Kids Say The Darndest Things

Last weekend I babysat our Nephew, Thomas (5), and Nieces, Sophie (3) and Lotus (10months).

Overnight, mind you. Over. Night. ALL BY MYSELF. (Kase had to work)

But I survived. It was fun. We played and crafted and napped.... well sort of napped. Mostly talked about napping. I dreamed of napping.

Anyways. Here are some funny things the kids said:

On our way to my house the kids were all talk in the back seat:

Thomas: "Did you know if you eat junk food, you will have a heart attack?"

Me: "Oh really? That's interesting. What kind of food is junk food?"

Thomas: "Pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers..."

Me: "What is your favorite food?"

Thomas: "PIZZA!!!!!!!"

On the drive home, we passed a Texas Roadhouse. Thomas told me that that is his favorite place to eat because you get all the peanuts you want. The next day we were having peanut butter and jelly but I had made the rookie mistake of buying CHUNKY peanut butter, not smooth:

Thomas: "What are the lumps in my peanut butter?"
Me: "Well it's peanuts like at your favorite restaurant"
Thomas: "NOOOOO I want them smushed!"
Me: "If you try a bit I think you will like it. You can smush the peanuts with your teeth and wash it down with chocolate milk"
He took a bite. Disgust filled his face and he covered his mouth as if he was about to barf up the most disgusting thing he had ever tasted. He motioned for me to open the trash can.
Me: "Thomas you eat that bite. You can do it, it's good!"
Thomas finally finished the bite and said: "OH that wasn't so bad"

Sophie and Thomas share a room at their house, and so they did at our house too. Thomas slept in the bed and Sophie wanted to sleep on a pallet in the floor. I put a movie on for them to watch. While I was retrieving blankets from down the hall I heard:

Thomas: "Sophie, Why are you going to sleep on the floor?"
Sophie: "Because, Bubba, if I sleep on the floor I can see the TV really good without your head in my way."

They make me laugh.

Happy October

I think October is the most romantic month. Really.

In my opinion, Valentine's Day should be in October. (Minus all the red/pink/white, oh and cupid. I think he is kind of creepy. I mean, is he a little naked fat man with wings or a winged baby with a bow and arrow? Either way= creepy.)

October is full of crispness in the air. Who needs spring flowers when the trees are changing color like magic? It's a fresh start, and a new season.

Time for walks in the afternoon sun, cozying up with blankets on chilly evenings, and apple cider. Date nights to pumpkin pick, plan Halloween costumes, make caramel corn, and wander through corn mazes.

Here's to everyone breaking out the sweaters, and stopping to admire the changing leaves!

Happy October!

I Found It

I've been looking for it.

Do you see it?



Fall....It's (almost) here!!!

Introducing Mr and Mrs.... Scatie!

This weekend was wonderful.


Scott (Kase's brother) married his beautiful bride Katie in the Nashville temple.


Aren't they adorable?










The ceremony was lovely. I think it's wonderful how simple and meaningful temple ceremonies are. I don't want to share too much about their special and sacred day, but I will say that it was very touching and spiritual. It was so sweet to see two wonderful people become a family forever. The love is so innocent and pure. Amazing. Contratulations Scott and Katie!



(Kase and I decided their celebrity couple name will now be........ Scatie! So congratulations Scatie!)

Attention All Drivers

I have learned from experience, that some drivers are not aware of pedestrian crosswalk signals and what they mean. Let me explain.


When you are driving in any area, but specifically an area where there are a lot of pedestrians, you should keep an eye out for crosswalks and the crosswalk signals. There could be people walking to work, or to lunch, and the last thing you want to do is injure someone.


Perhaps you are an angry driver who is downtown for some reason during lunch time driving around. Or perhaps you are a city buss driver who drives around all day and has been through training but are still unsure of the pedestrian cross walk rules.

Please note:

-Pedestrians have the right of way.


- Crosswalks are the big white bars across the road often found at intersections.


- This sign means that pedestrians may walk with only a minimal amount of fear that you will run over them:

- This sign means that pedestrians should not walk and that you should cautiously proceed through said intersection:

- This sign (the red hand should be flashing) means that pedestrians may walk, but only have 6 more seconds to reach the other side:
This sign DOES NOT mean that pedestrians are not suppose to walk. It DOES NOT mean that if you are a city bus driver you can almost run the pedestrian over. It DOES NOT mean that if you are an angry driver downtown during lunch time you can yell at the pedestrians crossing the road telling them that they are not suppose to be walking. It DOES NOT mean that you can then proceed to try to run over the pedestrians and then honk at them.


Thank you and good day.

Am I Getting Old?

When I was in highschool sdfjasjr years ago, I loved to stay up late. I would watch re-runs of old shows and sometimes write or call friends. I could stay up all night if I wanted.

Now most days, I am asleep by ummmm.... 11:00. But only because some person that I live with and who is very handsome likes to stay up late watching tv. I won't name names.

After highschool, asdflakjr years ago, I liked to go see a band called The Features play. The shows were upbeat and fun. No matter how many times I saw them, it was still fun.

They have played several times here in Knoxville. Kase and I went one time, and it was fun. But the past few times they have come to Knoxville something always comes up.

The Features are playing in town tonight, and I want to go. I planned on going. I wrote it on my calendar a month ago. But.....

Now that it's closer, I keep thinking about how we'll have to find parking downtown. How we'll have to go really late because I hate waiting for bands to set up. How I'll probably have to stand a lot and it'll make my feet and knees hurt. How it'll be really late by the time they are done playing. How instead of going to that we could see a movie and be home by 11:00. How our dog will miss us while we are gone. How the yard really needs mowing instead. How a nice quiet evening at home sounds lovely.

So the chances of us going to see The Features play are growing dim. We'll see what happens I guess. Maybe I'm just getting old? I think I kindof like it.

What's for Dinner (or lunch)?

Since we've been back from vacation, we have been trying a new experiment. We are not eating out for a month (except for an occasional date night). Our goals are to lose a little weight, eat healthier, and save money.

It's not that we ate out a LOT before. I would eat out maybe 1 or 2 times a week for lunch. My work is stocked with a fridge, freezer, microwave, and even a toaster oven so bringing lunch is easy. But when EVERYONE else has delicious hot lunches from a nearby location, well, temptation is hard to overcome when your stomach is growling. Kase, on the other hand, has it rough. His work doesn't always have a fridge or microwave (depending on which location he is scheduled at). So he would eat out for lunch most days, or not eat any lunch at all.

Then there was the temptation of eating out for dinner. I would be driving home late and pass by taco bell, a favorite at our house, and think "well, it's really late and I don't think we have any good food at home. Taco bell is cheap." Or friends would invite us out to dinner and we wouldn't want to say no. It was just easy. Not that we ate out every night, but it was easy to lose track.

So it's been 2.5 weeks since our not eating out and it's been great! I feel better and have been cooking more which is a goal I had set for myself. Kase has started back to school so he packs his lunch and eats between classes or when he gets to work.

As far as our goals, I know we've been eating healthier. We've even noticed we've lost a few pounds. And we are saving money. Groceries are still very expensive, but we have leftovers that go farther. So it works out better.

Plus when we have went out for date night, I realize the food doesn't even taste all that good.

This post is kind of boring, but I just wanted to remind myself that I have enjoyed our experiment and I plan on continuing it.

Also, I need good (EASY) recipes so if anyone has any PLEASE send them my way!!!! :)