Hike

First off, We're having a SALE at SBG! Use the above code to receive 35% off of your order in my store :) Enjoy!

Then, here's my new stuff for the week! Hope you like it! Click HERE to go to my store :)

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Layout by Sharon

Layout by Diana

AND, it's Tom's 11th birthday today! I'm gonna make cookies on Friday, put them in baggies, and bring them up to his class in the afternoon. Here's the graphics that I had printed off :)


Howdy, girls! Wow, another long, fun, crazy day in the Harty Household :) I was up at 6:35, 6:45, and 6:55 am, then finally set my alarm for 7:07am. And just barely got the kids out of the door on time. hehe.

I went back to bed until 8:35am. And felt MUCH better. I'd stayed up WAY too late watching the first season episodes of Season 1, Glee. I'd never seen it before, and enjoyed it. The singing and dancing was pretty cool :)

Anyway, I got Jake and Jim all ready and situated, and Kari and Laurie came by to pick me up. We were gonna go hiking in the Franklin Mountains! I was pretty excited.

Here's me in the backseat, and the girls in the front seat


So we got to the parking lot, and started on our hike. And at first, I was good. But it soon became clear that these chickies were in MUCH better shape than me. But I managed to keep up mostly. I'm just glad that Captain America talked me into buying hiking shoes a few months ago. :)

We stopped at the top at these COOL caves

Laurie at the top of the mountain

Kari at the top of the mountain

See, I told you they were in better shape than me. I was DYING. hehe.

It kinda looks like there was a waterfall there at one point, huh?

So the other girls climbed up to the very top, but I knew my limitations. I was feeling like I was gonna puke, and knew that staying put would be the best thing for me. See, I'm good. I know when to stop. hehe. So here's me, hanging out in the cave. It was pretty cool. I think I need earmuffs next time I go. It kinda hurt my ears a lot...

One of these pics is of Laurie, and one is of Kari. If you follow the rock down from the top of the picture, to where it starts to go to the right, there's a little person standing on there waving. You can see their head and their arms. Yup, that's them.

My hiking shoes and Valentine's Socks

View from the cave

See, here's me with my hurting ears...

We saw quite a few of these cool caterpillars. I bet they were poisonous... Good thing I didn't eat one (or touch it...)





Coming back down was SO much easier than going up. hehe. Took different muscles, but at least my lungs weren't burning and I didn't feel like puking. ROFL! But you know, I LOVED it! We all decided that Thursday mornings were gonna be our hiking days :) And Wednesday was gonna be our Yoga day. Kari wants me to go to Spin on Mondays with her, but I'm kinda scared. I think it sounds pretty hard :)

So we drove home, and they dropped me off, and I hustled to get Jimmy ready for school. He'd missed the bus, but I still had plenty of time to get him to school. I got him some lunch, got him all ready, and we drove on up to the school.
I came back home, worked on the computer for a little while, and then at noon, Jake and I watched an episode of Fringe. It's kinda becoming our lunchtime routine. I'm loving it :)

I got back on the computer for a little while, and eventually went to take another nap. I know, I know, I've been sleepy a lot lately. Really, it's because I haven't been going to bed early enough. Maybe tonight will be the night. ha!

Anyway, I woke up right before Jim's bus, and went and picked him up. We came back home, and hoped back on the computer. I was making baggie toppers for ziplocks with cookies in it for Tom's birthday! I designed those, and got them sent to Walgreens RIGHT before I had to leave to go and pick up kids from AQ.

Joe and Jim and Jake were at home, and after I grabbed Tom and Eme (Bella wasn't there) from school, the 3 of us headed to the Dollar Tree. I needed baggies and toothpicks and tape. And left with just a few more things that that. $10, I think. Not too bad, huh? Well, not too bad for me and the Dollar Tree, anyway...

We stopped by Walgreens on the way home to get our prints, and yeah, the machine broke in the middle of my order. Crap! I asked if I could take what they had, and come back for the other later. I figured that would be a good plan.

I drove home, and was really not feeling well. I'm not sure why my head was hurting again. I'd had caffeine. I'd had water. Could it be tight muscles from Yoga? Stress? Lack of sleep? Combo of all of them? I didn't know. But I sure didn't feel good.

I endured it for about 30 minutes, and helped the kids do all of their chores. Kitchen cleaned, living room cleaned, dining room clean. Laundry started. Looked SO much better. I just wish that the kids wouldn't bicker so much. Had I not had a headache, I probably could have handled it better. But it makes me crabby when my head hurt. Something about the pain, you know...

I got Eme set up with all the stuff to make French toast, and the pan set, and stuff, got Jake helping Joe with his homework, and went to lay down and take meds. Unfortunately, I wasn't sleepy. So I couldn't sleep. But I could rest in the dark and quiet. Because the rest of my house sure isn't quiet. 5 kids make a TON of noise...

I laid down for about 30 minutes, then came back out. I felt a bit better. I helped finish up the French toast, cooked myself a Turkey burger and some veggies, and the kids and I sat down to watch some Doctor Who. I felt bad that I couldn't take Joe to scouts, but again, we must know our limitations. I stayed home and rested.

Here it is, 7:36pm, and we have about 1/2 the episode of Doctor Who left, then I'm putting kids to bed, and am laying on the couch and watching Glee for a bit. Hopefully I'll feel MUCH better in the morning. I have a therapy appointment at 8:00am. It got bumped up from 1pm. But I am flexible...

And I'm gonna have to make the cookies and pick up the rest of the prints tomorrow. I'm not up for it tonight, I think.... I'm still feeling a bit grouchy. I was kinda a yelling mom tonight. I hate it when I get that way. Deep breaths, right? How many more days until Wednesday when Captain America gets back home? I really don't know what I'm gonna do when he's gone ALL of next year.... hmpf!

Oh yeah, and my Day 4 of the 30 days of Thanksgiving was for Modern Meds. Before we joined the army, I had not health insurance for a few years. And before that, I was pregnant or nursing for SO many years, that I could never take migraine meds. I'd have the same migraine for 3-5 days. Yeah, I don't know how I got anything done. I'm SO thankful to have meds now :)

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Open Wide

Ahhhhh, I'm SO done with these boys.... hehe. It's 4:10pm, and I'm blogging a little early. I'm sure I'll get back on here tonight and finish it up, but I'm trying to get a head start. My head is kinda hurting, and I don't know if it's gonna turn into a migraine or not, but best to be prepared, right?

I woke up this morning at 6:35am, and actually got up and got ready. I had a doctors appointment at 8am, so I needed to. I hoped in the shower, and got all ready, AND got kids ready for school at the same time. Yeah, that was not so easy to do - hehe.

But, here's me all ready :)

I put the kids on the bus at 7:30am, and spent another 10 minutes getting ready, then I was all good to go. I left Jake doing school, and Jim on the Wii, and headed to the doctors office.
They got me right in at 8am, and I was done by 8:25am. Yeah, Paps are NOT so much fun. But I must say, having a Male doctor was better than the female ones. They are MUCH more gentle than the female doctors I've had in the past...

There was a few seconds of panic, though, when he couldn't find my cervix. ha! I don't know where it went, but it was hiding, apparently. ROFL!

Then, when doing the other exams, he asked about this hangy mole I have in my armpit. Yeah, it's been there for YEARS. Just this dark colored flap of skin. And he asked if I wanted it removed and if it bothered me. I was like, I don't care, whatever. And he said, No, I mean right now. I can cut it off. Whaaaaaat? Ok. hehe.

So he got some tweezers, held it out, and scalpaled it off! Just like that. And I got a pink bandaid, and it was all over. It felt like a little pinch, then nothing. Hmmm, who knew it was so easy :)

I was back out to my car and on the road by 8:30am. I drove to Walmart, got some diet soda (Coke Zero Cherry - it was on sale...), looked around for a few minutes, and headed back home. Fast trip for me - ha!

I got back home, the kids were all good, and noticed Tom's project laying on the table. Sigh. I know that he was up late/early working on it, and I felt bad for the poor kid that it was still home. So I hoped in the truck, and headed on up to the school, and dropped it off in the office.

AND, since the Jewelry box was only a few blocks away, I decided to go there too. I hadn't been in a while. hehe. But it didn't open for another 10 minutes, so I walked around Target for a bit (in the same mall), then texted with Captain America for a few minutes, then it was open.

I found a couple of rings, and a couple pairs of sunglasses, and a boy necklace for Jake, and a boy bracelet for Jim. Both had asked that I bring them home something, and yeah, the Jewelry Box really doesn't have a lot for boys...

Here's me with one of my new sunglasses on.

And my new rings. I like 'em :)

Then I got home, got Jim ready for school, and put on my work out clothes. I was gonna go do Yoga at Stout Gym (army gym) with Kari. And, I wanted to show you all my wound. hehe. Yup, that little red dot is where the mole used to be :)
So I walked Jimmy to the bus stop, and Kari picked me up from there. We drove across post to Stout Gym, and went in. I was a little nervous, since I'd never been to a yoga class before. But I really liked it! Very relaxing. Not hard and scary like the P90X yoga (ha!). But I can tell that I'm gonna be sore tomorrow. I'm SO out of stretching shape...

Here's me after Yoga :)

Kari dropped me back off at the house, and Jake was just finishing up school. He and I had lunch together, and watched an episode of Fringe. And I was FREEZING. I think it was all the water I'd drank. So I made myself a HUGE cup of herbal peppermint tea. Cause it's my favorite.

After the show, I laid on the couch and napped for about 30 minutes, then decided to get up and be productive. Well, if making dessert can be counted as productive. ROFL! I did have bananas that I needed to use. And I did use them up. See, productive!

Remember those SUPER yummy pumpkin desserts that I made? Well, these were similar. But NOT as good. I didn't know that at the time, though.

I laid a layer of graham cracker crust (mixed with sugar and melted butter), then a layer of vanilla pudding with mashed bananas. It was kinda runny, and didn't really set up well. Hmmm. Then, a layer of cream cheese, bananas, and cool whip blended up. Yeah, that didn't really blend well either. Then I took the remaining cool whip, blended it with some mashed bananas, put it in a frosting thingy, and squirted it on the top. And put chopped walnuts and chocolate pieces on top. They look real pretty, at least...

See how the yellow dishes have extra topping around the edge? Yeah, I made sure that I got a yellow one...
I went to get Jim from the bus at 2:30pm, and cleaned up a little of my mess in the kitchen. Jake and Jim played computer for a little while, then Joe came home at 3:30pm, and the other kids at 4pm. And we had our desserts.

And they just weren't the pumpkin ones... I really liked those pumpkin ones... I wonder if I would have liked the banana ones better had I never tasted the pumpkin ones... hmmm.. AND, I wonder if a chocolate one would be yummy. I may have to try that...

I did buy some gingerbread mix, and I may bake gingerbread in there, then put some kind of toppings on it in these little dishes. Now THAT would be awesome! I'll let ya know how that turns out. Or brownies... Mmmm, yeah, those would be DIVINE too..

Ok, enough talk about food. It's now 4:30pm, and I need to go think about dinner. I know that I bought Turkey Hamburgers for myself, and california blend veggies, and had that last night, and it was SOOO good. I think I'll have that again tonight. Kids are supposed to have chili. But I forgot to buy the cornbread mix. Hmmm, wonder if I have cornmeal. I could make some from scratch.

So much for not talking about food, eh? ROFL!

OK, it's now 9:38pm. Kids are asleep. House is quiet. Work is done for the day. Just relaxing in my comfy chair with my 46 inch laptop. hehe. Gonna go watch some TV or a movie or something after this. :)

So after I got done blogging before, I turned off the computer, and took some meds (yes, the headache was there), and went to lay down. And I told the kids to be good. And they mostly were. hehe. No one came in to tell me the house was burning down or someone was bleeding, so it was ok. ha!

I woke up at 6pm, and felt SO much better. Drugs are awesome, when used correctly, you know :) hehe. I went out, cooked myself a turkey hamburger, hot dogs and chips for the kids, and got ready to go to activities.

I decided to let Jake stay home and babysit the others, and just take Eme with me. Tom's activities were canceled anyway. I would have just totally stayed home, but I'd promised to go to a committee meeting for the Ward Christmas party, and I was really looking forward to it. And my head was MOSTLY feeling better.

Eme and I headed out at 6:30pm, giving the boys directions on bedtime and homework and such. We got there about 10 minutes before meetings started, and hung out in the lobby.

Eme went to her activity, and I went to the "Christmas in Bethlehem" meeting. I'd ran it before, back in Joliet, so they asked me a bunch of logistical questions, and I gave my input. I was put in charge of the "program" part, being the "director", we'll say. Should be an easy-ish task. And I'm gonna help decorate. And help with logistics, and the flier. I'm pretty excited! Christmas is SUCH a fun time, and Christmas in Bethlehem is a WONDERFUL program :)

We were done around 8:30pm, and Eme and I headed home. She went off to bed, the big boys went to bed (the little boys had gone to sleep at 7:45pm. GOOD JOB, Jake!!!). And I sat down with the big computer to load my store. Because of DSD (Digital Scrapbooking Day) on Saturday, our store deadlines got pushed up a day, so tonight was the night to load the store, instead of tomorrow. Worked for me :)

I got it all loaded, and even had time to give away some freebies in exchange for a completed layout on Facebook. Now all I have to do is come back in an hour, check my email and facebook, grab the pics, and I'll be good to go. Wait, I'm posting these on Friday, so I actually have more time. hehe. I can grab them tomorrow. Maybe I still won't tell the girls who are making them for me, so I can get them faster. ROFL! Aren't I naughty!

So my 30 days of Thankfulness, Day 3 is Locks for my bedroom door. I was SO glad that I could go in there today when I had my headache, turn out the light, turn on the fan, and just sleep it off. It was SO nice :)

OK, so I couldn't resist this one. hehe. I know, I'm naughty! You can use it for pictures of teeth, or throats, or sickness, or dentist, or what not. You don't have to use it for Well Woman Exams. ROFL! Click on the link below to go to my account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work. Thanks!

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Read a Story to Me

Hello, girls! How goes it? It goes, here. hehe. I took a sleeping pill last night, since I'd been SO tired for the past few days, and went to bed around 10:30pm, hoping to catch up. Yeah, I think it just made me more drowsy. hehe.

I woke up at 6:35, 6:45, and 6:55 am, then read scriptures, said prayers, and got kids ready for school. And out the door and yeah, everyone else was still asleep! So yeah, I totally went back to bed too. Don't roll your eyes. You know you would too. hehe.

So I woke up when Jimmy woke up, and we hung out in the living room. I think the child must be catching a cold, because he's usually the first one up. Poor little dude.

Jake slept in way too long (yeah, gonna have to wake him up earlier tomorrow), but eventually did come downstairs. I worked on my computer for a bit, and Jim played the Wii for a bit.

Oh yeah, check out this kids candy bowl. Yeah, one the one hand, I'm glad that it's all gone. Because I don't have to try and keep him out of it (yeah, I didn't do very good at THAT one, obviously...).

Remember how full it was on Halloween..... Sigh. I'm DEFINITELY coming up with a better plan next Halloween. Letting them "eat their fill" isn't working out too well for me... I honestly thought he'd stop on his own... I was wrong, apparently...

So we got ready, and headed for the bus.

And off Jimmy went. And yeah, I TOTALLY wore these socks and flip flops ALL day long today. Because I'm just cool like that...

So I hung with Jake for a bit, and we watched an episode of Fringe while I designed for a little while on the computer, and then I printed off my shopping list. Today was the day. I'd put it off long enough...

I went over my list and crossed off the stuff that I already had, and figured out what I needed, and headed out. I had about an hour to get to the store, shop, pay, and meet Jim at the bus at 2:30pm.

So I grabbed a Diet Soda from the fridge (yeah, NOT the real thing... hmpf!), and headed out to the commissary
And they had bags of bananas on sale! Score! Captain America was running low on frozen bananas for his shakes, and when you can buy a bag for $0.99, it's SO much cheaper than $0.44 a lb. So I bought 5 bags. hehe.

I paid, and loaded up, and headed home. And still had 15 minutes before the bus. Score! Jake and I carried in all the groceries and put them away. And I ran to the bus stop to get Jim.

I visited with Maggie for a bit while we waited for the bus, and they gave us a ride home. And I got to work bagging out bananas. Not the most fun job I've ever done. ha! But they needed done today, because they were already starting to turn brown.

I designed for a bit longer, and Joe came home at 3:30pm. I went at 3:45pm to pick up the kids from AQ, and after dropping Bella off at home and coming home, it was 4pm. I finished up my computer work, and listened to the kids fight about electronics. I think we need a "no electronics" day to convince them that it's a PRIVILEGE not a right...

Around 5pm, I started on dinner. I made Grilled Leftover Meatloaf and cheese sandwiches for the kids. I thought they looked good. And guess what? Jimmy LOVED it. That child doesn't eat ANYTHING I cook, unless it's treats. And the other kids didn't care for it terribly, but ate it.

And check out Tom in his School Newspaper Staff shirt. He's SO proud!

We spent a quiet evening at home. Eme played with Kayleigh (Leighs daughter) for a while, and we eventually put in a movie. I took a bath and read my book for a while, and then we did scriptures and family prayer, and I sent kids to bed.

Joe and Jim and I sat in Jim's room and read little books for a while, then I snuggled with Jim for about 10 minutes. He and I laid on his bed and chatted and talked and it was SO nice.

And then all the kids were in bed, and I came back out to get on my computer. And I saw that Andrea was online, and we chatted for a while. She's SUCH a great friend :) Even from South Carolina, she's around to keep me company. Love ya, hon!

And now it's 9:30pm. I'm gonna design a quick freebie, then either 1) go to bed, 2) watch a movie, 3) read a book. Not sure what I'm gonna do yet :)

But before I go, here's my 30 Days of Thankfulness, Day 2. I'm thankful for my husband, Captain America. He's truly my best friend, and I love him! I got to text with him a little bit today. Maybe we'll be able to chat on the phone for a little while tomorrow :)

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You Can't Make Me!!!

Hey, all! Hope your Monday was wonderful. Well, Monday's usually aren't wonderful, are they? Maybe I should hope that your Monday was, well, less Monday-like. hehe :)

I'm gonna start something that my friend Mandi started on her Facebook. 30 Days of Thankfulness. And here it is, day 1. I'm gonna be posting something that I'm thankful for each and every day. And I'm gonna encourage you to post a comment with something that you're thankful for each day, too :)

So, 30 Days of Thankfulness, day 1: I am thankful for microwave popcorn. It's SO easy and SO yummy. See how easy that was :)

One more thing... I know, I'm getting side tracked, and I haven't even started blogging yet - hehe. Just so you know, I play all sorts of games and give all sorts of stuff away on my Facebook Fan page. SO, if you're not a fan (or is the correct word LIKER - ha!), click HERE to become one :)

I was SO tired when I woke up this morning. But I managed to drag myself out of bed, read my scriptures, say my prayers, and get the kids going and on the bus. And I hung with Captain America and helped him get all packed and ready for the field.

He left a little before 9am, and headed out. And he took his truck, so I got to keep the car. hehe. It gets SO much better gas mileage than the suburban :)

And I really wanted to go back to sleep, but I didn't. I talked to my mom for a while on the phone, and facebooked for a little while, and got Jimmy ready for school, and took him to the bus at around 11am.

And yeah, he was a turkey at the bus stop! He wanted to run and jump infront of the bus, and me, being a horrible mom (hehe) wouldn't let him. I grabbed his arm, and held him back. And yeah, it made him mad. Whatever. LOL!

He sat down on the ground, and folded his arms, and refused to move. And I couldn't get him on the bus. And yeah, he's 67 lbs. I couldn't lift him when he went all dead weight on me. Grrrrr. I finally got him up, and he ran a little ways off, and I had to threaten calling Dad to get him back over to the bus. Kids! He finally got on the bus, and pouted as it drove off. His little "You can't make me" attitude and all. hehe :)

What do ya do? Kids have their own agency, and as much as we want to make them act a certain way, it's a tricky thing. I stayed calm, and didn't overract, so it didn't really escalate too much. I've seen some parents get mad and yell and scream and act out just like their kids when things like that happen. And yeah, it doesn't help. Hopefully he'll remember that mom stayed calm, and he still had to get on the bus, and he won't try it again....

And I came back home, and started some dishes, and cleaned up a little in the kitchen. Then Captain America called, and said that if I wanted to bring out lunch, that we could sit at the picnic table and eat it together. Sounded like a plan to me!

I drove to El Taco Tote, got our usual, and headed out to Tobin Wells. Here's me with my soda :)

And here's my man! Isn't he a cutie :) And yeah, that's my fun little zippy car that I get to drive while Captain Americas in the field. 2003 Saturn Ion. It's the same age as Joe Joe :)
I had a lot of fun having lunch with Captain America. I got to spend about 30 minutes with him, then he went back to work and off I went. And, since it was Monday, I figured that I'd go to Savers. Just for fun :) And Dollar Tree was next door, and I needed to get bread, so my little plan was perfect. hehe.

I found a few things that were Silver Tagged (yup, $0.99 silver tag day), and a belt that was not. I needed a belt. And I paid ($11.00 total) and headed on my way to the Dollar Tree.

And got bread, and a Diet Dr Pepper, and headed back home. Jimmy came home from school, and I took some pictures of my new finds :)

Black formal for $0.99

Blue formal for $0.99

Black shirt for $0.99

Brown cords for $0.99

Jeans for $0.99

Summer dress for $0.99

And black shirt for $0.99

And my bread! Good, soft, yummy bread for $1.00 each! Gotta love it :)

And Joe got home at 3:30pm, and the other kids shortly after that. And we all got ready and headed up to the indoor pool at 4pm. We were meeting Veronica and family and Kari and family there. Pool time is fun :)

The post recently (like, just today), changed the times that they do PT (Physical Training for soldiers). Instead of 6am ish, they do it at 3:30 ish. So there were a TON of soldiers at the pool. Hmpf! Oh well, the kids still had a place to play :)

Kari and Veronica and I chatted for about an hour, then we all headed home. Thanks, girls! I'm planning on going again next week!
We came back home, and I started cleaning. And didn't stop until around 7pm. Sigh. Yeah, it was THAT messy. I reorganized the bookshelves, and did some laundry, and moved all the furniture in the living room and swept and rearranged. And it looked a TON better afterwords. I cleaned Jimmys room, and had all the other kids clean their room.

At 7pm, we cooked Egg Sandwiches on English Muffins, with cheese, and Joe and Eme started their homework. I put Jim to sleep at 8pm, and Joe and Eme shortly after that. Tom and Jake and I sat down to watch and episode of Fringe, and I blogged. And designed.

And here it is, 8:41pm, and I'm pretty sleepy. I'm gonna finish up with show with the boys, and maybe design. Or maybe watch another show. Or read. Or just go to bed. Yeah, maybe going to bed would be good. hehe. Cause I've been so tired in the mornings lately :)

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