It's Finished

Remember last week when I was bitten by the organization bug? I'm all healed up now. The office is finished!

I was able to straighten the movies and get rid of some too! The only thing I didn't get a chance to clean and organize was the business basket, but that can wait until....oh...let's say....February 28th, 2010 (our taxes are due March 1). HA!



My desk area was horrible last week. I had papers everywhere and it was a big fat mess (much like my body, but that's another blog). This is the kind of desk area I really enjoy though....




See that big hole near the bottom shelf of my books? That's because one of my good friends borrowed a ton of my Karen Kingsbury (my favorite author) books! I'll get 'em back though before I go to the beach, cause I haven't read a few of them yet.



I had too many coloring books and whatnots for the kids stacked on the bookshelves, so I moved them to a basket and put them on the little table for the boys to play with and such...any mess looks better in a basket!


ahhh....nothing like the feeling of a nice, clean office.

~CB~

A new look

So. As you can see, I updated the look of my blog. I'm not overly thrilled with it. In fact, there was a different background that I liked, but I couldn't get it to work. So. I'm calling on all you girls (and guys) out there. Help me.

Give me ideas, suggestions, etc.. Please. I'm begging you.

~CB~

Oh Brother!

Today, as Cecil and I were sitting down to eat lunch we looked outside the dining room windows and what do we see?

...two little brothers playing happy as can be! (please do ignore the freshly cut grass that was NOT weed-eated--is that a word? behind the slide)


It's not often that we don't hear one of the boys crying or saying "no, don't do that" or "stop it" or "mama, such and such did this..." UGH.. makes my nerves crawl! I suppose they'll grow out of it soon enough though (I hope?) I mean, seriously. Can't we all just get along? I'm sure they want to throw back at me that "oh mother--that would simply be to easy." HA!

Back to the story. The boys were having themselves a ball making their Tonka trucks slide down the slide and then sliding down after them. Why use the ladder when you can climb back up the slide? sigh. Boys. And by the way, no those limb "things" hanging down are NOT for the Tarzans I call my children, rather they are aggravating limb-type things that need to be pulled out of the tree (hint-hint Cecil).

On to the trampoline......good times, good times.

After all that, they needed baths and a nap! Ah....peace be still. Well, for a few minutes anyway...the oldest boy rarely takes a nap anymore--usually he'll play his computer or watch a movie (but for the life of him, he cannot be quiet, so we have to move him to the other side of the house).

We're still working on cleaning the house....I promise, the "after" pictures of the office should be here soon. I've been working hard today on the office AND the house. Whew! I'm exhausted and in need of some pool time. Maybe it won't rain anymore today (it rained here this morning) and I can lay out for a bit before becoming Cinderella again (cinderelli-cinderelli--night and day it's cinderelli-clean the dishes, mop the floors, etc.) you get the idea......

Have a good weekend!

~CB~

..Something Bit Me!...

"Something bit me"...Y'all know that part in Forrest Gump when Tom Hanks is running and he says in that extremely deep southern Alabama voice.."something bit me"...well, I have a confession...SOMETHING BIT ME YESTERDAY.

Y'all KNOW how obsessed I am with cleaning and organization right? (Lemonade Makin' Mama--I know you are too!)...That's right. "IT" bit me. THE organization bug. He came out of hiding (who says you actually have to spring clean in the spring?) and now, I'm on a mission to clean out the office.

Here's where I started. The yucky file cabinets. Inside these two drawers are bank statements, EOB's, credit card statements, repair statements, etc. etc. etc. You know, receipts and misc items from an entire year. I'm working on cleaning out all the 2008 stuff so I can actually fit the 2009 stuff in. I know, it's halfway through 2009. Don't remind me.


Here's the pile I've cleaned out so far from these two drawers:

I think I'll do my media section next (yeah, she could use some TLC). I need to go through and just organize and straighten the movies and such here. What I really need to do is figure out which DVDs are scratched and get rid of them. Anyone out there have time to watch a few hundred kids DVDs and figure out if they're scratched or not? I didn't think so.

Then, off to the desk area. It could really use some lovin. I worked on it a few weeks ago but didn't make it very far.

Books. Yeah. I LOVE to read! I do NOT get rid of books. EVER. Hence the reason I still have books from when I was my kids' age. Seriously though. The books on these shelves need to be stacked a little neater. This is only one area of books. If I had a panoramic camera, then you'd be able to see all the books.

And finally...dum.dum.dum....the business basket. Yup. Right there in that glorious Longaberger basket is where all of the Benton Farms receipts, bills, income and expense sheets are. They just need to be logged and filed. Yeah. That's why I saved it for last. You would too.

Anybody else out there get bit by the cleaning bug lately? I'll be sure to post the "after pictures" whenever that may be.


~CB~

Who's Your Daddy?

Happy Father's Day to all you fathers out there (not that any men are reading this, but I thought it sounded good as the first sentence of a new post ha!!)

I distinctly remember the day my hubby became a father (of course I do, I birthed those two HUGE and I mean HUGE babies!) Surprisingly enough, I was awake for it too! Oh how I wish Dr. B would've done a c-section OR done like the "old" days and just knocked me slap out for delivery!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Off on a tangent. Sorry. This was about the hubby, not me.

Cecil (that's the hubby) is a wonderful father to our two boys (and let me remind him right here and now that I DID want a girl, but it's his fault we didn't have one--that's a standing joke between us) He'll never live that one down. sigh. Anyhow.

Here's a picture of Cecil and the firstborn, Nolan........thanks to the non-digital age back in 2004 we have no digital pics of the first baby (I don't think so anyhow, cause I sure can't find 'em) so you get this nice scanned picture from a (gasp) film camera! It was taken the day we got home from the hospital.

and one of the hubby and his second son, Carter........(umm..and also the wife, since all the ones of just the daddy and son are already in a scrapbook that is 3 years behind) This was taken about 10 minutes after Carter was born.


Here's what I love about my hubby--

1. He is a hard worker. Who else in America wants to farm? Not many people enjoy being in the hot sun and working 365 days a year.

2. He is very patient with our kids. Something me and the Lord are working--umm...well, the Lord is working and I'm not. We'll leave it at that.

3. He knows all my "bad" habits (i.e. too much organization) and usually doesn't say a word.

4. He is a very giving person. I call him the Good Samaritan. Sometimes, he gives too much, but at least he'll be remembered for being a giving person.

Love you honey! and the boys do too...(ahem..and any little girls we might one day adopt).

~CB~

Happy Birthday and Rollin' on the River........

(warning--only slightly long but there are lots of pictures!)

Sunday (June 14th) was my 29th birthday (gulp). To be honest, it's not really that big of a deal....age to me is just a number--you're only as old as you feel, right?

Friday when I got home from work, Cecil asked if I wanted to go to the river (his parents have a house on the Suwannee)...and NO. I really didn't want to go, but I figured we didn't really have any other plans, and I knew he needed a break, so for the sake of keeping peace, I went. eww. yuck. (Read to the tune of Green Eggs and Ham)...I do not like the river. I do not like that water. I am scared of alligators. I will not swim with them. I do not like the smell of yucky mud. I do not like it there. (shudder).....It's just not how I envisioned my birthday weekend. I did survive though. (barely) Everyone else in my family loves the river (and all its yuckiness) but not me. I just don't have it in me....I'm a beach kind of girl.

But.....we got there on Friday night, had a nice time just relaxing and woke up Saturday morning to this (no--not the sound of boats zooming down the river at daylight, although that DID happen).....look at the beautiful day dawning....


It was SO HOT Saturday, so the kids swam in the water up by the dock(s).....check out my little Tarzan here.....



Even Carter got to have fun on the water! He thinks the faster you go on the jet ski, the better!


Here's where I concede and say that we did have a great time! I got to ride and drive the jet ski, lay in the sun and watch my kids swim in the water. It was a nice, hot, Florida, sunny day and the sun couldn't get any better!


Care to guess what my father-in-law is eating here????? One of my favorite things in the world.....

A ROOT BEER FLOAT!!

My mother-in-law and father-in-law cooked a great dinner too! That was the best part! Yum! I love me some steak! EAT MORE BEEF. (it pays my mortgage) Okay. So. I need to confess that I got so excited we were having STEAK that I forgot to take a picture of it. I only took a picture of the salad (of which I did not eat, because I do not like salad) and the corn on the cob (fresh, mind you). See pictures here and on my food blog at www.southernsuppertime.blogspot.com



All in all, it was a nice birthday weekend and a good time was had by all. I suppose I'll have to go to the river again at some point in my life. : )

~CB~

Back in Time.......

Yes, I'm going back in time....I have some really cute pictures from Memorial Day! I never got to post them because we were so busy the last few weeks (watermelon season) and trips to Disney took over!

For Memorial Day, we loaded up and went over to my dad's house for some BBQ and swimming. My brother, S-I-L, and nieces were there too. The "girls" took the "boys" swimming while the two aunts looked on......here's what we captured........and all I can say is "OH MY"





Nolan swims like a fish, so he plays with Kailey who is close to his age and Taylor, who is 13 definitely swims like a fish (and, might I add, in a few years will be SWEET BABYSITTING AGE!), and she likes to play with Carter....they get along really well! Secretly, I think Carter likes it that she will hold him and love him and squeeze him, etc. etc. etc. (read: SPOIL him)

My brother loves to grill and create new recipes and my SIL is great in the kitchen--we all get along well! I can't wait for the beach! (that will be lots of posts in the next month!) The SIL and I do family supper every night! It's great! Okay. Sorry. Sidetracked again. Back on track now.

Here's the Brother and S-I-L--


And my dad...doing what he does best....checking on things that are grilling.



We had great food, good times and a wonderful day together! Now, dearest brother of mine. What do you have to say about that? : )

~CB~

Southern Suppertime

Okay y'all. I have ANOTHER blog. I've debated all week on this and here she is......

http://www.southernsuppertime.blogspot.com/

SOUTHERN SUPPERTIME is unveiled. She is not finished, and is still a work in progress (kind of sounds like I'm selling myself huh....)

Anyhow......visit Southern Suppertime and Enjoy!

~CB~

Going Back In Time.....

Yes, I'm going back in time....I have some really cute pictures from Memorial Day! I never got to post them because we were so busy the last few weeks (watermelon season) and trips to Disney took over!

For Memorial Day, we loaded up and went over to my dad's house for some BBQ and swimming. My brother, S-I-L, and nieces were there too. The "girls" took the "boys" swimming while the two aunts looked on......here's what we captured........and all I can say is "OH MY"





Nolan swims like a fish, so he plays with Kailey who is close to his age and Taylor, who is 13 definitely swims like a fish (and, might I add, in a few years will be SWEET BABYSITTING AGE!), and she likes to play with Carter....they get along really well! Secretly, I think Carter likes it that she will hold him and love him and squeeze him, etc. etc. etc. (read: SPOIL him)

My brother loves to grill and create new recipes and my SIL is great in the kitchen--we all get along well! I can't wait for the beach! (that will be lots of posts in the next month!) The SIL and I do family supper every night! It's great! Okay. Sorry. Sidetracked again. Back on track now.

Here's the Brother and S-I-L--


And my dad...doing what he does best....checking on things that are grilling.



We had great food, good times and a wonderful day together! Now, dearest brother of mine. What do you have to say about that? : )

~CB~

What a Bargain!

Since 4 or more of you emailed me within minutes (okay, hours) of my last post about my Downtown Disney Shopping, asking what on earth I purchased there, this post is for YOU!

Here's the overview:

I got shirts for each of the boys, a shirt for me, a new insulated coffee mug for Cecil, expandable washcloths for the boys (I just LOVE those things!), a semi-truck for Carter, Pirates of the Caribbean activity sets for the boys (and one spare), pens for me, a scrapbook (for me of course), a scrapbooking paper kit, and the cutest of all......mouse ears for the boys!

Aren't the mouse ears cute? They say "I never want to grow up"


I am a gray t-shirt kind of girl--I know, call me crazy--but I love gray "t-shirts" and can't get enough of 'em. Now. I need to explain myself here. I do NOT like character clothing. AT ALL. BUT, when we're at Disney, I do manage to let the boys wear a shirt with Mickey Mouse on it (usually once or twice throughout our stay). I bought each of the boys a gray t-shirt and you can see the front in the overview picture, but you can't see the back, which is the cutest of all.....

Darling huh?

So there you have it folks......my loot from Downtown Disney!

OH--this is totally random......I'm thinking about starting a cooking blog...don't worry, I won't update that one every day either (hee-hee). I have some ideas about a name for it too! I would mainly post recipes and take suggestions for recipes, etc.....what do you think? Yes or No?


~CB~

A SPONTANEOUS weekend! (oh my)

WARNING: it's a LONG, LONG one. Trust me, keep reading.

Yes folks, you read that right. The title said SPONTANEOUS. Charon, the planner of ALL things did something so very spontaneous this weekend. Let me tell you about it..........(as if you didn't know there was a "story" coming....) (and NO! For those that don't know me, I NEVER do things that aren't extremely planned--it stresses me out bigtime!)

We are Disney passholders. We have the Florida Resident Seasonal Annual Passes. (say that 3x real fast). WE. LOVE. OUR. PASSES.!!! This past Saturday was the passholder only annual sale at the World of Disney store in Downtown Disney. Since Cecil was working this weekend (it's still melon season), I was telling my mother-in-law on Friday afternoon about 2pm, that I wasn't going to be able to go to the big sale because Cecil wouldn't be home to watch the kids, etc. etc. etc.....she suggested that I just go down to Disney, stay the night there in a hotel next to Downtown Disney and then I would be there on Saturday morning when the sale started and I could shop to my heart's content. I seriously said to her "Are you kidding me? Have you lost your mind? I haven't packed, I haven't planned, I haven't (fill in the blank with whatever you choose)"

Mind you, one of our Vice-Presidents was standing in my office when all these shenanigans were going on and he said to me "oh come on Charon--do something spontaneous." I couldn't back down from a challenge could I? (even though it gave me heart palpitations and stressed me out to the point of needing a Xanex--which I didn't get by the way)

The MIL then emailed me a link to a hotel right next door to Downtown Disney and so I called the dear, sweet, husband, who was neck-high in watermelons and trying to talk to people who don't speak English (as if by talking louder they understand him or something) and said in my sweetest, most Southern voice..."honey, your mother suggested that I take the boys to Downtown Disney this weekend and stay in such and such hotel so that I could go to the sale tomorrow and we could get out of the house, yadda yadda yadda. What do you think?" and the dear, sweet, husband said..."sure, go for it--I won't be home anyhow, you might as well." Before I died of cardiac arrest, I asked him again just to make sure I heard him correctly. I did (hear him correctly that is).

So....Cecil went and picked up the kids from daycare, and I boogied home from Gainesville to pack and get things organized to be able to leave quickly! I called Cecil's cousin Jennifer to go with me and she was all for it, so she got off work that afternoon, ran home, packed and made it back to my house and we left the driveway at 5:15! After one dinner stop and one potty stop, we made it to the hotel at about 7:15 (yes, you read that right--if you take 429 to Disney, you get there in RECORD time--it's the best road ever!)

OH MY WORD. AS IF ME BEING SPONTANEOUS WASN'T ENOUGH, it was GAY days at the hotel. Talk about needing a Xanex. Garrett (my boss) and Janice B. (the MIL) see what you did to me by challenging me to do something spontaneous? Not only were there couples surrounding us, but I'm sure some of them thought I was of the "other" sexual orientation because another female was with me. Dear sweet heavens, I could have DIED right there.

Our bellhop was great even going so far as to tell us which part of the hotel you could see all the fireworks from, so on Friday night, we went out and watched the Epcot fireworks!


Here's another thing--my kids went to bed at 9:30 on Friday night. YES--that IS a big deal. My kids are ALWAYS in bed by 8pm--without fail. It was a HUGE deal for me to let them stay up until 9:30 (both nights).

Saturday morning, we got up and had character breakfast at our hotel with Goofy and Pluto. The kids had a blast and G&P spent tons of time at our table because we were just about the only ones there and they just kept hanging out with the boys! It was great!


When I came back from shopping, we donned bathing suits and went to the awesome pool the hotel had to let the boys work off some energy! They had a great time swimming and playing in the kiddie area and Nolan had a great time swimming across the pool like Michael Phelps (without the drugs of course).


After naptime, it was off to Downtown Disney for some browsing and eating dinner at the Rainforest Cafe! There was a little train there and the boys had a blast riding in the engine (Uncle Edward, take note, they'll need a job one day with CSX)

Sunday morning, we got up early, and headed back for church. All in all, it was a great weekend and.....I survived--even if it was SPONTANEOUS.


~CB~