Halloween / Last Post Before Move

Here are pictures from our night of trick or treating. My neice and nephew went along for the trip.

This will be my last blog before we move into the new house. On Wednesday they are packing everything up, Thursday they are are loading the truck and Friday we will be moving in. I will be back online as soon as the powerful Verizon decides to give us DSL (yes there is sarcasim in my tone). We are supposed to have DSL on Monday but they have the 14th listed so who knows. Doug spent a total of 5 hours on the phone trying to get it sooner since I need to be on early next week for my job interview.

Tackle it Tuesday

Here are pictures of the first tackles at the new house. We did Robyn's and Garrett's rooms first so they would feel comfortable in their new home. Robyn has a beautiful quilt that Grandma Bores made that goes well with the room and Garrett has his Philadelphia Eagles bed set that will match well. I did the painting and Doug did the ceiling fans.

Thankful Thursday

These are the beautiful flowers that Lori gave me this morning as my house warming gift. She is such a great friend and so talented, as you can tell from the arrangement. She even took the time to find a container with frogs on it because she knows how much I like them. You'll have to visit her site to see more of her work.

This morning as I was getting ready I realized how close this is to happening. I have been looking forward to a lot of changes but have neglected all the things I'm going to miss. I'm really going to miss being close to my friends and family. I know we'll all keep in touch thanks to Verizon IN and blogs but there is nothing like the ability to just drop by someone's house. Luckily its only an hour, it could have been much worse. Things are picking up at a rapid pace now and I'm getting a little overwhelmed and scared. I'm hoping I have made things easy enough for the movers to get through it all to pack. I hope I haven't forgotten anything......

Bitter Sweet Tuesday

Today was the big day. We went to closing on our new house, turned in all the school paperwork for the kids' new school, had lunch at CiCi's and picked up some hoodies from the High School Athletic Store to help the kids get into the new school spirit.

Later in the day I picked the kids up from school and took them to the M Library for their last trip. It was very emotional for me and I'm sure for the kids. We have been there each week since Garrett was 6 months old. We have become very close with the Library staff and are really going to miss them. I never thought I would have such an attachment to a library. We only saw a couple of staff members so we may have to go back on Saturday morning to catch a couple of the others.

Fabulous Award

Thank you for the award KC!!!!

I want to pass this on to Michelle and Alex.

Menu Monday

Here is the menu for the week. Things are starting to get a little more hectic so I planned some easier, quick meals. Again, no idea which order this will be in. I'm just thrilled to have a list. I have no idea what to do for next week because we will barely be home and the days we will be home we will be packed up. The sad thing is that Monopoly at McDonald's ends on the 29th so I won't even be able to use that time to collect game pieces.

Burgers and Tator Tots (we haven't had these in a least a year)

German Pot Pie

Stuffed Peppers

Leftover Pot Pie

Ranch Chicken Wrap

Sloppy Joes

Hot Dogs and Mac & Cheese

Cleaning the Garage??

Doug and I attempted to clean out the garage and got distracted. We found this hula hoop and just had to give it a try. He promised to let me make a video if he could do it to me too. We are weird and don't think we'll ever grow up.

Thursday Thirteen

Today they are closing on my current house. As of today we will not own a home until October 24th. What a strange feeling! It has made me realize how close this move is now and the things I need to do to prepare. Here is a list of 13 things I need to do before we move.

1. Tackle the garage. I have attempted this many times but just stop and get overwhelmed. I'm baffled. I can't decide what needs to stay, go or be thrown away. Doug will be helping me with this during the week.

2. Fill out the withdrawal paperwork for the kids' current school.

3. Fill out paperwork to enroll kids in new school.

4. Have a long talk with Taffy explaining the move to her and comforting her while she realizes that she will miss her bunny friends.

5. Throw some things away from basement.

6. Clean furniture in basement.

7. Dust furniture so the movers don't get dirty :)

8. Pack up items that movers won't move and take them to new house.

9. Clean new house.

10. Paint Robyn and Garrett's new bedrooms.

11. Starve the african frog and beta fish to death so I don't have to move them in my car. Just kidding, you know I couldn't live with the guilt.

12. Call B water company.

13. Cry because I'm going to miss this house, friends and the city in general.

Wordless Wednesday--Guess Who??

Tuesday Stacism

I haven't been in a tackle mood lately. I have been very focused on my studying for my certification test. I finished my 4th chapter out of 18 today!!! This was my favorite chapter so far (Nutrition) and the 3 hardest are behind me. The 3 hardest for me are Exercise Physiology, Human Anatomy and Biomechanics and Applied Kinesiology. The rest of the chapters look much more interesting.

I have to tell you a funny Stacey story though. In my house we call them Stacisms because I do goofy, weird, forgetful stuff alot. Anyway, I started reading my chapter today and came to the conclusion that I do not get the adequate amount of calories for the amount of exercise I do and that could lead to other problems. Instead of fixing that the healthy way, like I know I should, I started thinking about McDonald's monopoly and I got competitive. I thought I could increase my calories and get more monopoly pieces. The sad thing is that I didn't even want to eat it because my favorite Southwest Salad was just a summer promotion so I had to order a Chicken Select to get monopoly pieces. I even had to up-size it so I could maximize my monopoly pieces. I went home to eat it while studying and opened my book up to the next section: Fat and Heart Disease. How bad is that? To make matters worse I drank the entire Large Diet Coke and I'm bouncing off the walls and peeing constantly. I haven't had caffeine in weeks. I hope I keep you guys as entertained as my family :)

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness

I saw this over on KC's site and it reminded me of my two miscarriages. I was pretty young when they happened and didn't understand it very well at the time so it was difficult. I was 20 the first time and 22 the second time. Luckily I was able to have 2 healthy children after that but after finding out about my heart this year I am extremely blessed to have them! The doctor doesn't know how I had them without complications from my heart.

Menu Plan Monday

Another week and listed to the right >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Another Stacey Attack

This is a funny video but be patient and wait for it, wait for it........

Wordless Wednesday

What a Tuesday!!

What a busy day!! I went to MOPs and ended up winning lunch with Lynda so I didn't get back until 1:30pm. From there I had to boil chicken, make cookies, check email from the mortgage guy, call verizon (again! :(), call time warner (again! :() pick up the kids from school and take them to the Milan Library to read with a therapy dog (they had an appointment). Now I have to rush to make dinner because I invited Doug's parents over to eat with us. Doug is stuck in bumper to bumper traffic so we pushed dinner back a half an hour which helps me to get caught up too. A day in the life of a mom, huh!

Anyway, my goal was to take care of a lot today because I wanted to be available the rest of the week to study. I made a big decision last week. I decided to pursue my personal trainer certification. I have been wanting to do it for a few years now, so after an interview last week and a push from friends and family, I'm doing it. I interviewed with a large rec center and they told me I can start training there as soon as my certification is complete. There are only 2 trainers there and they are 40+ hours a week and there is even more interest from clients there. They also asked me for ideas and were thrilled with the one I gave. They now want me to organize and plan an afterschool program that teaches children how to live a healthy lifestyle so we can avoid the rising trend of childhood obesity. They want me to reach 9 elementary schools and 3 middle schools one at a time. Its huge and I have lots of ideas!!! I'm going to run it from 3:30-5:30 4-5 days a week and have each day consist of a healthy snack, physical activity and lessons (healthy eating, TV/Video Busters, Decision Making and Self Confidence). They told me to run with it and we are going to present it to the school board when I'm done. The rec works closely with them and said they will be thrilled. I was so excited to hear such a positive reaction to my ideas. Now I have to get to work!!

Harvest Tradition / Menu Monday

Here are pictures from our annual trip to the Enderle Farm. Each year we enjoy the hayride, corn maze and the store. On the hayride Robyn guessed the right number of pumpkins hidden in the woods and she won a pie pumpkin from the store.

Our family likes to race through the corn maze and we break up into teams, boys against girls. For the second year in a row Robyn and I won but Doug thinks we cheated. This year he told us which direction to start in because he wasn't happy with his start last year. Our first stamp was near the exit so Robyn and I ended up doing the maze backwards and finishing at the entrance. We ran out the entrance and sprinted to the exit. We sat there for awhile and when Doug and Garrett came out they only had 3 stamps out of the five. I say its fair because we reached all 5 stamps and they even picked our first direction. This was the first year we attempted this in shorts and flip flops. The flip flops made it hard to run but Robyn and I did it anyway. We were dripping with sweat at the end. It certainly didn't feel like fall but had all the beauty of it. I love all the fall colors!!

Today I'm a day early and I'm posting my menu for the week. I don't know which nights I'm having which meals but here it is. I'm trying to get ahead for the week and I'll tell you why on Tuesday!

Spaghetti with Cheese Garlic Biscuits

Pepper Chicken with rice

Swedish Meatballs and green beans

Taco Salad

Chicken and Stuffing Casserole and Cranberry Sauce

Much Needed Faith Lift Friday

Encourage others and yourself! Share a scripture, quote, devotional, lyrics, or anything that has blessed you and strengthened you in your faith. Don't forget to grab the button and to link back to Sheryl's post.

Faith Lift Friday came at the perfect time this week. I have a huge decision to make and I came across this in my reading.

Hebrews
10:35 "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For in just a very little while,
"He who is coming will come and will not delay.
38 But my righteous one will live by faith.
And if he shrinks back,
I will not be pleased with him."
39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

There are just so many examples of faith listed after these verses that I found it very inspiring.

Wordless Wednesday

Tackle and Giggle Tuesday

I've been feeling a little down lately and today I was putting some new tunes on my iPod when I came across this song. Back in 1998 I was introduced to the web site that played this song along with dancing hampsters. I checked on it today and its still there at http://www.hampsterdance.com/classorig.html and it really cheered me up.

Anyway, its Tuesday so I have some tackles I need to take care of before I watch the movie I picked out for MYSELF. Its called Georgia Rule and I have no idea if its supposed to be good or not. I plan on cleaning out the refridgerator, and underneath both bathroom sinks. I'm going to get off the computer now and get started!

Catching up

We've had a busy few weeks and now things should slow down until our move. We went into contract on both houses on the same day. They are both set up now and as long as both lenders can keep their dates we'll be good. We are scheduled to move Nov. 2nd so hopefully the movers will confirm my date today. That will give me a week to clean and paint before we move in. We didn't want to move the week of Halloween because of the parties and trick or treating so we are waiting until Nov. 2nd.

We had a busy weekend that included a fish fry, soccer game, football game and a get together with Doug's friend from high school that he hasn't seen in 15 years.

Here are some pictures from the football game where my nephew Jonathon (number 48) was playing and where my niece Elizabeth (the shorter one) was cheering. The last picture is my newest nephew Jack who is 7 months old.