our home shut down and we love to come across them when we can. Had some great pizza and salad...don't forget dessert ;) Brandis, our 5 year old, was the only one with the catastrophe, spilling his drink, but that is just typical Brandis :)  The servers were very helpful in cleaning it up.

 

When we returned to the hotel, we could see a 4th of July Fireworks show right from our hotel window!

 

 

It was like God put them there just for us :)

 

Not sure if it was the dessert or the excitement to be going to Disney, but the kids got a severe case of the giggles and had a hard time getting to sleep at bedtime. Eventually, one by one they all started conking out and that was the last I remember. Must have been really sleepy!!

 

Til tomorrow....

 

Book Review: Rosemary Cottage by Colleen Coble

 

 

Book Review: Rosemary Cottage...A Hope Beach Novel by Colleen Coble

"I received this book for free from BookSneeze for this review”.

 

Book Review: Amy came to Rosemary Cottage to grieve, heal, maybe even find love. But there's a deadly undertow of secrets around Hope Island...

 

The charming Rosemary Cottage on the beach offers Amy Lange respite she needs to mourn her brother, Ben. She's even thinking of moving her midwife practice tot he Outer Banks community. It's always been a refuge for her and her family. She also wants to investigate Ben's disappearance at sea. Everyone blames a surfing accident, but Amy has reason to wonder.

 

Coast Guard officer Curtis Ireland has lost a sibling too. His sister, Gina, was killed in a boating accident, leaving him to raise her infant daughter. If anyone knew who little Raine's father was, Curtis could lose his beloved niece. Yet he can't help being drawn to Hope Beach's new midwife, Amy. He even agrees to help her investigate. 

 

Can two grieving people with secrets find healing on beautiful Hope Island? Or will their quest for truth set them at odds with each other and with those who will go to any length to keep hidden things hidden?
  

 My Review: Another great book to blog about!! I have become quite the lover of beach novels :) From the second I received the book and took at glance at the gorgeous cover, I was drawn to this book! My first time reading anything by Colleen Coble and I must say, what an extremely talented author! Being a sister to a brother lost in a car accident, this specific story definitely tugged on my heartstrings. The situation surrounding my brother's car wreck has always had me feeling that something more could have been behind it, but I put it on the back the back burner for the family's sake. This story speaks of Amy, who believes that her brother was not simply killed by a shark during a day out surfing, but possibly murder. How I wish I could delve into the past like Amy did.

 

In the meantime, a relationship with a man in the same situation turns your stomach to butterflies when you realize that something so wonderful could come out of something so terrible. Just the right amount of love and hope throughout the story to really keep you on your toes and not wanting to put the book down. 

 

This book (and author) are a must!!

Who doesn't have a comfort food?

 

 

Anyone out there not have some sort of food that brings you comfort when you absolutely need it? Mine has been served to me as long as I can remember beginning with my Mom; Toast with peanut butter and a dusting of cinnamon sugar :)

I have seen people that have never heard of this contraption of greatness and am always sure to tell them how simple and scrumptious this quick snack is!

After toasting the bread, give it a chance to cool down. If you don't, the Pb will just melt right into it and you really want to be able to spread it right over top and have some thickness to bite into. Then simply sprinkle a mix of cinnamon and sugar over the peanut butter. Oh...yum.

This has been the snack I go to for a nice hearty breakfast (it will totally fill you with 2 of them), a stressful day and pregnancy (hence why I am explaining this now ;)

Take a bite and savour....add a glass of ice cold milk and you have a package of "you can't get much better than this!"