Pity Party

I just found myself indulging in a moment of self-pity. I feel like as a mom/wife/waitress, if I'm not at home waiting on and constantly taking care of toddlers and husbands (not as if I have more than one, sometimes it just feels like it!), I'm at work where at least I'm paid to take care of people, but I'm nonetheless waiting on more people. Although, those of you who have worked in the service industry can understand this, sometimes no amount money is worth having some "guests". There are always those dredded customers that you just want to leave, you could careless about the tip-you just need them gone! Anyways that is neither here nor there

... I just found myself feeling sorry for myself because when I'm not taking care of people at home, I'm taking care of them at work. And I know I'm not the only one that does this, there are countless teachers, nurses, doctors, fellow waiters, -and the list goes on- that can identify with me on this one. All I'm saying is I selfishly need a break. So here's to some me-time. Going to the store today with NO toddlers and NO husbands.

Isaiah 51:11
...Gladness and joy will overtake them,
   and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Praise God for constantly giving me peace and reassurance that not my will, but His will be done.

Late Nights

I've always been a night owl. Since I can remember I would stay up forever just listening to my walkman. Eventually it became my Discman, and now it's either youtube while I'm working on the computer or my MP3 player while I'm laying in bed. Man, talk about a creature of habit.

Here I sit working into the wee hours of the morning and I am so enjoying some peace and music. My current playlist consists of :

Run this Town, Jay-Z feat. Rihanna
Rehab, Rihanna feat. Justin Timberlake
California King Bed, Rihanna
Pray, Justin Bieber
One Time, Justin Bieber
Never Say Never, Justin Bieber feat. Jayden Smith
Eenie Meenie, Justin Bieber

...hmmm, see a pattern anyone? As a kid it was Hanson, then the Backstreet Boys. Before I had any good casette tapes to listen to I would listen to FM 106 on the radio. Innovation has brought us so far, I used to have to either pick one CD, make a mix, or bring that big bulky book with all my cds in it out. To imagine we can now cram thousands of songs onto one little chip. Crazy.

Anyways, back to my Alterra coffee, "Take a Bow" by Rihanna. She's awesome. And Bieber Fever has infected me. Donny listens to Miley Cyrus, I'm allowed some Bieber-it's only fair.

Before and After

I was looking through a Facebook album of photos and I found the one on the left. YIKES! I got a sudden burst of pride for losing close to 80 lbs since that one was taken! Pregnancy seriously took a toll on my body, and that would be an understatement. But I would be lying if I said I wished it didn't happen, that boy on the right was worth every pound and worth every struggle to lose those extra pounds. I'm not where I want to be, but I'm proud of where I am with my weight. I probably should run a little more, and eat a little healthier but I know one thing for sure, I NEVER want to weigh 224 lbs again.

...well I guess I would make an exception for twin girls...

This is a before and after for the record books of my life! Not really Biggest Loser material, but darn close.

Family Camping Weekend in Pictures

 Jack and Caleb hanging out while the mommy's and daddy's set-up camp! Jack looks slightly more excited about the idea of camping than his dear cousin, Caleb.

The older boys were ready to swim! Thanks to Grandma Sharon, all the kids had lots of toys to swim with.

Donny and Morgan, attempting to fix Grandpa Don's new fan, while Jack looks on, wanting to help.

Stacking the innertubes on Morgan proved to be a very entertaining game-for everyone!

Brooke wanted to be part of the fun.

An annual camping tradition. 2 years ago it started when Melissa and I were majorly pregnant with our now 2-year-old boys, Jack and Caleb. This will be a tradition until they have their own wives and children, whether they like it or not!

Family Photo: easier said than done. But good enough.

Jack would swim all day if he could.

Perfect shot of Caleb. Cute little blondie.

Picture of Jack and Mommy: impossible. This was as close as we got.

Picture of Jack and Daddy: close, but no cigar.

Buddies since birth, literally. They love each other and it's so sweet to watch them play together.

Girlfriends, who just happen to be cousins. Hailey and Morgan will always share a close bond. Two of the sweetest 5-year-olds you'll ever know.

Photo of 8 kids under the age of 7. Not bad.

Put your arms up if you're a Spielman!

For a second, no one was watching Jack and he actually just floated out on his little innertube way farther than he should have been. No worries though, we got him safely back to shore.

Probably my least favorite part of this camping trip^ Jack woke up Saturday morning covered in some type of bug bites. Not a single one of us had mosquito bite or had even seen a mosquito for that matter so we're not really sure what happened. But something was in his bed biting him continually. His legs, arms, face and neck were covered in these little red bumps. Poor kiddo has been scratching them raw-but was surprisingly upbeat despite this unfortunate turn of events.

Two little buddies playing in the sand. Pretty self-explanitory.

Boys will be boys-always playing with toys.



All packed up and heading for home. We didn't even get off the camp grounds before Jack fell asleep.

Lots of swimming, sand-castle-building, running, splashing, and camping in general will zonk you out faster than you can say Black Hawk Lake.

Family camping was a success. Jack had a great time with all his cousins, we enjoyed some fun family fellowship and lots of good food. The only thing I'm going to try to do better next year is taking more pictures. There is so much we did that I didn't capture-and I enjoy comparing pictures from year-to-year and I took way more pictures last year. Luckily we have years and years ahead of fun family camp-outs.

A Camping We Will Go

Another annual family camping trip has snuck up on me. Unlike years past, I'm completely unprepared. My first camping experience ever was horrible, I hated every second of it. Since that fateful trip almost 5 years ago now, I have learned the ins and outs of camping and have equipped myself with simple tools that help me enjoy camping to the fullest. I have a 5-page check list that every year about a week before camping I pull out, check off what I have and shop for what I don't. If I have everything I could ever possibly need and more, I love camping. I feel secure in knowing there's nothing that I don't have and I can fully enjoy myself.

I'm not sure what the deal is this year. It's 11:30. We're leaving in 2 hours and I haven't packed a single thing. I pulled my list off last night and have only glanced at it. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe I'm finally comfortable with the idea of camping and if I don't have everything and the kitchen sink I will survive! my family can attest that my organization during camping is somewhat superhuman. I'm not an organizational freak by nature, however when it comes to camping i suddenly morph into an OCD overly-organized nut.

(short break to start the packing process)

...it's official, I'm a seasoned camper. I just knocked out 60% of my list in a 1/2 hour. I just realized that I'm entirely not sure why camping preperation had to be such a production. And reading over my list is actually quite comical. It has headings and sub headings, bullet points, boxes to check off, things are double and triple accounted for (afterall, what would I do if I forgot the spray butter?) I mean seriously, I would be embarassed to publish this list. It is beyond excessive.

And with that, I will sign off to finish off the remaining 40% of my list. T minus 1 hour til lift off. Black Hawk Lake or bust!

It's All Greek 2 Me

So blogging for me is one of those things that I've always wanted to do, but just never actually sat down and did. So here goes nothing. I'm not really sure what you're supposed to blog about, I mean obviously happenings in your life, recipes, pictures, yada yada yada. But I'm just not sure anyone cares. Then again I love to read blogs and have found myself indulging more and more in reading blogs of people that I know and those of total, complete strangers. I really have found to enjoy it, and so here I sit, attempting a blog of my own.

The title may seem a little extreme to some. We are anything but your typical farmers. My husband, Donny enjoys raising his chickens, tending to his garden, and caring for the landscape. I guess among the qualifications of living on a farm, the barn is probably one of the most obvious. Though we have yet to house livestock, the barn is a unique feature of our property. It sits among the pond, the 3+ acres of woods, 2 creek, gardens and chicken coop on our beautiful 7 acre plot out here in New Berlin. New Berlin's little motto is actually "City living with a touch of country" and that is the best way I can describe my life. Well put, New Berlin.

Donny and his garden - a labor of love.

I am NOT a farmer. My time outside is often spent sunning myself, floating on the pond, grilling our dinner or taking a late-night jog with Lola. I do selfishly enjoy harvesting the yummy fruits and vegetables that Donny labors so hard to grow. In fact, today was the first harvest of the growing season. I picked a whole bunch of summer squash and zucchini that we will be enjoying on our annual family camping trip this weekend in Black Hawk Lake, WI.

The first harvest. Grilling instructions: Slice or cube, wrap in foil, season with E.V.O.O. and garlic salt, fold foil closed, poke with fork for vent. Grill 10-15 minutes or until tender. Serve with your favorite grilled protien. Yum.

Now what do you get when you cross a self-proclaimed farmer with his city-life-loving wife? You get one crazy little kid. Jack is our almost 2-year-old son (tear.) who has got it made. He has a pond to swim in, three dogs to play with, chickens to chase, fresh veggies to eat (I wish) and oh so much room to run and play. I swear he would play outside until he plain fell over from exhaustion. I usually have to bribe him into the house with a Wiggles DVD. He's the easiest-going 2-year-old that I know. Sleeps until atleast 9am, naps for 2 1/2 hours a day, hardly ever cries, prays before every meal and before bed and before nap, so far is very polite and the kid always has a smile on his face. (Hmmm, proud mommy much?) What can I say, he's the perfect kid.

If you asked me 10--no 5--years ago if I would be living on a "farm" I would have laughed in your face and called you crazy. I think Donny may have even laughed in your face. Yet here we are, living the dream-on our own little farm. And I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have it any other way.

Well, for my first blog post ever, I feel pretty accomplished. I even figured out how to get pictures on here. Way- to-go me.