Walking Trail

Today we went to the Shawnee Airport walking trail.  For anyone who doesn't know it is 4 miles long.  It is paved, which is nice.  And every wide so more than a one person can walk on it. And of course no cars!!  Which was nice to not have to worry about drivers running over us.  We walked it in about one hour, and that was while pushing a stroller and the winds were about 30 mph, which felt about like 60! 

But some things about the trail that needs improvement.  One is someone needs to mow!  Some of the grass was taller than me, and that is a little scary when you are walking through a trail and all you can see is grass.  Anything could be in the grass.  Another huge thing is that once you make it to MacArthur and Leo the trail circles around and doesn't continue down MacArthur, you have to cross MacArthur- which is a busy street!  And then there is a sidewalk (one of Shawnee's famous sidewalks to no where- but this one does lead down through the tunnel). At MacArthur and Airport Road, you have to cross the street again to get back on the walking trail.  Small children + lots of cars, they don't mix!  Who thought that would  be a good idea anyway??  That is just dumb, and dangerous.  Most all walkers or runners that we passed on the trail had earphones on.  It just seems dangerous to me, to make people vross MacArthur twice. 

Overall, it wasn't bad.  I wouldn't walk it alone, or at night at all.  Most of the walkers/ runners we saw were normal people, one guy looked to be up to no good though and that was around 4 in the afternoon on a Wednesday.  But I think I will keep walking in my neighborhood and dodging cars.

Oklahoma.

My heart breaks for Oklahoma.  Last night my town that I live in was hit by three tornadoes.  One was about 5 miles from my house, and two people did lose their lives in one of those tornadoes. We could actually see it. It was so scary and I don't have have a shelter.  But fortunately we were safe.  We seeked shelter and our house was fine.   Today, more tornadoes for Oklahoma.  Moore was hit so badly, that words cannot express the damage.  The tornado was over two miles wide. It was huge!! Watching it on TV was a nightmare. The tornado hit two elementary schools.  One school all the children were ok, what a miracle! The other school wasn't so lucky.  They are still missing 24 or so students, young children.  And they are thinking they are all dead.  My heart hurts.  My soul hurts.  As a mother, I send my children to school knowing they will be safe. That they are in good hands.  And those wonderful teachers did everything that they could to save those children, but it wasn't enough. Brick walls, hallways, closets are not enough to protect anyone from Mother Nature. Over 50 people have lost their lives today. Many are children. And many more are feared to be dead.  My mind is racing. I cant rest.  All I can do is think and stare at the tv.  I hope and pray that they find more children alive, hidden somewhere safe. But I fear that won't be the case.  Thoughts and prayers to everyone involved in all these storms.  

Chicken Noodle Soup

I will be the first to tell you that I am not a great cook.  I don't even like cooking.  I joke around and say my next house will have no kitchen, just vending machines.  But living the poor life you have to cook.  I also do NOT like soup.  I never go somewhere and think, I bet they have great soup, I think I will order soup today... no.  I do warm up canned soup for my children at times, and no, I do not eat that.  I think canned soup is pretty much gross.  I will eat soup with rice in it.  But not plan soup.  And forget about adding an extra can of water.  Yuck!  With that being said I am a pinning oholic on pinterest and I found a recipe for chicken noddle soup.  With it being winter like here (temps in the 30's as the high), I decided lets try it!!  And holy moly, it knocked my socks off!!  Some of my children will eat soup, some won't.  Samantha didn't like the soup, the boys all ate it with little complaint.  The three older boys had more than one bowl!!!  Go me!!!  And I just had it as left overs (I don't "do" left overs either), and it was still great!!!  So this is a keeper for my family!! 

Here is the recipe for anyone that wants it.

Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup (in less than 30 minutes!)

Ingredients:
1/2 of medium onion, chopped
1 bag of egg noodles (you can use either medium or wide)
2 cans of cooked chunk chicken breast (I like the Tyson brand), strained
1 can of sliced carrots, strained
Water
Chicken Bouillon cubes
Parsley Flakes

Easy steps to homestyle, tasty goodness:
1) In a large soup pot, saute onion in olive oil until translucent.
2) Fill pot 2/3 full with hot water and add bouillon cubes (I usually use 3 or 4)- you could also use canned chicken broth.
3) Bring to a rolling boil and add bag of egg noodles.
4) Boil until noodles are tender (approx. 12-15 minutes), and stir occasionally.
5) Add carrots and chicken and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 10 more minutes. (I usually do a quick taste test here and add more seasoning if it needs it.)
6) Sprinkle parsley flakes on top and serve!!! (Don't skip out on the parsley flakes- it really adds to the "homestyle" look of the soup. I am discovering that you can put parsley flakes on an old tennis shoe and it will look appetizing! haha)

I did add more chicken bouillon cubes then the recipe calls for. 

And a link to the blog.

http://wellfeefamily.blogspot.com/2011/09/homestyle-chicken-noodle-soup-so-easy.html

Let me know if you try it and what you think!

Christmas Decorations

Here are some of our Christmas decorations.  I love decorating!!  I  need to still take photos of the outside since there are lights on the house. 

 

Our tree.  I need a tree topper someday, but I am VERY picky about the topper.  I have only found a couple that I like.

My skirt that I made.  I may add more ribbon but I am loving it!  It was worth the sore back,  burnt fingers, and burnt elbow.. don't ask!  LOL , lets just say that I shouldn't craft in my bed.  LOL!

My snowy village.

The stockings, I need a new holder for mine.  And two stockings need names.  Hopefully soon!

A flower I made.  I actually have two like this.  And I am making a red one.

And the chandelier.  I love this!!  Thank-you Pinterest!!

 

I also have ornaments hanging in my living room.  And other small decorations out.

One Month Left

Only one month left till my little guy turns ONE!  :(  That makes me so sad.  I hate how fast it has gone by. 

 

 He is trying to walk, he can stand alone for a little while, he cruises everywhere, crawling super fast now, talking some (hi, hey, bubba, mama, dada, oh, uh oh, etc), he shakes his head yes and no, he loves clapping- he does that often, he likes patty cake, his red car, being held, he doesn't like strangers, or much in the way of baby food still, he loves bath time, he loves being outside and dogs, he hates sleep- he doesn't sleep well still. 

 

Lawton, Oklahoma

We went to Lawton last Saturday.  It was rather cold that morning, and super windy.  But we had a great time.  We went to the top of a mountain, saw a holy city, wild buffloes, longhorns, prairie dogs, went for a hike, saw windmills, and had a really good time being together.  Here are a few photos.

The kids and me

It looks like the little princess put the older boys in jail.  :)

Standing on a hill

Windmills in the distance

A bridge

My toothless boy! :)

Next time, I have to remember to give Parker to a brother so he can be in more photos!

Up the side of a mountain

Little Parker in the car after lunch

All of them on a bridge

4 Weeks Post Op

I'll make this short and sweet.  I am 4 weeks post op today.. hard to believe it has been 4 weeks.

Incisions- healing, light bruising on two.  One incision still looks bad but it was open.  It is closing. I will be scarred.  That upsets me. 

Bruising- Only light bruising.

Pain- Comes and goes.  If I over do it, it is bad.  I still have a lot of pains though.  Especially from my ovaries.  But they were messed with too.  And one of my incisions is still too sore to touch and the whole muscle hurts.  The doctor said it was normal, but I am not sure how much longer this is considered normal. I think he hurt the muscle. 

Mental- Bad.  I am not healing mentally.  I honestly wish this had never happened. 

Fall Time!!!

Autumn is my favorite time of the year and looking at ALL of the photos I take, you can tell!!  Here are just a few of them.

 

This is one of my favorites right now.  <3 p="p">

Little pumpkin butt!

Turning colors

I love this little hat on him!

The pumpkin patch in the children's area at the Myriad... we LOVED it!!!  It was super cold (30's), but it was so cute and fun!   We will be going back next year for sure!

A teepee in the myriad.

Pumpkins, teepees, and Devon

And little super baby!

 

I will post more, it took FOREVER thanks to AT&T to load these.