Have You Ever...

A few weeks ago I mentioned wanting to start a carnival blog...just a little something fun to keep us all smiling, laughing, or thinking. Well here it is!

Have you ever thrown a tea party for your kids, not for the fun of it, but so that they will drink their own tea and not all of yours?

Have you ever let your kids play in and under the furniture?

Have you ever let your kids share the same drink at the same time?


Have you ever moved 2 times in two months with 3 kids?
May 7th from our house to...

Our apartment here in Austin...
Here is our home that we will move it in Round Rock next Friday!

Now it is your turn...what Have You Ever...recently, weeks ago, or even longer! Update your blog and link it below with MckLinky. Or you can leave a comment as well!

Peyton and Custard

The kids have discovered custard and love it. Peyton...well he really loves it.

On Saturday we went to eat burgers and hotdogs at the custard shop. Afterwards, Trooper and Paige went to the counter the get the custard. When Trooper sat the custard down...he squeeled with glee so loud that people's heads turned! It was too funny and too cute!

Paige had only brought back 4 spoons, but Peyton would not let go of his spoon. I had to hop up and grab another just to get a bite.

Little P is too funny!

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Well this past week I did not just have tons of time on my hand to post every single day. No, not me.

Tuesday night Mom, Mark, and I did not go to Temple to see The Proposal. When we arrived we were not informed that the movie had been canceled so that they could show another theater for Transformers almost 3 hours later! No they didn't...well yes they did! Well we then did not go on Thursday onto the movie...this time is was not in Harker Heights...just to not make sure that we we were kicked out from seeing the movies again! No, not the Temple Theater. No, not Mark. No, not Mom. No, not me!

On Wednesday we were not getting ready to leave for VBS. My mom did not get Peyton out of his high chair. She did not ask me if he had had his morning dirty diaper. I did not say no. He had not eaten blueberries for breakfast so when mom mentioned that he did not have one fallen out of his pjs onto the floor, I did think hard about it. So of course more did not start to fall out seconds later when we did not realize that it was for sure blueberries...not some #2!!! Oops! No, not Peyton. No, not my mom. No, not me.

Last Thursday night, Peyton did not decide to take more than about 5 steps and is now walking at about 12 step segments consistently. No, not our 14 month old.

When the kids and I returned from our week long trip to my parent's house, we did not leave straight from our friend's house/pool. Mom and I did not put PJs on 3 kiddos with salt water dry skin. When I arrived home about an hour later I did not just put those salty PJed kids to bed. I then did not start a load of laundry that included the kids and my suits. I then did not retrieve the bags from the car, take out trash, and so forth in my cover up and flip flops...ahem. No, not me!

While swimming Saturday night, Paige did not finally realize (not like last summer) that she did not LOVE to jump off the side of the pool over and over and over again. No, not Paige.

Also, while swimming, Parker did not get the hang of swimming under the water again. He did not do a great job swimming back and forth between Trooper and I. No, not Parker.

Now it is not your turn to not let me know what you have been doing this week! Blog on!

Not Me Mondays

Here is my latest addition of McMama's: not me Mondays...

Well last week Trooper did not go see a house of a floor plan and builder that we like. No, not Trooper.

The kids and I did not then go by the house as well the following day...because we were so looking for a new home the was already built. No, not the kids. No, not me.

I then did not love the house and the lot so much the Trooper and I did not go out again. We then did not go and put a bid on the house and get it! No, not us.

I then did not spend just about all of Thursday on the phone doing loan stuff because we are not closing July 10th!!! No, not me.

We then did not go out of town to get away from house stuff and to see family that Thursday night. While in New Braunsfels, Trooper and I did not have date night, ice cream one night, and custard the following day. No, not us.

On Sunday for father's day I did not make pancakes for Trooper. They were not my flax seed sweet potato pancakes. When making them I did measure out the large unknown amount of flax seed meal that I put in the pancakes. I was then not informed from more than one member of my family (later in the day), that doing so was a great idea. Oops! No, not me!

Last...but not least, I am not typing this post in Belton(where I am not working FBC Belton' VBS.) and typing on my new phone...no more drops please. No, not me!

Now it is your turn...what have you not done today...

New pancakes!!

I know a few months ago I mentioned my sweet potato pancakes. This morning I adjusted them. They are great and I love them even better...here they are. By the way, the sweet potato keeps them from getting dry so you have to try them. Trust me!

1 part sweet potato puree (put in oven at 400 for about 40 minutes or until soft, then blend up with a little water as needed...Vicki, take the skin off before you blend...great for baby food as well!)
dash of Cinnamon
2 parts water
2 parts pancake mix
a few tablespoons of flax seed meal.

Mix in the order listed above, cook as normal (we added blueberries to some today as well...Yum-O).

Thank me later!

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Last Thursday I did not take the kids to grab dinner at Sonic, get the mail, and then head back to the pool to eat and swim. No, not me.

While at the pool, we did not have a wonderful time together. I surely did not keep throwing Parker and Paige up/flipping them over just because Peyton was laughing at them so hard. No, not me.

It was surely not getting late and Peyton was not starting so yawn. I was not about to tell the kids 5 more minutes when a neighbor stepped out and told us there was a tornado and hail warning. I surely did not pack up the kiddos right away, head to the car to drop off the life jacket and pool toy on the way up our flights of stairs to the apartment. No, not me.

Once we arrived to the apartment, I did not change Peyton and put him down for bed. I then did not get the other kiddos out of their wet clothes. I then did not turn on the TV to check the weather. I then did not look and step outside to feel the first drops of rain and see the black/green sky. Going back inside I did not see the weather man say something about Cedar Park and Northwest Austin taking cover for the tornado/hail. No, not me.

At that time, I did not grab my cell phone, about 7 pillows, the lap top, and turn off Trooper's new TV before waking Peyton who was already asleep. We then did not stay in the bathroom, check email and send out a few twitters before the electricity flickered and I lost internet...until just a little while ago. There did not go my idea for the kids to watch something on the computer while in the bathroom...and pictures surly did hold their attention for the entire 15 minutes we were in there. No, not me.

At the end of it, I did not have to then turn the TV back on to see the we were now out of danger. I did not however have to pause the TV and study the map a little longer to be for sure since when the news was mentioning areas and intersections, I still did not know for sure where they were talking about. No, not me.

Random Pictures...

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Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Last Wednesday I did not take the kids to the pool in Austin. After I did not have the kids dressed, lotion on, and bags packed, I did not realize that Peyton was not without a swimmer. So, since he did not just have a #2, I surely did not put him in just his suit and let him swim. No, not me.

Last Thursday while in Belton, I did not get my hair cut. I then loved it so much that on Saturday night I did not take scissors to it to fix it over my bathroom sink. I now, do not love it! No, not me.

Also while in I did not pick up a $15 pool at Wal-mart for the kids at my parent's house. While playing in the pool, Parker did not have to go potty...he did not use the tree. Paige then did not try to copy him on the the sunflower in the backyard. No, not Parker. No, not Paige. No, not me.

While in the backyard playing in the pool, Paige did not say something about needing to go #2. I then did not walk over to her so we could go inside. She then did not direct me to the spot that she had already gone. The girl was sure not quick because mom and I were not both facing and watching the kids play. A little while later...Parker not being funny...did not do the same thing! No, not Paige. No, not Parker. No, not me.

Trooper and I did not have custard on the way home from Belton on Friday in Georgetown. Again on Saturday, after playing at the splash park in Austin, we did not have custard as well. We did not have it one more time for the weekend on Sunday in Cedar Park before leaving to come back to Belton. No, not the kids. No, not Trooper. No, not me.

Now it is your turn! What have you not done this week!

Just a little warning

Okay...I am going to be starting a carnival blog every few weeks...or maybe a few days. Let me know what you think:

Have You Ever...

I will give you a little example:

Have you ever let your kids play in the rain?

Have you ever cracked an egg with a double yolk? (They are the 2 on the top left)

So now it is your turn...

1. Let me know what you think if you have a minute.

2. Start thinking about your "Have You Ever" moments...with or with out pictures. Current or farther back in the past.

Swimming with Friends

We had a great time with our friends in Belton...and their kids...4 moms, 9 kids total!
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Here in the Big B

I made it to Belton last night. Today has been a great day. The kids and I had a good morning of reading, singing, and playing at "Grumpy's Park" (a.k.a. the play scape and trampoline in my parent's backyard). My mom finished up closing out school then came home so I could go get my hair cut.

Wow that was great.

I am a little embarrassed that it has been since January...it is June and I do not have long hair anymore remember...it is short. What with putting the house on the market, it selling, settling up the movers, moving, and now no MDO for the kids...this is the 1st chance I have had.

Well that and I have been thinking I was going to grow it out again, but I think I am going to wait until the end of the summer to grow it out. Well I guess I have to since I already cut it off again...Who knows!

On my way home I stopped by the store (needed swimmers for Peyton at the pool tomorrow) and picked up a little pool for the kids to use at my parent's house. THE KIDS LOVE IT! I think Peyton thinks it is more like a bath tub so he is willing to stay in longer. At the real pool, he like to sit on the side and play with the toys vs. riding in the crab or even being held (that is SO not like Peyton). He does tend to like playing in the shallow end and walk around the edges of the pool or a chair. TMI right...


Paige and Parker kept jumping in the pool, hopping out, running to the trampoline, and running around so they could make wet foot prints on the mat. Too much fun.

Well after the kids had dinner and were getting ready for bed, I met some of my great friends from high school for dinner/dessert. We had a WONDERFUL time.

No kids.

No playgrounds.

No diapers.

No potty trips...well that were not my own that is.

Thank you mom and dad! It was greatness...great to be able to catch up and spend some time together.

I am getting together with the same girls...along with our kiddos this time...tomorrow for a swim.

What's a girl to do?

I have always been active. Actually I never stop moving and fidgeting, but that is a different story (one of the big reasons Trooper loves our Tempurpedic bed).

In high school I was in Drill Team. In college I was a dance major and was on the kick line. After graduating I worked out at Curves and then a local gym in Rowlett. Once Parker was born, I joined Lady of America (childcare) and started taking classes for the 1st time. When Paige was 6 weeks old, I took my certification class to teach aerobics and have taught (having a free membership) up until about 4 weeks ago.

Since moving in here and not having a gym membership/teaching at a gym, I have had to come up with creative ways to workout here with the kids, not making too much noise for the neighbors downstairs, and still stay in shape.

I jog to the front club house (passing the gym on the way that I cannot use with 3 kids in tow) pushing Paige and Peyton with Parker on the big wheel.

I have done stairs at night after putting the kids to bed.

Today at the pool I even broke out some of the things I used when I taught aqua aerobics classes.

Anything you can do right?!?!

With that said, I am wondering if any of you have suggestions for me...things to do, DVDs to use, or whatever! Remember I have neighbors below and have the the 3 kids (the weeks Trooper is in Dallas) so I cannot go anywhere without them.

I am not looking to teach right now...with going out of town for the summer/finding subs, getting settled here, and not wanting a class until Peyton is down to 1 nap so I can teach mornings...I am not looking for a class for a few more months.

So again...any suggestions out there?!?!?

Crock Pot Breakfast

I cannot remember what blog I saw this on (I checked back on a few I look at regularly and could not find it so who knows), but I stumbled upon it about a month ago and knew I needed to try it.

Crock Pot Oatmeal

1 cup of steal cup oat (must be steal cut)
4 cups of water
dash of salt

Put above in your crock pot, place the lid on, turn on low, go to bed. In the morning your oats are ready for any add in...butter, sugar, honey, agave nectar, cinnamon, dried or fresh fruit, flax seed meal (a.k.a. brown sprinkles in our house), or whatever you want! We had ours with butter, agave nectar, flax seed meal and blueberries today! Yum-O as my mother-in-law (Happy Birthday yesterday by the way) and Rachael Ray would say! Peyton had 8...yes I said 8, serving spoonfuls of it this morning!

If you have a large crock pot like I do, place about 3 cups of water in the crock pot, put a corning wear dish inside that will fit. This will make it like a double boiler and allows it to work in large crock pots. Fill the corning wear dish with oats, water, and salt. Put the lids on and turn on low.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

This week I did not run out of night time diapers for Paige while at my parent's house and use one of Peyton's on her. It also then did not fit my skinny little girl. No, not me.

Speaking of night time diapers. I did not then on purpose leave the diaper off once we got home from my parent's house and Paige then did not wake up every day dry since!!! No, not Paige. No, not me.

Trooper and I did not take the kids to the Austin Farmer's market on Saturday. They did not get to pick out a veggie that they wanted. After playing at the pool later that day, we did not come in and have the veggies for lunch. Parker does not keep asking if the carrots he is eating are market carrots. I then did not buy more carrots at H-E-B when we had ran out of said carrots...and I will surely not keep telling him that those carrots he keep gobbling up are market carrots as well. No, not me.

I did not go to Once Upon A Child to get bows. Again. (This time they really were not all for me...a few were for Avril...the P's cousin). While there I did not find brand new Keds in Paige's size in the style I wanted for 1/4th the price of the new ones from Stride Rite!!!! YES!!! I mean...NO!!! No, not for Avril. No, not for Paige. No, not me!

I did not put breakfast in the crock pot on for Monday morning on to cook Sunday night just before going to bed. Do not stay tuned for that recipe! No, not me!

Now it is your turn to tell me what you did not do this week!