Chaos and Mayhem, Moving and Whatnot

     Hello blog friends, okay who am I kidding.  Hello Grandma!  It's been forever since I've blogged, well, because life has been busy.  So today's post will be a little family update.

      We'll start with the boys.  Sandy, that handsome hard working man is still as handsome as ever.  He is still self employed.  Have I mentioned that self employment is heavenly?  Now there's that minor detail of finances, but really who cares.  I love that he is home on all my days off; even if he's working in his office.

 Christian turned 13 in July- I am so proud of that kid he is becoming an awesome young man.  He has worked so hard to overcome his dyslexia; this year he is doing amazing in school and rarely wants our help with his homework.  Let me tell you, that right there is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

     The girls have been busy too.  Noelle turned 16.  CRAZY!  When I look at that beautiful girl I can  hardly believe she is ours.  She is so much fun, and has matured into a wonderful young lady.

Faith (my sis), Noelle, & Krissy (my newest sis)

 Gracie girl turned 9.  She is a pure joy.  She's hilarious and can be a bit, shall we say, unfiltered.  The other day she assured me that she would probably meet her husband on Christianmingle.com.   I'm glad she has that figured out, ya know I thought she'd probably meet her future husband in college.  Silly me.

    I've been busy too.  I switched positions at church, and now I am the hospitality ministry leader.  It's been a big change, and a whole bunch of fun.
   
     We also randomly decided to sell our house to buy a farm.  I figured we would get some chickens, two cows, a few fruit trees and call it good. Sandy could learn how to bring in the hay, bale the hay, whatever.  Now buying a farm is not easy as one may think.  First, you have that big casting vision piece with the good ole spouse.  That was easy, all I had to do was say I would be in the kitchen whipping up some homemade pies and such.  Sandy was in.  Now Noelle, had to be all practical, and mentioned that she didn't think it was wise to buy cows as I have an aversion to all animals.  She kindly recommended I start with a chicken.  Whatever.
   
     With great anticipation we began our farm hunt.  Well, one thing we did not factor into the equation was our budget.  You see, I had glorious vision of a spacious farmhouse with a wraparound porch. Tulips and daffodils would surround the porch in the spring, giving way to heirloom roses and hydrangeas in the summer.

hookedonhouses.net

 Problem was the b-word kept getting in the way.  We would travel to the farmhouses in our budget only to find rundown, funky smelling shanties in their place.

www.houseofedgeworthsc.com

 

  One such place boasted a practically finished remodel with partial lake views.  The sewer system was noted to be a lagoon; so we googled lagoons and phoned a friend.   We learned lagoons were an acceptable sewer system and actually better than septic alone.  Sandy and I decided to make the journey out to the house, sure we were being led to our dream house....To be continued

Planning the Anniversary

    I haven't blogged forever, even though I know my grandma loves to read about our family nonsense.  Tonight I decided to go through some of my old blog drafts and I came across this little doozy I wrote almost two years ago and never published.  The post cracked me up, so I decided to share it with you.

 

   This year is our 15th wedding anniversary.  It is amazing how time has flown by.  I love my man more today than ever.

  I REALLY wanted to go to the Melting Pot for our 15th anniversay, it is hands down my favorite resturant.  The problem lies in the fact that Sandy is, well, cheap, I mean frugal  and would like to go to a midlevel priced resturant.  Hummm...

2.  Here's a delightful snipit of a conversation had by me and my hubby:

       Shannon:  "Babe, I think we should go to the Melting Pot for our anniversary."

       Sandy:  "Hon, Let's be responsible and go somewhere cheaper."

       Shannon: "Babe, we barely made it, I think we should go somewhere nice to celebrate."

       Sandy:  "I don't think that's funny!"

       Shannon:  "We should have that put on our tombstone:  "Here lies Sandy and Shannon- They barely made it."  

    I think I'm hilairous, though it's possible I may get a gift certificate for marriage counseling for my anniversary gift.

Note:  We had a lovely time on our anniversary, and he took me to Maui for our 16th, so all in all it was a win.  :)

Simply Amazing Granola Bars

     Every Fall I go through a nature mom stage, I feel the need to bake fresh bread, create amazing homemade soups, can peaches, bake fresh apple cake, and the list goes on and on.  Recently, I tried a recipe for homemade granola bars and they were AMAZING.  I found the recipe in, "Harrowsmith Country Life Baking Book".  Here's the recipe tweaked Shannon style:

Chewy Granola Bars

1 c. brown sugar

2/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup butter (melted)

2 tsp. vanilla

3 cups oatmeal

1 TBSP. flax

1/2 Rice Krispies

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1 cup mini chocolate chips

Home Ec for Christian

 Preheat oven to 350.  Mix brown sugar, peanut butter, corn syrup, butter and vanilla.  Stir in oatmeal, flax, Rice Krispies, coconut & chocolate chips.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.  Cut into 18 granola bars.

   My family loves these delicious treats.  I usually cut granola bars and then place them in snack size sandwich bags, so my  kiddos can pop them into their lunchbox throughout the week.  If I leave them in the pan they are devoured in a day.  Hope you enjoy this delicious treat.

Head Chef

Blessings to you and yours!

I'm linking up with "The Stories of A2Z".

The Truth Comes Out

   

                              

     My lovely husband has taken to reading my blog, nevermind that I stopped posting about five months ago and have recently posted only twice.  Apparently, as with all great writers, you're not appreciated until you stop writing. Ha!  Anyhoo, Sandy feels that I have failed to follow-up on some of my old posts, and therefore I need to update with you mindless info you missed this summer.  So here you go:

1.  I once posted that I was handing over the finances to my husband.  Now this was a great idea, at least in theory.  I have to admit, he was never able to pry the checkbook out of my hot little hands.  Apparently, now that Sandy's read my blog, he wants to "discuss" taking over the finances.  Hummm....

2.   Last winter Sandy purchased a boat without telling me.  Now, this boat wasn't your typical run of the mill boat, it was a hurkin' huge, ugly boat.   Sandy being the studly fix-it  fella he is, whipped the boat into shape, purchased new seats, and restained all the wood work.  The boat then went from extremely ugly to large an awkward, but at least he was able to collect a tidy profit when he sold it.

3.  Tonight in a passive aggressive move, I started the dishwasher and the washing machine (using hot of course) while Sandy was in the shower-  I was hoping he'd get a "refreshing" splash.   Ha ha!

                                

4.  Last year I lost 30 pounds.  Woo hoo!  The problem is I gained 12 pounds back.  Now my question is, did I lose 18 pounds or gain 12?  Hummm.....

5.  Someday I would like to write a book.  Here are a few titles I'm considering:  "10 Reasons NOT to Call your Husband a Little Moron",  or "When Teasing Becomes Truthful".  Ha!

Disclaimer:  If you were offended by tonights post.....  You should know that:

I have the worlds most amazing husband. 

 He smokin' hot and kind. 

He doesn't mind if I tease him.

 Hope you enjoyed the random blither of tonight's post.

Blessings to you and yours!

    
   

Arch Enemies or Best Friends?

The littles...I think it's possible they are going to be the death of me....

Sure they're cute, even though they don't like to brush their hair.

But they fight every stinkin' day...   AHHHHH!!!!

On the upside, their arguments are often hilarious.

Here's a sampling of a typical night at the K's house:

After finishing dinner I realized Grace needed a pink tutu

for tomorrows "Twins Day" at school, and I didn't have one.

I hoped in the car and headed to Target, about 1.5 minutes

into the drive my cell phone rings. Here's the conversation that ensued:

Christian:  "Mom! Grace just chewed up lettuce and spit it in my face."

(Insert:  Shrieking.)

Grace:  "LET ME TALK TO MOM."

Christian:  "Fine!'

Me:  "What on earth is going on, and where is your dad?"

Grace:  "Christian opened the refrigerator, and took out the whip cream and was going to eat it!"

Me:  "Okay?"

Grace:  "I told him that  he is NOT allowed to eat the whipped cream."

Me: "Okay?"

Grace:  "He won't obey me, so I chewed up some lettuce and spit it at his face."

Me:  "Grace Elizabeth, you are not allowed to spit food at your brother."

Grace:  "HE DIDN'T OBEY ME!"

Me:  "Grace, you are not the mommy, and Christian doesn't have to obey you.  Besides,  we never spit in someones face to discipline them.  Mommy doesn't chew up her food and spit at you when you are naughty."

Grace:  "Well, maybe you should!"

Me:  "Go to your room."

Hummmm....new parenting technique?????

Blessings to you and yours!



Adventures on the Bluff

     I'm grateful for Fall, it's my favorite season.  I love everything about it- the smells, the leaves changing color, fall scented candles, pumpkins, yummy soups, cute boots, pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks...you get the idea.  Being the traditional sort of girl I am,  Fall wouldn't be complete if we didn't make our annual trip to Green Bluff  for the Apple Festival.   Green Bluff is a community of farms that offer U-pick fruits and vegetables, hayrides, corn mazes, and delicious food.  If you have never been to Green Bluff, you are missing out on:

The Corn Shooter

The Caterpillar Train

Fresh Pumpkin Donuts (Source)

Apple Picking & Sampling

 and Pumpkin Patches.

Now if you miss out on Green Bluff, you'll save about a $100.00.  But who's counting...

well okay, Sandy probably is, but I'm not.  :)



Gratitude List:

60.  Little faces covered in sticky Carmel Apple goo.

61.  Notes that read "I trooly love you, mom".

62.  Date night with my man.

63.  Sunny, warm October days.

64.  Ripe, red tomatoes straight from the vine.

65.  Snuggle time

66.  Brady Bunch reruns

67.  My dad, he's been gone almost 2 years, and today would have been his 54th birthday.

68.  My sweet 14 year old asking me to pray with her before bed.

69.  Goofy, irritable, lovable kids.

70.  Cousins spinning crazy circles while dancing to an old time band playing "Sweet Home Alabama".

71.  My Savior.

 

Sassy Molassy

The Culprit

     My seven year old is sassy today, oh my.  Here's a few snippets of our morning conversations:

Conversation #1

Grace:  "Everyone says I'm your favorite, but I know I'm not."

Me:  "I don't have a favorite child, you are all my favorites."

Grace:  "I knew it, you don't like me.  You tell me NO all the time."

Me:  "Grace"

Grace:  "That's it!  I am going to take my picture, and post it on Craig's List. My ad will say, "Free Little Girl".

Conversation #2

(After reading stories for 20 minutes.)

Me:  "Do you want me to tell you the story of the day you were born."

Grace:  "I already know it."

Me:  Oh, so you know how the day you were born we went to the zoo? 

Then we looked through all the cages and picked you.

Grace:  That's it!  I knew it!  I knew I was adopted, and Sherri's my real mom.

     That little girl of mine, she is a spit fire.  One minute she's sweet and snugly, the next she's feisty with attitude.

Blessings to you and yours!