Goodness gracious I have obviously been lost in FALL y'all. So much has been going on around here; I just haven't taken the time to blog. I love looking at a bunch of blogs and by the time I take a peek at other's lives, I don't have the time to blog about my own! Any - WHO, here I am finally!

I'll start off by saying baseball is over, for a little while at least! We had the last fall tournament and the guys won all of their games except for the final (and most important one) against Easley. They are apparently (news to me) our rivals! Our guys wanted to win so badly, but they just couldn't do it. The Southern Steal really had a fabulous winning streak of 15 games in a row. That is in itself fantastic and losing one game is nothing to be ashamed of, but those words couldn't ease the pain my poor Cole felt after swinging the final strike of the last out of the game. He was HEARTBROKEN and there was nothing I could say to make it better. He sobbed from deep inside his heart. I can't lie, I hurt too, but for my child who felt like he had let his team down. It felt like a movie in slow motion. I will one day look back at my video that I was taking and surly, once again, feel the hot poker in the heart that I felt for my guy! On a happy note they got the biggest trophy they have ever gotten, but that didn't make a single player happy. "The winners got gold and they got crummy old silver" (a Cole quote). We will be happy to have a break and the boys need to get over the loss. They have a lot ahead of them, and they will bounce back and learn from all of this. You have to loose like a winner to win like a winner - what? It made sense to say to Cole at the time - but looks strange now seeing it typed on my screen! Kamden, still wanted to hold the trophy and was quite proud of her big brother, just as we all were!

It is already trick-or-treat time around here. We went to a "Trunk-or-Treat" at our neighbor's church on Sunday night and the kids had a ball. This was the perfect test run for the REAL Halloween! No, I could not talk Miss K into being a pretty princess, instead, Kamden was a spooky spider, Cole was a hunter (easy to pull together outfit in a flash), and Max was Max. He is officially too old for dressing up, or for "begging for candy from strangers", but doesn't mind at all bumming candy off of his brother and sister. I put a big hairy spider on my back (home decoration) and was the mommie spider, which thrilled Kamden to death! Craig thought I looked like a goober! We ran into a guy we went to high school with (hadn't seen him in ten long years) and he hugged me and my spider - pretty funny! "Watch out for mommie's big hairy spider", Kamden screamed! Belly laughing moment - guess you had to be there! Bryson, my nephew, went with us and had a great time hanging out with the cousins! He is pictured (above) with Cole after the big baseball game. We just love him!

Today was team dress up day for Red Ribbon week at school. Cole, of course, wore a Clemson sweatshirt. Kamden wore an old hand-me-down Furman University sweatshirt that both Max and Cole wore when they were 5 or 6. She thought she looked awesome - especially since it was her brothers'! Craig's sister graduated from Furman and is now in her fourth year at medical school. Max really wants to follow in her footsteps. I hope he does too! She has always been a super smart cookie and has done well at whatever she sets her mind to do. We are so proud of her! We hardly ever get to see her because she is so busy with a very full life! I couldn't imagine doing what she is doing now! She is specializing in radiology, which means an extra four years of schooling (maybe five - I can't remember). You go girl!

Well, we have pumpkin carving and more trick-or-treating ahead of us. Our dentist would be proud - we are brushing and flossing. We will not have cavities at our next visit! Wasn't Halloween started by The American Dental Association? Have a happy boo-day and more fun on the way!

Wahoo - Over 1,000 Clicks - Chicks!

This is a real painted cat! Talk about weird! No we don't do this kind of stuff to our kitties in the south - just thought I would share a spooky Halloween-ish picture I received in an email! Here comes the big news......(drum roll)..........I am shocked that I have had 1,010 hits on my blog since its creation! I know that that is pure peanuts to some mega-bloggers out there, but I feel that I have really done something - over a thousand clicks on my little old page in the massive blog world! From free panties (see below blog for details) to this, I am easy to get excited! I know, I really need to get a life! Happy Tuesday!

Another Championship!

We just spent another weekend full of travel team baseball and guess what? Cole's team won their third championship! Wahoo! Go Southern Steal! So far, they are ranked the top team in the state! They have won 12 consecutive games and have the State Championship coming up this next weekend. These guys have done so well and us parents couldn't be more proud. This is a group of pictures of all of us. We really had a great weekend!

Yahoo! This is not a laundry Monday for a change! Don't worry, it will be waiting for me tomorrow! I had a teacher meeting with Cole's science teacher at 8:30 am (yuck), who's name is oddly enough Ms. Cole. How confusing is that for my poor guy. Bet we never forget her name! I then visited with my sweet girl in her K-4 class who did not want me to leave, went grocery shopping at Bargains (that's a discount food store that I have always loved), and then the boys had piano after school. My day was officially shot! On Mondays I spend about two and a half hours (sometimes longer) in my car waiting in both school lines and piano! I do have "green thoughts" and turn the engine off (some of the time) to conserve precious fuel! Diddly do -Gas was down to $2.83 today! Who would have ever thought that would be a "low" amount! What is this world coming to?

As you can see in the pictures, my Mother and Daddy have finally returned from Myrtle Beach - their second home - ha ha! They were only gone for three weeks, but it seems like longer when they aren't near by. They have so much fun down their with all of their camping buddies! Anyway, we are so thankful they made it back without a hitch - well except for the can of spray Crisco that coated all of their groceries, car carpet and a bit of their house with oil when they unloaded the mess. Poor Mommie! Word to my Mother: "Never pack aerosol cans on the bottom of your stuff - always in a protected top space". Heck, use a zip-lock baggie just to be safe! Hind sight is always twenty/twenty - huh mom?

Wow-WEE it's Wedgie Free Wednesday - tell your friends!

Something FREE that I love and thought I would share the fun: Wedgie-Free Wednesday sweeps at http://wedgiefree.com/. This is from Hanes and I have gotten two FREE panties in the mail so far. You can ONLY enter on Wednesdays - hence the name! It really doesn't take much to make me happy these days. Now, they are not super sexy Victoria panties, but very comfy and don't creep in the crack (if you know what I mean). They don't send junk mail or the likes, and I haven't even received any "Congratulations - You Won" emails, just freebies in the mail. I found this on a blog I check out every now and then called freebies4mom.blogspot.com. This chick makes sure there isn't any junk attached to freebies or sweeps. I have actually gotten a bunch of coupons and free samples in the mail recently, but the panties make me laugh out loud! My mom has entered and so has Angel, but they haven't received any yet, but I don't think they have given it long enough. I think there is about a four week turnaround. Good luck!

Mountain Monday!

Hello Mountain Monday! This is my yuck day if I haven't been smart throughout the week or even weekend and gotten a few loads of lovely laundry done. Lord have mercy, I despise sorting, washing, folding, and returning clothes to their proper drawer! Heaven help me if I were living back in my grandmother's (rest their souls) younger days when they actually had to do laundry in wash pots over an open flame stirring with a stick and scrubbing on a board. I would die! My children and husband would surely wear everything until it stunk like a skunk and would actually stand up in a corner all by itself from pure nastiness. You think I am kidding? Not in the least! My family is very "clothes rich" and I am to blame because I bring every last piece in the house. I apparently want them to have plenty of choices and I want them to look nice. Even though I make sure there are nice, CLEAN clothes available, Cole and Kamden are happiest when they look ragged and homeless. Bless their hearts, they love what we call "play clothes". You know the ones I don't care if they get chicken doody on because I view them as disposable - almost. Max always has stayed clean (thank you buddy - no stain stick needed for you). Thank God for my wonderful washer and dryer! Here's a big shout out to the fabulous person, in our not so distant past, who had the forethought to know that I would die if they hadn't have invented the washer and dryer! I really should be massively(underline, underline) THANKFUL instead of irritated when doing laundry and I actually try to play a kind of mind game with myself (works sometimes).

I don't know if anyone else is in my shoes, but my kids will try something on and change their minds, or only wear it for a few (clean) hours and decide to change - and instead of folding (yes I have shown them how many times) then they toss their clothes in the laundry hamper (all of them - including my hubby). ARGH! I could just hang myself on a hook when I sort laundry and realize clean stuff has been wadded up with dirty stuff and crammed in. Now it all has to be washed and I do complain out loud - with an audience and sometimes to myself like a crazy woman! I consistently notice how I have very few things to wash, so it's not my doings.

I wouldn't trade my family of five for anything in this world - their mountains of accumulating laundry I could more than do without. When I feel most agitated (washing machine throwback) I have to tell myself to think of others with a house full of dirty clothes creators! Think about poor John and Kate Plus Eight! I hope that poor woman has more help than she lets on when it comes to laundry. But, maybe she really is just a super, WONDER-WOMAN and can leap big piles of "L" in a single bound! When I think about (real) families who have droves of children, like a lady that lives just down the street from me who has eleven, I think about the laundry. I am so warped! I even asked her once how she ever got it done (truth - never is done) and she said, "Everyone helps!". Wonder what that's like? Here's my theory: I actually think that they only have a few pieces of clothing and wear them many, many times until they themselves (no matter what the age) have to wash, or wear it dirty (again). Perfect plan if you ask me. I should take note!

I know there will come a day in the future when I would gladly (haa haaa!) take the lovely, sometimes backlogged, laundry days back in exchange for having my house full of kids again! That is at least what I am told by the "older than I generation". I have already told my oldest (Max) that his days are numbered and that once he leaves home for college (in four years) he'd better not come home with dirty clothes. Mean-Momma-Me, - I can dream, can't I? Let's just see what happens! I hear the washer beeping! Sounds like music to my ears! Must get 'er done! Hope to have a mountain conquering MONDAY!

Just a thought: Sarah Palin really IS the smartest woman ever . . . she has figured out how to get her husband to do the laundry! Right! HEEE HEEE! If he plays his cards right he won't even have to do it!

Kamden's 4-K Pumpkin Patch Field Trip was a blast on Thursday (Oct. 2)! There was a tractor /wagon ride where we got to see the apple orchards, beautiful deer who are quite the peanut butter cracker lovers, geese (loud and aggressive), have a duckie race using old fashioned pumps, feed the goats (old hat for us), milk a wooden cow (you would have to be there to understand this one), and wash our hands at a cool troth with soap dangling from pantyhose (weird, but worked). We even had ice cream (yummy - but burrrr). The children had so much fun and all got a cute little pumpkin to take home. Kamden got the runt pumpkin - an apple looks large next to it, but it is cute. She had so much fun with her little friends and showed me her boyfriend (WHAT--- Craig and the boys will die!). His name is Christian and he is a quiet, nice boy who luckily could care less about our girl. Don't know where this boyfriend idea has jumped into her brain from, but we need to keep it in check. She loves her teachers and seems to enjoy her time with everyone.
Kamden's teacher asked me to do a craft with the children today. Two days in a row at her school has officially warped her and I need medication. She loves having me there, but honest to goodness if I had to be a 4-K teacher I would die. Isn't that awful? But I am just being honest! Those teachers deserve every single dime they make and then some. Bless their hearts. Anyway, I took one of the group pictures from the trip (impossible to get them all to look at me for the picture - but I did my best) and they made a fridge magnet out of it. Turned out cute - but even foam sticker decorations proved to be quite the challenge. I had the bright idea to let them put their names in those sticky, foam letters at the bottom of the picture. Big mistake - I don't think we will do that one again! I felt like I was on a game show trying to quickly find all of their letters in their names before the bell rang to end the day. Whew, it is done and everyone ended the day with a cool craft.