Cunningham's Chaos

Working Woman

2010-10-02T07:37:00.000-07:00

Life as a working mom and wife has really taken some adjusting to. I get up between 5 and 6 every morning and don't get back home until......well whenever I finally call it a day. It is definitely NOT a normal 8-4 job! I must say that I LOVE IT!!!!!! I am so blessed to have this job. Every day I deal with folks who are definitely not in a good spot in their life. Every day I see the worst and best in people. I do admit that I see more bad than good, but I have learned to hang on to the good in order to make it through the day. Everywhere I go people ask me what I actually do for my job. That is such a hard question to answer. My ultimate goal is to reunite parent and child. So, yes, that often involves me having to remove the child from the home in the first place. Besides that, I work cases, provide services, transport, drug test, make home visits, supervise visits, and go to court. I am often a person's biggest fan and WORST enemy all in one day. I have a job where people hate to see me coming. I understand this and try to be as respectful as possible. I cry often, and most would be surprised to know this. I cry when clients do good and, I cry with them when they don't and have to suffer the consequences. My heart and soul has become completely wrapped up in this job. I ADORE the journey that someone takes from absolute despair into a life full of possibilities. And the love of the journey makes up for the long days and emotional ups and downs that come with the job. I am fortunate that my own journey has brought me to this place in my life.

First day of school 2010

2010-08-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

The girls were so excited about the first day of school that I don't think either one of them slept much. They were up bright and early anxious to go! Jadelyn is in the 4th grade this year and is super excited about having her own locker. She has Mrs. Mosier. Her backpack for this year is just the coolest. It looks like an old school radio and has actual working speakers. Just plug in your MP3 and your ready to go. I'm sure her teacher is gonna love it!

Madelyn is in the 2nd grade and has Mrs. Morrow. I was surprised that Madelyn is actually getting more into fashion this year. In the years before she couldn't have cared less about what she was wearing.

What a Week!

2010-08-06T16:50:00.000-07:00

I don't even know where to begin on the last week I've had. Jadelyn has been sick since Wednesday of last week. I was getting frustrated that we were not able to find out what was wrong with her. We did test after test and visit after visit, but no one could tell me a thing. When I get the call yesterday that she had Colitis I about lost my mind. I mean I have been telling these people since Saturday that it was not the stomach flu. I just knew that something was bad wrong with my child. She was in so much stomach pain that neither one of us got any sleep. I stayed on the couch with her and we got up and down all night long.

It was miserable to hear her screaming in pain and not be able to do a thing about it. The week of sleepless nights on top of starting my new job were not working well for me. My nerves were shot! By the time I got the word that we had to take her to Little Rock I was on my last nerve. I started crying and immediately had Tony paged at his work that we had an emergency. He flew to Batesville, and we loaded her up and headed to the hospital. What a scary ride! Here we went with our child that we had no idea how serious her illness was. We sat in the ER for 12 hours while they did all kinds of more tests. Luckily they had a Wii.I think Tony liked it more than Jadelyn. Here she is STILL sucking her finger. I had gotten onto her but she does it without even realizing it. We are really gonna have to work on it!

She got tired of waiting and really wanted them to let her have something to eat. They finally gave her this popsicle and you can tell from the picture that she was not enthused about it.

When they still didn't know what exactly was wrong with her, they admitted us. We didn't get in a room until after 1am. I don't think any of us got any sleep. In fact, I was so nervous that I forgot to pack any shoes. All I had was my dress shoes I was wearing. So when the nurse told me I had to go down to admissions to talk to them, I was so exhausted I wore my pajamas and dress shoes. I hadn't showered and my hair was a mess. I didn't really give a crap until I ended up on the elevator with Mike Beebe! Yes, the governor of Arkansas and his entourage showed up right after I pushed the button and insisted that I ride with them. I couldn't believe my luck. Not only was it the governor but also my new Boss at that new state job I was missing back at home! Only me!

Finally this morning the doc had good news......Salmonella. He said the worst had passed and we could go home. She is probably gonna feel a little bad for a couple more days but nothing like she had. I was so relieved! We loaded up and took her to the gift shop like we had promised and then headed home. I am so grateful to all my friends and family. Thank you for fall of your prayers and calls. I am so grateful to be at home with my happy, semi-healthy family!

Julie Got a Job Today...Go Julie Go Julie GO!!!!!!!

2010-07-27T16:33:00.000-07:00

Picture me doing a little jig and dancing around the house belly bumping Tony and giving high fives to the kids! Yep That's a good visual isn't it? I kinda already knew that I had the job Thursday when I was called back to take a drug test. Today I was officially offered the position and told my salary and benefits. I am officially a Family Service Worker for Independence County Department of Human Services. The position pays $6,000 more a year than any of the other positions I have interviewed for. It also has all those great benefits that come with being a state employee. Needless to say, I am pumped! The job is going to be hard and very stressful, but I am going to give it my best try. I hope that I can handle it. For now, I am going to think about the positive and will probably be up most of the night wondering how big my office is going to be and how I will decorate it!
( Tony says I might as well go to bed because he is certain they are gonna put me in the hall or maintenance closet to shut me up!)

Fair Time!

2010-07-20T19:55:00.000-07:00

Tonight was opening night at the Independence County Fair. The girls have been saving their money for the last couple of months just for this night. Jadelyn started thinking about what she was going to wear as soon as she woke up this morning. The fair is a BIG deal in our house. We live just right up the road and the girls start getting excited as soon as that first truck arrives. Everyday they watch as more and more rides go up so that by the time it opens the anticipation is just killing them. Jadelyn had our day all planned out for us of course. Arm bands started at 6pm so she wanted to leave the house at exactly 5pm. She figured it would take 2 minutes to get to the parking lot at the fair and this would still give us almost a full hour to walk through all the exhibits before the rides fired up. She was right! We stuck with her schedule and it did take exactly 2 minutes...crazy huh? Anyway we looked at all the exhibits and animals first.

Then we started on rides. I don't do rides at all so I was glad Tony was willing to go with them this year. They rode the swings.

Then Tony decided to ride the new ride they had this year. This thing was Insane! Tony said it was one of those rides that after it started you think to yourself what a stupid decision you made and then hold on for dear life! It went upside down, around in circles, and the chairs you were in spun individually! It was crazy to watch! If you zoom in on one of these pics you can see Tony dangling in mid-air!

After watching Tony, Jadelyn was feeling brave and decided to ride the Bullet.She was psyched about meeting the height requirement to get on but was regretting it as soon as she went upside down. She cried and said she was afraid she was going to die! As soon as she got off she came running out and hugged both me and Maddy....so I know she had to have had a near death experience!

Then they rode a couple of smaller rides together. I think they rode almost everything there except the kiddie rides.

Then they rode this Slime ride.

It is just basically this seat that spins around at a high rate of speed while the whole ride also goes around in circles. Made me sick just looking at it! So, Maddy decided that it would be a good idea to lay down in the ride to really feel dizzy.........and it worked.......and not five minutes later she had this face!

Which is when she learned that there is probably a reason you are not supposed to lay down while on that particular ride. Isn't this just the worst face.....I know its bad, but when I got home and looked at it I just cracked up! She didn't keep this face long..only about 10 minutes. Then she lost her "I wish I had listened to my mom and not laid down on the spinning bucket that was also going in circles face" and got back with the program. They played some games, got snow cones and cotton candy, and then we headed home.Overall, a good night at the fair, despite the awful heat!

Slip N Slide

2010-07-11T14:56:00.000-07:00

OK yesterday at Essie Claire's birthday party Randi and Travis had made a huge slip n slide. We decided that we just had to have one at our house. We go camping often so we already had plenty of tarps. It didn't take us long to put it together. We all got on our suits and took turns sliding. Fun Fun Fun! We had to come in when it started to storm, but now I know where I will be spending my days form now on! This thing was a blast!

Essie's Birthday

2010-07-11T14:38:00.000-07:00

One of my BFF's little girls Essie Claire just had her first birthday. Randi put on a huge party. The whole fam went to Jonesboro for the occasion and had a blast. I took a ton of pics and noticed how it is so much easier to take pics at someone's party other than for one of your own. I'm just too busy to take a ton of pics at my girls parties. Here are some of the best ones I got.

4th of July Bash!

2010-07-06T20:27:00.000-07:00

Tony's older brother Jr. and his girlfriend Angela hosted a huge bash for the 4th of July. They live out in Sulphur Rock so we were able to shoot off fireworks right in the backyard. I shoot off one bottle rocket and I have the police in the driveway in a matter of minutes! (True Story!!!!) Anyway we had an absolute blast. It was a huge bash! We even got tony's younger brother Shannon out for the festivities! I think the whole town was there by the end of the night. We went swimming in their pool (I floated around in the pool and watched the fireworks so I didn't get any pictures of them!), rode on Tony's 4-wheeler and Jr's go-carts, played cards, horseshoes, danced (well some of us did and I won't name any names), visited, and ate ate ate! Here are some pictures of our day.

Oh and this one I just HAD to post because it is just too funny not to. Tony forgot his swimming trunks and tried to squeeze his rump into some of Jr.'s! They were Waaaaaay to tight and sorta see-through! Needless to say he did not wear them long. He did pose for me to take what he called his "Mr. Universe" pose before he ran back in the house to take them off! Now if this doesn't crack you up....nothing will! Love it!

Garden Girls

2010-07-06T19:57:00.000-07:00

Maddy has become our little garden girl. Everyday she puts on her hat, apron, and gardening gloves and goes out to check if anything needs to be picked.

Jadelyn does not like to help in the garden, but she was very proud of her cabbage. Her little cabbage plant that she brought home from school started this whole thing. Jadelyn does like to show all the neighbor kids and people that come over our garden. She takes full credit for it of course!

Our garden has just grown and grown! We had some complications(Tony decided if a little fertilizer was good then a ton would be even better and burnt everything up) but replanted and things are going great now. We have already had squash produce enough to get several for dinner and have now replanted it using the "hill" method this time.

We have okra coming fast and furious now. We are able to cut okra every day or two now. We have made fries okra, given some away, and have several bags frozen already. We also have cucumbers growing pretty fast right now too. I am going to have to learn how to pickle okra and cucumbers real soon. If anyone has any easy recipes send them my way.

Our green bell peppers are the only ones that are ready to eat right now.

Our banana, habanero and jalapeno peppers are not quiet ready yet but should be soon!

We have 9 regular tomato plants. One tomatillo plant that has become the biggest thing in the garden, and one zebra green tomato plant. None of them are ready yet, but the zebra ones are living up to their name so far.

We also have melons that have taken over our yard. We did not realize how much they would spread out. What started out as one row of watermelons and one row of cantaloupe has turned into total vine chaos. It is like a treasure hunt trying to find the melons in that mess but we have a bunch! We even have a couple that should be ready soon.

Overall the whole garden experience has been great. It was a little bit of hard work in the beginning, but now we are starting to see the payoff. It is so exciting to go out there in the evenings and see what is ready to pick(Geez I'm getting old!!!!) We only had to use a pesticide one time, so they are as organic as we could get without the bugs eating them up! I'm telling you that there is something SO nice about being able to go in the backyard and get fresh veggies! Definitely worth the work!

Update on the Fam!

2010-06-23T19:31:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't been keeping up with my blog like I said I was going to. Here is a little update of what has been going on with the Cunninghams. Tony is finally getting used to his new job at Taylor Made in Newport. It is hard work in the heat, but he is getting into the routine of it. It was really hard for him to adjust. His only job ( of 13 years) had been much different than the average job. He was used to getting paid a lot, traveling all over the country, and being the supervisor! This is his first regular "9 to 5"...."working for the weekend" type of job. He is on Summer hours right now(6am-2:30pm) which means he has to get up at 4am in order to make it to Newport by 6am. It has been a change for us all, especially since the kiddos are out of school now. I just thought for sure that I would be working this summer. I have put in a ton of applications and sent out resumes all over the state. I have had one lunch/interview last week that went very well. I managed not to spill food on myself, so I consider that a successful lunch! It was for a place here in Batesville, but not with a population that I have ever had experience with. I should know something from them in another week or so. I have an interview tomorrow with a place in Heber Springs. I do not want to drive 45 minutes to work and back every day, but I may have to. We will see. I am NOT good with these formal "what do you have to offer our company?"...."why do you want to work here?" type interviews. Blah de Blah......is what I hear when they start asking those questions and I always....I mean always manage to say everything but an answer to the question they asked. I don't think it matters anymore. I have a feeling that I will not be happy with any place right off because I was so in love with the place I interned. Despite not having an actual job, I have been working. My mother-in-law injured her leg and is unable to walk. I have been helping her with her daycare for the past 3 weeks. We all know how I am with kids.....not my cup of tea.....I can't even manage my own! So I am glad that Rita is there to bring a little order to my chaos. Routine, discipline and organization have NEVER been my strong points! (Hey that's what i should say in my interview tomorrow! I guarantee I freakin' will! I will start rambling and next thing you know I have said some really stupid stuff! Way to sell yourself Jules!) Anyway, there has been all kinds more but that is the brief update. I will let you all know how the interview turns out!

No Like House Wifey

2010-05-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

This Sucks! I so hate being in the house all day. I just don't know how people do this. I am spending my day filling out applications online and sending out resumes. Other than that there is all this house crap that needs to be done. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate to clean? Well I hate it! I wanna go outside and do stuff but its all been done. I'm so damn bored! I think the cats are tired of hearing me talk and have hid! It is so depressing being a house wife. The landlord came and I visited with him until he used power tools to drown out my constant chatter. Tony calls on his break and lunch and I chat with him for a minute. I could be organizing but I don't wanna. I could be dusting but I don't wanna. I have manged to start the dishes but got bored and distracted and walked away from that project. I know this may sound crazy to some of you, but this is just hell on me. I was not meant to be a house wife for sure. TV is total crap during the day. All there is are soap operas and Jerry Springerish shows. If I don't find a job soon I am going to lose my flippin mind!!!!!!!!

Cunningham Family Portrait

2010-05-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

As you may notice from the lack of pictures posted with this blog, there is not a Cunningham family portrait. I seriously doubt that there will ever be. I had planned for us to have family pictures taken today. I went out yesterday and spent most of my day looking for the perfect outfits for everyone to wear. I got us all new white shirts in various styles. Tony and I were going to wear jeans and the girls matching jean shorts. We were even going to drive to Blanchard recreation area to have them taken around the waterfall and old mill. I have a good idea of how they would look. I am going to just have to keep that idea in my head because this fam does not do family pictures. They all hated the idea in the first place, but I thought that they would suffer through it long enough to make me happy.....Wrong! Maddy hated that she had to brush her hair pretty(she HATES to brush her hair and refuses to fix it). Jadelyn didn't like the shirt that I had picked for her. Tony was just pissed about the whole thing. He hates having his picture taken and was feeling like I was ruining his day off. I finally gave up and decided that it wasn't worth the whole family being miserable. I am not so happy with this, but I have to realize that it is not worth the trouble of having to deal with all of them complain. So, I guess the only way the Cunninghams will ever have a family picture is if I photo shop our heads onto normal family's bodies!

Cunninghams' Employment Status

2010-05-21T11:19:00.000-07:00

So, as some of you may already know, I will not be going to work next week. I was informed that they have a hiring freeze in effect until August or later. I was so bummed to get that call! Now I must decide whether I want to try to find a job to hold me over until the freeze is lifted or move on altogether. I met with career services this morning and discussed my options. I really do need to make more money than what that particular position was offering , but I dearly loved the job and people. I am going to continue to pray about it and see what happens. On a much brighter note, I think my hubby is getting used to his job.He didn't think things were going to work out with it after that little misunderstanding, but he got things worked out. The first couple of days he was completely miserable, but I think it is getting better. I just hate for him to have to go to a job each day and be in total hell. I know what that is like. I SO wish I made enough money so that he could stay home. He is the best househusband a wife could ask for. He is so much better at managing the house and kids than I am. I got used to him doing everything around here and I Miss it! So for now we are back to only one of us having a job. I'm gonna take the weekend to really think about what I want and need to do and then get back at it on Monday.

No fuss.....Seriously!

2010-05-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I had to wait for ole' Tony to go to bed so I could blog. He came in from his first day at work wearing some nifty safety glasses. He was just so darn cute in those things! I wanted to take a picture for my blog but he wouldn't let me. In fact he said " I don't want you to make a fuss over this....seriously Julie!" He actually mentioned specifically for me NOT to blog about it! So I'm not gonna....really....well.....just a little. I'm just saying that I am excited for him and our family. I hate that he has to drive to Newport every morning and is not making what he is used to making, but it is a job. A job that I am especially grateful for today! A day when jobs are not easy to come by for anyone! So, I have my "interview" at Evergreen tomorrow. That means I should start working soon. Changes are coming fast! I will continue to keep ya'll informed on our ever changing, always chaotic lives.......But I'm not gonna make a fuss!

Sandbar

2010-05-15T16:12:00.000-07:00

Today we got to take Tony's truck on its first trip down on the sandbar in town. We had the smallest truck down there, but had no problem showing we were just as tough! We didn't have any problems getting down there at all.

The girls and Tony had fun walking all around. I couldn't because of my new tattoo so I took a bunch of pictures.

The girls brought home tons of shells. I think they could look for shells all day long. They had their pockets stuffed full. I think we found a new little spot to go splash around for a minute on a hot summer day.

Yeah that's our luck!

2010-05-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness am I pissed off! So Tony got the call Tuesday about the job. Tony told him he could be there first thing Wednesday morning. The guy said to call and Tony did. At 7:00 am Tony was on the phone with the guy asking what a good time to come down would be. The guy said he was busy and would call him back. He never has! Tony called back at 4:00 yesterday and the guy had already left for the day. Tony called again today and they said he was on the sales floor and would have him call. No freakin call! This is just crazy! You don't tell someone that they got the job and can start tomorrow and then never call him back! We were both so excited and now we feel so let down! I hate this feeling and it is so not fair on Tony. Yet not shocking, because that's just our luck!

Big News!

2010-05-11T18:43:00.000-07:00

Tony got a job! It was the craziest thing too. See, Tony has been able to draw over $400 each week on unemployment. So we were not hurting too bad. Well, last week his unemployment ended. He was able to get an emergency extension but it is only $233 and will not last long.That's half of what he was getting and we were just barely getting by on that. We were not able to get government assistance because Tony is a drug felon. Tony is unable to afford to go to school because of his felony he can not get a grant! They even cut our ARKIDS to part B because they said we made too much money!
He began to really step up the job search, but was having no luck. Since becoming unemployed Tony has applied to more jobs than I could count. The list included: Pizza For Less, Mazzios, paper delivery guy, Wade's, the Dollar store, truck washer, Bad Boy's, pest control, car detailing, Dodd's signs, barge work, Conagra, Townsend, Ideal bakery, Loco Ropes, and all of the employment agencies in Batesville! He has gotten one call back from all his months of looking and it was for paper delivery and was only part time. No One will hire him because of his felony. I am sure that they throw the application away as soon as they see what his charge was for. I understand it, but it still SUCKS!
We had finally decided that he had no choice but to go to truck driving school. Truck driving is one of the only professions where they don't care at all about your education or criminal record. All they care about is your driving record and Tony's is Perfect! They offer a 4 week course at ASU Newport. So today we sat here and decided that in the morning we would go get all the paperwork started to get him enrolled. He was not excited to say the least!
Within 5 minutes of coming to this dreadful , but necessary decision the phone rang. It was Taylor Made. They are a company in Newport that makes ambulances. Tony's step-dad had recommended Tony for the job a couple of months ago but nothing ever came of it, We had forgot about it all together. So we were tickled when they said for him to come down tomorrow and start Thursday! One day later and Tony would have been having to come up with a CB handle! I am feeling some divine intervention at work here. The weight is lifted off of my shoulders and today I feel truly blessed!

What the Deck?

2010-05-11T17:54:00.000-07:00

We are getting a new deck this week. The old was was falling apart and the landlord has been promising to replace it for a couple of years. He finally hired some guys to come replace it. They showed up this morning and Tony's Siamese kitty "Cookie" was not having it. She is a house cat and is very territorial. She was so involved in what the guys were doing that they even noticed that she was not happy about them being on her deck. You can see in this picture that she even puffed when they started up the chainsaws!I haven't seen her do that since she was a kitten.

So they finally got the deck completely down. Tony opened the sliding glass door to let some air in and next thing we know Cookie is outside.

She was climbing on the little pieces of boards that were left. She was nervous at first, but then she was decided it was pretty cool. She hasn't been outside in about a year so being able to let her out without having to worry about her was kinda nice. She sat out there on those boards until we had to make her come in. Now that she has claimed her spot out there I really feel sorry for those builders when they show up in the morning!

Easter Bunny

2010-05-11T15:32:00.000-07:00

I think the Easter bunny is lost. Not long after Easter I started seeing this white bunny in the yards all around the neighborhood. I think everyone thought I was crazy at first, but today I got proof. He is just the cutest little thing ever. I hope that he wasn't an Easter gift that either got away or was let go.

I really hope that this little guy does not start eating my garden. I do enjoy seeing him hop around in the yard every evening about this time. I have had to chase so me cats away from him a couple of times. At least I got some photos this time to prove I wasn't seeing things.

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T16:49:00.000-07:00

Friday night I had baccalaureate service at Lyon. I was a little upset with my family that they chose not to attend. So, I came home from the service in a bit of a mood. To my surprise, they had spent their time shopping and wrapping while I was attending the service. They gave me all of my graduation/mother's day gifts. The first one I opened was a blender. I thought hmmmmmm this is an interesting choice. Turns out this thing is awesome. I love slushies and this one makes the best slushy ever. It is one of those gifts that you would have never bought for yourself but just don't know how you made it without it now.

The girls had made me some great cards. I just love stuff that is hand made! The card with the flowers Jadelyn made. Each one of those flowers lists a different thing she will do for me when I cash them in!

They each picked me out a beautiful necklace.

Tony got me a digital photo frame to put in my office at work(when I get an office that is!).

As for today, which is actually Mother's Day, we haven't done much of anything exciting. I will tell you this. Earlier this morning Jadelyn was whacking me with this squishy yo-yo ball thingy she go out of a machine somewhere. I said "hey stop hitting me with that". She said "oh yeah it's Mother's Day, so I can't hit you with stuff." Then she paused and said "Well, I'll wait 'till tomorrow then" My crazy family......gotta love 'em!

Graduation

2010-05-09T16:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it is over. I think I am still in shock. I am used to always thinking about what I have due at school, and now I feel almost bored. I said Almost! Anyhow, graduation couldn't have went any better. I was so surprised to see all the folks that showed up to see me. I am really going to miss school, but I am so tickled that I finally did it. I bet a lot of you thought that it would never happen there for awhile. I know I had doubts myself. I have come a LONG way baby, and it feels Damn good!

Lyon sure does make a big ta-do about things. I love the pipe band, but hate all the unnecessary things Lyon squeezes in all its formal affairs. I was dreading the long ceremony and all the speakers, but it gave me time to think about how far I have come and where I want to go in life.

So I was very proud to be getting that diploma in my hands! I think what moved me the most was all the folks that showed up to tell me they were proud of me(even those that were there in voice only----Ashley!). I almost cried myself when I realized how proud Randi was of me. I thought this must me big! I was just overwhelmed with joy! I can not express how much all of y'alls words of encouragement have meant to me. I want to say a special Thank You to Dale and Judy Altom who stepped in to take the place of my parents. I think Judy called me every day leading up to graduation to tell me how excited she was. They also took the whole fam out to lunch at Elizabeth's. Oh My Gosh was it good! I am so grateful to have them in my life. I got lucky when I got my BFF Randi, I also got some great parents too! So Thanks to everyone for not giving up on me!

Oh I just have to add this little bit in. After lunch I wanted to take a family picture while we were all still dressed up. Well, Jadelyn was not having it! She was pissed about having to wear a dress in the picture and was ready for a nap. Big events where she has to be good really wear her out! So, I didn't get any good pic because she would not cooperate. Here are the attempts. I was pissed about it at first but now they just crack me up. The poor child looks just miserable!

Just a swingin'

2010-05-09T15:23:00.000-07:00

I absolutely LOVE laying in a hammock. It is my favorite thing to do when we go camping. Well, Tony made me a thing in the backyard so that I can have a hammock at home. I am loving it! He built it for less than 10 bucks and I love that too! He made it so I have a full view of the backyard. I can lay out there dozing while keep one eye on the kiddos. On a cool spring day it is just bliss!

Garden Update

2010-05-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

So it has been 5 weeks since we planted our garden. It is growing like crazy. Our cabbage is starting to make a head already.

Our cucumber and squash are making beautiful blooms.

We are having a problem with bugs eating our leaves. The ants are especially bad. I was determined to have an organic garden. We tried lots of different natural remedies for garden pests, like cinnamon and pepper, but they did not work at all. In order to not lose all our veggies that we had worked so hard on we had to use Sevin Dust. So that is the white stuff you see all over our garden.

We have planted three more rows of things since my last blog. We added okra. cantaloupe, and watermelon. You can see the difference in size in these rows that were newly added. We are not sure if the melons will produce, but we got them half price at Home Depot and thought we would give it a shot at least.

So all together we have spent under 30 bucks for the whole garden. We are hoping it all produces, but no big loss if it doesn't. I will keep you updated!

Camera Problems

2010-04-22T16:43:00.000-07:00

I have a Kodak 10 mega pixel digital camera. It has quit working on me. I am so bummed. Now I can't really blog because I don't have any way of taking pictures. I could blog without pictures but it is just not the same. It was working fine on out camping trip but now Nothing! I thought it was dead at first but that is not the case. I have left it charging overnight and it still won't work. I know it is getting power because the light comes on and blinks when it is plugged in. But it won't even come on when it is plugged in. When I try to turn it on the lens comes out and then immediately goes back in and shuts down. I can't find my information about it(of course) but if anyone has any ideas I am open to suggestions.

#11 Gunner Pool Recreation Area

2010-04-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

If this is #11, I can't wait to see what #1 is going to be like. Gunner pool recreation area is located in Fifty-six Arkansas. It was about an hour drive from here in Batesville. It is about 3 miles down a winding gravel road but is accessible with any vehicle. There are a total of 28 campsites available. We stayed the weekend in #22. Tony got there early and grabbed what I believe to be the best spot there. We had a very large campsite that included the tent pad, BBQ grill, picnic table, and fire ring. Our site like many others was almost right on the bank of the Sylamore creek. This was ideal because we could sit in the comfort of our own site and still watch the kids play on the beach and in the water. We were also right across from the bathrooms(which for you non-campers are not regular flush toilets. It is just a potty over a hole in the ground) which is always good with me and the kids.

The girls and I spent most of our time in the water. You can walk all the way across the creek to the bluff on the other side. I think that was the girls most favorite thing to do.

The girls also rode their bikes all around the sites. We also got to bring the 4-wheeler this time. There are gravel roads that run forever up and down the mountains there. On one of our trips riding I stopped to take pictures of an old house and barn.

Tony found the same house and barn and had Maddy take his picture. I think he looks kinda creepy in them which is funny because just right down the road someone had this sign in their front yard!

We took advantage of all the site had to offer. There was 4-wheeler riding, swimming, hiking, bike trails, fishing, hunting(we didn't do this one, but there is walk in Turkey hunting zones there) and just relaxing. Oh and of course we had delicious meals made by Tony on his Dutch ovens. My favorite is Panhandler's Spaghetti and hot rolls!

Overall, I don't know what more a person could want. This site was perfect! It didn't have showers or electricity but that's what we had out Eureka tent and own shower for. I think I could totally start a whole new blog devoted just to camping. I'll have to think about that now that Randi explained to me how to do this new blog....much much easier! I could go on forever about all the stuff we did and how we rate our equipment but I will spare you. I will leave you with some random pictures from our trip.

I Don't Get It!

2010-04-12T16:01:00.000-07:00

OK! I am trying to blog about my camping experience. I want to be able to write some stuff then have pictures then write some more stuff. I can not figure out how to do that. I have way too many pictures this time. I want to be able to describe what the pictures are. I tried setting them to the center instead of to the left like I normally have my blog but it just puts all my pictures at the beginning. I just don't get it! Will someone please email me and tell me (in simple steps) how to do what I am wanting to do? Email, Call, Text, something! Any help would be appreciated!

Best Campgrounds in Arkansas

2010-04-08T17:50:00.000-07:00

OK guys, I have a new super dorky goal in life. I have decided that we are going to camp our way through the best campsites in Arkansas. http://www.trails.com has composed a list of the top 11 campgrounds in the state. In true Julie and Julia fashion, I will camp at every site starting with #11 and blog about our experience. I am excited about this new challenge! I decided that we were going to do this a while back when the weather was bad and I was ready for Spring. We have added a ton of new stuff to our camping supplies since our last trip like a new cabin style Eureka tent that has its own power source with outlets, sleeps 10, and best of all we got for half price because it was sent to the wrong store. We also got a shower, heater, ceiling fan, and lantern. Most importantly we traded one of our cars for a truck so that we could haul all our stuff. Every other time we have been camping we have squeezed everything into the car(you could barely see the kids by the time we had that thing loaded down). So we have been waiting for a weekend without rain to start the challenge, and it looks like this weekend is going to be it. Tomorrow we are headed to #11 Gunner Pool Recreation Area Campground in Fifty-six.We are loaded up and ready to go!

One Month

2010-04-07T20:07:00.000-07:00

In one month: I will graduate from Lyon college; Tony's unemployment benefits will officially be over; and we both Have to find jobs! I just can't believe it! I have soooo much to do with school in the next month that I can't even begin to imagine how I am going to fit job hunting into my schedule. I have four papers due and one alone is minimum of 12 pages. I have one presentation and countless other regular assignments. That does not include my internship. I know that it will all get done somehow but the thought of it is overwhelming. I just need to remember to take it one day at a time. I have to remind myself to put one foot in front of the other and do the next right thing. The days will add up and before I know it the month will be over.....and a whole other set of problems will be on my mind Lol!

Transplanting

2010-04-06T17:31:00.000-07:00

Shortly after I got out of school we loaded up and went to Shannon's house to snag some more of his flowers. We got Tiger Lily, Iris, a Yucca and a bunch of other stuff I know Rita told me the name of but can't remember now. Anyhow, we grabbed a ton of flowers. Tony even managed to come home yet again with another truck load by grabbing some fence Rita had. I'm telling you it is getting bad! We have come home with a truck load three days in a row. All extremely useful stuff though. I decided to use the flowers we got today to totally re-do the area in the corner front of our house. Tony had it way too "whimsical" (that's his word for all the flare he puts on things) for my liking. I took a picture of all the "whimsical" items I pulled out of that one little corner area in the front. It was way too much stuff for one area. I transplanted all the flowers to the corner. I think it looks a lot better and I'm not finished yet. I did put back some of Tony's flare but some(most) of them didn't make the journey back. They now live in a box in the basement because god forbid we part with anything! So, I think I don't have too much more to go before I'm happy with the yard......'till Tony brings home another load of "whimsy" that is!

Spring Yard Work

2010-04-05T18:13:00.000-07:00

Tony and I have worked our butts off outside the last two days. Yesterday we went over to Shannon's house and helped out in his yard. I mowed while Tony and the girls picked up sticks out of the yard. Then we dug up a bunch of flowers from his house and transplanted them. We planted a row down the length of our back deck. Today we planned on going back to get more flowers but ended up getting busy with other things. Tony tilled a row for his mom to plant in at her house. While we were there, she gave us four really nice chairs for outside. That saved us a bundle because we were planning on buying some. Then we went to my mom's house. She gave the girls her trampoline. It was a chore taking that thing apart and then putting it back together at home, but totally worth it. Those things don't come cheap either! She also gave us a small picnic table. We put it out by our garden. It worked out perfect with two of the chairs Rita gave us. Now we can have dinner out there under the shade of the tree or just sit and watch the garden grow like old folks. We put the other chairs Rita gave us on our front porch. We have shade out there all day, but we haven't had anything to sit in out there until now. In the end we ended up with a ton of free goodies for the yard. We have been joking with Tony that now that he has a truck to haul things he has become quite the little hoarder! He brings home a truck load of stuff every time he leaves the house here lately. That's fine with me though, I just love all the changes we have been able to make for Free! We have been busy little bees and I am worn out. I will be sleeping good tonight!

Chocolate Delight

2010-04-03T19:01:00.000-07:00

Today I made a pie. Yes you read right, I said that I made a pie! I actually made two pies. One is for the house and the other is to take to my grandma's house for Easter lunch tomorrow. As you can see in the picture, I kinda messed up the chocolate drizzle on the home pie. It turned out more like chocolate splatter. That's OK though because I expected one to turn out bad. That's why I made two in the first place. I got the recipe at http://www.ichef.com/recipe.cfm/recipe/Easy Chocolate Delight Pie, and it was super simple to make. They may not be the prettiest pies around but the name says it all....chocolate delight!

Egg-tastic!

2010-04-03T18:33:00.000-07:00

Today we dyed and decorated eggs for Easter. The girls from next door came over to help out. This year we used a glitter paint kit. The eggs turned out really cute.

Get Your Grow On!

2010-04-02T15:14:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago Tony decided we were going to have a garden this year. He tilled a small spot in the backyard. Today we( I mean I) re-tilled the spot to get ready to plant. Well, as you can see our small spot turned into a pretty large garden. We went to the co-op and bought our veggies. When the kids came home from school we all(except for Jadelyn who thought her services would be better utilized as the photographer) got to planting. Maddy was really into it! We planted tomatoes, red and yellow onions, cabbage, cucumber, squash, jalapenos, banana peppers, and green bell peppers. We even left some room on the end for some fruits. It is not quite time for those yet. This is our first attempt at gardening and I so hope it ends up being worth all the trouble.

Sunburn already?

2010-03-31T19:48:00.000-07:00

Well it is official! I have my first sunburn of the year! I attended a party for the clients of Evergreen today. We had a cookout and volleyball game. It was a beautiful day. I had a blast even though I was talked into playing volleyball. I was outside for about three hours. I guess it was three hours too much because I am RED! I came home from the party and wasn't feeling that good so I laid down for awhile. I woke up in pain! I just can't believe how easily I burned. I feel like total crap now! I have that icky, grouchy, uncomfortable, sunburn feeling with a bad headache. Anyway, I am going to go lay back down and hope this is better in the morning!

29 and holding!

2010-03-25T16:47:00.000-07:00

Well I never have to worry about remembering how old I am ever again. I am going to be 29 Forever! I want to say thanks to everyone for letting me know how much I am loved this year. I have got calls, texts, a mailbox full of cards, and a Facebook page full of Happy Birthday's. My grandma Noween even made me my favorite...carrot cake!

Dad + Dremel = Awesome!

2010-03-24T16:03:00.000-07:00

Jadelyn, my always hip to the style girl, has been searching for the perfect pair of jeans. She knows Exactly what she wants, but we have not been able to find what she is looking for. We have been to Little Rock and Jonesboro with no luck. The closest we came was a pair of distressed boy cut jeans from The Children's Place. After seeing them online, then going to the store to see them for real and try them on, she concluded they were not suitable to buy. They were not the Perfect pair of jeans she had envisioned in her head. Up until this point she was obsessed with the dark boot leg style jeans from Old Navy. She liked them so much that we bought her multiple pairs of the same jean. So, while I was at school today Tony asked her to describe the Perfect pair of jeans in as much detail as she could. He then took one of the pairs of Old Navy jeans that she has multiple of and went to work with his Dremel tool. I thought she would hate them, but like most of the time with her here lately, I was wrong. It is official people. Let it be known that Jadelyn Cunningham now has the Perfect pair of jeans! Score one for the Ole' Pops today!

Haircuts all around!

2010-03-20T20:26:00.000-07:00

I have a good friend who is in the Highland school of cosmetology. I took my wild gang up there for some new styles. Here are some good shots of their new looks. Justin's hair was to his shoulders before, and Tony's beard was out of control! I am just so tickled with how they all turned out.

Tony's Birthday

2010-03-12T16:48:00.000-08:00

Today is Tony's 34th Birthday! The girls had a cake made for him. Every year Jadelyn always comes up with the craziest things to write on the cake. This year was no exception. Tony and Jadelyn have been watching The Andy Griffith show all the time here lately and this cake is a reference to one of their favorite episodes. I picked them up from school and took them to pick out his gifts. They got him a floating basket for fishing, a card that only took 1 hour for them to decide on, and the cake. He doesn't like us to make a big deal about his birthdays, but he does enjoy a small celebration with the kiddos. I took him and Shannon out to eat lunch at the Chinese place this afternoon, and now we are gonna watch some movies and possibly play some cards. I think he has had a good day!

Interning

2010-03-10T16:24:00.000-08:00

I have been interning at Health Resources Arkansas for the last 6 weeks. On Tuesdays I am at Evergreen, which most of you know as Independence Inn. For anyone that is not familiar with what Evergreen is, it is a residential facility for mentally ill. They have rooms for residents as well as some that are kept open for homeless that just need to get back on their feet again. Evergreen provides services to the residents and day treatment for some non-residents. I just can not express how much I love working at Evergreen. Spending the morning with "my peoples" there makes my whole week! I dread the day my internship ends there. On Thursdays I am at HRA outpatient. I enjoy my time there as well but nothing compared to Evergreen. The level of interaction is far less at outpatient, and I really like interacting with the clients. Anyhow, all of this interning experience has made me really think about what I want to do with my life. I thought For Sure that I wanted to do substance abuse counseling, and now I just don't know. I am still very interested in it, but I feel so complete when working with those that are severely mentally ill.( I know there's a joke there somewhere) All of a sudden I have decisions to make about something I thought I was certain about. Knowing that graduation is fast approaching, I hope to get things figured out soon. In the meantime, I am going to continue to take advantage of the opportunities I have been given and keep you posted on my ever-changing career goals!

Kiss my Bass!

2010-03-08T13:38:00.000-08:00

I caught my first Bass of the year today! Tony found a little hole in Locust Grove right underneath a bridge. It was a great spot. He caught so many that I lost count. I only caught the one, but I'm used to that. Every time we go fishing Tony catches a ton and I am lucky to catch one. Oh well, I am excited anyway. It was great to get out and enjoy this weather, and I can't wait until I can spend my weekends camping and fishing.

Long lines, $22 popcorn, teenagers, &cross-dressers

2010-03-06T10:30:00.000-08:00

So I bought tickets online for the opening night of Alice in Wonderland 3D at the IMAX about three weeks ago. We were all really excited about going because none of us had ever been to one, and I absolutely adore Alice in Wonderland. We left for Little Rock early yesterday so we would have time to eat and browse around. The print-out I had said to be at the theater 30 minutes early to get a good seat. We got there an hour and 15 minutes early and the line was already backed up. We stood in line for an hour with every "like totally hip, totally like cool" teenager within a hundred mile radius. Oh but there was one exception! There was an OLD man dressed as a very sexy version of Alice! He had on white knee high stockings, high heels, a super short blue dress, a long blond wig, and a butt-load of makeup! The girls were terrified! After they saw him, they wanted to leave. They just didn't know what to think about that, and Tony and I had a hard time explaining it! I tried to say that the world is made up of all kinds of different people, that some men just like to dress up, that it is OK to be different because that's what makes the world so great, but in the end I just gave up and said Don't Stare! It should be noted that this fam hates to wait in line. We just don't deal well with crowds and lines. I think that's why we like camping so much. Anyway, after the dreaded line we did manage to get seated. I was shocked when 2 drinks and 2 popcorn cost me $22. I guess it has been a long time since I have been to a movie, but that is just ridiculous! On a brighter note, the movie was awesome! The kids kept trying to touch stuff because it looked so real! In the end, I'm glad we went. It was an experience as is every adventure with the Cunningham's, but I doubt we do it again. I think we will stick to our camping!

School, School and More School!

2010-02-20T20:09:00.000-08:00

Oh my gosh it has been a long time since I have posted a blog! I didn't realize how long it had actually been until tonight. My hubby is gone, the kiddos are quiet, and I am caught up on homework at least for tonight anyway! I have been extremely busy with school. Between interning, presentations, and the everyday workload I haven't had time to blog. By the time I get home I am ready for bed. I guess I'm getting old or just feeling the pain from living life in the fast lane. Anyway, I miss blogging and keeping up with everyone else's as well. This is my last semester at Lyon. Just think that in a couple of months I will actually be a college graduate. Lots of changes coming up and a ton of uncertainty. I have decided not to pursue a Masters degree at this time but feel certain that I will in the future. I am excited about joining the working world(believe it or not) and am having a blast at my intern placements. I feel confident that I am Finally on the right path. It's been a long strange trip to this point that's for sure. Well, I've rambled long enough. I am going to make an effort to get back into the routine of blogging and look forward to catching up on all of yours.

Back to School

2009-08-19T14:41:00.000-07:00

The first day of school is always a very exciting day for us girls. This one was even more exciting because Dad(Tony) was at home for the first time ever! The girls were so excited to have us both walk them in this morning. They were both styling and profiling in their new outfits. Oh, and if you take special notice of the shoes Madelyn is wearing you will see who inherited their mother's taste for Funky footwear! Now that the day is over: Jadelyn reports that she is the teacher's helper (AKA Kiss Ass!) and Madelyn claims to not know anything about anything as always!

Fried Oreos

2009-07-29T20:06:00.000-07:00

Most people have places they want to visit and attractions they want to see before they die, I have Fried Oreo on my Bucket list! Tonight Tony and I attempted to make them. I desperately wanted to buy some and the Independence County Fair but was not willing to stand in line for an hour with the kids complaining just to pay 3 bucks for one. We used the recipe off of the Good Morning America website. I must say that they are not as good as I had hoped. I have wanted them for so long that I think I set my expectations too high. They are good, just not something I want to have often. They are so rich that the kids can't even finish one whole cookie. Well anyway now I can cross that one off the list. Tony says I have too many food related items on my List, including a vacation based solely on all the different styles of pizza in the U.S.! Well here's one less now!

Camping Sugarloaf

2009-07-29T19:49:00.000-07:00

We recently spent 4 days camping at Sugarloaf at Greers Ferry. We took advantage of the cooler temperatures we were having a couple of weeks ago. We took Justin with us this time. He spent most of his time complaining about not having Internet and TV but we were able to keep him happy with Tony's famous grill cheese sandwiches. The girls rode their bikes all around the camping area and during the day we went swimming at the lake. At night the whole family got in on playing games. Even though we ended the trip by being caught in a storm we had a blast. Can't wait to do it again and hope Justin will brave the outdoors with us again.

Jadelyn's 8th Birthday

2009-06-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

This was going to be the first party that Tony has ever missed...until he showed up this morning. He worked 6 hrs then drove 7 just to make it home this morning. She has been crying all week because he couldn't make it. The look on her face this morning when he woke her up for breakfast was priceless. She jumped and screamed and wouldn't let him go. He has to turn around and head right back to Dallas in the morning but it was well worth it for him to see her happy face this morning. The party went great despite the heat. It was a Spongebob/Hawaiian Luau theme. My cousin Kolby's wife did a marvelous job on the cake. Thank you Laura! The kids had a blast swimming and playing limbo. Thanks Papaw Fred for making the coolest limbo pole ever! Then we went out into the field and shot off the rocket that Tony brought for Jadelyn. It says it goes 100 feet but it goes way higher than that. Now Tony is trying to finally get some much needed sleep in his own bed and I am entertaining girls for a sleepover. It's been a great day!

Edible Bracelets

2009-06-04T20:30:00.000-07:00

I am always looking for easy, cheap, new ways to entertain the girls during the summer. It's the only time I have here lately to do any projects with them. Tonight we made edible bracelets. We used Twizzlers Pull-n-Peel for the string. Then I found some new Oreo Fun Stix in two different flavors and cut them into different length sections. They also used Honey combs, Apple Jacks, Toasty O's and even some big fudge striped cookies. We had a lot of fun and they actually taste pretty good. The Twizzlers really set off the cereal believe it or not.

Kids Cuts

2009-06-04T17:57:00.000-07:00

The girls wanted to get their hair cut to make them look different from each other. Absolutely everywhere we go people ask if they are twins. Jadelyn can Not stand it. I took them to get new cuts today. Jadelyn chose a super short bob that is shaved in the back. It makes her look like she is 12! I swear the outfit she has on today plus the new cut just had me dumb struck at how old my first born baby looked. And she is the only person i know that can pull off that super short bob, Adorable! Maddy(who wants to be a model with curls that never has to brush her hair) decided to just get a trim and have the lady curl it up pretty for her. Although by the time i took these pics the curls had mostly come out. She was so pleased with it that she just could not seem to get over herself while we were at the salon. Maddy Loves mirrors, always has!(she Must get that from Tony, he's the same way) They were both just tickled with their new looks. We left the salon and went to Dollar Tree. As soon as we walked in the door the manager came up to us and says, "I just have to ask, Are they twins?" I thought Jadelyn was going to go straight through the ceiling!

Last day of school!

2009-05-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

The girls last day of school was yesterday. I took our kittens to each of their class so they could show their classmates. After school we went swimming at dad and Peggy's. It was the first swim of the Summer. How exciting! They had a great time. It's officially time for Summer break fun! It's officially time for me to find ways to keep them busy and not lose my mind!

Mohawk Dudes

2009-05-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

My baby brothers Brendon and Logan have been wanting to get their hair done for awhile. My step-mom told them they could when school was out and they had good grades. These red and blue Mohawks are what they chose. I Love it! They are so cute! Needless to say though, we got some very interesting looks at the Batesville ball park last night. Some people need to not be so closed minded. It's just hair people, besides the boys couldn't give a crap less about what all those snooty moms out there think!

When did my Little brother grow up?

2009-05-28T20:03:00.000-07:00

Seriously, When did this happen? He is going to be in the 9th grade and is just a smidge shorter than me now. Crazy! I just realized this today when he tagged along with us to the mall. I didn't realize that he has NEVER been in a mall! He didn't even mention this until I told him we would go in the Target entrance. He said, "What is a Target?" That is when it dawned on me: he never leaves town! When we walked in the mall he literally almost passed smooth out! We had the greatest time! I had a blast just watching his excitement. I mean, I still Love the mall. Could you imagine going to a mall for the 1st time at age 13? All that stuff is targeted for his age group, it was just really magnificent to watch him discover each new store. I could have spent a grand easy on him if i had it to spare! It really got to me when his favorite store was.....Hot Topic! He got 3 shirts in there that he is so proud of he can't sleep. Band T-shirts at that, my goodness when did things go from Pokemon to Nirvana? We went in almost every store, ate dinner there(where I actually bought something from 3 different eateries just to make it an all out Extravaganza) and topped it all off with desert from 2 different places in the mall. We normally don't do this but what can I say...He's still my baby brother to me!

Score!

2009-05-28T19:41:00.000-07:00

Jadelyn wanted to make sure she had the perfect gift to give Mrs. Foley tomorrow on the last day of school. It was extremely important to her since Mrs. Foley is so special to her since she was mine and Randi's 2nd grade teacher and this is her last year teaching. She had the perfect gift in mind: a pink Build-A-Bear dino like the one Randi had at her shower. Well, i waited to the last minute and the dino she wanted was not available. I dreaded picking her up and telling her. I decided to go ahead and take her to the mall and hoped we would find something she would be happy with. We did! She searched the whole mall over and minutes before she was going to have a total meltdown, we found the reversible dino tote bag at Journeys.(Who would have thought) She also found a small dino magnet and a woolly mammoth key chain to put in the tote. Perfect! Whew, that was a close one. I REALLY need to get organized because Jadelyn simply won't tolerate procrastination! I can't wait for her to give it to Mrs. Foley.

Big City Time

2009-05-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

I, spur of the moment, decided to take the fam to Dallas Friday. Within a couple of hours of making the decision to go we were East bound and down, loaded up and Truckin! The kids waved goodbye to their friends at school and screamed, "Dallas Texas here come the Cunninghams!" Tony rode with us down there but I did the driving so he could sleep. We had to stop in Little Rock and then in Nashville Arkansas before making our way to Highland Village Texas. Life on the road is the life for me. What most consider an awful lot of trouble i.e. driving from town to town, searching for hotels with vacancy, eating truck stop food, sleeping in a different hotel and town every night, and rolling into different towns in the wee hours of the morning is just plain adventure to me. I LOVE the hotel life, and the kids are growing fond of it too. They make friends wherever they go, they love seeing the different hotels, and have actually started having fun on the long car rides. While in Texas we didn't do a whole lot but did shop and play Lunar putt-putt(black light golf) and got to see all kinds of new things along the way. We were just happy to spend time with ole' Tony. The girls are fascinated with rest areas and on our way home we had time to stop since it was just us girls. It was the first car trip that far with just us girls. We took our time, made way too many stops, and had a blast just cruising along I-30. It went a lot better than I thought it would. I didn't get lost once and the girls were great. that just means more trips for these little travelin women! I let them take pictures in the car and here are some of my favorites that they took of us.

Found: Missing Hubby

2009-05-19T19:24:00.000-07:00

My long lost hubby finally got a chance to come to Arkansas. As soon as I got word, I packed the car down and headed his way. The kids were thrilled when I picked them up at school and told them we were going to see Tony. They were yelling out the windows to their classmates that they were going to go see their dad! We spent the weekend and I even let them miss school Monday to get one more day in. they Love hotel life as much as I do. We hated to come home....cry! I wish we could just buy an RV, forget about all normal life, and follow him around from town to town.

A girl can dream can't she

2009-05-10T19:19:00.000-07:00

Well, it may not actually be my dream home but it is in my dream location. It is on Reed Wade Road just outside of city limits. It is not everything that I desire but it can be modified I think. It needs to have the Julie touch put on it and the old lady motif removed. The older couple that owns it have been there since it was brand new. They have maintained it beautifully and are sooo adorable and sweet. It fits almost all our requirements for a home that include: Just outside of city limits, somewhere Jade can have all the cats she wants, Tony can ride his wheeler from our house to the creek and fish, tony can burn as much as his little heart desires in our own yard, not a lot of traffic, no close neighbors, room to build on, a level yard, and a price we might just be able to afford for now. All of these are hard to find in Batesville at a price we can afford. I hope to hear from the bank tomorrow about the loan. I hope the news is good!

Shower Time Again

2009-05-10T18:06:00.000-07:00

I went to Randi's family shower in town this weekend. I had a great time despite the Oreo ball incident(inside joke). It was great to get to visit with everyone. The food was to die for(or to fight for in my case). Judy did a great job. It's crazy to think that the next time I see Randi will probably be when she is having Essie. Wow!

Kitties Kitties Everywhere

2009-05-08T22:31:00.000-07:00

Once again we have kittens. We have five to be exact. We have a Siamese named Mieser, a solid black one named Pitch, a dark tiger striped one named Gellen, an Itchy Doo clone name Itchy Deuce or Doo Two(haven't decided yet), and a gray and white one named Snicky Doodlebop. Jade is thrilled. If it were up to her we would keep them all. We can't, so if anyone knows anyone that would like a fluffy kitty please let me know.

Run Jadie Run!

2009-05-06T19:03:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to brag for un momento. Jadelyn is officially the fastest 2nd grader at West school! This is no surprise to me. This is her second year in a row that she has won the mile run. That girl just Loves to run! She completed it this year in one minute 29 seconds! My only complaint is that the mile run was during one of my finals so I was unable to watch her run her little heart out. So wish I could have seen her little face when she crossed the finish line. She said everyone was cheering, even the teachers were yelling for her to go harder and keep it up. Jadelyn said all the boys are mean to her on the bus ride back to school because they are mad that a girl showed them up. Jadelyn Rose...Runner Extraordinaire!

Missing: One Hubby

2009-05-06T18:31:00.001-07:00

I hate to say it, I really do......but I am missing my hubby. It has been about a month and a half now. We only have about 2 more months to go unless he gets more stores added to his schedule. 12-14 hours a day 7 days a week is starting to take it's toll on him as well. I deal well with absence, we both do, it's just how our relationship works. But back at the home front here, I am starting to realize that I am not as manly as I thought I was. My Dyson quit working on me, the riding mower has a flat, and I can not for the life of me figure out how to start the damn weed eater! My college education is no match for that thing. Yes, I surrender, the weed eater is smarter than me! I am willing to admit defeat but I don't know how long the neighbors are going to be able to put up with my overgrown yard. One of the things I miss most about having ole' Tony around is his cooking! Oh what I would give for some of his specialties like meatballs with mozzarella cheese oozing out the middle, ribs, secret steak sauce, pineapple pork chops, or fried potatoes covered in cream corn! He sure knows the way to my heart...Grease! Anyway, I hate to be sentimental but I sure miss the feller!

I need couch potato camp!

2009-05-04T20:01:00.000-07:00

I started Fitness Boot Camp tonight. 45 minutes of intense workout! They say you are supposed to lose at least 12-20 lbs. in 6 weeks. After that workout, I now know why. I was certain I was either going to pass out or throw up or both! I signed up for 3 months of it too! Boy was that a mistake. I am not going to be able to move in the morning. Oh and I have to be back to do it all over aging at 8 am in the freakin morning. Why do I do these things to myself?

Foleyasaurus

2009-04-28T16:10:00.000-07:00

Today was Jadelyn's dinousaur play at school. It was called the Foleyasaurus and Kids' Museum. It was too cute for words. The kids sang songs about dinosaurs. My favorite was the dino rap. Then they all took turns telling interesting things about all the dinosaurs hanging in the classroom. Jadelyn got to tell about the dino Randi and I made in 2nd grade. The whole room thought it was so cute that she got to say that it was the one I made. Then there was an awards ceremony. Mrs. Foley called each kid to the front and gave them a trophy for something special she loved about them or an interesting thing they did. Each award was unique and soooo cute to see how proud it made them feel. There were awards like the Git-r Done award, Hey Mrs. Foley award, Lover of horses award, and Must be 1st in line always award. Jadelyn got the" Runs like a scolded dog award" for her unbelievable ability to run like the wind, which Mrs. Foley was sure to note in front of the whole room that that particular talent did not come from me. After the awards ceremony we all had a dino lunch with the kids. Mrs. Foley always goes above and beyond!

It's Shower time peoples!

2009-04-26T16:37:00.000-07:00

I always look forward to going to Jonesboro to see some of my peoples. I went yesterday for Randi's shower.There I decided my new favorite mini peep is Adalyn Grace. She is so laid back. (Totally different from my own babes!) The picture of her in her sunglasses is too cute for words. I always enjoying getting to visit with Randi and Ashley. It seems like just the other day when I was rushing to Jonesboro for the birth of Adalyn. On my way home last night, I was already thinking about making the dash to welcome Essie Claire. Can't wait to see if she looks as much like her momma as Adalyn does!

Summer Style

2009-04-15T22:01:00.000-07:00

I decided to get my hair cut short for summer. It did not take as long as I thought it would for my bangs to grow out. I decided that I must have bangs again, even though I complained about them forever last time. I am pretty sure this is the shortest that I have ever had my hair and I must say that I am Lovin' it! I love the hair not being on the back of my neck. I think next week I will add some funky colors!

Cat Stalker

2009-03-26T19:10:00.000-07:00

This is a copy of the Official letter I received from the Batesville dog catcher. It says that a cat is deemed "running at large" if it is off of the property of the owner. Just my luck, the dog catcher lives in my neighborhood. He drives by my house at all hours of the day and night with his Official patrol lights on. He drives up and down my street trying to catch my kitty outside. We have now deemed him "cat stalker". I received my Final Official Warning Violation ticket in the mail a day or so ago. Basiclly if he catches my cat out of my yard he will take her. This is the biggest pile of BULLSHIT I have ever heard of. My cat has her shots, and wears a collar displaying her tags with address and phone number on it. Now how in the hell am I supposed to keep the cat from crossing into the neighbor's yard? I can not make sure that the cat does not step one furry paw into the next yard. I think this is CRAZY! The cat stalker needs to find something better to do with his time!

In Stitches

2009-03-21T13:22:00.000-07:00

Thursday the fam went to Wal-Mart. What started out as an ordinary trip ended in complete disaster. Jadelyn fell in the garden center and busted her chin open. I then got mad at Wal-mart because they made us wait to fill out an incident report before I could take her to the emergency room. All they offered was some paper towel to stop the pouring blood then we had to wait on a manager to get around to coming with the paper work. I was Not a happy woman. Tony refused to fill out the report and I think they were scared we were going to cause trouble. After I nervously filled out the report we headed to the ER. When we got there and they realized the incident had happened at Wal-Mart I again had to fill out more crap in order for them to be happy. We were in the ER for over 5 hours! Jadelyn had to have 5 stitches under her chin. After waiting for 4 hours to see the doc she was in an awful mood and I had had my fill as well. Jadelyn had lost her patience and was more than vocal about it! It took me, the doc, 2 female nurses, and one male nurse to hold her down to put the stitches in! She screamed and kicked and cried like she was having a limb removed. This was not really surprising to me because Jadelyn is a bit of a hypochondriac and very much a drama queen! She is feeling okay now but is definitely milking it for all it's worth. I dread Tuesday when she has to have the stitches removed!

It's a Jadelyn thing!

2009-03-16T13:39:00.000-07:00

Jadelyn found a vest at one of the second hand stores that she could not live without. It is actually from the Gap. It combines her two favorite things: silky and fuzzy! This child has been in LOVE with silky, fuzzy things since she was a baby. At first, I thought she was crazy when she wanted it, but it actually looks very cute on her. She has worn it two days in a row now. A couple of weeks ago she found a woman's hot pink fuzzy shawl at another second hand store. Although she doesn't wear it to school, she does put it on when she gets home and sleeps with it on every night. I just had to post pictures. Words cannot describe these one of a kinds or her complete obsession with them. It's definitely a Jade thing!

Memphis Zoo Birthday Trip

2009-03-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

Tony had wanted to go to the Memphis zoo for awhile now. I was planning on taking him on his bday but the weather was bad. So, yesterday morning the fam headed out to Memphis. I found a great deal on a hotel that was only 15 minutes away from the zoo and it had an indoor pool. We left yesterday morning and let the girls spend the day swimming. They were just as excited about staying in a hotel as they were going to the zoo. We lucked out and there happen to be some Huge second hand stores, which this fam Loves, right down the road. I had never been in ones so big. They were Awesome!(They were actually the highlight of my trip) The kids and Tony got rowdy in the pool with all their floaties and squirt guns we picked up at the biggest Dollar Tree I had ever been in as well. The kids loved the hotel. I had never seen people so excited about using a hotel shower. I think it was the baby bottles of shampoo and little bars of soap. Today we got up early and spent the day at the zoo. Overall, it was a great trip, but I still think the kids were more impressed with the elevator and baby soaps than the entire zoo. I think Tony had a great birthday this year, we even let him ride some kiddie rides at the zoo.

Cake Maker Jade

2009-03-12T16:52:00.001-07:00

Today is Tony's 33rd Birthday. Jadelyn insisted that she make him a cake. Apparently the child planned it all out last night in bed. When she woke up this morning for school she had a list of everything she needed me to sneak and buy while she was in school. She was VERY specific, of course, Cuz she's a girl that Always knows exactly what she wants and how things should be! I had everything waiting for her hid in her room just like she wanted.( I was scared of her wrath if I had not followed through!) Luck for her, bad for Tony, he has the flu and took a nap just now giving her plenty of time to bake. She did most everything by herself and I think he will Love it!

New Ink

2009-03-09T20:04:00.000-07:00

Tony finally got a new, long over due, tattoo. He has Jadelyn's name is fancy letters on his right arm. He has wanted Madelyn's name forever now but just couldn't come up with a good idea to represent her personality. He finally got the perfect idea. He had Maddy write her name on a piece of paper. He took it to Jonesboro and a friend of his enlarged what she wrote and made it look like it was wrote in crayon. I LOVE it! It represents their individual, totally different, personalities so well. Maddy is so proud of it. She looks at it all the time and loves to tell people she drew it.

I"ve been tagged!

2009-03-09T13:08:00.000-07:00

Ashley tagged me to do this:

1. go to your documents/pictures

2. go to your 5th file

3. go to your 5th picture

4. blog about it

5. tag 5 people

This is sooo Crazy, but here it goes. It's a flaming pine cone! When I realized my fifth pic was this I died laughing. One of the girls had made a pine cone covered in peanut butter and bird seed. We had it hanging outside on our deck by the sliding glass door for a long time. It was no good anymore. My husband, being the fire bug he is, set it on fire and then took pictures of it. He has a seriously disturbing fascination with fire! I don't know anyone that blogs other than Ashley and Randi so I don't know anyone to tag but if anyone is up to the challenge, Try and beat this one!

Cunninghams Camp Again

2009-03-09T12:39:00.000-07:00

We took the fam on another camping adventure this weekend. We stayed at Blanchard Springs campsite. It was beautiful. My spring break is this week and the kids have to go to school, so we decided to try to fit some vacation time in before Monday. We had a great time, and I Loved having NO Cell Phone Service! I am sooo busy with school and other things that it was great to be in the boonies with no responsibilities. We took the girls through the caverns and shopped at all the old little stores in Mt. View Saturday. Sunday we explored the area and went swimming. The girls love camping and hopefully we can go try out some other places soon.

In Loving Memory of Itchy Kitty Doo

2009-02-07T11:48:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we lost a beloved family member. Itchy Kitty Doo was diagnosed with feline leukemia Thursday. There is no cure for leukemia in cats. It came on fast and we had to have him laid to rest yesterday. We did all we could for him. I laid in the floor with him most of the night Thursday. I made sure the girls said there goodbyes before they left for school Friday morning. They had no idea he would be gone when they returned from school. The entire family is deeply upset. the house just doesn't feel right without him. I think that we have cried all we can cry, but the mood of the house is somber. We had a funeral for him yesterday afternoon that included fresh flowers and bouquets I had my florist make up for me. Today we are searching for a headstone. Jadelyn , who this has been the hardest on, decided what she wants it to say. It will read: Itchy Kitty Doo, The Best cat in the world, He loved sunshine and chicken nuggets

BIG Changes in the Cunningham House

2009-01-19T07:04:00.000-08:00

THE BAD: My husband, Tony, recently lost his job of ten years. He had been laid off due to lack of work for the past three months. January was supposed to be packed down with tons of work. We were looking forward to the new year to bring lots of work so we could get our finances caught back up at home. Instead, the call came a couple of days after Christmas that there would be no work for 2009. We were shocked, stunned, and overwhelmed. We had drained our bank accounts and savings. We sat here with two dollars in the bank! At that point I felt what all others in America who have lost their jobs felt like, hopeless and fearful! It was not just a news story I was watching about others any longer. It felt like someone punched me in the gut. Jobs are slim in our area and Tony does not have the best background or education to even get what jobs were available in town.
THE GOOD: Today our prayers have been answered! Tony left for work at a new job in Missouri. He got a job with one of his old company's competitors. He is now on his way to start work for Sign Systems. We are hoping and praying all their promises to him are followed through. Same job but with Benefits! We have never had benefits and are completely psyched to get this opportunity. He is super nervous today so please continue to keep him in your prayers. It just proves true that when God closes one door he opens another but it's hell in the hallway! This family is blessed to be out of the hallway today!

I LOVE Ugly Shoes!

2009-01-19T06:44:00.000-08:00

Everyone that knows me is fully aware of my attraction to the funkiest, loudest, ugliest shoes on the market. I buy the shoes no one else would dare to wear. Works out for me because they are usually cheap due to the fact that I am the only one in the world that would buy these things. Like my "short pants" I search far and wide for my funky foot wear. I recently added two pair to my collection. The first pair was inspired by the silver purse Randi bought me for Christmas. I used to own shiny silver moon boots that would have went magically with the purse. I have regretted giving those boots away ever since I laid eyes on that silver purse! I feel much better now that I have my ugly silver Converse shoes to match the Converse purse. It was a match only I could be proud of! The second pair of Converse were just too "cute" and cheap to refuse. In my world they go with all of my more dressier black and brown outfits. I was beaming with joy after buying two pair of the most awesomely ugly shoes in one day. It was a great day for ugly shoes!

TURDLE

2009-01-05T15:46:00.000-08:00

So today I am sitting here reading a book and Maddy keeps talking to Jadelyn about turds. Jadelyn is getting upset. She tells Maddy that she is about to eat and does not want to hear about turds. Maddy goes back in her room and is quiet for awhile. She then comes to me and starts asking if I know how to spell "turd". I again told Maddy that she needed to quit talking about turds. I did not want to hear her say it again. To this she replies, "Well I guess I'll never be able to spell Turtle then!" She huffed off down the hall. I laughed so hard it hurt! Maddy still has no idea what was so funny.

Christmas Morning

2008-12-25T09:53:00.000-08:00

Jadelyn woke us up at the butt-crack of dawn this morning. It took us a while to wake up Maddy, but when she realized it was time to open gifts, she went into overdrive. They tore through their gifts. I think they got everything they wanted and more. As for me and Tony, we are still trying to get stuff out of those darn packages!

Finals Finished!!

2008-12-19T14:38:00.000-08:00

Hooray! Hooray! I made it through the week and survived. Now I just have to see if I die when grades come out. I am so relieved! I have been stressed to the Max the last month or so. I am gonna get to catch up on some very needed sleep now. I have been lucky to get 4-5 hours a night for a long time. I slept All day and am loving it!

Winter weather Fun

2008-12-19T14:31:00.000-08:00

We had a blast playing in the ice and sleet. Our hill is perfect for sledding and we took full advantage of it. Jadelyn and Tony were able to sled from one stop sign to another because it was so slick. When I tried, I crashed and burned! I rolled out of the sled, down the hill and into the neighbor's front yard at the bottom. I left the sledding up to Tony after that.

Ready for xmas

2008-12-15T14:49:00.000-08:00

We have had a lot of holiday activities going on around the Cunningham house. The cats (Kooky Cookie and Itchy Kitty Doo) have been fighting for the best spot under the tree. Jadelyn got to lead a mini pony in the parade. She was thrilled! Tony wrapped Maddy up like a xmas gift and she stayed there for over 30 minutes 'till I arrived back home to unwrap her. Right now Tony is outside putting up more lights. Yep, that's right, it's freezing rain and Tony decides it is a perfect time to decorate! I am sure I will have photos of his injuries later!

What a Performance!

2008-11-04T13:08:00.000-08:00

Today was Jadelyn's Thanksgiving play at school. She was Hope. I can't believe that 20 years ago I was playing the same role. How Cool! She did so good. All of the kids had worked very hard on it. It was just the cutest little thing I have ever seen.

My Madelyn is 6!

2008-11-02T18:12:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my baby is 6 years old! She looked so big today at her party, I just couldn't believe we have had her in our lives for 6 years! We had a party here at the house for her today. She picked out red and yellow for her decoration colors. I made star cupcakes as she had requested. She got a new bike, roller skates, pixo's, Tinker bell movie, a beautiful butterfly bracelet, and tons of art stuff like she likes. Thanks to everyone who sent cards and called, it really made her feel special. She loves having something Jadelyn doesn't!

Boo at the Zoo

2008-11-02T18:01:00.000-08:00

Instead of doing the normal Main Street thing this year we went to Boo at the zoo in Little Rock with Rita and Bill. The girls got to trick or treat, ride carnival rides, go on the train, walk through the fun houses and even tried the haunted house(which was a huge mistake). It was much more fun than Main Street. It was fun for everyone, especially Tony who also got to trick or treat with the kids this year. Jack Hanna was even there doing a live taping of a show. I'm sure the girls are gonna want to go back every year from now on!

Jack-O-Lanterns

2008-10-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

Every year we go to my dad's house and carve pumpkins. It's not just typical triangle eyes and such, we get detailed with these things. Even the kids have become very good at following the patterns in the books. It's an all day affair and a bunch of fun. the kids and I look forward to it every year. Tony even got in on the action this year. My dad's house has been referred to as the "house of pumpkins" for years now.

Bright ideas for Maddy's birthday!

2008-10-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

I let Maddy open up a couple of her birthday gifts early because I just couldn't wait for her to see them. I ordered her a cup and umbrella with LED lights from wowcoolstuff.com. I was just as excited about them as she was. She feels so special having something totally unique and unlike anything Jadelyn has. That's rare in this house. Maddy can't hardly wait for show and tell in the morning! My pictures didn't really get the cool effects of the cup. It has all kinds of changing colors that were hard to take a picture of. I didn't realize a $3.95 cup would be one of her favorite gifts ever! Now is the huge decision of which one to take to show and tell in the morning, major dilemma! I don't think the girl will be able to sleep tonight. I have a feeling it's gonna look like a disco in there because she is probably gonna sleep with both of them tonight!

Political Rivals

2008-10-17T17:41:00.000-07:00

I was outside checking the mail earlier when Jadelyn told me that the neighbor's house was for sale. I asked her how she knew. She pointed to the OBAMA sign in the front yard. I told her that wasn't a For Sale sign. It was a sign for the presidential candidate. She asked, to my surprise, "which one?" I said it was for Obama, thinking she really had no idea what she was talking about. She replies, "Oh, I'm voting for McCain." Oh My Gosh! I just about lost it at this point. She was so serious! I said, oh you are? Well when did you decide this? She said, "When Mrs. Foley wore a McCain shirt to school, that's when I made up my mind." She then asked who Tony was voting for. I said he wasn't. To this she says"Yeah, he's not really a votin sorta dude, he's like yeah whatever." What she doesn't realize is Tony is more into politics than most I know, but I just agreed with her. She then asked me and I told her I was voting for Obama. She didn't much like this idea and now every time a commercial comes on for one of them she is super into it! I guess we will just have to agree to disagree until she can convince me of better reasons other than Mrs. Foley's shirt!

A bad country song

2008-10-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

You ever just have one of those days, or weeks, where everything seems to be too much to handle. Well, that's where I am right now. I often feel overwhelmed, but now more than usual. I ran over one of my cats last night and didn't realize it 'till the kids found it before school this morning. I have fleas in the house because of all the kittens and now have scheduled the pest people to come spray at 3 today. My sister-in-law ran off with another man and left Jr. heart broken. I have 2 papers that I don't know how to even start due Tuesday. I am working my ass off at Lyon for minimal grades. I have to pack up everything before 3 for the flea guys. I have 5 kittens that have to live in the garage now, and need to find homes for. I was at a stand still, so overwhelmed I didn't know what to do first. I decided to run and get trash sacks to bag up all the girls stuff animals. Guess what, I get in the car and the ABS light is on and the car is dinging and making all kinds of alarms at me! At this point, I know a little black rain cloud must be directly over my head. I think I will lay down and try again tomorrow. My life is sounding a bit like a really awful country song!

Bang It!

2008-10-02T17:31:00.000-07:00

I have bangs! I have not had bangs since the infamous poodle doo of 5th grade! On the way to get my hair done today, I all of a sudden had this notion that I absolutely must have bangs. That's another problem with Harrison Street traffic, it gives me too much time to sit in the car alone and think about things like bangs! Anyhow, I love it. I never wear my hair back anyway, so it doesn't really matter. When the lady asked me what colors I wanted to do I said, " Something Halloweenie", so this is what I got. It is actually much more subtle than some of my past experiences with hair color. Anyhow, it was a welcome change, I just hope I still like these bangs tomorrow.

Halloween Decor Cunningham Style

2008-09-30T14:11:00.000-07:00

We never decorate for Halloween or any holiday really. This year we decided to put a few things out for Halloween. A lot of the things were used in the haunted house we helped with last year. We thought it looked pretty cool, then got to thinking we might have freaked out all the neighbors. This is the only holiday we have decorated for and they might think we are kinda strange. Although, I'm sure this isn't the first thing we have done to leave this impression. Anyhow, the kids love it and I hope we can keep adding to it.

Dirty Latte

2008-09-29T10:27:00.000-07:00

Do Not, I repeat Do Not try the new "gourmet" coffees from McDonald's. I went there this morning and got the iced hazelnut latte. It tastes like strong coffee, water, a little ice, and like someone accidentally dropped a potted plant in it! It will for sure hype you up. I managed to get down a little bit and am still shaken! I have now termed it the "Dirty Latte!"

Ceramics

2008-09-27T21:58:00.000-07:00

I took the girls to Ollie's today to paint ceramics. They have been wanting to go for a long time now. We met Randi, Travis, and Haley there. It's the coolest little place. You get to pick out something and then paint it however you want. It has to be sent off to be glazed and fired but it is an awesome crafty thing to do with the kids. Jadelyn made a flower and Maddy and Haley made unicorns. I think they all enjoyed it and I can't wait to see what they look like finished.

New Potty-o Furniture

2008-09-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

My dad came and replaced the cracked toilet for me, but was not gonna lug it down the stairs. He sat it on the back deck. We have never bought any chairs for the deck so the girls have started using the old potty to sit on outside. It's just the redneck touch we needed to match all my driftwood out front!

Chores Galore!

2008-09-22T13:55:00.000-07:00

I informed the girls that they owed me $126 bucks as soon as they got in from school. "Well whatever, we don't have any money, so" was their reply. I then informed them that they would be participating in a little thing I like to call, "Chores Galore!" In order to work off their debt and a little punishment for screwing around with the toilet, I will no longer do any house work. They will be responsible for all household duties including: litter box detail, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, laundry, and cleaning the bathroom except for the new toilet. They need to stay away from it! I took them both in the bathroom, lifted the lid off the tank, and showed them what it looked like inside. Now they will have no more reason to mess with it. I'm not sure how long the chores will last but I think I could definitely get used to it!

Crack

2008-09-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

I was enjoying the way the girls were playing so good together earlier this evening. I was trying to get homework done and they were being wonderful. I hadn't heard hardly a peep out of them. This is when I should have known something disastrous was about to take place. I heard a loud bang and then the girls came running down the hall. They were both in a frenzy. They were yelling, "Mom, mom, mom, something is wrong with the toilet!" They were jumping up and down and squealing with an odd mixture of laughter and horror. I could hear the water gushing as I headed down the hall. " The toilet just broke" they both chimed, "It's crazy, mom.!" My feet splashed down in water as soon as I stepped into the bathroom. I waded through and managed to turn the water line off. As I stood almost ankle deep in water with my pajama pants soaked, I turned at looked at them as they stood in the doorway still and quiet as little mice. I knew what had happened and at this very moment, as I stared them straight in the eyes, they knew I was no dummy! They immediately spilled their guts and began to cry and beg and plead their case. This is a very summarized version on their story: Maddy wanted to see what the toilet looked like on the inside and Jadelyn wanted to show her. Jadelyn set forth to take the lid off the tank(only because she was trying to be a good sister and help Maddy learn) when she realized it was to heavy, and she dropped it. It cracked my tank from top to bottom! I sent them both to bed and used every towel I own to soak up the water. Tomorrow I will have to go buy a new toilet and luckily my dad is going to put it in for me(thanks dad!). But for now I can not use the toilet and have had the urge to pee more than normal. I am certain I will wake up with the runs in the middle of the night and I'm gonna get those girls!

Halloween Preview

2008-09-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

Last night, after the skating adventure, the girls wanted to stop at one of the Halloween Express superstores in Little Rock. They were all closed so we took them to Wal-Mart instead to ease their frustrations about the whole night. They ended up finding some really cute costumes. They both wanted to be something scary this year because in the past they have been things like peacocks and princesses. I think they will look awesome when we paint their nails black, do face makeup and put some black and pink hair streaks in.

Ice Skating!

2008-09-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

Last night on the spur of the moment, like all the great Cunningham adventures, we headed to Arkansas Skatium in Little Rock. Tony had me looking up fun stuff to do in the area when I came across the site for this place. They were having family night from 7:30-10pm were you got 5 people in to skate, no shoe rental fee, a large pizza, and 5 large drinks for 30 bucks! We just had to go. The girls were super excited! They slept all the way down there, so they were refreshed and ready to skate once we got there. They have both ice and roller skating there. The girls chose ice skating. Note: none of us have ever ice skated before. Well, we made it about 5 minutes out there and turned back. Maddy absolutely hated it! I should have known that if you can't really roller skate then your probably not going to be able to ice skate! Jadelyn hung in there the longest but got super frustrated that she was not a natural pro. She had even worn her fancy ice skating shirt! Well we gave up on that and I was able to talk them into letting us exchange our ticket for roller skating. We had a little better luck with this. They were not that great at it but did enjoy rolling around in the carpeted area outside the rink. Needless to say, this family does not do skating! Oh well, it was worth a shot.

Oh Hail!

2008-09-20T09:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday around 5pm I think we entered the twilight zone in Meadow Heights. The weather outside was great, no indications of rain, and then hail hit. I'm not kidding, it looked like we were in the midst of a hurricane over here. It was lightning and the wind was blowing harder than I have ever seen it. We couldn't even open our screen front door it was blowing so hard. The heavy rain caused yards to flood within minutes. The hail was like nothing I had ever seen. We were worried about the car it was hailing so hard. We made the kids get away from the windows and turned on the tube to get some info on what was going on over here. There was nothing! It only lasted about 20 minutes and then went right back to the way it was before. I called 2 people, one in Southside and the other in Moorefield, they both thought I was crazy! It hadn't even rained in Southside and only barely coming down in Moorefield. At least I had my new camera to document the hail that everyone thinks I imagined. So, here you go guys: I've got proof! It was hailing so hard I had to take pics through the sliding glass door, but here is the hail piling up on the deck!

Yay me!

2008-09-18T16:37:00.000-07:00

Julie got a new camera today! Go Julie, go Julie, go! Well actually Peggy bought me a new digital camera. Thank You Peggy! I think she got tired of hearing me moan and groan about not being able to put pictures with my blogs. She called me and told me to meet her for lunch and had it there for me as a early Christmas present. I am so excited. I have been going through withdrawal since mine finally gave out on me. I have it charging tonight so I can click away tomorrow. Yay me!

Sorry Randi, I couldn't resist!

2008-09-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

If the other blonde moments Randi has are "Brilliant" then this my friends is True Genius! I came across these pictures the other day and could not stop laughing. The thing on her head is a tutu. This was one of the decorations I had for Jadelyn's nursery. The theme was sun, moon, and stars. So my "Brilliant" idea was to take this old tutu of mine (yes, I wore this at one point!) spray it with silver glitter spray and hang it from the ceiling as a cloud. And ya'll thought I couldn't be crafty! These photos are absolutely priceless to me now and I can't even glance at them without cracking up! Thanks for making my day Randi! I love ya babe and hope you can forgive me!

Case Lot Sales Rock!

2008-09-13T18:43:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the case lot extravaganza (I love that word) at the base in Little Rock. I got 12 boxes of hamburger helper for $6, 24 pack of gatorade bottles for $1, 36 lunchables for $20, 12 boxes of pop tarts for $8, 36 rolls of charmin for $7, 8 cups of soup at hand for $8, and much much more! I just love buying in bulk! My pantry is stuffed and I have no idea what I am going to do with all this, but it sure was fun! Looks like it's pop tarts for breakfast and hamburger helper for dinner for the rest of the year! Yay Me!

If only I could turn back time

2008-09-12T12:44:00.000-07:00

The birth of Adalyn and all this talk of babies has made my mind wander back in time. Honestly, I try not to let myself remember when I had 2 little babies. Quite frankly these years were not the best of times for Tony and I. We still had many years before we were able to see the light. I find myself with tears in my eyes and a heart full of regret when I think back. It weighs heavy on both of our hearts that we were unfortunately unable to break clear of our addictions and be there both physically and mentally for the girls. I have kept all of their baby photos stored away on purpose. I do not have any pictures dating back farther than 3 1/2 years displayed anywhere in my home. Finally, Today I got out the box of photos and laughed and cried. I feel some what better now after facing it. I am truly blessed to have Randi and Ashley in my life today. I have been blocking this part of my past for awhile now, and it has made me unable to relate with them in their recent experiences. I finally feel like I have the courage to face facts and here are some of the pictures I found today that I didn't even remember. the first one is of me the day I had Madelyn, I'm looking pretty rough, the second is Madelyn at one day old, the third is Jadelyn about 6 months, the forth is when we brought Maddy home from the hospital and Jadelyn was already torturing her, the last is Madelyn at 6 months.