tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72649862091897198812024-03-12T20:14:29.763-05:00 DyessFamChroniclesDyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.comBlogger602125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-65869897217583785372015-01-19T14:00:00.000-06:002015-01-19T14:06:35.638-06:00Eclectic Vintage Baby ShowerA few friends and I threw a baby shower for our sweet friend Kristen. It was so much fun to put this one together! I have to say a HUGE thanks to my mom for all the antique and vintage doo-dads. I asked her if I could go shopping in her house for all the prettys and she said yes. I did go hog wild and it was fu-un! :)<br />
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The framed pictures and paper roses and flowers on the table, the silhouettes on the wall and the button strand hanging from the light fixture are all courtesy of fellow hostess Eun H. Eun volunteered her house and let me rearrange her furniture. :) Thanks, Eun! Thanks to Carrera for the punch and sodas! Yummy!<br />
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I was really excited to be able to do a fabric strip garland. Took a while, but I think it turned out well. I got the fabric at Hobby Lobby. I also found the corrugated metal initial letters at HL. I just painted them, wiped off some spots to give it a vintage feel and then painted some little love birds and vines on them. I then tied on some ribbon and hemp twine so they could be hung up.<br />
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The cakes were chai tea latte. I used jello molds to bake them for a vintage looked and then thinned out the icing to glaze the smaller ones. The taller, more ornate one, got the powdered sugar treatment. :)<br />
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Eun had the idea to surround the cake with oranges and blueberries. It looked awesome!<br />
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Aren't those mason jars with the baby's breath in them fantastic? Fellow hostess Lucy did those along with the paper chain garland hanging from the ceiling and the pinwheels! Thank you, Lucy!<br />
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Of course I had to do a chalkboard...it was necessary, I promise! (Is there a support group for chalkboard addicts?)</div>
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I had a good time shopping for the prizes and favors. <br />
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Thanks to my mom for donating the pear chutney in the jars! I just topped them off with fabric and pennants and twine. I found some cheerwine and cherry limeade in old skool bottles at HEB and then put old fashioned candy in a goody bag and tied it with a paper straw around the neck. Voila! prizes.<br />
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The favors were old fashioned candy in favor cups wrapped in a goody bag. Done and done.<br />
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This is the already-a-mommy mum/corsage. :) This took while, but I'm happy with the results.<br />
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Eun provided this fabulous veggie tray...that we were totally sampling for an hour before the shower...;)<br />
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Hummus and pita chips, yum! Thanks, Rosy!<br />
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Lucy did a fantastic job on the diaper cake! Isn't it gorgeous?! Love!<br />
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And here are the two beauties we celebrated! It was really laid back and so fun, more along the lines of a girls' night.<br />
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<br />DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-54795308893061649012014-10-05T22:46:00.000-05:002015-01-20T22:50:41.363-06:00Modern Chevron, Stripes and Polka Dots Baby ShowerI had the privilege of putting together a really fun baby shower for our friend Lucy. It was fresh and fun and thoroughly modern. Lots of clean lines. LOVE!<br />
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The cupcakes, wrappers and toppers were made by Laury and Kristen. You ladies rock! This was my first time making a diaper cake and I had a blast...I'm thinking it won't be my last. ;) I found those tissue pom garlands at Hobby Lobby...have I mentioned how much I love that place! I also got the fabric for the pennant banner there. :)</div>
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Thanks to Rosy and Carrera for the yummy finger foods!<br />
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The prizes were buckets of candy, nail polish and other little fun things.<br />
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Laury and Kristen made the awesome chandelier.<br />
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Thanks to carrera for the delicious oreo pops! Yum!<br />
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And of course, we cannot forget the absolutely necessary chalkboard. #chalkboardlove<br />
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<br />DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-1907888415957187052014-05-07T11:45:00.000-05:002014-05-07T11:45:00.070-05:00Even more to update aboutJust so I don't forget to include this, I want to mention that both the girls have really been into fixing hair lately. Mostly it has been Ailey that really has the fascination with Brea following along because she wants to do what her big sister is doing. ;) Ailey has been more concerned with her hair looking nice and she has consistently worked on my hair. Right now, they are each brushing and "fixing" one side of my head of hair each. Its very interesting trying to type in the process. :)<br />
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Okay, on to more happenings in this household. We basically had a lot of things transition and shift around the same time within the last three months. Its been a very interesting and challenging time. Lots of good has come out of it all, for sure, but some of it had the pain of a birthing process. For a while now we have been a part of a house church located in Round Rock. It has been completely AMAZING! We pretty much got adopted and adopted them right back. They are fantastic peeps and I am soooo blessed to call them family AND friends. The fellowship and relationship is so rewarding and compelling and it feels like home. In addition to being part of that, I was also going to a church also located in Round Rock. Round Rock is a good hour away, so were doing a bunch of driving on Sundays. ;) The other church, True Life Fellowship, is also completely wonderful! The atmosphere that they have invited there is also like coming home, but in a larger setting. God is doing amazing things in both places and being a part of both families has been such a good thing. <br />
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Recently Sam shared a desire for a closer place to go and build relationships. I told him that if he could find something similar with like hearted peeps, I was all in. I believe Daddy God has a heart to see his kiddos all be like hearted despite having different purposes and callings in life. I have a dream of sorts that someday, no matter where on earth a family of believers happens to be located, that anyone that is part of the larger family of believers or someone who has never met Jesus can walk into that place and it feels like coming home. So, he had been introduced to a church through some different people over the course of several years, but it hadn't worked out to visit and this seemed like it was the right time. We walked in and by the end of it all, it felt like coming home. We are loving where God is leading and the amazing things He is doing and it is just exciting on a whole new level we didn't even know was possible! While we won't be able to go to True Life very often, we will still be going to house church on a regular basis. The cool thing is, I believe we are supposed to be connected to each one of these families for specific reasons and God is making a way for it to happen.<br />
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Something else that has been in the works since the beginning of last fall is the process of me going back to college. I found out that my education benefits had been changed and that I had 5 more years than I had previously. Much of the framework has been done. I still have a bit more to get turned in and then will have to wait until registration for the fall semester. The biggest question was what was the best option for the kids. There is a Christian school not too far from our house and not too far from the college and seemed like the perfect answer. In pursuing this option, I knew it would be a bit of an uphill battle because we were so far behind this year in home school. We started out at a great pace at the beginning of the year, but between holidays and sickness from Thanksgiving on, we were limping along on into March. It felt for a long time that our days were chaotic and ruling us instead of orderly and time being used wisely. This was also around the time when I got fed up with being tired all the time.<br />
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There were two things we had to do before the kids could be enrolled in the school. We had to come in for a family interview and then there would be a follow up evaluation to place the boys in the appropriate grades. The girls were no problem because Ailey would be starting Kindergarten and Brea would be in pre-K. The family interview went well and though I noticed some personality differences, I wasn't overly concerned about anything at that point. Rather than being concerned with my kids being able to do the learning part of being in a school, I was way more concerned with how they would handle having to sit in a classroom and behave in a very structured system since that really hasn't been their homeschool experience. They've always done well in their co-op classes and at AWANA and VBS, but I was still a little concerned about that transition. <br />
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When we came back for the evaluation, I again informed the person we were meeting with that we were way behind and that we were in the process of catching up. There was also a rather large difference in curriculum and the way the information is presented. It all just went downhill from there. There was definite personality conflict with the evaluator with both the boys and lots of irritation with the boys not being able to do the things she was presenting. While I did listen to the whole process, I was outside the room and did not interfere. I wanted to see how the boys would do with someone else instructing them. Since, I had not had any sort of reference pertaining to dealing with a Christian private school and the whole process, I didn't know what should be normal procedure and what should be a warning flag. <br />
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After the evaluation was done, I went in and spoke to the evaluator by myself and it was the first time any sort of irritation and disdain has been aimed at me for homeschooling and not doing it someone else's way. It was a very surreal situation. After the person explained to me that the boys were no where near where the kids in the school were, being at least a year to a year and a half ahead of public school kids, that she could not place them in the school. The girls were still welcome, but the boys would not be. I asked about tutoring, reminding this person about us being behind in our schedule, as I thought there might be a curriculum presentation difference as well and if we could have someone get the boys familiar with their curriculum it might make a big difference. That was shot right down with a short statement of, "We don't do tutoring." It was suggested we might try sylvan learning center, though this person had no experience with them or how they operate. I was nearly in desperation mode with trying to find some way to make it still work out. I came home trying not to cry and be completely discouraged and got online and looked up the curriculum they use to see if it would be feasible to maybe switch over to it at the point. There was also no guarantee that there would be openings in the school for them if we went back in the summer to re-evaluate. Honestly, I was a bit beside myself and asking God if I had gotten it wrong about me going back to school. <br />
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I felt immediate peace about that and then decided to get some advice from someone who had home schooled and then put their kiddo into Christian private school. I called my sis-in-law and asked her what she did to get her kiddo ready for that kind of transition. I ended up explaining what had just happened and instead of giving me a plan of action dealing with curriculum, she informed me that she was very concerned that the evaluator (who also holds a position of authority in the administration as well as being a teacher there) responded to the kids with irritation and impatience as well as being unwilling to work with me at all with any other options. She said that the school her kids go to wanted her kids there and wanted their family to be a part of the school and they were willing to go to great lengths to support the transition of getting them to where they needed to be. There are teachers who tutor in the summer months for extra money and there were book lending options to get familiarized with the curriculum and several more things that really made me ponder everything about my experience. After that, I felt a lot better and instead of wallowing in discouragement and self-pity I decided that things needed to change as far as the way I operated on a daily basis and that though the school I was aiming at for my kids to attend might be completely fantastic for other families, it was just not a good fit for ours. It was God giving me a definitive no for that place.<br />
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Several things happened over the next few days. I asked God to give me creative ideas of what to do about the kids and school. I also downloaded an app called Daily Routine and put our entire home school schedule complete with alarms when each subject starts and when it is time for breaks including meal prep and meal time. I also made a commitment to get myself out of bed an hour earlier with the goal of shifting that to an even earlier time at a later date to begin to mimic how the schedule will be in the fall. This is also right about the time that I changed how we are eating so I also downloaded a meal planner and am steadily working on incorporating that into daily life. The routine app has been a wonderful thing! Because I was able to compartmentalize our day, I have been able to do double days of school and we have done about 7 weeks worth of school in the last 4. We are almost where we should be and should be done with school mid-June. Its a relief and I'm loving the orderliness of it all! <br />
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The kids are learning a ton and retaining it and for the most part, aside from disliking how regimented it is ;p, they are thriving. So good. The most ironic thing is that a good chunk of the things that they didn't know at the evaluation because they hadn't been introduced to it yet in our curriculum was in fact introduced within the next couple of weeks. :)<br />
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God also very much answered my plea and gave me the idea of having someone come in and sub for me 2 mornings each week while I have to be in class, so we will still be homeschooling. We have someone who is praying about taking the job. It would be a very good fit for our family, but we want to make sure it is a good fit for her as well. I just know as soon as that was an option, all the craziness just calmed down and there was peace again. Putting the kids in school would have had new challenges for us and been a lot of work in its own way. Home schooling while I'm going to school will have its own challenges as well, but we really think its the way to go for our family.<br />
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Another idea was putting them in a Christian school that is much farther away. I called to find out more info and shared what had happened in my earlier experience with the other school. She said they test using the Stanford Achievement Test and that they do have teachers who tutor in their off months. She also asked if we would be willing to have the kids repeat their current grade. At first, my pride took hold and I didn't even want to consider it, but almost immediately I squashed that down because I want what is best for the kids. Sam and I talked about it and he didn't have a problem with that option. In the end, I felt I could really get us caught up and it wouldn't even be an issue. While we don't think putting them into this school is right for this next year, it is still an option for future ones if it is a good fit for our family.DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-49167523850693248102014-05-06T10:03:00.000-05:002014-05-06T10:03:26.986-05:00Lots of Things to update aboutWow! I have been so busy and while there have been plenty of things to write about, I just flat out haven't had the time! Since this day has been designated a "catch-up and clean-up" day, I'm allotting some time to sit down and do this. So for the sake of time, I'm gonna just jump right on in.<br />
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First, I have been in the process of organizing the kitchen. I put dollar store baskets in the fridge and freezer to make sense of the complete chaos that was going on in there and it has been a blessing! I found a different size basket when I went to the store to outfit my freezer and I am going to get more of that kind and switch them out. I will try and do a post of pics to show all the stuff I've been doing, just in case it sparks piggy back ideas for anyone needing them. ;) I also rearranged our pantry and it is much more user friendly! The cabinets are slowly being uncluttered as well and its a beautiful thing.<br />
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Second, about three plus months ago, something clicked in me and I decided I was tired of being tired and physically weak. Before kids, I was very self motivated about exercising, but since my pregnancies were so dramatic, that wasn't an option for me. So for the last decade plus a bit, I've been in a complete different set of circumstances with my body. With no pregnancies or breastfeeding on the horizon, it was just time for me to get my rear in gear. Because I deal with plenty of joint issues throughout my body, I know better than to just go full speed ahead right away. I finally cleaned out the garage enough around the area where the elliptical was serving as a catchall and started using it 6 days a week starting out at 5 minutes and working my way up to 25/30 mins each day over the course of about 4 weeks. After each session, I started doing a pilates stretching routine which has been tremendously helpful keeping my muscles from getting too big, too fast and causing problems with my joints. Its also good for joint decompression. Win-win!<br />
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My initial goal in starting to build up my strength was not focusing on losing any weight. As a matter of fact, I didn't change anything about how I was eating for about 2 months. I just wanted to build muscle mass and strengthen my joints so that I would have better endurance and be more agile. In doing that, though, I started losing inches. I knew that would be a by-product of what I was doing, but I also didn't want to lose weight or inches too quickly. I want the saggy-baggy, extra skin hanging around from pregnancies past to go back down, too and I've got to give my body time to accomplish that. ;) So far, so good on that front.<br />
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Around a month ago, I felt like I needed to give my body a boost and wanted to start a clean eating and high protein regimen. Plenty of the recipes I use are considered Paleo or Primal. While I don't believe in the whole cave man philosophy, I do find the data about how the body digests or the trouble it has with digesting certain foods and the absorption of vitamins and minerals and balancing blood sugar levels so there are no highs and lows resulting in crashes, very compelling. So far, without having done something along the lines of a Whole 30 stint, I have become aware that my body doesn't do well with regular potatoes in pretty much any form and wheat. I was not happy about the wheat because I loves me some fiber and I have an unhealthy love obsession with bread. :/ I found that coconut flour is super duper high in fiber and doesn't have the gluten and blood sugar issues that wheat seems to have, so I honestly haven't really felt a loss. As a result of eating this way, I have tons more energy and I feel so much better! An added bonus has been loss of poundage and more inches. Again, win-win. Yay!<br />
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Another fun side thing has been the accumulation of new work out gear. It is very nice to have clothing that is made to sweat in and actually fits me! I also recently got new running shoes since my last pair was nearly a decade old and part of the sole finally just fell off and a watch that has a timer and a heart rate monitor as well as some other nice features. I am soooo amazed at how much lighter the new shoes are compared to my old ones! Same brand + different technology = huge difference! They are for the purpose of training to run a 5k. In all the years past when I was running, I never, EVER wanted to run any sort of race. Traditionally, I have abhorred running. I did it because I had to. I much prefer fitness classes, machines and dancing. I don't get the runner's high, I have a knee that is problematic with high impact activity and its just never been fun for me. Recently, a friend proposed the idea of training for a 5k together and it was more of a let's-see-if-we-can-do-this sort of a thing. I pondered it and was intrigued with the idea of whether I could do it or not. It was yet another way I could tweak something. (I have found as I get older that I have a knack for tweaking things - it can be in totally unrelated areas of interest, too. ;) So, after I felt that I had built up sufficient strength in my legs and back, I started jogging. I've been doing that for the past few weeks focusing mainly on my breathing and posture. I got an 8-week training schedule from a site about running a 5k and have put myself on that schedule. I hope to map out a good route soon so that I can start focusing more on distance as well as time. I would like a pedometer at some point, but for now I'm good. I'll just drive it and then run it. ;) It looks like June or July will be 5k time and there are several to choose from in this area, so I'm actually looking forward to it.<br />
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Since this is already long, I'm gonna have to continue on in another post for tomorrow.DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-10041687327494981722014-05-06T08:40:00.000-05:002014-05-06T08:40:18.269-05:00AileyismsLast night, Ailey heard Sam in the bathroom with the hair clippers and she came in and told me she heard Daddy mowing his head. :) Just now, she came up to me and said, "Did you get ice yet?" I asked her what she was talking about and Zekey interpreted for me and said, "She means Frozen, the movie." Haha! That girl!DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-48979787225445567742014-03-20T15:39:00.000-05:002014-03-20T15:39:15.591-05:00Braden LogicMy 9-year-old-soon-to-be-10-year-old son, Braden just took a shower. After he got out and dressed, he came up to me and gave me a hug and I got a whiff of his hair. Gross! Had.not.been.washed. So I asked him if he washed his hair and he said yes. I clarified, "Did you shampoo your hair?" The truth was revealed, but he had good kid reasoning in progress. He said no, but he had stayed in there under the water for a long time. Obviously, the water cleaned him for him so he didn't have to bother actually using any sort of cleaning media. I told him to get back in the shower and shampoo his hair and while he was on his way I asked him if he's bothered to wash his body with soap. Looking appropriately guilty he confessed he had not. REALLY?!?!?! Double EW! Apparently, we need to focus more attention on developing his problem solving and reasoning skills.DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-11247160588225136512014-02-14T11:48:00.000-06:002014-02-25T10:57:36.326-06:00Happy Valentine's Day!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I know! Three posts in less than four month-spaced increments...nobody freak out. We all just need to stay really calm and read on. Yes, yes I did just type that.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA3HbufdEtMTGdyEn5We7J7C2k3ieeoypIGoMaXIdIBLEdolGiyp6QK8UbusfohFr5NN6IiAVxGItJrkvkpI-LM48cY3UF4jeFi0aHlbqxlO6PKXKaYSTh2p3dgl4bok2R0lEem6pOvImA/s1600/2014-02-143.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA3HbufdEtMTGdyEn5We7J7C2k3ieeoypIGoMaXIdIBLEdolGiyp6QK8UbusfohFr5NN6IiAVxGItJrkvkpI-LM48cY3UF4jeFi0aHlbqxlO6PKXKaYSTh2p3dgl4bok2R0lEem6pOvImA/s1600/2014-02-143.jpg" height="400" width="308" /></a></div>
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The hearts in the pots are the extent of my Valentine's decorations this year. It is better than the previous year that had a whole lotta nada.<br />
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Now I must share my roadside find. Can you believe someone threw out that mid century modern shelf/curio cabinet?!?!?! Admittedly is was broken on one side, but I showed it some drilling, wood glue and dowel rod love and then put the same on the other side so it would look the same and it is good as new! I love me some trash to treasure! It is supposed to have sliding glass doors on the front, but only one of the pieces of glass was still intact. I may or may not try and get another made and reinstall them. I also may just use that brown board stuff hanging out against the wall to the left there (can't remember what its called right now) and make 2 door panels with recessed pulls...or I may just leave it open like this... I don't know yet. It is completely awesome regardless and I am loving it! When I get our bedroom sorted out, I'll take pics in there to show what I did with the entryway table I built back in the summer. I feel like my Heavenly Daddy just gives me a kiss and says, here ya go..here's a gift for you, when my path intersects with fun finds like this. I know it seems like an odd gift to some, but its along the same lines as Sam giving me power tools and gadgets as gifts. I'm just that kind of woman.<br />
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I decided to split up the kids into separate rooms again. It seems to be working better. I found a full-sized bed for the girls room. I was going to try and find a set of bunk beds for them, but realistically, they wouldn't sleep in them. They would end up on the floor. Plus, we really need something for when people come to visit and stay the night. So far the full size has worked very well...once they actually go to sleep. I'm having lots of fun putting both of the rooms together. Today, I am in the process of putting together a paper chandelier for the girls/guest room. This is my inspiration:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrUyIKrMha8DVqU5zC1Jw40jL_F_UMvjLz_JX11FG0sNJNc9ZDmf-NcdV-VrzmSalxya765UeULP27vtFHHD12LWYbWEXB72wIegY2GV7r6wKk4bBCdHoUh0SBWzHTttnxD9MbwgMSjvaf/s1600/7b8393b06f21b117e2c9b9530e7f51e8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrUyIKrMha8DVqU5zC1Jw40jL_F_UMvjLz_JX11FG0sNJNc9ZDmf-NcdV-VrzmSalxya765UeULP27vtFHHD12LWYbWEXB72wIegY2GV7r6wKk4bBCdHoUh0SBWzHTttnxD9MbwgMSjvaf/s1600/7b8393b06f21b117e2c9b9530e7f51e8.jpg" height="215" width="320" /></a></div>
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photo by Ashley Ann Photography - <a href="http://ashleyannphotography.com/blog/2009/06/30/entering-the-girl-world-the-nursery/">http://ashleyannphotography.com/blog/2009/06/30/entering-the-girl-world-the-nursery/</a></div>
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Its so, so pretty! I really love how she pulled all of the elements together in her nursery. I have plenty of paper pom-poms from previous birthdays, but I wanted to add a few of these:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgseadbFZdmAJ8JUVWP61oDGQbQCROHxXz-Z2L8P096vkRIh1rVTVqoq13estXSXfsXFktUyTrXQLwLxIrTD5e6u999Z-yg2s0NUfbSdMf9y18AKspxBWHrPbsT7Ga6biKUlZpzluBiDENs/s1600/746dc887fb1bb69edaa1fd7ec6b8e676.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgseadbFZdmAJ8JUVWP61oDGQbQCROHxXz-Z2L8P096vkRIh1rVTVqoq13estXSXfsXFktUyTrXQLwLxIrTD5e6u999Z-yg2s0NUfbSdMf9y18AKspxBWHrPbsT7Ga6biKUlZpzluBiDENs/s1600/746dc887fb1bb69edaa1fd7ec6b8e676.jpg" height="320" width="231" /></a></div>
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(the link for this is <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'open sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"><strong style="color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">ladybird-ladybird-paige.blogspot.com </strong></span>, but the blog is no longer there...)</div>
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So, this is my version:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCvz3_bEe-Z0DCPXf3tOol4YeL9tTRchHFCExRJpqWaIKsvKRVtgMQflQqwKURwgBlAVOKB8boJ-Tw5-gIniaOqzdu9cEJe9fKXZ1GRWZmWQzcdXzeHFM26KfCQZlSY-xJFuweL9ACLdGk/s1600/2014-02-142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCvz3_bEe-Z0DCPXf3tOol4YeL9tTRchHFCExRJpqWaIKsvKRVtgMQflQqwKURwgBlAVOKB8boJ-Tw5-gIniaOqzdu9cEJe9fKXZ1GRWZmWQzcdXzeHFM26KfCQZlSY-xJFuweL9ACLdGk/s1600/2014-02-142.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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I was finally able to use up quite a bit of scrap book paper I've collected over the years. I'm hoping I get to finish out the whole thing today some time, but well, it may run over into tomorrow's activities.</div>
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I still have a bedspread/quilt to either buy or make for the bed. I decided on the fabric for the curtains, but still have to go buy it and sew them up. I still haven't decided on a rug, but I've got a couple to choose from in my stash and if those don't work, then I'll be on the look out for a new one. Then, I'll deal with the walls and what to put on them. No biggie, right?!</div>
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Last night, when the girls finally went to sleep, I got some sleeping pics of them. I attempted to do the same with the boys, but there was no light at all in their room. Then we had a bit of an impromptu photo shoot.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOeitYmQhyphenhyphenLxjGUoayy8hIgOKha5obsEhvRuovP6Cjb5y-WVoL0UVysX5-ZNtB3GiU4HRAl55aysa0q4WDtnXgH3hdhLqvi35HhYUMS7IN-Xyc_TByxcVsfdbilbL5TrNLeh3CUTQkcE-7/s1600/2014-02-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOeitYmQhyphenhyphenLxjGUoayy8hIgOKha5obsEhvRuovP6Cjb5y-WVoL0UVysX5-ZNtB3GiU4HRAl55aysa0q4WDtnXgH3hdhLqvi35HhYUMS7IN-Xyc_TByxcVsfdbilbL5TrNLeh3CUTQkcE-7/s1600/2014-02-14.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYuQpWQEmvRZoMqvzeUm0Ad1m68w9ffqgia1tw7Ocu5UWystOM4DxL2XSUgHfrRfJdz0Z_Wg9aHZbVZzhD-3F95szzeGfXg486uGvf-w5ZXNx8SWya0TcIgZg7xqfgQCwGvVVTjphFobX/s1600/2014-02-141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYuQpWQEmvRZoMqvzeUm0Ad1m68w9ffqgia1tw7Ocu5UWystOM4DxL2XSUgHfrRfJdz0Z_Wg9aHZbVZzhD-3F95szzeGfXg486uGvf-w5ZXNx8SWya0TcIgZg7xqfgQCwGvVVTjphFobX/s1600/2014-02-141.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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I would just like to point out that not one time did I use an emoticon in this post....not once! It was a struggle, but I proved it is possible. In future, I will probably overcompensate for this post with random, ill-placed smiley/frowny/disturbed faces in other posts....it'll make me feel better.DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-80863360836688327642014-02-10T11:58:00.003-06:002014-02-14T10:44:24.978-06:00Basketball funUgh! I've been such a slacker about posting...as usual. Well, its on my radar again, although there are no guarantees on consistency. We are working on getting our house in sell-condition. Everything else is taking a back burner for now. I've got plenty to update on, just not enough time to get it done. Eh...its the way it goes. :) <br />
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So, I'll let you in on our Saturday mornings of late. Braden decided he wanted to play Upwards Basketball as his Christmas present, so he has been playing on Saturday mornings and also going to practice during the week. This is the first team sport he has been involved with. Its pretty neat to see him learn to work on a team and to improve his understanding of how to play the game.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0HFqK1FsO2gHLZDeKVnCawJkQgGgd8jh3la-Rbe_nbJNjy6M5Hg8fP3Ivuy19bOaQVhbTEb3ZEVLjSndDC0rDkeXodSE5Xy1lFpEwN4rfBcn5hwnOMtSwHq-d95ZMvKDDYT-TcfUIgIcM/s1600/2014-01-18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0HFqK1FsO2gHLZDeKVnCawJkQgGgd8jh3la-Rbe_nbJNjy6M5Hg8fP3Ivuy19bOaQVhbTEb3ZEVLjSndDC0rDkeXodSE5Xy1lFpEwN4rfBcn5hwnOMtSwHq-d95ZMvKDDYT-TcfUIgIcM/s1600/2014-01-18.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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After the first game and much expectation from Ailey about being a cheerleader (she wasn't old enough this time ;), I decided the other kids needed cheer shirts and accessories. So, off to Hobby Lobby I went and brought home the necessities. Here is what I came up with:</div>
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Ailey kept asking for pom-poms, so with the help of ideas resulting from a google search, some plastic table cloths, metallic "tissue" paper and some electrical tape, VIOLA!, pom-poms! :) I made a pennant for Zekes because he needed something to wave, though he had a pretty good time shaking the girls' pom-poms, too. ;) All the shirts got some glitter paint treatment because, let's be honest, boys need bling, too.</div>
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They had a really great time cheering for Braden at his game and rockin' their new gear.</div>
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Also, I am, apparently, a rather vocal supporter of my son's team. GO RED RAIDERS!</div>
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DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-82336247571464488682014-02-03T10:47:00.000-06:002014-02-03T10:47:10.839-06:00Remembering Moses on his birthdayYesterday was our sweet Moses' birthday. Its very hard to believe it has been a whole year since he died. I thought a lot about him and am still thinking a lot about him. I wonder what adventures he is on with Daddy God in heaven. I ask God often to give him hugs and kisses for me and 2 tell him that I love him. There is a sweetness that comes along with the sorrow and tears now. For me, that's a good thing. We didn't do anything as far as celebrating his birthday yesterday because its still so much of a memorial situation. I would like for us to celebrate him in a special way in future years, though I don't know what that looks like yet. So for now, since I can't honestly say happy birthday, I'm going to just say, "Sweet remembrances, precious Moses."DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-51252317072973350712013-11-02T13:48:00.000-05:002013-11-18T17:28:29.703-06:00The Creativity is strong with this one..Braden is constantly coming up with alternative uses for things. This is the latest use for the monster truck with the long-since-disappeared battery:<br />
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He also likes to include all his siblings in trying out his ideas. ;)DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-19190755620298275412013-10-30T11:59:00.001-05:002013-10-30T11:59:44.282-05:00Just soI can say I posted something on here... Wow, I hadn't realized how long it has been since I put anything on here! I still have to finish up my events of the summer series and I've got a bum-load of pics and stuff to add from the last 6 mos or so. I'm an awesome, extremely consistent blogger. Can't you tell? Eh, I'll get a wild hair and have verbal diarrhea for a day or so and then back date everything to make it seem like I did it in the actual time-frame and viola! <br />
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On a side note, I've really liked using the phrase verbal diarrhea lately. It evokes such mental images and says so much in just two words. :D<br />
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I'll leave you with a tantalizing tidbit of real-life circus drama from the past week or so. This will be told in the form of memory rewind, just to shake things up a bit. Telling things in order of incidence is sooo last season! (Fifty points to the one who gets that movie ref.) As of this moment, I am almost, but not quite recovered from my back going out on Saturday. I'm such an old lady! Its sad, but with the help of therapy and sufficient amounts of cake and ice cream, I'm slowly coming to terms with this fact. I had spent part of the morning and a large chunk of the afternoon cleaning out, then vacuuming and finally shampooing out the van. Its a tall order, yet wouldn't normally have been a big deal, but... The day before, Sam and I had both been bedridden with yet another stomach virus which happened after both Brea and Braden had their bouts starting the previous week. So, we're talking lack of sleep, which is always so fun followed by each of our sessions of my now coined phrase of "pukin' and dukin'" and the insanity of disinfecting and wreaking havoc on my washing machine, segueing into my extreme need to be out of the bed and accomplishing something I had tried to get done three weekends in a row, ending in several muscles in my lower back being pulled in a ratcheting effect out of place and me ending up back in bed from whence I came. Aaaahhh, the circle of life! (Now you're singing the song. You're welcome. ;)DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-86453433020561683232013-08-02T08:00:00.000-05:002013-08-02T08:00:00.195-05:00The Dyesses: A Series of Interesting Events part 3<br />
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We had discussed getting a 12-passenger van to have more room on trips and to be able to have more cargo room in the back for luggage and trips to the hardware store and those times I get larger furniture or appliances off of craigslist or if we just had friends who wanted to ride with us to certain places. I liked the pluses of something larger like that, but the downsides never quite set well with me. The gas mileage would be waaay less than our current van costing lots more in gas each month and the larger vehicle would mean parking at the grocery store or anywhere for that matter would be a constant irritation for me. Plus, I would be the main driver and I just didn't want to have to take out the big mammer-jammer any time we had to go somewhere during the week.</div>
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Conversion Vans were our next possibility. We liked the extra room inside because, let's face it, we've got growing kids and our boys especially will be needing more leg room in the coming years. They are very comfortable to travel in and the bed that folds down in the back was just a fun added novelty for possible naps or lounging around. We also wanted a tv and dvd system in whatever we got next and these vans pretty much come standard with that. Again, the gas mileage is pretty low on those and the ones we were seeing online in our price-range were very high mileage and I really didn't have a peace about it. </div>
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I really kept coming back to Honda Odysseys. They hold their value well, they are good on gas mileage for a vehicle that size. They last a long time and I really appreciate the attention to detail that Honda puts into their vehicles. Even the most basic models have nice gadets. :)</div>
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We knew we wanted leather seats. They are just easier to keep clean and that is necessary in this family! I wanted a gray interior because it just hides stuff pretty well until you can get to it, but that was just a plus, not a must-have. We wanted a dvd player already installed. We've been using two travel dvd players and while we have been very grateful for them, we have had our share of difficulties and hiccups using them in our van. We also wanted it to be under a certain amount total and monthly. I called our bank and had our financing all taken care of before we actually found anything because I wanted to bypass all of the frustrations we have experienced with dealerships in the past. I was also able to include gap insurance and an extended warranty that our bank offered so that we wouldn't even have to mess with it at the dealership.</div>
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After talking about it with God and each other off and on we agreed that another Odyssey was the way to go for sure and that evening, I found an Odyssey in Austin at a the First Texas Honda dealership that has a no-haggle price policy. That was another of my hopes. We bought our van from Carmax and really liked that we didn't have to haggle to get a good price. It was what it was, take it or leave it. I really appreciate that. So, I was really glad to find a place that was similar. They also do a 100 point inspection with a guarantee on it, which is also like Carmax. Another point of appreciation. They had posted the van to their website, but there wasn't a picture. Just a description with all the details. It had leather seats, gray interior, dvd player and it was an 07. I wanted to find something with all that with under a 100,000 miles, but we would have had to fly to a different state to go pick it up. Since that was totally not happening, I was okay with it having 114,000 miles on it. :) I contacted them via a chat feature on their website, then set up an appointment the next day to look at it.</div>
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When we got there, we met one of two of the Product Specialists also know as Salesmen who would be helping us through our van buying experience. These guys were fabulous! We seriously had such a great experience because of them. If you need a Honda and are in the Austin Area, I highly recommend First Texas Honda and ask for DJ or Christian or both. :) There was a bit of a hiccup at the beginning because the van had not been completely inspected or detailed out. They were backed up in that department so when we test drove it, it wasn't in its best condition. We didn't really care though, because we could see that it was a good van in good shape. The engine sounded good, it drove really well, very smooth and it was exactly as described, except the color isn't a real gray, though depending on the light it can look like that. Not a problem, though. :) So, we weren't able to take it home that day, which was a bummer because that meant we would have to make another trip back down there in the air conditionerless Jeep. :/ </div>
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That was what we spent our Wednesday day long date doing. We did go out to eat at BJ's restaurant, which has excellent food and we went and took a really good look at the Domain. HOITY-TOITY! Whew! We've been there several times to go to the Apple Store, but never really got to look around. I'm convinced those people really like their stuff and really don't want me to buy it. Hahahaha! The coolest thing we got to do was go into the Tesla shop. That is a very neat car. Fully electric and completely fantastic. We enjoyed speaking with the representative in there. They sell t-shirts and I may just have to sport one in the near future. :)</div>
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We were hoping that they would have the van ready the next day because our original plans were to go back to East Texas on Friday. It wasn't ready until Friday, so our plans got scooched back a day. Not ideal. But, when we went back to pick it up, we were introduced to the free snack bar including free frappuccinos and baked goods while they last and they had a kids play room as well as a stage with instruments where several of the staff have made up a band and play often. Not your average dealership, I must say. The paperwork process took a bit, but because I had made all the previous arrangements it went much more quickly than it would have normally. We did end up staying there for 3 hours, but it was really because we ended up talking, laughing and joking around with DJ and Christian and the time just kinda flew by. Fun times...</div>
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We finally left and drove both our vehicles back home and I really enjoyed driving the van in lovely a/c. :)</div>
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Still more...</div>
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DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-14717614526545762122013-08-01T08:00:00.000-05:002013-08-01T08:00:07.695-05:00The Dyesses: A Series of Interesting Events part 2<br />
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The next occurrence was the next week full of VBS. I don't like being so very regimented and on a tight schedule for too many days in a row. It just flat out wears me out! The three olders were able to attend so it was fun to have Brea and I spending time together. We totally worked the free summer lunch program for that week because it was just easier to get us all up, dressed, loaded in the van and over to a place close to the VBS place serving the breakfasts and then hit the same place again for the lunches. There are some amazing ladies at the place we went and they are such a blessing!</div>
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VBS was Monday through Friday and I had Saturday to pack for the kids to go and stay with grandparents in East Texas. I only packed myself an overnight bag because the plan was for me to take the kids to my mom's house, stay the night and then I was to come back home while they stayed there. Mom was to take them to meet up with Sam's parents and trade midweek and then I (possibly Sam, too) would return Friday evening, stay the night there and then come back with the kids Saturday. Sam and I were supposed to have 4 glorious days of no kids just hanging out together. Sam even took Wednesday off so that we could go on a full day-long date! Woohoo! So exciting! </div>
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Yeah, well, that is not what happened. On my way back from Mom's, I stopped right outside of Tyler and picked up a set of lockers advertised on craigslist. $50 for a set of six! Oh, yeah! So, had those loaded up in the back of the van and got on the other side of Tyler right past Chandler and the a/c started blowing hot air. I was thinking that the freon needed to be charged and that I was going to have to finish out the drive with no a/c, when I noticed that the engine was actually overheating. Nice. I turned the a/c off and slowed waaaay down in the hopes that it would calm things down. Nope. Oh, by the way, this was the week when the temps were over 100. The week before had been pretty cool and the week after it rained nearly every day. :/ I was really concerned about irreparably damaging the engine, so I pulled over and turned everything off. Of course, I had didn't know how far past Chandler I had come and how far the next town would be. I called Sam who was just getting off of work and apprised him of the situation. My phone didn't have much charge left, either. I had the ipad, but no hotspot, so no help there. Sam got home and was able to tell me where I was because of a county road sign I could see. I was closer to the next town, Brownsboro, but was still about 2 miles out. I was about 3 hrs from home at this point. Yay. </div>
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I decided to walk into town rather than swelter in the van. Oh and to make matters just that much more interesting, right before the engine overheated, I determined I needed to find some place to stop due to digestive issues. See? Not one moment was boring. ;) I gathered up my necessities, busted out my bright orange umbrella, locked up the van and aimed myself down the road. I was pretty sure, that my feet and legs would be pretty red and crispy by the time I reached the town since I had no sunscreen, was wearing shorts and flipflops and the umbrella can only cover so much. I got about 10 yards from my van, when a truck from the sheriff's department pulled a U-y and came up behind me. The man asked if that was my van, I confirmed and he offered me a ride to the gas station in town. I was beyond thrilled! This was a Daddy kiss moment where I was still in a difficult and far from ideal situation, but He said, "Here, let me help you with this." He didn't make it go away because I was learning to keep my peace and joy in tact and just be okay where I was. It was a good lesson and not really a struggle because I chose not to get mad and upset about the inconvenience.</div>
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The gas station he dropped me at has a subway and bank in it as well, so after explaining my situation to the ladies behind the registers to make sure it was okay that I would be hanging out for three hours and getting plenty of sympathy, I was told I could sit in the subway seating area for as long as I needed. The Subway employees were immediately offering me water and could they do anything for me. So nice. Yet another Daddy kiss, just letting me know He was right there with me. I was gonna just play some games on the ipad to pass the time, but discovered the bank had wifi, so I was able to connect and get on the internet and start looking for a substitute vehicle. Our van has been such a blessing to us. It is old, a 2000, and it has had its share of wear and tear. The inside looks worn out as well, but we've had it for over 5 years and its gotten us where we've needed to go and been super dependable. However, we knew our time with it would be ending sometime in the near future and had started discussing getting a newer van a little over a year ago. </div>
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All in all, I really had a pleasant wait passing the time until Sam came to pick me up.</div>
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When he arrived, I hopped into his Jeep, which has no a/c, and we went to go assess the situation with the van. We decided to see if we could drive it back towards Tyler. Our hope was to be able to get it to a dealership in Tyler that would just buy it off of us. We made it a couple of miles down the road and then it overheated again. So, we hooked it up to the Jeep and decided to tow it in. Apparently, when you put an Odyssey into neutral with the engine off, the brakes don't quite work right. We made it into Chandler and I knew there was no way we were gonna make it back to Tyler towing it ourselves. And don't forget, the lockers are still in the back. :) We found a place to park it for the night and decided to head back to Sam's parent's house, about two hours away. This was all on Monday. Sam had to take off Tuesday from work to help deal with all of this. By the time we got to Sam's parent's house, it was too late to do anything about the van, so we had a circle discussion about options and decided we would rent a tow dollies the next day and tow it back to their house with his dad's truck and then just called it a night. </div>
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The next morning, we went to the rental place and got the worst customer service ever! I called the head office to see if there were any other places that had a tow dollies available and was informed that we could not tow our van on one because it was too heavy for it. An auto transport was suggested as an alternative. Well, that might work, but the truck wasn't heavy duty enough to pull it. Okay. Thankfully, Sam's parents had borrowed a family member's truck to haul a tractor from Oklahoma and they still had it. It was definitely heavy duty enough. This was another Daddy kissy. Another one was that we didn't have the kids with us during any of it. I am so glad I wasn't stranded with 4 kids in that heat! We were able to find a transport at a smaller business place that we had actually done business with before and it was a very good experience. Sam's parents pulled the transport while we drove in the Jeep and we all went to go load up the van. We stopped at Sonic and ate and I had my first of several slushies that day. </div>
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We loaded the van and we headed home and Sam's parents took it back to their house. On our way home, we stopped at sonic several more times to get slushies because we felt like we were being sucked dry by the heat and the wind. Oh, and we decided to go ahead and haul the lockers home in the Jeep because we couldn't see a feasible way of getting them home otherwise. Even though we were hot, sweaty, windblown and stinkin' tired, we had a pretty nice ride home. Our air conditioner at home welcomed us with its wonderfully cool loveliness. We wallowed in it. That and a shower. ;)</div>
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And more to come....</div>
DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-3160934147638830602013-07-31T11:49:00.000-05:002013-07-31T11:49:03.534-05:00The Dyesses: A Series of Interesting Events part 1<br />
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Oh man, so much has happened in a short amount of time! First up on the calendar of special occurrences was the washer that had been given to us by our cousins decided it didn't want to stop filling up anymore. It had already had a couple of other things go wrong and was pretty old. We knew it was just a matter of time before we would have to replace it, but we were fine using it up to the very last bit of its ability! :) We had already decided that since we have a ridiculous amount of laundry to be done all.the.time, that when the time came to get a different one, we would invest in a front loader again. I used to have one before our rv saga and I absolutely LOVED it. Getting a brand new one was just not necessary as far as I was concerned because there is always a bounty of used goodness on craigslist. ;) <br />
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So, away my fingers flew on the keyboard and track pad searching through the previously owned offerings. I was looking at either an LG set or a whirlpool duet set. I wanted to go ahead and get a matching set since our dryer is the same age as the washer and the sets I was looking at were actually less expensive than some of the single washer ads. I looked up the reviews on both sets to see if there was anything I should be concerned about with either of the models. It was interesting to find such a huge amount of dissatisfied consumers of the LG model. Granted lots of them were about the odor issue many have with front loaders and since I know how to fix that issue and avoid it in future, that wasn't as big of a deal, but there were plenty having to do with the actual mechanical and electronic parts not functioning properly. I didn't really want to have to do a lot of youtubing how to videos on fixing it and ordering parts and all that, so I was relieved to find that the whirlpool reviews were mostly about the smell and not very many about the machine not functioning properly. <br />
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The lady that was selling the whirlpool set was moving and I went to check them out to see if they would work and to make sure there wasn't anything wrong with them. She was going to need them a couple more days to get all her laundry done, so it was kind of an interesting situation. We paid a small fraction of what a new set would have cost, actually got them loaded in the van and with much strain on both mine and Sam's part, got them set up in the laundry area. They can be stacked, so we did that and it freed up quite a bit of space for a new laundry system that will be put into place soon. Something very similar to this:<br />
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" 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I will have the six baskets, but it will be all one unit. I am going to add casters to the bottom and a counter to the top for folding purposes. I already have the baskets, I just need to have a good chunk of time to cut up some plywood and 1 by whatevers and assemble it all. I'm hoping this will be a better system than the dirty-clothes-baskets-in-the-closet a.k.a clothes-all-over-the-floor one we've got going on now.<br />
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I was loving washing the first couple of loads when I noticed water coming out from under it. Not a lot, but there was definitely a leak somewhere. Ugh. So, I let Sam know about it and started looking up possibilities for the problem. He said he noticed a small tear in the drum seal and thought that might be it. I took a look at it and found it, but couldn't tell for sure. I found a suggestion that it might be the water pump or it could be that the drain filter was clogged. That one was an easy fix, so I took the front panel off and undid the filter basket. There was a big wad of lint in it and some coins. I was hoping this was the problem. I didn't think the pump was because it wasn't make any non-normal noises. I cleaned it all out and put it back in and did another load. I thought it was good until I saw the water coming out again. Bummer. At least the panel was still off, so I could see where the leak was. Sam was right, it was coming from the seal area. I knew ordering the drum seal would take a while and to be honest, I didn't want to have to pay $70 bucks for one right after we just bought the washer! So, I had it in my head that there had to be a way to temporarily patch it. ;) I was thinking possibly one of those pool float patches or something similar. I actually came across a suggestion of duct tape and thought why not?! The stuff we have in the garage is the very thin cheapo stuff, but it would just have to do. I put a little piece on the tear and did another load. It worked! Sam was pretty sure it wouldn't hold very well for very long and suggested a stronger tape like Gorilla Tape. He was right on. After a couple of loads the leak was back so, I picked some Gorilla Tape up while I was at Lowe's and put a piece over the tear when I got home. That's been a little over a month ago and its still holding strong. I'll eventually replace the seal (I've already watched several how-to videos and even found one where I don't have to take all the panels off of the top and front of the machine!), but for now we are good. :)<br />
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To Be Continued...DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-49481398743381204402013-07-29T09:57:00.000-05:002013-07-31T09:58:13.223-05:00Brea is using the potty!Brea has been having what I call growth and/or teething poo. It has made her bottom super irritated and we've had to do just cloth diapers for a couple of days trying to get it under control. It was only helping slightly, so today, I decided to let her run around bare bummin' it. After a bit, I decided to what she would do about sitting on the potty. She was more than willing and went there immediately. The first two times there was plenty of grunting, but no substance. Made me ponder her experience seeing the rest of us use the potty.....haha! The third time, Success! She had gone several times and most of them I just ask her and she heads in there and gets on by herself and she's done by the time I even get in there. I'm pretty excited! :)DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-58806304536540298342013-07-06T01:47:00.001-05:002013-07-06T01:47:56.845-05:00It would have been about this time...My due date, Moses' birthday would have been right about this time...I'm really missing him right now. He's not here with us to be a part of our daily routine or special fun things we go do as a family. My heart is just so full of feeling every bit of his absence. I have several friends who are having babies in this time frame. Of course I don't begrudge them their happiness at welcoming their new little ones into their families, but it makes me very sad that I am not able to share in that type of joy now. I hope that one day, seeing a mother and her newborn won't cause my heart to grieve quite so heavily and I'll be able to freely rejoice with those bringing new life into this world. It also hasn't helped that I've been so busy lately that I haven't had a lot of time to myself and haven't really been able to grieve very much. Mostly late at night when I'm already exhausted. At least its something...every little bit counts and helps. Even though it has been 5 months, its still as raw and present as ever. Again, I don't think it will ever lessen, so much as I will learn how to do life including it better. Well, at least at times.<br />
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Lately, I've been asked quite a lot by random people how many children I have. I have been at a loss as to how I should respond. On the one hand, I don't ever want it to seem like Moses didn't exist or that he doesn't count in an incredibly huge way in our family and specifically my heart, but on the other....well, I don't always feel like explaining myself or getting into details that still hurt so very much. Sam came up with a good way of saying it, I think. We have one child at home and four here with us. :) I may get more than I bargain for in response to that, but I'm going to see how it fits. It may be more than I can really deal with at this point, but then again it may be exactly what I need to say.<br />
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So, Happy might have been Birthday to my sweet little Moses. I love you and miss you.DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-26250887317786468622013-06-05T12:13:00.000-05:002013-06-06T12:14:34.429-05:00More from Zekey...Ailey and Zekey were sitting at the dining table having a discussion while Ailey was coloring a picture. She was coloring something and saying how she was going to be as tall as her cousin Boaz. Zekey, then corrected her perspective by letting her in on some of his wisdom. He told her, "No, Ailey, you have to play basketball and then everyone will think you are bigger even though you really aren't." He has pondered for some time now that playing basketball must be the key to making one tall since most of the players are very tall. Makes sense to me! That totally must be what happens. ;)DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-9006336565139460812013-06-01T22:37:00.001-05:002013-06-01T22:37:56.772-05:00A Very Thoughtful and Sweet GiftMy Aunt Kathy sent us a beautiful gift in the mail the other day. She said she kept coming back to it and knew it was meant for us. :) I really love it and am glad she sent it. Thank you, Aunt Kathy!!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><a class="lightbox-enabled" href="http://www.sympathysolutions.com/website/sympathy/var/catalog/item/61oy3wdte3.jpg" rel="lightbox" style="color: white; text-decoration: underline;" title="Just the Same Glass Plaque"><img alt="Just the Same Glass Plaque" height="481" src="http://www.sympathysolutions.com/images/sympathy-catalog/200x500x1-item/61oy3wdte3.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.sympathysolutions.com/catalog/item/just-the-same.html">http://www.sympathysolutions.com/catalog/item/just-the-same.html</a><br />
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Its a glass plaque and it looks just like the pic above and says: <br />
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Just the Same</div>
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I never got to hold you & bounce you on</div>
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my lap, I never got to read to you</div>
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or watch you as you nap. You slipped</div>
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away so quickly, before I said your name.</div>
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And yet I want the world to</div>
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know I loved you just the same.</div>
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Anne Peterson</div>
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DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-78481248767366051422013-06-01T20:00:00.000-05:002013-11-18T17:48:32.084-06:00Happy Birthday, Zekers!!!Zekes turns 6!!!! It is so exciting to be a part of Zekey's journey through life. He's such a laid back, easy-going, tender-hearted, sweet, caring fellow. This year he wanted a transformers birthday and after looking at several examples of cakes, he saw one he liked and I told him what I could actually do. ;) Since his birthday fell on a Saturday this year, Sam was there the whole day and he made Zekey's birthday breakfast. Sausage patties hold up candles pretty well. :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEww8AXfwym-8j0UXr260w_abyFhG2fOsc76iLCQnsiBaF5X5t_d9fm5i4er-loPKp3eZ_oTsP3zR7gWC7HL6uXLehi1_orzALtZtpY-sGryyy6xhxeMdE0Q8sjbhEJmYkM6UhpkrqEuy/s1600/2013-06-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEww8AXfwym-8j0UXr260w_abyFhG2fOsc76iLCQnsiBaF5X5t_d9fm5i4er-loPKp3eZ_oTsP3zR7gWC7HL6uXLehi1_orzALtZtpY-sGryyy6xhxeMdE0Q8sjbhEJmYkM6UhpkrqEuy/s320/2013-06-01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2zkFwAHsED_L914SgsQpb2TOoOLx5fn9zHxvQTrcYFJQdPcGB-JUOsZM0CNtwxSd2hcXldOGfvxM07WVL8w5S3Pk1caWARCRKny_CD6gW6IgdnPgYnJ4PPsOKBKwLRUSLAvRk0qNwbq2/s1600/2013-06-011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2zkFwAHsED_L914SgsQpb2TOoOLx5fn9zHxvQTrcYFJQdPcGB-JUOsZM0CNtwxSd2hcXldOGfvxM07WVL8w5S3Pk1caWARCRKny_CD6gW6IgdnPgYnJ4PPsOKBKwLRUSLAvRk0qNwbq2/s320/2013-06-011.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have decided I like the homemade marshmallow fondant much better than the store bought stuff. I like using it for embellishments much better than trying to cover anything large, though. :)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1WW5WRbDKu8HlNCMCB8xP8mdfSQt35SzQxOrOKehTcGfapOp-ft3N7Dz-8n33pVr_aoAXstnBq20lmgA4KlrK_XAQIk1YeuJRRHkD75oXAVvdSSo46g3YFOPcLrHJGkYnYNJNfU8rrTpT/s1600/2013-06-012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1WW5WRbDKu8HlNCMCB8xP8mdfSQt35SzQxOrOKehTcGfapOp-ft3N7Dz-8n33pVr_aoAXstnBq20lmgA4KlrK_XAQIk1YeuJRRHkD75oXAVvdSSo46g3YFOPcLrHJGkYnYNJNfU8rrTpT/s320/2013-06-012.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Zekey really loves when he is the center of attention. LOVES.</div>
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These are not the best pics, but I was laughing just a tad at his success in keeping his sister from blowing out his candles. She actually blew them out the first go round, so we relit them and gave it another go. Hahahaha!</div>
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DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-55082386557697210322013-05-28T11:10:00.000-05:002013-05-28T11:10:19.760-05:00A Visit, Strep and Some SurprisesMy mom came in for a quick visit over the weekend. Braden had remarked about having a headache and then later a sore throat. I was thinking it might just be drainage because we were all dealing with that a bit. Mom came in on Friday evening and by then Braden was talking funny because his throat hurt and he was asking for more vitamin C and salt to make it feel better. He didn't have a fever, but I had a feeling it was strep. This is the fourth time he has had it in the last year and a half. He still occasionally sucks his thumb and I think this time it set in for him that it is how he keeps getting it. :/ So, I ended up taking him to the urgent care clinic (hooray for those!) Saturday morning and I had let him know that if it was strep, that we would be going with the shot and not the 10 days of liquid antibiotic. Well, it was strep. The shot was a thing of drama and there was excessive limping afterward, but he really did do a good job. That particular one does hurt. Poor kiddo, he got the same susceptibility to getting strep repeatedly as I did when I was younger. I got it every year without fail and usually more often. If someone had it within a 10-mile radius, I would get it. :/ Hopefully, the thumb sucking will not be so appealing now and he won't get it at all anymore! This is the second time it has coincided with a visit from my mom...at least it didn't take long to take care of it and she's not susceptible to it!<br />
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While Mom was here we had a great visit. We just hung out and chatted and enjoyed each other's company. Most of the time, she offers to keep the kids so that Sam and I can go on a date, but I didn't even consider that she would this time because the visit was so short. BUT, she did offer and we got to go see the new Star Trek movie <i>in the theater </i>on Saturday.... The last movie we saw in the theater was Captain America. Yeah, it had been a while. :) Anyway, we really enjoyed ourselves! We went through the drive thru and picked up some starbucks first and then went. Another little aside: Sam gently kicked me out of the house the on Friday morning so I could just get out for a while and get some stuff done and I got some starbucks then, too and then Sunday, a couple of friends and I had a little impromptu girls evening out and we ended up at starbucks again. Haha! That's the most "coffee" aka frappachino yumminess I've had ever! By the way, the mochachino cookie crumble or crunch or whatever its called is seriously addictive. Just remember I warned you!<br />
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Anyway, all in all, best Memorial Day weekend EVER!DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-63148882181785403702013-05-27T10:41:00.000-05:002013-05-28T10:42:24.694-05:00Braden is 9!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Happy birthday to our smart, kind, clever, inventive, fun, funny, silly, brave, energetic, thoughtful, wonderful boy-o! We are pretty sure that life somehow got fast-forwarded while we weren't looking and you just jumped to being 9. :) We love you so much and are so blessed that God gave you to us so we can walk beside you in this life. What anadventure we have had so far and what an adventure is still to come! We release showers of blessing and wisdom and love over you in abundance! Oh, happy day!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwfpd9QZjIe3Ztqp6uf5reHgWwk3kEth-Uhm8VTP1Eq8Irf7lNYp-wlCQn3QM84owWi64JnXMRlVUXUetAQYMzafAMKSa9uGrBrUsHmlA5z-aI8TRSfOU2AugYvz-VtyoDm_LA4lJNOuD6/s1600/2013-05-271.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwfpd9QZjIe3Ztqp6uf5reHgWwk3kEth-Uhm8VTP1Eq8Irf7lNYp-wlCQn3QM84owWi64JnXMRlVUXUetAQYMzafAMKSa9uGrBrUsHmlA5z-aI8TRSfOU2AugYvz-VtyoDm_LA4lJNOuD6/s320/2013-05-271.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Braden wanted a NASA birthday. Again, no invite-everyone-and-go-way-over-the-top party for this year. That's next year's craziness. ;) I did decorate and do it up boy-style. We don't want anything too girly in this house for boy birthdays. Just ask the boys if you don't believe me. :) Braden helped me hang some stuff and he was very specific in the planning part of it all. I really like it when the kids are that involved with their party planning. I'm looking forward to when they get even more involved. Let's just say that there should be no excuse for any of them not being able to pull off surprise parties and all the fullness thereof when they are older! ;)<br />
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Don't you love it when you can use a 40% AND 50% off coupon at michael's at the same time?! Me, too! I got a few things there including these cake wires:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 18px;"><img class="details_shot" src="http://www.duff.com/cart/sites/default/files/81411_2_0.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 30px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 300px;" /></span></div>
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In my perusal of the cake decorating aisle, I came across and find that I am in want of this baby in the not-so-far-off future:<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.duff.com/products/the-essentials/duff%E2%84%A2-straight-icing-spatula" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Duff™ Straight Icing Spatula"><img src="http://www.duff.com/cart/sites/duff.com/files/10186%20Duff-%20Medium%20straight%20icing%20spatula.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 225px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 200px;" /></a></span><br />
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I also got a few things at Hobby Lobby (totally busted out the 40% off coupon there, too. :) I'm loving the paper lanterns and pinwheel thingymabobs lately. I printed off the space shuttles and the garland and viola! just enough deco for a 9-year-old boy. :)<br />
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First, we had his birthday breakfast. He chose to have pancakes with only peanut butter chips in his.<br />
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We all really liked how the cake turned out looking....the actual cake part, though, was NOT impressive. This was actually the second failed attempt. I was trying to make the raspberry lemon cake from Taste of Home, but it doesn't do well in anything other than several shallow round or square pans. Eh, it would work in sheet cake form, too. I tried to cook it in my pampered chef batter bowl first so that I could have the dome shape, but it never got done in the middle and the outside got burned. So, when I was at Michael's, even though I had decided <i>not</i> to get a special pan, I went ahead and got the ball pan and tried it again in that. It still didn't get done in the middle! Ugh! More like a gelatin than cake which makes for a very unpleasant experience. Bummer. The planets were pretty good though. I just made them from rice crispy treats and marshmallow fondant and then used gel food coloring mixed with almond extract to paint them. A special thanks to Kristen H. for helping me cover the planets in the fondant! It would have taken me fo'evah otherwise. I picked up some better Duff paint brushes while I was at it. (I'm starting to see a trend here... ;) Next time, I'll just turn a plain yellow cake into lemon yumminess or maybe a lemon pound cake...mmmmmm. Braden is a lemon fanatic, too. :)<br />
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The silliness is strong with this one!</div>
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Everyone was excited about getting their own planet to eat. :)</div>
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Braden said the best part was when I took him by himself to the store and said that he could choose what he wanted up to $10. (He also got an Academy gift card later.) Let me tell you, this kid bargain shopped! He found that green dart gun in the pics on the clearance shelf for $4.48, got a few extra bullets for it on the clearance shelf for $1.98 and then went and got three hot wheels cars for $.97 a piece. He was excited about his haul AND about not spending the whole $10! These are exciting times, folks! It will be a beautiful day when I get him all in to couponing. ;) (He does already have a grasp on the Hobby Lobby coupon...it has begun:)<br />
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<br />DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-23932859716560637542013-05-20T09:42:00.001-05:002013-05-20T09:42:29.019-05:00Poor LerLoo!Ailey's growth spurts are somewhat painful for her at times. She actually has growing pains in her legs. They are the kind that wake her out of a dead sleep and require motrin to calm the pain down enough to get her back to sleep. :/ She has had them pretty consistently. When she first had them at around a year and a bit, I honestly didn't know what was going on. She would just lay there and hold her legs and cry. <br />
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Last night was another growing pain episode and at a little before 3 am in a very groggy state I managed to get up, bust out the ever trusty boo-boo pack and motrin and get us back to sleep, Ailey preferring the hallway and me preferring my bed. :)DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-4521748200041650292013-05-17T23:43:00.000-05:002013-05-17T23:43:20.424-05:00Whaaaa?!Can someone please tell me what is up with this pose? Seriously, don't understand why its so popular...just sayin'. I think its the combo of the hand in the hair and looking down and to one side....who does that?!<br />
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Tiny rant-tantrum end. :)<br />
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DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-65942205370157283072013-05-17T22:53:00.001-05:002013-05-17T22:53:27.022-05:00Another Bradenism to tempt the corners of the mouth...So, Braden was sitting in the computer chair and the rest of the kids were orbiting him like smaller satellites. They were tickling and giggling and being their normal silly selves when all of a sudden Sam and I hear Braden telling his audience, "Don't touch there! Its my no-no rectangle!" Well, after that how are you supposed to maintain composure?! Sam and I could.not.stop.laughing...could not stop! I'm just glad that I wasn't drinking anything because either I would have choked or everyone in the splash zone would have gotten a shower. :) Of course, the kids got a hold of it and decided to milk it for all its worth and tried to come up with as many names as possible: private square (staying with the shapes theme), private spot, no-no spot, no-no rectangle and no-no square were ones I caught before I could stand the silliness no longer. Yet another peek into the inner thought process that is Braden's mind. :)DyessFamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15916671487369519213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7264986209189719881.post-85190378991536211522013-05-12T10:51:00.000-05:002013-05-20T10:52:24.331-05:00Daddy and Ler Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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