The fruits... er... Vegetables of my labor.

I picked the last possible survivors, before the first frost. I have a few possible tomato's that might make it, if not, I guess we're eating fried green tomato's! Yummy! BTW- this is the 4th batch of Green Beans I've picked this year. We also planted corn, (didn't work out so well, a lesson learned) cucumber, (delicious) and zucchini, (didn't make it a day!). Here's a tip we found at Petsmart, Put a slice of zucchini, or lemon in your fish tank. They love it!

'ode to my amazing mother

So, if you are familiar with my previous blogs, you know I have had trouble with Mayla in school, as far as focusing, and the school wanting her to be on whatever drug you put a kid on for ADHD. Today, I had the first (of many) meetings with Her teacher, her speech therapist, her reading teacher from last year, and 2 school psychologists. I asked my mom to go with me, because I have filled her in last year about what was going on, and what not. She has gone through this before with a sister of mine after the sister was held back. I DO NOT WANT MAYLA TO BE HELD BACK EVER! I think it would not do anything for her, but make her feel stupid. The school is pushing for Mayla to get medication, and if she is not diagnosed with ADHD, then apparently "their hands are tied". My lovely mom, said... "that's b.s."
Thank god she went with me. I don't even know the questions to ask, but mom spoke up for Mayla. like.....
When she goes to reading or speech, what is she missing in class?
well, she is missing directions for whatever math they are doing that day. ok, well they are harping about her math scores being down.... F'n DUH! I'm not gonna make her do homework till bedtime. How is she ever gonna be a kid? We do about an hour and a 1/2 of homework, or practice work a night. I am going crazy trying to figure out what to do to help her. I cant afford a tutor. Mason has always been good with the grades, so this is all new to me.
Thank you amazing mother for being my voice (& memory) when I don't know what to ask, or say. This year should be a good one for Mayla getting the help she needs to have success. FINALLY!
p.s- I could go on forever on how amazing my mother is, but if you know her at all, you already know! This is just the tip of the iceberg!
I LOVE YOU MOM!
TTYL- Tahmi

Just bragging about my superstar.

Mason had an awesome game yesterday! My dad was here visiting, so he got to watch Mason in action! He is the photographer in all of these pictures, since I didn't realize my battery was dead on my camera till I got there. Saint Johns High school beat Mason high school 27-20. Now, I know what your thinking, and yes there is a Mason high school, in Mason Michigan (about 40 minutes from here). Did I name him after the town? NO! I got the name from a soap star from the old soap opera "Santa Barbara" (now I'm telling my age!). Moving to Michigan was not even a concept in my mind when I was thinking of names for my first born. Back then I had never heard of the name (besides the soap opera), now I hear it all over! COPY CATERS! Next thing you know, there is gonna be a bunch of Mayla's running around! I'm such a trend setter! lol!
Anyhoo, it was difficult for the announcer to decide between Mason Sauls, and Mason high school! I wish I would have counted how many times Mason was said over the loud speaker! Between the lame high school, and the amazing Mason Sauls, with his interceptions, touchdowns, passes, and tackles. Okay I'm bragging, but seriously, this boy is good! Instead of JV, I think he'll shoot right up to Varsity next year (& my daddy thinks so too!). Mark my words, when he graduates college, he'll play pro in whatever sport he decides to focus on. Right now he's into Football, Basketball, Lacrosse, Boxing, Track, and he mentioned taking up Baseball again. 1 down, 2 to go.


Headed to battle.


This was in interception pass that he caught. The pic is taken just b4 he caught it.


This is Mason carrying the ball. He's #20, with the red tips on his shoes.

Fans on, fans off.

So, like usual the weather is crazy right now. I almost turned the heater on 2 days ago, instead, I closed all the windows, and turned all the fans off. Then dressed the kids, and myself in winter pagama's & socks. Now today, I've got all the fans on, and windows open. Kinda crazy when I do laundry, and I have shorts, & pants in one weeks batch! We've got the last festival of the summer in 2 weekends. Please lord let it be a nice Saturday!

First day of school pic.'s

Mayla on the first day. She was happy, but didn't want her pitcure taken (clearly).

Jarrett on his first day of pre-school. It was just an openhouse, so we only stayed for about an hour. After we left, he told me "I dont want you to come to school with me tomorrow mom". Ahhhh independence!

I was proposed to! (I said yes)

Amber & Mike ( isn't he hot!?)






















So, May 30th 2009 our dear friends Amber & Mike are getting married! Well, last Saturday Amber proposed to me to be one of her bridesmaids. I told her HELL YEAH! I dont care if I'm in the wedding, I just wanted to be invited! The bachelorette party is gonna be the bomb too!


Also, June 19th 2009, Gordon's friend John is getting married in Vermont. He has asked Gordon to be the bestman, and Mayla to be the flower girl (it's the day before Mayla's 8th b-day).


Also, July 11th 2009 my friend Kyra is getting married in Idaho. I've never been to a gay wedding ceremony, so I really want to go. Plus, it's been forever since I've seen Kyra, & her family, & I miss them terribly!





I started a diet (again) yesterday. I've counted the weeks, and as long as I lose 2lbs a week I'll be at a great weight for the weddings. 2lbs is a great goal. I can do that. I've figures out that when you start a diet, you cant look at the overall goal, you need to do it a little at a time. 2lbs seems like cake to me (haha cake-no pun intended). Since at first I lose about 5lbs a week I'll be good, it's when I get near my overall goal that I have problems. Wish me luck. I only hope to be as thin & sexy as my older sister. Also, by the time Amber & Mike get married, it will be spring, and I'll be ready for a kick butt (thinner) summer.
TTYL-Tahmi

It's a quickie.

So, it's Saturday, nothin really going on, which is probably why I'm blogging. I just got back from Kmart. I hate the parking lot at our Walmart, so I just avoid the whole place all together. I had to get Jarrett's backpack, and a few odd's & ends for school. I walked the place 3 times, and I'm so tired now. Gordon is in the garage cleaning it out. The garage is another place I avoid, especially when it's getting cleaned. I clean the whole house by myself all the time, so I think it's ok for someone else to be in charge of the garage. Needless to say, it is pretty dirty most of the time. The weather is really strange right now. It rained on Thursday, and Friday, so it's been pretty chilly. We had a bonfire last night in the backyard. Dianna (little sister) & Brad (her hubby) got into a fight over the dumbest thing. I think the main reason was, that the attention was not on him, so he had a pitty party. I went to drop some gifts for my mom that we got her while she was in Az/Ut, and Brad stayed in Dianna's room the whole time I was there. What a baby! Oh well. I watch kids all week, I dont wanna have to cater to grown adults that need child like attention on my days off! Gordon & I are going on a triple date tonight with Nate, Ashley, Mike, & Amber. Were going to Ye ol Roadhouse. a.k.a. Roadhouse. It's one of the nicer restraunts in town. I really want to go to some garage sales, but I think the season is over for the year. Gordon is going to go help Bremer move into Alisons house, so mabye I'll take a nap. Mason lost his game on Thursday. I forget how mad he gets when he looses. I didnt go, but when I picked him up, he wouldnt even talk to me. They only lost by 2 points. Here & there since then I have heard a few highlights of the game. He was starting tailback. He's got a home game in 2 weeks, so I'm gonna take the kids to watch him. On a lighter note, varsity won by 2 points. Well, I guess the garage is done, so I'm gonna go check it out, then hit my pillow for a little nappie nap.
TTYL-Tahmi

Venison steaks anyone????

I guess I've had a little too much time on my hands today, now that the kids are in school. This is my 3rd post today, however, I'm kinda getting the hang of it....... for the most part! Plus, I've cleaned the house, and other than a batch of towels, my laundry is done (the chore I hate the most). So, we went camping for labor day, and have some left-over Venison steaks that were not cooked, but are totally thawed out. I hate Venison. Not the taste, but the fact that it is deer meat. I have eaten it before, but when I do, I get this pit in my stomache, and my brain starts thinking about this sweet little deer, eating some grass, minding his own business when BAM! I dont even want to touch the meat to begin to cook it, or even flip it over with some tongs. So, what do I do with it? Yeah, I know where hamburger, chicken, turkey, seafood, and ham (and the ever so delicious bacon) come from. I am a meatatarian. But, the whole deer thing grosses me out. Gordon cooks it for himself, and the kids, and I usually have a sandwhich or something, but he wont be home till Friday, and it will be bad by then. I HATE to waste food, but I think it might be going out with the trash tonight.
TTYL-Tahmi

Some of the wedding pic.'s

Everyone but Mason. Gordon, & Brian.... Talk about your best man! lol

Mayla dancing her little heart out.

Jarrett waiting to eat.

It's been a while....

I know it's been a minute since I have blogged, but it has been one busy month! School started today........ YIPPEE!!! Jarrett starts pre-school in 2 weeks, so I'll only have the 2 little girls in daycare once he starts. I'm going to start every other weekend with Jodi's kids (Gordons sister's 3), for extra cash.

So... Whats been going on.....

The wedding was SO MUCH FUN!! It was a really long day, but fun was had by all. When we got to the wedding site, Mayla & Jarrett were clean, but wearing white..... You should know how that turned out! I didn't feed them breakfast, they dont usually eat it anyways. We had 2 hours to kill before the ceremony actually started, and they went into the reception hall & found some m-n-m's YIKES! I had to keep yelling at them to "stop eating!". The poor guys! Once the ceremony was over they had pitcures, so while they were doing that I made them both a plate so they could eat as soon as pitcures were done. Between the wedding & reception, there was about a 3 hour break, so where did the bride & groom wanna go? To the bar. F.Y.I. you can take a kid into the bar in Michigan, as long as they are gone by 9pm. So, the bartender turned on the music, layed a board on the pool table, and we danced for hours. Once Mayla got up on the table, we couldn't get her down! She's a dancing fool!

Gordon- has been working short weeks, because of the wedding, & Labor day, and busting his butt 2 get home early. It is fixin to get busy again, to stock up the store for the winter. He told me yesterday, that we should try & take the kids 2 a hotel with a pool once a month this winter to try & eliminate the "cabin fever" we get every year (snow sucks!). I hope we actually do it because it's about the only time we can get Mason to go on vacation with us. We got the camper all set up, and it now resides at Busch Gardens. Next year it will be so much easier to camp. Gordon did an awesome job building the bunkbeds, and our bed too. He's so dang handy!

Mason- started football last wednesday. SJHS beat Lansing catholic central high 34-18. I know I've said this before, but watching him play sports is so exciting. Especially football!! I love hearing.. "Mason Sauls" over the loud speaker! He always knows where the play is, and is almost always involved. He plays a couple of positions... Quarterback, safety, runningback, and others that I dont know the name of. I wish I knew a lot more about football, so I can understand, but I'm trying. He feels like he plays "second fiddle" to a kid who's dad is a chiropractor (sp?) in town (small town life). I keep telling him, it doesn't matter what your last name is, if your good, you'll get recognized! And he is awesome! A couple of weeks ago he told me to go to every game because he expects a lot out himself this year. Isn't that so cool? I know some of the fathers of other players expect their kids to do awesome too, but the kid just cant deliver. I think Mason just has the natural ability (I know I'm braggin, but really he is good). When he was little I didnt have a name, I was just Mason's mom. To this day it is still the same. I think in some cases people are wondering if I am black, or white. Then when Gordon goes to a game, they are really confused! lol! He's got a new girlfriend. Her name is Sam, and she's a junior. Yes, I said a junior! (Mason is a freshman). I saw a pitcure of her last night. She's really cute, and short! but, I wish he'd just stay single. This weekend while he was home alone, his dudes duck taped his whole body. Then covered him in silly string. I guess at 14 thats fun, but it was retarded in my book! Whatever, they had fun. He also built a Mt.Dew pyramid in the kitchen.

Mayla- finally started 2nd grade. It has been a long summer for her. She was ready to go back about 2 weeks after school ended! Man, is she a great little helper with the daycare kids. She wanted to take over the diaper changing, and dressing of the 2 little girls, & other than "number 2" I let her. She's O.C.D. about her room. Nobody is allowed in there when she's not home, because they mess it all up. She had a great camping season this summer. Yesterday before we came home, we stopped at Uncle Larry, & Aunt Tamie's house so she could go on a ride on the dirt bike. She kept saying, "go faster daddy!". She is so tomboy!

Jarrett- is about 95% potty trained. FREAKIN' FINALLY!! Since his pre-school doesn't start till the 15th, I told him he cant go till he puts all his poo-poo in the toilet. That has been the key, because he really wants to go to school, and ride the bus. His speech has been getting better everyday. More & more people can understand him. About a month ago, he had left his bike in the driveway, and I ran over one of his training wheels. So, since then he has been riding with one. I think we can almost take the good tire off. He has become a safari kid, using a stick as a machetti, and chopping down Mayla's sunflowers, and my tomato plants. Now we only have one sunflower that got a chance to bloom, and just a few tomato's. He also has been picking the green tomato's and throwing them in the backyard like baseballs. Huh! Boys!

Buddy, & Pepper- Went on their first camping trip last weekend with us. Of course Buddy was great. He's lazy! But, surprisingly enough Pepper didnt take off when released from the chain! I think we've come to the conclusion that she's about 3 months old. Mayla is doing a great job taking care of her, and only twice has decided to give her to Mason. But, she's still Mayla's dog. Mayla's Dr. Pepper.

Other than that- Things are back to normal (as normal as we get). Looking forward to Halloween, Thanksgiving, & Christmas. NOT looking forward to the snow, & freezing rain! I should be able to blogg more, now that the kids are in school.
TTYL- Tahmi