Monday, December 9, 2013

Catching up....Yikes

Well, we have been super busy with school and now we are in the thick of the holiday season, slammed somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's hard to believe the "big day" is in a little more than two weeks! I'm going to try and get things caught back up, hee hee. This first post will be about a trip Big Red and I took to Sedgwick County Park here in Wichita...it was a cool, dreary day and it ended up raining for several days straight. This day away just kind of reminded me why we are choosing to homeschool. Being able to think beyond the classroom and observe the world without so much structure is awesome. Big Red enjoyed himself. Hope you like the pics.
The trees had just started to turn colors and some beautiful leaves had fallen and stuck to the path.
Just walking along...
Some more beautiful views... One last look at a set of prints we found in the mud. We had some fun pretending it was a dinosaur or some other wild beast, LOL!
Hope you all enjoyed that...I have several more posts to come!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Getting to Meet the Pioneer Woman!

Things have been busy here around our house these days...Big Red's soccer career has blossomed, lol. Last weekend (the weekend of the 28th) of the we had about 17 million things going on...My husband was attending a Baptist men's recharge out of town, my nephew was having his 12th birthday party Saturday afternoon, Big Red had a soccer game first thing in the morning Saturday, and there were a few other miscellaneous going's on sprinkled in there as well. Then I found out my favorite chef/Food Network TV personality, Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman, would be signing books here at a local bookstore. Was it possible? Would I get to meet my favorite chef...the one who actually presents recipes that are just as good eaten as they are pretty to look at? Meeting her might actually happen! Then, I read that the bookstore had started handing out numbers to see said chef back in August. My heart sunk. I was sad for a minute but tried to cheer myself up. I asked my husband what he thought about me going to the bookstore to see if there were anymore tickets. He thought I ought to go and see if there were more tickets. So....after Big Red's soccer game, my mother-in-law, Big Red, Little Red, and I moseyed on down to the bookstore. And guess what?! They had tickets!!! So, guess who was going to see the Pioneer Woman? My mother-in-law and I and the kids, that's who!!!! It took forever for the next week to pass. Time ticked away...ever-so-slowly. Then came "the day!" It was cold and raining, basically absolutely miserable. Big Red played in his soccer game at 9am, which I was slightly upset about. It was about 58 degrees and very windy. Little Red and Baby Red went to Grandma's house during the game. My husband was out of town, so I got to shiver through my poor little guy's game alone. After quick high-fives and "good games" we headed back to Grandma's house to meet up with Grandma and the girls. Soon we were loaded up, tickets and books in hand, and we made our way toward the bookstore. Upon our arrival, we were able to get a good parking spot and we made our way up to the shop. It wasn't long before we got to meet our first special person of the day...Ree's daughter, Alex!!
Alex was very nice and we chatted for a few minutes. She even signed Big Red's "Charlie the Ranch Dog" book!! We made our way inside and waited in line. It moved so quickly and I have to say the kids were pretty well-behaved! I have had worse experience in the line at the grocery store! When we were next in line, I just about couldn't believe it! My mother-in-law and I were beyond excited! Ree was very nice and very down-to-earth! All three of my redheads fell in love with her and I think the feeling was mutual!
I thought Baby Red was going to jump out of her lap, though, LOL
I am taking a picture with my camera this time and Ree is helping me get the kids to look at me!
She was soooo awesome and signed something for a friend of mine, too!
Big Red is telling Ree about the haircut his Mama gave him the night before. And now my favorite pic, no blinking, everyone looking at the camera...an exciting memory for all of us...
It was so cool to get to meet Ree and her daughter Alex! For those who don't know the Pioneer Woman, she is the wife of a rancher down in Oklahoma (our neighbors to the south) and she blogs and cooks and she is an all around nice lady! I can't wait till the next time she comes to town so we can go see her again!!

Monday, September 16, 2013

A Soccer Career Begins :)

This past week has been a blur. My "bigs" were sick with an upper respiratory infection and I've been protecting Baby Red like a big, ole bossy hen. The last thing that girl needs is to be sick. Her two little front teeth are pushing themselves out crazy fast! By Saturday, Big Red was feeling better, so Dad and I agreed that he could play in his soccer game Saturday morning. BTW, he is playing AYSO soccer here in Wichita this year in Region 208 (NW Wichita/Andale/Goddard/Colwich/Maize)and his cute little team is called the "Green Hulks!"
The kids took turns sitting out every other quarter
Getting ready to kick off for the second quarter!
Gotta make sure Mommy and Daddy are watching!
Kieran and one of the "Ian's" on the team
Another action shot and a shot of K throwing the ball back into play!
It was a good game...the Green Hulks won, like 10 to 3, or something along those lines. Kieran scored a goal and a good time was had by all the boys!
Here is to a great season, Big Red (and the Green Hulks)!!!!!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Miss Julia's First Birthday

As I am writing this, I am hoping to get all pictures posted. It sounds like Baby Red is awake and it doesn't help that I have managed to sneeze about 700 times in the last 20 minutes. I have, however, had two giganticus cups of coffee, so it is going to be a great day! I took pictures of the birthday girl eating her cake, but I used my Dad's 35mm camera, LOL, so this will be pics and captions of the kids' pool party pre-cake! The Birthday Girl!
Ta-Dah! Little Red is enjoying herself!
Big Red and Little Red and photo bomb, courtesy of Cousin Indy!
Baby Julia and Little Red enjoying one another's company. I think they will be good friends as they grow up!
Baby Julia and her Daddy! I love this pic! Has to be one of the sweetest ones ever!
Big Red watching the kids play. My cousin says his skin color is clear, LOL. Poor lil redhead! :-)
Grammy Elaine and Sweet Baby J!
Big Red decided to take a nap in Baby Julia's pool, LOL.
It was a great day, even though it was pretty steaming hot! Julia has been such a blessing to our lives and I can't wait to watch my little niece grow and change through the years. Here is to many, many more birthdays, baby girl! Love you lots!

A Wedding Fit for a Princess and Her Prince!

My littlest step-sister, Alice, was married here recently to my newest brother-in-law, Bryce, in a beautiful ceremony in the KCMO metro area. It was a beautiful wedding! The weather held out very well and everyone had a great time. Even Baby Red enjoyed herself! Little Red was in the actual wedding party as a flower girl with her darling cousin, Julia. Here is a photo of our group:
Family from England made it as well. It was great to see Grandma Christine and Auntie Lorna!
The beautiful bride, my baby sister, Alice and my awesome Step-Mom, Elaine!
Little Red after her duties as co-flower girl. Her hair was gorgeous, but it had started coming out just a little at this time. She loved twirling in her dress and both baby girls looked like absolute Princesses!
The wedding party, just as the couple was being presented!
A happy and jubilant bride and groom!
All in all, it was a terrific wedding weekend! The kids had an adventure traveling up to Kansas City. It was surreal seeing Alice getting married. I guess it's just hard to believe she isn't a little girl anymore. Or even a young lady, for that matter, LOL. I sniffled a little thinking to myself just now, what a beautiful woman Alice has become! I am glad she found such a wonderful man in Bryce. He is a good man and will make a wonderful father. He is certainly a doting Uncle! Welcome to our family, Bryce! Looking back, I think each of us four girls had wonderful weddings, which were well suited to our personalities! We have all married men who instantly proved to be great husbands and wonderful fathers. I cannot wait to see how we all grow and change as the years go on and our families increase in number. We are all truly blessed!

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Keeping Cool in the Heat

This summer has been unlike any other summer of my adult life. I am not working out of the home, I have five children currently in my care, and our budget has been tighter than ever. None of those are bad things, in my opinion. Each of those points has been something that I have been able to take a great deal from. Today, the temperatures are slowly skyrocketing. Even my nephew didn't want to stay outside too long this morning. My fair-skinned little Reds have no business being outdoors in the blistering heat. I asked myself last night, "How will I keep them occupied and entertained and not feel like I am holding them back from having a fun summer? Ah ha! Lets have a movie day! I turned on the Blu-Ray and popped in Cars. The kids were instantly excited. Well, all of them except for the babies, who weren't really sure what we were doing. I turned off all the lights, turned up all the ceiling fans, and now they are chilling out, watching a Cars/Pixar Movie Marathon while I scribble this down (okay, type it up). I also have laundry going, which could not be avoided, so lights off and fans on will help keep the house temps down. I normally do laundry late at night in the summer time, but the kids needed clothes, LOL! I want to post something else up later tonight about my most favorite Food Network cooks, the Pioneer Woman, and the onslaught of people I found that can't stand her. It's really been an eye opener!

Thursday, June 6, 2013

A Visit with Emma (and the OTHER Mr. and Mrs. Chopped Liver!)

Well, Mr. and Mrs. Chopped Liver is a nickname lovingly given to my husband and I at almost the minute Big Red was born. From that moment on, we were no longer Jared and Hilly, we were Big Red's parents, or better yet, Mr. and Mrs. Chopped Liver. It makes us laugh every time we hear it and around my Father-in-Law, we refer to ourselves with that name. So I am referring to my brother and sister-in-law as the OTHER Chopped Liver couple :). Enough about the background of our silly nickname...a couple of weeks ago, my brother and sister-in-law made an impromptu visit to my in-laws' house and our kids got to play together. Miss Emma is two months and three days older than Baby Red. Their interaction is so precious! Two cousins, just hanging around. I really hope that they get to be as close as my cousin Karen and I are. We are a month and a week apart, which was always important, at least until we turned 30, LOL! Aunt Carolyn and Great Grandma were visiting and we were excited to take some pictures with Great Grandma L. Such precious memories! Everyone smile!!! Here is a special one... Miss Emma and Great Grandma! Little Red wanted to get in on the action too! What a big girl!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

A Long Drive on Short Fuse?!

Well, my youngest (step)sister Alice is getting married tomorrow night up in Lee's Summit, Mo. After my hubby got off work this morning, we packed up the car, the kids, and half a dozen bags/suitcases and headed up the Kansas Turnpike for KCMO. It was a decent trip, no abnormalities for our traveling experiences. We made it nearly 1/2 the way without having to stop for a potty break. Big Red didn't start torturing Little Red until we were in Missouri which was awesome. Thanks to a stinky GPS we got to make half a dozen U turns (thank you Siri and whatever crackpot GPS my hubby has on his phone). It was nice to get to our motel and get settled! I think the children have finally managed to simmer down enough to go to sleep or at least rest. Urgh! I will take lots of pictures and share our wedding day experiences! Night everyone!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

I am starting a new blog today, and as a Mom of three redheads, it is surely going to be a challenge to keep this up. I am bound and determined to do so, however, and Lord willing, I will get it done. My name is Hillary. Everyone calls me Hilly and I am a SAHM after working for a large wholesale establishment for nearly 15 years. At this point in time, I have a five year old son, who I am going to affectionately refer to as "Big Red." I have a nearly three year old daughter, known as "Little Red," and an almost six month old we will call "Baby Red." I love my kiddos and cherish every day I get to spend with them even though some days I wish to be teleported back to my old job and out of the land of Legos and broken crayons. My husband works full-time to support us. He works an early morning shift, so by the time he comes home, Mama (BTW, I am a redhead myself...hubby is not!) and babies are excited to see Daddy and Daddy is usually nearly completely exhausted. He is an awesome husband, a godly, Christian husband and father--the spiritual leader of our family, and pretty much the best friend I have ever had, with the exception of my cousin, Pookie, whom I have had to pleasure of knowing since we were born a week and a month apart from one another. I am trying to do do my best to stretch our budget by making things from scratch while attempting to keep things as natural and chemical free as possible. Little Red and Baby Red wear cloth diapers (bought used/borrowed from their Auntie). We make our own detergent, cleaning solutions, etc. As we try new stuff and discover new products/recipes, I will post them on here. Here is Big Red, kissing Baby Red on Christmas Eve (she was only 12 days old!) I am also attempting to homeschool my five year old. Big Red has just freshly turned five and has the attention span of a gnat. He flits through our house like a red headed hummingbird. Big Red on his fifth birthday! What a cheeky money as his English Grammy would say! We didn't get very far with K4 this year thanks to said attention span and various distractions, such as the birth of Baby Red. Hopefully, sitting out of kindergarten this coming year, focusing again on K4, will give Big Red some much needed maturity development, and I am praying, a love for school--well, at least a liking for school. I am going to close this first post for now. I have some reds to wake up and start the day with.