He is his father's son.

Jonah Robert. My middle child. That right there should be enough explaination. He is like his father in every. single. way. He is his carbon copy in looks and temperment. He has passion flowing through his veins. It comes out in everything he does...sports, playing, even his temper. And OH! does he have a temper! (That particular trait may or may not have been passed down through my stubborn Dutch genes.) The boy can play baseball or hockey or basketball from the moment he wakes up until the time the sun sets and the mosquitos eat him up. It's always go, go go with him. He hates to sit still. He also has a plethora of one-liners that he zings at you when you're least expecting it. Anyone who knows my husband knows that this is all true for him as well. We definitely passed down the family name of Robert to the right child.

Another way that Jonah is like his daddy is when it comes to telling tall tales. My husband can't lie to save his life. He always gets this silly, crooked grin on his face and he bites his lip when he's trying to pull the wool over my eyes. And thank goodness, that little nuance has passed down to his children.

Today Jonah was trying to convince me that he had indeed read his book for 15 minutes for his homework like he was instructed by his teacher. Now, I have been in the same room with him all afternoon and he has in fact NOT read the book. But I decided to play along, and I asked him what his book was about. After getting mad at me for realizing that he was grinning while lying through his teeth (yes, it's MY fault he's fibbing!), he glanced at picture on the book cover...another thing he didn't think I'd notice...and saw that there was an American flag, Confederate flag and uniforms on the cover. So he looked at me and said "It's about the Civil War." I probed a bit more and asked "Well, what happened in the book about the Civil War?"

Without missing a beat, he replied, "Someone got shot."

It was one of those moments were I didn't know whether to scold or laugh. I decided on laughing and waved my white flag of surrender on this battle and save my energy for the next one. Lord knows it's coming.

Wordless Wednesday: The Battery

Time to stop and say thanks.

I've been a very pessimistic person lately. Well, okay...my whole life. Just ask my mom, or my sister who is currently residing with us. I'm sure she'll tell you. But lately I've been in sort of a funk. The hubby is away at training for a job that I'm very anxious and nervous about. But it's his dream so who am I to stand in the way? I know that when he gets back we'll be getting ready to move to another base. I. Don't. Want. To. Go. But again, I will because I love my husband and I stand behind him and the rest of our military, and I go where I'm told to go.

Throw that in with crazy children who are getting back into the school routine and a busy Etsy shop and you can see why I feel overwhelmed.

But today I realized that despite all of this, I'm so blessed.

*My hubby is TDY, yes, but he is there with a young LT who is from our town. He travels home just about every weekend to see his family and friends from high school/college, and he always brings my hubby home to us without accepting any money for gas. This is HUGE for us because we were expecting a 4.5 month TDY with maybe one weekend a month of being able to see each other. And in the 7 weeks he's been gone, only one weekend has he not been home. It is really making our time apart not seem quite so daunting.

* I have great friends. I know that I've said it before, but I really do. Just tonight a relatively new friend told me that she was taking myself & the kids out to Moe's for family night. When I declined because of a moth-filled wallet, she insisted that she pay for us. She said that she owed me for us having them over for dinner a few times. She didn't owe me anything, but I accepted the offer and we all enjoyed our tacos and quesadillas.

* My Etsy shop is really going strong. There have been times this year when I've looked at the checkbook and wondered how we were going to make it work. Yet every time I get to the point of quasi-panic, I get a wave of Etsy orders and we always have enough to make it through.

* I have kids who make me laugh on a daily basis. Whether it's Noah dancing when he thinks I'm not watching, Jonah pulling his Jim Carey-esque faces, or Sophia singing me a chorus of "The Wheels on the Bus" in her adorable little Southern accent, not a day goes by that I don't smile. They are all my comic relief, in their own little way. And they always know when I need it the most. They're amazing little humans and I'm so blessed to have them.

So even when you feel like the whole world is on your shoulders and you are barely keeping your head above water, take a deep breath and look around you. There's always something there to keep you going.

Mmmm Mmmm Monday: Tex Mex Chicken

This is a recipe I got from a friend of mine. I altered it just a bit to allow for more servings ( I had 7 people to feed the other night!) and it turned out GREAT. So much so that our dinner guest requested the recipe to pass along to his wife when he got back home!

Here's what you need:

Boneless chicken breasts (I used 5 of them)
8 oz fat-free sour cream (or just about half of a 16 oz container)
1 jar of salsa

Combine all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low about 5 hours. Shred chicken and put back into crockpot for another 20-30 minutes to soak up the salsa & sour cream.

Serve on burrito size tortillas with yellow rice, black beans, lettuce, and all your favorite taco toppings.

It's super easy and such a great twist on tacos. You and your family will love it!

Mmmm Mmmm Monday: Homemade Egg Salad

This is another great recipe from the back pages of The Fixer-Upper by Mary Kay Andrews. I'm tellin' ya...Southern authors that add recipes to the end of their books ROCK!

Here's what you need:
8 hard boiled eggs
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup sweet relish
1 tsp yellow mustard
salt, pepper, celery salt

Peel & chop hard boiled eggs. Toss in celery Fold in the mayo, relish & mustard, then add seasonsings to taste.

Yep...it's really that simple. And even more yummy!

Friday Finds on Etsy: Football Fever!

I don't know about you, but I am SO ready for college football to start!! Nothing says "fall" more than the windows wide open, a crisp breeze blowing, pumpkin scented candles, and a great NCAA ball game on tv. I. Can't. Wait.

High school football kicked off here in Charleston last night with the Sertoma Classic...so even though the temps are still in the mid 90's with heat indexes up in the 100's, fall MUST be on it's way if the pigskin is being tossed around.

So in honor of boys and men all over the country donning pads, tight pants, cleats and helmets, I searched Etsy for some great football gear...and just wait till you see what I found!

First up is this GREAT top from Christy over at Score on Gameday. I was raised in Florida and sort of adopted FSU as my favorite college team. And Christy has found a way to make women be able to root for their favorite teams and STILL be cute & sexy at the same time! I really really want this top (and maybe one for Michigan State to wear during basketball season!)...oh to be able to get it! She also is starting to make shirts for MLB as well...can you say Detroit Tigers?? Definitely going to buy one of those if she makes one!Next up is this super cool flask from Kryan2Designs. Yes...I said a flask. Tell me it's not awesome- I dare ya. I could think of so many people who would use this sucker when they're tailgating!Here's one from my shop...because EVENTUALLY it's going to cool off and you're going to need something to keep your hand from burning off when you hold your coffe/hot cocoa. I also have it on good authority that my coffee kozies fit really well around beer cans & bottles...but of course I wouldn't know that myself. Wink, Wink. (And hey...if you want to WIN one of these babies just check out this blog and enter yourself in the giveaway!)Last but not least are these tasty looking football cookies from Yummy Delicious Cookies. I don't care what your age is- you are NEVER too old for a cookie...especially one this cute! And wouldn't these be great for a peewee football team party? Just pipe the names/numbers of the kiddos and Bam! A personalized, super duper delicious party favor!I'm hoping that by featuring all of these football goodies it will shove the heat & humidity out the door and "kickoff" the fall!

(Oh, come on...you know you snickered a bit!)

Wanna win something?

One of my dear, dear friends is hosting a giveaway on her blog.

And it just so happens to feature little 'ol me and my little 'ol Etsy shop. So hop on over to The Thinking Blonde and check it out. Then submit a comment to be entered into the drawing!

Here's a hint: it's not for anything baby related, so all of you with no children/older kids have NO EXCUSE not to enter!