Ok, so this is probably anything but a normal Tackle It Tuesday; however it is the greatest thing I have tackled in a while......

....The Monkey Backpack.....

I mastered the task of taking three children to the zoo today, as some of you are probably thinking that in itself is a task worth mastering. Even more devistating that 3 screaming kids, all wanting to see their favorite animal or whatever else tickled their fancy; was the dreaded Monkey Backpack. See Alivia is at this age, where she doesn't want to ride in the stroller. She wants to walk, so I paid $20 for this Monkey Backpack. Boy does she love the Monkey Backpack. She thinks it's her purse and puts all her stuff in it.....however, she will not wear it. It's one of those backpacks that has the long tail so that I can then hook the tail on my hand and she can walk without getting to far away. Great, Great, Great invention. However, the inventor never met my Alivia:) She thinks that if the Monkey is on her back he can't see. After hours of trying to reason with a 3 year old, that the Monkey didn't need to see, I gave up. However, today I knew there was no way I could keep up with her and the other two while they were frantically trying to find their favorite animals. I spent the 1 1/2 hr drive to the zoo, talking up the Monkey Backpack. How lucky her little Monkey was that she was going to carry him on her back through the zoo........IT WORKED.......


As you can see from the pictures below, Alivia (in the purple shirt) has on the Monkey Backpack. Mission accomplished. It just took me 4months, playing nanny to my aunt's children, and $150 to go to the zoo. I have to say it was the best $150 I ever spent!!! Monk Monk (as Alivia calls her monkey) found his way home.... safe and sound on Alivia's back (picture in the bottom left hand corner:).

What are you doing this 4th of July?

This 4th of July I will be at the beach with my family:) We always tend to go on vacation the week of the 4th. Every year, I say that it is too crowded and we are going to change to another week, but every year we go back at the same time. I love it though...you can stand on the beach and see fireworks all around you. It's great!!!

What is your favorite dish to pass when attending a 4th of July party or summer barbecue?

My favorite dish for 4th of July is Strawberry Pretzel Squares.

Strawberry Pretzel Squares

What you need:

2 cups finely crushed pretzels

1/2 cup sugar, divided

2/3 cup butter melted

1 1/2 pkg (8 oz) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened

2 Tbsp Milk

1 cup thawed Cool Whip

2 cups boiling water

1 pkg (6 oz) Strawberry Flavored Jell-o

1 1/2 cups cold water

1 qt. fresh strawberries sliced

To Make:

Heat oven to 350, Mix pretzel crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar adn butter; press onto bottom of 13x9 inch pan. Bake 10 min and Cool

Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar, and milk until blended. Stir in Cool Whip and spread over crust. Refrigerate.
Add boiling water to gelatin mix in large bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water. Regrigerate 1 1/2 hours or until thickened. Stir in strawberries; spoon over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm.

*If you make whip cream lines on the top and blue berries you can make a flag:)

Do you have any July 4th traditions?

I guess going on vacation would be our tradition!!!

Share your favorite July 4th picture.

*Ignore the date on the picture; my camera stinks:)

Happy FFM!! I hope everyone has a wonderful week and a Happy 4th of July!!

A Thousand Words Thursday.....

This picture is very dear to my heart. I was taken on our family vacation to the beach last summer. I was able to get this shot of Alivia dancing on the beach while she didn't think anyone was watching. My dream for her is that she always dance to her own music and as if no one is watching!!!
Thousand Words Thursday hosted by http://cheaperthantherapy.blogspot.com/

Prada Taste on a Walmart Budget......

Fake People

I have recently ran accross more people that I think fall into this category. People who act to others as though they are on a Prada budget when in fact they are on a Walmart budget like the other 95% of the world. These people drive me crazy. They way they look at you like what you do is so much less important than what they do. The funny thing to me is that these people consider themselves your friend. Newsflash...a friend isn't someone who degrades or says negative things about you to make themselves feel better.

A friend of mine has a friend who is this way, and I use the word friend lightly here. A couple of my friends and I were going to have lunch when this other person who is a friend of one of the other people invited herself to come, we'll call her Jane. I love to have a good girl's lunch, and love to have a lot of people there to chat or whatever. We were having a wonderful lunch when in walks Jane, the girl my friend considers to be a friend of hers. Everything about her is fake...fake boobs, lypo, lip injections, and who knows whatelse. Not that I think any of these things are bad. She comes in and the first thing she does is complain about where we were having lunch. Just a side note...we didn't ask her to come, she asked us. At any rate, as the lunch proceeds Jane turns to my other really good friend and ask her how many kids she has. My friend says that she doesn't have any children yet, and Jane responsed by saying "then I don't feel so bad I guess I look pretty good for having a 12mnth old. Ok...so who couldn't look good if you have it sucked out!!! My friend was so upset the rest of our lunch. She might have said all of two words the rest of the time.

What makes people think they have the right to make other people's life miserable simply because they are unhappy themselves. I don't get it. Maybe it's just me. Who wants friends like this. I mean after I left I got in my car ( a dodge by the way) and thought all the way home, why would you want to be friends with someone like that. If she's that rude to someone she doesn't know...you know she talks about the people she knows.

Well that's my soap box for today!! Thanks for stopping by. Have a great Wednesday:)

To The Father's In My Life.....

Happy Father's Day

Daddy's Little Girl

Daddy's Little Girl You're the end of the rainbow, my pot of gold,You're daddy's little girl to have and hold.A precious gem is what you are,You're mommy's bright and shining star.

You're the spirit of Christmas, my star on the tree,You're the Easter bunny to mommy and me.You're sugar you're spice, you're everything nice,And you're daddy's little girl.

You're the end of the rainbow, my pot of gold,You're daddy's little girl to have and hold.A precious gem is what you are,You're mommy's bright and shining star.

You're the treasure I cherish so sparkling and bright,You were touched by the holy and beautiful light.Like angels that sing a heavenly thing,And you're daddy's little girl.

You're the treasure I cherish so sparkling and bright,You were touched by the holy and beautiful light.Like angels that sing a heavenly thing,And you're daddy's little girl.

What is the definition of a father?.....

A dad is someone who wants to catch you before you fall but instead picks you up,brushes you off,and lets you try again. A dad is someone who wants to keep you from making mistakes but instead lets you find your own way,even though his heart breaks in silence when you get hurt. A dad is someone who holds you when you cry,scolds you when you break the rules,shines with pride when you succeed,and has faith in you even when you fail....

I am defiantly a Daddy's girl!! Ask me who the best dad in the world is, and I'd say hands down my dad. As a little girl, you look at your dad and think he's invincible...there's nothing he can't do. At 29, I still feel this way about my dad. I am very thankful that God allowed me to having a loving father who always put mine and my sister's needs above his own. A father that never made me question rather or not I was the center of his universe. So yes....my dad is the best dad in the world.

Not only do I have a great dad, I have a wonderful husband. For those of you who know Geran and I personally, you know that Geran and I do not have any children of our own. However, we help out with our niece and nephew. Geran is absolutely wonderful with them. He treats them as if they were his own children. Alivia loves her G and has him completely wrap around her little finger. Tyler loves playing ball and learning new things from Geran. For the past two years, Geran has coached Tyler's baseball team, and truly loves spending that quality time with him. I am very grateful that God gave me a wonderful husband that would be another positive "father figure" in my sister's children's lives.

A special thanks to all the dads, grandpas, uncles, or anyone who is a "father figure" to someone. Thanks for allowing yourself to love someone more than yourself:)

Happy Fathers Day!!!

Hectic Reality....

Sorry it's been so long....life has been crazy. Seems like these days life goes by so fast we forget to stop and take the moments in. I'm going to try and hit the highlights......

Thunderbolts Baseballs 7-8 yr old

Geran coached Tyler's 7-8 year-old baseball team. I of course acted as the Dug-out mom, which was bitter sweet. Nine boys.....how do the Dugger's do it!?! Needless to say, organization was out, but I gave it my best shoot. It wasn't always the most stressfree environment, but where is these days, but I loved being in there. Geran as you can see above was the coach. He really enjoys having this "guy time" with Tyler. It was a great season....We were the WYRA 7-8 yr old champs!!!

Highlight number 2.....New Addition to the Conway House.....Sydney. We got a dog. I say all the time, I wanted a lap dog and ended up with Sydney. She is terrior and beagle mix, and most definatly not a lap dog. She is so very hyper, but the most loving dog ever. She is Alivia's partner in crime. They do everything together; it is really cute.

Those are just a couple highlights since the last time I was on......and that really was a long time ago...Halloween. It's almost Halloween again:) I'm going to try and do better.