Christmas Food Drive 2009

I am hosting a food drive for Christmas. I will be collecting food and donations to buy food until December 10th. All food will be donated to the Tarrant Area Food Bank. I will post several reminders here, and then give the tally on the day I deliver the food. We had a small food drive last year after a hurricane hit the gulf. It was a success and I appreciate those who gave so very much! I know that not all of you reading this will be able to participate. I'm asking for any donations possible though. Click here for a list of items needed. If you work with Kevin, you can bring the food to him and he will bring it home. If you want to pass this along to anyone, feel free to do so. We can make this BIG!!! If you know you might see me in the next month, think about giving a can or two of food, a box of juices, a bag of beans or pasta. Anything. You can buy a lot of food for five dollars!!

Boyd is kicking it off by donating a box of juices!



Prayer For The Hungry
Lord Jesus Christ, You urged us to give You food in Your hunger which is visible to us in the starving faces of other human beings. Let me realize that there are millions of persons - children of the same God and our brothers and sisters - who are dying of hunger although they do not deserve to do so. Do not allow me to remain indifferent to their crying need, or to soothe my conscience with the thought that I cannot do anything about this evil. Help me to do something - no matter how small - to alleviate their heart-rending want. Also let me pray regularly that these poor starving people will be rewarded for this terrible suffering they are enduring, and be relieved of it as soon as possible.

Thank you in advance to those who can give. You will be blessed by blessing others.

love,
nicolle

Relaxing

Today Boyd has Mother's Day Out. I think to myself, I'm going to drop him off, come home, crawl in bed and stay there. However, I know I probably won't do that! Kevin took Boyd with him most of the day yesterday. He had some extra time off from the races, although he did have to come home and work some yesterday late in the day. I was so happy. I got to relax and just hang out, alone! As my blog friend Gwen once said, daddies make it seem so effortless when they take the babies out. not fair. Well, I packed up a little diaper bag and sent it off with Kevin. Later in the day I panicked, remembering I had only packed one diaper. I thought, oh well, one will do. Kevin got home and I asked him if I should have packed another diaper. He never changed Boyd's diaper, all day! haha. Made me laugh. I know sometimes I get on my husband's nerves and I don't always remember to tell him, but thank you for taking care of us and loving us! Marriage is not always easy, and it's more work than I ever imagined, but it's worth it in the end!

(isn't he handsome? Kevin at the races on sunday. he is growing a beard. it sure is white. we are old!)

Be Nice.

This is something that I want to work on being better at. Being nice. We all have our "weirdness". We all do things differently. I know I gripe and complain a lot. I also know that it's ok to vent, but it does me no good whatsoever to go on and on and on about some things. I'm still gonna do it some, I'm not perfect nor am I trying to be. I just want to be a better person. Things will always bug me, but I have to work on how I react to them. Someone recently said something rude that pertained to Boyd, and man, I am still ticked about it. But it's only words, right?! I want to look at the big picture, and not get bogged down with insignificant things, misunderstandings, differences in people. I get aggravated VERY easily. I am not sure of the solution. I am not sure about removing myself from things that aggravate me in general. I can't even remember who it was now, but I saw a celebrity on tv the other day. They were talking about being happy and not dwelling on small things. They were trying to say that you can get bogged down with little, small, petty things. Don't do it. This world is much bigger than I am. I need to make it a better place. I want people to leave my house being happier and lighter on their feet. Being mean is really a drag. It makes everything about you sad and hurt and tired. It's ugly. I find myself being very jumpy and crabby lately. I hate it. It makes me feel ugly. I will always remember this quote. I haven't lived by it, but I am going to try really really hard to from now on. "Never say anything that you wouldn't write down and sign your name to".

Be Nice!

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

-this version is credited to Mother Teresa

Cole Slaw Recipe

Kevin's mom makes the best cole slaw EVER!


This is what she does. 1 bag of shredded cabbage. In a separate bowl, mix 2 large spoonfuls of miracle whip, 1 large spoonful of apple cider vinegar, and a packet of sugar or other sweetener. Mix this in with the cabbage. If you like yours more moist, make 2 batches of the wet mixture for the bag of cabbage. This is what I did. SO GOOD. I could never get my cole slaw quite right, but this recipe does the trick. We had some at the races, and I just made more on Monday night.

{Lots Of} Race Pictures

Well, it was another wild and fun weekend. I always look forward to the races, and I'm always glad when they are over. I really enjoyed our new camper, and can't wait to take it on our first vacation. We had a great time with friends and family over a 4 day period out at the track. Here are a few pictures. I have a ton more, but don't want you all to fall asleep here. I will put them on an online album for those of you that were out there with us. Thanks for coming!

We found out that Boyd loves Dots candy. I think he liked the box at first, then realized there was food in there. It was a good distraction for a while! He is in these pictures with my mom, my stepdad, and his aunt Angela. His Dots candy are the common theme here in the next few pictures!






The guys working on dinner. Do you see our lights up on our camper? I love them! Kevin put some Jimmy Buffett on the radio one evening. Perfect!




Group picture of Kevin's family. We had to tack on a mini reunion to race weekend because Kevin's sister, her husband and daughter were here and we have not seen them in over 3 years. Kevin's other sis and family drove up too. I hope you all enjoyed being out at the races. Not the ideal setting for a reunion, but we made it work. It was great to have us all together!


There is nothing better than bacon frying at camp for breakfast!


The flags flew at half staff all weekend for the victims of the Ft. Hood tragedy.


We root for #24 Jeff Gordon. He didn't do so well on Sunday.


Another great race day in Texas!

My Guy

I'm off to bed, but just wanted to post this one picture of my sweet child. Thank you Grandma Kathy for taking him off our hands last night and today, so we could camp and go to the race. It's crazy how much I missed him today though. He LOVED being out at the campground on thursday, friday and saturday. He played with rocks and ran and ran and kept us all on our toes. Will post more pictures later. I need to relax and go to bed. I have a house to clean tomorrow! How does your house get so dirty when no one is even home?!

A Few Outtakes

Cousins Boyd, Lauren, Lucas. (These pictures are off of the CD we received from the portrait studio). Yes, Boyd cried pretty much the whole time. It's ok though. He's still just a little guy and he was apparently not having a good day. No baby is perfect. None. They aren't going to smile or be happy all the time. He's still the most precious thing in the world to me! Sorry about the tripod comment earlier. I guess I know nothing about photographing little ones. Guess I was just kind of grumpy about the whole thing. I'll be back soon with pictures from the races. We had fun. Now it's time to clean up and get all of the campfire smell GONE!

Rant About Unnamed Portrait Studio

Boyd and portrait studios don't mix. I don't really like them anyway. I guess that's why we have only been one other time, before today. I just prefer to take my own pictures. I'm VERY glad we got the 3 cousins together today for photos, but Boyd cried and screamed the entire time. I'm not a professional, but I have to say I was surprised that they hand held their cameras. I always thought studios used a tripod. I was not impressed with this place, and I thought some of the pictures were really blurry. They schedule appointments every 10 minutes. It was a madhouse and total chaos. Anyway. I think I am getting a cd of the photos, so I'll try to post a few later......if you all want to see Boyd screaming and crying, with shiny snot! ha. I finally told the lady, "just take pictures of him crying. I'll still buy them". They thought maybe he would stop, but I knew better. Boyd's 2 cousins got some super cute pictures of themselves, alone. We managed to get a couple of group pictures that were ok. Kevin's mom got a cute picture of her with her 3 grandkids, for the first time ever, so that is extra special. I'm back off to the races. Might have a beer tonight. {SCREAM}.

Friday

I wasn't going to post anything today, but I'm home, had a shower, Boyd is in bed, and I have a few minutes. I have to admit I love the races. I love my child. I do not love the races + my child at one time. It is VERY hard to have a toddler at a campground for the second day in a row. You have to watch his every move. Make sure he doesn't get out on one of the roads. Make sure he doesn't touch the smoker. Make sure he doesn't put trash in his mouth. Make sure he has eaten, his nose is wiped, and his diaper is changed. Doesn't make for much relaxation for me. I'm very thankful for all of our family that has helped Kevin and I keep up with him. I'm also happy that Kevin's mom will be at our house with him all day Sunday, so I can be out there and have some time off. Here are a few pictures that I took today. I haven't really had much time to take a lot of pictures.

I love this beachy/surfer car sitting on the edge of the campground. You see all kinds of fun stuff out here.

Here is our camper. Kevin had to fly the Florida Gators flag too. ha. Does he know he's at NASCAR?!


My mom and stepdad like to buy a huge hunk of bologna, then slice it really thick, put it on the smoker, and make sandwiches. Yum!


This is our beautiful niece Lauren. Kevin's sister, her husband, and Lauren are in town from Hawaii. We have not seen them in over 3 years. They came over for a trip to Florida and were able to also get a small trip in to Texas. They have joined us out at the track for some food and craziness. Kevin's other sister and her family will be here this evening from Ft. Hood, and will join us tomorrow.


Kevin's sister Michelle giving Boyd a gift bag with fun stuff from Hawaii and Disney World.


Wish us luck tomorrow. We're taking Boyd, Lauren, and their other cousin Lucas to get photos taken. I hope everyone sits still for the pictures! I'll be back later with more races stories and photos.

Ft. Hood

I wasn't going to blog until next week, but I just wanted to pass on the news to anyone concerned, that our family is safe at Ft. Hood. Kevin's sister, our little nephew, and our brother in law are stationed there. Our BIL is a soldier at Ft. Hood. They were all on post when this occurred, and were terrified, but not directly harmed. We were at the racetrack this afternoon when we first heard the terrible news. Kevin & I both have had so many of our family and friends call tonight to check on them. I appreciate it and I'm sure they do too. We kept the news on all evening at the campground. We've been to that base many times, and I can't even imagine this tragedy. My heart is just broken for the victims, and all that live there and have been affected. Please pray tonight as you go to bed. We need the devil to LEAVE US ALONE!!!

Stress Monster And Other Stuff

Kevin used to call me Stress Monster. I guess that should really be my real name, since I'm stressed most of the time. It is something that I work on daily though. Anyway, along with NASCAR race weekend that starts today, which includes tons of fun, food, TRAFFIC, people, a few rednecks, and a bunch of other stuff, we have family coming to town. I'm not sure how we are going to do everything and fit it all in, but we're gonna try really hard. It should be fun though. So I probably won't blog again till next week, but I am positive I'll be back with more pictures than you ever wanted to see. Here are just some random ones I took this morning of Boyd. Man, has he been fussy today. Cute as ever, but fussy. He obviously wouldn't sit still or look at the camera, but I guess that's a 19 month old's prerogative! (Oh, you mean you didn't know that blue and red and brown actually do match. ha. I'll just say that Boyd dressed himself today).


I also wanted to thank someone I haven't ever met. Kevin's coworker, Karissa, brought this pretty knitted dish cloth/hot pad to Kevin to bring me. She said her mom likes my blog and gave this to me. I was so very touched! Thank you Karissa's mom!! I believe it is because I had written in a post a while back about how I'd love to knit. Currently I don't have the time or the patience, but one day I will learn. Anyway, THANK YOU. You are so kind and this totally made my day!


PS. Don't forget in this season of holidays, family, food, and sharing that our fellow brothers and sisters are starving in places near and far. I hope we can all remember to help feed a stranger, especially during this time of plenty. I'm going to have a food drive. I will write about it later. Just keep it in the back of your minds. We did a small one last year and it was fairly successful. I told Kevin the other day I'd love to open a food pantry. One of the many things I love about him...he's not discouraging about a dream. He just said, do it. I'd truly love to do it one day.

Wednesday

Today was Boyd's 2nd time to go to school. He smiled when he saw his backpack. However, he screamed and cried when we walked into the church. I felt so awful, but I knew he would be fine. He had the same reaction today when I picked him up as last week, cried when he saw me and didn't want me to put him down. His teachers said he did great and was happy throughout the day. The only thing he wouldn't do is sit for his picture. Today was picture day, but he wasn't participating! Oh well. I think maybe that I have taken a FEW pictures of him in the last 19 months. ha. They learned the letter "H" today. I love having Boyd's creations on our fridge. I love his little school and the teachers and staff. They are all so kind and welcoming!



After I dropped him off, I came home and did some cleaning. Kevin is off the rest of the week for the races. I went out to the campground with him and sort of played house in our new camper. Kevin's dad pulled his camper out to the campground today, so they set that up while I did stuff in our camper. It's kind of like having a new, really tiny, house. The most important thing is in our camper pantry. I know they are nasty greasy, but I love me some Slim Jim's!


I ran across this great blog the other day and couldn't wait to try out these pretzels. My intention was to make black and white ones, to resemble the checkered flag at the races. However, I couldn't find any black candy melts. I'm still making a bunch of these to take out to the campground. So much easier than the dipped pretzels I have made forever and ever. I put mine in the oven at 300 degrees for about 5 minutes, with the door open so I could watch them. Super quick and easy to make.

Canisters And Stuff

Wife: I found some canisters I want to buy at Sam Moon, but they are kind of expensive.

Husband: Go buy them.

Wife: No, I don't need them.

Husband: If you don't go buy them, I will.

Wife: They have lots of different ones. You won't know which ones to buy.

Husband: I have plenty of credit on my credit cards. I will just go buy every one that they have. :)

So, for our anniversary today, I got this.......(Kevin does so many things that remind me of my dad).



I found some others there that I liked, A LOT. They were less expensive than the original ones that I wanted. I had money left over to buy a bowl to match, and some diffuser oil. It's vanilla and it smells heavenly. Here are the new canisters. I don't usually decorate with white, but I love these.


Also, I was on the hunt for some waterproof labels for Boyd's sippy, backpack, etc. You've seen the ads in the back of magazines. Those are expensive. I found this great place on Etsy. Super cute and very affordable. Boyd's came in the mail today, and I'm so pleased. Go order from her if you need some.

I Have Found The One Whom My Soul Loves

Happy 8 year anniversary to us

I'm glad I chose you and I'm glad you chose me!

Snot And Dirt And Snails

Boyd LOVES playing outside. I know all kids do, it just seems like we don't do it enough. When we do, Boyd would like to stay out there forever. I ran inside today really fast to pour a diet DP, and when I came back out, Boyd was crunching on something. He was eating a tiny snail. (Don't worry daddy, I made sure there were no seeds from our bushes on the ground first). I was able to get most of it out of his mouth. He had his sippy cup and some goldfish out there, but I guess he wanted some escargot. ha. He was so dirty and snotty when we came in, but I just love that about little boys!

Our Camper

On Friday Kevin picked up our camper from the dealer. We had an additional awning put on it. I'm so proud of him for being able to drive such a big thing like this. I don't think I'll ever be driving it! He brought the camper to our house, filled it with water, loaded it up, and headed out to the race track. He collected money from everyone and purchased 14 camping spots. The races are this coming weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, but you get your spots a week early. I will probably spend one night out there. It's easier with Boyd at the house, but once he is old enough to attend the actual races, we'll stay out there all weekend.

Halloween

Kevin is in the garage right now, jumping out and scaring kids and passing out candy. I'm posting a few pictures, then I'm off to bed. We had a fun and busy day. We went to Home Depot, went out to the racetrack campground where our camper is right now...for next week's races, then we had dinner at our neighbors' house and went trick or treating. Grandma Kathy joined us for a little while.

Boyd was HILARIOUS this evening. After a few houses, he had it down. He would run from the sidewalk up to the doors. I wish I would have captured it on video. Of course, he ran so fast most of the time, that he would fall down in the grass. He loved every second of it.

Boyd looked super cute (of course I would say that!) and actually wore the head part quite a bit. The little toot also got into his halloween bucket and chewed open a thing of Whoppers and had icky Whopper mess all over him, but he sure thought they were good.




Boyd the frog with Avery the princess and Jonas the dinosaur. Avery is the one that thinks my real name is "neighbor". She is so funny and sweet. She also thinks that Kevin is "neighbor's daddy." haha!


Jonas is 8 months old and a total doll. We love him!


Boyd and daddy off for more candy.


PS. Thank you Talmadge for the sweet card for Boyd's 1 year baptism anniversary. That was very special to us!

Report Card

I picked Boyd up yesterday, and as I walked up to his classroom, his little backpack was in the hall with the other kids' stuff. It was so cute. He had this little report card sitting in his bag. I just LOVED it and it made me laugh. He has 2 very sweet teachers and they said he did super. They told me he cried a little when they would go from one room to another. Maybe he was looking for me? I'm not sure. Then when he saw me, he cried again. Relief! haha. I did stand there and watch him for about the last 10 minutes and he was playing with the other kids and the teachers. At one point he was talking and it was so cute. There are 2 teachers and 6 toddlers. I was completely in shock that he took a nap. I would have bet you a million dollars that would not have happened. I love this place and I feel like they love the kids! All in all, it was a great day and I'm so very excited that we've decided to do this.