This is my life....

Lots going on round here

2010-02-08T06:47:00.000-08:00

WOW...busy weekend!! On Saturday Trace had 2 basketball games...both of them were very close games, but sadly they lost in the end at both! :( I didn't get any pics this time b/c I had left both memory cards at home (my head was not screwed on Sat)

Sunday we had Dawson's B-day party (2 weeks late) at the wellness center. They have an indoor pool and the kids LOVE to go there! He had 14 friends show up...and everyone had a great time!

It was really entertaining b/c they have water aerobics classes there so they had all kinds of gear....weights, life vests, gloves that were webbed, little resistance paddles, etc....so the kids had a ball playing with all that junk!

Here is Trenton just chillin on the side of the pool
Birthday Boy!!!

Trace getting ready to get dunked by daddy

Trace floating on his back

Birthday boy wearing the webbed gloves

Trenton playing in the hot tub foam

Dawson had a great party and got lots of great gifts. We were pooped at the end of the day but it was well worth it!! Miss priss didn't get to go b/c the water isn't shallow enough for her...and you know how independent she is...she would have demanded to swim BY HERSELF and that would not have went well. So she got to stay with my BF for the duration of the party....but she had just as good of a time chasing their new puppy around :)

Checking things off my list

2010-02-01T17:07:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the biggest tax refund we have ever had, I have been able to mark a few things off of my 65 in 365 list! It feels great to get some of these things taken care of!

First of all we paid off our washer and dryer....whew!

Second we ordered this fridge

Third-we bought this table (our old table has completely fallen apart)

Fourth-we have opened education accounts for all 4 kids and a savings account for us :)

I still have quite a bit to do but if feels great to get some things marked off!!

Happy Birthday Dawson!!

2010-01-19T06:49:00.000-08:00

Today Dawson is 8 years old! It is so hard to believe that he is already in second grade! Time has gone by way to fast!

A little bit about my little man.

He was born January 19th at 7:45 AM. He weight 7lbs and was 19in long.

Favorite Color:

BLUE

Favorite Foods:

Pizza

Potatoes

Spaghetti

Favorite Movies:

The Star Wars Movies

Hotel for Dogs

Favorite Cereal:

Cocoa Puffs

Favorite thing to do

Build with his massive Lego collection

Favorite Band

Bon Jovi-he has stolen all my cd's....lol

Favorite Sport

Baseball

Dawson is a smart, lovable, active young man that means to world to me!! Could not imagine my life without him!!

A little trip down memory lane........

I had more pics but for some reason it was cutting part of him out of them :( Wish I had more baby pics of him on the computer...but that was before digital cameras...lol

I hope you have a wonderful day Dawosn!! You are a true blessing to our lives!

New Year...Lots of changes!!

2010-01-10T19:40:00.000-08:00

I have a feeling 2010 is going to be great! Looking at the last 2 years....I don't think there is anywhere to go but up!
I have been doing lots of thinking and soul searching lately. There are LOTS of things that I have been thinking about doing for years.....and somehow they always get pushed aside. I have finally decided this is the year for ME! Some of my friends gave me a great idea....it is called 65 in 365. These are not resolutions, just simply things that I wish to accomplish in the next 365 days. By writing them down and putting them on here it helps to keep me accountable. Now I have thought and thought and I only have 60 so far, but I might come back and add a few later.
Here we go.

Home/Organization

1. Re-decorate Trinity's room
2. Purge all the kids closets-DONE
3. Make a monthly menu and stick to it (0/12)
4. Try at least one new recipe a month (0/12)
5. Cook healthier meals
6. Organize office area
7. Bake at least 2x month (0/24)
8. Start stockpiling
9. Organize recipes
10. Buy new bathroom towels
11. Buy new bedding for master bathroom

ME

12. Read a book (0/1)
13. Keep my feet pedicured and toenails painted this summer
14. Exercise 3x a week
15. See 3 movies in the theatre (1/3)
16. Call a friend or family member every week (4/52)
17. Girls night out at least 1x a month (1/12)
18. Keep my blog updated at least 1x a week (3/52)
19. Take science class that I am lacking
20. Lose 60lbs
21. Send my family cards on their birthdays
22. Go to 2 concerts (0/2)
23. Have a date night 1x a month (0/12)
24. Make a daily schedule
25. Create a chore schedule for me
26. Start a skin care routine
27. Get a full check-up DONE

Financial

28. Pay off washer and dryer DONE
29. Purchase a new fridge DONE
30. Save to buy a new video camera DONE
31. Open savings account for all kids (4/4)
32. Learn how to use coupons to cut down grocery bill
33. Open savings account for us DONE
34. Get life insurance
35. Read Dave Ramseys book

Kids/Family

36. Make chore chart for kids
37. Take kids to a circus
38. Do 1 4H project with Trace each month (0/12)
39. Take boys to a Thunder game
40. Take boys to Red Hawks game
41. Take boys to 2 Braves games (0/2)
42. Go on vacation
43. Have game night 1x month (0/12)
44. Host a night out at our house-BBQ, Game night, etc (0/5)
45. Have a family night out 1x month-movies, bowling, etc (0/12)
46. Plan our Disney trip for 2011
47. Eat dinner at table as a family every night
48. Visit my grandma more frequently
49. Buy Dawson new bedding

Hobbies/Crafting

50. Learn how to sew
51. Scrapbook at least 2 pages a month (0/24)
52. Do 1 craft project a month (0/12)
53. Make a gift for each family member next X-Mas
54. Order prints and update kids photo albums (0/4)

Business

55. Purchase new camera bag DONE
56. Order marketing materials
57. Get custom logo DONE
58. Get business web site
59. Organize all my proofs for clients to view DONE
60. Attend at least 1 workshop (0/1)
61. Purchase at least 1 prop every month (2/12)

This is my list. I have full confidence that I will accomplish everything!

Great weekend

2009-09-07T20:38:00.000-07:00

Well it was really nice to have a long weekend! Dustin had his first football game on Friday night....I wasn't able to go.....they lost 14-7.
On Sunday the kids and I went to my grandma's house, my sister was home from Denver for the weekend. My grandma helped the kids make fudge, sweet pickles, and rice krispy treats to enter in the fair. The boys had a lot of fun baking with GG. We didn't get home until late...it was a long day....but a good day!!
Today the kids did a couple more posters for the fair. They are really excited about entering their projects. The fair starts on Thurs. so we only have a couple more days to finish everything up.
Trace has his first football game on Thursday, he is pretty excited about it. I think this year will be so much better than last year for him.

5 Question Friday

2009-09-04T06:45:00.000-07:00

September 4th Questions:

1. The clothing outfit you remember from childhood and why?

Hmmm....that is a tough one. Probably my most memorable outfit would have to be just a pair of jeans...lol. I did not ever have any "name brand" clothes growing up...my mom couldn't afford them...but I remember the first pair of jeans that I bought with my own money. I was in 8th grade and I saved all my babysitting money to buy a pair of PePe jeans. I loved those jeans and I wore them all the time!

2. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a veterinarian. I loved animals. We lived on a farm with chickens, ducks, geese, peacocks, lots of cats, a dog, miniature horses, rabbits, and we had an Umbrella Cockatoo....and I loved to just pet them and take care of them all the time. I have a sister, but she didn't live with us so I was alone A LOT....the animals were my friends...lol

3. What is your must have for Fall?

Hoodies!! I go to A LOT of football games in the fall and I LOVE hoodies! I don't really care for coats....too bulky...but I love the softness of the hoodies and the fact that they have a hood and pockets for my gloves! All my kids wear them too.

4. If money were no object, how many kiddos would you really have?

Since I grew up an only child I always wanted a lot of kids. I wanted them to share memories and stories and have each other when they got older. I already have 4....but if money wasn't a problem I would have at least 2 more.

5. The best part of your birthing story (other than the beautiful child at the end).

The best part is right after they come out and the Dr. puts them on my chest and I get to look into their eyes for the first time. And looking up to see Dustin's face.....how happy and excited he was too. I will NEVER forget those moments!

A lot going on around here

2009-09-03T19:37:00.000-07:00

It is starting to become the busy time of year that we know around here as Fall. Football is starting for Dustin and Trace. Dustin has his first game tomorrow night at Hennessey and Trace has his first game one week from tonight.
Dawson and Trenton had soccer practice tonight and they have their first game on Tues....I am lucky that this year they can be on the same team. Every other year they will be in different age groups.
The Woods County Fair is next weekend so we are trying to get projects in order for the boys to enter this year. Trace will be entering Oreo, he is really excited about that. I think we are also going to do some other projects such as cooking, photography, clay, and sand art. The boys love to do things like that and I think it will be a lot of fun.
My sister Brandy is coming home this weekend so we are going to go to my grandma's for supper on Sunday and my G-ma is going to help Trace make her wonderful sweet pickles that she makes at Thanksgiving. He will enter those in the fair...maybe she can help him make her fudge too!
I got my photography blog up last night there are only a couple of pics on it, I am still editing the other session that I have done. The address to it is http://www.tiffanycanaanphotography.blogspot.com/ I purchased a brand new HP desk-top computer today to replace the piece of crap dell that we have had for 6 years. The requirements for my photo editing software exceeded my laptop system so I had to upgrade. I think I will be really happy with it. Tomorrow I will install my Photoshop CS4 and start editing...I am so excited!!
I will end tonight with a funny statement by Dawson this morning....he was petting the baby rabbits and Maisy (the mommy) after he was ready for school this morning and he came running up to me and said
"Mommy...I was petting Maisy on her side and I accidentally touched her milk tank" I had to giggle at that one!

2 Weeks Old Today

2009-09-03T19:26:00.000-07:00

The babies are 2 weeks old now! They are sooo cute and fat....lol! Their eyes are open, they can hold their ears up and they try to hop around! Last night I got them out and let the kids hold and pet them....they were so excited. I had not let them touch them until last night. Here are some pics from last night.

Yikes...another lazy day

2009-08-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

Oh boy did today ever fly by!! I did not get anything done except clean off my computer desk and 2 loads of laundry!! I had A LOT of things that needed to be done....I just didn't do them. I hate when I do that b/c then I feel bad....like I wasted the day.

Guess I will have to do double tomorrow!

I received my new program...photoshop CS4 yesterday....now I am soooo excited to use it. But I have to wait until we get a new pc....our Dell that we have had for about 7 yrs died (which it was a piece of crap so it will not be missed..lol) and my laptop doesn't have enough memory on it to load the program. We are expecting some insurance checks this week (from hail damage on our vehicles) and as soon as they come I am getting a brand new HP desktop with a 20in monitor!! I can't wait....I feel like a little kid at Christmas.

Here is a pic for today! I wanted the waterfall in the pic so cropping really wasn't an option but I felt like the pic was too dark...so I did a color pop action in PS elements and I think it made it look a lot better!

I can't wait to start posting pics with CS4...it amazes me what you can do with it!

Update on babies

2009-08-29T20:18:00.000-07:00

The babies are 9 days old today!! They should be opening their eyes any day now! They are little butterballs.....so cute.....and soooo fat...lol!!

Here is a pic

I love to hold them...they will just cuddle in my hand....they are so soft. Can't wait til they start hopping around.

Lazy Saturday

2009-08-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

Well I haven't felt well the last few days so I got to sleep in for a little while today....didn't get out of bed until 9:30.....didn't get dressed until 4:00 :)

I have a sinus infection so I haven't been able to sleep very well for the last few nights.....my meds are finally kicking in and I am starting to feel better finally!

Trace had a scrimmage at 5:00 tonight....I was so proud of him! He had 2 interceptions, one of them he ran back 60 yards for a touchdown. He had several blocks and tackles too. He played almost the entire time on offense and defense. He did not have a very good year last year so I really didn't think that he was going to go out again....but I am glad that he decided to give it another try.

On Thurs I had two photo shoots for newborns....it was soooo much fun!! I LOVE babies....it makes me wish I could have another one...lol! I can't wait to get my photography blog up and running and I will post photos there. I am really hoping this turns out to be a good business venture for me.

Speaking of photos.....i took this Weds night of Trinity....I LOVE this pic!! This is probably one of my all time favorites of her!!

She is really hard to get pics of...she always looks away from the camera and she never sits still...lol!!

Almost forgot

2009-08-24T20:41:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot to post a snapshot from today. I received a new lens today that I had ordered so I was very excited to open it up and start snapping pictures. Trinity was the only one around so I just started taking pics of her from all angles....she was watching I Carly...so she didn't move...lol.This pic I just cropped and added some color back into her face.

Tomorrow morning I am going to shoot my first baby. I was scheduled to do it today but we had to reschedule for tomorrow. I am really excited and nervous! I can't wait to see how they turn out and what neat things I can do!

4 Days old

2009-08-24T20:28:00.000-07:00

The 2 remaining babies are 4 days old now. They are getting quite fat. When they were born they were naked and now they have some fuzz....it is so soft.....it feels like velvet!! In about 6 more days they will open their eyes.

I took these pics today with a new lens, so they are better than the last ones!

This is Oreo, the daddy, he is a sweetheart, thought I would post a pic of him! The baby that didn't make it would have looked like him :(

New venture for me!

2009-08-23T20:30:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to announce that I am taking on a new hobby (hopefully more)...Photography! I have always loved photography and now I am hoping to take that love to a new level. I have a long way to go before I can say I am a professional...but I feel like I can say that I am above average...lol!

I have really been working hard in photoshop and recently purchased the newest version cs4.....I can't wait to start playing with it!

There are soooo many things that you can do in photoshop....it just amazes me!

I will probably be starting a photography blog soon to post the pics from my sessions. And hopefully I will get skilled enought to design my own templates and actions and would love to share them with other beginner photographers!! Speaking of sessions, I already have 3 babies lined out for this week! I am so excited!!

I have decided (in light of my new hobby) to start posting a "snapshot of the day" photo on here. It will not be a "professional" pic...but just a snap shot of one of my kids, flowers, sunsets, etc. I will post a before and after photoshop pic.

This is the first one...this is Trenton in my friends backyard....this is a pretty simple one.

I felt like this wasn't a bad shot to begin with...but the color was a little blah...so I wanted to make it pop a little! This was done in elements (I haven't received my cs4 yet) and only took me a couple of minutes.

Let me know what you think!! Can't wait to get really going with this....I will actually be doing something I love!

Sad day at the Canaan house

2009-08-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

We lost one of our babies this morning. I have been waking up in the middle of the night and checking on them, but they had always been fine. Last night when I woke up I decided not to go and check on them, I just rolled over and went back to sleep. I woke up this morning and went in to check on them and the white one was barely moving, I picked it up and it was pretty cold. So I decided to wrap it up in some towels to try and warm it up. I also called a local lady that I know that runs an organization called creature concerns, she came over to see if she could help. We put it on a heating pad and she tried to bottle feed it. Our efforts were simply not enough, or came too late. The poor little baby quietly passed on. I cried. The kids do not know yet, they had already gone to church. I will have to give them the bad news when they get home....I am not looking forward to it.

A Tale of Two Rabbits

2009-08-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

Well I bought the boys two rabbits in the spring, I bought Trace one so he could show it in 4H and decided to get the other 2 boys one to share so they wouldn't bother Trace's rabbit. I let them pick out which ones they wanted and when we checked out they sexed them...of course they picked a male and a female! They were just babies so I asked how long we had until they would mate...we were told they couldn't have babies until they were between 8mos and 1 yr.

On Thurs I had to go out of town for the day. About 11:30 I get a call from Dustin that there are 3 baby rabbits in the cage...I about died!! They are only 6 mos old!! So now we have 3 baby rabbits, 2 are black and one is white with black spots. I had never seen baby rabbits before...they are really cute for as naked as they are.

Maisy, the mom, seems to be taking good care of them so far. They are about 72 hrs old now. The boys LOVE them. I really think this will be a good experience for them to be able to watch the babies grow up....I hope they all survive though! I will take pics along the journey and post the here.

Here are the pics from the day they were born and yesterday.

Returning with a new look!

2009-08-21T19:34:00.001-07:00

WOW....it has been a while! We had a very busy spring and summer, but now that school has started again we are back in a routine and I plan on having more time to update regularly!
All 3 boys played on different traveling baseball teams this summer, so we were BUSY!! Dustin also took over the Cardinal baseball organization, so that made me his secretary (as he calls me)....lol. We were on the go 5 nights a week to ball games. The month of June went by really fast....and was a total blur! But we made it through!
In July we went to Colorado to see my sister Brandy, the weather there was beautiful! We missed the record high temp in Alva (some say it was 114 and some will tell you it was 117) either way it was HOT and we missed it. We were enjoying the 80 degree weather in CO, in the evening it was in the 70's. We took the kids to the zoo, childrens museum, elich gardens, and a baseball game (the Braves, our favorite team, was playing the Rockies). We cooked out almost every evening at my sisters house...it was really nice and relaxing!! When we got back to OK...we did not want to do anything...lol!
But now the weather is cooling off, school has started, and football is getting ready to start, we are ready to FALL!!

It's been a while

2009-01-07T20:21:00.000-08:00

YIKES!! Where does the time go? The last couple of months just flew by. We stayed really busy through the Holidays and things are finally starting to calm down a bit.

The kids have all had the congestion crud along with a nice cough, so everyone is on medication. They form a line in the morning before school to choke down their medicine before heading out the door.

The kids all got tons of new things for Christmas that they didn't really need!! LOL!! One of their favorites was a new 4-wheeler from Grandma and Grandpa Melton. They love to go out to Dustin's grandma's farm and ride it.

Dustin has already started baseball practice so he is not home a lot. I have been substitute teaching at the schools. It is going pretty well, I actually enjoy it and I am looking into becoming certified to be a teacher. We will see how that goes.

Hopefully things have slowed down enough that I can stay caught up!

Fall Break

2008-10-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

I might very well lose my mind in the next few days! Today was the first day of fall break and the kids are already driving me crazy!! The boys have fought all day long!
I do have a list about 3 pages long of things that I would like to accomplish over the weekend...we will see if I get any of it done.
The High School game is on Thursday this week because of fall break and Trace does not have a game this, so that is nice. Dawson had his last soccer game on Monday, I am very happy about that. I can now breathe a little!! LOL!!
We had parent teacher conferences on Monday and all the boys are doing great! They all have good grades and got excellent reports. Dawson recently won the Caring Kid award...he was the only one in his class to get it, he was given a little medal, a gift certificate for a movie rental and his picture was in the paper.
It has been rainy here since Monday and it is getting cold! I had to turn our heat on yesterday...yuck!!

Homecoming pics

2008-10-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

Homecoming was on Friday. I am not sure why, but we were scheduled to play the #1 team in the state (in our class)....so the game was pretty ugly!! The final score was 40-0! There is always a parade downtown in the afternoon and a pep rally following.

Trace rode on a float with his team and Dawson and Trenton rode on the float with Dustin and the High School team.

Trinity...clapping as the band went by

Here is Trace on his float

Dawson and Trenton

The kids had a lot of fun! They love to be around the football team and Coach Gale (the head coach).....and of course they love being with their daddy!

Trace's team played on Thursday night, but he was unable to go because he was sick. His team lost 7-0.

Been a long week!!

2008-09-24T19:37:00.000-07:00

The flu has made it's rounds at our house! It started last Friday with Dawson and has made it's way through the whole family now except for Dustin.
I have not been able to go to work for a week now! I have been stuck at home cleaning up messes, shampooing carpets and furniture, scrubbing toilets and bleaching everything!! It has been pretty miserable. All the kids have had to miss school this week along with soccer games, football practice and probably a football game tomorrow night. Trace is really ill right now so I do not think there is any way that he can play football tomorrow night.
Our family has never been this sick before....it has been passed around and around. I was also told that there were a lot of kids out at Trenton and Dawson's school....about 30! So I guess it is making it's way around town.

I haven't been able to get on to update about last weeks games. Dustin's team had to go to Hobart, which is about 3 hrs away....they won! I couldn't go b/c I had sick kids so I listened to it on the radio.

Trace's team lost...again! They played well, the other team was just better.....and a lot BIGGER!!

This week is Homecoming...so Trace and Dustin will both be on floats in the parade. The team that we are playing is #1 in the state....so I have a feeling we are going to get spanked. So it will probably be a long weekend at my house!

A little survey

2008-09-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

I got this from Heather-kinda fun

1.What is your occupation right now? I actually have a few...lol! Secretary, Mortgage broker, UCL demonstrator

2.What color are your socks right now? not wearing socks

3.What are you listening to right now? Hinder

4.What was the last thing that you ate? cinnamon roll

5.Can you drive a stick shift? Yep! My first 2 cars were 5-speeds

6.Last person you spoke to on the phone? Susan

7.Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes!!

8.How old are you today? 27

9.What is your favorite sport(S) to watch? college football...GO SOONERS!

10.What is your favorite drinks? Dr. Pepper

11.Have you ever dyed your hair? Yep...not real sure what my natual color is anymore

12.Favorite food? anything Italian

13.What is the last movie you watched? Cast Away on tv last week

14.Favorite day of the year? Christmas Day (I love to see how excited the kids get)

15.How do you vent anger? keep it inside

16.What was your favorite toy as a child? Teddy Ruxpin

17.What is your favorite season? Spring

18.Cherries or Blueberries? Cherries

19.Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? hoping to catch up with everyone on my blog roll

20.Who is the most likely to respond? not sure

21.Who is least likely to respond? not sure

22.Living arrangements? in a little rental house with my husband and 4 kids

23.When was the last time you cried? last week

24.What is on the floor of your closet? hangers, shoes, a couple of boxes

25.Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to? not sending it to anyone

26.What did you do last night? took kids to bible study/football practice, worked for a while and went to bed early

27.What are you most afraid of? something happening to my kids

28.Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? cheese

29.Favorite dog breed? English bulldogs

30.Favorite day of the week? Saturday

31.How many states have you lived in? 3-Kansas, South Dakota and Oklahoma

32.Diamonds or pearls? diamonds

33.What is your favorite flower? Daisies

Busy Busy Busy

2008-09-17T14:24:00.001-07:00

Boy it sure feels like I do not have any free time lately!

Dustin's football game on Friday was moved to Saturday due to highways being closed from flooding. They played on Saturday at 2:00 and we lost! They played Blackwell and as long as Dustin has been a coach (6 years) they have never lost to them. It was pretty ugly!! The final score was 28-7.

Trace had his first football game on Thursday, they lost too. The final score was 14-7. It rained the whole time so we were soaked!! It was Dustin's birthday so we went out to eat afterwards.

Dawson has had a couple of soccer games. He is doing great, he has scored a couple of goals and he played goalie one game and didn't let the other team score on him.

They are all enjoying school and all their other activities....we are staying really busy though!!

9/11

2008-09-11T07:28:00.000-07:00

Do you remember where you were and what you were doing this day in 2001? I remember it like it was yesterday, I remember every detail about the whole day. Sept 11 is Dustin's B-day and the attacks happened on his 21st B-day. I was in class (I didn't know a lot of people so I pretty much kept to myself) and I heard people talking about an airplane crash, I wasn't sure of the details though. After class I went home and Dustin was watching the t.v. and we saw the second plane hit.....I was horrified. Then hearing about the other planes that were not accounted for, I kept wondering what was going to happen next. I couldn't believe this was happening to our country. We are the United States of America, we are supposed to be might and powerful, we should not be broken like that.
We were supposed to be getting everything ready for a bar-b-que but instead we were both glued to the tv.
Our friends and family came over that evening to celebrate Dustin's birthday, but it just didn't feel right. After everyone left we were back watching the news channels. I didn't hardly sleep at all that night....or that week.
I still watch shows and documentaries that are on tv about 9/11 and I always cry. I personally did not know anyone that was killed that day. But knowing that so many fellow Americans were killed.....they were someone's mother, father, sister, brother, son, daughter....it breaks my heart.
I am very proud to be an American and I love this country with all my heart, we are so blessed in so many ways.
I just ask that God be with the survivors, I am sure it does not get any easier on them from year to year.

Battle Wounds

2008-09-09T20:17:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned...Trace is playing football this year. I was not crazy about the idea....I love football, but he is so small!! He is the smallest kid on the team, weighing in at 65 lbs. The first few weeks he took a beating....he even said several times he wanted to quit. We have a rule at our house.....there is NO quitting something after you have started....but I wanted to let him quit. Dustin said NO WAY. So he stuck it out and he is now enjoying it. He has started to really enjoy punting and doing kick-off's....he is the back up kicker.....he has even asked to go to practice early so he can get some extra kicking practice before everyone else gets there. This makes me happy b/c a week ago I would cry after I dropped him off b/c he was crying so hard. I felt horrible, like I was sending him into a battle zone and he didn't even stand a chance. He ended up with some nasty bruises....I took these pics after 5 days...and they still look horrible.

This is his arm...it has bruises all over it, but this was the worst

And this is his neck...you can't see it really well...but it was black and blue

These are the worst bruises he has had so far....but the season has just started!!

Another Blog for UCL

2008-09-09T14:36:00.000-07:00

I have started another blog for my Uppercase Living business. I am really excited about it! I will be displaying photos, having contests, giving ideas on where to buy supplies, etc. I just started it this afternoon so there is not much there yet, but you can check it out at http://tiffanyucl.blogspot.com

In other news, Trace has his first football game on Thurs, which is also Dustin's B-day....so we will be traveling to Enid to watch him play (it is going to be a long day). Dawson had his first soccer game last night...and it was FREEZING!! It is crazy how the weather here turns on a dime. Almost forgot, Dustin had his first football game last Friday and they won 28-0!! I was unable to go, it was the first home game in Dustin's 6 years of coaching that I have had to miss. Trinity was not feeling well and it was COLD! So I stayed home and listened to it on the radio.

We have a busy week ahead of us, 2 soccer games, 2 football games, and a lot of practices..lol!

So it begins....

2008-08-29T16:26:00.000-07:00

You would think that year after year I would be prepared for the busiest season of all...FALL....but once again I am not. Dustin has football practice every evening, games every Friday and film on weekends. Trace has football practice (yes...tackle football) 3 times a week and games every Thursday, and all his games are out of town (1 hr away). Dawson has soccer practice 1-2 times a week and 2-3 games a week. I am really happy that Trenton wanted to sit out this year, he did not want to play soccer....which makes it a little easier on me.
It is only week 2 and I am pooped! I am wondering how I am going to make it through this season. I was looking at my planner (yes I carry a planner..everywhere) and it is so full.
I am beginning to think that my plate is a little too full.
Besides the kids and their sports....I have many jobs...lol!
1. Secreatary at the University
2. At home agent for an internet company (I answer calls for them in the evening a few nights a week)
3. Licensed Mortgage broker and Insurance agent
4. Uppercase Living demonstrator
5. I sell on E-Bay and Amazon
6. I also work every other weekend as a clerk at a Convenience store
I am currently doing all these in addition to being the head cook, taxi driver, housekeeper, and dry cleaner.
When I write it all out it seems like even more...lol.
I am starting to debate hiring a house cleaner to come in a couple hours a week to help me out.....and the kids have been doing their chores....suprisingly it is working well so far! But I still feel like our house is a mess all time.
I think that I need to trim out a few things...just not sure where to begin!

Doing housework with Trinity

2008-08-25T15:11:00.000-07:00

Well that was interesting! For some reason today she took an interest in the vaccum....she hasn't before, and I don't think she will again.
The whole time I am vaccuming the kitchen she is following me around and tripping over the cord and getting tangled up in it.
While I am vaccuming the steps she climbs through my legs to the top and sits there and waits. When I get to the top I take the hose and put it on the bottom of her foot....she laughs.....I do it again....she again laughs....she then tries to touch it......it sucks up her WHOLE ARM. Yes her whole arm goes up the vaccum hose. She is screaming....I am trying to get to the bottom of the stairs to shut it off....I fall on my butt down about 4 stairs! I reach the vaccum and get it shut off....she calms down. So I go to finish the stairs, I am still working on the top of the staircase, well she decides to climb down the stairs going through my legs. All the sudden I feel a jerk....hear a couple of thuds followed by a scream. I look down she is hanging upside down about 4 steps up from the bottom with the cord wrapped around her waist and leg.
I get her untangled and she goes about her way....and did not come near the vaccum again.

I am putting them to work

2008-08-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

I have decided that I can not do all the household chores anymore! Working part-time at the University, e-bay on the side, and running all the kids to and from all their activities is A LOT for one person to handle....so I am going to delegate some of my household chores to the boys!

I can already hear the whining and groaning about this one. I am trying to think of a creative way to put it so that they might think it is fun. I know....it is a long shot, but a girl can hope can't she!

That is my project for this evening....to come up with some sort of chore chart for the boys!

Wish me luck!

The Canaan's

2008-08-22T18:30:00.000-07:00

Here we are!

This is Dustin and I

This is Trace

Here is Dawson

And Trenton

My baby girl Trinity

Let me tell you about me

2008-08-22T12:44:00.000-07:00

Well.....my name is Tiffany and I am a wife to Dustin (who is a teacher and a coach) and mother 3 boys Trace (10), Dawson (6), Trenton (5) and 1 baby girl Trinity (1). I was born and raised in a small town in KS and currently live in a small town in OK.

I have a Business Degree, but have chosen to stay at home with my kids for the last 3 years, to me it was more important to be here with them. This year my youngest son started going to school all day so I took a part-time job at a University. I still get to take them to school everyday, pick them up and attend all their activities. My baby girl stays with my best friend, who owns a daycare. It was hard for me to put her into daycare, but it is nice to get out of the house for 20 hrs a week and be with other adults. For the last 3 years most of my adult interaction has been with my friends that I have met online.

We have an extremely busy life.....I feel like I live in total chaos 24/7!! As I mentioned my husband is a coach, he is the defensive coordiator for the High School football team and the head high school baseball coach. From the months of Aug-May I do not see him hardly at all and I can not depend on him for anything. I am on my own as far as the kids go....school, sports, activities, etc!

Trace is 10 years old and he is in 5th grade. He is very smart and shy. He plays football, basketball, soccer and baseball. (forgot to mention that Dustin is his baseball coach in the summer too). He enjoys playing the Wii, riding his ripstick and playing with his friends. He is in our church youth group and 4H.

Dawson is 6 years old and is in 1st grade. He is very loud and rowdy! He it a ball of energy. He plays soccer and baseball. He will be able to play football in 2 more years and I can't wait...I think it will be a good way to burn off all that energy! He likes to ride his bike, play his gameboy, and play with his friends.

Trenton is 5 years old and is in Kindergarten. He is very quiet, shy and lovable. He plays soccer and T-ball. He loves school, riding his bike, and going to grandma's farm.

Trinity just turned 1 in June. She is growing too fast for me. She is definitely the boss of the house. Her brothers love her and spoil her!! She is so fun and entertaining.

I spend most of my time with the kids, but in my free time I like to scrapbook.

There are is a long list of things that I want to learn how to do...such as make professional looking cakes and baked goods, sew, learn more about photography and gardening....the list goes on and on! Someday I hope to accomplish my list.