*Yawn*

after hurricane Irene, we had another week of on and off (mostly on) rain... causing more flooding, power outages, ruined businesses and fallen debris in our area... Its funny that I am getting used to getting around by way of detours and also getting used to driving through mini rivers across my road... not so much into the nasty stagnant swamp smell mixed with soaking rotting onions as I drive home though. It is terrible to see so much crop destroyed. Driving home yesterday, I saw hundreds of pumpkins ruined and billions of waterlogged and contaminated veggies and onions...

Sorry about the lack of posts... I am now on my 10th working night in a row. I haven't had a night off since last Tuesday and I really feel it. I have had a ton of other stuff to do during my days as well so no rest for this momma. Def feeling it this morning. *yawwn* They hired another night person at my job so hopefully she stays and I can have a night off once in a while to actually relax....
well! as always, I have a place to be... gotta get the kiddos dressed and ready and get me some coffee. wish me luck! or energy =)

Wordless Wednesday **

Irene Damage in Our Town

I took a drive to check out the damage (while being continuously detoured en route to my Mom;s house)... the water level has gone down a ton but there is still a lot left to dry up. Most roads are closed/detoured. The 15-20 min drive to my mom's ended up taking me 1 hour and 15 mins... insane. oh, and my lovely sunflower field I love driving past was destroyed... kinda bummed. :(










haha this farm has a sense of humor... if you don't laugh... you cry I suppose...


Happy Tuesday! My only night off from work. I am trying a new recipe I found on Pinterest... buffalo chicken rolls... like egg rolls :) mmm hope they are good!

Our House During/After Hurricane Irene

Kids are LOVING the new fish tank. The morning of the flood, the fish tank sprung a leak and we had to siphon all of the water out to find where the water was coming out and transfer the fish to a smaller tank. Lots of water to deal with and THEN a flood to deal with. A busy weekend of being trapped at home that's for sure. The poor fish are still in a 10 gal tank with no filter until we get our replacement tank shipped to us. I miss seeing it all lit up in the living room. It is set up right next to my desk and I find myself watching those fish more than I do the television... =) I do love fish.
Once the rains stopped and the winds calmed down I took the kids for a walk to the end of the road to see how bad the flooding was. We took pics so they have a record of where they were when Irene came through =) A lot of dress up and games were played. Maris beat me in Mario Party! (only once! haha) and we colored and cleaned the house. Jim took a full on attack of the kitchen and wiped down the walls and cleaned out the cabinets... left a bunch of stuff out for me to deal with... but beggars cant be choosers haha...

I've missed 2 nights of work and got barely anything done... haha I wish and wish for the time to get things done... I get trapped at home with no distractions really and I still just played with the kids, set time aside to doodle and draw, cleaned a bit - but the house still isn't clean... I guess the family time was time well spent. John Lennon said something to that effect... time you enjoy wasting was not wasted... =) back to busy life!

Maris Had Her Beatles Birthday Bash!

Made Twinkie Submarines =)





Photo Booth...

Giant Submarine...

l






It was a great time =) A lot of work... a lot of detail... all worth it. At the end of the day, she sat with me and said thank you and that it was the best day ever =) Everyone kept saying I did the party for myself... kind of annoying... but seeing her have so much fun made it better. Of course I LOVED planning a Beatles birthday and thoroughly enjoyed it. I did just as much for the Toy Story party but no one said it was for me... grr. My love for the Beatles is passed onto her and I had so many ideas due to my vast knowledge of Beatle things. so WHATEVER...
we ended up passing on a bunch of party games since so many kids cancelled or couldn't come. the kids that DID come got a tie dye shirt and played with the outdoor toys in the yard and had a blast. They loved the photo booth props (as did some of the adults haha) they got to go home with a Beatles loot bag and a chocolate mustache pop.
well, epic party. thanks to all who shared the day with us =)

Happy 4th Birthday!!!

4 years ago today I had my beautiful spunky baby girl Maris Violet. She came into the world dramatically and has made every day interesting since =) Here is a quick glance back at her birth, 1st, 2nds and 3rd birthdays...



Happy Birthday Sweet Girl! Our plan is to go to Toys R Us to get her birthday balloon and crown, then maybe to Chuck E Cheese and maybe a few other places (she received a few birthday coupons for free stuff so we will be going around redeeming them!) and eventually end up at "Gramma Black Hair's" house for dinner and cake. That is where she will get her gift. This morning, we told her she will get her gift tonight and that we need the truck to bring it back home. She said "Is it big?! Am I getting a giraffe??!" haha weirdo. Well, off to get the birthday girl some breakfast. Little dude just decided to wake up as well =)

Last Day of Three... onto FOUR!

good morning! Today will be a day of birthday prep. It is Maris' last day of being three. WHERE DID THAT TIME GO....We are going to finish up her slideshow so all I have to do is add today and tomorrow's picture and upload it =) I started decorating the house hehe who cares if its a little less than a week until the party! I keep saying no sneak peeks but I am so excited! haha Hint we all live in a ....




<3





too cool for three =)