More Halloween Fun! I love my family!

Halloween festivities

Never a "dull" moment!

This morning, I am getting ready as usual...running late as usual. The girls have already left for school, and I am doing last minute things to get Radlee ready for school. I get ready to take the "naughty" poodles out one last time, and of course Radlee runs over to go outside with me. I tell him to get back in the house because it is freezing outside, as I stand there with bare feet and wet hair!! :) Surprisingly, he minds me and goes back in. I am out there for an extended period, because as usual the neighbors are also are taking out their dog at the same time, which puts Sonny and Cher into a frenzy. The begin barking and trying to escape from my not so strong grip this early in the morning. One of the leashes slips out of my hand, and the naughty girl takes off. She is running with her pink leash dragging behind her. So, I capture the dogs and get them back in the house before I curse them out!!! just kidding...sort of. (This has happened on many occasions and once smacked the neighbor's dog in the head with her leash and once even wrapped around my neighbor's legs....he is an older gentleman!!! How embarrassing)
I walk in the kitchen to see if Rad has finished his breakfast only to find him playing with my set of knives similar to the set in this picture. He is taking them in and out of the box, like they are a puzzle. Thank you Jesus for keeping Radlee safe while he was removing this box of knives off the counter and using them as a toy. I think next time I will just let him stay outside with me and freeze. Just a typical morning in the Smith family. Never a "dull" moment! Is it too early for a glass of Pinot? I am sure it is 5:00 somewhere! That was a joke......

Trick or Treat

One of our favorite holidays is Halloween! The kids are so excited to go trick or treating. This year Maddie is a "punk pirate". She has the attitude in the picture to go along with her costume. I had to steer her away from the "jail bird" costume, and we settled on the "punk pirate". Not my first choice....I was going for the sweet renaissance dresses, but she wasn't having it!
Radlee wanted a ninja costume, but Party City was out of his size of just about everything. We went to Target and Rad was so excited when he saw this "human torch" from Fantastic Four costume. Again.....not my first choice, but it is quite a unique costume. I really know nothing about who the "human torch" is, and neither does Radlee, but I guess we will just go with it! It seems like a short time we were trick or treating with only Brittany. One of our favorite costumes was Baby Bop, not necessarily because we were Barney fans....gosh that show drove me crazy, but Britt looked so cute in that costume. I will have to post a picture later. It makes me sad that she is too big for that now!

My point is..... Some of our most cherished memories are or our Halloween celebrations, including trick or treating and our annual hot dog and chili dinner! I know many other christians have debated wether or not Halloween is "evil", including myself, but I have realized in most situations it is your motive behind what you are doing. For us it has nothing to do with "evil", it is just good ole fun dressing up and loving on our friends and family!

Britt is o.k.

Just for those who might still be searching for Britt.....she is fine. She was just joking, because I had sent a text to her earlier saying I was just checking on her. Silly girl! I told her she had better never joke like that again! :) Maybe God is just preparing me little by little for her to be driving in a few weeks. Oh my goodness, how am I going to handle that?? Anyone have some valium?

See previous post if I have confused you!

A moment of panic!

A few minutes ago I tried to call Britt and see how her day is going...she is at the Somet center today, and she did not answer. Yeah I know she isn't suppose to have her phone.....yada yada yada...a few minutes go by, and I get this message....Sorry I am busy getting jumped right now! Is she joking? Why would she say that? I don't find it very amusing at all!!!!!! I have text again and got no response...maybe her teacher is near and she can't reply, yeah...i know she shouldn't have her phone with her......Now, I am in panic mode....Does someone have her and is texting on her phone???? are they beating her up??? If she is o.k., I really want to spank her bottom. I know she is almost 16, but I don't find whatever her joke is very funny! I just wanted my "cyber" world to share my panic right now!! What should I do?

Finally.....a brave anchor!

Finally, there is an anchor willing to ask some hard questions! Mr. Biden was so angry about the questions being asked, his wife's interview was cancelled. I find it quite interesting how the republican party is constantly asked these hard questions, but the first time someone from the democratic side is asked hard questions, all future interviews are off!!! I guess it is tough and unusual facing someone from the media who may not be on his side! For more info on this story go here.

Whats for dinner?

Hopefully with the help of this video, we are having some yummy gumbo!! Come over and join us!
Sausage and Chicken Gumbo from Foodwishes on Vimeo.!

I have been tagged!

I have been tagged by Jill. I have to find 7 interesting things about myself, which might be kind of difficult since I am a boring kind of girl! It may prove to be even harder to find 7 people to tag.

1. In middle school I played the cello and enjoyed it. I only quit because people made fun of me. It is kind of an akward instrument! I wish I would have stuck with it!

2. Most of you already know this but my dream is to someday become a dentist. I hope to someday do go on mission trips and do work with Operation Smile.

3. I worked at Chuck-E-Cheese when I was 15 (I was suppose to be 16, so I altered my birth certificate so I could work. Hey, I was just a kid!) I was Chuck-E himself on many occasions. Yep, I would get in that disquisting, smelly costume and greet all the kiddos. Actually, it was somewhat difficult to walk around in the suit and not fall over all of the kids. Those were the days!!!!

4. I married my high-school sweetheart when I was only 17 years old. I am proud of the fact that we have beat the odds and are more in love with one another than the day we married! We are so lucky to have the three sweetest kids on the planet!

5. I love name brand clothes. I know it is absolutely ridiculous to pay more for certain brands, but I love to go to TJ Maxx and get every Ralph Lauren shirt they have for the kids. I love chanel & givenchy purfume, burberry handbags, gucci, prada, coach....I love to look through magazines and envision myself dressed like a wealthy star! Maybe one day I will atleast own my very own Louis Vuitton purse. Worldy...lame....ridiculous....I know....not how God would want me to spend money....I should be ashamed!

6. My favorite colors are navy blue and kelly green. I love them together.

7. I have 7 brothers and sisters. One "full" sister.....I consider all of them "full" but genetically only 1, 3 half brothers, 2 half sisters, and one step sister. Holidays are very interesting. Brittany is older than some of her aunts and uncles.

Well there are my 7 not so interesting facts. I had a hard time thinking of them since I am an open book and share everything for all to see on my blog anyway. Here are the seven people I am tagging....

1. My sweet sister Ashley who is going to be thrilled to participate in this. :)

2. My neighbor and sweet friend Shawna. I would also consider her my "mommy mentor" She is an amazing mother who gives great advice.

3. My other sweet neighbor and friend Cassie. We just became friends a few months ago, but I feel like I have known her forever.

4. My sweet friend that I have known for a very long time Nicole. We just reconnected through reading each other's blog.

5. A sweet lady from church that just recently opened her own business, Mandi.

6. My sweet Maddie-Moo!!!

7. Another sweet friend that I met from church, Leigh.

Field trip to the "ponkin" patch!

Today, I went on Radlee's field trip to Walden Farm. We had such a wonderful time. I haven't got to do a lot with the kids at school in the past few months because of my school schedule, so I was really excited to get to be with Radlee today. He held my hand through the entire corn maze....it was a sweet time that I hope is forever etched in my memory! I know that someday in the very near future, he won't want to hold mommy's hand! So I plan on savoring it while it last!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures I took of the animals!

Urgent.....I need help!!

Did I get your attention? Maybe not urgent, but very important!
I am in need of some good "sweet sixteen" birthday party ideas and quick!!! Brittany's 16th birthday is quickly approaching (November 12) and I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what to do. I can't believe she is almost 16...makes me want to cry! We don't have tons of money to spend, but I want it to be super special for her. She had mentioned wanting to have a party and dj. I thought about renting a building in the area and trying to find an inexpensive dj. If you are reading this and have some dj experience (even amateur)or if you have a good idea of a place to rent to have a party please let me know! I also have thought about having a scavenger hunt. I just don't know...what do you think? What kind of theme would be really easy and fun? I would love to hear any ideas you have. I am getting desperate!!

Our camping trip!

We had such a great time camping! Sorry this slide show is so long. In order to see all of them, you have to listen to the song twice. I tried to speed it up somehow, but couldn't figure it out. Anyway, we can't wait until we get to go camping again. The next time we are going to kidnap the Heltons and take them with us! Come on Adam.....it will be fun!! :)

Tuesday's Tribute on Monday!

Me and Angie in 1992




Angie holding Brittany

Today, I want to say thank you to one of the sweetest, most beautiful girls you would ever meet. She has been one of my best friends for a very long time. It all started in Mrs. Elliot's English class. (side note....I loved Mrs. Elliot...she began her struggle with breast cancer while she was our teacher and later passed on) I believe we were juniors in high school...gosh I am getting so old I can't even remember what year it was. Ang was the first person to know I was pregnant (even before Jeff) with Brittany and was with me when I found out. She was one of the only people there when I got married....(I was only 17) She is the kind of person that you could call at 2 a.m. with a problem and she would be there in a minute!!! As a matter of fact, there have been many very late nights I have called her on the way to the emergency room with one of my kids sick, and she would be there within a few minutes! When Radlee took his ride to the emergency room after his allergic reaction to nuts, she was there right away. When I miscarried and had to have surgery, she was there. I could go on and on about how she is the kind of friend we all want to have and the kind of friend we all want to be!

Our friendship has survived so many good times and bad times in our lives. I have been blessed to watch her grow as a christian, wife, and mother. I have some of the funniest memories of our times spent together (especially goats at Opryland)!! I can't imagine the past 18 years of my life without Angie! Ang, I love you!!

Another first!

I have mentioned a lot lately about how God is stretching me out of my comfort zone! Well, this weekend I am definitely going to go way out of my comfort zone and spend a night camping!!!! Along with a few other families, including my sister (Scott, can you believe I got Ashley to agree to go camping with us ?:) we are spending the night at a state park and all sleeping in tents! I have been camping a few times, but we always stayed in cabins!! No straighteners, no hot water, no make-up, no microwave, no t.v..........just our family, nature, and great friends! I am not your "outdoors" kid of girl, but I admit that I am excited to give up all of these comforts I normally live with to just spend quality time with my family and friends! I think we so often get distracted with all of the "things" all around us to truly enjoy spending time with one another. I know the kids are going to have a blast....there is nothing Radlee loves more than spending time outside playing with sticks & dirt......add his two of his best buddies.....and he is going to have a blast. I am sad that Britt has decided to stay at home with a friend, but I was once a teenager and completely understand!


I plan on taking lots of pictures!! I will plan on posting them when we get back, unless a coyote or bear gets us! Or do we even have bears in Nashville?? :)

Tuesdays Tribute: My Uncle Scott

I have decided I am going to dedicate every Tuesday to someone who has made an impression on my life. The first person I have chosen to acknowledge is My Uncle Scott. I have so many fond memories of spending time with him. I will never forget all of the fun times we spent laughing over some of the silliest things while at my grandmother's house. We have had some great times over the years, but what makes my uncle so special is how he stepped up and became the stable person in my life when everything around me seemed to be crumbling. I was a teenager living in a new city after my parent's divorce and in many ways my life was out of control. Not having any children of his own, Scott was so giving of his time and energy to me and my sister. My mom would call him crying on many occasions because of the trouble I was giving her, and my uncle would drive a few hours from his home to either come and talk to me or just spend time with us. Occasionally, he even had to give me a phone lecture.....oh how I hated those!!!! He was the father figure in our lives when our dad was several states away! He even walked my sister down the aisle when she got married. I will always be grateful for the way he so generously gave us his time and his heart....I truly don't know how I could have made it through that very tough time in my life without him. Thank you!!


*****Scott.....I searched everywhere for a good picture of you, but I didn't think you would approve of the ones I had!! I think you must avoid cameras like me!! That is my project the next time we are together...you had better be ready!!

A lesson on control

(The pictures are from today not yesterday's wacky tacky day!...I guess that is pretty obvious though:-)

Yesterday was "wacky-tacky" day at Maddie's school. I reluctantly decided to just let Maddie pick her own outfit and tell me how she wanted her hair. When Maddie came out with what she wanted to wear, I really wanted to go and find her something else. I just went with what she had out and she ended up looking really "wacky-tacky". She won the wacky-tackiest in her classroom. She had her picture made with the other winners in the school, but unfortunately I did not take one! Darn!!!

Today was dress like your favorite story book character. We really didn't have very much at home for her to choose from, but she decided to go as Laura Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie. Once again, I had a different idea of what hat she should wear than she had in mind, but I let her go with her idea. I did get a few pictures today. I thought she looked pretty cute!

I am learning with the kids to not "sweat the small stuff". Sometimes it is just better to let go of some control and let them make some of their own "small" decisions.

Time to vent!

I am so irritated right now! I just need to complain for a minute....I may regret posting this on the net for all to see, but if I do there is always the lovely delete post option.

Today was another first for me at TSU. Today was the first time I have ever took a midterm with the majority of the class laughing and talking really loud. The instructor was even joking with everyone. I couldn't concentrate and ended up turning my test in with only one side completed. When I realized there was another side to the test, I politely asked to have my test back. He gave it back to me but kept saying in a loud tone 5 minutes Pagan 5 minutes! I think he thought he was being funny, but I really didn't find it so funny. I wanted to say MY LAST NAME ISN'T PAGAN ANYMORE AND HASN'T BEEN FOR ALMOST 16 YEARS!!!! (That is an entire different story of how the idiots at this school can't seem to get anything right...they took my maiden name off of my high school transcript rather than my application. I was told just to leave it, because if you try to have it fixed lots of other stuff will get messed up like your classes getting transferred)

I also wanted to just scream to all of the crazy people in my class and tell them to shut the ..... up for just a few minutes! (fill in the dots as you wish) Don't worry, I didn't do that! If I would have, I wouldn't be typing this post right now. It is extremely frustrating to spend long hours away from your family to study, and then to just have all of your hard work studying messed up because you can't concentrate. I really need to work on my ability to tune distractions out....I thought with my kids I had already mastered that one!

I did turn in my test before I was even finished and I am sure didn't do so well.....I probably still got an o.k. grade because he has to curve his test grades so much because they are usually horrible! I am sure that is probably why no one really cares!

I ever so politely asked to speak to the instructor after class. I asked if it was possible to have some sort of quiet testing atmosphere when taking test. I am just asking what you would think would be a given right?!? He told me it is what it is....you are at TSU. Those were his exact words!

I am either going to be a really strong woman after I am finished with my undergraduate studies or I am going to be a crazy woman!