Quick Quack = Quick Cry

I took the minivan (AKA: mom mobile) to the Quick Quack Car Wash today. It was about time she had a bath--the windshield was filled with bug juice from a recent trip to Memphis. Anywho, as we were scooting through the beginning part of the wash, Caroline flipped out. She was wild-eyed, pucker-lipped, and shaking. She burst into tears at the point where the big flaps come down and wash over the vehicle. With Caroline screaming, Christian talking, and Caitlin laughing at Caroline, it was quite the trip. Maybe I should just do it the old-fashioned way next time--by hand! That way we avoid any unnecessary trauma to the smallest Haskell. Sheesh!

A Girl Named John

Almost every weekend, we go over to my parents' house and have dinner with them and my grandma. Sometimes we get in weird moods and pull some crazy stunts. Last night was one of those moods--the kids found Pappaw's lovely mullet wig in the dress up box, and John somehow got caught on camera sporting it.
Yes, please take a moment to wipe the tears of laughter from your eyes. :) He makes a pretty girl, doesn't he?!? LOL

A Simple "How To"

How To Kill A Pesky Fly

1. Sit down in comfy brown chair around 10pm and get on computer
2. Pop open a can of Diet Sierra Mist UnderCover (must taste it if you haven't yet) and drink about 1/2 of it
3. Sit back, watch television, type on computer, and swat fly from face occassionally
4. Watch as stupid fly buzzes around coke can
5. Watch fly dive in for a drink of your Diet Sierra Mist UnderCover and drown
6. Count your blessings because the pesky fly is dead---whine that it just wasted the last 1/2 of your drink
7. sigh deeply and return to fridge for Diet Sierra Mist UnderCover #2

:)

A Little Bit Of Blah Blah Blah

So.....it's Friday......and I really have nothing in the world to blog about. So why am I posting? Dunno, probably just because I desperately want something to blog about. Oh wait, I know! I'll tell you all about what's going on around here.
1. This week has been, by far, the most boring week I've had in a very long time. We haven't gone to Splash much, haven't even really left the house, and are attempting to save money on gas. The mom mobile (minivan) isn't the best gas saver out there, so I guess I'm doing a good thing by sitting here on my bum. Have spent a lot of time on the computer doing the blog designs, which is now my new love. Just doing them for fun though, and so far I've learned a ton (my latest one is Carri's blog---CLICK HERE TO VIEW)
2. We have a few special visitors today and tomorrow. Our friends, Randall and Teresa, asked us to watch their 3 boys, and we were excited to do so! My kiddos have really needed interaction with others. I think we'll go to Splash today just to get out of the house and reduce the cabin fever. Only 2 of the 3 boys are spending the night, but I am glad they are. Caitlin and Christian love having them over, and it's very rare that we get overnight guests--such a treat!
3. John and I start our fall season of softball this coming Sunday. Man, are we hyped! I learned a lot about batting and throwing (you know, the basics of the sport--haha) at our 10 hour tournament for Pantex recently. I have already seen an improvement in my skills, and hopefully I won't go out there and be a complete goofball this season. :)
4. Still waiting on a new a "toy" to arrive in the mail. I'll blog about that more later--if and when I get it. How's that for suspense? haha
5. Oh yeah! BIG NEWS!! Grandma C (Celia) and Grandpa Haskell (Steve) are moving back to Amarillo! WAHOO! They have lived in Colorado for over a year now, and we have really missed them. John will fly out on August 2nd to go help them load the Uhaul and drive it back. The kids are super excited and can't wait to see you both!
6. One more thing--I had a "peeping Tom" of sorts here the other day. A lady (so I guess it was a peeping Tomette) came to get a flyer from the For Sale sign in the front yard, then she started coming up the sidewalk. I just sat on my couch and watched her come right up and look in all of my open windows! Sheesh! Once she saw me, she hurried back to her car. Soooooo weird.

Alrighty roo, I guess that will do (yes, just call me Dr. Seuss). I'll definitely have more to blog about next week--possibly some new pics. Everyone have a supertacular weekend (I can make up new words, can't I? After all, the word ginormous made it into the dictionary this year. I'm waiting on my words to make it there...)

A Science Lesson

The kids got a great lesson in science here last night. Here is how this all came about:
Caitlin & Christian were playing in the back yard (Caroline was asleep) and John was watching. He was leaning against the gas grill when he suddenly felt a very painful sting on his right hand/middle finger. He looked down and there was.......a wasp! John then realized that they were coming out of the grill. What would any good firefighter do in this situation? That's right....torch the wasps and their nest! So, he lit the grill and let it burn for a few minutes. I honestly think he was having way too much fun with it, but I hate wasps more than the average person, so I guess it was ok to go fire-crazy just this once. :)
After torching the majority of the wasps, he opened the lid and proceeded to remove the nest. It wasn't very big--about 2in x 2in---so he brought it inside to the table. He then got out his pocket tool set and dissected it for the kids. It was actually very interesting! John took out several of the baby wasps and was able to show the different stages of development. The 2 C's were completely amazed and hovered the whole time. Here are some pics from the little science lesson:

John's ouchy finger :(
What's left after John torched the nest and remaining wasps
The dissection
The different stages of development
What's left of the nest

Feelin' The Burn

Ok, ok....so I have a new workout plan. It involves this torture device:

HAHA Not really. It's not torture. CLOSE, but not that bad. This, my friend, is a kettlebell. Quite the fun workout I'm here to tell you! John did a week's worth of kettlebell training with the trainer of the guards out at Pantex. He said he had never been so sore--but in a good way--in all of his life. That surprised me, being as he bench presses 285lbs and is not usually sore. These little kettlebells don't weigh all that much (mine is a 15lb and his is a 45lb), but they certainly work it in all the right places. What I like about these exercises is you can do them at home or at the gym. We have a workout video to go along with it, and I really had a good time. It was challenging and made the muscles burn, but it was a GOOD burn. :)
Sooooooooo.....if you are looking for something new to try or just a routine to get into, go to Academy and buy a Kettlebell. You'll be so glad you did!
*big wink and a thumbs up while grinning with all teeth showing*

Closet Computer Nerd

I admit it---I am a closet computer nerd. If there's something new to be done on this darn computer, I'm going to do it!
In my last post, I showed off that I somehow got dragged into the world of digi-scrapbooking (I want you all to know I went kicking and screaming the whole way--haha--not really). Well, I had all of Friday evening/night to myself, so I decided to decifer html codes. ACK! It's a pain in the rump but well worth it all. Here are the 2 blogs that I designed. Just a note here: I'm NOT getting into a business with this (I know there are some out there--like the lady who did my design--but they can get spendy). If you are at all interested in having something fun done to your blog, drop me a comment. No big promises of course--I just want to keep learning. Most of what I used was free, but there are kits you can buy that I can use. After all, free is my middle name! I just wanted to know that I could conquer whatever cyber world had to throw at me. Fun times, fun times. Nothing like staying up until 2am with the computer screen all blurry because your eyes have given out before your brain has. *sigh* Yes, I am THAT sad....
*click on links below*

Patiently Waiting For Heaven

Something Heavenly

Thanks Alot Misty

After visiting with my friend Misty yesterday, I decided to see if I could possibly get into the digital scrapbooking stuff that she does. She told me there were free kits on the web, so I went hunting for them. WOW! There are alot! Anywho, I have Adobe Photoshop and thought I might try my hand at making something. Yes, it's a bit "kindergartenish," but it is my 1st try and all. :)
Fun stuff!! I've never scrapbooked (not even on regular paper) so this was an interesting and exciting thing to try. Thanks Misty for the new addiction. When will it ever stop?!? haha

New Blogs To Read

I just recently added several new blogs to my blog roll, so check them out if you have time!

1.Baker's Thoughts--Keri Melban's mom...she's so funny!
2. Beth Moore's Blog--need I say more?
3. The Lyons--my friend of 14 years, Melanie (Swopes) Lyons--has pics of her new sweet baby boy
4. The Sweet Life--my friend Dianne's daughter who lives in New York and has a cake business
5. The Haskell's--a sweet couple I found when googling the Haskell name. The husband's nickname is Wade "The Rascal" Haskell...too fun!
6. What's Happening Our Way--her name is Tasha and she just happened upon my blog recently and commented on some posts, and that got me to start reading hers

To read them, just find them on the righthand side of our page. Enjoy!

I Was Attacked!

That's right...I was attacked. It happened yesterday afternoon from 4:30-5:30 in the aerobics room at Gold's Gym. I waltzed in there thinking I'd be taking a ho-hum aerobics class, and came out a sweaty, messy, grumpy, sore sista. :)
The class is called Body Attack, and I'm here to tell you they thought of a great name for it. It's a brand new class, and, thinking I could totally master anything Gold's Gym had to throw at me, I went. Mind you, I've been to Body Pump--a class that uses weights to music--and that was tough. Not too tough though after my body got used to the routines. I then graduated to actually lifting weights with John, and that has been a fun challenge. Our routine has been changing a bit lately, so here's how it goes:
Monday--back/triceps
Tuesday--cardio
Wednesday--chest/biceps
Thursday--cardio
Friday--shoulders
Saturday--legs
Sunday--rest day
On my cardio days, I have been running and then doing some of the elliptical machines. Not super challenging anymore, but still a very good workout. When I saw that they had launched Body Attack on Tuesdays, I thought I'd shake things up a bit and go.
HOLY COW.
It was super intense. I found myself doing moves like the Superman and thinking, "how in the world did I end up in this boot camp?!?" At one point, I swore that if I had to do another backward lunge, someone was gonna pay dearly. When it came time for pushups, the song they used was "Kiss Your Momma." Ha...the only thing I was kissing was the mat...and that was because my arms gave out and I did a face plant into it. Get this: I actually dripped sweat on the floor! If you know me at all, then you know I don't sweat--usually. We had to sprint around the room, pretend we were skating, do high knee raises until our hamstrings screamed, and much more. You know it's hardcore when the instructor is putting her hands above her head to get more oxygen. Sheesh!
If you are feeling the need for a challenge, I would LOVE for you to join me next Tuesday. Yes, I'm going back. Gettin' my body attacked by Body Attack can be a good thing I guess. :)

Apricots Fallin' On My Head....

Dad & Mom have the most amazing apricot tree in their back yard. It's HUGE! Every year I get to go pick apricots--but the most fun is eating them right off of the tree. This year, the tree had more apricots than I've ever seen. We went over to their house for dinner Sunday night, and after we ate we had an apricot pickin' party. We picked for a long time and got several 5 gallon buckets full. I guess it's time to learn how to make all desserts and food that contain apricots. Otherwise, we are gonna have them coming out our ears!
Sooooooooo.....anyone want apricots?!? I'm sure there are plenty to go around! Comment if you'd like some.

A Good Showing

*Warning* Semi-adult content in this post

Ok ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to share with you a little story.
The owner of our realty company called this afternoon and made an appointment to show our house at 6:15pm this evening. Praise God! I ran around and cleaned like a madwoman. Everything sparkled and all items were in their proper places. I couldn't have been more pleased.
We went to the gym around 4:30 as usual, and we arrived home at 5:45--just in time for Grandma Duke to pick Caitlin and Christian up for VBS at her church. That just left me, John, and Caroline. Knowing that we'd have to evacuate before dinner, we made plans to eat out. I ran upstairs to change into something nicer than my workout clothes. Well, I was feeling kind of goofy, so I came downstairs with my unmentionables showing and my shorts in hand--thinking I'd get a laugh out of John and Caroline. Ok, mostly John--because I'm never weird like this.
*face getting red as I type*
When I got downstairs, I realized that the unmentionables I had on weren't the ones I wanted. Finding a better pair, I sent the original ones upstairs with John so he could put them back in my unmentionables drawer--he was going to have to change clothes too--and, after getting ready, I buckled Caroline in the car and waited for John. He came downstairs and we were off to eat. We had Rosa's Cafe---YUM! Then, to kill time we went to Old Navy and Wal-Mart. Gotta love grocery day. Anyway, we get home around 8:15, unload the groceries, and then I took Caroline up to bed. After reading her book and tucking her in, I decided it was time for a nice, long, hot bath. I flipped on the light in our bedroom......and there they were......my unmentionables.....in the middle of the floor.....
I hung my head in complete shame.....then I yelled at John to come look. Get this: he died laughing!!! I didn't think it was so funny. After all, the owner of our realty company and some unkown couple got to see way more than they bargained for in the master bedroom. My mind went 90 miles an hour thinking about what these poor people must have thought seeing a pair of unmentionables in the middle of an otherwise spick 'n span house. Amazing.
John's comment was, "Well think of it this way. That may have been what seals the deal! They might have thought, 'Hey, these sellers are so cool! We just have to buy this house!'" Ugggggg....
Needless to say, I'm not really looking forward to the feedback from this showing. In fact, I think I'll go bury my head in the sand right now. Ahhhhh, the things that happen in the Haskell household...

Because Little Piggytails Are Cute

Caroline's Crazy For Books

The littlest Haskell has developed a HUGE love for books. Before naps or bed, she always says, "Rock! Read book!" If you don't sit in the rocking chair, rock her, and read the book she picks she gets very upset. John and I thuroughly enjoy reading to her, but she can be quite pesky with it during the day. If I even attempt to sit down for 5 minutes, she has a book under her arm and asks to sit with me so I can read it. I had the brilliant idea the other day to get Caroline to ask Caitlin to read--sort of a practice session for Caitlin if you will. I know Cait loves to read too, so I thought the pairing was great. Well, now she is tired of reading to Caroline every 30 minutes. :) It's too funny to watch them go back and forth---and the winner is different each time. I was able to capture some sister/sister reading time this afternoon. It's just so sweet!
Caroline walks around the house at all times with a book under her arm and usually a sippy cup in the other. I can't complain--she can already recite quite a bit of Goodnight Moon.
These are the books that she really loves. We rotate them as much as possible with others on the shelf, but they find their way back down on the floor every day. The book, Goodnight Moon, has been loved on so much that the front and back cover have peeled off--hints the title now written in sharpee.

Bring The Rain

This is probably one of the most serious posts I have ever done. Sitting here tonight in my big comfy brown chair, I am bawling like a baby. The tears won't stop. I believe I have just recently stumbled upon one of the most touching stories/families possible.
The blog is called Bring The Rain-The Story Of Audrey Caroline. LINK HERE
This sweet mother of 4 girls, Angie, has a wonderful gift for telling it like it is with God's twist to it. She just recently lost the youngest of the girls--Audrey Caroline--at birth. Reading through her blog, I found so many things that I could relate to. Angie has red hair, loves Beth Moore, uses Method cleaning products like I do, and even dressed up as Pippi Longstocking for halloween when she was in junior high--using the old wire hanger in the hair trick--exactly as I had done. Not to mention our youngest girls share the same name.
The way she writes about the loss of her child (in April of this year) has me down on my knees thanking the Father for what I have and what He has entrusted me with. I couldn't even imagine her pain as she recently knelt at her baby's grave and pulled the weeds from around it. My day-to-day problems are merely even inklings of concern after reading her posts. To top it off, she has such a grace, humor, and love about her that will draw you in and keep you there until you've read everything she has to say. I know several of my fellow bloggers have linked to Angie's blog and told about how she has touched them, but MAN....you have no idea! I have sat here for hours just pouring over the whole story of Audrey Caroline. Amazing. Breathtaking. Uplifting. Saddening.
I know it sounds very cliche, but my children are my life. They are who I spend the most time with, cuddle up to, sing/read to, love on, and absolutely don't want to ever think of living without.
I want to share with you the bedtime song we have sung to our children for several years now--Caroline getting the most benefit out of it. She loves her rocking chair for sure--totally her daddy's child in that respect from what I hear. Anyway, it's an old hymn, and the words are this:
"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
There's just something about that name.
Master, Savior, Jesus,
Like the fragrance after the rain.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Let all heaven and earth proclaim.
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away,
But there's just something about that name."
More than anything, I want my children to know that John and I fully trust the Father. We trust that He has each of their lives in His hands at all times. That is something wonderful about Angie. She totally gives God the praise and love He deserves, even through such a difficult loss. Read on her blog to see more of her beautiful story and family.

Trip To DFW Part 3--A Stud & Some Grafitti

John and I are definitely different. If you've spent any time around us, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Try to put us in a box and we'll find a way out of it. We might even decorate the box just for fun after we've escaped. haha
Anyway, this trip to DFW was, as I've already stated, very relaxing. After spending most of our day Saturday at Hurricane Harbor, we had great long naps and then had some free time that evening. What do John and Melissa do when they have free time and nowhere to be? Two words should say it:
TATTOO PARLOR
That's right ladies and gentlemen. Even in lovely DFW, we heard the call of the wild. It actually took us to 2 different tattoo parlors. Don't be freaking out just yet. It's not THAT bad.
John and I have been planning a tattoo each for about 6 months now. Actually, I've had 3 in mind, but I'm to the point to where I have to scale it back a bit or I will resemble Kat Von D. Just kidding Mom. :)
We knew that this certain tattoo each of us wanted was gonna be hard to accomplish. There are a lot of tattoo artists that won't even agree to it, just because it's a tad on the difficult side. Figuring that since we were in DFW, there would be at least 1 artist that would jump at the chance.
That takes us to tat parlor #1: we walk in and ask if there is an artist in the house that would like to grafitti us--nope. Feeling kind of cranky that none agreed, I just decided to get a piercing instead. Last minute decisions are the bomb! haha Anywho, we left that parlor with the name and address of another place that would do what we requested, and I had myself a new nose stud!
Isn't that fun?!?
Ok, on to tat parlor #2: we walk in and immediately found an artist that would do what we were wanting. After about 10 minutes each in the chair and a very minimal amount of pain, we walk out with these...
We figured that nothing says "Happy 10th Anniversary and I Love You" like permanent wedding rings. *insert big grin here* They can be covered at any time with our regular wedding rings if we so choose, and they are a great alternative to massively expensive diamonds. It's just our special way of showing our love and commitment to one another, and I couldn't be more pleased. Since they are so difficult for a tattoo artist to do and do perfect the first time, we will eventually have to go get them touched up. That part of the skin takes ink differently, so it may be a month or more before they are just right. Oh yeah--they don't go all the way around. The skin on the underside of the finger sloughs too quickly to ever permanently hold ink. Just a little FYI there.
So yes, we had a splendid vacation--but we are glad to be home!

Trip To DFW Part 2

While we were away, Mimi, Pappaw, and Grandma Duke took care of the small fries. That was my only concern--that the kids would be tazmanian devils and the grandparents would call us the first night and demand that we return home. :)
The great thing about it all was that Mimi & Pappaw had everything planned out ahead of time. The kids were going to attend CAMP MIMI & PAPPAW. They even had shirts made for this "camp." When we went to visit them the night before we left, Mimi gave the kids each a gigantic Hershey bar to eat, and inside was a golden ticket! The kids had to bring their tickets so they could get in to camp (FYI--the golden ticket idea came from Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory--the movie that the kids have been watching lately. Each ticket Mimi made said the same thing the tickets on that show said) Very cute idea Mimi!
Also, they had set up different activities for each area of the camp. They were areas like crafts, food, exercise, etc. Each child had a chart to keep up with, and they could win prizes as the camp went along. Apparently it worked great. Each kid came home with a ton of loot and smiles on their faces!
A funny story from their "camp":
Mimi let the kids play dress up in her closet. Christian wanted to be a cop like Pappaw, so he dressed up in Pappaw's uniform shirt and boots. The next morning, Pappaw called Mimi from work and asked if the kids had been in the closet. When Mimi told him that they had played dress up, he explained why that was a problem---apparently Christian took all of the laces out of his boots, hid the belt, and then stuck a piece of gum inside the uniform shirt. Pappaw was almost late to work trying to find all of his gear. Then, he noticed that his uniform shirt was stuck to his undershirt--fun stuff!! Note to self: don't give Christian gum, and don't let the kids play dress up with important clothing! :)
Caitlin and Christian also got to have a lemonade stand. They actually made good money at it too! When I saw their baggies full of cash and coins, I immediately began to scheme and plan the next lemonade stand--one here in front of our house. Caroline got to watch and sample the goods, but she didn't make any money.
Lastly, the kids had a fun July 4th picnic in Mimi & Pappaw's backyard. Mimi let them get as messy as they pleased with the watermelon. Then, the 2 older ones got to go to see the fireworks with Mimi while Caroline and Pappaw hung out at the house. I think it was all a total success, so thank you again to the grandparents for watching the babies for us!!

Be watching for Part 3 tomorrow---there are definitely some reveals coming your way!! :)

A Trip Down Memory Lane....And To DFW (Part 1)

Hello all! I know this post is long overdue, but please forgive me. I have been waiting on pictures, time to blog, etc. Something about having 3 small children hanging on me 24/7---it's tough to find time alone to do anything. Right now I think they are extra clingy because Momma and Daddy have been MIA for several days.
We celebrated our 10th anniversary on July 3rd. In ways it seems like it has taken forever to get to this milestone. In other ways, it seems like we were newlyweds just last week. I can't say it's been an easy time, but I am so thankful for every second we have had together. Here is our little trip up and down memory lane! :)
*yes, it's another one with sound!*

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Now about our trip to Dallas/Fort Worth...

We had such a relaxing, rejuvenating, exciting time! It was so weird to think that we had no other responsibility other than ourselves for a few days. We rented a car--got a Pontiac G6 which was a hot little number for sure--and took off toward DFW Thursday around noon. We took our precious time getting there, and the first thing we did was go shopping at Grapevine Mills Mall. I tell ya what, that's some gooooooooood shoppin' folks! John and I walked around the whole mall twice, and then we slowed down to shop. After cleaning out Old Navy, Gap, and a few other places, we stopped at the Rainforest Cafe to have our anniversary dinner. It was super yummy!! The best part was the dessert. It was called the Volcano, and it was made of about 5 huge pieces of chocolate cake, several dips of vanilla ice cream, and whipped cream on top--all in the shape of a volcano. When they bring it to you, it has a lit sparkler on top too. VERY COOL!
After dinner there, we made our way to the hotel and crashed for the night. Oh yeah--look what was waiting for us on the table every evening!
Friday we decided to spend some time with our wonderful friends Sheridan and Doug. They were so sweet to have us over, cook us dinner, and chat it up for several hours. Their kiddos were gone to the grandparents' house as well, so we had a great time just chillin' and visiting. After we left their house, we watched the fireworks at Six Flags (which was literally right across the street from us!). Such a laid back 4th of July I tell ya!
We spent the majority of Saturday at Hurricane Harbor-the water park next to Six Flags. It was HUGE!! There were so many great (and scary) rides, but we had to wait at least an hour PER RIDE, so we ended up waiting more than riding. Oh well. :) The one thing I would suggest if you are ever going to go to Hurricane Harbor---WEAR SANDALS of some sort. Our feet felt like fried pieces of bologna by the end of the day. I swear, the hot pavement melted through 3 layers of skin! At one point, I was carrying a drink and had to pour some of it out on the pavement just to give my feet some relief and be able to continue walking! It was great fun though, and John even got me to ride some of the big stuff that scared me half to death. Hard to believe, I know. :)

Check back tomorrow for more details about the trip---and MORE PICTURES!!

Howdy From The Haskells!

John and I are having a complete blast in DFW on our anniversary trip! :) I have been wanting to post pics, but we would have to pay for internet access at the hotel---the only way I'm even posting this is because we came to visit my friend Sheridan (woopee!!!) and she let me access her wireless network. Isn't she sweet?!? As soon as we return, be sure that I will post about what we've been doing and have pics to prove it all. My wonderful parents and grandma are wrangling the kids while we are gone--please say a prayer for their sanity, for I know it can get crazy around our casa.

Thanks Mom, Dad, & Grandma--you're the best! We are feeling so relaxed right now, probably how you guys are gonna feel once we step through that door on Sunday and relieve you. Ha!

As long as the furniture is still in place and the hamsters are alive, I guess we can call it a success. ROFL....Love you!

Leave It To A Muskrat

I think I just read the most hilarious news story ever. Ok, really it's sad--not so much funny. No wait-----it's FUNNY. :)
The title of the story is "Burrowing muskrat causes levee to fail in Missouri."
Here's an excerpt:
The furry rodent dug a hole through the earthen levee in this eastern Missouri community, allowing water to penetrate the floodwall, which failed shortly before dawn.
"It's so disappointing," said Linda Wilmesherr as she peered through binoculars at water pouring through a gap that appeared to be 30 feet wide. "With all the guns in this county, couldn't we kill a muskrat?"
I'll just post the link so you can read the whole story. After all, how does an animal weighing only 5lbs outsmart the Army Corps of Engineers' dam safety expert?!?

(click on this link)
NEWS STORY ABOUT BURROWING MUSKRAT