Yesterdays post is gone

So... yesterday's post just seemed to have disappeared.

It was there yesterday when I posted it,

but it is no longer here OR in my editing section.

Wierd but... oh well.

So, if you read this yesterday

I'm sorry but it is such a great recipe

you have to go make it!!!

I made the best pork chops.

Well... they were REALLY good but my

favorite recipe includes a lot of prep.

But this one will be my new go to meal.

It is so simple and so easy!!

I cut potatoes, carrots, celery and onion

and put them in my crock pot.

I dropped 4 pork chops (still frozen) on top.

Then mix in a small bowl:

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1-2 cups chicken broth (depending on how many veggies you add)

1 Tab Italian Seasoning

1 Tab Poultry Seasoning

2 garlic cloves chopped

Mix and pour over chops and veggies.

Cook on high for 4 hours

Baste after chops begin defrosting and can be pulled apart.

Next time I'll start it in the morning and turn it on low.

Brayden dipped his into BBQ sauce and when Chuck tried it

he said it tasted just like Tony Romas!!

I might try adding a little bit of BBQ sauce in the crock pot next time =)

I am thankful for family dinners!!

Hersey's Chocolate World

We drove to Hersey, PA over the weekend.

We had so much fun!!

The town of Hersey was actually built

for the Hersey Chocolate Factory.The street names were Chocolate, Cocoa, etc.

Notice the light poles.

They are chocolate kisses!!!

They were soooo cute!!

There was a ride that taught us all about the
cocoa bean and how they turned it into
the famous Hersey's Chocolate.

Obviously there was soo much fun stuff to look
at even Daddy wasn't interested in looking at the camera, lol.

Ab's was also in aw.

She was able to sit in the seat by herself and had a ball!!

It smelled like wonderful warm chocolate

throughout this ride.

The massive amount of candy that this factory

produces is crazy!!!

They make 70 MILLION Hersey kisses

each and every day.

Peggy, we thought of you.

You all know how much Blake loves his chocolate,

I think he thought he was in heaven.

This chocolate bar weighed 5 lbs!!

It's Cold

Wow, what a change the weather has taken!!
We traveled to Hersey, PA yesterday
and good thing we brought along our jackets!
It was chilly.

Last night and today is down right cold.
I finally broke down and turned on the heater.
The apartment was in the 50's.

We had fun Friday night.
One of Chuck's friends
came over for dinner.
Can you believe he'd
never heard of pilaf?!!!
Needless to say, Aunt Ya's
recipe was a hit!!
Thanks Uncle Ya! lol.

I'll post pictures of Hersey tomorrow.

I am thankful for the relaxing day we are having!!

Popsicle and Jammies

So... we totally had a Popsicle emergency this morning.

Blake was eating a carrot.

This boy LOVES his carrots and celery.

Well, he accidental bit his tongue

Apparently it hurt REALLY bad.

He was quietly eating,

and everyone knows Blake is not often quiet, lol.

He started SCREAMING and totally freaking out!! We immediately got a super yummy and cold

popsicle and soon he was all smiles.

Of course Brayden had to have a popsicle too.

And Ab's didn't think it was fair that she

was left out so Brayden shared with her.

Notice Taffy in the background

hoping for some to fall onto the ground.

They obviously really enjoyed their treat!

Popsicles in their jammies.

Who'da thought??!!

Butterflies

We made butterflies today!

The boys had so much fun,

well... so did Abigayle.

She really enjoyed pulling off

all the butterflies pretties. lol

We have been practicing scissors techniques

and since the boys have been doing

so great with basic cutting I thought

we'd make a project.

They loved cutting the shapes

and then there was the glue.

Honestly... what is there not to love about glue??!!

Lots and lots of glue.

The loved learning about butterflies

as they were making their pieces of art.

Brayden was awfully proud of his butterfly,

Abigayle was obeying by looking but if you notice

she is actually picking off an eyeball.

And then there is Blake, obviously upset that

Mommy is making him take this picture.

He'd much rather be playing with his new creature.

We had a much better day today than yesterday.

Everyone took a nap (well everyone 5 and under)

I cleaned the apartment,

made a cake in the microwave

and had dinner almost ready

by the time Chuck made it home from school.

The boys were asleep before 8:00pm,

sent Chuck out with a few friends from class,

Ab's is fighting sleep

but soon I will have a book in my hand

and a quite house!!

Today I am thankful for peacefulness.

Almost 12 Hours of Sleep

So... yesterday was HORRIBLE!!!

The boys fought all day long,

kicking, hitting, yelling, etc.

I swear they sat in time out

more times than I can count

and actually got spanked.

They refused to nap

so even though they rested

they were really tired.

I left with Abigayle to run a few errands,

Mommy needed to get out!!!

Chuck stayed home

and tried to get these boys to sleep.

Blake fell asleep at 6:15 ish

Brayden fell asleep at 6:30 ish

and Ab's fell asleep at 6:50.

They were all awake at 6:00am this morning

and what a difference this morning has already been!!

So... instead of blogging,

I'm going to get to work.

Chuck brought home more pictures of him diving

and I still have the pictures from the weekend.

I'll do my best to post some tomorrow.

Today, I am grateful for sleep and the wonderful

effects it has on my children!!

Treasure Hunting

It has been so crazy busy over here

it is ridiculous!

The funny thing is that

nothing is getting done.

Abigayle has been in a horrible mood

and it is taking so much time

coaxing her back into niceness.

We went to the library yesterday.

Brayden participated the first half,

Blake participated the second half

and Abigayle LOVED the entire thing!!

She toddled right over,

picked out her own mat

carried it all the way back

and sat on it the entire time, lol

We will be going again on Tuesday

and hopefully these boys will start liking it too.

Chuck went treasure hunting yesterday.

We are so proud of him!

While diving he found something amazing!

Can you guess what it is?

nope...

that's not it...

no, that's not it either...

Do you give up?

Well... I'll just tell you then.

He found a snapple bottle!!!

Well... I guess it wasn't that amazing

but I did think it was funny when he told me!

His team had finished their project

so his teacher sent him down

to the bottom of the lake

in search of a snapple bottle.

Poor Chuck, had no idea

where it had been thrown,

or what it looked like.

He was just told that the teacher

threw a bottle with a line somewhere in the lake.

After about 10-15 minutes,

he found a line hanging in the lake.

He pulled about 10 feet of line in

and found the floating snapple bottle.

Now remember, this lake only has

1-2 feet of visibility so this task is actually

harder than it sounds.

I told him they were just teaching him

how to treasure hunt, lol.

Hopefully one day

he'll find something amazing!!

Today, I am grateful for my children.

Although some days are harder than others

I couldn't imagine my life without anyone of them!!

Sorry it's been a few days

Sorry it's been a few days,

I thought I'd start posting at night

instead of in the mornings

but I've discovered that I'm just too tired.

So... to catch everyone up.

Chuck is going to keep his new nickname

for a while longer it seems.

His friend missed one question

on their last test on Friday

and Cheatin Chuck missed two, lol.

He now has a 93.5% for the whole school.

They are scheduled to dive everyday this week.

Over the weekend,

we planned to tap maple trees for sap.

Unfortunately this didn't happen.

We tried to leave but traffic

was horrible (the Susan G Koman was going on)

We are going to try again next weekend.

HOPEFULLY all will go as planned

next weekend is the last weekend

you can tap maple trees.

I am excited though,

Mom and Curt are coming

NEXT WEEK!!!

I'll post pictures tomorrow of the kids

playing outside this weekend.

They had so much fun,

playing outside in the sun!

Today, I am thankful for the wonderful weather!!

It is cool and crisp and looks like rain today.

Tennis

So... it's official,

The McAllister family

is better at playing tennis

on the Wii than in real life, lol.

Now that I know

how hilarious we are,

I'll take pictures tonight

and post tomorrow.

We definitely had a blast!!

Chuck took another test yesterday.

This was really funny,

his good friend, Keller,

turned in his test really fast.

When the teacher graded it,

he got a 100%.

The teacher asked to see his hand

and Keller was confused.

The teacher said he wanted to check

to see if he was cheating.

They laughed, he showed his hand,

proved there was nothing and

turned around and said

"good thing he didn't check my sleeve!"

Everyone laughed and the teacher said

"Well, if Chuck gets a 100%

then I know you guys are cheating"

Chuck stated, "Hey Keller,

I'll miss one so it doesn't blow our cover."

Everyone laughed.

Chuck finished his test,

turned it in,

and guess how many he missed?

That's right... ONE!!!

His new nickname is Cheatin Chuck!!

He is definitely the teachers pet for this phase!

Today, I am thankful that even though

we do not always understand why

something is happening in our lives,

God is always in control!!

Sleep

Last night, I peeked in on our children

as they were sleeping

and noticed how peaceful they were

and how they sleep in such odd

positions sometimes.

Brayden and Blake were hanging

over each other and 1/2 way off the bed

and Abigayle was sprawled out

as usual, with her head on the pillow

arms straight out, legs spread

just sleeping away.

I wish I would have taken

pictures but I found these

from about a month ago.

Above was Abigayle,

Sound asleep,

sitting up,

head tilted up,

which is her favorite position.

For some reason

when she is fighting sleep

all I have to do

is put her in her

highchair and walk away.

Here's Blake,

no covers, he's NEVER liked them.

If he gets cold,

he just comes and cuddles with you

and kicks your covers off too. lol.

Ankles crossed,

he's also done this since he was a baby

not sure why, but it is awfully cute!

Arms straight up,

seriously this kid,

has and probably always will take up

as much room as he possibly can

while sleeping!

Then there is Brayden,

curled in a ball,

under LOTS of covers,

huge pillow,

and yes Cloud (his stuffed monkey)

is tucked in with him.

These boys are total opposites.

Then it dawned on me...

It runs in the family.

Here is Bailey.

SOUND ASLEEP!!!!

I mean really??!!!

Could you sleep like that?

Our Adventure

I received this card yesterday:

Since I met you,

all I can think about

is making you happy.

I want to see your smile

and hear your laughter.

I want to kiss away

old hurts

and hold you

until you know

without a doubt

that this is for real...

I want to memorize

the sound of your voice

and the dreams

of your heart.

More than anything else,

I want to make you happier

than you've ever been before,

and give you all the things

that you truly deserve.

Then he writes some other things

and ends with this.

Soon we will be out of this turd hole

of a town and start on our

new adventure.

Love,

Your One and Only

To this I must say,

Chuck,

You complete me

I cannot imagine going

though this big adventure

of life without you.

May we have many

"new adventures"

to add to our book!

Love,

Your Co-Pilot

I'm sick now

Well... I caught Chuck's cold.

Fun huh?

Ab's has had diarrhea for the last few days,

and it just dawned on me that

that is her version of the cold.

Today we will lay low

and hopefully we will feel better tomorrow,

we have our first library play time tomorrow.

Exciting news,

Abigayle now likes

fish sticks and chicken nuggets!!

At least it is a start at liking meat, right?

Today, I am grateful that I have found

the only diaper rash ointment

that has kept Ab's little bottom clear during this diarrhea!!

Thank you Arbone!!

Did someone say Noah?

We are flooding over here.

Didn't know we needed paddles to drive on the freeway

but oh my goodness there was a ton of water!!

When we went out yesterday

the rain was coming down so hard

that we could hardly see

and everything was so flooded that

it was ridiculous!!

With the massive amount of snow

that has just melted,

I'm just not sure if New Jersey

can really take anymore any more water.

We look like a swamp land over here.

I'm very excited that we finally

found a Costco!

It was raining so hard

that by the time I made it into the building

my hair was literally dripping!

All I could do was laugh.

I am very excited to finally have good

food at a good price!!

My freezer is STUFFED!!!

100 Percent AGAIN

Chuck took his test yesterday and received

another 100%!!!

Well... actually the teacher

marked one question wrong

and Chuck asked why get got it wrong.

Chuck told him that was the right answer

and the teacher agreed.

Actually the answer sheet had the wrong

answer on it.

The teacher laughed and said,

'no wonder so many people were getting

that question wrong'. lol

So... he get a 100%

Scuba class was supposed to start yesterday.

This is an extra class

and it held after school on Fridays

then one Saturday.

They showed up, started filling out paperwork

and the owner showed up and cancelled the class.

They will most likely start class next week.

Chuck was able to come home early

and it was such a nice surprise!

Brayden and I soon left and headed to

Target and to the library.

I decided to go farther and head to another library

and I was pleasantly surprised.

They actually had a good supply of Christian books

Even a Beth Moore book!!!

I am so excited!!

I asked why they had books that

their website said they didn't have.

And they explained that I couldn't search

'all libraries'

I had to search only 'public libraries'

Which makes no sense to me but at least now I know!

I'll search and have them transferred

to my little library next time.

I am thankful scuba class was postponed a week

and now Chuck will be able to enjoy

our company and some sightseeing!!

Liberty Hall and Statue of Liberty we will see you soon!!

We took a walk

The weather was nice yesterday

and we were finally able to leave the apartment.

We took a walk to K-Mart and Dollar Tree.

This is the only thing within walking distance,

so... it'll have to do.

The boys each picked out a new coloring book

and then I picked out Abigayle's first girly coloring book.

She loves to color when we do schoolwork.

I finished my book yesterday.

Decided it was a really good book

and if anyone wants to read about deep wreck diving

you should read this book.

It is based on facts and interviews on a lost

WWII sub.

The experiences are all real and it goes into

detail about diving.

The commercial diver in the book actually

went to Chuck's school.

And the German submarine was found it New Jersey waters.

All the experiences are true to diving so

if you are interested in knowing what

Chuck will be experiencing while working,

you should check it out.

We bought it on Amazon for $1.25!!

It is called Shadow Divers

Written by Robert Kurson.

I am thankful for our library,

which helps my children grow their

imagination, fun free entertainment,

and gives me an opportunity to become

lost in great books!

Chuck got his feet wet

HE DID IT

And he did GREAT!! This dive hat he is wearing is solid brass and weighs 40lbs,

but it floats in the water.

When he made it down only about 3 feet

the hat was floating so high that he couldn't even see out of it.

He had to resurface,

have it adjusted,

then go back down.

At about 20 feet down his lead line

became caught in his air value on his dive hat

and actually shut off his oxygen.

He quickly turned it back on and continued his decent.

Once he made it to the bottom,

28 feet at this point in the lake,

he walked backwards

did his line pulls,

then continued to his project.

The project was timed and when he found it,

it was in a hole.

He couldn't bend his head down to look at the project

cause the hat will let water in so he did this project

without looking.

He still finished in enough time,

got a 100% on this project

and spent 35 minutes under water.

He said the visibility was about a foot.

All he could see was green.

Brayden was excited since his favorite color is green!

THANKFULLY one of his buddies

was tending him so he was confident his gear was set correctly.

Some guys couldn't clear their ears

so they had to come back up and try again another day.

Another guy totally freaked out and wouldn't dive

and Chuck said that today was the day

that separated the men from the boys, lol.

Aren't these pictures great!!!

Today, I am thankful that my husband had a clear

mind and was able to turn his oxygen back on!!!

I am Frustrated

I am frustrated

While making this decision to move to New Jersey
we tried to think of everything.
Obviously, we all know that wouldn't happen
but we tried.
Most things have gone as planned.
God protected our travels,
we are in a safe neighborhood,
the children are happy
and Chuck is doing great in school.
But we have had some major hangups
which is really bumming me out right now.

Our house didn't sell,
and I feel as if we trusted a friend who let us down with that
which makes it even harder.
Now we are attempting to rent it,
and I feel we have a great team helping us with this,
but we have to invest more money than I'd like to, to get it going.
We were denied unemployment
which I don't think is fair since the new career Chuck is going into
is in high demand and benefits the economy,
plus it is a super stable career and construction is not.
I'm appealing this decision but who knows how long that will take.
I never thought that moving to New Jersey
would actually cause us to loose contact with important people to our family
but apparently the distance has strained our relationships
and I'm really frustrated with this.

On a lighter note,
I have mixed feelings about our library.
Looks like it has a great children's section and programs
but they are seriously lacking things for me.
I was wanting to borrow a Beth Moore book or two
and they don't have a single book in the entire Camden County written by her.
Their Christian section is primarily based on actual Bibles or Dr. Phil books.
Guess, I'll start looking in the history section.
I am ready a great book on diving.
I've really enjoyed reading again.

So... I've decided that at the end of each post
I'm going to think of something that I'm thankful for
and share it with everyone.
Keep things in perspective, right?

So, I am so thankful for the understanding and support my mom and step dad has given us throughout this entire process!! THANKS!! We cannot wait to see you in 22 days!!!

Counting

I am THRILLED!!!

I finally broke Brayden from his counting bad habits!

Boy this was a challenge yesterday,

but I told him if he counted correctly to daddy

then I'd clean up the mess they made in the living room.

If he didn't do it right,

he'd have to clean it up.

Guess who had to clean the living room.

Yep, it was me and I was happy to do it!!

This morning he even woke up

counting correctly!!

Well worth all the time and effort.

Both boys are learning so much

with our school work.

I'm so encouraged!

I love teaching them and watching how they learn.

I wouldn't be surprised if both boys are at the same

level soon except for writing.

I'm very proud of them both!

Chuck is supposed to dive today,

and although he is very excited about it

he is still sick.

If he goes down and cannot clear his ears

from his cold he could blow an eardrum.

I told him to be careful and not risk doing damage.

But this is very disappointing.

He's waited so long for this day.

HOPEFULLY he will feel better soon.

I suggested he go see the doctor and get an

antibiotic if it is a sinus infection to help clear him up faster.

I'm also ordering a Swiss product to make sure this doesn't happen again.

Sickness travels around the school like crazy.

While dry diving last Thursday,

all 17 men were sharing one dive hat

and one regulator.

This is one reason why they require such an

extensive physical before you are accepted into the school.

No communicable diseases wanted here!

static cling

We decided that the beach was calling our name

this weekend since the snow has finally melted!!

It was sooo beautiful!

The boys build a little sand castle

and collected a TON of sea shells.

Abigayle is super great at collecting sea shells!

She was having so much fun putting all kinds of

shells and rocks in our bag

she soon found out that she could scoop up sand

with her big clam shell and dump

sand into our bag.

She thought she was so cute,

and I must admit,

she was!

So glad Chuck brought a map

our GPS battery died and the charger wouldn't work.

We would have been soo lost.

But I dug out the map and eventually we made it home.

Abigayle LOVES slides!

She had so much fun sliding down

that her hair stuck straight up!

Too bad we were too far away
but this bridge opened up to let a boat pass.
It was really cool to see a HUGE boat
go though.

I know this isn't a really good picture
but I've had a hard time catching Abigayle
give kisses.
She has figured out how to pucker.
She has the cutest little fishie face with her fat cheeks!
Chuck has a cold now
and has to get better soon
he is supposed to start diving in the lake on Tuesday.
Hopefully he won't miss his first oppertunity
to dive.
He is so looking forward to it.

today

Trying to figure out what to do today.

It is supposed to be 50 degrees for the first time this winter!!

We are so excited!

Think we might go to the beach and have a picnic.

We had so much fun last weekend,

even though it was freezing.

I'll post pictures of our adventures tomorrow!

Grocery stores

Brayden informed me that the snow has almost melted

so I need to find a new background, lol.

So... be patient while I try out a few backgrounds.

Went grocery shopping yesterday after Chuck

was done with school.

I'm so frustrated with New Jersey stores!!

The produce is so incredibly expensive,

so brused up and half rotten.

Plus they don't have a lot of food you can buy in Cali.

like molassas, almost anything Mexican and many more things.

Having trouble finding decent food.

When walking down the isles you see people

flocked in the frozen food isle

and pre packaged food section.

All the restaurants parking lots are full so I'm

convinced that not too many people actually cook at home here.

I am so excited to have found a great

web-site for recipes!!
I'm looking forward to using my new crockpot.

Plus the meals I can make in it can still contain veggies without

using the expensive, half rotten, fresh ones.

Chuck didn't dive yesterday

but he was as excited as a child on Christmas Eve with anticipation.

He will for sure dive next week.

Hoping to go to the library today when Chuck gets home.

I think the kids will enjoy it,

plus I'd like to find some reading material!!

Looking forward to a yummy dinner and a good book!

second in his class

yesterday was such a busy day,

we cleaned our little apartment from top to bottom.

out of all three kids

i think ab's is becoming the best helper.

she saw me mopping the kitchen floor by hand

and she ran into the other room and grabbed herself

a hand towel and started scrubbing on her hands and knees!

brayden did a great job too with a little encouragement

but blake... he was hilarious!

i'd hear, 'momma, my legs and arms are soooooo tired.'

i'd tell him he could either go sit in time-out or he could help.

he actually choose to sit in time out some of the time,

can you believe that?!!

he did help once he realized he wasn't going to get to watch

fox and the hound if he didn't help but he was so funny to watch.

chuck is doing so well in school!

the owner (momma brown) called three students into her

office yesterday and two were kicked out because they didn't pass their drug test

and one was given his last warning before he is kicked out.

his class took a quiz yesterday

and chuck got the second highest grade in the class!!

they did dry diving yesterday.

the helmet itself weighed 40 lbs and with chuck's small head

he said it almost made it so he couldn't see, lol.

one student was really afraid and almost passed out,

and when they cut the air off of another student

he didn't even notice

until 2 minutes had passed, they finally asked him over the com

if everything was ok.

then he freaked out since he realized he'd be breathing his CO2 for so long.

thankfully these helmets float when he in the water

he won't have a problem seeing.

he said the oxygen constantly being pushed into this helmet

was so wierd and there was so much pressure it wasn't like

normal breathing.

he said i wouldn't be able to handle this type of helmet, lol.

there is a possibility that they might actually dive today!!

on a side note, abigayle can now climb a ladder up to the

top bunk on the boys bed. nice huh?

and although a 'suggestion' was made

to try to get my children to take naps at the same time,

i just want to report that even though they

did all three nap at the same time yesterday,

and i was able to read for the first time in peace and quiet

in such a long time

lets just say... i didn't get much sleep last night.

ab's did not sleep well and i will not be trying to move her

nap a little later in the day.

thanks mom!! i blame my sleepless night on you!! lol

My Friend

For everyone who knows Brayden

he talks about "his friends".

Everyone he sees in the grocery store,

to friends he remembers at church.

Well... he doesn't like to share those special friends

so Blake had to come up with his own.

So... this is what he told me the other day,

"Momma, you know my friends Mimi and Mark?"

I of course said, yes.

He said, "we went to the zoo and fed the giraffe's, huh?

That was fun."

So... here are a few pictures of Blakes "friends"

at the zoo.

All four kiddos were so brave and fed the HUGE

giraffe's!

We had so much fun that day.

Chuckie started his second phase and seems to like his teacher.

She was a diver in the Gulf of Mexico for about 10 years

and full of very important/interesting information.

She is strict and doesn't allow the slackers in the class to talk!

Which is a huge blessing since they are very distracting.

His rubber dive suit had to be sent back (due to the boot size being wrong) so

his first dives, into the FREEZING cold lake either later this week

or the beginning of next week, will be in a wet suit!!

The snow is finally melting and hopefully soon we will

get to play outside!!