PARENTS WEEKEND OFF!

We did it! After a rough four months we finally got a weekend away!  Let me preface this post by stating that Robert and I have some of the most amazing friends in the world!  They know who they are, but I still want to thank them for the gift of our weekend away!  They planned everything, down to contacting Mimi (Robert’s mom) for childcare and gladly gave us the money for a much needed weekend off! 

Robert and I headed to our favorite city in all of Florida, St. Augustine.  It’s the third time that we have been and the second time that we have gone alone.  I told Robert that we need to plan on doing this more often and not once every seven years!  Oh what fun we had!  We LOVE St. Augustine!  We LOVE the history that is found in the city.  We LOVE walking through the streets and gazing at the architecture and contemplating what the walls of the buildings would say if they could talk.  We LOVE tasting new foods and trying things that we wouldn’t do if we were at home.  We LOVE not having an agenda and just walking and exploring. 

On the train tour of the city.

Robert testing his degree of "Love"....he was naughty but nice!

Heading into the old Alcazar Hotel now the Lightner Museum.

We got in there just in time for the tornadoes and storms to hit!

Flaggler College, the old Ponce de Leon Hotel.

Our last meal out at the Columbia Restaurant on St. George Street.

 

More than anything, we LOVED not having to chase after our little ones.  Please, don’t get me wrong.  We missed them like crazy!  We called, texted, and checked up on them constantly!  BUT we needed this time to be alone.  We needed the time to heal from the loss of Samuel.  We needed to be able to sleep until 7:00 (or at least Robert did, I still got up early I was so excited!) and take naps as needed.  We needed to be able to sit and talk, uninterrupted and totally transparent with each other.  We needed to be able to extend mercy, grace, and forgiveness for hurt feelings, broken dreams, and unrealized ideals.  We needed to reconnect as a couple.  We needed the ability to remember WHY we chose to get married, why we are still married after 15 years, and why we want to STAY MARRIED.  We needed this!

I for one can’t wait until we can run away again, and we will go again next year!  UNLESS…..Anyone want 4 kiddos for this weekend?  Tap….tap….tap….Anyone?

 

THIRTY ONE GIFTS AND ME!!

I have decided to try my hand at selling Thirty-One Gifts items.  Some might think that I’m insane since my life is so crazy busy, BUT I have learned something over the last four months!  I NEED some girl time!

I adore my children and love being Mama!  In spite of this deep and everlasting abiding love, I need something for me too!  I miss having adult conversations!  I miss girlfriends laughing and having fun!  I miss lunch dates and giggles.  I miss “Girls Night Outs!” SO……I have decided to do something about it!  I’m going to try to sell some great bags, home organizers, totes, and purses to be able to get out of the house!  Oh, don’t misunderstand me, I WANT to be a success.  I WANT to do really well and make a profit!  I WANT to earn free stuff to help me organize my life the way that I have things pictured in my mind or on my Pinterest dream boards!  I want a lot, but more than anything; I NEED some adult time!  There is more to Jennifer Best than just being a Mama, and I believe that the awesome Thirty One Gifts Company is just what I need to succeed!

I order my new consultant kit this week!  I’m so excited!!!!!!  GIRL’S NIGHT, here I come!

MY NEW LOVE….

I have just fallen in love.  Head over heels, excited about life, want to shout it from the roof tops kind of love!  I LOVE 31 Gifts Party Items.  Whew, I admitted it.  Do you want details of my new love?  OK, here goes the who, what, when, where, and why’s!

I’ve been kind of down lately.  Nothing overly major, just like I needed something more for me.  I ADORE, LOVE, CHERISH, and DEEPLY CARE for my children, but ever since the loss of Samuel I’ve felt kind of lost.  Then, I was cleaning the boy’s room and found Ethan’s 31 Party cinch sack that I had bought for him Easter 3 years ago.  I decided to find myself a consultant and have a party!  Who doesn’t love a party?  I thought that this might just be the thing to cheer me up!

I Googled 31 consultants in our area and was introduced to Kelly Nix out of Lakeland!  LOVE HER!  She was so sweet and amazing.  In spite of being in the middle of her own crazy and hectic life (she was moving into a new home…ugh….moving), she drove out here to the middle of our cow pasture and orange grove to a party that got all of 3 orders, less than $200.00.  In order for a 31 Gifts show to be a successful party, it has to be at least $200.00 in sales.  OK, I gathered some catalogs and called some friends.  Within a week my sales were around $800.00!  YAY!  Being the hostess I got 2 exclusive hostess items, 2 half price items, and $125.00 to do whatever I wanted with!  I was in shopping heaven!

Anyone who knows me KNOWS that I love purses and bags.  So I will freely admit that this is what initially drew me to the 31 Gifts items.  BUT, what made me fall in love were all their organizational ideas and the little extras that I could get to make my life a little bit easier.  Knowing this, I pursued the catalog circling stuff I loved like crazy and had tons of fun in the process.  

All of my goodies were dropped off yesterday by Fed Ex!  Oh at the fun that I had opening those boxes with the pretty pink labels.  I got all kinds of goodies, even Robert liked some of the things I picked out!  New purse….yep!  New picnic cooler to also use at the grocery store, play park, or the beach….yep!  New diaper bag / dirty clothes bag for Cole…yep!  New backseat toy / DVD organizer for my truck…yep!  A new organizer for the Living Room DVD’s….yep!  New umbrella……yep!  New casserole carrier…yep!  New suitcase….yep!  New make-up bags….yep!  New summer / beach bag…yep!  New organizer and coin purse for Mag’s….yep!  Oh the fun that we had unpacking all of the new stuff! 

My new purse...love that I can customize!

Coleie-Olie's new goodies!

YAY!  I can keep backseat clutter down!

All of my "FREE" items!

My hostess only goodies!

Maggie's little piggie coin purse that I tried to keep....it's so cute!!!!

31 Gifts….oh how I love you!  Thanks for making my day a little bit brighter.  I think that I want to share you with others………

COLORS

We all have colors that we are drawn to.  Our home is in fall colors; both Robert and I are drawn to burgundy, browns, tans, deep oranges, creams, deep golden yellows, and any “fall” or rustic fall color scheme.  This year we haven’t begun tackling any home improvements but I think that when we do, it will involve painting and nothing too major (since Mama is driving her home improvement fund this year!), and Robert’s new job is so time consuming that we just don’t have time to do anything major right now.  We still need to finish the floors in our bedroom, but we wanted to paint it and the living room first.  Mama also wanted to look for a new bedroom suite, but well we shall see.

All this talk about paint colors got me to thinking.  I asked each person in our family what their favorite color is and I wondered what that meant about each person.

Robert’s favorite color is blue.  My favorite color is red.  Maggie’s favorite color is lime green.  John Robert’s favorite color is blue.  Ethan’ favorite color is red.  Cole has not what decided what color he likes yet.  Knowing all of this, I looked up what each color meant from the website Catalogs.com, Info Library, and looked at what they had to say about colors, home décor and personality. 

In our home two love blue.  According to Catalogs.com:  “Blue is serene and tranquil, the color of peace and contentment. Thanks to its calming effects, blue is the color of choice for the many hospital nurseries and studies show that when sitting in a blue room, most people report feeling quiet and settled. If blue is your favorite color you love harmony, are capable, reliable, and sensitive and always make an effort to think of others.”

In our home two love red.  Again Catalogs.com states:  “Bright and dramatic, red is the color of love, joy and bravery. Rooms that are painted red are often warm and cheery while people who wear red are often energetic, optimistic individuals who love attention and being in the spotlight. Those who love red live life to the fullest and are tenacious and determined.”

Lastly only one loves green, and lime green at that.  Catalogs.com states: “Green is calming, the color of fresh beginnings and new life. Studies show that the color green increases well being, calmness and restful emotions. Those who love the color green are often affectionate, loyal and frank. Green lovers are also aware of what others think of them and consider their reputation very important. If green is your favorite color, chances are you're emotional, caring, and aware of those around you.”

I must admit that most of these descriptions match the person that is drawn to that color.  Isn’t it funny how we can all live in the same home, how we can all be drawn to so many different things, and still find harmony together as a family?  Now, if we could only decide what colors to paint everything……….

To check out the website head over here.

TURNING 35

I just turned 35.  For me, this was harder than turning 30.  I think the main reason was because the day itself was a yucky no good kind of day and the fact that I am now only 5 years shy of being 40 what many might say is on the precipice of middle aged life!

Birthdays are a BIG deal to me!  I think that everyone should have a BIG celebration to honor their birthday.  I also think that as a person gets older that celebration should be extended for a whole month, why not….we are all worth it. 

Robert was on call the week of my birthday and wouldn’t you know it, the only day he got called out all week was, you guessed it Friday March 8, 2013!!  The good news was I kept saying it was going to happen so I would be prepared.  The bad news was he worked about a 16 hour day.  Yep, he left for work at 7:45 in the morning, got home at 9:00 that night and was called out at 10:00 and didn’t get back home until 2:00ish.  The official time is a little iffy, I was sleeping then! 

This was not that big of a deal to me, I KNEW that it was going to happen, Murphy’s Law if you will.  What was a big deal is the fact that it was the 8^th of the month, 4 months from the day that I had to have emergency surgery over the loss of our son Samuel.  I was now 35, lonely, and hearing the words of the doctor ring in my mind over and over again.  On top of that one of the chicks that we had bought from Tractor Supply died and I was an emotional wreck (It was John Robert’s little chick Dixie too….BOO!)  Seriously, sobbing off and on all day.  Ethan even told Robert on the phone he had to give lots of hugs to cheer me up.  This was just not a fun birthday!

We did manage to meet up with Robert for a quick bite to eat at I-Hop.  I refused to cook on my birthday!  We are planning to do something special for us and me when we run away to St Augustine at the end of March.  I am much better now that I have been able to sob and get things back into perspective, but yuck……turning 35 was not fun at all!

NEW LIFE

We got some new little ones from Tractor Supply!  They are supposed to be red bantam pullets which means within the next 6 months or so we should be getting a dozen eggs every two to three days.  The children are all beyond thrilled.  After all, who doesn’t think a baby chick is adorable?  I am seriously thinking that we live in a zoo.  With the other animals around, horses, cattle, hogs, dogs, two other chickens, and a rabbit some days I wonder.  Now the kiddos are asking about goats, ferrets, and one even mentioned a gerbil or hamster.  Sorry guys this Mama draws the line at rodents!

So far we have named them Penny, Esther, Heidi, Little Lady who had her name changed to Dixie (she’s John Robert’s), Blondie (who is Ethan’s and had her name changed about 50 times), and Ella (she’s Maggie’s chick and is always escaping from the crate we have them in!)  As of right now they are so tiny that they are in the kitchen safe and warm!  YAY for new life and fun!

PIONEER DAYS

This year Robert was asked to attend Pioneer Days in Zolfo Springs.  He was asked to do this not only because of his incredible artistic talent (which he has a ton of), BUT mainly because he is a proud member of a dying breed in Florida.  A true Florida “Cracker” that knows how to truly make authentic buckskin whips.  There aren’t many of his kind left in the state anymore, and it is something that makes him even more awesome and special! 

Robert setting up his deer hide & display.

Showcasing his many talents.

A snippet of his art work!

 

We all had a great time in Zolfo this year.  It was WONDERFUL getting to visit with old friends (yes, I mean you Mrs. Hyde) and meet so many people.  Being our kiddos, they loved touring the Cracker Trail Museum and visiting the many booths and displays.  The Blacksmiths shop was a huge hit (mainly because it was freezing and he had a fire going!)  What struck me was the amount of tourists who were interested in this lost art of whip making and the amount of young Floridians who “claim” to be country cowmen and women who weren’t interested in this important part of their history.  This saddens me a lot, if one doesn’t know where they have come from, how can they truly know where they are going?  I would have thought that most of the younger generation would WANT to know about this unique piece of Florida history. 

Robert explaining what makes the Florida Cowboy so unique.

 

 

Robert sold some of his artwork while we were there.  We did make a little profit until…….the kiddos and Robert spotted the Indian Fry Bread vendor!  OH MY at the choices of fry breads!!!!  Yep, I think that one stand ate up all our profits while we tried the different flavored fry bread.  Out of the ones we tried (strawberry, regular, blueberry, and apple) I think the blueberry and apple were the family favorites!

Apple topped with cinnamon sugar!  YUMMY!!

 

All in all it was a great (cold!) day and one that we learned a lot from.  Be on the lookout for great things from Robert with his art work, leather crafting, and whip making very soon.  I see technology helping us in the very near future!

BIRTHDAYS!!!!!!

Birthdays are a big deal to me.  I purpose to do everything that I can to make the birthday person feel as special as I know that they are!  All of my kiddos have end of year birthdays, expect one.  E-Man’s birthday is in May and this Mama is already planning it!  Yes, you read that right, I am working on Ethan’s 6^th birthday!  YAY!

This year we are going to have an Angry Birds pool party!  I have started organizing party supplies, picking up cute little favors here and there, and buying the birthday gift!  Check back later for more sneak peeks and little details!