Happy Halloween !

Thank goodness it's over! I am exhausted! Once again this year we tossed a bunch of kids and blankets onto a trailer and off we went. The kids had a ton of fun, but everyone is worn out! Especially me and Jon, we're getting old I guess. You'll notice the absence of Chandler and Hunter in these pics. Hunter was invited to trick or treat with a friend and Chan passed out candy for me. Hope everyone had a fun, safe Halloween! Now, I have Thanksgiving and Hayden's birthday to plan, YIPPEE!!

Doing our part...

Here at Myersville we're doing our part to conserve water. In fact, the boys are really working on it. They NEVER flush the toilet. Now that's a scary sight for Halloween morning.

Blah, Blah, Blog!

Ok, let me be perfectly honest, blogging sucks! I was really needing a hobby when all the kids went off to school that wasn't shopping or cleaning and I chose blogging. I also had several other little projects I wanted to do as well. Of course I have done none of them, because this blog has totally consumed me. I am not a writer at all and have days where I struggle to come up with interesting content. My first problem is that I have a counter on here and can tell how many people look at it. My second problem is that I count on people to comment way too much. I am really mad at myself for letting a BLOG make me feel the way I have lately. If I didn't get enough traffic or comments to suit me it would ruin my entire day. I have driven my poor husband crazy. I have had days where I have checked it waaayy more often than I should and that is about to stop. There is so much more to life than this and I am about to change my ways. I will still be blogging, hopefully daily, but I will not be checking it at all during the day. I love sharing my family with ya'll! I am going to try and do my new posts in the mornings unless something amazing or funny happens then I will post when I feel the need arises. I am also going to be changing some of the photos and go back to my original layout as I am getting tired of the Halloween colors. I hope to keep the blog for as long as time will allow, but need to put it on the back burner. My family, my self esteem, and my marriage will be better off. I truly hope that everyone has enjoyed reading it, Lord knows I have sent the link to enough people. Sadly some of the people I want to see it NEVER even log on. If you read something you relate to or think is funny, feel free to leave a comment if not it really isn't a big deal. Thank you to Kelli, Sarah, Shannon, and Vanessa for reading it and commenting, it makes all the hard work worth it. I have enjoyed reading about you and your children and all of the many adventures being a mom brings to each day. Keep reading, I'll keep writing. I just have more pressing things in my life than being online all the damn time!

Ashley's tortilla soup

2 boxes Rice-a-Roni spanish rice
2 packages pre-cooked chicken fajita meat
2 cans black beans
2 cans mexicorn
1 can rotel tomatoes
2 large cans chicken broth and 1 small can chicken broth
avocado slices
shredded cheese
tortilla chips

Prepare rice according to directions on box (I use the microwave directions), while this is cooking, pour 1 can of broth and chicken into large pot, heat to a low boil over medium heat. Pour in remainder of broth, corn, beans, and rotel tomatoes. Keep heat on medium. When rice is done cooking, slowly add to other ingredients in pot. Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Soups done! Serve hot and top with crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and sliced avocado. May also be topped off with other items of your choice (salsa, sour cream, etc.) Enjoy!
*This will last several nights, especially if you are the only one eating it*

Trunk or Treat

Yes it's that time of year, carnivals and Halloween parties. We, along with a few of our friends went to a trunk or treat at Erin's church on Sunday. Very fun, family atmosphere. The kids went from car to car in the parking lot, played a game at each trunk, and won a treat. Very cute idea! Plus, all the free hot dogs, nachos, cookies, and soda you could eat, which Jon took literally as he visited the snack bar, often. There was also a bounce house, mini-train ride, and one of those things where you can launch an apple or mini-pumpkin. The best part: everything was FREE!! We didn't spend a dime! Plus everyone was so nice. They didn't seem to mind that random people showed up at their FREE! carnival.




*Sorry about Sunday Atalie*

Word of the Day..

is swalty. Thanks Chloe for creating a new word! I bought some new Sunchips for snacks, cinnamon graham flavor. I smartly announced to no one in particular that they were sweet yet salty. Thus the word swalty was born.

Not so fast...

As many of you know, Hayden is the pickiest eater on the planet, no joke. I have been thinking of buying a new cookbook that just came out. It has recipes in it that have healthy stuff snuck in without your children knowing what they are eating. Like cauliflower smushed into the mashed potatoes or spinach baked into brownies. Well, yesterday I decided to try and trick Hayden. I added a 1/3 of a cup of cheese to his scrambled eggs. And I swear to you he could tell! He refused to eat it, he dipped his fork in it and licked it. That was enough for him. He said they were sweet and smelled funny. I was floored, how could he tell? He never figured out what was in his eggs, he just knew they were different somehow. I am still gonna buy the cookbook though. I am constantly worried about his health. He only eats like 15 foods now, surely he'll get bored eventually. If he would eat PB&J or mac-n-cheese I would probably do a back-flip, naked!!

Hot Date

Ok, not really. But it's as close as we're gonna get these days. Jon and I were gonna go to a haunted house and dinner with friends, but we all had babysitting issues. So, we went alone. And we were gone 2 whole hours, WOW! Thanks Mom for watching Chloe and Hayden. The big boys hung out with friends. We went to the The Boneyard and it was fun, but definitely not scary! I guess knowing it's a bunch of actors and all in fun helps. If I was in that situation for real, then I would be scared. But, it was fun to hang out with my hubby. Even though we live in the same house it feels like we never see each other. Anyway, last year we went to The Palace of Wax for their haunted house and it was way better than The Boneyard. So much scarier that last year 2 days after we went I had to have surgery. It must have scared the appendix out of me, ha ha! Kidding! We stopped at PF Changs for take-out and had a lovely meal at 11 last night, super not healthy but yummy! Such a lovely evening really put Jon in the mood: to sleep! He was out by 11:30. So, I surfed the net and watched a little TV. Hot date indeed!!
P.S. We took this ourselves, so Jon's head is kinda missing the top!

Black Hole

I was talking to my sister Kelli the other day about purses. Not such an unusual subject for two chicks. We were discussing the funny things you can find in your purse, especially after having children. Mine is especially bad which drives my friend Erin crazy. We will go shopping and I can lose my debit card between stores in a matter of minutes. So I decided to dump out and organize my purse for about the millionth time this year. Here is what I found:
1. 17 receipts
2. 1 hotwheel
3. 2 packages of breath mints
4. 2 checkbooks (1 empty one)
5. 4 handi-wipe packages
6. 2 rubberbands
7. a pair of socks
8. 1 used kleenex
9. chewed piece of gum wrapped in paper
10. 2 magazines
11. sunglasses
12. 3 tubes of chapstick
13. a sharpie marker
14. small bag of pretzels
15. feminine products
16. brochure for the bounce house place
17. 8 coupons
18. ink pen
19. lotion
20. wallet
What's in your purse?

Like drinking 8 cups of coffee...

I just got home from running a few errands. With all four kids. Can you say jittery? We went to Cool Cuts for haircuts, which cost $67 with tip. That's another story altogether. But going for haircuts, to Guitar Center for new strings for Chandler, and Target for a few necessities was only slightly stressful. We actually got everything done and only came home with a few things we didn't need. The whole ordeal made the mountains of laundry and housework I'm about to do seem tame. Happy Saturday!

Pumpkin Day Part 1

Today was pumpkin day at Hayden's school. There were 5 centers where they were able to do different activities. There was a science center where they planted a seed. A tasting center where they ate roasted seeds, pudding, pie, and bread. A painting center where they painted a pumpkin. A math center where they weighed mini pumpkins. And finally Hayden's favorite: a carving center, where they helped clean the guts and seeds and made it into a jack-o-lantern. They had soo much fun!

Pumpkin Day Part 2

Flippin' Sweet

Chloe learned how to do a round-off backflip on the ground! I am soo proud of her!

Nail Salon

I took the time today to catch up on my recorded shows and of course promptly fell asleep on the couch. So, I still have a weeks worth of Oprah to watch. After my nap I was feeling the need to be pampered. So I headed to the nail salon for a pedicure. I know, I know with winter coming fast why get a pedicure? Well for starters my feet looked like chipped cement and secondly I couldn't afford something a little more fun like a new purse. Besides I had already bought myself a beautiful new coat yesterday and I wear flip flops 365 days a year. So, my feet were feeling neglected. But, I am curious about one thing. I know it's been discussed before and there is even a popular video on youtube right now, but what exactly do those nail techs start gabbing about the minute you walk in the door? Man I wish I knew Korean. I went to a different place today, a new one. I walk in and as usual feel VERY self conscious, which I do anytime I go into a hair or nail salon. I don't know why, but I suspect I am not alone. Anyway I go in and tell them I want a pedicure and no kidding all 7 of them start talking a mile a minute. I of course wanted to march right back out the door crusty feet and all. What was so fascinating or horrifying that they all had to talk at once? All before they had even seen my feet. My beauty, my butt, my dark circles, WHAT? That is one of the great mysteries of life: what in the heck are they saying? I seriously want to get a Korean/English dictionary to study so I can know what they are talking about.

Getting in touch with his feminine side...

My Chan-Man being silly....

C'mon bounce with me...

I had been promising to take the kids to the bounce house place, and yesterday I had to pay up. Hunter had a blast, he's just too "cool" to smile for the camera anymore. Hayden and Chloe had fun as well. I ended up walking about 5 miles inside that place just to keep an eye on them. They would go from one bouncy thing to another in a matter of seconds. The place we went to is called Bouncing Bonanza. It's on Main St. in Crowley. Definitely worth the drive as they have a bunch of unique bouncy things and it's huge in there. They even have an alligator where you can go inside his mouth, do a little obstacle course and come out under his tail! Chandler opted to stay home and play electric guitar to his heart's content knowing I couldn't tell him to turn it down! All in all a fun afternoon and I had no trouble getting the kids to bed, they were worn out!

Husband for sale: CHEAP!

One slightly used husband for sale. Attractive and physically fit. Washes a mean car. Gourmet cook, his specialties are macaroni and cheese with tuna fish, totinos pizza, and waffles with peanut butter. Doesn't need much. Dinner is a nice touch, TV with DVR, a couch, and his own bathroom. Plays well with children. Also plays an occassional soccer game on Friday nights.
*the above husband runs out of gas, gets keys locked in car often, and snores, but these are not THAT big of a deal*
*BONUS* 11 year old boy can be thrown in. 11 year old forgets binder and lunch money at least once a week, but this can be fixed before he's 30, I think...

Dear Appendix,

We parted ways one year ago today. (*sniffle*) I don't know what went wrong. We got along perfectly. They said that you were infected, you needed to come out, that I didn't need you anyway. What happened to you? I was sitting down after a long, busy day going through pictures to put in an album. Then all of a sudden I experienced the worst stomach pains of my entire life. Next thing you know I am sitting in the ER with my friend Erin and a trick or treat bucket to barf in. 8 hours later I am being wheeled into surgery. Crossing my fingers that I wouldn't die and that the surgeon would throw in liposuction, a breast lift, and a tummy tuck because she was feeling generous or forgot what she was doing. No such luck. Instead I was left with 3 scars and a $20,000 hospital bill. I still get stomach aches all the time, about 3 or 4 bad ones each week. I think they were wrong, I did need you. I'm sorry.
Love always,
Ashley

It's beginning to look alot like fall....

When you're outside fixing your blown over Halloween decorations and inside with the fans on and doors open, it's definitely cold enough for a fire. So, being that I have firewood and a nifty little fireplace, that's precisely what I've done. I've started a fire! Now, if I only had on hand the ingredients for my yummy tortilla soup, we'd be in business.

Pumpkin Fun

Today I put my foot down. We were not gonna spend another Sunday laying around, doing yardwork, or watching football. I was bound and determined we were gonna have some fun. So, we took an idea from my sister Kelli and headed to the pumpkin patch. Now keep in mind that we have never ventured to the pumpkin farm ever in the history of our family so today was a first. We should have been doing this every year. The younger kids go with their school class each year but being with family and friends was special. We met up with our friends and all the kids and headed out. We went to The Pumpkin Patch in Farmers Branch. Which I would link for you, but I'm not that savvy yet, someday maybe... Anyway- awesome place. Free hayrides, free admission, free parking, bounce houses, slides, small playground, face painting, food. Definitely worth the drive. Plus we also managed to see the Blue Angels go over a few times when we were stopped for gas. The older boys probably would have preferred to go to the airshow or stay home as they basically listed to their I-pods, ate, and people watched. And of course they skipped out on all of the many photo ops. Bummer, because I really need a photo of my whole family on here. Soon I promise. We all had a good time and everyone got worn out. Yay!

Witch's Brew

For tonight was the 1st annual Myers Family Halloween Bash.... and it was fun, crazy, chaotic, loud, and sugar infused. The only issue was I should have had a specific time frame and schedule for each "event". But, other than that it was about what I was expected. Crazy enough to promise myself I won't do it ever again, but fun enough to forget and plan one again next year. Of course being at my house I was too busy to take pics, I guess I need to hire a professional. Only kidding. But it does frustrate me when I don't get any photos. Oh well, no biggie. Hopefully someone will e-mail me some. I did get some waaayyy late in the party.
On another note...
We ate, decorated and devoured cookies, bobbed for apples, decorated pumpkins, and played a few games. Mainly ping pong because I forgot to open Halloween twister and pin-the-nose on the pumpkin. Those were opened later while the neighborhood kids were still here and everyone else had gone. The last few kids then ate some more, jumped on the trampoline, and made "witch's brew". Which consisted of dirt, a dead frog, smushed apples, water, a wild mushroom, and the spit of 13 children. The last of us sat outside and hung out until 10:30 while the guys went to a local restaurant to eat and hang out. I am finally able to clean the house and bathe and it's 11:30. Plus, I have not one but two kids sleeping over tonight. No one shows a solitary sign of slowing down. Can you say sugar high? Thanks to everyone who came. I hope ya'll had a good time. And to the kid who defaced my poor talking skeleton, it's war!! Goodnight!

Arachnophobia

Can somebody tell me why there were spiderwebs flying all over the place today? There were hundreds of them, everywhere. Was it just our side of town? Or did ya'll experience it too?

feeling blue

Rarely do I open up to people about my feelings. Especially if they are less than happy thoughts. But this past week has been rough. And when it wasn't rough it was busy. So I am about to spill my guts. Ever since school started I have been pretty lonely. I have entered a new stage in life. But instead of embracing it, I am having a hard time starting anew. I have been a mom since I was 18 and have had at least 1 kid underfoot for the past 15 years. So this feels weird. Most women would be happy and excited about having 7 whole hours to themselves each day. Not me. My kids are my identity, my reason for being. And they are now at a point in their lives where they don't need me as much. And, that's hard. I especially have a hard time seeing young couples just starting their families. Which is silly. I am now and will always be a mom. I don't know why this bugs me or even affects me. I guess having struggled with different degrees of depression most of my life doesn't help matters either. I know my kids love me and need me, even if they rarely act like it. I mean I actually embarrass them now, which is new for me. I seriously thought I was cool. Boy was I wrong. I will be ok. I am very much looking forward to my Halloween party tomorrow and getting back to the gym on Monday. I go through stages like this every now and then and have confidence I will snap out of this soon. Thanks for letting me share my innermost thoughts and for those of you who read this blog, THANKS. This has been like my baby and a fun distraction. Have a happy weekend.

When it rains it pours....

Moments after discovering my frig was on the fritz again, we had another disaster. A brand spanking new bottle of laundry soap fell off of the top of my washer. That wouldn't be a big deal except it landed on it's top. Which shattered. Which then spilled into a puddle that would rival the Exxon Valdez. And the soap happened to be ULTRA concentrated which required an entire roll of my beloved Bounty to clean up. On a brighter note the blue of the soap and the orange of my washer and dryer made a lovely abstract picture. If only I had taken a photo. The house does smell like an April fresh clean rain though...

Fireman for a day

Yesterday Hayden's school had the fire truck come by for a visit and demonstration. So cute. The kids had a blast. Except for it was awfully chilly and overcast. Which only the moms and teachers noticed.

Mr. Golden Sun

Imagine my surprise after the dreariest day on record the SUN! came out. Would it have been too much to ask that it come out earlier? Like before dinner and baths ? But, I'll take it. Some sun is better than no sun I always say. Ok not really but it sounded good.

Hunter, you're my hero!

Hunter is smack dab in the middle of the worst case of prepubescent angst that I have ever seen. I am sure it is annoying, thrilling, and confusing for him all at the same time. He was Mr. Suave when school first started and now that he has a "steady" his fan club has cooled a little. He now considers me and Jon dorks and we are not allowed to come to his school for any reason. He is a little more receptive to Jon than me, even about the school appearances which kinda hurt my feelings. But what can you do? He seems to get upset at the drop of a dime and is very lippy. Which you are never ready for. He has way more attitude than Chandler did at this age unless I have forgotten? And, he has moments where he still gets weepy and wants to cry but stops himself pretty quick because he's too old and too cool to cry I guess. He never wants to be home because we're boring. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that at his friend's house they have 4- wheelers and a really nice video game collection. Plus, they never ask him to put away his dishes or laundry, to do his homework, get off the computer, or go to bed. I sometimes feel that if I changed my name to Christian or Justin or asked him to go fishing he might start to like me again. I doubt it though. It will probably be about 7 or 8 years and by then Chloe and Hayden will be going through it. Either way I love him to pieces. He's such a sweet little boy and I think he's pretty cool even if I'm not. Hunter, I love you buddy. Forever.